My cats and me

My two cats - Sama 6 (white) and Haunter (black)

Sama 6 clinging at the screen as if her life depended on it

Sama 6 about to smack Haunter in the face

Haunter the bird...

Sometimes I wish I was a cat. Look at Haunter to the left - she is completely given over to the power of sleep. And that was 13:00 in the afternoon! A time I was very hard at work on one of my various projects... People should rather start talking about "It's a cat's life" than "It's a dog's life"!

I got Sama 6 in April 1999, in Potchefstroom. I bought her for R20 from a pet shop. She was about 6 weeks old I think. She stayed with me in my garden flat in Potchefstroom in Hoffman Street, then moved with me to my flat in Jongen Molen also in Potchefstroom, then off to Lago 61 in Centurion, next stop was Parklands 75 in Centurion, then off to Op De Tradouw 29 also in Centurion, next boarded at my mother in law's flat in Pretoria for 3 months while we were in Prague, Czech Republic; then off to The Oval 49 back in Centurion, onwards to La Vue 9 (also in Centurion...) and finally our new home at Die Hoewes 85. So she had quite a bit of travel experience!

I got Haunter from my parents in March 2001 I think. She was the smallest of the litter, and the most quiet. She has some very interesting personality characteristics - like sleeping on her back (see photo) and a very kind and gentle personality. Her fur is the softest I ever felt on any animal, and she does not loose hair in the summer like Sama 6 does. She had all the same travel experience than Sama 6 had, but only starting at my parent's home, then off to Lago 61...

I had a fascination with cats since I can remember - starting with a book I got when I was very little - The Aristocats. I always had a great affection for them and had several other cats earlier in my life. I guess it is one of those personality things and I will always have at least one cat around to keep me company.

An interesting thing I have observed is that many people think cats either have no personality at all, or that they are so indifferent towards humans that it is equivalent to not having any personality. I differ strongly with these views. Of all the cats I had in my life (there were about 5), never did I see any similarities between any of them. All had totally different personalities. And they were not indifferent towards me at all! Sometimes they do not come when you call them, or they seem to ignore you. But don't us humans do exactly the same when we do not want to be disturbed? Haunter always comes to me if I call for her, even when she is far away up in a tree. Sama 6 almost never comes when I call for her, but each and every evening at 18:00 sharp she will come back from wherever she went during the day. Then she will be affectionate towards me for a while, after which she will go off somewhere to get some peace and quietness. My view is that cats are very individualistic, loving, loyal and fun animals with great personalities.