Torteval Irish Wolfhounds

Clyde, born in April 1993, was No 1 son and no doubt enjoyed fond memories of his pre-wolfhound youth. He was well known for his exploits back-packing around the parish, and although his journeys were slightly less heroic as he aged, he continued to roam the neighbouring fields for weeks on end, fully self supporting, right up until his last summer. The amputation of his tail due to a fracture/ dislocation didn't cramp his style in the slightest. In his youth, he would hit the road for months on end, returning only when it snowed - not lost, for we used to sight him occasionally when out with the dogs, but exercising his ineffable feline right to live as he chose. He was put to sleep on 24 October 2006 at the age of 13, following the discovery of an abdominal tumour which has metastasised to his liver.

As you might guess, Clyde was originally the other half of his sister Bonnie. At the age of two, she had a litter of four kittens from which we kept Buster and Rupert. She died at six after a short illness, believed to be feline immunodeficiency virus (cat AIDS).

Buster, a long haired ginger with a coat like mohair, is the laziest, slowest cat you could imagine. His alias 'The Great Blob' derives from his habit of sleeping wherever he happens to be rather than in a comfortable spot like most cats, so that a large orange blob can be found all over the house and garden. It is hard to envisage him catching anything quicker than a three-toed sloth - the only time he is seen to move faster than a leisurely sashay being when there are strangers about - neither he nor his brother are keen on outsiders.

Unless, of course, in Rupert's case, the outsider is an Irish wolfhound. From birth, Rupert was terrified of everything and everyone - except wolfhounds. His devotion to McGinty was touching, and he made it his life's work to get that hound groomed, come what may. Usually he'd manage to do one ear before curling up and falling asleep, but you always felt he meant to continue when he woke up, if only he could find the energy. His alias (Ruper-duper-pooper-scooper) derives from his self-appointed position as toilet monitor to the litter of kittens: he would observe the other kittens using the tray, checking that they were digging proper holes and covering over - if not up to standard, Rupert would promptly take over and show them how to do it!

In 2001 we acquired Jenny and Skimble, a pair of marbled Bengal kittens. Like many pedigree cats they were dominant and vocal. Skimble, the male, was stunningly beautiful, with a coat that literally glittered, and he constantly demanded the attention he felt his good looks merited. He was a bully, a feline Osama Bin Laden, whose total intolerance of the three senior cats fuelled a life-long campaign against them. His aim was to banish them from the house, and at times he almost succeeded. In May 2006, he made one unprovoked attack too many on a sleeping Buster, and for the sake of the ageing moggies* we made the difficult decision to re-home him. We found what appeared to be an excellent home in a rural area about four miles away, but unfortunately, his noisy protests wore down his new family all too quickly, and after two days they gave in to his demands and let him out. Not surprisingly, he failed to return to his new home, and no more was heard of him. For six months, we watched and waited anxiously to see if he would find his way back to us. Sadly, he didn't, and on
15 November 2006 we received a phone call from a vet in his new area to tell us that a cat had been brought into the surgery having been run over and killed by a car, and the microchip revealed it to be Skimble. He deserved a better end, but our only consolation was that he was apparently well fed and in good condition when found, indicating that he had inveigled someone into taking care of him in the interim.

Skimble's sister, Jenny is somewhat more manageable, and although she too can be aggressive towards the other cats, she lacks her brother's determination and spitefulness. Self-contained and aloof (unless there's any cheese in the vicinity) she delights in teasing the dogs and getting them into trouble, and is completely unimpressed when their hooligan behaviour is directed towards her - which it often is!