My Cat's Whiskers

I just have to share the news - which the cat owners among you probably know anyway - about cat bowls.  My recent purchase of a set of whisker friendly bowls have so far been a great success. It would seem that 21st century cats don't like their whiskers to be knocked by the side of a food bowl. These new bowls are shallow and wide and my girls love them. 

I've had cats all my life, from when I was a toddler to the present day with only the sad times between getting over a loss and heading for the rescue centre again. All my cats have come from a cat rescue centre.  I've never had any trouble with their feeding habits or, indeed, sociability... until Betty and Sophie arrived. 

I blogged about them in 2021. The rescue people assured us they were sisters and loved each other... wrong! To this day they will have a hissy fit if they pass too close and they have divided up the house. Betty has the conservatory, Sophie the living room. The dining area and kitchen are tolerated as shared feeding stations to be accessed when the area is vacant. They will never eat together!

Sophie on her striped chair in the living room and Betty in the conservatory.

Betty is rather overweight and tends to plod around. I do try to restrict her diet but she just eats her sister's food whenever I put her on rations. She will now allow me to stroke her when she's hungry. Any other time I'm likely to lose a hand, or at least a pint of blood. She is adorable in that 'only a mother would love her' kind of way.

Sophie will only eat dried food and is quite petite. She has benefitted the most from these new shallow bowls and it's a joy to watch her eating. She is much more loveable than Betty. I can tickle her ear and tummy with no fear of reprisals but if I try to pick her up then blood will be spilt for sure. The vet tells me that she has a heart murmur and possibly was born with it but I'm not going to subject her to tests, not while she is still performing zoomies up and down the stairs and in and out of rooms at record-breaking speed. 

With apologies to non-cat-lovers here are two more photographs of the girls:

Betty lounging in the conservatory

Sophie on a suitcase under the spare bed