Billy and Bella in new photos shock

...and rest.

Ssshhhh... this doesn't happen often. Let's enjoy it while it lasts...

Billy and Annabelle - there's a big world out there...

I love this photo of Bella. She's caught by the rays of the setting sun, absolutely transfixed by the birds fluttering on and off the ledge above the window of my study.

What you can't see in that photo is how precariously she is perched on top of a perspex display cabinet.

The cats have been showing a lot of interest in the outdoors lately, so we've opened up the balcony to them. When we first opened the door both cats spent a good half hour not crossing the threshold, but simply sniffing the air. Then they sniffed the doorstep for another half hour. Then they both sat on the doorstep and planned their next move. That was day one.

Day two, and Billy has ventured about a foot onto the balcony. Guess what, he's spotted a pigeon in the tree opposite. What this photo doesn't show is the extreme amount of concentration he's putting into watching the pigeon. His ears are literally quivering with excitement at this moment. Then he spotted his first seagull and retreated back indoors again.

Bella was less nervous, and gave the balcony a good explore. Last years plant pots were of especial interest.

Billy and Annabelle update - Cat Tree

It's been two weeks since the last update, and the news is that Billy and Annabelle are maturing into nice well-adjusted cats. They now greet us with their tails raised, will sniff an outstretched finger, and will subject themselves to being stroked, Annabelle enthusiastically, Billy reluctantly until he remembers how much he enjoys it.

Annabelle has turned into Bella in this household, so that's how we'll refer to her from now on. She's becoming a small, lithe, graceful and cunning sister to her much bigger, clumsier, endearingly goofy brother. Billy's likely to grow to be the size of a panther.

Which is why we've bought them a section of fun-fur and sisal covered rain forest to play on. Here's a photo of the top section of it. It's huge, and we've put it in front of the book case in the living room because there's nowhere else to put it. It runs from floor to ceiling, with platforms to jump up and down from, hammocks to lounge in, tubes to jump through, poles to climb and sharpen claws on, and a cave to sleep in. It's so big I can't get it all in one photo. They both love it.

Bella has developed an obsession with a green feather duster. Here we see her chasing after it. It was originally much more feathery than this, but she's pulled most of the feathers out.

There tend to be two different climbing techniques going on. Billy will hop from platform to platform, collecting magic rings as he goes, while Bella prefers to take a shortcut. She will pick a pole and then shimmy up it until she reaches an obstacle, like the underside of a platform. Then she will twist and turn until she's negotiated the obstacle and then continue up the same section of pole till she's reached her objective.

Bella rests on top of the cave. The cave tends to be Billy's. He'll lie down inside, Bella will hop on top and then they scrabble at eachother. He's also adopted the right hand hammock as his own.

"What do you mean I'm meant to sharpen my claws on the other side?" Bella can be seen just off frame in one of the hammocks. There's a card I drew for Valentine's Day just above Billy's head, from the cats to Linda. It shows the views we usually had of the two cats at that time (only six weeks ago, believe it or not), of single eyes and ears poking out from the side of the page, or a set of back legs underneath a bookshelf.

This is a pose that was unimaginable a few weeks ago. Billy, sitting down right in front of me, having just had his ears scratched and trying to pretend he hadn't liked it.

When not bashing seven bells out of her feather duster, there's nothing Bella enjoys more than an episode of American Dad on BBC Three.

Billy the Cat

I didn't name Billy - he had that name already when I got him and his sister from the rescue centre.
However, there are lots of cartoon strips that have been named Billy the cat. And every time I do a google search more seem to come out of the woodwork.

Here's the original...

and here are a few I've found so far.

First off, Billy the Cat, the Beano's late sixties version of Spiderman. This is scanned from the Beano Book 1970 - the first book I ever bought with my own money. (I remember saving up the eight shillings and sixpence it cost in old pennies the size of cartwheels and then dragging a big bag full of coins down to the newsagents to buy it. Eight shillings and sixpence is nowadays the equivalent of 42.5p.) Billy is an eleven year old schoolboy by day, attending an academy in Burnham, one of those DC Thompson anytowns. However, by night he dons leathers and a crash helmet with whiskers and becomes Billy the Cat, Burnham's acrobatic crime fighter, inventing Parkour thirty years early. If the scan makes no sense, it because the story runs across the spread and I've only been able to scan the right hand side.

Meanwhile, from Belgium, here is another Billy the Cat. Serialised in the children's magazine Spirou, the comic follows the story of Billy, a normal schoolboy who often pranks and bullies animals. However, early in the first comic album, he is killed when he carelessly runs out in the street and is hit by a car. Told that his chances of getting into Heaven are slim due to his misdeeds, he is given a second chance by being returned to earth as a young cat. The comic follows Billy's attempts to adapt to living as a cat and chronicle his misadventures while he interacts with other animals. There's a TV series that's been doing the rounds as well, though neither the books or the TV show have yet reached the UK.

Finally, this guy needs no introduction.

Breakthrough!

The big news is that the cats will now allow themselves to be petted outside of the wardrobe. I've been trying to get photos of this incredible event all week, but it's hard to operate a camera with one hand and stroke a cat with the other. I even managed to pick up Annabelle with no complaints for a short while yesterday. They still need persuading, and Annabelle is less wary than Billy is - in fact whenever Annabelle is being scratched on the head and purring her head off, Billy usually sits to one side wearing an expression of absolute betrayal.

Billy has even started sleeping on the bed with us - though he stays well out of reach.

Here's this week's crop of photos...

We've been resuscitating an old laptop of Linda's this weekend. Bella has been fascinated it. Here she is helping with the installation of some software, and about to find the button that sends the laptop into hibernation. (PS - the answer to the question posed by the front cover of The Week is a definite No.)

 

Aha! Found it!

Bella, just after having her head scratched. Billy is underneath a La-z-boy footstool, otherwise known as his cage of security.

I saw what you did to my sister. I am not pleased.

A relaxed Billy. He had just shifted from a characteristic Billy pose, which I have yet to capture on camera, the squashed frog. I have yet to see a cat get as flat as Billy can - he likes to stretch out as long as he can make himself on the floor and then splay his back legs out to either side of him.

Mad cat! Mad cat!

Billy's been having a bit of a mad night tonight. In fact he's still having one now - I can hear him tearing from room to room like someone's stuck a chili pepper up his bottom. Here are some of the photos I've managed to take of him where he hasn't come out as a big black black and white blur.

This is the first warning that it's going to be a lo-o-o-o-ong night...

Boooiiing!

Oh oh... Billy has just spotted the central light pendant hanging from the ceiling. Bella tries to persuade him against trying to jump for it...

Taking a breather

Billy and Annabelle and the Sunday papers

Granted, Julie Burchill does write total bollocks in the papers sometimes, but this is not the way to deal with it.

The Big Billy and Annabelle post

Billy and Annabelle have been with us for a week now, and it's great to see how they're settling down to sharing a house with people. The cats natural curiosity and playfulness has brought them out of hiding and they'll now spend a good proportion of their day thundering around the house chasing each other from room to room, or playing with me when I bring out a favorite toy like the pole with a bit of fluff at the end or the blue mouse.

The house is, of course, a mess now, as the cats redecorate to get the space more to their own liking. Toys are strewn all over the floor, neat piles of papers are knocked over and books pulled out of bookshelves.

When it all gets too much for them they have a retreat in Linda's wardrobe. Here's Billy relaxing in his nest, producing the biggest purr you have ever heard.

The two of them still don't like being touched. Actually, that's not quite true. They like being touched but they haven't convinced themsleves of it yet. Occasionally they'll forget to shy away from a hand when they're distracted by a toy or a treat. They'll allow themselves to be stroked, start purring, push back with their back and raise their tail in the air, and then they'll suddenly think: 'Hang on a second, what am I doing?' and then run away again. It looks like Billy will be the first one to give in completely - I've seen him consider jumping up onto my lap a couple of times before thinking better of it, but that time will come.

A major moment of triumph was last night, when they started following me from room to room for the first time. Call me strange, but I was very happy to be reading my loo-book on the toilet last light, and look up to see two cats watching me intently.

Bella's favourite toy is my old Hot Wheels set. I put it up to see if she'd be interested in it - she seemed to be the one who responded the most to quick moving objects. And boy she loves it. She'll sit astride the track, jumping out of the way just in time, catch the cars and then propel them forwards with her paw again. She's even tried to persuade Billy to join in but he's less interested.

Bella's also started leaping up and down on top of us wheile we're in bed at night. I don't think she's worked out that the moving shapes under the bedclothes are actually Linda and I trying to make room for her to settle down in. But it's another encouraging sign that her shyness is going away.

Let's finish off with a few more photos. More reports soon...

Billy and Annabel - day two

As I write this, Billy and Annabelle are scampering around the house, taking turns to chase one another up and down the hallway.

We've had several major achievements since I last wrote. First and foremost - they both found the litter tray and used it while we were asleep last night. This is a great load off my mind - we were worried they might adopt a corner of the living room and use that, but no, all is well. They've also worked out that their food tray is in the kitchen, and that there is a lot more room under the sofa than there is under the shelf unit. They have of course ignored the bed and the blanket we prepared specially for them.

Annabelle is proving to be the more forward of the two. She's become quite taken with a blue mouse which she's been beating seven bells out of.

Billy emerges from his lair

Annabelle and her mouse

Two cats, one mouse. Who shall be the victor? There's only one way to find out...

Annabelle, safe behind her curtain.

Billy and Annabelle, day one

Here they are. They're very nervous at the moment - they'll take a while to adjust to their new surroundings and to learn to trust us - but for the moment they've taken up residence in the space underneath the shelves behind the TV set. Occasionally, when they think no-one is looking, they'll have an explore, but as soon as they hear anyone move, they're back underneath the sheving unit again. Above, you see Annabel, considering a trip to the unknown land beyond the DVD player.

And below, is Billy, in the same place, doing an excellent impression of The Cat Who Stares At Stuff.

Finally, here's Billy. He's working on the assumption that he can't be seen because his head is hidden.
More tomorrow, after the Millie posting.