The Pye 'N' The Skye

I had returned to the maternal nest to lick my wounds and begin the process of healing. Mum had a cat; an ancient, feeble calico called Tabby. She had grown stout as many spayed female cats do, and she was so stove up from arthritis that she couldn’t groom her back.

Poor old Tabby!!! All the fur on her back was in permanent feltings; that irritated her to no end, she would go into something akin to a grand mal seizure when you tried to pet her or pick her up. Matt and I both begged Mum to give Tabby mercy, and not let her go on suffering like she was.

Finally, in late spring of 2004, Mum agreed and she and I took Tabby to the vet. All of us grieved for the loss of a cat-panion, pathetic as tabby had become she had been a cat, with her share of feline quirks, and her own irascible personality.

For one empty summer the house was catless, and Mum and I were lost without a furry companion, no purring pal to stroke and spoil.


Matt and his roommate told us of a cat with kittens in their apartment complex, with only 2 kittens unclaimed. His roommate described them as a white one and a dirty white one. Mum agreed to take both of them when they were old enough to go on their own




They arrive at last on an autumn evening with a squirming tote bag. When the bag was sat on the floor, a kitten with the beginnings of a chocolate mask on his face jumped out and pounced Mum with mischievous intent. Then as Mum crowed with delight over the ‘bad-egg kitty’, a shy white face with enormous blue eyes peeped out of the bag.The white kitten looked at me and when our eyes met, she was utterly and irrevocably mine. I scooped her up and snuggled her close, she purred in joy and began kneading on my shoulder with delicate paws.




So, Mum had her baby and I had mine. Mum had already decided that she would name her kitten Pyewackett, Pye for short. He ended up with a name longer than his tail, ‘Pyewackett P’Wacko Sneaky-Pants’!!



..I had preferred to wait for a name suiting my kitty perfectly, with her cirrus cloud-like coat, and her pale blue eyes she looked like a winter sky. So I chose to name her ‘Sweet Lady Snowspryte Skye’ and call her Skye for short.

"Mine, mine!! All Mine!!!





Anyone who has ever had the privilege of watching kittens grow know what a delight they can be, both awake and asleep.

Everything is a toy to kittens, especially one another. As they were freshly weaned when we got them, they still sought the safety of snuggling close to Momma, since Mum worked nights I became Momma. After Mum left for work the three of us would climb into my bed, and snuggle ourselves into sleep.









At Christmas Matt and his roommatewent their separate ways and Matt moved in with Mum and I. Pye immediately decided he was Matt's cat. Truth be told, they're two of a kind!!


While Pye and Skye were growing, Mum got a mate for her lady cockatiel, Betelgeuse. After two tries, she approved of the male we brought home. Matt and I dubbed him ‘Mr. Twee-Deedles’. Mr. And Mrs. Twee-Deedles set about laying a clutch of eggs. In the summer of 2005, they successfully hatched and reared 1 chick. He earned the name Cosmo (from ‘Seinfeld’), and Mr. Twee-Deedles got a first name. So Mum now had Betelgeuse and Bosco Twee-Deedles, and their child Cosmo.
Cosmo learned to talk quickly, here he is telling Pye, "Don't touch the birdies!"

Pye’s markings grew apace with his taste for mischief, and it was common to hear Matt shout “OWWW!!” and groan a breath later, “Pye!!! That hurt!!” The feline in question would come sauntering out of Matt’s room, kinked tail aloft in satisfaction.

Both kittens displayed their Himalayan and Siamese forbears in their own unique ways. Pye grew into a remarkably handsome Himalayan cross, with classic markings and hybrid vigour. He waxed fearless & bloodthirsty, every inch a cat guarding a Holy Temple in Siam.
Skye is slender and lithe as can be, and she can be as icily aloof as any pedigreed Siamese, and twice as loyal. She remains dainty, half the size of Pye, and prefers to have me all to herself. She has finally warmed to Matt and Mum, but still seeks my comfort at bedtime.

They will be two years old at the end of June, and are definitely a part of the family, having won all of our hearts, and those of any visitors we may have. Mum doesn’t regret her choice. I never need to ask that, when I hear Mum’s delighted shout from the other end of the house, and see Pye racing pell-mell for Matt’s room, I know that Mum adores the kitties. And they are devoted to her

Every night that she works they greet her at the door when she returns, and visit with her until she falls asleep. Often, Matt or I will wake later and find Mum and both the kitties, sleeping in three curled balls on Mum’s bed.

So for anyone that worried I would still be without a cat-panion, worry not, I have my ‘Sweet Baby Girl’ that I spoil and groom, and give my tenderest heart to. I do battle with ‘Pye-Guy’ and his sapphire blue eyes are gleaming with delight when I break out the oven mitts.

That has become a favourite game of his, playing slap-and-claw with a human wearing oven mitts on their hands for safety. Pye will park on the counter, sitting on his kitty haunches and slap away at the oven mitts, eyes glowing red and teeth exposed.


I am able to tell which cat is which with a blindfold on. Although they are both long-coated, and they both have a trademark Siamese kink in their tails, that is as far as it goes.Skye has overlong outer hair, falling silkily from a part down the centre of her back. She looks and feels cool as a snowflake. Pye is all undercoat, thick, impenetrable and downy. He looks and feels warm as a sunny harvest afternoon.