Meet our new babies!

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved animals small and big, who wanted nothing more than be a vet when she grew up. She fed snails to fledgling birds, copied birdsong and loved the visits to a friend who had all kinds of animals and another friend who lived on her hometown's last farm. She campaigned for a calf not to be slaughtered, cried when birds ate her mini turtles, and her pet caterpillars died of unknown reasons. She went to walk a poodle everyone hated because he'd bite people left right and centre and would run off like an utter nutter to chase rabbits. He never bit her. This girl also loved her only pet, a budgie who would sit on her specs while she was doing her homework, and occasionally would literally gnaw away at the jotters.

This little girl had a dream to have a cat. And a horse, but she wasn't daft and knew that a horse doesn't quite fit into an 80m2 flat. She dreamed of living on a farm in the country so she could have all the animals she wanted. She truly believed that the kitten her auntie "gave" her (which stayed with the auntie for keeps) was hers. Even when auntie totally couldn't remember what she was talking about.

When this little girl became a mummy to another 2 little girls, who did nothing but play with the kittens on the farm they stayed on for their holiday, and when these little girls wanted nothing more than a kitten in their own home, she remembered how much she once also would have loved to have a cat.

So enquiries were made and 10 days ago, brother and sister kittens arrived:

This is Gingy. I have no idea where the name came from and it wiznae me.

This is them sleeping on top of one of my numerous stuff corners, the most untidy places in our house and it doesn't help really if kittens decide to sleep on it...

And our little baby girl, Smokey. I do have to take responsibility for that name but I didn't mean it. Really. I just called her that once and the kids thought it was a good idea and now it's too late...

They are our babies. Snowflake does Row your Boat with them, Cubling carries them everywhere and even cleans the litter tray (long may it last). They snuggle up with mummy and daddy at night time and are clearly happy that we don't constantly carry them. It is also rather surprising how much they are like human babies, just with the difference that their reach of havoc creating is not limited to a certain height. Yucca plants have become scratch poles, and somehow they manage to take the upholstery off the sofa, which is quite a feat.

On the minus side I have to admit that my cat allergy is worse than expected. I knew I was somewhat allergic, but having slept in houses with cats, I thought it would be ok. Unfortuately though they give me, amongst other things that are more easily managed, asthma. So I can't wait until they are ready to become outdoor cats, as much as I like the evening snuggles. Any tips on how to manage pet allergies - fire away..

One childhood dream come true. Kids are great, they give the best pretexts for doing what you'd always wanted but were never allowed to.