I am Gianti and I am Patchli. We are twins: long-haired, short-haired; black, white; introvert, extrovert; we are identical as opposites! We are well on our way to celebrating our 17th birthday.

We came into this world as the children of a feral bio-mom and somewhat neglected and intact neighbouring dad. Our mom was so weak she could only cope with her strongest babies, so we were abandoned at birth, three of us. Our beloved sister did her heavenly walk very early in life, leaving our human Mommy heart-broken. However, she persevered with us, bottle-feeding us from birth, introducing us to solids, teaching us to use the sand-box, and even how to groom ourselves. Both of us had seizures – Gianti was nearly lost to a major seizure as a kitten when she choked on her milk, but has grown out of them, while Patchli still has an occasional episode.

In comparison to all our siblings past and present, we have had rather uneventful lives. Our vet calls have been routine visits mainly, other than for Gianti to be patched up when bullied by neighbours, and, of course, the time when Patchli almost went bald – the stress from shear terror after a burglary led to over-grooming and we had a rather odd-looking cat for a while!

We used to play a mean game of ‘tag’, never quite sure who was ‘it’. Any item which could be an obstacle on the floor made a wonderful prop for this game, and the best (and only!) video produced involved a rolled-up carpet and bag of potatoes.

When younger, we had some of our own routine – where to play, sleep, etc. We also had a very caring older cat member who ruled with an iron paw. He decided a lot about what we did when. His most marked legacy was that night-times were not negotiable. We slept with Mommy. Period. And he even allocated our places to us. Our adjustment after his passing was difficult, as the next-in-line (who Mommy thinks is/was our bio-grandpa due to her not having sufficient funds for a particular little operation soon enough, and knowing he sired our father…) was more relaxed in his leadership, and we got to experiment with new places for our nightly kip, as you will see.

As old ladies going into our twilight years, we are more than entitled to be set in our ways. We are rigid about our cuisine of choice. There are major problems when these items are not available in the stores. For love or money (and some other unmentionable antics), when our mother has been unable to find aforementioned products anywhere, she has become a contender for the Guiness Record Book’s most number of open cans of cat food in a domestic refrigerator. She has even tried cooking for us – and if you have ever experienced her cooking you will understand that there has to be a limit to how much a kitty will put up with. Hunger strike it is!

Oh yes, the sleeping arrangements: At night Gianti sleeps on the bed with Mommy, usually on Mommy. Nowhere else. Patchli sleeps in the lounge on a chair, inside carefully arranged cushions, surrounded by her two favourite toys. Nowhere else. And don’t let either toy fall on the ground!