Lilli-Puss the Grey
Lilli-Puss the Grey Cat
Lilli-Puss, my young grey girlie cat, has always been cheekily called 'The Apprentice'. She lives upstairs with Jerome the Grey (at seventeen the oldest, slowest, living Moosey cat). So 'The Apprentice' needs no further explanation - oops!
A Wild Kitten - Littlest Puss
Lilli started Moosey life as a wild foster kitten, and I called her 'Littlest Puss'. She was always timid - the last to 'come out' from underneath the green chair, or peep down the stairs, or venture outside into the garden.
Even now she has to avoid the attentions of my two benign bully-cats, Fluff-Fluff the Fierce and Tiger the Terrible. Escape by running, of course, just gives them a bigger thrill! So Lilli has wisely become an upstairs cat. She exits via the balcony and the roof, and sleeps on the bed. The big cats rarely bother to climb the stairs, and so Lilli can lead a sheltered and relaxed life.
Lilli-Puss the Grey with sister Histeria
Lilli is super-affectionate in her upstairs sanctuary. She makes a musical chirping sound, smooches and flops her furry body over human visitors. She loves her shoulders being rubbed - that refined purr soon becomes a loud rattle!
On Guard!
Lilli-Puss in the Garden!
In the garden she's always on guard in case Fluff-Fluff or Tiger should appear. If only Lilli didn't think of herself as a victim, if only she'd stand her ground... Ah - the complicated interpersonal dynamics of having a number of cats (actually eight) in the house and garden...
Sneaky Meals...
If you feel sorry for Lilli-Puss getting picked on, please don't! I over-compensate by sneaking her up lots of the freshest cat-meat for meals. I also put up with her flopping furry body over my neck in the middle of a hot summer night. Aargh!
So when Jerome's long cat-life comes to an end, as it must, Lilli-Puss is already installed to take over. My upstairs cat, the next grey ghost cat, the Apprentice. Love you, Lilli-Puss!
Some Years Later...
Alas, Lilli's status as a much-loved house cat did change. She decided she didn't like the house, and first moved herself out into the Stables. Then when big Fluff-Fluff (the cat causing the problem) started sneaking around here, I moved her out to the hay barn and set up a comfy cat lounge with armchairs, etc.
Lilli started to go AWOL for a few days at a time, nothing too serious. She'd always return happy, healthy - and rather well-fed. But her last disappearance (in June 2015) dragged on and on. I sensed that she was gone for good, and I just hoped she'd moved in with someone nice. Someone who didn't have a big fluffy bully cat like Fluff-Fluff!