About those cats...

Our family cats are Sherlock and Watson. I am not sure if they are better at solving mysteries or creating them, but everyone wants to know more about this pair.

Unlike Conan Doyle's tall, slim, energetic super-sleuth and his more phlegmatic companion, our Sherlock is the friendly, cuddly, slightly pudgy cat and Watson is the tall, slim, hyperactive member of the team.

Sherlock's photo leads this blog. He is the elder of the pair, a shelter rescue cat with an interesting condition: radial hypoplasia. This means he has foreshortened front legs and extra toes (a form of polydactyly sometimes called "hamburger feet"). In his case, his front legs are two different lengths, to boot.

But do not be fooled: Sherlock is also the more frequent instigator of play. We cannot make a bed without his "help," and even though he is now about 10 years old (when he should be settling into sedate middle age) he still pounces on pens, attacks “bed moles" (aka human toes that move) and goes nuts for a laser pointer. Even though he is much smaller than Watson now that they are both full-grown, Sherlock usually is the one who starts most of the wrestling matches and other cat drama in the house.

In the photo, he was "helping" me edit the proofs of my first book, Montana Horse Racing: A History. Thank you, Sherlock. I think... (I overlooked some mistakes. That's probably my fault, and certainly my responsibility, but was I distracted? Hmmm...)

The Siamese-colored kitten pictured at my contact form is Watson when he was about six months old, and it still sums up his personality: curious, playful, clever, and creator of chaos. Nothing misses his attention, though for the same reason he wins the household award for “cat most likely to be accidentally locked into a closet.”

Though I've had cats since childhood, Watson is the first cat I've ever had with Siamese point coloring. It's interesting, because he was from a large litter of kittens born to a black and white "tuxedo cat" mama, and he was the only one this color. But he looks totally like a Siamese, right down to the blue eyes and the little kink at the end of his tail that is characteristic of the traditional breed now called a "Thai Cat". I had not realized that Siamese colored cats are born almost pure white and gradually darken as they grow. It was fun to see him keep changing color as he got older. Today he is mostly seal brown with tan points rather than tan with seal brown points.

The one way Watson does not display all typical Siamese traits is that he has a sweet, almost plaintive meow, not the notorious yowl. Nonetheless, he is quite capable of vocalizing his needs. Dinner is to be served promptly, thank you!

The two cats often sit side by side, and even cuddle up together. When they aren't calm and cuddly, it can sound like the first race at Aqueduct as they race about the house, tackling each other and wrestling. Fortunately, Sherlock and Watson's playful duels do not end in mutual destruction as in this surprisingly macabre children’s poem about stuffed animals sitting side by side and then getting into a spat! However, one day when Sherlock chased Watson, they did upend a cup of coffee onto my radio clock alarm and shorted it out, so it's not like they completely avoid creating chaos...and do you notice the "cats and caffeine" theme that keeps popping up on this website?

Finally, one more picture of Sherlock and Watson, side by side by the fireplace...for a few seconds until they realized I was taking their photo!