Albert, apart from his first three weeks as an unweaned feral kitten, has for all his eleven years lived the life of a pampered pet, knowing that a nutritionally balanced meal will be put on his plate at regular intervals. He has never needed to defend his food from other cats and has tended to eat smallish quantities and return to the plate whenever he feels peckish. For eight years he shared these expectations and customs with Cally, the only gently born cat of my life (i.e. a cat of known, though not pedigree, parentage, born in a house and a pet from birth) who raised him as an aunt or godmother might a much loved nephew or godson.
Now he is sharing his home with two cats who have in their time known the life of a stray, and, despite the fact it is now a good few years since Sid had the good sense to land herself on Liz's doorstep, both have a tendency to eat their fill very fast and to finish up anything Albert has saved for a bon bouche later. Moreover, much to Albert's astonishment, they eat up table scaps - a practice he had previously believed was confined to those lesser creatures the dogs! Cato has filled out considerably in the two months he has been with us - and look at the shine on his coat!
Here they all are eating their dinner together, although Sid likes to keep her distance from the boys.
