I have a confession to make.8|

I stroke other peoples cats. Infact, I solicit other peoples cats.|-|

It started when my then-fiance and I moved in together. Both of us went from having 5 cats between us, to none (we rent, as so many in todays housing market are wont to do).
We are cat people. We would be blissfully happy if instead of cushions we merely had various cats stretched over our furniture. I have often professed my desire for a duvet made of live kittens... So, in our cat free climate we sought other avenues for our feline obsession to satisfy itself.

We tried stuffed cat cuddly toys. We tried cat ornaments. Cat mugs. Cat this and cat that... Then we discovered the 3 cats who seem to spend their lazy lives sat outside their house on the road down from ours. We started off just exchanging glances, the odd 'mew', maybe a purr was sent in our direction. Before we knew it we were deliberately taking that route to and from the city centre so that we could see the cats (a grey tabby, a ginger kitten and a big fluffy black and white 'mog'). On one occasion the old lady who lived next door to the cats was on the same bus as us, and introduced us to the cats by name.

Now, 3 years later, and now-husband and I are well acquainted with the kitties. We have even discovered Tiger (a big grumpy old cat just round the corner), Grubby Kitty (a squashed nose grey fluff ball) and Aloof Kitty (who imitates a garden ornament at the bottom of the road). On rare sundays we see Church Kitty, lazing in the grounds of the welsh language church next door...

There is a downside to kitty spotting.:no:

If you have an eye for kitties, you have an eye for all kitties- not just the happy and healthy. We're the people who take the time to ring all the doorbells in the road where we find a run over kitty. We're the people who can't say no to taking in a vulnerable kitty (that's how Thomas entered my family home- rescued by our other house guest after she saw him being abused). In severe cases of pmt, we're the ones crying at the Moby video where the kitty has no home to go to and climbs a tree in despair...:crazy:

So, next time you see your cat having a chin stroke from a stranger, it's probably just a cat-less house-renter yearning for the final addition to any true home- 'miaow'.