In the house we have nearly unlimited possibilities for playing. There are scratching trees on each floor and in each room (except bedrooms and bathroom). And this is what a normal day for us looks like:

Early in the morning at 5.00 o'clock Farouche and I (Faramir) lurk at the bedroom door and listen if anything happens or anybody moves. When we hear the slightest noise, we organize a small cat concert.

Comment from Farouche:
For us the bedroom is a taboo zone, which we do not understand at all. We hate locked doors, if our owners are behind them. You can easily imagine that. It is our territory and we only tolerate our co-inhabitants here.

Comment from Faramir:
Right! After all we are the bosses.

Usually our male owner comes out first and then we three go into the kitchen. It goes without saying that we first attack the scratching tree. Having arrived in the kitchen first he makes the coffee for his wife and only then he fills our cups with wet fodder. During this everyday procedure, we are lying around the floor or work on the legs of the can-opener Detlef. Afterwards, the cups are brought to the fodder bar. I always get my feeding bowl first and then Farouche, and there's no other way! Because I am the "leader of the gang".

Comment from the owners:
So what - Farouche gets a little bit more to eat.

Comment from Faramir:
How unfair! Hue and cry!

While we eat our bowls empty and the coffee runs through, Detlef took the newspaper and goes to the toilet. In the meantime Babs gets up and I follow her up to the bathroom. Farouche, however, waits for Detlef to go with him (and the newspaper and coffee) into the bathroom. Here we spend some quality time, until we are done with our morning toilet. Sometimes we are all in a real good mood and have a ball. We are chasing cotton buds which seem to fall from the sky or attack the bath rug with all our paws. There are also quiet days when I am lying under the radiator on a part of the newspaper left to me.

Comment from Farouche:
I discovered this place first and so I could enjoy it alone for some months. Until the thick one came and took his place behind me on the newspaper. And I give in. But my lovely co-inhabitants bought me a new bath rug and now I have my place on it.

We doze and enjoy the harmony till there is no living soul in the bathroom. Then we also leave or have ourselves thrown out in a very friendly manner. After that the bathroom is taboo for us, this considered also the heating room and the Waschkeller. But sometimes I find a gap for myself while somebody walks into the room. Then I am very smart and rush in to outwit my lovely owners. Farouche is quite different; he usually accepts the limits set for him.

Meanwhile Babs is already away, while Detlef still cleans our cat toilet and retrieves his emails. Then he also leaves us and we may be running and jumping through the house, in order to hang around one of our favourite places (we have many of these) and take a rest. Often we sit by the window or by the terrace door for a little time to see what's going on.

In the late afternoon we wait for Detlef to come back to welcome him at the front door or at the window. Mostly, he is the first one to come back home. We give him a warm welcome and sniff at him and everything brings home. First of all we let and and everything's fine – at least for me. Farouche enjoys the stroking for a longer time. We mostly accompany the "first arriver" on his way through the house. And then it's time for another break.

While Detlef is lying on the couch and watching TV, I jump on his stomach and makes myself at home. I know that I can sometimes have a tidbit - Kitty caviar. This is what I learned from Detlef. I am quite clever when it comes to getting a tidbit. So I visit him quite often in the evening but there's not always tidbits. It is also quite nice to lie on his stomach since it is so beautifully warm.

Later Babs come back home and this is the time for me. I run around her and show all my charm and get spoiled by her.

But at some point we are tired again and have a nap.

As time moves on/When the hours get late, the mistress and the master want to go to bed. You should see Farouche. He gets very active suddenly, runs after them and wants to be cuddled all the time. He will immediately receive some cuddling from Detlef and Babs. In the bathroom we may be staying for a little while and later the bedroom door is closed behind our co-inhabitants.

You are already familiar with the procedure in the early morning. Only at the weekend or when both are on vacation, naturally some runs differently. Than I allowed to go in the bedroom, in order to wakeup  Babs from their Sleeping Beauty slumber. Because even the whole racket, which I organized before, does not waked up the sleepyhead from their bunk.


Supplement of 02/20/07:

Finally we succeeded to conquer the bedroom. At Christmas we were allowed to enter the bedroom for the first time - however after two hours we were thrown out. Okay – we did not show our best hehavior and turned the bedroom into a mess. But the following time we were good cats and now we are allowed to stay in the bedroom each day.

Farouche however usually leaves the bedroom in the night (the door is left open a little) and prefers to go to his favourite places in the house to stay there overnight.
Actually, there would be sufficient opportunities for staying overnight in the bedroom but in some way Farouche is different. I (Faramir), however, am very grateful, that I may be in the bedroom and stay in my small sleeping cave (click "Pictures 2007") until the morning.

However, if my inner clock tells me that the lady and the gentleman must get up or the alarm clock rings or my two owners begin to roll themselves in their beds, I leave my cave, yawn and do some proper stretching. Afterwards, I crawl through the middle of the bed up to Detlef and lick him awake. But he is not always very amused about that. Most of the time I can't reach Babs because she covers herself with the blanket and that's quite unfair!

Being a real "sunny boy" l let them stroke me, purr and give them some warm looks. This way I create a good atmosphere and enjoy their attention and some time of stroking.

Meanwhile Farouche has also trotted in to see what's going on. Now we are all four reunited and the usual morning ritual begins.

Supplement of 06/12/07:

Because of good behaviour we are now allowed to "furlough", which we always enjoy extensively. However, this is only granted under supervision and severe restrictions. How unreasonable our owners can be! They set to limits as far as the area in which we can move freely is concerned. You must understand that we have become quite brave in the meantime and would like expand the area in which we are allowed to move. Now and then we find a "gap in the system" and we can escape but the flight is always immediately noticed and prevented. The consequence is that the discovered gaps in the system are immediately closed. Completely nasty, isn´t it?

Oh, I have a nice story:
One day the terrace door was open again and the on-duty supervisor (Detlef) was distracted for one moment so I broke the flying lattice door. Without we (Farouche always lets me do the dirty work – prying the lattice door open) we quickly escaped into freedom.
While I went to the right side and smelled at the chest, Farouche walked to the left side. He strolled along the wall to our neighbours' terrace and enjoyed the fragrance of the herb pots without noticing a stray cat which was resting on our neighbours' terrace. And as he strolling along there, the stray cat noticed him and arched her back. When he was less than 1 metre away from her, he noticed the stray cat. Until that moment I had been totally unaware of the situation. Then I heard Farouche growling and the other cat hissing, and then I became aware of the situation. I immediately ran to my little brother to help him. I positioned myself beside my brother and started growling with him at this stray cat, while she was constantly hissing at us. In a ducked position we were ready for whatever might have happened. As the intruder did not have any right to enter our territory I attacked her without any futher ado. With my whole weight I knocked her over. Now my loyal brother also joined the fight and we were a single fur ball for a short time. As if stung by a tarantula, the stray cat jumped out of this ball and ran faster than any other cat I had ever seen before. She nearly ran down our owner as he tried to separate us. But everything went much too fast for him anyway. In a blink of an eye everything was over.
While Detlef drove us back into the house, we were still pumping adrenaline. Farouche was constantly growling at me although Detlef stroked him and tried to calm him down. I have never seen Farouche like that. In the house we walked around very proudly side by side with swollen chests for several hours. And since then we have been inseparable. It's true – we have been welded together by this adventure we both shared.