Cats

Well, first of all, I need to put something into the right light: their names, both are just handy everyday abbreviations. Anyone who wondered: well, Koko´s full name is Kao K´o Kung - who was a Chinese artist in the 13th century, Les´ full name is Alan Lesley Barton - most people who know me should remember Smokie´s frontman from 1986-1995. Why did I choose just those two names ? Well... I just like the name Lesley, whereas Koko is also one of the three main characters in a series of crime books written by Lilian Jackson Braun, "The Cat who..." series consist of 27 books by now (that I have read 3-4 times in the last 3 years) and features a semi-retired journalist with two Siamese cats - Koko and Yum yum - as the crime-solving trio. Anybody interested in more info, just contact me...

Kao K´o Kung - born May 14^th 2004	Alan Lesley Barton - born August 14^th 2004

I got them in early March 2005 and it looks like they really like it here...
Lesley enjoying the heater...	... and my body heat...
Lesley is definitely the lovable one - purring all the time, letting me pet and brush him and walk him on a leash - where Koko still is afraid. I suppose he had some terrible experience with humans before I got him - so far he won´t even let me stroke him. But he is gaining trust in me day after day, so hopefully soon I will present a photo with Koko in my arms... Right: Lesley in their new toy: a 1,5M long tunnel - where they chase each other and even sleep inside !	*"Hey where is Koko ???"*
Enjoying the sun on my big sofa (so anybody who wants to stay overnight on my birthday will have to ask their permission to use it...) Right: Lesley teasing Koko on the big scatching post
The big laugh was Lesley one evening when exploring my living room: He thoroughly inspected my small japanese lamp - and I could not help but laugh - looking down into the light he reminded me just too much of John in Wolfsburg !

OMMMMMMMMMMH !!!!

Lesley on my hot-water-bottle	The two guys on the partition of my living-room
They can look so peaceful...	If they want to enjoy the sun it does not matter whether is is on a narrow and hard underground...
Now who is who...	Lesley wanted to play Carrom with us
They love to look out the windows and watch the birds	A similar picture than I took in March - you can see how big Lesley has become
"I´m a garbage cat..."	One of the rare moments when I catch one of them alone for a photo: Koko
When it is cold they also enjoy the heaters	Two reasons why I can´t play as much guitar as I would like to...
	Lesley in my bookshelf - not only does he often recommend certain books by knocking them down - he also is the perfect duster
Isn´t he just too cute having squeezed himself into that opening ?
	Winter showed them some new wonders to explore: real snow...
Koko trying to catch the mouse pointer	One of the most beautiful pictures of Koko
His tongue must be too long...	A happy family
The next wonder they saw in winter was of course my huge christmas tree with all those colorful and reflecting glass decorations. Of course I was wondering what they would do with all those christmas baubles, so I put only a few onto the lowest branches. As I thought curious Koko went to inspect them...

But nothing more - in all those 2 weeks not even one of them was broken ! Maybe also due to the fact that on New Years Eve my mom remembered that she had bought a package of red plastic apples - which I immediately put onto the lowest branches, saying "And if they knock those down it won´t matter..." I should have known that they understood what I had said - within an hour Koko had retrieved the first and it became one of their favorite pastimes to pilfer them again and again... Needless to say that when I brought all christmas decoration down into the cellar, the apples stayed as their favorite toys for some time - kicking them around like footballs

Two cats-in-a-box	Even that small hole is enough for both of them to take a sleepy look at the outside
	Lesley loves to sit on my radio in the kitchen - sometimes actually turning it on when he settles down ! Imagine the shock when you suddenly hear voices in your kitchen at 5 in the morning...
Ever tried to restring and polish a guitar with two nosy cats around ? Koko really liked the polish - almost licking it off again

Finally no more fear in those eyes: When I got Koko he was such a fearful cat - he surely must have had some very bad experieces with humans in his first 10 months. He wouldn´t even let me touch him in the beginning and the first days he only had a fear in his eyes that made you cry. It took me 7 months to at least be able to touch him for a second without him running away in fear - and another few months until he finally understood that he had no reason to fear me - as you can see on that photo on the right. It was an act of patience and love but the reward is the love of a cat, so deep and trueful that it makes your heart jump with joy. Whatever he had to endure before, he has learned what love and fondling is about and he seems to catch up on all that he missed in his childhood - he now is the more cuddly one of them !

Hmmm, nice guitar...	Koko the vegetarian
Sometimes you just cannot do the laundry...	The time when I started to allow them to go out on the balcony...
Lesley enjoying the sun...	... and the balcony
Two happy cats	Looking as innocent as can be...
Koko enjoying his new house