The Matriarch

Or Cat back-Blip #1

Here it is, the first of the promised cat shots and what a way to start - this is Jasmine, now the senior Riley kitty (at a grand young age of 3), mother to other new Riley kitty Poppy and overseer of former cat-home neighbour and (in her eyes) general troublemaker Harry.

From the weekend I got to spend with her I have noticed that Jasmine is already starting to run the place, indoors at least, taking up the prime sleeping positions on Dad's chair in the dining room and stretched across the top of the sofa in front of the radiator in the lounge. She's also had a few rough-and-tumble fights with the other two and usually wins - she's a bulky little lass! Also Harry doesn't fight back, and Poppy doesn't want to fight her mum!

Her personality reminds me a lot of a younger Jaffa - she doesn't want a fuss unless she asks for it, or if she sees the others getting a fuss, she's quite content to be left snoozing in a chair all day (she had a look outside for the first time on Saturday, but stayed resolutely indoors). She does have a little explorer streak though (not as big as Harry's, but we'll get to that) and spent Sunday poking around the upstairs while I was watching a DVD in the spare bedroom - she found a new perch there as well - the top of the sofa bed!