Lenny

(Clicking on the photos enlarges them . . . usually)

Lenny with his 'Arctic fox' brother, Solomon

Lenny, sometimes unkindly referred to as ‘Lenny the Lard’, is a very pretty and quite well-covered Somali. He is the bolder of Susannah’s two Somalis and is very vocal and extremely greedy. He is an extremely companionable cat and enjoys having conversations, treating his Servants almost as equals. He couches his demands, which are many, in gentle pleading tones.

Lenny loves his forays into the garden, so long as it’s not too wet, and is perfectly adept at letting himself in and out through the cat flap. However, if one of the Servants is nearby, Lenny will ask repeatedly for help, knowing that eventually the Servant will give in for some peace, and do his bidding. He is not a gifted hunter, preferring to capture dragonflies and butterflies. He eats butterflies!

He is always to be found in the kitchen if food is being prepared and likes to help by parading along the worktop, waving his plumy tail and commenting on the Servant’s progress. In addition to his usual rations, he likes dog biscuits and vitamin supplements, avocado, butter, cheese, eggs, risotto, pasta, porridge – in fact, most things. When he is particularly hungry, which is not often, given his penchant for feeding at every opportunity, he runs in front of the Servants, weaving back and forth, attempting to trip them up. The other day he danced in front of the Janice Servant and then the Small Servant Frankie, causing them to stumble. He was quick to remove himself from possible harm and the Servants managed to retain their footing whereupon Lenny resumed his pleas.

In common with the other cats, Lenny dislikes solid objects blocking free access and jumps up to open doors. For no apparent reason, though I suppose it is where tasty food is often to be found conveniently placed on plates, all the cats like the dining room. Lenny is no exception. He cannot seem to let himself out of the dining room, though, even when the door is ajar, or perhaps he wants some human assistance. Whatever the reason, leaving the warmth and comfort of bed to release him from the dining room at 2.30 a.m. is not conducive to good relations and so the Janice Servant prevailed upon the Barry Servant to remove the door handles and replace them upside down. ‘That’ll settle your hash,’ she remarked grimly. Lenny just miaoued.

A lap is a comfortable place to relax but first has to be kneaded vigorously, likewise heads at bedtime. The dogs are not keen on being kneaded and Lenny has learnt to desist. ‘Laid-back Lenny’ does his utmost to remain on good terms with everyone, though he is afraid of Zula, Susannah’s tiny Abyssinian. Doubtless he will overcome his fear in time. No matter what he does, the human response is always the same – ‘He’s very sweet’ – and he really is.