The Little Ones in 2001: Gallery #1

As 2000 drew to a close, Templeton was our only cat. All that would change in May of 2001 when we adopted a little black-and-white kitten who worshipped his every move.

2000 (Which Is Almost 2001)

Ball of Templeton Up to this point, all of my pictures of Templeton were on film. My wife surprised me with my first digital camera, the Canon D30, in Christmas of 2000 and of course Templeton was an early and favorite subject. As evidence of how quickly I fell in love with digital cameras, I took many pictures of Templeton over the next seven years but not a single one was on film. I only had a small memory card in those early days before I was able to buy a 1 GB microdrive (back then that was an amazing amount of storage) and was shooting in JPEG format instead of RAW to save space. Which is unfortunate as a RAW image would have let me recover the blown highlights in his white fur. Regardless, I'm thankful to have this picture of Templeton in one of his many sleeping positions. The Ball of Templeton was one of my favorites, especially when he covered up his face with one of his paws, which he's close-but-not-quite doing here.

2001

Tidy One of my favorite pictures of Scout, taken with a diffuser over the flash to soften and diffuse the light. She had been with us for a few months at this point and was still growing fast. Her pose is typical of Scout's sleeping position — neat and tidy and composed. A stark contrast to Templeton, who often slept completely relaxed and spread out, legs all akimbo.

Legends were written. Tales were told.

"My name is Templeton, cat of cats: Look on my paws, ye mighty, and despair!"

Even at home, he wasn't too crazy about strangers, particularly children. With my wife and I, though, Templeton was gentle and affectionate and loved nothing more than to curl up in your lap and purr to beat the band. Even so, we weren't quite sure what he'd make of Scout when we first brought her home in May of 2001, as he had been the only cat for much of his life.

We needn't have worried.

He didn't like to cuddle up with Scout, but he did play with her, he groomed her, and he just flat out put up with her when she had lots of kitten energy but not lots of kitten sense. This isn't the greatest picture but it illustrates how good he was with her. She had been with us less than two months at this point, and would sometimes spring onto his back like she was a rodeo rider, and then start biting on his head. At this stage, he'd let her get away with it and let her work out her energy. Eventually he started giving her a gentle little wap to the head when she played too rough, training her on how to get along with others, and she came around and stopped the head biting and learned to play nice.

He never lost his love for play even to the very end of his life. He lost some muscle mass in his last year or so and certainly couldn't jump as high as he used to, but he and Scout would still chase each other around the back yard during their supervised outdoor time, and even at fifteen years old he was so fast that he could easily keep up with Scout.

We should all age so well. We should all live so well.

My wife and I married a few years later and I got to see Templeton every day. At first he still thought of me as the one to play with and my wife the one to snuggle with. But as the months progressed, he started curling up with me as well. I eventually put a pillow on my desk so he could sleep beside me, but sometimes the quilts on the window seat were just as inviting.

Templeton didn't open up so completely to just anyone, so I was thankful for times like these when he chose to be near me. To fully appreciate the picture, you'll have to purr happily to yourself. He had a lovely loud purr and wasn't shy about using it when he was with those he loved.

Climb Every Mountain Scout in May of 2001, her first month with us. I had a hard time photographing her at this age since she didn't want to leave my lap when we were playing, but the scratching post gave me a good opportunity. I'd put a little furry mouse on the top and she'd come flying across the room and jump to the top to grab it. On this occasion she knocked the mouse off with her flying attack so it's not in the picture.

Older Pictures

	Scout the Prairie Dog While Templeton didn't like to be covered with a blanket, Scout as a kitten reminded me of a prairie dog the way that she'd tunnel under the covers when you were asleep and start playing with your feet. She outgrew it, but as a kitten it gave her great amusement in the wee hours of the morning. Here, she was sleeping under a flannel blanket in the window seat at our old house until someone came up and started taking pictures.
	A Well Deserved Rest? After the above picture was taken, Scout continued her nap, but I didn't leave her alone and kept taking pictures. Lest you feel too much sympathy for her, know that at this point she was still waking me up to pet her at 2 or 3 in the morning. This would repeat hourly until I got up. She started sleeping under my neck from the day we brought her home up until she was too big to fit there, then she moved to my chest and has slept there ever since.
	Bath Time The biggest risk in bringing Scout home was how Templeton would adapt to having another cat in the house. At first he wasn't quite sure what to make of the spastic little kitten who idolized him and wouldn't give him a moments peace. As Scout got a little older and got better at reading his moods, he'd even let her curl up beside him. This often led to her getting a bath from Templeton.

	... well, sometimes Scout was in the mood for playful roughhousing that was a little (or a lot) more than Templeton was really in the mood for. I can't imagine why he wouldn't want Scout chomping on his head. He is remarkably patient with her though, especially when she was younger and didn't know better.
	When you're both much smaller than your average cat and far too clever for your own good, you can get yourself into lots of interesting places. Like say the tops of doors.
	Tangled up in blue. Scout cuddling up with Templeton and sprawling over his outstetched legs.
	Even sleeping in your favorite chair, hidden underneath the table, there is no escape from the affections of Scout.
	How is it that cats intrinsically know the safest place to sleep? Such as the top of the stairs. In the dark.
	Scout comes to the manger to pay her respects.
	"I'm not going to jump in the tree. I'm not going to jump in the tree. I'm not going to jump ... in ... the ..... aaaaahhhh can't resist wheeeeeee ..."
	Templeton puts his arm around Scout to share an intimate moment. Actually he was leaning over to give her a little whap on the head for interrupting his nap.

One of my earliest pictures of Scout. She was staring across the room at Templeton, trying to figure out exactly what to make of him. He had similar thoughts.

Scout as a young kitten discovering the joy of sunbeams.

I was working outside when I noticed Templeton looking wistfully outside. It was easy to notice since he was loudly meowing to get my attention. I liked the way the screen door made him look imprisoned.

Scout had been with us for a few weeks when I took this picture of Templeton. I think he was still trying to figure out exactly what had happened to his world.

Another of my favorites, she's lying on our bed with the lighting provided by window light on an overcast day.