I can not believe it was really a whole twelve months ago that they were born. Until we had our own kittens, I was always cautious of cats. I liked them a lot, but if they were within my 50cm comfort region, I’d tend to feel uncomfortable. I have known a few temperamental cats in my time, who like to be stroked, seem OK, and then without warning scratch and bite hard. Part of the problem, I suppose, is that when the cats in question were not mine, I did not feel comfortable shouting at them if they behaved very badly. If our kittens start climbing the curtains, bite too hard or are trying to steal food from a kitchen surface, I feel ok to tell them off. Anyway, for whatever reason, I am now happy and totally relaxed around most cats (Siamese still require care), and will miss ours when I go to Britain in 3 weeks.