Guilt...

It's not a pretty emotion.

Even less so when someone (and I won't mention any names here, but it's my daughter Stephanie) tries to take you along on her guilt trip.

If you saw the previous post about that big ol' fur-ball Alfie, our grandcat, you may have noticed it was photographed with reasonable lighting so you could see his winter fur.  And, that impish face.

Steph and Dan have two other cats, both females.  Joan and I don't play favorites - we lavish plenty of attention on all three when we are there.  Torrie is the eldest, at 17.  She is special because she is the first furry family member for Steph and Dan, and the first pet period for Dan.  A medical situation with Torrie led to Steph and Dan canceling their plans to come here for Christmas... something that Joan and I understand and fully support.

Torrie is a mostly black with some gold tortoiseshell.  With all the black fur, it is tough to get a good photograph of her.  Of course, someone whose name I won't mention (but again, it is Stephanie) worked in our studio for a number of years... doing all jobs, including shooting.  Apparently, the posting of the previous Alfie feature caused a bout of guilt in my sweet little girl, and she sent me some photos of Torrie and Tasha, telling me how hurt they were that they didn't get featured in a blog post.  Alas, we had no photos of "the girls," because someone (do I have to tell you who?) didn't send me any photos of "the girls."

So, I just got some photos of "the girls," apparently hastily photographed, and not much regard for exposure or positioning.  Because I am a good Daddy (and cat-Grandpa), I spent some time getting the best possible out of those images.

Here's Torrie...

Torrie is a little bit of a thing, with the tiniest paws I've ever seen on an adult cat.  For the first 16 years, it has been very apparent that Dan is her favorite.  I don't speak "cat," but I am pretty sure I heard Torrie say to Dan, "Why do we let her live with us?  She is always trying to come between you and me."  (referring to Stephanie)  In the last year or so, Torrie has not only accepted, but embraced life with Steph.  Torrie was a "girl of the streets" before being rescued by Steph and Dan.

This is Tasha...

This is Tasha's back...

No, I have no idea who thinks this is her best side.  Apparently, someone who hurriedly took a photo, apparently while Tasha was laying on her feet.  It took a lot of photo manipulation to find any detail in that image.

This image shows some personality...

That is a big cat (Tasha is also a 15 pound Siberian Forest Cat, and if you were buying her an outfit, it would be: size Pretty Plus) under a low table.  Tasha has a beautiful sweet face.  I am amazed that she can fit herself in that skinny space, though.

Here is a photo I took of Tasha when she was brand new in the family...

Yes, she had to have the "cone of shame" to keep her from licking some stitches (from getting "fixed").  Such a sweet little face.

All three of our grandkitties are special to us.  We can only post new photos when someone (need the name??) sends some.

Steph was concerned - or rather, she said "the girls" were concerned - that they wouldn't be in a blog post before the end of the year.  Yeah, I have that covered.  ;-)