From the start, little Minx adopted me as her protector. Her brothers were all bigger than her, but could sense she was female. So whenever they were getting ready to sleep they would suckle off her neck. She seemed to tolerate it with good grace but when it got too much she would come and find me, and I would bring her indoors for some quiet time. At other times when the playing got a bit too boisterous she would climb up onto my shoulder and sit there like a parrot.

One thing that surprised me as we have watched them grow up, is how different they are in personality. Mark here is a big softie. He's the most likely to want to come in for a cuddle, and if any of us humans need comforting, he is the one we get to provide the comfort. He's a great one for a cuddle. He can be quite timid though, and a little bit clumsy at times. Indeed, only this morning he managed to fall into the swimming pool again, and we had to towel him off.

Now little Minxie, she's a scamp. Which is why we named her Minxie I guess. She is by far the smallest of the four, but she can still pack a punch if one of her brothers gets out of hand. She often appears to be scowling, but that is down to the black markings around her eyes, rather than a grumpy nature.

Tabby's an odd one. He's quite aloof, and doesn't like being picked up and cuddled. Yet he still wants his attention. He has recently taken to appearing at my office window, and expects me to carry him from there, through the house, to the verandah on the other side.

He is a very elegant cat, and incredibly photogenic when he wants to be.

I love this picture Alex took. You can see what I mean about the scowl though.