I was reading the twitterings and surfing the internet-lands, and came across Lauren Beukes (read all of her books right now, they are just bloody great) writing about her cats over at Book Riot. A beautiful, sad, lovely post about cats and pets and how important they are.

Which they are – they’re part of the family.

And then it got me to thinking that perhaps I haven’t officially introduced you to the Beast? I mean, I might have mentioned her on Twitter every once in a while, but probably not that much *ahem*. So, here’s the Beast, our little baby since 2004. Our lovely, angry, grumpy, friendly cat-baby. And, so you can get to know her a bit better, here’s some of her best bits. Or, maybe, just bits. Otherwise known as helpful pointers for living with the Beast.

• She loves her food. So long as it is the right food. Give her the wrong food at your own peril.
• If she doesn’t get her food at a reasonable time then she will ask nicely once. The next time she asks will involve claws and your ankles.
• She can be a tad grumpy.

• Her actual name is Pixel, named after the cat in Robert Heinlein’s The Cat Who Walks Through Walls.
• She hates the harmonica.

• The first time the Beast went to the vets, the vet told us we should take the cat to an animal psychiatrist. Oh, how we laughed…
• She uses vomit as a protest tool. Sometimes she uses vomit as a way to wake you up – lying on your chest and heaving onto your face.

• She loves sleeping.

• She knows the rules. She knows when she’s naughty. She just doesn’t always care.

• She likes to help with writing. Specifically by sitting on your paper, or sitting on your laptop, or just sitting on you and grumbling whenever you try to move.

And as grumpy as she can be, there’s nothing better than when you get home from a long, hard day and she’s waiting for you with a big cat smile on her face. Because she’s part of our family, and here’s hoping it stays that way for a long time to come.

So, consider yourselves formally introduced, and now fully equipped to survive in her company (although cat biscuits can also help). She hangs out with me in the Dust Lounge, and in the real lounge, keeping me company as I crack on with the wordcounts. And she says hello. *winky face*