I have calico withdrawal symptoms...

My calico (pictured above) has an interesting history.

She was one of a colony of cats in a bit apartment complex opposite my school in Shanghai. There were HUNDREDS of them. All calicos. A friend of mine was going to work on her electric scooter one day, when one of the cats came up to her to be stroked. She is an animal lover so scooped the cat up and put her in her scooter basket and drove her to school, where she dropped her off with another friend (my best friend :-) ) who is a one woman cat rescue society.

The calico girl stayed with my friend and her six other cats for the rest of the summer. Then when I returned to work after the summer holiday, best friend rehomed two of her seven cats with me.

A small fortune later, and the two Chinese street cats have lived in the UK in 3 different houses and have also spent a year in Spain with me. Back in England now tho. What a pampered pair.

*big

Our son and daughter-in-law have a lovely one called Minnie. They had her along with her brother, who was a ginger cat, from the RSPCA when they were kittens. She is quite small and very timid, she usually hides from visitors but eventually plucks up courage to come and see us. She is a house cat because they both work full time but when they are out in the garden she does venture out but never goes out of the garden. Sadly her brother died of liver disease a few years ago so she is very spoilt.

This is Minnie

Ah, Minnie is adorable.

Thanks for all the lovely pictures. For those who don’t know the term calico is applied to cats who have a three colour coat with some white in. We used to refer as Minnie as a tortoiseshell cat (tortie) but my cousin who is a huge cat lover and fund raiser for The Cats Protection League told us the correct term is calico as torties don’t have white in their coats. We are primarily dog lovers but our son and DIL’s cats have won us over and we adore Minnie.

Trold, standing on me , and Storm, his dear departed brother, by my side, on our boat. They adored sailing, especially Storm, who constituted himself chief engineer's mate and followed DH into the engine-room .

I'm loving all these adorable cats!

Beautiful pictures, all of them, and I am a bit jealous, as we don't have any animals now.

I thought calico (of cats) was the American for tortoiseshell. My favourite sort of cat.

GUESS WHO turned up today after four months' absence, and is currently sunning herself on a pile of junk in our garden?????

I can't believe it!

She clearly hasn't struggled home for miles and looks perfectly well fed, so I assume they never moved and were just keeping her in.

I am so so happy!!

Ahhhhh how lovely Dragonella. So pleased for you.