My name is Kyle Baker, and I’m a writer and editor at Catster.com. I’ll be sharing the fascinating shenanigans about life on my small farm with my two sibling cats; Jack and Girlie. Now, I call them my cats, but of course, my two daughters claim full rights to both!
Jack and Girlie are both getting on in age, turning 10 this year. In fact, my younger daughter, who is 11, has known them almost her whole life. We got them as sibling kittens who were in need of a home.
It was never my plan to get cats—I’ll admit, I’ve been more of a dog person my whole life. But my wife and I agreed that having our girls grow up with both dogs and cats would be a great experience for them. Well, I’m glad we made that decision, as I’m now a firm cat lover, and so are my kids. In fact, Jack and Girlie’s names came from my eldest daughter.
My cats tend to spend most of their time indoors, but they have free access outside and have a safe environment to explore.
Now that you’re somewhat familiar with my story, let me introduce you to the stars of the show!
Jack
Jack in a tree
Jack, or “Jackal” as he’s more commonly referred to by my girls, is the fluffier, larger, and more reserved of the two siblings. When I say reserved, I mean he’s not exactly happy to cuddle on my lap, or anywhere near me, really. Jack likes his space, and since he was a kitten, prefers to sleep on his own terms. Don’t get me wrong, he’s happy to receive all the petting he can get and will meow and purr at your legs until he gets it—just don’t expect him to be snuggling anyone.
Jack is a homebody and doesn’t spend very much time outside, certainly not as much as his sister. He likes his comforts and prefers to stick around close to his food bowl! My dogs constantly attempt to make friends with Jack, but he wants none of it. My smallest dog, Charlie, still tries desperately despite many swipes to the nose!
Girlie
Affectionate Girlie
Girlie, or “Whirlabee” to my daughters, is the far more affectionate of the two. She’ll grab any chance she can to sit on our lap and snooze and take turns sleeping next to my daughters at night. She’s also far more of an explorer than Jack, and I often see her exploring pretty far away from the house, even sometimes coming on short walks with us and the dogs.
Girlie has always been a hunter and took care of any mice in our home—much to my daughters’ disappointment. This became a real problem at one stage when she started hunting birds too, but we thankfully managed to stop the behavior fairly quickly.
Now that she’s older, she has stopped hunting altogether but still loves to explore the yard and climb trees. Girlie seems to love being outside, but in the evening will come inside and seek out her daily dose of snuggling.
Girlie and Jack’s Breed
A closeup on Jack
Girlie and Jack are both “moggies”, or mixed-breed cats. I unfortunately don’t have any information on their parents, but considering they are siblings, they do look fairly different. Jack is far fluffier and has a silky, deep black and grey coat complete with a gorgeous fluffy tail. Girlie is more orange and brown, with a short smooth coat, and is much smaller and lighter than her brother.
I’m excited to share more about these two quirky felines, and the adventures they get up to week after week!
