Meet the family - Archie

And this is the baby of the family, born in October 2007. We got Archie from the Animal Rescue Centre in Ulverston a week after we got married and boy, oh boy did we get a character!!

He is the clown of the family, the cat that does not know his limitations, willing to give anything a go, willing to eat anything and everything.........and I mean EVERYTHING!! He doesn't realise how high he can jump or how big he is, he will jump onto a shelf knowing that there are ornaments, vases of flowers  etc and expect to fit into the 3 inch gap that's there. He has fallen into slurry pits, hot bubble baths. down holes, he has climbed trees, fences, up chimneys, if he were a human he would be a stuntman. And he does it all with a little grin on his face as if to say "see I told you I could".

He can sleep for England and he sleeps wherever he lands, literally plonking himself down and after a quick wash starts snoring. He spends some days fast asleep on top of the kitchen cupboards, others on the best chair in the house, sometimes , like a normal cat he will fall asleep in front of the fire.  He sleeps in any cupboard that happens to be open, in the pans or just on the pans, on the ironing or under the ironing. He loves company, of animals or humans and is the friendliest little scamp imaginable. But cross him or hurt him and he has CLAWS....the sharpest and biggest of claws....and he knows how to use them!!

Asleep.

Cat in a box. (And I ordered a sewing machine!!) Open a cupboard or unpack a box and Archie is there, waiting to see if he can fit and if you will let him, if you won't he sulks, like Kevin the Teenager, but only until the next opportunity. He loves living in the new house, he plays with Sophie in the house and visits Toby in the barn. He catches mice and birds and brings me the poor little bodies to stock the larder!!

He used to have his own blog that charted (in his own words) his life with us. He was supposed to be my shop cat, but you can imagine with his unique ways that didn't go to plan. He caused havoc and destruction and even got himself stuck in the understairs cupboard at the shop once!! He is much more suited to life on the farm, he has the room he needs to roam, the things he needs to nurture his inquisitiveness, and the company and the solitude when he needs it.

God help us when we get the chickens!!

Sue xx