Here are some photos of Whisky, the cat who kept me sane through several worlds of sh*t

Yes, he spelled his name without an 'e' in it

He wasn't daft actually. Like most cats, he had everyone who met him under his spell immediately and trained them thoroughly in the arts of stroking, feeding and playing with him

For many years, Charlotte Rd revolved around him. He knew it, we knew it and it was great

A real character, I was lucky to have him so long

Oops, sorry, I forgot, humans don't have cats, cats have humans ....

Click to enlarge

Notice the other cat in the photo below. This is Buttons. He and Whisky belonged to the woman who's house I lived in at the time.......

He was the biggest, hardest cat on the block, he used to fight dogs and win and she called him Buttons

He was a lovely cat but a bit of a hard nut. Perhaps the Little Old Dear of the cat world

Did I feel like a complete one walking the streets at night shouting:

"Buttons, here Buttons ...." when he'd been missing a few days hunting Elephant or something

One summer night, I was sitting in the yard at the back of the house plonking away on the guitar and sipping a few shandies. The cats were sat either side of the gate about 12 feet apart hoping I'd play something decent soon

I notice a neighbour approaching. From a distance, I can see the glint of the moon on his skinhead haircut and the large, saliva dripping teeth of his big-dog-which-is-so-fierce-it's-owner-must-be-hard

The neighbour continues to approach and when he's almost close enough for me to read his tattoos, he gives me a contemptuous glance and the dog starts to growl at the cats and pull the neighbour along the road towards us

I expect the cats to run but no. Whisky looks at the approaching pair, looks at Buttons, looks at me and settles himself down to watch. Obviously, he knows this is going to be good. As the slavering pair get closer and noisier, the dog is pulling at it's chain, growling and standing on it's hind legs

Buttons, who is sat with his back to the pair just sits there, eyes half shut, he never flinches

When  the dog is about one foot away, Buttons turns, makes himself look a few inches taller and wider than he really is and gives the loudest, most evil sounding, frightening howling growling sound I've ever heard from a cat

He then hisses so loudly that I fear my neighbour may have soiled himself

The dog yelps and reels back, almost knocking it's owner over. It falls sideways, gets up and takes off like a rocket back up the road dragging it's owner behind it. He looks terribly embarrassed, slightly out of breath and not cool or hard at all. Half the street and I cannot stop laughing for ages

Buttons simply settles back down and looks smug

The neighbour never bothered me again and always, always avoided the cats when the dog was walking him

The cats got extra chicken that night

I was so pleased with Buttons that, when he once again tried to sh*g my leather bike jacket a few days later, I just let him get on with it

OK, I was too scared to stop him .......

Copyright © Phil Histon