Kitten therapy

When a general feeling of malaise pervades Bracknell Towers, Lady Bracknell and her Editor find some degree of solace in trawling the interwebnet for news of Selkirk Rex kittens.

(It should be noted that Bertie and Caspar are in no immediate danger of being joined by a third party: Lady Bracknell is merely involved in the pleasant business of window shopping.)

Who could not be cheered by this picture of a long-haired curly kitten from the CurlyBurly cattery in Hong Kong? (Mr Larkin has described her as looking "like a badly-washed teddy bear": but surely therein lies her charm?)

The CurlyBurly site is both professional and comprehensive: should one follow the link to either "Boys" or "Girls", one may then click on the photograph of any cat to be taken to a photographic history of its development. This is something Lady Bracknell has not previously encountered, and something which is of great interest to the owner of a ten-month-old kitten. After all, it is one thing to be told that the degree of curl in the coat varies with age, and quite another to see that variation recorded.

Considerably closer to home is Magnetique in Leeds. For those unequal to the task of taking on a lively kitten, there is a decidedly handsome young gentleman available on this page. For photographs of very small kittens residing in palatial comfort in a sock drawer, one should visit the nursery, where one is encouraged to suggest names for the litter. (Had Lady Bracknell either the room or the energy for a new arrival, she would be endeavouring to reserve the black smoke boy and booking a rail ticket to Leeds forthwith. She might even suggest that he should be called, "Sooty".)

This has been a self-indulgent blog entry on Lady Bracknell's part but, the research for it having proved therapeutic, she makes no apologies to such of her readers who tire of references to the Selkirk Rex breed.