Although I dabble in new product development and photography, my primary role in life is Chief of Staff to Shiraz, Pinot and Noir, three rescue cats from the Celia Hammond Animal Trust.

My previous cat was Zebedee, who died towards the end of 2008 at the impressive age of 19:

Once I was ready for more cats, the original plan was two kittens, so they'd be company for each other while I'm away. Then it was suggested I foster a mum and kittens, returning mum when the kittens were old enough. Then I just thought: 'Yeah, right - I'm going to foster a cat for a couple of months and want to give her back ...' - which explains how I ended up with three.

I trust this explanation exempts me from Mad Cat Man status?

Shiraz is an absolutely beautiful tortoiseshell & white girl of around 18 months (the bald patch is from where she was neutered).

We don't know how she ended up as a stray, but she was clearly someone's pet before. She may have been abandoned when she got pregnant, or may simply have wandered off when she was about to give birth and then got lost.

She was extremely timid when I first got her. She spent the first couple of days under the sofa, then came out to be fed, and finally after a few more days came out to be stroked. A few weeks in, she still has her nest under the sofa, and is shy with strangers, but is now quite comfortable lazing around on the floor or in the cat-tree.

The kittens ventured out from the sofar much earlier, and were soon scampering around happily.

Pinot is a gorgeous short-haired ginger boy. The first photo shows him in one of his favourite places - the electrically-heated cat-bed. :-)

Noir is a lovely playful long-haired black girl:

The two kittens love the cat-tree.

The first day, they sat on the ground level and played around the ladder, but didn't seem to realise its function. The next day they ventured up the ladder onto level 1. It took them a few more days to realise they could climb through the hole onto level 2, and about a week before they finally reached level 3.

The top level is now one of their favourite places to sleep:

Now that they are settled-in and have had their shots, they're allowed out into the garden ...

Pinot meets a tree