Fred
Fred was a rescue cat that we got as a kitten. Always full of life, he had a bit of a struggle when we first had him... Maisie just didn't like this new upstart! However, he stuck with it and refused to be put in his place.
Fred had a split personality. Outside the house, where he spent a great deal of his time, he was a 'real' cat. He loved the outdoors and loved prowling round the gardens. It wasn't entirely unusual to 'lose' him for the day and, just as we were getting really worried, he's pop round the corner with one of those 'what's the problem?' looks that gets seem to be able to do so well.
Unlike many cats, however, he only went birding once and even then, his softer side came out in that he didn't kill the bird, but just brought it home... through the cat flap... and let it go in the living room. Pity it was a full grown pigeon. We still have no idea how he managed to get it through the cat flap.
His vice was fishing. One of the neighbours installed a fish pond and stocked it with gold fish, which Fred liked to fish out and bring home to us. Strange thing is, he never came home wet, so he couldn't have gone in the water - he must have been some fisher-cat. Even stranger, the fish he brought home were alive and well. He's drop them on the mat and go off for another. We put them in a bowl of water and return them later.
At home, he loved being fussed. He particularly liked being picked up and cradled (on his back) like a baby. He's just lie there, perfectly content to be nursed for as long as he could get away with it.
Mind you, he's want prawns afterwards. He'd kill for prawns... fresh ones though, not frozen.
He was a little lost after Maisie went so we got another cat; Gizzie. Fair to say, he gave her a hard time when she first arrived - nothing nasty - just establishing his dominance in the household. As she grew, they slowly came to tolerate each other, though I don't think they really became friends. I guess it was just different personalities, Fred being the outside cat and Gizzie being such a young kitten who preferred the house.
Still, they were company for each other and, being so different, weren't really rivals for our affection.
Fred was a great cat - couldn't ask for a better personality in an outdoor cat. He didn't have along life - he was only seven when we developed a tumour - but he had a good life and he enjoyed it to the full.