The Prince and the Pauper

Joost tries to keep up ...

You couldn't ask for more contrasts than with this pair of cats. 
The red one is a long haired pedigree feline of known heritage and homeland. He is the Persian Prince, four month old, no more than a kitten. With all the energy and agility that belongs to his age. He thinks everything is fun and no game is too rough for him.


The black an white cat, short haired and short tempered, is an alley cat from H(a)arlem. He's probably 18 years old, and his sore back makes jumping and fighting hard on him. I know nothing about him, except that he is used to humans and adapted rapidly to life in my house. So he probably hasn't lived on the streets for very long. And was not making a good job of it. When I found him he was starving, standing on shaky legs while he begged everyone passing by on the street. did he ask for food or to be taken home?
The vet. warned me that because of his kidney condition, Joost would hardly make it to april 2011. But today is januari 1st, 2012 and he's still with us. His strong will keeps him going.

Joost did feel a little embarassed when a persian prince entered his attic. Ever since then he's been studying hard just to keep up with the  Royal Highness.
That's not the only surprise the old one's shown me. He keeps the royal fur coat of the prince clean and tangle free.
And there are mock fights every day. Sometimes the fight gets serious, even then Joost doesn't fight mean.

It's very interersting to see Joost fight: he cannot stand on his back legs. So either he must lean on his front paws, fighting only with his mouth,  or else he must lie down, to be able to use the claws of his front paws.

Until now the prince has not been able to defeat the alley cat, but 2012 will probably bring a change to that.

A tribute to the one who buys their food:  
the Prince forms the letter J, while the other is curled up into an O