My pets are very helpful

I do my sewing upstairs in my room, where the cats aren't allowed. I get really obsessive about preventing cat hair from entering, I've got an army of lint rollers.

But when I come downstairs to draw, they just have to get in my way. We've got two cats, picked them out as kittens when I was 3 years old (they're 18 now). Skyler and Sherman, sister and brother, and they're more like dogs than cats.

I tend to talk more about my more unusual animals (like the snakes) but my cats are pretty fabulous. They are indoor/outdoor (big backyard on a dead end street with no traffic), come when we whistle, follow us around (inside and outside), and know when we're not feeling well. When I was little they would wait for me at the bus stop and walk me home - they're very protective of us! They also love strangers though, and are super friendly. Whenever someone comes over they have to examine the car, sniffing and circling it for a good 10 minutes until they're satisfied and come back inside.

Here is Skyler in her usual pose (paws crossed) hogging the tv remote. Meanwhile Sherman is trying to get on my lap, nuzzling my arm as I'm trying to draw.
Notice the huge jingle bell. We always ensure they have correct tags and bells so we know where they are, and so that potential prey has a bit of a warning (hasn't stopped her from getting her fair share of mice, though). The problem is Skyler keeps losing her little bells! So, fed up one day, my dad sent me to the craft store to get her a big bell. So that's what I got! The day we put it on her (a few years ago) she was NOT HAPPY. You could tell... she had this "I hate you all" mood for a couple days. But she hasn't lost it!

The kitties are getting old now, Skyler has a lump on her shoulder (could be cancer) and Sherman has thyroid and other health problems. They're hanging in there though.

Oh, and Pepper likes to help as well. If "help" means "throwing markers on the floor".