Jack and Tess

Jack doing what he does best, napping.

Tess with the yellow eyes.

Our hosts in Nice were Jack and Tess, British Blues, a breed of cat with intense yellow eyes as well as lovely blue/gray fur.  Jack is the older, being 10 and Tess is 4. ( Sorry you two if I've remembered wrong.)  They are both friendly and well mannered;  no hissing, no scratching, no biting.

"This is MY ottoman and I'm NOT sharing!"

"Wake me up when Tess gets off the ottoman."

Jack is a true gentleman.  When he wants to eat, he will sit by the bowl patiently waiting.  If you aren't around, he will come and sit until he gets your attention, then lead you to the kitchen.  Tess is, well, a terror.  (Her mom's description, not mine, but I came to agree.)  Tess will talk to you, rub on you, dance for you, do anything to get your attention because SHE NEEDS TO BE FED!!!

Tess opening the sliding door on the tansu while balancing on a narrow wooden chair.  Sorry for the blur, we almost didn't get the camera out in time!

Peeking out to make sure we saw her go in.

One morning we awoke to find every sliding door in the entire house opened.  We weren't sure which one had done it.  Or even what they were looking for.  Or even if they found it. Then a couple of evening later, Tess gets on top of a chair and works until she opens the sliding door on the tanzu chest, promptly jumping in.  I think we found the door sliding culprit!

Tess pausing on top of the tanzu before jumping up to the airconditioner.  With all the artwork, she looks like a statue.

Several times while were reading or at the computer in the evening, Tess would work her way up to lay on the top of the airconditioner.  I'm sure it gave her an excellent view of the livingroom and entry, maybe even down the hall towards the bedrooms.  She could probably even see out the balcony doors onto the neighboring buildings.  Tess does like to keep an eye on things.

When there aren't house sitters to take care of,  Jack and Tess keep Roxanne and Bruce in line.