Cat Lookalike Part III

I've got another lookalike for you! I had read the Financial Times cover to cover last Friday morning; and was looking for something else to peruse. I would usually go straight onto the Times, but what with all the phone-hacking shenanigans I'm currently reviewing my daily reading material, and haven't yet found a replacement for the News International titles.

So instead I picked up a Metro - it's a free paper - and after leafing through the latest B-list celebrity gossip, what did I see staring back at me on page 17? Mia!!

Oh no, wait, it's a baby Slender Loris, waiting for a health check at London Zoo. Cute! Looks just like our Mia with its big round eyes and stripey nose. I wonder if the zoo would be interested in taking our naughty tortie as a temporary exhibit?!

Oh I'm only joking, don't worry. What would we do without her around the house? Things would be pretty boring I tell you!

Cat Lookalike Part II

I told you I'd be back with a lookalike for Mia. It took me a while, but when I realised who (or rather what) she looks like, I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before! The big round eyes, the tufty ears, it all points to another member of the animal kingdom...

 
 

Yes, a European eagle owl (or should that be, an European eagle owl?), Latin name Bubo bubo - the world's largest owl, apparently. I think the reason I didn't think of it before was that our little Mia has nothing in common with an owl. Let's look at the facts:

1. An owl flies silently through the night; Mia thumps up and down the stairs like a herd of wildebeest.

2. Eagle owls stalk and hunt their prey (up to the size of a small deer!); Mia can just about successfully pounce on a spider meandering lazily along the skirting board.

3. Owls often swallow their prey whole; Mia struggles if her dinner isn't mashed up enough before it's placed in front of her.

4. An eagle owl has a territory of up to 10km in diameter; some days Mia doesn't set paw outside the catflap.

5. This type of owl nests in a rocky crevice on a cliff edge; sometimes Mia finds the sofa too hard and has to retire upstairs to the 13 tog goose down duvet on Rachel & Pete's bed. It's a tough life...

On the plus side, she doesn't have the razor sharp talons and nasty beak of an owl, nor the aggressive tendencies, and she doesn't do that weird Exorcist thing and spin her head around 360 degrees. So all in all, I think I'd much prefer to snuggle up with her on a cold night than even the fluffiest, most well behaved little Pygmy owl.

(Don't tell her that I said that, though, I like to maintain my aloof exterior where Mia's concerned...)