Biko was my companion for sixteen years, and she passed peacefully away on 7 December 2002. She wrote this home page back in 1999, when she was thirteen. Click here if you would like to read my farewell poem to Biko. 

Well, I was trying to hide, but since you've been friendly enough to come and seek me out, I'll be friendly and miaow "hello" back.

My name is Biko; I'm a small, black, affectionate Welsh cat and I allow Chris to live in my space too, because he feeds me and cuddles me. Although I have a bit of a soft spot for humans (provided they make the first move), I absolutely detest other cats. I'm thirteen now, but please don't get the impression that I'm a sweet little old lady - I'm the sort of little old lady that kicks you in the shins at jumble sales. Any cats daring to encroach on my territory will get their ears boxed, and most of them have the good sense to stay away. Chris has had to rescue many a large tom, found cowering in the bushes after I've had "words" with him.

Although I'm very fond of Chris, he does have some very annoying habits. He tends to go to sleep at night, which is most irritating when I want feeding at three in the morning, and sometimes it can take absolutely ages to wake him up. He has also been known to bring other cats into the house, which is completely unacceptable. If it happens again, I think I may have to get him neutered.

It seems that Chris's attachment to cats goes back a long way. He tells me that he's always been brought up with cats, and when he moved into his house in 1986, he shared it with a seal-point Siamese kitten called Zero, a cream-point called Spidy and two mongrel dogs. They all seemed to get on quite well:

I'm not sure I would have got on with Zero - he was quite a show-off, by all accounts, and far too cutesy for his own good. Sadly, he had a problem with his lungs, and died when he was just seven months old.

When I moved in with Chris, as an abandoned kitten in 1986, Spidy was living with him. And I have to admit, I did love him dearly; he was such a friendly cat, we hit it off straight away. He's the only cat I've ever got on with - this is me giving him a big hug:

Spidy died in 1994, and I really missed him. I soon got used to living by myself, and was appalled when Chris introduced another female cat into the house in 1996, Pandora. She had been living with his mother, and when Chris's mother died Chris seemed to think it was a good idea to invite her to live with me! I ask you! Can you believe such selfish and inconsiderate behaviour? Pandora was ancient beyond all reckoning - her age was a complete mystery, even to the vet, and she spent most of her time ignoring me apart from the occasional vicious "spit" as I walked past. If I tried to box her ears, she used to hit me back! Unbelievable arrogance! She used to hog Chris's lap, and he spent as much time making a fuss of her as he did to me - a dreadful state of affairs, as you can imagine.

Since Chris's website is a bit new-agey, you may wonder what my take is on all this. Well, I think Chris theorises over things too much; I do enjoy the ritual (as you know, cats can safely cross in and out of magic circles without disrupting the energies), and when I'm not terrorising the neighbourhood cats, I spend a fair amount of time meditating as well. And yes - I do consider myself to be a very spiritual cat, and Spidy (Chris's cream-point Siamese) taught me a fair bit about Taoism. Here's a picture of Spidy and me practising our "yin-yang" yoga position together: