JetSet

Yes, our 2 older female cats stopped hunting a couple of years ago they just prefer sleeping these days. Our other female cats though are wreaking havoc among the rodent population, it may be that females like their larger cousins hunt out of pure instinct, especially if they have kittens to bring up. Pete

Mine eat a tin a day each. They'll eat pretty much any brand providing that you rotate brands every couple of days, right now there's a special offer on Whiskas at ASDA , £2.50 for 6 tins, but they'll eat Tiger, Butchers, Kit E Kat. They also go through 2 big bags of Solid cat food a week between them plus a couple of packets of Turkey or Chicken trimmings which Tesco sell for a couple of quid. Of course, our cats supplement what we give them with what they catch, rabbits, mice and voles generally. A bag of cat litter lasts us almost 3 months as they only use the litter tray if it's absolutely belting down with rain and even then they usually prefer to go outside. All in all a couple of grand a year I reckon. Pete

Most of my cats have been females. They tend to be more gentle, more people friendly and less aggressive than males. Of course there are exceptions to this, we once had a male cat that was as soft as a brush, never left the garden and was no trouble at all. One drawback of females is that they are better hunters than males and like bringing in dead or sometimes alive rodents as presents (males usually eat what they catch). Pete

One other thing I forgot to mention. From experience, if you get 2 kittens/cats then don't get 2 males . Unless you are very lucky they will fall out fairly frequently even when neutered. This is especially important for male cats that stay in the house all the time, after they reach maturity they will start marking their territory by spraying their favorite spots . Not too bad if they have access to the outside where they can usually find a private spot and conflict is usually limited to the odd hiss and snarl. We have 3 male cats (2 neutered) that come and go as they please. They do have the odd skirmish but the biggest problem will be with other males in the local area, this will involve ripped ears, scarred faces and visits to the vet. We're lucky here that no one within half a mile has a cat and the only feral we ever see is scared to death of our big ginger tabby Pete

If possible get 2 from the same litter or at least kittens of a very similar age, they'll settle down very quickly. You can find adult pedigree cats for sale on the internet but these are usually 2 or 3 year olds that have just come out of a breeding program and will have spent most of their lives cooped up in a cattery and may have trouble in adapting to a new owner. Do some research on what type of cat would be suitable for you, we discounted a few breeds before we settled on Bengals, Cat rescue centres are usually good places to get hold of moggie kittens but rarely have pedigrees. Most will vaccinate the kittens twice and pay for neutering, our local centre, a very busy one, charges an £80 adoption fee. I don't have cat insurance would cost me well over £150 a month but over the 35 years I've lived here I've only had one major £400 vet bill (broken leg) and maybe 20 to 25 around the £100. Keep in mind that most trips to the vet for simple problems, such as runny poo, poor appetite will usually be sorted out in a couple of trips that'll set you back £70 or so and the excess on the policy may well be greater than that in any case. I also believe that once a cat reaches old age there is little point in spending hundreds of pounds to extend its life if it has a terminal illness. This is where you can rack up huge vet bills in a very short time. Cats are usually healthy and most of ours have lived to at least 15, one lived to 20! I would never leave my cats without making sure that someone reliable was on hand to feed them, there are cat sitting services that you'll probably find in your area but I would rather pay someone I know. Pete

Cat C explained. Could it be possible that the log book wasn't returned to the DVLA ? Or that the DVLA have simply cocked up? Pete

I was once a passenger in a car when the bonnet flew up and completely blocked our view without warning . I was getting a lift to work with my shift foreman on 2 till 10 and we were doing around 60 mph on a dead straight road near Ellesmere Port. This was in the 60's and the car was a Vauxhall of some type, maybe a Velox. We managed to pull up safely and secure the bonnet before continuing, damage was fairly minimal amazingly, just a crease where it hit the roof. I don't think its much of a problem these days although the Renault Clio I had was subject to a recall to fit a safer bonnet catch. Pete

O.K, an update. Mum fed them outside of the nesting box yesterday and they've started to explore their surroundings. Luckily we kept the baby pen we bought for our granddaughter so they can't get too far They're starting to look like kittens now rather than furry worms . We believe that our brown bengal is also pregnant, expecting kittens from her in about a months time. Pete

Sadly, not the challenge it used to be, they paved it right up to the summit in 2011. Pete Damn If they were real racers, they'd race DOWN the hill Probably a bit safer going down as the really big fall offs are on the way up. You would need darn good brakes coming down at speed though, you'd almost certainly boil the fluid on most road cars . Pikes Peak is a road that anyone can drive up for $12 per person, well worth it as the views are quite amazing. The peak itself is at 14,100 feet and when I went in late June a few years ago it was absolutely freezing with fresh snow. Although the drive to the top and back is only around 40 miles there's a sign at the entrance saying "no gas available, do not enter unless you have at least half a tank of gas", yes, its that steep! Pete Maybe I'm missing something, but wouldn't the offs be in the same place if they ran the current course in the opposite direction? Strategically the fastest way down would be with a very large parachute, fast and furious style The safest way down (and up for that matter) would be to use the cog railway Pete

Sadly, not the challenge it used to be, they paved it right up to the summit in 2011. Pete Damn If they were real racers, they'd race DOWN the hill Probably a bit safer going down as the really big fall offs are on the way up. You would need darn good brakes coming down at speed though, you'd almost certainly boil the fluid on most road cars . Pikes Peak is a road that anyone can drive up for $12 per person, well worth it as the views are quite amazing. The peak itself is at 14,100 feet and when I went in late June a few years ago it was absolutely freezing with fresh snow. Although the drive to the top and back is only around 40 miles there's a sign at the entrance saying "no gas available, do not enter unless you have at least half a tank of gas", yes, its that steep! Pete

Wow, really historic clubs, used to have a set of these myself, my uncle gave them to me in the early 70's and they stopped making them around then. Pete

Sadly, not the challenge it used to be, they paved it right up to the summit in 2011. Pete

Happy Birthday Pete

My Renault Clio of 2004 vintage had faded quite a bit. Had "L" plates on it for a couple of years when my daughter was learning to drive and when removed you could see the difference quite clearly and no amount of polish would make any difference. There was a Chilli Red 350Z I used to see almost every day that had faded quite badly too, however I don't think it was cleaned that often . Pete

All 3 Nissans have been relegated to 30th/31st and 32nd on the grid. Failed to meet the 110% rule for LMP1's. Weather looks to be set fair for the entire race. Pete

And not that far off the 1971 qually record in one of the legendary 917's of 3:13.90 before they added the chicanes to slow the cars down....They'd probably be down to around 2:55 without those chicanes , Pete

Commentator on Eurosport reckons in the region of 1600 bhp, As you say 1000 from the engine and a further 600 from the hybrid part, once they get it working of course. 12 months from now it should be awesome . TBH, I reckon they'll be pleased to get a car to the finish this year. Pete

The best one is 22 seconds down and slower than one of the LMP2 entries at the moment. Pete

The 3D Carbon ones fit over the existing ones. You can get these from Tarmac Pete

Looking forward to watching this on Eurosport. Rain is forecast from 23:00 Saturday on and off right through to the finish. Nothing too heavy mind but enough to liven the race up a bit . Pete

Tough one. If you exclude my current Zed then I guess the black Capri 2.8i I owned in the 80's, I kept that for almost 3 years. Pete Funny you should say the Capri, ive always aspired to own one, one day! Love the style of them and the body shape is one of the best in my opinion. I owned 2 of them. The first one I bought second hand, 2 years old and 2 tone green . The black one I bought new just after the Capri 2.8i special came out, it was one of the older models that the garage had left over and I got a 2 grand discount, quite a lot when you consider they were 10.5k at the time. Don't really know why I sold it and went back to an XR3i really Pete

The Scots Pine tree opposite our house released a massive amount of pollen the other day and Caroline started snuffling shortly after. I don't suffer from a pollen allergy but when they are getting the hay in during September I'll be sneezing quite a lot. Pete

Sounds good, I'll have a word with Caroline tonight. Cheers, Pete

Tough one. If you exclude my current Zed then I guess the black Capri 2.8i I owned in the 80's, I kept that for almost 3 years. Pete

It's all down to Caroline when she has it done and £300 is a great price. It's obviously the other end of Wales from me but luckily I can visit my daughter in Cardiff while I'm down there. Also, I have free rail transport as Caroline is a British Rail retiree so leaving it down there for a few days isn't a problem . Pete