Squidgy or sturdy?

Often, when people think cats, they think of them as soft, delicate creatures - albeit with claws and teeth. You wouldn't necessarily think about treating a cat as you would a dog, for instance, rolling around the floor with it. You can be a lot rougher with a dog, and know that mostly they'd love it.

Bella is one of those soft cats. She's all fluid, slinky, delicate, with no discernable hardness about her at all. She's short-haired, although it's long short hair, especially on her tummy, and incredibly silky - which just adds to the softness about her. I often feel that if I held her too tight her bones would crack.

The best word to describe her is squidgy. Although she doesn't really like it, Squidgy is my nickname for her. I tried to stop for a while, but it just came back. She'll have to learn to live with it.

Although lots of cats can be described as squidgy, they're not all like that at all. Among all the cats I look after, I've met many you probably would be able to rough around a little as though they were puppies.

There's Casper, a beautiful and very strong silver tabby who I first met at Animals in Distress, and who I now go and cat sit for. Not an ounce of squidge on him at all! All solid muscle and strength. But incredibly soft in attitude and behaviour.........

Then there's the two ginger boys in Chorlton. Very gentle boys, but strong and sturdy, without being particularly big. You'd probably say they were wiry. Their coats are quite short, so when stroking them, you can feel their solidity.

And how about the two Tonkinese brothers I met over Christmas for the first time? Very playful and full of fun, but again all muscle and strength. Tonkinese have very short, soft coats, so as with the ginger boys, there's a real hardness in their bodies.

What do you like best? Squidgy cats or sturdy cats?