# Locke, the Swirly Kitty!



## Vampyria (Dec 14, 2009)

Here's some semi-recent photos of my 5-month-old kitten, Locke. Some of you may have seen some photos of him already in my Intro thread, but I feel like pimping him a bit more because he's growing up to be a handsome thing 

All these photos are of when he was 4-and-a-bit months old:

Locke has a beautiful dark swirl pattern on each side and spots on his belly, although the spots have faded a bit as he and his fur has grown and developed. I have never seen a swirl pattern on _any_ cat before, let alone a standard moggy! 









"You, hooman, bring me my noms!"









Aaaand some random photos of his daily antics  Please Enjoy!


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

He is indeed gorgeous. His patterns look a lot like my Pippin's, although he's ginger. Also a moggy. I've attached some pics (now that I've figured out how to do so, I'm unstoppable).


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## Vampyria (Dec 14, 2009)

dagny0823 said:


> He is indeed gorgeous. His patterns look a lot like my Pippin's, although he's ginger. Also a moggy. I've attached some pics (now that I've figured out how to do so, I'm unstoppable).


D'awww! Very cute kitten! _Pippin_, what a fantastic name  I see what you mean about the patterns on his side - its almost like a big broken swirl  his colours are gorgeous.


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

Vampyria said:


> D'awww! Very cute kitten! _Pippin_, what a fantastic name  I see what you mean about the patterns on his side - its almost like a big broken swirl  his colours are gorgeous.


We named him for the clumsy, well-meaning hobbit in Lord of the Rings. It seemed to fit him. I got him at the shelter. Almost didn't see him and didn't see any kittens who just stood out--you know that instant bond? Then, on the way out, he was peeping out from under his solid black sister. They'd found the litter wandering in a fast-food parking lot. It would explain his fondness for fried food. He is lovely, isn't he? His sweet pointy face and the swirls got me--all the other gingers were striped. And people said his colors would fade as he got older. He's a year and a half now and they are richer than ever. But I have never seen a swirly brown tabby. How absolutely lovely.


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## mckitty (Jan 11, 2009)

hes gorgeous, thanks for sharing photos of him


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## Miss-Meow (Sep 13, 2009)

Oh what an unusual beautiful pattern he has!! Locke is a hansom boy!! :001_tt1:


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## mezzer (Oct 6, 2009)

_Gorgeous cat you have..._


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

that pattern is what you can a marble or classic tabby - it's the original, oldest and least common of the tabby patterns. My tortie has a bit of this pattern through the red on her side (though she isn't a tabby - it's just the red gene doesn't mask the underlying tabby pattern - genetics are wierd)


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## Vampyria (Dec 14, 2009)

dagny0823 said:


> We named him for the clumsy, well-meaning hobbit in Lord of the Rings. It seemed to fit him. I got him at the shelter. Almost didn't see him and didn't see any kittens who just stood out--you know that instant bond? Then, on the way out, he was peeping out from under his solid black sister. They'd found the litter wandering in a fast-food parking lot. It would explain his fondness for fried food. He is lovely, isn't he? His sweet pointy face and the swirls got me--all the other gingers were striped. And people said his colors would fade as he got older. He's a year and a half now and they are richer than ever. But I have never seen a swirly brown tabby. How absolutely lovely.


Pippin is a great name for a kitten (clumsy but altogether sweet-natured - sounds about right ). Locke is named after the main character of the book _The Lies of Locke Lamora_, as he was an unwanted orphan child who was very good at stealing things. It seemed to fit perfectly, as Locke has stolen our time, money, and our hearts (D'awwww).

Its amazing how just tiny little parcels of joy can just literally pop up into one's life like that  I actually feared Locke's pattern would change or fade out over time, but just like Pippin, his patterns have become bolder and bolder as he's grown up.


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## Vampyria (Dec 14, 2009)

Miss-Meow said:


> Oh what an unusual beautiful pattern he has!! Locke is a hansom boy!! :001_tt1:


Thank you, and oh, he is! I actually can't wait to see him all grown up 



spid said:


> that pattern is what you can a marble or classic tabby - it's the original, oldest and least common of the tabby patterns. My tortie has a bit of this pattern through the red on her side (though she isn't a tabby - it's just the red gene doesn't mask the underlying tabby pattern - genetics are wierd)


I had a suspicion that his markings might be of a Classic Tabby (I read such a coat has thick or bold swirls and stripes and often a "bullseye" pattern), but unfortunately never saw a picture of a tabby that came close to such a distinctive spiral. I can definitely see the resemblance to both the Marble and Classic coats, though. I'm just amazed at the odds of picking up an unwanted kitten with no information about its past with such an uncommon and unique coat. Genetics are very strange, indeed!


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## Maiisiku (Feb 20, 2009)

Aww he is absolutly georgous! Bailey has a simular pattern to him although it is very hard to see because she is very pail in color. Locke is a lovely name the god of mischeif and chaos. Certainly fitting for a kitty since they are so misceivous and really just very inteligant. He is very lovely, you must be compleatly head over heals for him


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## Vampyria (Dec 14, 2009)

Maiisiku said:


> Aww he is absolutly georgous! Bailey has a simular pattern to him although it is very hard to see because she is very pail in color. Locke is a lovely name the god of mischeif and chaos. Certainly fitting for a kitty since they are so misceivous and really just very inteligant. He is very lovely, you must be compleatly head over heals for him


Locke certainly creates chaos and is certainly mischievous, as I'm sure all kittens his age are  he really is wonderful, even when he misbehaves  and yes, I am completely head over heels for him; he's taught me and my partner a lot (being first time cat owners), and I could not imagine a day without him now :001_wub:


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## Maiisiku (Feb 20, 2009)

Really they come into your home and steel your heart and sometimes your bed. I couldn't possibly imagine being with out Bailey and this saturday will be the 3rd week that she's been with us. We really love her so much! I think I've learned a lot from her too and she is my 6th cat (all my lovelies I lived with before bar 1 would have been very old now!) He really is lovely


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## Vampyria (Dec 14, 2009)

Aw, that really is adorable! ...I actually assumed that Bailey had been with you for years! 

Oh yes, Locke has stolen the hearts and anything warm and comfy, too  he's taken a particular shine my partner's giant leather PC chair (now covered in blankets for the kitty, of course). Recently Locke has taken to curling up between us of a night time, under the covers, to steal our warmth  Cats take our hearts, then make them melt!


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

Vampyria said:


> Pippin is a great name for a kitten (clumsy but altogether sweet-natured - sounds about right ). Locke is named after the main character of the book _The Lies of Locke Lamora_, as he was an unwanted orphan child who was very good at stealing things. It seemed to fit perfectly, as Locke has stolen our time, money, and our hearts (D'awwww).
> 
> Its amazing how just tiny little parcels of joy can just literally pop up into one's life like that  I actually feared Locke's pattern would change or fade out over time, but just like Pippin, his patterns have become bolder and bolder as he's grown up.


It is, and while I find pedigrees beautiful, sometimes the little strays who just walk into your life are equally or more beautiful still. It's like there's more of the unexpected element with them, especially in appearance.


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## sarahberra (Jun 26, 2009)

Your kitty looks like a purebread bengal. What beautiful marks.


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## Vampyria (Dec 14, 2009)

sarahberra said:


> Your kitty looks like a purebread bengal. What beautiful marks.


Aw, thankyou! Locke is definitely a standard "moggy" (this being said, we have no idea on his past or parents), but I found a paragraph on Bengal cat personality which fits him to a T: _Bengals have been known to play games with their owners, such as "fetch" and "hide-and-seek." They tend to vocalize to communicate with their humans. Additionally, they have very high-energy, are intelligent, and curious, and so are particularly interactive with their human housemates, wanting to be in the middle of whatever the human is engaged in, and often following the human around the house as household chores are performed.
Bengal Cats and Bengal Kittens for sale worldwide_

I know this isn't uncommon behaviour to standard pet kittens and cats, I just found it describes Locke very well  he's very much a "Daddy's boy" (because he lives with my partner Locke will always stick beside him, and will cry and meow whenever my partner leaves the room for a short while and Locke can't follow), he's very inquisitive and one of his favourite games is playing hide-and-seek with my head. He's also a big talker! He meows or chirps, whatever the reason 

I can see what you mean, though. Locke has some wonderful bold patterns, similar to some Bengals, but he's no-where near the size of one


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## Maiisiku (Feb 20, 2009)

Vampyria said:


> Aw, that really is adorable! ...I actually assumed that Bailey had been with you for years!
> 
> Oh yes, Locke has stolen the hearts and anything warm and comfy, too  he's taken a particular shine my partner's giant leather PC chair (now covered in blankets for the kitty, of course). Recently Locke has taken to curling up between us of a night time, under the covers, to steal our warmth  Cats take our hearts, then make them melt!


hahaha  Bailey stole my clothes  I am not kidding, I put them on the chair and she now sleeps on them! I will liberate them someday soon  I think that must be a cat thing we have a leather pc chair and as soon as my hubby gets out of it either there is a child or a cat in it 

Bailey will purch on the matress if hubby isn't in bed or next to my feet if he is. Recently since it's been cold she's been staying in the livingroom because I keep the radiators on.


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## kittykat (Nov 2, 2007)

aww he is beautiful :001_tt1:


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## sharkey (Dec 9, 2008)

A very handsome boy.


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