Hello humans. My name's Monty and the second picture is my sister, Maddie. Pretty, isn't she? But then, I've frequently heard myself referred to as a very handsome dude too.

My new human Sheila says she wants to write a diary about us. The idea is, we talk to her, and she translates from Cat to Human. She's done it before, apparently, in some books she wrote about cats called Oliver and Charlie. She reckons she understands our language. I have my doubts.

Anyway, whatever this blog, this diary thing, is supposed to be, I've got to do it on behalf of myself and Maddie, because Maddie might be pretty, but frankly, she's not one to put herself forward. Not a sociable, confident cat like me, which is why she needs me to protect her in traumatic circumstances. I'll tell you about a few of those, in due course, beginning now with the one that got us here in our new home.

Maddie and I are six years old, and we’re apparently half Ragdoll, half Siamese. I don’t know which half is which. We grew up in a different house from this one, with seven other cats including our mum and dad. We were well looked after by our human there. I suppose like in any big family, we didn't exactly get undivided attention, but we had each other, and all the love and care we needed. I don't understand what went wrong, but one day some humans came to the house with cages - the kind they put you in when you go to the vets, which is enough to scare the whiskers off any cat, even a tough guy like me.

‘They’re taking us to the vet!’ Maddie screamed. ‘Quick - we have to hide!’

I don’t want to dwell too much on what happened. But suffice to say, it wasn’t the vet we were taken to. All nine of us were packed up and taken by these humans in a van to a place where there were lots of other cats – all being kept in little rooms like large cages. We were all scared and crying – even me, I have to admit, much as I was trying to be brave for Maddie and the others. Maddie and I were put in one of these little rooms and I heard one of the humans say: ‘These two will stay together.’ All through the rest of our time in that place, this was the thought that kept me going, and kept me being strong for Maddie.

Well, it turned out the place wasn’t bad. We had some things from the old house with us – some toys, one of our scratching things, blankets that smelt like home, a bed that neither of us had really liked, but at least it was familiar. The humans there were actually very kind. They fed us and sorted out our litter trays, and talked to us nice and gently. I gave in and let them pick me up and cuddle me, but Maddie wasn’t having any of it. Life started to settle down a bit, although we missed having sofas and armchairs to sleep on, and at night we still dreamed about our old home.

One day, one of the humans who were looking after us said: ‘Someone’s here to see you two.’

I got up and looked through the wire of our enclosure and there were two humans standing there smiling. They looked a bit old, but not at the ancient and crumbling stage, and they were still able to walk on their two back paws, which I think is a good sign in humans. They were allowed to come in to stroke us, and their voices sounded so kind that I confess I allowed myself to be picked up and cuddled – I’m a bit of a sucker for a cuddle. Maddie was staring at me in disbelief. ‘Don’t trust them!’ she meowed at me – but she’s like that, always very nervous and suspicious. She can’t help it.

The two humans were looking at each other, still smiling.

‘I think we’ll take these two, don’t you?’ said the male.

The female nodded, looking excited, like she’d just got a new catnip toy or something.

‘Lucky cats – you’re being adopted!’ said the human who’d been looking after us.

Adopted? I felt a shiver run through my fur. What was that supposed to mean? We watched the two new humans walk away and I nuzzled up to Maddie, who was still hiding under her blanket.

‘We’ll be OK,’ I meowed, although I wasn’t at all sure I believed it really. ‘They’ve said we’re going to stay together, remember. Perhaps being adopted means something really exciting.’

‘I don’t like exciting,’ Maddie cried.

That’s what she’s like, you see? That’s why she needs me.

I'll tell you some more next time I wake up.