the cat population of my house is currently as follows : hermione and pod , tabby and black respectively , the mad sisters who live in my attic office and do not mingle ; snowflake , the blue-eyed long-haired white cat , who lived wild in the woods for years before she gave up her wild ways for soft sofas and beds ; and , last but largest , furball , snowflake 's cushionlike calico long-haired daughter , orange and black and white , whom i discovered as a tiny kitten in our garage one day , strangled and almost dead , her head poked through an old badminton net , and who surprised us all by not dying but instead growing up to be the best-natured cat i have ever encountered .