Catherine is sitting next to me looking at pictures of kittens, barely able to speak from the sheer cuteness of it all. I mean that literally: I've seen her catch a glance at a particularly adorable puppy and just stammer for a moment before finally squeezing out a complete English word.

But with her it's not just conventional cute. Sure, the fat babies and kittens in ribbons will get a rise out of her, but it goes beyond that. And I think that examining the cuteness outliers provides a fascinating insight into the Catherinean mind.

So, some examples:

1. These kittens linked to from the Flickr blog. She thinks these things are cute as hell; I think they're missing a chromosome. I mean c'mon -- check out this shot. Something isn't right.
2. Rusty the narcoleptic Daschund. Okay, I'll admit this is cute. I'm just building my case.
3. Fainting Goats -- these pygmy goats' legs lock up when they get scared, making them fall over. It's pretty funny, but cute? I don't know.

So, what have we got here? Personally, I think a clear pattern emerges: if it's tiny and infirm, Catherine will think it's adorable (also, if it's a musically talented British man weighing less than 130lbs, but that's not strictly relevant to this discussion).

Tiny and infirm. I can only imagine the reaction that an infant on teeny tiny baby crutches would get out of her. Does anyone know if they make cards like that?