A typical day varies according to the season and the day of the week. At the moment we are progressing nicely into the summer season with the hot weather and short sticky nights. Most of us sleep in the bedroom with the humans. I sleep on the bottom corner of the bed the side depends which human moves around the least. Jura and Toby sleep in the bunk bed which is really the cat carrying basket Toby inside and Jura on top, human mum put blankets up on top for Jura and she spend the night quite comfortably there. Toby spends his night between the bunk bed and between the humans. Toby likes to try and push them out of bed by taking up the most room, as yet he hasn't succeeded making the humans fall out but he still has some growing to do. Talisker sleeps on the window sill and watches the world outside plotting her hunting strategies and which cat she is going to box next.
The day usually begins at about 4am when one of us cats decides it is now light so it must be time to get up. ( a note to the reader here this is only on a weekend, during the week don't wake up until after the alarm has gone off then play dead making it hard for them to get out of bed) The first step is one of us cats will bounce up an down on the human to see if they can get it up to feed them. This usually results in a bad tempered push of the bed and the human will burrow down deeper into the bed covers. The cat will then decide it is probably better if it waits and lull the human into a false sense of security maybe 20 minutes or so and try again. Each of the humans have a soft bit in the middle if you sit on this towards the lower end the human usually gets up and runs to what they call the toilet, muttering something about cats and deliberately. One of the humans sleeps like the dead and you can jump up and down on its head without it stirring, so it it better to wake the other human up. The human will try and ignore you pushing you off the bed or turning away from you. Persevere it is worth it eventually the human will get out of bed and put on their dressing down and come down stairs.
It is a good idea at this point to run in front of the legs as they walk down the stairs humans like this. Weave your way in front of them until you reach the food bowl sit in front of bowl and look pitiful. If this does not result in your human feeding you, weave in front of them again. Miaowing is a good way to get food. If you get really good at it, a groggy human will automatically feed you whenever you make this noise often without realising it. When the other human gets up repeat process if we play it right we can be fed twice.
Once fed we all have a good wash and wander in and out the back door, check all is in order in the back yard make sure there are no mice and other rodents around if so it is your duty to either chase them back into the field or show them the error of their ways. Another job that needs to be done is to check there have been no intruders about, If its the cats from 3 doors down then you can go and sort them out, their smaller than us. If its the dog from the field make sure you can run faster than the cats from 3 doors down and beat a hasty retreat indoors.
The humans at this time of the morning will then make their way to the bathroom. I take this opportunity to chase any naked toes, they are so tasty plus I can get them to do a jig. One of the Humans wears special clothes so many days a week and won't let us go near them when they have them on. Little do they know we score points for how much hair we can get on them without knowing, Socks is winning at the moment he is shedding and the human usually has more fur on than Socks. The human with the clothes goes out the front door after breakfast and doesn't come back in again till tea time when we get fed again.
The other human stays with us. Once we are all fed washed and have been out and done our duties we settle down for our morning nap. Talisker sleeps on top of the filing cabinet on a cushion but not if I can get up there first, just to prove I can. Jura or Toby sleeps on the human knee Socks sleeps on the couch. Toby if he is not on the knee sleeps on the couch with Socks or has the whole bed to himself. About mid morning the human goes into the kitchen and prepares a drink. We use our cat wiles on the human to get tit bits during the day but it tends to be a strict human and we only wheedle extra food out of them if they are making something for their food in the middle of the day.
If we feel in need of particular attention we go and sit on the desk in front of what they call the computer. If you block the screen they will pick you up and put you on its knee. Don't push your luck if you do it too many times the home human will make loud noises and put you on the floor.
I particularly like chewing cables although when humans see me doing it they start flapping and making loud noises at me. If they want to chew cable let them get their own. Apparently according to my humans I have chewed through several pairs of head phones. Although I must admit I have gone off it a bit since the last few times my mouth has gone all tingly and got a uncomfortable buzz right down to my feet actually it was more than a buzz it flipping well hurt owwwwww.
Then its outside for the a couple of hours for the afternoon, Socks tends to sunbath on the bench. Toby and Jura lounge on top of the wall. Talisker and I go off hunting in the field at the bottom of the yard. There are lots of mice and trees. I love trees I can climb ever so high and I can see everything. I can climb the tree in the yard but its such a stubby little thing one leap and a few branches I am at the top so I go for the big ones in the field. They are quite interesting at the moment there are a few nests up there. Although I have to be careful Mum and Dad Magpies have a very good aim and the four chicks that have fledged are learning fast how sharp their beaks can be. I try to chase them when humans are not watching me because they start flapping and making loud noises if they see me. We think they do this because they think they are birds themselves. Its no good telling them no matter how much they flap they won't be able to fly.
Towards the end of the afternoon it is nap time again, if it is warm we all nap outside if cooler we nap all over the house. It's getting nearer to the time the other human comes home we all nonchalantly make our way towards the front door. As soon as we hear the key in the lock there is a mass rush for the kitchen. The human puts down all its clutter and heads to the food cupboard and gets the food out. Too slow, too slow, we all weave in front of it to hurry it up. If we trip the human we can help ourselves, unfortunately it manages to stay upright and shouts a lot. We have a great variety of bowls, plates and troughs in which the human manages to spread the food around. Followed up with some dried biscuits. We let the human go and all tuck in. We have to stay out of the way of Talisker if any of us get too near her food we get cuffed around the ear. Occasionally we get treats such as tuna and then its every cat for himself. One by one we are satisfied and all go off to have a wash. It is now time to hang around because the humans now make their own food and if we look cute one of the humans will give us tit bits from their plate. There are different ways to do this, miaow at them, try and sneak in why they aren't looking and grab something but if we get caught we have our nose smacked, look cute, head butt them, cuddle up close and hope.
Then its time to sleep again. The humans after eating and tidying up then sit in front of what they call the television if we feel like it this is the best time to sit on their knees they don't move around as much. The humans tend to spend their time between the television and the computer. We drape ourselves over the furniture and have a good wash. It is best to do this on a clean surface. You can deposit all of the hair that you have groomed out on this surface. The humans obviously like us to do this because they get the big whooshy thing out that sucks up all the hair and stores it in a cylinder why they want to collect the hair we don't know but we like to oblige them and make sure there if plenty of hair for them to collect, humans are odd things. Occasionally through the evening the humans can be caught heading towards the kitchen it is always a good idea to follow to the kitchen in case there is anything tasty to be had.
Towards the end of the evening one of the humans goes up stairs and gets ready for bed. I follow upstairs after them, there are usually naked toes that I can bite mmmmmmmm. When the human gets into bed it takes a book with it and the human will stroke me with their spare hand while reading. If both humans come to bed at the same time they both have books and if you lie between both you can get them to tickle and stroke you until you purr yourself silly but often there is a crush of us hoping to be stroked at the same time and tempers can get a bit short between us. Before the light goes off I get a cuddle and then a pat on the back and the lights are out. We cats then all go playing outside in the dark off into the field if we can hunt anything we will. After a good hunt we take our catches and go and enjoy it on the bed. We leave a bit for the humans they don't seem to be able to hunt so that when they wake up they can have breakfast in bed. They must like it they make enough noise when they find it in the morning. Then we start the day all over again life is good.
Monday 28 June 2010
Wednesday 23 June 2010
Cat Names
Can you imagine yelling out of the back door late at night for your cat "Bubasti". It sounds very much like something else and has the neighbours saying "What are they shouting? Are they swearing at someone?" that was the name given to one of our cats by my Grandfather, A very very clever man, huge IQ but no common sense. Apparently the name was that of an Egyptian Cat Goddess.
Names can be very emotive things, quirky, unique, common place. The reasons can be many and varied. They for some reason have caught the owners fancy. Others can be for obscure reasons, for example we knew a family who named all of their cats after supermarkets. Not entirely sure why, maybe they got vouchers for advertising.
We have told you about naming our cats after whisky but where? do I hear you ask does the name of our eldest cat Socket come from? Socket spent his first 4 weeks of life in a cardboard box that had housed a television set. We named the kittens from words on the box. Socket and Tv where used. When we found we were keeping Socket and his brother we changed them to Sprocket and Tuvok. Tuvoks name stuck, we where very much into our Sci Fi and Tuvok was a character out of Star Trek. Socket wouldn't take any notice of sprocket and it slipped back to Socket.
We have had quite a few cats over the last few decades, Beeswax one of the loves of our life was named after a cat in a film with Tom Selleck in. Beeswax was our beautiful long haired tabby who was magnificent.
Chantilly was named after the lovely pattern of her fur coat, she was a cream and brown tabby with the most amazing yellow eyes.
Lillipud was our very first cat, we cannot remember where her name came from but one of us loved the sound of it and that became her name, she was more often than not called Pudding. She was a lovely Tabby who turned up at Grandmothers house very young and very pregnant. She lived in their caravan on their driveway until we were married and could provide a home for her. Sadly she died of Leukemia a few years later.
The older cat that Talisker was to be companion to was called Wispa after the chocolate bar which has now been reintroduced. Wispa was a tortoiseshell in browns oranges and blacks and her coat looked like a mass of fine bubbles Actually originally she was called William because of the straight red blaze she had down her nose reminiscent of William the Conqueror and the helmets the Normans soldiers wore. It wasn't until we found out it is virtually impossible to get male tortoiseshells that we looked and yes she was a girl.
We may seem to have a problem sexing our cats but it is not because we cannot tell the difference it is because we believe what people tells us. Its like the Grandma of one of us told us the moon was made of Cheese and hence always has their packet of Jacobs Crackers ready for when samples are brought back.
Some people are quite contrary about the naming of cats, I know of a cat called Rover and another called Rex. Language can play a role in naming such as the Latin word for cat is Cattus and there have been many a cat called Cattus. There are names that are derivitves of the word cat I have know cats called Kato, Kat, Catkin and Cattakins. Some names are a play on words, I heard of someone naming their cat Ceefer, when asked where the name came from they said it was C for Cat.
One of the first cats we ever had was a bad tempered Calico Tortoiseshell. We looked for a name that would describe her character all we had that had a list of names in was an old tatty family bible that had a list of all the names therein, we came across Meribah which meant strife and contention and to be ironic it was shortened to Merry.
Then there are traditional cat names such as Felix, Tibbles, Tabitha, Tigger, Fluffy, Marmalade, Tinkerbell, Smudge, Charlie, Blacky etc.
Some people take their cat names from famous cat both real and fictitious such as Bagpuss from the same named children's program who was a pink and cream striped cat with magical abilities or Orangey who played the role of Cat in Breakfast a Tiffany's. Snowball was the name of Lisa Simpson's cat and of her many subsequent cats, Garfield who was a great big orange lump of a cat whose ethos was sleep and Lasagna, which may owners feel relates to their own cats. Nelson was one of Winston Churchill's cats who used to sleep on a chair during cabinet meetings, who in turn was named after Lord Nelson. Winston Churchill had many cats and particularly loved ginger toms, His last cat before his Death was called Jock. More details on Jock can be found at http://www.flippyscatpage.com/churchill.html
Do you remember the cartoon series of the seventies Top Cat, obviously many do because often owners can be heard calling for their cat TC.
If you are looking for a cat name here are a few from our many friends and some of our own
Bobo .................an enormous ginger and white tom
Tuppence ..........a dark brown tabby with handy claws
Charlie ..............a chunky marmalade Tom
Mo ...................The smallest fully grown cat we ever knew
Schnapps..........an apricot ginger boy
Malibu...............a calico tortoiseshell
Anes.................a black oriental
Mimi......... ........a Portuguese silver tabby
Sebastian .........a black and white Tom
Brambles...........a tortoiseshell
Blondie..............a fluffy white cat with one blue and one green eye who isn't deaf
Levi ..................a grey Havana
Petrinka ...........a black long haired male moggy
Paddy ..............a black and white male from Ireland
Names can be very emotive things, quirky, unique, common place. The reasons can be many and varied. They for some reason have caught the owners fancy. Others can be for obscure reasons, for example we knew a family who named all of their cats after supermarkets. Not entirely sure why, maybe they got vouchers for advertising.
We have told you about naming our cats after whisky but where? do I hear you ask does the name of our eldest cat Socket come from? Socket spent his first 4 weeks of life in a cardboard box that had housed a television set. We named the kittens from words on the box. Socket and Tv where used. When we found we were keeping Socket and his brother we changed them to Sprocket and Tuvok. Tuvoks name stuck, we where very much into our Sci Fi and Tuvok was a character out of Star Trek. Socket wouldn't take any notice of sprocket and it slipped back to Socket.
We have had quite a few cats over the last few decades, Beeswax one of the loves of our life was named after a cat in a film with Tom Selleck in. Beeswax was our beautiful long haired tabby who was magnificent.
Chantilly was named after the lovely pattern of her fur coat, she was a cream and brown tabby with the most amazing yellow eyes.
Lillipud was our very first cat, we cannot remember where her name came from but one of us loved the sound of it and that became her name, she was more often than not called Pudding. She was a lovely Tabby who turned up at Grandmothers house very young and very pregnant. She lived in their caravan on their driveway until we were married and could provide a home for her. Sadly she died of Leukemia a few years later.
The older cat that Talisker was to be companion to was called Wispa after the chocolate bar which has now been reintroduced. Wispa was a tortoiseshell in browns oranges and blacks and her coat looked like a mass of fine bubbles Actually originally she was called William because of the straight red blaze she had down her nose reminiscent of William the Conqueror and the helmets the Normans soldiers wore. It wasn't until we found out it is virtually impossible to get male tortoiseshells that we looked and yes she was a girl.
We may seem to have a problem sexing our cats but it is not because we cannot tell the difference it is because we believe what people tells us. Its like the Grandma of one of us told us the moon was made of Cheese and hence always has their packet of Jacobs Crackers ready for when samples are brought back.
Some people are quite contrary about the naming of cats, I know of a cat called Rover and another called Rex. Language can play a role in naming such as the Latin word for cat is Cattus and there have been many a cat called Cattus. There are names that are derivitves of the word cat I have know cats called Kato, Kat, Catkin and Cattakins. Some names are a play on words, I heard of someone naming their cat Ceefer, when asked where the name came from they said it was C for Cat.
One of the first cats we ever had was a bad tempered Calico Tortoiseshell. We looked for a name that would describe her character all we had that had a list of names in was an old tatty family bible that had a list of all the names therein, we came across Meribah which meant strife and contention and to be ironic it was shortened to Merry.
Then there are traditional cat names such as Felix, Tibbles, Tabitha, Tigger, Fluffy, Marmalade, Tinkerbell, Smudge, Charlie, Blacky etc.
Some people take their cat names from famous cat both real and fictitious such as Bagpuss from the same named children's program who was a pink and cream striped cat with magical abilities or Orangey who played the role of Cat in Breakfast a Tiffany's. Snowball was the name of Lisa Simpson's cat and of her many subsequent cats, Garfield who was a great big orange lump of a cat whose ethos was sleep and Lasagna, which may owners feel relates to their own cats. Nelson was one of Winston Churchill's cats who used to sleep on a chair during cabinet meetings, who in turn was named after Lord Nelson. Winston Churchill had many cats and particularly loved ginger toms, His last cat before his Death was called Jock. More details on Jock can be found at http://www.flippyscatpage.com/churchill.html
Do you remember the cartoon series of the seventies Top Cat, obviously many do because often owners can be heard calling for their cat TC.
If you are looking for a cat name here are a few from our many friends and some of our own
Bobo .................an enormous ginger and white tom
Tuppence ..........a dark brown tabby with handy claws
Charlie ..............a chunky marmalade Tom
Mo ...................The smallest fully grown cat we ever knew
Schnapps..........an apricot ginger boy
Malibu...............a calico tortoiseshell
Anes.................a black oriental
Mimi......... ........a Portuguese silver tabby
Sebastian .........a black and white Tom
Brambles...........a tortoiseshell
Blondie..............a fluffy white cat with one blue and one green eye who isn't deaf
Levi ..................a grey Havana
Petrinka ...........a black long haired male moggy
Paddy ..............a black and white male from Ireland
Sunday 20 June 2010
Treats
The last blog may have made you think that cats are a violent and dangerous species nothing can be further from the truth they are loving friendly and happy creatures (most of the time). They give so much, fun laughter happiness because of this you want to treat them. Over the years we have bought various toys, treats and tit bits which have had various degrees of success. Here are a few of them
Successes
Bouncy balls are one of the successes, they are small round easy to get a paw round they bounce back when the cat aims for a vertical surface and there was no guarantee that it would bounce back in the expected direction, bliss. Even more bliss when a human stands on them and flails around, even falling over whoo hoo. Whenever buying cat toys a full health and safety report needs to be produced, a huge amount of accidents in the home are caused by toys lying in wait for the unsuspecting. The problem with bouncy balls is they get rolled under furniture and the cats cannot reach them until you move the furniture.
Another success was knitted fluffy mice. A friend knitted about 3 mice for us and they have lasted years and years, they don't roll under furniture and if you stand on them they just squash down. If we find one we throw it to the cats who catches it and runs off with its prize.
A favourite game was a round bowl with a lid that had various slots and shapes on it. In the bowl would be one or two balls, the lid would be put on and the cat could chase the ball round and round through the slots. The kittens spent hours on this till eventually they learnt how to get the lid of and get the balls out which would then be rolled under the furniture and lost. The lid has now been cracked by Toby the heavy weight and we are looking at ways of mending it and then taping the top down so they don't get the balls out as quick.
The cheapest cat toy is a cardboard box with polystyrene quavers. The cats will jump in and bury themselves in the quavers. The cats would fight over who got the box. Top cat usually wins. A favourite game is burying itself deep so any other suspecting cat climbing in gets short shrift on the rump.
Sticks with a long string and feathers on the end is a good toy as long as you allow them to catch it every so often they are happy.
One Christmas we received a battery operated hamster in a ball, which rolled around never stopping even if it got stuck in a corner it just kept running around the ball until it became unstuck. The cats would stare at it in fascination tapping it every so often in wonder. Jura loved to get it to the top of the stairs then push it off the top step and then charge hell for leather to beat it to the bottom and then chase it around downstairs.
Failures
Wind up mice do not work and as far as the cats are concerned are beneath contempt. Did the stupid human think they looked anything like the succulent rodents they were used to chasing. Balls with bells in is another one that failed miserably. What fascination could a cat have for a bell. Now if it squeaked that might be fun. We purchased a treat ball thinking this would be the greatest of fun but the cats never got the hang of it. A ball with a sliding door that treats can be loaded into then partially closed so that when the cats rolled it around treats would fall out and they could eat them. Our cats are not fans of cat treats so they would push the ball round in a desultory fashion ignoring the treats that fell out, decide that the ball didn't do anything interesting and would wander off. We will one day find a treat the cats cannot resist and may be the treat ball will rule another day.
Food
Food treats are popular but it can be a hit and miss affair. Many years ago we went on a camping trip to France and bought back with us lots of tinned fish thinking this might sooth the their cries of "where the hell have you been" when we got back. Either they were so incensed at being left in the hands of a relative for two weeks or they genuinely didn't like the fish and wouldn't touch it leaving us with several tins that haunted the back of the cupboard for several years. We have tried a variety of packaged cat treats for them as far as they are concerned we can keep them. Tuna is a sure success as long as they don't get it too often. They love the liquid in the can being squeezed out onto their dried biscuits and would wolf it down. Then the tuna could either be mixed with the tinned food or on its own. The secret to treats is not to make it too often or it becomes common and expected. Occasionally we would try a different variety of tinned fish never as good a tuna but they would give it a try.
Other treats would be human food. This is not recommended but a little bit once in a while can be allowed. We had a cat who loved ready salted crisps it wasn't often we had them but if we did he would look up at us with big eyes until we would give him a small bit. Another cat would do anything for white chocolate. One of us has an intolerance for chocolate (not that that ever stopped her eating it) so white chocolate was a good alternative. Now because the cat loved it the human would try and bring it in without the cats knowledge, there was no chance as soon as the cat could sense it in the house he would be there. Have you ever watched a human tying to ignore a cat when eating something that the cat would give up all mice for. It impossible and the human would give the cat a little bit and bolt the rest themself. A certain brand of white chocolate buttons was not allowed in the house it is a sad sight to see a human and a cat growling over a packet.
All the cats in our household learned they were not allowed on the work surfaces in the kitchen. There would be shouts and smacked noses if they did. This allowed the humans to make food on the work surface without any worries about the cats pinching it while being cooked. We used to live in a stone terraced house in Lancashire and we had the back windows open all the time in summer which were work surface height. Now our cats knew the rules but the neighbours cats didn't. On one occasion when cheese sauce was being made, a huge block of cheese had been placed at the side of the cooker. The human was called away and arrived back just in time to see the cheese block being cat handled out of the window by one of the smallest cats we ever knew. We chased outside to wrest it from her but it was too late, she had hauled this huge lump of cheese which was not that much smaller than her up over the fence and into the woods. Strangely enough we didn't see our neighbour for weeks and when we finally caught up with him he admitted that he had been hiding, she had come home with a half eaten block of cheese which he confiscated into the bin, he then stayed indoors lest an irate neighbour collared him.
As a child one of us had similar experiences with their cats. They had a mum and her kitten who would often go out exploring together on one occasion Kato the mum came in with a whole gutted trout in her mouth followed by the kitten Smokey dragging one of a similar size in with her. The fish was quickly taken off them and disposed off much to the cats disgust. Then a few days later the cats appeared again each with a sizeable steak. Again it was disposed off. Then came the knocking an unhappy neighbour came to complain that the cats had been stealing her and her husbands tea which she had been defrosting on her windowsill. Apologies were given and a suggestion that she did not defrost the food on an open windowsill. It is not known if she did this but the cats stopped bringing food home, but knowing cats they probably learnt that taking it home meant it was taken off them so still stole the food and took it somewhere to eat in safety
Successes
Bouncy balls are one of the successes, they are small round easy to get a paw round they bounce back when the cat aims for a vertical surface and there was no guarantee that it would bounce back in the expected direction, bliss. Even more bliss when a human stands on them and flails around, even falling over whoo hoo. Whenever buying cat toys a full health and safety report needs to be produced, a huge amount of accidents in the home are caused by toys lying in wait for the unsuspecting. The problem with bouncy balls is they get rolled under furniture and the cats cannot reach them until you move the furniture.
Another success was knitted fluffy mice. A friend knitted about 3 mice for us and they have lasted years and years, they don't roll under furniture and if you stand on them they just squash down. If we find one we throw it to the cats who catches it and runs off with its prize.
A favourite game was a round bowl with a lid that had various slots and shapes on it. In the bowl would be one or two balls, the lid would be put on and the cat could chase the ball round and round through the slots. The kittens spent hours on this till eventually they learnt how to get the lid of and get the balls out which would then be rolled under the furniture and lost. The lid has now been cracked by Toby the heavy weight and we are looking at ways of mending it and then taping the top down so they don't get the balls out as quick.
The cheapest cat toy is a cardboard box with polystyrene quavers. The cats will jump in and bury themselves in the quavers. The cats would fight over who got the box. Top cat usually wins. A favourite game is burying itself deep so any other suspecting cat climbing in gets short shrift on the rump.
Sticks with a long string and feathers on the end is a good toy as long as you allow them to catch it every so often they are happy.
One Christmas we received a battery operated hamster in a ball, which rolled around never stopping even if it got stuck in a corner it just kept running around the ball until it became unstuck. The cats would stare at it in fascination tapping it every so often in wonder. Jura loved to get it to the top of the stairs then push it off the top step and then charge hell for leather to beat it to the bottom and then chase it around downstairs.
Failures
Wind up mice do not work and as far as the cats are concerned are beneath contempt. Did the stupid human think they looked anything like the succulent rodents they were used to chasing. Balls with bells in is another one that failed miserably. What fascination could a cat have for a bell. Now if it squeaked that might be fun. We purchased a treat ball thinking this would be the greatest of fun but the cats never got the hang of it. A ball with a sliding door that treats can be loaded into then partially closed so that when the cats rolled it around treats would fall out and they could eat them. Our cats are not fans of cat treats so they would push the ball round in a desultory fashion ignoring the treats that fell out, decide that the ball didn't do anything interesting and would wander off. We will one day find a treat the cats cannot resist and may be the treat ball will rule another day.
Food
Food treats are popular but it can be a hit and miss affair. Many years ago we went on a camping trip to France and bought back with us lots of tinned fish thinking this might sooth the their cries of "where the hell have you been" when we got back. Either they were so incensed at being left in the hands of a relative for two weeks or they genuinely didn't like the fish and wouldn't touch it leaving us with several tins that haunted the back of the cupboard for several years. We have tried a variety of packaged cat treats for them as far as they are concerned we can keep them. Tuna is a sure success as long as they don't get it too often. They love the liquid in the can being squeezed out onto their dried biscuits and would wolf it down. Then the tuna could either be mixed with the tinned food or on its own. The secret to treats is not to make it too often or it becomes common and expected. Occasionally we would try a different variety of tinned fish never as good a tuna but they would give it a try.
Other treats would be human food. This is not recommended but a little bit once in a while can be allowed. We had a cat who loved ready salted crisps it wasn't often we had them but if we did he would look up at us with big eyes until we would give him a small bit. Another cat would do anything for white chocolate. One of us has an intolerance for chocolate (not that that ever stopped her eating it) so white chocolate was a good alternative. Now because the cat loved it the human would try and bring it in without the cats knowledge, there was no chance as soon as the cat could sense it in the house he would be there. Have you ever watched a human tying to ignore a cat when eating something that the cat would give up all mice for. It impossible and the human would give the cat a little bit and bolt the rest themself. A certain brand of white chocolate buttons was not allowed in the house it is a sad sight to see a human and a cat growling over a packet.
All the cats in our household learned they were not allowed on the work surfaces in the kitchen. There would be shouts and smacked noses if they did. This allowed the humans to make food on the work surface without any worries about the cats pinching it while being cooked. We used to live in a stone terraced house in Lancashire and we had the back windows open all the time in summer which were work surface height. Now our cats knew the rules but the neighbours cats didn't. On one occasion when cheese sauce was being made, a huge block of cheese had been placed at the side of the cooker. The human was called away and arrived back just in time to see the cheese block being cat handled out of the window by one of the smallest cats we ever knew. We chased outside to wrest it from her but it was too late, she had hauled this huge lump of cheese which was not that much smaller than her up over the fence and into the woods. Strangely enough we didn't see our neighbour for weeks and when we finally caught up with him he admitted that he had been hiding, she had come home with a half eaten block of cheese which he confiscated into the bin, he then stayed indoors lest an irate neighbour collared him.
As a child one of us had similar experiences with their cats. They had a mum and her kitten who would often go out exploring together on one occasion Kato the mum came in with a whole gutted trout in her mouth followed by the kitten Smokey dragging one of a similar size in with her. The fish was quickly taken off them and disposed off much to the cats disgust. Then a few days later the cats appeared again each with a sizeable steak. Again it was disposed off. Then came the knocking an unhappy neighbour came to complain that the cats had been stealing her and her husbands tea which she had been defrosting on her windowsill. Apologies were given and a suggestion that she did not defrost the food on an open windowsill. It is not known if she did this but the cats stopped bringing food home, but knowing cats they probably learnt that taking it home meant it was taken off them so still stole the food and took it somewhere to eat in safety
Saturday 19 June 2010
Medicating your cats
Medication and how to apply it. Warning cats are dangerous and medicine must be applied with great care. In fact we are surprised the health and safety police have not regulated cat medication yet.
Have you ever tried to give medicine to a cat, you will probably need therapy if you have. One of us is currently sporting a bite from Socks who took offence when they tried to give him a tablet for a urinary infection. 22 years of cats and we still have not found a fool proof way of giving medicine.
Its not just medicine, flea powder, aerosols and pump action sprays can cause havoc. Before the days of flea drops powder was the preferred method. First of all you find a large bath towel and liberally sprinkle it with flea powder and approach the unsuspecting cat. Here is the first error, unsuspecting is not a word in a cats mind from the moment it sees you it knows you are up to something. This is a two person job, one grabs the cat and the other quickly wraps the cat up with the towel and rubs the powdered towel vigorously over the cat. You have to be quick if you want the towel or yourselves to survive a Freddy Kreuger type attack with the claws. Let the cat go and it dashes off to a safe distance, if looks could kill we would have been gone long ago. The trailing clouds of powder have you choking coughing and spluttering, if your eyes are not watering from the powder they should be from where the cat inserted it's claws. Once this is done its the next cats turn but it is too late, even though the other cat was not in the room it knows. Yes it knows, there has been some sort of telepathic communication and all other cats have fled to the highest most inaccessible point in the house or have dug their claws in so deep to the carpet furniture or bedding that they make Velcro looks like an ineffective application. By the time you have cornered the cat wrapped it up and suffocated in the fumes you are hot sweaty and leaking blood from many scratches and punctures.
We had a cat flap put in for the cats convenience and for a short time it helped in the application of flea powder, How? Well it was the sort that could lock four ways and was double glazed. As soon as they realised it was flea powder time they would make a dash for the flap which we had had the foresight to lock so that they could get in and not get out they would run headlong into an immovable object. A stunned cat is easier to administer too and much less harmful. Of course this only worked once or twice because the cats wised up to it.
Then the flea spray was invented whoo hoo we thought, flea spraying the cats would be much easier we didn't have to grab and wrap. I think we only ever bought flea spray once if we thought towel wrapping was dangerous we just hadn't lived. The memory of the first cat we ever sprayed is embellished in our minds permanently. One of us had lulled the cat into a false sense of security and had the cat cornered the fur had been ruffed up so that it was all standing on end and the other then proceeded to spray. The cat leapt up into the air up above head height still being followed with the spray it came back down to earth jumped again and rotated itself 180 degrees and dug all four paws deep into the arm holding the spray there were screams and hissing. The can was dropped the cat let go and sped off. The human dropped to its knees and needed medical aid for twenty deep lacerations. Next time we used the spray gauntlets and full body armour was needed. For years and years afterwards any of the cats heard an aerosol can being sprayed they would dive for cover so deep was the trauma.
The next invention was the pump action spray it was sold as being cat friendly much quieter than any spray. It was about the best, you could sneak up on the cat with the pump fully primed pump once or twice before the cat realised what was going on and ran off.
Then they invented the drops, whoever invented them should be knighted. No more trips to the hospital no more tetanus boosters whay hey. All our cats are none the wiser just a cool spot on their necks which they don't mind.
Tablet are still a problem though. Giving tablets to a cat is not for the fainthearted. For those of you now saying well I don't have any problems with my cat, we hate you its not fair. Often people would give you advice telling you what was the best method the mummy method is probably the most effective following are the instructions:
Have you ever tried to give medicine to a cat, you will probably need therapy if you have. One of us is currently sporting a bite from Socks who took offence when they tried to give him a tablet for a urinary infection. 22 years of cats and we still have not found a fool proof way of giving medicine.
Its not just medicine, flea powder, aerosols and pump action sprays can cause havoc. Before the days of flea drops powder was the preferred method. First of all you find a large bath towel and liberally sprinkle it with flea powder and approach the unsuspecting cat. Here is the first error, unsuspecting is not a word in a cats mind from the moment it sees you it knows you are up to something. This is a two person job, one grabs the cat and the other quickly wraps the cat up with the towel and rubs the powdered towel vigorously over the cat. You have to be quick if you want the towel or yourselves to survive a Freddy Kreuger type attack with the claws. Let the cat go and it dashes off to a safe distance, if looks could kill we would have been gone long ago. The trailing clouds of powder have you choking coughing and spluttering, if your eyes are not watering from the powder they should be from where the cat inserted it's claws. Once this is done its the next cats turn but it is too late, even though the other cat was not in the room it knows. Yes it knows, there has been some sort of telepathic communication and all other cats have fled to the highest most inaccessible point in the house or have dug their claws in so deep to the carpet furniture or bedding that they make Velcro looks like an ineffective application. By the time you have cornered the cat wrapped it up and suffocated in the fumes you are hot sweaty and leaking blood from many scratches and punctures.
We had a cat flap put in for the cats convenience and for a short time it helped in the application of flea powder, How? Well it was the sort that could lock four ways and was double glazed. As soon as they realised it was flea powder time they would make a dash for the flap which we had had the foresight to lock so that they could get in and not get out they would run headlong into an immovable object. A stunned cat is easier to administer too and much less harmful. Of course this only worked once or twice because the cats wised up to it.
Then the flea spray was invented whoo hoo we thought, flea spraying the cats would be much easier we didn't have to grab and wrap. I think we only ever bought flea spray once if we thought towel wrapping was dangerous we just hadn't lived. The memory of the first cat we ever sprayed is embellished in our minds permanently. One of us had lulled the cat into a false sense of security and had the cat cornered the fur had been ruffed up so that it was all standing on end and the other then proceeded to spray. The cat leapt up into the air up above head height still being followed with the spray it came back down to earth jumped again and rotated itself 180 degrees and dug all four paws deep into the arm holding the spray there were screams and hissing. The can was dropped the cat let go and sped off. The human dropped to its knees and needed medical aid for twenty deep lacerations. Next time we used the spray gauntlets and full body armour was needed. For years and years afterwards any of the cats heard an aerosol can being sprayed they would dive for cover so deep was the trauma.
The next invention was the pump action spray it was sold as being cat friendly much quieter than any spray. It was about the best, you could sneak up on the cat with the pump fully primed pump once or twice before the cat realised what was going on and ran off.
Then they invented the drops, whoever invented them should be knighted. No more trips to the hospital no more tetanus boosters whay hey. All our cats are none the wiser just a cool spot on their necks which they don't mind.
Tablet are still a problem though. Giving tablets to a cat is not for the fainthearted. For those of you now saying well I don't have any problems with my cat, we hate you its not fair. Often people would give you advice telling you what was the best method the mummy method is probably the most effective following are the instructions:
The mummy method
- Using the trusty towel again wrap your cat up quickly with the towel until they look like a mummy.
- It must be tight to contain the cat
- Once wrapped turn the cat on its back
- Open the mouth and pop in the tablet
- Close the mouth while stroking the cats throat
- When the cat has swallowed it can be set free.
This is an effective and easy way of giving tablets to your cat.
Ha, in your dreams it is. the following is more like it.
- Grab the cat before it knows what is happening. Try and warp the struggling bundle this may take a few goes before you get it tight enough so it will not be able to use its claws to slash its way out and you in the process.
- Once wrapped turn the cat on its back it takes two of you to force the mouth open.Throw the tablet in while you have got the chance. Avoid the teeth they can easily bite through a human finger.
- Hold the mouth shut quickly stroke the throat taking care to keep your hands away from the claws as they are shredding the towel.
- Wait until the tablet has been swallowed. Allow cat to open mouth and double check that the tablet has been swallowed. It is wise to wear glasses as cat can spit a tablet out with great accuracy. Once you have double checked the tablet has gone, you can let the cat go.
- Watch the cat take three paces and then spit the tablet out.
- Repeat the above as neccerssary
- Keep a good supply of tablets as by the 3rd attempt the tablet has turned to a mushy mess.
Oh the joy of cats, some of you will be saying why don't you mix it into their food or in a special treat Oh we have and have wasted more tablets food and treats than we care to mention. Cats are not thick It only takes one cat to wise up and tell they others and they will all thwart your methods for years. We have tried crumbling medication mixing it with water and syringing it into their mouths. Saying that Socks has to have painkillers all the time because of his arthritis and I used to mix it with his food which he seemed to like but if he didn't eat it all he wouldn't have a full dose. Then some one told me that cats like the taste of it and to use the syringe. They were right and now when I get up in the morning I have Socks waiting for his medicine and if I should forget it he starts to wail. At the beginning of this blog we mentioned that Socks was having tablets for a urinary infection, he has it sussed. He is an old cat and is riddled with arthritis and we can't wrap him in a towel because it would hurt him. At first he would take the tablet if I coated it in his pain killer, then he wised up, he took the tablet licked off all the painkiller and spat the tablet back out. So now we hold his scruff pop the tablet in and try and avoid him accidentally on purpose closing his mouth with your fingers still inside. Its revenge for all the towel wrapping years.
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Introducing Tobermory and Jura
How many cats have you got? We have five, we didn't mean to have five and thought three was more than enough. In fact if you decide you want more than three I think it is compulsory that you take a psych examination, its for your own benefit.
Oban had replaced our old cat and we were quite happy to settle down as we were. That would have been the case if it hadn't been for a taxi Journey. One of us has a weakness for certain breeds of cats and here was the taxi driver telling us about a passenger in the car the previous day with a cat and her six kittens of a certain breed. There was a very sorry tale and the cat and the kittens had been rescued. They were checked over by the vet and the rescuers agreed to look after the cat and the kittens. When she got back in the taxi, the taxi driver saw them and fell in love he offered a home for one. He was busy telling us about them the next day and he happened to mention the breed, Oh no. The taxi driver was asked to see if the woman had homes for the other kittens if not we could offer a home to one, the rescuers said they hadn't got a home for one of them and we could have him when he was old enough, whoo hoo.
The morning eight weeks later dawned and one of us was so excited. The Taxi driver turned up at our house with a cat basket and mentioned that there might be two kittens. In for a penny in for a pound. The two kittens duly popped their heads out and had a look around no shyness just a curiosity, they where soon out and exploring the terrain. After having single kittens it was good to have two kittens that could play chase and fight together cause trouble and blame each other.
The two kittens are an unusual breed, their behaviour is more like that of a dog than a cat. They love water but don't like to be in it. Once the kittens were big enough to get in the bath it was hilarious. They would paddle in puddles and flick water everywhere. Their favourite game was to chase their tails in the bath. They would spin faster and faster until they collapsed in a heap of legs, tails and water. They play fetch with rolled up pieces of paper, they like human company and want to be with humans all the time. Going to the toilet, the bath, making a drink, working, gardening two cats would accompany you to make sure you didn't get lost.
We had got two boys and we needed to think of names for them. Different whisky names were considered and we had a few contenders. We had been told we were getting a boy and when we received the two it was still supposed to be boys so neither of us thought to check. It wasn't till one of us noticed that one was more endowed than the other that we thought to question it. On closer inspection we found out we had a boy and a girl. Two fine single malt whiskies were chosen Tobermory and Jura.
The Male became Tobermory, Toby for short. Jura for the female. Jura the female turned out to be the most laid back of the two, this cat can take Armageddon in her stride. she has no aspirations and is quite happy to take things as they are and settle in in her own little niche. Tobermory is a big bundle of cuddles who has found out there is a hierarchy. He isn't particularly interested in being at the top of the heap but is interested in not getting any stress from the other cats and if he is on top of the heap there will be no stress. So far he is boss of Jura who is happy to be bottom of the heap and Oban who is older than him. Supremacy over Oban has been obtained through fighting. When the kittens first arrived Oban was so excited he had someone to play with. At first all he had to do was tap them with a paw. there would be a Phhhsssst and kittens would explode into spiky bundles of fur with a mohican down their back and a tail twice its normal size. Oban would let the kitten settle down and then tap the other and that too would explode like a air bag. As they grew we had to watch out that Oban was not too rough and had to rescue the Kittens a few times from an over enthusiastic Oban. As Tobermory grew Oban and him have fought it out. They both go in for the throat and who can stand it the longest is the winner. For a long time Oban was superior, unfortunately for him Tobermory grew. It is part of his genes that he is one of the largest domestic cat breeds, so it was inevitable that he would defeat Oban. Oban has taken it in good heart and relief, before his mum was the superior and who can fight with his mum when she can grab you by the ear and tell you its time for bed, it is a case of Awwwhh mummmm, I don't want to. Oban was quite happy to answer to Toby rather than his mum it made things much easier.
As I mentioned before Tobermory just wanted an easy life. Between him and that goal is Talisker. She brooks no argument over this but Tobys size is giving him the edge and it won't be long before she capitulates. As for Socket Tobermory has no intention of fighting him and once Talisker has been defeated Toby is quite happy to pretend the arthritic Socks is the leader of the pack. We remember seeing a program about the Cats that live in the ruins of Colosseum in Rome, Ceaser was a ginger and white Tom and had been top cat for a many years. He was eventually defeated by Brutus (who was probably his son, grandson or great grandson), but rather than being ostracised and excluded from the pack Brutus let him enjoy a happy existence, he sunbathed, ate and left all the mating and procreating to the young while he had the time of his life. The same will happen with Socks and Toby.
All the cats sleep on the bed with us at night, Jura likes high places and would perch on top of the highest cupboard or door but after a while would like to join the heap on the bed. She did this by jumping from her high spot onto the bed she found the best place to aim for was the soft bit in the middle of the humans. It made a great noise as she landed on one tummy then bounced onto the other and the humans would immediately sit upright from being fast asleep. This didn't last long as the humans learnt to sleep on their sides and that wasn't as bouncy when she landed. Toby liked to snuggle he would find the gap in the quilt at the neck and then make his way down the human back he would then roll over and sleep back to back with the human. This was fine until he decided to chase anything that moved, any legs moving would be punctured arms would be savaged and toes chomped on. Still we let them stay it was all part of the fun of having cats, I am beginning to think we are masochists, the bruises scratches and wounds we have would make anyone think there was domestic violence going on in the home. They would be right they just wouldn't guess who was the cause.
Well that is a brief introduction to all the cats read on more to find out more about their lives and the havoc they cause.
Oban had replaced our old cat and we were quite happy to settle down as we were. That would have been the case if it hadn't been for a taxi Journey. One of us has a weakness for certain breeds of cats and here was the taxi driver telling us about a passenger in the car the previous day with a cat and her six kittens of a certain breed. There was a very sorry tale and the cat and the kittens had been rescued. They were checked over by the vet and the rescuers agreed to look after the cat and the kittens. When she got back in the taxi, the taxi driver saw them and fell in love he offered a home for one. He was busy telling us about them the next day and he happened to mention the breed, Oh no. The taxi driver was asked to see if the woman had homes for the other kittens if not we could offer a home to one, the rescuers said they hadn't got a home for one of them and we could have him when he was old enough, whoo hoo.
The morning eight weeks later dawned and one of us was so excited. The Taxi driver turned up at our house with a cat basket and mentioned that there might be two kittens. In for a penny in for a pound. The two kittens duly popped their heads out and had a look around no shyness just a curiosity, they where soon out and exploring the terrain. After having single kittens it was good to have two kittens that could play chase and fight together cause trouble and blame each other.
The two kittens are an unusual breed, their behaviour is more like that of a dog than a cat. They love water but don't like to be in it. Once the kittens were big enough to get in the bath it was hilarious. They would paddle in puddles and flick water everywhere. Their favourite game was to chase their tails in the bath. They would spin faster and faster until they collapsed in a heap of legs, tails and water. They play fetch with rolled up pieces of paper, they like human company and want to be with humans all the time. Going to the toilet, the bath, making a drink, working, gardening two cats would accompany you to make sure you didn't get lost.
We had got two boys and we needed to think of names for them. Different whisky names were considered and we had a few contenders. We had been told we were getting a boy and when we received the two it was still supposed to be boys so neither of us thought to check. It wasn't till one of us noticed that one was more endowed than the other that we thought to question it. On closer inspection we found out we had a boy and a girl. Two fine single malt whiskies were chosen Tobermory and Jura.
The Male became Tobermory, Toby for short. Jura for the female. Jura the female turned out to be the most laid back of the two, this cat can take Armageddon in her stride. she has no aspirations and is quite happy to take things as they are and settle in in her own little niche. Tobermory is a big bundle of cuddles who has found out there is a hierarchy. He isn't particularly interested in being at the top of the heap but is interested in not getting any stress from the other cats and if he is on top of the heap there will be no stress. So far he is boss of Jura who is happy to be bottom of the heap and Oban who is older than him. Supremacy over Oban has been obtained through fighting. When the kittens first arrived Oban was so excited he had someone to play with. At first all he had to do was tap them with a paw. there would be a Phhhsssst and kittens would explode into spiky bundles of fur with a mohican down their back and a tail twice its normal size. Oban would let the kitten settle down and then tap the other and that too would explode like a air bag. As they grew we had to watch out that Oban was not too rough and had to rescue the Kittens a few times from an over enthusiastic Oban. As Tobermory grew Oban and him have fought it out. They both go in for the throat and who can stand it the longest is the winner. For a long time Oban was superior, unfortunately for him Tobermory grew. It is part of his genes that he is one of the largest domestic cat breeds, so it was inevitable that he would defeat Oban. Oban has taken it in good heart and relief, before his mum was the superior and who can fight with his mum when she can grab you by the ear and tell you its time for bed, it is a case of Awwwhh mummmm, I don't want to. Oban was quite happy to answer to Toby rather than his mum it made things much easier.
As I mentioned before Tobermory just wanted an easy life. Between him and that goal is Talisker. She brooks no argument over this but Tobys size is giving him the edge and it won't be long before she capitulates. As for Socket Tobermory has no intention of fighting him and once Talisker has been defeated Toby is quite happy to pretend the arthritic Socks is the leader of the pack. We remember seeing a program about the Cats that live in the ruins of Colosseum in Rome, Ceaser was a ginger and white Tom and had been top cat for a many years. He was eventually defeated by Brutus (who was probably his son, grandson or great grandson), but rather than being ostracised and excluded from the pack Brutus let him enjoy a happy existence, he sunbathed, ate and left all the mating and procreating to the young while he had the time of his life. The same will happen with Socks and Toby.
All the cats sleep on the bed with us at night, Jura likes high places and would perch on top of the highest cupboard or door but after a while would like to join the heap on the bed. She did this by jumping from her high spot onto the bed she found the best place to aim for was the soft bit in the middle of the humans. It made a great noise as she landed on one tummy then bounced onto the other and the humans would immediately sit upright from being fast asleep. This didn't last long as the humans learnt to sleep on their sides and that wasn't as bouncy when she landed. Toby liked to snuggle he would find the gap in the quilt at the neck and then make his way down the human back he would then roll over and sleep back to back with the human. This was fine until he decided to chase anything that moved, any legs moving would be punctured arms would be savaged and toes chomped on. Still we let them stay it was all part of the fun of having cats, I am beginning to think we are masochists, the bruises scratches and wounds we have would make anyone think there was domestic violence going on in the home. They would be right they just wouldn't guess who was the cause.
Well that is a brief introduction to all the cats read on more to find out more about their lives and the havoc they cause.
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Introducing Oban
Oban is the next cat I want to introduce, he is a black and white moggy. Mainly black with a white flash on his chest and then a white nose and neck. He looks like he is wearing a batman mask with a teardrop. Oban wears white half boots and has a bent tail of which he is very proud.
So far the cats have been in order of hierachy and age, it changes with Oban. Oban is the next one down in age but in the hierachy there is a younger one higher than him which we will tell you about later. Oban is Tally's son, he was one of three kittens and the biggest. He was the first out of the box, although once he had been out he got back in and didn't want to get out again. He had discovered there was no rush his brother and sister could do it first and took his time at everything else. Tally had joined the household to be company for one of our old cats. Unfortunately our old cat was ill with cancer and it got to the stage where it was kinder for her to go to sleep than suffer any more treatment. She was a good age and much loved losing her was very upsetting, Oban with his wonky tail was the kitten who needed us most and so we decided to keep Oban. Whereas Tally was daddies girl, Oban was mums little man.
Oban is not the sharpest knife in the box, which must be a throw back seeing that his mum and dad are fairly intelligent. He is an amiable cat who bumbles through life enjoying himself but he does have a talent, trees. He first encountered trees when a male chaffinch decided to bait him (probably leading Oban away from a nest site) Oban chased up the tree to get the Chaffinch. The Chaffinch would stay just out of reach, every time Oban moved colser the Chaffinch would hop further out on the branch until the branch was bending precariously and could snap at any moment. Despite this he did not fall but the Chaffinch wasn't giving up and caused Oban to climb the tree a number of times. I think the Chaffinch thought if he could lure the cat right out on a limb it would snap the cat would fall of and be splatted or at the very least develop a phobia for heights. Unfortunately for the Chaffinch somewhere along the line Oban spotted the view and could see far across his Kingdom and he loved it. Oban learnt to climb up tees with the greatest of ease. He will sway in the breeze on branches so thin you didn't think it would support a pigeon never mind a cat. We daily suffered palpitations as he would sway past the upstairs office window on a slender twig. We would be working away and one of us would look up and gasp as Oban looked back at us several branches above the wood pigeons. When this first happened we would rush downstairs and lure him out of the tree with some treat or other but five minutes later he would be back up. What made it worse for us his favourite tree leaned out over a large greenhouse and we had visions of him plummeting to earth through the roof and despite the fact he could well land on his feet he couldn't avoid the shattered glass. As soon as we were able the greenhouse was put on ebay and sold. prreventing premature aging and grey hairs.
If we cannot find him we go to the nearest tree and shout for him and he will appear somewhere in the canopy where he has been sunbathing.
Oban has one bad point, he has a fondness for toes any bare toes and he has to nibble and bite them, which can be a problem when you stick them out of the quilt in your sleep and wake up to fangs being sunk into them. He has learnt to bite toes even when the victim is running. So no quick sneaking off to the bathroom without the slippers. At least we will be safe from bare footed burgulars.
So far the cats have been in order of hierachy and age, it changes with Oban. Oban is the next one down in age but in the hierachy there is a younger one higher than him which we will tell you about later. Oban is Tally's son, he was one of three kittens and the biggest. He was the first out of the box, although once he had been out he got back in and didn't want to get out again. He had discovered there was no rush his brother and sister could do it first and took his time at everything else. Tally had joined the household to be company for one of our old cats. Unfortunately our old cat was ill with cancer and it got to the stage where it was kinder for her to go to sleep than suffer any more treatment. She was a good age and much loved losing her was very upsetting, Oban with his wonky tail was the kitten who needed us most and so we decided to keep Oban. Whereas Tally was daddies girl, Oban was mums little man.
Oban is not the sharpest knife in the box, which must be a throw back seeing that his mum and dad are fairly intelligent. He is an amiable cat who bumbles through life enjoying himself but he does have a talent, trees. He first encountered trees when a male chaffinch decided to bait him (probably leading Oban away from a nest site) Oban chased up the tree to get the Chaffinch. The Chaffinch would stay just out of reach, every time Oban moved colser the Chaffinch would hop further out on the branch until the branch was bending precariously and could snap at any moment. Despite this he did not fall but the Chaffinch wasn't giving up and caused Oban to climb the tree a number of times. I think the Chaffinch thought if he could lure the cat right out on a limb it would snap the cat would fall of and be splatted or at the very least develop a phobia for heights. Unfortunately for the Chaffinch somewhere along the line Oban spotted the view and could see far across his Kingdom and he loved it. Oban learnt to climb up tees with the greatest of ease. He will sway in the breeze on branches so thin you didn't think it would support a pigeon never mind a cat. We daily suffered palpitations as he would sway past the upstairs office window on a slender twig. We would be working away and one of us would look up and gasp as Oban looked back at us several branches above the wood pigeons. When this first happened we would rush downstairs and lure him out of the tree with some treat or other but five minutes later he would be back up. What made it worse for us his favourite tree leaned out over a large greenhouse and we had visions of him plummeting to earth through the roof and despite the fact he could well land on his feet he couldn't avoid the shattered glass. As soon as we were able the greenhouse was put on ebay and sold. prreventing premature aging and grey hairs.
If we cannot find him we go to the nearest tree and shout for him and he will appear somewhere in the canopy where he has been sunbathing.
Oban has one bad point, he has a fondness for toes any bare toes and he has to nibble and bite them, which can be a problem when you stick them out of the quilt in your sleep and wake up to fangs being sunk into them. He has learnt to bite toes even when the victim is running. So no quick sneaking off to the bathroom without the slippers. At least we will be safe from bare footed burgulars.
Monday 14 June 2010
Introducing No 2
All cat groups have a hierarchy and our cats are no different, Socks is in command and Talisker is his second, not because she does as he tells her but because she can beat up all the others and not him. Socks is getting old and there will come a time when she is top cat but she has to keep her eye on one of the younger ones who is rocketing up the ranks.
Talisker joined the family as a companion for one of our older cats who seemed to be quite lonely after her best friend passed on. Talisker is a rather beautiful cat, she has a completely white body with a tabby tortoiseshell tail and a tabby tortoiseshell cap. She has lovely green eyes very similar to Socks although no relation. They come from different sides of the country. We have a name theme in our household and if I tell you that the other cats are called Oban, Jura and Tobermory you might guess where their names come from. No they are not named after Scottish name places but single malt whiskies. Guess what we like to drink, we did want to name her after our favourite whisky but we didn't think calling her Spring Bank sounded as good as some of the other whiskies. Despite her beautiful appearance and lovely name she is a grumpy so and so. She loves her humans but hates other cats, we think she is a ailurophobe.
As mentioned before we acquired her as a companion for one of our older cats. We went and got her when she was eight weeks old. It had been many years since we had had a kitten in the household and all was new and exciting. We introduced her to our older cat very carefully thinking that in a few weeks they would cuddle up together keeping the older one warm. No such luck it was hate on first sight. We had had this happen in the past and the cats had learned to live together and eventually became the best of friends so we had hope for these two. Tally used to shoot round the house having a whale of a time. She had us giggling and acting like youngsters ourselves. Bit by bit the hissing died down and the cats would tolerate each other, only telling each other how much they hated the other one when they came face to face.
Tally was devoted to her human dad and would cuddle up on his knee, any available t shirt or jumper would be suckled to death until dad would have to go and find a towel to dry himself off. Dad worked from home and was sat in front of the computer most of the time so lots of towels were needed. As she grew older she stopped suckling as much but could still be heard in the dead of the night slurping on the quilt until there was a large damp patch.
Tally was a hunter from the start. We had always trained our cats not to hunt birds but they were allowed mice and rats. With Tally this proved to be quite hard as she would eat whatever she had caught leaving no remains for us to teach her with. She learnt quickly that if she came into the house with them, mum and dad would chase her to pinch it. Cheeky humans they could go and catch their own lunch she wasn't letting them eat hers and stopped coming in with her latest takeaway.
At six months old she would be going to the vets to be neutralised. No little kitties, there are enough in the world without creating more. Unfortunately some cats develop quicker than others and we spotted the signs early on, strange males turning up and her being a complete tart and rolling around on her back batting her eyelashes at them. So she was grounded and warned about the dangers of boys. Much to her disgust she was locked in the upstairs office, she had everything she needed food water her bed and a litter tray. No matter how much, she begged and pleaded to be let out, promising she would be a good girl we did not give in. We were firm and told her that come pay day she would be going on a lovely trip to the local town and in the sight seeing tour we would be viewing the veterinary surgery.
We underestimated her determination. We had double glazed windows that could be opened a small bit for fresh air. being upvc they had to be pushed quite hard to be opened, fine she wouldn't be able to open it. The office was upstairs so even if she could get out she wouldn't be able to get down. We didn't realise what devotion the Mysterious Black Tom Cat cauterwauling below the window was offering her and how much her head was turned by such talk. She must have pushed and squeezed until finally she got through the gap and leaped out into his waiting paws. The first we knew of it was when a grey brown cat appeared out of the shrubbery rolling around in ecstasy it took a moment to realise that this was Tally completely covered in mud only the green of her eyes could be seen. She was unceremoniously put in the shower and cleaned off, it took a good half an hour to get it all off her. While this was going on she was being told she was a ruined woman and how she would be lucky to see him again now he had had his wicked way with her.
After this there was no fresh air gaps and no matter how much she told us she loved him and he had promised to marry her we would not let her out. We took her to the vets and explained our sorry tale to the vet who said at this stage he could not tell if she pregnant and to bring her back in a few weeks time when he would be able to tell one way or the other.
Guess what?
She was pregnant.
Since she had got out Mysterious black cat hung around constantly we assumed he could still smell her and in no way had any commitment to her. We lived in the Country and knew all of the local cats this was a stranger a wild cat and we had to be careful around him. Several times we had to chase him off as he squared up to Socks our old man. Blood was drawn and Socks became paranoid bopping anything that looked like it might challenge him.
Talisker was pregnant, there was no point in keeping her in anymore the deed was done. Her and Mysterious Black Cat were inseparable he had promised her the earth and he was keeping his promise they would laze in the sun together go hunting across at the farm together. He being big and tough introduced her to rat hunting and the rat population at the farm dropped dramatically.
Finally the time came when getting through the cat flap was a problem and she started to nest. We set up a box as a nursery all lined and comfortable but she turned her nose up at this her she kept trying to nest under the bed which was inaccessible to us. Finally she compromised and had them in the cat basket. Three kittens two unusual coloured ones and a black and white one. After two weeks of total devotion to them she went out and spent some time with her Mysterious Black Cat. When the kittens were big enough to get through the cat flap Tally proudly introduced them to him and he was great with them. We decided to keep one of the kittens more about him in the next blog.
Talisker spent more and more time with the mysterious black cat, she would be out in the morning with him and back again late at night. She could often be seen across at the farm hunting in the barns with the Mysterious Black Cat. So much for thinking that he was a ne'er do well who would be off after having his wicked way with her.
Talisker joined the family as a companion for one of our older cats who seemed to be quite lonely after her best friend passed on. Talisker is a rather beautiful cat, she has a completely white body with a tabby tortoiseshell tail and a tabby tortoiseshell cap. She has lovely green eyes very similar to Socks although no relation. They come from different sides of the country. We have a name theme in our household and if I tell you that the other cats are called Oban, Jura and Tobermory you might guess where their names come from. No they are not named after Scottish name places but single malt whiskies. Guess what we like to drink, we did want to name her after our favourite whisky but we didn't think calling her Spring Bank sounded as good as some of the other whiskies. Despite her beautiful appearance and lovely name she is a grumpy so and so. She loves her humans but hates other cats, we think she is a ailurophobe.
As mentioned before we acquired her as a companion for one of our older cats. We went and got her when she was eight weeks old. It had been many years since we had had a kitten in the household and all was new and exciting. We introduced her to our older cat very carefully thinking that in a few weeks they would cuddle up together keeping the older one warm. No such luck it was hate on first sight. We had had this happen in the past and the cats had learned to live together and eventually became the best of friends so we had hope for these two. Tally used to shoot round the house having a whale of a time. She had us giggling and acting like youngsters ourselves. Bit by bit the hissing died down and the cats would tolerate each other, only telling each other how much they hated the other one when they came face to face.
Tally was devoted to her human dad and would cuddle up on his knee, any available t shirt or jumper would be suckled to death until dad would have to go and find a towel to dry himself off. Dad worked from home and was sat in front of the computer most of the time so lots of towels were needed. As she grew older she stopped suckling as much but could still be heard in the dead of the night slurping on the quilt until there was a large damp patch.
Tally was a hunter from the start. We had always trained our cats not to hunt birds but they were allowed mice and rats. With Tally this proved to be quite hard as she would eat whatever she had caught leaving no remains for us to teach her with. She learnt quickly that if she came into the house with them, mum and dad would chase her to pinch it. Cheeky humans they could go and catch their own lunch she wasn't letting them eat hers and stopped coming in with her latest takeaway.
At six months old she would be going to the vets to be neutralised. No little kitties, there are enough in the world without creating more. Unfortunately some cats develop quicker than others and we spotted the signs early on, strange males turning up and her being a complete tart and rolling around on her back batting her eyelashes at them. So she was grounded and warned about the dangers of boys. Much to her disgust she was locked in the upstairs office, she had everything she needed food water her bed and a litter tray. No matter how much, she begged and pleaded to be let out, promising she would be a good girl we did not give in. We were firm and told her that come pay day she would be going on a lovely trip to the local town and in the sight seeing tour we would be viewing the veterinary surgery.
We underestimated her determination. We had double glazed windows that could be opened a small bit for fresh air. being upvc they had to be pushed quite hard to be opened, fine she wouldn't be able to open it. The office was upstairs so even if she could get out she wouldn't be able to get down. We didn't realise what devotion the Mysterious Black Tom Cat cauterwauling below the window was offering her and how much her head was turned by such talk. She must have pushed and squeezed until finally she got through the gap and leaped out into his waiting paws. The first we knew of it was when a grey brown cat appeared out of the shrubbery rolling around in ecstasy it took a moment to realise that this was Tally completely covered in mud only the green of her eyes could be seen. She was unceremoniously put in the shower and cleaned off, it took a good half an hour to get it all off her. While this was going on she was being told she was a ruined woman and how she would be lucky to see him again now he had had his wicked way with her.
After this there was no fresh air gaps and no matter how much she told us she loved him and he had promised to marry her we would not let her out. We took her to the vets and explained our sorry tale to the vet who said at this stage he could not tell if she pregnant and to bring her back in a few weeks time when he would be able to tell one way or the other.
Guess what?
She was pregnant.
Since she had got out Mysterious black cat hung around constantly we assumed he could still smell her and in no way had any commitment to her. We lived in the Country and knew all of the local cats this was a stranger a wild cat and we had to be careful around him. Several times we had to chase him off as he squared up to Socks our old man. Blood was drawn and Socks became paranoid bopping anything that looked like it might challenge him.
Talisker was pregnant, there was no point in keeping her in anymore the deed was done. Her and Mysterious Black Cat were inseparable he had promised her the earth and he was keeping his promise they would laze in the sun together go hunting across at the farm together. He being big and tough introduced her to rat hunting and the rat population at the farm dropped dramatically.
Finally the time came when getting through the cat flap was a problem and she started to nest. We set up a box as a nursery all lined and comfortable but she turned her nose up at this her she kept trying to nest under the bed which was inaccessible to us. Finally she compromised and had them in the cat basket. Three kittens two unusual coloured ones and a black and white one. After two weeks of total devotion to them she went out and spent some time with her Mysterious Black Cat. When the kittens were big enough to get through the cat flap Tally proudly introduced them to him and he was great with them. We decided to keep one of the kittens more about him in the next blog.
Talisker spent more and more time with the mysterious black cat, she would be out in the morning with him and back again late at night. She could often be seen across at the farm hunting in the barns with the Mysterious Black Cat. So much for thinking that he was a ne'er do well who would be off after having his wicked way with her.
Sunday 13 June 2010
Introducing..........
Cats Glorious Cats, They are the love of our lives. They have provided us with side splitting laughter lots of love and a wealth of anecdotes. We have five wonderful moggies and within the blog we aim to introduce you to them and their great Characters. First of all I will introduce you to Socket who is the oldest of the family an old man of 15. A large Ginger Tom who still manages to look elegant and refined. His Ginger relates more to the peach than the orange and his tail ends in a gorgeous creamy colour. His feet are cream and neat. His faces is long rather than round but not long like an oriental. He had pale green eyes which he calmly turns to scrutinise you.
Socks as he is known for short was born to us. His mother and her sister had been an anniversary present to us. We had always had our cats neutered when they reached six months but according to the vet she had a flea allergy caused by hormonal problems and would never be able to have kittens, famous last words. Three years later she began to get a bit pudgy and it was decided that she was eating too much and we needed to watch her diet. Despite this her tummy grew until the penny dropped and we realised we were going to be grandparents. We eagerly awaited the event and she duly presented us with three little mewling balls of fur.
There were two ginger toms and a grey tabby girl. A Friend wanted the little girl and at 8 weeks old she went off in her new cat basket to be a single spoiled cat living in the lap of luxury. Despite lots of advertising nobody wanted Ginger toms and Socket and his brother stayed with us. Although Socket and his brother were both Ginger they were completely different Socket had elegant proportions tall and long whereas his brother was a compact and round faced muscle man despite the physical differences they had similar personalities and were lovely cats.
Sockets first friend was a piece of bacon, we had been chomping on bacon butties and offered him a small piece expecting him to gobble up this small treat, Socks grabbed it and ran off in delight but eat it he did not. That bacon became the bane of our lives, for months Socks carried this piece of bacon round with him. It became stiff and green and fluffy but it was his pal and he loved that bacon. We would try and kidnap it away, to the bin but he would become distressed that his friend had gone and would not accept a substitute so it would be fished out of the bin and given back to him. He would guard it jealously from the other cats not letting the others play with it. The other cats soon lost interest when it turned green. Socks and his pal would go off to share secrets and face the world and its problems together. The bacon became known as Socks Little Friend.
Then one day Socks abandoned his Little Friend he had found true love, mice, these could interact with him and play chase, not just be inanimate providing no conversation. When we found where Socks Little Friend had been hidden we gave him a fine send off, up the vacuum cleaner, never to be seen again. Socks was so enamoured of his new little friends he never noticed.
The fact that the mice really didn't want to play with Socks passed him by completely. So began Socks innocent phase, he would bring them home proudly and introduce them to us he would show them around the house telling them were the food was how to get through the cat flap and what fun they would have together. We were forever evicting mice voles rats etc. We had to be especially vigilant when the other cats were around who saw mice as entertainment and food. Socks would introduce his new friend to his mum and Aunt then go off and see if any food was available to share with his chum he would come back to see his mum disappearing through the cat flap and his friend gone, often with us in hot pursuit. He probably thought his mum was showing his new friend the garden and must have been called away while out with her.
Then one day the inevitable happened Socks accidentally killed one of his new buddies he was devastated. He mewled at us to help and see why his pal was no longer moving. He couldn't understand why there was no longer any movement. Then something must have clicked in his brain and gone was the innocent little chap and a voracious hunter replaced him. No longer were mice his best friend but a new pastime to really get his teeth into.
Many years have passed and Socks is no longer able to hunt he is old and is riddled with Arthritis but when he is asleep lying on his back with his feet in the air, he dreams of the great chase and he twitches away with the excitement of the hunt.
Socks as he is known for short was born to us. His mother and her sister had been an anniversary present to us. We had always had our cats neutered when they reached six months but according to the vet she had a flea allergy caused by hormonal problems and would never be able to have kittens, famous last words. Three years later she began to get a bit pudgy and it was decided that she was eating too much and we needed to watch her diet. Despite this her tummy grew until the penny dropped and we realised we were going to be grandparents. We eagerly awaited the event and she duly presented us with three little mewling balls of fur.
There were two ginger toms and a grey tabby girl. A Friend wanted the little girl and at 8 weeks old she went off in her new cat basket to be a single spoiled cat living in the lap of luxury. Despite lots of advertising nobody wanted Ginger toms and Socket and his brother stayed with us. Although Socket and his brother were both Ginger they were completely different Socket had elegant proportions tall and long whereas his brother was a compact and round faced muscle man despite the physical differences they had similar personalities and were lovely cats.
Sockets first friend was a piece of bacon, we had been chomping on bacon butties and offered him a small piece expecting him to gobble up this small treat, Socks grabbed it and ran off in delight but eat it he did not. That bacon became the bane of our lives, for months Socks carried this piece of bacon round with him. It became stiff and green and fluffy but it was his pal and he loved that bacon. We would try and kidnap it away, to the bin but he would become distressed that his friend had gone and would not accept a substitute so it would be fished out of the bin and given back to him. He would guard it jealously from the other cats not letting the others play with it. The other cats soon lost interest when it turned green. Socks and his pal would go off to share secrets and face the world and its problems together. The bacon became known as Socks Little Friend.
Then one day Socks abandoned his Little Friend he had found true love, mice, these could interact with him and play chase, not just be inanimate providing no conversation. When we found where Socks Little Friend had been hidden we gave him a fine send off, up the vacuum cleaner, never to be seen again. Socks was so enamoured of his new little friends he never noticed.
The fact that the mice really didn't want to play with Socks passed him by completely. So began Socks innocent phase, he would bring them home proudly and introduce them to us he would show them around the house telling them were the food was how to get through the cat flap and what fun they would have together. We were forever evicting mice voles rats etc. We had to be especially vigilant when the other cats were around who saw mice as entertainment and food. Socks would introduce his new friend to his mum and Aunt then go off and see if any food was available to share with his chum he would come back to see his mum disappearing through the cat flap and his friend gone, often with us in hot pursuit. He probably thought his mum was showing his new friend the garden and must have been called away while out with her.
Then one day the inevitable happened Socks accidentally killed one of his new buddies he was devastated. He mewled at us to help and see why his pal was no longer moving. He couldn't understand why there was no longer any movement. Then something must have clicked in his brain and gone was the innocent little chap and a voracious hunter replaced him. No longer were mice his best friend but a new pastime to really get his teeth into.
Many years have passed and Socks is no longer able to hunt he is old and is riddled with Arthritis but when he is asleep lying on his back with his feet in the air, he dreams of the great chase and he twitches away with the excitement of the hunt.
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