Bags, pallets and fences

Yesterday seemed busy, but today...

It started with a shopping expedition, I tried to join in but was excluded.































When 'they' returned I was allowed out and here I am spending some garden time with my co-owners.









Yesterday I scooted behind the garden shed, there literally is a light at the end of the tunnel which leads to next door, it looks very interesting although yesterday I came back when called. 

The other male in the household decided to put a barrier up. 

What happened to male solidarity?! ... this is a before and after.

I do however have friends who demonstrated how to deal with this. The lesson of the day is to treat every impediment as an opportunity to learn.

First you can see Minstrel giving an excellent lesson in how to make the most of an opportunity. 

Then you can see my attempt to copy this, however filming was interrupted and the half pallet removed, not fair. 






Minstrel waited for me, maybe next time.

Meanwhile Tabitha has tried to distract the male servant for me, engage 'Cute mode'.

Didn't work but the thought was there!

Both my 'sisters' like all families try to tell me what to do.

Minstrel's advice is more gentle.

Tabitha can be harder but more instructive, I'd never have got to the top of the fence without this encouragement.

But I did get to the top and was half way over the fence before being pulled off comments overheard about Velcro and needing a crowbar indicate how determined I was not to be brought down.

There is always tomorrow!

Friday, goodbyes and garden frolics

I was tired today as I was up all night.

The household staff, had a visitor over the last few days she uses a frame to walk around and used my ground floor bedroom. I allowed her to share my double bed, but I checked on her every hour on the hour. A sniff, lick or paw would get her attention, she went home today and I sort of missed her as she was always giving me treats, my knowledge of the variety of human food went up. American cheesecake with Blackcurrants and prosecco, is a new favourite, quiche is good especially the bacon bits and the sun dried tomatoes with basil crackers were ok, but I'm not impressed by Camembert, what a strange thing to do with milk!

Waving my paw in farewell and having established full control of my room it was time to see the garden again.

My first trip out this morning was with the mothering human, she can't do enough for me, I believe the training is complete. Sitting in the border by the garden wall I surveyed our domain.

Observed and monitored by Tabitha I check out the back of the garden and inspect the efforts of yesterday's mowing. To be honest I'm a little under whelmed, all that noise for this, no I'm not impressed, I do feel it should be redone.

If you can spot Tabitha in both the above and below photos give yourself a gold star as you are almost as keen eyed as I am.

The staff change over was rather ill planned and I had to be locked in the bedroom so the girls could have the freedom of the garden whilst trained servant went to work and I waited for my chewy toy/person to return from dropping off the visitor.

I wasn't happy and could be heard mewing on his return. Still it wasn't a fruitless two hours as I managed to find a new vein of mastic to rip up and developed the newest skill of carpet lifting, did you know it goes into strings if you claw at it long enough?

In the afternoon I was allowed into the garden again whilst he weeded, but just between you and me I think it was an excuse for him to crawl around and pretend to be a cat.

My final offering of the day is this photo.

If I look startled it's because the local builder had just made a loud noise as I posed for the camera.

Thursday 5th April

What a difference a sunny day makes!







Smudge has been out all day as have his owners [honour guard].

His confidence has grown apace.

For a while he was in whilst the lawn mower was out, neighbours are surprised the owner knew what and where it was.

Exhausted by his exertions Smudge spent some serious time sleeping.

Female human took pity on him and gave him some Kitten milk to drink in bed.
Lawn mower user's not jealous as he get special treatment too.













Below, yesterday's adventure with Tabitha keeping a close eye on him.

Occasionally as he goes past she will wallop him if she feels his demeanour shows insufficient respect.

Easter Sunday; muddy paws.

If the ground wasn't wet Smudge might have ventured out more this Easter.
Add to that a general coldness that meant the humans weren't going to leave doors wide open or walk around holding a worried cat's paw then maybe Smudge might have gone out more.

But he has been out, although he did think about it first.

And always with his escorts, Tabitha, Minstrel or Sandra.

Good Friday, a tale of catflaps and wet ground

For a cat that kept sitting by the cat flap, trying to get out or chatting to Tabitha, blocking her entry. Smudge wasn't so keen on being introduced to it.

To activate the memory on the cat flap you press a button and then it will remember the next cat through. I consider this might be a design fault, have you ever tried to push a growling, hissing cat through a small hole whilst all the while it stretches out all it's legs into a starfish pattern?

Chasing Smudge around the house to ensure he could get out and worry us seemed perverse.

Anyway, having passed him through we felt we could open the door and let him explore.


First cautious steps








Tabitha and Minstrel watching him.

Smudge wasn't impressed by the wet ground and kept shaking his feet.

I'm bored!

Went to the Vets yesterday, 3.5 kg not bad at 5 months!

He put some funny stuff on my neck and I overheard talk of more on Wednesday and sorting the catflap to know my chip for Friday.

In the meantime I've determined that all mastic must go!






















In addition all and any toilet rolls will be rendered ineffective.

22 Weeks

Tomorrow will be 15 weeks since I was found, maybe 22 since I was born.

On the right you can see me holding my Ikean friend Chip, I'm about 8 weeks(?) 12th December.

I was busy last night striping more mastic, you know it's all over the house, anyway I was sleeping off the fatigue and below you see me with my friend again, the photo taken today would indicate one of us has grown or the other shrunk.

















On a passing note at the beginning of the month my two co-owners Tabitha and Minstrel were weighed at the vets, Tabitha was just below 4 kg whilst Minstrel weighed at just over 4 kg.

The humans weighed me at home, one human stood on scales with and without me. They checked it twice, in fact they checked it four times - I weighed 3.1 kg.
Previously one of my humans was concerned I wasn't getting enough food, she still worries over me, but not so much.
The other human was less concerned, he'd said if I was hungry I would eat and he had seen me finishing off any remaining adult wet food, whilst ignoring my own; Minstrel happily ate that, we frequently exchange plates.