Neko

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

 

Spring Is Sprung

Aw...my mum was touched by all the purrthday wishes. Thank you all very much.

We've been waiting and waiting for the spring flowers to come out. All the flowers here are several weeks later than usual, because of the winter we had. Today was a very springlike day, sunny, with occasional sudden showers, and strong winds blowing all the flowers about.

We had a little photo session in the garden when my mum got home from work:

Sniff...sniff...hmm, smells nice, and I like the feel of the wind blowing through my fur.

Bit too yellow for my taste, I prefer ginger...

My mum says all this mess of forsythia is being dug up as soon as it has finished flowering; she has other plans for this messy corner...of course, she said that last spring too...

The camellias aren't quite out yet, but they'll be pretty in a week or two.

Last year the hellebores only had 2 flowers, this year they've had loads. We would have taken some pictures of the lovely crocuses but they are all over now. Lots of other things coming up though. Now you know what springtime is looking like in London - hope the flowers come soon for the kitties who still have snow!


Monday, March 27, 2006

 

Purrthday Kisses

Today is my mum's purrthday. Unfortunately she had to spend most of it at school teaching the little monsters (Small Humans). But we had a good time at the weekend. This morning I woke her up with big licks all over her face and chewed her hair a bit, which I know she really enjoys. Then I helped to unwrap presents and played in the wrapping paper, which was fun. Now she is home from work, so I am going to give her special purrthday snuggles all evening. Starting with a big sloppy Eric kiss like this.
Smooooooooch!
Happy Purrthday Mum!

P.S. Cornish Grandma gave my mum a purrthday card with a picture on we really like. Does it remind you of anyone??


Thursday, March 23, 2006

 

A Quiet Place To Read

Well, the good news is that, although Max's first book got stolen in the post on the way to me from CafePress, I now have Max's new book which arrived safely from Max's mum. It is signed and efurrything! And I am in it, because Max answered all my questions! Hooray, fame at last!

What I need is a quiet place to read it in. Somewhere the humans can't keep interrupting me.

Ah, the perfect place. They'll never find me here! I am completely hidden!


Monday, March 20, 2006

 

Stupid Post Office

Something happened today that made me cross (and my mum too). Here's the story:

A week or two ago we ordered some books written by the very talented Max, the Psychokitty. We ordered one via Max's mum, so that Max could sign it, but the other book (his older one) we ordered direct from the CafePress website.

Today when the postman came, he dropped a big CafePress envelope through our door. Hooray, I thought, Max's book has come! I couldn't wait for my mum to get home and open the envelope with her opposable thumbs so that we could read Max's book.

But...when mum did get home she found that something really BAD had happened! Some Bad Person had ripped open the envelope right along the top. And in the envelope was a packing slip, a CafePress leaflet, an empty plastic bag...BUT NO BOOK!!!

My mum was really cross and said bad words again. She doesn't think it was CafePress's fault, it was some Bad Person working for the Stupid Post Office somewhere along the chain. Our local Post Office district is actually one of the worst in the UK for losing stuff, but we'll probably never know exactly where Max's book went.

The good news is, my mum called the CafePress international help line and straight away they agreed to send out another copy of the book at no extra charge. Though we still have to wait a while until we can read it. Huh.

To change the subject, if you haven't yet seen the picture of how brilliantly I can fit in a small box, just scroll down the page...

Sunday, March 19, 2006

 

A Busy Weekend In The Blogosphere

Before today, I'd had a couple of days without much time to blog, so today I decided to do some catching up with my cat-blogging friends. It turns out that everycat has been pretty busy. Here's a quick run-down of what I found out today:

Finnegan and Buddy had a party to mark Finny's birthday and St. Patrick's Day. It seems to have got kind of wild. Unfortunately I missed the party! Firstly, my mum was disorganised and got confused with the time difference and she didn't realise the party had started yet. Secondly, there was a bit of an unfortunate incident yesterday. You see, my mum was asleep and I was trying to wake her up so she could turn the computer on so I could get to the party! So I started tapping her on the head going "Wake up, Mum!" but it didn't work so I got worried and tapped her a bit harder...anyway, I accidentally stuck my claw out and did a big scratch on her forehead and she woke up going "Ow!" and saying bad words. Then she wouldn't let me go to the party. But we are friends again now - she apologised to me for being disorganised and sleepy, and I apologised to her for scratching, and we had a big cuddle. Maybe I'll make it to the next party. And my mum has lots of hair on her forehead anyway so the big red scratch doesn't really show...that much.

Meanwhile, my friends the Calico Girls are excited because their geese have come back. So spring must be on the way at last! Also, the Calico Girls introduced us to a human friend of theirs called Jasmine. She doesn't have a kitty but she seems like a nice human.

Victor Tabbycat is very happy because his sister Bonnie seems to be getting to like him a little bit at last. She let him sleep on the same bed with her. This is positively friendly from Bonnie, we will have to wait and see how their relationship develops.

The glamorous Princess Mia is trying to make a list of when everycat's purrthdays are. So, if you haven't done it already, go over to Mia's and let her know when your purrthday is!

George from Crew's Views is thinking of starting another kitty gang. This time it's for solid-coloured or bi-coloured kitties who aren't able to join the Gorgeous Gingers, House Panthers, Attack of the Tabbies or Tuxedo Gang. So, if that applies to you, go and join up with George, it sounds like fun!

Knightly, Lizzie and Firenze had a terrible experience. They had to go without food for two weeks! That's right, TWO WEEKS! We are so glad they are OK. I do not know how I would cope with such a thing. I love food. I hope they are eating lots and lots to make up for lost time.

I found some new cat-bloggers this weekend! And they are British kitties like me. Their names are Arty and Velvet and they are both black kitties so they have joined the House Panthers gang. You can meet Arty and Velvet here at their mum's blog.

So, all in all it has been a busy weekend. Before I go, I just have something to say to my friend Sanjee. Sanjee heard I was training to fit into boxes at the Catolympics. And Sanjee said she didn't think I would be able to squeeze into small boxes like she can. Well, Sanjee, check this out - is this a perfect fit or what? I hope you're impressed.


Thursday, March 16, 2006

 

Still Watching TV...But From A Safe Distance

My blogging friends will be happy to hear that I have now recovered from getting hit on the head with a TV remote. Thank you for your sympathy. I am perfectly OK now, but my humans have been very nice to me while I was convalescing, so I shall try to stretch out the sympathy for a few more days.

This unfortunate incident has not put me off watching TV, but I am now snoozing at a slightly safer distance from the TV stand. Actually, my mum forced me to watch TV last night because she thought I ought to watch a programme called Fat Pets. It was on Channel 4, did any other British blogging kitties catch it?

I'm not sure what my mum was trying to achieve by making me watch this programme - was she trying to make me feel better about dieting? I felt quite good watching it, because all the animals featured looked MUCH fatter than I am! There was a ginormous cat called Archie whose humans put him on a diet and he lost 1kg in 8 weeks. So I suppose it can be done. The humans were trying to get Archie to take exercise by throwing balls at him, and he was looking at them with a "You want me to do what??" expression. I think Archie and I would get along if we ever met.

There were also some very fat woofies on the programme. All of them lost weight by the end except for one woofie whose owner said she liked her woofie to be fat. (My mum was calling that lady a "chav", whatever that means.) You can read some pretty good reviews of the programme here and here. My mum thinks bits of the programme were funny but there was some serious stuff about the health issues us generously-sized kitties can have. Maybe it's not such a bad idea to lose a little weight. I can still be Fat Eric if I weigh 9kg instead of 10kg, can't I?

Anyway, I am now in training for the Catolympics. Loads of kitties have entered already! I am entering for the Fitting in Boxes and the Sumo Wrestling. I have started working out my training schedule. Here is a picture of me doing a few stretches. Paws in...and out...and in...and out...


Tuesday, March 14, 2006

 

Watching TV Can Damage Your Health

I have been traumatised today. Let me explain.

First, I like watching TV. I wouldn't call myself an addict, but I like to stretch out close to the TV sometimes, my head pillowed on my Giant Scratchy Mouse, enjoying the warmth radiating off the TV, video, DVD player and digibox (did I mention my humans like piling their gadgets up on each other?)

OK, so sometimes I fall asleep watching TV. And when I'm enjoying a relaxing snooze, I like to streeeeetch out my paws and get all comfy.

But I didn't mean to press the STOP button on the video recorder with my back paws. That was an accident. And I certainly didn't mean to do it while my mum was taping ER last night. And I'm very sorry that she missed out on the last 25 minutes of her programme, and I know she adores that Dr. Kovac character, so I can understand that she was upset...but it was an accident, right?

But that wasn't the really traumatic event. Oh no.

Not having learnt by experience, I was enjoying another comfortable snooze close to the TV this evening. And I may have kicked the TV stand with my paws again. Only this time, it made the TV remote control fall off the top of the TV and it hit me on the head!!! It hit me! It hurt!

I leapt up and ran to my mum, and you will be glad to hear that she was very sympathetic this time. I have had lots of comforting and pampering all evening. My mum doesn't think I am actually injured, but she is keeping an eye on me in case I am Concussed. I am intending to play the Accident Victim card for as long as possible. So far it has got me a lot of fuss, a lot of cosy lap time and two lots of extra treats as my humans were checking that my appetite had not been affected by the trauma (it hasn't).

I will keep you posted on the state of my health as I convalesce. Meanwhile, I am taking the advice of several of my kitty friends and continuing to work on brainwashing my dad, to get him to give me extra food without telling my mum, who is still making me diet. Here is a picture of me cosying up to my dad, as part of the brainwashing process. He, of course, thinks I am just being an adoring kitty...


Friday, March 10, 2006

 

Diet Wars Update

I have been working hard to get my dad on my side about the diet thing, and I think it is working! Yesterday he was watching my mum serve my breakfast, and he commented that I would waste away on so little food. My mum replied "Does this cat look like he is wasting away?", which I thought was rather unfeeling of her. This morning at dawn I targeted my dad with desperate pillow trampling and head-licking; then, when my servants took too long getting downstairs to feed me, I sat on the landing so they couldn't get in or out of the bathroom or bedroom without falling over me, and miaowed pitifully. (My best "starving kitty" routine). My dad said, "Poor Eric, look, he is so hungry, you're not feeding him enough." Hooray! I am getting him on my side! I reckon in a few days he will be feeling so sorry for me that he will be sneaking me lots of delicious treats while my mum is not looking.

In other news, we now have no less than sixteen Gorgeous Ginger kitties in our gang! And two of them are beautiful ginger girls - welcome Luna and Nala! All the blogging kitties seem to be joining gangs these days - of course the Tuxedo Gang started it, but now the black kitties are ganging up at House Panthers and the tabby kitties are getting together over at Attack of the Tabbies. We should really organise some sports or quizzes or something so we can compete in our teams!

My mum was walking home today when, at the other end of our road, she was pounced from behind a hedge by a Gorgeous Ginger kitty she had never seen before. He (or she) seemed to enjoy a few strokes and scritches. When my mum arrived home I could smell from her hands that she had been unfaithful to me with a strange kitty. Bah.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

 

Hattie's Story (part 2 of 2)

By the end of January 2004, Hattie and I had been living with our mum and dad for four months and we were really enjoying our new lives. Everything seemed fine, until one day, Hattie stopped eating. She didn’t eat anything for two days, so our mum took her to the v-e-t. (We have a couple of different v-e-ts who work together, but this was Dylan, the Lovely South African Vet). He examined Hattie very thoroughly and gave my mum some very bad news. Hattie had several large tumours in her abdomen, and they weren’t operable. Dylan told our mum he could give Hattie some medication. If the medicine worked for her, she would feel better and start eating again, and she could live for a long time quite happily. If it didn’t work, she would die. My mum was so sad to hear this. She got some pills and brought Hattie home.

I got a bit jealous at this point, because my mum and dad started giving Hattie yummy foods like cream cheese and ham, to tempt her appetite, and I was kept on the usual boring cat foods! But I knew she was ill so I didn’t mind when she got lots of extra fuss.

The pills worked well – within two days Hattie was catching up on her eating and stuffing her face with all sorts of treats. She went back to being her normal happy, purry self. The vet was really pleased with her progress. Unfortunately, Hattie hated taking the pills and every morning there was a pill-taking battle before breakfast. But we got into a routine, and we all hoped that as long as Hattie kept taking her pills, she would feel well for a long time.

At the beginning of March 2004 my mum and dad took Hattie back to see Dylan for another check-up. I went along too - Dylan said I was very healthy, though fat! He was really pleased with how perky Hattie was looking, and he gave her another month’s supply of pills.

Two days after that check-up, my mum thought Hattie was looking poorly. She wouldn’t eat her breakfast and she was very subdued. She didn’t eat dinner either, though my mum managed to get a pill and some water down her. Then she started drooling a lot. She wouldn’t even look at treats. My mum noticed that I wasn’t licking Hattie or sitting near her the way I normally did. She smelt funny to me, and I knew something was very wrong. By the next morning, she looked very ill, her breath smelt and her coat was staring. Although she didn’t usually sleep on the bed, that night she had crawled on to the bed and laid close to my mum. As soon as the vet’s surgery opened in the morning, my mum rang up and said she was bringing Hattie straight in. Before she left, my mum carried Hattie over to me. She was looking very very sad. She told me, “Eric, I don’t think Hattie is coming back, and you should say goodbye to her.” I sniffed my sister through the bars of the carrier and touched noses and purred at her. I was sad, because I knew this could be goodbye. My mum and dad took Hattie to see Dylan. He was shocked at how fast she had gone downhill since he had seen her only a few days before looking really well. He examined her and sadly told my mum that the pills weren’t working any more. The cancer had spread and Hattie’s liver and kidneys had failed. Hattie was so ill, Dylan said that he thought all my mum and dad could do now was to help her go peacefully to sleep. My mum and dad cried and they both stroked Hattie as she closed her eyes and went to the Rainbow Bridge very quickly and peacefully.

We were all very sad about losing Hattie. My mum and dad only knew her for five months, but they already loved her a lot. After Hattie died, my mum and I hugged each other a lot, which made us feel better. My mum was worried that I would be lonely on my own, but I adjusted to being a Spoilt Only Cat much more quickly than she thought I would. I love getting all the fuss and attention (and when other cats come to visit, I am mean to them!!) My mum noticed that before Hattie died, I wasn’t a very vocal kitty, but now I am an only cat, I talk to my humans a lot more. It’s been two years now since Hattie left us, and though we miss her, we have nice memories of her. One day I’ll see her again.

Here we are helping to unpack boxes after moving house.

Here we are trying out the sofa at Devon Grandma's house for the first time.

And this is my mum's favourite Hattie picture. Thanks for reading Hattie's story.


Monday, March 06, 2006

 

Hattie's Story (part 1 of 2)

Some of my fellow cat-bloggers have been commenting lately on how most of us Gorgeous Gingers are male. It’s true that female ginger cats are rarer. I’d like to tell you the story of a special ginger girl – my sister Hattie.

Hattie and I were born in the same litter, back in 1995. My mum doesn’t know much about our early lives, but she thinks we must have been seriously cute little fluffy ginger kittens. We looked quite similar, except that I am a bit bigger. Hattie had a ginger splash on her nose, and I have a ginger beauty-spot on my cheek. We lived in a household with 4 other cats, not related to us, and an old lady who let us eat off the table and gave me lots of tit-bits, which is how I got to be Fat. When our old lady died in October 2003, all us cats were taken to the cat sanctuary. We wondered what would happen to us. They promised to find us new homes, but they didn’t think anyone would take all 6 of us together, so we were split up into pairs, and Hattie and I were kept together. The girls in the sanctuary were very nice to us (I used to lick their hair a lot) but it was kind of noisy with all those cats mewing, and a bit scary. One day, my mum and dad came looking for a cat. They said, “We’re not looking for a kitten, we’re looking for a fat, lazy cat.” “Come right this way,” said the girls. My mum and dad saw two big fluffy orange balls sleeping on a shelf. I was so busy snoring, I didn’t even wake up to meet my mum, but Hattie woke up and she purred at my mum and did fluffy headbutts and gave her such good kitty loving that she got both of us adopted! Lucky for me I had such a clever sister. A few days later we were both wide awake and we saw my mum and dad coming back with two cat carriers, the next thing we were in a car going to our forever home, we were so excited! It didn’t take us long to settle in, by the end of a week we were acting like we had been living there all our lives. That was when we got our new names. Our old names were Max and Molly, but our mum and dad decided to call us Eric and Hattie (they’re the characters in a really really old British comedy show).

Hattie and I got on really well together, although we both liked to do our own thing so we weren’t often to be found in the same place. Hattie liked to sit on windowsills – every morning after breakfast she would jump on the front windowsill so that she could wave goodbye to our mum and dad when they went off to work. When they got home she would be in the window again watching for them! (I don’t do this because my bottom is too broad to fit comfortably on windowsills). She was really good at climbing and jumping up to sit in high places. She loved to snuggle with my dad. Sometimes she would sit on my mum and I would jump up and push her off because I am a total lap-hog! My mum knew that Hattie was really the boss cat in our house, though, because I always let her push me away from the food bowls, even though I love food! She would eat first and then let me eat. I used to wash her a lot, I licked her head all over and kept her ears very clean – I wash my mum and dad a lot now instead.

At Christmas 2003 we got taken to stay with Devon Grandma and Grandpa. I mewed all the way and did something unspeakable in my cat carrier, but Hattie was as good as gold on journeys. We quickly made ourselves at home in Devon and got lots of fuss all Christmas.

We only had four months of great times with my mum and dad before Hattie started to get ill. I’ll tell you the rest of Hattie’s story tomorrow. Meanwhile, here are some of our favourite Hattie pictures.

This is Hattie testing my mum’s laptop for comfort.
This is Hattie trying to sit on mum’s lap even though I am hogging the space!
And here we are trying to synchronise our best cute expressions.

Saturday, March 04, 2006

 

Weekend News

Derby has a very clever mum. She has invented a logo for us Gorgeous Gingers to put on our webpages. (Scroll down a bit and look left to see the logo on this page). We've sent the code for this to most of the Gorgeous Gingers, but if you want the logo, and you don't have the code yet, let us know.

I will be spending most of this weekend at Magoo's birthday party, but I just popped home to update my blog. I hope Magoo enjoys being 10, I am already 10 and it is a pretty good age to be. Don't tell my mum that I am busting my diet by scoffing loads of delicious food at Magoo's party!

It is good that we have parties and so on to cheer us up. We are a little sad in our house this weekend, as it is exactly 2 years since my sister Hattie went to the Rainbow Bridge. We are going to post Hattie's story on this page over the next few days.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

 

We're Gorgeous!

There are now ten ginger kitties pictured over at The Gorgeous Gingers. And I must say, massed ginger kitties look very gorgeous together. My mum is still tinkering with the format of the page. We are hoping to sign up a few more blogging ginger kitties soon.

My mum is off sick from work as she has no voice (well, only a very little funny croaky voice) with which to shout at the Small People she teaches. I have been complaining loudly for hours because even though she is at home, she is still refusing to feed me until the normal time! How unfair is that? Can't she see that the very fact my bowl is polished empty means that I am starving?

It's sunny but cold here. I went and sat by my frozen pond in the sunshine but didn't stay outside for long. It was too chilly. I decided to spend most of the day in my favourite bed next to the radiator. Look how snugly I fit into it - purrrfect!

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