Sunday 27 May 2012

Hot, hot, hot and NOT in a good way

I loathe the heat. I hate being sweaty and I can't stand sunbathing. You can always recognise me on a hot day as I am the scowly, grump in the shade muttering rain spells.

Today is very hot forecast to be around 26 degrees. The cats were fine and enjoyed the novelty of the sun this morning but somewhere around 10am it got too hot. Now they keep draping themselves in various places to see if there is any breeze at all or even just some respite. Red is draped over the top of the wardrobe and Magic had just got off the table beside me to lie on the sofa. She keeps looking at me beseechingly but I have nothing to offer her as I am red hot and sticky myself. I am planning to go and sit in a very cool bath with a good book and although I'll happily run a little bath for her in the bathroom sink I'm fairly certain she'll not be as enamoured with a cool bath as I will!

Cats are very difficult to help in the heat. I used to put ice cubes in the drinking water on hot days but my efforts were roundly rebuffed. Universally, they stare at the foreign object in the water, then look at me with incredulity, then back at the ice cubes, then back at me with a look of growing disbelief and anger at my treachery by giving them water with unidentified floating objects.....! Calm words explaining that this is a GOOD thing do not wash and I end up removing the bowl to replace it with a no-ice option alternately laughing at the look on their faces and muttering "ungrateful wee rats! That's the last time I try to help" etc, etc

UPDATE: Apparently the coolest place in the house is under the damp washing. Both cats know this and have claimed their spot. Sadly this leaves no room for me. It is my washing, and I could claim the airer and all rights to the cool spot but cats have VERY long memories...!

Wednesday 23 May 2012

Flat Cat

Poor little Red became a pillow last night. While I was working on the computer he came up and ended up lying on his side between me and the computer, purring and softly pudging the air with his paws. While I was reading a document I leaned over and stroked his fur with my cheek while murmuring sweet words to him. Obviously he wasn't the only one soothed by this as I dozed off and only woke as he struggled up, most likely as my head got heavier on him.

I've had both cats fall asleep on me many times before, and I've fallen asleep beside them, but I think this is the first time I've ever actually fallen asleep ON one of them.

Sunday 20 May 2012

Die a'Horror

Poor little Red he is currently suffering from 'die a'horror' which more correctly translates to diarrhoea. The mispronounciation was coined by a family member many years ago and if you've every had it, then it is probably fair to say that it sums up how you feel more accurately.

Red is otherwise well but he is certainly suffering from a fair degree of 'gastrointestinal hurry' and it is probably my fault. Both cats have taken a real liking to the new Whiskas Bite and Chew sachets. Their diet consists of Felix Good as it Looks or Gourmet with Shrimp. They tend to refuse Whiskas, Kit-e-Kat and all of the lovely Applause or premium foods despite my attempts to vary their diet. Anyway I live in hope and, and as I love trying new things, I bought them a box of the Bite and Chew on the basis if they refused it I could donate it to a friend for their cat or to the SSPCA. This time they went nuts for this and as it was on an introductory offer it was my box of choice.

Normally I buy cat food in industrial quantities so that has been the dining option for a while. However, Bite and Chew wasn't on offer this week so it was back to the Felix as Good as it Looks. Red generally has a cast iron constitution and eats anything he can get in his mouth. Right now the problem is not what he puts in his mouth but what is coming from both gum and bum. He has been pooing like a trooper and tho' I'd have struggled to believe it could get any worse it is even smellier than his usual. How the wallpaper and paintwork hasn't melted is a mystery. In a spirit of going with the flow he has been chucking up furballs and his food too....deep joy! Good job it is a Sunday as I've been kneeling and worshipping the carpet to clean up the vomit and bowing to the litter box since last night. Suffice to say I am not having fun yet.

This does make me think tho', as both cats flip routinely between Gourmet and Felix without a flicker depending on what is currently on special offer. Magic is a vomiter but that is usually from emotion or eating too quickly when she is hungry. So for Red to be affected as he is does make me suspect that maybe Whiskas is not a good addition to the repertoire if it causes problems when withdrawn. My last cat had many problems and one was that she gradually refused all food bar Whiskas chicken sachets, then only cooked plain chicken then she refused all food. She also developed epilepsy around this time so it is questionable whether the diet issues were the cause or symptom of the illness or whether it was all circumstantial. That very old experience made me a teeny, tiny bit cautious of Whiskas which is why I like to keep varying their diet to prevent ever geting into a situation where only one flavour of one brand becomes a fixation. I did reckon that all things considered if they were eating all flavours then it wasnt a problem. However, I think if Whiskas Bite and Chew goes on special offer I may still buy some but only for use as an occasional treat and not as their regular food.

Must dash, I can smell chemcal warfare drifting from the litter box....!

Friday 4 May 2012

Tidbits

This one is still making me smile. I had an oven pizza and king prawns for dinner last night and ended up chopping up a significant number of my nice prawns for Red who scoffed them at speed. Magic doesn't like prawns but she likes to be involved. Normally, if she is beside me when I am eating I show her what I have, she nods a little Royal Assent then settles down for a sleep. All very collegial and congenial.

I wondered if some chicken might take her fancy so I showed her a little chunk of chicken from the pizza. She delicately inhaled from a distance then turned away with a little supercillious pout. As the chicken was untouched and she wasn't interested I popped it in my mouth. I'd no sooner done this than she rounded on me with a look of absolute scandalised disgust that I'd eaten her little treat.

Apparently, this time the pouting was just a bit of mannerly delay to show she wasn't as uncouth as Red who devours his food. I'd let her down entirely by wolfing her tidbit while she was working out which pinkie should be raised for an impromtu snack. She looked so aghast I couldn't help laughing. I did give her some more chicken but she kept shooting me sideways glances which clearly indicated how disappointed she was by my manners!

God, my Nana would have loved Magic for upholding the standards!