Back again with more tales of the monsters

Once gain I've fallen into the blogging void. Lots of things have happened and as a non-essential recreation the blog falls off the priority list. So, slowly no doubt, I will try to recall some of the cat related trivia which has happened and jot it down for posterity and a giggle of reminiscence. I'm glad I started this blog because when I re-read some of the postings it was nice to spend some time down the cats' memory lane and remember the other memories they evoke which are written only in my head.

So what's new? Red is slowly getting bigger which is unsurprising as he is still a one man food processing factory. I still hope he will keep growning as he suits his gentle giant-ness and apparently some of the longhaired cats dont reach full size till 3yrs old. The vet might be right after all about him being a 'biggie'.

He has had his first real winter coat as last year he was too tiny and only had 'bum fluff'. He's also been having furballs which I'll add in a category all of its own later and has recently had two very little mats that needed cut off from the side of his neck. He refuses any attempt at coat grooming...little wonder I suppose after my impromptu coat styling last year! Furminator, rubber mitt, Zoom Groom, hairbrush, comb - no chance! I've even tried doing it while he is sleepy and warm to no avail. I give him till May to change his mind or it is the Billy Connolly 'pet bag' or an allover crew cut is on the cards.

Recently, I was reading a description of Turkish Van cats and I've always thought he does have some similarity to either them or the Norwegian forest cat. I also found out hairy paws are quite common in these breeds too. So in the absence of any DNA testing I've decided he is probably predominantly a Norwegian as unlike the Van cats he is only moderately fond of water and the Norwegian Forest Cat name is often shortened to 'wegie'. So now it all fits, he is clearly a Weegie given his dislike of water and general grooming. This would delight an ex-colleague of mine (I didnt kill him, he just moved jobs) who used to taunt me for being a 'soap dodger' because of living in the west of the country.

Magic is doing just ok. She is still the very lovely intense little cat who is now the smallest in the house but her dodgy knees are becoming problematic. She is still on her palatable tablet but you can see when she walks more often than not the leg bends outwards as it is unstable. She seems pain free but the vet commented that she is obviously taking the weight on her front paws as she is "bullet shaped". Indeed she is bulkier at the front which makes the poor skinny little cocktail stick back legs even more obvious.

None of this stops her doing anything she fancies. Just last night, at 5am I might add, she was on top of the storage box on top of the wardrobe playing with a bell before chucking it over the edge and debating whether she could jump down and follow it. My snarled "dont even THINK about it" seemed to decide the issue. Coming down usually involves jumping off the box onto the wardrobe, then onto the tv and then the chest of drawers which is still about a metre or so high. From there is it onto the bed and then the floor. However, when coming down she decided just to leap straight off the chest of drawers, either in defiance or because Red was blocking the end of the bed. This suggests for a cat who sounds like they should have an emergency ortho consultation she isnt doing too badly. Some time ago the vet told me she wouldnt be able to climb because of the arthritis and instability in her legs - hmmm!

So all in all they are surviving ok.