There is just something so glorious about the sunshine.  It is just so life enforcing with the hot stuff that you instantly feel alive and ready to face the world, OK maybe not the world as you sloth about in a perpetual state of wetness.  Although, us felines do not sweat like you humans and we only have a tiny surface to get rid of our moisture. We can only sweat through our paws, this is enforced knowledge as we leave tiny damp paw prints everywhere we go. Times that by ten and four paws and you have a veritable pool of forty something soggy feet getting on every surface in the house.  This is also compounded by some running on the cat wheel which is rubber surfaced and turns our sweat black!  Momma loves it - all that scrubbing I am sure she is smiling? ManSlave said it was a grimace! 

Cats, unlike you humans, can not absorb vitamin D through our skin, we can only get it from eating food.  So no amount of sun worship will get us that little luxury it is all hard earned chewing that does it for us.  To lose heat we can wash ourselves all over, making our coats damp and then lay in a cool place and catch a breeze. We can expose our underbellies and lay flat out increasing the surface area to be cooled.  It does help that we have an outside fan for such things and Momma regularly wipes us with a damp cloth. The kittens were not impressed AT ALL and SaBreena, usually delightful, hissed at Momma as she wiped the whippet of a body down.  Very hot cats have been known to pant too, but not us cool gang. We have copious amounts of cold water with ice in big glass dishes and combine that with the fan breezing over it all - we are just right.   

Those silly kittens still raced about in the heat though, you wouldn't believe it.  It's as "Hot as Hades" as Grand Mew Mew tells us and yet, there they are chasing bugs and butterflies around the communal area, dancing a jig in the heat and drinking from the fountain!  "NO" Momma shouts "Not fountain water kids, yuck."  Will they never learn?  Ikon is classed as a kitten, he still races about with the three of them and teaches them naughty habits, like eating leaves and twigs of which he deposits in lots of sick later on. He is a monster for it and very sneaky - Momma says he is a 'clawful' to manage.

Another Pride member is a bit nuts too - Flaire, she has taken over the cat wheel in this heat and is walking very slowly on it and snarling at anyone who tries to take it from her.  She walks about 2mph, just sauntering and moaning as she goes.  However, if ManSlave appears, she gees up a bit and her little lips turn pinky as she upturns her face for a stroke.  She is a tart! It is way too hot for such walking, but she likes to keep trim and neat and svelte and you would never imagine she had produced 4 litters with no stretch marks.  Unlike me, two kittens (well three, we lost a stripy boy) and there I am still carrying my baby weight!  Well, I just hate sit ups!  I also state that the medication I take daily makes me hungry! 

Pearl is a bit 'hot to trot' too and enjoys hours on the wheel.  Providing she can get her mother to take a break.  Once on, she can roam the countryside of her mind. She can travel for miles and miles and still she looks rotund and never seems to get that svelte look her mother achieves. She is very c'athletic and tries her very best to keep in shape and entice the boys. Lets just hope Ikon is into fat bottom girls?!  He can be a bit furmidable at mating time!

Of course, Robyn tried the wheel and Momma can't watch.  When she isn't watching (secretly is) Rbyn runs sweetly on the wheel, but as soon as Momma comes into view, Robyn gets way too excited and begins running so fast that the wheel sweeps her away and she lands with a clump on the floor.  I can hardly watch. I wince as she tries over and over again, each time jumping in mid air to catch a wave that slams her to the floor again.  I can't watch any more and shove her off and show her how it's done, you have to skip sideways to stop that wheel from spinning you off.  They can be lethal once you get them going!  Then the heat gets to me and I flop on the floor and Flaire takes over with a grumble and a thwak. 

I think it about time we all have a well earned nap and leave the sun worshiping for the hardy.  Like Lillibet who loves to roll about on a beach towel tanning her white bits! 

My devoted followers, much love to thee, your ​ebullient Queen Vee =^..^=

It is time to pucker up peoples, it's kissy kissy time!  I am, of course the best smoocher in the house and no one can smooch as well as I!  I am a rearer upper and a lip slider. I like to make sure my scent is all over my willing victim.  I have this look on my face as I climb up high on the chest of my selected one and stare them in the face, eye ball to eye ball until they relent and look at me - then I peruse their nostrils and chin with my whole face, working the tip of the nose and slightly grating my teeth along the proboscis.  That is real close up kissing!

Tyga, being my daughter, is also a good kisser.  She is more of a gentle kisser, she sidles up, all loving and gooey with her eyes on that of her chosen one, looking deeply and waiting for the 'kissy kissy' noise that allows her direct contact with the pursed lips of her human.  1, 2, 3, 4 gentle kisses on her upturned face. she pushes her whiskers forwards for those intimate moments...5, 6, 7... oh yes, she would do it all day.  Then she settles down, sliding about, still looking up and fluttering her eye lashes depositing eye candy kisses to great effect. Her human is subdued!

The very next best kisser is Ikon, he is smoocher and a crooner. He makes little ecstasy noises to draw in his person.  He looses them in his eyes and prip prips until they are close at hand then he pushes his entire whisker pads to breaking point to make a big flat kissable area for his person to land a smooch.  He only likes two and not from ManSlave, he is a girl kisser only.  ManSlave and him 'mind meld' heads pressed together in a calm union. 

Faith is a terrible kisser, she HATES it, even the receiving of them - point blank.  Lillibet likes to BE KISSED but not give out kisses, she squeaks and trit trots about willing you to kiss her furrless head.  Over and over and with each landed kiss there is a plaintive kitteny mew. 

Flaire is also a non kisser, she is a head winder and only has eyes for ManSlave. Round and around and around she goes making grumbly growly noises.  You know when she is ready and warmed up to pretend she wants to give a kiss as her tiny sweet mouth turns rose pink and her chocolate nose glows.  But she will only come a whiskers breadth to ManSlave and veer away at the last second with a meow of that of a Siamese tom cat!    She loves Momma when she is pregnant and ManSlave barely gets a look in for 2 months.  

Pearl won't kiss but she will curl her tongue into the cutest shape when she mews for attention from Momma.  She screams at ManSlave! Once she swiped him across the face, so their relationship has never been the same.  With Momma though, she is sweet and even though her manners can be a little terse, she is at heart a darling.  She likes to be kissed on her head and tummy.  Weirdo! 

Robyn is a shoulder rider and a busy kid.  She likes to be kissed all over at bed time and rumbles away as a reward, but as for real on the lips giving smooches, she is more likely to just blow butterfly kisses with her eyes and then in return the human gets their eyelashes washed and then she goes silly and starts biting the soft fleshy bits!  SaBreens is about the same, although she purrs just to look at her, but don't test that tortie temper!  Like her mum, she is sweet - with a twist!

Last but not least is Magnus Rex.  Considering he is Ikon's son and in actions is spitting image to everything his Dad does, he dislikes smooching or toe bean kissing - he surly will be tortured some more until he relents and makes a smoochy boy. Although, with his Mother Flaire's feisty behaviour it may take some hard work on the Parentals side!

Until next time smoocharoos - much slobbering from your Queen Vee =^..^=

I didn't manage to blog last Sunday as Momma and ManSlave had pulled a ten day stint at work, leaving us poor kitties to fend for ourselves.  On Sunday they put a huge shoulder of lamb in the oven before they left and walked out leaving me in charge to take care of it.  It was on low, so took quite some time before the rich smell traveled to my nostrils and woke me from my slumber.  I sauntered over, shaking my paws as I strolled along, it's my thing!  I peer in at the lamb and there it is, just mooching away in its juices with lots of time to go.  This is going to be a long day!

We have been left to our own devices for a number of days now and really it is not good enough.  I decided to ring CatLine and explain my predicament.  I was met with a rather 'computer says no' type who was not interested at the fact we have been abandoned each day.  Apparently, it is not abandonment if your keepers return home and fill your bowls with food and water as well as let you out to hunt bugs in the morning and cuddle you all night in bed.  I tried to explain that we have kittens here that were fading away and again this was met with "I am sorry you feel this way Miss Vee, but you have all you require and more."  What kind of a service is this anyway? They are meant to be on our side? Aren't they? 

Because the parents are out most of the day, each time they arrive home Ikon lets the side down by greeting them at the door each day.  He hears the car and turns into crazy mad goofy cat, racing about, throwing himself at the feet of ManSlave and  purring for Momma.  His son has now joined in and is ready to be greeted, well, he is a king you know, kings do not meets and greets their subjects so he waits on his chair to be fussed where he screams and screams for their approval.  Pearl has taken to sleeping aloft the cat post by the lounge door so she gets the next greeting and sidles onto Momma's shoulder for a purr and a cuddle, giving ManSlave the evils and the rest of us a growl for good measure.  

I am usually in the House Of Fun and race across the Sky Bridge, forgetting myself, I greet them with gusto. Pearl jumps down, I climb up.  Tyga awaits her turn. We all purr in unison which brings Robyn and SaBreena as they think it's milky time when we all purr.  I give them both a slap, they must know their place. Robyn joins her Mum and snakes around Momma's shoulders, purring and nibbling.  Tyga looks a little jealous.  I stretch up and and dig my claws into Momma's leg. NOTICE ME! A hand comes down, I rear up into it, pushing my wedge shaped head into it and she gives my ears a tweak.  Tyga jumps down, Robyn does once more around her shoulders then dangles her legs down her stroking arm, I hiss. It's MY ARM!  Robyn just giggles and tries to touch me, I jump back, spitting and bowl Flaire over who spits back, we have a fisty cuffs, she is weaker than me even though she is top cat, I am heavier. We part ways, Robyn still laughing!  Poor SaBreena gets a clout from her passing mother, Pearl, this sets Flaire off again and she lays into pearl. Robyn still laughing.  Momma swoops SaBreena up into her arms for safety. She growls like her mum, Momma tells her that's naughty!  

Usually, Lillibet and Faith stay clear of greetings, they stay all cozy on the bed upstairs.  The bed that now has a bamboo waterproof sheet under the countertop to stop the markers and widdlers from penetrating the mattresses.  It makes Lillibets and Faiths tummies all warm and sticky all that bamboo! Momma carries SaBreena half way up the stairs and deposits her safely on the window sill.  Tyga and I race up the stairs together with Pearl and Ikon in persuit. Ikon falls on his head at the first turn in the stairs, gripping the carpet he pokes his hind legs in the air. Momma rubs his belly, Robyn Giggles. Pearl jumps over Ikon with a growl and Robyn takes her leave at the top step.  I fall on the floor and roll about purring, Momma rubs me and Tyga jumps about all excited and Pearl turns tail and heads down stairs, jumping first Ikon then Magnus who is copying dad a few steps down. 

Momma finally makes it into the bedroom to check on Lillibet and Faith. They are fine, Lillibet chats away and Faith Purrs.  Everyone jumps on the bed, I jump on Momma's shoulders, Pearl reappears, followed by Flaire. Everyone is growling again and Lillibet starts to rumble like a bull elephant.  Everyone stops still. That rumble shakes the very core of every cat and man.  She is harmless, but we don't know that.  Momma does. She knows to stroke her head and calm her down. Lillibet mews like a kitten. We all resume milling about.  Flaire sniffs things we have all touched, Pearl sits out of the way on the newel post. Tyga starts plaintive mewling, I am riding high still, purring and rubbing my head on Momma's ear.   If we keep this up, she may open the cupboard where ManSlave keeps our freeze dried treats.  She is edging closer and closer as she changes her clothes.  I am asked to jump down with a click of her fingers, I oblige and rear up and down rubbing my face on her hand.  Tyga strolls over to the click. The kittens are all squabbling now and racing about, that's Ikon included, he too is still a kitten brain.  Lillibet jumps onto the windowsill everyone is in position for treats....will she.....won't she.....

That's a story for another day!

With love loyal subjects - your Queen Vee =^..^=

Here I sit, scratching my head with my hind claws just contemplating the joys of spring which have been rudely interrupted by yodeling!  It can only be described as such or that of a strangled Peacock or the song of our people.  It is the yell for boys or 'calling' as most interpret it or 'yowling' some might even stretch to 'mewsik'.  All I know is it is mind blowingly noisy around here and ear plugs might not go amiss.  I have decided to move my paws from scratching my head - to poking them in my lugs to dampen the noise.   I remember well when I used to sing - my Peacock sounds were 'simply the best', to quote Tina Turner, I had the best pitch and range and could hold a note for an age.  Not like these youngans who trill and squawk in random timbre.

I distinctly remember the stories of our Mother, Gracie, who was calling from a young age of 6months old.  She was a winter baby and as soon as spring hit, she was off in her monotone one voice. Unfortunately, it made her very poorly indeed and Momma was advised by the vet to mate her at 10months old.  There was, of course, a big hoohaa in the cat fancy, but thankfully her breeder stood up for Momma and look what we have today, Flaire and me.  I am, of course, neutered after my ordeal with Delvolostron and all my breathing issues. I was never going to have another litter after all my breathing difficulties last time. All the Drugs just finished me off!   

So, here we are again, not five years on and my daughter's daughter is doing the exact same thing!  Yelling for a king of her own and Ikon is willing to oblige, well, he would if he could but his urge has gone, rendering him a baby brain again on his Neuter-UM chip. So he scruffs and bites them which is enough to keep the girls quiet.  Then there is SaBreena, well, you read her story last week and know the pains of calling too early can lead to potential infections in the lady bits.  And since all her bloods came back negative with a slight raise on her C-reactive protein (CRP) levels to denote inflammation of some sort, not in her heart though Vet Ellie said. 

Where do we go from here?  Momma spoke in depth with Vet Ellie who had looked into injecting a Neuter-UM chip, or to try Delvolostron again. Momma had asked about the old cat pill Ovarid and Melotonin implants that can be purchased from the USA. or even tablet containing Melotonin. All these things most EU catteries manage with all over the world, except most are not licenced and there is a lot of  humming and arrhhing going on at the clinic as to their use. There is a big jump Vet Ellie says from studies on sheep to cats. 

Melatonin is a hormone that regulates the sleep–wake cycle. It is primarily released by the pineal gland. As a dietary supplement an hour before sunset it is used as a sleep enhancer and in cats it confuses the body into thinking it is still winter and reduces the calling rate of queens.  It is especially used in northern Scandinavian countries and sub tropical south for this very reason as they have much more daylight than us here in the UK.  Momma has a pot of 1mg tablet from awhile ago she never used.  So she tried it on Tyga and it reduced her call to 4 days.  Apparently you are to feed it every day for the length of time you require no calls.  Not sure yet about this.  We shall trial it on the babies next so stop them calling all together.  The reports in the cat community is they go on to produce babies with no problems.  Being natural, it might just save the day!  

Momma gave Pearl and Flaire a smidgen of the ovarid that was left over and just hope that they don't have the dreaded Pyometra.  They certainly can not have babies just yet, they only just had some!  It is forever a balancing act and one that is easily solved by mating the catwomen earlier in the end.  We prefer them to have a good distance between litters, but at what cost?  

This is the new normal, trialing different things to suit our Maystar Pride and chatting to other breeders who seemingly 'get away' with administering these bigger drugs.  The ones we have had issues with here, we are never sure why the issues occurred and what the solution is?  Melotonin may well be the way to go and for the time being it will be tablets instead of the chips as Momma would be 'on her own' to put those under the skin. Yikes. She doesn't fancy that just yet, maybe after the microchipping course? That could be easier? Tablets will have to do, hidden in tasty miamor for some and poked down the gullet for others! 

To that end, I shall sing you out with a lullaby of the green wriggly worm.  I shall carry him aloft in my mouth, mewling softly between green fuzz to bring you a rendition of 'Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go and eat worms'.

Much love everyone, from my heart to your heart.
Queen Vee =^..^=
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