We all know that great sense of achievement when something long awaited is finished.  We had all been locked out of the kitchen so that we didn't disturb the artist in residence.  It seemed highly unfair.  So unfair I took to piddling on the minifridge to prove that being locked out, even with 3 litter trays to paw was still not on! 

Lillibet was outside with Faith.  They are usually out there for hours and never venture inside except for lunch.  Lillibet came in early!  That's all I can tell you.  We were all asleep, Momma went to answer the door and when she came back her creation had been artistically altered and hiding behind some bubble wrap with a set of paw prints trailing in soft cream was Lillibet! 

She had heard the door bell, trotted in through the cat flap, saw some new structure had been built, jumped right up onto it and it's wet pain and then tried to escape by firstly running to Momma by the front door, then trotting, just out reach, all the way back to the kitchen and up onto the work top and then down onto the floor again.  All the while trailing little paw prints of slimy paint in her wake on Momma's newly steamed floors!  Once she was caught, she had to have her feet washed and even though she is a a bit of a yowler and a thunderbus at times, she was remarkably well behaved.  Of course, because the washing wash taking place, the paint was drying faster than any paint on earth and setting hard in clumps and slithers.  Only on the floor, cupboards and worktops did it dry this fast - it took the original painted surface 5hrs!  That's life as they say.

Of course, the rest of us were really well behaved, piddling excluded. I don't count that as being naughty and really, it paled into insignificance compared to the scrubbing it took to remove every paw print from the deep grained laminate. Although, not a few days later I was observed taking a tinkle on the end of Momma's bed.  Right in front of her.  Next to the radiator so my butt didn't get a chill.  There are three trays upstairs, I had been in the gritty one, but since the cat litter was changed because our usual supplier had trouble shipping our normal stuff, I decided I didn't like the substitute.  The one in the kitchen is great, but I was locked out of there as it was early morning.  So I thought, why not just do it here.  So I did.  Right on the duvet, through the cover, down the radiator.  Yep. That felt good.  Flaire was disgusted and instantly sprayed the curtains and then Pearl started growling and sprayed the inside of the curtains.  It was a pee fest!  We all joined in and oh how happy was I running about the top floor in glee. 

The glee wore off when I was put in the kitchen the next night. Pfft. Now every time I squat anywhere I am looked at with great suspicion.  However, there is a silver lining.  I get a tray all to myself, my food pod opens when I go near it and I can eat heartily in front of Faith & Lillibet who's diet food doesn't taste as good as mine and I breathe on them as I pass.  Mmmm, rich turkey full fat kibble! 

​Your devoted widdlesome Queen Vee =^..^=

"Taa-daa." Says Elly, jumping onto the bed with her long leggies all tall and sticking out at right angles in that young, gangly, charming way.   "Mep Mep." Says Faith.  That means move back kid.  Don't come any closer or I may growl and hiss.  Elly hunkers down and the Mep Mep becomes less and a little sniff and hiss is exchanged.  Down goes Elly, she has been told in no uncertain terms that beds are for laying in and not bounding about in, making a din.  Elly huffs a little, full of beans and hardly able to sit still.  She does and stays quite still for a little while until Lionel arrives.

Taa-Daa" he announces in a squeaky voice fit for a large mouse with tuffty ears.  He gets shooshed by both Faith and Elly.  "SHHHHHH".  Pfft, like he is going to shh?  Nope, he carries on bounding about, back arched and tail above his head all floofed up, skittering about and then BANG.  Faith's mighty funderpaw descends on him and gives him a short sharp clout about the head.  His ears waggle from side to side absorbing the impact as he rallies himself for round two.   ding ding ding goes his internal bell and he tries again. Boing boing boing goes his little body.  Elly cringes knowing just what's coming next. He is pinned to the bed in a flash of an eye, Faith's black rippling fur like that of a powerful but slightly rotund Panther presses her face to his and says very quietly so no one can hear. "If you don't stop doing that kid, I shall eat you." 

Eeeek. Lionel, being the brave soul that he is, stumbles away, trying not to wet his velvet breeches, slithers from the bed, runs to his Mum, who is half the size of Faith and tells her that a big glossy black monster has just pinned him down and tried to eat him.  Flaire immediately paces towards the bed, floofs up her thin coat and leaps onto the bed.  Lionel is right behind her.  He pulls his licker out at his sister, who does the same.  Flaire and Faith have a stand off and very gently, in her sweet kind voice Faith pulls Elly towards her, lips curling at the distaste of what she is about to do, licks the kitten to show there is no truth in Lionel's statement.  Elly is so happy, pressing her face in for a wash.  As soon as Flaire's back is turned, she nibbles Elly hard on the cheek bones and hisses softly in her ear "You are next, I was just tasting you."

​We haven't seen much of the kittens on the morning bed since and 'that' Faith can be quite a Brahma. I am just a little afraid of her and give her a wide berth.  I can really wind her up though, especially if she is snuggled in with Momma.  I only have to show my face, strut along the pillows, taking the high road I slither into Momma's arms from shoulder height, ignoring the huffing and puffing black beast by Momma's side. I can't help look at her though with great respect, for a sweet, charming lady of the court in public, behind the scenes, she can pack quite a punch.  

Faith has taken a dislike to Pearl, she 'has it in for her' as the commoners say.  Lillibet too has got onto the band wagon.  You see, when us entire girls call, we fancy Lillibet and she takes great umbridge at that and goes to fetch her Mum.  Then it is like WWIII around here.  Pearl is a weedling, only just a year and very screamy cat if she she is cornered.  Sometimes she even annoys me with that screaming thing and I beat her up too, just because I can.  Then her Mother will have a go at me and we are there scrapping like a rugby team at scrum.  It is a fine balance being a woman cat.  Knowing when to back off and when to turn on the charms.  I need to practice a little more it seems, I am soon to be Queen of all I prevail and I must not let this squabbling go to my head. Ignore it. walk away and let the children fight it out for the scraps.

​Your loyal and ever loving Queen Vee =^..^=

Us cats have 517 muscles, enabling us to move the front and rear halves of our bodies in opposite directions, 32 of those are in our ears.  We also have 26 facial expressions, including sticking our tongue out at the poor photographer that is trying to take a photograph of us.

Photographs are boring, but the stage that Momma sets up is lots of fun.  Last week, the Minicats had a stool to play on. Cover that with a waffle throw we are allowed nowhere near and bingo, a really exciting playground for swinging on and hiding under.  They only have to be good for 15 minutes and in those 15 minutes they cause more havoc than an entire day.  For some reason they  just come alive, even though they have just been plucked from deep slumber and on occasion,  eyes are not even fully open, filled with sleep and dreaming.  Then, in a flash on an eye the Minicats are fully awake and attacking everything, each other and not sitting very still at all.  It takes more muscles to sit still you see, so that is much harder work.  And when they do sit still, they are generally facing away from the camera. No amount of clicking of hooman fingers or waggling of toys gets their attention.

There is nothing much anyone can do when felines are in one of these moods.  They just have to wait it out, either that or resort to the dreaded super glue, sticky tape, bluetac or string.  Oooh, string... that might work.  Kittens love string don't they?  That has to be better than sticking them down to the stool and waffle blankie, which by now is looking in tatters, with pulls and bobbles from sharp claws and little one kilo bodies hanging upside down like limpets.  Flaire tries to calm things down by sitting very still and entices her children to follow suit.  She is trying to help get a nice photo so they can all go back to the kitten room and thunder around there, she knows they are safe in there and doesn't have to keep rounding them up. In the makeshift studio there are many adventures to be had, much to see and do. She berates them and makes them behave.  They try their best. Some are better than others and there is always one which just won't submit.  That Minicat gets a sever washing.  With feint smiles on their faces, they face forward for that one second window and click - the image is captured amd right after that click, they are off again. 

Flaire is used to having her photograph taken, she had 14 weeks of it as a kitten and the whole time she spent looking away from the camera or simply closing her eyes.  Then her first litter of kittens, she wasn't particularly well and looked very thin and not very photogenic at all.  Now, she seems to be a real role model parent, knowing that their families are waiting every weekend for sweet demure images of their bundles of joy.  Even Flaire is posing and making it look very easy.  Without her, the photoshoot would be a disaster.  Her chirrups and calling from the side lines makes a real difference to their behaviour and finally Momma can get the shots she is after.  She has always been a calm cat and some of that rubs off at times like this. Although, on this occasion she didn't fancy moving much from her photographic perch, taking her role a tad too far.

I am very photogenic too.  It must come from our Mother, Gracie.  She could really schmooze the camera and look quite beautiful with her silken lilac fur set off with pure white face and bright green eyes.  Not like me right now with my coat leaving a lot to be desired at the moment. Body shots are not really where it is at right now, partly damaged from being chewed as a baby by Mum and partly hormones and the stress of being very poorly and then going away for a week.  I don't know, I so want a beautiful cloak of deep ripples like my Dad and have it silken like my Mum, I do wonder if it will ever repair?  You will all have to do with head shots I guess until then.

Signing off this week with a further pending photo shoot of kittens at 9 weeks old.  This should be fun. Watch this space.  With doting royal love from your majestic and loyal Queen Vee =^..^=

In this two part story I can bring you tales of the unexpected, but without the dancing naked ladies! It seems that Elly got her brave on and is testing the water for meeting her new family and their posse of rex.  Elly is the gutsy one, the funny one, the laugh a minute one.  She has scaled every bed, stool and chair. Can leap chasms between said items and now has ventured to the dark side to sniff the Bubbah Fishy!  Faith is always pretty good.  I am not her favourite feline, only because I take up HER space on Momma and sidle in even if she is laying on Momma.  That's what Diva's do!  She growls at me and turns on a mean face - which in my mind is a silly face that doesn't suit her pretty face.  These little pip squeaks though, they can do anything, get right up to her.  Faith doesn't have a mean bone in her body really and loves babies really. She just pretends she doesn't. 

Elly scrambled up the side of the bed using the bedside table to pres her back against, like a pro climber, wedging her crampons deep into the facade of the mattress and selecting from her rack the gear she needs to scale the bed.  A few paw jams, guppies and Gastons and she is up and over, face to face with formidable black softy.  She undoes her carabiners, shuffles out of her harness and races up to Faith.  "Look what I just did, did you see it? Did you?"  Faith replies a few mep meps to tell her off and calm down this boisterous little Flaireling.  Elly, all the excitement gone from her body drops like one of those toys you press at the bottom and their leggies collapse.  Just like one of those, she flops and lays peacefully beside Faith. Like Ying & Yang. See, She isn't all that bad!

To the second part of my tail this week.  I have been staying at Whimzeerex Magical Towers with Otta.  Well, I say WITH Otta.  That isn't strictly so.  Otta was allowed to visit cantankerous little me.  The ladies at Whimzeerex had us under surveillance because at first I was a bit unhinged and missing Momma terribly.    With toys and love I have come around and only yesterday I let Otta smell me.  Poor young fella, 8mths my senior, spent most of his time trying to escape from me and pawed at the windows to be let out of the room to join his mates on the sofa whilst I spat and hissed at him and slapped him lots and lots and lots to show him who was boss.  He tried to talk to me, but I find his Brum accent a little harsh for my delicate ears, so ignored him mainly.  I have been here a week now and I hear that Momma is going to collect me.  Now I know that, I can be a little more gracious with my hosts and play with them and Otta a bit more and make more of an effort.  After all, looks like I may have to come back a few times whilst the boy grows some!

Will be glad to be home in Momma's warm bed. Snuggling up to her face and being the naughty brat that I am.  I haven't flirted too much with the humans here, enough to charm the socks off them and let them know just how cute I am under this feisty exterior.  Don't want anyone getting ideas that Queen Vee is a softy now, do we?  As I stretch out and take up all the space on the heat pad, roll about and enjoy the heat on my body, not letting Otta anywhere near me - I bid farewell to this idyllic hotel until next time. 

Lots of love from your loyal VIRGIN Queen Vee. =^..^=