Sometimes you just need to do NOTHING!  This is unusual in our house as there is always something going on, but it depends if you get involved in the goings on or not.

Sunday lunch is worth getting involved in, where as vacuuming is a dull sport to watch. However, Sunday is a bed change day, but today, Faith really didn't want to move and even thought the bedding usually gets done first thing in the morning Momma just couldn't disturb her. So she got back on the bed with Faith and finished a painting, whilst Faith slept soundly next to Momma and purred every time Momma touched her.

There was a Sunday lunch today, but both of the Parentals were not that hungry. I was, of course, very hungry and YAWPED and YAWPED the whole time it was cooking.  It was a little tiny piece of piggie and really just only enough for me. It's expensive that freerange stuff, I really think they ought to get the cheaper cuts and we could all indulge. But Momma won't have anything unless it's run free and had a god start in life.  What about MY start in life?

The bedding has now been changed and Faith was dragged around the bed on the bottom sheet, she was hanging on for dear life, digging her claws in and swinging hither and thither getting a free ride. Then when the new sheets went down, she raced about and under the sheet making a little moving hump.  OK, I couldn't help myself, I saw her, I haven't moved for most of the day, but this was too good an opportunity to miss. I pounced on her and made her cry out. She is such a baby at times! That was my exercise for the day.  Well the only thing I had exercised was my voice box - now that I had exercised an awful lot.

KS =^..^=  

Since these kittens (the Charity Litter) moved in, no one has been allowed out in the Garden. I love to just have a little wander and YAWP all the time if I can't go out. You can hear me all over the house yelling our of any open window or door and standing in the hallway, where I can make my voice go further and rattle the windows.  Then I race to where the parentals are, out in the Orb Light and hang on the CatPod door and yell as loudly as I can to get their attention.  I never used to do all this and climb the bars, but now I am so well on my new meds 'Atopica', I copy those CatWomen and everything they do as well as teaching them a few bad tricks too.

I just don't see why I am trapped in here when they are out there and those layabout kittens are in our day house. They have taken over the place.  Momma says it's because they have a virus, which they are over now and they are not contagious anymore, only if I dig about in their litter tray.  Well, I am not exactly going to do that am I?  She says that now they have had their tests for Kitty Parvo and they are negative, I can come out and sit on the sunbeds with ManSlave as long as I don't race off. The virus they have is most likely to be in most households and it's nothing worse than going to a show, but Momma is uber cautious because of me and my lack of vaccinations, so the rule is just NO!

I am good for around 10 minutes on the sunbed and then I get ants in my pants and I just want to go and investigate everything.  I can't help it - I am busy by nature but only really in my head. As long as I am close to the action, I don't actually have to get down and dirty with it.  But I like action and creating a stir.  I YAWP my head off at anything. If ManSlave leaves the house I YAWP until he returns. I am very vocal at the moment, I just love the sound of my own voice - it says alot about me.  It tells everyone I have a need - a need to feed! 

KS =^..^=

So, I am shouting "There, there" but no one paid attention to me as Hope scales the fence and trots along the House of Fun roof and vanishes into the undergrowth. I think, Ooops, that's gonna be funny when the Parentals find out!  This happened when Momma and her kind friend Penny were scrubbing out the House of Fun to rid it of bugs and stuff and I am not talking 8Leggeds here!  When they Had finished the inside they came outside to replace everything and there was literally NO HOPE!  I had watched her do her escape. Well, she is so wafer thin and just slipped right through the 3" gap in the gateway, even though it was blocked up? She should be renamed Houdini! Well, that set Penny and Parentals searching!

There was nothing, no sign of her until at lunchtime when we were all having chicken, Penny heard her mew. The search began again and as us cats do, they got close and she went silent. Momma thought she heard her over the fence 'in the wilderness' so she scaled the fence and sat on the top of the House of Fun and called 'boyz, boyz, boyz' a little term she uses for feeding the kittens and there, over the ivy, came a sweet little face and a little squeak.  She was but 5 ft from Momma, but couldn't seem to totter back, so ManSlave helped her down, she panicked a little, but he didn't let her go and received a few puncture wounds from her very very sharp feet. Never catch us cats with sharps like that!  After a bit of bleeding and hopping from foot to foot, she was safely popped back with her babies after her little 25 minute stint out. Well done ManSlave!

A little later on Lillibet went missing for an hour too. My oh my, why can't anyone just stay in one place?  She actually wasn't very far away and was found in the wardrobe, wrapped in a fleece. Well, it's only 25 degrees outside, she obviously must be freezing?  Ironically, no one had thought of looking in the wardrobe, because, well, it was only open for a split second and we can easily push the door open and hop out.  She was a bit miffed wen the door opened when Momma went to put some washing away. She just blinked and blinked and Momma tried to move her and she dug her feet in tight and screeched as though she was having her legs pulled off.  Now, that Hope, she didn't utter a word and ManSlave nearly did pull one of her legs off!

KS =^..^=
 

 

It has been a very busy time here at Maystar HQ. We have barely seen Momma due to the fact that on Monday all the 'Charity Litter' Kittens went for their first vaccinations and by Wednesday Morning, they felt very peeky indeed.  To top this of, Hope went in and had her Spay on the Tuesday only to find during surgery that she had a ruptured colon and needed urgent surgery on that!
Mum had to be kept from babies because she was on antibiotics and bed rest and kittens had to be kept away from Hope because they have sickness and poohey bums.  In fact they have been so bad they have gone back to original weights they came in at two weeks ago in just two days.  What they have is very contagious at the moment, so it's better that we all stay our distance and just Momma goes in and out and helps everyone get well to stop any cross contamination. That way we get to beat up ManSlave and pretend we have missed our noms! This hot weather has not helped either and Momma is topping up fluids and creating a concoction of fatty 'gloop' to aid digestion and rehabilitate them.  It's a very slow process.

There is a routine you see which we watch from the windows with humour. Momma goes out, adorns rubber gloves, strips off, adds white coat and enters the House of Fun. She then spends ages wiping up 'this & that' and then gets down to the dreaded task of hand feeding everyone, except Hope she is managing fine. Then it's tray time and everything goes into nappy sacks and these go into a bin in the airlock. In the airlock are products to wash dishes and hands and faces and feet and exposed areas and then rinse with the hose. Then dried. Then shoes are sprayed top and bottom and then clothes removed and returned to water tight box. Respray shoes, hands and dress in indoor clothes. It's all a farce really but quite necessary if things are to be kept spit spot.  Nothing goes back indoors and all bedding is washed in virkon at an empty cat free house currently. It's akin to camping, someone said, and the weather sure is giving her a run for her money in the night shifts! It sure takes dedication and one that I am glad I don't have to do - all I would be thinking of is germs and washing  my paws too many times like OCD and perhaps spraying just once more - but luckily I just get to watch and YAWP if she misses anything out. 

Babies should be up and about in a few days, Hope is out now with her kids and this has perked everyone up.  What would perk me up is more time with Momma!

KS =^..^=

Most cats can spend up to 50% of their day tirelessly washing their bits and pieces, we are taught this from an  early age and if you have a particularly good mother, then you become a particularly clean cat.  I don't quite know where I fit in? I only use my licker if I really have to, well it's so darn rough that once I have gone over small patches of skin, I begin to turn pink.  I find licking boring and can think of better things to do with my time.  The CatWomen are great washers and wash each other, but girls lickers are much softer and wider than a big handsome strong male like myself, who was blessed with a thin sandpaper one. 

I like a bit of mutual grooming and enjoy ear washing, but the CatWomen attack me, especially that Lillibet if I rasp away too much ear wax. There was once a show report for Faith that said, "A worrying amount of hair missing from top of head." I hold my paws up, this was me, I wash her there between her ears over and over until she can take no more and I have voided her of fur and made her 'unshowable'! I don't think I ever wash behind my ears, it's just not enjoyable and very tiring. Lick paw till soggy, wipe soggy paw over the ear. All that happens when you have no fur is that your ears gets damp and clammy and that attracts cool breezes and cools them down.  Nope, I am not a fan of that.  There is one place I never allow my licker to get to and that is my nether regions, why bother washing down there when I get a bath once a month and Momma whips around with a face cloth once in awhile and gives the bottom a quick flash whilst she is there.

Now, I do like to keep my tail in order, that is a very important part of my body and if it is held for me, even better. That has copious amounts of fur on it too, so I don't feel like I have been scalped every time I lick that and I use my tail to communicate - it is my beacon, I swoon and swear with it!  There is also a place, just on my flank, that is within easy reach and often I will pass my licker over it, usually if some human thinks it appropriate to manhandle me and leave their scent behind. I don't do feet, no point, all they do is get dirty and it's ticklish anyway.  I do sort my nails out and take great pride in sharpening them only to have them snipped off again. YAWP.  So you see, washing is for hardened, furred felines with nothing better to do with their lives. Me, I shall spend my time waiting for deliveries, sleeping, watching rain on the windows and praying for Orb Shine and a bath free Summer.

KS =^..^=

Last Thursday we had a few things go on.  The first is very sad and we send our condolences out to the Nixon family and Mr. Zeus at the passing of Brett Nixon who lost his battle with cancer. We will never forget you Brett and we are here for back up and support should Mr.Zeus need a further holiday and give all our support to Liza and Billy should they need anything. 

Although, saying that, Mr. Zeus's holiday home, the 'House of Fun' is packed full of small fuzzy kittens who have been rescued from certain death when found by the Parentals in a rental house in Coventry.  They were brought home and a whole long journey for them has begun. They were so poorly with fleas and worms and Mum cat is trying to be well, but slips in and out of wellness, just due to the fact of anemia and the fact she is calling for a boy cat and it drains her already skinny body.  The Mum cat has been named 'Hope' by the public, she and her kits have drawn lots of attention as her little malfunctioned body saved that of her babies.  I think a week on and she has turned a slight corner to recovery and wants to survive, despite the odds.  You can read about their full story here on our Maystar Website.  they are worth saving and when you hear what trauma they have been through - worth giving a home to!  So please SPREAD THE WORD about the CHARITY LITTER.

There was also news on Uncle Paul that Thursday, he is to have a major OP on 30th July and being fitted with a Nissen Herzog technique of netting and rings to his trachea.  It's a German invention by all accounts and so we are nicknaming him 'Fritz'.  Oooh, he is going to give Momma a right ear bashing one of these days.. but whilst she can still fast walk and he is still out of breath - that will be a race worth watching!

That race with 'Fritz' might well be reversed sooner than Momma thinks. She is to have an operation on her spine and no doubt I shall blog about how we are all going to keep her full of beans and happy.  But you know Momma, strong as an ox and just as stubborn when it comes to beating anything. Apart from this time, she will be lying down.  Oh, we can't wait to torture her and withhold food and tease her, just as she does to us!  It's going to be excellent fun jumping from the wardrobe now...  We will have ManSlave trained to our every whim and regular orders from the pet store on his credit card. Poor ManSlave, he just won't know what hit him!

So, from one of the busiest Thursdays EVER, the 3rd of July will never be forgotten. My motto for this, is eat as much as you can, You never know what's around the corner! 

KS =^..^=

Here she is, the Princess of the pride at her debut show selling her LilliLongLegs Toys! Oh what a babe she was all day for Momma, sitting on her heated pad that Eva and David (Jaz7 Jamies's parentals) had sent her for her Birthday last year. She wore her special bandanna that our friend from Z's Sew-n-sew ha made her especially!

It took Momma a little bit of training to get her to wear the bandanna and also to sit still all day and not move.  There was more than one comment that her door was open, but she was just so pleased to be doing as she asked and not move until she was asked.  She let everyone fuss her and was a complete angel. If not a very tired one!
Momma was worried because only the night before she had been told tails of Lillibet's sister Jasmine and how Jaz had been very rude to visitors in their home and to the vet and to David and then to Eva and how she doesn't like her harness anymore and shouts and hollars and says rude words.  Momma was not going to tell lillibet about the goings on incase she thought this behavour was a good idea!

There was some discord when Lillibet & Momma returned home. Faith was furious that she had been left and reprimanded Momma and mouthed her hand and hissed and then hissed at Lillibet and sulked upstairs all evening even though Momma had brought new toys. She even went as far as to pee on the freshly washed show equipment whilst it hung on the radiators to dry. She was being a madam.  So Momma rewarded her for this behaviour by letting us all sleep in with her in the comfort of the Kitten room, where faith finally snuggled into Momma and hissed at Lillibet if she even so looked her way. I stay out of these things. It's all to do with jealousy, I don't go in for that, I go in for new toys, treats and snax on offer after a show! 

KS =^..^=

It's been a very busy month for hospitals and visits and appointments and such like.  What with Uncle Paul back in hospital after being sent home and Momma visited to help him ring for an ambulance and Momma seeing an Orthopeadic specialist and was then sent for Xrays and MRI scans and prodded and poked. It brought up the age old feelings of 'White Coat Syndrome' for ManSlave.  He very kindly visited Uncle Paul the first time and stood in the doorway at CCU squeezing antibacterial juice all over his hands every minute and looking very green.  He then had to accompany Momma to the clinic in Birmingham, which he said wasn't too much like a 'real' hospital, but when Momma was sent for Xrays there and then, his legs turned to jelly and he started to perspire from his hands and go all clammy and his heart rate shoots off the scale.  ManSlave has it written on his notes at his local doctors "has white coat syndrome".  He declined to go with Momma for MRI scans. That would have been a bit too clinical. 

Ironically, a few months back, Faith & Lillibet had their boosters and Faith became quite poorly with a fever.  Momma nursed her and took her temperature and cooled her down and took her to the vets.  It was after about the 4th visit of Faith NOT recovering that both Simon the Vet and Momma thought there was something more sinister going on - there wasn't.  Faith also has white coat syndrome!  At home her temperature was sitting finally at 38.1 and then she would go for the last check up and Simon would do his reading and her temperature had shot up to 40.0?  He kept sending her away with Loxicom and saying "come back tomorrow".  Momma would take the temperature at night and all OK and at the morning appointment it was back to 40 again?  This happened three times.  She became fine at home, racing about, eating, being happy. So on the final morning, Momma took her temperature before she traveled and took the FURMOMETER with her.  Simon used two FURMOMETERS that day and on the second day he had use 3!  She was up from 38.1 to 40.1 again!!! He said this time - take her home - do nothing and wrote on her notes "Green Coat Syndrome"!

KS =^..^=

There is a muffled squeak that comes from Faith when she has something very special to present to you is second to non and often can be confused with calling or being stuck somewhere or having her legs sawn off!  The squeak carries on and on until someone goes to find out exactly what it is she has found, or tortured. She invariably brings it to the Parentals bed or the kitchen table and then squeaks and squeaks until she can present it to the right person. If you are not the right person, then even more squeaking ensues until the right one appears and this is usually Momma or Lillibet if Momma is unavailable. 

The gifts in the last week have been anything from a little leaf, tiny stick, flower petal to more exotic large bluebottles or huge EightLeggeds, newts and even a froglet. Every gift is precious and Momma lovingly strokes her and takes her gift and strokes her some more and says "thank you honey, all this for me?" Faith dances about on her tippy toes, weaving her tiny body around and tail held perpendicular and quivering. Tiny little mep mep squeaks come out and she takes Momma's hand and holds her fingers with her mouth and then falls on the floor or bed or table wrapped around Momma's hand and still mep mep mepping and then resumes a ritual marching dance akin to a top dressage horse in full piaffe passage all around Momma and touching, ever so gently, the little gift she has presented. 

We are not sure if Momma stock piles these gifts and occasionally, if it is really pretty, Momma will pop it on the kitchen windowsill for a few hours and then they mysteriously disappear into the ether - poof!  The live ones are released back into the wild with the odd leg missing and some never make it that far.  The bluebottles & EightLeggeds get too soggy and usually 'don't make a full recovery' but most of the froglets and newts benefit from a good licking and carrying to the highest point in the house. These, obviously, can't be placed on the windowill for 'show & tell', because well, they simply race off and the chase starts all over again.

Lillibet brought her first froglet into the house not long ago, but she doesn't have the enthusiasm for gift giving like her Mother. Faith has topped this ever since she moved in back in 2011. She never fails to amaze me with the things she finds pretty and worth giving. If she thinks you special, she will offer you a gift. This, I also find very odd, because Faith loves me and yet has NEVER brought me a gift?  Although, anything edible is eaten immediately and usually stolen from her, maybe this is why I am bottom of her gift giving list?

KS =^..^=