It's nice to see someone have such a good time and J1 is trying very hard to learn all these different routines and still remain composed.  He started out with heavier harness.  It was one Momma purchased for Lillibet.  She is quite a big girl so it fitted J1 perfectly. But, like Lillibet, J1 found it tricky to balance in and ended up just sitting on one place. Liilibet, when she wears it, she just lays there shaking her tail!  So, it seems that he now has to borrow my harness and 4 leads just so he can move freely and get some exercise. It irks me, because that's my harness and I now can't go out at the same time. Well, OK, I have been out at the same time, but I was a little huffy and puffy as the new boy just doesn't have any etiquette and constantly uses his sniffer against my sides.  I did make a Thwak at him and J1 turned into a mini beast. But the end of his leash brought him up short as I stood just out of reach with my paw to my nose "nah nah nah nah nah".

Faith still won't give him the time of day.  "No Momma, I WILL NOT date him."  ::shakes head:: Just you wait until your hormones kick in dear and then we shall see who is miss fussy knickers then? Just don't be sitting on my head for attention!  He doesn't sweet talk her at all, he is all gung ho and no warm up.  I have tried to explain this to him, that the CatWomen will delight if you whisper sweet nothings into their shell like. But he is all bravado and a bit sneaky in my opinion. I don't think the syrupy chattering is going to be on his agenda. I think he is more a 'wam bam thank you mam' type of guy. He has never actually 'done' the act and me, four times proven, have had my fair share of fancy women and he should take a note out of my book. To woo is to win! Although if they don't comply, dragging them by the scruff of their neck will do nicely too!

KS =^..^=

Cats do smile.  Ok, so it's not like a human smile, but we do turn our lips up into a pleased expression when we are having something pleasing done to us, like a kiss or a belly rub.

For a cat to show it's teeth is a bit of a no no really to each other and especially to our humans. Humans don't like it when the cat-sharps come out and yet they constantly show us theirs as a form of love and laughter.  It is quite confusing on occasion and something that always make me think of a time when Faith was a kitten.

Faith loves sugar. I mean REALLY loves it and thinks nothing of stealing anything sweet. On this one particular occasion, she was snooping about on the worktop and came across a bowl of icing sugar.  There it was, all unattended and sweet and luring.  She dived in, sniffer first, licker second and of course as soon as her wet sniffer hit the sugar it started to melt, the licker came out and it made it sticky.  She started to panic, it was oozing from her mouth like a liquid torrent. This in turn made her look like she had a big gaping smile as the white icing sugar coated her lips and teeth and they both in turn gleamed like a pair of Bobby Dazzlers!  It's not something I would ever do of course, so I could only look on with sheer hilarity as this tiny black kitten tried to rid herself of her newly acquired smile.  She has always been a sweet girl!

KS =^..^=

J1 is settling in fine now.  He had a tough start to his first week and has been feeling low and a little depressed.  He missed his old home and his old routine and his old Owner, it's been sad. He stopped eating and began to sulk and became very clingy and calling to everyone all the time.  But today, he seems a little more like he should be.  His hawes or third eye lid still hovers over the very corner of his eyes, but everyday it seems to lessen as he regains his paws and begins to eat.  It must be horrible to feel so sad that you can't eat? That would rock my World. If I don't eat it's because I am dead!

I went with him to see Simon the Vet and we both had a good once over. Simon assured Momma that J1 is just stressed out and doesn't have any lurking cat virus thingies. Phew, coz I have been rampaging around the garden with him and he used his sniffer more than once and that is an offence! Today, his tail pops up when I call to him and he answers me back in his girly voice.  He is getting used to routine and to mealtimes and hopefully is enjoying Radio Two. He really should be listening to BBC C&W with all the coverage we get!!!

I quite like him and I make sure he is OK. I am certain we won't get on forever, but my job is to Meets & Greets then you can make your own way in life. I just like to be first to test everyone out then that's my bit done. All I am after going forward is free Noms and someone to YAWP with!

Momma has him trotting about like a pony, building his stamina for his lady friends and building his appetite and his interest in life. She has him doing trotting poles and such like. I think she is missing her Equines? I feel that he is expressing good carriage and can bascule very well over a jump and is using all of his body to canter on the spot. The only thing is, he is now champing at the bit to go faster and faster... Momma needs to rein him in before he gallops headlong into the end of the House of Fun and off over the countryside. Well it is Point to Point season soon and he will have to be in tip top condition to enter his first race!

KS =^..^= 

On Monday, Lillibet was two years old!  It was, of course, the birthday of her Brother, Jamie & Sister, Jasmine.  On the morning of her Birthday, she had gifts to open and cards to read. There was a card and gift from her siblings and she received a beautiful necklace with a heart adorned with diamontes. Just right for a princess!

She went on to have a nice day, snoozing until the door bell went. She knew it was for her and was out of bed and racing to the door, like I have said before, if she could bark, she would!!!  Well, it was Dale the postie. He has a small package for her, again with her name on.  Dale enquires if it's her birthday because he has been delivering things all day with her name on?  She opens her gift on her own, tears into the paper to reveal a Yeowww fishy, a pink one and some dreamies and cat snax. She makes short work of most of that and goes for the catnip toy. It makes her legs go all silly and Faith then joins her, they have a squabble and during this, I pinch her Yeowww toy and make out with it on the carpet. I love them so much.  She them fights me for her Yeowww. Well. it is hers I guess.

Later she has a Garden party and everyone is invited.  Everyone on a harness and enjoying the weather.  She was not impressed with the new visitor that is J1. She decided that 'HE' actually wasn't invited and asked him to leave. He declined, so she got furious and pouted her lips at him, then drew them back and gave him her best impression of a Chocolate Mamba!  Faith was OK with the gate crasher until he sniffed her petticoat and that was all too much too. He called her names and she know now she will be a cradle snatcher in the future. It has made her a bit giddy!

I was a pure gent and helped finish up all of the left over fish cake. There was so much. Momma had made so much, Lillibet said she was on a diet and didn't want any but did blow out her candles and wished J1 would go back home and Faith had two servings, well, it's her favourite and J1 and I licked the dishies clean.  Well, us boys have to stick together!

KS =^..^=

Yesterday, J1 arrived and settled into the House of Fun very well indeed.  He was a little cautious about ManSlave at first, but he clung to Momma and grabbed her hand and held her tightly, purring and chirruping. His previous owner, Nichola Brown, used to spend lots of time kissing him when he was little. It sure has rubbed off on him. He is very cute.

I think he misses his old friends a bit and has become stressed over night and very clingy, but ManSlave spent a very worthwhile few hours with him today and he doesn't mind ManSlave so much now and knows he won't hurt him.

J1 will live in the House of Fun now as coming into my territory will be a no no.  I like him though and we have met a few times because he was devoid of feline company so I offered to help him by taking him for a walk around the garden.  He did well and enjoyed the experience.

I know I am a bit of a fighist at times, but really, I am quite happy go lucky unless you really annoy me and then i can't seem to forget.  I am happy to help and really have only one thing on my mind. Enjoying my freedom. The fact that someone is following me makes no odds - I am out!  He did try smelling my bum and I swore at him. i don't think he knew what swearing meant because he sniffed my bum again - I THWAKKED him.  He NOW knows what swearing means!

I know he has a pair between his legs and he walks like John Wayne, but mine were bigger and furrier once and I have had ladies in my paws and dragged them about by their scruffs and called them 'biatch'. This young upstart has only sniffed a girl and that girl was Lillibet and she has a mouth on her like a fishwife. This young upstart has a lot to learn and I am the guy to teach him.  He has taken a shine to Momma, he purrs and acts silly.  That will get him places. If you can melt the heart of a human, you are half way there to wooing a CatWoman!

KS =^..^=

Well, after weeks and weeks of watching the Parentals build the 'second' Cat Pod which is known as the House of Fun, we actually got to have a go in it and look around. Faith seems to think it's solely for her and has not a clue that this mini pad is not her own private resting place and bird watching station, but a house for her new Beau, J1!  It will dawn on her soon enough!

It is over 20ft long in it's entirety and is insulated with copious amounts of Kingspan and silver bubble wrap as well as a further 10mm PVC sheeting inside. It's toasty to say the least and cheap to heat with a simple low wattage panel heater.

There is space for a visiting girl that may need to be separated after the dirty deed as they can turn vicious those CatWomen and not to be left alone with their ManCat unless it is to snuggle down for a cigarette!  It has comfy beds and hand made bespoke bedding with little cats on and these were designed by Momma and stitched very kindly (for a curry & some cat toys) by Zena Oliver from Z's Sew-n-sew who came from Ashby at the last second to help get the stitching done.

The cat run attachment 'HOF's CatPod' is adorned with heavy duty shelving to take a heated outdoor bed as well as make a seat for the Parentals to perch on whilst they drink their morning tea.  There is also a catloo outside, in case he gets caught short!!  There is a further CatLoo inside which is raised up so Momma doesn't have to bend and it has cutsie little matching hearts on it... well, it's all got to be matchy matchy, what will his future wives think?

We are sure he is going to love his new abode. Watch this space for new developments and his arrival on the weekend!

KS =^..^=

It's been a funny sort of day. The Orb is out and it is so warm and we were allowed out, one at a time on our harnesses. But the Orb keep hiding behind fluffy clouds and it goes quite chilly. Enough to give you chicken skin.  Talking of chicken skin, we have, cooking in a nice clean oven, the thigh of some free range turkey. Only the other day he was legging it about the place and now he is roasting up very nicely in our oven. How lucky am I to peer in and see it's little skin crisping up?  For those vegetarians amongst you, the potatoes look good too! With Momma's dodgy allergies, meat and two veg is about all she can eat, so being a veggie for many years, the Parentals had to turn back to eating meat - so long as it is free range and had a good life!  I will give it a good after life, if I am allowed to have a lick?  I am sure I will, we nearly always get a little something on a Sunday - even if that means that Monday produces a quicker chocolate gold!

Even though the Orb is out, the Parentals are inside shouting Button, Hamilton? Goodness knows what they find interesting about over engineered boxes of carbon flying around a race track?  Later Momma was glued to the TV with Lillibet under one arm and Faith under the other arm drooling at the tele because there are some sexy looking horses prancing about looking flash.  To me, dressage is like watching cement dry and that can be made much more interesting, I can tell you when a fly lands in it!  Prancing horses. ::shakes head::  To get her attention I do a canter half pass across the lounge, she takes no notice so I piaffe along the back of the sofa YAWPING and do a tempy two time change onto the table and extended trot right up to her nose and halt squarely.  NOW SHE SEES ME!

KS =^..^=

HISTORY LESSON: In October 2012 we watched as the House of Fun was being erected, by that December the reason for the stud house very sadly left the Earth plane and became the Angel of TomFun. The Parentals lost all love for the 'shed' and it became the Maystar 'white elephant'. By March 2013 and the excitement of a new blue friend to move into the House of Fun became shattered dreams as TomFun collected up his play mate and took him to rainbow bridge, we thought that 'white elephant' was a terrible mistake and it became a half hearted office of sorts as it was specifically made for one purpose and that always made us feel sad.

But in June 2014, Mr.Zeus needed a place to stay for a few days while Liza took Billy to do his charity great north swim to raise money for Brett, who was at this time very poorly with cancer and now has sadly passed. (Gosh, I hope the shed is not an omen!!) Well, Mr.Zeus stayed in the House of Fun and had quite a ball. The place felt alive again!

Then shortly after that in July 2014 the Parentals rescued a litter of kittens 'Maystar Charity Litter' and the place was really alive and we swear we saw TomFun come back and 'roll on the floor' with happiness that his House of Fun had a use and it wasn't a waste after all.

Then out of the blue in August 2014, we received a phone call to offer us JayOne (J1) and so the renovation of the 'white elephant' has been taking place at a very steady pace. Once the kittens moved out it was a case of disinfecting the whole house and giving it a much needed lick of paint and to add the very much needed run.  All the wood and wire were here already, it was a case of making it all right and safe and cat proof as well as making it really easy for Momma to get to. Well, her back isn't what it used to be and we can't have her tripping over gravel and such like. Who would feed us? 

So, the House of Fun is back on and TomFun seems pleased that his old home will be used as it should be and that his heart light that the Parentals chose will be there to guide him home.  Momma has changed the colour scheme too. What was blue for boys has been change to company colours of red & black.  There is still quite a way to go and only 6 days to do it in, but a few hours a day has achieved an awful lot and we are not posting inside pictures until it's totally finished, so watch this space for the opening day of the 13th September 2014 - very very nearly Lillibet, Jasmine & Jamie's birthday!!!

KS =^..^=

Sleep is the kind of thing you really need to function correctly. It gives your body the chance to recuperate from the day's activities, such as hunting 8Leggeds or Thwakking. Apparently, scientists tell us, that we only burn around 50 kCal during sleep, that's like a handful of kibble, so note to self, never go to bed on an empty stomach is my moto. Even if that kibble is going to sit on your waste line, you don't want to wake up starving!

We have to sleep because it is essential to maintaining normal levels of cognitive skills such as meowing, remembering where that kibble went under the washing machine and innovative and flexible thinking (trying to reach said kibble!). In other words, sleep plays a significant role in brain development.  So I sleep to increase my brain power, cool, so when I wake up one day, I might rule the World after all - now to work on those opposable thumbs!

I like to sleep quite a lot. More so than the CatWomen. They prefer to be up and around and catch the odd forty winks swaying from side to side, pretending to be awake. Where as I find the comfy spot on the bed and snuggle right in. Momma usually comes and gives me a kiss and covers me over, I make gentle purring noises and prup prup as she covers me. Lillibet is a snuggler too, she likes to be VERY next to someone. This is awkward at times as some days you just want to kip on your own.  She gets grumbled at by Faith and to watch Lillibet work her way into a pile of cats is genius. Ears flat back, sneaking inch by inch into place in a totally subservient way so as not to rouse suspicion.  But if she lays on Momma, it's full flounce, tail wagging and purring so loudly your ear drums are at bursting point. 

Faith and I sleep together a lot. I love her, she is easy and she loves me too. We will gently kiss and she will just lay down, with the minimal of fuss and there we will stay, back to back or sometimes I cuddle her like 'cat spoons'.  She is sweet and doesn't snore!  Then along comes Lillibet, the stealth sleeper and it nearly always upsets the apple cart... well, three is a crowd right?

KS =^..^=