Chrissy Mouse Dinner

I cooked a chicken yesterday for me and the cats to share. The cats didn't appear for their share (which surprised me) so I tucked in anyway, came back for seconds, then fell asleep (as you do!). When I woke up I felt too tired to do anything but tuck the rest of the chick-hen up in foil, thinking it would be safe as the kitties didn't seem interested...

Wrong!!! When we came down this morning, the foil was on the floor and the bird had a very "gnawed" look!

Now I'm not noted for my cooking or carving prowess, but even I had made a better job of hacking bits off the meat than this! I told myself I had only myself to blame and proceeded to serve out the cats' breakfasts. They jumped up as usual, sniffed their bowls, then jumped down and flopped on the kitchen floor... This is unprecedented! The Caramels uninterested in breakfast? I think the culprits have been found!

This looks to me like a very chickenful kitty...

I am now going to cut off all the gnawed bits and eat the rest. Please keep paws crossed for my future health!

Happy Boxing Day friends!





:) xxx

A Visitor

This is "White Stripe", our most frequent visiting cat. I call him White Stripe because of the white markings under his eyes. He looks like he's wearing war paint (fitting, as you may agree if you read on). He likes to come in, run up and down the climbing pole and play with the catnip mice and other toys. We're all cool with this except when he tries to eat the Caramels' food, when we draw the line. (He's out of luck most of the time because Alfie and Simba don't often leave any food!)

The other night though there were some kibbles left in the bowls. I was in the kitchen when in he sauntered, cool as you please, jumped straight up onto the work surface and started scoffing Alfie's kibbles. I said, "No" firmly, picked him up and put him gently on the floor, whereupon he turned on me and did this:

After saying "Ouch", followed by many words on the Naughty Word List and washing my hands thoroughly, I chased him towards the cat flap. There he stopped, turned and looked up at me defiantly and started to hiss and growl at me! Enter my hero Alfie, all bushed up and screeching like a banshee! He leapt at White Stripe, who beat a hasty retreat through the cat flap!

I thought we had probably seen the last of him, so imagine my surprise when I woke up on Wednesday morning to see White Stripe picking his way along my row of chests of drawers, sniffing everything and knocking the odd book onto the floor as he progressed. When he reached the wall he turned round and went all the way back, finally jumping down. He then went all round the bedroom investigating everything thoroughly, before jumping onto my dressing table, where he sat for some time looking out of the window through the holes that the Caramels have made in the net curtains to facilate their own neighbourhood watches.

I just wish I had had my camera to hand!

Alfie, who was on the bed throughout, just completely ignored him! I think it would have been a different story if he had jumped on the bed...

Incidentally, we haven't seen "Pole Cat" for ages. I think he and White Stripe might be brothers. They are both ginger and white and are about the same size and age. Pole Cat is a gentle, friendly soul, quite different in temperament, though he, too, loves the catnip mice and the climbing pole. I hope he's okay. I can't find a photo of him. I thought I'd taken some but all I can find are pics of White Stripe! Perhaps they're alter-egos of one and the same cat, like Hendrix and Bendrix!

We haven't seen "Scruffy Fluffy" lately either.

Nor "Pretty Lady", who seemed to fancy Simba (with good reason, he's a handsome and tolerant cat).

I hope they're both okay too.






:) xxx