Wednesday 31 October 2007

Wonderful Wednesday with Isis!

Hello Everykitty, Isis here for my Wednesday blog time! :)

I hope you all like my latest close-up (especially you Napoleon, and remember no drooling on the keyboard!) I do so love posing for Mummy and as soon as she points the camera at he I start to purr... Well they do say a good model as to love the camera! ;) Maybe I don't have all the fashion sense of Daisy the Curly Cat, but I can do cute all the same! :)

Mummy says I'm growing into a nice young girlycat and I must say I'm kind of excited as I'll turn double figures at the end of the month - yes 10 months old already! It's dreadfully grown up 'n all... :) Maybe I'll start my Birthday Wish List soon? I mean it'll take me quite a while to think of all the prezzies I'd like for my very first Birthday! :) Though a proper kitty kiss from a nice young ManCat (who's not my own brother - ick!) would have to be top of my list for now... ! ;)

I think I'd like a nice new blankey too, one for my beautiful luxury carrier with the big furry mattress in... It's so much better than that horrid PTU! I mean a girlycat need a little luxury in her life, but a lot will do nicely too! ;)

Oh and I think I'd like a big bag of pretty coloured feathers, as I just love feathers! Not to forget some new mices as I can't find any of the cute little ones to play with here... I think that big old black grump, Tigmut'hep, has run off with them or shoved them under the sofa... :( I do so love my little mices! :)

Now I nearly forgot, when I'm 1 yr old I'll be old enough to try some catnip! ;) Ramses says not to bother with the low quality stuff, but go straight for the really good stuff as it's worth it! Ramses seems to know rather a lot about d'nip it seems, even though Tigmut'hep is the one round here who's a total 'niphead! ;) Mummy says I must be like my brother and use d'nip only occasionally and in social situations, rather than hogging the lot as often as possible and being all antisocial like Tigs... She says there's such a thing as responsible 'nip use - all these things to learn about being a grown up girlycat are so exhausting, I think I feel a nap coming on...

Tuesday 30 October 2007

Thoughtful Tuesday...

We'z all been thinking lots about Miss Peach although I've seen a few pictures of Barbie-Q and Socrates they too were well before my time and apparently in a different Country too! But I will do my best to tell you a little about them all as they have all helped My Mummy become the right type of Mummy for me, Isis and even Tigmut'hep!

When Mummy was a little school girl, her Music teacher's cat had kittens and thinking that the odds were totally against the
m her parents said she could put her name down for one of the kittens... So with odds of about 300 to 1, Mummy became a cat Mummy for the very first time at age 9! Cuddles was a tiny black and tabby cat, who was feisty and full of naughty tricks, I hear she dominated Mummy's old dog Goldie and even stole her dinner at times - considering that Goldie was a Labrador and a real lover of food, this must have been quite something to watch! Cuddles was probably the most uncuddly cat ever in fact, though she didn't seem to mind being dressed up in bonnets and capes and being pushed around in a big pram just like a baby... Since Mummy's parents had a huge garden and she lived in a little village in the countryside, Cuddles was an indoor/outdoor cat who loved to hunt mice and birds, but then Mummy went on Guide Camp and Cuddles strayed further from home than normal in her evening hunt... Even though Mummy's parents were home to feed her she didn't have Mummy to play with, so she stayed out later and later... One night at camp Mummy woke up screaming having had a dreadful nightmare, that same night Cuddles didn't come home... :( Mummy's parents were frantic with worry and searched like mad people for Cuddles, three days later Mummy came back from camp and was told the news that Cuddles had strayed and hadn't been home in days. Mummy told her Dad where she thought she was, he went to look just to make Mummy happy and he found her little body straight away, she'd been squashed by one of those evil metal monsters on the near by motorway (nearly 1/2 mile from their old house). She was buried under her favourite Honeysuckle plant at the end of the garden and Mummy was heart broken...

Many years passed and Mummy stayed catless as she hated the thought of having another cat die on her. Then she heard of a colony of wild cats who were abou
t to be trapped and killed as they were becoming a menace... Mummy was very angry about this and managed to gain the trust of one of the younger cats and eventually trapped him herself. She saved up her pocket money and with some help from her parents had him neutered and housed him in the family conservatory to see if she could tame him while he recovered and got used to the new area. Iggy-Tiggy did tame a little but at heart he was a wild cat, only Mummy could handle him and in the end Mummy found a safe place in which to release him when it was obvious that he was never going to be able to be kept as a pet. A local Estate with acres of wild woodland was only too happy to have him run wild and free there, knowing that he couldn't breed now. So Iggy-Tiggy went to live there and soon Mummy got to hear about sightings of him at the local school, where he'd turn up at milk break and see what he could get the little kids to give him before making a dash back into the woods of the bordering Estate. These sightings carried on for years that and Mummy kept up to date on Iggy-Tiggy's life until she left the UK for a new life in Canada in her late teens...

Again a few years passed and then one day Mummy opened her apartment balcony door to find a half starved and obviously mistreated Meezer trying to steal a big of chicken off her BBQ! This is how Barbie-Q got her name and made her was into Mummy's life... After a day or two of feeding this starving Meezer, Mummy got her to come into her apartment and gave her a good looking over. Her ears had been glued to her head and her chin to her chest, she was caked in a rubber based glue all round her head and neck area and looked a right sight... Mummy bundled her up and took her straight to the nearest vet, convinced that someone would be looking for her and frantic with worry. The vet checked her over and gave Mummy some advice on how to get the glue off of Barbie-Q and said he was convinced from the state she was in that she'd not been fed properly in over 2 months, she really was all skin and bone... He was also pretty sure she'd been abused by her original owner and since no one had reported a missing Meezer in the past few months and certainly not a female kitten (he reckoned she was only 9-10 months when she found Mummy), he was happy to agree that Mummy now belonged to Barbie-Q! The thing no one realized at the time was that she was pregnant (she could only have been a few days gone at the time) so about 2 months later she gave birth on top of Mummy's clean laundry! She had 3 lovely healthy kittens, one little runt with a huge umbilical hernia and 2 still born... Mummy and Barbie-Q had a lovely time raising the kittens and finding good homes for the 3 really healthy ones, Mummy worried about little Batman though and talked her parents into adopting him and getting him the vet care he so badly needed... Batman pulled through the surgery and gave them 13 yrs of love and purrs, spending their holidays with Mummy, Barbie-Q and later Socrates too! Socrates was another of Mummy's rescues, this time from the SPCA in Calgary during an outbreak of Cat Flu. Being a kitten at the time he was at serious rick of being put down if he got sick at the shelter, so Mummy bought him home just in time. Her vet helped her nurse him through it, 'cause he was so sick and so little - but he made it! :) He was goofy and neurotic, I mean how's heard of a cat with vertigo?! That was Socrates for you though... He couldn't jump up on things he just collided with them, he's panic if you didn't hide his eyes when you picked him up and he had a list of food allergies a mile long. But he was such a character never the less!

Mummy had many wonderful years with Barbie-Q and just about the time she turned 13 yrs old
her kidney's failed and within a week she was too weak to go on, she died as she'd lived in Mummy's arms with all her love surrounding her to the very last. That was nearly 10 yrs ago now, but I still see Mummy cry when she thinks of her lovely brave Meezer girl... Socrates missed her badly too and over the next 12-18 months his allergies and other problems seemed to slowly get worse and after medication and surgery had both been tried and failed he too passed and left Mummy with a gaping furry shaped hole in her heart...

At this point Mummy moved back to the UK and bought the boy with her. After about a year of renting a house and getting used to the area she and Dad found this house and shortly after Tigmut'hep was bought home for the boy. He took to the boy straight away and over the past 6 yrs together they have played with much Lego and many, many toy cars as well as snuggled with more Teddy Bears than I can count! But Tigmut'hep developed idiopathic cystitis and needed to go on Rx food and stay in (cause he used to break and enter other cat owners houses and steal food), so Mummy and Dad talked about getting him a companion cat to keep him company. Mummy'd told Dad lots of stories about Barbie-Q and Socrates and Dad was well impressed with Socrates ability to play fetch! So they started to look for breeds of cats who were good at playing this sort of game and walking on a leash and harness, soon they found that Abyssinians were good at this sort of stuff and since Mummy'd met a couple of lovely Aby girls many years back in Toronto she and Dad started looking for either an Aby rescue cat or a kitten. This is how they got to talk to my former owners, who were heart broken at state I was in and my total lack of trust in humans thanks to one case of really bad handling and generally not being suited to the life style of a Stud and Show cat. They loved me so much, but were scared I'd hurt someone as I lashed out with fear so had planned to let me live my life as a companion cat to another of their Stud cats Dan. Once they heard the story of how Mummy'd rescued Barbie-Q and gained her trust they offered to let her meet me. During the next 24 hrs My Mummy crouched me my own little blanket and got the house ready for a second cat... As soon as I met My Mummy I let her touch me and fuss me, even though I was very nervous. Once I arrived home here I hid for days at a time, but Mummy'd just offer me a little treat and sit quietly with me. She moved so slowly that I accepted her touching me without wanting to put the bitey on her fingers and within a few months I was Mummy's little snuggle buddy! :) The breeders who owned me got lovely letters from Mummy telling them about my progress and photos too, they still can't believe the miracle she worked on me and have helped her make the decision to become an Abyssinian Cat Breeder. Isis will be her first Aby queen and sometime in early 2008 she'll go visit my old friend Dan and hopefully come home with a belly full of kittens for us all to enjoy and raise! :)

The love of a few good cats have made me one special Mummy and with my little half-sister Isis I'll be an Uncle next year! I'm planning on telling all the kittens how very lucky they are to have My Mummy help them in their first few months of life and how to find a wonderful Mummy of their own when they are big enough to leave home, though Mummy promises we can keep one or two with us if they're just as special as Isis and me! :) Even grumpy old Tigmut'hep is looking forward to having kittens here, it seems he thinks they look like Beanie Cats and he's very fond of those! ;)

Monday 29 October 2007

Monday Meme for Miss Peach

I was nominated by My lovely Marie to do the Cherish meme, which Adan created to bring the love of all da kitty bloggers to the gentle Miss Peach! As Adan said: "She always makes us know what love is!" Well said, Adan!

So here are the rules of the Cherish meme:


1. tell us what is the most sweetest warm thing you will do to your mommy (what is the sweetest thing that your kitty will do to you)

2. And, hug your mommy, tightly... (and, hug your kitty....tightly...)

3. Tag your good friend...


4. Leave your computer, and continuing hug each other...

Ramses
I tend to do lots of loving things for my Mummy, from sitting behind her head on the back of the sofa of an evening sniffing her long red furs and sighing contentedly and I snuggle in, to snuggling up between Mummy & Dad at night in bed so that I get and give a two sided fussing last thing at night and first thing in the morning as well! Though I guess my occasionally giving Mummy a bed time kiss on the forehead is what she finds sweetest... I like to wait until she's almost asleep and walk up onto her pillow between her and Dad and place a feather soft kitty kiss on her head, near her left temple. It makes her smile as she drifts off to sleep and makes me feel all warm inside too and I tend to fall asleep in her arms after that! Having a Mummy is wonderful and it'll be my 2 yr Gotcha Day Anniversary a little less than a month now. After spending nearly 2 1/2 years without a Mummy to snuggle with and love I know how special My Mummy is and I never take her for granted... :)

Isis
Since I'm still quite a playful kitten at heart, my greatest show of affection towards Mummy is to sleep on her toes all night and resist the urge to put the bitey on them! I'm pretty dedicated to warming Mummy's toes and they're the only toes I know not to but the bitey on - after all you doesn't bitey the toes that feed! ;) Though I'm starting to also join in the late night and early morning lovefest on Mummy & Dad's bed with Ramses. Mostly I climb up Mummy and sit on her chest and let her fuss me, though sometimes I just gaze at her and purr. Another way I show Mummy how much I love her is by posing for pretty photos and snuggling with my big brother Ramses in her office most afternoons! As soon as Mummy gets her camera out and points it at me I start purring, I really loves havin' my photo taken and I know Mummy loves takin' my photo too! :)

Tigmut'hep
I show my love by spending lots of time with the boy, playing with Lego and toy cars as well as watching him playing video games or just snuggling next to him while he watches TV or a DVD. I also eat any food he drops and snuggle with his teddy bears when he's at school so they don't get lonely! I also like to show him that I support his love of Ice Hockey, by nesting in his kit bag if he leaves it open though for some reason everyone turns their nose up at me after I do that and says I smell bad... I show Mummy I love her by only occasionally putting the bitey on her leg when she's late with my next meal and also by sticking my head down her shoes when she takes them off! I mean only someone who *really loved* her would do a thing like that! ;) Finally I have a few minutes love either last thing at night or first thing in the morning with Mummy in bed, where I sit on her chest and purr like mad as she gives me a really good fussing and just to prove my love I get off her chest before she turns blue! ;) Apparently I'm no light weight! :) Oh and my other way of showing my love to all the family is by my not "bopping" my annoying Aby Housemates all the time and even bringing myself to let them snuggle with me on odd occasions...

Mummy
I show them all I love them, by letting them have individual time with me and treating them each in their own special way. Ramses is my lover boy, Isis is my playful, sweet, little show off and Tigmut'hep is my loveable old grump! ;) He likes everything his own way and is quite aloof most of the time, but if I'm unwell he's right by my side, the same goes if he's unwell. To be honest all the cats cling to me if I'm having a bad day and Ramses even got cross at my hubby when he bought me home from hospital last December following knee surgery as he thought for a bit he's hurt me! I wound up having to comfort Ramses for quite a bit before he's accept the fact that I hadn't been hurt by anyone! ;)

For this special meme, like My Marie we'd happily nominate anycat and everycat really, so that they can all show their love to Miss Peach, but in particular we'd like to nominate:

The Crew, Napoleon at Pets are 4 Life ('cause Isis insisted) and the Meowers from Missouri

Miss Peach, we want you to know that we'z have been purring nonstop here! We love you, so please get better soon!

Saturday 27 October 2007

Sleepy Saturday...

Well we're all having a quiet day here today, much snuggling is happening both with Mummy and Dad and us cats and with Isis... :) Mummy, Dad and the boy had a nice day in the New Forest yesterday, but it was a long drive and so we're all making the most out of them being all tired and applying lots of furs and love to them all! Even if Tigmut'hep applies his love to the boy by watching him play Lego Star Wars for hours on end... ;)

I love having these quiet relaxing days with all my family, both feline and human alike. Heck I can't even think of a reason for wanting to play "bop" with Tigmut'hep's head today! ;)

All the purrs we produce today are being sent to the lovely Miss Peach in firm hope that they will make her feel strong enough to eat a little and keep drinking...

Thursday 25 October 2007

Thoroughly Embarrassed Thursday...

Oh dear goodness what has my little 'sis been telly you all...?! Plus all those photos of me playing the part of her good "'ickle baby kitten", when I'm really a very manly type of Mancat! It's as bad as Tigmut'hep and his teddy bears, 'n seeing him snuggled up with them always makes me laugh myself silly...

How will I ever show my face again now you've seen me playing baby games... Will My Marie love and respect me still?! :( The only real plus is, I know my furs are all nice and clean. Oh and I'm very well rested! :) Plus I'm aloud a bigger share of the afternoon cat milk if I stay in character! ;) Well a Mancat's gotta do what a Mancat's gotta do... It's not my fault I still like cat milk, it's all creamy and tasty and makes my insides feel all good. Mummy says I smile when I've had my cat milk for the day and she's right, I do, 'cause it makes me feel so good and it's so tasty! :)

Oh well back to playing with Isis, I guess... Please 'sis can we play with mousey this time?! I'm sure mousey needs carrying round the house then tucking up in bed in your tent - at least let me keep a little of my dignity today please...

Wednesday 24 October 2007

Wednesday Washings...

Isis here again! :) Big brother Ramses says I can blog on Wednesdays from now on if I'm a good girl... Ok, so he said I could blog on Wednesdays if "I was a good girl and got off his head right that second!" But I know what he meant... ;) He's such a lovely brother... :)

Anyway this is one of my favourite pastimes! Playing Mummy Cat and 'ikle baby kitten, cause it's such a good game and Ramses does make the sweetest of 'ickle baby kittens... :)


The game involves my cleaning every inch of him until he's exhausted and falls to sleep like a good little kitten should! Once I'm sure he's had enough nap time it's time to play with my toys, then I make him run round the house with me holding mousie in my mouth, this is to help his legs get all big and strong! Once he's good and tired, I take him to the kitchen and show him and mousie
where the food bowls are and make them both eat! :) Well you wouldn't want my mousie to die of starvation would you?! After that, I tuck mousie up in bed in my tent with my other toys. :) Then it's time for my 'ickle baby kitten's next wash and nap time... :)

For some reason it's about now
that Ramses insists of falling out of character and making me play on my own, while he goes and has a nap near Mummy in her office, saying that Mummy will protect him from me and let him have some peace... :( Anyway once he's sleeping nicely I sneak in and curl up with him, so he doesn't get cold - a Mummy Cat can't go leaving her little baby kitten sleeping all on his own now can she?! ;)

So why does he keeps moaning about my games being undignified to his status as a Mancat?! I'm sure his Sweety
the lovely Marie would have to agree with me too, 'cause he makes the sweetest 'icke baby kitten there ever was! :)

Now isn't that just the cutest thing you've ever seen... He's such a good 'ickle baby kitten! :)

Tuesday 23 October 2007

Toes Tuesday...

Isis here taking over the blog today, 'cause I had a toe trauma last night... :( It was so dreadful that I can hardly bear thinking about it, but Ramses says I need to talk about stuff to feel better about it... So I'll do my best to explain what happened without cryin'!

You see I was all excited to have Mummy and Dad home last night and I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doin' in the litter box... I know it's a silly mistake to make! So there I was trying to cover up the evidence like a good girl when "squidge" I stepped in it! :( It upset me so much I ran out of the litter box like someone had set fire to my tail, but try as I might I couldn't run away from my icky paw all covered in evidence - 'n boy did it smell bad! :( So I started to cry and Mummy came over and looked at me and decided I needed a "toe wash"! Now having a foot covered in really smelly evidence is one bad thing, but having a toe wash is something else! :( My Dad held me all nice and tight and Mummy did the toe washing with some sniffy stuff and then with some warm water to stop my toes from foamin'! Ramses got all upset and meowed loudly at Mummy that she was makin' my toes all nasty and rabid and worse yet, wet! But in the end she stopped washing them and tried to dry them off for me, but I was worried about Ramses by this time and insisted on getting down to talk to him properly and reassure him I still had all my toes and show him that they hadn't dissolved in the water or even shrunk... :) Though they were all wet and drippy and I got told to stay off the sofa until they dried off as no one (other than me) wanted little wet kitty paw marks on it! Oh well, they're all dry now and Ramses has calmed down. But remember to always watch where you put for paws or you too could have to suffer the indignity of having "icky paw", and icky paw just leads to toe bath and I just know that most kitties out there would find that horribly traumatic!

Sunday 21 October 2007

Sulky Sunday...

It's not fair, Mummy won't be here all night tonight... I'm being abandoned for a whole 24 hrs and I don't like it one bit! :( So what if we'll be getting our dinner a little earlier than usual and that Mummy'll be back tomorrow in time for our next dinner - it's the squillions of hours between those meals where Mummy won't be here that's not right! :( It's bad enough that she sometimes goes out in the day and leaves us all alone and unprotected and unloved for eleventy million hours, but now she's going for eleventy squillion hours at least! Waaaa... I can't take it! I'll be an orphan and suffer great levels of rejection and loss... It'll scare me emotionally I'm sure! Now if only I can find Mummy's bag and get in it! ;) I can be big and brave and cope with Ally dog if I have to, 'cause Mummy'd be with me and I'd be in her bag anyway and surely no daft doggy would be able to find me in there! The only thing is I'm not sure how to pack my litter box and I'm not sure I could manage eleventy squillion hours in a big without access to my litter box... Going poot in Mummy's bag wouldn't be a good idea either, even if she intends to abandon me for ages and make me miss my Mancat Monday!

Marie my Sweet why don't you teleport over and we can snuggle on Mummy's bed while she's away?! :) Maybe it won't be too bad if I have my Sweety to snuggle with... ;)

Friday 19 October 2007

Friday Finking and lots of about d'nip!

Now as many of you know I like to spend my Friday's finking about stuff that interests me and the like. So I finked it would be good to put all my awesome brain power to finking about somethin' big and important like the true value of d'nip! I hope that what you are about to read will educate you and your humans and hopefully get you more good 'nip more of the time! ;) Well I do aim to please you know... :)

The true wonder of catnip (nepeta cataria)

and why it should be planted absolutely everywhere!

I have found that catnip is a native plant of Europe. A perennial with heart-shaped leaves, that grows from one to three feet high. Catnip requires a sunny location but will tolerate poor soil conditions. To start growing d'nip it is best to sow the seed directly in the ground instead of transplanting. This will allow the herb to become well-rooted quickly, making it harder for us kitties to kill in our excitement of finding a stash of fresh 'nip in our own garden!

Once the plant is growing nicely, full sun and adequate moisture are all that is needed. D'nip will grow happily in pots on a patio or as a part of the vegetable or flower garden. This amazing little plant is nearly pest-free, so it can be grown organically with ease, which saves our humans from the need of worrying about keeping icky chemicals and stuff out of the reach of everykitty. Once fully established catnip can survive long periods of drought, and being a perennial herb it will keep growing year after year, while affording you all its amazing benefits.

Why should your human plant catnip and risk becoming the local hangout for all the cats in the neighborhood? Because catnip has a multitude of useful applications that can only but benefit most households. This humble little plant is so hated by mice and rats that they will not approach it even when driven by hunger, so if a house is infested with mice or rats, a thick planting of this herb against the walls will quickly eliminate them. Neither mice nor rats will not cross a planting of catnip!

Oh yes catnip is more than just a feline narcotic of the highest grade, or even a pretty lavender/blue flowered little herb to beautify your garden with. In fact it’s only in recent years that scientists have been looking at this most wonderful little plant more fully and learning some of its amazing secrets! You see, the active ingredients in catnip that drives us cats crazy also repels cockroaches, ants, aphids, Colorado beetles, darkling beetles, Japanese beetles, squash bugs, weevils, mice, rats and deer!

There has been research on catnip done in Iowa, which should pave the way for the development of natural repellents that could be added to food packaging to deter marauding insects in the future. Just think brown paper bags infused with d'nip! :)

Additionally it’s been found that mosquitoes hate the aroma of common garden catnip, and not only are the extracts safe, but they are more effective than Diethyl-m-toluamide, or DEET, the chemical used in most commercial insect repellents. So soon the shelves could well be stocked with catnip spray as an ecologically and environmentally sound alternative to this chemical insect deterrent!

The fact is d'nip has long been used in folk medicine to ward off insects, but still most people turn to DEET when they want to be sure they won’t get bitten. But those wonderful researchers at Iowa State University have shown that a relatively weak solution of catnip extract repels mosquitoes as effectively as a DEET solution ten times more concentrated. They tested this by putting groups of 20 mosquitoes in a glass tube which had filter paper in one end treated with either a catnip extract or DEET. Ten minutes later, just over half the insects remained at the end containing DEET-treated paper. In contrast, an average of only 25 per cent remained closer to paper treated with the most potent catnip compound, a monoterpene called nepetalactone.

But the benefits don’t stop there the d'nip smell turns out to be akin to a natural pheromone, a chemical that female aphids produce in order to attract a mate. The components of the scent are so closely related to chemicals in catnip that it should be possible to use catnip to keep aphids off of your roses and other garden plants susceptible to infestation. Oh and it also works as an insecticide and microbial inhibitor too!

It can also be made into a tea which is excellent for a woman’s monthly cramps. Start drinking it before the cramps starts and make it strong. Just steep the fresh or dry leaves for 15 minutes or more before pouring out and drinking. This tea also has a calming effect for children and adults, and all you cats know a calm human is much easier to fuss!

All these amazing benefits from one small plant and that’s even mentioning the fact that cats love catnip! This is because of the nepetalactone it releases when crushed, which stimulates their olfactory (vomeronasal) love receptors, sending many of us felines into ecstatic raptures. Nepetalactone closely resembles a chemical found in the urine of female cats and binds to cat olfactory receptors that are involved in sexual stimulation, including those of large wild cats such as cougars and bobcats. This chemical actually induces orgasmic behaviour followed by a period of resolution. Yes, Skeezix it's kinda like the urges you get when looking at Daisy!

This response is genetically determined; and therefore some of us cats remain unaffected. Which in turn supports the suspicion that nepetalactone is structurally different from the real pheromone. It is not easy to see what selective advantage the plant could gain from stimulating carnivores with what amounts to a recreational drug, and really a cat's response to catnip just amounts to an evolutionary joke or accident. But the benefit to the plant over the past few centuries has been substantial. This little herb that originated in the Mediterranean has been spread around the world by cat lovers, and is now considered a weed by some people in certain areas of North America.

So why not beautify the Inner City areas with catnip and cut the rat problem? Why not add a few hanging baskets and pots of catnip to your patio and cut the likelihood of getting a mosquito bite while barbequing or eating outside? Plant it in and around your roses or tomatoes and cut aphid problems down to size. Grow it and brew it up into tea and gain inner calm without the need for Prozac, while warding off cramps too. But most of all grow it and your cat will love you!

Wednesday 17 October 2007

Winning Wednesday!

Oh boy what a week this is turning out to be, I've been given yet another award! This one came from my furriends Mindy and Moe (aka Team Tabby), they're just the bestest... :)



Now you just know I've got to pass on this award to My Marie, 'cause she's just the most loveliest girlycat in all creation (yep, it's those urges again). As soon as I lay eyes on her I just wanna shower her in 'nip and snuggle her all day long! :)

I've also awarded it to Black-Cat 'cause I've never seen a Bobcat use a human litter box before! It's amazing what you can learn around here... :)

PS: Look out for my upcoming feature on the true benefits of Catnip to feline and humankind alike!

Tuesday 16 October 2007

Sweet Treat Tuesday!

Wow I've got an award from my own, special Sweet Marie... She's such a wonderful girlfurriend, beautiful, talented, sweet natured, generous, kind, considerate, playful, brave and wonderful! :) Plus as Skeezix would put it "she gives me urges!" ;)

In recognition of this and because he's made me reconsider squirming and complaining about Isis cleaning between my back toes, I've got to nominate Skeezix and Mao - partly so Mao can get rid of the bad taste in his mouth...! ;) Plus I've just got to nominate HRH Yao-Lin as a little extra sugar might help him cope with his lack of real food... ;)

Other than that I've got to thank you all for putting up with Tigmut'hep hijacking my Blog yesterday... Honestly he's a big bully and likes nothing better than to throw his not inconsiderable weight around, just 'cause he's bigger and older than either Isis or me doesn't mean we should have to take his "bopping" us over the head and calling us "Aby sillyuns!" It's just not dignified... Plus how can you take anything seriously when you know they mancat sleeps with teddy bears!? ;)

Monday 15 October 2007

Mancat Monday...

Hi Tigmut'hep here - well I'm a mancat too, so I thought I'd get a word in for once... ;) Now don't go believing all the dreadful things Ramses and Isis have said about me, they're silly cats and don't know what they're mewing about half the time! I'm a real mancat and so what if I like teddy bears and playing with Lego and toy cars... It's not my fault that my boy has better toys than me, so it only makes sense for me to eerrr borrow them - yes, that's it I borrow them! :)

I'm the boss cat round here for the following reasons:
1) I'm bigger than Ramses and Isis
2) I'm older and wiser than either of those two ninnies!
3) I was here first
4) I'll "bop" the first kitty who says I'm not d'boss!
5) If that doesn't work I'll sit on anykitty who doesn't agree I'm d'boss!
6) I'll only get off a kitty who agrees I'm d'boss!
7) I'm d'boss!


Oh and for those of you who don't believe I'll sit on anykitty to doesn't agree that I'm d'boss, here's proof of me in action! That little bit of face and ear is all that was left showing of Ramses when I first explained d'rules to him... ;)

Since then he seems to have learnt quite a bit... First rule is not to giggle at me when I sleep with the teddy bears! Anykitty caught sniggering or giggling will be "bopped" unmercifully... Second rule, all the teddy bears are mine, regardless of what my boy says - which brings me
to the third rule. He's *my* boy regardless of what it says on his birth certificate and Mummy saying she was there when he arrived 'n all that...

Now you all understand the rules as well as Ramses and Isis do, I think I'm off to partake in the mancatly pursuit of teddy snuggling... Oh and remember I'll be there in a flash if I hear anykitty giggling at me!

PS: Please vote for us on Catster: Ramses, Isis & Tigmut'hep

Sunday 14 October 2007

Special Sunday Birthday Snuggles...

Today Mummy gets a little more like one of those ancient Greeks we were told about the other day, so we've all been snuggling her lots before she goes all strange in the head... ;)

Saturday 13 October 2007

Saner Saturday...

I'd like to thank everykitty for trying to explain about the vishus low flying hippos and honestly I do understand that there are a couple of different types of hippos. That makes sense as there are lots of different types of cat! But I'm still pretty sure they're all being vishus and it's worrying that they might trying and fly...

As for these ancient Greeks calling their horses "Hippos", well that's like calling everykitty a wolf! :( It's weird and doesn't really make sense, even if it's a well known fact that humans get daft when they get older! I guess it just goes to show that by the time they get really ancient like those Greeks they just go mighty strange! ;)

Anyway that's enough finking for a Saturday, Saturday's are for snugglin'! Plus it's something I know I'm really good at! First I snuggled with Mummy, then I teleported over to Canada and snuggled My Marie, then I came back for a snuggle with 'sis and Mummy... Now I think I'd better go snuggle 'sis some more before Mummy makes our dinner! :)

Friday 12 October 2007

Finking Friday

It seems this finking on Friday's is becoming a bit of a habit here... So far today I've mostly been finking what a total nutcase Isis is most mornings! I've also finked about checking her kitten food for traces of 'nip as surely no normal kitty bounces off the walls like that without the aid of some really good 'nip?! ;) All in all I finks she's a bit hyper most mornings and has way too much energy for my own good...

I finks I'm only days away from being 100% better and I therefore finked that I'd better wake Mummy up at 3am to show her how much better I felt... ;) It's amazing what a Mummy'll agree with, and to at 3am and I managed to get a good deal of fussing out of her before she agreed to let me sleep on top of her for the rest of the night! :)

Mummy was helping the boy learn some new spellings and come up with sentences for them as a part of his homework last night and it got me to finking good and hard... It seems an aerodrome is
an airfield equipped with control tower and hangars as well as accommodations for passengers and cargo. So what on earth is a Hippodrome and do I really want to find out?! Well as you all probably know a hippo is large thick-skinned herbivorous animal living in or around rivers of tropical Africa, so I fink a Hippodrome must be a place where they make controlled landings and have accommodations... I fink it's a bit worrying, 'cause I'm not sure hippos are any good at flying, and I know they'z more vishus than deer! So be warned everykitty, keep well clear of anything called a Hippodrome and watch out for low flying hippo if you go outside! Oh and I fink you should look for some vishus hippo spray too...

Now I know why Mummy doesn't let us go out other than into our run, 'cause that's got a roof to keep out d'hippos! Now I fink it's time for a nap so I can recover from the stress of knowing there's vishus low flying hippos out there... ;)

PS: Please vote for us on Catster: Ramses, Isis & Tigmut'hep

Thursday 11 October 2007

Thanksgiving Thursday!

Well since I'm feeling considerably better today than I have for over a week I thought I'd better have a Thankgiving Thursday! :) So here's a list of the things I'm feeling really thankful for today:

1) I'm thankful that I can smell and taste my stinky goodness again!
2) I'm very thankful for having a whole night of snuggling with Mummy last night! :)
3) I'm thankful that my nose has almost stopped sploding!
4) I'm very thankful that Mummy put on this TV program last night that had huge birds on it! Honestly the robins were the size of chickens and it was wonderful to watch and kept Isis entranced for ages - therefore stopping her from wrecking/rearranging the house!
5) I'm thankful that Mummy pulled Tigmut'hep's face from my bowl of stinky goodness this morning as I'm not sure I have the energy to "bop" him as yet... But I'm getting there! ;)
6) I'm very thankful that it's not raining again today, as that means we can go out in the run in a bit! :)
7) I'm thankful that Mummy and Dad built us the run as it's great!!!!
8) I'm thankful for the darn good brushing I got last night from Mummy, it made me both look and feel a lot better! :)
9) I'm thankful that I came to live with Mummy, Dad, the boy and Tigmut'hep nearly 2 years ago now - my life is so much better than it was before... :)
10) I'm every so thankful that My Marie said she wanted to be my loving Girlfriend last year, 'cause she's the best, a purrfect 10! :)
11) I'm thankful that Tigmut'hep hasn't "bopped" me in weeks - I guess he's been feeling sorry for me or something...
12) I guess more thankful than I can express for not needing any more pink yuck!
13) I'm even thankful that Mummy got my little 'sis Isis a few months ago 'cause she's mighty entertaining and quite sweet and cuddly when she finally stops grooming me and rearranging the house! ;)

Well there you have it! I'm one thankful cat today... Now where's Mummy 'cause I wouldn't mind being thankful for an extra meal today too! ;)

Wednesday 10 October 2007

Wednesday "D.I.Why?!"

Well it's nice to be able to smell breakfast at least! Oh boy have I messed the smell of stinky goodness... :)

But it seems Isis has lost her little kitten mind... Mummy and Dad are calling it D.I.Why?! (aka Dear Isis Why?!) Mummy fed us all last night and once Tigs and I had finished off what we wanted Isis carried on eating all her food, and then all the leftovers, then she rearranged where Mummy puts our huge Cat fountain and integrated water bowl (which is nearly twice her size), next she sorted out the curtains in the lounge to suit her taste, then came the rearranging of our cat blankets, the rug and numerous other things, the picking up of her toys and putting them in her tent and last but by no means least her own attempts to clean out our cat litter by throwing it all out of the box (moments before Dad was about to go do it for us). She was a venerable D.I.Why?! wrecking ball on the loose for a few hours, until Mummy took her off to bed at which point she calmed down and fell asleep between her feet and slept there until the alarm went off at 7am! If she carries on like this I'll be able to say I come from a broken home and it was Isis who broke it all! ;)

Tuesday 9 October 2007

I wanna refund!

Ok, I'm fed up with being sick and it's about time I got a refund! Even with everykitty being so nice to me and My Marie doing her bestest to nurse me and look incredibly cute at the same time! :) Though I guess the looking cute bit does come naturally to her...

All I've been able to do for a week or so is sit around a fink or sleep... Oh and it's raining here today so no chance of sitting
and finking in the cat run either! :( I've not even felt like snuggling with Mummy and Dad, 'cause you never know when they're going to catch you and shove more pink yuck in your mouth... So Isis has been hogging the bed at night! I just hope there's room for me when I'm feeling better and can stop worrying about pink yuck...

See what I mean about her making herself all comfy on Mummy's bed!

Oh and one of her big sister's has a housemate who has just had kittens so she's feeling a little moody and broody at the moment...

Just what I need, a moody teenage 'sis when I've got a sploding nose to think of!

Monday 8 October 2007

Mancat Monday...

Honestly what am I going to do with my Dad?! He had the nerve to inform me that the reason I was suffering more than Isis did with this cold was that I have Mancat Flu! :( I mean he's just asking for me to "bop" him one... But I think that'll have to wait until I'm feeling more myself again, at the moment I'm not sure I could manage a really good "bop" and he certainly needs one! At most I could manage a forceful "pat" with a paw - not exactly a Mancatly action, so I'll save myself the effort and brew up a really good "bopping" for Dad once I'm fighting fit again! ;)

Isis is back to her normal self though and playing all the time, though Mummy says she's being very sweet and sleeping with her all night without fidgeting or demanding a fuss at 4am! What does she think she's doing, before long Mummy will think this is normal and won't appreciate my 4am fusses to the full! :( But for now I just want to take to my bed until my nose stops sploding and maybe I can manage to meow for some nice catmilk in a bit, I'm sure if Mummy poured me some it'd make my throat feel better for a minute or two at least... What I really need is round the clock nursing and attention to my every whim and desire! Finking of desires, I bet Marie'd look good in a nice little nurses uniform! ;)

Sunday 7 October 2007

Special Sleepy Sunday!

Gosh I go have a nice long nap and look what happens, I get to be Cheysuli's Guest Star all because I've been doing so much finking while getting over this beastly, horrid, yucky cold my little 'sis gave me... (I think I'll let her keep her presents to herself in future, if they're all like this!) ;)

Well it seems my finking about the word rebuttal has had everykitty giggling and agreeing it's be a good thing too! Well I mean who wouldn't want a new butt after the VET's stuck a thermometer up it. What's more they say they're doing it to see how your feeling! Well I'm generally feeling pretty indignant and even a little homicidal after that procedure, but do they care?! Heck they only seem to notice my mood and therefore how I'm feeling once they've removed me from their hand and crawled back out of the sink into which they've just jumped! ;) Though being a real gentleman type ManCat I only do this if Mummy's daft enough to take me to see the VET and not ladyvet or better yet Sally vet!

Anyway I fink it's time for my pink ick, so I'd better go let Mummy and Dad catch me and take it like a good cat as I can just about smell left over gravy and I'm sure it's all for me! ;) Ok, so I have a gravy addiction, but at least I'm not a 'niphead like Tigmut'hep... He's gone and got himself stoned on some top quality 'nip and has such a bad case of the munchies that Mummy's banned him from the kitchen! ;)


Saturday 6 October 2007

Saturday scoff...

It seems my appetite has come back a little bit! :) I seems I've been worrying Mummy for the past 2 days over how little I've been eating. She was starting to think the pink yuck wasn't working and she was torturing me for nothing and making my tummy upset in the process! It's good to make your human worry once in a while, otherwise you don't get the right level of fussing, worship and attention - what's more you don't get it all on your terms! ;) So after making her worry about me for a bit I decided I was hungry this morning and ate my breakfast like a good cat! :) Then I ate part of Tigmut'hep's breakfast as it looked good, then the second Isis walked away from her bowl I cleaned her leftovers up too! ;) I think I worried Mummy for a bit making her think I might not stop eating now I'd started again, or maybe she thought I'd eat until my belly sploded! ;) But now I'm feeling kinda full and sleepy, so I'll take myself off to my fave spot under the dining room table and have a peaceful nap - it's my fave spot as I never miss a meal when I sleep there! ;)

Oh yes and I finked it was a good idea to take my pink ick without applying the claws to Mummy or Dad again today as they're the ones who can open my food pouches for me and surely it's about time for my lunch... ;)

Friday 5 October 2007

Finking Friday...

I'z been finking real hard while resting myself and trying my best to get over this horrid cold... Firstly I finked that taking the pink yucky medicine was pretty darn rotten! :( Then I finked some more and decided not to claw Mummy to bits when she gave it to me as although it tastes like pink yuck, it is at least making my throat feel better! :)

Seems this finking thing is contagious 'cause Isis finked it'd be good to have a link in the top right hand corner of my blog to help raise money for Breast Cancer! She finks all you gotta do it take photos of pink stuff, like Skeezix and post it to this Flickr group. Mummy's already added a few pretty flower pictures and Isis has offered to cover herself in pink stuff and have her photo taken too! She finks it's only right that she sacrifice herself in this way... I finks she's just after more attention! ;) What's more I finks I'm right! :P

Oh and Tigmut'hep finks if I don't hurry up and post his Halloween photo for the contest really soon, he's rearrange my features a little! I finks I better hurry as he's got a good left paw on him! ;)

Now I finks I'll go have a nap with Isis as soon as I've posted his photo... :) You know all this finking's mighty hard work! ;)

Thursday 4 October 2007

HRH Yao-lin tagged me - meme

Well as you can see Mummy's kind of let me down here and doesn't have some stunning shot of me, my 'sis Isis or even our housemate Tigmut'hep on the computer. Yes I'm having words with her about it! What she does have is a cool purple-blue sunset with lots of sea showing. I guess it looks kind of pretty in her office as it blends in nicely with the walls and the pictures she has on them... She has a number of different desktop photos all of a similar colour range that she swaps around, though when it's cold in the winter she has some pictures of bonfires she uses. Doesn't she know the screen doesn't radiate more heat 'cause she has a picture of fire on it?! Humans, honestly... Some days I give up! ;)

Here are the meme rules:

Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop.It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun. Here’s how you can do a screen capture:

1.Go to your desktop and press the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key).

2.Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and doing a Paste (CTRL + V). If you wish, you can “edit” the image before saving it.

3.Post the picture on your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop if you want. You can explain why you prefer such a look or why it is full of icons. Things like that.

4.Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktops as well. I tag: My Marie (for when her Mom gets home), Bonnie and Victor, Chey, Daisy the Curly Cat (once her Mommy comes back and stops abandoning her) and Dragonheart.

5.Add your name to the list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Free View post to promote it to succeeding participants. Others who have played:Francine of La Place de Cherie Chez Francine Bloggishi Unchained Melody LadyJava’s Lounge Mariuca Revellian Dot ComDesktop Emila’s Illustrated Blog Spiff, The Spaceman Rolando Brown Baron The Kat House MAX Mother's Home! I Was Born2Cree8 Skittles' Place Faz the Cat Sweet Ariel The Cat Realm Yao-Lin, Ramses meowings

Wednesday 3 October 2007

Waaaa Wednesday...

Ok, so I've moaned my guts out regarding Mummy's driving and seen Sally vet again (though this time with Misty, Nana and the boy) and not in the middle of the night either - after all a cat does need his beauty sleep! ;)

Sally vet forgot to praise my character and good looks this time, but after a swift look at my throat told Mummy I'd obviously been moaning about her driving too much! She says it's all horrid and red and that I need to take auntybiotics like Isis, though taking my sore throat and character into consideration she's given Mummy medicine drops to give me twice a day and they can go in my food as long as I promise to eat it all myself like a good cat! :)

Mummy decided to give me a little of my fave chicken gravy to help make my dinner slip down my throat better, along with some tuna stinky goodness! :) Boy is it good and stinky - 'cause it made Mummy feel all icky, only the really good stuff does that to her! ;) She mixed my medicine in with that and honestly it didn't half taste good, so I've already scoffed almost all of it - just saving about a teaspoon full for a late night snack. Though Mummy's picked up this little morsel of goodness and hidden it from my 'sis and Tigmut'hep as it has a little of my meds in it. Looks like I'll be getting a proper breakfast along with Isis for the next week or so! :)

It just goes to show being sick can have it's perks! ;) One whole extra meal of stinky goodness a day and all I needed to do was get myself a sore throat... :)

PS: Misty dog is doing better too, so Nana's all happy! :)

Tuesday 2 October 2007

Traumatic Tuesday!

Well what an utterly horrid start to Tuesday I've had! :( Saying it was traumatic is a total understatement...

It all started with Isis giving me her cold, but at the time neither Mummy or I suspected that I was coming down with anything... I know Isis likes to share everything with me, but honestly this is just taking it a bit too far! I had my dinner like a good cat and an hour or so later seemed to be trying to rid myself of a hairball the size of Chicago or the like, Mummy put this down to my munching on a bit of cat grass and I guess to start off she was right. The thing is once I'd got rid of the bit of green stuff I continued to try wommiting on and off, just bringing up a bit of drool like stuff and that was it. But it stopped and I settled and let Mummy and Dad go to bed and it wasn't until 3am that the real fun started and I repeated the wommiting attempts right close to Mummy's right ear to make sure she knew I needed her! It's surprising how fast a Mummy can wake and move from a deep sleep to upright and alert when she hears wommiting within an inch or so of her ear - if I wasn't feeling so retched at the time I'd have managed to be really impressed with her turn of speed! ;) By this time I was feeling revolting though and started to have a little trouble breathing, which Mummy picked up on real fast. First of all she called my normal vets only to find that the vet on call for the group was based in Northampton - nearly 40 mins drive from us here! :( But the vet on call did agree that I didn't sound like a healthy, happy cat and should be seen - though being both sensible and by the sounds of it tired she suggested Mummy see if any of the other local vets had closer emergency cover...

At this point I think Mummy was about to start pulling her lovely long sorrel head fur out, but suddenly thought of my Nana's dog Misty's vet. Although they're not exactly local they are brilliant and she knew the way to the big vet centre so could take me there without having to get all the family out of bed. So she tried their emergency number and Sally vet answered - she's long been Misty's favourite vet, so even though she's not my own lovely ladyvet I thought I'd be ok. Next came my being bundled into my carrier and into the car for a 15 min drive across part of rural Buckinghamshire out to Maids Morton - a lovely historic village I'm assured. I talked to Mummy the whole way telling her how dreadful I was feeling and she kept telling me how much she loves me and how I'd be all better once Sally vet had seen me...

So at last we arrived thanks to Mummy's trusty GPS as in the dark she was less sure of the way than she would be in the day time. Apparently all these twisty turny country roads look the same to her in the dark! Sally vet had left the practice door open for Mummy and me, so in we went and Sally vet greeted us just as if it was a normal daytime visit, which helped to calm Mummy down. She took my medical history from Mummy, which consisted of (up until last night) he's sickeningly healthy but has 2 missing tiny front teeth, one of which he left in a judges hand apparently! But that my sister was sick and currently sneezing and on auntybiotics after having seen a vet in our practice last week. Sally vet then examined me and told Mummy I was utterly gorgeous (she can examine me again if she keeps saying stuff like that Mummy!) She looked down my throat and listened to my chest, felt my glands and discovered that they were up just a little bit. Then came the undignified bit where they thermometer goes in the booty and yer eyes go all quiff! Sally vet told me that this was done because lots of cats and dogs get ear infections and this would effect the temperature reading, where as sticking it up the booty gives a more consistently accurate reading and I was to tall all my furriends that, so they'd stop moaning at her about it! I must say I felt better about the indignity of it all following her clam explanation and she got away without a single scratch or bite mark from me! ;) ......... You want to shove that where?!

It seems my temperature is normal, my glands are up a little and I've been trying to comfort Isis while her nose has been sploding, so what I have and what frightened both me and Mummy half silly is a cold related asthma attack! :( I'm to rest and Mummy is to put me in my carrier with her facial sauna on by the door and drape a towel over me and it, if I get bad again before she sees me tomorrow to make sure I'm getting better. Oh and she gave me an aunty-inflammatory rejection as well as an auntybiotic one to help my sore throat clam down, so that I stop having asthma attacks.

Mummy's made my appointment for tomorrow and even managed to get it after school so the boy can come with us, 'cause we're going to pick up Nana and Misty as they have an appointment there too in the time slot next to ours. Dad and the boy both helped Mummy this morning though as she'd had so little sleep being up looking after me and running me around. Dad got the boy up and off to school and let Mummy sleep on for a bit after taking her a cup of tea. A tired Mummy isn't a safe one here, so I think it was more a case of self-defence and preservation that made them do it... When Mummy doesn't sleep, she tends to burn things, especially food! ;) She might not be purrfect but she's a good Mummy and I think now is a good time to take Sally vets advice and have a nap! :)

Monday 1 October 2007

ManCat Monday!

Well being that it's ManCat Monday, I though it about time that I took this grooming thing in paw and gave Isis a dose of her own medicine! ;) It was funny to see how she reacted, now the boot is on the other hind paw...

Anyway she's now clean behind her ears and I'm getting a little of the respect I deserve! :)