Wednesday 30 July 2008

We'z sad on Wednesday...

Today we are all very quiet here thinking of our sweet friend, and Isis fur-sister, TT as she crosses over the bridge with the help and guidance of her loving Mom... While TT had only come to live with her family a little less than 2 years ago, she has made a big place in all their hearts. Having rescued her they have a special bond and had promised to fill her life with happiness and love. We know that they have done this and in helping her take her final journey they are continuing to do this to the very end... TT may be leaving them physically, but her love has forever changes them for the better, they now have a sweet baby bean and a little woofie Jake - things they probably didn't think possible before TT came to live with them. We Abys have a way of making everything seem possible you know, that and our gift for incredible acts of love and trust. So while we know TT's family will be very sad right now and are probably leaking even more than My Mummy, we trust that this will pass and that the good times and love will be remembered forever...

Goodbye sweet girl, may your crossing be eased by the knowledge that you have and will always be loved...

Tuesday 29 July 2008

Totally Beastly Tuesday...

Well in my brotherly effort to stop Isis moaning herself daft I decided to attempt a little late night frog bothering in the run with her... Low and behold we caught ourselves a silly little suicidal froggy in no time and feeling really proud of ourselves bough it in to show Dad! No sooner had he seen it he was on his feet and off to get a paper towel - it seems that Dad wanted my frog all for himself, so quick as you like I popped the wiggling froggy into my mouth and scooted under the big TV table. Well I don't know about you lot, but I find it hard to keep a fidgeting froggy in my mouth for long, so I let it hop out and got out of Dad's way really fast! But did this stop Dad and his paper towel from wanting to get to my froggy, oh no... In fact he called My Mummy to come and help catch my froggy! :( So after Dad having to half get under the TV table while My Mummy talked nice to me, he got my froggy in the towel and took it back outside to the pond! He seemed surprised to see that the froggy was unhurt, well had he bothered to ask I could have told him that I only wanted to play with it and get 'sis interested in something new... So that was the end of my frog bothering for the evening! :(

Anyway I went on to have lots of fusses from Mummy and a really good snuggle in bed with her even though it's very hot here, so she at least was forgiven - especially when she gave me my morning brushing in the bath, oh how I love to squirm around in the bath while being brushed good and hard - it's just the best way to start the day! :) Way too soon the brushing was over and Mummy was back to getting herself ready for the day ahead, but in the after glow of a good brushing I didn't notice that she'd turned the shower on until it was way too late and I was already in the bath getting myself very wet indeed! :( Oh the indignity of it all... There is sit looking more like a red hedgehog than a cat, suddenly thankful for the hot weather as my coat dries off. The only upside to all this is that Isis has stopped moaning about wanting a mancat, but I do wish it wasn't because she's too busy giggling at me to think of anything else... ;) One small mercy is that Mummy didn't get her camera out to record this moment of deep distress for posterity!

Monday 21 July 2008

Mancat Monday

Honestly why do I put up with it all?! Oh ok 'cause I love My Mummy to bits... :) But she's rather busy getting D'Boy ready for his summer trip to Canada at the moment. This does mean that he can take stuff over for my Sweety Marie of course, if I can only get My Mummy to help me put paw to paper that is... ;)

Oh well at least she'll be getting a few early nights in as everyone is very tired after the weekend and I hear they're all planning on getting up early on Wednesday to take D'Boy to his "hairyplain" or what ever it is he has to catch at Gatwick! Early nights mean more snuggling for me and early mornings mean breakfast served at a decent hour for a change, so they'll have no fuss from me about it all... ;)

Hopefully I'll be able to blog properly again before the week is out, if not by the beginning of next week once they're sort of back to normal here... For now I think I'll go make sure that Mummy made the bed properly this morning, while she finishes off the laundry! ;)

Tuesday 15 July 2008

Tails on Tuesday

Well since TT asked nice and I don't think I've ever put it all down in words, I thought today I'd tell you all a little about how I came to live with My Mummy...

I was born in Bristol and spent my first few months of life living there with my momma cat and dad too. When I was a few months old I went to live with some other people in Kent, they were nice too but as I got bigger and older and started getting urges that would put Skeezix ones to shame I started to have to live in my own little house and run. I liked that a little less than the big house, but got used to it ok in the end when they let some of the girl cats from the house come and visit me. This was mighty good for my urges, but as soon as I'd eer dealt with the urges the girl cats left me and went back to live in the big house. I liked this bit less... Though I was offered other companion cats they didn't wanna help me with my urges, so I didn't think much of that as you can guess! ;) Then they started taking me to cat shows and to start with they were kind of ok, but soon I got sick of the judges all that picking me up and looking at me - well it's not for this mancat I can tell you! So I tried the bitey and they left me alone and told my owners about it, saying that if I put the bitey on one of them again I would be banned from attending shows. So hearing that I made sure to give the big tall man judge that I didn't like a really good taste of the bitey at the next chance I got! ;) So that ended my show carrier shortly after I'd been made a Champion.

Next I had a strange girl come and visit me, she didn't smell at all right so I got really, really cross and told her to go home and leave me alone in no uncertain terms... Apparently I was supposed to like her just like I did the house girls who helped with my urges?! Sorry, but I'm one picky mancat and soon became one cranky mancat as they tried to introduce another visiting girl to me.

Next I know I was having my bits removed to see if that would make me a happy boy again... That was it as far as I was concerned, I was quite happy having my bits thank you all very much! So I decided to lash out at everyone as they just weren't listening to my complaints or meeting my needs... Soon no one could or would touch me as they were scared that I'd put the bitey on them, this made me desperatly sad so in the end they decided to see if they could find me a proper Mummy with the time and courage to deal with my issues and help me be a happy boy once more. Luckily for them My Mummy phoned to see if they had any Abys needing rehoming and after a long talk on the phone with the man, and then the lady phoning Mummy when she got home too, they arranged a visit for me! :)

It was just 3 days later that My Mummy arrived to see me in person. The lady took her to see me in my special little house over looking the chicken coup (maybe this is the reason for my obsession with chicken?!). At first I was my usual grumpy self and wouldn't let the lady touch me, then I saw My Mummy and started getting brave. Soon I was letting My Mummy touch my furs! The lady was quite shocked by my attitude, but very pleased too as I was letting My Mummy get closer to me than I'd let anyone get in months!

After a squillion hours of talking with the lady and man, My Mummy came back to my house with a carrier and a lovely crochet blanket made just for me! :) Soon I was on my way to live with My Mummy, the tall man who was to become Dad and D'boy...

When I got here I met Tigmut'hep and even though he's known for being the biggest grumper ever known to cat kind he decided he felt sorry for me... Soon he was showing me how to play games and when ever I got really scared he'd come running over to check up on me and give me a pep talk - so you see he really can be a sweet boy too when he wants - just don't tell him you know this ok?! ;) I can't say it was over night, but over time I started to relax and soon I was starting to fuss My Mummy and purr. Then I started to sit on My Mummy and purr too! Now I just throw myself at My Mummy and cover her in furs while purring like a mad thing, because she made my life so much better than it was before... :)

Before I met My Mummy I'd pretty much lost all trust in humans and was scared stiff of girly cats too. But with time and love I have learnt to be the cat I really wanted to be all along... I now have My Mummy to love as well as my own sweet little half-sister to cuddle up to and play with. Tigmut'hep is still my bestest buddy even though he's Da'Boss here and didn't like my 'sis for ages. I'm the one who got him to change his views on lady cats it seems, so have returned the favour he gave me when I first arrived here... :)

Now I'm a happy, healthy and very playful mancat. I've even been back to visit the lady and man who used to own me and they were so impressed as I'd let them fuss me like I had as a kitten, all that fear and anger was gone and I was the real me again all thanks to My Mummy and their good judgement in placing me with her! :) The man and lady still breed Abys and have helped My Mummy at every turn in making her dream of breeding Abys come true. They have also just promised My Mummy that when the time is right for her they will try and breed her the right stud cat to keep for Isis and her daughters that stay with us over time. Mummy hopes to one day be able to help more with Aby Welfare to pay back the help and friendship she's been shown since my adoption, but for now she's plenty busy enough with us cats, showing, breeding and writing for a cat magazine...

So there you have it sweet TT, the story of how I came to live here and why I love My Mummy more than anyone... While Tigmut'hep says he owns D'Boy and Isis quite likes Dad, when it comes down to it we all flock to My Mummy's side if she's even the slightest bit off colour - you see she special to us all so we have to make sure she's well looked after... As I have said before this is the "ramyfurccasions" of love! :)

Monday 14 July 2008

Mancat Monday Meme - Fridge Meme

It seems that Isis and I have been tagged by our wonderful friend Yao-Lin from his special island home for the Fridge Meme!

Here are the rules:

A fun and simple MEME for the hot summer. Show us a photo of the front of your Cold Box (Fridge) and tell us about at least one thing on it and one thing you keep inside of it! Tag your friends and remember to stay COOL!

Firstly this is the Fridge, apparently it is the place to put "everything that hasn't for a home or that Mummy needs to be reminded off" Sadly neither Isis nor myself found a message reading "Feed the Cats!" on it, though luckily for us she seems to remember that bit anyway... ;)

Next comes the freezer where D'Boy and Dad work out what's "Cool and what's Not!" It seems all things Dr. Who are pretty darn cool! ;)


This is the "Bunny Boiler" - I'm not sure what My Mummy keeps giggling about when she talks about it, even Dad and D'boy laugh - I guess it's some sort of "bean joke". Anyway if things aren't cool enough for the "Cool Wall" on the freezer, or if there's a lack of room on it, they come here. That's D'Boy's artwork with added dino magnets for fun...

This is My Mummy's special note pad for leaving Dad messages, I think the message at the top is designed to remind him not to argue but just do what My Mummy tells him to do! ;)

This is my favourite saying on the Fridge, it's so true. Isis likes this one best too, but is still looking for one that tells her that putting the bitey on Mummy's toes will get her all she wants! ;) I gather My Mummy would disagree with Isis view on this...


Because he insisted I'm also adding Tigmut'hep's favourite saying on the fridge... Sadly he thinks because the photo on it is of a black cat who looks quite a lot like him it means we should all worship him! This of cause makes Isis slightly interesting ideas on getting her own way seem compleatly sane in comparison! ;)

Lastly this is a rather sweet photo of me on the fridge, please note that Tigmut'hep is bossing me around in it as usual... He's always got to have the final word it seems! ;)

Oh and as you all know our fridge is full of yummy catnip jelly and turkey chunks in jelly too that Mummy made us late last week! Sadly we have nearly eaten all the turkey chunks in jelly, but we have plenty of 'nip jelly still left to have as a cool lunchtime snack or to add to our meals to make sure that Tigmut'hep take on enough fluid in the hotter weather - the silly boy doesn't seem to like drinking much and sometimes makes himself unwell because of it... Luckily we all get to eat the 'nip jelly though! :)

Friday 11 July 2008

Food on Friday

It seems there is quite a demand for My Mummy's special catnip jelly recipe! Anyway since she made us a big batch of it this morning I thought I'd better make notes so I could tell everykitty all about it as it's so darn yummy on a hot day, well on any day really... ;)

500g Chicken or Turkey meat - other meat works too if you have a preference or just some spare
2 tbsp Pudding Rice - any rice will do really
3 pints Water
4 tbsp Dried home-grown Catnip leaves, cut that to 4 tsp if you're using the finer cut up commercial dry catnip or you'll all wind up like Tigmut'hep! ;)
3 packets of gelatine or enough to set 3 pints of fluid

Cube up the meat and put in a large pot of pressure cooker (Mummy has special little baskets for her pressure cooker, each basket holds about 250g of cubed up meat the right amount for one tray of turkey terrine or chunks in jelly). Add the rice, water and about 1/2 of the catnip. Cook until the meat is nice and tender and the rice is done, allow to cool a little and add the remaining catnip leaves to the stock/tea. Remove the meat and most of the rice and put in a container or two, next take 1 pint of stock/tea at a time and add 1 packet of gelatine to each - stirring until dissolved. Pour in enough to cover the meat in it's containers and then take the rest and pour that and any remaining rice onto the other containers (nice flat bottomed shallow ones make it easy to cut off bits and serve without it sticking) . Now just leave to cool, once cool refrigerate until set. Serve as desired or freeze some for a later date (defrost before serving).

This recipe gives enough for 2 containers of meat jelly or terrine (just liquidize the meat and rice in the stock/tea and jelly solution for terrine), and 3 of jelly that is great as a treat in the summer to assist in keeping your cat adequately hydrated and cool. It also makes a good placebo meal for a cat who's living with kittens and wants to join in at every meal time without causing them to gain too much weight! If you want to feed your cat like this on a regular basis you need to add a good quality vitamin supplement to the jelly, containing turine, biotin and the like. It's also a good idea to add in a little processed cooked carrot to help achieve a more balanced meal including dietary fiber. As the recipe is it's just good as a hydrating treat and the meat in jelly or terrine can be used along side a top quality dry food as a part of their daily meat.

Thursday 10 July 2008

Thinking Thursday

I've been thinking again and I must say I'm very happy that Isis has found herself a nice Mancat at long last! One who's understanding about her desire for kittens too, so she can have the best of both worlds... A sweet natured Mancat to flirt with and call her own as well as still being able to enjoy the life of a Queen, with her occasional eer professional eer relationships that result in Isis coming home all happy and pregnant! :)

The other thing I've been thinking about is the fact that we've not had enough summer fun treats recently! While I understand that Mummy's trying to keep an eye on my weight after my attempts at eating for 4 during Isis pregnancy, a Mancat still needs his summer time treats or he might fade away... ;) So I've been helping My Mummy think and gather that she'll be making us some chicken stock and catnip jelly that we can snack on when it's warm - how cool is that?! :)

This got me to thinking about how much I love My Mummy, which resulted in her noticing my claws were a little sharp and I was decididly furry! :S Yep, I had a pawdicure, a light bath and a good grooming - all under a goodly degree of protest I might add... Oh well I still love My Mummy, 'cause I got to sleep in my best cuddle spot all night with her 'cause apparently I small really nice now! :)

Tuesday 1 July 2008

Tribute on Tuesday

Today being Canada Day is a special day for many of our friends and family, so I thought I'd do something special for one of our friends to mark this day... So here are some lovely golden roses that My Mummy took photos of a few weeks ago in Stratford-upon-Avon in the garden that marks the birthplace of Shakespeare for the lovely Miss Peach! I know she has a soft spot for purrty roses and they are almost the colour of her lovely furs too, so I think that makes them extra nice just like her! :) So have a wonderful Canada Day and make it special in your own way... But most of all make it wonderful for your friends and family! :)