BS: Cats

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Raggytash
Date: 17 Nov 20 - 01:07 PM

Charmion, if you want him to desist sprinkle a small amount of ground pepper over it, he won't thank you but the chances are he won't go near it. :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 17 Nov 20 - 11:41 AM

I really must link to that Japanese Bobtail cat video

watching birds out the window

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Nov 20 - 06:35 PM

Just watched a YouTube video of a picture window, from indoors.
Two Japanese Bobtail cats, obviously boon companions,
are on the windowsill, obviously on
outdoor-bird-patrol watching trees and rooftops.

And they do indeed talk.
One of them positively chatters, it's hilarious.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Nov 20 - 05:23 PM

Watson and Isobel have decided that humans gotta do what humans gotta do. When things get too strange and weird, they sack out on my pillow. And when the rugs come back from the cleaners, they have major work to do — all that woolly acreage to re-anoint with catness. In fact, even as I type, Watson is doing victory rolls on the big red Turkmen rug in the parlour. In a couple of weeks, he will have ground in almost enough grey fluff.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Nov 20 - 12:14 PM

Whilst surfing the Internet, I stumbled across a description of
a breed of cat called the
Japanese Bobtail. Never heard of it before.

Said to be as talkative as any Siamese.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 11:23 PM

Charmion,
with all that floor-scrubbing and rug-cleaning
and furniture-moving chez vous,
Watson and Isobel must have found it challenging,
cats being both territorial and creatures of habit ...

how did they get through it
and are they adjusting?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 03 Nov 20 - 12:11 PM

Sad news. Poor MickeyPickey/Sam the Skull/Spirit died a few weeks ago. It was very sad. He was tottering about and obviously very poorly. I often had him on our sofa wrapped in a fluffy blanket, and he was drinking gallons of water (sure sign of kidney problems/diabetes)
One evening I had to call my neighbour's daughter round (veterinary nurse) and she reckoned he was 'on the way'. We carried him down to the owner's house and he tottered through his cat-flap (they weren't in)
Next morning, he was lying in the middle of the road gasping for air, and obviously actually dying. Again, nobody was in. I posted him through again into his house. That evening another neighbour came to our door to tell me that he had died in the night. So his owners hadn't even sought help for him, just left him to get on with it. I cried and cried.
On a happier note, little Archie the rescued kitten has discovered bungalow roofs! He gets onto ours via the conservatory sloping roof and sits right up near the chimney pot trying to nab birds. He's a real character.
I still find myself in tears sometimes in the evening missing SmokeyPokey. Don't cats get into ones heart?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 03 Nov 20 - 11:13 AM

Mustn't let the cats get away from us.

Prairie Home Companion parody:

To all the cats I've known before,
Who wanted to come in my door,
And then they turned about
And wanted to go out
So they could come back in some more ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Oct 20 - 05:27 PM

Yes, keb, I think I would.

For the last few days, Watson has started the night curled up solidly in the middle of the bed, pressing himself against my side. He’s gone when I wake up in the small hours, but returns to turf me out of the pit between six and six-thirty.

But Isobel has yet to join the fun.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 26 Oct 20 - 03:36 PM

... an irreverent question, Charmion:
would you sleep better
if the cats slept with you ??

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 21 Oct 20 - 02:41 PM

That's true keberoxu. But she looks so lonely and sad, and cries for a little snack. Her owners are out all day I reckon. I shan't do this every day, just as a little treat occasionally.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 Oct 20 - 12:48 PM

Eliza/Senoufou,
I thought that Pippin the cat
had an owner who
requested that you not feed her pet ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Oct 20 - 08:17 AM

Yes, keb, I agree with you.

They have taken to snoozing tangled up together on the sofa, leaving the comfy chair for me. I appreciate that.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 19 Oct 20 - 06:59 PM

Seems to me, Charmion, that Isobel and Watson's
frequent attention to you and your sleeping/waking state
is a sign of genuine concern.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Oct 20 - 06:08 PM

Watson and Isobel have experienced the one-human thing before, but not since Edmund left the Army. For the first four years of their lives, he would disappear for periods ranging from the inside of a week to a month when he went "on circuit", as lawyers say, to do trials.

They are maintaining standards, getting me up at 0600 hr and claiming their late-afternoon treat at 1700. Nagging me to go to bed will certainly come with time; until now, they didn't have to, as we usually toddled off before the cats were ready to call it a night. But my hours are erratic right now, as I have so much to do and I still suffer badly from disrupted sleep, so the cats are checking in every hour or so to find out whether I'm awake yet. So far, the answer is usually Yes.

The only notable change is that whenever I sit down and put my feet up, both cats immediately climb aboard; the second one to get the big idea doesn't bother waiting for Lap Two to appear in the sitting room.

And Isobel has just about learned to eat all her meals on the floor. Edmund always gave her her routine treats on the dining-room table, but I'm not having that any more.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 19 Oct 20 - 04:50 PM

That little cat called Pippin (who I christened BinkyWinky) was in our back garden again looking pleadingly at us through the kitchen window. So silly me chopped up some very tasty chicken breast for her and set it on the patio. She galloped up, sniffed it and let out such a stream of joyous miaowing right into my face as I bent down to stroke her!
I've never heard such loud purrs either.
Husband quite rightly said, "You're a silly lady. She'll be back tomorrow for more!" She will too!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 19 Oct 20 - 03:41 PM

I wonder, Charmion,
how Watson and Isobel are responding to
the unexpected loss of one of their humans?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Aug 20 - 10:10 AM

On a whole 'nother note, I wonder if any of youse followed up on rich-joy and Jack Campin's enthusiastic comments about the Turkish documentary film "Kedi: Cats of an Ancient City". If not, you really should.

It's stunningly beautiful just to watch, showing the city of Istanbul at its best -- its best, that is, if you like looking at working-class areas of old cities. The camera follows the cats through their daily lives, and the only human voices on the soundtrack are people talking about their relationships with the cats. There is no voice-over narration telling viewers how to understand what they see and hear.

As Jack Campin said above, it's a subtle film. One thing I noticed about it is that all the humans in the film interact with the cats in gentle, respectful ways, even when shooing one away from a place where cats are not entirely welcome.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Aug 20 - 09:46 AM

Got it in one, Jos.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Jos
Date: 25 Aug 20 - 02:41 AM

"The natural habitat of the Roomba is a sparsely furnished condo with wall-to-wall carpets"

That is, a condo whose owners are happy to pay for the device and the electricity required to have their carpet cleaned all day long when it is not getting dirty?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Aug 20 - 11:54 AM

Actually, Keb, Watson might not ignore a Roomba -- he might do his level best to kill it. Judging from his performance with respect to mice and various toys, he could well succeed, and those things are expensive!

But the most off-putting aspect of the vacuum cleaner seems to be its roaring, whooshing noise, closely followed by the way it bumps into things, causing massive disruption in what should be a day of lounging and snoozing punctuated only by meals. A Roomba would not only roar and whoosh, it would also bump into things. So, on the whole, no.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 23 Aug 20 - 06:27 PM

... are you quite sure, Charmion,
that Watson would not want to play with the thing?
After all,
it would not have one of his Humans pushing it about,
like the vacuum cleaner.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Aug 20 - 03:39 PM

I have decided that a Roomba probably would not work for us — our house is full of Afghan and Pakistani rugs with fringed ends. Also, the cats probably would not like it. Watson would eventually decide to ignore it, as he does the normal vacuum cleaner, but Isobel would freak. The natural habitat of the Roomba is a sparsely furnished condo with wall-to-wall carpets, where the owners are out all day, and that is the opposite of our house.

I haven’t looked at anything by Martha Grimes for at least twenty years; I read about eight of them back in the 90s, and abruptly stopped when I realized that I could not stand another dose of Melrose Plant — I have met a couple of people a bit like that over the years, and they were indeed intolerable. But Martha Grimes also put very odd child characters in her books, and I did not like them, either. The whole gestalt was a bit twee. Except Cyril the cat.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Aug 20 - 10:57 AM

Charmion,
if your home acquires a Roomba,
what will the cats make of it?
Especially Sergeant Watson??


There are YouTube videos demonstrating the fact
that Roombas attract
a cat's undivided attention ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 22 Aug 20 - 08:11 AM

That's so true Donuel. I pride myself on being able to speak 'cat'. There are several gestures they instantly understand, For example if I lift my chin and close my eyes, all cats know that's a greeting. Much better than a big smile, which can be a bit intimidating.
The little rescued kitten next door often sits in their front window, and as we pass by I do that gesture. He always responds with the same 'chin lift, eyes close' greeting.
Poor old Sam the Skull (renamed by my husband as 'MickeyPickey'!) is still around. He's so visibly failing it makes me sad. But he still loves to sit with me on The Bench and eats about four sachets of Whiskas cat food for 11+ yr-olds. I also slip him a bit of diced chicken breast and a tiny bowl of milk. He sits in our front garden facing our bedroom window from 4.30am onwards, wistfully waiting for me to open the curtains. Breaks my heart, poor old thing.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 22 Aug 20 - 07:55 AM

For me cats have a huge vocabulary of facial and body language from head to toe. Unlike dogs they even seem to be able to express the sardonic.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 20 Aug 20 - 06:24 PM

Chacun à son gout, Charmion:
I can see how the character Melrose Plant is not to every taste.
Probably the reason that I can stand that character
is that I have been in no position to meet anybody, in my life,
who speaks with his posh accent
or his affectations, and so on,
so I don't really fully get what he must sound like --
but Canada is different, you must be acquainted with his type somewhat.

Have you read more recent Richard Jury/Martha Grimes installments?
Somehow I believe that Racer,
the Superintendent stalked by Cyril the cat,
has gone by the wayside over time.
I don't know about the cat, though.
And I believe that Jury has risen in rank
although I don't recall how high.

I found haunting, in recent years, the installment about
the "Kindertransport" during the Second War,
with one of the children drowning
during the Channel crossing
and consequences that still had their effects decades later.

But yes, Cyril is one memorable, if fictional, cat.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Aug 20 - 06:03 PM

Cyril. Now that's a great name for a cat.

I had forgotten the office cat in the Richard Jury stories. I was put off Martha Grimes by her irritating amateur sleuth, Melrose Plant. If only Richard Jury preferred the company of Cyril instead.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Aug 20 - 01:30 PM

Your remarks, Charmion, call to mind
Martha Grimes' mystery series featuring Inspector Richard Jury,
his Superintendent named Racer,
and the office cat, Cyril,
who delights in tormenting Racer especially when Jury is present.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Aug 20 - 11:50 AM

And what do cats use all those neutrons for? From where I sit, teetering on the top edge of doors and nagging the humans look like top priorities.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 15 Aug 20 - 02:56 PM

An amazing factoid is that cats have about the same number of neurons in their brain and solar plexus as we do.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 03 Aug 20 - 05:53 PM

Hee hee keberoxu,I've often thought the same thing myself!
Unfortunately, the fat old hedgehog leaves long black smelly tokens of his appreciation on our lawn!
Another 'storybook' part of our village life is Bambam the tame red deer. He was rescued as a small fawn by a lady who lives in the Old Rectory (she's actually French!) She fed him with a bottle and he grew enormous (red deer are very big) He's been neutered, and now he follows everybody around down by the river, and swims/paddles with all the children. We're a bit worried because he wanders along the village street at night and could be hit by a cattle-feed lorry if he's not careful.
People come from surrounding villages to see Bambam. The parking down by the river is getting a bit OTT. But a massive oak tree suddenly fell on a car last Friday. Luckily nobody was in it, but a branch broke a lady's neck. We had Police, firemen and the Air Ambulance zooming in.
This village is absolutely crazy sometimes!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 03 Aug 20 - 05:36 PM

A fat old hedgehog ...
shades of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
and Wind in the Willows.

Eliza/Senoufou,
your existence is sometimes like a storybook.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 03 Aug 20 - 03:47 AM

Archie is white with sweet little black splodges in random places. The one over his right eye is very funny - he looks a bit like a pirate. The latest photo is of him trying to join my neighbour in the bath!
Poor MickeyPickey (my husband coined this new name!) is indeed rather picky now. We get the special cat food for 11+ age, which is more easily digestible, but he just licks it and eats about a third of a sachet. A lovely female blackbird waits politely until he's had enough, then she grabs the chunks for her babies in their nest in our garden. The fat old hedgehog finishes off the plate in the late evening, and some wasps appear to lick the dish clean, so everyone gets fed!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 10:01 PM

When did the neighbor's white cat, "spirit",
turn into MickeyPickey?
I thought he would eat anything ...

maybe this will be his last summer.
Lovely that he gets to sit with you in the sun.

That's fun to have photos of Archie on the Facebook site.
What colour(s) is the kitten?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 03:46 AM

My neighbour posts the most lovely photos on our village Facebook of Archie. He's grown a lot since she took him in, and looks very happy. He's often sitting in their front window, with the lace curtain draped around his face, like a bride. Apparently, he likes playing with small crusts of bread, scooting them around on their conservatory floor and posting them under furniture.
She's the best person to have found him, being professionally trained and an ardent animal rescuer. Her flock of sheep are all 'rescues'.
Archie has had his first injections, and it won't be long before he has to have what she calls his 'crown jewels' removed! Has to be done - entire male toms smell and get aggressive. They also roam far and wide.
MickeyPickey (aka Sam the Skull/Spirit) is visibly failing, but still spends most of his time on our front bench in the sun. He's twenty now and can't have too much longer. But he seems happy and likes to sit with me and be gently stroked.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 10:41 PM

Eliza/Senoufou,
what news of the orphaned 'Archie' rescued and nursed by
the young veterinarian in your neighborhood?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Jul 20 - 10:00 AM

Watson has always been a shoulder-sitter; it's a habit he developed as a teeny kitten. I have a lovely photo of Himself making coffee in the kitchen with Watson perched like a parrot on his shoulder -- but Watson was then about six months old and very, very cute up there. Now he's nearly seven (and 7 kilos), and that kittenish behaviour is less cute than domineering. The message I get is unmistakable: "Enough about you; let's talk about ME!"

Neither of us is a fullback, we do not own hockey pads, and Himself turned in his body armour when he redeployed from Afghanistan. If somebody would invent a Kevlar dressing-gown (bathrobe), however, I would be first in line to buy one.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 22 Jul 20 - 10:37 AM

I'm binge watching a chaotic gory series called er, posting and having a cat rub my leg precisely at the severed nerve. ow
16 lbs is big for a shoulder sitter, unless you're a full back.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Jul 20 - 09:43 AM

I am spending many hours per day at my desk lately. Late in the morning, I can count on a visit from Cat Watson, now a robust 7 kilos of claws, muscle and floof, who stomps into the study yelling, clambers onto my lap with maximum fuss, and then scrambles up my left arm (it only hurts when I larf) to drape himself over my shoulder, relaxed on the support of my left forearm and his claws sunk into my upper back.

You try typing like that.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Jul 20 - 07:18 PM

Lucy the cat chewed the wire off our computer mouse today.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 Jul 20 - 07:04 PM

How are all the Mudcatters
who are owned by their cats
doing lately?

(any progress in herding cats?)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Jun 20 - 03:14 AM

I was only kidding keberoxu! I love dogs just as much as anyone else, and no end of beautiful pooches get walked past our house twice a day, soaked to the skin from having jumped into the river to cool off.
But I'm not sure if the cats on here would welcome a pack of dogs poking into their affairs hee hee.
Bonzo, I'm glad Dreamy is still getting along nicely.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 Jun 20 - 09:27 PM

Now, now, Eliza!
Remember that when a dog-fancier's thread appeared hereabouts,
all the dog-haters came out of the woodwork
and started trolling like mad.
Let the dog-lovers take refuge here for a change ...

besides,
hounds are wonderfully mellow dogs away from the chase,
which cannot always be said of terriers,
as charming as terriers may be at times.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 09 Jun 20 - 07:38 AM

Grrr! What are all these dogs doing on a 'Cats' thread eh?
As the cockney hardware shop owner used to say when we children climbed up his huge pile of sand:-
"GERTCHA!!"

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Jun 20 - 09:51 PM

Of course they are different breeds but are nearly identical in speed and appearance except for the hair length of Russain Wolfhounds.
Irish wolfhounds are not similar at all.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 08 Jun 20 - 10:10 AM

Despite their breeding, greyhounds will chase anything from their own tails to tank transporters.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Jun 20 - 09:56 AM

I always thought Borzois were wolfhounds, and greyhounds were bred for coursing hares. Is that wrong?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Jun 20 - 08:40 AM

Bonzo 3 leg
My childhood dog was a long haired white greyhound,

a Borzoi named Semantic.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 07 Jun 20 - 05:01 PM

Fortunately the local cats leave our greyhound alone!