The Cats are 5 today!

It's official, Biscuit IS a lap-cat!!! ..but only under specific conditions:
1. Only if one of us is sitting on the settee, not on a chair, not in the kitchen....just the settee and the front-room 
2. Only if it's on the right hand side.
3. Only if she feels like it

Cats huh!

Bon-Bon meanwhile continues to avoid laps at all costs, and still fights a bit when we pick her up - and runs a mile if we place her on our lap!

Patsy, continues to provide a first-class grooming service and although the cats both put-up a hell-of-a-fight when we put them in the cat-carriers, they soon quieten down. It's a six-weekly ritual now and we think we've got the interval about right.

The cats continue to love the garden and are out there whenever they have an opportunity to whinge at a nearby human!. The weather doesn't seem to be a deterrent and they've even got used to playing in the snow. Biscuit seems to have lost her wanderlust and although she sits on the fence a lot, she goes no further! Bon-Bon doesn't 'do fences', she's got a lot more body-mass to launch - she prefers stay firmly on the ground - definitely a cat with no-aLtitude - arff arff!

They're both still eating both wet and dry food - we're now buying the dry stuff from Zooplus in bulk. A great service and about half the price of the shops. I wish we could do the same for the wet variety. They both still drink the green pond-water in preference to the fresh stuff inside, although since I also put an extra bowl of water outside they tend to make that their first stop whenever we let them out.

Their morning routine continues. As soon as I'm up, Bon-Bon is ahead of me, waiting for me to open the patio-doors. Biscuit still prefers to lie-in, but occasionally joins Bon-Bon but then returns to her corner of our bed as soon as she can. We think Biscuit has swallowed a magnet because when she's inside, she seems to be attached to radiators...as long as they're warm!

The still occasional have a 'mega-chase' round the house - but it's a bit of a rarity now, as they prefer to sleep during their down-time.

They're getting better at responding to their names, but because they're cats, when they want to ignore the humans they will.

The Cat-Tower is where they spend most of their day-time (when they're not sleeping on our bed, or in Biscuit's case, by a radiator!) At night, they still both follow us up to bed. Biscuit is normally there first, and straight up onto the bed. She now regularly expects a bit of a comb-out before settling down on the corner of my side of the bed. Bon-Bon tends to take the other corner, and I'm beginning to think we should have bought a bigger bed..wider anyway!

Bon-Bon still has this habit of tapping plants with her paw - weird!!! - a sort of 'handshake' - and she's still offering her paw when we hold out our hand  - very dog-like.

We tried them in a cattery over Christmas whilst we were away, and although the place did all the right things - I think they both missed the constant human company (and running around on the lawn). On reflection, I think we're going to avoid catteries for that reason in the future.

The cat from opposite, who had a spate of terrorising Bon-Bon, in previous years, doesn't seem to be around anymore - so that's good news for ours!

They've not grown very much in a year, but Bon-Bon's fur (especially during the months of November and December) seems to get thicker and thicker - the result is that during that period, she looks twice the size of Biscuit and needs extra grooming.

So, there we are - another year on, we're all a bit older and maybe a bit wiser too! The cats are great company and are becoming even more affectionate - especially with strangers.

Happy 5th Birthday Biscuit and Bon-Bon!!

Cats in�Back out�

Image by Steve Palmer (UK) via Flickr

Lucky pussies ehh! Ann dropped them over to Patsy's for their regular bath, blow dry and comb-out � as always, they put a tremendous fight when we tried to get them into the cat carriers!



Patsy had pulled her back, so we were only expecting her to comb them out; but the trooper that she is, she bathed them as well!

Cheers Patsy!

Nicki here for the weekend

Nicki joined us tonight � she's been on holiday this week and staying 'til late Saturday night and then driving home. I'd quite forgotten that we hadn't 'done' Christmas pressies with her (as we didn't see her over the Christmas period) and it felt really strange doing this in February!

She also bought us some lovely silver anniversary gifts � silver napkin rings and a beautiful cat-couple ornament.

With all the pressies sorted, Jo and Janet arrived - just in time to see the chicken pie that Ann and Lee had created come out of the oven � I think it was about the size of Corby!! Guess what I'll be eating next week!!!!

The food was fab, especially the pie � I think it even surpassed previous creations in terms of flavour! (Ahh, our secret ingredient). We ate and ate, but the pie still blocked out the light coming through the window in the dining room!! We managed to squeeze round it it, into the kitchen, and served up lemon meringue pie, ice-cream and another culinary masterpiece: Nicki's home-made American brownies (a slightly different recipe this this time � more chocolatey and chewy in the middle). Fantastic food�and most of us felt guilt-free as we're giving up all the comfort food for Lent next week.

We all collapsed into the lounge and I put on the DVD 'Heat' starring Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer and John Voight. For some reason, I thought this was a new film, but about three-quarters of the way through, after commenting how young all the stars looked, we all realised it was about 25 years old!! Doh!!!! It was a bit slow to get going, but if you like 'slow-burners' and want to see possibly the longest gun-battle scene ever, it's worth a look.

Midnight: We're all very tired and totally porked-out. Time for bed. Trip to Ely tomorrow.

Busy�Busy!

Image by Steve Palmer (UK) via Flickr

Yes, it's another one of those Saturdays where it's all go-go-go!!

First off, me over to Peterborough for a hair-cut, then back to pick up the 5 ton of holiday dry cleaning!

Ann and Lee then headed over to Waitrose, shopping complete with the cats who are going in for their six-weekly wash and brush-up in Rushden with Patsy. 

Then, it was time for them to pick up Ann's new car, at last (Pics to follow later). Nice motor!!!

The girls then went over to Morrison's for MORE shopping!!!

A brief rest for me, reading the papers and then I was off to pick the cats up � and then,  just when I was about 2 minutes away, Ann rang to say that the girls had called and needed another hour to finish the cats off. On arriving just after 4pm, it looked like the cats had been a bit awkward. Biscuit was growling ad showing plenty of cattitude - Greta had a cut to prove it - and Bob-Bon (because she was very matted when we dropped her off) had a few bald patches. Still, at least they're tangle free now � nice job girls!!!

Phew! - feet-up for the rest of the evening now!

Cats in/Holiday Prep

Image by Steve Palmer (UK) via Flickr

This is our final weekend before the holiday, so there is plenty to do � not least the packing! We had a productive morning, mostly cleaning and generally tidying-up.

Additionally, we took the cats to the Vet for their final injections. We decided to get to there slightly before the 2pm opening time, to avoid the queues � a good move as it turned out, because it got much busier as as we approached the hour.

Both Biscuit and Bon-Bon demonstrated a degree of catittude when meeting the vet � and they growled (yes, Persians growl) through the whole process. Still, it's 'job done' for another year and at least they're both protected for any cat-lurgy!

Time to put our feet-up for a bit as we've got ourselves pretty well organised. So-much-so, we'll probably start packing tomorrow, just to make sure it all fits!!!

TV time: We watched the final episode of series 2 of Merlin (recently commissioned for a third series), and the final of Strictly Come Dancing.

More snow is forecast for tonight and so we've cancelled our get-together with Mae and Denis at Downtown tomorrow for the annual presents-swap. It's not been above �1 here today and with more snow coming, it's bound to make the journey very difficult. We've rescheduled it for Sunday, January 10th.

The Party Season Begins...

We drove over the Leicester to pick-up Ann's 25th Anniversary present - jewellery!! However on impulse, we decided not to go back to Goldsmith's where we'd seen some nice stuff last week - instead we dropped into George Tarratt just down the road from Ann's office as they had a much better range (with some eye-watering prices to match!!!) Job done, the item is on order and should be ready for collection next Thursday.

We got back about noon and planned to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing and getting into the party spirit! It wasn't to be!!! Ann contacted the Vet's to arrange a date to get the cats in for their annual injections, but apparently they come in two parts..and the deadline for 'part 1' was today..this afternoon...right now...in fact they close in 45 minutes!

So, we quickly assembled the cats and placed them in their cat-carriers (more like a battle actually) and drove to the Vet's. Wow! was it busy, full mostly of dogs and one particularly 'yappy' type whose loud 'yap' cut through the air with the ferocity of a loud yappy dog - pass the Anadin purleazze! Unluckily for our eardrums, we must have waited a good 45 minutes, but at least 'yappy' went in before us.

On being seen, the Vet got off to a brisk and well practised routine. Biscuit eventually swallowed the worming tablet after a bit of a struggle, and a bit of foaming at the mouth, but Bob-Bon was having none of it. The Vet decided (in the interest of personal safety) to give her the liquid-on-the-back-of-the-neck version. All done, phew!!! but they're back in two weeks for 'part 2'. I can't wait..!

Onto more pleasant things then. Tonight, it's Julie T's surprise 50th birthday party at the Thornhill Arms. We've only been there once before - back in May 2007 with David and Val, for a meal, so we weren't sure what the function room would be like. We picked up Rosi, David and Rhiannon and took the short drive to the pub arriving around 7pm as planned. (I realised then, that I'd for gotten the camera! Doh!!!) It was raining quite heavily and parking was pretty challenging! Jo and Eileen (Tom's parents) were already there and we all soon settled down in the room that would hold about 80 or so people. Friends gradually arrived and it soon filled up. At around 7.40 Julie and Tom arrived, and although I couldn't actually see Julie's face - I'm told she looked shocked and speechless - and the latter, was apparently, very a very unusual situation!!!!

All-in-all it was a good very good great do. There a was a brilliant party atmosphere and the band that Nick plays bass for - The Felt Tip Thieves did a good gig. Their sound has matured since we saw them last in Kettering in October 2008 at Sopranos. The food was good too!

Tom had done a great job of keeping it all quiet for this long - well done mate!

We left after the Band had finished, dropped off Rhiannon and collapsed into bed around 11.45.

Continuing in the party spirit, tomorrow, we're round to Paul R's for an afternoon of drinking and gossiping as part of the celebration for his 50th birthday!

Cats in�

I took the pussies over to Patsy's this morning for their routine 'service'. Actually, it was slightly ahead of schedule (they were due to go this Saturday) primarily because Bon-Bon's winter coat has now arrived � she's now five times as fluffy and difficult to groom (what's new!) � and Biscuit's 'exploding bottom' incident last week forced us to play a new game called 'find the Klingon' (yuk!!)

I popped into Waitrose in Rushden to pick up a few last minute gifts and cards � and that's Christmas now sorted for this year�cards done�pressies wrapped.

Search for a Cattery

We�ve decided to put the cats in a Cattery this year, whilst we�re away. Given how long we�re away and the dates, it�s not really fair on the neighbours to have to be looking in every day. 

After searching on the Internet, I found one based in Ringstead � Denbank Boarding Cattery � only about 12 miles away and so I took a drive over there today.

It�s a pretty efficient operation and has been going since 1989. The Proprietor, Vanessa Parker, certainly knows her stuff and also used to breed Persians too. She also knows Patsy (our cat groomer).

Biscuit escapes�

Well, that�s a first! Biscuit was let into the back garden as normal, on Friday morning, and that was the last we saw of her!

Frantic searching by us on Friday afternoon proved a waste of time, so we resorted to a hand-delivered mail-shot around the local area. No phone calls that evening, so we went to bed.

Plan B is to search the woods when it get�s light tomorrow. I had a real fear that she�d been injured or just got herself lost, as she�s not very street-wise.

We left the patio doors open all night, (being the trusting souls that we are), and a sleepless night followed�

I got up about 6am to find the plasma TV still in place (phew!) but more importantly, and to see Biscuit casually wandering down the steps in the garden from Karen�s direction and the woods (phew again!) � we think she must have spent the night in the woods as she was soaking wet and covered in foliage.

Here�s an idea � a tiny sat-nav (or is that �cat-nav�?) chip that can be embedded under the skin of the cat (rather like ID chip that vets encourage you to have done to identify a cat, if lost) that can be tracked using Google Maps or equivalent.

Where�s that email address for Dragon�s Den? :)

Ready�Steady�Go

Ahhh, weekends, a time to relax, put your feet up and generally chill-out!

I must look-out for a weekend like that sometime!!! :)

So, here we go then:

7.15am: Dry Cleaners � drop off ironing and dry cleaning and pick-up the stuff we put-in last week

8.20am: Drop off Biscuit and Bon-Bon at Patsy's for their six-weekly, wash-and-brush-up

9.10am: Take both cars to Central Garage. Mine: The key-fob's stopped working; Ann: To swap the silver MANUAL Fiesta for a hot magenta coloured one with an AUTO box. Saw Tom, Julie and Jean there � small world!

10.00am: Time for a short breather

11.30: Pick the cats up

12.30: Catch-up with The Old Croydonians web-site maintenance

2.20: Head over to Rushton Hall for Jo's secret afternoon tea birthday surprise thingy!


What an excellent event! There was around 30 people there�and Jo was totally gobsmacked when she arrived for 'a quiet afternoon tea'.

5.45pm: That's it for today � nothing left to do but rela �zzzzzzzzzz :)

Origin of the Species � Bon-Bon attacks!

Image by Stevey P via Flickr

Ahh, the domestic cat � aka �Felis Catus� whose hunting skills have been honed to perfection after years of evolution. It�s still possible to see this basic instinct in today�s cats that was so evident in their distant relation � the sabre tooth tiger and today�s lions and tigers.

Picture the scene � a dark night in Kettering and Biscuit and Bon-Bon are, as usual, on patrol in the garden, protecting us from intruders (see picture above). All of a sudden, Bon-Bon springs into life, having spotted �something� in the undergrowth. After assessing the situation and identifying her prey � a frog � she accelerates in the opposite direction with the frog chasing her!!!!

Good to see that thousands of years of evolution haven�t gone to waste then! Bon-Bon obviously got out of the gene-pool when they were handing out the bit about stalking and trapping your prey.

Biscuit and Bon-Bon get a 'wash and brush-up'

The cats went in for their six-weekly 'service' today by Patsy.

It's always a challenge to get them in the basket to take them there � all claws, teeth and blind panic � they know you know! This time, strangely, they were pretty well-behaved and we got them both in without any personal wounds. They were also very quiet on the journey there and back too.

Ann had a short-notice appointment at the Salon, so I picked them up around 1.30.

Cats in� Mum out�Jo & Janet up

Biscuit and Bon-Bon went in for their six-weekly service with Patsy today. We popped into Waitrose on the way back for a few bits for the picnic tomorrow.

We took Mum down to The Star at Geddington for lunch. Once again the portions were massive and none of us could manage dessert nor coffee!

The weather forecast for tomorrow night's picnic is crap, so Jo and Janet popped up to discuss our plans for tomorrow evening.

Biscuit and Bon-Bon - Four years on...

We've now had the cats for four years.

Biscuit now sleeps on the chair in our bedroom and Bon-Bon who used to sleep at the foot of the bed on Ann's side, now sleeps on the floor. The initially amusing habit of Bon-Bon jumping on the bed at 3.30am and tapping me on the head to let her out has thankfully stopped - she now just jumps on the bed and stares!!

During the day, the cat-tower, once their home-within-a-home, has given way to Biscuit sleeping upstairs on our bedroom chair (as she does at night) and Bon-Bon snuggling-up between the two cushions on the third chair in the office.

The cat from over the back still terrorises them occasionally. Recently, they both came charging-in from the garden at around 100mph having been chased by the terrorist! It's a bold cat as it chased them right up the patio door entrance and just sat there. Yeek!

STOP PRESS: Biscuit is occasionally a lap-cat!!! and Bon-Bon ALMOST became one a few weeks back, but then jumped down onto the floor immediately. Well, it's a start.

Biscuit continues to be the lazy teenager. She mostly lies in and often doesn't get up until 9am! She stays out late (in the garden) and has to brought in; and occasionally 'runs away' by jumping up onto the divider fence and 'escaping' into Karen's garden. There has been a further incident this year where she has appeared at the our front door having gone into Karen's and slipped under her gate heading for ours!

They both still drink regularly from the pond - yuk! - but that's a cat-thing!!! It doesn't seem to matter if we have put fresh water down elsewhere, they prefer the green stuff!! There has been renewed interest in the fish of late - maybe that's because the water is a bit clearer.

They are both now a lot easier to get in from the garden. If we get behind them, call their names and tell them to 'go in' they nearly always oblige and run indoors. Who says cats can't be trained?

Using Patsy to bath and brush them every six-weeks is really paying-off and their coats are in great condition with hardly any knots between sessions. That's a load off our mind and I'm sure it's better for them too!

They're both a lot more affectionate � especially Bob-Bon who has developed her voice and can be quite vocal

So, here's to another year with our furry friends!

Cats in for their 'six-weekly service'

We took Biscuit and Bon-Bon over to Patsy's today for their routine 'wash-and-brush-up'. Bon-Bon went and hid as soon as I retrieved the cat-carrier from the loft!

Smart cat!

As always, Patsy did great job � Bon-Bon is now 'whiter-than-white and Biscuit is, well�more biscuit coloured.

The Great escape (again!)

I discovered Biscuit outside the FRONT door looking confused.

....me too!

I guess she must have decided to venture into Karen's garden from her fave spot on the fence and then got slightly dis-oriented. Just like the first time she did this, on approaching her, she ran back into Karen's garden, rather than simply return home via the shortest route through our front-door. I caught up with her and took her back to ours. She's back indoors now and hasn't tried again today!

Perhaps she watched 'The Great Escape' on the TV whilst we were away over the Bank Holiday...!

Cats in, Clock up

We took the cats over to Patsy's for their normal 'six-weekly bath-and-brush-up'. Bon-Bon (being white) was certainly in need of a wash - it looked like she's been head-butting piles of mud (she probably had!)

At last, the conditions were right (a lovely warm day) to put up our new garden clock. Our previous attempt last year failed miserably some six weeks' later when the wind brought it crashing down, 'bouncing bomb' style, scattering pieces all over the garden - The pairing of DIY skills and me is similar to pairing Jeremy Clarkson with green transport supporters! Perhaps I should put a net underneath!!

After picking up the cats we carried with a few bits in the garden.

Cor!! What a Scorcher!

Well, maybe not a scorcher - but certainly a very nice day... 19 degrees C or thereabouts.

We spent all the morning and a little of the afternoon in the garden; I even got around to mowing the lawn for the first time this season.

The cats loved it too. It's probably the longest they've been in the garden for ages. Both of them took great interest in the bulbs that we were planning to plant. Whilst the bulbs were still in bags, lying on the lawn, both of them in turn treated them like catnip. They sniffed, scratched at and rolled on the bags in a kind of drug-crazed way - it's a behaviour we've not seen before.

We finished the garden by taking the dead hammock up to the dump. It was pretty busy there (we think everyone had the same idea as us; a fine day equals an opportunity for a clear-up!)

We got back about 2ish, finished off watching 'Lewis' from a few weeks' ago whilst tucking into Ann's ciabatta pizzas.

We're knackered but just before we collapsed completely, we did start to get things packed for going away next weekend.

Meal with David and Val

We went back to Edwards Restaurant tonight with David and Val for our regular monthly meal. For the past few, we've been eating-in together, so it was nice to see Edwards again as the food is always superb - especially the chips (which I've given up for Lent!) 

We left a little earlier than normal - 6.30 - and took two cars because Val was going to have to leave part-way through to drive to Cardiff (for the Rugby tomorrow). Before leaving though we had time to quickly look at their new ceiling lights in their kitchen - nice job!!

Taking two cars made it an interesting journey. We weren't 100% certain of the route so we chose to follow D and V. We commented after about 15 minutes into the journey that David was driving unusually fast - only to get a call from Val "Can you slow down please we can't keep up!". We'd actually been following the wrong Audi and had overtaken them a mile or so before!!!

On arrival, the restaurant was quite quiet and we sat downstairs and had some drinks. It soon started to fill-up though. Another example maybe, of quality shining through during a recession.

The meal was good although we were all disappointed with the side-order of chips - they looked thoroughly over-cooked. In fact, Ann didn't touch hers and I just stared at them.

Val left about 9ish and as we watched her leave, the smell of burning filled the air! The reason? - Val had placed her napkin on the table and it caught the tea-light.

Within seconds, it burst into flames - much to the amusement (and concern) of our fellow diners.

I explained to the table next to us that we were volunteer firemen suffering withdrawal symptoms! We recounted that something similar had happened before when we visited the Wollaston Inn last October. The funny thing about it was that Val was completely unaware of what had happened.

We left at around 10pm (the place was the busiest we'd ever seen it by then) after telling them about the chips.

We were all tired when we got back about 10.30 (fire-fighting is a mentally and physically demanding job!) and went straight to bed!

An early start tomorrow for Lee and Bertie's!

The Cats are four years old today

Bon-Bon and Biscuit are four today! 
Compared to their previous Birthday, both are now equally affectionate to us - Bon-Bon had always been a little 'stand-offish', but she's now much more chilled. Biscuit has even strayed onto my lap VERY occasionally! No chance with Bon-Bon though!!!

Since discovering Patsy the cat-groomer over in Rushden, their coats are now looking a lot better. Patsy clearly loves cats and it shows!!
The cats are in the garden at every possible opportunity. The only time when they wouldn't go out was when it snowed recently. Having said that, once I'd cleared the snow out of the way and created a path for them, they were out like a shot.
Food-wise, they're very similar in their tastes. They're both still eating both wet and dry food although experimenting with other wet-types as a replacement for the Purina Gourmet Pearl Mini Fillets brand has resulted in upset stomachs and exploding bottoms - nice! especially with a white cat. Why can't poo match the cat's coat colour?
Their morning routine is the same as last year. As soon as I'm up, Bon-Bon is ahead of me, waiting for me to open the patio-doors. Biscuit still prefers to lie-in, but occasionally joins Bon-Bon but then returns to her corner of our bed as soon as she can.
Bon-Bon will happily stay out there whatever the weather. In fact, she seems to like all weathers - even when it's pissing-down. They both still drink the green pond-water although since I put an extra bowl of water outside they tend to make that their first stop when we let them out.
They are still very comfortable in each other's company. They don't sleep together anymore - I think that was part of the kitten-phase, but at least they get on and don't scrap (apart from the odd 'playful chase').
As last year, it's become a lot easier to get them in from the garden at night. In fact, crouching down and calling them, tends to have them come running. Failing that, turning on the outside light or shaking a sachet of cat-food normally does the trick.
In fact, they're starting to become quite obedient. On a few occasions (note 'few'), call them and they come running!
Biscuit is no longer sitting on the fence (wouldn't make a good HR person then!) that separates us from the neighbours opposite - she now prefers the corner between us, Karen's and where Tom used to live. The interesting thing is that she never strays into the other gardens.
The Cat-Tower is still a fave place for them to sleep during the day.They seem to take it in turns as to who has the top bunk. At night, they still both follow us up to bed. Biscuit is normally there first, and up onto the bed. She now regularly expects a bit of a comb-out before settling down. Bon-Bon still hates being groomed - I never realised cats could growl!!!.
Bon-Bon still has this habit of tapping plants with her paw - weird!!! - a sort of 'handshake' - and she's still offering her paw when we hold out our hand  - very dog-like.
We're not sure what's happened the cat from opposite, but we don't see it as often and it's not terrorising Biscuit and Bon-Bon - apart from one solitary incident earlier this year.
Size-wise, they don't seem to have grown much -they're still similar in size. Fortunately their coats don't seem to get as knotty now - the regular grooming does the trick.

We lurve cats! - especially our two!!
The photo on the left was taken by Nigel when they were kittens. Ahhh!

Biscuit and Bon-Bon for a bath!

We took the cats over to see Patsy of Rushden Persian Rescue for their six-weekly 'bath-and-brush-up'. This is only their second visit there. Their first, back in January was because the previous groomer had been arrested for cruelty to animals after an RSPCA raid late last year!!! 

We made good use of time today, popping into Rushden Waitrose and Peter Crisp and Ford - Central Garage that are all in that direction.

We got off to a poor start. When we arrived just before 10.30 and rang the door-bell there was no answer. We tried and tried but it was clear no-one was in. Strange! Surely she hadn't been arrested too!


It wasn't a great day for either of us not to have our phones with us either, so we had just sit-it-out! Just before 11am, someone turned up - but it wasn't Patsy!

After a quick conversation, it transpired that we'd arrived at the wrong house - Patsy's place was just a few doors up the road. So, apart from having completely different cars on the drive, a different back-gate, the first house having a dog (not cats), then I guess it's pretty easy to get the two dwellings confused. Doh!

So, after spending a load of dosh in Waitrose and picking up some scrubbing brooms from Peter Crisp, we got back to Patsy's at just after 2pm, which was perfect timing as she'd just finished. Boy, had she done a really good job on them both! She had even used tinted (brown) talc on Biscuit and a special shampoo for Bon-Bon's white fur!! She had even used special 'concealer' around Bon-Bon's eyes to hide the tear stains. Perfection!!!

We got back about 2.30 and caught up with the papers.

Waitrose Indian takeaway tonight. Yum-Yum!!

New Groomer for the Cats

 

7.00am. Well, today is the day when we take Biscuit and Bon-Bon over to Rushden Persian Rescue to meet Patsy who is going to attempt to groom them. From the conversation I had with her and our various emails, she sounds like a real cat lover - and Persians in particular!

I really hope this works out as I think the cats are suffering - especially Bon-Bon!

Initially, I thought we would never find the place as following the instructions after tapping in the postal address into the car's sat-nav dumped us in the middle of an industrial estate in Rushden!

Anyway, we had the printed directions with us and finally got there about 11.20. Patsy and her helper-friend seemed very nice and are obviously cat-lovers based on the number of cats in the house. I counted 5...in fact it was 15!!!

3.30pm. We picked the cats up and they looked great! They were a bit stressed out but that's quite normal. Biscuit did her 'growling' thing whilst Bon-Bon hissed a lot!! Patsy has done a GREAT job on them and we'll be taking them back again in six weeks.

New Cat Groomers

Well, today, we're trying out a new cat-groomers in Kettering. That's because the other place seems to have gone tits-up! They're going in at 12 and hopefully will be back by 3 this afternoon. we really hope they do a good job, as there are no others to use round here.

The cats are well overdue and their coats are in a bit of a mess - that's going to make it more stressful and more difficult for all parties involved!!!

On a more positive note, Jill at the new groomers sounded nice over the phone and they're quite a bit cheaper than the previous place - not that money is the issue here.

Well, we got the call around 2.30 - Jill had 'done' the two cats. She sounded really stressed out and had had a tricky time with them both. Perhaps, surprisingly, Bon-Bon was a little sweetie whilst Biscuit was the 'beast-from-Hell'.

It only took me about ten-minutes to get there and when I saw Jill, she did indeed look stressed out. When I asked her initially if she's be prepared to do them again, she was unsure! Eeek! that would have put us in a difficult position given there aren't any other groomers round here for cats. Anyway, by the end of the conversation, she agreed to see them in six-weeks' time. Phew! that was close!!!

On closer inspection of Biscuit and Bon-Bon, Biscuit looked generally OK, but Bon-Bon - maybe not surprisingly - looked a bit sorry for herself and had a few bald patches. Given the state she was in before, that's not too surprising, but it is sad to see a cat looking so 'bedraggled'.

Still, at least they're done now and I've agreed to give Jill a call around the middle of January for a repeat visit.

Cat Groomers - Mystery solved?

A while ago, I commented on our frustration at arriving at Brigstock to find the cat-groomers all locked up. They had also failed to return any of my calls leading up to the date.

Ann and I both thought that something strange was going on, but we couldn't work it out.

Fast-forward to tonight and Ann's hairdresser mentioned that a breeder in Brigstock was under arrest for mis-treatment of animals and rumour has it she'd 'done a runner'.

This may all be a coincidence, but Brigstock isn't a particularly large village, so who knows? The BBC ran a short news item on the event.

Oooo-err!

Trouble comes in 3s!!

Today's the day when the cats get a haircut and a bath.

Take cover! :)

They're well overdue for both and I reckon it'll be difficult for the Pussy Parlour to get rid of all their knots (without shaving them)given that it's been so long since their previous visit in August. This is the longest they gone without a 'service' and that's not ideal and it's not good for their coats. It'll be interesting to see how they look when they get back ...and what sort of mood they're in!!!

Oh bugger!! - We got there and the whole place was closed. That would explain why they hadn't returned any of my calls.

Well, they say trouble comes in 3s...

Event 2 - Ann tapped in her PIN to pay for the shopping, but it queried it - so she tried two more times ...and the machine still didn't like it and locked the card. It was at that point I realised I couldn't find my Visa to pay for the food. Guess what? Ann was using my card with her PIN.

Event 3 - So, there we are queuing to leave Sainsbury's car-park and waiting for the guy in front to realise he's driving the wrong round the car-park's one-way system. Still at least he didn't drive into us.

..but the woman to my right, reversing her Fiesta, almost did. I really, really, really thought she was going to hit us. And, she was looking in her mirror as she did so. I reckon she was 1 inch off stoving the side of the car in! Go figure!

I think it's best if we just go back to bed today!!!

Bon-Bon's OK!

I took Bon-Bon to the Vet this morning after yesterday's incident. The did a quick 'shave-and-trim' job around her private parts and she's now a very happy pussy!

At least they didn't have to sedate her. Phew!!! I think I was more stressed-out than Bon-Bon

Poor Bon-Bon

What a stressful day! Bon-Bon has got a terrible stomach upset and as a result has managed soil the whole of her rear-end and back legs. All attempts to try and clean her up failed miserably as it's a two-person job and Bon-Bon turns ultra aggressive when we get near her rear-end (I think I would too!)

We managed to clean her up a little bit, but she WILL need to go to the vet tomorrow to be truly 'sorted'! That might mean putting her under sedation whilst the cleaning-squad get to work. Poor Puss, she's clearly distressed by it all - and so are we...

Cats in for a Brushing

We took the Biscuit and Bon-Bon in for their normal 'service' today. It's been three-months since we last took them, but their coats seem to be in pretty good condition considering the fact they've been in the garden a lot and got wet quite a few times. According to conventional wisdom 'Persian Cat + Rain = headache for owners and the cat'

Biscuit and Bon-Bon - Three years on...

We've now had the cats for three years. When we compare their behaviour with say, a year ago, it's interesting to note that they haven't changed that much, behaviourally, in the last 12 months.

They've identified their fave sleeping place at night. Biscuit sleeps on the corner of the bed 'my side' and Bon-Bon does the same on Ann's side.

The cat-tower that still sits in the dining room is still a favourite place for them although Bon-Bon has used it much less since we washed the cushions. maybe it's too much of a fragrance with the fabric softener?

They both LOVE the garden. From what we've read, Persians aren't supposed to like the outdoors, but ours do and it doesn't seem to have an effect on their fur - even when they get wet. Biscuit still occasionally sits on the top of our fence in the back garden and we know she's ventured over into other gardens in the past.

They are still occasionally being chased by the cat over the back. It chases them right up until the patio doors and then goes no further (phew!) Clearly our two are quite freaked out about it - Bon-Bon growls and shakes for some time after the event!

Neither of them are lap cats, and although they whinge when we pick them up, they're much less vocal about it now. They're both very affectionate (when they choose to be!) Bon-Bon is definitely more sociable now, than ever . Biscuit was always the more affectionate one but there it's a smaller difference between them both in terms of how much affection they now show to us abnd visitors.

They drink regularly from the pond - yuk! - but that's a cat-thing!!! It doesn't seem to matter if we have put fresh water down elsewhere, they prefer the green stuff!! They don't seem to be bothered by the fish and although they watch them very carefully, they don't attempt to catch them. What DOES fascinate them is frogs and toads - they're quite happy to chase them around the garden. The other creature-of-choice is butterflies - They've both got a track-record of bringing in souvenirs for us...well it could be worse..it could be frogs or birds!

I guess the only major change in their behaviour is that it's now much easier to get them in from the garden. This time last year, they were notorious for hiding and running away when it was time to get them in. Biscuit now, is quite happy to be picked up and brought in whilst if you out-flank Bon-Bon she'll run indoors without prompting. Maybe 'herding cats' is not a myth after all!

They're still eating dry-food and wet food and their appetite is increasing. It's not unusual for them to get through two full packets of the wet-stuff whereas this time last year they were making ONE last all day.

Size-wise, they don't seem to have grown much in the last year and their coats don't seem to get as knotty now. They still hate being combed out, but they don't protest as loudly as they used to!

Cats for a Brush/Gardening

We took Biscuit and Bon-Bon in for their normal six-weekly brush and then spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon in the back-garden tidying up.

On our way to pick up the cats we dropped into Waitrose to pick-up the food for tomorrow's family get-together.

Curry and Cats...

I took the cats in for their six-weekly wash and brushup. Actually, it's been longer than six and their coats were getting quite knotty. Ann picked them up in the afternoon - they looked great!

Jo and Janet came up to us tonight for a curry evening. We had a great time catching-up on this-and-that. It felt like we hadn't seen them for ages. We learned that Janet had proposed to Jo last weekend whilst they were away in Brighton!

Birthday Blog - The Cats Three Years Old

Biscuit and Bon-Bon celebrated their third Birthday today.

Whereas this time last year, we were saying that Biscuit is the more sociable-one, Bon-Bon is turning into a real 'cutie' and is becoming almost the same..

They still hate being bathed and now when we take them to the local beauty parlour for their six-weekly 'service', we tend to opt for just a serious brush and trim. To be honest, being cats, they keep themselves very clean anyway, so maybe they don't miss being bathed. All-in-all we'd say that their coats don't seem to get knotted quite as much now, and at least they're both a bit better at letting US brush them out. It's still challenge though!!

They're a little more tolerant when being picked up, but they still won't settle in our arms for long periods of time - I guess some cats are like that...and they're definitely NOT lap-cats. Having said that, they both love human company - any visitors seem to get the 'hello, I'm going roll on my back for you' treatment. They'll happily investigate anyone who visits the house and they're both pretty sociable with strangers.

Biscuit still tends to eat anything and everything, whilst Bon-Bon is a little more cautious. In terms of adventuring into the garden, the roles are reversed. The routine is that when I get up, I open the patio doors - Bon-Bon is always first out - sometimes followed by Biscuit, but sometimes not. She prefers to 'lie-in'. If the weather isn't warm, Biscuit is normally back in within a few minutes whilst Bon-Bon will happily stay out there whatever the weather. In fact, she seems to like the rain! - there has been a few occasions where she has been wet through just sitting out there, literally, soaking up the atmosphere. They both LOVE the pond water and it's normally their first stop, happily avoiding the bowl of fresh stuff in the kitchen and the bowl just outside the patio doors! What is it about pond water?

They are still very comfortable in each other's company. They don't sleep together anymore - I think that was part of the kitten-phase, but at least they get on and don't scrap (apart from the odd 'chase').

Playing and exploring in the garden is still a regular feature and in the last year, it's become a lot easier to get them in. In fact, crouching down and calling Biscuit's name is often all it takes for her to come running towards us. Bon-Bon still tends to treat it as a bit of a game, to see if she can hide and out-wit the humans!

They expect to be let out as soon as one of us is up in the morning. They will happily stay out there all day - even if it's raining - and in most cases it's a challenge to get them back in-doors. I think they both see it as a game when one of us attempts to herd them back indoors. They run for cover and hide. Having said that, both of them will (if the mood takes them) answer to their names and come running when they're called. We think that's pretty good considering they are CATS not dogs!

Biscuit is still occasionally jumping up on the fence - although she generally doesn't go much further - she just sits on the fence sussing the scenery. There was just one occasion last year, where (we think) she got over the fence and out into the outside world. It was pouring with rain and I found her wandering about next door's garden.

They are both still using the Tower for sleeping and as 'home'. Our good friend Lee's idea of putting it in the dining room, so they could see out into the garden was a master-stroke. Bon-Bon tends to use it most, taking over the top 'bunk'. Biscuit is relegated to the second tier, but doesn't seem to mind. At night, they both follow us up to bed. Biscuit is normally there first, up onto the bed and expecting a bit of a comb-out before settling down. Bon-Bon normally arrives later and settles down on the corner of the bed or on a chair. Having said earlier, that they�re not lap-cats, Biscuit does occasionally jump onto mine and snuggle down (for all of 30 seconds!)
Both still have this ritual of greeting us with meows and rolling on their back when we get in from work. Bon-Bon is now, I'd say, just as vocal as Biscuit, especially when they want to go into the garden. It�s a sort of l-o-n-g-e-r meow and very different from the normal 'hello'.

Bon-Bon still has this habit of tapping plants with her paw - a sort of 'handshake' - and she's now well-versed in offering her paw when we hold out our hand - we should have called her 'Fido'!
Food-wise, it's still one plate each of wet plus a bowl each of dry. They seem to like the variety although they're pretty fussy with the wet stuff - it just has to be Gourmet Pearl Mini Fillets.

In this last year they've both become more sociable, more vocal and more confident.

Cats in for grooming

It's that time again! They both oput up a fight when trying to get them into the cat-carrier - what fun!!! As I was so busy with work, Ann took them in and then went into town with Lee and Bertie

Biscuit escapes!

We're both getting a bit concerned about Biscuit. I popped out the front to go the garage only to find Biscuit sitting on the driveway. The back gate was closed, so we're not sure how she got there!

Soon as she saw me, she hurtled into next door's garden..and disappeared. It was dark so I needed to get a torch to find her. Inspite of that, I still couldn't see her..then I caught the flash of her eyes in the torch-light in the corner of Karen's garden. As soon as she saw me, she was off - again - and disappeared - again! Finally, in the pouring rain, I found her, ten minutes later, behind Karen's shed. She definitely didn't want to come home!

Now we have a dilemma. Do we let her out in the garden or not. And, if we don't, do we punish Bon-Bon as well by keeping her in?

I can see why we're not parents - it's too stressful!!!

Nick and Celina here/Cats in for grooming

Nick and Celina joined us for the weekend. They arrived just after 2 and are staying with us until mid-morning tomorrow. We took a trip to the Alexandra Arms - a real ale pub in the town centre.

We took the cats to Brigstock for their regular 'comb-out'. Apparently they were difficult to handle (so what's new?)

We ate in. Ann did a lovely roast beef dinner and we finished off the evening drinking copious amounts of wine and port whilst watching the James Bond film 'Casino Royale.'

We finally hit the sack at around 11pm...

Stitches and Curry!

Stitches
Took Bon-Bon to the vets to have the three stitches removed. The lump they found was just hardened flesh and nothing to worry about. It could have been caused by a bite from a tic, a flea...but we reckon it was the cat from opposite when they had the fight a few months back.

Curry!
Nicki is joining us tonight in preparation for our shopping spree tomorrow in Leeds. We're meeting up with Jo and Janet for a Curry at Mazza's tonight.

Bon-Bon to the vets...

I took Bon-Bon to the vets today. We discovered a small lump on her right shoulder, that initial started off as a woud. When it healed up, the lump was still there.

So, I dropped her off at 9.00. At 2pm the Vets said she was 'OK' and we could pick her up at 4.30.

Cat on Lap!

Well that's a surprise. Bon-Bon jumped up onto the settee and then snuggled down on my lap - that's a first!

We would have thought that Biscuit would have been the one to do this as she's been on my lap before...

Cats in for a brush

We took the cats in for a brush today. Strangely, both were were even more unhappy about going in the cat box than normal. Biscuit even took a swipe at Ann, whilst Bon-Bon did that 'growling thing' she does to me when she's pissed-off.

Cats' Grooming/Shopping/Denise and Steve's for Dinner

Took the cats over for their normal grooming regime. Only this time, we didn't have them bathed. They still looked great when they came out! And, it only cost 50 quid this time. Money well spent!!

We let them out the garden as normal when we got back. A few minutes later, the cat from over the back appeared and attacked Bon-Bon :(((

Luckily, I found a shoe and threw it at their cat, and it ran off

On the way back from dropping off the cats we went shopping in town. Wow, what a spend up!!! Ann bought a Raymond Weil watch - half price and I bought more trousers, jeans and shirts.

We went over to Denise and Steve's in Bedford. Gill and Chris were there too. It's been a while since we all got together. Steve's buying a serious boat and also entering the Fastnet race - serious stuff - we hadn't realised he was into that sort of tihng and we spent most of the evening cracking one-liners relating to boats/ships/parrots/eye patches etc. :))

The weather today has been very, very wet. Areas such as Evesham had water half way up the side of shops - scary stuff!!!

Meal at ours with Paul and Sue

Paul and Sue came round - we haven't seen them for almost a year and it was great to catch and moan about getting old(er)! :)))

A strange event at the end of the evening involving the cats though. It was about 11ish and we heard one of them making a hell of a noise. They both came charging in growling at each other and looking very stressed out! Never really got to the bottom of it, but we think they had been chased by another cat...

Biscuit and Bon Bon - 2 years on...

Well, here we are now TWO years with Biscuit and Bon-Bon.

They're always pleased to see us when we've been out working. They always greet us at the lobby door and they have both found their voices! Biscuit tends to be the more vocal of ther two (still!)

Since re-siting the cat-tower to the dining room looking out into the garden, it has made a massivve difference to how they use it. We know that cats like to get up high and the tower certainly allows this. It also gives them a SUPERB view of their territory - the garden. It was Lee's idea to re-site it and they more or less live/sleep in it during the day when they're not outside.

The other change is that although they occasionally still get chased by next-door's cat, when the weather is good and one of us is home they are out the garden more-or-less all day. Biscuit went through a phase of jumping up on the fence and disappearing over next door, but that seemed to be a short term problem and she doesn't attempt it anymore.

Bon-Bon should have been named 'Digger'. Her behaviour in the garden is quite different to Biscuit's. Whereas Biscuit will mooch around taking in the sights, sounds and smells, Bon-Bon heads for the lawn, and seems to sniff out what's underneath. If there's something there, she then attacks it with both paws. Well, it saves aeriating the lawn!!

They LOVE the garden!

Both continue to love having their tummy rubbed and they're much more tolerant of being picked up. We've discovered that if you keep them the right-way-up (ie not upside down) they seem to be more relaxed. Our theory is that when they are upside down, everything looks unfamiliar and they panic.

They are both well-aware of the pond and don't attempt to get in it anymore although they are fascinated by the fish. Recently, Biscuit was seen to be sitting by the side of the pond looking particularly pleased with herself, licking her lips and looking like she was having trouble swallowing something large. I also noticed some wet patches on the stonework leading from the pond to where Biscuit was celebrating. Hhhhmm, I must count the fish..or was it a frog?
Inside the house, they seem to have got all their areas sussed out. They go through phases of sleeping on our bed/sleping on the chair/sleeping next door etc. The nice thing is that when we get ready for bed, so do they! They hardly sleep together anymore and we haven't seen any signs of aggression between them since that rare occasion sometime back when they looked like they were having their first serious fight.

The only challenge during this spell of nice weather is actually getting Bon-Bon in from the garden at night! Biscuit is OK, she generally sees us coming and after initially running away, gives up and let's us bring her in. On some occasions, she'll answer her name and come running in, just like a dog!

Bon-Bon is very different. She sees it all as a game of 'chase-me'. She's got to know the approximate time we call them in, sees us approaching and runs and hides. We then get close to her and she runs off somewhere else. The funny thing is that sometimes she gives up after about five minutes of chasing, whilt at other times she makes it very clear she doesn't want to come in by constantly running away. Recently I got close to her to get her in and she started to growl - eeek!

Food-wise they still like dry-food and wet food. They went through a phase where they weren't eating the wet stuff at all, so we stopped putting it down for them. They also seem to be eating about twice as much dry stuff - maybe it's their increased activity outside

Here go then, into year three

See the latest photographs HERE

Biscuit in for a Bath/Loft sorted/Knackered TV/Gardening

We took Biscuit along for her regular 'wash and brush-up' today.

I finally finished tidying up the loft.

We dumped the CRT TV in the kitchen, as it hasn't been working for ages and it gives us an excuse to look out for a cheap flat-screen TV with Freeview some time later this year.

Ann spent most of the day sorting out the front and back garden. It's a big job - more tomorrow, I think

Productive Saturday!

Another glorious weekend, weather-wise...

Phew! Drove over the Peterborough to get my hair cut. Came back. We then took Bon-Bon to the pussy parlour (first time the two cats have been apart) for a bath, dry and brush.

Drove back to Peterborough. Stopped of at Jane and Micks for a quick coffee. We then went to John Lewis's to look at TVs and we also bought the lights for the bedroom and managed to get the fabric for the dining-room chairs too!

Picked Bon-Bon up on the way back. Apparently she hates the bath as much as she ever has!

..and then some gardening where we started to do the annual draining of the pond. In theory, it should have been easy this year as we would try out the new electric pnd draining pump I bought a few months back. No such luck as it ran for a few minutes and kept tripping the fuse box! Bugger...back to the old method of connecting the fountain pump up in reverse and pumping out the water that way. Same principle but 50 times as slow as the newer method! Still better than doing it by bucket loads!!!

Escaped Biscuit - almost!

Biscuit has been eye-ing up the fence with a plan to jumping up and over it She's been up there a few times but up until now she has just sat on the top. Today, she took the next step - literally! In spite of me removing the plant-pot that she was using as a launch-pad and draping cloths in her 'flightpath', she still manged to get up and, wait-for-it, over into the neighbours opposite!

I looked over the fence but couldn't see her. Just as I was thinking of popping round to retrieve her, she popped up further down the garden and lept back into ours... Phew!

I guess we'll have to think of some way to stop her escaping...

Birthday Blog - The Cats, Two years old

Biscuit and Bon-Bon celebrated their second Birthday today. Although unlike us humans at the equivalent age (24), they aren't living in their own place, 'going steady', thinking of getting married nor pressurising their parents for money! They are however, still using Mum and Dad as a taxi service!!

Biscuit tends to be the more sociable one. She'll happily mooch around the front-room when it's full of people. Bon-Bon tends to prefer her own company. Brushing and bathing them is still a dangerous occupation for us. We've now fully delegated this opportunity! The local cat parlour has got used to severed limbs and the sight and smell of blood (theirs!) during these six-weekly events. Biscuit�s coat is the easier to manage by far. Bon-Bon's still gets tangled very easily.

Neither of them enjoy being picked up and cuddled but they're prepared to tolerate it much more now than say, a year ago Food-wise, they still eat a combination of wet and dry food. We think they are eating a lot more of the dry stuff than they used to. Biscuit is the more adventurous one and will happily eat yoghurt, curry and baked bean sauce off our fingers. Bon-Bon tends to me much more selective and prefers water from the pond! Yuk!

They hardly sleep together anymore which was feature this time last year but they are very comfortable in each others' company. We've heard stories of sibling cats hating the site of each other - not these two!

Playing and exploring in the garden is now a regular feature and they expect to be let out as soon as one of us is up in the morning. They will happily stay out there all day - even if it's raining - and in most cases it's a challenge to get them back in-doors. I think they both see it as a game when one of us attempts to herd them back indoors. They run for cover and hide. Having said that, both of them will (if the mood takes them) answer to their names and come running when they're called. We think that's pretty good considering they are CATS not dogs!

We haven't seen them play-fight for ages now and we think they are getting rid of their energy chasing each other around the garden (and hiding from their owners). Biscuit has managed to get up onto the top of the fence causing complete panic at our end. However, she didn't stray too far. We discovered that she was leaping onto an empty plant pot and then from there, jumping up onto the fence. Bon-Bon prefers to watch.

Early one morning whilst it was still dark, I could see Biscuit balanced on the top of the fence. I had a feeling she would leap over the other side - straight into the territory of our neighbour's cat - the one that ambushed them when they were kittens. So, I whispered at the top of my voice - "Biscuit! Biscuit...! Biscuit! Biscuit..." to encourage her to get down. She stood up, looked at me - and then calmly disappeared over the fence across enemy lines! Panic! - well not quite actually! I felt something at my feet. It was Biscuit at my feet wondering what all the fuss was about. The cat on the fence was in fact the neighbour's cat - and not Biscuit! Well, it was dark and I do need to get to Specsavers!!!

The cats have their favourite positions in the house for sleeping. Biscuit now sleeps at the bottom of the bed on Ann's side, whilst Bon-Bon has discovered that one of the new office chairs is the place to dream... Neither of them are lap cats (yet) although Biscuit has occasionally jumped up onto my lap and snuggled down. Both are always pleased to see us when we get home.

They both seem to have found their own voices. At first, we thought they were whining, but now we realise it�s their way of talking to us. Biscuit tends to be the noisier of the two and doesn�t waste any time in �talking to us�. The trick is to work out what she means/wants.

They seem to have a sixth sense that seems to detect when one of us is due and immediately leap onto the window sill so they can see the car pull up on the drive Both are happily rolling on their back with their paws in the air when we greet them - we've read that's a good sign!

Bon-Bon has developed this habit of tapping plants with her paw - a sort of 'handshake' - it looks pretty weird, so we thought we would try and teach her to do the 'dog trick' - Give me Your Paw. Success, more or less. Now, if Bon-Bon is sitting and we approach her and offer our hand, she puts hers out to shake � and she can do it with either paw. An ambidextrous Chinchilla, that must me a first!

Temperament-wise, they�re great, very friendly towards us and visitors and not an aggressive bone in their body. They're very much part of the family, and we wouldn't be without them.

The Cats - Bath and Brush-up

We took the cats to their normal bath and brush-up today...

Bon-Bon had become very knotted in places. we had gone slightly over the six-weekly cycle - by a mile (last time we took them was 2 December 2006). They had to take quite a bit of fur off Bon-Bon and now she looks a bit skinny and pathetic. Poor Bon-Bon. Being a chinchilla, thankfully, it'll soon grow. Biscuit doesn't look much different!

Predictably, both cats were apparently a nightmare to bath - plenty of spitting and hissing (and that was from the grommers!)

Ann's thinking that we should look for somewhere a little closer and cheaper..

The White Stuff

The 'White Stuff' is back. Predicted by the weather forecasters yeasterday, but at 5am there was none and by 6am there was lots!

The cats loved it and wanted to stay out...I don't think so!!!

Chill-out Saturday/Escaping Cats

It's been a busy few weeks since Christmas and today was an opportunity to do not-very-much-at-all!

Ann and I temporarily fixed the fence down the side of the house (the recent gales had brought the whole lot down - but at least they're not 'ours'!)

..that allowed us to let Biscuit and Bon-Bon out in the garden. We haven't been able to do that for a few weeks. The first thing they both did was investigated where we had repaired the fence. Two seconds later, Bon-Bon found a gap and was off into next door's back garden. Lee tempted Biscuit with some cat treats to stop her doing the same thing. Ann popped next door and 'rescued' Bon-Bon.

Meanwhile, Biscuit now has a new party trick! I happened to look out of the window to see her walking along the TOP of the fence - eeekkk! She managed to get up there by launching herself off the top of the big pots. Looks like we'll have to make a few modifications to stop her doing that...

At last, I managed to paint the area behind the bin in the kitchen.

Cat Bath/Out with the Neighbours

Biscuit and Bon-Bon
We took Biscuit and Bon-Bon for their routine 'bath-dry-groom' and 'maim-the-handlers' today. Apparently, Bon-Bon is the aggressive one whilst Biscuit takes in all in her stride!

Meal with Karen, Paul, Julie and Tom
We went out for a meal for our great neighbours to celebrate Julie and Paul's birthday (both next week). We popped in to 'The Bar' which strangely is a bar. A very weird place - half finished, very loud music (grumpy ol' man!) and too small (just five or six tables). We then took a short (cold) walk to the 'Old Victoria' pub - it's very nice there and a massive contrast to 'The Bar'.

So, time to eat. We tried out 'Shaad' - the new Indian & Bangladeshi restaurant that's replaced the Coach House restaurant in Burton Latimer.

The food was great, prices very reasonable and staff very friendly

They also gave us a free bottle of champagne!

Then it was back to ours for a night-cap or three and a chance to try out Ann's freshly made banana cake - delicious!!!!

Got to bed around 1am...

Janet and Nigel

Janet and Nigel came to lunch. It's long overdue, but it took us this long to sort out a date that worked for all of us. Janet was the breeder of our two cats. Her web site is HERE.

It was great to see them both. The cats behaved themselves too!

Britain's Biggest Blog

The National Trust is encouraging people to record a diary of their day on a website, as part of what is being called "Britain's biggest blog". The blogs will then be stored by the British Library and at other locations.

There are more details HERE at the History Matters website.

So, here is my day....

A very ordinary one!...

Up at 4am to check emails

5.35 am Dropped Ann at the station to pick up the train to London.

8.45 Took the cats (Biscuit and Bon-Bon) to the groomers for their normal six-weekly 'wash-and-brush up'. Last time was 22 July and we've probably left it a bit late this time as Bon-Bon's coat has become quite notty...

9.30 Worked from home getting ready for the 'Business Report Writing' workshop tomorrow in Solihull. Also prepared my Trainer notes for the 'Leadership' Workshop running in a few weeks' time in Daventry

2.00 Unusually, the cats weren't ready for pick-up at 2, so I twiddled my fingers alittle in the afternoon

5.00 The cats are ready for pick-up! Yippee!!!

5.30 The cats look great - and smell great too! :)

6.30 Picked Ann up from the Station

Watched a bit of TV

Went to bed around 8.30. Feel like I've got a cold coming!

Lee and Bertie - depart...

Lee and Bertie return home today. It was great to see them again, and they fitted around our busy lifestyle really well. The cats liked them too! :)

Busy Blog

Here we go then, on our mega-busy weekend...

Me - Peterborough haircut, then home. Pick up cats take them to the Groomers

Ann - Northampton shopping to get the food in for tomorrow's big family get-together

Both - Pick up cats from the Groomers

Both - Planned to go Stratford-upon-Avon to see Merchant of Venice at Hall's Croft, but we just ran out of time! Sorry Ian!!

(Actually, it doesn't sound that busy...but it felt like it!!!)

Biscuit and Bon Bon - 1 year on...

It just doesn't seem like the cats have been with us for a whole year. It's passed really quickly.

We've always felt that cats' behaviour changes in LARGE steps rather than gradually. For instance, Bon Bon now rolls on her back quite regularly but up until a few week's ago, that's something that she would never have done! She also tolerates having her tummy rubbed - something else that used to be impossible, as she used to simply run away!

Biscuit has always been the noisier of the two. She's even more vocal these days, and is always first to let us know she's around.

Since the cat over the back took a shine to both of them last year, we've always been a bit cautious about letting them out the back into the garden. But, the weather has been so good here and it's such a shame not to give them the opportunity to explore the wild. What we tend to do is let them out ONLY when we're out there too. So far this has been very successful and they LOVE the outdoors.

We weren't to know, but a few days later, Bon-Bon would get so excited, running around that she'll would forget that cats can't fly and subsequently took a nose dive straight into the pond!! On the plus side, it made her coat beautifully soft - I'm so glad we cleaned the pond out a few months back. On the down-side, we have quite a few fish now undergoing psychiatric help!

Overall, both the cats are much more chilled out and tolerant of their human owners picking them up for a cuddle. Both have developed exceptional jumping skills and are now exploring horizontal surfaces that previously would have been out of the question. Maybe more worryingly, they both adore open windows and there's been a number of occasions where they've stressed us out by leaping onto an UPSTAIRS open window and attempting to balance on the open crack or do their Elvis impression by 'leaving the building'. When the fish have finished with the Prozac, we're next.

See the latest photographs HERE

Roll on the next 12 months...

Clean Cats - Second Visit

Took the pussies back to the cat grooming place in Brigstock for their second wash-and-brush-up. See HERE for their first visit.

Apparently they were quite aggressive whilst being washed and combed out (they hate it - that's why WE don't do it!)

Birthday Blog - The Cats; 1 year old today

The cats celebrated their first birthday today. In human years, we've read that makes them 16 years old - adolescent teenagers! In the months we've owned them, we have seen their behaviour change quite considerably. Whether this is due to them being spayed or a part of their natural growing up process, we don't know - it's probably a combination of both.

They both seem to enjoy both dry and wet cat food, and their appetite appears to be increasing. Biscuit is the more adventurous one, food-wise and will happily eat yoghurt, curry and baked bean sauce off our fingers. Bon-Bon however is more fussy although she has a natural ability for devouring plants with lightning speed.

They both sleep snuggled up together on the bed at night but during the day they tend to stay apart. They both like looking out of the patio window in the dining room and they'll happily do this for hours.

Although they still occasionally play fight, this is getting rare. Interestingly, they had their first serious disagreement recently - lots of hissing and flying paws. It was a short event, but startling for us to see. Hope it's a one-off!

Biscuit is the first to venture onto our laps. She'll quite happily snuggle down and go to sleep. Bon-Bon has yet to try this, but she has taken to leaping onto the office chair whilst we're working. She also has a habit of jumping up onto the back of the long settee whilst we're watching TV.

Both are a lot more relaxed when we pick them up. They tend not to whinge quite so quickly, although it's clearly not their favourite past-time.

Both are always pleased to see us when we get home. Bon-Bon immediately rolls onto her back with her paws in the air. Out of the two, she does this pretty often, whenever she wants attention.

Grooming them is still a challenge, although finding a groomer locally has been a great help!
All-in-all they're becoming very affectionate and settling in very well...

Clean Cats Blog

Found a cat grooming place not too far away in a village called Brigstock, so the cats went in for a wash-and-brush-up today

Stitched Blog and Steve's new toy

Ouch! - Took the cats in to have their stitches removed. They didn't flinch at all - but I did!









My new 'XDA Executive' arrived today from those very nice people at o2

Bubsy Blog

One year ago since 'Bubsy' passed away - :(

Cat Show Blog

Off to the Cat Show at the NEC. Janet, the Breeder who we chose to 'source' Bon-Bon and Biscuit did very well indeed . She got 'Best in Variety' with 'Maria' the Chinchilla.

Well, a year on from last year's show it's interesting to reflect on our comments made at last year's show. Click here

Sheep shearer Blog

We took a drive over to Janet and Nigel's to get the kittens sorted. Bon-Bon almost needed a sheep shearer to get through her coat, but luckily, Janet's an expert, and did a splendid job of a bath and a haircut on both Bon-Bon and Biscuit!

Finished off most the Christmas Cards - 200 plus! Eeek!

Biscuit and Bon Bon return...

We picked up Biscuit and Bon Bon from Janet's today. We certainly missed them! But they do look a lot better from being in the very capable hands of Janet whilst we've been away!