Friday 20 August 2010

Rest and Reprieve

I'm sorry that I didn't blog yesterday. I didn't really have much to tell you on the Molly front, and as that's what's dominated mine and the human's thoughts, we didn't feel like writing much else. We have news though.



The peoples from Guide Dogs called the human today. She still hasn't made up her mind because they can't guarantee that Molly will be retired. She might go on something called the Buddy scheme, which pairs dogs which aren't good enough to be guide dogs up with younger children to give them confidence in new environments. The team might also keep her themselves and use her to go and see people to help assess if they'll be good with a guide dog or not. The human's still not happy, but Molly was due to go in for some retraining anyway in a couple of weeks while she's away on holiday. What she's planned to do is let her go, find out what they have to say after the assessment, then make a decision when she comes back from holiday. She knows that it would probably be best to let Molly go, but she just can't face the thought of her being shipped out to a few more homes before she's finally allowed to retire. She needs to be strong and do what's right for us all. I tell her this, and I have faith she'll make the right decision in the end.



To answer a couple of comments placed, the human doesn't really have the room to leave a cage up that is big enough that I'm comfortable eating in. You're right though, Molly couldn't pull that apart. I guess this is something we can explore in a bigger house, but even if cat food wasn't a problem, the dog shouldn't be jumping and climbing to get food. When you are out all day with a working dog, you can imagine the problems this could pose at lunchtime in work, for example, or at other peoples' houses. I keep telling her that working cats are a much better idea, but she mutters something about strong-will and stubbornness. I ask you, what rubbish!



Other than that, life has been fairly normal. The human's friend arrived on Wednesday night, so I've been watching him closely just in case he's here to make off with some of the ping pong balls! I know he's a shifty character because he wouldn't even let me share his coffee! It smells so good, doesn't it? The human doesn't drink it, so I can only sniff it when other peoples are here. This one said I'd not like it if I tasted it, but I'll never know. He didn't give me a chance!



The human's sleeping in the living room again, which is great. I don't even have to walk far to find a bed. Last night they had gammon for dinner. The human says to tell you that if you don't know, it's like a big thick steak of bacon, kind of. Anyway, she didn't eat all of hers, so I got some! I'm not sure if I like it though. I did the same thing with the gammon that I did with the rabbit, but she's left me some down today while she's out at work. I haven't touched it yet, but I'm really thinking about it.



I was really sad to hear about so many of the other cats on the Blogosphere leaving us forever a few days ago. While I didn't know any of them, I and my human know how hard it is to lose someone you love, and we send huge snuggles to the families of those who have gone. We grieve with you.



My human has entered me in a contest to win a Kritter Kondo, and I must say, it looks fab! This would give me the chance to go outside a lot more, something I struggle with now because the only way the human can take me is on a leash. I am not a dog, nor will I ever be, so although she's trying to teach me to walk, when she puts that and the harness on me, I belly out to make her know my point. She'll either have to drag me or give up, as no way am I putting up with the indignity of wearing what a dog would! She usually gives up. With the Kondo though, she can let me out in that and not worry that her eyes can't see me as I move around. I'll let you know if I win.



I have also been reading about a cat rescue place called Tabby's Place, and boy are they nice peoples! They take cats from shelters where they would otherwise have been killed, and they let them live in the place they've built just for cats. There's no cages, and they all get to live with the company of others. What's better, even if no peoples come to adopt them, they can live there for the rest of their lives without fear of being killed cuz they've been there too long. Currently, I have my eye on one of the cats who lives in the human offices. She's not very well, and could really do with massive support. If you want to send her love, head on over to their blog.



Tabby's Place



My human is due home from work in a few hours, and I'm getting ready to welcome her back. Mummycat's still making noise, but I'm used to that now. I'm more happy because I know she's eating more, but I wish she'd be quiet and learn that no matter how much she screams about it, the human is mine first! When next I post, I'll share with you exciting news about a kitten!

9 comments:

AFSS said...

Good luck with the kitty condo.

We can assure you coffee taste nasty Scylla managed to get some of Mom's one time.

Amy & the house of cats said...

WE think your mom is smart to wait a bit and have times to thing things through with Molly - we know it has to be a tough thing for her so we are sending her comforting purrs.

And trust us - coffee is gross! You don't want to try it. But that gammon - now that sounds tasty and we highly recommend you try it.

And we are totally in agreement about how great Tabby's Place is - our moms biggest wish in life is to be able to open someplace like that so we can help out other kitties too! It is just a wonderful place!

Everycat said...

Tia, we think your human Mum has made a good decision to wait until after Molly's retraining to make a decision. I hated the harness thing too and have turned myself inside out before now. Gerry walks in one and other cats have done too because the ape spent 9000 years on the training, starting with the harness and no leash, letting them wear the harness inside for a few minutes at a time - your human will know. The Kritter Condo sounds like a good solution. Hope you win!

Gammon is yummy, but the apes say it's too salty for cats pffft! nonsense. I hope you get to try coffee. Are you and Cindy getting to spend any time together? We wondered if Cindy might be a bit lonely and that is stopping her eating.

Have a good weekend all of you. My mission this weekend is to get as much mud on my paws as possible and stamp about on the lovely clean bedsheets hehe!

Wicked Wuudler

Jans Funny Farm said...

It's stressful to make a decision under the circumstances, so we wish you all a relaxing and fun weekend. We know your mom will do what she believes is best.

The Lee County Clowder said...

Would your Mum be working with Molly if the decide to try to retrain her? If yes, and she has the time, trying that might be worth a shot.

Have you or your Mum thought about getting you a stroller? Some of the CB kitties have them and love them. Others think they're the dumbest idea since New Coke. (not sure what that means, Our Food Source suggested that phrase) But at least you could get outside with your Mum and still be safe.

PS: If you really want to try coffee, you could try a trick Luna does a lot. Sneak up on the cup and quick stick a paw in there. That way you get a taste of the contents. If you like it, the bean will likely let you finish the cup. (for some reason, they don't like to drink out of a glass after we've tried it)

Tia said...

Clowder, you are obviously a cat of much wisdom! I'm going to try the paw trick when next I get a chance!

How do you turn yourself inside out? Sounds like a good trick if I can manage it. The human knows about harness training. Her last little one took to it like a duck to water, but with me, she knows now that she'll have to take it slower. Gotta make 'em work for rewards, right?

If they retrain Molly, she'll go to another people, so my human won't be working with her and she'll not belong to us any more.

Gammon, I have decided, isn't all that nice. Any of the rest of you who want it can have it. See? I'm not selfish!

Mummycat never really ate propperly, so it's not really to do with loneliness. It's more to do with the fact that she's unsettled and unhappy, together with the fact that she wasn't very well for a long time.

Tabby's Place is great! My human wanted to go volunteer there after she'd read the blog, and it made her sad for the cats for a long time. I'm glad it's so far away from us. If it wasn't, I might have lost my human to all those other cats! I know they need peoples, but I kind of like this one as mine.

Everycat said...

How do you turn yourself inside out?

Thrash about in a frenzy, claws out, scream, hurl yourself into the air so the ape can't remove the harness. Think "feline kite". That's pretty much it.

Poor Mummycat, we all send her rumbly purrs and hope she feels better soon.

Ta for the gammon

Nom, nom, nom!

Whicky

Tia said...

Whicky, the more I see of you, the more I like you! You're obviously a mancat who's been around a bit. I don't know if it would be very dignified of me to scream, but the other bits? Oh yeah. Kitten Kite, here I come!

Tia said...

Whicky, the more I see of you, the more I like you! Perhaps the screaming bit is a wee bit much for me, but the rest of it? Oh yeah. Kitten kite, here I come!