Ok, I confess to plagerism, as I got the idea for random days from Amy and the House of Cats
but it's just so fitting. The stuff I have to tell you today is all over the place. There's some happy, some sad, some exciting, some boring.
The boring bit is the human, of course. She did nothing today except lie in bed for ages and ages and ages and then do lots of washing in the noisy machine. We haven't even done a training session today, which means I haven't got my daily dose of a gazillion treats. What's happening with the world. It's all wrong!
Speaking of the Daily Dose brings me to my next bit of random news, and this bit is the sad bit. I've mentioned her many times, but I'll mention her again. Chrystal over at Daily Dose of Dogs and Cats runs a private animal rescue for dogs and cats. The cats there are well cared for and normally happy, except for one poor little soul.
Sparkles
is that poor unfortunate. She was one of a pair who were helped by Chrystal and her family a few months ago. Her brother, now known as Jimmy, has recently been adopted, and since that point, Sparkles has gotten lonelier and lonelier. She doesn't interact with the other cats, preferring to hiss and spit at them instead. But peoples? That's another matter. She loves them. She can't bear to be parted from them. In fact, even when Chrystal is nearby but unseen, Sparkles will scream for her until she comes close. If a people goes into the cat house, she stays glued to them, and won't even play with other toys, even new ones, in favour of their company. Through no fault of Chrystal's, Sparkles is desperately unhappy, and she needs a home urgently. KC of the Cat Blogosphere has agreed to help by funding air fair anywhere within the USA, so please, if you can offer this lost little lady a lap to curl up on and a people to call her own, don't waste any time. Contact her right away. Please, even if you can't adopt her yourself, go read the story and post on your blog about her or talk to others who might want a cat for a forever home.
We got our bowl too from our bid that we made in the auction to help out Chrystal. It is so, so beautiful. The human has placed it on her display table, despite my promptings that it would look just great filled with my ping pong balls. I think it's so nice that we bought crystal to help Chrystal. It makes it sort of special, you know? Jan, thank you so much for donating it. It is truly stunning, and so tactile for my human to get her fingers all over. You don't need working eyes to appreciate the beauty of it.
That reminds us to mention to Amy and the Random Felines that you shouldn't think I've forgotten about the exchange I promised on my 100th post. I'm sorry the human hasn't written to you both yet, but with this being her first week back at the work hunt, she's been too busy and exhausted to even order stuff, let alone post it. She says she'll email you when she's made some more headway on actually getting all of the toys. I'll tell you a secret though. She's gotten a few, and they're so good I've tried to steal them twice now! She says she doesn't know when she'll get the chance to order them. It's her birthday on Wednesday, so she'll probably get that over her first before she goes ahead and gets them. Guess I'd better start thinking about a present for her.
In other exciting news, we've been featured on another blog! Wyatt's Corner
wrote to me today, telling me that I'm featured on today's post in a cartoon! Thank you so much, Wyatt. That's super cool! The human says she's not sure if the cartoon is of us or if it's just a link to us. If we're in a cartoon, would someone with working eyes mind describing it to us in the comments? That would be super!
Now, the news just keeps getting more and more exciting! I've mentioned before that my human and I are hoping for kittens. Well, I'm not about to tell you I'm pregnant, but today, the human got approval for her prefix! This means now that any kittens I have will carry the human's cattery name with them wherever they go, and if they get shown, it will tell everyone just how beautiful my babies are, cuz they'll know they came from me and the human's cattery! Her prefix is Moonspun. If I carried that prefix, I'd now be called Moonspun Dolly Mixture as my pedigree name. I tell you that just to show you how the prefix slots in. This is big, big news, cuz every reputable, responsible breeder should have a prefix of their very own, and it took us 18 or so weeks to get ours approved and all the paperwork done!
Now for the most excitingest thing of all. you remember I hinted a few weeks back that I was going to have a celebrity guest on my blog? Well, I've finally managed to get her to agree, and she's taken on a regular place here at Cuddles and Catnip. From now on, she'll be doing the Sunday post, and it hasn't even cost me any treats in payment! She seems happy to do it, so it will be her instead of me tomorrow. Isn't that great? I'm not telling who she is, but I'll give you a clue. Regular readers of my blog will have been introduced to her in a round about fashion already! My human and I have talked about her.
Please do come back tomorrow to see who it is! It will be her first ever blog post, so I hope it goes well for her.
Wow, that was a lot of news. I feel so much better now it's all off my chest. While I go for a nap to work up enough strength to hassle for treats, I'll leave you to remember Sparkles. Let's use the power of the blogosphere to get this unhappy little ladycat a home. Come on. We can do it together!
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Friday, 7 January 2011
Human Vs Cat
Friends, I feel the need to begin this post with an apology. As you are no doubt aware, i normally attempt to stay pretty philosophical and even tempered and toleratn (and all the rest of that jazz) over my human's various stupidities and lacks and general shortcomings. I have frequently said that they aren't her fault, that I mustn't judge her harshly because she has a small brain and does the best she can, that I need to remember to cut her some slack. But this morning, she did something so ridiculous that I didn't even have the capacity to be truly mad at her. I ended up laughing, which really isn't a kind thing to do, bearing in mind that, with her capacity, she's making the best that she can. That being said, what she did do, as well as displaying ape-like intelligence, is give me food for thought, and I don't mean the stinky goodness kind. Allow me to elaborate.
As I mentioned yesterday, the human has started this ritual, a very pleasant one actually, of sprinkling some yummy treats on my new blanket before she leaves for the work hunt. This has met with nothing but favour on my part, for why complain about free food, and nice food at that. Now, my motto is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but in my eight months of training, I haven't managed to get that across to the human yet. Accordingly, she decided to fix it.
When I want something badly from her, or when I simply want a snuggle when she's come in from work and decides to head straight to the litterbox room instead of to my sofa for cuddle time, I will follow her, then, when she stays still, put my two front paws up on her knee and wait. I know this melts her insides to mushies which is why I do it, cuz she can't refuse me anything after that. Regardless of whether she's on that litterbox or not, I get my own way! The human decided she wanted to encourage me to do it more, although in a, by her standards, more appropriate place and at a more appropriate time. I've mentioned my background to you previously, so you'll understand it when I say that, when I've done it, I've been a little timid about it. It was a new thing for me. In order to minimise the timidity, the human formulated a plan.
This morning, instead of simply giving me the treats, she crouched on the floor and held one in her hand just above her leg. Because she was crouched, the leg provided a flat platform kind of thing, but still, I wasn't going to climb for a treat. I waited. I've done this before, and I always manage to wait her out. It semi worked this time, cuz she lowered her hand down to me, but kept it close to her knee, so that I had to come forward a few steps to get the morsel. Oh, and how good it was! She picked up another one, and this time, her hand went a little higher so that I had to stand right up on my tippy-toes and push in against her knee to get it. The third one went right back above her leg. I wasn't jumping. I've told you, I don't work for treats. I waited, but nothing happened other than that she started to coo at me to come up. I ignored her, and instead turned my attention to the box of treats open on the floor. But friends, I hadn't even got my nose into it before she whisked that away to the heights too! I still wasn't worried at this point. I could still wait her out.
Except that I couldn't. For an eternity that lasted a full minute, my nose twitched and the treat called. So did the human. Eventually, I hopped up with my two front paws on her knee really quickly, grabbed the treat and jumped back down again. Oh, it was so good! She picked up another one, and again I waited, and again she waited, and another eternity of thirty seconds passed! Do you know how hungry and near to starvation you can get in thirty seconds? I was seeing pink mousies and everything! But the call of the treat was too strong, and up I hopped.
Ten treats later, and the human was having to tell me to get off so that she could teach me to put my paws on her for a treat. This was fun. Without knowing it (and that pains me to admit), I'd trained her to give me treats on demand, and all I had to do was put my two front paws on her leg. how simple! As she stood up from giving me the final food, she said in a self-satisfied voice, "Well, that was a good first training session." Well, it's unlike her to admit I'm training her, so I was surprised but gratified, that is, until she continued. "I'm really making headway with her." um, what? Lady, you ain't making nothing with me sept more treat time!
The concept that the human thinks she's training me when I'm actually training her is so ridiculous that, even now when I think of it hours later, I am forced to shake my head in amazement, then wipe a grin off my furry face at the very idea. Humans are so simple, bless them.
We had a repeat of the training session when she came home from the work hunt, and again she mentioned that she was doing well. In the midst of my laughter though, I began to think. To think really about reciprocal cause and effect. I put my paws on her leg because I know she likes it and that will subsequently generate a treat, so, in essence, I put my paws on her leg because I like the treats. She, on the other hand, gives me a treat because she wants my paws on her leg because she likes the feeling. So, in essence, she provides the treat in return for something she likes. What that boils down to is this. I give her something she likes in return for something I like and vice versa.
Training is all about cause and effect, in essence, you do something to get something, or you do something to receive pleasure. Even stupid Dogfaces understand this concept, so it's in-arguable really. Now, if you apply that definition to the last paragraph of what I said, well, friends, it provides a frankly terrifying conclusion. We are training each other, and what's worse, we are doing it in a mutually pleasant, mutually beneficial way.
The thought of the human having influence over me is very unsettling, and yet, that then begs another question. Should it be brought to a brutal end? Should I cease doing what she wants in order to get what I want? I tried that today, namely the waiting game, and it didn't work. So in essence, do I deprive myself of a good thing just so that I can be content that I am not being trained? There hardly seems any point. This exercise provides benefit, not hardship, whereas to refuse to participate gets me nothing but terrible deprivation. And still there is the looming, and even larger question to be answered. If I allow myself to be trained in this way, will I do so with other things? Will the human be resourceful enough to always provide me with a benefit for doing what she wants, and more importantly, will I feel that this benefit is one I do not wish to go without?
I have no answers. I need help.
As I mentioned yesterday, the human has started this ritual, a very pleasant one actually, of sprinkling some yummy treats on my new blanket before she leaves for the work hunt. This has met with nothing but favour on my part, for why complain about free food, and nice food at that. Now, my motto is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but in my eight months of training, I haven't managed to get that across to the human yet. Accordingly, she decided to fix it.
When I want something badly from her, or when I simply want a snuggle when she's come in from work and decides to head straight to the litterbox room instead of to my sofa for cuddle time, I will follow her, then, when she stays still, put my two front paws up on her knee and wait. I know this melts her insides to mushies which is why I do it, cuz she can't refuse me anything after that. Regardless of whether she's on that litterbox or not, I get my own way! The human decided she wanted to encourage me to do it more, although in a, by her standards, more appropriate place and at a more appropriate time. I've mentioned my background to you previously, so you'll understand it when I say that, when I've done it, I've been a little timid about it. It was a new thing for me. In order to minimise the timidity, the human formulated a plan.
This morning, instead of simply giving me the treats, she crouched on the floor and held one in her hand just above her leg. Because she was crouched, the leg provided a flat platform kind of thing, but still, I wasn't going to climb for a treat. I waited. I've done this before, and I always manage to wait her out. It semi worked this time, cuz she lowered her hand down to me, but kept it close to her knee, so that I had to come forward a few steps to get the morsel. Oh, and how good it was! She picked up another one, and this time, her hand went a little higher so that I had to stand right up on my tippy-toes and push in against her knee to get it. The third one went right back above her leg. I wasn't jumping. I've told you, I don't work for treats. I waited, but nothing happened other than that she started to coo at me to come up. I ignored her, and instead turned my attention to the box of treats open on the floor. But friends, I hadn't even got my nose into it before she whisked that away to the heights too! I still wasn't worried at this point. I could still wait her out.
Except that I couldn't. For an eternity that lasted a full minute, my nose twitched and the treat called. So did the human. Eventually, I hopped up with my two front paws on her knee really quickly, grabbed the treat and jumped back down again. Oh, it was so good! She picked up another one, and again I waited, and again she waited, and another eternity of thirty seconds passed! Do you know how hungry and near to starvation you can get in thirty seconds? I was seeing pink mousies and everything! But the call of the treat was too strong, and up I hopped.
Ten treats later, and the human was having to tell me to get off so that she could teach me to put my paws on her for a treat. This was fun. Without knowing it (and that pains me to admit), I'd trained her to give me treats on demand, and all I had to do was put my two front paws on her leg. how simple! As she stood up from giving me the final food, she said in a self-satisfied voice, "Well, that was a good first training session." Well, it's unlike her to admit I'm training her, so I was surprised but gratified, that is, until she continued. "I'm really making headway with her." um, what? Lady, you ain't making nothing with me sept more treat time!
The concept that the human thinks she's training me when I'm actually training her is so ridiculous that, even now when I think of it hours later, I am forced to shake my head in amazement, then wipe a grin off my furry face at the very idea. Humans are so simple, bless them.
We had a repeat of the training session when she came home from the work hunt, and again she mentioned that she was doing well. In the midst of my laughter though, I began to think. To think really about reciprocal cause and effect. I put my paws on her leg because I know she likes it and that will subsequently generate a treat, so, in essence, I put my paws on her leg because I like the treats. She, on the other hand, gives me a treat because she wants my paws on her leg because she likes the feeling. So, in essence, she provides the treat in return for something she likes. What that boils down to is this. I give her something she likes in return for something I like and vice versa.
Training is all about cause and effect, in essence, you do something to get something, or you do something to receive pleasure. Even stupid Dogfaces understand this concept, so it's in-arguable really. Now, if you apply that definition to the last paragraph of what I said, well, friends, it provides a frankly terrifying conclusion. We are training each other, and what's worse, we are doing it in a mutually pleasant, mutually beneficial way.
The thought of the human having influence over me is very unsettling, and yet, that then begs another question. Should it be brought to a brutal end? Should I cease doing what she wants in order to get what I want? I tried that today, namely the waiting game, and it didn't work. So in essence, do I deprive myself of a good thing just so that I can be content that I am not being trained? There hardly seems any point. This exercise provides benefit, not hardship, whereas to refuse to participate gets me nothing but terrible deprivation. And still there is the looming, and even larger question to be answered. If I allow myself to be trained in this way, will I do so with other things? Will the human be resourceful enough to always provide me with a benefit for doing what she wants, and more importantly, will I feel that this benefit is one I do not wish to go without?
I have no answers. I need help.
Thursday, 6 January 2011
Secret Paws!
Well, it finally arrived! Actually, it arrived some time ago, but it was so special that I instructed my human to wait to post about it until we had a whole post to devote. I've had quite a few toys this last few weeks, but none that compare to the variety sent by Hannah and Lucy. Ladies, thank you, thank you, thank you! The human thanks your people too. She actually tried to steal one of the things in the box for herself (more on that in a moment) but I wasn't having any of it. She got presents from other peoples, so she was just being greedy!
The Secret Paws was waiting for us when we got home from staying at Dogman's house. The human was going to make me wait some more to open it, but I hassled her until she gave in. I knew it would be good for her to watch me play, you see, cuz she was feeling pretty miserable about Dogface not being with us. This was her first night in her new home without us, you see.
The box was all wrapped up in tough brown paper to stop the post peoples from getting into it. It was really thoughtful of you, Hannah and Lucy, to instruct your people to do this, cuz if the post peoples had been able to see the goodies inside, they'd certainly have stolen them for themselves before I got a chance at them! I had to ask the human to open that bit, cuz I didn't want to bite it with my teeth. Under the brown paper was some lovely wrapping paper and a Christmas card. We don't know what the card said, but the human has put it up, even though it's not Christmas any more! I thought about ripping the wrapping paper, but then remembered that I keep this human around for a reason. I sat back and watched while she pulled it off.
There was a box underneath, and boy did it have some interesting smells! I'm sure that I sniffed Hannah and Lucy on it, cuz I spent ages and ages and ages inspecting before the human was finally allowed to take the sticky tape off (I love biting this, by the way, and had great fun!) and show me what was inside.
It started with a big, soft, plushy, cuddly thing. It was an animal with a long tail, and my human thinks it might be a cat! He was fun to bunny kick, and his tail was great for swatting. He has a crackly tail and ears too, which is great! The human says she'd like him on her bed to snuggle with, but I reminded her that's what my job was. Hannah and Lucy, was it a cat? I don't care anyway, he's a good wrasslin partner!
There was next a flat, folded thing in the box, which my human didn't open straight away. Why? Cuz as she lifted it, I saw what was underneath, and I wasn't waiting for no flat thing. There were ping pong balls in there! A gajillion of them! And even more than a gajillion! They were all in little packets in the box, and I wanted them so bad! My human usually gives me one at a timej, which I promptly lose, ahem, I mean hide, under the TV cabinet or the sofa, but today, she gave me all gajillion cuz I asked so hard. The human says there were eight in total, but honestly, there were loads. I just didn't know what way to run! And there was still the call of the box!
There were more goodies in there, oh yes there were. Next came a packet of three mousies. They were all made of rope which is great for scratching, and they had long tails to bite while you kicked them, and they rattled, and, and, and, they smelled of catnip! And there were three of them! So now I had eight ping pong balls and three mousies and a cuddly cat wrasslin bud, and there was still more! I didn't know what to play with! I batted one mousey, then threw another one, then pounced on a ball which ran away from me, then whapped another one right into my human's leg!
Then I heard it, the rustle, the crackle, the snap of a treat bag being opened. Only one type of treat in the world makes that noise, and I knew it well. Dreamies! They're sooooo good. They're little hard squares that have a soft filling. you can get cheese and chicken and fish and beef and one other I think. Yet again, Hannah and Lucy had outdone themselves, cuz I didn't just get one bag. I got two! Two whole bags, just for me! and the human had instructions that she wasn't allowed to withhold them, so she fed me from both packets until I didn't want any more. Friends, that takes some doing. Have I mentioned that I love Dreamies? Cuz I do. I don't know what flavours these were, but they were sooooo good! I even had to lick up all the crumbs from my human's hand just to make sure I didn't waste a single bit.
But there was still more! you remember that flat thing? When the human opened it, it turned out to be a blanket all for me! I've never had a blanket before. My human got me a few beds and things, but I didn't use them at all. It's more fun to fur up the sofa than to lie in your own bed you see, but this blanket is special. It's denim type stuff on one side, but if you flip it over, it's the softest, plushiest stuff on the other. As soon as the human felt it, she begged me to let her have it for her own, but I wasn't giving in. I permitted her to put it on the sofa beside where she sits, where I usually lie, so that she could touch it while she stroked me. This she reluctantly did, and since that day, it's become a regular routine that I get treats on there. She sprinkles some of the Dreamies all over it before she goes off to the work hunt. Oh, it's so great! I even lay on it twice, and that's saying something for me! The human really, really loves the plush material. She says she wishes she knew what it was, cuz she'd make a big blanket from it.
Hannah and Lucy, thank you over, and over and over again for all of the goodies you sent me. They were simply amazing, beyond what I was expecting. I couldn't even tell you what my favourite thing is, cuz they're all my favourites! They're all still out on the floor, and my human is still stepping on those gajillion balls, but it's such good fun to have them all out! thank you, thank you, thank you!
There are even more toys to tell about from a different source too, plus a delivery from Chrystal's auction, but those can wait till tomorrow, or maybe later this week, as we have other things to tell you. Oh, Secret Paws, I love you!
The Secret Paws was waiting for us when we got home from staying at Dogman's house. The human was going to make me wait some more to open it, but I hassled her until she gave in. I knew it would be good for her to watch me play, you see, cuz she was feeling pretty miserable about Dogface not being with us. This was her first night in her new home without us, you see.
The box was all wrapped up in tough brown paper to stop the post peoples from getting into it. It was really thoughtful of you, Hannah and Lucy, to instruct your people to do this, cuz if the post peoples had been able to see the goodies inside, they'd certainly have stolen them for themselves before I got a chance at them! I had to ask the human to open that bit, cuz I didn't want to bite it with my teeth. Under the brown paper was some lovely wrapping paper and a Christmas card. We don't know what the card said, but the human has put it up, even though it's not Christmas any more! I thought about ripping the wrapping paper, but then remembered that I keep this human around for a reason. I sat back and watched while she pulled it off.
There was a box underneath, and boy did it have some interesting smells! I'm sure that I sniffed Hannah and Lucy on it, cuz I spent ages and ages and ages inspecting before the human was finally allowed to take the sticky tape off (I love biting this, by the way, and had great fun!) and show me what was inside.
It started with a big, soft, plushy, cuddly thing. It was an animal with a long tail, and my human thinks it might be a cat! He was fun to bunny kick, and his tail was great for swatting. He has a crackly tail and ears too, which is great! The human says she'd like him on her bed to snuggle with, but I reminded her that's what my job was. Hannah and Lucy, was it a cat? I don't care anyway, he's a good wrasslin partner!
There was next a flat, folded thing in the box, which my human didn't open straight away. Why? Cuz as she lifted it, I saw what was underneath, and I wasn't waiting for no flat thing. There were ping pong balls in there! A gajillion of them! And even more than a gajillion! They were all in little packets in the box, and I wanted them so bad! My human usually gives me one at a timej, which I promptly lose, ahem, I mean hide, under the TV cabinet or the sofa, but today, she gave me all gajillion cuz I asked so hard. The human says there were eight in total, but honestly, there were loads. I just didn't know what way to run! And there was still the call of the box!
There were more goodies in there, oh yes there were. Next came a packet of three mousies. They were all made of rope which is great for scratching, and they had long tails to bite while you kicked them, and they rattled, and, and, and, they smelled of catnip! And there were three of them! So now I had eight ping pong balls and three mousies and a cuddly cat wrasslin bud, and there was still more! I didn't know what to play with! I batted one mousey, then threw another one, then pounced on a ball which ran away from me, then whapped another one right into my human's leg!
Then I heard it, the rustle, the crackle, the snap of a treat bag being opened. Only one type of treat in the world makes that noise, and I knew it well. Dreamies! They're sooooo good. They're little hard squares that have a soft filling. you can get cheese and chicken and fish and beef and one other I think. Yet again, Hannah and Lucy had outdone themselves, cuz I didn't just get one bag. I got two! Two whole bags, just for me! and the human had instructions that she wasn't allowed to withhold them, so she fed me from both packets until I didn't want any more. Friends, that takes some doing. Have I mentioned that I love Dreamies? Cuz I do. I don't know what flavours these were, but they were sooooo good! I even had to lick up all the crumbs from my human's hand just to make sure I didn't waste a single bit.
But there was still more! you remember that flat thing? When the human opened it, it turned out to be a blanket all for me! I've never had a blanket before. My human got me a few beds and things, but I didn't use them at all. It's more fun to fur up the sofa than to lie in your own bed you see, but this blanket is special. It's denim type stuff on one side, but if you flip it over, it's the softest, plushiest stuff on the other. As soon as the human felt it, she begged me to let her have it for her own, but I wasn't giving in. I permitted her to put it on the sofa beside where she sits, where I usually lie, so that she could touch it while she stroked me. This she reluctantly did, and since that day, it's become a regular routine that I get treats on there. She sprinkles some of the Dreamies all over it before she goes off to the work hunt. Oh, it's so great! I even lay on it twice, and that's saying something for me! The human really, really loves the plush material. She says she wishes she knew what it was, cuz she'd make a big blanket from it.
Hannah and Lucy, thank you over, and over and over again for all of the goodies you sent me. They were simply amazing, beyond what I was expecting. I couldn't even tell you what my favourite thing is, cuz they're all my favourites! They're all still out on the floor, and my human is still stepping on those gajillion balls, but it's such good fun to have them all out! thank you, thank you, thank you!
There are even more toys to tell about from a different source too, plus a delivery from Chrystal's auction, but those can wait till tomorrow, or maybe later this week, as we have other things to tell you. Oh, Secret Paws, I love you!
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Apologies
Friends, my human is slacking again and I don't know what to do about it. Over the last few months I've tried various methods to keep her writing, but none of them work consistently. Cuddling might make her feel like writing one month, then not work even a few days later. The firm paw of guidance whips her into shape occasionally, but at other times all it gets me is a rather abrupt removal from her person with a strong admonition not to do it again. I'm starting to wonder if it's time for me to do another poo on the sofa, just to get my point across, you know? But then I can't help but remember the prison she put me in last time. What to do!
The frustration of the thing is that the human always has an excuse to explain why she hasn't been writing for me, but the thing is, that's exactly what they are, excuses! When you get right down to it, she's disorganised and fills her time with meaningless things like laundry, house cleaning, cooking for herself, going to the work hunt. Ok, that latter isn't a total waste of time. It does provide the means for getting me foods, but really, does it take eight hours to catch foods? That's one mighty inefficient way of hunting! It only takes me five minutes to catch a toy mousey.
Speaking of toys, I got to open my Secret Paws when I got home! Thank you so much, Hannah and Lucy. The present was so special that I'm going to devote a whole post to it when I can whip this lazy human butt into shape, so you're all going to have to wait just a little bit longer for the grand reveal! Let me just say though, it's fabulous and I love them all!
Dogface has really gone now. I have to confess, I still can't really believe it's true, and neither can the human. She keeps getting up and half going to the door to take her out for a pee before remembering she's gone. It's also funny to watch her walk towards the kitchen. Dogface's bed was on the wall next to the kitchen door, and even though it's not there now, the human's so used to stepping round it that she still does it. So she avoids this giant patch of blank floor. She says that when your eyes don't work, your feet programme themselves into routes so you don't have to feel with them all the time to make sure you're not gonna step on things. She says she'll eventually reprogramme herself to remember the bed isn't there, but it'll take a while. That made me think, it must be quite difficult to have broken eyes. I mean, I just look at the floor and know I can stand there and I won't step on Dogface cuz she's not there. No wonder it takes her eight hours to catch food. I guess I shouldn't be so hard on her, eh? I mean, if she had a good sense of smell, hunting with broken eyes would still be relatively easy, but peoples smell is pathetic.
So, me and the human are still adjusting to the absence of Dogface. The human had a friend over last night. I've spoken about her before. She brought the tiny puppy Dogface called Alice, and her guide dogface Jack, but she really came to keep the human company and stop her thinking about the fact that there was a blank patch of floor instead of Dogface on her bed. There was a problem though. Alice wasn't smaller than me any more! And what's more, she was far too interested in me for my liking.
Now, I've told you before that I never show fear. I'm a brave ladycat, I am. In true warrior fashion, I took up post right in the corner beside my litterbox, then didn't move. corners can be dangerous places, and this one needed defending! When the Alice Dogface came for a sniff, I stood my furrs up and hissed at her and I even growled. It was all fighting though. I promise you, none of it was cuz I was scared of her cuz she's bigger than me now. And when the human had to shut them out so that she could coax me to come to her to be lifted to safety? Ahem, I mean to a high vantage point on her shoulder. you can defend better from up there, I decided. Well, I only made her shut them out so that I could leave the corner and be assured it wouldn't be attacked in my absence. I was thinking of our safety.
She put me up on the ironing board then, a place I'm not normally allowed to go, but from there I can step either to the back of the sofa or to the massage couch and then from there jump into the kitchen. It's up high too, so she thought I'd feel less threatened up there. Really, I instigated it. Now I could protect lots of places at once! I stayed up there till she came and got me and put me on... Ah, but that would be telling, wouldn't it? She put me on something we got from the Secret Paws on the sofa, and there I stayed for ages, till I felt like it was time to defend my box again. Alice was showing an unhealthy interest in it. The good, brave human kept pushing her head out of it, but I didn't like the fact that a Dogface was so close to my box!
It gets worse though. They stayed over! I went to bed with the human and she shut the door so that they couldn't get in, but I could still hear them! Jack is Ok. Even though he chased me at first, he's settled now and is more like our Dogface that lived here. He just lies down and watches me. I don't mind him close to the box cuz he doesn't try and get in it, and he doesn't hassle me when I walk near him. He just needs to learn not to watch me now and I'll be happy.
The human got leaky eyes today when she had to go to the work hunt alone. I offered to come with her. I told her I'd even let her put on my harness without a fuss and I'd be her guide cat, but she didn't think the hospital would let me in, so I stayed behind and slept all day. She took her stick with her and used that to get to work and back again. She says it was hard, and that she feels like she's walking much slower without a Dogface to help her, but her PA says she's not that much slower. She only got lost a little bit once, so she's doing well! I'm cheering her on all the way, cuz she now needs to really build her confidence up. Poor human. Everything's very frightening and sad for her right now. No Dogface, a house move and a new job ahead, new environments to learn at work both here and in the new job, new PAs to find... It's all change for her.
Karen, you asked if Dogman was going to keep Dogface, and the answer is yes. Guide Dogs agreed and signed all the paperwork. They gave her to him on a two week trial. It's a formality they have to stick to just in case something goes terribly wrong, but they all know it won't. As soon as that's signed off, she belongs to him! He's happy and Dogface is happy, so the human is too, or as happy as she can be.
So that's life for us at the moment. My efforts over the next few months will be devoted to helping the human boost her confidence, and forcing her to do new, and for her, scary, things. I have two agendas for doing this. Firstly, it means that I will have a happier, healthier, and infinitely more trainable human if she's not worrying all the time. Secondly, if I rehab her well enough, she may never need to get another Dogface! Now who in their right mind would pass up an opportunity like that!
The frustration of the thing is that the human always has an excuse to explain why she hasn't been writing for me, but the thing is, that's exactly what they are, excuses! When you get right down to it, she's disorganised and fills her time with meaningless things like laundry, house cleaning, cooking for herself, going to the work hunt. Ok, that latter isn't a total waste of time. It does provide the means for getting me foods, but really, does it take eight hours to catch foods? That's one mighty inefficient way of hunting! It only takes me five minutes to catch a toy mousey.
Speaking of toys, I got to open my Secret Paws when I got home! Thank you so much, Hannah and Lucy. The present was so special that I'm going to devote a whole post to it when I can whip this lazy human butt into shape, so you're all going to have to wait just a little bit longer for the grand reveal! Let me just say though, it's fabulous and I love them all!
Dogface has really gone now. I have to confess, I still can't really believe it's true, and neither can the human. She keeps getting up and half going to the door to take her out for a pee before remembering she's gone. It's also funny to watch her walk towards the kitchen. Dogface's bed was on the wall next to the kitchen door, and even though it's not there now, the human's so used to stepping round it that she still does it. So she avoids this giant patch of blank floor. She says that when your eyes don't work, your feet programme themselves into routes so you don't have to feel with them all the time to make sure you're not gonna step on things. She says she'll eventually reprogramme herself to remember the bed isn't there, but it'll take a while. That made me think, it must be quite difficult to have broken eyes. I mean, I just look at the floor and know I can stand there and I won't step on Dogface cuz she's not there. No wonder it takes her eight hours to catch food. I guess I shouldn't be so hard on her, eh? I mean, if she had a good sense of smell, hunting with broken eyes would still be relatively easy, but peoples smell is pathetic.
So, me and the human are still adjusting to the absence of Dogface. The human had a friend over last night. I've spoken about her before. She brought the tiny puppy Dogface called Alice, and her guide dogface Jack, but she really came to keep the human company and stop her thinking about the fact that there was a blank patch of floor instead of Dogface on her bed. There was a problem though. Alice wasn't smaller than me any more! And what's more, she was far too interested in me for my liking.
Now, I've told you before that I never show fear. I'm a brave ladycat, I am. In true warrior fashion, I took up post right in the corner beside my litterbox, then didn't move. corners can be dangerous places, and this one needed defending! When the Alice Dogface came for a sniff, I stood my furrs up and hissed at her and I even growled. It was all fighting though. I promise you, none of it was cuz I was scared of her cuz she's bigger than me now. And when the human had to shut them out so that she could coax me to come to her to be lifted to safety? Ahem, I mean to a high vantage point on her shoulder. you can defend better from up there, I decided. Well, I only made her shut them out so that I could leave the corner and be assured it wouldn't be attacked in my absence. I was thinking of our safety.
She put me up on the ironing board then, a place I'm not normally allowed to go, but from there I can step either to the back of the sofa or to the massage couch and then from there jump into the kitchen. It's up high too, so she thought I'd feel less threatened up there. Really, I instigated it. Now I could protect lots of places at once! I stayed up there till she came and got me and put me on... Ah, but that would be telling, wouldn't it? She put me on something we got from the Secret Paws on the sofa, and there I stayed for ages, till I felt like it was time to defend my box again. Alice was showing an unhealthy interest in it. The good, brave human kept pushing her head out of it, but I didn't like the fact that a Dogface was so close to my box!
It gets worse though. They stayed over! I went to bed with the human and she shut the door so that they couldn't get in, but I could still hear them! Jack is Ok. Even though he chased me at first, he's settled now and is more like our Dogface that lived here. He just lies down and watches me. I don't mind him close to the box cuz he doesn't try and get in it, and he doesn't hassle me when I walk near him. He just needs to learn not to watch me now and I'll be happy.
The human got leaky eyes today when she had to go to the work hunt alone. I offered to come with her. I told her I'd even let her put on my harness without a fuss and I'd be her guide cat, but she didn't think the hospital would let me in, so I stayed behind and slept all day. She took her stick with her and used that to get to work and back again. She says it was hard, and that she feels like she's walking much slower without a Dogface to help her, but her PA says she's not that much slower. She only got lost a little bit once, so she's doing well! I'm cheering her on all the way, cuz she now needs to really build her confidence up. Poor human. Everything's very frightening and sad for her right now. No Dogface, a house move and a new job ahead, new environments to learn at work both here and in the new job, new PAs to find... It's all change for her.
Karen, you asked if Dogman was going to keep Dogface, and the answer is yes. Guide Dogs agreed and signed all the paperwork. They gave her to him on a two week trial. It's a formality they have to stick to just in case something goes terribly wrong, but they all know it won't. As soon as that's signed off, she belongs to him! He's happy and Dogface is happy, so the human is too, or as happy as she can be.
So that's life for us at the moment. My efforts over the next few months will be devoted to helping the human boost her confidence, and forcing her to do new, and for her, scary, things. I have two agendas for doing this. Firstly, it means that I will have a happier, healthier, and infinitely more trainable human if she's not worrying all the time. Secondly, if I rehab her well enough, she may never need to get another Dogface! Now who in their right mind would pass up an opportunity like that!
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Happy New Year!
I really do wish you all a happy new year, and I hope that it brings you nothing but happiness, sun puddles, stinky goodness, cuddling on demand and all the ping pong balls your heart could desire! My human made a good start on my new year. She came home as she should have done on Thursday. She was very tired when she got here, but then I guess I'd be tired too if I'd been swallowed by a bird, digested for an hour, flown across a lot of wet stuff very high in the air, then regurgitated on the other side, stuffed on a train then on a bus, then finally dumped at home. That's quite a lot for one poor human to go through! She managed though.
When she got here, I pretended like I hadn't missed her at all, even though I had. Dogman was here, you see, and I couldn't have him thinking that I'd gone soft and that I actually could be swayed by emotion. Once the peoples learn that, they have you over a barrel, so I'm always careful to keep 'em guessing. I ignored her until she came to cuddle me on my special chair that I've claimed as my own. It's right near the warm heater, and Dogman doesn't even dare sit on it any more. When she came, I purred for her, but didn't do much else. I was planning to hold out until Dogman disappeared so as I could show my human how I really felt, but after five minutes, I could stand it no longer. I don't think the human could either. I jumped down off my chair and walked casually towards my room, you know, the one I told you about which is just mine? I kept looking back at the human, asking her to follow me with my eyes. I'd been able to train Dogman to do this over the last week. Even though his eyes are broke, they're not as broke as the human's, so he can see what I'm up to. When the human didn't come, I remembered, and started to talk to her instead. She's a good human. She came when I did that. I kept stopping often to let her get nice and close before I took a few more steps and called to her again. I took her right into my room like this, and behind the door where Dogman couldn't see. then I waited till she sat on the floor. When she did this, I walked all over the room, calling to her now and again so that she could hear where I was and how big the room was. I showed her where my foods were, where my water was and where the box was. Then I came back and made a huge fuss of her for being such a good human and doing what I told her. I might have gotten a little carried away with the head rubbing so that I actually lost my balance and fell over on my back, but I'm not saying nothing.
A very, very long time later, I let her leave the room, but once my big fuss was done, I came and sat with her on the sofa. I climbed up on her chest for a propper cuddle. It's good up there, cuz it means she has to put her arms up to hold me and I can snuggle right down and feel real, real cosy.
After a while, she went back to the suitcase, and I got a bit worried. Was she going away again so soon? She'd only just come back! I watched her anxiously for a while, but all she did was pull a funny looking small soft thing from the case. She pulled it from its packaging, then opened a small tub. Well, that got my attention right away! The smell of potent new catnip was unmistakable. She put the catnip into the soft thing, and when I looked again, I could see it was a little chicken! I was so excited that I started to play with it even before she'd finished filling it. She made me wait cuz I was scratching her hands in my excitement. I was kinda sorry about that, cuz it was nice of her to bring me a toy back, but I was just too excited to wait! When she finally let me have it, I killed that chicken good! She made Dogman take pictures and videos. We'll get the videos up as soon as we can, and whenever we have them, we'll get someone else to post the pictures. Keep checking back! There's even a photo of me standing over it and holding it down after I'd killed it. You will be able to see what a brave ladycat I was to do that! That chicken is fierce, you know, but I showed it who was boss.
The human and Dogman went to Dogman's brother's house for dinner the same day she came back. I was a bit put out. How dare she leave me alone so soon! Yesterday night they went out too. They said it was new year and that they were going to Dogman's mummypeople's house. I asked them to take Dogface with them to get her out of my fur, but they wouldn't listen, so I had to put up with her hogging the TV. She lies right in front of it! That means I can't get close enough to bat the screen, so it annoys me.
This morning though, tragedy struck. Dogface got a poopy bum again, real, real bad. But that's not the tragedy. Well, it is for the human, but there's worse to come from me! As soon as Dogface went and showed the human her runny bum in the garden, the human came in, and friends, she stole my chicken and put it in her pocket! What's more, when I climbed up on her to retrieve it, she not only prevented me from getting it, but put me in my room and closed the door! her reasoning is this: Dogface had stolen my chicken a few times, so it had been in her mouth. If this is a recurrance of the bug, I can't be allowed to chew on the same chicken Dogface has slobbered all over. She says I can have it back, but not before she's dipped it in something called coloidal silver. It's stuff that's sposed to kill all bacteria. But friends, she's locked me up! She says that Dogface has never been in my room thanks to the baby gate, and, of course, my ferocious defending of my territory. So if she has the bug, the only place that's guaranteed to be free of it is in my room. There I must stay, but I tell you something, I'm not happy about it! It might be much bigger than a PTU, but a prison is a prison, no matter which way you dress it up. Sure, I have a comfy massage table to lie on, and carpets so soft that your paws sink right into them until you can hardly see your claws, and she did give me almost a half a tin of tuna with the reasoning that I'd eat my fill and then sleep most of the day and be less distressed, but it's just not the same. I need to leave my mark on this place, and on stupid Dogface, before I leave tomorrow.
And that's another thing. Tomorrow. I have a three and a half hour stint in the horrible PTU in the horrible car tomorrow to get back home. The thought of it fills me with dread. I don't like being stuck in them for that long, specially not when I need to go to the toilet like I did last time. It's frankly less than comfortable! But endure it I must, apparently. I'm gonna make them pay for it. I'm gonna sing all the way!
Thanks so much to everyone who came to visit me on my 100th post. It was lovely to see you all! I'm also really flattered that three of you wanted to do a gift exchange with me! If there had been lots, my human was going to pick one at random, but as there's so few, we might just exchange with you all! One thing though. Admiral, I'm sorry to have to do this, but my human's being a dreadful bore. She knows you're sick at the moment, and is terrified of introducing another bug to our household. She knows your people wouldn't send anything intentionally, but she's so scared of me getting sick again that she asks if we could wait a while before exchanging gifts with you. I tried to tell her that you'd ensure mr bug didn't smuggle aboard, but she's a worry wart as you know. Do you mind terribly? To Amy and the Random Felines, thanks so much for agreeing to exchange with me! Is there anything in particular you like when it comes to toys? My human was hoping to get to the toy pet shop while she was staying with Dogman, but she hasn't managed to yet, so she will probly end up ordering everything off the internet instead. This means it might take her a week or two before she can send. Is this all right? could you drop us an email with your postal addresses and how many cats you share your house with? thank you so much! The human says you can write to the address in her profile, but she doesn't want to put it here to make it easy for spammers. If you have any trouble, just let us know.
We also hit our 1000th visitor over the new year too! So not only have we had 100 posts, but we've had ten times as many visitors! I'm so shocked that so many peoples and cats read what I have to say! Oh, everything's so exciting today! Sept the fact that I'm stuck in my prison. Does anyone have any escape plans which have a guaranteed success? My human has only came in to cuddle me three times in the last hour. it's not enough! I'm dying of loneliness here! my tuna is all done too, and I'm dying of starvation! It's just too much to bear! Heeeeeeelp!
When she got here, I pretended like I hadn't missed her at all, even though I had. Dogman was here, you see, and I couldn't have him thinking that I'd gone soft and that I actually could be swayed by emotion. Once the peoples learn that, they have you over a barrel, so I'm always careful to keep 'em guessing. I ignored her until she came to cuddle me on my special chair that I've claimed as my own. It's right near the warm heater, and Dogman doesn't even dare sit on it any more. When she came, I purred for her, but didn't do much else. I was planning to hold out until Dogman disappeared so as I could show my human how I really felt, but after five minutes, I could stand it no longer. I don't think the human could either. I jumped down off my chair and walked casually towards my room, you know, the one I told you about which is just mine? I kept looking back at the human, asking her to follow me with my eyes. I'd been able to train Dogman to do this over the last week. Even though his eyes are broke, they're not as broke as the human's, so he can see what I'm up to. When the human didn't come, I remembered, and started to talk to her instead. She's a good human. She came when I did that. I kept stopping often to let her get nice and close before I took a few more steps and called to her again. I took her right into my room like this, and behind the door where Dogman couldn't see. then I waited till she sat on the floor. When she did this, I walked all over the room, calling to her now and again so that she could hear where I was and how big the room was. I showed her where my foods were, where my water was and where the box was. Then I came back and made a huge fuss of her for being such a good human and doing what I told her. I might have gotten a little carried away with the head rubbing so that I actually lost my balance and fell over on my back, but I'm not saying nothing.
A very, very long time later, I let her leave the room, but once my big fuss was done, I came and sat with her on the sofa. I climbed up on her chest for a propper cuddle. It's good up there, cuz it means she has to put her arms up to hold me and I can snuggle right down and feel real, real cosy.
After a while, she went back to the suitcase, and I got a bit worried. Was she going away again so soon? She'd only just come back! I watched her anxiously for a while, but all she did was pull a funny looking small soft thing from the case. She pulled it from its packaging, then opened a small tub. Well, that got my attention right away! The smell of potent new catnip was unmistakable. She put the catnip into the soft thing, and when I looked again, I could see it was a little chicken! I was so excited that I started to play with it even before she'd finished filling it. She made me wait cuz I was scratching her hands in my excitement. I was kinda sorry about that, cuz it was nice of her to bring me a toy back, but I was just too excited to wait! When she finally let me have it, I killed that chicken good! She made Dogman take pictures and videos. We'll get the videos up as soon as we can, and whenever we have them, we'll get someone else to post the pictures. Keep checking back! There's even a photo of me standing over it and holding it down after I'd killed it. You will be able to see what a brave ladycat I was to do that! That chicken is fierce, you know, but I showed it who was boss.
The human and Dogman went to Dogman's brother's house for dinner the same day she came back. I was a bit put out. How dare she leave me alone so soon! Yesterday night they went out too. They said it was new year and that they were going to Dogman's mummypeople's house. I asked them to take Dogface with them to get her out of my fur, but they wouldn't listen, so I had to put up with her hogging the TV. She lies right in front of it! That means I can't get close enough to bat the screen, so it annoys me.
This morning though, tragedy struck. Dogface got a poopy bum again, real, real bad. But that's not the tragedy. Well, it is for the human, but there's worse to come from me! As soon as Dogface went and showed the human her runny bum in the garden, the human came in, and friends, she stole my chicken and put it in her pocket! What's more, when I climbed up on her to retrieve it, she not only prevented me from getting it, but put me in my room and closed the door! her reasoning is this: Dogface had stolen my chicken a few times, so it had been in her mouth. If this is a recurrance of the bug, I can't be allowed to chew on the same chicken Dogface has slobbered all over. She says I can have it back, but not before she's dipped it in something called coloidal silver. It's stuff that's sposed to kill all bacteria. But friends, she's locked me up! She says that Dogface has never been in my room thanks to the baby gate, and, of course, my ferocious defending of my territory. So if she has the bug, the only place that's guaranteed to be free of it is in my room. There I must stay, but I tell you something, I'm not happy about it! It might be much bigger than a PTU, but a prison is a prison, no matter which way you dress it up. Sure, I have a comfy massage table to lie on, and carpets so soft that your paws sink right into them until you can hardly see your claws, and she did give me almost a half a tin of tuna with the reasoning that I'd eat my fill and then sleep most of the day and be less distressed, but it's just not the same. I need to leave my mark on this place, and on stupid Dogface, before I leave tomorrow.
And that's another thing. Tomorrow. I have a three and a half hour stint in the horrible PTU in the horrible car tomorrow to get back home. The thought of it fills me with dread. I don't like being stuck in them for that long, specially not when I need to go to the toilet like I did last time. It's frankly less than comfortable! But endure it I must, apparently. I'm gonna make them pay for it. I'm gonna sing all the way!
Thanks so much to everyone who came to visit me on my 100th post. It was lovely to see you all! I'm also really flattered that three of you wanted to do a gift exchange with me! If there had been lots, my human was going to pick one at random, but as there's so few, we might just exchange with you all! One thing though. Admiral, I'm sorry to have to do this, but my human's being a dreadful bore. She knows you're sick at the moment, and is terrified of introducing another bug to our household. She knows your people wouldn't send anything intentionally, but she's so scared of me getting sick again that she asks if we could wait a while before exchanging gifts with you. I tried to tell her that you'd ensure mr bug didn't smuggle aboard, but she's a worry wart as you know. Do you mind terribly? To Amy and the Random Felines, thanks so much for agreeing to exchange with me! Is there anything in particular you like when it comes to toys? My human was hoping to get to the toy pet shop while she was staying with Dogman, but she hasn't managed to yet, so she will probly end up ordering everything off the internet instead. This means it might take her a week or two before she can send. Is this all right? could you drop us an email with your postal addresses and how many cats you share your house with? thank you so much! The human says you can write to the address in her profile, but she doesn't want to put it here to make it easy for spammers. If you have any trouble, just let us know.
We also hit our 1000th visitor over the new year too! So not only have we had 100 posts, but we've had ten times as many visitors! I'm so shocked that so many peoples and cats read what I have to say! Oh, everything's so exciting today! Sept the fact that I'm stuck in my prison. Does anyone have any escape plans which have a guaranteed success? My human has only came in to cuddle me three times in the last hour. it's not enough! I'm dying of loneliness here! my tuna is all done too, and I'm dying of starvation! It's just too much to bear! Heeeeeeelp!
Wednesday, 29 December 2010
100!
Wow, wow, wow! It's finally here, our 100th post! Me and the human are finding it hard to believe. It doesn't seem like more than a few weeks since we started blogging, but actually, it's been months and months. We never thought we'd get to this point, but here we are, and what a time of year to celebrate our first hundred ! Christmas is gone, new year is coming, and this is the nice quiet in-betweeny bit... just perfect for a celebration!
We told you yesterday that we were going to do a few things to celebrate, but first of all, we have an announcement to make. It's a big one, friends, cuz it has to do with my human. If you allow your peoples to read, I'd advise that they get ready to scream! Ready? Set? Go!
The human got her physiotherapy job! We found this out before Christmas, but we knew this post was coming, so we thought we'd keep it secret for a big announcement. Even though peoples are silly enough to need her to constantly duplicate telling them how good she was (application form, personal development portfolio, CV, then the interview), they did manage in the end to see what I saw at a glance. My human is awesome! That's why I chose to train her, you know. Once they'd spoken to her, they said that they wanted her. She was surprised though. They ask questions about clinical knowledge in the interview, and she thought it was one of the worst ones she'd done ever, but when they gave her the job, they said her knowledge was far above and beyond what they would expect from someone of the grade of job she's applied for. This made her kinda mad and sad and cynical all at the same time, as she wonders about the other interviews she's done where she got no constructive feedback as to why she didn't get the job. She knows folks are scared of letting someone with broken eyes go work hunting for them, but it's hard to prove is all. She doesn't care though. This is a good place. It's the top unit in the whole of the UK for spinal injuries, and it's in a good place. She can even live in the house she lived in when she was in university, so she's reasonably familiar with the area too. Her closest friend from university even works in the same place! She is so, so happy, and I'm happy for her! I was even more happy when she told me the house we'd be living in is Dogman's! he's moving out, you see. So I don't even have to get used to a new place when we move! isn't that wonderful? She won't start her new job for a few months, as they need a lot of paperwork through to prove she's a good person and has no criminal record, but that just gives me more time to prepare her for what she will encounter.
So, on to how we're going to celebrate. First of all, we'd like to do something to help out other cats. As you know, our friend Chrystal is trying so hard to get enough money to build a house for all the super cats she's rescued. We'd like to help with that, but we don't have lots of moneys thanks to one thing and another, and my vets bills! Even still though, we'd like to give something. As it's been 2.5 years since the human started looking for a physio job to the time she got one, we're going to use that number to set our donation. So we will donate $25 to Chrystal's efforts! We're sorry it's not more, Chrystal, but we hope it helps in some small way!
Speaking of moneys, we bought an item in the auction for Chrystal's cathouse not so long ago. Debb sent us an email about how to pay for it, but the human has managed to lose it and doesn't know how to pay for the item she won. She only remembered about it when she thought of donating to Chrystal today. Debb, if you're reading, please could you email us again? So sorry it's taken the human so long!
Now to the second way we'd like to celebrate, and this one depends on you. Christmas is the season for giving and receiving, and I'd like to do that. Moneys are a people thing. I accept that they are useful, but they don't really mean much to us cats. I let the human celebrate her success with her moneys, but I'd like to do it in a moore practical way.
I know that many of my readers live in America and far, far away over the ocean. I'm almost a bit tentative to put this out here bearing in mind the response I had to my last competition, but I'm going to anyway. Different countries have different toys for us to play with. You Americans have things like Pawbreakers, for example, that we poor, deprived cats can only dream of! But then, we have super toys that you can stuff full of catnip, so I guess it balances.
I'm rambling again, aren't I? To come to the point, I thought it would be kind of nice to celebrate my 100th post by doing a toy exchange. I'd love to exchange gifts with one of you from a different country, so that you can see what kind of toys we have here and I can see what you have too. I know finances are tight around this time of year, so I'll understand if you would rather not, especially cuz Secret Paws is just done. But this is a different take on things. Rather than it just being toys, it would be country specific, or, more propperly, typical cat toys for the cats living in those countries. What do you all think?
My human is coming back to me tomorrow, and I can't wait to see her! It's been far, far too long since I got scratches from her, if you ask me. She has to get up at super dark AM tomorrow, even before the birds have come up! That's how she'll catch her bird to fly back to me, you see, cuz she'll be awake before him. I think she's going to sneak up, wait till he yawns, then jump into his mouth when he isn't looking. that way he won't worry about tummy ache as he did on the way over, and hopefully it will mean that he'll fly rather than cancelling. Paws crossed, please. I want her back with all possible speed!
We told you yesterday that we were going to do a few things to celebrate, but first of all, we have an announcement to make. It's a big one, friends, cuz it has to do with my human. If you allow your peoples to read, I'd advise that they get ready to scream! Ready? Set? Go!
The human got her physiotherapy job! We found this out before Christmas, but we knew this post was coming, so we thought we'd keep it secret for a big announcement. Even though peoples are silly enough to need her to constantly duplicate telling them how good she was (application form, personal development portfolio, CV, then the interview), they did manage in the end to see what I saw at a glance. My human is awesome! That's why I chose to train her, you know. Once they'd spoken to her, they said that they wanted her. She was surprised though. They ask questions about clinical knowledge in the interview, and she thought it was one of the worst ones she'd done ever, but when they gave her the job, they said her knowledge was far above and beyond what they would expect from someone of the grade of job she's applied for. This made her kinda mad and sad and cynical all at the same time, as she wonders about the other interviews she's done where she got no constructive feedback as to why she didn't get the job. She knows folks are scared of letting someone with broken eyes go work hunting for them, but it's hard to prove is all. She doesn't care though. This is a good place. It's the top unit in the whole of the UK for spinal injuries, and it's in a good place. She can even live in the house she lived in when she was in university, so she's reasonably familiar with the area too. Her closest friend from university even works in the same place! She is so, so happy, and I'm happy for her! I was even more happy when she told me the house we'd be living in is Dogman's! he's moving out, you see. So I don't even have to get used to a new place when we move! isn't that wonderful? She won't start her new job for a few months, as they need a lot of paperwork through to prove she's a good person and has no criminal record, but that just gives me more time to prepare her for what she will encounter.
So, on to how we're going to celebrate. First of all, we'd like to do something to help out other cats. As you know, our friend Chrystal is trying so hard to get enough money to build a house for all the super cats she's rescued. We'd like to help with that, but we don't have lots of moneys thanks to one thing and another, and my vets bills! Even still though, we'd like to give something. As it's been 2.5 years since the human started looking for a physio job to the time she got one, we're going to use that number to set our donation. So we will donate $25 to Chrystal's efforts! We're sorry it's not more, Chrystal, but we hope it helps in some small way!
Speaking of moneys, we bought an item in the auction for Chrystal's cathouse not so long ago. Debb sent us an email about how to pay for it, but the human has managed to lose it and doesn't know how to pay for the item she won. She only remembered about it when she thought of donating to Chrystal today. Debb, if you're reading, please could you email us again? So sorry it's taken the human so long!
Now to the second way we'd like to celebrate, and this one depends on you. Christmas is the season for giving and receiving, and I'd like to do that. Moneys are a people thing. I accept that they are useful, but they don't really mean much to us cats. I let the human celebrate her success with her moneys, but I'd like to do it in a moore practical way.
I know that many of my readers live in America and far, far away over the ocean. I'm almost a bit tentative to put this out here bearing in mind the response I had to my last competition, but I'm going to anyway. Different countries have different toys for us to play with. You Americans have things like Pawbreakers, for example, that we poor, deprived cats can only dream of! But then, we have super toys that you can stuff full of catnip, so I guess it balances.
I'm rambling again, aren't I? To come to the point, I thought it would be kind of nice to celebrate my 100th post by doing a toy exchange. I'd love to exchange gifts with one of you from a different country, so that you can see what kind of toys we have here and I can see what you have too. I know finances are tight around this time of year, so I'll understand if you would rather not, especially cuz Secret Paws is just done. But this is a different take on things. Rather than it just being toys, it would be country specific, or, more propperly, typical cat toys for the cats living in those countries. What do you all think?
My human is coming back to me tomorrow, and I can't wait to see her! It's been far, far too long since I got scratches from her, if you ask me. She has to get up at super dark AM tomorrow, even before the birds have come up! That's how she'll catch her bird to fly back to me, you see, cuz she'll be awake before him. I think she's going to sneak up, wait till he yawns, then jump into his mouth when he isn't looking. that way he won't worry about tummy ache as he did on the way over, and hopefully it will mean that he'll fly rather than cancelling. Paws crossed, please. I want her back with all possible speed!
Tuesday, 28 December 2010
Almost a Century!
Isn't that old? I think so. That's almost the age of my human. Ah, ignore the indignant noise she's making. Truth hurts! Seriously though, we are almost a century of sorts. Tomorrow will be our 100th post! isn't that crazy! Seems only like yesterday that I started blogging to you all, and now, here we are. I do plan to celebrate my nice round number of posts in two ways, but I'll talk to you all about that tomorrow, or whenever I make the big post.
Today, I don't really have much to report. I've been snoopervising Dogman and keeping Dogface in her place. I'm a bit worried about her, actually. I mean, what's going to happen when I leave? I'm not being condescending or anything, but Dogface's brain is so small that I fear she'll forget that place as soon as I hightail my furry little butt out the door. What's to be done about it? I feel for her, and want her to be able to remember her place in the world, but I also have a human to keep under the paw, and I can't do that whilst snoopervising Dogface in her new home. My responsibility has to end somewhere, but it's hard to just let go when you've owned something as long as I have. I mean, you might think that seven months isn't a terribly long time, but it is when you've spent most of it in training them. They've come a long way, the Dogface and the human. Dogface has learned to wait while I drink her water, and to jump off her bed as though someone had lit a fire under her tail if I show even the slightest inclination that I wish to lie there. I never do, by the way. I just stroll across it, then go do something else. I mean, why would I want to lie in Dogface smell!
As for the human, she's learned that a lap is for lying in, and should remain still and available at all times when I require it. She's learned to feed me stinky goodness on a daily basis, and has all but given up on feeding me silly things like people chicken. no matter how good it smells, I ain't touching it! She's not perfect, but they're both so much better than they were. So, you see, it's hard to stop feeling responsible for them when I've been working hard for the last few months and especially because I've been seeing results. I've started Dogman's lessons too, and he's picking up a few things. He's an abysmally slow study though. I mean, he hasn't even learned that a miaow means "scratch me now! No matter what you're doing!" That's fundamental. Ah well. I suppose the human was this slow once.
We're also super glad to report that our Secret Paws package has arrived! We can now reveal that our partner was Ginger Jasper! So sorry that we can't put a link, but the human can't visit the blog to get one. Every time she tries, the little man in the laptop box has a super grump and goes very quiet and won't say a word. he gets so mad that he won't even let the human close the blog window. So he won't read and he wont' close it. The human says this is what happens when the computer freezes. She says it's very frustrating, and I agree! We've seen Jasper's post on the Secret Paws blog, but I want to see what he wrote on his own one! Silly computer man, stop being mad! Anyway, we're so glad you like what we sent you, Jasper, and it's so super cool that we live near each other! If you ever need to hang out with a refined ladycat, you just let me know, Ok? This makes me even more excited to see what is in my own Secret Paws gift. I can't wait to get back and open it!
We also wanted to say a huge thank you to those of you who regularly comment on the blog, despite the fact that the human rarely gets to visit you. It means a lot that you keep coming back day after day after day in spite of the fact that we don't always leave messages on your blogs. I can't tell you what a happy feeling it brings to us to see what you all have to say. There really aren't words. Know that they mean perhaps more than you realise. Head bumps to you all!
The human has had an interesting time with her family. She's enjoying seeing them all, but she says that she misses her own home now and wants to get back. She's a fickle old thing, my human, cuz when she does get back, I know she's going to say that she misses the family and wishes she could be at home again. She's loving all the time with the young peoplekittens though. They've been extra special cuddly with her this time. One of the older ones who doesn't usually cuddle at all "because big boys don't snuggle, silly!" spent most of Christmas on her knee with his cheek against hers while they watched TV. The little peoplekitten that said she wouldn't open any gifts till the human got here kisses her every time she sees her, and her little brother was so desperate to sit on the human that he sat on top of his sister who was sitting on top of the human. It was a pile up! I can understand the desire though. If my human gets one thing right it's how to cuddle. She's just warm and squishy and soft and snuggly in all the right places. Those peoplekittens obviously have good sense! She even managed to get a couple of minutes of tentative purring out of Phoebe, but hasn't managed to replicate it again yet.
Speaking of that baby, she says hi to Gus and Stella, Amy's kittens. She wants to know if they can come play with her and show her how to climb the tree. I'm in the process of explaining about distances to her and how far they are away from her, but she's still young and doesn't get it at all. Santa Paws didn't bring her anything new for christmas, but the human kind of understands why now. She brought her a toy when she saw her yesterday (one of my mousies actually, that I sneakied into her suitcase to keep her company in Ireland and watch over her clothes and things), but as soon as he went on the floor, Pepper stole him! She defended him vigorously, so poor Phoebe didn't have a chance. The peoplekittens say the same thing happens with treats, and they're silly enough to refuse to lock the dog out while the poor baby gets her presents. Oh well. I guess lots of cats don't have many toys and cope just fine. Not me though, nuh uh! I have need of a Kazba Kitten parcel and a Secret Paws gift. Roll on homecoming!
Today, I don't really have much to report. I've been snoopervising Dogman and keeping Dogface in her place. I'm a bit worried about her, actually. I mean, what's going to happen when I leave? I'm not being condescending or anything, but Dogface's brain is so small that I fear she'll forget that place as soon as I hightail my furry little butt out the door. What's to be done about it? I feel for her, and want her to be able to remember her place in the world, but I also have a human to keep under the paw, and I can't do that whilst snoopervising Dogface in her new home. My responsibility has to end somewhere, but it's hard to just let go when you've owned something as long as I have. I mean, you might think that seven months isn't a terribly long time, but it is when you've spent most of it in training them. They've come a long way, the Dogface and the human. Dogface has learned to wait while I drink her water, and to jump off her bed as though someone had lit a fire under her tail if I show even the slightest inclination that I wish to lie there. I never do, by the way. I just stroll across it, then go do something else. I mean, why would I want to lie in Dogface smell!
As for the human, she's learned that a lap is for lying in, and should remain still and available at all times when I require it. She's learned to feed me stinky goodness on a daily basis, and has all but given up on feeding me silly things like people chicken. no matter how good it smells, I ain't touching it! She's not perfect, but they're both so much better than they were. So, you see, it's hard to stop feeling responsible for them when I've been working hard for the last few months and especially because I've been seeing results. I've started Dogman's lessons too, and he's picking up a few things. He's an abysmally slow study though. I mean, he hasn't even learned that a miaow means "scratch me now! No matter what you're doing!" That's fundamental. Ah well. I suppose the human was this slow once.
We're also super glad to report that our Secret Paws package has arrived! We can now reveal that our partner was Ginger Jasper! So sorry that we can't put a link, but the human can't visit the blog to get one. Every time she tries, the little man in the laptop box has a super grump and goes very quiet and won't say a word. he gets so mad that he won't even let the human close the blog window. So he won't read and he wont' close it. The human says this is what happens when the computer freezes. She says it's very frustrating, and I agree! We've seen Jasper's post on the Secret Paws blog, but I want to see what he wrote on his own one! Silly computer man, stop being mad! Anyway, we're so glad you like what we sent you, Jasper, and it's so super cool that we live near each other! If you ever need to hang out with a refined ladycat, you just let me know, Ok? This makes me even more excited to see what is in my own Secret Paws gift. I can't wait to get back and open it!
We also wanted to say a huge thank you to those of you who regularly comment on the blog, despite the fact that the human rarely gets to visit you. It means a lot that you keep coming back day after day after day in spite of the fact that we don't always leave messages on your blogs. I can't tell you what a happy feeling it brings to us to see what you all have to say. There really aren't words. Know that they mean perhaps more than you realise. Head bumps to you all!
The human has had an interesting time with her family. She's enjoying seeing them all, but she says that she misses her own home now and wants to get back. She's a fickle old thing, my human, cuz when she does get back, I know she's going to say that she misses the family and wishes she could be at home again. She's loving all the time with the young peoplekittens though. They've been extra special cuddly with her this time. One of the older ones who doesn't usually cuddle at all "because big boys don't snuggle, silly!" spent most of Christmas on her knee with his cheek against hers while they watched TV. The little peoplekitten that said she wouldn't open any gifts till the human got here kisses her every time she sees her, and her little brother was so desperate to sit on the human that he sat on top of his sister who was sitting on top of the human. It was a pile up! I can understand the desire though. If my human gets one thing right it's how to cuddle. She's just warm and squishy and soft and snuggly in all the right places. Those peoplekittens obviously have good sense! She even managed to get a couple of minutes of tentative purring out of Phoebe, but hasn't managed to replicate it again yet.
Speaking of that baby, she says hi to Gus and Stella, Amy's kittens. She wants to know if they can come play with her and show her how to climb the tree. I'm in the process of explaining about distances to her and how far they are away from her, but she's still young and doesn't get it at all. Santa Paws didn't bring her anything new for christmas, but the human kind of understands why now. She brought her a toy when she saw her yesterday (one of my mousies actually, that I sneakied into her suitcase to keep her company in Ireland and watch over her clothes and things), but as soon as he went on the floor, Pepper stole him! She defended him vigorously, so poor Phoebe didn't have a chance. The peoplekittens say the same thing happens with treats, and they're silly enough to refuse to lock the dog out while the poor baby gets her presents. Oh well. I guess lots of cats don't have many toys and cope just fine. Not me though, nuh uh! I have need of a Kazba Kitten parcel and a Secret Paws gift. Roll on homecoming!
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