A Cat A Day 2013 #131

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Our new baby is home. We visited lovely Jo this afternoon and had a blissful time petting the members of her beautiful cat family. I feel bad when I bring a cat away from her, because she loves each an every one of them. I hope she doesn’t feel sad for too long when we’ve gone.

This little red-point boy brings the resident feline population up to five. He doesn’t have a pet name yet, but his pedigree name is Quartz. It’s John’s choice of name for this little one and he’s come up with about 73 options so far. The best news is that Rosa definitely recognises Quartz and has come out from hiding to sniff and lick him. She reappears every time he shouts. He’s eaten lots of chicken, had a sleep on all the humans and met all the cats except Florence. Brilliant debut!!

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A Cat A Day 2013 #130

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Let’s celebrate Friday and the 10th anniversary of Bridget’s arrival chez Helen. I learned tonight that during those ten years Bridget has put Helen in hospital by almost gassing her to death. Helen has accidentally broken Bridget’s leg. She has bitten many visitors, glared at Mr Daykin each day and been put under permanent house-arrest for terrorising the neighbours. In short, Bridget and Helen adore each other and Bridget is a mean, bossy menace to everyone else.

Long live Bridget!

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A Cat A Day 2013 #129

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I am a glutton.
In lots of ways: for punishment, for chocolate and for Siamese.
Not content with bringing Rosa from Jo’s to retire to our house last Saturday, we also fell in kitty-love with this little guy. He is coming to live with us this Saturday. We are not going to acquire a cat every week, I have promised my husband. Five is full capacity and will provide us with plenty of fun, games and cuddles.

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A Cat A Day 2013 #127

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20130507-204142.jpgRosa is still in transition from Jo’s home to ours. She continues to be an unhappy girl. You see her still hiding in the utility room. She alternates between the top of the freezer and the top of the tumble-dryer. I’m still telling myself it’s early days. When Willow and Rosie came to live with us, it took about 5 days or so. After 1 week, John fell asleep on the sofa and woke up to find Rosie on his knee.

On a separate note, Milka seems to have been stung by a springtime insect, because his face is swollen on one side. I imagine he ate a bee. He is 100% his normal self, so we won’t dash to the emergency vet just yet.

A Cat A Day 2013 #126

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20130506-211230.jpgThis is Milka’s mum, Tabitha. Rosa is keeping a low profile still. She likes the utility room and I have been able to get close to her, stroke her and pick her up twice today. Milka is trying to make friends too. I am not worried yet; this is a big change for Rosa, who has always lived in the house where she was born. It’s only natural for her to need several days to adjust.

A Cat A Day 2013 #125

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New resident Rosa is hiding under the dining table, behind a box in the corner. I have had a little stroke with her today, when she had come upstairs to try out the cat bed on the landing. John cooked a chicken just for the cats and she has been popping in the kitchen to snack. All the same, I haven’t managed a photograph of her, so here is Rosa as I first saw her at Jo’s house yesterday, surrounded by a chaotic group of various kittens in the heated bed. A Siamese cornucopia.

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A Cat A Day 2013 #124

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We took a little trip to Heaton in Newcastle this afternoon. Back in December, we bought Milka from Jo, our Siamese breeder friend from whom we also bought Florence. She mentioned at the time that Florence’s sister might need a new home because she was going to retire as a breeding queen. It made Rosa poorly to have kittens, so it wasn’t fair to ask her to carry another litter.
We collected Rosa and brought her to our house. It was a calm journey, with Rosa just chatting and asking questions, rather than getting very frightened and upset. She came straight out of the carrier and went and sat in the (clean) litter tray for a while. At least I’m now certain she knows where it is.
My picture shows her venturing near the living room doorway a short while later. She has been invisible for a couple of hours now, but I’m not worried. We have integrated new cats into our feline family 7 times before and it’s worked every time, so I have high hopes she’ll emerge, eat and integrate before too long. We’re all looking forward to enjoying our expanded cat family.

20130504-212746.jpgPlease excuse my ugly German Birkenstocks in the foreground. They’re soooo comfortable.

A Cat A Day 2013 #123

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I just love this photograph of my friend Helen when she was a little girl. She and I share a love of Siamese which goes back to childhood. Helen’s cat Midge has just sneaked into the background because this is obviously intended to be a portrait of Helen in her new dress (which her mum had made).

Helen says “Midge was my best friend and the reason why I have Bridget now.” Siamese get you that way. I have often tried to explain it by saying that they are like dogs in cat bodies.

20130503-203021.jpg Tomorrow, Rosa joins us. Exciting!