Cats used to be worshiped as Gods...

[Allergictoironing]

... by the ancient Egyptians and according to the late, great Terry Pratchett, have never forgotten. Neither should we.

Next thread in the general chat about Life, The Universe, Everything and most importantly, CATS

https://amp.lbc.co.uk/news/dna-british-panther-countryside/

Aha! Boycat's father was probably one of those, the size and shape he was 😆

I wonder if this has anything to do with beloved TC? Has he been anywhere near the area in question?

Leroy must've got out while I was at work. Soz.

Leroy very spirited gentleman cat.

Mr C had easily 100 kittens. I cringed whenever The bus went past the estate where every tabby had a trademark beauty spot on cheek. Shrivelled in seat etc..

More Leroy = More Joy.

I want a British Puma. Little cuddler wd protect Prince and teach Havelock to take a joke.

Dh and I have both seen big cats in the countryside, separately. Nothing would surprise me at this point.

You need one. You would manage flawlessly, what with years of asbo experience. Puddy can show it who’s boss.

Wouldn’t it be awful if the puma made a little mistake and attacked DH’s relations. They might never make contact again. Still, what can you do.

Going back to the basket chat, my cats loved sleeping in an old gift hamper straw basket with a cat bed liner. Eventually it got too ratty because they chomped the straw edges.

I replaced it with this wicker basket from IKEA. Wicker basket

It's perfect for one cat, it's deep enough to snuggle into and they like propping their heads on the edge. Obviously it just adds to the country casual vibe of the room.

Define "one cat" Long. Is that one Ollie, or one Leroy/Boycat/Asbo/TC?

Thanks for the info about intact toms' cheeks and size, Allergic. My friends' cat's father was a very big chap apparently and, like Mr C, had lots of children.

Mind you, he would have been tiny compared to the large cat in Supersimkin's link. I am just amazed at how clever they are at avoiding being caught, even though I accept that they are hardly likely to go about carrying their prey in their mouths and big 'look how clever I am' expression.

In other news, Tobias is definitely coming out of his shell (or is that his igloo) a bit more.

Play has been taking place upstairs when I'm awake during the day downstairs - in fact I can hear the thundering noises of cats at play as I type. I've been standing at the bottom of the stairs and caught him looking at me from the top, more curiously than frozen in fear. After lights out play has moved to pre lights out but after me getting into bed, and last night he emerged from his room to play while I was in the loo before getting into bed.

He's also started yelling for Girlcat's attention during the day as well as after lights out, sometimes from half way down the stairs rather than his room, and depending on what mood she's in Girlcat often goes up to play with him.

He's turning out to be a very vocal cat, which is strange for me as I'm used to very quiet cats, both in frequency and volume (prior to Boycat's CKD).

Aww, that's so sweet, Allergic 😻

Lovely 🥰

That's great news, Allergic.

This is Taz in the basket. He is a big boy and fills it perfectly.

Taz looks comfy.

Yes all 6.3 kg of him just fits, though the creaking of straining wicker when he changes position indicates it's indeed a 'snug' fit.

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats
And yes he's jet black with very glossy, thick velvety fur, just a few random white hairs dotted arund. Not sure about the sun theory @Allergictoironing as he spends hours sunning on the west facing windowsills and hasn't faded at all!

Yes there is indeed a backstory.

Temporary Cat (aka Rex) came to stay with me last summer for what I thought was going to be 4-6 weeks before he went home (abroad) with his human family. This was a rather spectacular failure of communication between me and his owners/slaves as it take months to prepare to fly a cat half way round the world . Lots of vaccinations, including rabies, blood tests, vet checks and paperwork, then quarantine at the other end. And so here we are 9 months later. Luckily he's pretty adorable, when not acting like a lunatic.

In that time some of his family have gone ahead, and are now freaking out he'd get run over by a car in their busy suburban area. In the UK they lived very rurally with fields and woods around and barely any roads or traffic. His (littermate) tabby sister is considered to be generally smarter and have more road sense so she's going, so they won't be cat-less.

Long term plan is a bit undecided - he might still go if if his mum can convince her family he'll be OK. If not he'll become PermanentCat and stay with me. Which I'm fine with (I'd miss him like mad if he left!) even though I do feel a bit guilty he can't roam free like he used to and I think he gets a bit bored being an indoor cat.

I feel this is the place to share this Twitter chat

https://twitter.com/ShouldHaveCat

I may be going slightly up the wall stuck at home with this arm (improving rapidly though 😀), but it seems to be doing a lot of good for the Tobias relationship.

He was calling for Girlcat to come upstairs to see him the other day, but she was in snooze mode. I walked to the bottom of the stairs to see the cutest little face peering round the top, ears pricked with curiosity. A little later I needed a wee, and he didn't move until I was 3 steps from the top, plus he didn't belt off like he was being chased by monsters but reasonably steadily. I looked in the door & he was just standing there watching me with no look of concern at all. I've since seen him at the top of the stairs in full view a couple of times, just sitting or lying there watching me as I went past the bottom.

He also came down and peeked round the living room door last night at me & Girlcat snuggled up on the sofa watching us for ages. And this morning he was watching from the top of the stairs through the half open door of the bathroom as I was in the shower.

He still gives a little hiss if I touch him, but it's a quiet "NO thank you" type hiss rather than a teeth bared "I'm going to bite if you don't stop" loud one.

Allergic, your Tobias updates are very cheering.

When DH and I adopted Emerald and Linney, they spent the usual ten days behind the sofa (coming out at night) then gradually decided it was safe to be with us.

Emerald is very tactile and vocal and started to enjoy being stroked really quickly.
Linney, on the other hand, would let us approach but hissed and hit us with his paw if we tried to touch him.
It actually took a whole year before he was comfortable with being touched, but he does now (and we've had the pair of them nearly two years now) and he enjoys being stroked a lot. The hissing has stopped.

Well, unless Emerald wants to sit on HIS chair. Then he hisses at her.

Oh I do have the patience to give him all the time he needs. When I first got Boycat & Girlcat, it took me 6 months before I could touch either one without them fleeing in terror, and a year before Boycat let me touch him. They are/were the gentlest cats in the world so never any hissing, swiping or trying to bite, but they would run away.

Within 2 years after that Boycat had turned into a total cuddle monster, and Girlcat was quite affectionate. Dince Boycat's sad demise, she has taken over the cuddle monster role to an even greater extent.

But when I think back to those first few months, I realise that Tobias is well ahead of the game compared to them. I genuinely believe he will become a happy and affectionate cat in time, but as with the others his life prior to rescue was pretty rough & I can't blame him for not trusting people. He just needs time and patience to learn I would never harm him in any way, and maybe even eventually to find out that strokes can be pleasant! He did look very interested watching last night as Girlcat was writhing about at the bottom of the stairs having belly rubs!

I can’t get Prince off the electric blanket.

He gives me evils if the switch is even glanced at.

Emerald is the same.

Great progress with Tobias, another few months and he'll be curled up on your pillow 😽