The Very Eventful Lives of the Excellent Cats

[TheShellBeach]

Calling all cats and their overworked slaves - join us as we grudgingly accept that every day is National Cat Day as far as our moggies are concerned.

@SequentialAnalyst @Supersimkin2 I do love rescued furniture or books.

A while ago I again was off to the Co-op when I couldn't really be bothered, only to find that the chap a few doors up had put a Reader's Digest dictionary outside for anyone who wanted it. My dad has had the same dictionary for as long as I can remember and I have always loved it (and told him to make sure it's mine in his will 😂) Now I have my own copy, it still makes me happy every time I see it on my bookshelf.

The chair is drying out nicely. It hasn't been cat claimed yet which is surprising. The history/archaeology nerd in me would love to know more about the chair but I wouldn't even know where to start. There's a little rectangle on the front strut under the seat like it should have a name plate there. I know it was probably made as just an ordinary piece of furniture but it would be amazing if one could find out the personal history, who made it, did they do the Greek key design as a commission or was it something they chose, who bought it etc. Obviously that's not going to happen unless I develop the ability to time travel 😔

And back to cats! Sorry for the distraction.

I LOVE snurring! Word stolen 😆

Snurring is a great word. As are the German and French words shared.

If a cat steals your office chair, does that mean you get the day off work? Asking for a friend 😉 Fred stole mine while I was in the kitchen. I can't possibly do any work now.

Someone tried to bring me a gift and didn't listen to my DROP IT

I think it means the cat has to do your job for the day! Probably not very productive but everyone will enjoy the zoom meetings…

Schnurren - the German verb for purr, the word for whiskers is basically “purr beard” - is also quite onomatopoeic I think 🤔

I’d not heard anyone else use snurring before I used it to describe sleep purring; but it’s so very perfect I think it likely lots of people will have thought of it independently. I’m very pleased it has gladdened the hearts of so many of you 😁

The BalletCats really are very good about minding their defective human, right down to refraining from playing with Tempting Dangly Things - like holter monitor leads (my current accessory: they were Not Happy about my going out this morning to have it fitted; & issued my daddy Stern Instructions re: minding me); NJ tube & feeding tube set it connects to; or my accessed portacath 🙀

@RumNotRun
Obviously you cannot move the cat, any reasonable workplace will understand this. I’m sure a feline livestream would be considered a fair trade. Not casting aspersions on your work, to be clear; just cat pics are known to be invaluable. Your antique chair is lovely - I’m always annoyed I can’t time travel to solve mysteries in my family tree, so I feel your pain!

@MrShady
Oh dear 😬 Did you manage to retrieve it?

Purr Beard? Purr Beard??? Oh bloody hell I love that SO much.

Leroy snurrs. I am stealing snurr.

Purr Beard is marvellous, and describes Sybil's behaviour perfectly.

@TheBalletCats nope, he ate it

@MrShady my condolences :(
Re the purr beard, I thought I remembered that but it’s ages since I learned it and I was too shy to risk being wrong! It’s definitely very cool and I will tell velvet next time she’s snurring away with me.

Balanchine, very nobly, has been sleeping in a crescent shape on my lap (so he’s looking at me, but he could fling himself into being Guard Cat should the need arise 😸) while Jin, on arrival, curled up mirroring his position - back to back, albeit at different heights as Jin was snuggled into the side of my leg! After giving each other a wash they swapped places so Jin could have my lap (facing away) & Balanchine could lie (facing me) by my leg.

I always think Schnurrbart/Purrbeard sounds like a feline pirate 😺 A children’s book/TV programme one: about the ship’s cat of a pirate ship who is in fact running the show for a hapless Captain; or one who has a crew of anthropomorphised animals with equally glorious names & a parrot nemesis to round things off, perhaps?

@MrShady

oh no! Good luck 🫥

@CeciledeVolangesdeNouveau

And it’s one where if you, trying to check to reassure yourself, broke it down & tried to look up the composite parts as nouns; would get i. stuck & (if you then went for a fudge) ii. something very different (farce beard or string/cord/flex [as in the electrical sort, not the bragging kind] beard) 😁

Oh just look at them - absolutely gorgeous pictures!

I'm worried that Lenny may be planning to leave home. 😳

Have spent an infuriating afternoon trying to contact Curry's.

I might as well have saved my time, kept my blood pressure at normal, and not bothered.

Anyway - after three online chats with various operatives, I became enraged beyond reason and cancelled the order completely.

Do you know what they offered me as a suitable discount for their not managing to deliver my TV and cooker last week?

£10.

So it's back to the drawing board chez Shell Beach.

Argos? Very?

B and Q kindly offered me the opportunity to click and collect a cooker in Paisley. Are they mad?

Not mad, just taking the piss. If they didn’t deliver on the contract they aren’t really entitled to keep any of your money.

Shell. We used AO.com a while ago, they were pretty reliable and reasonably priced. Don't know if they delivery to your area but worth a look.
If they do it's also worth looking for voucher codes online.

I've had good service from AO too Shell. Might be worth a look.

I was in Curry's a few weeks back, collecting a printer. The "service" from the male employees was shocking - they were downright rude. Apparently women have no right to speak without being interrupted, even if they are customersThey also seemed to think I could get a hulking great laser printer into the car on my own!!! (for context I am aged 71 - I suppose I should have been flattered!) I've had this a few times from male shop employees. I no longer take shit, and they aren't used to it

And there are currently no local friendly cats around, as it is cold and wet. Thank god for you all, and all the DCats on here.

I wish we could post videos! Velvet’s just attempted a lethal attack on a scratching post while holding a dressing gown cord in her mouth… it didn’t go well. When a bystander in the form of a sofa also got involved things only became more hilarious because she just straightforwardly fell off and attempted to consume the sofa. She’s adorable when she’s sort of playing whackamole, like “don’t even think about moving” to the dressing gown cord while she deals with the cat scratch and the cord is there mutely going I AM NOT MOVING then she gets back and bites it a bit more just to show she’s boss.

Ha! AO's gain is Curry's loss.
Arseholes. Thank you for the recommendation.

DS2 is moving up here next week! Exciting times.

I was just going to recommend AO as well! Found them really good in the past.

@CeciledeVolangesdeNouveau they go into a sort of madness where they seem to lose whatever logic cats usually possess (if any)!

Cats always have a logic… our brains just aren’t sophisticated enough for it :)

I do love the words, ronronner, schnurring and schnurrbart. They are all new to me.

Daisy is very pretty, Catsmere. She has lovely colouring. It looks slightly grey in the photo.

Your new chair is amazing, RumNotRun. I suspect it won't become a cat chair until it is thoroughly dried out and you have found a lovely throw and cushion. One of my colleagues has a very co-operative cat who drapes herself round her shoulders like a furry collar so she still has somewhere to sit when she is at work.