Christmas with the Excellent Cats

[TheShellBeach]

......... Silent Night.........

Well, maybe not so silent when there's a cat about who wants to be fed.

Join us in the run up to Christmas 2023!

I will forebear to share what I think about your mother.

Yes, cats can be pissed off for a little while after vet visits, tablet giving, etc, but they do not hold grudges. Velvet and you belong to each other, and that is that! (PS PM'd you)

I’ll get back to you on the PM. Sorry, it’s been a few difficult days and I withhold private conversation to punish myself? Difficult to explain but will get back to you.

Re V, I’m just scared she will never forgive me. I don’t know where she is right now. All my doors are wide open. I’ll update you guys tomorrow. Thanks for the support xx

You are enclosing her with love and care, Cecile. And it's not something you can explain to her , but taking her for checkups is an essential part of that. When D&P have been diagnosed with medical issues they've been back and forth to the vet multiple times. Much as they hate going, they don't hate me as a result. They don't even hate the vets and nurses, indeed they're very popular up there because, like Velvet, they're sweet-natured cats.

No worries, didn't meant to hassle, thought you might not have noticed, or that you were afraid it was from someone nasty on the thread you mentioned.

No worries at all! I end up very withdrawn when I’m going through a bad patch and will just avoid social interaction in all ways, which is why the aggressive posting really affected me because it was basically taking all my energy to post on here and that and stroking the cat was basically what I was doing with my day. Anyway let’s get back to some cats! No velvet on my bed last night but I’m sure her singing on the way to the vet’s will be BAFTA-worthy let ALONE on the way back, seeing as she is perfectly capable of composing one called “alas! I am so alone, the nearest person is ten feet away and while they are paying me attention I want something undefinable that they cannot provide and am therefore inconsolable” so God knows what she’ll do with “OMG I’m in a cat carrier, they wormed me and I wasn’t allowed to investigate properly”

The idiot sisters wail all the way to the vets and in the waiting room. Absolutely adore the vet tho and totally forgive me within minutes of being home. That included after spaying too 😊

Hoping the water doesn't come up much further. 😲 (and yes- I do need to adjust the mooring ropes today)
Cats are grumpy because we are keeping them in after dark for safety while the river has overflowed its banks.

I have to put up with completely pathetic little cries all the way to the vets. I have to put the crate on the front passenger seat with the front grill towards me, and reach my fingers through the bars to comfort them every time I'm at a stop or the road/traffic conditions allow.

Bar Tobias, who shot off & hid under the vet's desk the one time I've taken him so far, it's always been blobs of boneless black furry jelly on the vet table. Yes they've tended to shoot off & hide when we've got home, but back demanding fuss & cuddles within a couple of hours.

Always remember your mother only wants Velvet to be her cat because it's another way to torture you. You say all the doors to your area are open, but can you be sure V isn't shut in another room like your mother's bedroom? She's also probably spoiling V with a surfeit of her favorite treats & maybe catnip - cats a clever enough (yes even the dopey ones) to hang around even people they don't really like as long as the goodies are coming, then they go back to their person for the affection & company.

I may PM you later, promise it will be about you and V, I don't even know what the "other" thread is!

My parents' river was up to their patio again a couple of days ago. It goes down really quick though, does yours Grumpy? Mum's cat used to love it though - he'd get all his stuff moved up to the spare bedroom 😁

Cats are grumpy because we are keeping them in after dark for safety while the river has overflowed its banks.

Is TC confined to barracks?

Daisy was happy this afternoon. I did my first trip to Portarlington (a little touristy coastal town) and bought a shirt I really liked despite the exorbitant price ... and most importantly, it came in one of those heavy paper tote bags. There was much crunch-crunch-crunch of her stamping on it before she settled down for a snooze.

@Catsmere - I'm probably not the only one who wants to see the shirt.... 😁

I'm in the bad books today. Firstly I had a lie in which Lexter did not approve of so he purposely threw up on my bedroom floor whilst looking at me. It came complete with the histrionics of heaving and making as much noise as possible.

Once I'd been forced to rise, I went to the kitchen, fed them, then dared to have a bit of a sort out/rearrange/tidy. Obviously that disturbed the peace that they expect with their breakfast so they all ran off to sulk in various rooms.

Thinking about cats and their vet trips, Alizè (RIP best boy) at one point was going to the vet several times a week as he had a serious recurring UTI and bladder issues, followed by a hernia after a bladder operation. I'd book an appointment as he hadn't been able to wee but guaranteed, as soon as the vet held him or started to examine him, he would do the world's biggest and stinkiest wee. He did it once all down the scrubs or a very attractive vet 😳

OK, I have an odd and embarrassing confession. I’ve confirmed that Velvet’s vet trip was written up on my mother’s calendar and confirmed I didn’t hallucinate it by live-video calling my boyfriend to confirm it was written on there. I then burst into tears when they left about twenty past nine without warning me and then… velvet came by for a check up. I was confused as I was creeping around at midnight collecting her toys and treats to make her vet trip as fun as possible? But apparently it’s been changed to Wednesday. Your lovely advice and reassurance will be kept in mind until then :) she says hi and we’re all placing bets on how much weight she’s put on (she keeps accidentally being fed by two people simultaneously, or maybe it’s not accidental VELVET).

Argh. Last one today but just heard my mother reporting to my dad that V is asleep on her bed. I’m not allowed in their part of the house (they’re allowed in mine obvs). Velvet’s two at most and our last cat lived to 18 and was definitely my mother’s cat. My boyfriend and I shut her out by virtue of closing the door last night while we watched TV for two hours and she never came to sleep on my bed. Velvet’s checked in once and been in once again for treats from my hand. But she’s sleeping on my mother’s bed. I know this sounds like SO little but I have her and my boyfriend and texts to a couple of other friends and that’s it. That’s my whole life. My mother even snarked about me having to be admitted to hospital even though it was unpleasant, painful and over Christmas (I have bruises from some of the injections that are larger than my hand, they discharged me too early without dealing with some important stuff and I’ve been resisting admission for ten months). Maybe my mother is right about everything? Even the stuff you’ve said - bribing her with treats etc - I didn’t bribe her but she got hand-fed with treats for not scratching or biting the furniture which she does for no reason - there’s no evidence that is happening. She just prefers my mother.

Cecile, why don't you and Velvet just move out?
It sounds like an awful living arrangement.

Grumpy, your garden looks terrifying. I hope you and Mrs G are okay.
It rains here in Argyll a lot but our house is quite high up in the village so we're okay.

Telling Linney not to touch my chocolates

Pointing to some treats on the floor. Like he needed them to be pointed out.

And another strange setting on my phone's photo app.
This one's called Photo Noir (or some such nonsense)

I doubt moving out would be very easy for @CeciledeVolangesdeNouveau from the little I have gathered.

But I keep feeling l want to form/join an Escape Committee.

@TheShellBeach it is for me, Velvet is in absolute heaven (she is SO spoilt and as she spends most of her time with me she barely even gets told off for scratching and biting things, if I’m having a very bad day she gets a NO or lifted off a table she’s not supposed to be on, but my reaction to her doing something like drinking out of my water glasses is generally a sad little sigh followed by just getting a new water glass.

My living situation is shit in a number of ways and it’s quite difficult to get out of but this isn’t Stately Homes so I’m not going to bore you with the details. It’s also excellent in that I get a comfy bed, heating and running water etc (all mod cons) and I get to play with Velvet and look after her! Sometimes my boyfriend is allowed to visit and we all play a game! Velvet is bad at Scrabble. She LOVES television though. Not too fussed about nature programmes but was enraptured by the Crown.

I attempted to capture her final attack on the Christmas tree but the best I could do was… well… this picture (give me credit, she’s fast and I was trying to stop her actually ingesting anything) and the commemorative picture of the apparently very evil reindeer who she would stop at nothing to bring down. Repeatedly. Why she was given a chair to actually help with this and why it was the reindeer who aroused her ire in particular escapes me.

Cecile, at first when I looked at the picture of the reindeer I thought it was actually Velvet, and that you had an abnormally large hearth.

Also loving your filters OP! Boyfriend and I both have health problems so get through quite a lot of TV. One of them has a character called Black Noir who is basically supposed to be an incredibly scary superpowered ninja but actually just lurks around saying nothing like Jasper from Twilight which makes me howl with laughter. Your photo title made me imagine Linney just lurking looking simultaneously threatening and constipated while you explain NOT to eat the chocolate and THERE are his treats, silly one.

And apologies for comments about your living situation.
It's obviously complicated and none of my business.