Tales and Tails and NMCs - the Excellent Cats March On

[TheShellBeach]

Join us as 2024 starts and our cats continue to run our lives for us.

FWK has just sent this study of Cedric. Thought it was worth sharing.

I think Cedric is officially the most relaxed cat ever.

I agree - that is her default position. Never met another cat like her 🤣.

Cedric! 😂 Great pose
Matt was already Matt when we had him as a kitten from the RSPCA. Nickname is Mattie Boo.
I’m not sure if dd1, who was Socks’ original owner, named her or if she was already called Socks. I tend to call her Socksie Kitten or Poor Socks - she’s not a kitten but she is a tiny dot and poor because she is bullied by naughty Matt who gets jealous she is having cuddles and chases her off the bed, eats her food given the chance and has also tried to stop her using the litter tray in the ensuite at night. We have to keep the bedroom door closed at present due to dd2 and baby staying. Think I’m going to have to get another Feliway for the bedroom.
Anyway, I digress. People often misheard me when I said the dog’s name Venus, and thought it began with a P. I got some very odd looks. 😂
Previous cats when I was much younger were Blue, a blue point Siamese, Kym, another Siamese named after a cat in a Joyce Stranger book, and a stray black and white cat we adopted was named Blackie by my then toddler niece.

Ghostie has her name because she was the first faded tortie that I had seen. On googling I have just discovered that her colouring is apparently known as dilute Calico.

She is also known as Tripod as she was the one I have mentioned previously who had to have her leg amputated when she was only about a year old.

A more flattering photo of her beautiful face.

She is stunning, Rum

Seriously beautiful, and oh, what sweet little paws!

Better one of Izzy.

Note re the stripey blankets. One of the cuter things about Rolvenden Cat Rescue is that they provide a hand-knitted blanket, along with a card, with every adopted cat. Thrifty has decided they make a nice bed, and was curled up on the nearer one earlier, snoring away like a... thing that snores a lot.

Welcome Annie, and the beautiful Thrifty and Izzy! Those blankets are gorgeous! Mine came with ugly cat beds that I immediately tried to replace with ones that more aptly matched my decor but these all lie unused in my garage while the originals (which were not what they slept on in the shelter) are the beds of choice.

Cedric is adorable. As is Doris.

Ad Ghostie.

That photo of Izzy is really sweet - she's got a very kitten like look about her.

Waves at Ghostie 😺

Release my suit jacket and scarf you little furry terrorist
I had to get up at the crack of sparrow fart this morning for work. I was met by this at 5.30 in the morning. She reluctantly let me have my clothes while managing to stay put on the newel post finial. 🤣.

Sybil and TC really are a match made in heaven.

Oh Sybil! Toad is also a fan of sitting on the newel post finial, usually to shout at me and demand food.

It is most weird to think of Sybil as Bluebell, presumably because @Grumpyoldpersonwithcats has managed to describe her personality so well.

Friends' rescue dog arrived with the name Blackie (guess what colour he was?) Not wishing to have to shout "Blackie!" in public, they changed it to Lucky, a name chosen so that, to the dog, it sounded very similar to his original name.

Yeah, I knew of a dog that had his name changed to Nipper.

Smart move.

Havelock came in to check what I had in the shopping. Won’t leave.

‘Don’t you tell me you bought lettuce when I see the Sheba box.’

Agatha was originally "Elsa". It didn't suit her. And I couldn't deal with friends singing "Let it go!" at me....

Hmmm. Photos didn't load.

On the subject of shopping, we did the weekly grocery shop this morning which traditionally includes hot roast chicken and French baguette. Much interest from the girls, who smelled it being unwrapped in the kitchen and were waiting by the lounge door when we came through. Thrifty took some pieces from our hands, slightly cautiously. Izzy was brave enough to sniff it but wouldn't eat any until it was put on the floor. They were keen, but well-mannered, to us and each other. Then, impressively, they took themselves to a polite distance while we finished our lunch. No snatching, no jumping up, no tragic wails. Most unnatural. I could have sworn they were real cats, but now beginning to wonder.

No wailing Annie? Slightly defective there, possibly. Partial refund?

I got raw chicken out today to prep dinner... the amount of wailing from Leroy would make you think I'd got 3 cats that never got fed 😂

Rex is also broken. He's not remotely interested in human food, including chicken, raw or cooked, beef ditto or cheese. Doesn't run to the fridge when it's opened and I can leave food on the bench and he won't jump up. Hasn't even licked the butter. No wailing for breakfast. Will watch me put cat food down and stay put on the windowsill, and saunter over in his own time I've never come across anything like it.

Even weirder is he's over 6kg so not exactly tiny!

TemporaryCatSlave Rex sounds like an angel. My late lamented Bubbles didn't believe in human food either. Quite refreshing, especially compared to Oscar, who would eat anything that wasn't nailed down, and could put on a convincing impression of the last stages of starvation whilst standing between two fresh bowls of his favourite cat food.

Yes No refunds. Well, not until they completely make themselves at home and their true demonic natures manifest. (Do all cats truly have demonic natures? Bubbles didn't - except when inviting you to play through the banisters. Allergic lost some skin falling for that one.)

Toad tries to climb in the fridge if there's chicken in there. He also has shouted at me when we finished the turkey and he had to go back to cat food.

Frankie doesn't shout but he does think he's entitled to eat any food from my plate and has previously stolen broccoli, lettuce, cucumber, and potato (not all at once) despite me telling him he won't like them. To be fair to him, he's eaten most of what he takes though.

I'd love two -defective- cats who weren't bothered by human food. That's the dream! 😁