Flounders or Flouncers? The Excellent Cats continue their important debate

[TheShellBeach]

Welcome to everyone, old and new!

Flatfish are particularly encouraged to join us.

Cats can be boneless when they want to be!

(wonder if they are related to octopi in the distant past? they can squeeze through impossible spaces!)

.* octopuses

(Sorry - the nerd in me couldn't resist 😂)

I came back to correct my spelling, having just heard David Attenborough call a bunch of emerging hatchlings 'octopuses'!
I have no problems being corrected, every day is a school day!

David Attenborough - the only person to ever come close to a cat's god-like status 😂 Even the cats would agree!

Found Benny playing with this this morning. It's a fair bit bigger than any of the other mice he's brought in, with a chunkier tail. Please tell me it's just a fully grown mouse and not a rat!

I tend to use 'Octopodes' just to be difficult 🐙🐙

@coastergirl - I strongly suspect that's a young ratty 😲

Oh no, really?! I absolutely am not prepared for him to bring rats in! Ewwww.

I love that some of you are also as nerdy as me with linguistics. For those who don't know, the word octopus comes from Greek, albeit a Latinised version of a Greek word. Octopi would be a Latin way of forming a plural.

Louis is as handsome as ever!

At least it's dead!

Cold comfort.
😂

I was trying to rein my nerdiness in a bit 😂

I also agree that it looks more young rat than big mouse 🙈 Sorry coaster!

Another vote for a young rat, but the good news is it will never become an adult rat and have many many baby rats....

I’ve got a question for the experts.

I call Kitty a tortoiseshell tabby, but then I read that all tabbies have an M on their forehead and she doesn’t - so is tabby wrong?

She has a bit of an 'M', one side darker than the other.
Bit spotty/mackerel on her left side?
Be interested in opinions from the catsperts on here!
She is very pretty!😻

I agree with your description, she's so pretty!

https://www.catster.com/lifestyle/types-of-tabby-cat-colors-patterns/

@coastergirl just think of it as a very large mouse. You don't need to use the R word.

I think she does have a faint M @EmpressaurusDeiGatti One of the rescue places I have adopted from use the term torbie for a tortoiseshell/tabby cross. From my googling that seems to cover a wide variety of patterns including ones like Kitty's coat.

Thanks everyone. Her kittens were a range of colours, but they all inherited her spots. Torbie with a bit of mackerel 😻

I'm just back from a holiday in the Balkans. Gosh there were a lot of NMCs... every restaurant had a few hanging around hopefully and we were attended by several young ginger cats when eating breakfast on the terrace each morning. They were all lovely and seemed pretty happy and healthy but gosh the number of street cats (and dogs too) must be off the scale, and they must suffer terribly in winter.

Anyway, here is a new friend polishing off the remains of my crab pasta.

Thanks for all the input on my rat large mouse. I like your thinking @RumNotRun.

@EmpressaurusDeiGatti I think Kitty is so pretty, she can call herself whatever she likes!

I do love a holiday NMC.
And I agree with coastergirl. Who needs a label when you are as cute as Kitty 😻

Couldn't find Minouche earlier. Eventually found her up to her shoulders in my duvet. Wasn't surprised.

Gizmo's paw has stopped bleeding.

He's got an appointment tomorrow anyway, but I can cancel it if he's still okay in the morning.

@coastergirl that looks like a baby rat to me. The shape of the head and length of the back legs both suggest rattus rattus.

Mr SB, on being shown the picture, eventually said "that could be a mouse or a rat" which was less than helpful.

I wonder I waste my time asking for his opinion sometimes.

He certainly doesn't seem to be in any distress.