Ring Out, Wild Bells! As 2025 approaches, the Excellent Cats raise their game with a discussion on Tennyson's poetry

[TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne]

And while the cats are thus engaged, their human slaves are still finishing the turkey and Christmas pud, and idly placing bets on whether or not Kitty will use her new cat tree.

GT is clearly 'upping his game' for the new year.

When can we expect him to join Gizmo and Linney?

Action shot of an intrepid cat returning from a snowy adventure. He's trying to get his steps in for January (or it's just warmed up a bit). See also rather lopsided snowman ⛄️

It's hopeless, there'll be another one along to take his place in no time. How far are you prepared to go in the rehabilitation of antisocial cats?

Hmm.

Gizmo now lets me stroke his back, without attempting to remove my arm in retaliation.

He also let Paw Broon pick him up yesterday, without the usual hissing and wounding.

Paw was sorry for Gizmo, who was trying to jump on to the table, so he picked him up and placed him on it.

@Esgaroth He is either mad or made of hardier stuff than most of us. Did he make the snowman on his own or with help?

So if Grumpy's latest iteration of Thug Cat needs to be socialised, I'll have to pop down to England to do it, as we're only allowed to have two pets in this house.

@TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne Perhaps you could set up a very specific charity.

I'll set up a very specific GoFundMe which benefits only me, I think.........

I'm impressed with Kettle-On-The-Snow.

The snowman, not so much.

I'll be booking his train tickets and providing him with a bindlestick shortly.

He'd be inside for months now if he wasn't willing to get a little snow between the toes so it's just as well he's fairly hardy! He does spend a long time licking his little toes to warm them up after he comes in.

He watched construction of the snowman but declined to lend a paw.

I do enjoy the Kettle updates - he is clearly very adventurous, as well as being a very photogenic cat 😻

Me too. Kettle had such a tough time & now he’s having such a lovely life.

I bet the snowman would have been less lopsided if he’d helped, though.

I bet the snowman would have been less lopsided if he’d helped, though.

I assumed Kettle had just hoofed it over tbh 🤣

@Esgaroth Kettle's fur is so pretty against the snow.
You were missing a trick though making a snowMAN instead of a snowCAT

If you can believe it, my children made two snowmen and a snowDOG. I suggested they make a snow Kettle but, as so often, they ignored me.

@Esgaroth A challenge!

@Breadcat24 that is very impressive (if it's not AI).

I bought a label maker to try to help me get organised. I told my friend who encouraged my childish side and told me I need to label EVERYTHING. Frankie is not impressed (my friend calls him Smol)

@RumNotRun I may make a tiny teacup sized version of a cat if we get snow this weekend. Breadcat is not impressed if we get any quantity as she has little stumpy legs and gets her belly wet

Linney says, if Kettle made that snowman, he made this delicious loaf of bread.

@TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne did you get a breadmaker for christmas?

We were going to be a two cat house. We got Two because One needed someone to play with and they got on really well.
We took in Three after he showed up looking thin, dirty and miserable in the empty block next door.
After six weeks of feeding him, brushing and treating him with anti-vermin drops we moved him into the house. He’s the sweetest boy ever and super playful. We thought about taking him to the Cat Protection Society because One and Two were outraged by his presence, but he’d have been there for ages.
When my friend’s semi-feral cat got pregnant, it seemed like the cat distribution system was bringing us Three’s little brother. Sister as it turned out.
One and Two are not very and severely unimpressed by the arrival of Four and I don’t think it’s a good idea to add to the family any more. They were settling down with her but have been really rattled since she came back from the vet.
They know it’s Cat Three’s fault and have been ratty with him too.

No. I've had one for ages actually. I usually make our bread.

I bought one for DD2 though. She hasn't used it yet.