Roond and roond and up and doon - the Excellent Cats roam aboot

[TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne]

......... as Gizmo and Linney almost reach their first anniversary, they reflect on the joys of living in the same hoose.

Quite effective actually @Esgaroth!

I have decided Stripey is psychic. Either that or understands human language. It is the only explanation as to why she is perfectly sweet and friendly until I said to DH that we should have a go at getting the flea treatment on her, and then she went from coming up to me for head bumps to running wildly away every time I went near her

Finally managed to catch her by trapping her in our bedroom which has the smallest number of hiding places in the house. To be fair to her she never hisses or scratches once you have her, she is just very hard to get hold of once she senses you have a nefarious purpose.

They seem to have a 6th sense when it comes to flea treatment.
I've approached Herbie when he's deeply asleep, and if I've got the bravecto in hand, he is suddenly on the alert!

The vet told me that since Kitty’s an indoor cat she only needs doing every 6 months - she’s very annoyed once it’s done, but it at least means that she’s forgotten by the next time.

Our 2 are also due their flea treatment this week 😩
We use something from the vets called Felpreva which only has to be applied every 3 months so that's taken some of the stress (mostly ours) away. Mama Pollock is usually fairly easy to sneak up on and catch but Mini Pollock has the '6th sense' and is much more feisty. DH and I do a pincer movement to trap her but she's a slippery little so and so! 😂
Here's Mini looking like she's unaware... but don't be fooled!

We only treat fleas as a cure rather than a preventative.
We've had no sign of fleas at all for over 5 years now. Really can't understand it with four cats who go outside and hunt - but it's saved a ton of money on flea treatment 😁

Agree Grumpy Pud never had fleas in all the years I had him, he wasn't friendly with other cats and didn't stray far from the garden so I just kept an eye out for them especially when grooming him, never found one.
There is a concern with flea treatments, about adding pesticides to the environment, so I was happy to watch and wait.

I haven't done the flea treatment for a few months (I think I last did it around the time they were spayed as I was worried about them picking something up while at the vet's). I read several articles about the damage that flea treatment is doing to wildlife when it gets into the wastewater and that was quite worrying. Also if it's that bad for wildlife I wasn't sure it could be all that great for the cats who are having it directly applied or for the children who are living with the cats.

On the other hand, I really don't want a flea infestation.

Maybe I'll ask the vet next time they're in for vaccinations.

We have tended to be less concerned about fleas in recent years for the reasons PP have said so haven't been as fastidious in regularity of the treatment regime. Neither of our cats goes far and they tend to hang out in our or the immediate neighbours' gardens but we do have foxes regularly visiting the garden and I think the den is in an overgrown garden 2 houses away. It's difficult to know what is for the best - our previous 2 cats roamed much further and one had a reaction to flea bites that meant she over-groomed which resulted in sore, scabby bare patches on her body.

Mr Tux just came back - Snowcat came running into the house in alarm. Not sure if he was chasing her or if she just ran away when she saw him. I chased him out of the garden hissing at him, and she's now sitting in the hall looking at the garden door from a safe distance

Toad is being "helpful" while I try to work. I keep putting him on the floor but he jumps straight back up.

Poor Snowcat! Is she ok now?

I took a couple of old laptops to the tip when I had a clear out recently and afterwards I wondered why I didn't keep them so the cats can sit on them while I'm free to work. The keys must feel comfy to sit on or something. Wouldn't solve the problem of Boris trying to join in my Teams meetings of course. I think even after all these years he's still hopeful that the little screen people will find a way to reach out and fuss him.

A turned on laptop is warm. It's also the kind of place where a cat can show they are comfortable in the strangest of places e.g. knobbly keyboards. So win/win for the cat!

He wasn't sitting on the keyboard, but just to the side of it with his tail curled round the mouse. He was purring away, quite content with his bum blocking my mouse space 😂 Maybe I should set up a spare keyboard on the unit next to me and see if he'll sit there instead 🤔

I had a tuxedo foster with a magnificent heavy plumy black tail. When he wanted food or attention while I was working, he’d drape his tail over the mouse and my right wrist. It was very effective.

Lex just SHOUTS at me when he wants food and I'm working. He has the most annoying, screechy shout, so it does work quite well. Poor starving baby!

Another one I had, big white boy with tabby splodges, realised that if I took my glasses off it meant I was having a break - which might mean I was going to the kitchen - so he’d leap forward in great excitement whenever I lifted my hand to my face.

Lex is being ridiculously adorable tonight. I'm suspicious...

That LOOK! Adorable is definitely a term I agree with there, irresistible is another.

I have been known to go to bed very late on a work night, when Girlcat has given me a similar look and gently held my arm in place while I stroke her tummy until she's decided it's bed time.

Definitely irresistible.

He's definitely after something, he's been curled up next to me all evening and has now followed me to bed. I feel very privileged 😁

I saw this on FB and thought you would all agree.

All that could be reduced to

1. Because

The Stray doesn't know how to behave around me today. Yesterday she brought home two baby birds from a nest so after the second kill I brought her inside. I've never picked up or carried her before and I think she was too stunned that I had the temerity to do that. I was rather stunned she allowed me. I have spent this morning debating whether I'm letting her out today in case there are more in that nest or whether to let Darwin decide as she's not a climber. Well, climbs yes, gets stuck after a foot up yes, going up and down like a real hunter no. So far she is still in.

Kettle strongly disagrees and says don't make a fuss, dear, I'll have yours.