Prison Dramas, Bands and Ouija Boards - the Excellent Cats audition, sing and plot

[TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne]

Our feline overlords have so many current strings to their joint and several bows.

Auditioning for Series One of The Prison Cat, forming a band, and continuing to plot against their enemies by means of their Ouija Boards - will they even have time to sleep now?

I think you’re both right.

It's taken me heading for 3 years to get to this stage with him. He was one of the most untrusting cats I've ever met, so I've let him take things at his own pace and apart from vet visits never pushed him in any way.

He would lash out if you came near him unless you had chicken in your hand, & even then he would snatch at it & pull back. He rarely spent any time in the same room as me & if anyone else came into the house he would run & hide either upstairs or behind the sofa.

When he eventually accepted me touching him at all it was a red letter day, but he's now realised just how nice it feels & leans in to neck & bum scritches. I'm guessing he may have purred in the past but silently, Girlcat was the same for years - silent purrs only that I could feel when I was petting her.

I'm so glad I got him, I don't know how his life may have ended up otherwise. And now I have to face the fact he is likely to have a shortened life due to the heath problems he has from his stray years.

Next time I may be selfish & get myself a cat who isn't a "problem" cat, who accepts attention & sits on laps. But knowing me, when Tobias goes & I look for a new companion for Girlcat I'll fall for another ex-feral or ex-stray who needs the patience I can give them!

That's such good news about Tobias. My Toby has decided he has to announce loudly when he wants food, when he has eaten, when he thinks it's treat time, all from his perch on the newel post. Irritating little bugger!

Kitty’s never sat on my lap, just walked over it occasionally, but she’ll come & snuggle into my side.

@Allergictoironing, you’re a hero.

@Allergictoironing it must be a wonderful feeling to have won that love and trust from a cat who has been through so much.

I've got the Vane/Wimsey DVDs.
Just wish they'd made Busman's Honeymoon.

Camomile Lawn ooh I love it.

There is a thread about perfect fried eggs on AIBU. Should I put Snowcat on it?

No, he was shagging it, as usual.
Linney never does anything so common.

Me too for Busman’s Honeymoon.

I liked the Petherbridge Wimsey much more than the Carmichael one.

Goodness, yes.
Carmichael was too old when they made the beginning few scenes of The Nine Tailors.

Shame, because the rest of it is very good.

Allergic you're amazing.
Just so patient and generous with your skills and love for cats.
I'm so happy to read that Tobias is purring.

Meant to add: when you eventually get another cat, it would be nice for you to get a lapcat.

I've only had one in my entire cat career - McVicar. None of the others have sat on my knee, including Linney, who is so placid.

I generally end up with oldish cats who are hard to rehome.

I've never had a particularly young cat, or a kitten.

When I got Matilda and Boris I was told by the rescue that they would be the easiest sort of cats to have, as they were hand reared. They were right in the respect that they love to sit on me, lie on me and generally invade my personal space. Boris still loves people generally, (even vets) although Matilda generally doesn't like people who aren't me. It was definitely a good choice for me as a first time cat owner. I do think it's lovely when people take on older and hard to rehome cats and it must be so rewarding to see them finally start to trust you.

I was trying to find a photo of them sitting on me, but I couldn't find one, so I went for Boris snuggled up next to me. Who knows Allergic, maybe this could be you and Tobias one day.

Herbie only occasionally purrs when we stroke him. He never sits on laps either. He purrs whilst eating or if I pick him up just before he has his food! He has also had his 'moments' with various blankets!!
Re Wuthering Heights, never managed to finish it, but I love Jane Eyre and have read it loads of times.
Last night Herbie was having a 'discussion' with the long haired brown tabby-their faces were right up close but then Herbie prowled away very slowly. Then I realised Glamourpuss was watching from across the road! I wish I had got a picture but it was too dark.

I do love an upside down kitty. Hello from Katja 🥰

I did have a sort of lap cat with Boycat. He would crawl up me so he had his bum resting on the top of my thigh and prop his paws & head on my shoulder (he was a long cat!). But that took him about 3 years to get to, and it was only a couple of years after that the CKD took him from me.

Girlcat lets me pick her up as long as I lean back & let her sit on my boobs & massage her tummy & neck - she'll stay there for a couple of minutes with her paw wrapped round my arm then let go & jump off. She'll also command me to sit next to her for belly & head rubs, or stand at the back of the sofa doing the same while she lounges across the back, but again only when she tells me to and for as long as she feels like it.

All 2 cats have been comparatively young; Girlcat & Boycat were about 2 when they came home then Tobias was about 2.5 or 3 when he arrived around 5 years later. OMG that means that they are both technically "senior" cats now!

Boris just sprawled himself across my lap, so I thought I would take the opportunity to take a photo. I very quietly and carefully picked my phone up and he stood up and moved. He's obviously decided that having his photo taken on a humans lap will damage his cat street cred online.

Finlay is keeping me warm tonight
Earlier we trimmed him up too as can’t find his bow tie from last year

After another massacre of my orchids by a very shocked Cat Four (her expression was definitely “How did that big noise happen? And where did all this brown stuff come from?”) I have given up on all but one of the orchids and have placed it hopefully safely in the corner where it will still get enough light. Cat Four aka Smasher was trying out the more spacious accommodation on the windowsill and nothing bad happened. Yet. I may need to have sanseveria rather than jade/jelly succulents for obvious reasons.

There was a sound of galloping and a big noise yesterday. Smasher is starting to get annoyed by these baffling and scary crashes. I begin to suspect she does not understand cause and effect, or just doesn’t care about it. The flies involved have all been thoroughly and enjoyably crunched which has not brought me as much satisfaction as Smasher.

She does look very annoyed at the disturbance.

We have one orchid that Herbie has shown no interest in, I think he finds it annoying as it takes up space on 'his' windowsill.
It was a gift to DD from her boyfriend but somehow I have ended up with custody of it!

It’s been another exciting night here with crashing in the back court yard, which we assumed was a possum. No. Upon descending the stairs Mr. AgentofthePatriarchy noted Cat Four the Smasher looking in the back door.
She seems to have jumped from the balcony, landing safely on one of my prize jade succulents. She very much appears to want to complain to management about these scary noises and inconvenient plants. Currently scampering around happily with Cat Three celebrating breakfast, and deliberately avoiding being checked for injuries.
Photo of my jade succulent to follow when it gets light. I am feeling really annoyed but she keeps waving her tail to distract me.

It is a very distracting tail, on a very pretty cat.....