I said I would show some pictures of something the cat was responsible for.If you are squeamish don't look. I am usually but found this fascinating.
One morning I found a dead bird outside that looked to have been mauled quite considerably. I cursed the cat & disposed of the corpse & it was only later, when I looked at the camera records that I realised what had happened.
First of all it showed the cat with a bird at 11pm
A bit later just after 3 am something unusual came up
Then at 5am another one had a go
The Hedgehog Society said this is quite unusual footage. Apparently hedgehogs will eat carrion - as it shows, and my cat had left fresh meat for them.
Just to finish here's a clip of the same cat ignoring a hedgehog completely
Hello Friends I think you probably know already that Summer is my favourite time. I can be out & about all day & all night if I wish. I have been having a great time recently because the Assistant & Anna-Next-Door have been leaving the back door open most of the day in the good weather. I come & go as I please and sometimes I just eat & leave again!
I am in good shape & enjoying life. My second Gotcha day was in April - the Assistant forgot so we didn't have special celebrations but every day is a celebration for me really. I love roaming the area & poking my nose into woodland & other gardens.
A new puss has moved in next door. She is called Wendy & is black & white like me. I go into her garden & hang out with her. Her people don't mind me being there because I'm friendly. Apparently Wendy lived at my old foster care home before she came here! Her humans got her because she was very friendly to everyone so that's worked out well.
The photo is from Keighley Cat Care.
We have some other new creatures too although they don't come in the house & only seem to be around after dark. The Assistant is very excited about them but the Dog Monster isn't. I think his nose is a bit out of joint.....
They don't bother me, I ignore them & they ignore me back.
The Assistant puts food out for them every night. She has bought an outside camera so she can see them on film.
Because there are definitely two visiting us the Assistant is hoping there will be some babies soon.
Milo is still with us. He seems to think he is the boss of the cat part of the house but I tell him off regularly so he is reminded he isn't. The Assistant pets him a lot because he sits with her & wants cuddles & tickles.
I am not a very cuddly cat but she loves me just as much (if not more!)
Milo has started going out a lot now the weather is warm. All winter he stayed in & we all thought he was almost an indoor cat. Now he can be out all morning & all evening.
He likes to sit out in the dark & take the air.
He sleeps all afternoon on the tree
Oh & just so you know the Dog Monster is fine. He's as spoiled as ever & very happy with himself. We respect one another.
Anyway Friends, it's been good to talk but I must be off. I have more patrols to do. A cat's work is never done & I have a large area to cover.
HEDGEHOGS IN HELLIFIELD (North Yorkshire) Part One
Last summer I became aware that a hedgehog was coming in to my back garden. It's a small space which backs on to a railway line which doesn't have a lot of traffic. The edges of the line must be full of wildlife as they are more or less undisturbed & there is plenty of vegetation.
Earlier in the year a hole was cut in the back fence to let the cats go through & the hedgehog started coming soon afterwards. There is always a bowl of water on the ground as a bird bath for blackbirds & I think he came for water initially.
I started putting out a bit of food. It didn't like dog food, it preferred cat food but doesn't seem to like cat biscuits. I hid the saucer of food under leaves in case it felt nervous but this made it hard to photograph him.
By October he was coming every night - or the food was disappearing at least. Eventually, towards the end of the month the food was left uneaten several times & I presumed he'd gone off to hibernate. Hopefully he could stay by the railway line amongst the piles of tree branches & plant material over there.
Round about March I was starting to fret & wondering if the hedgehog would be out of hibernation soon & hoping he would reappear. I put food out more prominently & here he is!
Chances of getting photos were rare though especially as I have a dog who will bark at the hedgehog if let out. I kind of knew he was around because the dog had started rushing round the garden at night sniffing everything. He has since seen the hog up close but didn't harm him, just barked loudly. Now I have to put the dog on a long lead if he needs to go out after dark.
Before I got that picture I was thinking about getting an outdoor camera just to make sure the hedgehog had returned & eventually took the plunge & bought one from https://www.wildviewcameras.co.uk/
I got a LTL Acorn LTL5210a Wildlife Camera for just over £100 & it looks like this
It can be fastened to a tree for use outside when looking for bigger animals but I just place it on the ground with a view of the food & water bowls. It takes stills & short film. I run it off rechargeable batteries.
I was rewarded early with short films of the hedgehog which I transferred to YouTube so they can be shared.
More to come as I want to show you unusual footage involving something the cat did!
For 3 months it was just me & the Dog Monster with the Assistant. I was getting used to it & rather enjoying it. The Assistant had said she wasn't looking to get another cat & was even considering a second dog. In her dreams! As if the Dog Monster would allow that!
Ever since the Dog Monster came to live here four years ago, he had been visiting a friend in Walney Island. Betty had a cat who liked dogs & they got to know each other. This gave the Assistant confidence that she could get a cat - me! So, in a way, I owe Milo (for it was he).
Milo was already 8 when he chose Betty at the PDSA when she was looking for a companion. He lived very quietly with her for 6 years so is now 14, just like Thomas when he first came here. Sadly Betty became very ill & at the end of October it was agreed that Milo would come here.
At first I tolerated him & the Assistant was able to send some lovely photos to show Betty how settled he was. This made her very happy. She passed on at the end of December so now the Assistant is Milo's main person.
I started to want to play fight the way I used to with Thomas. You will remember that Thomas & I were friends in our foster home with Keighley Cat Care so we knew each other well. Milo didn't get the game in the same way that Thomas had done & he turned a bit nasty when I jumped on him, lashing out & miaowing loudly. This in turn brought the Dog Monster running to break us up! It was all most unnecessary - it was a game. Dog Monster appeared to think he was the referee - pffft!
Finally, just this week, the Dog Monster got it & he has begun to join in playing with us. The penny seems to have dropped with Milo too so, hopefully, we can have a decent time playing as well as sleeping & eating together. If you ask me they have both been a bit slow on the uptake.
We still sleep together & sometimes Milo will come & get me in from outside the way Thomas used to do at night. We think he has settled in & he seems very happy. He has won the battle for who will sleep with the Assistant. He was very determined & stubborn about that. I was never that keen, being quite happy to stay in my basket nearby, & the Dog Monster has given in gracefully. The two of them share her in the evenings until the light goes out & then Dog Monster retreats to his own, very comfortable, bed in the next room.
So, it seems to have come together pretty well now. I still go out lots. Milo is more of a home cat & the Dog Monster continues to be a dog as only he can. We get tuna days now, sometimes as many as two a week. The Assistant complains she is run ragged by us all but she enjoys complaining so that isn't an issue.
At last myself & the Assistant both feel as if we have reached a happy place where our family has come together once again. We did go through a bad patch when Thomas left us at the end of July last year. Here we all are together. The Dog Monster is showing himself off as usual - "airing his bits" they call it.
Not so long after Thomas left I came home one morning struggling to breathe. For once the Assistant did the right thing & took me down to the vets at once. I had to stay in & have a chest x-ray. They discovered I had a piece of gravel lodged in my trachea - as if I had inhaled it. They had never seen such a thing before & no-one knows how I managed it but they had to get it out. A specialist was sent for & by 1pm was working on me. It took him two hours to get it out as they had to be very careful of my airways. Every time he hooked the stone it slipped off until, magically, the last time he brought it out. Phew!!
I had to stay overnight at the vets & everyone who worked with me fell in love with me (of course). It took a few days for me to recover at home but in no time at all I was right as rain again. The Assistant grumbled a bit about how expensive I had become but she didn't really mind, she just likes to grumble. It brought us a lot closer as I realised she does care & looks after me as well as she can.
So, for 3 months in total it was just me & the Dog Monster, with the Assistant. At first I missed Thomas hugely & was a bit of a 'lost soul' without him. Gradually, I got used to it being just the 3 of us & the incident with my breathing brought us closer.
Then, one day, the Assistant went out for a long time & when she got back she had Milo with her. I will write about Milo in Part 2 of this blog.
Hi everyone. I haven't hassled the Assistant for not helping with blog posting recently. She still misses our Thomas & finds it hard to look at his photos just yet. He seems to have featured in many of the ones taken of me & of Dog Monster. I guess because he was always around - & that is why we are still missing his presence here.
So, to try & cheer her up I am going to do a post with just photos of me & maybe one of Dog Monster as she likes to see that. This is a start.
The Assistant still complains about me catching mice. She dislikes me playing with them outside the window. It's a good game though. I brought a small rat recently & she seemed OK with that, but it was already dead when I showed her, which might have helped.
(That isn't a rat in the picture btw, it's Dog Monster's favourite toy)
In fact, I am spending more time at home than before. I think the Assistant likes me to sit on her & I am doing that a lot more. I also sit on the bed at night with her although I do get up early which sometimes seems to annoy her. 4am isn't so bad is it?
I think the Assistant needs me more than she did before so I am trying to help her. Also, there are two not very nice cats who have showed up recently & they are trying to bully me. My old mate used to have my back & now I have to yowl at them by myself to tell them to keep away. I am naturally a peace lover - though not to mice!
The Dog Monster did come in handy one day when he came across me in a stand off with a bully. The other cat ran away immediately. He didn't know that the Dog Monster is actually quite frightened of cats he doesn't know!! He isn't scared of me, just finds me a bit of a nuisance sometimes. I think he does know the Assistant wants me to cuddle her more as he has made way for me recently.
This is a short post. We are still coming to terms with the loss of Thomas really. We all liked him. Dog Monster bumbles along as usual but the house is quieter & Thomas was a surprisingly big presence.
Hi everyone. I have to tell you that Thomas, who I've known for18 months, has gone. I don't know why he isn't around, or where he's gone so I will hand over to the Assistant to explain.
"Sadly I have to report that Thomas was put to sleep on Monday 31st July. He was 15 and a half and had kidney failure & a tumour, possibly on his liver. The vet had been unable to help him so we cared for him extra specially well for the last two weeks of his life. His body had filled with fluid so he seemed uncomfortable at times but not in pain. The last 2 days he did appear to be miserable some of the time although he was seeking out lots of cuddles & spent a lot of time lying on my soft belly for comfort.
Thomas came to us after a spell of four months at Keighley Cat Care where he spent a lot of time lying outside in the sun, as indeed he did here. He met Othello at the same Rescue house & they were mates, so when Othello came here it seemed right to bring Thomas here too. He was the most loving & affectionate cat, very gentle. They went out together quite a lot up onto the railway line & across the tracks into the wilderness area. Othello often brought back his dead mice to show Thomas who was always interested. If it was getting late & dark in the evenings Thomas would set off to find Othello & they would often return together.
Danny, the Dog Monster, got on well with Thomas - they had a similar energy & vibe. They didn't bother each other & were good companions. Danny is missing Thomas especially in the evenings & has been sitting closely with me. Othello misses him seemingly during the day as Thomas was nearly always around for him to jump on, play or sit with.
He is now buried in the back garden where he often sat. He loved to be outside or sitting by the open door feeling the breeze. His life once he arrived at Keighley Cat Care was comfortable & he was greatly loved, so he lived out his last years contentedly. He was purring for me right up to the last morning."
