Places to go, things to do

I have discovered a way to please The Assistant. It's useful to keep her onside & this is easy. 
I sit on her lap for a few minutes & she's ecstatic. 

I need this kind of PR for the times when she gets mad at me.

 
Last week it was because of all the baby rabbits I caught. I am proud to say I even had two in one day! She doesn't see things the same way as me & grumbled & complained a lot.

She can't keep it up for long though. I left it a few days & then sat on her again & she is fine now. 
She didn't even get mad when I managed to get rid of the orange collar. Well, she'd added 3 bells to it so that I jingled all the time & I was fed up!

I am very busy just now. The rabbits took a lot of my time up catching them all & I do need to find another batch of those. I'm a bit bored with mice but have had the odd couple just to keep my paw in. I don't know why The Assistant complains - it saves on cat food. She says I haven't to catch any birds. It's tempting as there are lots about.

Do you like my new office chair? I got it from +Aireworth Dogs in Need online auction. I can sit in it when she isn't using it. I like being in the centre of things.

Someone online said they thought the Dog Monster wanted to join in with me & Thomas when they saw these photos. 



Does it look like it to you? He comes to see us but moves away again.

Then he kind of pretends he's not really bothered

She always excuses Dog Monster by saying he was Rescue but I was too. She says I had a better start as  my foster carers found me at 10 weeks old. DM was more like 6 months old & had been surviving on his own for quite a while - several weeks at least.
 

Thomas & I get along fine







He knows how to get around The Assistant. 
He's shameless about cuddling her. 

He often comes out to get me when it's getting late. He gets lots of praise from The Assistant when he brings me back home for bedtime. 

So you could say Thomas is a bit of a creep really, but he's OK for an oldie.

Here's the obligatory photo of Dog Monster to please her & any other odd readers who like Dog Monsters. What he doesn't know is that he's about to get a bath. He hates them!

See you all next time.

Lots of Love from The Prodigal Son

Othello / Jason / OJ

xxx

In which Jason has an announcement

Thomas & I have been appointed to a very important role. We have become Ambassadors for Cats in North Yorkshire. This is by special appointment from the Treasury in Westminster, London. The Assistant sorted this out for us & for once I feel I have to acknowledge she has her uses. She spoke to Gladstone, the Treasury Cat (@TreasuryMog) who was very pleased to welcome us as #ambassacats.

Gladstone is a very important cat. He helped to sort out the Budget last week.



His #ambassacats cover the whole country & other countries abroad too.

The Assistant is hoping this could lead to special honours but I have told her to quieten down. I am simply happy to serve at the moment. 







Because our county is very big there are two more appointees. They will cover York & the surrounding area, whereas we are on the border with Lancashire & will also cover the Yorkshire Dales.

Here they are. They are called Rufus & Henry. I have tasked the Assistant with finding out which is which. She will contact their Assistant & report back. I can task her now I am an Ambassador!



Henry wants to acknowledge his gratitude to  +YorkCatsProtection in the same way as Thomas & I are grateful to  +Keighley Cat Care 

I wonder if they catch a mouse a day as I have been doing recently?
Last week I caught a rabbit. It was very tasty but I couldn't eat it all at once so left some in the garden for later.
When I got back from my patrols it had disappeared. Thomas denied doing anything which leaves the Assistant.
Typical. I suspect she wanted it for herself although she says not. She says she would rather I didn't catch rabbits. Hypocrite!

 
In other news we have a new futon in our room. 
The Assistant had to move a table so Dog Monster could still get on to the window sill. I,of course,can & do easily jump up there. I like to sit in the sun & look out at what is going on in the street.

 You know I always have to include pictures of Dog Monster to keep the Assistant happy. Here he is on our window sill

 

Thomas & Dog Monster both enjoy a bit of sun bathing. 

I join in when I'm not too busy although my work keeps me away from home a lot these days 

Thomas & I both enjoy a bit of peaceful snoozing on the bed, which in Thomas's case is very frequently! I am obliged to wake him up every time I come in just to chase him around a bit in case he forgets how to play.

 

That's all for now.

Lots of Love from Jason (Othello)

xxx

Bye

 

Not very keen on the cold, wet weather!

I like going out & about & do so every day. Lately however, the weather has really been awful. After getting soaked through three times in one day I give up & go back to bed.

Thomas only ventures out if there is no water at all coming out of the sky. He prefers to stay warm.

 Sometimes we snuggle up

We often eat together & sometimes share a dish

I've got a smart new collar - can you see? I lost 2 bells off the last one in a single week (proud)

The Dog Monster & the Assistant ganged up on me the other day. It was getting dark & I'd caught a chunky mouse so I thought I'd bring it indoors to play with. They both chased me out! Mean aren't they? 

Here he is, for those of you who like Dog Monsters. Apparently some people do.

 

                                                                                       

I thought I was in trouble the other day when The Assistant came home & said she'd met someone who claimed to see me "quite often" sitting in my favourite field on the other side of the Big Road. Honestly, there's no privacy, what business is it of anyone else??

The Assistant just gave me another name instead of telling me off - not that I take any notice. She says I'm like The Prodigal Son & she's always pleased to see me when I get home.

That's nice isn't it?

She says the jumble sale she was helping to sort was a big success. That's to help others like me who need to go into foster care for a while. So that's good.

 I'll say goodbye till the next time

Lots of Love from Othello / OJ / Jason / The Prodigal Son

xxx

In which Dog Monster becomes Dog Hero

He's the Leader of the Pack!

It's official - Dog Monster is on our side. He saw off a big, black cat who has been scaring me & really annoying Thomas. The Assistant was so pleased with him. He's become a Hero to me & to her but Thomas doesn't really care. He says he was dealing with it.

This black cat lives on the other side of the tracks. 

The Assistant says it's the same semi-feral one that terrorised her, much-loved, cat Matthew more than 3 years ago. 

Matthew was a real looker - see here

 

The Black Bruiser is the reason we don't have a cat flap as he caused so much trouble. Eventually he broke the cat flap at the back which was in glass so really expensive to fix. 

Dog Monster (Hero) broke the one in the front door but that's another story!

Thomas is very laid back, as you know. He kept sitting near Black Bruiser on the railway track just watching him, facing him down.

This was all very well but it didn't help me, I was scared. The Assistant says it's because I don't have a vicious bone in my body - that's sounds like a good thing I think.

It was when the other cat came into our garden that Dog Monster (Hero) flew at him barking very loudly & scared him away.  

The Assistant was particularly pleased because this cat just stares at her with his yellow eyes & tells her he's not afraid of her.


 

  

Anyway, enough of all them. 

Here are some nice pictures of me - it's me you want to see isn't it?

Quite a few of the recent photos are of me sleeping. That's because The Assistant is limited. I was climbing a tree today - Thomas was watching me with great admiration. The Assistant said it was too far away to get a picture.

Can't get the staff.....






I like myself on the new duvet cover - sets off my shiny coat well don't you think?

As always The Assitant likes me to include a picture of all three of us together. It's not always like this because the Dog Monster is still a bit stand-offish &, dare I say, moody! 

But I am forgiving him now because of his heroic act.






 Me & Thomas have started really eating together now. The Assistant has been buying special food for each of us but we just swop bowls so she is giving up! 

 

That's enough for now. The Assistant tells me she's met some people who used to help me when I was in my foster home. More of them next time.

Lots of Love

Othello /OJ / Jason

Winter warming

It's good to be back. The Assistant always seems to be busy although I have no idea what she does as nothing much seems to come of it. As long as she remembers to get our food in, that's the main thing.

I spent a very pleasant few hours yesterday with Anna-next-door. 

She wasn't feeling well, she has a cold, so I accepted some Dreamies & curled up in her special chair to keep her company & have a good sleep

Last time I called on her Dog Monster was there & he got shirty about me using "his" chair. Anyway Anna says it's my chair now so ha ha DM!

He gets plenty of attention so it's nice for me to be the only one sometimes

DM was given a bone for part of his Xmas. I got a big mouse

I do tend to prefer real mice, they move about more!

Thomas was given treats. People know how much he likes his food although he did have a tooth out recently so is saving the crunchy stuff for later. 

He likes this new bed.The Assistant bought it for Dog Monster but we have a joint policy of taking over all of DM's beds at some point & Thomas didn't waste any time.

Me & Thomas still get on but I think Dog Monster can get jealous. He & Thomas get on really well as they are both a bit dull & like to be quiet unless they are outside

I have learnt about eating crisps

And helped with the ironing.....

and best of all......

I discovered cheesecake!

Happy New Year everyone

A Special Post from The Assistant

This post is dedicated to The Bear, Tom Cox's Sad Cat who has recently died.

http://www.tom-cox.com/2016/12/goodbye-kind-friend-rip-bear-1995-2016
(sorry I can't get this link to go live....)

This is one of the most moving accounts of the loss of a companion animal that I have ever read.

Indirectly, The Bear was responsible for my adoption earlier this year of Jason (Othello/OJ) & his friend from the KCC rescue, Thomas.

I was following The Bear's Twitter postings as @MySadCat & had got to know members of #TheBearsArmy on there. Anna is one of them & she began to retweet @KeighleyCatCare's appeals for adopters for Othello, who had been in Rescue for far too long. His story was that he is a black & white cat, which is a colour people tend to overlook, & that he has one eye smaller than the other, so was perhaps being ignored because of that as well. He had been given his own Twitter account so I asked if he was OK with dogs & KCC were quick to respond.

I had had cats most of my adult life but since 2013 found myself with just Danny the Dog Monster, as OJ insists on calling him, & I began longing for another cat. Danny is pretty spoilt & was used to having my full attention so I worried that he might react badly to sharing. Of course I now know that he is really quite scared of felines & the two cats now in residence dominate him!

Anna encouraged me online to take the leap into the unknown & I brought Othello home in April this year. Once he was fairly well settled I went back for Thomas two months later. Funnily enough Danny & Thomas get on pretty well, despite Thomas's misgivings at first, as they have similar temperaments & tend to leave each other alone. OJ is a real character & makes a nuisance of himself with both of them!

I am so happy to have these two felines as well as my lovely canine. It feels like the best possible outcome for me, despite all the extra work the cats create! Several of #TheBearsArmy correspond about any cat difficulties & share their own cat stories online. None of this would happen if it hadn't been for The Bear &, of course, Tom Cox who wrote about him.

If you haven't read the books I do recommend them. They contain swearing & they are definitely not cosy, twee cat stories. They make you cry at times as well as laugh & they are beautifully written.

The books are available on Amazon although Tom does encourage the use of independent bookshops if you can

Some more escapades!

Both Thomas & myself have been getting extra kisses & cuddles recently. Thomas because he wasn't eating much for two days & the Assistant was worried about him. Me because she thought she'd lost me. She says there's nothing like a companion being poorly or missing to make you realise how much they mean to you.

Thomas started to eat again just as the Assistant had decided she would take him to the Vet for a look at his teeth.

The Assistant was very worried about me because yesterday I stayed out for eleven hours at a stretch. Normally I check back in for a snack & bit of a rest after 3 or 4 hours.This time I had vanished & she was getting very concerned by the time I reappeared. She had dragged Dog Monster all over the place looking for me, she said. I was wet & extremely hungry when I got back & very pleased to be home. She thought perhaps I'd been shut in someone's garage & just been let out, then got soaked on my way home. Or perhaps I had got lost -  but then I don't get lost. She knows this because of my other escapade!

The Assistant was being taken for a walk by the Dog Monster a couple of weeks back. Apparently they have regular routes around the village. On this one they had crossed the big main road & gone through the railway bridge & down a side street. Sitting in a field over the wall the Assistant saw what she thought was "a very pretty black & white cat". A closer look showed this cat had a green bell on a red collar, at which point the Assistant realised it was me!

When I saw her I ran to her, jumped up onto the wall & started to walk with them. She likes it when I walk with them around the block at night. She seemed a bit edgy this time though & tried to lose me by turning back quite soon. I went back through the culvert where the beck goes from the field & under the road. I was ready to go back up on to the railway line which eventually leads to home when I saw the Assistant & the Dog Monster walking along the main road on the other side. I immediately ran back across the big road to greet them. She reacted a bit strangely to this! She has since explained that it's a very busy road with wagons, coaches & lots of cars & not at all safe for a cat to be running across. She had actually been very frightened for me. She hid her panic until it was all over, she says.

To cut a long story short, she ended up carrying me along the underpass where there were people & dogs, across the big road & part way up the short cut where there aren't many cars. When she finally let go of me - & I had struggled & wriggled to get free - I walked back home with them as usual. She had held me so tight I thought she was going to 'do a Michael Heseltine' on me! She praised Dog Monster for being very good on his lead crossing the road, as if he knew there was an urgent problem - that problem was me wriggling around trying to get down!

All back to normal again now!

See you next time - thanks for reading about me

Lots of Love

Othello / OJ / Jason