MOTHER MAISIE: 2

An hour later, another kitten. This one is a grey spotted tabby who could be a knockout. Maisie is doing everything a mother cat should.

Here are some more photos. Warning: there's a little blood in one of them.

MOTHER MAISIE: 1.

Maisie started looking as if she was about to start to give birth about ten o'clock. In the two hours since then she's produced two kittens -one tabby and one black and white. She's in a little igloo in a corner of the conservatory and I can see her, though not her kittens, from where I'm sitting typing. right now she's either cleaning her babies or licking the entrance to her vagina in preparation for another; I'm not sure.

I have been in to see her once the kittens were out and feeding. Maisie was quite happy with this and purred loudly as I stroked her. I'm going to leave her alone for at least another half hour before checking if she's had any more. Meanwhile, here are some photos.

MAISIE THE LAST CAT

Maisie the young pregnant cat has been with me for about forty hours now and I think I'm in love. She's pretty, she's very friendly now she's settled in and got more space in the conservatory. She stares through the glass door at other cats and, when the kitten slipped in appeared to exhibit a friendly curiosity towards him. I've picked her up and put her on my knee where she sat and purred.

Her health seems very good. She has a good appetite and her stools are nice and solid -always a good indicator. No sign of her giving birth yet but I'm keeping a close eye on her.

So what's this about her being the last cat? you ask.  Well I'm glad you did and I'll tell you.

When I moved into this house after splitting up with Susan Hardy it was never my intention to foster cats, though I did expect to acquire one or three permanent residents. But foster I did and, to be honest, most of them were pushed on me by Susan and Andrea starting with Aoife and her kittens last year and culminating with the Fluffy siblings currently upstairs but going to the re-homing centre next week. This resulted in me looking after, at one point, ten adult cats and four kittens and all in a small house and, to be honest, I couldn't cope with that number. It was just too much.

My house is a smelly tip. The tip part is because I'm not a very tidy person and ought to make more effort (or employ a cleaner). The smelly is because the only safe way for cats into my garden is through the conservatory and, despite spending a grand on a new door with cat flap earlier this year, the cats can't use it because the conservatory has been in constant use as an isolation ward for fostered cats and their kittens and cats which are aggressive to other cats. Maisie, and her kittens to come, will be the last to use it.

I'm 66 years old in two days time and, as of now, I'm out of the fostering game. Once Maisie goes the only cats in my house will be the five permanent residents and maybe Arya if she catches no-one's attention from the fostering list. Maybe then they'll be able to get outside and go outside and the house will be less smelly and I'll spend less time cleaning out litter trays and more keeping the house clean and tidy.

What Animal Krackers desperately needs are fosterers who can keep cats for about three weeks until they've had both their flu jabs and can be transferred to our re-homing centre. I will personally kiss the feet of any such volunteers -if they want.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT -AND, NO, I'M NOT JOKING!

There have been quite a few problems with the Cats/Kittens Needing Homes page. I've solved this problem by creating a new blog solely for this page.

The URL is:

http://catsneedinghomessunderland.blogspot.co.uk/

but you can already access it via the link in the sidebar. The name has changed slightly but it's still the first one you come to. 

It's still in a basic format, that is none of the sidebars and links you get with this but that will change over the next week or so as I do some minor tweaking to the format. The content and photos are, however, up to date as of about half an hour ago. 

If you join it as a follower (facility not just yet available but will be soon) you'll automatically get it when it's updated (I hope).



.

I'M PREGNANT AGAIN!

No, that's not right. Can't quite put my finger on it though. Let's try and deconstruct that statement.

"I'm" as in I am. Refers to me, the writer, 'am' indicating a current state pertaining to me. Good, got that clear.

"Pregnant". We all know what that means. It is a condition only applicable to females. Or hermaphroditic organisms like snails. Male seahorses, although they carry the eggs and later the young in a pouch are simply rearing vessels and not pregnant in any accepted sense. Besides, I, the writer. am not a male seahorse. Therefore, unless I, the writer, am revealing an amazing scientific development, the statement cannot be true.

"Again" implies that this has happened to this writer before, however, as we have already established this cannot be true and, therefore, the statement is a double falsehood. It is, in simple English, a lie.

But wait! Perhaps we can consider the statement as metaphor in that I, the writer, am not attempting to pretend or to fool anyone that I am pregnant, rather that there is a larger statement being implied.

Consider what we know. The writer's involvement with cats. He has five of his own, he fosters several others, including at this particular moment, three kittens. It is not a huge logical step to assume that he has come into possession of a pregnant cat of which he feels highly protective. Given this assumption the statement does make sense, just not on a literal level. It should be noted that the writer has not been in possession of a pregnant cat before and that the 'again' can be considered as an attention grabber. It can also be assumed that this section has been the writer's feeble attempt at sending up pretentious prose.

Well I have news for the writer, that is myself. It doesn't work. Get on with the story you twit.

Meet Maisie.

The official story is this: Maisie is a stray who was recently adopted by a woman in her twenties with a four year old daughter. Discovering she is pregnant, the woman decides she can't keep the cat which, itself, heavily pregnant. Last Friday or thereabouts, Susan Hardy is brought into it and decides that Animal Krackers will take it and contacts me to tell me I'm taking it and that I'm collecting the cat on Monday and taking it to the vets for checking out at 4.30.

I am not happy because I don't know where I'm going to put it. I have two young cats in my bedroom who mostly decline to leave it. I have two recently acquired kittens in the conservatory. I also have seven other adult cats and one kitten in the rest of my house which is mostly the living room and kitchen. What I don't have is anywhere to put a pregnant cat. I wonder if a termination will be possible or if the cat is too far gone.

Monday morning and I'm at the vets having a cat given its second flu jab. When I come out of the consulting room I find Carole and her teenage granddaughter at the counter. I mention the pregnant cat and Carole starts tell me that Ian is dealing with it. Her granddaughter and I exchange confused looks and I point at myself so Carole realises what she's done and we laugh. I ask her if she'll take the cat. She will but only if it is pregnant. I breathe a sigh of relief. I'm off the hook.

Just after four and arrive to collect the cat. She really is heavily pregnant. When I pick her up she stretches and sniffs my nose and suddenly I'm not so sure about taking her to Carole's.

I get to the surgery and spend some time talking to Sue the afternoon receptionist and tell her about an idea I've just had. Offer the two brother and sister kittens in my conservatory to Carole. I go for it and call Carole who agrees. Louise the vet checks out the cat who I've decided to call Maisie but you know that already. She is very young, not much past six months and ready to drop in the next few days.

So I take her home and pop her in the cage in my bedroom. My plan the next morning is to take the kittens to Carole about nine-ish, come back and meticulously clean the conservatory and put Maisie in it.

However, in the last few minutes I've had Susan on the phone checking that Andrea had offered to take them when I saw her at the re-homing centre this morning. This is true but the context was different. At the time Carole  had agreed to take the cat so keeping the kittens wasn't a problem and Andrea's offer had slipped my mind. As of this moment, if she wants them she can have them as long as it's first thing in the morning as I want Maisie settled in the conservatory as soon as possible.

Don't worry, I'll let you know what happens very soon.

Five minutes later and that is what's going to happen and Carole is cool with it. (Anyone spot the 60's reference there?)

Oh, and in between paragraphs I got a phone call from a lady, who sounds very suitable, interested in Khal the black and white kitten. When she can get something sorted out with her partner who's at work she'll arrange a time come and see him.

Fingers crossed things are working out okay.

Seeing as you've all been so good, here's a bonus photo entitled:

GODZILLA VS RIKKI

 

Oh no! It's-

GODZILLA VS RIKKI: 2

After rapidly diminishing box office returns, Toho Studios released direct to video (DTV)

GODZILLA VS RIKKI: YOU TALKIN' TO ME?

which quietly died a death.

CATS AND KITTENS NEEDING HOMES, SUNDERLAND, ANIMAL KRACKERS RESCUE.

There have been a few problems with this page but they seem to have now been sorted. If you have it bookmarked, you may need to change that as it has a new URL. Please, if you have problems, let me know.

 http://catrescuesunderland.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/cats-and-kittens-needing-homes-animal.html

Updated: 29/07/14.

Cats and kittens re-homed as of 26/07/14: 71.

Introduction.

This is our official list of cats in our care that need homes. It is updated as soon as there are any changes, which can be several times a week.

Our re-homing centre is currently completely full and we have 20 cats and kittens in total needing homes.

Volunteer cat cuddlers are always welcome as they do an important job of keeping the cats socialised with people and more re-homeable as a result. Fosterers are always very much needed. With more fosterers we could help more cats.

If you would like to visit our centre with a view to adopting one (or more!) -or to come and make a fuss of them, or even just to satisfy your curiosity- please contact Ian Williams by one of the following methods-

Phone (mobile) 075088 12280

Phone (landline) 0191 514 2850 Improved service: I now have two phones and a message leaving facility.

Email: ianw700@gmail.com -the best way to get in touch as I check my emails numerous times a day.

We do ask for a donation of £40.00 for a kitten and £30.00 for adult cats as all our adult cats have been neutered/spayed and vaccinated against cat flu and, in addition to our many other expenses, our vets bills alone run at over £2,000 a month. Monetary donations or donations of items to our shop at Grangetown, Sunderland (phone: 0191 564 1812) are always welcome.

Because of increasing expenses, we now have to ask for a donation of £20 for cats we take in. We can only accept cats in the re-homing centre that have been neutered/spayed and vaccinated against cat flu, though we may be able to help with this.

If, for whatever reason, a cat has to be returned we will always accept them but it may not be possible straight away due to lack of spaces. Ian is always willing to help with any problems or queries. Our aim is a happy owner with a happy cat.

Something to think about: every cat we re-home means we have space to take in another cat which might otherwise either be tossed out to fend for itself or destroyed.

There are four parts to the list: lost & found, cats at the re-homing centre, cats fostered out, cats re-homed. Unless stated otherwise, Ian is the contact.

Lost and Found.

If you have lost your cat, email me a photo plus cat and your details and I'll put it on this page for 3 months or until you've got it back back whichever is the shorter period. The same if you have found a cat.

 Contact number for Sophie:    07895059084

Rosie, male, missing Penshaw area since 30/06/14. Added 20/07/14. If found/seen please contact: Louise at smithy11081985@hotmail.com

Mia is from the Blackfell / Washington area and has been missing since about 23/07/14. She's got a shaved back leg as she has recently had an operation. Her owner is Jamie Barker. Contact: ashleighcarr5@live.co.uk

Cats at the re-homing centre.

Sansa, female, about 2, pale ginger and white, still settling in but seems like a nice cat, doesn't like other cats though. Arrived 05/07/14.

Pierre, a large friendly longish-haired black and white male age 18 months. Everyone who meets him loves him. Just not enough to take him home. Surely there's a place in your house and heart for him. Arrived 30/03/14.

Aoife, 5 yrs, black with small white patch, female, ideal for a single person or couple with no children or other animals, likes having a fuss made of her, sitting on knees and sleeping on beds but otherwise low maintenance. Used to being a house cat. Must be the only cat. Only given up by her idiot fosterer (me) because he had too many cats in the house and some had to go. Arrived April 2013.

Burnside, 8-9 years old, ginger-white, been living rough-ish for three years, not a bad cat but best placed in a home without any other cats. Takes a little while to settle down and, at first, will escape if he can but he is friendly and likes people. The sort of cat that grows on you the longer you have him. Dependent on the kindness for strangers for many years, he's looking for someone who will finally give him a permanent home and love him in the late summer of his life. Arrived 05/04/14.

Roly, a lively friendly 2 year old boy. Missing the company of his sister who was re-homed recently, he's looking for a human on whom he can lavish his love. Arrived 03/04/14.

Hero. male, two and a half, b/w arrived 03/01/14, Frightened of children but generally friendly. That's his story and he's sticking to it. Come on, there must be someone out there for a bonny boy like him.

Alfie, a stray tabby, 4 years old, generally friendly and likes attention but terrified of a face coming close to him, not aggressive, needs a quiet home with lots of love. If he could sing he'd sing, "I'm just a soul whose intentions are good/Oh lord please don't let me be misunderstood." Arrived 05/02/14

Tiny (she isn't) & Todd, brother & sister, 15 months old, black, arrived 14/01/14. Nice natured, good with other cats. To be re-homed together. They thought they had a home until they were cast out by that rude word of a person who claims to rescue and re-home cats. Not doing a very good job with these two nice loving cats, is he?

Twinkle, female tabby, and Star, female black & white, young but age unknown. Twinkle is nervous but Star is affectionate. Twinkle could so easily be a friendly loving cat by someone with patience. It's so sad these two are often overlooked. Can -reluctantly- be re-homed separately.

Princess, 4 years old, likes being stroked and informing you quite loudly how she feels which is either feed me or stroke me. Arrived 24/07/14.

Cats (and kittens) with foster carers.

All these cats and kittens can be seen by, except where indicated, contacting Ian.

Two kittens, 3 months old, arrived 16th July, grey fluffy female, black and white male.

Jeff, female, 15 months old, a very loveable pretty young cat, tolerates other cats -just. Arrived April 14.Reserved but open to show of interest.

Arya, torty female about 1 year old, playful, very affectionate and likes other cats. Suit just about any owner. Except the idiot who abandoned her. Arrived 01/07/14.

I don't know who you are because I haven't met you yet but I do know you're incredibly lucky because you are the new owner of Bob and Bo Fluffy. They are a very loving 7 month old brother and sister with gorgeous soft fur and they are going to make you so happy over the next few years. So what are you waiting for? Get in touch! Neutered and spayed 14/07/14.

Millie (born 11/2/10) spayed and vaccinated. Best kept as an only cat. Can be very loving on her terms. Loves all food, not fussy and loves to sleep under the duvet with you. Contact Andrea 07588 903233.

Khal, male, 3 months, black and white, well socialised. Are you mad out there? This is a lovely friendly kitten and I should know because he's on my knee often enough and loves playing with other cats as all the other kittens he grew up with have found homes. Loves: cuddles, sleeping on beds, licking chins. £40 donation required.

Cats Re-homed 2014.

January 2014.

Ollie, 2 yrs, male grey tabby, 2/01/14

Tink (aka Tinkerbelle), male, white and tabby, 18 months, 05/01/14, from my house.

Unnamed female tabby, 3 yrs (?), friendly, 07/01/14

Lucas and Tim - Two male, black kittens 6 months old, re-homed 12/01/14

Morag, female spotty tabby, Maggie, female small tabby, 16 month old sisters, Re-homed 13/01/14

Archie 4 yrs, male grey, very friendly. Re-homed 22/01/14

Willow, female, 3 yrs, tortoiseshell, friendly and talkative. Re-homed 22/01/14

Wendy, 2yrs, female, fluffy tabby, arrived mid-December. Re-homed 25/01/14

Blue, 15 wk old grey/white kitten, lively, affectionate, playful, arrived my house 24/01/14. Re-homed 28/01/14

January total: 11

February 2014

Ginger 1 and Ginger 2, 8 month old brothers, arrived 14/02/14, re-homed 14/02/14

Rusty, four and a half months old, black, male, very friendly, arrived 10/02/14, re-homed 16/02/14

Tigger, ginger male, young but exact age uncertain, likes cuddles and sitting on knees, arrived 26/01/14, re-homed 16/02/14

Poppy, female, grey tabby, around 18 months old, very friendly, good with kids . Arrived 23/01/14, re-homed 23/02/14

Maisie, about 2 years old, female tortoiseshell, a very nice cat. Arrived 21/02/14, re-homed 26/02/14

February total: 6

March 2014

Matilda, 5-ish, female, three-colour longhair, loves cuddles and kids, needs regular grooming. Re-homed 01/03/14.

Tut, 5 yrs, male, ginger tabby, nice but needs an experienced owner with no children or other animals. Re-homed 02/03/14

Victoria, b/w, 14 months, arrived 14/01/14. Re-homed 07/03/14.

Tink, ginger male, 4 yrs, arrived 07/03/14, re-homed 10/03/14.

Morag, female spotty tabby, Maggie, female small tabby, 16 month old sisters, very friendly. Arrived 08/03/14, re-homed 11/03/14

Miranda, tortoiseshell, 8 months, arrived 14/02/14. Re-homed 11/03/14

Shappi, black, 8 months, arrived 14/02/14. Re-homed 11/03/14

Jenny, 14 months, very friendly, used to kids. Arrived 14/02/14. Re-homed 14/03/14.

Floppy, a recently neutered three and a half year old male. Arrived 08/03/14. re-homed 14/03/14

Hero. male, two and a half, b/w arrived 03/01/14, Frightened of children.

Molly, 9 yrs, female, large tortoiseshell, loves cuddles. Re-homed 15/03/14

Suzie, 8yrs, female b/w, re-homed 22/03/14. The 30th cat re-homed this year!

Yuna, mostly white female, born 14/05/08, outgoing friendly cat, arrived 14/03/14. Re-homed 23/03/14

Edgar, 8yr old mature tabby. Would make an ideal first cat. Arrived 17/02/14, re-homed 25/03/14 as a first cat.

Belle, 10 week old female tortoiseshell. She is very loving and loves snuggling up to people especially on the bed, also playful, Arrived 13/03/14. Re-homed 26/03/14.

Tiger, 5 years, long haired thick furred large tabby possibly with some Norwegian Forest Cat blood in him, loves being stroked, loves people, but doesn't like other cats. Re-homed 27/03/14.

Poco, 3 year old male tabby, used to children, seems like a nice cat. Arrived 23/03/14. Re-homed 27/03/14

Shadowcat, black, about 6 months old, just spayed, a nice friendly kitten-cat who loves cuddles and having her shiny silky soft fur stroked. Arrived 20/03/14. Re-homed 27/03/14.

Gerald the Ginger Kitten, 4-5 months old, playful, affectionate, lively, and delight of a kitten. Arrived 20/03/14, re-homed 28/03/14.

Lulu, b/w female, born 14/05/08, nervous at first, loves being stroked, arrived 14/03/14. Re-homed 31/03/14.

March total: 21.

Quarterly total: 38.

April 2014

Binx (aka Black Cat), about one year old, black, lively, good with children, small dogs, and other cats. Arrived 27/02/14. Re-homed 03/04/14.

Lucy, 5 yrs, black & white, due to an injury she had to have most of her tail amputated but has fully recovered. She loves affection and cuddles, likes up to you, placid, nervous of other cats, suit a quiet home, a really nice little cat. Must be a house cat. Arrived Jan 2014. Re-homed 05/04/14.

Bertie and Boris, two nice friendly young tabby brothers. Arrived 30/03/14. Re-homed 17/04/14.

Roger, male 2 yrs, male, large black, arrived mid-December, nervous at first now very friendly. Re-homed 18/04/14

April total: 5.

May 2014

Dusty, 6 months old, a friendly kitten-cat who likes cuddles. Arrived and neutered 13/04/14. Gone to live with Binx 03/05/14 and I miss him already.

Kiki, female, about 1 year old, a very nice friendly young cat, good with other cats, seems okay with children. Arrived 25/03/14. Re-homed 03/05/14

Mittens, b/w female, 16 months old, nice friendly young cat. Arrived 17/03/14. Re-homed 09/05/14.

Muddy, 14-15, long haired grey, found in a very poor condition and, after spending three days at the vets, has come to live with me. First impressions are that he's very friendly. Arrived 02/05/14. Re-homed on a long-term fostering basis 10/05/14

Edgar, male tabby, 8 years old, placid, likes being stroked, a good first cat. Arrived 12/04/14. Re-homed 12/05/14.

Jennifer, 5 and Dawn; 3 yrs, black, the mother is very friendly, the daughter is very nervous. Re-homed 10/12/05.

Oscar, 4 years old, a nice friendly boy, arrived 01/05/14. Re-homed 13/05/14

Tink, ginger male, 4 yrs, arrived 07/03/14, re-homed 10/03/14, a nice cat but returned because jealous of baby 18/04/14. Re-homed 17/05/14.

May total: 9.

June 2014

Charlie, 2 years old, mostly white, nervous but nice. Re-homed 02/06/14

Two kittens  8 weeks old, homed 06/06/14.

Ginger kitten, 8 weeks old, homed 08/06/14.

Tabby/white kitten, 9 weeks old, homed 15/06/14

Rikki, b/w male, born 14/05/08, technically still fostered but it looks like I'm keeping him.

Frank, 2 years old, black and white, very friendly. Arrived 0/06 /14. Re-homed 18/06/14.

Angelica, 2 yrs black female, very affectionate, re-homed 24/06/14.

Kitten, black and white, homed 19/06/14.

June total: 9

Quarterly total: 23

July 2014

Two kittens, dark tabby & tabby/white, 9 weeks old, homed 04/07/14

Bron, male, about 4 months old, ginger & white, lively and well socialised, Homed 10/07/14.

Gilgamesh, 5 years old, an ocicat arrived 09/06/14. He has graciously accepted the offer to go and live with a young couple who promise to provide for all his needs for the forseeable future, 15/07/14.

Tammy, 9 years old, female black and white, has gone on a long term foster 15/07/14.

Caitlyn, about 4 years old, female, pretty and friendly but not so keen on other cats. Arrived early July 2014. Re-homed 24/07/14.

Rasputin is a two year old female and very friendly. Desperately needs someone to adopt her and give her a new name more fitting to her loving nature. Arrived 30/04/14. Re-homed 25/07/14.

Miranda and Shappi, 2 yrs old, and Sox, I yr old re-homed 25/07/14.

July total: 10.

I'LL THINK OF A TITLE LATER*

The day started slowly. I woke at five having slept all the way through the night, blissfully uninterrupted by the needs of my bladder until then. That done, back to bed and went back to sleep again, dragging myself up at six thirty and getting to the baths by seven forty. Some swimming sessions are better than others. Last week I made all five weekday sessions, often doing more than the minimum distance I'd set myself of twenty lengths something I never succeeded in doing this week. Getting home and being unable to summon up enough energy to do anything significant, I went back to bed and flaked out for a couple of hours only to be woken by the phone ringing. 

A lady wanted to come and see the cats so I arranged a meet at Ferry Farm. This was promising and I suddenly felt energised. I'd homed one cat last night. Could this be two in less than twenty-four hours?

The cat I'd re-homed last night came as a surprise. A lady had rang yesterday lunchtime and I asked if I could bring a cat to her house about teatime. In between I had to take Wendy (not the vet) and her cat to the PDSA, pick up Arya (otherwise known as Arya the cat I'm not keeping) from Wendy (the vet), drop Wendy (not the vet) back home, and head off to Morrisons at Doxford Park to empty the food bin. All of which I did. I decided to try Caitlyn, the long haired temperamental ginger cat I'd had for a couple of weeks. Caitlyn doesn't like other cats and spends most of her time behind my fridge. She's not very keen on being picked up either, though she does like being stroked. I emphasised on the phone not to be embarrassed if the lady didn't take to the cat. It was a long shot anyway.

I duly turned up at the agreed time, not far away. As I entered the living room, I said they shouldn't be surprised if Caitlyn bolted for cover. There were two other people there, the lady's brother and late teenage daughter. I opened the carrier lid, Caitlyn popped out and proceeded to sedately wander round the room, tail erect, pausing for people to stroke her. That was it. Sold. I went home alone. The unlikely ones are always the most satisfying.

Off to Ferry Farm to meet the new lady interested in a cat. Her and her male companion turned up just when I was starting to think about heading home -they'd come on the Metro. I showed them all the cats, thinking it narrowed down to three but I was wrong it was just two and even then one was more likely than the other. The cat she chose was Rasputin, the badly named sweet-natured two year old torty. We did the paperwork and she's coming to collect the cat in the morning.

I was back there another couple of hours later to meet the new owner of Shappi, Miranda, and Sox. They'd been picked a couple of weeks ago but the young woman and her partner wanted to wait until the start of their holidays so they could spend a lot of time with their new cats.

So, five cats re-homed in 24 hours, though it's really only two. Nothing makes me happier than finding a home for a cat or a kitten.

As things stand now the only cats available for adoption in my house are Bob and Bo Fluffy (I've changed their names again) who'll be going to Ferry Farm after their second flu jab in ten days, three kittens, and Arya the cat I'm not keeping no matter how often she jumps on my knee and rubs against my face.

You're going, cat, sooner or later you're going and don't think you aren't.

*I didn't (think of a title later).

The AK list of cats and kittens available for adoption is temporarily offline.

The AK list of cats and kittens available for adoption is temporarily offline.

I'm having to rebuild the entire list almost from scratch. I have managed to copy and paste the text into word processing software and exported it into a New Post in Blogpost which I've then been able to save.

The first thing to do after that is reformat the text which involves changing the spacing, fonts, etc. Then to reinsert all the photographs.

Expect this to take a few days as it's taken me a day, on and off, to get this far. Right now I'm off to pick up a lady to take her and her cat to the PDSA and after that collect Arya from the vets where she's being spayed. A little later on I'm hoping to take one of the cats I'm fostering to another lady with a view to adoption.

Going now.

CAT'S CABLE

Despite the title, this may at first not seem anything to do with cats.

I do more than use this desktop for more than blogging, writing emails, and spending more money than I have sense at Amazon. I often watch films on it, not the regular stuff -and, no, not what you're about to start thinking either- but obscure cult horror movies not available on Region 2 DVDs. By 'obscure cult' I'm also including the original Japanese Godzilla movies, Hong Kong fantasy/horror and other Asian stuff. I use a piece of software called AnyDVD which strips the region coding so they can play on my computer.

So obviously sound is important and when my computer stopped playing sounds a few weeks ago, I began to wonder what went wrong. First off I checked that all the connections were connected. Then I checked that the various hardware associated with it was recognised by Windows and, theoretically, in working order. It all checked out so I thought I'd get round and take it to the local computer repair shop, suspecting that it might be a loose internal connection.

I'll do it tomorrow.

Several weeks later and with several new Godzilla movies piling up I checked the speakers and stuff again. And found a cable bitten in half. I don't know how I missed it before but missed it I did. I don't know why I didn't even think of it before as I detailed, in a post last year, how cats (one in particular I thought) had forced me several times to obtain new connecting cables for my Ipod, Ipad, and landline as well as new earphones. So why I didn't think of this possibility escapes me. Probably encroaching... well, something I'd rather not think about.

If you're looking for cheap computer speakers you could do a lot worse than the ones I bought for twelve quid -Logitech Z120, compact, easy to plug in, with good sound.

I normally wouldn't bother you with something like this but I'm having problems updating the cats for re-homing list. In fact I may have somehow deleted it. Either way, I'm having technical problems with Blogspot and have knocked this out to see if it publishes.

Here's a photo to see if that works.

 

CATS IN A BAY WINDOW

  1. Cats in a bay window.

It's hot and sunny and  Fifi (left), who normally is jealous of her personal space, will even share it with new boy Rikki (right) and then, just under a year old, Emma (centre). Rikki, who has only been here a few weeks after I took him from Ferry Farm, really has settled in well. He often jumps on my knee and mixes freely with the other cats.

2. Bits & pieces.

I got a text from Dawn at Ferry Farm to inform me that Bruce (a large black cat who's been with us for some time) had been losing a lot of weight recently despite having a good appetite. As I was taking Jeff to be spayed this morning, I rang the vet's to see if they could squeeze Bruce in. They could so I picked him up on the way. And when I physically picked him up I was shocked by how light he was. It didn't take Wendy even a minute to diagnose him as having an extremely large tumour. It goes without saying that I wouldn't and couldn't let the poor thing suffer.

Arya, my favourite little torty who is definitely not staying here, honest guv (see recent post) is going back to the vets yet again following first the checkup, second the operation to remove a pin from her and third the removal of the stitches. Now it's fourth the spaying. She went into heat a few days ago and is very vocal about it. For some reason based on no evidence whatsoever other than the fact she'd clearly never had a litter (no enlarged nipples) I'd assumed she'd already been spayed. Wrong again.

The two kittens have now been in the conservatory for a couple of days. They are using the litter tray properly but are barely eating. I mentioned this to Wendy the morning who suggested putting their food under cover so they feel more secure. I've done this but so far to no effect. If things don't change in a day or two I'll have to get them in. A moment ago I noticed them lying on top of each other in full view and took a quick photo. They are used to me and are quite friendly. Maybe things will work out okay.

CHANGES TO CATS NEEDING HOMES PAGE

As of today I've introduced a lost and found section. Anyone who has lost or found a cat can send me the relevant information plus a photo and I'll put it up for a maximum of three months or sooner if asked to take it down.

If you have lost or found a cat in the greater Sunderland area (roughly Boldon to Seaham and the western boundary) please email me the details. Or if you know someone in either situation then please point them in my direction.

I'll be giving this a few months to take off but if it doesn't then I'll stop doing it. 

If anyone is claiming a cat or kitten, then they must show some proof of ownership like a photo.

The link to it is in the left hand column but here it is anyway: 

http://catrescuesunderland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/animal-krackers-cats-needing-homes.html

Now I sit back and wait.

DOG WEARING GLASSES

This is my brother in law's elderly Cavalier King Charles dog Willow wearing his glasses. It's here for no other reason than I think it's funny.

OVERSTRETCHED AND OVERSTRESSED

(This follows on from the previous post in which, against my better judgment, I accepted two kittens. My better judgement was right.)

As with all new cats, I initially put them in the largish cat cage in my bedroom and, as usual, after a while I let them out. Result: they soiled my bed and crapped on the floor. I also realised they were flea-ridden. So back in the cage and dosed with Frontline. They soiled the cage and didn't eat much either. For all my good intentions, I wasn't really helping the kittens. The Fluffy siblings in my bedroom weren't too pleased either.

Ideally they should be in my conservatory but that was already occupied by Sansa, a two year old female who didn't like other cats so she had to be in there.

By last night I was getting desperate and emailed a new cat cuddler who mentioned about fostering and wondered if she'd take Sansa. When I didn't hear from her by this morning, I rang Dawn at Ferry Farm and asked if she'd let her in despite the cat not being due for its second flu jab for another ten days. Thankfully she agreed and I've just got back from dropping the cat. Sansa will be okay as she's used to being in the conservatory which isn't that much smaller than the pens at Ferry Farm.

The kittens are now in the conservatory where they'll hopefully relax, start to eat properly and use the litter tray.

 I do think Hairy Ears is cute.

Needless to say, they are available for adoption.