TIMID TIMMY AND MINNIE

Regular readers will remember that not long ago, and not for the first time either, I emphatically stated that I was no long going to foster any more cats. Regular readers will not be surprised to learn that that resolution didn't last long.

So these are the brief stories so far of Timmy and Minnie, two cats I took in as foster cats today. We'll begin with Timmy as he was the first.

For some reason I was under the impression that Timmy was to be put to sleep if someone didn't take him soon. This, I learned, was completely and utterly wrong and I inadvertently maligned a very highly respected (not least by me) animal welfare organisation (not the RSPCA) on Facebook. That post has now been deleted and a sincere apology given. Anyway, I collected him from where he'd been looked after and was told that while apparently healthy he was also very nervous and spent the weekend hiding under blanket. I brought him home shortly before 12 and put him on a chair in my conservatory and he's still sitting there three and half hours later warily looking into the living room. He's not aggressive at all and can be stroked easily. He's about 3-4 years old and hasn't been neutered. That last will change tomorrow morning when I take him to King's Road Vets.

I probably wouldn't have taken him if it hadn't been for the false information I'd been given but what the hell I did have the space.

Just after one I was winding down and thinking about my early afternoon nap when the phone rang. A cat had been dumped outside a house in the country and the lady couldn't keep it because her small elderly dog was frightened of it and she'd spent four hours calling all different places and then she'd been given my name from a lady who'd got a cat from us and the cat is very friendly and...

All right, I'll come and check it out but I'm making no promises.

So off I set and although not far away in terms of mileage it really was deep in the country along winding lanes with hardly a house or farm building in sight even though it was only a five minute drive from the Seaton Lane Inn which, decades ago, used to be a spit and sawdust pub (now sadly gone upmarket) that served excellent real ale including Theakston's Old Peculier when it was a beer that only the brave drank in quantities larger than a half pint. I initially missed the place because I'd keyed the wrong digit in my satnav and went about a mile too far but I found it soon enough. The cat was hiding under a settee and it was nervous but, again, not aggressive so I got it in the carrier, brought it (her? I'll find out tomorrow) home and put it in the cat cage. Hopefully she'll be okay with the other cats so I can let her out. Vets tomorrow for a checkup.