Whither thou goest

Rafa has always been more attached to Poppy than he is to our other two cats. Poppy is a lot more tolerant of his ‘close and personal’ cosying up than the cats, who prefer their own space and tend to repel his advances with a hiss and a nifty swipe of their paw (though relations have thawed a bit over recent months).

Sometimes we wonder whether Rafa is a cat or a hybrid dog. He still likes to accompany us for Poppy’s morning walk, though now we often have to shut him in our hay barn as he always wants to explore. Waiting for him while he checks out every inch of vegetation in the woods can turn a 20 minute walk into an hour and Poppy likes to get back to her sofa-surfing.

A few nights ago we were invited to spend the evening with neighbours. Poppy was invited too so we set off walking down the drive and who should come racing after us but our little ginger demon? Where were we going without him? We didn’t want to encourage Rafa to go any further as there are lots of dogs in the vicinity and our friends have a Welsh terrier who chases cats, so we scooped him up to return him to our house. On the way back up the drive he managed to wriggle free and disappeared into bushes so we had to leave him. But he must have stalked us because no sooner had we arrived at our friends’ house and settled down with a glass of wine than we heard a plaintive mewing from outside.

Poppy was instantly alert. What’s that noise? And there on the front doorstep was Rafa looking up as if to say, How can you think of going out with out me? If you’ve moved house, I’m coming too!

Walking home nearly 4 hours later, he was waiting for us on the drive. He’d probably been sitting there the whole time. We like to flatter ourselves that it’s us he wants to be with but in fact it’s more likely his canine buddy he can’t bear to be away from!

Doppelgängers

Poppy and Thomas are out in the Forest, when we turn a corner and what should we see …?

I’m sure the owners find it easy to tell these Welsh Terriers apart and I expect they all have their own distinctive smells to Poppy but even she seems a bit bemused.

She sniffs their bottoms (one must remember to be polite!) and then stands apart, not one of the crowd

After a good long walk Poppy is ready for a rest.

Is it time to go home yet?

Back at home, Rafa is waiting to get up close and personal as he likes to do.

You haven’t been out fraternising with dogs, have you?

 

 

Milestone

It’s a year ago today that we first brought home our bundle of ginger joy.

It didn’t take long for him to settle in to his new hotel and become accustomed to 24 hour service for his every need.

We asked him if he found his new home comfortable.

Enough beds to crash out on?

Play areas?

Tree climbing?

Places to hide?

All home comforts catered for then!

 

Delighting Like Cats and Dogs

Rafa is still accompanying Poppy on our morning walks in the woods. Only on days when the rain is sluicing through the trees and the paths are greasy with mud does he decide to curl up on a stack of hay bales in the barn instead. Then on our return he follows us back to the house and joins Poppy on her bed.

He likes to get up close and personal to his best friend.

Rafa is keener on this than Poppy …

Poppy can look a bit fed up as all the cats, and Rafa in particular. walk over her and try to take over her sleeping places.

Outside they want to share Poppy’s space too.

Here’s Treacle determined not to be left out.

It’s lucky that Poppy is prepared to put up with all their cheek.

A welcome relief for her though when they find their own places to stretch out.

Birthday Boy

Rafa is one year old today! Don’t be fooled by the halo. He pretends to be an angel but he’s still a little demon with his cheeky ways.

Now it’s his birthday, he must think it’s time for his driving licence.

This car would do. Nice and warm on here anyway.

Or perhaps an old army Land Rover would be handy for scouring the fields for unwary wildlife.

Back inside, a birthday lunch of fishcakes, followed by a long snooze is ideal for a wet August day.

Any fishcakes left over for Poppy? Sorry, I ate them all! 

Best Mates

Wherever Poppy goes, Rafa wants to go too. Our other cats still refuse to engage with him although they put up with him as long as he’s not too troublesome (chasing them or pouncing on them is not tolerated!)

So Rafa still comes along for the morning walk when we take Poppy out in the woods.

If we start off without him, there is soon a flurry of little paws and a blur of ginger as he hurtles across the paddock to join us

But our 20 minute walk with Poppy is turning into a much longer one when Rafa goes exploring.

Sometimes we wait for him, but this can encourage him to explore further and a couple of times he’s made his way into the middle of a tangle of brambles and nettles from which he struggles to find a way out. Turning round is not an option for him. We’ve had to push through the brambles ourselves in order to rescue him.

Other times, especially when we’ve been in a hurry to get back, we’ve marched on without him. Usually he realises we’ve gone and after a few minutes we spot him in the distance racing after us.

Twice we’ve had to leave him behind. Poppy is keen to get home and put her feet up. Rafa has been on this same route almost every day for about 3 months. Surely he knows his way back, though he’s wary of dogs he doesn’t know (sensibly) and of traffic when crossing our lane (thankfully).

The first time we left him behind he obviously did find his way back because a couple of hours later we found him fast asleep on the nest he’s made behind our sofa.

But the next time, he was missing for nearly 5 hours. We went back to the woods to look for him and as soon as he heard our voices he came trotting out of the bushes not far from where he’d disappeared earlier.  Rafa, where were you for all that time?

He was clearly very pleased to see us and happy to be carried most of the way home. It’s tiring work being an explorer.

 

Spot the Cat

Who, me? Causing you to worry? I’m back now, aren’t I?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tiger in the Woods

Our tiger is in the woods (no golfing pun intended!)

Rafa has taken to accompanying us on our morning walk with Poppy. Sometimes he must think he’s a dog as he likes to copy Poppy and they are together most of the day. Rafa still gets the cold shoulder from our other two cats so he is happy to have a friend in our sweet-natured dog.

Following us into the woods is just what our last ginger cat did. And then one day he went missing … We never found out what happened to him.

We’re afraid that once Rafa learns the way into the woods, he’ll go there on his own and perhaps at night… and perhaps not come home.

The woods are an exciting place for a young cat. So many trees and paths and all that jungle to explore. So when Rafa first tried to follow us we took him back to the house and locked him in. But cats are free spirits and we can’t do that for the rest of his life.

At the moment he mostly stays with us and trots along the paths with just the occasional foray into the undergrowth when he can’t resist checking it out.

We’ll just have to keep hoping he’ll continue to come home. We couldn’t bear to lose this little chap too.

Poppy Superstar

Since that little cuckoo Rafa has joined our family, Poppy seems to have been pushed out of her blog.

So it’s time to redress the balance with a few photos of our perfect dog taking centre stage – which she so clearly deserves.

She has to put up with a lot from her furry friends who walk all over her (literally as well as metaphorically!) But here she is on her own walk enjoying the spring sunshine on her regular route through the woods.

The Pinnacle of Ambition

Ambitions are high for Rafa. Since he’s been finding it easy to get to the top of the kitchen cupboards he’s up there nearly every day. It’s a particularly useful place to weigh up his safety options when dogs  that are not as affable as Poppy come visiting. But sometimes the place Rafa wants to get to is already occupied. And he’s not at all sure he’ll be a welcome companion …

Later he spies Zanzi again, this time at the top of a tall book cabinet. Hmm, how did she get up there?

I can do that too, he thinks. Once Zanzi has moved on to a new resting place, he tries it out for himself. Floor to coffee table, to small bookcase, to top of cabinet. Three bounds and he’s free! Or at least he’s at the top, looking very pleased with himself.

And now Rafa is outside, attempting his own Everest. No other cats to show him the way for this one. Somehow he’s managed to find a way onto the greenhouse roof.

Then it’s a full exploration of roofs and glass and gutters. But eventually he manages to reach the summit. Pity he doesn’t have a flag to attach to the pinnacle.

It’s slippery up there though and no easy routes for the descent. After trying out several possibilities it turns out to be a skiddy slide on his rump down the roofing glass – a bit like tobogganing except he has no sled – and then an ungainly tumble. But fortunately it’s only into the vegetable bed. And there are no spiky plants or bamboo canes there yet!

After a full day’s climbing it’s time for a well-earned nap.

Now I’m absolutely plum-tuckered. So just leave me alone to sleep.