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!

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!

 

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.

 

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.

Catfish

Rafa would love to get at the fish in our fountain. He gazes down at them through the protective wire for hours.

But look who got caught instead!

 

 

Little Drummer Boy

Our little Rafa boy has been causing us heart palpitations again. Yesterday he went missing for nearly the whole day. He normally only goes outside for half an hour or so and then comes in to eat and crash out by the Aga or play with his friend Poppy before he ventures out again.

We last saw him mid morning running around the garden and climbing trees with Zanzi (now he’s got the hang of it). By lunchtime when he hadn’t returned we were starting to get worried and searched the garden and all our outbuildings. No sign of him. An hour later we went out again and spent all afternoon checking the stables, the sheds, peering into the conifers and, with increasing dread, into ponds, the horses’ water troughs and everywhere else that could be a hazard to a young cat who has been getting too bold for his own good.

Feeling increasingly frantic, we checked the lane, combed fields and woods. We couldn’t believe it – another ginger cat gone missing. Not again. Our hearts couldn’t stand it. By 5 pm and feeling sick to our stomachs, we checked the outbuildings one more time and there in the master’s drum studio that we’d looked in three times already we found him!

Usually if he’s shut in anywhere by mistake he wails loudly and shoots back out as soon as a door is opened. There must have been so many places to explore here: hiding behind all the instruments, climbing inside the drums – surely this studio was specially set up as a cat’s adventure playground.He hadn’t made a sound when we looked in earlier.

Now having had so much time to practise, he surely has a future in a cat rock band.!

But after six hours locked away he was keen to get back to the house for a good munch and the chance to settle down with Poppy again.

And time for a glass of wine for us to settle our nerves. Another day survived!

Dangerous Hydrangeas

Since joining our household it seems that Rafa is trying to use up all his nine lives before he reaches adulthood.

Apart from his great tree-climbing escapade, our great explorer has walked the tightrope of a narrow rail on our balcony, and found all sorts of hazards to challenge himself with. A couple of days ago we were horrified to find him licking tiny fragments of cheese from a grater we’d carelessly left on a worktop. Somehow he managed to avoid shaving the skin off his tongue.

Later he climbed into a kitchen cupboard and found a small hole used to access the stopcock for our water supply. After squeezing through this hole and venturing further he then found himself trapped in the space beneath the kitchen cupboards. Luckily Rafa has a very loud wail which usually alerts us when he is unable to find his way out of difficulties. After unscrewing the plinths, we found him crouched under the cupboards with as many cobwebs draping his face as old Miss Faversham in Great Expectations.

This time it was Rafa who needed his own wash and brush up in the sink where he likes to sit and watch.

But the most frightening time so far was when Rafa ate a poisonous plant. Like every other kitten, he has to explore every new thing so when I was unpacking a box of baby hydrangea plants, he was like a child at Christmas, desperate to see what was inside. Before I could remove the pots he pounced on one of the plants, breaking off a leafy stem and making off with it in his teeth. Bemoaning the now much reduced plant, I took the others out of reach but on returning found no sign of the stem he’d been chewing. A strange choice for a carnivore, I thought. When an hour or so later he suddenly vomited in the kitchen we first thought he’d just gobbled his food too fast. The second time he gave a piteous meow and convulsed his stomach before throwing up. He’d never been sick before and I went cold with fear, suddenly remembering the plant he’d eaten.

Grabbing the laptop and checking for hydrangeas we were shocked to find them listed as poisonous to cats (along with almost every other plant to be found in the garden). As this was a Sunday we had to ring an emergency vet’s number. He suggested we contact the National Animal Poison helpline. Although Rafa was by this time running about again and didn’t seem distressed, we were so worried about our little fellow that we paid the £30 upfront fee without hesitation. We found they didn’t yet have much data on the effects of eating hydrangeas (they even asked us to update them on the outcome so they could use it to help other owners – should they have been paying us?) but we were reassured by the advice that if it had been highly toxic it probably would have had a more serious effect sooner. Thankfully, the vomiting seemed to have cleared it from his system and he was soon playing with his toys and chasing after our other pets as normal,

It reminded us not to be complacent though. We know that lilies can be dangerous to cats, mostly because they may rub against the blooms and the pollen is poisonous when they lick it off their fur. Less toxic but still poisonous enough to make them ill is the popular poinsettia. Clearly we must be extra vigilant and keep these away from our pets however much we like these flowers. For young Rafa it seems there are just too many hazards.

 

Mice are Nice!

A  cat died and went to Heaven. God met her at the gates and said,
‘You have been a good cat all these years. 
Anything  you want is yours for the asking.’

The cat thought for a minute and  then said ‘All my life I lived on a farm and slept on hard wooden floors. I would like a real fluffy pillow to sleep on.’
God said,  ‘Say no more.’ Instantly the cat had a huge fluffy pillow.

A  few days later, six mice were killed in an accident and they all went to  Heaven together. God met the mice at the gates with the same offer that  He made to the cat.
The mice said, ‘Well, we have had to run all of our lives: from cats, dogs, and even people with brooms! If we could just have some little roller skates, we would not have to run  again.’  

God  answered, ‘It is done.’ All the mice had beautiful roller skates.

About  a week later, God decided to check on the cat. He found her sound asleep on her fluffy pillow.. God gently awakened the cat and asked, ‘Is everything okay?

How have you been doing? Are you happy?’

The  cat replied, ‘Oh, it is Wonderful. I have never been so happy in my  life. The pillow is so fluffy, and those little Meals on Wheels you have been sending over are delicious!’

Rodents

The cats are not up to the job!

In spite of three young, fit felines we have rodents in the house.

The cats all love to play in the stable yard. Zanzi is still such a kitten. While Jaffa strolls about like a cool lion and slumps down to watch proceedings, Zanzi dances about, tossing fallen leaves and twigs into the air, leaping up, twirling and spiralling like a ballerina as she chases after them.

In true dare-devil fashion she darts under the horses’ bellies, getting far too close to those great clumping iron-clad hooves. Then she jumps effortlessly up to perch on top of the stable doors to watch the horses, or scampers up and down the hay bales in the barn.

Now Jaffa is joining in too and looking for possible wildlife. He climbs right up to the top of the tallest stack.

We have often had a problem in the past with rats in the feed room and barn and in spite of feeling a shudder as a large rat shoots out from under our feet or scuttles along the rafters, I have always had an aversion to putting down rat poison. It seems such a terrible and painful way for them to die. Being caught by cats or our neighbours’ terriers (Poppy is far too gentle to kill anything) seems a much more natural way to control the rodent population.

When Treacle had her kittens we checked out all the barns to ensure that there were no old trays of poison behind the hay bales or up in the roof where inquisitive cats might go exploring.

And since we have had the cats, we have not seen a rat in months. Perhaps they have decided the game is up and evacuated their previous home.

Ready to pounce

But while the three cats are out having fun in the yard and revelling in the great playground that is our garden, we have had mice in the house.

We opened a kitchen cupboard to fetch out some rice and found the bag chewed right through and a pile of shredded foil from the packet. Taking out all the rest of the contents we discovered a chewed pack of lasagne, the shredded remains of a packet of cheese biscuits, more invaded packets of food and an unsavoury scattering of shredded plastic and mouse droppings. All this in the last week as the cupboard was cleaned out just before Christmas!

So where are those useless cats? Nowhere to be seen, of course. They are playing outside while the mice are laughing indoors with their stolen treasure!

 

 

 

It’s a Dog’s Life (a Cat’s too!)

Isn’t there any work to be done around here?

While we have been out slaving in the garden all morning, our pets have been relaxing and enjoying the warmth of the conservatory. A soft chair each to nestle in and nothing will persuade them to move.  And somebody once complained, ‘It’s a Dog’s Life!’

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