The MOD obviously spend a lot of time blowing things up round our way. Fireworks have been going off nonstop since yesterday night and the cats are barely flinching. Miles occassionally looks round curiously but doesn't seem scared at all. :)

My kittens are now 7 months old, and are fully grown (though Maya is still tiny, and I think she may grow a little more yet) - it's probably time I stopped calling them kittens and started calling them cats (though technically they're still classed as kittens while they're under 1 year old). I thought I'd post some pictures of them and a bit of a update as to how they're doing these days.

( Without further ado... )

Miles loves Springwatch - he keeps jumping up at the screen to chase the baby birds! Very entertaining. I also have a rather good video of him playing with the computer screen while Tom plays a flash game, which I will upload and post as soon as I figure out how to get media off my new phone. I have also tried to start getting the kittens used to a coat brush, but of course to Maya it's yet another thing to play with. She's busy chasing it round the sofa right now. Well, at least she's not scared of it I guess!

The kittens have discovered upstairs. Last night they followed me up then snuck into the bedroom. As predicted, it is THE BEST PLACE EVAR as far as they are concerned, especially when we are in bed. They LOVE the bed - feet to attack, comfortable folds of fabric to wrestle in and with, pillows to curl up on and handy glasses of water to drink (and sneeze into, apparently - I might have to put my water glass somewhere less accessible from now on...).

Maya has also taken to sitting on the laptop while I'm trying to use it. I take her off and put her down next to me on the comfortable blanket but she just gets up and sits on the laptop again! I's not too bad if she sits on the edge, but more often she plonks herself down on the keys and makes strange shortcuts and settings within Firefox get all confused. I try to discourage her but it's hilarious when wierd and wonderful things appear on screen!

We need to register them with vets - hopefully will be done after work today. Apparently they can have their first vaccinations now, which is surprising! Won't that be fun for them? The good thing is there is a vets in the village so we don't have to drive them for hours to get them in.

And we are very very close to booking our honeymoon! We both researched for ages on Sunday, and have decided the best way to get the most out of a fortnight in Japan is to book ourselves on a travel tour. I trust that we would do alright in and around Tokyo, but if we want to go to wierd and wonderful places in more remote parts of the country then I think we're better off with someone helping us organise it. I never did get around to learning any Japanese, after all.

On Saturday my seeds arrived from the BBC! They were giving away free vegetable seeds as part of their Dig In campaign – a grow-your-own and get-the-kids-involved kind of thing. Well I have no kids to help me garden but I did want some free seeds, so 4 weeks ago I sent off and Saturday they arrived! So Sunday I planted rows of beetroot, carrot and lettuce in my previously dug-out bed. There’re all nicely labeled with poles to mark where the rows are, so unless someone’s cat comes along and digs them up I should be getting some lovely fresh veg this summer! I want to get some onions as well – I might go to the garden centre and see what they have. Oh, and Tom’s requested peas since he remember fresh peas from the pod in his Nan’s garden as a child. I have no objections to that, especially as bees love peas! I also planted out some tomato plants into large pots which they can spend the summer in. I was a little worried about moving them outside since the weather’s rubbish at the moment but they really don’t fit on the kitchen window anymore so outside they have gone.

Kittens continue to be wonderful. Maya is becoming a little less dependant on her brother – she’ll still call for him if she can’t see him, but rather than continue to cry she’ll come to one of us next instead, and rub up and purr. Clearly they’re both going to be lovely people-loving cats! I was a little worried about Miles as he slept for 8 hours solid yesterday, only getting up briefly to eat and use the litter tray. Maya slept with him but woke up and ran about as usual – she tried to play with him but he just kept sleeping! This morning though he was dashing about like a mad thing so I guess he just tired himself out playing in the morning!

Oh, and here’s a photo that Tom’s mum took that desperately needs a caption. :)

The namesakes:


( Read more... )

We brought the kittens home Friday. Their owner chatted for ages about them - when their birthday is, what they eat, their toilet habits, etc etc. She also advised me to not get her speyed, as in her experience female cats are much nicer when they have kittens! Irresponsible advise if you ask me. Tempting as the idea of having a litter of kittens in a years time is I think we're better cat owners than that.

They settled in amazingly quickly. They both used the litter tray straight away then set about exploring the house. They were timid for about half an hour then they started rushing madly round, chasing and playing and exploring. Their favourite play place is behind the TV amongst the wires and scart cables - lots of shelves for them to jump on and off. They won't fit there for much longer so I'm not really worried about them doing damage to the equipment unless they start sleeping on the Wii or something!

They both already have very distinct personalities - Miles is quite laid back, and very keen on people. He's happy to be stroked and tickled, though if he's in the middle of playing he'll ignore you. He won't flinch away though, which Maya does if you catch her unawares. In fact last night after a prolonged period of dashing round the house Miles came and fell asleep in my lap! He's definitely going to be a big soppy lap cat, which is wonderful.

Maya is a little more timid of people, and will tolerate strokes but doesn't usually react to them unless you stroke her when she's asleep, in which case she will nuzzle into your hand. :) She also bosses her brother around a bit, and will lead him round the house. She's an explorer, and wants to get everywhere she can see. She was the first to go up stairs (about half an hour after arriving), but having been brought up in a flat she hadn't yet learned how to get back down and sat at the top crying until I came and rescued her! The two of them have since learned how to get both up and down stairs rapidly and spent a good 10 minutes chasing each other up and down constantly. Maya will cry if she doesn't know where her brother is - sometimes he'll fall asleep while she's still playing, and she can't see him and will meow. He will usually meow back to her though or go and find her. It's so sweet that they get on so well! Apparently in their previous place Maya would cry when her mother wasn't in, and Miles would come and comfort her.

They play together all the time, then curl up and fall asleep together. We bought them an enclosed bed which they slept in last night, but they have discovered a blanket on top of a box in an alcove which makes a much nicer bed and have been sleeping there for the last hour or so. Now they've woken up and are half-washing half-fighting each other. I expect another mad rushing play session isn't far away.

I have taken a few photos but they're not great. When I get some decent ones I'll post them. The kittens move too fast when they're playing, and sleep in dark corners. Plus black and white are not easy colours to photograph together! :P

The nice lady texted me a picture of the kittens! ( OMGPAWS! )

After discussing most of last night and the car journey to work this morning, Tom and I have decided on the names Miles and Maya. We decided that Phoenix was not suitable for anything other than a ginger cat, or maybe one with a spiky hairdo. ^_^ Of course going with that theme the white male kitten should be called Von Karma but that's a rubbish name so Miles it is. Plus I can claim I'm naming him after Miles (Tails) Prower since I've always adored that character.

Can't wait for Friday! The utility room is almost cleared and ready for them now. Just need to buy a scratching post and cat carrier! Squee!

I HAS KITTENS! I found a pair of kittens advertised locally, and went to view them this evening. One boy - all white, with little grey spots on the top of his head, and one female - a black fluffy kitten with white chin and socks. Both were friendly and quiet and curled up on the sofa - they enjoyed being petted and seemed very happy and healthy. Mum was very friendly as well, fully-grown and healthy, as was grandma. :) I don't think they were cat breeders so much as simply having the odd litter (still not acceptable in my books, but at least all the cats were in a good home)

We are picking them up on Friday so we can have a full weekend to supervise them getting used to their new home before they will get left alone. They are 9 weeks, a little older than the usual age for rehoming, so hopefully we won't get so many anxiety issues with moving them away from their mum.

I can't wait! We already have a few bitf for them but still need to get a carry basket as well as stocks of food and cat litter. Oh, and lots of memory and battery power in the old camera, of course! :D

We're starting to think of names. We both like Phoenix and Maya, but will continue coming up with ideas for now. Probably geeky ones.

We drove to Salisbury first thing this morning to go to church. I know I'm going to have to start going to the local one soon but I kind of wanted one last service at St Thomas to say goodbye. Frustratingly David, who usually takes service, wasn't there and he was the person I really wanted to let know I've moved, and to talk to him about wedding stuff. I guess I'll have to email him instead.

We then spent pretty much all day in Salisbury, doing some essential and some non-essential shopping. Came back with shoes for both of us (much needed for Tom, as his were a few threads away from disintegration), Rhythm Paradise for Nintendo DS, ingredients for banana honey teabread (currently in the oven and smelling AMAZING) and a shiny new flat screen monitor. Our poor old PC has had a bit of an overhaul recently - a reinstall and a legal copy of Windows XP fixed the software issues and BSOD, and now a shiny monitor to replace the 9 year-old hefty 18 inch CRT (which will be freecycled, if anyone wants it). We weren't planning on getting one before the wedding, but there were a coupld of good offers out there so now we have a 22 inch Samsung which is full of shiny!

I've been baking all afternoon for a colleague's birthday tomorrow. I did plan to do some garden stuff but yesterday I managed to burn my back in the gap between my trousers and T-shirt when bending over and my legs are also rather stiff from digging! I'll have to warm-up and stretch afterwards in future. :P

We have reached that annoying stage in house sorting and box unpacking where we have all but the junk unpacked and have reached a sort of apathy with the few remaining bits and bobs. There are wires and bike bits and games and toys still scattered around and I've become used to seeing them so no longer feel the desire to tidy them away out of sight and mind in the spare room. Boo! I'll have to make the effort soon.

I have started Operation Kitten Hunt with some gusto. When we first moved in I called a few rescue centres but was told to call back May/June when feral kittens would be appearing. So I emailed every rescue centre and rehoming charity I could find asking to go on their waiting list, but so far have only heard back from one, which is disappointing - I guess they're very busy. So this week I'm going to start calling round again. I did see a couple of adverts in a petshop window in Salisbury but all the kittens had gone - one lady gave me the name of her sister who has kittens due in a week, but she sounded quite posh and I suspect may be a breeder. I have no issues with home-bred cats provided it's done compassionately and responsibly, but there are so many cats and kittens in shelters that desperately need good homes I'd much rather get a couple from a charity than a breeder. The only drawback is a lot of charities, certainly the RSPCA, don't rehome kittens until they've been neutered at 6 months, which means missing out on a lot of kitten-ness. I will of course get my cats neutered as soon as they are of age, and I'm happy to pay for it, so I'd like to have kittens from 8 weeks and get to enjoy all their adorableness for those first few months!

Watch this space - I'm sure many cute photos will appear the instant we have kittens! ^_^

Branston cat does not have cancer, she has an underactive thyroid. Hooray! Nice simple course of tablets, not too expensive in the grand scheme of vetenary medication, and she should pick up condition very quickly. Jam's parents cat had the same complaint, and he was awesome on the tablets. The good thing is since it makes cats very hungry you can give them a tablet in their food and they don't leave it behind! The only thing was when this cat decided to leave home for a week (hence not taking his tablets), and when he came home he was skin and bones and didn't recover. The good news was that he was a grumpy git and caused much fighting and pissing on furniture from the other cats. Since his departure all has been quieter (and less smelly).

So, hopefully Branston cat will be with us for a good many years yet! :)

Over the weekend I visited my parents, and the cat was sick. Not badly, but enough to bring up the topic of her health. My parents have had these cats for about 12 years or more now, and Branston was always 'my cat'. She's always been smaller, but was wiry and lithe and a hunter of squirrels and wood-pigeons. Her sister is fat and lazy, but not unhealthily so. She likes sleeping in the sun, and laps, and strokes, and eating garden plants in the Summer. We always worried how to keep the fat one's weight down, since the skinny one would eat a bit then wander off, leaving fat cat to guzzle the rest.

Lately though fat cat's been looking trim. She's less interested in food, and more in sleeping. She's still healthy and glossy and lovely, she's just not got the insatiable appetite she had as a young cat. Branston though will NOT stop asking for food, and begging, and actually trying to steal kitchen food (something she never used to even contemplate). My parents have been feeding her regularly, yet she never puts of weight and is starting to become worryingly skinny. She's been regularly de-wormed, hasn't got fleas, vetted over and over, and nothing seems to help. one vet actually suggested she was stressed and sold my parents some very expensive plug-in cat-calming pheromone air fresheners! Needless to say they did not help.

We now suspect she may have cancer. If she does she'll get put to sleep as soon as she starts suffering - there's no way we'd put a cat through the horrible ordeal of chemo. It would be expensive, too.

So, yeah. Cat may not be around for much longer. It's sad, of course, but in her best interests. She seems okay but I don't think she's particularly happy at the moment - hungry all the time, skinny, sick and all other kinds of gastric problems. The two sisters have never been close, so I don't think fat cat would miss her. She won't get replaced as my parents want more birds in the garden now.

Awesome party over the weekend! I went down to Lymington partly for my little brother's birthday (though I only saw him for a few hours, dirty stop-out that he is), and partly for a large Bournemouth party that is becomming an annual event. My friend lives in a fantastic ex hotel with most of her family, and hence has large grounds to fit many people on. Bouncy castle, paddling pool filled with bath-temperature water and marquees to hide from the inevitable rain. I almost got to DJ for a bit, but the guy with the decks and amps is insanely protective of his equipment. Even though all I wanted to do was plug my ipod in and play a nice indie selection, he just wasn't keen. Grrr. So we put up with tupping drum and base hardcore trance bollocks for most of the night. One day, I swear, I shall DJ and I shall play the best selection of retro rock and current indie classics and anthems Bournemouth has ever seen!

It was rather sad seeing my cat, who has lots loads of weight and looks so pathetic and skinny. She's not very old, and the vet seems to think it's stress. I think that's just an excuse to make my parents buy cat-soothing plug-in air-fresheners and scented pheromone oils to help her relax. I think she's just got persistant worms, but what do I know? Still, she's so skinny and light and you can see her ribs... though she still looks and acts healthy. Poor Branston.

I'm yet to read the new HP. I want to go back and re-read the old books first. I think that would be a good project for a holiday. Mmmm...sun, sea, and Harry Potter. Bliss! Need to book holiday... *mental note*