Poor Little Arthur

Life is very calm at the Catty Guest House at the moment. We've had no guests since last year and my cats have settled down into the loving cats they used to be again. There have been a few times when I've wobbled - the urge to have kittens in my house again is sometimes overwhelming - but I've stuck to my guns and resisted the urge.

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About 3 months ago Arthur turned up on my doorstep. He was very, very skinny and obviously struggling to find enough food for himself. He had the most beautiful face and a very loud cry. People nearby had just adopted a ginger cat, so everyone thought this was their new arrival. A few weeks went by and Arthur's condition didn't seem to improve, so I decided to go and speak to them. It turned out this was not their cat - their's was sunbathing happily in their garden while Arthur was tormenting my cats by sitting on my windowsill - my cats hate him with a passion!

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So I started to feed him, and he gradually lost that near death look. This has gone on for 6 weeks, and I decided that now was the time to see if he does belong to someone else or if he is actually lost.

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So this week he has been catnapped and taken to the vet. They've poked and prodded him, shaved him and neutered him, cuddled him and talked to him, and then returned him to me. As soon as I got him home, he was scrabbling for the door, and off he has gone on his adventures again. My job now is to find a home for him before the warm weather disappears and his life gets less adventurous and more dangerous.

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A Bit of a Break

When I first started fostering cats, it didn't have a huge impact on my cats. I had Fudge and Georgie who were very spoilt and it did them good to share with other cats. I had mainly looked after single grown cats at first and after the initial spats, they all seemed to play very nicely together. When I adopted Oblee, I had a short break from fostering as I wanted him to settle in before introducing any more cats. The first fostering I did after that was for a litter of kittens who had lost their mum. Oblee took charge and I think the kittens thought he was their mum for much of the time.

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Oblee cleaning Bertie Kitten
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Over time though, I started getting new mums with their kittens, and this changed things considerably. New mums are much more nervous about other cats being around, and I had to start sectioning my house off to a much greater degree to prevent all out wars erupting.

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It happened so gradually that I didn't realise that my cats were starting to get shut out of my life more and more - living outside and upstairs while I was in the living room with the lodgers. When I let my cats into the living room, I had to make sure the fosters were shut in the dining room, and it became very difficult.

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Marina and the Chocolate Babies
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So now that Kipper and her kittens have gone back, and with it being the end of the kitten season, I have decided a break is a good idea. Within a few days of having the house to themselves, and being able to roam freely through it, my cats changed back to the loving cuddly cats they used to be.

Here's Georgie making himself comfortable.

Fudge settling down to watch a film with me.

And Oblee pretending to be asleep.

My house is peaceful for a change, my cats are happy and the break is doing us all a lot of good. It won't be long before the urge hits for me to start helping out again, but I'm going to try to make it to the New Year at least to give me time to get reacquainted with my own babies.

Time to Go

I managed to say goodbye with just a few tears this time. Kipper really is the best cat ever, but such high maintenance! If I didn't have cats of my own already, she is definitely the kind of cat I would want, but she needs your undivided and loyal attention at all times, and it can be very tiring! The kittens are now at the age where they stampede through the house constantly, with Kipper at their heels, and I have started to feel the urge for a little bit of silence in my house occasionally.

So when the RSPCA said they had managed to find a space for them, it was a mixed bag of dread at saying goodbye, joy at the thought of a bit of a break from kitten madness, and guilt at feeling that way.

Squishy had completely fooled me and at 7 weeks old I found to my astonishment that he was in fact a she! I've never found it particularly difficult to sex kittens, it has always seemed very obvious which sex they are, and when I read on websites about how difficult it can be I've often scoffed at it. No longer can I scoff as I was utterly convinced Squishy was a boy, and suddenly here in front of me was what was undeniably a little girl. As she already had a home lined up, I had to break the news to her new mum to be. Fortunately the news was greeted with joy as a little girl would have been their first choice. Phew!!

I had a quick check at Bubbles just in case I'd been wrong on both counts, but he is definitely a little boy, with the cheeky personality to suit.

They went back to the RSPCA at the end of September and I'm pleased that they all have new homes now. Squishy has been renamed Cassie and has her new mum wrapped round her little finger. I often cat sit for Cassie's new big sister, so am really pleased that I'll get to see Cassie too in the future. Bubbles and Kipper have new families also, and I eagerly await news of how they settle in.

King of the Castle

The Nemo babies are nearly 6 weeks old now and are providing endless hours of entertainment.

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Squishy is a shy little boy who loves to be cuddled and fussed. He's a real heartbreaker with a soft face and dreamy grey eyes. He is a truly curious cat who can find fun in a bag handle, a spoon, even an imaginary fly.

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Bubbles is a feisty little man who hasn't got time for anything more than a quick cuddle - too many places to explore and curtains to climb. He has very piercing blue eyes that are showing no signs as yet of changing colour.
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Bubbles might be the stronger of the two kittens, but just once in a while, Squishy gets his own way. Here he is fighting to be King of the Cat-Castle!!

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Kipper, their mum, is just as lovable as ever. She gets very jealous when I play with or take pictures of the kittens, and for every successful picture there are 2 or 3 with Kipper's face pushed in front of the camera just as I'm about to take it. She is still only a kitten herself and plays with her babies as if they are her siblings. I have to intervene occasionally when she gets a bit too rough with them. But she means well, and has done an amazing job with them so far.
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I'll have these kittens for just a few weeks more, and then they'll be on their way to their new homes. The RSPCA in Sheffield is heaving with cats and kits at the moment, so I can't imagine that I'll get much breathing space before the next visitors arrive. But that's in the future and I intend to enjoy every moment of the next couple of weeks.

The Nemos Make an Appearance

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Kipper didn't realise she was pregnant - I spent the last two weeks of her pregnancy rescuing her from small spaces she had got stuck in, and rescuing my ornaments from certain doom as she flung herself across mantelpieces and table tops, thinking she was a skinny kitten again, when in actual fact she was like a small armoured tank.
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After the longest wait ever, the Nemo babies finally arrived on July 11th about 10 days after the vet's estimated due date. Three tiny kitties, 2 black and white and one grey and white, were waiting for me when I arrived home - I'd just missed their grand entrance by a few minutes. Nemo, Bubbles and Squishy.
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I'd given Kipper the choice of 2 boxes and a cat basket all lined with soft towels, ready and waiting. In true Kipper fashion, she chose to have the babies behind one of the boxes under a radiator on my carpet.

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Sadly, one of the kittens died after a day and half - although Nemo was the same weight as the others when born, he quickly started losing weight and despite staying up all night with him there was nothing I could do to save him. This is the upsetting side of fostering new mums unfortunately and I can't imagine it ever getting easier.

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The other two kittens are so beautiful - they have fat little tummies and at 8 days old were already purring when they were being tickled. When I am upset by sad events like Nemo dying, and wonder why I put myself through this, a purring kitten reminds me of exactly why.

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Bubbles at 5 days old.

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Squishy at 5 days old.

The Beginning of a Fishy Story

Here is Kipper, a beautiful young girl who is very pregnant and living with me for the next couple of months.

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She is due to give birth in the next couple of days, and so we are getting ourselves prepared. Kipper is doing this by purring a lot and exploring every nook and cranny in my house, while I prepare several different boxes and baskets for her to choose from in the dining room. She may think that behind the stereo unit is a good place to have kittens but I have very different ideas!

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She is a very affectionate cat, although some of that may be due to her current situation, and loves to bury her face in your hand or snuggle up on your shoulder whilst purring loud enough to wake the neighbours!

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I usually start looking after mums and babies after the birth and they would normally have been named by the RSPCA. But in this instance I will get to name them. Myself and a group of friends have been battering (did you see what I did there) fishy names around, and I think the best ones seem to be Nemo based. Nemo, Dory, Marlin, Bubbles and Squishy are the favourites so far. Let's hope there aren't more than 5 kits!

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So here we are, looking forward to the next 8 or so weeks of kitten fun.

The Little Gems Fly the Nest

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After a very busy few weeks, we finally got to the part of fostering that I dread - the Gems are 8 and half weeks old and are ready to be rehomed.
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They are fully weaned now, just sneaking a quick drink from mum when she isn't looking, but she is fed up of it all now and is getting a little aggressive towards them when they try, so that treat is fast coming to an end.

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They have so much energy they wear both me and themselves out. After tearing round the house for an hour or so they all collapse in their various favourite places and sleep for hours.

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I love it when that favourite place is in my arms....
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They all have completely different personalities. Some of them dream of modelling...
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Others just want to be like their mum...
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and others just spend their time daydreaming of all the mice they are going to catch...
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I'll miss them but it will be nice to be able to have a whole cup of tea to myself again!!
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History of Cats - The Cat in the Barrel

3. Fastelavn - Norway's Easter Festivities

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Fastelavn is a carnival that takes place in Norway 7 weeks before Easter. It is similar to Halloween in that children get dressed in costumes and collect sweets from neighbours. Lots of party games are played, and one of the most popular ones involves black cats.

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A barrel decorated with black cats is hung up and filled with candy and oranges. Children take turns to hit the barrel with sticks, very much like piñata. The first to break the bottom of the barrel and cause the candy to fall out is named Kattedronning - Queen of Cats. The one who knocks the actual barrel down is called Kattekonge - King of Cats.

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Of course, as is often the case, this game is based on more serious traditions. Black cats have always been a symbol of bad luck or evil, and in the 15th and 16th centuries a real cat would be placed inside the barrrel. The Dutch Farmers would then beat the barrel with sticks and clubs until the cat fell out, and it would then be chased by all the villagers and, if caught, beaten and often killed. This was superstitiously thought to safeguard them from evil and chase the bad luck from the village.

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It wasn't until the end of the 19th Century that the cat was replaced by a drawing and it became more of a children's game than a serious event.

Other traditions include Fastelavnsris which involves children flogging their parents to wake them on the morning of Fastelavns Sunday. They use bunches of twigs from fruit trees decorated with feathers, egg shells, storks and little figures of babies or wound with crepe paper and covered with candy. This probably comes from an old fertility ritual and has been absorbed into Christianity to fit with the Easter celebrations.

Hidden Treasure

I've looked after many kittens and cats over the last few years, but the excitement of seeing these tiny creatures progress from being completely unable to walk or do anything for themselves to independent strong-willed mischief makers never fades.

The Little Gems are 3 weeks old today and have just started to find their feet. They are turning into chubby little girls with loud voices and an insatiable hunger. Here is Emerald, she loves having her tummy tickled and was the first to start playfighting her sisters.

Their heads are still too heavy for their bodies so they bob them up and down as they try to walk which is really funny to watch. They can't quite focus on items yet, but when I talk to them, they look up and start to crawl towards me. Above is Garnet - very difficult to photograph her as she is totally black. She is the shy girl of the bunch but looks intently into your eyes as though she's trying to read your mind.


This is Quartz, the runt of the litter. She is about a week behind the others in weight, and quite noticeably smaller than the others. I was quite worried about her a week or so ago as she was always the one pushed out when the others wanted to feed from their mum. I often walked in to find the other four feeding and her asleep at the side of them. So for a couple of days I would move the other four into a different room for 10 minutes or so to give her time on her own with her mum. Her weight started to pick up and now, although still small, she has become much more feisty and fights for her spot at the dinner table much more successfully.

Here is Amethyst, the biggest of the babies. She is the leader and loves cuddles when her mum isn't looking. She has big blue eyes and tries really hard to focus on your face when you talk to her.

And here is Topaz. She looks very much like Charlie Chaplin and is the comic of the bunch. She seems to go into deep thought when you talk to her, and was the last of the babies to get the hang of walking. But she was the first to try playing with toys and to turn on her back to have her tummy tickled.

I hope I have the opportunity to look after kittens like this many, many more times. It really is a privilege to be part of this and I intend to make the very most of it each and every time.

History of Cats - Maneki Neko

2. The Japanese Bobtail

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The Maneki Neko, or Beckoning Cat, can be found in many homes and businesses and Japan. The left arm raised supposedly attracts customers whereas the right arm attracts money. This makes it the logical choice of ornament for shop owners. They are often made of ceramic and are sometimes used by children much the same as piggy banks are used in Europe.
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The Maneki Neko are actually depictions of the Japanese Bobtail, a medium sized, friendly cat which arrived in Japan from China over 1000 years ago. They have a very unusual tail, about 4 inches long, that is tightly curled into a bob. They usually have 3 or 4 kittens and compared to other breeds, these are bigger, healthier, and walk earlier with fewer diseases. They are talkative cats and are capable of nearly the whole scale of tones. They are known for almost always speaking when spoken to. (I soooo want one!!). They are very human and family oriented and are very easy to teach tricks.

There are several stories as to the origins of the Maneki Neko ornament, my favourite being the following: - A very poor monk lived in a poverty stricken temple and shared what little food he had with his beloved bobtail cat. One day a wealthy lord was caught in the rain near the temple and sheltered under a tree. He spotted a cat in the entrance to the temple beckoning to him. As he approached the cat the tree he had been sheltering under was struck by lightening and fell.

Grateful to the cat and its owner, the wealthy lord became patron of the temple which soon became prosperous. When the cat eventually died, the image of the Maneki Neko was made in its honour and quickly became the symbol of good fortune.

The temple still stands and its walls are adorned with many pictures of cats, and owners of lost or sick cats often visit the temple with prayer boards to this day.