First Kill

posted by Bunnery on Sat 11th Oct, 08 at 16:41:09

Well I guess it had to happen sometime - one of the kitties has brought us a present from the wild. Yeah - just what we always wanted - a dead mouse. I guess we should have been grateful it wasn't a live one!

I always thought that Kurt would have been the first one to kill something - as he is bigger and a little more bitey than his brother. He still likes to grab Buddy round the neck when they are play-fighting. But, no - it was Buddy who proudly brought us a little offering. A little "thank-you" for looking after him so well :-)

The problem was we had a visitor when it happened! I had a friend over for coffee one morning and the kitties had been their usual friendly, charming selves. Purring and head-butting her. Buddy jumped up behind the sofa and ran his claws through her hair ( he does like long hair!) and started to chew on it. She thought that was funny and very sweet. Then they got bored and went outside. Later she was looking through the patio doors and said "Ah, look they are playing with some thing...what is that?...Oh it isn't a.... Ewwwww!!!"

Oh yes - Buddy was toying with a very dead mouse. 

I had to get on the rubber gloves, take out a plastic bag - and try to get it off him and deposit it in the bin. He spent ages sniffing round looking for it afterwards.

I guess that is nature for you - I just hope that it will be a while before he brings us another one!

Disco Kitty

posted by Bunnery on Fri 3rd Oct, 08 at 18:44:16

Hey Kitty Fans :-)

Not written much about the kitties for a while - as they have been such little angels and not been up to much mischief at all!

They have grown much bigger and can't really be called kittens at all, any more.  They are just as playful though - but not quite so destructive. Another good thing is that they don't fight as much. I've only had to get the "Bubbles of Peace" out a couple of times in the last few weeks. Bubbles are the only thing that stop them in their tracks - and they sit they transfixed by the pretty rainbow coloured spheres which seem to mysteriously disappear when they reach for them. Cute ;-)

 They have got some rather gross habits though. Kurt still loves chasing flies - especially those revolting fat bluebottles - then eating them. I try to get to them before he noms them up - but am not always successful. Doesn't seem to do him any harm though.

 Buddy had a bit of a problem the other night though - as he lost his door key. He was headbutting the catflap for ages - but just didn't get through. He couldn't understand what was wrong! They both have a magnetic mouse on their collars that allows them to enter through their catflap. It stops any Tom, [bleep] or Harry cat coming in to the house when we are not here. Buddy had managed to lose his whole collar! It had his key on it - as well as his tag with his name, address and telephone number on it! Goodness knows how all the lady kitties will find him now - heehee.

I had to go out and get him a new collar - so I chose a rather fetching sparkly silver one. It is one that won't come off so easily this time - although it does have an elasticated bit that would allow him to escape if he got snagged on anything.

Luckily we did have ONE spare magnetic mouse - so he does have his key to the door back. I just hope he takes better care of this one. L has taken to calling him "Disco Kitty" now.:-)

Buddy goes missing.....

posted by Bunnery on Wed 3rd Sep, 08 at 20:30:28

....it's been a few days since this happened - but I feel able to talk about it now.

The kitties are getting a little more independent and now have a cat flap to allow them to come and go as they please. They love it!

However the other evening Buddy had not returned by bedtime and we were a little concerned. We went outside in the dark to call for him - for quite a while - but no sign of him. The kitties love to go out just as it is going dark and stay out a while, chasing moths and eating next door's grass. So we went back in and thought that he would come in when he was ready to - and when we got up in the morning there he would be snuggled up with Kurt.

We set the catflap to incoming - but not outgoing - and went to bed.

The next morning we got up - and Kurt was meowing plaintively and looking all around the house, There was no sign of Buddy. We though that he had probably lost his collar  (he is the only one of the two who seems to have worked out how to take it off) - and so hadn't been able to get back in the kitty door.. We were quite convinced that he would be sat outside the back door waiting to be let in.

We looked out - but still no sign of him. We were due to go out for the day - so we were frantically trying to call him in for his breakfast - so we could go, knowing that he was safe. However - despite walking up and down the backs - and round the front street - we could not find him. I asked the neighbours if he'd sneaked in through their cat flap - i even went to the local shop to ask if anyone had reported finding a cat.

It would be a Bank Holiday - all the vets were closed! I was contemplating printing out posters and tying them to lampposts! By lunchtime he still hadn't been found. I decided to have one more look down the road at the front - and I walked up and down the length of the street. Then I heard a meowing. I walked back again - no sign of any cat. Then I heard it again! I looked into everyone's front garden - thinking that maybe a local cat was sitting outside his front door waiting to be let in. I peeked over a wall - and there was Buddy cowering in a corner - looking very sorry for himself. I leaned over and picked him up - and carried him back home!! I thought he would be ravenous or at least tired - but he didn't show signs of either. He just wanted to go out the back again! I think because he'd never been let out of the front - he just didn't know his way home. He was quite a way down the road - and the traffic was very busy - and noisy and I think it scared him

Needless to say we kept him in for the rest of the day. Kurt sniffed him - then just carried on as normal. He didn't seem that overjoyed to see him.

We were though :-)

Nearly six months old!

posted by Bunnery on Wed 13th Aug, 08 at 19:14:01

Can you believe the kitties are almost 6 months old? I won't be able to call them kitties much longer - they look more like cats every day.

There have been some significant developments - they are now outdoor kitties! Just last week - because it was nice weather and it seemed a shame to leave them cooped up in the house when everyone was out - I left them out alone! It was pretty worrying.

I have put very smart collars on them though - and they each have a brass barrel attached that contains details of their names, address and telephone number - though I am not sure they are up to answering the phone yet. Buddy's has yellow cats eyes on it - that glow in the dark. Kurt's has a very fetching blue sparkly line round it - which is similarly visible in the dark. Hopefully this will help to keep them safe - and we'll get to know if they get lost and someone finds them!

The first time I did it - I just popped to the Morrisons (there are other supermarkets available - and this blog in no way endorses one over any other) so I left them out the back. I was amazed that when I got home - they were both still there!

Then I tried it for half a day. Again when we got back - both kittens came back. In fact Buddy doesn't stray far - and when you call Kurt he come scrabbling over next doors' fence and seems pleased to see us back again.

I was going to say that Buddy stays in his own territory while Kurt seems to roam around the neighbourhood, but today - it was Kurt who was waiting by the back door for our return - and Buddy who came from next door - but the other way.

This is a little worrying, as Kurt has already learned that you don't go into the garden with the dog!

He tried it one of the first times we let him out - and they let the fierce Yorkie out at the same time and it barked and chased him - and he quite literally flew over the fence and landed on top of the swinging seat's canopy!! He hasn't been that way again.

You think he would have some way of communicating that to his brother - but no - Buddy will have to learn that lesson for himself it seems. I just hope he gets back with his tail intact!!

Every time I get back from work and call Kurt these days - he is far too busy being petted by the neighbours to bother coming home! I look over the fence - and there he is headbutting and purring with the couple next door and they think he is very friendly! He just loves the attention! Their two female cats just walk off in disgust - they don't seem too impressed with him right now. If the neighbours aren't in - he just suns himself on their patio chairs until they get back!

He always comes back when it is feeding time though.....

Buddy saves the day!

posted by Bunnery on Mon 28th Jul, 08 at 19:24:28

Well I guess Buddy, at least, has redeemed his recent bad behaviour by saving us from a huge man-eating spider. Well - a pretty sizable house spider anyway. I was in my room when I heard L throwing shoes around her room and shouting. I rushed in there and she told me that there was a big spider and it had just gone under her bed. I gingerly lifted the duvet up and it ran at me and then jumped onto the duvet and started running under the covers. I called for the cats - hoping that they would chase it and catch it for us.

Kurt just lay on the carpet outside the room  - couldn't be bothered to move as he had just got quite comfortable just in that spot. Buddy however - being a little more curious - entered into the hallowed walls of L's room - where he isn't usually allowed. I lift the covers, pointed to the spider and said

"Go get it, Buddy!"

He did exactly that. he chased it out from under the duvet, over the top and off the end of the bed - and then he pounced on it and chewed it up a few times - until it was no more. Well - it was several small bits actually. which made it decidedly less scary. Well done Buddy!!

 I might forgive him now for emptying the contents of the bin overnight and chewing every bit of paper and goodness knows what into little pieces and leaving them all over the lounge for us to find in the morning.

 I might even forgive for taking a Felix Kitten Food in Gravy in a stay-fresh foil pouch and gnawing through it on the sofa until he got the gravy to come out.Then leaving it in a brown sticky patch.

Kurt still needs to do something heroic to redeem himself though.......

Prison Break

posted by Bunnery on Sun 20th Jul, 08 at 18:48:10

"Breaking out was easy, getting away will be hard"

 Well this week the kitties have surpassed themselves :-)

We all went out food shopping on Saturday, We arrived back home an hour or so later, laden with Morrisons' bags, expecting to be tripped up on the way to the kitchen by two purring kittens, weaving between our feet and generally getting excited about the new kitty food and treats we might have bought.

However, on this occasion we opened the door and there was no sign of them. We walked through to the kitchen to unpack the shopping, unhindered.

We looked round everywhere downstairs - and there were no kitties to be found!

They weren't upstairs either.

As L looked at the downstairs bathroom door - she saw that it was open - as was the window. We had left it open after our morning showers - but closed the door to the kitties.

We realised, with horror, that they must have broken out!!

We rushed to the back door and opened it - and Buddy came strolling in! 

Then we went out into the garden and looked for Kurt - but there was no sign of him anywhre.

The couple next door popped their heads over the fence and said "We were just writing you a note - we saw your kittens climbing out of your bathroom window!"

"Where are they??" we asked

"They stayed in the garden - but one was walking along the fence!" Kurt!!

We tried to look through the fence the other way - but no sign.

I walked round the front and down the alleyway at the back, peering into neighbours gardens to try to catch a glimpse of a black and white kitten, looking very pleased with himself.

I peeked through nextdoor's back gate and there he was - chasing a bumblebee hovering over their flowers. No matter how I called - he wouldn't come.

So I had to go round to their front door and ask if I could have my kitten back!

Luckily the guy was in and he helped me chase Kurt round his garden and disappear behind the back of his shed! Eventually we got him cornered and I managed to grab him and haul him off home.

Little monsters!

 It is as I thought - Buddy is the homeboy and Kurt wants to wander.

The nice vet-man said that we shouldn't let them out on their own until they are six months old. We need to get them microchipped and neutered first too - so that they don't get the young lady cats of the 'hood into trouble :-) And if they do wander too far - we might stand a chance of getting them back.

Only one more month to go - then they can go out!! Can we contain them until then???

Suggestions

posted by Bunnery on Tue 8th Jul, 08 at 12:31:13

Well - it seems like the most effective way to keep a kitten off your kitchen worktops is to have a handy spray filled with water - and give them a warning blast when they look as if they are thinking about jumping up. You can always see them eyeing up the various tops to see which has the most interesting possible-food-type-looking things on them. Then they wiggle their backsides a little whilst calculating the exact velocity and acceleration needed to reach the target.  A blast of water usually takes them by surprise and they slink back into the lounge with an indignant look. Apart from one breed (Is it the Turkish Vans?) cats seem to hate water. Let them out the back, in the rain - and they soon come bounding back in again!

The only other suggestion I received was from a supposed cat-lover who said that she kept hers in the bathroom all day - to stop them getting on the sofas and in the kitchen!! Seems a little cruel to me - unless she has a palatial bathroom round at hers. I couldn't do that to my little monsters. Would only end up with shredded towels anyway :-)

Needless to say - with our lovely global warming summer - they haven't been outdoors much. So - in order to keep them amused during the day I have taken to hiding cat treats around the downstairs rooms - for them to hunt for while we are out. Yes - we did actually find some cat-treat type stick things that they love! Maybe the chewing helps with their teething too. Any other suggestions for kittie games will be welcomed. If they get bored they just decide to play "let's lie on our backs and use the underside of the new sofas to propel ourselves along at great speed" game. 

I am not fond of that one.

Buddy's New Game and Kurt's Strange Diet

posted by Bunnery on Sun 29th Jun, 08 at 21:03:23

Here we are again - after another eventful week with the kitties.

Buddy has discovered a great new game - he goes into the Dining Room with the lead piping....no,no that's something else. No - he goes in there and squeezes himself under the bottom bookshelf and gets behind the books on the next shelf up. Meanwhile Kurt has seen him - and tries his best to get at him - but he is too fat to fit in there. So Buddy delights in peeking out at him, giving him an odd playful swipe with his paw then sitting there knowing full well that Kurt can't get at him. Poor Kurt is getting frantic, trying to reach over the books with his paw or trying to get his head sideways between the books and the shelf. Whatever he tries he can't get at him, so he has to resort to walking off with his tail in the air, pretending like he doesn't want to get under there anyway.

Buddy comes out eventually :-)

Today they have had lots of visitors! In fact it was the first time that Sarah had seen them in the flesh (or should that be "in the fur"?)- and they were delighted to have someone new to play with. Especially someone wearing a skirt with lots of bows and dangly bits on it. She left with shredded tights. I think she got off quite lightly :-) Kurt was very cute. he saw my dad having a nap - so decided to climb on him and join him. Only - he couldn't help finding his elbow irresistible. He didn't bite it TOO hard - I don't think. Shame it woke him though....

They are both in the doghouse at the moment. Kurt and Buddy (not Kurt and my dad :-) While we were eating tonight - they decided they were quite big enough to jump on the cupboard in the lounge. Once they got up there they had to check out the plants - until they came crashing down and showering the furniture with wet soil. Nice... Seems we need to do a little more kitty-proofing.

Before I leave - have you ever heard of a cat that likes lettuce before?? Kurt seems to be a very healthy cat what with that and his love of melons. I am starting to wonder if he is getting to that awkward age and deciding to be a vegetarian. Heehee....

Kitties' New Skill

posted by Bunnery on Fri 27th Jun, 08 at 23:01:56

Oh dear - the kitties have learned how to jump on top of the worktops in the kitchen. Or they have just grown big enough to be able to leap up there. Whichever it is - we were startled by a massive *crash**tinkle* tonight while we were upstairs. We raced downstairs to see a glass dish in about a million pieces and Kurt looking down on it from the worktop as if to say "Hmmm - I wondered how that happened?" I had to shut them both out while I made sure no glass fragments remained - don't want them limping around with glass in their paws next..... we've had enough trips to the vet's already.

L was worried so she looked up the problem on the interweb (where else?) Seems there were a few suggestions on how to keep kitties off "counter-tops" (this is obviously a problem in America ;-)) from the idea of putting silver foil round the edges (Confused - why?? Our kitties LOVE silver foil??!!) to sprinkling the tops with chilli powder. That would teach them next time they licked their paws I guess. Seems a trifle harsh though -  and what if it got in our cornflakes?? . If anyone has any ideas - let us know! We are not enamoured of the idea of kitties walking through the litter tray then strolling across the worktop. I am getting through so much Anti-Bacterial Spray right now!

They are thriving though - and have developed a few food preferences over the last few weeks. Kurt's favourite food is melon - really! He loves it. Buddy is rather fond of popcorn - the sweet variety, naturally. However - buy the little monsters a bag of Kitten Treats and they look at them, bat them around the floor for a little while - then completely ignore them. They certainly wouldn't dream of putting them in their mouths.

The Great Escape (almost)

posted by Bunnery on Sun 22nd Jun, 08 at 19:18:08

Hi Kitty Fans

The kitties are getting bigger every day. They've been back to the vets for their final injections - which means that it is safe for them to go outside and meet other cats without catching anything nasty from them. However, the nice Australian vet said that he wouldn't let them too far until they are six months old "as they are so little still" I agree - I can't seem them negotiating roads or bigger kitties just yet.

I was going to say that they go out into the back here quite safely - and we can leave them while we get on with making meals and eating them in peace! However - I've just popped outside to see what Kurt was up to (Buddy was snuggled up to me while I was on the laptop - he is a real house cat, I think) and I found him ON TOP OF THE FENCE!! The very one that overlooks next door - and the fierce Yorkshire Terrier! I had to grab him and bring him wriggling and squealing back inside. Naughty kitty. He obviously thinks that he is big enough to take on the world. It looks like we will have to supervise him at all times if he goes out.

It is cold now - but he is stood by the back door and yowling his head off. Hold on - maybe a little tinned tuna will help take his mind of it......

Ah - that is better. They are both settled down on the sofa now, purring happily.

I have a feeling that when they are both fully grown - we'll have Buddy indoors most of the time - and hardly ever see Kurt. Funny - as Buddy has always been the adventurous one so far.

Kurt has bumped into Isis from next door - and seems to chase her off every time now. So, maybe he can hold his own. Maybe he is descended from a real Alley Cat :-)

In other kitty news: they've had visitors from South Africa this week. They love company - the more people that fuss them - the more they like it. My uncle and aunt who emigrated to South Africa a long, long time ago came back for a rare visit. It was great to see them - and Kurt and Buddy made a beeline for Pat - as she is a great cat lover. I just hope they weren't listening when she told us that her two cats slept on her bed!! We don't want to start any of that kind of thing. These two are not allowed in the bedrooms at the moment.