Distractingly Cute

Well... Once again we have to apologise for Rachel's poor blogging performance of late. Once again, she's blaming her PhD (which she assures us is nearly finished - psh, she said that last month!). She seems to think that this video from last year of Mia being super cute will somehow make up for it!! Ha! As if you blog readers are that easily bought off!!

Look out for another Mog's Togs Friend coming over the weekend. Hopefully there'll be some more of US again soon!!

Mog's Togs' Friend: Atticus

The first Mog's Togs Friend that we are allowing to share our blog is Atticus, who we must admit, we have a bit of a crush on... Thank you Emma of Mrs Jones Jewellery for typing up his answers!!

What's your name, how old are you, and where do you live?

My name is Atticus, although I am known as Snout, I am almost two and I live in Somerset. I am named after Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Atticus reclining after winning another game

Who do you live with? What's the best and worst thing about living with them?

I live with a family but won’t tolerate any other animals. I love the boys in the family as they overfill my bowl and if I sit under Freddie’s chair at dinner, I know I will get a little extra. On the downside, I hate being picked up at random, and I think the humans sometimes mock me.

What has been your greatest adventure / scariest moment?

I am a house cat, although I like to stroll in my own garden from time to time. In the summer I was watching birds through a bedroom window when I noticed it was open, so I stepped through and onto the roof of the bay window, where I basked in the sun. Unfortunately, when it was time to come in, I found I couldn’t and had to be rescued by the humans. [Ed. - I think you mean, that you allowed the humans to believe you needed rescuing, to improve their self esteem...]

What would be your perfect day?

I like to have my family around me, as long as they are leaving me alone. I would start the day with Iams with a topping of Dreamies. Wash while watching birds, then a nap in the shafts of sunlight. I like to have one active burst of playing with the boys, with some rough play involved and then another nap.

Which is your favourite Mog's Togs collar?

I love the Skull & Crossbones collar!

Atticus hiding from legions of fans, he's sooo gorgeous!!

 Thanks Atticus!! 

If you want to be featured on our blog, please miaow at your human until you have their full attention, then get them to email the answers to the above questions and a few cute photos to rachel@mogstogs.com!

Interview With The Kitty-Cat(s)

A few weeks ago we asked our friends on Facebook and Twitter if they had any questions they wanted to ask us. This was to give us some ideas and some practice asking questions to each other as we are going to start interviewing some lovely cats - Friends of Mog's Togs - on our blog! If you would like your cat to be interviewed as a Friend of Mog's Togs, see the end of the blog.

First, three questions from Rachael of Kitsch Kitten:

What it's like living with those awful humans ;)

Mia: They aren't awful! They're lovely. The only thing is, that they do like to pick me up for a cuddle when I've just got comfy and settled down somewhere, or when I've just found something exciting to look at through the catflap. That is really annoying. The other thing I don't like is that they go out for the whole day most of the time, and I can't follow them to can keep them safe :-(

Could do better.

Lila: On balance, it could be worse. Their attentions can sometimes be a bit tedious, especially when it comes to Rachel's flashy camera, stuck right in our faces when we are just trying to snooze, or wash. It's not our fault we're so darn cute... But on the other hand, they do provide good warm laps and I've got them both extremely well trained at not moving all evening while I snooze on them. Personally I actually like that they leave us to our own devices all day, as it means more uninterrupted snoozing time. All in all, I would give Rachel and Pete 6 out of 10.

What are your favourite collars?

Mia: I loved my Tea and Cakes one, it was so cute, but I lost it after only a couple of days, and it was the last one!  I like ones with white backgrounds although I do tend to get them a bit mucky... I kept my personalised collar on for about 6 months!

Lila: Rachel says I look pretty in pink, but I'm not really a "pink" kind of girl. I prefer something that says "here comes one classy cat; don't mess with her, and she won't mess with you". I tend to like bright, non-gender specific collars and I'm eyeing up this one "Orange Fizz" for once I manage to shake off my current Love Hearts collar. It's a bit soppy for me.




What do you want to be when you grow up?

Mia: An ice cream seller!

Lila: Head of the European Monetary Fund.

A question from Bluebell Design:

What would be your perfect day?

My perfect day...

Mia: Go Cat for breakfast - I LOVE it but Rachel says it has the nutritional value of cardboard. Rachel's brother would be there and I'd sleep the morning away on his lap. Lunch would be a can of tuna, then more snoozing. About 4pm I'd be ready to play and Pete would dangle the giant fishing rod for a couple of hours, never complaining that his arm aches. Dinner would be poached chicken breast, then a long cuddle on the sofa while we all watch a film. Finally, Rachel and Pete would let us sleep in their room at night instead of shutting us downstairs. Ahh, bliss!

Lila: Mia would be in the cattery all day so it would be just me at home. I'd sleep all day and be allowed to come and go as I pleased during the night, and wouldn't be made to the use the litter tray like some kind of domesticated pet. I'd be hand fed all my meals while reclining in the radiator bed. Breakfast would be lightly sauted king prawns, lunch raw scallops, dinner roast duck breast. I'd be allowed in the Forbidden Room and the Forbidden Cupboard Under The Stairs. Finally, Rachel and Pete would let me sleep in their room at night, although Mia would be shut downstairs. Ahh, bliss!

A question from Cherry (Rachel's MIL!): 

What has been your greatest adventure / scariest moment?

A less dramatic adventure...

Mia: I don't have adventures, I'm too clumsy to do anything very exciting. I don't like to go too far from home in case I can't hear the food bowls being clanged at dinner time! Probably the scariest thing that has happened to me was when I forgot how to get off the garden fence. Rachel had to come outside and bend over so I could jump on her back!

Lila: Undoubtably my disastrous foray up a tree last year. What can I say, it was out of character for me to act without considering all the possible consequences, but I got spooked and legged it up there before I even knew what I was doing. I couldn't climb down and I was up there for ever such a long time meowing before anyone came, luckily it was Pete who heard me. I needed the loo SO badly by the time I got down, Pete doesn't know how close he came to getting a cat-pee hair treatment...

A question from Mog's Togs Facebook fan Keziah:

What is your manifesto?

Mia: Naughty Torties For All

Lila: No domestication without sanitation. I demand the right to choose where I poo.

Some cats aren't so fussy about where they poop...

Two questions from Twitter pal Kitty Roland:

Whats the daftest things they have eaten/chewed?

Mia: I can't resist a bit of cardboard or newsprint. Rachel puts her muddy walking boots on the local free paper and I love ripping it up into cat confetti. It floats around the bathroom beautifully!

Lila: I am very cautious about what I eat, I'll have you know. I lick everything about a hundred times before deciding whether to actually imbibe and as a result I've never eaten anything daft!

Do they want Cravendale to #bringbackbertrum      

In Chorus: YES!!(ooh, look, he's back! Kind of...)

Finally, a question from Coolforcatsuk:

What advice would they give two cats who are too scared to wear a collar (thus preventing their owner from buying lovely cat things)?

Mia: Come on, you silly wusses! Man up! Collars are great once you get used to them. Have you tried taking the bell off? They can be a little scary, and without a bell you can still sneak up on your humans. Rachel won't let us do that, boo.

Lila: I recommend a course of psychotherapy, possibly neuro-linguistic programming, hypnotherapy, or even some intensive talking therapy, to help them come to terms with the deep seated causes of this fear. It is usually related to father abandonment issues, which is sadly all too common among felines (just ask Mia, her good-for-nothing ginger father was no use whatsoever to me; of course her father abandonment has manifested itself in perpetual optimism and foolishness, although the latter might be due to me dropping her down the stairs when she was just a few days old, oops). Although some more militant felinists see collars as representative of humankind's desire to show their ownership of us, I don't subscribe to this tosh. They're just pretty things that make us look more awesome than other cats and provide a good way of getting us home when we wander too far.

So, did you like getting to know us? If you have any more questions for us then let us know in the comments, perhaps we'll do another interview session soon, this was fun!!

Meanwhile, if you'd like us to feature your cat as a Mog's Togs Friend, please have them answer the following questions, and send us the answers along with at least one good quality photo of them to rachel@mogstogs.com (send more photos if you like!). We'll feature them all over the coming weeks and months.

1. What's your name, how old are you, and where do you live?
2. Who do you live with? (Humans and other animals) What's the best and worst thing about living with them?
3. What has been your greatest adventure / scariest moment?
4. What would be your perfect day?
5. Which is your favourite Mog's Togs collar?

We recommend payment of 5 Dreamies or Whiskas Temptations as reward for your cat, for submitting to such a rigorous interview.  If you have a blog or Folksy/Etsy etc shop of your own feel free to let Rachel know the link and we'll include it. We can't wait to hear from you!

It's Time For Personalised Collars! (Again!)

Just a quick post to let you all know that personalised cat collars are available until SUNDAY FEBRUARY 12th on our website. We think they are totally fab and love wearing ours!

Our friends like theirs too (click to have a closer look).

Annie... Jumper... Loki... Pie - aren't they lovely!

If your cat would like to look as TOTALLY AWESOME as us, all you have to do is go have a look at the personalised collars in our shop, and order by the end of Sunday February 12th. You have to wait a little while before receiving your collars, but we hope to have them posted out to you in the first two weeks of March.

As well as our "Classic" style, which comes in blue, pink, purple and lime, Rachel has a new style in stock now as well, with pawprints. This time you can also have a phone number or first line of address printed on the inside. Lovely!

"Classic" Style

Pawprints style

Pawprints, with phone number on inside

Fight Night

It's been sooo cold the last week or so! Obviously we couldn't possibly set foot outside the catflap when it's so chilly, so we've been cooped up inside, with lots of energy to burn, getting on each other's nerves. I know, it's a surprise, isn't it, that we don't always get on...

Believe it or not, it often starts like this:

One of us (usually Mia...) is just lying down, chilling, when the other one (usually me, I must admit...) comes over and initiates a bit of unwanted physical contact. Usually this involves some face licking (think spit on the hankerchief; well, I am her mother!), but if that doesn't get the desired response, then the instigator will resort to flicking their tail in the other one's face, and if THAT doesn't work, then the last resort is a quick bat on the head with a paw... This video shows the usual procedure!

 

The alternative scenario is more common when we're hungry, especially when Rachel or Pete gets home from work and doesn't IMMEDIATELY put food down for us. Then, anything goes, but generally it involves one of us hiding behind a door and sofa, and waiting for the other to appear so we can AMBUSH them. Mia is just as guilty of this tactic as I am. It's great fun, but harder to capture on film (much to Rachel's annoyance, because these games of hide and seek are very entertaining). The end results are the same, however:

Ears back, teeth out

 

I veel drink your blood!!

Model Cats

We've been modelling the first two limited edition Mog's Togs collars for 2012! Aren't they fun?! Mia is wearing the Tortoises one - it seemed appropriate, for a little Tortie like her. She loves the little tortoise charm as it makes her a bit more jangly as she potters around the house.

Pete says I'm the prettiest tortie in all the world! *preen*

I am sporting February's collar - it's a Valentine's Day special! It's got a little charm on too although I wasn't very good at showing it off apparently... Rachel said I was being too coy as I wouldn't look at the camera - well, would you, if there was a LEAF blowing around outside the door?!!

My favourite vantage point

Being a supermodel for the day can be tough - for example, there's never enough room backstage for everyone.

Surely there's room up there for another size zero?

And the pay isn't amazing, although having said that, Rachel said that the current going rate for top models was 3 Dreamies each, and we negotiated her up to 4 with a mixture of pitiful meows and big round eyes! How's THAT for bargaining power!

It's not MY fault you put the charm on the wrong way round!

Sorry, I don't actually get out of bed for anything less than a raw king prawn...

Snoozing...

Sorry for the gap in blogging... Rachel has been busy typing, sewing, websiting, and hanging out with her new baby niece, among other things. She also says we aren't doing anything interesting enough to warrant a blog! The CHEEK OF IT!

Wake me up when you need me!!