My favourite thing

Time for some more photos of ME!  I realised that I hadn't told you about my favourite thing in the world yet, so thought I should put that right.

So what is it? It's a super cool fishing rod toy that Rachel made for us, and on the end of the boingy string is a bunch of blue feathers that looks like, well, it looks a bit like a budgie... It lives in the cupboard under the stairs and whenever Rachel or Pete go to open the cupboard door I can hear it from anywhere in the house (or garden) and RACE as fast as my paws will carry me to the living room.  Sometimes they are just getting the hoover out, or the shopping bags for the supermarket, but sometimes it's the budgie toy which means it's PLAYTIME!

  

I could play with the budgie foreeeever.  It's so fun.  It swoops through the air and I can do humungous jumps to try and catch it.  Sometimes my jumps are SO HUGE that I surprise myself and have to go hide under a chair for a minute to calm down (if I ask Rachel nicely she might show you some videos of me jumping around another day).  Even Lila joins in sometimes, and can do some pretty good leaps herself, when she's in the right mood.
And if I manage to catch the budgie? Well, I sit there and lick it to death.  GRRRRR!

Cats of Marrakech

Hey everyone!  Mia here.  I'm feeling a little subdued today, not my normal bouncy self, so let me tell you why.  Last weekend, Rachel and Pete went away to a place called MARRAKECH - ooh doesn't that sound exciting?  When they came home they said they'd had a great time and it was lovely and sunny, but they were a little bit sad because they'd were so many cats and kittens there.  I didn't understand that at all - how could you EVER be sad when there are loads of kitties around?!

Then they told us that we are very lucky kitties because we live somewhere that's warm, dry and clean (although they did cast a glance at the sofa at this point, where I'd made a welcome home carpet of my fluff).  We have humans who love us and give us food every day, and take us to the V-E-T when we are sick (hmm, not sure how grateful I am for THAT).

They said that not all cats get to live in such a happy place, and that there were lots of cats in Marrakech who have to live outside all year round, and catch ALL their own food, and eat things like lizards and cockroaches and things from the bin.  EWW!  I mean I'm not averse to munching on the odd spider, but cockroaches?!  And she said that the mummy cats have lots of kittens all the time, which is really tiring, and there's not always enough food to go round for everyone.  If you don't feel well there's no-one to make you better, and it's hard to keep on top of grooming when you're always sleeping in the dust.

But, she said, at least it is warmer there than here, and lizards might actually be OK to eat, and some of the nice people who lived there would share their lunch with the cats.  In fact, Rachel said she give this pretty pregnant cat a whole chicken skewer one lunchtime!

There were still lots of sorry and sick cats everywhere though, and it did make me feel sad to hear about them.  So I hope you don't mind seeing some photos of the cats of Marrakech today, instead of more cute photos of me and Lila.  Normal service will be resumed next time!

PS - Rachel says there is a super duper charity based in the UK which helps neuter stray cats and dogs in Morocco and keep them healthy, they are called Help the Street Animals of Morocco if you wanted to have a look at their website.  She also says we mustn't forget that there are lots of stray cats in the UK too who have a tough life and that places like Battersea (where we came from!), Cat's Protection, and Celia Hammond Trust do some fantastic work here.  How nice are they?!

Cat Lookalike Part II

I told you I'd be back with a lookalike for Mia. It took me a while, but when I realised who (or rather what) she looks like, I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before! The big round eyes, the tufty ears, it all points to another member of the animal kingdom...

 
 

Yes, a European eagle owl (or should that be, an European eagle owl?), Latin name Bubo bubo - the world's largest owl, apparently. I think the reason I didn't think of it before was that our little Mia has nothing in common with an owl. Let's look at the facts:

1. An owl flies silently through the night; Mia thumps up and down the stairs like a herd of wildebeest.

2. Eagle owls stalk and hunt their prey (up to the size of a small deer!); Mia can just about successfully pounce on a spider meandering lazily along the skirting board.

3. Owls often swallow their prey whole; Mia struggles if her dinner isn't mashed up enough before it's placed in front of her.

4. An eagle owl has a territory of up to 10km in diameter; some days Mia doesn't set paw outside the catflap.

5. This type of owl nests in a rocky crevice on a cliff edge; sometimes Mia finds the sofa too hard and has to retire upstairs to the 13 tog goose down duvet on Rachel & Pete's bed. It's a tough life...

On the plus side, she doesn't have the razor sharp talons and nasty beak of an owl, nor the aggressive tendencies, and she doesn't do that weird Exorcist thing and spin her head around 360 degrees. So all in all, I think I'd much prefer to snuggle up with her on a cold night than even the fluffiest, most well behaved little Pygmy owl.

(Don't tell her that I said that, though, I like to maintain my aloof exterior where Mia's concerned...)

Cat Lookalike Part I

Hello there, how the devil are you?  We're pretty good here.  It seems like perhaps, just perhaps, the days are starting to get a bit longer.  Our cat flap only opens when it's light, and you know what - it's definitely opening a little earlier, and staying open later, than it used to.  Hopefully it won't be too long until it's open before Rachel and Pete get up in the morning - I like to do a quick reconnaissance around the garden before they wake up, just to make sure everything's shipshape.  Once we're able to go out during the evenings, I'll get Rachel and Pete to take some photos of us in the garden.  In the meantime...
We were looking through some photos from December and found one of me half-asleep on Rachel's lap, and I realised, classic lookalike for a famous Star Wars character I am... What do you think?!

Unfortunately, as I was looking for a decent photo for my photoshop mockup, I discovered that there are actually quite a lot of cats out there that resemble Yoda, and I have to admit, some of them do look more like him than I do.  Who'd have thought it?!  Looks like I need another lookalike.  And I think I should find one for Mia too - hopefully I'll get back to you later in the week on that.  Any ideas?

Mitten Kittens

Looky here!  I've got babies!  This one is Fluffy, and this other one is Bob.  You can tell them apart because Bob is a bit more grey than Fluffy.  They first appeared just before Christmas - I found them on the shoe rack near the front door, right in a cold draught!  Poor things.  I thought that Lila should really have taken charge of them, seeing as she's had at least one litter of her own, but she didn't care about them AT ALL!  So it has fallen to me to look after them *sigh*.

Rachel is very helpful and looks after them during the day, and when she gets home after work she leaves them somewhere for me to take over - sometimes I find them in her handbag, sometimes in her coat pocket, sometimes on the sofa.  Once I've found them I gently pick them up in my mouth and take them one at a time to a safe corner.  Then I guard them and make sure they are happy and warm.  Sometimes I have to move them if Lila comes over and makes fun of me.
It's hard work, but somebody's got to do it.  I dread to think what would happen to little Fluffy and Bob if I wasn't here, they are so small and helpless!  Right must go, I think they need grooming. A mother's work is never done!

Mew Year's Resolutions

Hi all, Lila here. I hope that you've recovered from all the festivities and have settled back into the drudgery of the daily grind...
We are back at home now after our 3 out of 5 star stay at the "luxury cat hotel" (luxury my furry butt - more like Pawlty Towers). We were looked after well enough, I suppose, but we were out in the country somewhat ("rural retreat" it said on TripAdvisor...) and the whole place stank of manure. We were so disgusted with the stench that we eventually resorted to tipping over our waterbowl onto our blankets, so they had to be washed. Mmm - at last we could get some relief by burying our noses in the sweet scent of Lenor!  It was a good tactic, but unfortunately the day we did it turned out to be the day we were picked up, so probably not really worth the wet paws.
Rachel made a fuss of us when we got home, calling us "my little ponies"... by yesterday she declared we were smelling more like rabbits, and today she says we are back to normal again according to her nostrils at least. Phew. They say the coffers are empty now so none of us will be going on holiday again for a while, hurrah!
Anyway, since it's now 2011, we've been thinking about our New Year's Resolutions. Mia's is to cut out dairy completely from her diet, she says it makes her feel bloated (but I know she just ate too much Whiskas at the hotel...).

Mine is to be a bit more helpful to Rachel and Pete around the house. I'm starting off small - getting acquainted with the dustbuster.

Next, maybe I'll figure out how to stack the dishwasher. Have you made any resolutions this year?
PS - apparently our cat video made it onto a Guardian blog!  We're true middle-class liberal kitties now!

Off for some R&R

Yo, Mia here.  Just to let you know, we are off on holiday today!

Well, Rachel and Pete are off skiing, whatever that is, and we are going to the finest cat hotel in all of the county.  I think we have got the better end of the deal, as apparently there's loads of snow where they are going, and I've just about had enough of that cold white stuff.  Why would they want more of it?  We've had enough this winter to last a lifetime!
Our "deluxe" room at the hotel wil be lovely and warm, and we've chosen some of our best toys to take with us and a couple of blankets to remind us of home.  Lila says they're for me really, as I'm only a baby, and will probably cry when we first get there, but I know she'll miss the humans too, even if just for their warm cosy laps.  Rachel says we must behave, and not playfight while we're there, as we'll disturb the other guests.  So that's a bit rubbish.  But, she did say that we would probably get some special food that she won't give us at home, so we had better try and do some exercise, or we'll get all roly poly...
So anyway, we will be back online in about a week or so (really, how deluxe is this hotel, if it doesn't have free wifi?!).  Rachel says the Mog's Togs shops are shut until the 9th January, as she won't be able to post any collars while she's whizzing down the slopes, but there is something to look forward to when she gets back - she's ordered some exciting new ribbons for the 2011 Mog's Togs Ready To Wear Spring Collection - tres chic!