My little Hunter

None of my cats is particularly fond of cold and wet weather. They all become couch potatoes during winter which is why my guestroom has itself converted entirely into a "cats room". Just as well that no one comes to stay overnight right now. We just wouldn't have the space with all the different kind of cat beds in that room. Apart from baskets and chairs we've got a KatKube and an indoor Katkabin both of which Max is very fond. Harry, when he sleeps upstairs prefers my bed where he manages to make himself really long and I have to try to sqeeze myself in so to not to disturb him. He gets quite grumpy if you do. I did notice, the older he gets the more he is settled in his little ways - does this remind you of something?
We have two sofas in the living room and Harry insists of having the 2seater to himself. If I sit on it he will pester me till I give up. No one sits on the other one - no idea why - so I sit on the floor while Harry spreads himself on the sofa. By the way, he will not get off it till it's time for his last run around the block before bed time.
Oscar basically can fall asleep anywhere and as there are lots of possibilities in the house I find myself usually searching for him because he might prefer the laundry basket that evening and hides underneath the clothes.

Now with the weather getting warmer Mother Nature produces new off spring for all kind of animals that are just made to hunt for if you are a cat and are fond of the occassional takeaway. The problem of course is that it needs to be killed first which Oscar prefers to do at home. Preferably on my white carpets.
Once he has fetched them - and Harry does exactly the same thing - they run past me as fast as they can, very well aware that I do not share their enthusiasm quite the opposite and I do yell and try to get them out of the house. It's not always working and I'm afraid, if this mouse is a bit bigger I don't even want to get near it or pass it for that matter so I go on the sofa and hope that it's going to be over soon. If I'm unlucky they are actually manage to loose it - that's the worst szenario and at one time I had to fetch a neighbour to help me to fetch it ourselves.

One morning I cought Oscar just in time and managed to close the door on him and I literally had to barrikade the catflap because this clever little tearaway doesn't take "no" for an answer. He is the only one of my cats who can get in the house with the catflap closed. As I said, he is quite clever and inventive.
He tried for quite some time to come in with that mouse still attached to his teeth but this time I did not let him.
Now can you guess what he did next?
No? Here it goes: As the cat flap is through the wall of the house there is quite a bit of a passway between one door and the other. Oscar pushed his mouse inside that space and comes to the back door all innocent - no mouse. Which made me believe he had given up on it and I opened the door for him and removed the barrikade in front of the flap. Oscar jumped into through the catflap and fingered his mouse from the inside. I just couldn't believe what I was watching.
Oscar found a way to get pass me and have his mouse in the house.
I can tell you, I am not falling for that one again.

My Cats and I

I don't know about your morning by thanks to my 3 cats, Harry soon aged 9, Max now 3 ½ and Oscar, the tabby baby who will be 2 in May, my mornings (and any other time of the day) are very entertaining.

We also have a permanent visitor who actually lives a few houses further up the road but kind of lives with us part time – especially meal times. I am calling him “Ginger” for lack of knowing his real name and as he is red...

Ginger first took a shine to us last summer – not that this made much sense – because he didn’t get a welcome note from the other residents. In fact that made no secret of their clear annoyance that he dared to come in, eat their food and played with their toys and to just really annoy them, wanted to be stroked by me. This dislike worked both ways – he did not treasure their company either. During his visits he got hissed at, jumped from behind and in a cat kind of way it was made absolutely crystal clear to him to just bug off.

He still came every day and enjoyed himself despite the opposition by playing with the toys. I personally didn’t mind as I just loved his spirit but as he didn’t dare to fight with the residents it was me who got hissed at and scratched.

A lot of meals and staying overnights later he has developed into a friendly pussy cat – very fond of cuddles and company.

Harry still wishes him hell on earth but a bit does it a bit more subtle these days, Max can’t really be bothered unless he has back-up and Oscar still likes to surprise him with an attack from behind the curtains – but then again, Oscar does this to everybody else as well.

Oscar has developed at times into a bit of a bully although when he looks at you with these big brown eyes – personified innocence itself – you just can’t help yourself thinking that all you want to do is just cuddle him. His little ways certainly work on me.

I am trying a new tactic to curb the bullying – because quite frankly, nothing else has worked so far. When he now has a go at Harry or Max – and I mean this in every sense of the word – hairs are flying and Harry in particular can scream for England – whereas max just runs for his life to try and get away from this little tearaway – instead of screaming myself, I am now try to stay calm and fetch him and basically whisper to him in an effort to calm him down.
Mind you – it hasn’t stopped him in the long run – but it seems as it does has a calming effect for that moment and he does let it go.

Oscar always was very brave. I never forget the day he arrived – 6 weeks old – just taken from his mother and siblings and put into a new house all by himself with a strange person and 3 other big cats. It must have been absolutely terrifying. I never before had any thoughts about this till that day – now I do and I wish there would be a better way.

Oscar was hiding in a corner watched by all 3 of them from a safe distance. Suddenly Oscar took heart, leaped out from behind his corner and jumped side wards, his back and hair stretched to the maximum, in front of them like – and I’m sure he was – saying: “Don’t you dare come near me!!”.

And guess what, no one did dare. They were absolutely fascinated just watching him.

After that we never looked back, He stood his ground and become the most loving companion for Mays, my wonderful Burmese, who at the time was very ill and died a few months later. Oscar, as little as he was, seemed to understand that love was the most precious gift he could give to Maya and the two of them became inseparable till her death a few months later.