Mouser

A very good one at that. Fortunately (for me!) we don't have any of the live variety, but Theo does like a good stuffed mouse to bat about. Silly old floof.

Here are Theo's back feet, and why he wouldn't do well had I decided to show him. Birmans' feet are meant to have neat little gloves on them, and his back feet have jaggedy bits at the top like seams- these are called runners and are a fault. His front feet too, one of them has a grey splotch on a paw pad- they are ideally perfectly white. Theo's actually a pretty good example of his breed, but not up to show standard which really is only for those closest to the breed standard only.

(Besides which, I didn't pick Theo because he was show quality, I picked him because he was cute and made me laugh! But I thought you might be interested. Show standards are very exacting in all breeds!)

No news on the Indigo front... as before, I THINK she's pinked up, but I'm just not sure! Neither Ava nor Sofia are the kind of cats that will let you poke around their nippes (so I could compare theirs to Indigo's) and last time the change was obvious and dramatic. I suppose though with humans it varies from one pregnancy to another, so no reason why it should be any different with cats.

I'll have to wait a bit longer, I suppose!

The Giddy Kipper

Being indoor cats, the opportunity for stimulation is vastly reduced, a fact every indoor owner MUST take seriously. One of the things that help to fill that gap are toys, which I rotate so they don't lose their appeal, and all the cats have their preferences.

Ava, I must admit, doesn't really engage with toys, although she does occasionally go and have a sleep in the crinkle tunnel. Theo likes a good mouse to bat around, as well as the more complicated circular things with balls to bat around. Sofia likes a mouse too, but whilst Theo prefers the chunky sisal type, Sofia likes the fur covered plastic/ stuffed variety- she dismembers the plastic/ stuffing and carries the limp fur casing proudly about the house.

Indigo's favourite toy is a big plush and hessian fish called the Giddy Kipper- so called I suspect because it is catnip impregnated. Indigo likes nothing more than bashing seven bells out of her kipper and then rolling around on it getting a hit of the nip. Junkie.

Sofia likes the kipper too- she has a seperate one otherwise you KNOW Indie would be weeing on it- but she isn't nearly so enamoured of it as Indigo is. Sofia merely rubs her head all over it and drools a bit. Indigo is much funnier to watch, she leaps about the place like she has firecrackers down her cataloons.

As ever, I've not been paid by the makers of the Giddy Kipper to plug the toy! But my cats like it :) I did buy another toy the other day though, from Pets at home, and all four are completely nonplussed. I'll keep it for the kittens, they might enjoy it, but as far as my cats were concerned, it was a total waste of money :( Here it is! My advice? Do not buy!



Mere Pence, Really...

Gah!!!!! Just paid nearly £200 at the pet website Zooplus for some cat necessities- food, litter and ok, maybe a few toys. A roller ball thing, and a spinny thing and a waggly glove. I have a cat toy addiction... I'm always bringing this and that home for the cats, and they usually treat it with a most feline disdain! Still I live in hope.

That reminds me of a post I want to write actually... but for now I'll just sit down and recover from the shock- or rather 'shock' as it's always that much- of the bill!

Bwahahahahahah

hahaha... ahahahaha... hang on,  you're laughing AT me not with me...

Ok, so the kittens all love Mama's pipe cleaner toys...

When they get hold of one, they like to keep it to themselves. So, they growl to warn their siblings off. Not in an aggressive way, just in a 'MY toy, paws off!' kind of way. And it is SO CUTE. And, you know, about the un-scariest thing imagineable, and of course I have to scoop them up and kiss them for being so adorable which isn't exactly the effect they were aiming for.

It's tough being a poor misunderstood kitten, you know *grin*

Just a quick post today because we have a viewing later... whoohoo!

Two Seperate Households...

Originally posted on my private blog- posted to http://indikon-tonkinese.blogspot.com/ on 06/01/11

Indigo and Theo, taken this morning. They cuddle, groom, sleep peacefully together and are genuinely fond of each other... the picture of cat harmony. And...

Ava, Sofia and Theo, taken last night, again all coexisting peacefully in the same space. They groom each other, cuddle up together, again having a close knit relationship.

So why do Sofia and Indigo hate each other so much???? It's baffling. Neither cat is simply an antisocial cat, (I could understand it if they were!) both have close relationships with at least one other cat in the household, they just don't like each other. At all.

Currently, I am maintaining two seperate households of cats, with Theo flitting between the two. At nighttime, Indigo is shut in the living room and Ava, Sofia and Theo have the run of the bedroom, long hallway, kitchen and bathroom. The morning sees the bedroom door shut, and Indigo (and Theo, usually) has the hall and bathroom and kitchen as well as the living room. The afternoon sees Ava and Sofia taking another turn, and the evening it's Indigo's time again. And so we go on. Both rooms have food, water and litter, cat furniture, soft spaces to sleep, high places to climb and plenty of toys, so even when restricted to the one room the cats have all that they need.

Re-integration of the cats takes a lot of hard work, here... and the smallest thing takes us back to the start again. Indigo going off to stud, for example. We were just starting to re-integrate, when Indie developed her allergy, and because of the concern over what it might be, I kept her seperate from the other cats. Well by the time the lab tests came back clear she was quite far along in her pregnancy anyway and it wasn't worth integrating them only to seperate again in a couple of weeks- it takes longer than that to do so anyway!

I'm starting to feel that it isn't worth 'forcing' the cats to integrate. It's a pain in the butt having to keep them seperate, but it's a good deal more peaceful, and the cats don't seem to mind. Moreover, Indigo has not had any incidences of inappropriate urination at all since keeping them seperate. I did forget to scoop her box one night (I scoop them twice a day, usually) and she did a big steaming turd on my nice clean washing, (sorry, potential cat owners... they do gross things occasionally!) but then she's always been finicky about not using a dirty box. My fault for forgetting to scoop. But the 'marking' has all but stopped since she 's had her own territory that her rival does not access.

So perhaps that's what's going to work for us- two seperate households, so that both my dominant, clashing girls have a space they can call their own. We'll see.

Meow

Originally posted on my private blog- posted to http://indikon-tonkinese.blogspot.com/ on 06/01/11

For the past few days, Indigo has been meowing up a storm. Not calling, her 'I need a mancat NOW' yowl is very distinctive, although that might be the next step I suppose. But she's been Very Very Loud, even for her.

Now Indigo isn't a quiet cat, by any means. Tonks are generally quite chatty, they want to be with you and share in what you are doing and won't hesitate to let you know their opinions. For anyone reading this thinking perhaps of bringing a tonk into their lives would be wise to consider this. There are plenty of lovely cat breeds that are more quiet and sedate, so if lots of meowing will bother you, best to consider another breed

My other cats are much less vocal. Theo will mew when he's wanting his walk, Ava will indulge in a brief chat at bedtime and a single 'hello' meow when she enters a room. Sofie, on the other hand, has only meowed once, when the vet took her temperature- a cold thermometer stuck into the bottom will do that to a girl, I guess!

I don't know why Indigo is suddenly so vocal. Hopefully that will be resolved before too long- either by her going into heat or I'll work out what is bothering her. But on the plus side, the gradual reintroduction to the other cats is going well. Indigo is now happy in Theo's presence and they've been observed mutually grooming. Indie will never get to that stage with the others, but they've spent the odd 10 minutes here and there without scrapping- plenty of treats and a feather toy has helped with that, although I'd still not leave them all to their own devices yet.

We're getting there... slowly, steadily and somewhat noisily.