Photos...

... well actually, my excuse for their being no photos. That being when I went to upload some earlier, I noticed Indigo had peed on the cable... right at the end of the cable too, so I dare not just clean it off and hope for the best, it might ruin my camera! So I've sent off for another one.

And that, my friends, sets the tone for the week we're having. Wee everywhere, including practically on my lap the other day which I was NOT happy about, plus the clean washing twice, and the noise as well, dear God! Still, this is day 5 now, so she should stop yowling very soon. Aaaahhhhh...

Of course it won't be long till she starts again, but I've spoken to the stud's owner, and we've made our arrangements... so she'll be yowling somewhere a couple of counties away. Even Indigo isn't THAT loud.

Just saying...

It really is amazing how something so small can make such a big noise... constantly. Indigo is definitely in heat and has been going at it hammer and tongs in her bid to attract a mate. You can hear her from outside, through a closed window.

Theo, who was slightly later than he ought to be neutered, and who seems to have the urge if not the ability, has been spraying everywhere. I suspect this is attempting to give Indigo 'sexy' messages, but Inds isn't fooled, he hasn't got the bits to smell right any more! My house on the other hand is decidedly less than fragrant!

Poor old Theo, he does try... he lollops after her like an overgrown kitten and he's even straddled her a couple of times(unless she smacks him first) and then... doesn't know what do. Poor old clueless Theo!

Calling

I think she is!

I was going to write an entirely different blog post today (it will wait!) but this morning I've heard Inds making the familiar foghorn noise several times. It's fairly unmistakable.

She won't go off to stud this cycle, after being on Ovarid you are supposed to let them have one complete call before going. But she should yowl for a week or so, have a week or two off and then call again- hopefully.

We're in for a noisy few days!

Alfie's Sister

As promised, a quick update on Alfie, who now has a sister, Paloma, a Bengal. Paloma is a little bit older than Alfie but lots smaller, as Alfie seems to have turned into a big powerful mancat somewhere along the lines... I stil think of him as a kitten, but he isn't of course!

Alfie and Paloma's family say the first few weeks were really difficult- Alfie was fine but Paloma was seriously aggressive, but she's coming round nicely now and they play together, groom each other, and Alfie, whilst still ultra cuddly and affectionate, isn't 'needy' in the same way. I know exactly what they mean!

I'm a big believer that cats need feline company, and it's not so that I can persuade people to take a sibling pair! It really does make for happier, healthier cats. So I'm thrilled that Alfie and Paloma are rapidly becoming best buddies :)

Jacob and Jonah Go On Holiday

To Grandma's, where they had a lovely time! And very cleverly sent me their own letter/ progress report hehe.

Unfortunately, I am not nearly so clever, and can't work out how to take the pictures off the letter and get them on here... so you will just have to imagine...

Two very handsome boys, one dark, the other paler, but obviously a pair. One sleek and lithe, the other bigger and more muscular... and perhaps with a very slight tummy, eh Jonah? Your Mama is the same!

Two lads looking calm and contented together in their carrier, roaming around the house mischeviously, playing, sun-soaking, bird watching and bed snuggling. And finally home after a lovely week.

Sounds like a great holiday eh? Thanks for the update boys!

Massage

Three of my cats have a traditional cat dignity. Ava and Sofia, whilst perfectly amiable and affectionate, do not like to be picked up at all. Theo tolerates it, but it's not something he enjoys as such, or would seek out. Unfortunately he's just so fluffy I can't resist.

Indigo is not like that. Indigo can be picked up, tipped upside down, roughhoused and otherwise mauled (gently! lol)with impunity, in fact she likes it, and will seek such hands on treatment of her own volition. Which is why it didn't surprise me in the slightest when Alfie's family sent me this video of him enjoying a massage...

Apparently this is one of his favourite things ever! LOL! I'm loving 0.38 where he does that blissed out slow blink!

What a big powerful cat Alfie has turned into hasn't he? Apparently he's a very muscular 7kg now, which is more than my Theo even, and nearly twice as much as his new sister Paloma, who is built on a more miniature scale. I'll update on that soon but they are getting on well.

Incidentally, I am confusing myself no end trying to file posts under the Indikon kittens' old names, took me ages today to remember that Alfie was once 'Kenneth'. So I'll be filing under their proper names from now on. I'm sure anyone searching will soon realise that Alfie and Kenneth are one and the same cat, for example, if they read back far enough. If I then wanted to use Alfie as a name I'd file it as 'Indikon Alfie'- the pedigree name.

Only just in- Jacob and Jonah's summer holiday. Stay tuned!

Wanna Sniff My Butt?

LOL... ok, not MY butt, but anyone with cats, or dogs, or most animals really, will know that they regularly communicate by poking their noses up into each other's rear ends. In cats this is usually followed by the flehmen reaction, a sort of open mouthed silent panting which kind of enables the cat to 'taste' the smell, and as such get more information from it.

Anyhow, I'm observing Indigo as closely as I can this time, so as to see if there are any reliable ways to tell if she's shortly to go on heat. And it may be wishful thinking on my part, but there's been an awful lot of bottom sniffing from Theo of late!

Theo is an inveterate sniffer anyway, and he's neutered, so he won't be interested in the way a stud would, but nevertheless, he's quite sensitive to changes in the other cats. Regular readers of the blog will remember that it was Theo who alerted me to the change in Indigo's behaviour last winter- and later that night she had her kittens. He got there long before me. So naturally I am wondering if he might guide me this time too?