Grump

Hi. Indigo here, and I am Not A Happy Kitty... At All. See me in the picture above? I'm snuggling on a blanket Mum had just got out of the cupboard. I had naturally assumed it was for me, after all cats and blankets are a natural combination but OH NO. Apparently not. Apparently she was going to use it to make a costume for the teenager's school play!

Well I ask you. Who's just raised a family of seven? Don't I deserve a little comfort? SHE doesn't seem to think so, and took the blanket anyway. But I say the fact that the blanket was old and bobbly, I never use it and that I have about 30 others is ABSOLUTELY NOT THE POINT. No Mum, I'm very cross with you and so I'm telling everyone on this blog what a big meanie you are. So there.

although this apologising malarkey is pretty nice, keep this up for a while and I MIGHT forgive you...

Sorry Inds. But when one's teenager announces on Thursday night that he needs a costume by Monday morning, one has to use the materials at hand. Including cat blankets and my comfy old gardening gilet. We appreciate your sacrifice honey!

Guess Again!

Aaaaaand its another picture NOT of Indigo. LOL. No, this is the lovely Jonah who is quite patently a lilac solid and not a blue mink as I put on his pedigree.

Whoopsie.

He's another handsome devil isn't he though? If I was in that room I'd want to scoop him up and give him a kiss. He probably wouldn't mind either because he was just the cuddliest, most affectionate kitten imagineable, and C says he hasn't changed much.

Love those big soppy mancats. Mine, my Theo, is next to me on the desk as I type, and every now and then he's letting out a little trill to let me know he'd like another stroke now please!

Queen Of The Castle

Lottie and Lola's family have bought the girls a fantastic full height cat climber, which to me looks a bit castle like... very appropriate for two princesses! They love it. Here's Lola at the top. I understand she's also *ahem* rediscovered curtain climbing. Lola!!!! What a monkey!

Looking at Lola, I can't see for the life of me why I ever thought Alfie or Jonah (last year) were blue minks... they looked quite different to Lola. Although having said that, will I have to eat my words this time next year with regards to Lola? I'm much, much more confident about the accuracy of my (eventual!) colourings this year, but even so, we aaaaaaaalllll know what a mess I made of it last year!!! *hangs head in shame*

At least with Tonks this kind of uncertainty goes with the territory... it's almost part of the fun. I guess. LOL.

Guess Who?

Why it's Ind....

Oh no, it isn't! This handsome chap is Alfie, Indikon Kenneth, from the REM litter last year. Looks very much like his mummy though doesn't he? And that's a solid cat, not a mink, for sure. Looks like either a lilac or a caramel to me, although I'd like to see that tail better, the bit that can be seen looks a bit caramelly to me!

Thanks S and D for sending me the piccie, he's adorable!

Sulley and his Boy

Breakfast time

Sulley's settling in brilliantly. D wrote to me: 'Im not sure I've ever seen a kitten so attached to a small child but they really are partners in crime lol and [the boy] tells everyone "he's MY kitten" :)' What is more, D had a friend around who fell so completely in love with Sulley that she's interested in a kitten from the next litter! MY next litter, not any Tonk litter. Now I shan't get my hopes up, a year is a long time for someone thinking 'kitten' but I took it as a huge compliment :)

The boy decided that when you break the cat tree the best thing to do is to try and fix it before anyone notices. Hahahaha nice one lad! Nobody would ever know!

Indigo

People ask: Will Indigo miss the kittens?
Well, I'm not a cat, (lol, obviously) and without being one I couldn't say for sure. And cats who are brought up together or who have a close familial bond can have incredibly close relationships all their lives and can in fact grieve very deeply when one dies. And anyone who is around cats will know they experience frustration, affection, fear and a range of other emotions.

But at the end of the day (sorry came over a bit Jeremy Kyle there) a cat is a cat. It has a brain the size of a walnut. It is not human, and whilst the temptation to anthromorphise is strong (and I do it here, often, because it's fun) it's ultimately unhelpful when we are trying to find out how our cats might be feeling

In the wild, a mama cat loses her 4 week old kitten, she is distraught. She will call and call for it, searching until she is exhausted. But by the time they are ten weeks she's like what kitten was that, sorry? Oh she'll care for her brood, she'll feed them, bathe them and administer smacks where necessary, but they aren't her life any more. In nature she's in season again, looking for a man, or more likely she's pregnant already, gearing up for her next litter. Cats are extremely efficient baby making machines- grow 'em, raise em, turf 'em out ready for the next lot. People, please spay and neuter- moggy cats are not likely to be an endangered species any time soon...

Will Indigo miss the kittens? I can't say for sure, but if I had to take a guess as to her state of mind right now I'd say she's probably rather... relieved. She's been a diligent Mama. She's birthed, fed (with a little assistance) and raised seven beautiful kittens, at some cost to her own health. She's attended to their manners and morals and stood aside whilst they monopolised my affections. But now they've moved on and she has too. She can catch up on her sleep again (she's been napping pretty much solidly!), get back into the peak of condition and be a carefree cat again.
In fact it hasn't taken her long at all- she's moved back into her rightful place... which is of course my lap :)

Forever

Life is sweet with a sister to share it with...

Marta Marshmallow and Liesl went home today, and are starting their new lives as Iris and Lily. Beautiful names for two very beautiful girls. They seemed more than happy to go, they even took themselves into the carrier! So what's the betting they howled all the way home? *grin*

I was loath to take them out of the carrier once they were in, so they didn't even get a goodbye kiss, but I'd had a good snuggle with both earlier in the day so that was ok :)

Goodbye darlings... be good, and if you can't be good make sure no-one is watching!