Two Wise Heads....!

"When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
        The reason I tell you is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
        Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name..."

From Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot

Cutesy Cat Pics

 

Anyone the knows cats. knows they love to sleep! not only that but they often seem to find the most unusual spots and positions to sleep in :)

Poppy takes great pleasure in sleeping on top of the clothes horse, Oliver, likes to sleep on the draining board when the dishwasher is on because of the heat :)

A friend sent me an email with these pics today of some other cute kitties catnapping :)

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year! Ok I know it's a little bit late....

The Dynamic Duo

At last, I have finally gotten myself organised enough to sit down and update this page! Things have been going non stop since the end of November. Here's a quick summary..

Once the suitcase came out, we started getting the evil eye!!

First of all we headed off to Krakow on the 29th of Nov until the Dec 6th, which was great. The extra few days made a massive difference, really got a chance to explore many more of the nooks and crannies of what truly is a gorgeous city. When we arrived home it was to some awful weather, wind and rain and more rain! I was only off the plane a couple of hours when I headed off to collect the fur babies from the cattery. Oliver apparently had made two bids for freedom while he was there. He had managed to pull back part of a partition high up on the wall and get into the pen next door! I was really surprised, usually he can hardly muster enough energy to move from his chair to a more comfy spot on the couch, and here he was recreating the great escape! I think Poppy probably drove him to it! Anyway they were delighted when they arrived home, they ran around checked everything was as they left it and settled right back in :)

Krakow - Main Square

Spotted this little kitty in the Old Jewish Quarter

Wawel Castle, Krakow

Now THAT'S a Christmas tree! (Main Square Krakow)

Oskar Schindler Factory

Krakow

We were just back two days when we got a visit from our American friend John, (Oliver's original rescuer & his honorary Godfather, hehehe). It was great to see John again and even though Oliver was just a kitten the last time they met, I'm sure Ollie recognised him!

Poppy by Candlelight at Christmas

After that the mayhem of Christmas took over our lives! My hopes that Poppy would totally ignore the Christmas tree now that she was a year older and, ahem, wiser were totally WRONG!! If anything she was worse. And this year we had to buy a new tree (yes we use artificial :P) as last year she totally destroyed our old one, so naturally I wanted to keep her from swinging from the branches like some kind of cat-monkey hybrid! The best I could do in the end was leave the electric pump from our old air bed plugged in under the tree and every time she attempted to eat/climb/destroy the tree, I turned it on. Both Poppy and Oliver dislike the hoover and this sounded similar, so it kept her away. Unfortunately She was wise enough to realise the pump did not have a life of it's own and needed me to produce the awful racket, so if she was allowed in the room on her own she would do a much damage a possible! Solution to this, she was locked out of the room when we were not in it! Overall it wasn't as stressful as it sounds, the tree did survive the festive season and it will be making a comeback appearance next year :)

We also had family visiting over the Christmas and New Year period, so it's really only now that I'm getting back in to anything that resembles a proper routine. I'm also trying to improve my knowledge of photoshop (couple of my attempts below). And my one and only new Years Resolution? To update my blog regularly :)

Still alive!

No, the cats have not eaten me! I am still alive :) Been busy preparing for the upcoming trip to Krakow and work. Things should be back to sorta normal soon :D

Halloween Pics!

Evil Eyed Oliver!

Poppy by candlelight

Well I hope a fun and safe Halloween was had by all. We had a nice quite evening, tucked up by candle light eating too many sweets and watching some classic Horror flicks!

We also celebrated Poppy's 1st birthday :) As she was found as a tiny stray kitten, her exact date of birth is unknown, the fact that she is a real little demon, I think Halloween is an appropriate date for her to celebrate her birthday on, hehehe! So our baby is growing up *blinks away a tear*!!

Here are some pics I took of the two beauties on Halloween.

Scary Cat!

Halloween

It's getting to that time of year again, the clocks have gone back, there's no escaping Winter now and in a couple of days it will be Halloween, or Oíche Shamhna as it is in Irish. Halloweens roots stretch back long and far in Irish culture, Samhain (which is where Oíche Shamhna comes from) was a festival celebrated by the Celts before the Christianity took hold. It was a festival to mark the end of Summer, the saving of the harvest. It was believed to be a time also when the dead revisited the world of the living and large bonfires were lit to ward off evil spirits.

It is still a very big celebration here today, as it is in many places around the world. Children dressing up and going out trick-or-treating, bonfires and fireworks have all become common place (if not always legal!).

It has also become a time to worry about our pets, especially cats and dogs. Every year I hear horrific stories about cats that have been thrown in to bonfires, dogs with fireworks tied to their tails and other things too horrible to even imagine. I remember seeing an Irish animal rescue programme on TV early this year, where rescue workers were called out to deal with a little terrier who had chased after a firework and grabbed it in his mouth to bring it back. When the firework went off it totally destroyed the poor dogs lower jaw. All that could be done was put the suffering creature to sleep for good.

Stories like these distress me no end, but I think it is very important that pet owners be aware of how cruel and horrible things can happen, especially at this time of year. I think it is advisable to keep animals in around Halloween, particularly on the night itself. For more safety tips check out this site http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?&acatid=207&aid=1152.

An other thing to take in to consideration is the loud noise from bangers and fireworks, fortunately I live in an area where not many fireworks etc are set off and if they are it's at a distance so Oliver and Poppy are not that put out by them! As they are indoor cats anyway they are safe.

Of course Halloween is a time to have fun too and I'm sure poppy will have lots of fun tearing down any decorations I put up! Neither of my two are that receptive to wearing any type of costumes, plus I don't think I could put them through the indignation even if they were! If anyone would like to share pics of their cats in costume, please feel free though :)

Hope you all have a Happy (and safe) Halloween!

Cattery...check!

Oliver & Poppy are very excited! There hotel is booked for their hols :)!! Well it's a cat hotel, OK it's a cattery but it looks really, really nice :) Hope the place I've booked for ourselves is as comfy! I went with Abbeyfeale Boarding Kennels & Cattery http://www.abbeyfealeboardingkennels.com/, it looks perfect and I've been in touch with the people who run it and they seem perfectly lovely. I feel so much better about leaving them (especially Poppy) knowing they will be well taken care of.


Carole, the lovely lady I have been emailing at the cattery, sent me this pic of some kittens they had earlier this year, which have now been re homed.

Could they be any cuter?! I have to admit if I saw them I would find it very hard not to want one, I'm such a softy when it comes to little tabby's :) These three are BSH Silver Spotted Tabby's.

Well that's it, holiday countdown has officially begun, yippeee!!