April snow (?!?) showers

Human; why is it snowing outside? 

Isn't it April?  Isn't that spring time?

Shouldn't it be sunny & starting to warm up?

Can you not do something about it?

I'd like to go outside; but I'm not going out in the snow.

My feet will get cold ...

My new little friend ...

Human & I have had an interesting week ... I might need to write a couple of blogs to tell you all about it!

It all started last Tuesday night when I found a new little friend.  He'd been living in the yard next door & I felt a little bit sorry for him, living out there in the cold, when I knew how warm & cosy my house was.  And I remembered how lovely & kind my human was when I'd been living outside in the cold & she invited me in ... & let me live with her forever.

I truly thought she'd do the same for my new friend.

And so last Tuesday night, I picked him up ever so gently in my mouth & took him home with me.  I ran straight into the living room & started shouting excitedly at my human, telling her all about the new friend I'd brought home to live with us.

Of course, when I opened my mouth to tell her, my new little friend ran out didn't he?

My human screamed!  Wow!  I've never heard her be that excited before!

And then she jumped up on the back of the sofa?  Wow; she must have been really excited!!

Being the sensible one in the house, I kept an eye on our new little friend to make sure he was okay.  I think my human's scream had scared him & so he'd ran & hid underneath this lovely scratchpost that I have.  See; the chair shaped one in the picture?

And then for some reason, human screamed again!?  I don't know why.

And then she suddenly picked me up & threw me in the bedroom!?

I was having none of it though.  I needed to stay in the living room & keep watch on my new little friend to make sure he was okay.  I don't know what happened to him though; I lost him for a while.

Human later told me that she'd seen him run into our bedroom & she'd thrown me in there to catch him!  I'm not sure whether I believe her or not ...

Anyway, the next day human was still in a bit of a funny mood.  

I think she might have been worried about our new little friend because she didn't know where he was.  I thought it was quite nice of her to be concerned about him like that.

And through the night, I'd told our new little friend about the importance of being clean & tidy when you live in a house.  I didn't want to share my litter tray with him, but I did tell him to use the bath instead.  I think my human appreciated that, because she laughed when she saw his droppings sitting in there the next morning.

And yet despite this laughter, she still didn't seem too happy.

By this time, he'd found a nice cosy little place to live beside the fridge in the kitchen.

This is me making sure he's okay.

I think human then began getting concerned about him because she went out & bought him a little home.

See ....

... a cute little home, & she even put almond butter & chocolate in it for him to eat.  

What I can't understand though is why she's not happy.  And why she's moved my dinner & water ... & litter tray ... into the living room.

She's given my new little friend the whole kitchen for himself, & won't let me go in there to play with him.

I'm tired of eating my dinner off the carpet. 

And I'm even more tired of the indignity of having to use my litter tray in the living room.  That's not right is it?

It seems to me that this plan has backfired somewhat ... 

And oh, I haven't introduced you to my little new friend have I?  The little friend I'm not allowed to play with & who has evicted me from the kitchen ...

This is him ...

Little Miss Angry Cat ...

Following on from my earlier post, I knew I'd have no trouble in persuading my human to guard the door whilst I ate my yummy roast chicken & gravy.

She remembers what happened the other night when I caught stupid black-&-white cat stealing my dinner.

I was angry. Furiously furious if you remember.

And because I couldn't get rid of all of my angry feelings towards stupid black-&-white, I held on to some of them.

Now I understand from my human's work that it's not good to hold on to feelings.  It's best to express them safely & let them go. And then you feel okay.

But I hadn't been able to do that the other night.

I was still feeling angry inside.

And so when my human said that it was time to go to bed & I didn't want to go, my anger was reignited. 

And I lashed out ... literally ... at my human.

And when us cats lash out, we can do real damage with our claws.  And I'm ashamed to say that I hurt my human.

Look what I did to her.

I didn't care at the time of course because my angry feelings just needed to come out. But they came out towards the wrong person ... I hurt my human instead of stupid black-&-white cat.

This is what happens when you don't express your feelings properly.

But at least human knows how angry I can get. And I'm sure she'll not want me to get angry again like that tonight.

Which I would do if stupid black-&-white stole my yummy chicken & gravy.

She'll guard the door for me, no problem ...

Why doesn't he at least put all the food in his tummy ... ?!?

Stupid greedy black-&-white cat has been back.  Again.

He's getting slightly more clever though, because this time, human hadn't heard him.  And I was out, so I wasn't there with my better-than-human ears to hear him.

It was just when my human went into the kitchen & looked down at my dinner mat, that she knew he'd been back.

She knew I hadn't eaten it though because there was a tell-tale mess on the kitchen floor.

I hadn't been hungry earlier, when human put my yummy dinner out, so I'd just left it there for later.  Trusting that it would be there when I wanted it.

But no.

Thanks to stupid black-&-white, it was all gone.  Again.

I don't understand how he makes such a mess.

What on earth is he doing?

It's easy to eat your dinner.  And there's no need to spit it out on the floor.

As if it's not bad enough that he's stealing my dinner, he's wasting it, & leaving a mess on the kitchen floor for my human to clean up.

But by leaving that mess, we both knew that it was him who'd stolen my dinner.

He might think he's been clever by not making those loud munchie noises he usually makes, but the tell-tale mess on the kitchen floor, just tells me how stupid he is.

He's not that stupid though is he, if he keeps sneaking into our kitchen & stealing my yummy tea?  He obviously like Felix dinner as much as I love my Dreamies.

I'm just beginning to get a bit sick & tired of it though,

And I know my human is too, because every time he empties my dish, she has to re-fill it with another sachet.

Do cats get OCD or Aspergers ... ?

Human tidied all of my toys up tonight & put them all on my scratch post.

I didn't want them there.

So I took them all back off & put them back on the floor where they belong. And I had great fun doing so!

Human thought it a bit odd how I made a straight line with some of them, off to the side of the post.

I didn't think there was anything odd about it.

I just wanted them in a nice straight line.

And to see them back on the floor where they belong.

And if she hadn't disturbed me I'd have kept making them all into a much longer line. 

I got really annoyed when she stopped me because I was planning to make a lovely long line straight across the whole living room carpet. 

But as usual, she spoiled my fun.

And that's what I thought it was.

Just fun. Fun to make a lovely long straight line.

But actually ... 

I'm a little bit worried about myself now. Now that human's mentioned it, I'm a little bit worried about why I wanted to make a nice straight line with some of them.

I don't know if human's PhD thingy is stressing me out or if I've been reading too many of her books.  But I'm wondering ...

Do cats get OCD or Aspergers ... ?

They're not yummy Dreamies ...

My human tried to trick me today.

She told me I could have some Dreamies if I came inside. And so because it wasn't a very sunny day & because I liked the idea of having some yummy Dreamies, I went inside.

But imagine my disappointment & upset when I discovered that the so called 'treats' in my dish weren't Dreamies.

I was so disgusted in my disappointment that I just left them.

In fact, I left them all day.

Tonight, I thought I'd ask my human for some Dreamies to see if she would give me some real ones.

"Human," I miaowed. "Please can I have some real Dreamies?"

"Elsie," she said. "What do you want? You've got dinner in your dish and you've already got treats."

"Oh, but human; I don't want dinner. And I don't want those treats. I want Dreamies."

"Please give me proper yummy Dreamies," I pleaded.

She eventually gave in & opened a new packet of Dreamies.

I don't know why, but she left the old yucky treats in the dish too. I think she thought I'd be stupid enough to just eat them all.

But I'm not stupid. I can tell the difference between yummy Dreamies & yucky other non-Dreamies treats.

At least she had the decency to keep them separate. She could have been really devious & mixed them all together, which would have made it a little bit more tricky for me to separate them, but I'd have done it. No way was I going to eat yucky non-Dreamies.

So it was quite easy for me really to eat the yummy Dreamies & just leave the yucky non-Dreamies.

What upsets me even more though is that she'd tried to fob me off with yucky non-Dreamies treats called 'Whiskas'.

Now my human knows that before I moved in with her & she gave me my lovely Elsie name, my horrible other humans used to call me Whiskas.

What kind of name is that for a cat? We have whiskers & some cats (not me of course) eat Whiskas, but it's not a good name is it?

And surely, she must have realised that giving me yucky Whiskas treats would make me remember all of the nasty times I had before I moved in with my lovely human. How could she do that to me?

She might be lovely most of the time, but sometimes she can be very stupid.

I think we've cleared it up now though. I think I made my point plainly enough.

Yucky Whiskas. Yummy Dreamies.

And just remember human; you can't fool me ...

My M&S cat bed advert ...

Yes thank you human; I am still enjoying sleeping on my new bed.

And yes human; I know that you put it on the chair almost a week ago.

And yes, I know you had to go shopping without it.

What I don't understand though, is why you wanted to take my bed shopping with you ...

Apparently it came from somewhere called Marks & Spencer ... I have no idea where that is, but I know my human goes there a lot. 

I make a good advert for M&S cat beds don't I ... ?!

There's something wrong ...

Human ... there's something wrong with my treats dish ...

... it's EMPTY!!

Where are my Dreamies?!

I'm hoping that if I sit here long enough, you'll do something about it ...

Please ?!?

Sometimes the innocent get injured in the crossfire ...

I had a bit of an exciting time last night ... although I'm not sure my human would agree.

It must have been getting quite late, because it was dark outside.  But it was still nice & warm & I wanted to sit outside on the wall, watching over my territory.

My human obviously wanted to go to bed because she came outside calling my name & shaking the packet of Dreamies at me.  Now, usually the Dreamies work, but last night, I just wanted to sit out a little bit longer.  And I don't know why, but I just had a feeling that I needed to stay on guard.

I've spotted you pesky Ginger Tom ...

The human kept coming out & shaking the treats.  And I kept ignoring her ... & as you can see from this picture, I was right to.  The pesky big Ginger Tom, who hasn't dared come near for a while, was prowling around the back lanes.  

This is me keeping my eyes on him ...

I told my human, although I'm not sure she heard me, not to worry, that I'd protect us & keep us safe from the pesky Ginger Tom. 

 She went inside because I think she realised I had no intention of coming in just then.

And just as well I didn't, because guess what happened?

Yes; Ginger Tom jumped up onto my wall.  Well, he wasn't going to get away with that.  Along the wall I went to him.  We stood, staring at each other, backs arched, tails bushy & then started the yowling & hissing sounds that I'm very good at ...

My human came running outside at this point to see what was going on.  I think Ginger Tom got a little bit unnerved by her & so I stole my chance ... I lashed out at him & chased him along the walls.  He ran as far down the walls as he could, with me in close pursuit ... & when he got to the end, he had no choice but to jump down.  

Ha; I won!!  The walls are mine!

I sat down there for a long time, just to make sure he didn't dare come back.  Just to make sure he knew who the best cat in this neighbourhood is.

Of course, my human was still shouting for me to come in, but I couldn't.  I had to make sure he didn't come back.  So she gave up & went back inside ...

Once I was sure he wasn't going to come back, I thought I'd best have a look around the neighbourhood to make sure he wasn't just hiding somewhere.  If he'd had any sense he'd have gone back home where he belongs.

Pesky green things stuck in my tail

And this is the bit my human's a bit puzzled by, because I managed to get attacked by a plant.  It stuck its nasty green seeds into my tail and I couldn't get them out by myself.  So I had to go home looking stupid with green things sticking out of my tail.

When my human saw them, she didn't know what to think.  She tried to touch my tail to get a better look at them, but I wouldn't let her.  I hissed and yowled at her. 

I feel a bit bad about doing that to her, but I was just so angry with myself for getting them stuck in there ... especially after I'd just shown her how good I am at defending our home and walls.

I eventually let her pick me up & she tried to brush them off me ... but like I'd already discovered, she soon realised they didn't come off very easily.  I was still all worked up from my fight, still angry at Ginger Tom, and still angry at the green things for sticking in my tail & I couldn't help keep growling & lashing at the human.  I see now she was only trying to help me ... but I didn't want her help.  Or, I didn't want to admit that I needed her help.

Sorry for making your sore finger bleed human ...
& thank you for pulling all of these pesky seeds out of my tail

Unfortunately, I forgot about her sore finger & I scratched it. I made it bleed in 3 different places, all on top of the scar which is still growing there. 

I love you human ...

I felt really bad about that, so once she'd finally pulled all of the stupid green things off me (they didn't come off easily & some of my fur came off with them) I gave her a lovely snuggly cuddle. So I think she forgave me. And to be honest, I was just grateful to her for pulling them all off me ... even if she did pull some of my fur out with them!

But it's like any battle isn't it ... sometimes the innocent get inured in the crossfire ...

Don't worry; I'll not get arrested ...

No human; no matter how long you stand down there looking up at me looking down at you, I'm not coming inside.

Of course, I might change my mind if you promise to give me some of those Dreamies you know I love.

Or if you promise to get me a nice new scratch post which is even better than this telegraph post I've found up here.  This one is especially good for sharpening my claws ready for a fight with the neighbourhood Toms who dare to come onto my wall.

And don't worry, I'll not get arrested for causing Criminal Damage. I don't think they have cells for cats in the human police station.

I've been out for your breakfast ....

My human has been giving me lots of my favourite 'Dreamies' treats recently, and so I thought I'd go out & find her a present to say 'thank you' ...

I went out as usual, before breakfast, when my human opens the back door for me.  And whilst out there, I noticed a lovely fat bird, which I thought looked yummy!  As I hadn't had my breakfast, I did think about killing it for myself and eating it, but then I thought, "No Elsie.  That would be a lovely present to take home as a thank you present for my human."

And so I went after it, I pounced and I caught it.  I sunk my teeth into it and shook it, as us cats do to kill our prey.  "Wow!" I thought.  "That's impressive.  My human will love it for her breakfast.  It'll be so fresh and tasty ... & she might just leave me little bit!"

And so I kept tight hold of it in my mouth ... it's hard to do when it's feathers are tickling your teeth and lips.  But I kept it there, I ran all the way home, with the bird tightly held in my mouth.

And I ran into our house, & pushed our living room door open ... & my human jumped up!  I thought she was happy and excited to see what I'd brought her!  I ran over to her & I dropped the beautiful bird breakfast at her feet, miaowing and purring loudly!  I felt so very proud of myself, for catching the bird ... they can be difficult things to catch because they have stupid habit of trying to fly away.  I also felt proud that I'd managed to resist the temptation of eating it for myself whilst it was still fresh & took it home instead for my human.  It's the first present I've ever taken her.

Human; here's your breakfast ...

But ... she didn't seem happy.  And I couldn't understand why.  She seemed a little bit shaken, if I'm honest.  And she said something that sounded like, "Urgh!" That wasn't the reaction I was expecting.  She was meant to be happy & to tuck straight into it for her breakfast ... & of course, leave me a little bit on the bones to share.

After a short while, she seemed to pull herself together & she stroked me and thanked me ... but it felt a little bit too late.  And then I tried to pick it up again to give to her, but she pushed me away from it ... again with that squeamish, shakiness.

And then it got worse.  She went into the kitchen & came back with our little dustpan & brush (the one she uses to brush up my litter when I shake it out from my toes after using my litter tray) & a carrier bag.  I think she was going to just throw the bird away!  She tried to brush it up ... but more of that pathetic squeamish, shakiness happened.

And then she picked me up & took me into the counselling room & shut us both in there.  Why?  I kept miaowing at her to let us out.  What were we doing locked in this room, when there was a tasty fresh bird just waiting to be eaten sitting by itself in the other room?

Anyway, next thing I know, the other human who comes to feed me when my human goes away was at the front door.  She had to open the counselling room door then obviously to go & let him in ... & so whilst she did that, I took my chance & ran back into the living room & dived back onto my bird.  If my human didn't want it, I thought I might as well just have it all myself.  I felt really annoyed though, because I could have eaten it straight away when it was lovely & fresh, but no, I put my human first & took it home for her.

But then ... the two human came into the living room & I got a fright, & dropped it.  By this time, there were little black feathers all over the carpet!!  And then, the other human just picked my bird up by its leg & threw it into a carrier bag.  It wasn't for him.  He had no right to come down and steal my bird, just because my human didn't want it.  And just because he feeds me.  He had no right to do that. Stupid, stupid human.

Anyway, he took it away.  The bird's gone now.  The feathers have been hoovered up by that horrible, scary  hoover machine.

And I'm still annoyed.  And upset that my human didn't eat my present for her breakfast ...

But at least my present was better than the mouse that was left outside a couple of week's back ...

** see Monday 17th June 'Someone's trying to steal my human' for that particular story.

I'm a bit tired of this PhD thingy ...

My human was already working on this PhD thingy when I moved in with her almost 3 1/2 years ago, but back then, I didn't imagine she'd still be doing it.

Take last night for example.  It was getting late, she'd finished with her clients, she'd had her tea, &, as far as I was concerned, that meant that it was snuggles with me time.

But no.  She seemed to have other plans.  She wanted to sit and do some PhD work on the sofa.  Well; I wasn't happy about that.  I wanted a cuddle.  It was my time.  She didn't seem to realise this though & got her books and iPad out.  I wasn't having it though.  It was my time.  My time to sit on her knee & have a cuddle.  My snuggle time ...

She gave up eventually.  Like any human, she accepted that the cat came first.  I knew what was right.  I wasn't going to give up.  She put the books down & I got my cuddle.

And then this morning.  She was up early & although she did give me a little bit of snuggle time.  It didn't last.

This is me just lying on her knee, contemplating the day ahead.  And wondering when she was going to throw me off so she could go and do some work.  It didn't take long.  I did enjoy the cuddle & contemplation whilst it lasted though ...

And then, sure enough; she got on the computer.  I obviously wasn't happy about that.  A day off work.  A day off clients.  That should mean my human spends the day playing & snuggling with me.

But no.  The PhD thingy took her attention.

I sat on her knee to keep her company whilst she worked on her computer.  And, to remind her that I was there.  To try to make her feel guilty for ignoring me.  But it didn't seem to work.  Even when I maneuvered myself to make sure I took up one of her arms ... I understand it's easier for you humans to type with two hands, rather than one?  I think my human should have been able to manage quite adequately with one hand.  It's got 4 fingers and a thumb, after all ... she wants to try typing with paws, like I have to do ...

She wasn't going to stop though.  Even when I did fall asleep & started snoring.  I was so cosy on her knee.  I went into such a lovely deep sleep, with lovely dreams of Dreamies cat-treats ...

And then ... the stupid postman pushed something through the letterbox.  Woke me up with such a fright.  Interrupted my lovely Dreamies filled dreams.  I jumped up off my humans knee.  I didn't know where I was.  I was still half asleep, as you can see ...

And even tonight, as I'm typing this with my furry little paws, my human is sitting reading yet more papers for the PhD thingy ...

I hope that when it's finished, she remembers she has a lot of making up to me to do ...

Self harm & steak ...

Do you see the beginnings of my baldy tummy in this photo of me washing me myself?

That's from my human abandoning me for 2 days.

Every time she leaves me I get scared she's not going to come back for me ... & to comfort myself, I lick my tummy. 

It reminds me of how it feels when my human is with me & stroking me. But my tongue is nowhere near as nice as my human's hand. I miss her lots when she's away.

The only good thing about her being away, is when she comes home! I just love to see her! I purr loudly & just can't stop myself rubbing my face against her & following her wherever she goes. 

This is me cuddling into her tonight ...

Nothing makes me happier (okay, maybe treats do; but don't tell my human that!) than my human coming home after she's abandoned me.

I think she must have felt guilty this time, because she came home with steak for our tea. We've never had steak before, so she must have been feeling really guilty about abandoning me. She ate her share of it & then she left me my share ... you always save the best for last don't you?! So, she saved the best for me, because I got my bit last ... see how much she loves me? And how guilty she felt for abandoning me?

Just look at the big bit she left for me! 

This is me taking it all for myself.  I don't know if I was meant to, but it just looked and smelled too good to resist.  And it tasted even better.

My human must really love me. And must have missed me. And must have felt so guilty for abandoning me.

I've forgiven her ... as long as next time she does it I get steak again ...

Wouldn't have happened if she'd gotten up sooner ...

Oops!!

I woke up nice and early this morning; the numbers on my human's clock said 05:38.  I don't really know what that means, because us cats aren't as obsessed with time as you humans seem to be.  We just listen to our bodies and to the sun.  

And at 05:38 this morning, it was a gorgeous sunny day outside & I wanted my human to open the door for me so I could go outside and enjoy the early morning sunshine.  I miaowed a lot & jumped on her, & rubbed my face against hers.  And it did wake her up ... it always does.  But she wouldn't get up.  I kept trying, but she just kept lying there.  And yes, she cuddled me & stroked me & we had a few snuggles, but she still wouldn't get out of bed.

This is my angry & fed-up face!!

So I gave up.

I went & sat on the windowsill in the living room & looked outside at the lovely early morning sunshine.  And felt really sad and sorry for myself.  I didn't want to be sitting inside looking outside.  I wanted to be outside in the sunshine.

My sadness and self-pity soon began to turn into anger & frustration through.  How dare my human deprive me of the fresh air and sunshine.  How dare she do that to me!  As my anger built up, I began to feel helpless too.  Helpless, because I couldn't open the door myself.  I can't work keys ...

As these feelings kept going round & round inside of me, I could feel my body filling with adrenaline.  I knew I had to get rid of it somehow, because it wasn't going to do me any good.  All of these negative hormones cause stress ... & I didn't want to end up stressed.

So I did what any cat would have done.  I had, what you human's stupidly call 'a mad half hour.'  I went racing round the flat, burning off all of my negative energy and feelings.  I raced through every room ... I knew my human could hear the thud, thud, thud of my little feet.  Have you humans noticed how, sometimes us cats can stalk through a house silently, & yet at other times (like this morning), we make a lot of noise & sound much bigger & heavier that we really are!?  We're clever, aren't we?!

Anyway, as I raced back into the living room, I ran along the sofa & I made a big jump from the little side table my human has there ... & ... crash!!  It fell over.  And everything fell off it.

I've never managed to knock the table over before!  But I guess that just shows how angry & frustrated I had felt with my human.  All of those feelings filled me so full of energy that I did that! To be honest with you, I got a bit of a fright!  But don't tell my human that.  I hadn't realised just how strong I could be when I was so very full of anger!  Don't worry about me though; I'm alright.  I didn't get hurt.  

It was good though, because my human got up then to see what I'd done.

 And I got to go out & sit in the sunshine ... relaxed & happy at last ...

I'm meditating ...

You humans make me smile sometimes ... quite a lot of the time actually; you just can't see my smile so clearly because of how our jaws are designed.  But trust me, I'm smiling a lot!

Me meditating ...

I see my human reading stuff about meditation and mindfulness or I hear it being talked about on telly so I know that you know all about it & yet, you always seem to be amazed when you see us cats sat staring at a wall.

Like I was this morning.

I sat out in the lovely morning sunshine for about 45 minutes just staring at the wall in front of me & enjoying the feel of the sun on my fur.  My human seemed to find it amusing ... and yet I know, she extolls the benefits of meditation when it's right for her clients.  She doesn't do it very much herself though.  I think she should.

And I think it's about time she realised that I'm not just sitting looking at a wall ... I'm meditating.

It's wonderful to just sit and just be ... 

& stare at a wall ...

Her finger's having panic attacks ...

Do you remember me telling you yesterday that I was worried I was going to have one of those 'sleepless nights' that I hear you humans have?

I hope you didn't have a sleepless night last night worrying about me having a sleepless night?

Because I didn't! I slept like a kitten ... well; like any cat does really. You know how good we are at sleeping ... practice makes purrfect & all that ...

I did though, when I was snuggling into my human before we went to sleep, spend a little bit of time thinking about what my human had told me about her finger after her latest trip to the vets.  And I think I believe her now that the latest contraption she has to wear really does have nothing to do with me & that silly little scratch.

This was me thinking about her finger before my sleepfull night ...

Now I thought, when I've heard my human talking about 'panic attacks,' that they were just something like a trick a human's mind plays on them to scare themselves. And I didn't realise that bits of a human's body (cats' bodies too, I guess) could get panic attacks.

But it seems to me that that's what's happening to my human's finger ...

Her finger got a big fright when she burned it. The nerves especially,were frightened ... so would I be I think, if I'd been burned! They, and her skin, are still working hard to repair themselves & get back to normal. But they're still traumatised. And now, whenever anything gets close to them, or they're moved, they panic. Aarrgghhh!! They get scared that they're going to get hurt again & so they go on high alert (like when a cat is stalking tasty prey), meaning that my human now feels a lot of pain whenever she moves her finger or touches anything with it.

Her poor little nerves are terrified. Her finger is living in constant fear of being hurt again.

It seems to me that she needs to spend some time doing that counselling thing that she does with her clients to her own finger to help it get over its trauma & fear.

I wonder if my human realises that her finger keeps having panic attacks? 

She will if she reads this ...

I hope it's not really my fault ...

My human came back from her vets today with something called a 'silicone sleeve' on her finger. It looks a bit like a skin-coloured bandage, but she can bend her finger in it.

She says it's to help with the scar tissue that's building up on her finger, but I'm a bit scared that it's because I scratched it last night ...

She wouldn't lie to me, would she? 

I'm now all anxious & worried that I'm going to have one of those 'sleepless nights' that I sometimes hear you humans talking about. As a cat, I'm very good at sleeping, & I've never had a sleepless night. But when I've listened in at the door when my human has had a client, I've heard them talking about not being able to sleep because of worrying.

Worrying & anxiety can be very troubling. I hope I'm going to be alright ...

Cuddles are mutual things ...

Last week I wrote a post about the importance of cuddles ... for both humans and cats.

Today, I just want to share a couple of photos with you ...






This is me giving my human a cuddle ... no reason, I just wanted to give her one.  Aren't they the best cuddles to get?

I hope she liked it as much as I did.  I think she did.  She always seems to enjoy our cuddle time.

 


And then, later in the evening, this was me snuggling in & being cuddled by my human.

Cuddles are mutual things though aren't they?

  If you're giving someone a cuddle, you can't help but get a cuddle back ...

The meaning behind the present is what really matters ...

As you already know, 'Dreamies' are my very favourite treats.  They're just so yummy!!  Have you ever tried them?  I won't let my human try mine ... I want to keep them all for myself.

So just imagine how happy I was earlier when I was playing out in the back yard & the human who lives upstairs from me & my human gave me a present!  Well, she actually gave the present to my human ... I can't carry many things in my paws when I'm walking ... but the present is mine!

And just see what it is!!!

She always has a few treats ready to give me when we're in the back yard at the same time, but today, she gave me these treats to keep in my house!!

It's lovely to receive presents isn't it?  Because it means that the person who gives you the present has been thinking about you ... & that's nice.  The human who lives upstairs was obviously thinking about me when she was doing her shopping!

I think there was a special reason the human was thinking about me this week; and that reason makes her thinking about me even more precious.  I think that when she bought my present, she was probably thinking about someone else too; & giving me this present has made me & my human remember happy & sad times.  Not in a bad way, but with fondness.  Things we all experienced together, being remembered & shared again through a present.

And it's this that makes presents more precious.  It's not the actual physical thing or how much it cost ... as a cat, I don't really understand money anyway.  Why do you need it?  What is it?  Bits of paper and metal as far as I can work out.  But it's the thought behind the present that really matters. The memories that are maybe tied in with that particular present.  The unique meaning that the present has, both for the person who gave it & the one (cat) who receives it.

Presents can be a way of sharing memories.  They can be a way of people saying things to each other without words.  Don't just see the present, see the past & future that are also maybe symbolised there.  See the meaning and feel the emotions that are so much more powerful and precious than the physical gift.

I'm off now to try & persuade my human to give me some of those treats ...

Cuddles are important ...

Me & human snuggling together 

I've learned a little bit about 'depression' since living with my human.  From what I've learned from her and her books, it sounds like a nasty thing to experience.  It can leave human feeling sad, lonely and hurting.  I understand that for someone living with depression, life can feel very hard, and each day can feel like a chore to get through. And that doesn't sound like a good way to live.  I wouldn't like to feel like that.

It's difficult for me to understand what depression for humans feels like, but I think I have a little idea.  Before I moved in with my human and was just living outside I felt very sad and lonely.  So sad sometimes, that I just needed to keep licking my tummy & my legs ... and lots of the fur fell out.  I didn't really understand what I was doing, or why I was doing it at the time.  It was just something I felt I had to do.

Look at how much love I needed ... all those bald spots

I now understand though, from my human, that I was probably trying to comfort myself.  I felt so sad and lonely because I had no human to live with or to stroke or cuddle me.  Us cats like the feeling of being stroked because it reminds us of when we were little babies & our mummy cats licked & groomed us.  Because I was feeling so sad and lonely, I was craving that loving feeling that I'd gotten from my mummy cat.  But she wasn't there.  And I wasn't living with a human who could substitute, so I had to try to love, cuddle & groom myself.  And I did that by licking & cleaning my fur.  Lots.  Because I felt so sad and lonely and needed lots of love.

And I believe that this is a similar thing to when humans 'self harm.'  It might look like they're hurting themselves, but whatever they're doing (cutting or scratching themselves, maybe over-eating or drinking), they're trying to comfort themselves or bring about a sense of relief.  I'll write more about this another day ... it's something else I've learned about from my human.

Once I moved in with my human though, she gave me lots of cuddles & spent a long time stroking me and she became a very good substitute mummy cat.  I purr a lot these days when she cuddles me.  Because I'm happy now.  I know I'm loved.  I know I'm safe.  I have a lovely home to live in & I get lots of nice food ... & treats!

A cute picture I found on Facebook

And cuddles are good for human too.  Humans feel safe & happy & connected too, when they give & receive cuddles.  Research (so my human tells me) shows that humans who don't get cuddles tend to be less happy, less fulfilled & experience more depression than those who do.  So people who live on their own, are more likely to feel depressed.  Not just because of the loneliness and isolation they can feel, having no one to talk to or share things with.  But also because of the lack of touch, of bodily contact they experience.

Apparently though, there are also some people who live together, in couples and families, who don't like cuddles.  And that can be hard for the people in the family who do.  They can feel deprived of contact & feel sad and lonely, even when they're together.  And that's sad.  I

And that's why furry friends (cats especially, I'd say!!) are so good for people.  And one of the reasons why it's good for humans to find, & live with a furry friend.  Especially for those people who live on their own, or don't get the cuddles and bodily contact they need from their families.

Me & my human cuddling each other 

I love cuddles with my human.  And I'm very happy now.