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Cats and Dog
Ozzy and Cindy (Cinderella)
June 2007, and we were feeling that the house needed livening up a bit. We missed dear little Sprocket so much - she was always such a lively little cat, and much as we love Willoughby and Squeaker, they do spend rather a lot of time asleep. There had been so much loss over the last year - we had each lost a cousin, we lost Sprocket and then I lost my Mum. We felt it was time for some new life.
Enter Grendon cat rescue. Lots of kittens needing homes, and a neighbour who felt we needed some kittens from them. We were persuaded to go and visit some tiny little kittens, barely 4 weeks old, nearby in Atherstone.
Oh dearie me! How cute were they? Mum was ginger, and had 5 kittens - two ginger, one blue-cream tortie, one blue and one cream. Making a choice was difficult, and it was clear that two of the little kittens were very attached to each other. So, at the end of June we brought Cindy (a blue-cream female with a little dot of pink on her nose), and Ozzy (a cream male) home with us. Cindy is very, very lively and inquisitive. Ozzy was stillborn and had to be revived and is really very much more laid back. He follows Cindy everywhere.
Why Ozzy and Cindy? Well, when we were bringing them home, they were a bit distressed in the cat carrier until some heavy rock came on the radio, which they seemed to like. So, Ozzy Osborne and Cyndi Lauper (because Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and she does).
These are some photos of them at their foster home aged 6 1/2 weeks. More will follow as they grow and develop.
Sad news: March 9th 2009, we were on holiday skiing. Our neighbours and Stephen's brother were coming in several times a day to make fuss of the cats. Unfortunately Cindy was found lying on the floor not moving. She had been hit by a car and suffered catastrophic injuries and was paralysed. The vet felt these injuries could not be treated and we had to take the difficult decision by phone from France to have her put to sleep. She is buried by her favourite pond. Ozzy is quite lost without her - she was the life and soul of the household, running horizontally round the walls and generally leaving everybody exhausted by her energy. We miss her very much. Ozzy lives on - he is now 20 months old, and he is absolutely enormous, eats a huge amount, he is a gentle giant, one of the softest cats I've ever known. You can pick him up like a baby and cuddle him. Every day we see his twin sister when we look at him, so she lives on in her brother.
Update: 25th June 2007. They are now 8 weeks old and have been with us for just 3 days. They are really getting to grips with their new home. Living in our bedroom, but let out to explore under supervision, they are really growing stronger and bigger. They are launching themselves around the place with great enthusiasm, keeping themselves amused, but also getting used to us - we've had some cuddles and purrs. They particularly like a little goldfish on the end of a stick to play with, but also quite like shoelaces, the litter tray, and playing pouncy games on the duvet. They also like the cat tunnel/bed that I bought for them.
Here are a few more photos:-
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| Grr! Pick Pick. Our little tiger Ozzy tries to shred the edge of the rug. | We have our tin openers well trained - Cindy being finger fed from the Wiskas packet |
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| So...Mr Bond (or was that Mr Goldfish), we meet again. Cindy demonstrates her hunting skills | We all know about cat food. Cindy taking a lick from the packet. |
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| Oops, my nose is a bit mucky! The perils of getting your beeper in a bowl of cat food. Ozzy really needs to clean up a bit. | I think I know this person. I am training him. |
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| Hey! That's another kitten just like me in that mirror! And he's pulled all the washing down from the clothes horse too! | Cindy shows her appreciation for the culinary offerings of the day. |
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| I'm going to get her. Ozzy getting a bead on his sister. About to pounce. The trainer is a size 5 (38), so they are still really tiny. | Two very tired little kitties asleep in a heap. |
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| A grey cat on a grey towel - excellent camouflage! | Another perfect camouflage, a great vantage point to pounce on my brother |
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| Don't even think about taking this mouse off me | Cindy ready to pounce on Ozzie |
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| After a hard night keeping their tin openers awake, two little kittens really do need a lot of sleep | Poor old Squeaker trying to ignore the carnage as they play under her bed. |
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| Ozzie contemplates another new cat toy - the wastepaper bin. | I could get in there! |
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| I got in there! | Ozzie attacking the bin |
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| I got a mouse too | Clean washing? - not for long! |
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A couple of weeks on.... |
| Two kittens, one toe, one bin, great game! | |
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| Getting a taste for sleeping on my lap - taken with my mobile phone, so not such a good photo. | Cindy isn't strangling Ozzy, but they do like to sleep cuddled up together |
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| Creative sleeping part 1 - you'd be amazed where they can get and how contorted the sleeping position! | Ozzy on the threshold. Aged 13 weeks, taking his first look at the outside world |
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| It's a bee! Cindy finds her first bee in the garden | Cindy investigats the strawberries |
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| Cindy in the rhubarb patch - a little grey hunter | Two little tails - the Kittens of Borg explore the decking |
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| Ozzy and Cindy on the garage step - Cindy is about to pounce on Ozzy's tail | Little kitten in a big world - Ozzy surveys the garden from the garage step |
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| A World full of interesting smells | Cindy surveys her new domain |
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| What was that? First experience of a bird flying past, and both very interested | Oh dear me - Cindy has discovered she can swim. The aftermath of a dunk in the pond. |
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| Cindy is very damp - heading for a towelling-off | Cindy being dried. |
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| Another damp cat view - lucky it was a sunny day and she dried out quickly. | Ozzy stayed dry, but had a couple of excursions up a tree. Here he is exploring a little apple tree in a tub |
Age nearly 17 weeks - a vertical adventure! |
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| Up we go! The start of our adventure up the plum tree | |
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| Two terrors in a tree - we made it to the first branch | The object of our attention at the bottom left of the picture - the bird seed feeder! |
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| Ozzy hangs on - it's quite technical, this tree climbing business! | The seed feeder comes in for more attention, this time from Cindy |
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| We made it back down again - Ozzy plays with a slug | It's all been very exhausting - Ozzy resting in the rhubarb. Cindy is still moving too fast to be photographed! |
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| Aged 20 weeks now, and becoming young cats. Cindy finds she can only just fit in the strawberry tub that she could easily curl up in only a few weeks ago. | Ozzy finds out that the old tractor roof makes a really good hammock |
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| Ozzy and Willoughby asleep together on the sofa. Willoughby is ginger, Ozzy is cream - you can see the difference. Both seem to be a bit snoozy though! | Proof that the older cats can get to quite like the little 'uns! |
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| Cuddles on the plant stand - a favourite snoozing place for the little ones | We're getting so big we don't quite fit, but it doesn't stop us trying |
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| This picture captures Cyndi's personality beautifully. She's just so inquisitive | My sister makes a pretty good pillow! |
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| Not being good kittens and making Stephen's breakfast really rather uncomfortable... | But it works! We got our milk! |
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| Ozzy sitting on the roof of our shed in 2009 - he is a very magnificent, very large and extremely soft cat! | Ozzy should not be in the hen house - but he is! Here he is emerging from the roosting area into the nest box |
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| I think he hopes I hadn't noticed he was in there! | Checking out the eglu door - the chickens were not impressed! |
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| The chickens just realised what was happening, and had poor little Ozzy cornered! |