No Need For Alarm

At about 6:30am we are woken by an alarm. Nothing unusual other than the fact that this alarm is not inside but outside the house. A unusual combination of cat and birdeach day.

The white browed robin chat singing it’s heart out at the very top of its volume – intricate tweets and warbles. Below this literally our cat Peper approaches the bedroom window , bell jingling, claws scratching at the mesh, plaintive mews calling to come in after a night on the tiles.

Click here to hear

On a weekday this is great, not so the weekend!

Playing Cat and Mousebirds.

Pepper (our cat) likes to chase birds and likes to climb trees. The mousebirds are understandably perturbed by this but it’s a fruitless hunt for the cat who gives up on her prey.

Pepper, Fudge, Licorice, Ginger and Treacle

No not a recipe for some strange concoction, but the names for the cat and the kittens she had a month ago. We have developed a tradition of naming our pets after items of food. This began in the UK when our daughter had Guinea Pigs (Cinnamon, Muffin, Saffron, Jelly Bean and Biscuit). It carried on with Pepper, and although we won’t be keeping them, continues with Pepper’s kittens.

The cat, Pepper, was a kitten herself when we found her stuck up a tree at school in September. 

In truth I didn’t want a pet, but no one claimed her and no one else wanted her. Having said that, if I had to have a pet, a cat is fairly high up the list and definitely above a dog. The independence of a cat means they look after themselves a lot.

We did not imagine a cat could be made pregnant at only six months old, but that is exactly what happened to Pepper.

A month ago she gave birth to four kittens. She has been a good mother and four weeks on all are doing well and there is no runt. Like most babies, they didn’t do much at first, but now in the last few days they gave begun running around, they are in to everything. I have to admit they are cute.

              

In four weeks from now we will be looking to give them away to good homes and ensuring Pepper is not able to have more kittens. For now we will enjoy the antics of Licorice, Treacle, Fudge and Ginger.

A Cat’s Tail

This morning there was a kitten up a tree at school. This was obviously a stray and very frightened. A work colleague expressed an interest in it (they have a cat already), but work prevailed. The day wore on and it was still up there late into the morning. So Anita took it home!