08/05/2008 10:30:12 Happy Birthday Freddie Boo, Happy Birthday Freddie Boo - Happy Birthday dear Freddie - etc...As you may gather, it's my boy's birthday today. Little Fred is two years old today, which in cat years makes him about 20. That would explain why he is behaving like a young man, rather than the little kitty of recent times. Anyway he's still a gorgeous snuggly bear of a cat and if he's in for dinner tonight it'll be his favourite - turkey!   24/04/2008 16:58:31 Amazing stuff cat spit - isn't it? Saliva I mean. Apparently we all have some kind of antibacterial enzyme in our saliva, but it's stronger in cat's spit than human's. Now I wouldn't suggest that you all go around getting cats to lick your wounds, but it certainly seems to work on their own little wounded paws and battle scars. Bless 'em.   15/04/2008 11:08:09 Hmm I'm a bit worried about going home tonight. Fred was out for an awfully long time last night, which usually means one thing; he's playing with a mouse. Sure enough, there he was in the front garden batting a little body with his paw. He was so pleased to see that I'd noticed his clever catch and came up to me rubbing all around my legs as if to say 'Look mum!'. Anyway, he took it into the back garden - for several hours - then the side of the flats - and so it went on. I don't think he actually came in until about 5 this morning. When I left for work there was a headless mouse virtually on my doorstep. As I was running late I left it and thought I'd 'deal with it' tonight. However ...it won't be there tonight will it.....it could be anywhere by the time I get home. Ewww.... I should have just been late!   07/04/2008 09:03:54 We never normally get snow. You can be sure that if the weather man slaps a flake symbol on the south of England, it can be taken with a large pinch of salt. Snow clouds use the South Downs as a spring board to get across the sea or further in land and miss us nestling at the bottom completely. Given that snowfall only seems to happen for half a day once every two years - you'd think that my two-year-old cat Fred might have been interested enough to want to explore. Not a chance! He sulked all day. There I was armed with video camera ready to record some amusing footage for mewtube, but to no avail. Not so much as a shaken paw. I'll have to wait another two years to try again. If any of the rest of you were lucky enough to have cats that performed in the snow and got good footage of it - load it onto mewtube and let Fred see how much fun he could have had!   12/03/2008 09:58:45 You know, with all this bad weather sweeping across the UK and yet more flooded homes pictured on the nightly news - I wonder what has happened to the pets. I mean, we see the homes half under water with busted doors and broken windows and we see the poor home owners camping out in the local village hall - but what about the pets? Where are they? Mention is made of buying new sofas, replacing stereos and insurance cover costs - but nobody ever mentions their pet. If, heaven forbid, I got flooded, my first concern would be Fred's whereabouts, safety and access to food and shelter. Sod the stereo.   07/03/2008 09:16:42 We’re coming up to my favourite time of year in the magazine – kitten season! There are few things in life more heartwarming than watching a cute kitten. As brave as any explorer, yet still so vulnerable and dependent on us to give them the best start in life. Ever year the May and June issues of Cat World are dedicated to kittens and all their needs, from the excitement of birth to growth charts, choosing the right kitten, health care and advice plus an essential guide to food and equipment. If you have logged onto the site looking for kitten help, then hang on for these two issues, which are on sale the month prior. We’re also putting together an A-Z of cat breeds giving brief characteristics, photo and guide price for all pedigree breeds. Right, now I’ve promised it – I’d better get on with the job in hand!   18/02/2008 10:17:57 Oh dear! Fred's got the right hump with me. He was standing guard over a mouse he had cornered outside last night. It had hidden itself behind an outside pipe and a battle of wills began. Me? I went to bed and left him to it - he does catch mice on a weekly basis after all. When I got up this morning a bleary eyed Fred was STILL in the same place. Silly old Bo had sat there all night. Amazed at his determination I stepped outside in my dressing gown to see if the mouse was still there and discovered he was behind the brick blocking the drain I had spent all weekend clearing with sulphuric acid. As I moved a brick the poor little mouse plopped into the drain water, which although I had thoroughly flushed through, was frankly horrible, smelly and could have contained traces of sulphuric acid. This was one mouse I wasn't going to let Fred near. I captured the mouse myself, washed him down and set him free. Fred won't even stay in the same room as me at the moment, let alone let me touch him. He's so annoyed. Forgive me Fred - it was for your own good!   07/02/2008 17:24:35 Fred has been like a little yo-yo lately – in and out of the flat every five minutes. When he does this I can be pretty sure he has seen another cat and doesn’t like it much. However I wasn’t expecting him to come home last night with a claw stuck in his head! It just missed his eye. I had a terrible job to catch him and even tried to tempt him out from under the dining table with treats. Finally I got hold of him and pulled it out. Was he grateful? No - he went straight back outside chasing the neighbourhood cats again. If there is such a thing as a cat ASBO, can someone tell me where I can get one?   09/01/2008 15:11:08 Fred's not speaking to me at the moment. We had a new sofa delivered yesterday, which resulted in me spending the evening changing round the layout of the lounge, followed by the bedroom, where the old sofa now lives. Fred didn't like it at all. I totally changed two of his favourite rooms without asking him AND bought a new piece of furniture. He's got the right hump over it all. Silly me, I forgot how much cats don't like change and should have only done one room for now. Ho-hum   07/01/2008 10:18:58 Hello all! Happy New Year! I hope you have remembered to take down your Christmas decorations? Fred helped me take mine down....almost as soon as they were up! Did your kitties get any good gifts that you would suggest for other cats? I bought Fred a remote control mouse to replace the one he has used so much that it wore out. Only trouble is the replacement one didn't actually work! Typical isn't it - whether its a child or an excited little cat - there's always broken toys at Christmas.