Cats

I think I’ve mentioned it before (just once or twice) that I love cats.

I made this card for a dear friend, who is also a cat lover.

I die cut a piece of white card and then cut the cat (lace cat die).  I coloured the cat with Promarkers.  It was a bit on the fiddly side but worth the effort.

Cats (again)

I loved making this card (see here), that I just had to make it again (sorry).

Cats

As my regular readers know, my cats feature on my blog from time to time.  I like cats and I like making cat cards!

Both cards are made in the same style but the top one has a frame.  They are made using the paper piecing technique.  The squares are hand coloured using Promarkers and Copics.  The greeting computer generated and printed on white card.

Crackers

As you know, every year I make my own Christmas Crackers and this year was no exception. This year I had to make a few more as friends of ours were joining us for Boxing Day, to experience a typical English Christmas.

The next chapter

Let me introduce you to the girls . . . . .
  This is Mango.  She is apparently 10 months old but we believe that she is much younger – between 6-7 months.  She is quite timid at the moment and is keen to hide.  Left to her own devices she does put in an appearance!  With time & patience she will become a confident, affectionate moggie.   Mango has taken a big liking to DS much to his delight.  By just talking to her she flops on her back and loudly purrs.


And this is Poppy – the hooligan in heels!!  Poppy is about 10 months old and a right bruiser.  Keen to be the boss about the house, she has already had a rude awakening.  She is a tough cookie probably as she has had to fend for herself - she is believed to have been roaming on a farm for 2 months during the winter.  She loves to be brushed and has the weirdest purr – well, it’s not a purr it’s more like a growl.

Needless to say we are over the moon with our new additions to the family and in just 24 hours they have made their presence felt.  They have started to settle in and once we have ironed out Poppy’s want of hissing at Mango peace and harmony will reign.  Nothing that time and patience won’t fix.


Anonymous said...

they are beautiful Lesley and Mango looks very photogenic, I'm sure they will soon integrate fully into your family.
I will get down to writing that long overdue email asap.


Lots of love Paul and Hazel



23 March 2010 18:51

Good news

Well, it's a week on since we said goodbye to our MLC.
As you know, Winnie was an old cat and had CRF and we knew she wouldn't last forever.  When she was diagnosed with CRF back in February of 2008, we knew we were on borrowed time and we were fortunate that we had a further 2 years with her.  During this time DH & I discussed what we would do when the time came that she was no longer with us - would we have another cat or not; would it be a kitten or older cat; from a rescue home or not - you get the picture.  We talked about this for quite a while, making decisions with the proviso that if we still felt the same at the time of Winnie's demise then all we had to do was put our plans into action.

In short, we decided that: Yes, we would get another cat; it would preferably be a young cat (not necessarily an 8 week old kitten) and that it would come from a shelter.

At the end of last week we decided to put our plans into action but I had a problem, I didn't feel the same.  I wanted to change the plans.  I didn't want a cat that looked like Winnie and I wanted two!!  Thankfully, DH didn't need much persuading, so off we went to the local shelter.

We were shown some beautiful cats of various ages but two stood out from the rest.  They are both 10 month old girls;  one is ginger & white and the other is grey & white.  They are both foundlings, the grey one has been wandering around a farm for the last 6 weeks and the other more recently was found in the next town to us.  They both have very sweet natures and look as though they will be characters.

We have to wait another 2 weeks until they can come home with us, just in case their owners come forward to claim them.  We hope that it all works out for us.  They are "purrfect" (sorry, couldn't resist that one) and will fill the void that Winnie has left - shows you how much Winnie meant to us if it takes 2 cats to fill the empty space that she left. 

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

A sad, sad day

All good things must come to an end so we’re told but when they do it can be heart wrenching.
Yesterday, we said goodbye to our much loved cat Winnie. She has been with us since she was a tiny kitten and we were lucky and honoured to have had her as part of our lives for the last 20 years. (Read her story here)


Winnie was diagnosed with Feline Chronic Renal Failure back in February 2008, at the already great age of 18. At the time, we thought she wouldn’t make it as she was already an old cat, despite assurances from the vet that we could have at least another two or more years with her. We were incredibly lucky that the treatment worked - one tablet a day, a special diet and of course lots of love!! She was also a blog star and had built up her own fan club after making her first appearance on my blog in August ‘08

Just over 2 years later, we knew it was time to let her go, not because the CRF was getting worse but she was simply wearing out. She had a tough weekend – she seemed to be slowing down and her legs were starting to let her down. Yesterday she lost interest in eating & drinking and just wanted to be held all the time, which I did. Yesterday evening we made the heart wrenching decision to have her put to sleep, to allow the little girl that we love so much to fade away with dignity and to be at peace. A hard decision – yes, most certainly – the right decision, without a doubt - but what I wouldn’t give for one more cuddle. Despite our sadness, we are glad that it was old age that claimed her and not the CRF or any other illness and that we were strong enough to let her go when the time was right for her.

Sweet dreams, little one




Anonymous said...

I knew Winnie well, had many a cuddle with her, and I like, Lesley, Mark and Sam will miss her so much,when I visited from England, she was always there to greet me and sit on my lap for a cuddle, Winnie was unique, a one off, it was time to let her go, heartbreaking as it was she was just tired out, we will always remember her with love and fond memories, she is at peace


sleep well

Grace



2 March 2010 14:35

The cat’s whiskers!

Last Saturday saw the birthday of our MLC Winnie. She has reached the great age of 20!

Regular readers will already know that our MLC was diagnosed with CRF back in February 2008 – so each birthday that Winnie makes, is an achievement. We know (and accept) that we are on borrowed time but we appreciate the time that we have had with her (and hopefully will continue to have for a while longer).

Can you guess what it is yet?

Is it a liquorice allsort? No, its Winnie in her new bed!!

Having been so very upset by the furniture being moved around, the little madam decided she wasn't going to sleep in her cat bed anymore, preferring to sleep anywhere but where she is supposed to. In order to placate her (well, she is an old cat) and to get back in her good books we bought her a new bed. We chose a nice girly pink and it was an immediate hit with her ladyship. What we didn't realize when we chose it is that she looks like a liquorice allsort when in it, much to the amusement of everybody who has seen it. Oh well, at least Winnie likes it.

Sarah said...

Hi,what a luxury life! if i turn into a cat in my next life I wan one of those!!!!!!!byeSarah.

27 February 2009 11:05

Ruled by the cat!

For a while now I have wanted to move the furniture around in the living room. As half term started early, I decided to seize the moment and get on with it with the help of DS. We spent a few hours moving everything around, cleaning as we went. We hadn't bargained on a temper tantrum from the cat. She decided that she didn't like what was going on and decided to make her thoughts known.

Here she is sitting in the upturned foot stool, with her back to us in protest. Her theory was, if I'm sitting in it you can't move it!!














Anonymous said...

I know Winnie well,he definitely acts like a aristocrat when he is put out, but he is lovely and has spent many an hour on my lap, he is thoroughly spoilt and I am coming back as a cat if I can be Lesley's.

Grace

11 March 2009 13:18

Winnie's Birthday

Today is Winnie's birthday and despite (or maybe because) of everything, she has reached the grand old age of 19!! When she was diagnosed with CRF back in February we never thought she would make it to today - how pleased are we!!

I had always considered my self a "dog" person. I liked cats but never had the urge to own one. Who could have believed that I would fall in love with a cat.

The story obviously begins 19 years ago and begins with some sadness - in October 1989 my beloved dog Tattie died - she was only 5 years old and despite putting up a fight, she died of cancer. Both DH and I were, as you can imagine, terribly upset. We decided to wait awhile before thinking of getting another dog but by the end of the second week we discovered that we couldn't be without a dog. Having trawled the local papers I found a breeder with Old English Sheepdog (OES) puppies due to be born. I contacted her, explained what had happened and our names were duly added to the list. On the 31st October we received a phone call that the puppies had been born - arrangements were made to choose a puppy (which we did) and we set a date to collect the puppy when she was 8 weeks old - 1 week before Christmas! We couldn't wait and the time seemed to drag but eventually the big day arrived. We arrived at the kennels like two excited children and then things took an unexpected turn. The breeder had two abandoned kittens and would we like one. I looked a DH and he looked at me and the breeder sensing our indecision brought out this scrap of a kitten and that was it, she stole our hearts and Winnie became part of the household too!

Winnie & Bramble

Sadly, Bramble died in February 2000.

Winnie's adventures were to continue without her partner in crime and in November 2000 she made the trip across the water to the Netherlands. She enjoys her life here and we are so glad that we brought her with us.

Half Term - a trip to the UK and a sulky cat!

Last week was half term (herfstvakantie) here in NL. We spent the early part of the week back in the UK, spending time with our family. It was nice to go back and even the weather was kind to us. Winnie had to spend a few days in the local cattery, her first time away since she got ill.

The cattery is very nice and the bonus is that it is part of the vets surgery, which gave us added peace of mind.

We had a lovely time with our family - they were surprised how much DS had grown (funny how teenages have a habit of doing that eh?). We also had great fun trawling round the shops. Our trip back was over all to soon.

Upon our return we collected the moggie as soon as possible (we do miss her you see). Once she was home I made her breakfast and in return she made a huge fuss of DH and DS but not me. She ignored me completely, the little madam! This went on for over 2 days. The problem with Winnie is that she is a creature of habit and bears a grudge for what feels like forever. Whether it be a trip to the vet or a stay in the cattery, to her mind, someone must be held responsible and made to pay and of course that person is always me. Finally on Saturday morning the little madam jumped up for a cuddle, full of purrs and love as though nothing had been amiss - I do not kid myself that it was me she was after - just my dressing gown that is so cuddly and warm - obviously the temptation was just too much for her.

"Dogs have owners, cats have staff" - how true!!

paul said...

Sweet dreams springs to mind. I know another lady who curls up just like that.

20 October 2008 22:08

Introducing the "moggy" - Winnie

This is our mlc (much loved cat) - Winnie. She has been part of the family since she was 6 weeks old and in October she will be 19. We brought her with us when we moved from the UK, 8 years ago and she loves her new life here in Holland.

Unfortunately in Febraury she was diagnosed with CRF (Feline Chronic Renal Failure) and we thought that she wouldn't make it. We are so pleased that the tablets worked and 6 months after diagnosis she continues to do well. Like all cats, she is naturally nosey and despite her advancing age, still finds cardboard boxes a great source of fun.

Anonymous said...

Looks like a nice moggy, will she be getting her own blog soon???

28 August 2008 13:07

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Anonymous said...

Great start Lesley, where do we go from here ....lol Winnie is looking in very good shape for her years may she have many more.

Paul

30 August 2008 01:51