Austin is Vetted!

I took Austin to the vets yesterday. It was not an experience that either of us are really able to talk about yet.  Good grief! It was only for his annual booster shot. 

I tried to explain.  I even made favourable comparisons with the NHS, saying that at least you could get an appointment when you wanted and weren't likely to come away with the wrong organ removed or MRSA.  The staff even smile and look happy, for crying out loud.

The scene I had in mind was this:

But the actual scene was this:

Austin is now taking steps to ensure he never has to go again:

As for me?

Oh No!!

I wrote the following on 29th June!  Don't know why I didn't post it?  Maybe it was because it's not finished, or maybe it's because it's just rubbish!  Anyway, I'll post it now just to get it out of draft. 

Austin caught another robin this morning.  This time it was a baby one and it was still alive!  He left it outside my window and jumped up to let me know how clever he was and I let him know how I felt about murder or injury inflicted on those innocents who are just going about their daily business.  We had to be content to disagree and then I had to deal with the aftermath (don't ask :(((! 

Thing was we had a bit of a storm last night!  After seemingly weeks of dry weather, it was a blessing to have the rain, that's for sure.  Normally I would stick my head under the pillow and try to ignore it, but I was aware of the fact that Austin was shut in the conservatory experiencing the full horror of thunder, lightning and torrential rain.  Also my mother appeared to be having a good stomp around upstairs.  So at about 2 a.m. we let him out and made a cuppa.  He went all low slung, like he does, and emitted this spooky mixture of yowl and a growl.  Poor little guy. 

Anyway after about 30 minutes we went back to bed and left him cowering behind a chair.  Big mistake.  It wasn't long before he was ripping up the carpet outside my bedroom door.  Now as I'm not one of those who enjoys being stared at by a cat all night, I wasn't about to allow him on the bed. The reason for this is detailed elsewhere.  So as I wasn't about to go through all that again, I got up and put him back in the conservatory.  Happily the storm had hightailed it off to Prestatyn by this time. 

This morning he was crawling up the door to be let out - legs crossed, the whole bit.  I don't know why he won't use his en suite facilities after all the trouble we took having it installed (well I had to go all the way to Pets R Us on Caernarfon Road for the tray and wood chips!).

Cat Stats

I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but I've had a bit of a hiatus from blogging.  Thing is, apart from life stuff getting in the way, I've been rather diverted by the fact that Blogger have added this dinky new feature called "stats".  It's a wonderful service that allows me to track the traffic to my blog!!!  So now everytime I open blogger, instead of clicking on "new post" I find my click digit wandering over of its own accord to the "stats" tab. It's fascinating, really.  I can see which countries viewers are coming from and which posts they are reading and everything. 

Now although the traffic isn't exactly stacking up to get to me down the information superhighway, there are obviously some stoic and sturdy folk who are fighting their way down the beaten track just to get a glimpse of me and Austin in our quiet little blogosphere backwater. Apparently I'm quite popular in the Ukraine!  There's even "real-time" updating!  Ok, I must try not to get all OCD about checking every minute of every day, as this could lead to a serious case of delusional statopsychosis, a condition which would mean commital to a secure unit.  Wonders if they will have wifi?

Anyway what would happen to Austin?  I suppose he could come too; in a sense he's already committed, poor little guy, being holed up here with two old bats.  To be sure, if it wasn't for the diversion of Tigger the Massive he would be climbing the walls.  What am I saying?  He does climb the walls.

......... sorry just wandered over to stats again.  I can see this is going to be a long and painful process :( 

News of Austin?  Well, sadly he's developed a five-brush-a-day habit; it's getting beyond a joke.  It used to be just once in the evening.  Now every time he sees me he stands on his head, rolls neatly over onto his back, and makes like a giraffe with his neck.
 

He gets quite peevish if I ignore him to get on with more important things, like filing my nails or watching daytime tv. So I give him his fix and then he falls asleep in my lap - but not before he's carefully administered the requisite number of acupuncture needles in my legs (ouch!). Bless .......

....... Oh, while I've been chatting away here someone from Latvia has dropped by :>)

Weeelllllll ........

...... we had an interesting couple of hours administering the worm pill.

You'd think after three years it wouldn't be such a big deal.  I won't go into the excruciating detail, but there was a good outcome and the evil medicine was eventually swallowed - albeit covered in cat spit and fur. 

All I know is that now one of us can step confidently into the helminth infested world, safe in the knowledge that they are protected from every tape-hook-whip-heart worm and nematode known to man.  Problem is, I don't think it's necessarily going to be the cat? 

Oh and just in case you were worried, the Aged P didn't need to have stitches after all, but she's booked in for six sessions with the trauma therapist starting next month. 

So I would say that on the whole it was a resounding success.

Note to self:  I wonder if they do catnip flavoured ....... ?

A Work of Art!

I have a wonderful view from my window of mountains, water, fields and trees - not to mention the City of Bangor (well best not!) - and in the field right opposite there are the sheep of course. 

Ok, yes, I've mentioned Blackie and her extended family a few times, but today I saw a work of art being created before my eyes.  The farmer came with his sheepdog. This, in itself, is not an unusual occurrence, but as I watched the two of them working together as one, a picture began to form and it became something akin to an artistic performance. The ebb and flow of the sheep as they were undulated across the field like the fluctuating movement of the tide on the shore. They were totally at peace as the beautiful dog calmly but energetically did the farmer's bidding.  Backwards and forwards she ran making sure not one sheep escaped or was allowed to do its own thing apart from the group.

The dog was asked to do a variety of tasks including sitting with the sheep penned in a corner for about 20 minutes, while the farmer decided which to take and which to leave.  When the whole thing was over, the farmer whistled and the dog went to him.  And the sheep?  Well they just went back to munching their lunch totally unconcerned, unfazed and untraumatised - even though half their number were now missing and had no doubt gone to Llangefni abattoir for recycling (ok, not thinking, not thinking!).  The sheep are probably both very stupid and very trusting.  "All we like sheep ...... ......."

Random Cat Pome

Walking in the garden late

All is calm and quiet.

Then suddenly a whirlwind hits

And Austin's caused a riot!

Crouching low behind the bush

He waits patiently for hours.

When I wander past his lair,

He's hid beneath the flowers.

Two orbs gleaming in the dark;

His eyes are pinned on me;

And as I breathe the night time air,

He thwacks me in the knee.

Bedlam follows, and while I pick

myself up from the ground;

That young rascal disappears

And's nowhere to be found!

If you don't stop taking stupid pictures ........!

......... I gonna haz a hissy fit !!!