the chicken

Third time is the charm

Recently we have had a few "puddles" on the rug in the mornings. I do not in any way hold the dogs accountable for this, it is purely a case of Pete and I getting lazy and not taking them out to pee before bed each night. We used to have a routine and they were very good about it. They are quick learners - ok, that's a bit of an overstatement - Rocky is a little slow on the uptake when it comes to most things! He still thinks that food means sit and I am not sure that he understands the word on its own. Whenever he is confused or thinks he is in trouble his solution is to sit - 9 out of 10 times that is what he is being asked to do, I just have the feeling he isn't connecting the 2 even after all this time.... anyhow, back to puddles; About the time they were appearing we were having a mosquito infestation in the back patio area. Yay. The first night I had to physically lift Patch out onto the grass and close the doors to the covered area so that she couldn't just slink back to her chair. This resulted in 2 confused greyhounds standing on the very narrow strip of paving and looking at me like I was stupid as I stood in the backyard saying "come on, go for a pee!" whilst at grave risk of malaria from the thousands of nasty bitey things all over my arms and legs. Hmmm. Lots of encouragement and a bit of gesturing and finally they got the idea - rewarded with lots of praise and cuddles and getting to go straight back inside.

Night 2 - caught a slinking Patch as she went for the chair, frogmarched the little drama queen - yelps and all - out and shut the doors again. Stood around getting bitten on the few patches of flesh that didn't get molested the previous night. Took slightly less time for them to do the required ablutions and back inside to apply the calamine lotion....

Night 3 - Patch pre-empted the gentle nudge to go beyond the safety of the pavers and ducked around the side to do her thing very promptly, with Rocky in tow. YAY, success.....

I'm glad we have one dog with smarts, if not for Patch I think we would still be standing in the yard from the first night and the fever from the malaria would be getting to me, leading me to see things that were perhaps not there and imagine that RockStar was speaking to me.

Ok, so it's not that drastic and even without the malarial fevers and whatnot I have on occasion been known to follow some strange thought paths.

Happy to report though that all is now well and we are in a routine to avoid future puddles.

 

Kitty porn......

 

Don't really need to add a caption!

Itty Bitty is a Itty MASSIVE monster.

If he was a dog we would be in trouble. Lucky he is small and very cute(-ish, sometimes)

He terrorises Rocky Star and "falls" onto Patch Rats bed all innocent like and then refuses to move while she has to get up and lie on the carpet, looking bewildered as to why the evil kitty isnt getting off her bed. It's not like he is big enough to need it or anything.

Apart from that he is a somewhat contributing member of society. He was cuddle therapy for a friend who is very hurt at the moment. Ok, so he was more interested in playing and stalking her resident cats than actually snuggling but he gets points for not peeing on anything!

He makes us laugh, and scream when he claws his way up my leg everyday.... my knee is apparently very tasty. Mine only though, he won't go near Petes.

Benny is endlessly patient with him. Having an Itty Bitty launching at your head repeatedly can't be all that fun and yet he still loves the little brat.

 

Everybody now - aaawwwwwwww

Christmas has come and gone and we are still standing...

Or lying down and napping as the case may be!

Christmas this year was nice, we survived our first year of home ownership and have continued to have "family" Christmas at our house.

Family includes close friends that come and spend the day with us either because their families are away or they just plain don't like them. It also includes the furkids. Of course.

This year we sent out personalized cards. Took a few people a while to clue on that the cute animals on the card were actually OUR cute animals....

 

The only one missing was Itty Bitty and sadly The Chicken appeared post-humously.

Itty Bitty is growing so quickly, though he will never grow into his ears his legs are getting a little longer and he is more demonic by the day.

 

He has moved on from chasing Benny Cats tail to just straight launching himself at his head. It is highly amusing for us to watch and Benny takes it in good humour. Generally he just pins Itty down and licks him. My mum thinks that all the licking and cuddling and sweetness is really just Benny tenderizing Itty so that when he eats him he won't be all leathery. I prefer to think that the really do adore each other.

   

Benny Cat is now a very quiet and laid back boy. He lays right under the dogs and doesn't scamper off and meow all the time. Itty has been good for him. And for me. I love him to pieces. I losee hours just cuddling him and he always makes me smile. Work has been pretty shit lately and it is great to come home to the dogs wagging tails and two smoochy cats. Makes some of the crappier days more bearable. Only just though, I am on a very narrow ledge and in danger of jumping off it if things don't improve drastically at work. I am going bonkers and need things to change. As per usual the wheels of bureaucracy take some time to turn, so in the meantime chocolate and Itty are cheaper than therapy!

so many lost hours....

watching Benny and Itty Bitty.

Kittehs are the ultimate time wasters. He is so damn cute!

 

Pete has had to admit defeat and reports that he and Benny spent the day snuggling and licking each other. Just to clarify, that is Itty Bitty and Benny, not Pete and Benny! Ready now - awwww.

Will get around to actually posting words instead of cute pictures soon.

 

 

Too cute for words

 

 

Legacies

When The Chicken left us he also left behind a beautiful legacy of love, laughter and lets not forget, terror.

When we started fostering greys he was my main concern. He very quickly asserted his position - not to be messed with! - and more often than not the dogs adapted in no time. Those that didn't did not stay with us.

Patch was young when she arrived at our house and was naturally curious about him. She soon learned her place and she respected it well. When Benny came to us she continued to behave like a model citizen. Rocky's first encounter with The Chicken scarred him for life I think.... he is to this day wary of anything feline though these days he and Benny seem to have reached a comfortable agreement. They fairly well ignore each other and can share space  if it means cuddles - or food!

Bringing a tiny, and I do mean tiny kitteh into the mix had me a little worried. While my dogs are extremely well behaved and respectful of an assertive adult cat I had no way of knowing how they would react to kitteh - or for that matter, he to them.

Seems I need not have worried and have eternal thanks to my beloved Chicken for teaching my dogs so well.

 

Helps that kitteh is a little terror and seems to have no fear. He hissed a little and sprang at poor Patch just after I captured this. Needless to say Patch Rat then retired to a safe distance to think about what the hell had just happened.

Meanwhile Rock Star really is a star. I thought for a while that being not all that bright he may not have noticed kitteh..... not too much of a stretch really.... turns out that he realised the path of least resistance is a good one and that when it comes to cats ignorance is bliss. Possibly he is also thinking that if he pretends it doesn't exist for long enough it may actually go away. He took a couple of furtive sideways glances and rapidly retreat to the safety of his bed and his favourite giraffe.

I am so proud of them both.

I am also totally enamoured with this amazing tiny little creature we now have to share our lives.

 

Just as a little size comparison, that is a normal AC adaptor. It is so incredible to have a living being fit in the palm of your hand.

 

Now we need a name for the little one......

 

Resident Evil II

There is a new terror in town. So terrifying it has no name......

 

 

As yet. Working on it though.

Meet the unnamed gremlin that we brought home.

 

My very clever and intuitive dogs have not yet noticed the new arrival. Even though we fell aslepp on the couch under their noses, mind you, he is very little so that may explain it!

We have to be super careful to check the couch before sitting down now - here is why

   

Camo Cat!!

Prepare to be barraged by kitty porn (that should bring some savoury new readers over to my blog) as I take 3 gazillion photos of cute things such as yawning and stretching and the tiny kitteh stalking Benny.

Living the good life

The furkids in this house do it tough. Really, they do.

Patch thinks that statement is funny....

They have to abide by rules and order and know their place. (hahahaha) Benny's place is clearly:

 

The bed in his room. Yes, you read that correctly, his room. You can't begin t imagine the noise he is capable of making. It is a necessity for our sanity, and at 2am for his safety!

 

Then again, he is also fairly comfortable on OUR bed:   

 Lets not forget that the one rule that Pete imposed when he agreed  was manipulated into taking Benny in was that he was not going to be allowed in the bedroom. At all. Let alone on the bed....

Much the same as the dogs were never to pass the sacred spot in the hallway and go in the kitchen or the bedrooms of our last house. Well, actually, they never did go in the kitchen at the old house but I seem to recall that Patch and Fletch slept most nights on the floor at the foot of our bed for a little while. ( much to the disgust of The Chicken - but then he was ON the bed so managed to deal ) They were really very good about the kitchen thing, to the point that when visiting Miss Flo's house they wouldn't go in her kitchen either!

Digressing.... So, Benny has 2 beds to hog and then there is the whole couch issue.

Not being what you would call a small cat he can take up rather alot of space. He likes the arm to keep an eye on the dogs before they have had their nightly spaz attack when Pete gets home and when they have settled down after dinner he takes up poll position.

Would you move him?

 

Christmas is coming......

Again. Scary thought.

This will be our third Christmas with Patch, the second with Rocky and Benny and the first in a good many years without The Chicken.

It saddens me greatly to think that I won't have to dress only the top half of the tree to avoid him eating - and subsequently vomiting up - the tinsel. That I won't have any help wrapping the presents and have to chase him around the house to retrieve the ribbons that he stole while doing so.

Everywhere I look in this house there are reminders of him. Scrap booked pictures and the like. Most importantly though, everywhere I go he is in my heart. I will never get to have "Chicken Naps" or be attacked in the middle of a dark hallway again, I will also never forget him.

What I am trying very hard to remember at the moment is that loss is a lesson. A sucky one, but a lesson all the same. One in appreciating what you have and cherishing all the moments you have. Some days I fail to see the majesty of my gorgeous dogs and the shy sweetness of BennyCat.

Not today. Today I look at them and relish that they are in my life. That they bring me so much joy and comfort.

 

Benny says it is rude to photograph a cat before noon, he hasn't had time to put his face on....

And Patch and Rock's aren't even awake before noon, so they really have no say in this!

 

 

 

 

The post I never wanted to write

The one I could only ever write when a piece of my heart had been ripped out.

On Monday I was faced with the news I had dreaded for months. My mum came to work and as soon as I saw her I burst into tears. Not a good look when serving customers! Without her having said anything I knew in my heart that she had come to tell me what I didn't want to hear.

The Chicken is gone. He died of liver failure that morning.

I have few words and much pain. He was not just a cat.

 

He was The Chicken and I am lost without him.