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Whoops!

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:42:00 -0500

A few weeks back, someone linked this youtube video to my facebook profile (please note that there are non-family friendly words in this video):

As you do when someone sends you a link that they think you'll find funny, you click on it. I did, and I did indeed find said video amusing.

However, within seconds of the sound of another cat going on in her 'territory' (Chez Q&L), 'Tifa had bounded into the bedroom (where the PC is) and was hissing and screaming and bouncing off the walls.

Whoops! I clearly need to be more careful of the kitty related things I access in the diva kitty's flat!

M x

Secret Santa

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:46:00 -0500

Yesterday was Secret Santa day at work. Look what I got:

The Diva Kitty ON A MUG!!!!

I love it! Love it! Love it! Love it!

Best... Secret... Santa... EVER!

Thanks 'Santa'! Yay!

M x

I Dared!

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:22:00 -0500

Remember the festive collar from yesterday?

How DARE you?!

Look at how much 'Tifa loves her new collar! I don't think! I love her look of utter hatred with a smattering of shame and horror!

Despite her disdain, I think she looks fabulous! And festive. And ridiculous.

I'm such a meanie!

M x

Do I Dare?!

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:38:00 -0500

I found this amusing item in a £ shop yesterday:

I love £ shops - the nutty stuff that one can get for a £ is just wonderful. I am currently wearing a pair of bright orange polka dot socks that I acquired (in a two pack with a pair of red polka dot ones) in a £ shop. They're fabulous. And by fabulous, I mean ridiculous and silly, obviously. Anyway, I digress...

So there it is, a ridiculously camp festive collar. The idea of dressing 'Tifa in said campery fills me with mirth, but I don't know if I've got the guts to attempt to put her in such a thing! I sincerely doubt that the diva kitty will appreciate being put is such a silly, jingley jangley thing, but it would be delightfully funny to see her in it!

In all seriousness, if I do put 'Tifa in the silly festive collar, I won't let her out of my sight and I won't keep it on her for very long. I have never put her in a collar before because, as a house cat, she doesn't need one. You may have heard the horror stories of poor kitties whose ignorant owners put them in buckle collars and the poor cat ends up with hideous injuries or accidentally hanging themselves. These are very real occurances. Part of my work as an RSPCA Home Visitor is advising people on the hazards of buckle collars and educating them on the usage of quick release safety collars. For advice on collars, please go here.

Have fun,

M x

Another Whim

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:06:00 -0500

I did it again...

After making the decision not to decorate my flat for Christmas this year (and causing something of a controversy on Facebook by letting people know this - I should have known better), I saw this. It's a Hello Kitty item involving chocolate: what's not to like?! A world without hypocrisy would be a boring place...

At this juncture, I'd like to point out that the only time I've ever actually decorated my flat was when I was badgered into it by an ex-boyfriend. Obviously, I don't have that particular pressure this December, so no decs in Chez Q&L this year. Except the advent calendar, obviously. Did I mention it has chocolate?

Now I have this advent calendar, I regularly find myself saying 'Hello Kitty' and pointing to the calendar followed by 'Hello Kitty' and waving at the cat. Quite deservedly, 'Tifa treats me with disdain when I do this...

Have fun,

M x

Q&L Seasonal Card

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:23:00 -0500

Seasons’ Greetings to all my friends and blog readers!

As I established on my previous blog (remember, it isn’t family friendly like Q&L), I’m not sending out paper greeting cards for a couple of significant reasons (beyond the fact that I would find writing out cards phenomenally dull!). Without wishing to sound like too much of a save the planet recycling loon, it is clearly better for the environment to send an electronic card rather than chopping down trees to say what can be said on my blog. Beyond this, as always, the money I save by not paying for paper cards is given to a charity. This year, unsurprisingly, I have decided to give a donation to the RSPCA Manchester and Salford branch. So you may not have a paper card from me that you’ll throw away in January, but you did get goodwill vibes and the satisfaction that some money went to a good cause instead!

Another thing that using this medium allows me is the opportunity to do something silly and ‘internety’. Please do click play on the video below if you fancy a chuckle at silliness, courtesy of Q&L.

So all that is left for me to say is that I hope that you have a relaxing and enjoyable seasonal break, and a prosperous and happy New Year.

Have fun,

Mark & ‘Tifa

Guest Post: RSCPA Manchester and Salford

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:01:00 -0500

Welcome to the third Q&L guest post. I'm really pleased about this post because, as an enthusiastic supporter of my local RSPCA branch, I want to be able to do everything that I possibly can to help them out. I can rarely afford to give them actual money, but I can give them my time by doing visits for them, give them spare clothes for their charity shop, and shamelessly plug them on my website!

This is a guest post from Susie Hughes from the Manchester and Salford branch of the RSPCA. I've only known Susie for about 9 months (funnily enough since I adopted 'Tifa), but she is a strong and passionate advocate of animal rights and protection which I respect a lot. Susie is the kind of animal lover that I could never be: she doesn't have favourites and is a vegan. I can't imagine a life without bacon butties, and am unashamedly biased in favour of cats.

So thanks go out to Susie, and if anyone else would like to write a guest post, please get in touch.

Have fun,

M x

*****

When Mark called our office to ask if we had any house cats he wasn't given much choice. With more and more people living in apartments these days the demand for indoor kitties is really high, so there was only one option and that was 'Tifa.

Since this encounter, as you will all know, Mark's life has changed unequivocally, and some might even say for the better. Our lives at RSPCA Mcr & Salford have also been enriched as we now have a wonderful supporter and volunteer in Mark whom we dispatch off on a weekly basis to check out potential homes for our cats - a role that Mark was undoubtedly made for.

However, 'Tifa really is one of the lucky ones as all too commonly this year animals have been discarded like the rubbish and left to fend for themselves. I'll give you some examples - in September I was contacted by our regional press office saying that an animal sanctuary in Liverpool was overrun with abandoned rabbits and were we experiencing the same. I just laughed and said this was the worst year ever for rabbit abandonments - I counted up and 18 out of 22 were as a result of being callously abandoned in boxes, hutches or set loose to fend for themselves. This prompted radio coverage on BBC GMR and reporters coming round to my house to marvel at the number of bunnies bunking down with me (actually, it's more me bunking down with them).

This last week or so has been gut wrenchingly depressing because of the number of cats we have as a result of abandonment, the fact that Christmas is seeing off potential new homes, and the reality of what it means when we turn animals away. Currently we have 33 kitties, with the capacity in our cattery for just 11. And out of 33 a whopping 30 are as a result of owners abandoning their animals. Many have been found as ill or injured strays, the others left in properties where the occupant has done a runner.

Tabs

Tabs is just one of these felines. His owner lived in a swanky apartment in town. He was a foreign student that ran up heaps of debt and when he got into trouble he went running back to China, but left poor Tabs behind without any due care or consideration as to what would happen to him.

Dogs aren't exempt from any of this either. We currently have 4 out of 9 dogs that have befallen the same fate, including Prince, whose owner tied him up outside Asda in Sth Mcr and never returned, and we have Henry and Sasha - 2 of 4 dogs whose owner left them behind when they moved out. Admittedly our dogs have usually come from more neglect and cruelty complaints but it just goes to show that nothing is sacred anymore in these terrible times.

I could go on and on and on, but I won't cos I'm depressing myself, but just to say that if you adopt an animal from the RSPCA you can be sure they will come neutered, vaccinated and microchipped, which generally means you will save a whole heap of money than doing it yourself. For example, to adopt a cat from us the fee is £50 but in reality it costs our branch an average of £290 per animal to 'rehabilitate' them ready for adoption, the adoption fee doesn't go far but it helps us and has to be better than lining the pockets of a 'business'.

So, I will leave you with this thought....pets are not a commodity they a family member; just like children they are vulnerable and dependent upon us to have their needs met; they are characterful bundles of joy that enrich our lives beyond measure. Please don't get an animal on a whim, they are there to be treasured, respected and obeyed, not thrown out with the rubbish when you have tired of their ways.

Susie Hughes

A Particularly Whimsical Moment

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:34:00 -0500

I am prone to whimsy, but this has to be considered one of my most impulsive moments ever...

I am yet to buy any of the presents I need to buy this year. I am aware of this, and the impending sense of dread for the horror of Christmas Eve shopping is an ever closer Sword of Damacles.

So, when I was in Sainsbury's the other day, what in the world possessed me to purchase this:

I was there for a 'few essentials', not items of whimsy.
Kitty doesn't know what Christmas is.
Kitty gets treats every day anyway.
Actual people should get priority of Christmas present purchase over kitty.
It's November and despite my neuroticism over getting presents bought early, I shoudn't really be worried about buying presents yet.
Buying two boxes of treats and a cat toy seperately from the pointless seasonal packaging would have been significantly cheaper.
Kitty has many, many toys already, and I have months worth of treat supplies in stock.
&c, &c, &c...

I don't even celebrate 'Christmas' in the traditional sense: my staunch faithlessness makes it uncomfortable for me to even call the period from December to January 'Christmas'. I generally tend to call it 'Yuletide'/ 'Yule' or 'Festive Period'. It seems somewhat hypocritical to me that, as a somewhat passionate non-believer, that I should embrace a religious festival, however much it is ingrained into British culture. I take this period of time as an opportunity to enjoy friends' and family members' company as people (myself included) tend to make more effort around this period to see each other. I swap presents with family, which is lovely, but I certainly don't go wild and buy loads of presents for loads of people. I'm not a humbug by any stretch of the imaginiation, I just completely 'deChristianify' the whole period and minimise present purchase for something that I don't actually believe in.

Yet, despite all this, I bought the kitty a Christmas present... in November.

I should be mocked.

Have fun,

M x

Getting Ready To Go Out

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:31:00 -0500

I have been somewhat perplexed recently as to why it might be that it takes me so long to get ready for a night out these days. It seems that since I adopted 'Tifa, I take nearly twice as long to get ready as I did before and I can't think of any reason why. So I've decided to come up with two lists detailing what I did to get ready before 'Tifa and what I do now to see if this can shed any light. So, here goes...

Before Kitty

Shower
Brush teeth
Shave face
Shave head
Trim chest hair
Cut nails
Pick outfit
Aftershave
Pose in front of mirror

Since Acquisition Of Kitty

Shower
Fuss over kitty
Brush teeth
Stroke kitty
Shave face
Give kitty some cat treats
Shave head
Hug kitty
Trim chest hair
Blow kisses to the kitty
Cut nails
Check kitty's water bowl is full
Pick outfit
Play with the kitty using the dangley toy thing
Aftershave
Get all soppy over the kitty as I'm about to leave her
Pose in front of mirror
Fret about being late and wonder how it happened then rush out usually forgetting either my phone, brolley, glasses, MP3 player or something else important

Nope - I still can't put my finger on it. Perhaps I'll just have to chalk it down to it just being one of life's mysteries...

Have fun,

M x

Home Alone Diva

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:44:00 -0500

I went to a conference last weekend, and left 'Tifa alone in the flat for the longest period of time that I ever have. I felt so incredibly guilty leaving her on Friday morning knowing that she'd have no contact with anyone for two nights.

I spoil my girl anyway, but leaving her on the Friday evening, I left her her favourite cat food, some cat milk, and a mixed bowl of all the flavours of Dreamies that you can get. She also got more dry food than she could possibly manage to eat in two days, and four bowls of water in various parts of the flat. Food wise; she was definitely going to be fine.

I explained that this was the longest that she'd ever be alone and confessed how incredibly worried I was to my friend who was coming to the conference with me, and he'd suggested that I text her to check she was okay. I scowled.

So there I was in Cardiff in my swanky four star hotel with a king size bed and a snazzy bathroom that puts the one in my flat to shame. I went to bed, and thankfully (probably due to the 5 pints I'd drunk) got to sleep relatively easily. However, much to my chagrin, I woke up at yuck o'clock and there was no kitty sleeping on me. This reminded me of where I was and that 'Tifa was alone. And, of course, I started fretting. That's an hour of time I'll not be able to claim back unlike the cost of food for the weekend. This happened both nights.

If you're wondering if there's actually a point to this blog, there is - I'm getting there. Normally, if I'm away for over a day, I'll ask friends to feed (and fuss over) the diva kitty, and I'm sure that I could have got the lovely Ryoko and Phil to look after 'Tifa. However, everyone I know that could look after 'Tifa while I'm away for Christmas at my parents will be away at that time too. As such, this weekend was a trial run to see how she copes with being left alone for two days.

She was fine when I got home, of course. And I've rarely felt as relieved as I did when I found that out.

I'm already dreading Christmas: I fear that my neurotic nature will ruin my Christmas as I worry about the diva kitty being okay rather than enjoying it. Bah!

Have fun,

M x