Last night I had a roast dinner and, as usual, cooked to feed a small army rather than just me. The plus side of this is that all I have to do for the next few days to prepare an evening meal is zap a plate of food in the microwave.
This morning I thought the animals might enjoy a little gravy with their breakfast as a treat.
Holly hoovered her breakfast up at a greater rate of knots than normal and then, when her bowl was licked spotlessly clean, did her best Oliver Twist impression in the hope of more.
Linus must have some Labrador genes somewhere in him. He and Olaf both had about a quarter teaspoon of gravy put in their bowl alongside their normal food. Linus devoured food and gravy in under 20 seconds and then spent a couple of minutes being restrained by me so he didn't go eat all of Olaf's. After he was released he spent a good long while making sure both cat bowls were licked clean and is still occasionally wandering back into the kitchen just in case they have miraculously leapt off the draining board, refilled themselves and ended up back on the floor.
Olaf was confused. I had very specifically kept his food and gravy apart. He went to start the food, spotted the gravy and stopped. Sniffed the gravy, walked round the bowl and sniffed again. After repeating this a few times he ate his food and then very cautiously had a tiny lick of gravy. Sat back and though about it before licking up the rest.
I think they each enjoyed their treat in their own way.
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Saturday, 18 January 2014
Fat Feet and a Haircut, Two Cats!
On Thursday (I am writing this on Saturday) the cats went to the vets for their annual MOT and boosters and Holly went along too.
Linus and Olaf both got clean bills of health.
As Holly doesn't put any weight on her back feet nowadays I regularly need to trim her claws and less frequently give the fur that grows between her pads a trim as well. I have noticed that the pads on her back feet were starting to thicken and become a bit spongey. I wasn't too worried but took the opportunity of a planned visit to have the vet look at her feet.
The vet confirmed it is due to her not putting pressure on her feet and unless they become cracked there is nothing needs doing other than the existing maintenance. As we were there she too got a check-up, the diagnosis? She's doing just fine!
Linus and Olaf both got clean bills of health.
As Holly doesn't put any weight on her back feet nowadays I regularly need to trim her claws and less frequently give the fur that grows between her pads a trim as well. I have noticed that the pads on her back feet were starting to thicken and become a bit spongey. I wasn't too worried but took the opportunity of a planned visit to have the vet look at her feet.
The vet confirmed it is due to her not putting pressure on her feet and unless they become cracked there is nothing needs doing other than the existing maintenance. As we were there she too got a check-up, the diagnosis? She's doing just fine!
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Photo Favourites
A few more favourite photos from a trawl through the archives.
Most dogs when they get neutered/spayed object to having the bucket on. Not Holly, she didn't see it as a problem and carried on life as normal. This is her less than 24 hours after being spayed and having her dew claws off (she had got them snagged several times so the decision was made to remove them for future safety)
When Linus arrived he was only a tiny little thing, but he loved Holly right from the start
He could have gone swimming in the water bowl!
But then he grew, and grew and grew until 1 year later he was too big to sleep on Holly any more, she now uses him as a pillow
Most dogs when they get neutered/spayed object to having the bucket on. Not Holly, she didn't see it as a problem and carried on life as normal. This is her less than 24 hours after being spayed and having her dew claws off (she had got them snagged several times so the decision was made to remove them for future safety)
The Maths worked for once.
2 cats + 2 boxes = 2 happy cats
Alternative maths
1 holly + 1 puddle = 1 happy dog
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
How to say walk without the word walk?
I've mentioned before that Holly is fairly intelligent and that I have always encouraged her to use her brain.
Most of the time this is great, however it does have some disadvantages.
If I fancy a bit of company on a walk I will phone a relative or friend and ask if they want to join us. Often the answer is yes but can we wait an hour or so while they finish whatever they are doing?
Holly listens to me when I talk to her (someone has to) and she quickly learnt the words walk and park, which meant I would have an over-excited dog for an hour while we waited for everyone else to be ready to go out.
So when she learnt the words "Walk" and "Walkies" I moved onto spelling it "W. A. L. K." that lasted a couple of months, so it was changed to "Going Out" and then to "O. U. T." We then progressed onto "Taking a Stroll" and "Stretch the legs".
It took a while for her to work out "A You Know What in the You Know Where" as meaning a walk in the park.
"Blow the cobwebs away" didn't last very long but "Perambulate" took almost 6 months.
As for where we go I had the same problems. "Park" was soon worked out as was "P. A. R. K." so we changed it to "Field" or "Recreation Ground" ("Rec" for short) then "The Place Opposite the School". The one that lasted the longest was a suggestion of my Dad's "Municipal Gardens"
As you might imagine, strangers sometimes wonder what on earth I am talking about when I say "We are going to Perambulate through the Municipal Gardens"
As a family we do quite a few crosswords which may explain some of the alternative ways of saying "Go for a Walk in the Park"
Most of the time this is great, however it does have some disadvantages.
If I fancy a bit of company on a walk I will phone a relative or friend and ask if they want to join us. Often the answer is yes but can we wait an hour or so while they finish whatever they are doing?
Holly listens to me when I talk to her (someone has to) and she quickly learnt the words walk and park, which meant I would have an over-excited dog for an hour while we waited for everyone else to be ready to go out.
So when she learnt the words "Walk" and "Walkies" I moved onto spelling it "W. A. L. K." that lasted a couple of months, so it was changed to "Going Out" and then to "O. U. T." We then progressed onto "Taking a Stroll" and "Stretch the legs".
It took a while for her to work out "A You Know What in the You Know Where" as meaning a walk in the park.
"Blow the cobwebs away" didn't last very long but "Perambulate" took almost 6 months.
As for where we go I had the same problems. "Park" was soon worked out as was "P. A. R. K." so we changed it to "Field" or "Recreation Ground" ("Rec" for short) then "The Place Opposite the School". The one that lasted the longest was a suggestion of my Dad's "Municipal Gardens"
As you might imagine, strangers sometimes wonder what on earth I am talking about when I say "We are going to Perambulate through the Municipal Gardens"
As a family we do quite a few crosswords which may explain some of the alternative ways of saying "Go for a Walk in the Park"
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Happy New Year
The Menagerie would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014.
Most news outlets take the new year as an opportunity to review the past 12 months, I am going to share a few of my favourite photos taken over the years.
Most news outlets take the new year as an opportunity to review the past 12 months, I am going to share a few of my favourite photos taken over the years.
Many many years ago I looked after some guineapigs, Fluffy thought they were fascinating and would spend hours sat on top of their run 'talking' to them. They were not in the slightest bit frightened of her and spent as much time sitting in the run chattering back to her.
Olaf doesn't really like having his photo taken, but I did manage to get one of him snoozing with his tongue stuck out
Holly loves the beach, our progress can be mapped by disgruntled seagulls, shredded seaweed, rolled in dead marine life and craters in the beach.
Holly was only a tiny little scrap when she came to me.
This is our first meeting when she was 6.5 weeks old
I had originally been going to get a retired greyhound, but somehow came home with a 7.5 week old puppy who wasn't going to let size matter when it came to bed.
This was her at about 8 weeks old
And with the same toy on her 1st birthday, she used to be able to walk through it, but now it gets stuck on her head!
Olaf doesn't really like having his photo taken, but I did manage to get one of him snoozing with his tongue stuck out
Holly loves the beach, our progress can be mapped by disgruntled seagulls, shredded seaweed, rolled in dead marine life and craters in the beach.
Holly was only a tiny little scrap when she came to me.
This is our first meeting when she was 6.5 weeks old
I had originally been going to get a retired greyhound, but somehow came home with a 7.5 week old puppy who wasn't going to let size matter when it came to bed.
This was her at about 8 weeks old
And with the same toy on her 1st birthday, she used to be able to walk through it, but now it gets stuck on her head!
Wednesday, 25 December 2013
Holly and her present Christmas 2013
Holly loves opening presents, she gets to help me with mine but always gets one of her own to open all by herself. This year was no exception.
it's mine! best open it
Now if only I could find a loose corner...
nope, it's well wrapped
lets try the other side
success!
time to shred the wrapping
nearly there
Wait? Whaddayamean "wait"
Oooh, a parcel. Ok that was worth a short wait.
Better check the label, see who it's for
Is it really for me?
it's mine! best open it
Now if only I could find a loose corner...
nope, it's well wrapped
lets try the other side
success!
time to shred the wrapping
nice big chunk off that time
what the heck is that?
hmmm, a penguin but it's still caught up in the paper
come here little penguin
must free penguin from wrapping paper
nearly there
free at last
prepare to be chomped
squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak squeak
Happy Christmas
Happy Christmas 2013 from Holly, Linus, Olaf and Hannah.
Linus and Olaf are not too bothered about Christmas, for them the main attraction is screwed up balls of wrapping paper to play with. I stopped putting up a big tree and now just have a small one that stands about 14" high and fits perfectly on the end of the mantlepiece. If Linus and Olaf ever mature into sensible, trustworthy cats then I may get a big tree again.
Holly on the other hand
knows all about Christmas and loves it. She is not keen on loud noises and hates crackers being pulled when she is in hearing distance. Unless she is pulling the cracker. One year I held out a cracker to her for her to sniff at, only she grabbed the end in her mouth and pulled! Oh what fun she had, she 'won' the cracker pull and now had the majority of a cracker, a hat, joke and toy. I managed to pick the toy up and move it out of reach because she was too busy shredding the cracker, hat and joke trying to find the snap. She has pulled a lot of crackers since then, has shredded a lot of hats and is still trying to find the snap.
Holly does not like wearing clothes, it's only the past year or so that she has started to accept being loosly covered by a blanket when it's cold. However she loves her tinsel and jingle-bell collars and will do anything to avoid me when I try to take it off her. At her first christmas I had a spare piece of tinsel so I wrapped it round a spare collar and put it on her for Christmas day expecting her to wriggle out of it and shred it. But she wore it all day and looked longingly at it on Boxing day waiting for me to put it on her again. Since then I have made her a jingle-bell collar, a fleecy jester-style ruff with a bell on the end of each spike. She loves that one too but only gets to wear it for short periods of time as it can be very noisy.
She also knows what presents are and loves to open them and shred the wrapping paper before playing with her new toy.
Linus and Olaf are not too bothered about Christmas, for them the main attraction is screwed up balls of wrapping paper to play with. I stopped putting up a big tree and now just have a small one that stands about 14" high and fits perfectly on the end of the mantlepiece. If Linus and Olaf ever mature into sensible, trustworthy cats then I may get a big tree again.
Holly on the other hand
knows all about Christmas and loves it. She is not keen on loud noises and hates crackers being pulled when she is in hearing distance. Unless she is pulling the cracker. One year I held out a cracker to her for her to sniff at, only she grabbed the end in her mouth and pulled! Oh what fun she had, she 'won' the cracker pull and now had the majority of a cracker, a hat, joke and toy. I managed to pick the toy up and move it out of reach because she was too busy shredding the cracker, hat and joke trying to find the snap. She has pulled a lot of crackers since then, has shredded a lot of hats and is still trying to find the snap.
Holly does not like wearing clothes, it's only the past year or so that she has started to accept being loosly covered by a blanket when it's cold. However she loves her tinsel and jingle-bell collars and will do anything to avoid me when I try to take it off her. At her first christmas I had a spare piece of tinsel so I wrapped it round a spare collar and put it on her for Christmas day expecting her to wriggle out of it and shred it. But she wore it all day and looked longingly at it on Boxing day waiting for me to put it on her again. Since then I have made her a jingle-bell collar, a fleecy jester-style ruff with a bell on the end of each spike. She loves that one too but only gets to wear it for short periods of time as it can be very noisy.
She also knows what presents are and loves to open them and shred the wrapping paper before playing with her new toy.
Holly in 2005 with her newly made jingle collar
the suspicious look was due to being made to sit still and have her photo taken rather than being allowed to run round and have fun.
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