So we got back from Glastonbury and the one-eyed-cat's feral genes had come to the fore. He has some pedigree, which makes him chatty and a bit neurotic, but also greedy for cuddles and attention; and he has some feral, which makes him shun humans and disappear for days on end and sit in the rain.
I was missing him and wondering how he was, where he was, only seeing him at tea time when he'd come in for grub and catnip. Experience has taught me that having a perma-supply of catnip available in a dish means that he does check in with the homestead once in a 24-hour period. Then the other day I finally caught him (feral genes makes him scatter and run, but I sneaked up on his blind side...
) and he immediately collapsed in a furry puddle on my lap and blissed out on a half-hour cuddle. This re-booted his pedigree-genes and he's been in the house pretty much ever since.
The other cat is kinda miffed about this, because when one-eyed-cat is away, this hesitant charming gentle fellow gets the bed and the sofa and the chair and the attention all to himself.
The long red scratch on his nose this morning suggests that they quarrelled about this last night. Further evidence was the fact that they'd switched primary-access-rights for the foot-zone and the hip-zone on the bed.
When I lived in the big old house down the hill with all the lodgers, I knew that one-eyed-cat was out for days at a time, but he was two-eyed then, and younger, and had never had anything bad happen to him in his whole life so he was super-confidant, and anyway the house was really bustling and busy, and I never really missed him. So long as I saw him once in each 24 hours, I wasn't bothered (the catnip trick ensured his appearance). But since the move and the fostering and the loss of his eye and all that, he's been around a lot more, and a lot more clingy, and now when he disappears, I am glad for his return to independence and confidence, but I do miss him and worry for him. He consistently proves that he's absolutely fine, so I really should stop worrying
Fleas: I try to comb them with a flea comb at least every other day during the flea season. One of them loves it, the other not so much. It means that I can check them over for injuries and lumps and temperature and poorly-ness / wellness at the same time. If I find more than a flea or two, then I dose them with flea juice. My local vet has been selling Frontline for years, but has recently switched to Advocate super-strength cos the local fleas are developing tolerance and resistance. I hate to give it to them, but I also hate and detest the fleas. We have no carpets in the house, which makes it a lot easier to stay on top of the issue.
at kitty tummy rubs
