Politics

Sophie when still a kitten

Unless you've been living under a rock the past few days, you will have realised the political landscape in the world is rapidly changing. It is brought a shock to Europe and a lot of people and businesses are afraid of what the future will hold. 

Julius loved flowers. Especially decapitating them

In my personal view, anybody who thinks and talks of women, handicapped, veterans and foreigners the way the soon to be President of the USA does, should not be allowed to become President in the first place. 

Wuppie tried to be fierce!

Anyway, if you are as fed up of politics as I am, either because your candidate won (congratulations) or lost (commiserations), I think we all know that one thing that can make most things better is cats. It is a well-known fact that petting a cat can lower high blood pressure. Dogs apparently can have the same effect, but since I am very much a cat person... (Miss Oswin says thank you for that).

Linette is nice and warm on the radiator

If you do not have a cat (or a dog), you might be able to lower your blood pressure just by looking at cute photos of cats. So, I trawled through my large collection of photos of my six monsters and found some beauties. I may have posted them again, but cute is cute...

Mathilda cooperated for once

Oh, by the way, I will not accept any political motivated comments. The President has been chosen, so no need to tell me why he is good or bad. It's his job to prove himself now. Any comments to that effect will be deleted!

Miss Oswin enjoying the outside

Photo on Sunday 2015-07

Julius, Sophie, Mathilda, Wuppie and Linette in the order that they left my home. And once Miss Oswin leaves (hopefully after a long long life with me), she will be joining them up there!

And here's what's coming...

Yesterday... I went to the cat adoption afternoon at a village hall close by. About ten cats were there for me to choose between. The only red one being Oliver. A few downsides to Oliver: he was a Norwegian forest cat, ie very long bushy hair. He came with a brother in tow called Fumli (which must be one of the silliest names I have heard in a long time), who is quite dependent on Oliver. The upside: he was sooo sweet and gentle and he purred and purred and purred. 

Without flash

But no, I didn't give Oliver and Fumli a new home. I will however be giving Sara Dyngen a new home. Her first name being fine enough, her last name meaning dump. As in... So, needless to say Sara Dyngen will only be Sara Dyngen where she lives now, because as soon as she comes and lives here, she will be known as Oswin. She is a new mum, but her kittens don't depend on her anymore. Next week she will be sterilised and chipped and I will pick her up next Sunday.

So, anybody thinking I would get a new satellite dish? You were wrong!! But, Oswin is bound to give me a lot of viewing pleasure as well. Don't you think?

Hello

The first time I ever saw a cat in my garden was ...ehm... yesterday! And a beauty it was too. Which was probably what the sheep thought as well, since they all came running when the cat tried to get over the fence!

Push-off

Lady Lindy

When I was twelve I was invited by my friend Miranda to come to her house after school. I said hello to her mother and then sat down on the left side of the couch. It could have been the right side, my memory isn't that clear. Now, I didn't sit completely in the corner, so there was enough room for the little family dog they had. He was only young and loved attention. He sat down next to me. In the corner.

I wasn't used to dogs. We never had one when I grew up and nobody in the extended family had one either. Nor did any of my other friends. And when the dog sat down next to me, I was quite alarmed. So, I moved an inch or two. The dog didn't think that was a good idea. He wanted to be physically connected to me and moved an inch or two as well. 

I think I was at Miranda's house for about an hour that day and by the end of that hour, I sat in the opposite corner, nearly being pushed off by the dog. Who only wanted to be cuddled!

Lady Linette

Needless to say I wasn't a dogperson. I am not as afraid of dogs anymore though and actually spent several nights in the same room as Lady Lindy. Plus when a dog comes up to me, I will stop and let him/her smell me and on occasion I will even pet a dog. 

I am however a catperson. And as soon as I moved into a place of my own, I got myself two. When I moved I got another one. Number four was irresistible, although he wasn't with me for long. And finally I got Linette. 

Linette is still living at my friend Pepperfly's. Although she will soon change her domicile for the eternal garden in the sky. She has only 2 proper teeth left, one working lung and is continually loosing weight. It is sad, but I know that she is at the perfect place. Mr Pepperfly is even prepared to take time off in case she gets worse. Now, that is my kind of catperson!

This was belatedly prompted by Spin Cycle. Thank you Ginny Marie at Lemon Drop Pie and Gretchen at Second Blooming.

Cats

Photo taken by Pepperfly at the back of her
house

Living without cats has a few pros and a lot of cons. Let me start with the pros.

*No cathairs. And if you have to wear a dark blue uniform, no cathairs is a definite plus.

*No costs. They can be really expensive what with vaccinations, treatments, food, litterbox stuff etc.

*No cathairs. Yes, I know I mentioned it already, but they do get everywhere. Even after three months without my cats I still find them!

So, what about the cons?

*A home is not a home without a cat. Every home needs one! It is just empty here now. Nobody to greet you when you get home. 

*The friendship you get from a cat. I know they say dogs are friends and not cats. Now, this is almost always said by a dog owner/lover. Any cat slave will know it to be different!

*The warmth. You don't need a hot water bottle when you have a cat. Just let them lie at your feet. They radiate enough heat, being little furballs!

Of course there are plenty of people who think differently. It doesn't matter. Wuppie agrees. Although not so much about the cathairs and the costs. He thinks those are fine and managable. At least that's what I read in his eyes in the photo above! And the unspoken question:

When are you going to get us a new home with you in Norway? HURRY!!!

The monsters

Cowering under the bed

Now, I will update you all about my exploits tomorrow, where I will hopefully have some photos to show you as well, but I thought it would be nice to show you how my monsters have taken to living with my friend. She is actually such a good friend, she is sending me photos on a regular basis! Which I love of course. 

A few days later, it was an empty house though

Now I might have told you that I went over to see them before I left for Norway. I was unable to find Wuppie, since he had hidden under the blankets and Linette was even harder to find: she was cowering under the guest bed.

Keeping a keen eye on Mickey, not trusting him much

Since then though, they are getting better and 'mingling' more with the family. Wuppie hangs out with Mickey, albeit at a safe distance and Linette has actually come down to spend a quiet evening on Pepperfly's lap. Unless she moves of course, in which case Linette is scared off again. 

Mickey

Where I live now there is a cat, but since it's mostly an outside cat, she is extremely skittish. She is very beautiful though: very bushy. If I get the chance I will take a photo, but I have a funny feeling that will be hard!

Leaving part 2

I always knew there was a chance I wouldn't be able to take my cats with me to Norway. If one of them had failed the rabies test for example. My friend Pepperfly then said that I needn't worry: there would always be a home for them at her place. Fortunately I found out that there was no need for a rabies test anymore and both of them could come. 

Fast forward a few months and I had a job offer. Starting on December 3rd, moving a week before that. So, I phoned to ask about the procedure and was told that 'unfortunately no animals are allowed to fly to that destination from November until March'. The reason is the small plane and the non-heated hold which might result in the freezing of two loved cats! So, Pepperfly it was!

Today she came to get them. We both cried (I still am) and now they are on their way to their new (hopefully temporary) home. I know they will have the best home they could possibly get apart from my own, but still! 

I miss them!

It all went so well...

Wuppie and his wonky ear

I was doing fantastic, posting nearly every day, having something to tell, you know, blogging business. And then it stopped. I mean, I still had stuff to tell, but for some reason I couldn't really be too bothered by telling them. I don't know why. But, here I am again, all fired up and ready to go, so I thought I would give you all a little update about everything.

First of all Norway of course. A lot of people have asked me how things are going on the Norwegian front (so to say) and the only answer I can give right now is 'slow'. They would get in touch with me within a couple of days, but I guess there days last longer! Never mind though, I hope to hear from them soon and in the mean time I work as much as I can to earn some extra money.

I saw this again, although this photo was taken two years ago

Work then. I have been doing a mixture of the 'boring' school run stuff and 'adventurous' long distance stuff and will continue to do so this week. Nice on the one hand because it keeps me busy, not so nice on the other, because I make long hours. Yesterday was a 14 1/2 hours day! Tomorrow will be another one like that!

The monsters. Well, they are doing fine. They want to go outside, but the weather has turned a bit and it is autumn now: rain, wind, cold and I am not looking forward to wet cat one bit! Wuppie has slowed down recently and Linette has been throwing up occasionally, so I have to keep my eye on both of them!

Me. Well, I am doing fine. Occasionally packing, although if you were to see my home, you wouldn't really think so: so much stuff, especially books are still out there and unpacked! But, as soon as I get more definitive news from Norway, I will call some moving companies to get the best deal and get lots and lots of boxes to fill!

An apple a day

It was time for the annual trek to the vet again. Even if I have seen the vet nearly every single month this year (and have the vet bills to prove it)! A friend of mine was supposed to come over to drive us there, but she phoned half an hour before we were due at the vet and she had a 45-50 minute drive to do first! I took my bike.

Of course the cats didn't like it when I got the cat carrier out and decided they would try and stay out of my way. As if that ever helps. Linette usually flees and if she doesn't flee, she will make herself as small as possible: that way I can't see her! Yeah. Wuppie is easily duped as well: just open the garden door and he will come down. By the time he realises that he is not going out, he is already in the carrier. 

Not a recent photo, that's why is ear still looks good.

I strapped the single carrier to the bike and rode to the vet. After only a few moments (admiring a chihuahua puppy, so cute) I was called in. First of all it was Linette's turn. Now, she has always been a bit of a skinny Linny (see what I did here?), but she does stay more or less at the same weight. Her teeth were fine, her breathing was fine, no fleas, in with the vaccinations and back she went into the carrier.

Then it was Wuppie's turn. A bit bigger than Linette, but it turned out he had actually lost a bit of weight. About 4%, which doesn't seem a lot, but he is of course a cat and not an elephant (imagine having an elephant on your lap). His ear was clean and again the vet told me he was going to leave it as is. His age, his not being too bothered by it and the massive operation all going against it. As long as I keep his ear clean: not a bother.

So, I got them back home again, gave them some worm-medication and opened the garden door again. They are pronounced okay for another year!

PS: they don't like apples, perhaps a wriggly worm, but not apples!

Rabies

Wuppie when he was small and cuddly
(he is now big and cuddly)

In January I had taken the monsters on a trip to see the vet. They had to be vaccinated against rabies ànd tested before being allowed into Norway. Since they could only be tested at least four months after the rabies shots, I had to wait until this week for the blood to be drawn. I had written it down and on Wednesday I made the appointment with the vet.

Today I stuck my two lovelies in the pet carrier, balanced it on the back of my bike and cycled off into the sunset to the vet. The vet who had given them the rabies shots in the first place was there and immediately said that she was sorry! Apparently they had tried to phone me on Wednesday to say I needn't come in, since Norway had lifted the bloodtest from their requirements for pets. Unfortunately by the time they had phoned, I had been at work and this morning I had been out in the garden.

Never mind though, since I was there, I could still get Wuppie's ear seen to. As you no doubt remember his ear had a hematoma in it and I was told it was to go away on its own accord, leaving a cauliflower ear. Well, the hematoma is gone, but his ear is now very hard and still quite thick. No blood in it anymore fortunately, but it still isn't good. So, instead of drawing blood from both cats, I took both of them home and several boxes of medication. Something against fleas and ticks, another one against worms and then the three boxes for Wuppie alone!

But the best news is of course: both cats are coming to Norway with me!! Yippie!!

Rabies

Those are not allowed!

When taking cats (or dogs) from one country to another, it isn't just a case of bunging them in a pet carrier and sticking them in a car. Far from it in fact, since there are quite a few things you have to consider.

You need the right pet carrier. You ordinary wicker basket looks great, but is not acceptable on a plane. For that you need special IATA approved pet carriers made out of metal, which have to be able to be locked. Cost? Way more than your pretty wicker basket.

I don't want my photo taken!

You need a passport, but so does your pet! It needs to contain their name, their owner's name, their last vaccinations and you can even stick a photo in! Cost? Way less than your own passport.

Your pet needs all the right shots. Rabies being one of them. Now, in the Netherlands the only animals still carrying rabies are (according to the vet) bats. I don't know where the nearest bats are living, but I do know my cats have never been in contact with them. For starters, they are at home at night! But, they need the shot anyway. Some countries only want them to have the rabies shot, others (Norway amongst them) also want the proof in the puddi blood. IE, after 4 months, I need to have bloodtests done on both cats to show they have enough anti-bodies against Rabies in their blood.

Hello Miss Greeneyes

Then and only then can I take my cats on the journey to Norway. And of course I could have waited until I spoke Norwegian a bit more fluent or even until I had a job, but that would be silly. Since the bloodtest will be good for as long as they live! So, the day before yesterday I bunged both cats in a plastic pet carrier, drove to the animal clinic and got them both shot and passported (hm, somewhere in that sentence something went wrong). Which means that four months from now, they can have their bloodtests. Two weeks for the results and then I can go on my merry way to Norway. Now, is that clever thinking or what?

Monstrous Update

It's been a while since I spoke of my monsters. So I thought an update was in order.

The one I'm most worried about is of course Sophie, but lately she's been doing great. She hasn't lost any more weight and actually seems to be quite happy. She will occasionally come and sit on my lap, which is highly unusual, but it's lovely nonetheless. She licks all my plates, loves drinking out of the shower (don't ask) and still doesn't like Linette.

Talking of Linette, she's her old self. Soft and cuddly and always wanting more attention. It's still a bit too cold outside, so she will only go out for about a minute or two before wanting to come back in again. I know however that will change once the weather gets warmer.

Mathilda is also doing fine. As a matter of fact she's sitting right next to me right now. If I don't pay attention she will jump on my shoulder and walk around a bit like a parrot. She's a weird one she is! She is lovely though...

And then there's Wuppie. The big ginger monster still loves his food, still loves his cuddles and kisses and still loves to escape. He's like a mini Houdini, but he always comes back within five minutes, so it's not that bad! He is still heavy though, which can be quite difficult when you're trying to turn around in bed and he's lying on your legs! But if it's good enough for Dr Phil, it's definitely good enough for me!

There you have it: my monsters...

Moving

"As long as you don't forget me!"

Indoor

Everybody who has indoor cats will know the problem: what to do with the kitty's room (ie: the litter box)? Now, I've always had the two or three litter boxes in the hallway. Because I am lazy and don't want to get up every time they need the bathroom, I've installed a catflap from living room to hallway.

I still wasn't too happy about the location though. Everybody coming in immediately saw those boxes and the mess there would sometimes be. But I didn't really know where else to put them. At least not so they would be out of sight. Until today...

This afternoon as I was getting at my Christmas decorations, so I could sort and/or pack them, the hallway was so cramped with all the stuff I had to move around that I shoved the litter boxes underneath the staircase. Where the Christmas decorations used to be.

It's only taken me 12 years!

Down in the dumps

According to a newspaper article I read this morning, today January 17th is the most depressing day of the year. Because Christmas is past, Easter, Mothering Sunday and spring are still far away and the only thing looming in front of us is winter, cold, snow and other dreary things. Are you depressed now yet?

Well, I won't be going along that depressive path. For starters I like the winter with its cold and snow and ice. Not rain though, that's horrid. But snow and cold, yes, I can handle those!

And to prove that I am not an unhappy chappette, a little proof that I like cats. I don't know who's it was, certainly not ours, but I liked it then and I like them now!

Happy January 17th!!!

F is for...

Felines

Mexican Margay kitten

I love cats. All types of cats. Be they big or small, cute or ferocious looking.

They always have grace, they always have an air of arrogance about them.

'We don't care too much about you', is what they all seem to be thinking, be they domesticated or wild.

They have great colouring and patterns.

For more F-words from around the world, please check out ABC Wednesday and join in the fun.

Photos were taken May 2010 in 'le Parc des Felins' near Paris.

Vet

Yesterday was the monsters' yearly outing to the vet. They don't like it. I'm not too fond of it either, but it needs to happen. After all, they cannot tell you when they're feeling poorly!

Anyway, my Dad arrived at 9am to help me out with them. So, three baskets were put in the backseat (using the seatbelts as well: safety!) and the miaowing began. However, when we arrived at the vet's clinic they stopped. I guess they think that when they keep quiet, the vet and I will forget about them! Ah, no such luck...

The result? Linette was healthy, got her shots and I was told I needed to keep an eye out for her teeth. Wuppie was healthy, overweight (what's new?) and pretended he was scared. He actually did a brilliant impression as well: right up to holding his tail between his legs! Mathilda was healthy, although the vet had to keep her close to the running water to stop her purring so loud. Otherwise he couldn't hear her heart.

Sophie? Well, she is healthy, so that is good. However her teeth, especially her back molars, are quite bad and are bothering her. Which means, eating hard food isn't easy, which in turn means she doesn't eat as much as she should. Which then means she looses weight! So, guess what? I have to schedule a trip to the dentist and hopefully after her teeth are done up, she will be able to live to see her 12th birthday (she's 11 now)!

Barracuda, chicken and marbles

Wuppie, the original 'Weighty Matter'

The name of my blog is Weighty Matters. It wasn't always that, it used to be 'the life of Mara'. Boring isn't it? Then one day I was blogging about my monster Wuppie. And he is a monster. A big hefty weighty monster. And the title of that post was Weighty Matters. I thought it was a nice name, stuck it on my blog and hey presto. Nothing much to do with weight in the literal sense, more a floaty sense of the heavier decisions I would have to make.

Sophie on her way to the Vet

Last year Sophie (another of those monsters) was ill. Cancer to the bladder wall. They managed to cut the tumor out, but instead of saving 1 1/2 centimeters  (about half an inch) of clean cancer free bladder, they only had 1 1/2 milimeters (about one tenth of half an inch) left to work with. The vet also told me, that were she to get sick again, it would be the end of her.

Linette climbing a tree

Recently my cats have all starting losing weight. Partly to do with summer: they just eat less. Partly to do with being able to go outside: why eat when you can enjoy the great jungle (also called my garden, but that is an altogether different story). However, Sophie never lost a lot of weight. She was always a stable slightly overweight cat.

Mathilda loves the shade more than the sun

Yes, you've guessed it: Sophie turns things upside down this year by losing weight. A lot of it. You can see her backbone. You can feel her ribs. She's always loved cleaning out my plates. I let her do it now, even leaving some extra, because she will not eat properly. But yesterday I realised I had a small tin of catfood left. I showed the other two 'hungry' monsters (Wuppie and Mathilda) out of the kitchen, closed the door and emptied out the tin.

Barracuda, chicken and marbles

She was ravenous! The marbles* confused her a bit and I had to jiggle them about a few times, but she cleaned out her bowl. The best thing though: she managed to keep it all in as well: no throwing up at all...

*Cats who don't often get treated tend to just gulp the food in almost one go. Putting big marbles in the food, makes them having to search more and move more. Because of that, they eat slower. Not having another scrounger in the area will help as well.

Paris 1

Our Caravan

It was cold on most days (see photo in last post), it was tiring every day, but most of all: it was fantastic! My parents and I arrived early afternoon on the campsite that we would call home for a week. Half an hour later my brother and his family arrived as well. And a few hours later I picked my sister up from the airport and the whole family was complete. We tried to unpack our suitcases, but our rooms were fairly small so it was easier leaving it in the suitcase and taking the stuff out when needed. We made our beds, ate pizza and the first day was over.

The European Wild Cat did not like my niece. It's a good thing there was glass between them...

On Saturday we had gotten some leaflets of the things to do (apart from Disney and Paris) and we found one of a feline park not far away. I was a bit worried it would be one of those papa and mama parks with two lions and a tiger in small cages, but my worries were completely unfounded! Nearly every feline under the sun had found a place in that park and the only cages we saw were big enough to hold several animals easily and sometimes you really had to search for the cat! If you're ever in Paris and cannot be bothered to visit that Eiffeltower yet again, go and visit this park! A great hit, also with my nephew and niece (who are 5 1/2 and 3 1/2).

Dutch Girl sitting on a tulip in 'It's a small world'

But, kitty parks are great, but the main reason to camp down close to Paris was to visit Paris and Disneyland, so on Monday we packed up both cars with adults (6) and children (3) alike and headed off to Disneyland. Well, anyone who has ever been to any of the Disney parks around the world will know: it's a truly magical place! Everywhere you looked there was more magic. An occasional glance of a princess or Winnie the Pooh, Captain Hook or King Louis, I loved it. My sister and I decided to do the park together, after we had lost the rest of the family. We saw Snow White, Peter Pan and my absolute favourite: 'It's a small world'. I wanted to go again, but my sister said no (we went twice more on Friday, don't worry). We saw a fantastic car show as well, but by then even my liver was cold! We managed to catch the parade and after that we met up with my parents again and went back home. All very very cold...

To be continued...