Hammock-Ville

Anyone would thing these dark November mornings and evenings were for nothing but snoozing ..

If you had seen The Housekeeper and Jasper curled up in a throw on the settee at 18:00 yesterday, then you have had to agree!

If you had seen The Housekeeper in bed this morning with AMBER under the bedclothes having a proper cuddle, you would have definitely agreed!!!

Happy Birthday Amber

Happy 4th Birthday Amber!

Happy Birthday to the vunerable, delicate yet cheeky bundle known as "Little Legs"

She may cause untold heartache when her skin has errupted and she is in a sorry state with her plastic collar on but there is no better sound in the house than when "Squelch" brings yet another of her moppy toys and leaves it either at The Housekeeper's feet when she is working or, when The Housekeeper wakes up to find that Amber has spent the night moving all her "moppy babies" and leaving them next to The Housekeeper where she sleeps.

The very rare Amber 6am "stand and headbut" never fails to make The Housekeeper smile

Born 14.11.2008

Booster Boys

I've just re-read my "booster post" for the boys from last year and too be fair, I could have almost copied it, word for word!

The Housekeeper took Jasper and Dino to the vets this morning for their annual boosters....

Boys boys were fine getting into their boxes. No subterfuge, closing doors hours in advance and running round the house like a lunatic as The Housekeeper has to with the wylie fox cub that is Amber Brown!

Jasper emitted his first ear-piercing cry as the car engine started up and managed to sustain the same note until the end of the road. Quite something! Dino wasn't much happier!

Jasper was first to be weighed, checked and vaccinated and cried in The Housekeepers arms like a baby with his heart going ten to the dozen. In the words of Mr P, the vet. "He's a bit solid, isn't he"! (Told you I could have copied the post!)

Dino was second. he decided the best ploy to the impending scales doom was to sit with one paw randomly out of the scales at all times, however he was placed.  This made the vet laugh a lot!

Both boys weighing in at around 5.4kg, both very healthy and as Mr P said "There isn't much wrong with either of them, is there! Beautiful coats"

The vet does however think that they are both marginally overweight so there will definitely be a limiting and weighing of the crunchies from now on to help both them and Amber, who has gained some weight from her regular steroid jabs. The only one who will miss out a little is Crystal who is such a waif. More ball games up the stairs too, for the boys, to wear them out!

Jasper obviously felt that it was a bit of an ordeal as he was shaking at lunchtime, sitting on the chair next to The Housekeeper. The Housekeeper just found two trips to the vets in one week an ordeal on her purse but they are definitely all worth every penny!!

VET Week

It's that time again. Two trips this coming week.....

Amber went to the vet this afternoon for her steroid jab. She managed to last 9 weeks this time before her little tummy errupted into a red horrid mess. I say little... For a cat who is known as "Little Legs" she is apparently "chunky" and should maybe be on a diet or getting more exercise.

CHUNKY??? Heaven help The Housekeeper when they clap eyes on Dino on Wednesday then, as he and Jasper go for their boosters and health checks.

Dino is currently still in the cat house for breaking The Housekeeper's favourite tea mug on Saturday.

The Housekeeper is currently in mourning, not only for her tea mug but also her bank balance after a hefty service and MOT on the car and vet bills for three cats within three days.

It may be Beans OR Toast by Friday

Amber Brown Galaxy Phone

If an Abyssinian cat could ask for their own personalised mobile phone then this would have to be it!

There have been adverts on the television all week for an Amber Brown Galaxy S3 phone.

Amber would like to point out that she is the one and only limited edition Amber Brown around here!

Winter Warmth

The days are drawing in and the Abyssinians are all finding it as hard as The Housekeeper to wake up and get out of bed each morning as it is so grey outside. Indeed, on a number of occasions recently, The Housekeeper has come in from the workshop, mid morning to find all four cats back in bed after breakfast.

The summer sun basking has been replaced with curled up balls of fur in all the radiator hammocks and, if allowed, in the bottom of the linen basket during the day, with everyone barr Amber cuddling up under the duvet at night. This leads to happy, contented, purring Abyssinians but does not always lead to a good night's sleep for the humans. The housekeeper often wonders why she bothered buying any cat beds.

The onset of winter has also seen a new toy in the Aby House. The Housekeeper has started knitting again and the Abyssinians cannot resist the moving wool. This does not prove a very relaxing break from work for The Housekeeper but it has meant that a usually aloof Dino has been very happy to sit on The Housekeeper's lap and has earned the new nickname of "craft cat"

Crystalpaws Cosmicstar - Tara

Today we have the saddest news...

We have heard that Tara, the beautiful fawn Abyssinian girl who gave birth to our gorgeous princess, Crystal is desperately ill and going on her journey to the bridge today.

Test results have confirmed that she has a tumour in her brain as well as first stage kidney failure. For a few months now her personality has been changing. She started causing fights, and going to the toilet wherever she chose. Both of which have been getting worse, but now she starts a fight, then stops defending herself, she is incontinent, frightened all the time, and has started attacking the lovely lady who gave her a forever home at the time she ceased to be a breeding queen

The Housekeeper can well understand the torment that Tara's owner has gone through since she became unwell, having lived with a brain-damaged Abyssinian for 9 years.

The Housekeeper was able to cuddle Tara back in 2008 when she went to collect Crystal from the breeders at 13 weeks old and thanked her at the time for her beautiful baby with such a relaxed temperament.

Tara will not be forgotten, for as long as The Housekeeper has Crystal as they look SO alike

Sorrel Saturday AND Sunday

Amber is feeling a bit left out in the posting stakes this week so we have decided to have an all  Sorrel weekend to address the balance!

As many of you reading this will know, Amber has an undiagnosed skin complaint which flares up regularly and this usually requires a trip to the vets every six weeks for a steroid injection because she gets very red and sore and pulls her fur out. We've tried skin scrapes, antibiotics, changes of diet, allergy testing and had no firm conclusions. We also wondered if it was stress induced (and you can see why living with Jasper and Dino in the house) however the decorators have been in for the last week painting the hall, landing and stairs and so far, no flare up ..... BUT ...

Today is 8 weeks and 4 days since the last injection and whilst we don't wish to blog about this too soon, or get too excited, we silently have every single paw crossed that MAYBE we MIGHT have found out what the culprit is. Whilst she still has very little fur on her tummy, it's better than it was and showing signs of regrowth.

We are wondering if it MIGHT be the meat sachets in the food she has been eating (but definitely hasn't had within the last 8 weeks). We were alternating the fish and meat sachets weekly and assumed it was the fish to blame as all the cats were already on the poultry selection, and had been for some time when we introduced the fish ones - but maybe not!

We will keep you updated but for now every human finger and Abyssinian paw is crossed for a positive outcome.

Happy Birthday Jasper and Dino

Happy 2nd Birthday to the terrible twosome - the brawling brothers

Jazzie J and Popsy - aka Jasper and Dino

ARE TWO!

Life will never EVER be dull with these two in The Housekeeper's life

Born 17.08.2010

Happy Birthday also to Sister Daisy in France and Brother Leon in Wales!

Happy Birthday Crystal

Happy 4th Birthday

 To the small fawn waif of the house

Princess, top cat and mother hen

Owner of the "smacky paw of doom" to keep the boys in line!

Crystal Couture is FOUR!

Happy Birthday also to sorrel sisters Ruby and Scarlet, wherever you are!

Containment

You'd think by the wails and sullen faces that something awful had happened. The Four are all contained within the dining room and conservatory during the day at the moment as the hall, landing and stairs are currently being decorated.

Jasper spent Tuesday "helping" Jack the painter run down and wash down the paintwork, and everyone else took turns supervising the work in progress. For once, NONE had a catnap during the day and by 5pm when Jack left, everyone was absolutely exhausted. So much so that by 6pm, when it was time for tea, no one wanted dinner! Unheard of!

At the point that the undercoating began, the four were herded into the conservatory, with the nice cool dark dining room to protect them from the heat of the day.

Desperate to be let out as soon as the paint was dry and no Abyssinian fur could stick to anything white, they were let out of their confines...... only for them all to decide that it was a) cooler and b) less smelly in the conservatory and that's where they willingly spent the evening!

Cameo Cats - Word Up!

Wave your hands in the air like you don't care

Glide by the people as they start to look and stare

Do your dance, do your dance, do your dance quick mamma

Come on baby, tell me what's the word WORD UP!

 

Olympic Cat Yoga by Dino

 Dino is a little stiff after an afternoon nap, so time for some cat yoga

 Stretch to the left! Oops the tail is in the way

 That's better now twist ...

 and stretch ..... Yoga is SO relaxing I might just have 40 winks ...

 And now some floor exercises ... Lean back and elevate ...

 and stretch and hold for a count of .....

Come on Crystal, if you're going to join in at least do it properly!

The gold medal goes to .... Me! Even tough the bronze one would match my fur better!

Putting my foot in it

The day started peacefully enough with a cup of tea for The Housekeeper in bed whilst reading on the iPad and deciding on a plan of action for the day.

Meanwhile Dino and Jasper's Sunday morning started with a brotherly brawl and a bout of tearing round the house at break neck speed.

The Housekeeper's plan of action did NOT involve clearing up .....after the inevitable happened.

Dino chased Jasper off the bedroom window sill onto the bedside chest of drawers that The Housekeeper's mug of tea was sat on, two thirds drunk. Dino's front paw went straight in the lukewarm tea and the remainder went all over The Housekeeper, chest of drawers, carpet, and teddy bear on foot stall at side of bed.

End of lie in!

Amber Warning

There's Amber warnings from the BBC Weather team yet again this morning.... Something to do with yet MORE rain and possible flooding in the UK.

It's very considerate of the BBC to tell me in advance that it will be noisy on the conservatory roof and to advise me to sleep in bed.

Off Colour

Jazzy J has not been a well cat. It's unusual for The Housekeeper to have anyone in the house requiring any form of nursing care, but the Jasper cat has definitely not been himself.

He was violently sick several times on Sunday evening and was bringing up liquid repeatedly rather than just dinner. He was also licking his lips excessively. There was nothing obvious to show what he might have eaten or drunk that had caused the problem, assuming it was food related, but by the time The Housekeeper went to bed on Sunday evening, he was looking very sorry for himself and exceptionally quiet. Jasper doesn't DO still or quiet.

With Mr Housekeeper having a 5am start on Monday morning, the whole house was awake but instead of getting under the duvet for a cuddle, Jazz was at the bottom of the bed, still looking very sorry for himself.

The Housekeeper settled herself on the settee with a large cuppa and a throw and within a couple of minutes a a very miserable looking Jasper came to join her and they snoozed for a couple of hours together. When it was time for The Housekeeper to start work, she left Jasper to the throw and that's where he stayed until approx 3pm that day.

Luckily by the evening, he was obviously feeling much more himself as he started to annoy Crystal and Dino again and today he is definitely back to being his cheeky self. Phew !

It's Just SO Not Fair!

This morning, in bed,  I was cuddled and told that I was a gorgeous, affectionate, cuddly Abyssinian.

Since 10am I have been told to ......

Get off the kitchen work surface (several times TH)
Get off the draining board
Stop chasing Crystal
Stop eating the girl's food
Stop asking for more crunchies as I cannot possibly be hungry
Get off the kitchen work surface AGAIN
Stop shouting at the wall on the landing "because there's nothing there"
Stop chasing Jasper
Stop chewing the spines of paperback books on the landing bookshelf

Apparently my name has been said too many times today and that isn't good.
I've even had the cat-gut factory threat....

Things must be bad

I'm off to the conservatory to tell the pidgeons outside just how unfair life is. Maybe they will listen to my wailing

Confused.cat

The Housekeeper has been busy in the kitchen today ...

It's her Father's 88th Birthday and her Aunt's 80th Birthday within the space of a week, so there is a family "do" tomorrow at The Housekeeper's parents house. On the teatime menu is The Housekeeper's homemade smoked mackerel pate and also a very large four layer carrot cake for pudding which will double as a Birthday cake.

The Housekeeper had a committee meeting on Tuesday evening so was able to test the carrot cake recipe out in advance and all agreed it was good enough to make again.

With the pungent smell that only smoked mackerel can make to the house, clothes and hands, The Housekeeper expected that she would have four furry friends supervising the making of the pate this morning, but it wasn't to be. However just as she was finishing the de-boning process everyone arrived in the kitchen so The Housekeeper thought that she had better be kind and offer fishy titbits.

It turns out that three out of four cats DON'T like mackerel.

In the dim distant, a small black cat called Mouse who lived next door and Parsnip, the first Abyssinian that The Housekeeper owned would have removed human skin for a bit of "Mach Pat". But not these guys, that is except for the Amber cat (still wearing her collar) who devoured every bit she was given and came back for more!) This is the cat who won't eat cat treats of any sort and never begs for human food.

This evening it was time to cover the carrot cake in cream cheese frosting and guess what, the boys both sat at The Housekeeper's feet and cried to be fed??????

It appears that two out of four Abyssinians prefer cheesy cake frosting to fish.

Just to be different!

Seeing Red

On Friday afternoon, The Housekeeper noticed a patch again on Amber's tummy, about the size of a 5p piece. The dreaded red blotch that means another trip to the vets is imminent. The Housekeeper rang up on Monday morning and get an appointment for today, but of course by then, the small red blotch was an explosion of redness which has been duly licked. Gone is all the nice new downy fur which had been coming through nicely over the last month.

So it's square 1. AGAIN. The Housekeeper feels so sorry for the poor little scrap, more so because she hates the collar so much and hates tressing amber out over catching her to get tablets down her but it has to be done.

Another week of Antirobe antibiotics to wade our way through and another steroid injection to come, this time next week.

Dino is currently chirping so there is obviously a great deal of cat conversation to be had this morning.

It's also been suggested that we get some cotton sheeting and cover the settee which is a man made fabric and get rid of the fleece throws off the chairs to see if this makes may difference to her at all.

Emergency Room

There's been a cat-astrophe of the highest Abyssinian cat order. The dried food has RUN OUT.



Allegedly, The Housekeeper thought that there was another bag in the food crate under the wet food pouch crate, and there wasn't.

So The Four, poor, starving, unloved Abyssinians had to make do with a wet food pouch for supper and the same for breakfast this morning with no crunchies on the side. I mean, what is a cat to do.

To make matters 10 times worse, The Housekeeper isn't going out as soon as the shop opens to buy us a bag, because - wait for it - she is waiting on a delivery to the house of HUMAN food. I ask you ........

The four have resorted to sitting at strategic positions on the desk and staring......

How can four cats possibly stare so loudly .......

Wet Paws

If your first furry purrotest does not succeed, try, try again

Wet conservatory floor - AGAIN
Pool of water from bubble tube piping - AGAIN
Housekeeper mopping up - AGAIN

http://fourabyssiniancats.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/payback-purrotest.html

The Imposter

Who's stolen Amber, the quiet reserved Abyssinian who hides in the bedroom and wont come out? Something STRANGE is going on.

The Housekeeper got numerous cuddles on Tuesday night in bed from a very dribbly Abyssinian

Amber was then seen playing with the boys yesterday afternoon in the conservatory with some new balls which The Housekeeper had got out of reserve stock and what's more, she seemed to be really enjoying herself.

But then last night, something VERY strange happened. The one cat of the house, who has absolutely no interest in human food whatsoever unless it is white fish shop fish, sat next to The Housekeeper whilst she was eating Chilli Chicken stir-fly and DEMANDED chicken. She then proceeded to fight off Jasper to ensure that she got the lions share and stuck her nose into The Housekeeper's pudding (a mini key lime pie) and licked the cream.

The Housekeeper was astounded. But she did get brought thank you presents later in the evening which were three of Amber's favourite cat toys which were deposited at The Housekeeper's feet whilst she was watching a film which was very sweet.

There's more Chilli Chicken for tea this evening..........

Stickgate

The Housekeeper's friend, Ian who lives in Somerset came to stay last weekend because The Housekeeper, Mr Housekeeper and he were all off to Shepherds Bush Empire that night to see Big Country in concert.

Now Ian is a generous fellow, and, it has to be said, as very soft touch when it comes to the The Housekeeper's felines. He always leaves the bedroom door ajar and more often than not has a furry companion for the night to keep him warm, however ... this MAY be due to bribery of the food persuasion.

You see, some time ago, Ian came to stay and brought the Abyssinian's some supermarket brand chewy meat and fish stick snacks. The boys LOVE them and almost inhale them rather than eating them. Crystal is a little more demure and demands that hers are broken into pieces. Amber, as per all other treats, just isn't bothered.

It has got to the point where the boys now know Ian's voice when he arrives and don't let him through the front door into the house unless he has been corralled and full bag inspection has been completed for contraband.

You think The Housekeeper is exaggerating, right !!!!

Bag opened for inspection of goods to commence

Two shy, retiring Abyssinians waiting patiently for a treat - yeah, right !!!!!!

 Jasper inhaling his treat stick

What do you mean, the rest have to be saved for another day?

Go on then, he's passed the inspection. You can make him a coffee

Love is ....

Sharing a radiator hammock with your brother, even when the central heating is broke !!

Happy Valentine's Day

Lesson of the Day - Jasper

Lessons, but NO Carols

The Housekeeper hasn't been too busy with work this week, so took time out today to spend some time in the kitchen, in particular to try her hand at making a Christmas Pudding. Its always been a family tradition that The Housekeeper's Mother makes two puddings and The Housekeeper makes two cakes and they do a swap, however with only one dog-eared (am I allowed to use that term on here?!) copy of a 54 year old recipe book and an 81 year old Mother, The Housekeeper took matters into her own hands over New Year and eventually came across a back up copy of the said recipe book on EBay. Hen and teeth spring to mind.

Lesson 1. The Housekeeper
Someone who's been making a recipe, blindfolded for over 50 years smugly telling you what you've done wrong, and laughing, when they are 80 miles away and can't be thumped with the lid of a steamer  - Is just a tad annoying, even if she is your Mother.

Lesson 2. The Housekeeper
Leaving the kitchen window open JUST 4 inches to get rid of excessive steam from the kitchen may seem like a good idea, but not when there are Abyssinian's in the house.

Lesson 3. Jasper
Climbing out through a 4 inch gap in a window might seem like a good idea, but not when there's a 7 foot drop on the other side of it, into a very cold, dark conservatory where nobody then knows where you are.

Lesson 4. Jasper
It is harder for an Abyssinian to get 7 foot up in the air and get back through a 4 inch gap in an open window than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.

Lesson 5. Jasper
If in doubt, wail like a banshee. Someone will hear you. Follow this wailing with an impersonation of an Abyssinian bouncing on a trampoline and appearing in the window, briefly, so they can SEE you!

Lesson 6. The Housekeeper
Do not leave a sink full of washing up water when you have finished washing up, especially when it is underneath a window which is not usually open and therefore subject to curiosity. It is possible that the next object you could be washing, unintentionally, could be a cat, trying to get through a small gap in a window.

Lesson 7. Jasper
Water is WET !

Come Undone

Amber has had her stitches out. She is SO much happier now they are gone and the collar is off.

She is also being very, very cheeky, sauntering up to The Housekeeper, running her face around a chair leg or human leg and then running away before she can be caught - because she can! The sheer cat ecstasy look of being able to rub her head around anything at all seems to be a great novelty.

We had a good laugh with the vet, who kept The Housekeeper waiting for several minutes for their appointment whilst he searched on the computer for the test results on Amber's lump. It was only when The Housekeeper looked at him in surprise and asked if he had changed his mind as he wasn't going to send it away that he looked sheepish and said "oh dear". Not his day. He had already sent a pot of cotton buds flying and had to clear them up.

To save further unnecessary trip, Amber also had her boosters done at the same time. However tomorrow, morning, Crystal is the lucky cat in the house ass she gets a trip to the vets to get her boosters done.

The Housekeeper would like to put in a request for no further trips to the vets until the next set of boosters are due ...... Somehow I doubt that very much .....

House of Growl

9:45am - You would think that Amber would be the only one with something to complain about, wouldn't you...

We have a VERY unhappy Dino bear today. After two hours of growling and hissing at Amber he has finally given up for a while. Maybe he has a sore throat. He is now sitting in the dining room ( as are the rest of the cats and The Housekeeper), watching torrential rain falling out of a very dark grey English sky.

Amber is contentedly snoozing at the side of the bed, having had a good night as far as The Housekeeper can tell and came up onto the bed twice in the night for cuddles. She seems to have accepted her limitations, wearing the collar and settled in the radiator hammocks both yesterday evening and this morning. She also ate her pink tablet this morning without any fuss whatsoever. The Housekeeper is now going to brave the rain to do some work in the workshop and is leaving the Abyssinians in charge for a couple of hours.

As with yesterdays post - we will do an update later on ........

Amber's Op

8:30 - Amber went off to the vets on time in a stress free state, having closed every available door at bedtime the night before to stop her being able to hide away anywhere and run the humans ragged trying to find her and catch her. She had a very "resigned" look on her face this morning in the cat basket!

12:00 - The Housekeeper has just had a phone call from the vets to say that the operation went very well. The lump, as expected, was a fatty one and therefore will not be sent off for analysis. However, the vet also discovered that Amber had an umbilical hernia which he has also repaired. Apparently, umbilical hernias these are more common in dogs than in cats. Trust Amber to be different.

She is now resting well and the vet says that she is an "absolute sweetheart". Having talked through the options for collecting her, we decided between us that the best course of action is for her to remain at the vets in peace and quiet until after The Housekeeper has finished work, mid afternoon so that she (or rather, the boys) can be supervised when she comes home so that she is not stressed out too much.

17:00 - Amber is home and currently behind the sofa. She doesn't seem too phased by her ordeal, other than having to wear another collar however Dino isn't quite so impressed and is hissing at her a lot. She has a neat row of no less than 8 stitches down her tummy. The last time Amber had stitches, she pulled them out within an hour and The Housekeeper had to take her to an emergency vet to be restitched so the collar should prevent this - and the chances of Amber letting either of the others near her tummy is pretty remote!

21:00 - Amber is quietly curled up in the dining room, snoozing. The Housekeeper has seen her eat so knows she can't be feeling too fragile. Dino is still very grumpy and hissing at her when he comes into the room but the two fawns seen to think that everything is back to normal as Crystal is asleep in her hammock and Jasper is in the bathroom, wailing at something - probably his shadow.

Hopefully Amber will have a good night's sleep, settled in one place to aid the healing of the wound as quickly as possible. Tomorrow The Housekeeper has the joy of administering THE pink post op tablets. However this should be quite easy whilst Amber has her collar on.

Thank you for all your good wishes both on here and on Facebook. They are very much appreciated.

Pre Op

It would be fair to say that The Housekeepers are not looking forward to tomorrow morning, one little bit.

Actually, to be fair, nor would Amber be, if she knew what was in store.

She has been very cheeky this week, running away from us during the day whenever she has been near enough to pick up and get pills down her and spending much of her day hiding behind the headboard of the bed.

Then, as soon as its nighttime and The Housekeeper is settled in bed with the lights turned out, Amber comes out and jumps on the bed and stands on The Housekeeper and purrs for England !

All the paws are firmly crossed that her op will go well and thank you very much for all your messages of support on our last post.

Lumps and Bumps

The Housekeeper can't quite believe its been nearly two months since she last posted. The 4 Abyssinians and The Housekeeper have survived several weeks of The Housekeeper working silly hours for Christmas Nativity productions and had a very relaxing Christmas and New Year but the start of 2012 hasn't quite started off as we had expected.

The Housekeeper took Amber to the vet this morning as she now has another 4 small red patches flare up on her tummy and under her armpit. Yet more anti-robe tablets and cream for the Amber-girl, this coming week. However, more worrying is the fact that because Amber has some patches of fur missing on her tummy, due to her ongoing skin problems, the vet realised that she has a lump on her tummy.

So, next Monday morning, Our lovely Amber will be going back to the vets for a little op to take away the lump and see whether it is a fatty based lump or something more sinister. The Housekeeper is obviously very worried about her, especially as she is due to be away from Wednesday next week for a few days but the vet assures her that once the anaesthetic has worn off that Amber will be fine.

The Housekeeper is also under the vets at the moment for high blood pressure and is due to go to have it checked on Monday morning after she has dropped Amber off. Think that appointment may need to be changed as the reading is going to be sky high. Oh dear.

Time to ring the insurance company !