RIP Jasper

It is with shock that I have to share with Jasper's fans that he has had a sudden massive heart attack and died.  He had a heart murmur, and had just been diagnosed as kidney fail, but this was unexpected....

Here's one I took a few days ago.... Worrals is going around with a lost look on her face... he was a mummy to those kitties....

Jasper

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I called him Mr Softee

Not just for his soft fur

But for his disposition

And his soft and loving purr

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His fur was soft as velvet

His kisses shy and swift

He gave them with his shoulder

A coy but loving gift.

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He was so very gentle

My darling little boy

I’ll always hold him in my heart

For he always brought me joy

 

Been busy... lots of new things going on!

Having lost Biff we decided that we could manage to take a big, scared fluffy boy who doesn't like alpha males: Mackie is seven and was abandoned by his people, and has been attacked by cats and dogs.  He is just on a stone in weight and all of it purrs, he arrived in our house and within three days he had discovered Biff's chair, and the chair in the breakfast room, the sunny spot in the bay window, and the balustrade.  He made himself at home, and the others just accept him.

Here is Dora  with Mackie showing what a big girl she is growing right before she and Pixie totalled the climbing tree by playing jukitsu on it...

Isn't he a gorgeous slug with fur?  he has the nickname MacFluff [as is 'lay on, MacFluff, and cursed be he who does not shed enough...']

And we also were going to foster Saffron, an unusual ginger girlie, but she's such a vulnerable little thing with conjunctivitis and tooth problems and so scared that we are going to keep her... and yes, we have her isolated in the bathroom to prevent a spread of conjunctivitis, especially to Dora.

Her eye is a lot better with 10 days of drops - this was after about 5 days after she had emerged from the towel box - but I haven't downloaded the pics yet.

Meanwhile, Rebel, Worrals and Pixie have been enjoying the great out of doors, and seeing off the fluffy tabby-and-white tom who sprays in THEIR garden.

And last but by no means least, Jasper, who lost weight again over losing Biff; we are investigating possible hyperthyroid and we'll see how his weight is next week to see if he has any underlying problem.  He seems happy enough though, which is the main thing!  [except when Mackie sat on him; there's a lot of Mackie to sit on anyone!]

April Update

So, what's been happening this month?  quite a lot.  Biff has had a dental which has made him a lot less bad tempered though his rheumatism is still paining him.  I sent for some Glucosamine with chondoitrin from my previously favourite health food company and when the big 1500 mg size pills arrive [ones I'D have trouble swallowing] I realised when I read the instructions the morons had only put an extra label on saying it was for pets as they dose they suggested was a human dose and they talked about consulting your doctor.  Simply Supplements are not my flavour of the month.  The vet however has reassured me that if he will take it crushed in food there's no overdose, he'll pass any excess through. 
As you can see he's tolerant enough to let Rebel sprawl on him....

Rebel has decided to take on the role of her departed sister Fenella; she has appointed herself mouse catcher in chief [she can now manage to kill them and proceeds, like Fenella, to sing over them] and to plant herself in the big tub of grass.  The grass is becoming the worse for wear underneath her after having recovered somewhat from Fenella...

Jasper meanwhile loves all his kitties and is happy to cuddle them

It may be noted that Merlin likes to keep a possessive paw on anyone he loves, but he's a big boy now.  He has killed and eaten his first wood pigeon!  It was a bit of a struggle - they are big birds - but he ran around to show it off to everyone growling and purring through a mouthful of feathers before taking it into the bushes where they wouldn't be disturbed.  He left the wings and Worrals brought them upstairs to me later: Look! she said He Has Left Some On The Side Of His Plate!  Once assured that this was permissible she supervised me in disposing of the grisly trophies with her usual fussy manner.
She then gave him a thorough washing.

It's' usually Merlin and one of the girls in a cuddle so I had to share one of Rebel with Worrals and in the most ridiculous position.

And I have to finish with an upside-down one of Worrals being sillyputty.

The cats have mostly declared April to be inoperative however; the outside room has a roof that almost always leaks.  It's very remiss.  And the skyheater doesn't work either. 

The cats and their pets

Barty the hedgehog is now an outside hog now there seems to be no more serious risk of frost.  He has shown very little inclination to explore far from his food bowl.  Here he is with Worrals supervising, by standing on the front of his feeding station.

The tortoises, who used to overwinter outside before we had all those wet winters, are canny and went out a while ago.  Stones that move are considered a bit weird by kitties who don't really remember them from last year... Merlin's look says it all!

Rebel sleeps on top of the hedgehog feeding station; it's her place. Rebel doesn't really believe in being photogenic but she couldn't be bothered to move.

Hedgehogs and tortoises are old news to Jasper, he's off checking on the smells in his garden.

Biff has his sun spot on his shelves of course.

...when he isn't off out of the garden checking, checking.... down the side steps.

Worrals sees the side steps as a place to writhe in the sun:

She goes out of the garden but mostly over the fence to next door and pops back from time to time, checking up!

[there's a slightly different one posted as I Can Haz Cheezburger http://cheezburger.com/6038987264]
She likes to help with the garden

And when she comes in she's ready to suggest a picnic by occupying the picnic hamper

Finally, in the evening, kitties are still playing with the box my anniversary roses came in - it's helped them to teethe and that makes a lovely hole to peer over.

Pages from my sketchbook [and a few photos]

I thought I'd devote this post to a few pages from my sketchbook.

I love the silly positions cats get into when they're washing...

Kitties at play...

And below, a selection of cats sprawling on their backs being most unnecessary....

 

more silly washing positions!

I finished crocheting Worrals' new jacket in time for the weather to improve, but there were a few chilly nights when she was glad of it!

She loves being with her brother and here they're holding paws, I couldn't resist... below you'll see she has as big an obsession with his lavender toes as I do, as she's washing them for him.

And Merlin also just adores his big brother Jasper... not so much bigger really any more!

Inside and outside

So having not emptied the camera all month I thought you might like to see some pictures of kitties enjoying warmth as well as the outside ones...
They all like the fire but Biff is of the opinion it belongs to him.  He watches me clean out and light it and his 'fluence gets it going.  He has learned however that kitties are useful as draught excluders.

The kitties mostly sit on the woodbox.
Merlin prefers my laptop as a source of heat, besides he can headbonk me there...

And Fenella likes the warmth of laps, and to help herself to someone else's drink...

OUTSIDE!!!!

 Merlin just loves to have his sisters outside to play! he kept bringing leaves to Worrals and showing her how you can toss them up and pounce on them! Rebel is a bit nervous of outside, the ceiling is rather too high and it's all a bit scary. The first time she thought about going right back in, and then followed Jasper about the garden until he'd had enough and went in and she went with him... the second time Merlin bounced at her and firmly showed her about before returning to games with Worrals.
Can you see the tip of an ear in the one below?  Worrals loves being a jungly wallah.

Worrals loves trees.  The problem is, she can get up - but has trouble getting down.  She complains that she needs an elevator for down-ness and Trees Is Badly Designed Not To Have Elevators! she's figured out the cherry trees now, but we have a Camellia tree [that's a bush that made it] some 120 years old and it's very smooth trunked and a bit scary.  So I have to take my bad knees up ladders to rescue her...Because she sits up there wailing like a banshee until someone fetches her - or can reach high enough to pat branches to show her the way down, which she's quite quick at catching on to.

I Is Cute Up Here, But I Needs To Wee

Rebel meantime has gone back to her usual hobby of finding water to fall in.  The edge of the pond was closer than she realised and there was much wailing and a wet paw.

Jasper surveyed the proceedings from the safety of the shelves I used to harden off plants on until they were taken over by cats, being in sunshine most of the day...

No Biff pics in the garden.  He made himself scarce....


Just to add, Trooper came out of surgery successfully
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/
Trooper the cat came out of surgery late Friday all patched up and settling in for recovery. "He's resting comfortably and everything went well during surgery," said Gwen Samms of the animal...