Hi Everyone and a very warm welcome to issue 7 of the Scratching Post. It’s a beautifully warm sunny spring day here in Kent, in my corner of the UK. The London Marathon took place yesterday and I’m always humbled by those who take part – I can’t even run a bath, let alone run a marathon! Maybe next year …

Well, there have been some intriguing things going on Chez Daily Mews. There has always been a toy box in the dining room filled to capacity of various interesting toys for my cats. Sam always used to help himself to catnip mice and bring them to me. He’d sit in front of me waiting for me to get up out of the chair and throw the mouse for him. Before I’d even sat down again, he’d retrieved it and laid it back at my feet.

He blotted his copybook, however, when one day, for reasons only known to Sam, he decided to pee in the toy box. I had to throw away all the toys that weren’t washable and although it had taken me a while, I had been slowly building up the supply again.

I don’t think Casey had known the pleasures of play before he came here to live because he didn’t know – or want to know – that if I threw a cat nip mouse for him, he was supposed to run after it and possibly play with it. He always looked at me blank when I did it and probably wondered to himself what kind of establishment he’d chosen to live in where a woman in a dressing gown throws a cat nip mouse in the air after saying in a deep strange voice: ‘READY, STEADY, GO!!!’ before she’s even had her breakfast.

However, he finally cottoned on and he will, after a fashion, kick the living daylights out of a big fat r-a-t that I call ‘mouse’ before having a lie down after all that nano-second of exertion.

Back to the intrigue and the toy box: There were 4 different cat nip toys in the toy box, none of which Casey had shown the slightest bit of interest in. I got up one morning earlier in the week and noticed one of the toys was missing from the toy box. As I couldn’t find it anywhere in the dining room I assumed that maybe Casey had hoicked it out for himself and had perhaps – in a fit of feline exuberance – whacked it under the Welsh dresser, where it now resided along with some deceased mice courtesy of Ollie. I didn’t think anything more about it.

On Wednesday evening, Casey and I were well into NCIS which was on an hour later for some reason. We were cuddled up on the sofa, biting our nails with the suspense of it all, when out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a pair of ears through the glass panelled door.  As Casey was the only other owner of a pair of pointed ears (other than Spock) I was curious. But getting up surprised the pants off the owner of the other pair of ears and before I could even get to the dining room, it was already through the cat flap. As it was quite dark, I fetched my torch but couldn’t see anything. I went back to NCIS and Casey and the sofa, and didn’t give the ears another thought.

The next morning, though, a big happening had happened. The remaining three cat nip toys in the toy box were all missing and nowhere in the dining room. I did ask Casey if he knew anything about it but he was too busy with his mouth full of breakfast to answer me.

I went out in the garden because my Mexican Orange bush is in bloom and I love the smell. I saw a funny shape further up the garden near the clematis and found the first missing cat nip toy lying alongside the second. Nearby was the third one. The fourth one is still missing.

Could Casey be playing with his toys and bringing them out into the garden? Why would he do that?

This is what I think. I think that the ‘purrp’ (street speak for feline perpetrator) is a KLEPTO-KITTY with a serious cat nip addiction. What I need is CCTV so that it will monitor who comes in and goes out of the cat flap and whether they are carrying off cat nip toys.

I will keep you posted as to any outcomes – if there are any.   

Now on with Cat Stuff:

2015 CAT CALENDAR COMPETITION             

I’ve put another picture on the page with the rules/guidelines for the calendar competition so you can see exactly what Dan is looking for. We are woefully short of really good crisp clear pictures. So please go to the link, check out the pictures and try and emulate them somehow. Dan would like pictures from all around the world and the Daily Mews is very proud of its multinational subscriber base. So wherever you live in the world, please submit your cat pictures.

2015 Cat calendar competition

CAPTION COMPETITION

Thank you to everyone who submitted captions for the last competition which was a picture of Ellie sitting in a box under the dining room table.

Congratulations to Rose Varga in the US for the winning caption, and to Andrew Lane, UK for the runner up caption.

All the captions can be found here:

Caption Competition 41

Rose and Andrew will each receive a signed copy of a book written by my very good friend, Marilyn Edwards: ‘White Chin’ and ‘Magnificat.’

This month’s caption competition can be found on this link:

Caption Competition 42

LINKS

How do you like your catnip mice? Talented Felicity Olson (from the UK) made two and sent them to Casey for review. Links to his review will be given in the next Mewsletter but in the meantime, check out Felicity’s website where you can order either a felt or cotton catnip mouse. Each mouse is stuffed with the best quality catnip – perfect for cats with a discerning nose! Prices are £3.99 for the UK and £5.99 for overseas – postage free.

http://felicitytndx.wix.com/feltfangirling#!catnip-mice/c1uxg

Doreen in Canada sent me this link of animals having issues with furniture!

http://www.viralnova.com/pets-cant-use-furniture/

Earla in the US sent me this lovely link of a black lab playing with his best friend, Bella the elephant:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/RR0BlQzbOUk?rel=0

Cheryl in the US sent me this link to a fireman rescuing a little kitten after a house fire:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjB_oVeq8Lo&feature=player_embedded

For those of you who live in Canada, Carole Roach asked me to let you that she does Regal Products so please click on the link below to catch up with her:

www.croach.shopregal.ca

Lynn Schiffhorst, who has written many stories for the website in her own section, now has a whole raft of stories published on Kindle. So if you enjoyed the ones she wrote for the Daily Mews, do check her out on Kindle.

Some time ago a friend of mine in the UK, Graham W, sent me a link to Mugsy the cat who slapped alligators. Here’s the link:

Mugsy

I did hear that Mugsy then became very ill. If anyone has any information about him, please let me know. Thank you.

Carolyn in the US sent me this link of a skateboarding cat called Didga in Australia:

Didga -Skateboarding cat

Ham in the US sent me this link to a 2-day old kitten which was found by a puppy called Opie:

Roscoe and Opie

Ham also sent me this link to a stunning phenomenon; a swirling mass of birds is called a murmuration – here’s a short video showing the beauty of it:

One of Nature’s most stunning phenomena  

Jimmy – who is our longest serving feline columnist here at the Daily Mews – has the most amazing and talented Food Bowl Attendants, Jack and Anne. Anne has written a book: ‘In the stillness, everything happens’ where she has written about her encounters of channelling Princess Diana. Please click on this link to read more and to order (please note: this book is not available from the Daily Mews website)

In the stillness, everything happens 

Janette Golder in the UK sent me this link to cats and dogs reacting differently when they see themselves in a mirror:

Cats and dogs

Janette also sent me a link to Jackson Galaxy’s You Tube pod cast. It lasts for 30 minutes but it is very interesting.

Jackson Galaxy

The people over at Love Meow do put together a great newsletter full of interesting snippets and video links. Here’s one about Dexter the cat cuddling his human before she was born.

Dexter

This next one is about Mercury, the kitten, with no front legs:

Mercury

Well, that just about wraps it up for now. If I’ve missed anything I’ll include it next time. I’m privy to the most glorious sunset at the moment – it quite takes my breath away at the sheer beauty of it.

I hope you all have a blessed Easter, and the Mewsletter will be with you in a couple of months after the monthly update on the website. If you have any links you’d like me to share, please send them to me at the usual address.

Till the next time, purr-filled blessings,

Pauline – Editor in Chief

Casey – On cat flap duty in case ‘Pointy Ears’ comes back and pinches his toys again!

xx

 

xxx

 

Dogs Come when Called

"Dogs come when called. Cats take a message and get back to you."

"Of course, every cat is really the most beautiful woman in the room."

Edward Verrall Luca (essayist)

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