How long is a piece of string?

Good morning, I am pleased to report sunshine. It's cold, but sunny with only a wisp of fluffy white cloud in the sky. Funny how it changes overnight. The country was being battered by winds as I went to bed and when I woke up all is calm. Amazing. 

After getting the kids breakfast, cats always eat before me, I took my mug of coffee upstairs to see to George. He is in the habit of scoffing his food overnight, all the dishes were empty. I put his Felix down and escaped out of the door with his litter box while he was distracted. So far he hasn't tried to escape. You have to be so careful with cats who have to stay indoors, they become curious about the outside world, and eventually try and make a dash for it. 

Although cats are independent animals and can be left to amuse themselves some of the time, they also need company, and reassurance that someone is looking after them. George is a little bit wary of me, but is coming round a bit. Lots of baby talk is needed. 

I have a few cat toys about the place, purchased from the Pound Shop when I had the rescue kittens here. George has not shown much interest in them, preferring to chase a length of string which I trail around the floor. A few shakes and flicks of this has him mesmerized for a few seconds, then he takes a dive at it and rolls on his back while he grapples with it. You have to be careful with string, make sure it is of a suitable thickness and length as they can be prone to chewing and swallowing something as thin as cotton. Best if these games are supervised and the string removed when the cat is alone, unless it is tied securely to a large object like a chair. 

We also have another game. Cats like to chase things rolling along on the floor. You don't have to buy small balls for this purpose, keep a few small round bottle tops handy. The cat will happily flick these around, sometimes deliberately rolling them under something and losing them. They spend a good few minutes trying to fish them out with their paws, then you have to help them when their little legs aren't long enough to reach. 

There are a plethora of toys you can buy for your cats. Pets are big business and company's play on the fact that people are soft on their animals and will cough up. Take for instance the posh designer cat beds that are available, hundreds of pounds some of them. OK, if you have a posh house and unlimited funds, you might as well get one of those. Otherwise, a cardboard box lined with an old blanket or towel will do the job just as well.

What I am saying is that cat's don't care how much you spend on them. All they want is the basics, a warm dry place to sleep, food, and some company. What I can't understand are those people who think it's ok to buy all the fancy stuff for their animals, thinking that's all they need to do, then proceed to kick the cat out at night and ignore it for most of the day. 

The same could be said of dogs as well. Again, pets are big business. People get a dog, buy all the stuff they think it needs, conscience spending I call it, play with it while it's young, then the novelty wears off and they resort to only seeing to it's basic need, feeding it. Some don't even do that. A dog or a cat or any pet you have deserves to be treated as a family member. You can throw all the money you like at them, but all they really want is to be loved. And that means spending time with them. Playing with them, talking to them, and entertaining them. Ignoring them is cruel, locking them up for hours is cruel. Cats will socialise amongst themselves if allowed outside, but if not they need the stimulation of games indoors. Dogs need walking at least once a day, preferably twice, and access to the garden in between. They need to meet other dogs and humans, which will teach them how to  to behave themselves. Dog training classes are ideal for this, they make training fun. Some of you may remember me speaking about a little dog called Rocky. Just to let you know, I am walking him every day. He is fine. 

And on another topic,  Caterina asks, what is Quorn? I have scanned the bag for you, I hope you can click on it and enlarge, and read all about it. If not here is the web site.   I only buy it when it's on offer, this 500g bag was half price at £1.50. I would not pay full price for it. There is a lot of fibre and protein in it, though some people would argue that it isn't good for you because it contains mycoprotein, a member of the fungi/mould family, and may cause intolerance in some people. I don't appear to have any food intolerance's so I am ok with it.  

Right, sunny day beckons me outside. Got to make the most of it. Toodle pip.