We managed to "loose" a cat over Christmas. Mislay even. . . .It was the dark grey feral tom who D called Boldr (don't ask, think Norse Mythology) and we call Smokey Joe. He had managed to come into the house (OH had left mum's back door open). Anyway, we thought he had been chased back outside again. But he didn't turn up on Christmas Day, or Boxing Day, or Boxing Day plus 1 . . . Oh poor cat I thought, he has been Shut In Somewhere, over at the farm (this has happened before with Amber, the other outside cat.) Anyway, we were sat watching Come Dine With Me this afternoon and heard his unmistakeable yowl of "feed me"! I went outside but no sign of him - daughters had gone the opposite way and seen a grey tail disappearing downstairs to mum's old flat. We found him Under The Bed, so put out some grub and opened the back door. Thanks very much he said, ate the food and retired back under the bed. Since we could hardly NOT notice the dreadful pong from the inglenook (where all good tom cats do their ablutions apparently), we decided the only way to turf him out was to move the bed. He shot out like greased lightening and then turned up 2 minutes later on the upper kitchen windowsill, demanding seconds!
The king is dead. Long live the king . . .
Cats are amazing at hiding. We lost our cat when we first got her from the cat sanctuary. We pulled up floorboards. 2 days later we found her jammed behind the fridge.
ReplyDeleteBoldr/Smokey Joe is a handsome chap.
Cats and their adventures! And that smell of an unaltered Tom is so unmistakeable and lingering! I hope he didn't leave other "deposits."
ReplyDeleteOurs have relented and decided they can ackhowledge us as of early this morning---the huffy treatment when we've been away rarely lasts longer than over night.
Boldr sounds like a pretty good name for him! I should think that he may be glad to become an indoor cat if your temps are anything like ours this last couple of weeks!
ReplyDeleteA handsome successor to the Snow King.I wonder if he has British or Russian Blue somewhere way back in his family tree?
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to harden my heart to him, as 6 cats are more than enough to move to a new home when we downsize, plus I cant afford to have him neutered and he is a terror with the ladies who have all been spayed and really aren't keen on his rape and pillage attitude!
ReplyDeleteHe is rather splendid though, and DW, I did think Russian Blue too . . .
D says I have spelt Boldr incorrectly and it should be - Baldur . . . Oops!
baldur is gorgeous jenny, glad you found him and hope you can get rid of the tom cat smell ...
ReplyDeleteHe is lovely, I can just imagine how his velvety coat would feel. Isnt that funny, our tom kitten peed in the open fire place too.
ReplyDeleteHe is a very handsome (and clever) cat! One of our three "wild" cats is currently 'blackmailing' granny to be allowed into the annexe. As for neutering, Cats Protection have done cats for us in the past. They offer vouchers, particularly for toms. I think your nearest branch would be Swansea Cats: http://frachris.brinkster.net/neuter.html
ReplyDeleteMags - you are NOT helping my cause!!!
ReplyDeleteI have a sneaking suspicion that the rest of you are on HIS side too!!
There doesn't seem to be a comment tag to click on on your post about the wonderful bread loaf and the even more wonderful flea market. So I have come down to you last post to let you know I have read them all and am green with envy at those stalls.
ReplyDeleteI looked also for the comment feature and didn't find it, so will put my response here. [Don't computers and blogs do dreadful things to tweak our tempers?]
ReplyDeleteI scrutinized the quilt photos close up with interest. I've never done a paper-pieced hexagon quilt [and likely won't] but they are one of the more popular older patterns seen here. From time to time a vintage one is brought into the quilt shop with questions on how to finish it. I noticed that the maker had quite happily substituted unmatched fabrics in several rounds when she ran out of one. Not the preferred way of making the pattern, but rather interestingly individual. I believe that the tradition in whole cloth quilts in the US was to make them of white or unbleached muslin [which might be called plain calico there] and the stitching would be quite intricate to show off the quilter's skills. I have seen them as kits with a prestamped design, but sadly, the quality of the fabric isn't worthy of the quilter's hand work.
Is "steenware" the term for cast iron? My son is very partial to cast iron cookware--won't allow me to wash a fry pan when we are visiting. Vintage pieces command a considerable price here.
Re the loaf: it just begs to be turned out and cut while still warm--I hope you did just that. I can imagine the knife cracking through the brown crust and the taste of the "heel" of the loaf spread with butter and maybe a drizzle of honey.
Glad you are recovered enough to make the flea market rounds--and thanks for such an interesting post to read on a cold white morning in Wyoming!
Handsome grey tom, but yes, best outside before he anoints more spots. Our stud cat has a room all to himself with an air filter running all times.
ReplyDeleteHope is that he will stop spraying when he is neutered and retired...