Day 76 - June 24, 2006

Entries (for what they are worth at the moment!) are incredibly behind with no photos and this could very well set the tone for the next few weeks unfortunately due to the house move. We are just up to our eyeballs in arrangements, phone calls and packing and obviously all the normal daily things have to be done as well. Linda and Peter came to visit Salt and Braveheart today, and Lee and Susie came to visit Mad Max and it was really lovely to see our kitten families again. This is actually the last kitten visits we will be able to manage as our weekends, and week days are totally tied up now with the move. Fortunately the babies will be going home soon with their lovely new families so at least it's really only one visit that is being missed out on. Except of course for Lee and Susie as our darling Max is remaining with us for one extra week which will be wonderful because the home gets so incredibly lonely when the children leave us.

Day 75 - June 23, 2006

As you can tell, I didn't get a chance to do photos yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, clearing out the loft had to take priority over the photos. But hey..............at least that is now one entire area of the home packed up :) Today is really no quieter in the respect that we are off out shortly for more house arrangements so this is a combined entry again. There just doesn't seem to be a spare moment in the day. I thought I might mention though that our mum's, Amarula and Tia Lusso, are no longer "prisoners" in the kitten room and they have rejoined the home. To say this has been difficult would be an understatement quite frankly. Amarula of course is fine, no problems whatsoever, just like her own mum, she is a placid, sweet girl who just gets on and does her own thing and loves the world. Tia Lusso on the other hand has been an absolute evil hag. Yesterday was when we first let the girls out, Amarula was able to stay out, Tia Lusso was a totally different story and had to go back in as none of the adult cats were safe from her attacks. Today, she was given some flower remedies and we have had a bit more progress in the respect that while she is still in an incredibly feisty mood, and has chased some of the other cats, we have had spells where there has been peace and quiet. Both mum's had been isolated for a few weeks and naturally it is going to take some time for her to integrate back into the home. Unfortunately though, they were gone so long from their children that neither mum is prepared to accept their children back. While they are not nasty to them, they do hiss and growl at them, however, they do not harm them at all. Of course another problem we have at the moment is that yet again, Amarula is back in full call. Still, we will get there in the end, I am sure of it. The babies are all doing quite well and have terrorising each other in the cat run and playing lots of games. The only issue with this is that some of the poor children just wanted to sit and and relax in the sun and have a snooze however the likes of Pepper and Vinegar made it impossible because as soon as someone like Mad Max was just dozing off, Pepper jumped on top of him from out of nowhere, bit him on the ear and started wrestling with him. I actually felt rather sorry for the "sleepy" children. One problem I have with all of them is that whenever the front door is opened now, they all think that it has been opened for them so as a result they have been trying to explore out the front, much to my absolute horror! It's very difficult trying to pack and go in and out of the home etc with boxes, whilst trying to keep the babies from going out. So far we have been lucky and we have always caught them just before they place one paw through the door.

Day 74 - June 22, 2006

Please do not look for photos in today's entry as there are none yet due to lack of time. I did however, want to at least get a small entry online and I'm hoping that if time permits, I will be able to add some photos much later on this afternoon. I learnt a rather valuable lesson today with regards to the babies' meal times thanks to Pepper, bless her. I had just come back from the vets as I had taken in 3 of our adults to be vaccinated and upon my return, the babies informed me that they were starving, the loudest of all was Pepper who was telling me in no uncertain terms that they should have been fed 1/2 an hour ago. I did explain that I wasn't to know that I would be at the vets as long as I was. Anyway, I went into the kitchen and I did cheat I have to say because the babies were given a plate of Hi Life. In my defence, they had freshly cooked chicken for breakfast, and if I were to have made them scrambled eggs, they never would have cooled in time and quite frankly, screaming babies who are hungry is something I am not prepared to deal with for more than a couple of minutes in case I go deaf! So, I put the plate of food down, the babies all rush over and start eating. I'm thinking great, I can go into the kitchen, put the kettle on, and cook some plaice for the babies at the same time as making a coffee. Big mistake!!! When the first batch of fish cooked (which only took about 4 minutes), I went to go out of the kitchen door to take a cup of coffee to Graham, and next thing I know, Pepper has come flying into the kitchen because she's smelt the darn fish. I obviously couldn't give them the fish because it was piping hot. I quickly scooped her up, told her it was too hot, and explained that would be for her next meal. And did that satisfy her......................................nope. Instead, she refused to accept no for an answer and was not going to take this lying down, so the little cow went back out to the plate where the rest of the gang were eating and she said to them "Hey guys, don't eat that, mum's cooked some fish". Within seconds, all 6 babies (it is difficult to write 6 because I know it should be 7) bolted into the kitchen screaming like banshees and all I could hear from 6 voices was "Fish" "Fish" "Fish", combined with "Where's my fish you pathetic excuse for a mother ", and more rudely, "Give me my fish, this is kitten abuse". At which point I told them all quite plainly that I was absolutely disgusted with their lack of manners, (not a single please in their cries), and that I thought I had brought them up better than that. Of course the next battle was trying to get the little monsters out of the kitchen and that is never easy. In the end, up 10 minutes of me moving 'em out, and them running back in, I finally succeeded and was able to sit down, with my coffee, which by then is starting to go cold as always, and make a start on today's entries :)

Day 73 - June 21, 2006

Since losing Patriot, my Condiments have been an absolute Godsend. They are constantly sitting on my shoulder, or my lap, for cuddles and kisses and I am sure that they know something is wrong and they are trying to comfort mummy. Of course they are also spending an awful lot of time with Graham as well and it's been a struggle for him to move out of his chair this morning due to babies sitting on him. I really am not in the mood for a normal entry today but I did manage to take a few photos which I have put below.

Day 72 - June 20, 2006

There is no diary entry today as our hearts have been broken because Patriot has now left us for Rainbow Bridge. Please see her own diary (The Mel's) for more information.

Day 71 - June 19, 2006

I thought that in between packing and organising everything for the house move, that I would at least make an attempt at some form of small entry in the spare minutes that I do have. The babies have not been phased at all by the disruption that has currently entered their lives in the form of boxes, packing tape and all the rest which does please me. I wasn't sure how they would cope with such chaos and it did concern me a little, particularly as the packing could not have waited until they left because like most people, we seem to have an awful lot of stuff. Of course my biggest problem will be making sure that one of the babies doesn't accidentally get packed in a box! I have not put any photos in this entry yet due to lack of time, however, I truly am aiming to take just a couple of pics if possible which I will add much later on this afternoon. The babies however, have been Graham's problem for part of the day as they have been having fun and games under his desk on and his desk. He thinks this is great to have them in his "area" and I don't have the heart to tell him that in actual fact, while they are under his desk, I think they are playing with the 10 million computer leads that reside there!

Just like it was with the Mel's, it seems so very odd that our Condiments have now reached the ten week stage. Yet as I look around at them tearing throughout the house and the cat run, getting in the way of the boxes and the packing, I think that when the time comes, they will be more than ready to settle into their new homes. All three of our Condiments are doing very well and at present, they are eating me out of house and home although I have no idea at all where they are putting it all. Unlike the Mel's who have been creating havoc with regards to the packing, they have actually been quite good and have spent the majority of their time playing chase and pounce games in the cat run. As you can imagine, we will be leaving it until the very last minute before we have to dismantle the run. Our aim is to pull it all down, take it straight over to our new home (once we have finished viewing a million houses that is!) and put it straight up so that when we take all the cats over, they will have their cat run as per normal which will give them more room for when we are moving in. At least that is the plan..............................

Day 70 - June 18, 2006

Again there is no entry at all today as we have been out all day view possible homes to move into and as you can imagine, it's been an etremely long day.