On the table….

Posted on July 12, 2020July 12, 2020 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Blogging, Books, Cat, Colours, Cotman paints, Fun, Paint, Sketching, Sphere, Stoke-on-Trent urban sketchers challenge, Table, WatercoloursLeave a comment

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Today’s Stoke-on-Trent urban sketchers challenge was what was on your table..

Luckily the cat got on the table as I approached it. Otherwise it’s just books and a box and a carved wooden sphere. The n gauge railway layout my hubby has is out of view. Too difficult to paint! Sketching with a Cotman watercolour set I treated myself to for my birthday last month.

I haven’t painted with watercolours for months. I liked the free flowing colours. Less restrictive than acrylics. Although I did let paint bleed into some parts I dabbed it off with a bit of tissue. I found drawing out with the brush instead of a pencil much easier. I hate having drawn lines in pictures. The other thing was leaving areas white. It’s good to leave negative space and not completely cover the paper. This is turning into an interesting sketchbook. The prompts really make me think.

What I see in maps (and other things)

Posted on July 11, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, Cat, Drawing, Fun, Humour, Life, Map, Pattern, Seeing faces, Time2 Comments

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I took another look at this post about map reading and suddenly saw a cat. I’ve written about finding things in wallpaper, or ink blots or all sorts of different things including the front and back of cars. Grilles on cars can look like grinning mouths, headlights like eyes. I love seeing animals and faces and objects in clouds. Sometimes it drives me mad when I see something over and over again. Once seen, never forgotten. Life is strange, the mind is stranger.

Long day

Posted on July 10, 2020July 10, 2020 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Busy, Cat, Covid, Lecture, Life, Meeting, Tired, Tree, vetsLeave a comment

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Well that was a busy day. I didn’t sleep because my female cat was having an inoculation this morning and I’d got to get up early. She’s sneaky, she doesn’t like cat carriers so we have a soft big bag that I can put the cats in. I had to hold her by the scuff of the neck while my hubby zipped the bag up. She yowled a lot on the way to the vets, but then settled down as I spoke to her quietly.

All was fine, she was inoculated and I bought her home. She was relieved and so was I!

Later when I went to do some college work she snuck behind me on the chair and went to sleep so I think I was forgiven.

We had an interesting talk about illustration online for a couple of hours. Looking at the use of collage and text in illustrations. Then later I met up with my two friends in the park. I sat and drew a tree and calmed down. I was so tired I could have fallen asleep in the sun. Sitting two meters apart on a roundabout. We gave it a few spins but I’m getting too old for things like that. Dizzy!

Then shopping, home, a bit of tidying and cooking. I have got a few more things to do. Not much of a diary entry. But it was at least busier than normal.

His sister

Posted on July 8, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Brother, Cat, Chase, Dog, Egyptian, Fun, Love, Play, Sister2 Comments

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Now this cat is bright eyed and bushy tailed, she’s my boy cats sister. She isn’t above chasing him round the room, although she likes playing with a ball, knocking it backwards and forwards with her paws.

Cats have spirit, they have character, they are independent and aloof. Is it any wonder that they were venerated by societies like the ancient Egyptians. Even now they seem to have the upper hand when compared with dogs. While dogs have love for humans, cats seem to be more sneaky, they work things out to their own advantage. That look that says ‘you are under my spell’.

Cats.

I can’t live without them.

He’s OK!

Posted on July 7, 2020July 7, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Cardiomyopathy, Cat, Heart problems, Life, Love, Muscle, vets, Worry2 Comments

He has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

In other words he has thicker than normal heart walls which make it harder for the blood to flow through his heart. It also means that it can swirl about instead of flowing easily through his left ventricle. But at the moment he’s OK. Just got to watch out for deterioration. He’s not showing any signs and he is a young cat.

I was so worried. He will be looked after. No meds required yet.

Waiting…

Posted on July 7, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Appointment, Cat, Ill cat, Nervous, Poem, Poetry, Time, vets, Waiting, WorriedLeave a comment

Waiting for the phone to ring,

Waiting for the vet to call.

What will be the scan result?

Will he be on medication?

Worried, waiting, hoping, aching.

Shall I ring, or shall I wait?

Will the treatment be too late?

Nervous, thinking, imagined perils.

Cat must be OK, I prey.

Windows

Posted on July 5, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white photo, Cat, Heart murmur, Life, Photo, Surgery, Time, Ultrasound, vets, Windows5 Comments

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Sitting in my car on a sunny day. Waiting for an appointment with the vets. They had to phone me while I was outside because I wasn’t allowed inside with my cat. The problem was that my phone signal wasn’t good. I was ten foot away from the vet and she couldn’t hear me! I stood outside the car and shouted, she still didn’t hear me. But I know the layout of the surgery. Beyond the door is a short corridor, at the end is the consulting room. If she had opened the consulting room door, she would have heard me. Meanwhile my cat was quiescent in his travelling bag. We’ll, eventually the vet came out. The cat was carried in. Then half an hour of waiting. That’s when I took this photo.

Next stop? Ultrasound scan on his heart next week as he has a heart murmur. Also antibiotic liquid, that was fun. It took ages, but I got him to take it in cat milk. Cats don’t know what’s good for them!

Fingers crossed he will be a bit better when he has the scan.

Happy cat

Posted on July 1, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white, Blogging, Cat, Heart murmur, Life, Photo, Random, Sad, Sleeping cat, Ultrasound, vets, Waiting2 Comments

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They seek him here, they seek him there… And then I found him on top of the kitchen cupboard. Or on the microwave, sometimes on the laundry pile. Often asleep on my chest, keeping me in pinned down!

Snoozing for hours on end, keeping his nose under his paw. What a character. So sweet.

He’s not been well, he as got to have an ultrasound. I want him to get better, I really want him to have a long, good life. He has a heart murmur. Grade 4. The worst is grade 5. What can I do, his life may be shirt, but he is and will be loved.

USK challenge, contrast

Posted on June 30, 2020 Posted in Cat, Fine Art, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Acrylics on canvas, Art, Black and white cat, Cat, Contrast, Fun, Paint sketch, Painting, Urban sketchers Stoke on trentLeave a comment

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I’d got my paints out so I painted one of our cats on top of the washing pile. He was flat out for a few minutes. The theme is contrast, so I thought the bright colours, including the fluorescent jacket, would make a good contrast. I’m pleased with how it’s turned out.

Acrylic on cartridge paper. Its curled the paper a bit, but when the sketchbook is closed it should flatten out OK.

Unexpected

Posted on June 27, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Cat, Fun, Idea, Life, Short story, Tail, Tale, Unexpected, Waking up, WorldLeave a comment

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When Sam woke he didn’t know where he was. He was lying on a couch with a cushion shaped like a cat, and a knitted owl staring at him. His head felt groggy and he was thirsty.

He stood up and stretched. He quietly looked round the room. There were two plush armchairs and lots of clutter stacked about the place. Mainly books on shelves built into the alcoves on either side of the chimney. There were pictures all over the walls and an easle in one corner.

There was a smell of cooking wafting from the kitchen. It smelt like chicken. Suddenly his taste buds were jumping. He strolled towards the cooker. ‘Well hello boy’ said the woman standing by it stirring the food. ‘you hungry?’ ‘would you like a drink?’ He looked up at her, she was very tall.

‘Miarow’ a strange sound came out of his mouth, boy she was Very Tall. He tried again ‘miaow, murrp’. WHAT THE HELL?

He suddenly realised, his tail swishing from side to side. He was now a cat!

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Cat