We don’t sell that anymore….

Posted on November 20, 2021November 20, 2021 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Broken, Catflap, Cats, doorman!, Life, Repair, restored, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

For months now our cat flap has been broken. Not the main part of it, but the screen that opens in and out. Basically we had tried to keep the big cat in at night by putting the lock on it, but he forced his way through and broke the flap part into three bits. For a while I glued it together, and taped it up with sellotape, but soon that had been ripped so my next idea was to tie it open with some string. I can’t get down on the floor so I couldn’t swap one catflap for another and I didn’t know if I could get a replacement.

Today my sister came over so we decided to go on a search. The local petshop said it was a staywell catflap and they only stock petsafe ones. So we went to the big petstore. We had managed to take the front and flap mechanism off as it had catches you push in to release it. The store had about seven different sorts but according to the customer assistant out catflap was out of date!

Eventually after much head scratching we found one that was about the right size. We couldn’t take it out of the box so it was a guess but I decided to try it.

When we got home I and looked at it I realised the whole catflap was slightly narrower than the old one so the screw holes were closer together and if I were to use the whole thing we would have to get someone in to re-drill the holes. Plan B was to take the plastic flap out of the new one and put it in the old one? Yes it fitted, but it was too stiff, the diameter of the cylinders that go into the holes in the flap were too big. My sister filed the sides of the cylinders down where there was a flange around them and I used a knife to whittle the inside of the tube shaped bits it fitted in…. Result! The flap now swings freely. There is about a two millimeter gap at the bottom but it hangs in the closed position and opens both in and outward.

Now I’ve just got three confused cats, there isn’t a hole to leap through anymore, but a window out to the garden. Bemused looks! I opened the flap for one of them and opened the door for the other… If they want to come back in they will have to learn to use it!

Curled up

Posted on November 18, 2021 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Black and white photo, cat bed, Fun, Life, Poem, Poetry, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

So sweet. Relaxed

This cats curves

Are sinuous

Soft and smooth

Warm and curled

snuggled

Happy, cuddled.

Hidden

Posted on November 18, 2021November 18, 2021 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, Black and white cat, Cat, cat bed, Drawing, Felt pens, Life, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was hidden, my cat likes this little igloo type cat bed. When he snuggles down in it he is almost hidden from view. It’s well insulated and nice and comfy. Felt pen drawing. It’s only a small drawing but I enjoyed doing it.

Two cats together

Posted on November 14, 2021 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Autumn, Black and white cat, Cat, Friends, Happy, Life, Photo, Time, Together, Tuxedo cat2 Comments

One on my knee, one on the arm of the chair. My two boy cats sitting almost nose to nose. They are quite tolerant of each other, and this is the closest they have ever sat together. It asted half an hour, both snug and warm. This is not photoshopped they were about three inches apart. So pleased we got the outside cat to join the household especially at this cold time of year.

Cat, shut the door!

Posted on November 13, 2021December 15, 2021 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, Clever, Door, draft, Humour, opening door, shut the door, Tuxedo cat3 Comments

It’s cold, there’s a draft from the back door. I could shut the door, but the cats come and go. A paw to pull the door open, or a nose to nudge it from the other side. Result? The door is open about 8 inches and the cold draft gets in. But we are told we need better ventilation because of covid19 so I suppose I shouldn’t complain. I wonder how difficult it would be to put a cat flap in an internal door??

Cats are very clever, but they don’t know ‘how to put the wood in the hole’ (a way of saying shut the door). I guess they have fur coats and can curl up with their nose tucked under their paws or tails. I just wish they could shut the door. Maybe I could put a magnet on a collar and get some sort of mechanism to make it shut, who knows? I’ll just get up and push it too again…

Cats

Posted on November 9, 2021 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged bedspread, Black and white cat, Cat, Happy, Photo, rescue cat, Snuggled, Tuxedo cat, WarmLeave a comment

My cat loves this bedspread. She snuggles up on it to keep warm. She is a small and pretty cat with lots of attitude. This photo is from a few years ago when she first came to live with us, I still love it. The loving look on her face is a great reward for taking her in as a rescue cat.

Cat

Posted on November 2, 2021December 13, 2021 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, Fun, Miaow, Photo, Poem, Poetry, Purr, Sleeping, snore, Tuxedo cat2 Comments

Purr said the cat

Hello to you

How do you do?

Hiss said the cat

Your hand is heavy

Please move it.. Now!

Miaow said the cat

Yes I know I sat

On the cushion next to you.

Snore, snored the cat

Yes I am quite fat

And sleeping next to you

Texturised

Posted on November 1, 2021 Posted in Cat, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Art, Black and white cat, Design, Drawing, Illustration, Photodirector, Sketching, Texture, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

I used photodirector to adjust the textures in the effects part of its editing tools. I like the rippled effect, it somehow reminds me of the patterns in the cloudscape on Jupiter taken by the Juno probe a few years ago. Because I didn’t shade all the way up to the outlines I like the dark edge that lies between them and the silver shading. I could imagine using this style to illustrate a book cover or within a magazine article. Perhaps one day I will get a commission to do something like this? I don’t know.

Every day…

Posted on October 25, 2021 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, Disturbed, Life, Relaxed, Rest, Sleeping, Trying to understand, Tuxedo cat2 Comments

The cat jumps up and lies on a cushion between mine and my hubby’s chair, sometimes you can hear him purring or snoring. It’s a sign of how he trusts us. But EVERY day hubby, at some stage, will decide to stroke the cat ‘because he loves it’. The cats tail starts to twitch. He is disturbed by the attention. He wakes up and jumps down and goes out.

I have TRIED to explain the cat wants to rest and sleep. The attempt to stroke him really irritates him. I have said leave him alone and let him be. But the temptation is always there. Stop it! Leave it alone. The trouble is that it doesn’t work. Hopefully he will learn.

Cat presents…

Posted on October 24, 2021 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Black and white cat, Cat, Cat toys, Death, Life, Mice, mornings, Presents, Tuxedo catLeave a comment

Cat presents, not so much presents as lovingly presented remains of mice. Ooooh no! I get up in the morning, and there on the doorstep, something not very nice. Is there a deterrent? I feed my cats well, I give them toys, and yet they try and show love in the only way they can…. Yuk! I’m glad it only happens occasionally.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Tuxedo cat