Eucalyptus Country

Who would have thought that one photo a week could be so incredibly difficult? It’s not taking photos that’s the challenge, but fitting them to the theme of 52 Blessings. There is always something to be grateful for, I realise, but sometimes it is hard to take a photo that represents a particular concept. Take cold weather for example….we don’t have snow in my area or even frosts so how should I go about representing it in a photo? The cooler weather is on the way, for which I am very grateful for, as it makes working outside a lot more pleasant. One particular thing I notice is the tendencies of the cats to choose a snuggly blanket to sleep on – it’s a sure fire sign that cooler weather is on the way.

There’s nothing quite like snuggling into a warm blanket on a cool morning, is there?

Do you ever get the feeling you interrupted something? They might have just been watching the sunset, who knows.

What’s the solution to a cat who turns its nose up at most varieties of tinned cat food?? You could try feeding them exclusively on dry food and some cats are quite happy with kibble alone. But sometimes it’s nice to be able to give them something moist, preferably a chunky kind of meat so their teeth and jaws get a bit of a workout while eating. Rosie is not very fussy at all but the vet suspects she has an allergy to some preservatives used in tinned foods so we have to be very careful with what we feed her. And as for Mojo, he’s the original aristocrat and is extremely difficult to please.

I had been feeding both of them commercially prepared pet meats for a some time now. While they both seem to enjoy it, I’ve noticed that the meat has gone from being chunky to this pulverised, mashed looking substance. I really don’t think that this kind of sloppy meat is in any way good for their teeth so I decided to make my own. It’s relatively simple and so far the cats are really taking to it.

I’ve found the cheapest way to make your own pet food is to get a whole sliced rump from the butchers. You can then either dice it or mince it, depending on your cats preference. Then just bulk it out with some cooked rice, egg and mashed vegies – like broccoli, carrots, zucchini, cauliflower and beans. Let the vegies, egg and rice cool to the temperature of the meat and mix it up well. If your cat hasn’t been eating many vegies previously, then it’s a good idea to start off with just a small amount of rice and vegies and gradually increase to about 1:4. You can cook the meat as well if you wish but as my cats do not venture outdoors unescorted, I’m not worried about them getting baited so they have theirs raw. After you’ve mixed it all up, bag it up into little portions and store in your freezer until you are ready to use it.

Enjoy!

It’s a sad day in blogging world when the most exciting thing I can think of to write about is my new freezer. :$ You can blame Tina for that though, since she was desperate to see a photo of it. LOL

After years of putting up with a tiny freezer space in my fridge, I finally bit the bullet and got a dedicated vertical freezer. I can finally do a proper bulk meat shop and make my own chunky pet meat which the cats are absolutely thrilled about – if they could actually get excited about freezers, that is. For the same amount that I would pay for five days of pet meat for both cats, I can make a whole kilo which will feed them both for about a month.

Even better, it has a five star energy rating and has lovely clear plastic drawers, so no more sifting through the freezer space trying to find what I’m after. Even Mojo has given his seal of approval.

I must have been living under a YouTube rock. How could I not have heard of Nora, the piano playing cat? She has her own website, coffee mugs, posters and apparently heaps of fans. She has even been on the news surprisingly. Having watched the video, I’m wondering what all the fuss is about. What I see Nora doing, although very cute and adorable, is not really that out of the ordinary. Considering the large number of videos submitted of “piano playing cats”, how could you consider it extraordinary?

When I was growing up, we always had a piano but the cats came later at various stages. The first to tinkle the ivories was Mr Puss, the grand old fellow in the tuxedo fur coat. He loved to sit on the corner of the piano and listen to my sister play and during the night, if we left the lid up, you would hear him rubbing the keys with his head or his paw. I think he just loved the sound really.

Mojo on the other hand, being the proverbial curious cat, would run along the keyboard perpetually wondering how it all worked. If we lifted the top up, so he could see the hammers and strings, he would sit there fascinated as my sister played. I’m not much of a piano player myself but even my limited repertoire of Twinkle Twinkle, Chopsticks and Heart and Soul never failed to amuse him and he would add in his own little notes every now and then. I think you will find most cats brought up in houses with pianos will display the same fondness for the keys and the sounds they make. Even once they find the answer to the question – what is making that noise – they still are amused by it.

No, I haven’t turned into a nudist, nor am I running a marathon naked.

This morning I woke up to find Mojo’s collar in pieces on the ground. Yes it was getting a little ratty but I was hoping to get just a little bit extra wear out of it since it was a fairly exxy one that I only got last year. Last year when I adopted Rosie, I found his collar on the ground in much the same state as this one. I really do think that he was trying to tell me that if she got to have new clothes, then so would he, thank you very much. Rosie on the other hand didn’t really mind about getting a new collar – she slept through the entire exchange and is now sporting a pretty purple one. Mojo of course will be having a blue one again….we found out a few years ago that it’s his favourite colour as it is the only colour collar that will stay on for more than a few days without mysteriously being lost, never to be found again. I can hear you all laughing at me now but cats do have favourite colours, I swear it! LOL

In the meantime, my cranky old man cat is still naked as the day he was born. I think he is secretly revelling in his collarless-ness. Hopefully he’ll come back in from the cat park soon so I can redress him….I really dread coming home late tonight after my shift to be surprised by him in the laundry.