holidays

We go on holiday for a week on Sunday and, although I'm excited, I'm going to miss little Mabel so much!

I'm sad and nervous to leave her but I know she'll be absolutely fine.

She's moving in with the boyfriend's parents for the week. They love her and I think they're looking forward to having a kitty around the place again.

When we went away for the weekend his mum popped in twice a day to feed and cuddle her but, as we are away for a whole week this time, it works out better to leave her with them.

I have learned that Mabel is not a shy cat and she takes to new places and to people very easily. I know she'll love the attention and the company of having someone with her for most of the day. She'll be spoilt rotten and no doubt will miss me much less than I miss her.

Maybe I'm more worried that she'll never want to come home!

Bowl

It was my birthday last week and, as I'm almost as spoilt as Mabel, I was bought this fancy double cat feeding bowl from Alessi by my sister. It's so cute.

So Mabel is now officially a posh little kitty.

She was very curious when I first put it down for her to sniff and she took the opportunity to have a nice sit in it! Not quite the sophisticated, stylish dining I was hoping for but I'm sure once it has food in it she'll work out what it's for.

Munchies

There's an ongoing debate happening in our house. Wet or dry Mabel food?

I'm sure it's a subject that has been discussed a million times by cat owners the world over but I just can't seem to find a satisfactory answer.

Like most people with pets I want to do the best for Mabel but there seems to be a lot of mixed thought on this topic.

I've read lots of articles online about which is best for her and even vets seem divided.

At the moment we give her a mix of both. I know dry food is good for her teeth but I see wet food as being closer to the foodstuff she would be eating in the wild. 

I feed her wet food for breakfast and tea and she has dry food or kitty biscuits to snack on through the day. I've only ever seen her drink water from her bowl once so I worry that with dry food she might become dehydrated. As usual, I probably worry far too much.

People have told us that dry food doesn't have the sugars and additives that wet food can have but I am careful about the wet food I give her. I always check that there is a high meat content and have found one with no artificial colours or preservatives and the list of ingredients on the back states a minimum of 90% chicken or fish depending on the flavour. 

I have also been told that it's cheaper to feed a cat dry food and that dry keeps for longer and doesn't spoil as quickly once it's put down.

There seems to be positives and negatives for both which just confuses me more.

There's also one other factor that I need to take into consideration... Mabel herself.

She seems to have perfected the 'is this a joke?' look whenever something she dislikes is served up to her. I mentioned before about the large bag of dry food that the boyfriend bought her? The cat he had as a child happily grew up on the exact same brand of dry food. He lived to be a ripe old age but it was not to fussy little Mabel's liking and she only sniffed it briefly and turned away! This isn't a situation we want to (or can afford to) repeat! We've tried other dry food brands (in MUCH smaller bags) and she'll pick at them but it's really only the wet food she's interested in. She'll run to the wet food and always seems satisfied afterwards.

I am more than happy to change her diet to one that's better for her... I just need to know what a better diet is!

Mabel's story

Before Mabel moved in to commandeer the house, I spent a lot of my spare time browsing websites and visiting cat shelters to find her.

I guess old habits die hard because I still occasionally look at the websites I used to help in the search for her.

I'm not looking for another cat (or heaven forbid a replacement!) but I've had my eyes opened to a whole new world that I find really sad.

There are so many unwanted cats waiting patently for a new home. I really had no idea that there were so many. It makes me want to bring them all home.

Mabel was one of the lucky ones. She wasn't ever a stray or mistreated. I can tell by her furry little ways that she was loved and well looked after by her previous owner.

I was told at the shelter that Mabel and her sister had been brought in by a 17 year old girl. She had moved in to her first home and bought the 2 furry little kittens to keep her company.

She had to give up both her kittens and her flat and move back home with her parents because she simply couldn't afford to keep them.

Lucky for Mabel she was only in the shelter for a week before her little pink nose and adorably big paws captured our hearts. I know now that not all kitties are as lucky as her.

Having an ear tickle

Cute

Last night Mabel was in super-cute mode so I took a few snaps.

An education

On Sunday, it will be a whole month since Mabel came to her forever and ever home with us. I said to her on the journey home from the rescue shelter that she didn't need to worry now because she was going to be loved very, very much. She didn't pay much attention, she was too busy gripping on to the sides of the cat carrier for dear life... but I think she understands now.

Mabel with giant paws

A few things I've learnt, with Mabel's help,  in the last month:

>^..^< Don't buy a fancy cat basket. She'll prefer a nap in a cardboard box or on your best black coat that happens to have fallen off the back of a chair.

>^..^<  No matter how comfy kitty looks on the floor she will still jump into the space you were sitting in if you get up for a drink. 

>^..^<  Don't sit back down without looking!

>^..^<  Don't buy expensive big bags of food thinking they'll last and save you money in the long run. That will be the food she turns her nose up at and it will sit on a shelf untouched.

>^..^<  Don't try to fool your kitty by putting aforementioned dry food in with the wet food she loves. She'll eat round it!

>^..^<  Whenever you change the litter tray kitty will use it straight away.

>^..^<  Roll up a ball of kitchen foil. She'll chase it around for hours on end.

>^..^<  When kitty brings the foil ball to you and drops it at your feet remember she is not a dog. If you kick it away for her to chase again she'll be disgusted (if looks could kill I'd be dead)!

>^..^<  Get a fire guard before you get the kitty home. White paws, black dust and lots of little black paw prints are not a happy sight to come home to.

>^..^<  Cats love to climb so if you can't find her but can hear her try looking up!

>^..^<  Don't take your eyes of your ice cream for a second.

In other news... I've decided to join the world of twitter. I thought it would be interesting to try my hand at a spot of kitty twitter!

Mabel Fan Club

I've just been home (from work) to see Mabel during my lunch hour. She seems to like it when I visit her during the day. I think it's because she's usually just woken up from one of her many naps but she's always so affectionate.

She loves a fuss and runs to curl up on my knee, pressing her little face against mine over and over again. I love this side of her. I like that she plays and has her independent moods but there's nothing that makes me happier at the moment that her loud purr and little kisses. I wish I could stay all day.

I'm a fully signed up member of the 'Mabel Fan Club' now. I love her to bits. We think (as I'm sure every cat owner does) we have found our perfect kitty. All the worry of finding her seems like ancient history. She surprises us everyday.

Last week we had a family get together and I had seven people in the house to cook for. I wasn't worried but I was apprehensive about how Mabel would react to that amount of people in her new home. She's never had so many visitors! I made sure she had lots of places to hide away if she wanted to but she was an angel. She entertained everyone with her cat dancer (fantastic recommendation) and made sure everyone that wanted one got a cuddle. I was so proud of her. I also introduced her to two of my girlfriends this weekend and they were instantly charmed. Even my dad, who's not a huge cat fan, can't help but smile when I tell him the latest story about her cheeky ways.

There'll be many more members of the 'Mabel Fan Club' before we know it I can tell.

A Mabel Mystery

We had a Mabel mystery this week.

It was such a lovely weekend that we decided she might like to venture outside for a sniff and an explore.

I popped to the pet shop and bought her a harness and a lead. I was worried she wouldn't let me put it on her but she enjoyed the attention and it went on straight away. She even seemed to lift her legs to help!

Then the mysterious bit happened... she lied down!

Whenever she had the harness (or even half of it) on she lied down. It doesn't seem to be a 'don't like it' lie down because she never struggles to get out of it or scratches at it.

She seems quite happy to have it on, almost too happy. It just seems to make her sleepy! Even when the harness is off she rolls on it and likes to like on it.

The second attempt was much the same. I checked that it wasn't too tight and that no fur was trapped in it and still she lied there, wanting cuddles. We picked her up and put her gently in the garden by the door. We thought she might forget her sleepiness once she had the outside world to sniff at but after just a few minutes of sitting still she lied down again. 

That put an end to her first experience of the big wide world.

We are completely stumped. Can anyone shed any light on why she might be doing this?

Mabel

It's almost two weeks now since Mabel came to live with us. 

The name Mabel has stuck. We tried a few others for size but she seems to suit Mabel more and she even comes to me or shouts back when I call her by it now.

The first few weeks have been a sharp learning curve but have also been so much fun. We've been busy getting to know each other which leaves less time for blogging. 

She's still adorable but has changed so much from the kittencat we first brought home. She still shows us lots of affection but not quite as much. She has far too much licking, sleeping, eating, sniffing, climbing and playing to do to be giving us attention! When she is ready for cuddles she'll sit on my knee (or the boyfriends belly) and curl up in to a little purring ball. 

She's gained even more confidence and has started to play and have her 'mad half hour' running from room to room and chasing anything that moves. Her favourite toy is a simple little ball I made out of rolled up kitchen foil. She favours it over any of her bought toys and can play with for hours! She makes us laugh out loud.

I've really fallen in love with her. 

I went out for dinner with a friend this week and took my camera with me to show off my (many) Mabel photos. Like a proud mum!

I didn't actually believe that I'd ever fully turn in to a cat person but I don't know how we were without her now. She never fails to make me smile and I'm starting to get why people love cats so much. I'm beginning to understand what all the fuss is about.

Mischief

Kitty has been with us 3 days now. She's gaining in confidence all the time and is becoming a little cheeky chops!

She's still showing us all the affection she was when she arrived but now she's a lot more vocal about it. She always has something to say. She likes to watch the birds from the window with wide eyes and gives a strange little woofing noise as they zoom past. She's no fool either. She's started to work out when we're going out or putting her to bed. She runs to any door we're trying to close and refuses to budge so we can't shut it. 

She's still semi-nameless but we have been calling her Mabel. Mabel Mischief! It's the name we keep coming back to but it just doesn't seem to quite fit yet. Maybe it will grow on her or maybe something perfect will spring into one of our minds as she's cheekily peaking over a cushion to see what's cooking in the kitchen!

Other ideas are Marble (variation on Mabel), Pickle, Biscuit, Olive and Libby (she's such a diva and a show off that she reminds us of Liberace when she's reclining on her blanket demanding attention). 

I'm loving watch her little furry personality unfold.