Paws for thought! 

Hello there!

We are Moses, Freddie and Layla (sister to Moses).

 

 

After all the pontificating in the previous blog entries, we thought it was about time that we added our own special take on the story so far. If cats are not ‘your thing’, then maybe this is a posting to avoid because this is ALL ABOUT US! (Well, maybe there is a little bit about the barn, but just in passing.)

From Tower to House to Barn

Almost immediately after our predecessor (Henry the ginger cat) had shuffled off his feline coil, Mr Rod and the Young Master began their campaign to persuade SWhoMBO (She Who Must be Obeyed) that a home was not a home without a cat. (Hmm, I think you must mean ‘trick’ rather than ‘persuade’. Ed.) And cat meant new kittens! As their then Water Tower home was on the market, SWhoMBO was (surprisingly to us) very resistant to this suggestion. A small chink in her armour appeared when she reluctantly agreed to accept a white and black kitten from the litter belonging to the Treasure’s brother, but only after returning from holiday. 

Unperturbed and needing no further encouragement, the Young Master immediately scoured the internet and found a potential source of future time-wasting a few miles away. He and his father made a good job of seeming very casual when they left for  Guildford the following Saturday afternoon: “Just going to look, Mum, don’t worry.” So, imagine SWhoMBO’s reaction when they returned less than an hour later with two little black kittens in a borrowed basket. Apparently, the look on her face was a sight to behold when they calmly announced that they would have brought back all six from the litter – if only they had had more than £20 in cash between them!

We got our monikers because: SWhoMBO always liked the name ‘Freddie’; the Young Master thought Moses suited his theological interests; and Layla is tribute to that wonderful song by the great Eric Clapton. 

All went swimmingly well for quite a few weeks and we settled in quite happily to a comfortable life of play, food, play, cuddles, play, sleep and play. Of course, SHWhoMBO soon fell in love with her new family.

 

Of course, SHWhoMBO soon fell in love with her new family. All went swimmingly well for quite a few weeks and we settled in quite happily to a comfortable life of play, food, play, cuddles, play, sleep and play.

However, she began to have a complete sense of humour failure when we discovered what a lark it was to climb up the curtains and blinds, and then ‘slip’ down to be rewarded with the gratifying sounds of tearing and scratching. “Oh my, however did that happen?” Even better were the daily competitions to see which of us could scratch the architraves in the most destructive, but entirely satisfactory, way. (All photographs illustrating the results of this completely unacceptable behaviour have been removed. Ed.) 

At this point, no buyer for the house had materialised and SHWhoMBO was slow to realise that Young Master was absolutely delighted with our guerrilla tactics as he did not want to move from his beloved home anyway. We were often present when SHWhoMBO embellished the admonitions of her menfolk with vocabulary from a most interesting language we understand is called ‘Anglo Saxon’. Subsequently we have tried practising some of the terms on recalcitrant rodents but, most disappointingly, they do not seem to achieve the same effect.

Fortunately, by this time, Hazels had been purchased. In the interests of marital harmony, a compromise was reached whereby it was agreed that we three cats would form the advance moving party to Hambledon. A bit of a shame really as we truly believed we were starting to ‘add value’ to the Edge household.

 

For a while and until they themselves moved there on a full-time basis, one or more of the family visited at least twice a day to feed and play with us. Seemingly, this meant that prospective purchasers of the Water Tower no longer had to run the unexpected gauntlet of litter trays and unfortunate evidence of over-exuberant animal activity.  We really cannot comprehend it ourselves, but it appears that an offer was forthcoming and accepted very soon after our departure.

Due to increased traffic in the area, we had not been allowed outside the Water Tower, but now we had nearly 6 acres of countryside in which to play and observe wildlife.  

 

The barn cottage also proved to be exceptionally useful in catering for all our various extra-curricular activities:

 

 

Well, if we thought we were soon to be living in a nice new oak framed building then we were soon corrected. What is it with the planning laws in the human world? You would not believe the number of times Mr Rod and SWhoMBO have ‘gone back to the drawing board’. One plus point is that Mr Rod has become very proficient at Sketch Up and has successfully tutored a number of others. Anyway, much to our amazement, it eventually seemed that we were to be evicted from Hazels (cottage) to Hazels (barn) whilst Hazels (oak frame house) was being built. Fortunately, the barn had undergone something of a transformation, at least on the outside.

 

 

We were most unsure about the interior as, every time we looked inside, it seemed there was still a great deal to do before it would be in a fit enough state to accommodate us.  However (and we would never admit this publicly), we have been most pleasantly surprised at what has been achieved. Fortunately, they have taken much of our advice on colour schemes and furniture so we would now be very happy to invite our friends, if only they were suitably chipped to open the cat flap!

We are now taking it in turn to deal with different aspects of the barn.

Moses – What’s for supper?

I think about my stomach for most of my waking hours and so it seems only right for me to walk you through the kitchen and sitting room. Please note that I really had to ‘encourage’ Mr Rod to agree to ‘Astral Blue’ in the kitchen.

We all think it was so much preferable when Young Master and the Lovely Jeanette lived with us or now when they come round to feed and cuddle us (‘having a moment’). But best of all is when John and Kerrie come to house/cat sit as they so well trained.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freddie – My finest hours………..!

I am the hunter-killer in the household (the Freddy Krueger of Hambledon) and very proud of it too. My favourite place inside the barn is the staff bedroom. After a hard night patrolling the property, I like nothing better than to eye up a nicely made bed and make myself comfortable there.

 

 

 

I have two amusing stories to share with you:

1. A few weeks ago SWhoMBO was complaining she could detect a strong rodent smell  in the bedroom but Mr Rod said she was imagining it. But, after a day or so even his nostrils were being assailed. When SWhoMBO could not discover the source of odour, the biologist set to work with his trusty torch and found the culprit – a dead squirrel in one of his wife’s boots. My lips are sealed as to how that happened, but the shrieks of horror certainly made me smile, although I could not understand why she did not want to wear them again!
2. You will have heard the many tales of woe about ‘the bats’. I have done my best to assist with the problem and the other month was no exception. Mr Rod was already asleep and SWhoMBO was preparing to go to bed. She is very alert to the fact that if I enter the cat door very quickly and rush upstairs, it usually means I have an ‘offering’ in my mouth. This was indeed a prize ‘catch of the day’ and I released the bat to fly round the bedroom. The staff were absolutely mesmerised and when SWhoMBO shouted “catch it, Freddie”, I duly jumped into the air and obliged (surprising even myself). I was then bored and dropped the stunned bat on the floor, allowing it to be picked up in a towel and released unscathed outside.  The sight of Mr Rod running naked around the room will live with me for a long time.

 

 

 

 

Layla – Girl Cat Power Rules OK!

I would certainly like to shake the paw of whichever feline opined “Dogs have owners, cats have staff!” This is so very true and we three certainly keep Mr Rod and SWhoMBO on their toes at all times.

I am a bit of a tart and definitely prefer male humans to females. I can turn on the charm when I need to, but I prefer not to most of the time. I am also undoubtedly the clever cat of the trio and waste no time in telling the others so. The boys may be bigger than me and try the dominant male trick, but Girl Power is the top around here. After all, I am the only one who knows how to flick open the cat flap door, even when it has been locked.

Not a lot of people know this, but it was all my own idea to put plates on the wall in the guest bedroom. Mr Rod took a great deal of convincing and now he imagines that he thought of it first.

 

For two people who have cursed the presence of bats and the impact they have had on their planning applications, our staff members have a most weird sense of humour. One afternoon recently I was walking along minding my own business and practising my best line in scowls. As I approached the barn, I looked up and saw a bat sculpture hanging down from the porch.  Why would you do that? I really don’t buy it that SWhoMBO saw them at RHS Rosemoor in Devon and decided they would make a great gift for Mr Rod.

 

 

 

What next?

From our eavesdropping and all the talk about ‘Porta Loos’, we have gleaned that the ground works for the new oak framed house are due to start on Monday 3 September.

So, stand by for some real progress.