My weird but wonderful cats!

Marley has had a quiet week this week due to a dodgy back leg!  He has arthritis which doesn't normally give him any trouble but he has been hopping on one of his back legs this week, I'm not sure if it is related so he is going for his booster jabs at the vets tomorrow and I will ask her about it then.  So his week has been pretty uneventful apart from stepping on my brand new boots..

grrrrrrr......

And enjoying his new bone...

As did Busta when he came over to play yesterday...

So I thought I would talk about my 3 cats, who are all weird in their own wonderful way!

Lets start with Maisie...

Maisie is 17 and has an anxiety disorder - as diagnosed by me!! It started when she was very young and was terrorised by a neighbours' tom cat who used to come inside our house via the cat flap and spray all round my house NICE!!! I had to throw my toaster away because he sprayed inside it ewwwww and a load of handbags that were in my room!  He once broke in via the locked cat flap which resulted in having to have a new door and cat flat fitted!  His owner was extremely defiant but eventually realised that he had mental problems and had to give him away!  So since then she has rarely ventured outdoors of her own free will and loves to go to the toilet indoors.  "Get a litter tray" I hear you cry, which I have tried but seriously if she wee'd in there just once whilst I am at work she refused to go in their again and then just go next to it on the carpet!  Now I have learnt that I have to put her outside at night, which she seems to have got used to now, and then she sleeps quietly and without needing the toilet all day!

Then there's Poppy....

Poppy is nearly 3 years old and is just WEIRD!!!!  This is how I often find her asleep....

Can you see how she bends her front legs back?  She looks like a roast chicken!!

Poppy is fiercely independent and rarely seeks you out for a cuddle, but I love her all the same and she is VERY toilet trained which is always a bonus!!

And then along came Dotty...

Dotty is 9 months old and a complete nutter, I would even go so far as to say EVIL but in a very loveable way!  She was part of Poppy's first litter than she had last year and I can't resist showing you the kitten photos...

Dotty in the middle, Tiger (on the left) and Simba (on the right)

Tiger and Simba went to very good homes and Dotty had been reserved for Natalie who then had a pang of sensibleness and decided against it!  I advertised Dotty for sale but had not even an enquiry so I took pity and she joined our zoo!

Sooooooooo cute!!!

Dotty has been challenging from day one!  She ALWAYS had a dirty face from the minute she was born, it didn't seem to matter how much her Mum or I cleaned it she was always grubby!  She was the first one of the litter to scoff her face with solid food and absolutely the most playful, she certainly gave the 2 boys a run for their money!

Now that she is a permanent feature you will often find your feet being attacked from underneath the bed when you walk past, she torments Marley no end (he does adore her though), but she is so toilet trained that when she needs a wee she comes to find you to tell you and she just loves a cuddle!!!!

So there they are, all weird but all wonderful in their own way, and as much as I moan about all my animals I would never be without them.  Animals are definitely good for the soul!

I will leave you with a few more kitten photos because they are just too adorable!!!!!!!

The three little piggies!

Dotty and her dirty face!

I could just eat them!!!!!!

Poppy the doting mum (although she hates Dotty now!!!!)

Sorry this is such a long post peeps but I hope you enjoyed all the photo's!

TTFN

The REAL Marley and Me xx

Everyone needs a Marley

I felt really blue and fed up when I got up yesterday morning.  I had, had a fab Saturday with all 3 of my best friends - lakeside shopping with Emma in the day and bingo (yes bingo - such fun!!!) with Natalie and Belinda (and our other friend Lorraine) in the evening, so felt a bit flat on Sunday.  Anyway I sat in my pj's on the sofa having a coffee, watching TV and feeling sorry for myself (the boys were at their dad's for the weekend) when Marley jumps up for a cuddle......

Just look at that face!!

and those eyes!!

How could I feel fed up after a cuddle like that!  So Belinda rang and off we went to the meadows......

Which is now a lake!!

I cannot believe we went from this last week...

to this......

Marley gradually started to enjoy the water so long as there was a stick to chase, Busta on the other hand was not so keen!  Luckily half the meadow was high enough not to be affected by the water and so Marley and Busta had a fab time playing their favourite game of tug of war!

It was such a beautiful day yesterday, a welcome relief from the snow and wind and rain and the sunshine was so warm, albeit short lived now that we are in stormy weather again today!

I will leave you with a photo of Marley playing his favourite indoor game, which basically involves putting a tennis ball in my lap and waiting for me to throw it off for him!

TTFN 

the REAL Marley and me xx

The face of innocence!

This is the face that greeted me when I walked into the front room earlier

and this is what was on the floor next to him.......

A very chewed up tealight!!!

I've had two tealights on one of my side tables for weeks with no problem and then I caught him eyeing them up this morning and warned him away but when my back was turned this afternoon he just couldn't resist!  I will so look forward to waxy poos over the next couple of days!!!  He once ate a WHOLE bag of sugar that he dragged out of a kitchen cupboard, and his poo's ended up looking like green jelly!!!!!!

So the snow is hanging about and I am not enjoying it one little bit!  I have been lighting my fire for coming up to 3 months now and am just about sick of it (oh how I long for central heating!!!), Marley loves it though....

I don't think the cats are enjoying it either, they are spending a lot of time indoors snuggled up somewhere warm and I feel so heartless when I have to turf Maisie out of a night, but if I don't (which I didn't the other night) what greets me in the morning is deposits of poo and vomit NICE!!!  Poppy and Dotty seem to be very toilet trained but then they are only 1 and 3 I suppose and Maisie is a granny at the ripe of age of 17 if only they sold incontinence knickers for cats!!!

Poppy curled up on the sofa next to the fire

Poppy coming to see me in bed last night!

The other thing Maisie does if you let her stay in overnight, is that she insists on sleeping on my pillow right next to my head!  I have on many occasions woken up to her looking at me nose to nose breathing in my breath, it is seriously a very frightening experience!!!

So onwards we go in the horrible weather!  I have been trying to cheer myself up with the thought that by the time the snow goes we will be in February which is nearly March and April and we can hopefully start looking forward to some warmer weather....well we can hope!  

I think I will leave you with a nice summery photo to warm your cockles!!!

How lovely to see a bit of green!!

TTFN 

The REAL Marley and Me xx

It's Snowing!

Happy Snow Day from Hazel Cottage

 that is the actual name of my house and purely a coincidence - it wasn't named after me!!

So it arrived today in full force!  I am not a lover of snow, not the actual stuff which can be quite fun, but the chaos is causes.  If I can't travel, I can't work and I don't get paid!  Still having made it to work this morning at least and with the kids home from school early I decided to make the best of it!

Marley LOVES the snow!

Marley behaves like a dressage horse in the snow, he loves it and so does flash she was doing a good job of chasing snowballs in her garden this afternoon!

So because I am such a fun Mum (!!) I dragged the sledge out from the back of the shed, wrapped us all up and headed on over to Natalie's, which is 2 streets away, for a cuppa!!  I left Marley at home in the warm with a lovely chew, I didn't think I could handle him on the lead whilst pulling the sledge!

Bobby

Bobby and Charlie

So whilst I have made the most of the snow today I am not looking forward to it tomorrow or the next day!  Please let it thaw Sunday night so that normal life can resume on Monday!

TTFN

The REAL Marley and Me

xx

No words.........

Other than, it was my fault!!!

When will I learn?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marley - The most neglected dog in the world!

If Marley could talk - or type - this is what he would say to you.....

My favourite armchair!

"My name is Marley and I am the most neglected dog in the whole world!  I am allowed to relax and sleep on the sofa but I am not allowed on the beds - surely this is an infringement of my canine rights!!!  My master feeds me the most expensive food there is but she only feeds me twice a day can you believe that!  Therefore I have to eat every thing in sight to keep myself going, she often harps on about chocolate and raisins being poisonous but I don't know what that means so I just eat them anyway, how does she expect me to survive otherwise!

I am allowed to go on three outings a day THREE!!!!  What I don't understand is why I can't go out ALL day, I mean I go to the door every single time my master moves but she doesn't seem to get it!!!  And when we do go out to see Flash or Busta, what is the problem with rolling in fox poo we LOVE it!!!!

Look at the poo Flash rolled in today, it's stuck in her collar and everything - what's not to love?!!

And can you believe that sometimes my master leaves me at home on my own for 2 hours!!!!!!!!!!  How dare she that is pure neglect I should be going EVERYWHERE with her!!!"

So....that is what I think Marley thinks!  He is the most well looked after and loved dog there is next to Flash and Busta and yet he behaves like he's on the brink of starvation and locked in a cupboard all day!  I still love him but seriously sometimes he's impossible to live with!

On a brighter note, look what I got free with his food this month (that costs me £50 per month BTW!!!!)

My very own James Wellbeloved Flask - what more could a girl ask for!!!

TTFN

The REAL Marley and Me xx

The one with the Christmas pudding!

Raisins in any shape or form are highly toxic to dogs!  Especially when they are consumed in a family size (serving 8 people) Christmas pudding!

Queue call to the vet to see if I need to take immediate action or if I can wait to see if he shows any symptoms of dying!  So off we speed to doggy A & E!  Marley thought it was great, what an adventure going out in the car in the middle of the day!  And how fabulous to arrive in this building where there are lots of people so pleased to see him!!!!!!!!!!

Now please note that Marley opened the cupboard door where the f***ing food waste bin is kept while I was upstairs for about 15 seconds and in this time managed to drag the bin out of the cupboard and pretty much swallow the pudding whole!

So the procedure involved Marley having an injection to induce vomiting, apparently he brought up a significant amount of unchewed Christmas pudding as well as some turkey - so festive!!!  Then he was given charcoal to soak up any toxins that might be floating around (they has to mix in food because apparently charcoal in the only thing in the world that he won't eat!), he had to have a drip to ensure he was hydrated and had to have an overnight stay.  Marley was in heaven having undivided attention!!!!!!

So when I call the lovely vets in the morning the overnight nurse told me what a treasure he was (!!!) and that he was doing well and was full of beans so much so that when she let him out in the yard for a run he went straight for the black bin SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Several blood tests later he was back home not feeling sorry for himself particularly but in amongst his usual boundless energy he did actually sleep quite a lot over the next couple of days as well as finding some chocolate coins from somewhere WHERE THE HELL DID HE FIND THEM and consuming them!  this time I decided to see if dying would occur, it did not!!!!

Marley trying to chew his bandage off!

A very tired Marley!!

So the lesson here is that raisins (and grapes) are highly toxic to dogs!  The consumption of them can result in kidney failure and then death, the vets do not know why this happens and you must act immediately!  Apparently just 3 raisins can cause a fatality!  Luckily Marley is right as rain, he never showed any symptoms of renal failure and he may have been just fine without the treatment but I am glad I acted and prevented any harm!

The food waste bin is now on the worktop behind my plate rack where he absolutely cannot reach it!  If he does I am sending him away to a lab for tests because it would mean he had special powers!!!

Happy new year!!#

Oh and ALWAYS get pet insurance!  Marley's luxury stay cost £266 thankfully I only have to pay the £80 excess, thank the lord for pet insurance!!!

TTFN

The Real Marley and Me xx