So it’s week 753 of all being at home together or at least that’s what it feels like so I thought I’d teach myself a new skill. What can I teach myself though? Well, as you all know I love the great outdoors and all the sounds and smells that the outdoors has to offer so when I’m inside I can’t quite get close enough to the nature to get the full scent and sound. Every time I get near I doink my head on something hard, cool and smooth which stops me getting to the bird down below. Mummy says it’s called a window and it’s made of something called glass which you can see through if you’re not blind like me. All I know is it can be quite useful when catching insects and moths in the flat as I can use it to trap whatever I’m chasing against so I stand a better chance of gobbling it up! Millie likes to lie against the window when the sun is shining through, I do this sometimes but mostly I just listen to all the birdies in the tree and when mummy opens the window I can smell all the outdoor smells inside.

When I get up on the window sill and reach up I can just about reach the edge of the open window with my front paws, only just though and only if I stand right up on my tippy paws. Well I know from when I get up onto the side of the bath and jump up onto ledges and the cat perches that if I can reach with my paws and get them onto the ledge even just a little bit I can climb up there. It might take a bit of practice but I’m a determined little cat as I’m sure you all know already and so I will give it a try.

So the other day when I was wandering around inside trying to find something to do I thought it would be a great idea to see if I can get closer to the fresh air smells and noises. I hopped up onto the window sill and from there I could smell the lovely fresh outdoors, I could hear the noises of the birds outside and the people in the distance in the park. I raised my head up high to see if I could tell how far away the smells were coming from, I could feel the breeze coming down from the window on the tip of my nose, it didn’t feel like it was very far away so I reached up with my paw and found a little, narrow ledge, just enough to get the tip of my paw 🐾 over. I could feel the breeze strongly on my paw, making the fur in between my toes flutter in the breeze. It felt lovely and cooling on my little pink toes. Now I was really excited and even more determined to explore this new place.

I reached up with my other paw and grabbed hold of the tiny ledge, now what? I tried to do a little jump to get me going but I knew really that it was just to high to jump from standing so that didn’t work. Hmm what else can I try? Normally when climbing a tree I reach up and grab on with my front paws, get a good from grip and then start climbing with my back paws, again getting a good firm grip with each one and climbing up. Maybe this would work, so I reached up with one back paw but the surface was too hard and slippy to get a good grip on, my paw just slipped and I was back to standing front paws outstretched as far as they could and tummy on full show to anyone outside. There was only one thing for it, I need to regroup and think this through, my front legs were starting to get a bit tired. I let go of the window ledge and went off for a snack and a nap to recover and get back to full fighting strength. I dreamt of climbing the tallest trees and scaling the hardest peaks known to Cat. I am after all a master tree climber so if anyone can scale this tall slippery surface it’s me.

Once I had rested I went back to the window, fresh and ready to take on the challenge. I reached my front paws up and gripped hold of the ledge, I decided that I would just go for the brute strength option and so I pulled with all my might and heaved myself up by my front paws, as I moved up the window, my back paws got some grip and so I pushed with them and pulled with my front paws. I could hear a gently thud, thud as my paws touched the glass and then before I knew it I was at the top, I was on the ledge, I’d made it! I could feel the breeze on my tummy the noises from outside loud and clear, I could feel the narrow ledge under my paws and the cool glass against my side holding me in. There was just enough open space for me to be able to stick my nose through to smell the outdoors but I couldn’t, no matter how hard I pushed, make the gap any bigger nor fit any more of my head through the gap. The outside world was teasing me, allowing me to get closer but not close enough to escape through. Still I could sit up here out of everyone’s way and just watch the world go by outside, it’s one of my most favourite things to do. Then mummy came in and saw me. “Jenny, how on earth did you get up there?” she said as she came over to make sure I was ok and give me a little well done stroke, then she said “Well you’re such a clever girl and so good at climbing and exploring you were bound to figure that out sooner or later.” She left me alone to enjoy my victory, and view. Then after a while I realised that I needed to get down, this was going to be tricky, if going up was hard, going down is going to be even harder. Normally when climbing a tree I get down backwards and the back legs provide the grip and stop me sliding all the way down, they allow a controlled decent. The glass was too slippy though to use my back paws, normally I would just know how high I climbed and could jump down if I couldn’t climb down. The window though has what mummy calls blinds on, which I don’t want to get tangled in and the window sill has mummy’s ornaments on. I’m not really sure what ornaments are but the one time I broke one, even though mummy said it was ok as it was an accident I could tell she was upset from her voice, I don’t want to make mummy upset, specially when she’s just said what a good girl I am so I shouted for her to come and see me. Mummy, mummy I shouted at the top of my voice, come and look at me again! Hopefully she would come over and help me get down.

As you know mummy doesn’t always make things easy on me so for me to get down mummy didn’t just come along and pick me up, she came over gave me a stroke and told me that as I was so clever getting up onto the window I must be clever enough to get down again. After moving the ornaments she tapped on the window sill so I could work out how far away it was from and said “come on Jenny, you can get down from there”. I had used up so much energy working out how to and then actually climbing the window that my brain just couldn’t judge the distance enough for me to jump down. Knowing that mummy was there to help me I sat and meowed at her until she scooped me up, gave me a cuddle and set me back down on the floor. “Maybe next time sweetie” she said. Since I climbed the window the first time I’ve done it again and again and can get up there really easily now, just a couple seconds and I’m up, I’ve now learnt how to get back down again too! Sometimes mummy helps me and sometimes she just says “Come on Jenny I know you can do it you’re just being lazy”. No mummy I’m not being lazy I just want an excuse for a quick cuddle and a stroke.

This story is just my way of showing you that no matter what being perfectly imperfect doesn’t mean you can’t imagine, find new challenges or conquer something new. I am proud to say I am an adventure cat.

So here we are another week gone by with everyone staying home together but this week was again a cause for celebration. This week my little baby sister Angelin celebrated her 1st birthday. I remember my first birthday, much like Angelin I was lucky enough to celebrate my first birthday here in my forever home with mummy and daddy, Peppar and Mia who has now crossed over the rainbow bridge. Thinking back to those times I’m sad that Mia isn’t with us anymore but she will always be part of the family and her crossing over the rainbow bridge meant that Angelin and Millie were able to become my little sisters and find their forever homes much like I did. Thank you Mia.

Anyway, back to our birthday celebrations, Angelin’s birthday was a good excuse to get away from the day to day routine and for us to have something special. As it was her birthday she got a birthday present, as with all us cats the best thing about that was the box that it came in. As she was the birthday girl we let her have the box all to herself, just as a special treat us cats call this a box pawty and any cat wherever they are in the world knows how fun these can be as we all share the same fascination with cardboard boxes.

We had some special food as a real treat, we got smoked salmon for breakfast and steak for dinner – it was yummy. I played some games with Angelin, we really like to rough and tumble and with us both being street cats we can get really feisty when playing, we both know some tough street fighting moves. Then with full tummies and energy drained we were tired out and settled down for a cat nap.

The weather has got warmer this week and so were all a bit out of sorts and don’t quite know where to put ourselves to keep cool. Whenever mummy or daddy go anywhere near the kitchen or bathroom I go running to get a game of damp hands to help cool my fur, it’s such a fun game and feels so good that I meow and yeowl and purr at the top of my voice and so loudly that mummy and daddy laugh and rub me all over with their damp hands. Daddy says that he is washing his hands about 10 times more each time just to satisfy my need to play. It’s just my way of keeping cool but also making sure he washes his hands enough to keep the nasty bugs away and keep him safe. I think that this is what you humans call killing two birds with one cat 😺.

Walkies is a bit more sedate when the sun is out and the temperature rises as it’s just too warm to be running around. I might be from Cyprus but I much prefer the cooler weather for going walkies in, the hot, sunny weather is only good for snoozing and lazing about in. When it’s hot though mummy takes me out a bit later once the sun has moved round then it’s much more fun and I can run about and chase everything that I find, insects, birds and there’s a lot of buzzy bees 🐝 around to run and jump about after. I know I shouldn’t catch the bumbly bees as they can give you a nasty sting which I remember from before. I’m getting better at chasing the pigeons and if mummy wasn’t so slow then I’d definately catch one and have it for my dinner.

As well as walkies I can spend all day out on the balcony sitting in the sun, watching the birds and smelling the flowers. I often sit in the planters, one of them gets the morning sun and so the stones are lovely and warm if you want to soak up the sun and recharge. The other planter doesn’t get the sun so the stones are nice and cool so you can sit on those to cool off and chill out if things get a little to warm. Sometimes I just like to sit out there on my own and get some peace and quiet, when the others are inside. As you know I have amazing hearing and when it’s a busy day can get a bit overwhelming, mummy and daddy say I can get a bit cranky and up tight when this happens. Going out onto the balcony where it’s peaceful, quiet and without any of the indoor noises of the tv and mummy and daddy’s work noises, talking on the phone and to each other means I can just relax, unwind and calm down for a bit. Sometimes mummy will come and sit with me and we just spend some quiet time together.

One of the things I love to do when out on walkies in the warmer weather is roll around in the dry mud, I love to roll around, it feels really good but I have very particular spots that I like to do this in. Not just any old spot will do, it has to be just right, I have two spots that I like, one is sandy and near to where the foxes live, the sand is cooler if I dig down a little bit, I use my front paws to move the top of the sand and push my tummy along so I can feel the cooler damper sand on my tummy. Mummy says it looks like I’m swimming through the sand, I don’t know what swimming is but if it like this then I’m sure I would like doing it.

The other spot is by a tree and it harder and drier, this one is much better for rolling in, rolling feels good, and it’s even better if mummy joins in and rubs my tummy or my chin, as I’m rolling I meow to her to let her know just how happy I am. Then when I’ve had enough of rolling mummy rubs me all over as she says I’m dirty and covered in mud and bit of grass and leaves. I don’t think she minds though as she laughs when shes doing it, I think she enjoys it as much as I do. The other reason for rolling is that I know from the smells that there are other cats and animals that live around here and they really do need to know that these are my rolling spots and walkies area not theirs. I don’t mind sharing as long as they let me roll and run around with mummy when we’re on walkies, they can use the gardens when I’m not there. When I’ve been running about chasing things I need a little rest before carrying on so sometimes mummy and I will sit on the warm metal covers – mummy calls them manholes which seems strange as I don’t know why there would be a man in a hole , daddy has never sat in a hole! Anyway we sit on these together and I roll around and nuzzle mummy with my head and she in turn rubs my chin and strokes my tummy. I never used to do this with mummy but now I really enjoy this time in between me running around and chasing things.

As you can see, being blind doesn’t hold me back – I know I’ve said this before but I still can’t believe that I get to do things that some sighted cats don’t even get to do. Angelin is still just a baby but she will in time learn to realise how lucky she was to become part of a family who celebrate and embrace differences and assume we can do everything rather than assume we can’t. Happy birthday my sweet sister Angelin.

Whilst we’ve all been at home I’ve been taking the chance to teach baby Angelin some of my hunting and jumping skills. I was lucky enough to learn these early on in my life when I was on the streets and had my street family around to teach me. Angelin was so young when she was found that she didn’t get to learn these skills before she came into our family so it’s my job to teach her. You might wonder how a blind cat teaches another blind can but we do it all through play and fun. I lead by example and Angelin copies me in what I’d do. She can’t see me but she can hear what I do and feel how I move when we are playing. Sometimes we all play together and sometimes separately, occasionally we all play in the kitchen each with different toys at the same time, this can be a bit chaotic and with two blind cats can often lead to bumping, barging and crashing but we don’t mind, it’s all good practice at honing our skills.

I get daddy to join in too, he uses the wand or feather toy and waggles it around for Angelin to chase, she can follow the sound of the toy across the floor and can run after it our crouch down and then pounce in one big leap. Following the toy is easier to start with so we do this more often so she can learn to follow noise and then twist and turn with it as the toy moves. This is called ‘the chase’ in the wild.

Then we move onto the pouncing which is a bit harder. You hear the toy moving around and instead of just running after it you go and hide, behind the sofa, kitchen cupboard or another toy, waiting, watching and listening. Patience has to be taught to learn to listen for each tiny movement, establishing if there’s a pattern, then coiling up like a spring, weight on the back paws, front paws ready to strike, then wiggle bottom to warm up the big spring muscles, then pounce and strike. Victory is mine. If you don’t learn to be patient enough then you pounce too soon and the prey isn’t in the right place and it gets away and all that effort of pouncing is wasted and you have to start all over again.

I’m also teaching her to jump, jumping is great fun, it feels like you’re flying and weightless for a brief second before you land back down again! Being good as jumping helps to catch insects as they zoom around overhead, it helps build those big leg muscles which help make us big and strong plus they also help when doing one of my most favourite things, tree climbing.

Maybe one day Angelin will be like me and her skills will be good enough for her to hunt real pray outside like I do. She just needs to practice a bit more, hunting outside you need to be really patient. You can use the skills from the indoor playtime but there’s things that can’t be taught by just playing. When you’re a hungry street cat you have to learn these real life skills, you’re driven by hunger and the need to eat to survive. A failed hunt is wasted energy and leads to being even hungrier than you were before so you’ve gotta get it right. You need to be able to stand still crouched, ready to go at a split seconds notice when the timing is perfectly right. You must stay perfectly still no matter how uncomfortable you are at the point you stopped. You can’t move a muscle, not even a little twitch as any movement might give your position away, a muscle movement might cause a twig to snap or a leaf to rustle. You must regulate your breathing and control any instincts to just rush in and attack. Every sense is heightened, touch (whiskers and paws), smell and hearing, all working together, I can pinpoint exactly where my prey is, how high, how far away, what it’s doing and how it’s moving. Instead of seeing with my eyes I see with my other senses painting a picture of what lies before me.

Then, when there’s an opportunity I edge forwards, one step at a time, creeping closer and closer, bit by bit, feeling my way quietly. Front paw forwards, then back paw into the space left by the front, each one carefully and skilfully placed, gradually and slowly moving deeper and deeper into the bush and closer and closer to my prey. Then, as soon as I know I’m within striking distance I make my move, every muscle that was coiled in readiness reacts, I sprint forwards, as fast as lightning, so fast my prey doesn’t stand a chance, I’m just a couple of steps away, the prey is almost mine, I leap to catch it, paws outstretched and then com3 to a sudden undignified stop in mid air, landing back on the ground empty pawed – mummy has locked the lead!

I was so engrossed in the hunt that I had completely forgotten she was there and that I was out on walkies! Mummy likes birds and not in the same way as I do as something as a snack. She won’t let me catch the birds as she says we should all live together in harmony, mummy and daddy feed us as much food as we want but they also know that as a cat I have hunting instincts which should be embraced as they are part of who I am. We then finish off our walkies and head in for dinner, all that hunting makes me really hungry.

We had another special walkies this week, mummy said that there was a very special day that we needed to celebrate. This special day also meant that mummy and daddy had a day when they didn’t have to work. She said this was something called VE Day, it’s a day where we celebrate the end of a World War in Europe. Now, I’m not very sure what a war is but mummy said it was something that we should never have again. Many people died fighting for our freedom and to make sure that we are now all free to be ourselves and live life how we want. I’m very grateful for this as maybe without these people who died I wouldn’t have been able to travel from Cyprus 🇨🇾 to my furrever home here in the UK 🇬🇧. I may not even have been able to be rescued from the streets and my life would have been very different if I even survived at all.

So I dressed up in my smartest bow tie for my special walkies and when we went outside I didn’t run around like a mad thing, I didn’t get the zoomies or chase any birds and insects, I just had a nice walk with mummy and spent the time just being together with her and being thankful for my life and that I’m free to be who I want to be. We paused for a minute just to reflect on life and be grateful and thankful.

Maybe if we all did this a bit more every day or every week, just stop, think and be grateful for those we love, those that we can’t be with, those that have helped and supported us maybe the world would be a better more loving place.

Then we carried on with our walkies and I showed my gratitude by rolling around in the mud and getting myself all dirty, just because I can. Oh, it’s such good fun and means I can give my whole body a good scrub and reach all the areas I can’t reach with my tongue when washing. There’s nothing quite like a good back rub.

Us cats are simple creatures, we just get on with life, we don’t judge or criticise, we just accept each other for what we are. We don’t see differences or disabilities, I think that is what the people we were remembering fought for and that they just wanted to ‘be more cat’.

For the rest of the week I’ve just been reflecting on what a lucky cat I am and making sure that I do all the things I love doing so I know I’m making the most of my life and living it to the full. I’ve found some new trees to climb and been playing hide and seek with mummy whilst out on walkies. You might think that’s a strange game for a blind cat to play but mummy can’t always find me in the bushes, I know that coz she says out loud ‘where are you Jenny I can’t see you’ and then tells me what a clever girl I am and how good I am at hiding from her. I can always find mummy as I can smell where she is and hear her every tiny movement so she can’t hide anywhere from me no matter how quiet she thinks she’s being. She’s no match for my superpowers!

I know that I’ve told you all before that when I’m out for walkies I don’t like the wind when it’s all noisy and gusty but this week I figured that if people could be so brave to fight in this war that we remembered that I could be brave too and not be scared of the noisy swirly wind. Today I tried that out, it was all sunny this morning so I spent it sunning myself on the balcony but by the time mummy gave in to my meowing to take me outside the sun had gone in and he noisy wind had come out. When it’s windy and I’m on the balcony I’m not scared so today with mummy by my side out we went, I could hear the trees and bushes shaking loudly as the wind moved them around but I can be brave and instead of crouching to the ground I moved with the noise, I ran as fast as the wind and as it swirled and changed direction I did too. As it turns out it’s really fun and nothing at all to be afraid of, it was like having an invisible playmate and our zoomies were in complete sync. I ran and twisted and jumped and shouted at mummy to make sure she was watching me – of course she was.

It just goes to show that if you face and embrace your fears you might just be surprised at how you feel. I felt great and I’ve found something else that I now enjoy doing, I would definitely recommend everyone to try it sometime. My advice to you all this week is to be bold and brave in life like me.

It’s very difficult living together all day and all night, as I’ve said before I’m very much a girl of routine and that has all been changed as mummy and daddy aren’t going to out to work. If they’re home all day then they should spend it playing with me and my brother and sisters and not typing away on their typing machines. Daddy was spending too much time the other day working and not paying me any attention so I decided to make him pay me attention, He put the typing machine down for a minute so I decided to sit on it and hold it for ransom. The payment for release…attention, cuddles and treats if he wants it back! It worked, daddy stopped working for the evening and we had a play and a game of damp hands, later on we all got some of our special treat food.

Whilst they are working I have to make sure that they are not working too much and so Angelin and I have been demonstrating our yoga moves to try to show mummy and daddy how to do their stretches and keep from getting all scrunched up and achy. Us cats are really good at yoga and it keeps us supple and balanced, we do it to make sure we are in tip top condition and all our muscles and joints are strong so we can run, climb and hunt. Hopefully if I can help mummy and daddy then they can keep up with me when we go on walkies. I did such a good job that daddy came for walkies with me and mummy the other evening, this was great fun as I got to show daddy how clever I am. He doesn’t often come with us as he says it’s mummy and me time and we need to keep this special time together without everyone else around.

I was so excited about daddy coming with us as it meant that I could show him how good I am when I’m outside, how I can run about and chase things, how I am so good at walking on the lead with mummy, how I make mummy have exercise when I run really fast as she has to run to keep up with me – I was so good I didn’t even get wrapped around the tree or any bushes! The only sad thing was that there weren’t any birds around for me to chase to show him how good I am at that but that’s ok I can save that up for the next time daddy comes out. I did make sure that he was ok like I do with mummy and kept going back so he could give me a stroke and so I could rub against his legs to show him he was fine and that I was keeping him safe. He could also then tell me what a good girl I am, it was a really fun walkies I really enjoyed it, hopefully daddy will come for walkies more often.

I’ve also been helping mummy take her mind off her work by helping her do some gardening, we only have a small space outside but mummy has some planters that she’s been putting some new plants in. I love it when it’s planting time as I get to help mummy dig. I’m not normally allowed to dig in the planters but maybe that’s because last time I did it I did a pee in them! Now she puts stones on the top so I won’t dig but when she’s putting in new plants I’m allowed to help. I love digging and I’m really good, mummy digs in one spot and I dig next to her to make a bigger and better hole for mummy to put her plants in. It also means that I’m allowed to get my paws dirty and she won’t mind as she also gets her hands dirty. We have such good fun together, I make sure that mummy is doing everything properly and in return she lets me dig and help do the watering. I make sure she gives each plant enough water, she can only move to the next plant when I move out of the way. Sometimes mummy’s a bit quick and I get a bit of a head shower but it’s ok as I’m used to getting wet when it rains whilst we’re on walkies. In the summer when the sun is hot it’s actually quite nice to have the cool water run over my head.

It’s also important to help around the house, Angelin normally makes sure that the floor cleaning with the hoover monster is done properly. She actually likes the hoover monster and follows it around making sure it does his job and doesn’t leave any fur behind, if it misses anything she swats it with her paw and tells it off. I don’t like the hoover monster so I leave it to her to make sure it’s behaving. Me on the other hand I make sure that the towels are fluffy enough by testing them out on the bed, I also make sure all our toys are tidy in the toy box and all properly organised, ready for us when we want to play.

Stay safe everyone, look after each other, be tolerant and spread love wherever you go like I do.

Where I live there are two ways to go walkies, there’s the way that leads straight out into the gardens and there the other way that leads out to paving and planters with flowers in them. Normally we go out into the gardens as there’s grass and trees and it’s much quieter there so I can run around and chase things. When it’s winter time mummy always takes me out the paving side as there’s lights in this side and none in the gardens so mummy can’t see where she’s going. I don’t know why she needs to be able to see as I manage fine but I guess it wouldn’t be very good if mummy fell over whilst walking or even worse lost me somewhere. The garden side, however doesn’t get the sun in the evenings like the paving side and so mummy sometimes takes me out the other side so we can get the sun in the evenings making walkies nice and warm. There are more people on the paving side though and sometimes cars and vans which I don’t like but when I’m with mummy I know I’ll be safe.

The paving side is still fun and it makes a change to go on a different route from time to time. This time though we didn’t just go along the paving side and back down again. We went right up to the very end, you can hear the sound of the water from there, mummy likes listening to it, she says it’s relaxing and makes her think that we’re not in a big city. We went along next to the water sound for a little bit and I could hear a noise I haven’t heard before, it was a strange crunching sound. To me it sounded like people footsteps but as if they were walking on giant cat litter, which even I know can’t be true, it was an odd noise so I took some time to sit and listen to it before I went any closer. Once I had settled a bit and mummy had given me a couple of reassuring strokes and words of encouragement she said she was going to open the gate. I’m not sure what a gate is but if it’s like a door then it means it opens to all things good and adventures. So with some nervousness I stepped off the pathway onto the giant cat litter and I was off on a new adventure, exploring places no cat has ever gone before. I know this because I can’t smell any other cats, I can smell people and dogs and wild animals but no cats.

It was difficult to follow mummy’s footsteps as they sounded different on the crunchy cat litter but I could feel where she was by the gentle pressure on the harness and smell her in front of me. She also talked to me all the time so I knew she was there and could follow along with her. The crunchy cat litter felt strange on my paws, it felt like little tiny pebbles and not really like cat litter at all, I got no urge at all to dig in it so I carried on following mummy. After a few steps I found a bush so I stopped to have a good smell, then a few steps further on I suddenly stepped on something familiar, I was on grass! I could feel the soft, springy, fresh, familiar, coolness on my paws. With mummy there with me I started exploring and venturing further and further, quicker and quicker. There were so many smells to follow, sounds to listen to and new things to explore, where do I start? Where do I go first?

There were noises, there were people and there were animals around but I could tell they weren’t close, besides mummy was there to keep me safe. I was free to explore but just in case I had my senses on high alert and heightened so that I would be able to tell if anything was coming that might hurt me or mummy. I stopped to take a minute to listen and check everything out, take in all the sounds and smells around me. From everything that I can sense I can build up an image in my mind of where I am and what’s around me.

In amongst everything I can hear a familiar sound, the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze, that means there’s trees around. If there’s trees around then that means I can go climbing, one of my most favourite things to do. Ok then mummy off we go, I’m off to find a tree, not just any tree but a good climbing tree. There’s something nice about our normal walkies and climbing my favourite familiar trees, I know where all the branches are, where the best rest spot is and the best spot for bird watching. But, new trees are fun too, they are challenging and exciting, I get to push myself and learn something new, exploring is fun and interesting, sometimes scary but always exciting. I get to really use my senses to work out where I’m going, where the next branch is, where to put my paws so I don’t fall, I climb slowly and steadily, muscles working hard as I climb higher and higher. Most of the trees I climb on my regular walkies have big trunks before you get to any branches so I can run straight up them with big powerful leaps. This is a new tree so slow and steady is the way to go, making sure I find out where all the branches are and where the best paw hold is. The tree I chose to climb had lots of branches really low down, right to the ground so I really had to think about my climbing, trying to negotiate each branch before moving onto the next one whilst also trying not to get my lead caught. I heard mummy saying “trust you Jenny to pick the tree with the most branches to want to climb”. She was working hard too trying to move the lead round the branches so I didn’t get all caught up. We were both working together like a well oiled team.

Every so often I would have a pause to have a smell and listen to see what was going on around me and decide on my next move. The world sounds very different from in a tree. If there are lots of leaves it muffles the other sounds and so I can pretend that there is no-one else around other than me and mummy. I can hear the birds singing and tweeting, I can feel the cool wind in my fur, life is good. Then I hear woof, woof, woof and I’m snapped back into reality again but I’m glad I’m up the tree away from the noisy doggy 🐶. Mummy talked to me and explained that the dog wasn’t very close and was on a lead like me so there was nothing for me to worry about. She spoke to the doggy owners and they were amazed to see a cat on the lead up a tree in the park but mummy is used to all the odd looks she gets when taking me walkies. On our regular walkies most people are now used to seeing us and say hello (mostly to me) but here in the park people who saw us were amazed. Mummy said they would look at us and then look again as if they didn’t believe what they saw the first time! When mummy talked to them and said I was blind they were even more amazed, especially as I was climbing the trees. One man said – my cat is normal and it doesn’t do that I think it must be broken. Mummy asked him, have you ever shown you cat a tree? Good point he said I haven’t, mummy said maybe you could and you might be surprised at what you can can do! Hopefully that kitty might just get a chance to go for walkies like I do now the man can see what is possible.

The wind was starting to pick up and get all blustery and swirly so we decided it was time to head home. As you already know the swirly wind disrupts my senses and I can’t hear what is going on or what danger might be coming. It’s ok when we are somewhere I’m used to as I can rely on scent and the map in my head to know where I’m going but I’m not familiar with the park so having my hearing disrupted is a bit scary and there’s not as strong a scent for me to follow back home so we decided to head home and have our dinner.

After such a big adventure I was starving when we got home so I had my dinner, helped mummy with her bath time (with a quick game of damp hands of course) then off to bed, I was exhausted so it didn’t take long for me to drift off to sleep 💤 dreaming of exploring the world like the true adventure cat that I am.

This week was not a normal week, we all had something to celebrate, Mummy had her birthday. We had something fun to celebrate and give us some joy and happiness.

Even though it was her birthday mummy still had to work but that’s ok as she was still home with us where we could spoil her all day. She did her normal work stuff in the morning, meeting with her work friends through her typing machine but that morning was a bit different as they all sang her happy birthday from wherever they all were, it was funny listening to them, cats aren’t good at singing but given what I heard I’m not sure people are much better. Still mummy seemed to enjoy it and it made her laugh.

A few cards had arrived which she opened and put up around the flat to cheer us up, Angelin found them and took them all back down again – it’s such a fun game to play with your pawents. She was too young and little the last time we had cards out (when Santa paws came) to be able to play with them but now she can reach the shelves on the bookcase. It’s a fun game and once we’ve got the cards off we can chase them round the floor. Mummy also got a card from daddy which was really funny as daddy can’t go out so mummy bought it for him to give to her. She acted all surprised when she opened it – mummy is so silly! She says you need to make the best out of every situation, that is what she has taught me and what I try to live by.

Mummy also got some presents, one which was very unusual but very thoughtful too. Mummy’s Aunty had made her a mask 😷 so she can stay safe when she needs to go out to the shop, as daddy can’t go out at all she only goes to the shop if she really, really has to and if it’s really important. Our lovely neighbours have been bringing back some stuff for us from the shops when they go out. They even brought us some cat food in case we were running low. When we go for my daily walkies it’s not the same as going to the shop as we don’t meet anyone whilst we’re out or get close to anyone. Only people who live here can use the gardens where we go walkies.

She also got some lovely flowers, I knew they were flowers even before mummy opened the box they arrived in coz I can smell the beautiful scent. It reminds me of the outside in the summer, mummy put them in pride of place but had to think carefully about where to put them. With two blind cats, one crazy tripaws and an old boy around she had to be careful where to put them so they don’t get knocked over, or nibbled, played with or explored.

Then a larger box arrived, mummy unpacked it carefully and inside were lots of lovely goodies to eat and drink and to make her a special teatime with. I wasn’t so bothered about the human food inside but there was a box to play in, mummy was very happy and each present didn’t just give her something nice but came with a toy for us as well, there’s nothing we like more than a cardboard box to play in, it doesn’t matter if it’s big or small short or tall for me that’s the real present. I don’t think humans understand what exciting things boxes are to a cat. You just think it’s something that holds or protects an object of some kind but you’ve got it all wrong, the box is the best bit not whatever is inside!

I’ve learnt whilst I’ve been here that humans express love in many different ways, snuggles, going for walkies, doing things for others but when it comes to special occasions humans give each other gifts. As a cat I can’t go to a shop to get mummy a present so I have to be a bit more creative. I had a thought that mummy has an ornament that she likes, it’s of a cat (what else) and she always says how elegant and serene the cat looks, well I thought that as my present to her I would give her a real life version. I even managed to find a little box to sit on to completely copy the fake cat. When she saw me mummy was so excited and happy, she even said that the ornament has the same eyes as me as they are little lines like mine. Maybe when they saw my picture when they were looking to adopt me it reminded them of the ornament. Maybe they were always destined to have a blind cat like me, they just never knew it until I came along. I thought I did a pretty good job of copying the fake cat, what do you think?

In the evening mummy did another call to talk to the people in her typing machine, this time it was different though as daddy joined in and they sat on the sofa instead of mummy being at the dining table. When they all started talking daddy went to the kitchen, I heard a loud pop which seemed to make everyone really excited, he then brought mummy back a drink that was really bubbly, I could hear all the little bubbles in the glass popping and fizzing, I went closer to have a better listen and see if I could get a little sniff to find out what it was, the sound was very interesting but when I did get a sniff the smell was horrible, I didn’t like it at all so I left mummy to it. They kept on talking and laughing for a bit and they seemed to enjoy having other people to talk to, especially daddy. They said it was called it ‘virtual drinking’ which I don’t really understand because mummy and daddy’s drinks were very real, not virtual at all, I know this as I could hear it and smell it, I’m not really sure what they mean but it made them happy so that’s all that matters.

When we went for our walkies I dressed up in my best and smartest sparkly bow tie so mummy felt extra special as she couldn’t go out anywhere else to celebrate.

Mummy must have lots of people who love her to get so many lovely presents 🎁 They must feel the same as I do as I think she’s the bestest mummy in the whole world, I should know after all as I travelled a long way to find her.

So, its another week of mummy and daddy being at home and although I love them both very much I’m now starting to wish they would go back to work. All the days are starting to feel the same and the weekends when normally they would be home for two full days just doesn’t feel as special anymore. The only difference between then and now is that mummy isn’t tapping away and talking to her work machine on the dining room table. Mummy says that this will be going on for many more weeks yet as daddy is on a special list so needs to stay at home for a long time so he doesn’t get poorly. Apparently mummy needs to stay at home with him so she doesn’t bring the nasty bug home with her. This week I thought that if everyone is in be same position and getting fed up being at home all together that some nice photos of how to get to with your siblings might help cheer you all up.

Peppar has been poorly for a few weeks and before all this started he wasn’t able to get his booster vaccine until the animal doctor was sure he was fully fit, unfortunately he hasn’t got any better by himself so mummy called the vet who saw Peppar over the phone, mummy became the animal doctor and daddy became the video operator. Poor Peppar seems to have got a nasty cold or flu which has caused him to get an infection so mummy had to go and get him some medicine and hopefully this will help him to get better. I think Peppar is just pleased not having to go to the animal doctor where he turns from the gentle loving soul I know into a crazed, psycho velociraptor cat.

Much like you humans us cats can tell when one of us isn’t feeling well, even me as a blind cat can tell that he’s not feeling at his best. As I love my big brother and he is always there for me I’ve been making sure he gets some extra special love and support so he gets better really quickly. He’s always there for me when I need him and so now it’s my turn to be there for him. I’ve made a real effort this week to help him to feel better. As any big brother does though he still makes sure I’m ok too. Angelin on the other hand hasn’t quite learnt how to sense if someone’s not feeling well as she is still jumping on him and chasing him, she’s still a baby and just wants to play, she doesn’t yet understand how to sense that one of us is unwell and that we need to be a bit nicer to each other sometimes but she’ll learn in time. So to help Peppar feel better I’ve been looking after him and snuggling with him and making sure he’s ok and doesn’t need anything. Sometimes just snuggling with someone makes them feel better and if they feel better then they’ll get better quicker.

We’re still siblings though and even though he’s feeling a bit under the weather that doesn’t mean I treat him differently. Part of being poorly also means you have to have some fun too, it’s all part of being a family. Some things you get let off with and some you don’t so just to make him feel normal I still have a good play with him and try to steal his bird watching / sunbathing spot. Whilst I make sure that I look after him, I am the Queen after all and I need a throne to sit on and that’s the best place to be when the warm summer sunshine is out.

I’m really enjoying my walkies at the moment, the weather is warm and this means I can explore every bush and tree and also start my summer beauty routine which involves rolling around in the mud or sand to have a good back scratch whilst also conditioning my fur and skin underneath. Mummy thinks it’s weird but it just feels sooo good and reaches the parts that I can’t do myself. Mummy really should try it but she doesn’t seem to want to join me I think it’s her that’s a bit weird not me. It’s really important to keep up your beauty routine and make yourself look good even if you can’t go out and meet other people and say hello.

I also took the time to dress up in my best sparkly bow tie on Friday just to make myself look extra smart for my Friday evening walkies. Normally I wear a casual bandana for going out in but I have a couple of smart bow ties for more formal occasions and for when I feel like looking extra smart. I thought seeing as it’s Easter weekend that adding a bit of sparkle would be my little way of adding something special to an otherwise unusually normal long weekend.

We also have to make sure mummy and daddy are safe and cosy whilst they sleep and nothing will come in to harm them when thye are at their most vulnerable. I’m not sure what this Corona bug is but I’m sure if it came in during the night that I could hunt it, catch it and kill it before it got anywhere near mummy and daddy. As you all know I’m a great hunter and take any opportunity to practice, whether it’s those pesky pigeons outside, insects, birds, even the odd mouse that I come across outside. Then there’s the flies, mozzies and moths that I can chase round the flat, I can hear they’re tiny movements even with the tv on. Mummy and daddy are amazed as even they can’t see them and watch my head and ear movements to see where the little flying morsels are. I do hunt them and I do catch them – who says blind cats can’t do everything sighted cats can! If I can catch those I’m sure I can get this Carona bug and the best place to be able to protect mummy and daddy whilst they sleep is by being right next to them. They might be asleep but as you know I always have an ear open when there’s danger about so I’ll know if anything tries to attack. Whilst I’m on the bed I can also keep Peppar safe and in return he gives me a quick wash before we settle down for the night – I’ll take the first ‘watch’.

Hopefully, this has given you a little something to brighten your day and take your mind off all the chaos that is going on around us all. I know that my mummy and daddy are happy to have us four as part of their family to take their minds off everything going on in the world around us. If I managed to make someone else smile at my story and the antics of four perfectly imperfect cats and their human pawents then that makes me very happy.

Until next week stay safe everypawdy and take care of one another.

It’s been another odd week, mummy and daddy are still at home but we’re getting used to all being together all the time. I still go each morning to the door to say goodbye to them in case they are going to work, I sit in front of the door just to remind them it’s time to go in case they have just forgotten, if they aren’t going then if I sit and shout loud enough mummy might just take me for walkies instead. Unfortunately they don’t go to work and I don’t get walkies either, it’s just not fair. Mummy says we can still only go out once a day and so if we went out in the morning then we wouldn’t be able to have our evening time together when all the birdies are flying about getting ready for bed and making my walkies so much fun. She says we should try to keep to our normal routine that we had before she and daddy were spending all the time at home. So instead I do my rounds, make sure mummy is working, check the balcony and then have a little sleep, it’s still strange having them around disrupting my day and hearing all the noise they make all the time but I suppose I’ll get used to it eventually. Much like anything it takes a bit of time to adjust to new situations.

As I said last week we’re trying to keep mummy and daddy entertained so we just decided to do something a bit silly whilst they were home just to make them laugh. We secretly organised ourselves by age on the scratching post on the back of the living room door. When they came in they were amazed and we stayed there just long enough for them to record the event with a photo. We really did make them laugh and we really did do it all by ourselves – we wouldn’t have stood for it if it wasn’t all our idea or if mummy and daddy had tried to put us in those positions – no way, we did this because we wanted to 😸

We did have some proper fun this week though, it was Millies 2nd birthday so we had a little pawty for her, we couldn’t have all our friends round but we had our own little celebration 🥳 for her. Mummy made us some chicken and we had a celebration feast followed by Millie playing with her favourite nobbly ball toy all evening. She might only have three legs but she is fast as lightning when she gets going. Sometimes we girls try to join in but she’s just too quick for us, when she’s going full speed I’ve found it’s best to just try to stay out of her way, once she’s got her eye on the ball that’s all she’s focused on so it’s at your peril if you get in the way! Angelin practices her hunting skills trying to pounce on Millie as she rushes past, sometimes she gets her but mostly she misses coz Millie is so quick. Catching fast moving prey is very difficult for a blind cat, you have to understand how far away the prey starts off, how fast it’s going and then predict where it’s going to be when you do pounce. It’s all very complicated calculations going on in a split second. I’m pretty good at it but Angelin hasn’t quite mastered it yet but she’ll get there with practices and then it’ll be “watch out Millie”! It was so nice to have something fun to celebrate, even if it was only for a short while.

Mummy made a funny picture of Millie celebrating her birthday. I think she’s gone a bit daft with being at home all day!

It’s going to be difficult to stay in so much when the weather is getting nicer, I know from our evening walkies that the sun is out longer and the sun is shining more brightly than over the last few months. I can feel the warmth on my fur and hear more animals out and about when I’m exploring. I can smell more scents and some flowers are starting to come out which means the buzzy bees 🐝 are also out for me to chase. Mummy says I need to be careful through as I don’t want another nasty sting. As we can only go out once a day I make the most of every walkies, making sure I go as far as I can every time, chasing everything and running around as much as I can. There’s only one chance to get all my zoomies done outside in the fresh air.

We have also been using our natural talents to try to get mummy and daddy to do some stretching to keep them fit and healthy whilst they’re staying home. We’ve been showing them our yoga and pawlates skills in the hope they’ll join us in exercising. Peppar demonstrates his balance and flexibility, the pose opens up the hip joint which is good after sitting all day. It stretches the spine and realigns the shoulders after hours of typing on the work machine on the dining room table.

Well, this week has been very unusual, mummy and daddy haven’t been going to work and have been staying home with us instead. I thought this would be such fun as mummy and I could play all day and go out for lots of walkies whenever we wanted to and I could chase the pesky pigeons and the other birdies but that’s not how it’s been at all!

Every day mummy sits at the dining table at her typing machine, typing away, tippity tap, tippity tap all day long. She’s been talking on the phone a lot and I also think there’s some people living in the machine as she talks to that as well. She says that she can see other people who are also at home and working by looking into the typing machine. Obviously I can’t see them but to me that just sounds like crazy talk. I think mummy has finally lost the plot and gone completely mad. Of course if mummy is working from home the we will do our very best to help her.

As usual we’ve all got a part to play in helping mummy and daddy so we’re trying our best to help. We sit on her lap to make sure she always knows we love her and are ready and willing to help her, we make sure we tug on the wires so mummy knows when to have a break. I’ve even tried talking to the people that mummy is talking to by yeowling at them from the window sill or the back of the sofa just to let them know how hard mummy is working. When daddy starts working from home as well then we can start helping him too – I’m sure he’ll be just as pleased with us helping him as mummy is!

Before all of this my life was quite simple I’d make sure mummy and daddy get up for work, I’d see them out and make sure they left on time, giving them licks and purrs along the way. I’d play for a bit with my sisters and just make sure they are ok and have everything they need. I’d remind them of their place in the family if they got too excited, I’d have a quick snack with Peppar and catch a nap for the rest of the day until mummy came home. As soon as she came home I’d go out for walkies, by the time we got back, daddy would be home getting our dinner ready. I’d make sure mummy had a bath and that she’s squeaky clean, then playtime and bed.

Now though, mummy and daddy are home all the time, to me that means it’s playtime all the time and mummy should take me out for walkies at least twice a day as that’s what we do when she’s home. This is different though as they’re home every day, not just the two normal fun days which I call Caturday and Funday. All these days with them at home all day I don’t know what I’m supposed be doing and when I’m supposed be doing it, everything is so confused I don’t know whether I’m supposed be playing, sleeping, walking, eating, keeping my sisters in line, I don’t know what’s going on. I’m a cat of routine, I like routine and now it’s all changed and I’m getting a little bit stressed about it because I don’t know what to do. Should I make mummy go for walkies? Should I play, eat or sleep?

Normally the flat is quiet during the day so I can relax but now there are constant noises, mummy typing on her machine, the tv is on all day, there’s talking, tea making, making food in the middle of the day- hang on we don’t get anything in the day! So much going on, so much stimulation and it’s all getting a bit too much for me.

Last week whilst mummy and daddy were home all day I was going out for walkies twice a day and this was quite fun as you will know I love going walkies. This week is different, mummy said to someone called Boris said that we could only go out once a day so now I have to wait all day to go out with mummy for walkies. It’s driving me insane, it’s just not right. When we do go out though it’s my job to make sure mummy gets her exercise, normally she would be walking around and busy doing things not sitting at the dining table all day. So when we go walkies I try and run really, really fast so mummy has to run to keep up with me, sometimes we play football, we’ve got a big one and a small one that we play with outside. I don’t have to kick the balls back to mummy though – I am a cat after all but I do chase after it and run around, again and again and again. As much as mummy kicks it I’ll chase it, this will make sure that mummy gets running around and some exercise to keep her fit and healthy. Daddy says that I’m a very lucky girl as mummy is only allowed out once and she makes sure that she uses that one time to take me out and spend time with me, he said she does it because she knows how much I love being outside.

Football is great fun because unlike chasing the pesky pigeons I can catch the football and then mummy kicks it again and again and again, each time I catch it so I win the game every time.

I thought that having mummy and daddy home all day would be such fun, it was for a bit as mummy and I could have extra walkies if we wanted to. Still we all love each other and I’ll do my best to make sure we all get some playtime together but we all need our own space too so I’ll make sure we all get some time on our own to relax quietly so we can get rid of all the stresses of living together all the time. My main thing though is to defend our home to make sure daddy and mummy are safe from this nasty bug and make sure that I do my bit to help them stay safe and be happy.

Till next week stay safe everypawdy.