It’s been a while since we had some decent weather here, it’s so rainy and wet that sometimes a quick walkies is all you want to just get out and play with the birdies. The days have been short, even us blind cats can tell the difference between day and night, the sounds are different, the air is different, cooler, quieter and somehow more echoey and night time smells different too.

Then, as the days seem to get a bit longer and the weather isn’t so cold and wet, it’s time to start getting back to having a proper walkies. So when mummy got in from her last day of work this week, as we explored the garden she said to me that she’d seen another intruder cat when she came home, it wasn’t the same one I’d met before but I knew that. My super blindie senses had always known that there was more than one intruder cat by the scents that they leave around my garden. Well, maybe I have been slacking a bit in getting my scent out there and making sure that everyone knows this is my garden so that’s it I was on a mission to start re-exploring the neighbourhood, to get a proper walkies in and get my scent out there so that any other creatures know that this is my neighbourhood too. So after we had checked our garden and all the perimeters to make sure that all the intruder cats had definitely gone, I ducked under the gate and off we went to explore the streets.

It was quiet down the street and so I could concentrate on all the interesting smells that I discovered, even though I haven’t been down the road for a while I remembered the way round. Down the road, past the rustling hedge, a bit further down and past the big tree that I can’t (yet) figure out how to climb then follow the fence round the corner and just keep going, if you follow the pathway then you come all the way back round to the beginning again. On the way though there’s lots of places to explore, bushes, grass, trees and some of it smells so good. I can smell the scent of my doggie furriend Melvin along the way. Sometimes, when I’m out on my walkies in the garden he stops by to say hello as he goes on his walkies. I seem meet lots of doggies as they go on their walkies past our garden and most of them seem happy to say hello but I think there’s some that are confused by a cat on a lead and woof at me as they go past. Maybe they’ve never seen a cat on walkies before? Still they’re all very well behaved (even if some are very excited – Fergus) and they’re always on a lead so mummy doesn’t have to worry about them coming too close.

Anyway, where were we? Oh yes, exploring the neighbourhood, well, it was the dead of night when mummy and I were out having adventures…well 5 o’clock mummy said to be precise but it’s much more exciting to pretend we were on a secret mission together to explore the neighbourhood wilderness. I know, I know, we don’t live in the wilderness but us blindies have a brilliant sense of imagination so as I’m adventuring around the neighbourhood I’m imagining where I might be, the smells and sounds paint a picture in my head and really I can be wherever I want to be, exploring the jungle (a bush), running across the vast countryside (our lawn), climbing in the forest (our trees).

Today I’m an urban explorer, sticking to the pathways as mummy keeps stopping me from exploring everywhere I want to go and keeps telling me we can’t explore in there Jenny that garden doesn’t belong to you. Belong to me? I’m a cat, everything belongs to me, it’s all my territory if I want it to be and besides if all the other animals can come and go through all these gardens why can’t I? “Jenny” mummy said “we can’t just go trapsing through other peoples property, you wouldn’t like it very much if everyone walked through our garden would you?” But mummy, they smell so good and I just wanna go in a little bit, just to find out where that scent trail goes. “Come on Jen, let’s stick to the path, there plenty of places we can explore instead” I know when mummy’s being serious and she wasn’t budging on this one, the lead was firmly locked so I couldn’t go any further, so off we went along the path.

I’m a very good girl while I’m exploring – other than wanting to go into gardens and always try my very best to walk on the pathway and not venture into he road. When mummy and I first explored down here she kept saying to me “stay on the pavement Jenny, don’t walk in the road” and so I’ve learnt where I can and can’t walk, and if I’m going a little in the wrong way I feel a little bit of sideways pressure on my harness, guiding me back in the right direction. This is something that mummy and I are really good at, over the years weve been walking together we got the almost secret lead language. I like the feeling of security this gives me and if I go exploring a bush or long grass, if I need to I can follow the pressure the lead has to find my way back out. If I explore a long way mummy will move the lead this way and that to help me find my way around things and get to where I’m going.

If I want to cross the road mummy makes me wait at the edge and she says I must listen in each direction before we cross. Mummy watches each way before saying “Come on Jen, it’s all clear, let’s cross” and gives my lead a gentle tug forwards. The road is very quiet, unlike the one that is by our garden and this is really why mummy doesn’t mind us going this way. We do have the odd car passing by but they go very slowly and as I’m close to mummy safe on the path I just crouch down by her feet until it passes and then we’re off again once it’s gone. Mummy always tells me what a brave girl I am and gives me a little stroke.

After our trip around the houses, we headed back up the road and I was feeling pretty confident and just when mummy thought I was going back in the side gate I carried on up the road, right to the top where all the cars go past and trotted round the end and in the driveway. I wasn’t even scared of the cats that went past and gave mummy a happy dance and a meow- reow when we got in. I forgot how fun it was being out and about properly and I think mummy was pretty impressed that I could still remember my way round even though we haven’t walked there for a while. All in all a good nights work.

Oh it was so wonderful, we could hardly sleep on Catmas Eve but when we finally drifted off to sleep and awoke the next morning Santa Paws had been and left us a whole heap of presents. It turns out we must have been really, really good this year after all. We needn’t have worried about being on the naughty list after all.

Mummy and daddy spread out all our presents on the floor for us to help unwrap, and how fun that was, ripping into and tearing the crinkly paper to get to the fun stuff inside. There were so many presents we just couldn’t believe it and then mummy said “Girls, this is an extra special present, Nan and Grandpaw thought you had been so good this year, coping with the big move and so much noise and disruption that they got you a little something too.” Oh Wow! We ripped into that one and there were treats and toys and a fun game to play. There are things that rattle, and tinkle and crinkle and roll and we’re going to have so much fun playing with it all.

From Santa Paws I got a whole pile of gawjus bandanas that I can wear whilst out on walkies, I haven’t tried them all yet but I’m going to be the most stylish kitty in Cumbria. They all came along with a little collar with a bell on it and there was even an extra special surprise inside. Mummy said that I was such a special kitty that the lady who makes the bandanas had made me an extra special custom made collar accessory just for me. There’s not another one like it in the whole wide world and even mummy didn’t know what it was going to be like. Well, it is just purrfect, it’s a super fancy bow tie with bumbly bees 🐝 on it and a special button with a J on it for Jenny. I just love it so much and feel so special for having such gawjus gifts and special friends to make them just for me. Fank you so much to my dear friend Eric’s mummy @erics_empawrium for making me such a wonderful present, you really do know how to make a girl feel extra special and extra loved. We also got one of their cat kickers which are such good fun, they’re the best kickers around and we’ve already managed to destroy on of these in the past so to get another one is just pawesome but apparently I have to share that with Angelin and Millie. And if that wasn’t enough I got my own special walkies hook to hang my harness and lead on in between walkies trips.

Millie got a really unusual present, we can’t really do much with it, we can’t play with it or chase it, you can’t wear it, climb it, or eat it, it’s a small little packet that holds magic inside, I think there might even be a tiny magician inside the box. This little packet will tell mummy and daddy what breed Millie is. She so floofy and floppy that they have always wondered what breed she might be, Angelin and I are just regular looking kitties but Millie has such silky long fur that it’s always puzzled mummy and daddy thought that they would try to find out a bit more about Millies background. Whatever it says it won’t change anything, we’ll still love the crazy gal no matter what she is, even if she comes back as part tiger! Mummy says it’s just a bit of fun but she also said she’s not sure how fun it will be sticking something called a swab into the jaws of a feisty ginger kitty’s mouth will be. I’m pretty sure that’s when Millie will release that inner tiger.

Angelin got a huge flippy, floppy fish to play with, we’re not quite sure about this one, it’s very confusing, it flaps away on the floor making a dull thudding noise and then just when you think you’ve got it sussed it stops. Then when you go towards it and give it a gentle pat to see if it’s still alive it it wakes up again. We’ve tried to sneak up on it from all angles and even Angelin whose extra quiet can’t get to it before it starts dramatically flapping at her. Millie tried to carry it away to hide for lunch later but it fought back and wiggled and flapped so hard that she dropped it. Still it keeps us amused and one day when it’s not looking one of us will get the better of it, I think it must be a blind fish like me as it’s got senses that almost match my blindie super senses, almost match but not quite. Soon we’ll figure out how to get the better of it, maybe when it’s sleeping…

Then mummy and daddy went out to go and see their human family so we got to spend all day playing with our toys and daddy put all the big crinkly paper into our paper pile for us to play with, it’s such a big play pile now that Angelin felt the need to guard it against any intruders and I dare anyone to try to take any of our play paper when Angelin’s on full guard cat mode.

Then when mummy and daddy got home we had some more playtime before curling up in our new boxes. Oh! Sorry I forgot to mention that with Catmas and presents and paper comes one of our favourite gifts, boxes, we just can’t resist them, there’s a box for every occasion and every mood, big boxes, little boxes, skinny boxes, tall boxes, ones to play in and ones to sleep in and sometimes one for just sitting in and listening to the world go by. Anyway after such a fun packed and play filled day it was sleeping boxes we were after and so I hunted out the perfect one, filled with soft (not crinkly) paper, perfect for bedding down in, nice and tall so I could really snuggle down and sleep in complete comfort. Night, night everyone, sleep 🥱 tight 💤

Then things settled down for a couple of days and I tried out some of my bandanas on walkies with mummy, she made Catmas even more special as she’s home all day so we could go out in the daytime for proper walkies. Then one afternoon the noisy, loud doorbell went and mummy jumped up excitedly and shouted to daddy “He’s here” who’s here we thought, Mummy doesn’t normally get this excited about the doorbell? Maybe Santa Paws come back again? Maybe he forgot something? Maybe he was lost? Well it turns out it was kind of Santa Paws but in disguise as mummy’s brother who had come to stay for a little while. Let me explain, he brought more big boxes with him and mummy was really excited, there was more paper for us to play with and then it seemed that that was it but there was more… Nan and Grandpaw came over the next day and mummy cooked a delicious smelling meal and they all sat round the posh table chatting, eating and drinking, we got to share some yummy turkey, sausages and bacon but then all too soon mummy’s brother had to leave, they all said goodbye and then well… that’s when the real fun started, that’s when we realised mummy brother must be Santa Paws… he had left one big box behind for us…we all sat round in the living room whilst mummy excitedly y unpacked the box “look what you’ve got girls, this is all for you” I gave it a good sniff and it smelt of cat and mummy’s brother but something else too, I had no idea what it is and even though she could see what was going on Millie had no idea either. “It’s like a giant 3D jigsaw puzzle” mummy said but she plodded away snapping this bit and that bit together, trying to trip me up whenever I walked past. Then finally she said it was finished. “Come on girls, come and try out your new wheel”

This is the best Catmas ever.

I hope that you all continue to enjoy my adventures and stories, I can’t wait to find out what this year might bring, last year was a real adventure for sure. I wish that 2023 brings you peace, love and happiness, I’m living proof that dreams can come true and I hope that all of yours do too.

I’m definately on the nice list, I was absolutely, definately, pawsitively nowhere near all the shenanigans that have been going on recently. It so difficult to be good when there’s just so much temptation around, trees inside, baubles, crinkly paper, boxes, shiny things for Millie, rustly things that tempt a blindies ears. I think Catmas is just a way to trick you into being naughty, a kitty has been good all year long and then bam! Here’s the final and hardest test, right before Santa Paws comes, it’s just not fair.

Well, the temptation of one little, teeny tiny package was just too much. This mischief is way beyond the usual pulling baubles off the tree (mummy told me she deliberately leaves some for us to play with on the bottom of the tree) and stealing the tinsel, this is full on naughtiness and my little sisfus have A LOT of being good to do to recover from their latest antics. I’m not even sure there’s enough time to make up for it before the big man is due to come.

Well, here goes, brace yourself, they stole a present from under the tree, then if that wasn’t bad enough, they ripped through the crinkly paper, then, through the bag inside and then…no I’m not finished yet…they stole the catnip play stick toys from the inside! They maintain that the toys had been captured and were being held to ransom and they were actually just giving them their freedom. They’re so silly, every big sisfur knows that if you’re going to steal things from anywhere you do it in the dead of night when your humans have gone to sleep so they don’t know who did what or at the very least hide the evidence! All kitties have a secret place to to stash things in, somewhere the humans won’t find them. Don’t sit there like two silly kitties playing with your spoils right in front of them! They’re such amateurs, no street smarts between them at all! They have obviously learned nothing from me.

When it’s all going down and daddy is taking the photos as evidence to show mummy what naughty girls they have been, I’m nowhere in sight. Where am I? Well, I’m curled up, ‘sleeping’ on nans bed like a sweet, innocent princess. Who would ever suspect such a cute little blind kitty would ever be involved in such naughtiness. Well, turns out that mummy, much like daddy was half thinking how naughty they had been raiding the presents but also half impressed at how they had managed to not only sniff out the kitty presents amongst all the human ones but break through two impenetrable layers. Sadly though for Millie and Angelin mummy and daddy aren’t Santa Paws and so don’t get to decide who goes on the naughty or nice lists.

I’m not taking any chances though so even though it’s been desperately cold outside I made a really big effort to go out for walkies with mummy for as long as possible. Even if the ground was cold and hard and my paws went kind of numb and then really tingly I love having walkies with mummy and I know she loves the snow and the cold crinkly frost is the closest thing we’ve had so far so I’ll do everything I can to help mummy be happy. Then, as usual after walkies and dinner I keep mummy company as her bath buddy and then it’s time to settle down for the evening and it’s snuggle time on mummy’s warm blankie and the off to bed, let’s all pile on together with mummy and daddy, I’m sure there’s enough room.

Oh my, it’s got super chilly outside, I think we’re getting ready for Santa Paws coming. It’s enough to make a girls paws tingle and start to hope that I’ve been good enough this year to make it onto the good list, it’s been a hectic year as there’s just been so much happening this year and I can only hope that I’ve done enough for Santa to think I’ve been a good girl. Still, I’d better just make sure so I’ll just take mummy out for quick walkies and a breath of very fresh air. Then one day, the day mummy doesn’t have to go to work and can spend all day playing with us, we were getting ready to go out. Daddy, as usual chose my bandana and this time he said it was time to bring out the special Christmas ones, he chose my Catmas Robin bandana and mummy said we had better wrap up warm coz it had snowed overnight. Sure enough as I set paws outside the front door I felt the cold air hit me so I fluffed up my fur and prepared for the familiar and unique feel of snow ❄️ on my paws. It’s kind of cold but not crunch, it’s kind of fluffy and it tickles a bit as it dissolves into nothingness on my chilly pink toe beans. That’s ok though as I can run around making little kitty paw prints that mummy said will freeze and become part of the garden until the icy cold weather changes.

Mummy was getting a bit worried that I haven’t been wanting to go for walkies in the evening recently and that I might be feeling a bit cold here up North. Today though I showed her that I was happy to run around in the cold and the snow, do all of the normal things I love to do and have fun with her out in our garden. It’s ok mummy I still love running around outside with you, even if it is fffffrreeezing cold I meowed, just to reassure her and make her feel better.

Earlier in the day mummy had gone out and topped up the bird food, it was then that I started telling her that I was ready to go out to play. The new bird food had got all the birdies very excited and started a new Catflix show for Millie to watch from the comfort and warmth of the bedroom. She chats away to the birdies from behind the glass, watching them intently, completely mesmerised by them. Secretly I think she’s happy to sit and watch them from the warmth of the indoors and I know that she even watches me watching them when I’m outside.

This time though the birdies must have been hungry, normally they fly away when I get close but this time Mr. Robin stayed around pecking at the food mummy had put out, I could hear his little beak pecking away in the tree and his little wing fluttering temptingly. He even stayed around to say hello to mummy too, she said he was a very handsome fellow but was chancing his luck by landing on the wall which was just a little too close to me for comfort, before flying back up into the tree to gobble up some more food.

Then, as if running around in the snow and chasing the birdies wasn’t enough, mummy said it was about time we put up the Catmas tree so, of course we couldn’t let mummy do it alone as it wouldn’t look half as good as it would if we helped. So we all gathered round to help her decide which play toys…I mean decorations to put on which bit of the tree for best fun. Apparently the ‘special’ ones go ‘out of reach of kitty paws’ but come on meowmy you know there’s really no such thing and just coz we’re all perfectly imperfect doesn’t mean your decorations will be safe and survive to see another year. Then mummy reminded me that we had to be good for Santa if we wanted him to visit us this year, ah, yes, good point mummy. She also reminded me that there were other special decorations on the bottom of tree as well, these are the special ones that we’re all allowed to play with. Mummy was chatting away to us as we helped her “You know that Christmas is for all of us and we’re all a family so daddy and I wouldn’t leave you out of the fun of the tree. You know that we know you girls can’t resist all the decorations and so we always leave you some that you can play with.” Oh thank you mummy we all clamoured at once.

We truly are lucky girls to be part of such a special family where we are considered and included in everything.

Just when you think you’ve got a routine going, everything changes and suddenly there’s daytime walkies, double walkies and a week full of outdoor fun.

You all know that I love walkies and being out and about in our new garden but it takes me a little while to get used to all the noises that I can hear when I’m out and about. Its all very different to where we used to live, instead of the planes that I used to hear, there’s a multitude of birds. We had birds before but here there’s just so many, flitting about in the bushes and trees, tweeting away and tormenting me as I hunt them and try to play with them. Just when I think I’ve got one pinpointed and I leap into the bush to get it, away it goes off into another bit of the hedge. There’s also these things called cows which I can hear moo-ing away in the distance and mummy and I went down the street the other day and I met something called sheep, they make a funny baa-ing noise. There’s also loads of other noises that come from the other people living around us, where we lived before had other people living there but the noises all came from one side, not all around and they were mostly people noises. Here there are little bangs and thuds and until I’m a bit more settled I’m not quite sure what these all are. Then my in built street cat kicks in and if in doubt, get away from any noises you’re unsure of, you never know what it might be.

Mummy knows me very well and she can tell when theres something just not quite right. She keeps asking me what’s wrong and tells me that it’s all OK, it’s the same noises that I hear during the day which aren’t scary at all. The noises sound different at night though, they sound louder, closer and more scary. There’s nothing else to occupy my mind and distract me as all the birds go to bed early so theres nothing to play with. Of course mummys always there to play with but she can’t hide in a bush like the birds can! Well, maybe she can but I haven’t asked her and she hasn’t crawled in there yet.

So this week mummy did something extra special for me. One morning she got up but didn’t go to work, she said something about having to work late so she stayed home in the morning. I was a bit worried because working late means no walkies at all, whilst I’m not really up for evening walkies, I still like a quick venture out with mummy, it’s good for her and I need to make sure she gets some exercise during the day. I needed’t have worried though as mummy had a cunning plan, I could feel the sun shining through the window and then I heard the sound of the cupboard opening, this is where mummy normally keeps her coat and work shoes so I didn’t really think anything of it but its also the place where mummy keeps my lead. Then I hear its familiar sound and then the sound of my bandana box opening, now I was really excited, the bandana box only opens when its walkies time. Mummy had a surprise morning walkies for me. She said that by the time she came home from work it would be far to late for walkies and so she would take me for a morning walkies instead. Well, this is just the best surprise, off we went outside, the air was cool and crisp and the grass was ever so slightly crunchy under my paws and made them tingle. I didn’t care though I was out and about on a weekday with mummy, the birds were tweeting and when we found a patch of sun it was warm on my fur, making up for having cold paws. We had great fun and ran around and just enjoyed ourselves. Then all too quickly it was over and it was time for mummy to get ready and go to work.

We headed indoors and that’s when the noise started, there were people doing work in the house (again) and again we were confined to the bedroom with daddy. I think this is mostly due to me being a bit naughty before and going adventuring in the loft, daddy says were not allowed up there again but as soon as that ladder came down we were there ready and waiting to scale up it and go exploring again. It was OK though as I warmed my cold paws on mummys pillow and kept it warm for her whilst she was off working. Mummy was right too as she was very late home from work, so late in fact that we were all already put ourselves to bed and left daddy watching the tv when mummy came home. It was a bit confusing but as soon as we heard the door opening we grudgingly got up and welcomed her home but now were up, surely it must be playtime now mummy.

I thought one morning walkies was fun enough for one week but then later in the week mummy didn’t go to work in the moning. She got up at the normal time, gave us our breakfast but instead of putting on her boots and letting me play with her laces like normal she sat on the sofa with her typing machine. Yey, more playtime this morning I thought but mummy was focussed on her machine and resisted all my attempts to have extra playtime.

“Hang on Jen” mummy said “This isn’t playtime, I’ve got to work but if you’re very good then I’ll take you for a walkies at lunchtime before I head into the office”. Walkies – at lunchtime – on a weekday – now that is a special treat and one to be good for. So, OK, I’ll pester daddy until you’re ready to take me out. Mummy was true to her word, when it got to lunchtime the cupboard opened and out came her coat and my lead and off we went for a lunchtime stroll around the garden. I can easily lose all track of time when mummy and I are out and about and I was having such fun that before I knew it mummy was telling me it was time to go in. “Jenny, I’d love to spend all day out here with you but I’ve got to go to work sweetie” I was sad that our walkies was over but it was such a special treat to be out with mummy during the day.

To finish off an extra special week I also got two walkies every day over the weekend too, I think mummys trying to make up for any that I don’t get at night. I’m such a lucky kitty to have a furramily that loves me so much and does everything they can to make me happy, give me the best quality and as much time as possible outside to enjoy myself as much as I can. Whilst I’m not yet fully settled and confident about going out in the evening with the noises sounding so different to during the day mummy is doing everything she can to make sure I get out during the day instead. It’s quite tricky as it gets dark so early but as mummy says where there’s a will there’s a way. If we can’t get out whilst the sun is still shining we still go out at night as mummy says that it’s the only way I’ll be able to build my confidence and learn that there’s nothing that is going to harm me, specially when mummy is there by my side. She says the noises are nothing to be scared of and with a bit of time and patience I can be as confident being out at night as I am during the day.

That is of course as long as the ground doesn’t get too cold, it’s already colder here than it was in our old place so I hope it doesn’t get too much colder and if theres any of that stuff mummy calls snow then that’s it – I’m becoming and indoor cat like Millie and Angelin! Until then though thank you mummy for helping me get out and about as much as possible, I pawromise that I’ll try not to be scared of the dark. That’s a blind cat joke just in case you didn’t realise 😺

I thought this week I’d share some of our more unusual positions that us cats can get into, this isn’t just a blindie thing but more just a cat thing. Sometimes mummy and daddy will walk into a room, see us and just say “how on earth did you get like that?” Or “That really can’t be comfortable” sometimes they just laugh at us.

But I must say we cats are built differently to you humans and so what is comfy for us just looks plain weird to you but it works both ways, I often wonder why you walk on two legs when having four (or three in Millies case) is so much easier. I often wonder why you don’t have tails either, they’re such good fun to have, they kind of have a mind of their own as they not only help with balance when running full speed down the hallway or chasing insects but they also express how we feel. Even a blind cat can tell a swishing tail from a happy tail. Angelins tail is linked directly to her excited brain section, when ever she is excited her tail just goes poof, mummy and daddy say it’s like a happy signal. She can’t help it and can’t control it but is just does it all by itself. Sometimes it’s triggered by the crinkle of the food packet, sometimes by a toy and sometimes just coz she’s about to launch a giant bear hug on me or Millie.

For me I do the happy dance, I vibrate my tail and dance moving my paws to the happy beat in my heart. Then of course there’s Millies spectacular floofy tail, she struggles to do a vibra tail like me but she can do it when she wants and her tail is far too floofy to go poof like Angelin’s but her tail is best for snuggling into, it’s like wrapping your nose or paws in a warm silky blanket.

Hey! Now there’s a thought, maybe if mummy had a tail she might go climbing with me, maybe that’s why she stays on the ground whilst I climb on my own. I know she could use her hands instead of extra paws so that couldn’t be why she doesn’t climb, so it must be coz she doesn’t have a tail, after all I use mine to feel how close I am to the bottom of the tree when I come down so maybe she’s scared of getting stuck up there?

Anyway, I digress, where were we? Oh yes, silly positions us kitties get into. Mostly we do these things just because we can, why wouldn’t you want to get your leg behind your head whilst looking over you right shoulder and pointing all your feet in the air? Really, I mean us cats were built for showing off, you humans work hard doing this yoga thing well, really you’re just trying to be more cat right? I think you’re all just jealous but if it brings some light and laughter into your day then that makes me happy too.

So please, sit back, relax and enjoy some pictures of us in some funny poses.

I hope I haven’t made you too jealous of our natural catortionist skills and esteemed master yoga and pawlates status but as mummy says when daddy’s playing with us with our feather toy ‘go on, you’ve got to be the bird’. All you need to remember to bend and twist like us and find comfort in any extraordinary or unusual position is to just ‘be the cat’ and bingo any and every position of comfort is achievable.

It’s been so windy here for the last few days that when mummy and I have gone out for walkies I’ve had to ask mummy to hold on extra tight to the lead so that I don’t blow away. You might laugh and think I’m joking but even the plants have been blowing away so there’s every chance a little kitty like me might fly away too.

I’m getting much more used to the windy weather and when it’s just the right kind of windy I get a mad case of the windy zoomies, rushing around, chasing the leaves and then my zoomies normally end up with me in the top of a tree. You can’t beat a good tree climb to finish off a round of zoomies. It’s just my way of letting go and just being happy, running free with no care in the world, look at me mummy I’m a super cat I shout at the top of my voice as I run around like a mentalist, boy that feels good, just running for the sake of it, just because it feels good, I feel invigorated and truly alive. I like the way the wind blows the leaves around and my fur goes one way for a bit and then whoosh it’s all blowing back the other way, it tickles and takes my breath away.

There so many noises to hear and I’ve just got to explore all of them, chasing leaves this way and that, checking out the rustling noises coming from the bushes but sometimes it gets very loud and swirly which makes me a bit nervous as I can’t tell quite where it’s coming from. My hearing is so good that if it gets really noisy I can’t quite work out where everything is or what it is, everything is just one loud noise and it can be really overwhelming so over the years I’ve learnt to adopt what mummy calls the ‘duck and cover’ mode. When I can’t quite pinpoint something and I’m not sure what it is or where it’s coming from I crouch close to the ground (for safety) and tilt my head up so that my radar ears can get a better angle to try to locate where the noise is coming from and what it might be. Then as the noise passes it’s back to normal and I’m off chasing after another leaf.

Recently it’s been so windy that it made the fence rattle and bang about and that was quite a scary noise at first but with mummy by my side and telling me it was all ok I started to get used to the noise. It was hard though as it just happened every so often, it’s not a regular noise and sometimes it would bang once and sometimes it would surprise me and bang again very quickly. This is very difficult to get used to but gradually I’ve realised that even though it’s a very sudden noise it’s not something that will hurt me so it’s not so bad after all. Whilst out and about we almost ran into one of mummy’s plants, luckily my whiskers felt it just in time but it isn’t normally lying there on the grass. Phew it was lucky my super blindie senses were paying attention but I did wonder what it was doing there? “Oh no” mummy said “the winds blown down the trellis with the honeysuckle, daddy and I will have to put that somewhere safe and try and save it.” Well I was very glad that I knew mummy had a firm grip on my lead so I didn’t blow away too.

I started to wonder if my days of windy walkies would ever end, it seemed to be day after day after day of blustery weather. As much as it’s fun getting windy zoomies I can’t hear my friends the birdies playing in the bushes and trees and I really wanna join in with them but mummy kept saying “don’t worry Jenny there’s always a calm after the storm” and she was right as usual, sure enough just in time for the weekend the sun started to come out, the birds started to play and mummy took me out for extra long walkies. She said that today was a very special day where we remember how lucky we are to be able to live our lives how we want to, I sat, just for a moment in my special poppy bandana thinking about what a lucky kitty I am to be living my best life with mummy, daddy, Millie and Angelin. I remembered the day that changed my life forever and the kind hands and voices of the ladies who rescued me, cared for me, loved me and found me my furrever home. Thank you Anna and Irene, I will never forget you, you will always have a place in my heart.

This week had a very strange start, mummy and I went out for walkies as normal but she took a noisy, rattly tin with her. She also put these strange smelling things by our front door that she wouldn’t let me help make. Mummy spent ages in the kitchen making funny scraping noises and going “ewww” a lot. There were lots of kind of squelchy noises, which is what I think mummy was eww-ing about. I really wanted to help as I love helping mummy do stuff around the house and garden and from the sounds of it she needed my expert digging skills but mummy wouldn’t let me, something about getting my paws all yucky and slimy. So, that was it I was confined to just supervising and making sure that mummy had some company as she really didn’t seem to like what she was doing. Then there was a lot of discussion with daddy as to what kind of face to carve into this thing? Oh My Catness what on earth are they doing? I went off to try to figure out what was going on, and then suddenly Millie came shouting “Mummy’s lost the plot, she’s finally lost it!” We all rushed back through to the kitchen and I could hear a scary sound. Millie said that mummy had a big kitchen knife and was repeatedly stabbing and cutting this big orange head like thing. Over and over again she stabbed and slashed at it, the poor thing didn’t stand a chance! Then she finished with one and started on another one, again stabbing at it over and over until finally, she put the knife down and stood back and said “Well, I think I’ve done a pretty good job” We we’re all shocked and then Millie got a glance of what was on the kitchen side, next to the deceased, stabbed orange thing. “Oh. my. Catnesss” she meowed “I can see their brains all over the table! Those noises you heard before Jen was her scooping their brains out, they’re there just lying on the kitchen side!”

It’s all right girls, mummy said, they’re just big old pumpkins, it’s all just part of Halloween 🎃. We’re just going to put them outside so the kids know that they can come here to do some “trick and treating” it’ll be fun, it’s just like a game. The kids dress up in scary costumes, knock on the door, I pretend to be scared and give them some sweets so they don’t play tricks on us. I thought we might play this together Jen whilst we’re out on walkies.

So, with that said and a sigh of relief from us that mummy and daddy hadn’t gone any more crazy than they already are, daddy picked my scariest bandana and off mummy and I went into the garden for walkies. We got lots of people visiting whilst I was out on walkies and for each one mummy said what fantastic costumes they had and gave them some sweets, I heard her talking about scary dinosaurs 🦖, fierce wolves 🐺, skeletons, pumpkins and even a kitty cat. It was the scariest walkies I’ve ever had, far too many people for my liking and it meant mummy wasn’t paying so much attention to me. It did mean though that we were outside for ages which is always a good thing and mummy was happy so I suppose that’s fine with me. Eventually it was dinner time so in we went but the visitors didn’t stop then, ding,ding,ding went the doorbell and little voices saying “Happy Halloween – trick or treat” sometimes it was just a small group but there was also a couple of big groups of kids, all shouting and laughing and trying to grab what they could from mummy’s seemingly bottomless tin of sweets. I was wondering if mummy has a treat tin for us too? I did dress up after all. Then when it was all over and the doorbell didn’t ring anymore we all settled down for a cosy night in.

I thought all the scary stuff was over after that but sadly I was wrong. Humans have this thing called bonfire night and it is by far the most scary night. Some humans like to celebrate it but letting off something mummy calls fireworks, I HATE fireworks. We had them outside our old house and I didn’t like them there either but it was mostly noises all at once in one big go and then it would finish. That was horrible but at least once it was over it was all quiet. Just as mummy was ready to take me for walkies and opened the back door and what bad timing, just as we opened the door there was a loud whoosh and BANG! That was it I was back in the door, mummy closed it took off my lead but before she could even get my harness off I was off and hid under mummy and daddy’s bed. It was as much as mummy could do to purrsuade me to come out so she could get my harness off. “It’s ok Jen” she said you’re safe in here we won’t let anything harm you, you know that” Still I’m not coming out just yet so mummy carried on with things round the house and after a while I ventured out to help her with the litter trays. It had all quietened down so mummy thought we’d try again for our walkies and again just as I got my harness on whizz bang – this time from the other side of the house so off I went back under the bed, harness and everything, refusing to come out. It’s too scary mummy I meowed, I’ll just wait here till it’s safe to come out again. Little by little I crept out, there was the odd bang here and there so I thought I’d be safest being near mummy and daddy so I curled up in the smallest loaf I could make and sat on the bottom of the perch, hidden away but close enough to mummy and daddy for reassurance. It worked and gradually as the bangs got less I ventured onto mummy’s lap so she could protect me. I heard her say to daddy that I was very tense and every muscle in my body was tight and ready to go at any moment. With little strokes and mummy’s arm round me, and with her talking to me quietly, whispering to me that I’d be ok I finally felt safe and gradually, bit by bit started to relax. There were no more bangs and so exhausted from all the stress I drifted off to sleep.

When we went for walkies today mummy found a rocket right outside our back door. She said to me “No wonder it was so loud last night and you were so scared Jen, those fireworks really were very, very close” I might have been scared and ran away and hid but it was just as well as we might have got hit by it, really mummy I actually protected us by running back inside so quickly. As we continued on our walkies, with mummy having put the firework somewhere safe, I thought about the birds I was chasing; the cows I was listening to moo-ing; the bats that fly around and the other animals and how they don’t have houses to hide in or mummy’s like mine to protect them and tell them what’s going on, they must get extra, really scared, maybe they can come and hide under the bed with me next time.

It all started on a Saturday morning, not this one but the last one, mummy and daddy were rushing round tidying the house and making sure it was all clean and tidy. Cleaning this and moving that and making beds, we helped with everything, making sure that they did it all right and didn’t miss anywhere with Millie and I paying special attention to the bed making which is the most fun chore of all, well mummy calls it a chore we call it playtime. It’s not normal behaviour for them to do this on a Saturday as the weekends are usually housework free days except for cleaning up after us and feeding and playing with us. So we all started to wonder what was going on but then mummy said it was time for walkies, which is a very normal daily activity, so off we went and I thought nothing more of it. Maybe they were both feeling a bit poorly but I checked their noses and licked their hands and they felt ok to me so maybe they’re just a bit confused, they are getting older after all. Then just after dinner a car pulled up in the driveway and mummy said “They’re here!” “Who’s here I meowed?” “Your Aunty and Uncle have come to stay Jen” daddy said. Well I’m not a fan of new people and it takes me a while to get to know their noises and smells but as long as mummy and daddy are here too then I’m sure it will be ok. As they came in Millie was right over to say hello and Angelin poddled over as well but I stayed at a respectful distance under the scratching post just sussing them out first.

They didn’t stay very long and soon they both left with mummy and daddy and the house was quiet again. Daddy said “don’t worry girls, we won’t be long, we’ll be back soon.” Whilst they were out we checked out the things that Aunty and Uncle had left behind, they smelled odd and I could detect a hint of doggie 🐶 on their bag. That’s ok though as it must mean they are animal people. Mummy and daddy wouldn’t let any kitty haters in our house. Eventually they came back and we all sat in the living room chatting and watching the tv with a bit of kitty playtime thrown in. Aunty and Uncle were nice, they just let us work them out in our own time and then when we were ready to say hello or play they were there to join in with us. A little stroke here and there and soon we all just chilled together, then I did something unusual, I hopped up where Aunty was sitting and curled up with her on the blankie. I could hear her gasp and say “oh wow! she’s got on my lap!” Mummy said “you should be very honoured, Jenny doesn’t normally do that unless she really knows you, she must like you.” It felt good to make someone’s day and make them feel good so I just put my head down and snuggled in. Then, eventually they all went to bed and then we settled down for the night as well, dreaming of chasing birds, climbing trees and in Angelin’s case dreaming of what’s for breakfast.

Eventually they all got up and we hung out in the living room before they all went off somewhere to have lunch and the house was all ours again until they got back but this time there was just mummy and daddy. Aunty and Uncle had gone back home so we’re were just us again, so time to relax and be back to normal again.

Then this weekend, again, Saturday morning cleaning and tidying and the same thing as before so I wondered if we were getting guests again. Then a car pulled up and it was Granda and Nanna, I recognised their smell and their voices this time but they were with two smaller humans who I’d not met before so I was a little bit wary, 4 more people is a lot for a little blind cat to cope with in one go but soon the two smaller humans and mummy and daddy left, “we won’t be gone long girls” daddy said, “be good for Granda and Nanna, said mummy” but where are you going, when will you be back, how do they know how to feed us and who’s going to play with us whilst you’re gone? So many questions, this wasn’t our usual mummy and daddy going away routine when we used to get left on our own to party and throw cat litter everywhere and destroy boxes and be spoilt rotten with treats. “It’s ok Jen we’re just going for one night and Granda and Nanna are going to stay and look after you, we’ve shown them everything so you’ll be just fine. Remember you’re in charge and you need to look after them and help them keep the other two in line. And remember to show them how to play as they would really love that.” Ok mummy I meowed I’ll try my best. And then they were off, leaving us alone (well with Nanna and Granda) for the first time since we moved here. I was a bit nervous and walked around shouting for mummy and trying to find her for a while but Nanna explained again that mummy and daddy would be back soon but her and Granda would look after us and that we’d all be ok. Nanna had a really calm voice and gave me a reassuring stroke so I felt much calmer and settled down to a weekend of being spoilt.

Well, we needn’t have worried about anything, we had such a fun weekend, Granda is just like a big kitten, he just loves to play and stroke us and make a fuss of us. Nanna chats away to us as she’s getting the breakfast ready and making sure we’ve got everything we need. We were really spoilt all weekend, we played with every toy we’ve got, we got treats and Granda even played one of my favourite games damp hands with me and he even cleaned up my sickie, telling me that it would be ok and that I’d be just fine. As the night drew in and we all got tired from all the excitement we went off for a nap, I decided to keep an eye on Nanna and jumped on her bed, Millie kept mummy and daddy’s bed warm for them – just in case they came home and Angelin hopped up and snuggled on Granda’s lap and made his night.

As they were new to looking after us Angelin was very worried that they might not know when breakfast time is so we thought we should just make sure they know what time they needed to get up and feed us so as the loudest cat in the house (possibly the world) I tasked Millie with the important job of getting them up for breakfast. Right on cue in the morning she was there outside their rooms meowing at the top of her voice NAN! NAN! and would you believe it, it actually worked, what a result, breakfast was served.

Eventually after more playtime and games mummy and daddy decided to come home. Whilst we were all pleased to see them I really enjoyed spending time with my grandpawents and I hope they enjoyed being with us too, I hope I get to spend some more time with them soon.

Thank you so much for looking after us so well and after such a weekend full of playtime and now mummy’s home it’s time for some down time.

As you all know I’m an adventure cat and so ready to explore whenever the opportunity comes along. This week though, I think I owe daddy an apology for playing the best game of hide and seek ever! Unfortunately I forgot to tell daddy we were playing a game.

There was a man working in the house and as I was wandering around trying to avoid him and find a quiet place to while away the day I came across something unusual in the hallway. As well as this odd thing in the hallway there was a slight breeze coming from somewhere above my head, it had an interesting smell which perked my interest. The new thing in the hallway felt kind of like the stairs I used to go up and down when we went walkies in our old home. So the adventure cat in me whispered in my ear “go on Jenny, up you go, it’s time to explore”

So paw by paw up the steps I went , double tapping each one just to make sure it was safe to go up. Step by step I got closer and closer to the unknown, closer to that unusual smell and the breeze felt a little stronger on my whiskers. Eventually I reached the top and I couldn’t help but let out a little meow of excitement, my meow told me that this was a big space to explore, so off I went into the unknown, my heart was beating quickly with the anticipation of what I might find, my whiskers were fully forwards to alert me to anything I might bump into and my ears were listening out for the tiniest noises. With each pawstep came a puff of new smell to breath in and try to understand where I might be and what else was up here.

There were mostly hard things to walk on but every so often my paws would touch something soft, squishy and slightly tickly. My double tap method told me that it wasn’t solid enough to walk on but I gave it a good paw and a sniff to try to find out what it was, it smelt kind of dusty and musty, like it hadn’t moved for a long time and then it made my nose tickle so I left it alone before it made me sneeze.

I could hear daddy down below and the noise of the wind and rain around me, it sounded different to normal though, kind of like I was in a big box, which as you know cats love, so I felt quite reassured by this and carried on exploring the giant kitty box.

Then I realised I had actually explored quite a long way from where I came up and as this was the first time I’d been up here the scent from my paw steps wasn’t very strong and I couldn’t smell it very well over the scents dusty, musty smells. It was going to be tricky to follow it all the way back to the beginning. Still, I was playing hide and seek so the further away from the entrance I went the better the game would be for daddy to find me. Then I heard some footsteps on the stairs so I stayed very still and very quiet and the footsteps went back down again and so I waited a little while longer and then carried on exploring.

Then I heard daddy calling my name, so I meowed back to him “I’m up here daddy” so he could have a little clue as to where I was and come and find me but then I heard Millie shouting somewhere below me and thought to myself that there was no way daddy would hear me over Millies giant meows so I thought I’d just carry on exploring, venturing further and further into the depths. As I moved around silently I could still hear daddy below me walking around, it felt like a very long time had passed since I first heard him calling for me. Then I heard footsteps on the steps again, this time they sounded further away than before so I knew I had explored a long way, I thought this was it, he was bound to find me this time but again I heard them go back down again. This is going to be an epic game of hide and seek I thought but then I heard the front door open and close and I wondered where daddy might be going, has he left me up here to fend for myself, find my own way back down? Daddy wouldn’t do that, would he? I really should have told him that I was going to play hide and seek with him, maybe he really doesn’t know I’m up here, normally he just pretends he can’t find us to make the game more fun. Then I heard daddy shouting from the outside, his voice had gone from the normal “where are you?” he normally uses when playing with us to sounding more anxious and worried, he sounded urgent.

It had been so long playing at hiding that I was starting to get really worried that daddy wouldn’t find me at all, ever, after the last time he’d come up the steps I’d hidden in the soft fluffy stuff and now I couldn’t fine my way back to the hard stuff I could walk on, I was surrounded and not entirely sure how I was going to get back to where the steps were. I started to think that this game wasn’t quite going to plan and I wasn’t enjoying it very much anymore. it had become about time to help daddy find me.

I heard daddy come back in and so I let out a couple of big meows to give him a hint where I was.

Then I heard daddy’s footsteps coming up the steps, this time he came all the way up and started walking towards me saying “Jen, are you up here?” Yes daddy! I’m over here I meowed. “Oh Jen! There you are, I’ve been looking everywhere for you, I’ve popped my head up here twice already and didn’t see you, how on earth did you get all the way over there?”. Then as his footsteps got closer and closer he scooped me up from the fluffy stuff into his arms and gave me a big cuddle. I didn’t even wriggle as he carried me back down the steps into the hallway below. “I was so worried that I couldn’t find you” he said, “I looked everywhere, I even looked outside under all the bushes and went down the road in case you had got out of the house. I was really worried, you scared me Jen.”

We had a big cuddles downstairs and daddy was laughing as he said he looked just like me coz all the fluffy stuff I had picked up on my fur when I was hiding had stuck to daddy instead. Just to be sure daddy gave me a big rub all over to make sure I was fluff free, he said he didn’t want me to wash myself in case I ended up eating any of the fluff as it wouldn’t be very good for me. This was fine by me as I love having body rubs, its one of my favourite things to do and its even better if mummy or daddy have damp hands when they do it, it makes all my fur stand up on end and then they say that I look like a punk kitty with cattitude. Whilst we have rubs daddy explained to me it turns out he didn’t think that I would ever have climbed the steps into what he calls the loft so when he looked up there before he found me he didn’t look way into the distance where I was but just around the entrance. He also said that every time he called for me Millie meowed and meant he stood no chance of hearing any of my muffled meows coming from above the ceiling.

But daddy, I thought you knew by now, that you should never underestimate a blind kitty, specially not one who loves climbing and loves being an adventure cat.

Daddy said I was a very clever, naughty kitty and he was too relieved to be angry with me but he was really proud of my fearlessness 😺. I think that just about sums up what us purrfectly imperfect kitties are all about.