Helen's Paws for Thought » Bobby

Bobby at the vet’s – update

helen — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:21:45 +0000

The whole week we thought Bobby was back to normal. We received the little Kenwood mixer and fed her mashed up Sardines and she loved it. Unfortunately her symptoms returned yesterday in the late afternoon, which was quite distressing for us.

When we went to bed, Bobby jumped on board and calmed down – I think her own purring helped her to ease her pain a bit.

Luckily we managed to get a vet’s appointment for today. He told us that symptoms could return, injected an analgesic for her pain (Rimadyl) which should get rid of her pain within 24 hours and he also gave us two tablets to keep just in case. He thinks we are doing all the right things but suggested to change to a prescription food which helps to break down crystals and acidity in the urine. So he prescribed Bobby Royal Canin – Urinary S/O High Dilution which is specifically formulated for FLUDT. He also generally recommended this brand as their other dry foods also contains the S/O index which helps breaking down crystals and acidity. Which is great, because Bobby loves her crunchies. We have now decided to phase out the other brands she usually eat and replace them with the Royal Canin.

The new food is already a big hit with Bobs – she totally loves it.

Bobby dreaming - copyright Helen White

Yesterday Bobby also somehow managed to get her fur covered with sticky stuff, presumably sap from plants. It took a while and some scissors to get her fur back to normal. God only knows where she got that “glue” from, because we couldn’t find it on our plants.

Our cat’s cute habits

helen — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 17:41:40 +0000

Bobby in bay window in our conservatory - copyright Helen White

Time to write another more cat related blog entry.

Those of you who follow my blog know about our cat Bobby. She has developed a few cute and quirky habits over the years and some not so cute habits, which I’d like to share with you.

Bobby as a kitten being cuddly - copyright Helen White

First the not so cute habits:

Ripping the shit out of our sofa and carpets – a habit we unfortunately can’t control much and in a way encouraged –because it is cute when she actually grips the underside of the sofa and slides across the carpet. Needless to say we won’t ever buy fancy furniture. Ikea has to suffice and the next sofa we invest in will be hopefully a sofa-bed for guests.
Stopping in the middle of stairs when I try to go down – I swear one day I will fall down the stairs.
Getting in your way without saying a word and you accidentally trod on her. She then runs away in shock and we run after her to let her know how sorry we are.
Waking up way too early (between 4 and 5 am) and ripping the carpet in order to get us up – works a treat for her – though I have taken to throwing a pillow at her – that often stops her and she decides to jump on bed for a cuddle and snooze- which leads me directly to….

The day we met Bobby - copyright Helen White

Bobby’s cute and quirky habits:

She has an incredibly cute and endearing chirruping greeting noise she makes in the mornings when she wakes us, or when she wants something from us.
In the evening between 5 and 6 she often tends to sit in front of the front door and is clearly waiting for hubby to come home. When I used to work in the NHS and come home she often waited in the window and still sometimes does this – and gets very excited when she sees us.
Bobby will only play rough with hubby and is clearly daddy’s girl in that respect. She loves sock fights, which supposed to protect my hubby’s hands from scratches – doesn’t always work though.
Ever since she was a kitten she needs reassurance when she’s eating. She wants whoever is available to cuddle her backside, while she eats. This also entails her asking me to go downstairs – when I am actually busy in my office- to proceed with the cuddles.
She tends to follow us around and seeks our company a lot.
When she is tired and ready for a snooze during the day Bobby loves to get onto the bed underneath the blanket which is just a general cover. She loves her little “tent” – when it’s not on the bed she will come to us and asks us to follow her and then we quite quickly twig what she wants and make her little tent.
She loves watching me cook – and should have her own cookery show
When she was a kitten her favourite game was to take cat food pouches out of their box and carry them one by one into the living room. She still sometimes does this and it’s very funny.
She loves cat nip and behaves like an aggressive drunk when she’s had some.
In the evening when she’s tired and wants us to go to bed she clearly lets us know.
She loves prawns – her favourite treat and she knows exactly when we go shopping. Back from the shops she will inspect all items and sniff around until we get out the prawns. It’s very cute when she tries to grab hold of them with her paws when we feed her.
When she meets other cats she often sticks her face right in their space and is often surprised when she gets hissed at or gets a whack with a paw.
Since we came back from our honeymoon in 2007 she likes to share the bed with us – and usually on the duvet between my legs. This is not comfortable for me, but clearly comfortable for her. She loves to purr and knead with her paws until she’s super relaxed. Then she stretches her front paws out like “supercat” and goes to sleep. While she is sleeping she makes some funny and cute snuffling noises – almost like snoring – but endearing.
She often inspects our faces in the morning to see if we are awake.
She is very communicative and talks a lot.

Bobby dreaming - copyright Helen White

I am sure there are even more cute and quirky habits I could list but at the moment I can’t think of any more. And here are:

Bobby’s bizarre habits:

Every time she has a crap in our garden (it used to be the litter tray, but she doesn’t use it any more) she storms in like a Banshee and goes bananas. We have no idea why – maybe it’s sheer relief?
Every time we go into our loft to take up things or get down stuff she starts to meow very persistently – after a while that sound can get grating – even for our tolerant ears! So we tend to put her leash on and let her have a nose around upstairs. We don’t know why she feels the need to go up – maybe because it’s full of clutter.

Bobby on bay window - copyright Helen White

If you have a cat I’d love to hear about your cat’s cute and quirky habits.

Bobby as a jewellery model, me being photographed for the Echo, and Mickey Rourke.

helen — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:57:10 +0000

Bobby with my Tourmaline necklace, copyright Helen White 2011

As my blog is about cats and jewellery I thought this time why not combine the two?

Last weekend I discovered that our cat Bobby is the perfect model for my jewellery. On Saturday I had a photographer around from the Echo, who took photos of me (and I pointed out that Bobby would be a better model than me) for an article about migraines and the Migraine Action Cardiff Support Group I founded on Facebook. I don’t like having my own photos taken, as I don’t think I am photogenic, but as it was for a good cause I said yes. So obviously I also decided to wear at least one piece of my jewellery, which happened to be this gorgeous Tourmaline necklace.

Tourmaline necklace copyright Helen White 2011

I won the beads, which are 8mm, in a competition from Beads Direct and decided for a change to make something for myself. I love the colours. The only thing is, because I have neck problems I can’t wear heavy necklaces, only pendants, and this necklace is too heavy for me. The photographer is a cat fan and told me about his toms called Sootie and Sweep. He also asked me to show some jewellery from my online shop and took photos of me posing with it, which was really awkward. The article will be published this Wednesday and if I find the link I will post it here.

He left and told me that his next appointment was the rugby game and meeting Mickey Rourke – I was so jealous.

Mickey is working on a film about openly gay Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gareth_Thomas_(rugby_player) and is here for his research and I assume filming will also take place in Wales. And being a perfectionist Mickey is not only having Welsh lessons but is also being reported to having his front teeth removed to be as authentic as possible. Mickey is certainly no stranger to plastic surgery, though I have to say removing front teeth is quite extreme. Though I am not into rugby ( I prefer ice skating) I will definitely watch the movie. Loved him in “The Wrestler”, though it was quite a depressing film.

Anyway where was I?

Bobby with my Tourmaline necklace

In the evening Bobby was sitting in her favourite chair (Ikea Poang: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/series/07472/) –and the best chair in the living room – we have another one in the guest room/office which we bought originally for hypnotherapy clients, because these are very comfortable chairs. And while she was sitting there I decided to just put the necklace on her and take photos. She didn’t mind and was very patient. And my husband helped too, by distracting her – that’s why she looks up on some of the photos.

Bobby with my Tourmaline necklace looking up, copyright Helen White 2011

Thinking of it I should submit one of the photos to this website:http://stuffonmycat.com/

PS: The article has now appeared in the Echo and thankfully without the photo online. I bought the paper and was surprised by the choice made by the picture editor. The photographer spent an hour letting me pose with and without jewellery indoors and the photo they have chosen in the end was the last photo he took outside our house. Never mind. The good news is that it attracted a few people to my MA group on Facebook , so the article achieved its purpose. You can read it here:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/health-and-beauty-in-wales/2011/02/16/migraine-takes-its-toll-as-brain-malfunctions-91466-28175397/

My plans for this year

helen — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:16:34 +0000

You can call them plans, projects or even resolutions – these are the things I want to do or achieve this year. Some of these have been on lists I made in the past, which just goes to show that it’s not always possible to achieve everything. This year I keep my list short and sweet.

Lose weight – ideally 10 kilos- and keep fit and healthy. I bet this is on most people’s list. Today I weighed myself for the first time in 8 months or so (I had to buy a new battery, and that took weeks.) and it was a massive wake up call. So banished are sweets and crisps. I am also contemplating having a personal trainer for a short while to kick start an exercise regime. I am not fond of exercise and when I am ill I have to wait for days until I feel well enough to exercise. As keeping track of what you eat is still the best way of reducing the amount of rubbish you eat I have signed up with the free website www.fitday.com and next week I will have a session with a personal trainer.

Learn to play the Ukulele – I bought it last year, have an instructional DVD, just have to get on with it.

Support actively a charity – I am waiting for an application pack from Tenovus.

Socialise more with people – I realise that working from home can really make me stir crazy. I love it at home and being with our moggie, but I do miss human contact. Note to self: Facebook friends are not a substitute to friends you meet up with and talk to on the phone. Though I would love to meet some of my FB friends in real life.

Write the novel I started in 2009 when I took part in two different fiction courses – of which I enjoyed the Open University course the most.

Get more writing work.

Create lots of gorgeous jewellery and grow my jewellery business.

Actively support more good causes and campaigns such as this one by Animal Aid which urges supermarkets to install CCTV cameras in their slaughterhouses http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAMPAIGNS/slaughter/ALL///

So this is my list. During the cause of this year I will let you know on this blog how I get on with each of these. However I will also continue to write about Bobby and what she’s up to. At the moment she is not happy about the weather and snoozes under our bed cover. She likes her little tent.

Have a good start to the New Year and let me know what you have planned for 2011.

Happy New Year

helen — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 14:05:21 +0000

I wish you a Happy New Year. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. We spent Christmas in Cologne and getting there last year wasn’t as straight forward as usual. In the run up to our departure we were not even sure if we should drive through the snow all the way from Cardiff to Stansted to get the plane to Cologne. It was snowing heavily in the morning, but we decided to go anyway, because our flight was not cancelled. We just got through the worst, if we’d set off an hour later, we would have been caught in massive traffic jams and possibly an accident.

The plane was delayed for only two hours and a very chatty Austrian taxi driver drove us safely to my parents’ place. Cologne was covered in beautiful snow – and stayed that way until after our journey back home.

Apart from a spell of a nasty migraine we had a great time and I managed to buy some fab Goretex boots – much needed as the shoes I was wearing had massive holes – no wonder I had cold and very wet feet! I also found a fantastic stall at one of Cologne’s many Christmas markets (Neumarkt) – though I imagine not everyone would get a kick out of cookie cutters. But this stall had a wide range of them – including the Statue of Liberty, bats and the Cologne Cathedral. The cutters are not for cookies though – I bought them for my future polymer clay and PMC creations.

A trip to Cologne’s biggest cd and electronics store was also a must and I bought cds from the fab Cee Lo Green, Kristin Hersh’s Grotto, the new Charlatans, Kula Shaker’s Pilgrim’s Progress (which is right now on heavy rotation, great album), Depeche Mode’s Barcelona dvd and an album by Die Sterne. So I am sorted with lots of new tunes for the next 5 months.

The highlights of this Christmas were sleighing down the hill at Beethoven Park on my sister’s old wooden sleigh– so much fun. Last time I did that was when my sister was little, she’s heading towards her A-Levels this year, but we both thoroughly enjoyed it – one’s never to old for sleighing. One family had the brilliant idea to use their inflatable boat!

On Sunday we travelled by train (with lots of changes and delays) to see my gran and almost all of my family was there. So we had a massive snowball fight in her garden. My aunt brought her cats again, who are now grown up. Findus is a very curious and friendly black tom and he immediately came sniffing my nose. Peppa is shy and avoided most of us hiding upstairs. She’s such a sweet cat. Findus enjoyed being outside in the snow, as my aunt can’t let her cats out where she lives in Hamburg. So Findus made the most of his temporary freedom.

Dusty was a delight and made our separation from our own Bobby tolerable. She’s the most dextrous cat with the loudest purr I’ve ever known. It’s always fun watching her sliding across the floor chasing a paper ball.

Our journey back home was uneventful, but the next day I woke up with a massive cold, hence I didn’t update my blog.

We stayed at home over New Year’s Eve and watched Hootananny. Not exactly exciting, but when you’re sick the last thing you need is a party and having to walk home because you can’t get a taxi.

Happy New Year everyone.

Cats and Snow

helen — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:12:01 +0000

Dusty's paw marks - copyright Paul White 2009

It’s snowing and the country is in panic mode. I really don’t get it. It snows every winter – so by now everyone should be well prepared. In Germany when it snows and you want to use your car by law you have to have winter tyres. Anyway the news is full of snow features, but what about our furry friends – in my case – our cat?

Bobby thinking about going out - © Helen White 2010

Bobby has an odd relationship with the snow – she goes out and is surprised, then appalled and goes nuts. She runs back in through her cat flap like a cartoon cat, meows in protest and vents her frustration – because by that time her paws are frozen. I usually pick her up – which leads to a vehement protest, because she hates it – and try to warm her paws and then I put the fire on. As the cold always makes her very hungry she tends to eat a lot and demands extra food – which means that I spend some time just stroking her back while she eats. I know it’s weird, but ever since she was a kitten she needed protection while she’s eating. I sometimes wonder how she manages when we are away. Obviously she does, because she never appears to be thinner than before our holiday. After she has warmed up and she has eaten Bobby has already forgotten the snow – and is off again, and the ritual is repeated until – hurray she finally gets tired and demands to be tucked under our blanket on our bed. She loves her little cave – it keeps her warm and she thinks nobody will find her. It happens a lot that she somehow wraps herself up in there, when the bed is not made, and we can’t find her for ages!

..and she's off. - © Helen White 2010

So Bobby and snow is a strange one. Dusty on the other hand, who is a Norwegian Forest and therefore being able to cope with zero to sub zero temperatures comes naturally to her, loves snow. She is happy to go out and she looks so beautiful in her more natural habitat. Her already fluffy fur puffs up even more and she looks funny when she runs around. She can spend much longer in the snow than Bobs.

Dusty running towards the camera - copyright Paul White 2009

Dusty on the balcony - copyright Paul White 2009

Last week I have received a press release from Cats Protection on the subject of cats and snow and I would like to share their advice.

If you own a young cats who has never seen or been in the snow before: consider letting her wander in a safe and enclosed area like your garden and accompany her.

Wipe off road grit and other substances from your cat’s paws and fur when your cat comes in.

If your cats have access to outside, provide some shelter like a cardboard box partially covered with plastic sheets.

Keep doors to your sheds and other outbuildings shut or wedged open so cats don’t become trapped.

Always check under cars and the bonnet of your car before starting the engine – cats may have climbed into your vehicle for extra warmth!

If you provide your cat with an outdoor source of water, make sure it doesn’t freeze. Always make sure your cat has clean fresh water available inside if the outdoor source is not accessible.

Always check if you cat flap is still in working order and not frozen over or blocked by snow. If you let your cat wander further, then let them only outside when the temperatures are highest and traffic levels are lowest – though I have to admit I find this one a bit odd. During the day it’s obviously warmer but it’s also very busy, while at night it’s freezing but less busy. So basically it’s best not to let your moggie wander to far.

Cats with Arthritis need extra warmth on a snowy day, because the cold can severely affect inflamed joints. So it’s best to provide additional warm and comfortable places for your cat to rest or sleep. Also ensure that her resting places are easy to access and not too high up and that she can easily access her chosen toileting site.

Cats are at a much higher risk of being run over, stolen or maltreated by nasty people when it’s dark– so it’s highly recommended to keep them in at this time.

And finally if you haven’t got pet insurance, consider taking one out for your own piece of mind. Vet bills can get very expensive.

Enjoy the snow, but protect your cat from freezing.

Bobby has a new friend – so it seems

helen — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 15:18:42 +0000

Bobby is not keen on the wet and windy November weather and therefore it’s nice to see that she loves her tall climber in the living room. When she gets high on cat nip she gets really wild and loves chasing her fishing rod toy. It’s now very thin at the tip of its tail. Despite the weather though she still goes out – not only to watch birds and to have a pee (she prefers outdoors to her litter tray) but it looks like she has found herself a little pet mouse (well that’s pure assumption) in the garden under all the plants and she spends ages just watching that particular spot. So far we couldn’t make out in the dark (cause it’s only in the evenings she watches whatever it is) what animal she is observing, but we have this image of a cute mouse just hovering there, eating, while Bobby looks at it trying to befriend it. I don’t see why it is not possible. After all the animal world is full of stories of unusual friendships like this one between lion baby Zinzi and meerkat Bob who live Predator World Zoo and Game Farm in South Africa. Check out these cute images at

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/8008923/Best-of-furry-friends-lion-and-meerkat-strike-up-friendship-that-echoes-The-Lion-King-story.html?image=6

Our cat is incredibly peaceful, nosey and friendly. The only animals she kills are moths and flies. It’s not only that she really doesn’t need to supplement her diet with extra prey, it’s just every time she hunts and almost manages to catch something – she is not sure what to do with it. It seems like she is more interested in the thrill of the hunt than eating her prey. She had many chances to kill small birds but she didn’t.

The pigeons love her – mainly because they associate her with food. My husband feeds them every morning before he heads off to work – mainly to entertain Bobby. Which means she gives me some extra minutes of sleep too. The pigeons make an awful racket on the conservatory roof though when they are picking up the seeds though.

When they don’t get fed they are rather disappointed and look to Bobby as if to say: where’s the food?

Bobby loves Ikea

helen — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:34:16 +0000

Cats are often peculiar when it comes to changes in their territory. In extreme cases they will spray in places they are not supposed to when furniture has been moved or added. Bobby however is always excited when we add a new piece of furniture. Last week be bought a bookcase, which also works as a side board – we actually put it in front of the window on its side. We also bought some basket drawers to go into the shelves (they house my photo lights). It didn’t take long until madam spotted a perfect opportunity to jump in. She loves “her” baskets and also the new sideboard and has rediscovered her cat bed, which we now moved from the window sill onto the side board. It’s such an improvement for the living room as it is now less cluttered and we can draw the blinds properly without them leaving a gap.

Bobby in a box

helen — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:03:22 +0000

Our cat is incredibly nosey and likes small boxes – she even sleeps in them. I thought I share a few photos of her which we took a couple of weeks ago.

Bobby grooming herself - love this one:)

Bobby in her box

and another one

A new cat in the hood – and he is a bit of a pain..

helen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:10:16 +0000

Our cat is a tad stressed at the moment due to an uninvited visitor. He’s a gorgeous, very skinny tabby with white paws and friendly to us, but wants to take over not only Bobby’s garden, but also her food. Understandable as he is really emaciated and obviously not that well cared for by his owners.

Yesterday I had to drive him out of the kitchen and noticed an awful smell in the garden. That’s the thing about toms – I am not sure if he’s neutered- they spray everywhere and it’s the worst smell in the universe – (maybe lions and tigers are worse). And unfortunately some owners of male cats don’t see that it’s their responsibility to get them neutered.

I was glad he didn’t spray in the house. This happened a lot in my parents’ flat when Freddy was still alive. As they don’t have a cat flap, they used to leave the balcony door open and often uninvited toms would come in and harass poor Freddy, especially when she was older. And they would leave awful scent marks on things like my rucksack (my most embarrassing trip home on the tram), the video recorder, the piano (!) and walls. My mum was not amused. Now my dad makes sure the door is always shut and Dusty has to wait until someone lets her in. My dad doesn’t want to invest in a flap as the doors are not designed for one.

We will have to find a way to stop the intruder from coming in. I don’t like it but next time it’s time for the hose!