"Lost Cat" by Caroline Paul

"What'cha reading?"

It was over a month ago that Caroline Paul's latest book arrived on my doorstep. As per usual, the cats knew about it first and, as per usual, Tilly gave it the once over. Mind you, I didn't actually see her inspecting the post that morning but I was greeted with the familiar sight of torn paper and a series of highly incriminating bite marks... she's never been good at covering her tracks. Nevertheless, unlike my bank statement, it seems she must have deemed "Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation, and GPS Technology" acceptable and with a title like that who can blame her?

Free Running Dogs

So I was walking to work, as is customary when one has work to walk to, when I noticed an ominous bright red sign nailed to the front door of a house. Having walked the exact same path almost everyday for the past six months, I was surprised I hadn't seen it before but, then again, having walked the exact same path almost everyday for the past six months, I'm no longer in the habit of paying much attention to my surroundings. Funnily enough this also explains why I'm fairly certain that it did not, in fact, read "Caution: free running dogs".

On "A Tale of Two Cats" and the Creative Process

As you may have gathered from the dearth of new content on this blog over the course of the past two months, I have been rather busy. Although I would like to say that I've been doing lots of exciting things and that the majority of my time has not been spent drawing pictures of Mona and Tilly, I'm afraid I would be lying. Well, that's not strictly true. For instance, I have been spending a fair amount of time selling stationery, or at least standing around waiting for the opportunity to sell stationery whilst the rest of Britain sunbathes, and I did finally receive a job offer, which was more exciting than I care to admit. But then again, it is equally true to say that I have indeed spent an inordinate amount of time drawing pictures of Mona and Tilly.

Introducing "A Tale of Two Cats"

Although I have been a cat owner for almost a year and a half now, it still feels somewhat bizarre when I say it out loud. Indeed, if someone had told me eighteen months ago that in a year's time I'd own not just one but two cats, I would have laughed in their face and kindly asked them to leave my house. Of course, this wasn't quite my reaction when someone actually did suggest that I adopt a cat. Then again, it was probably for the best; I don't think asking my partner to leave would have gone down too well. Nevertheless, even though I am now technically a cat owner, I take great care not to give people the impression that I am some kind of pet lover. That is not to suggest that I dislike animals, I'd just rather they weren't anywhere near me or my belongings. I will admit, however, that this was a much easier task before we adopted Mona and Tilly.

Every Picture Tells A Story #7

Get a cat they said. It'll be fun they said.

Every Picture Tells A Story #6

Mona found a new use for the anti-cat litter doormat... an hour after it was purchased. 

The Perils of the Light Sleeper

Much to my annoyance, I am generally a rather light sleeper. It is to my even greater annoyance, therefore, that my partner is the complete opposite. Indeed, I am quite convinced that she could sleep through an earthquake without so much as a stir. And yet, not only is she a heavy sleeper, but she also possesses the uncanny ability to sleep at any time and place seemingly at whim; a concept that is completely foreign to me. Without wishing to state the obvious (but knowing full well that that is precisely what I am about to do), I find that I can only fall asleep when I can no longer stay awake. And, likewise, once I have woken up I feel awake, which makes attempting to fall back to sleep a difficult task. With this in mind, it is somewhat ironic that although Kat sets an alarm every night, it is not so much for her as it is for me; after all, it is only through me waking at the sound of her alarm going off, and thereby having to wake her in order to make her turn it off, that she gets up each morning. Nevertheless, it is not as though she has to be up at some ungodly hour, so I don't particularly mind. However, you can probably imagine my annoyance at being woken up in the small hours of this particular morning by the quiet but unmistakable sound of a cat. Vomiting.

Every Picture Tells A Story #4

Painful memories of the great bagel incident.

Every Picture Tells A Story #3

Quite a sight to wake up to.

Every Picture Tells A Story #2

The quiet before the storm. 

Every Picture Tells A Story #1

This is not what I want to see five minutes before I have to go to work; never have I wanted to sunbathe in a bathroom sink so much. Thanks, Mona.

The Adventures of Tilly: An Atypical But Not So Unexpected Morning

After suffering a night of miscellaneous back pain, I awoke this morning not to the sound of Tilly whining to be fed, nor to the scrambling of her feet as she clambers haphazardly over the duvet, but to silence. A year ago this would have been a good thing but these days such blissful peace is a worrying sign. There are two things that you should know about Tilly. Firstly, she was found abandoned in a shed within the first few weeks of her life, suffering from a form of feline muscular dystrophy. This unfortunate ailment primarily affects her back legs and has rendered her tail almost completely insensitive. As a result, she occasionally finds it difficult to traverse the wilds of our apartment and I think it is fair to say that she lacks even a modicum of the graceful elegance of movement that you'd normally expect from a cat. As if that wasn't enough, Till is also particularly prone to urinary problems and has recently been diagnosed with a heart murmur. Now, before this post descends any further into a cheap parody of a charity plea, the second thing that you should know about Tilly is that none of the above bothers her in the slightest. In fact, she is as tenacious and inquisitive as the next kitten. Given this none too insignificant fact, waking up in the morning outside of Till's normal routine only ever means trouble.

A Magnificent Birth

Meet Tilly (left) and Mona (right)

Today is a day much like any other. For instance, the sun rose in the morning as it is prone to do, the cats spent the afternoon asleep at entirely opposite ends of the bean bag, and this evening I am once again staring into the glowing abyss that is my computer screen. And yet today is not so much like any other. After all, this morning I received an espresso tamper in the post, I had a bath in the middle of the afternoon, and at this exact moment I am writing the first entry of this very blog.