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It’s that time of year again when the days are slowly getting longer and, with spring on thehorizon, the weather is as unpredictable as ever.

It could just be me, but it seems true that just when we are tempted to fall victim to the winter blues, our cats seem to go out of their way to cheer us up.

The term ‘mad as March hares’ comes to mind this month; with poems, photographs and letters pouring in. So, while we wait for spring to stop dragging its heels, why not let our cats put a smile on our face? After all, some days it seems like our cat’s next baffling antic, like spring, is just around the corner.

I received this letter from Mrs. E Devlin that I thought was a perfect way to start off us off this month:

Thorny Issues
Dear TTCF,
I was stood in my kitchen the other day, having a cup of tea, when I noticed my two kittens were exhibiting some most peculiar behaviour. Mog and Meg were taking it in turn to jump up at the window and yowl through the glass in continuous, baffling rotation. Now usually, the two jokers will do this once and then make a mad dash for the back door ready to be let in - but not this time. This time when I opened the back door, it wasn’t the kittens stood there but my elderly Tabby, Bramble! Presumably being too old to get up on the window ledge herself, she had relied on the kittens to do the work for her! In she sauntered, whilst the two kittens, upon seeing their job was done, set off up the garden path at top speed to do whatever it is that kittens do. I just thought this was amazing as cats are not naturally pack-animals, but what else could Mog and Meg have been doing, if not working for the wily Bramble?

Nancy Webster and her cat Seul (pictured) are set to amuse us with their lovely poem:

Computer Whiz cat
Seul is a super Seal point Siamese:
He isn’t really hard to please!
He will squeeze through the smallest gap:
To reach the computer and sit on my lap.
He sits upright to gaze at the screen:
He checks my typing (he is ever so keen).
He purrs and purrs with complete delight.
When pictures appear; he is a wonderful sight!
When I want to get up; he stays firmly rooted,
Should I tip him off my knee? He is not well suited!
He goes past the door with an imploring gaze;
Beseeching me to spend more of my days
ON THE COMPUTER!

City Living
The subject of the length our cats seem to go to in order to cheer us up brings a quote from a recent OUR CATS interview to mind. Chris Pascoe, author of the delightfully funny You Can Take the Cat out of Slough, had this to say to OUR CATS about the antics of his infamous cat Brum (the subject of two of Pascoe’s novels so far):

Brum incidents tend to happen every other day. I think something he did not long ago sums him up perfectly. He walked into the lounge, put two paws on our sideboard and head butted it with all his might. Why? Why on earth would anybody walk into a room and casually head butt the sideboard? With that, his tongue flopped out of the side of his mouth, and he fell over sideways. After two dazed minutes, he was happy as Larry, sitting on my lap and purring like a pneumatic drill. A bizarre character, that lad!



To help fight those winter blues until spring comes around, You Can Take the Cat out of Slough is available to buy from OUR CATS Book Department, Tel: 0870 731 6502.

More please!

Thank you to all those who contributed this week and please carry on sending in your funny stories, pictures, letters and poems – I hope our readers enjoy reading them as much as I do receiving them!


By Rachel Winterbottom

E-mail: Rachel@ourcats.co.uk or,
Post to: Rachel Winterbottom, Our Cats, 1 Lund Street, Trafford Park, Manchester M16 9EJ.