Grandcat having extended 'sleepover'!

meritaten

Where did yesterdays post go? I posted a short post as grandgirls were here and I went up mums so Barnes sort of didn't get much 'meri attention'. and it isn't here!

Probably my fault as I am rather distracted at the moment. bbl with 'todays' post and what I wanted to tell you from yesterday! apologies to Barnes 'fans'.

Back - yesterday, the main thing was the girls doing Barnes 'groom and treats'! I was busy preparing lunch. but, he did enjoy the girls doing his 'groom and treats.'! and they did a good thorough job of grooming him! he seemed to get an awful lot of 'treats' though! lol, as usual Barnes watched the girls intently - when he wasn't 'napping'!
We have had a 'quiet' day today. just me and Barnes, and for some reason he has been right by me today. whether he is picking up that my mind is in a bit of turmoil I don't know, but he hasn't spent much time on windowsills! instead, he has wanted my attention.

Have I told you all he likes me to 'pick his nose'? no? well, he does! rofl, if he settles down on me and pushes his face forwards.........and he has a blocked nose............he wants it cleaned! Never had a cat who asked to get his nose picked before - or even realised that cats get 'nobbies' too! he lies there an purrs while I am doing it! and his 'nobbies' are black. strange!

his_missus

Meritaten, Scrappy and Tikka get black nobbies too!

Casper has a runny nose at the moment (do cats get suffer from hayfever?) and I have to wipe his nose, he doesn't like it.

meritaten

awww - he has wanted cuddles today - but he still wont come on my lap!
we did groom and treats and I caught a flea - but it was grey..........yet it definitely WAS a flea! and came from right under his flea collar! I managed to nab it, squished it dead, then looked at it under a magnifying glass. a flea. grey in colour but it WAS a flea! and he had new bites. and was scratching like mad! the collar is a couple of months old now so may not be effective - but he had a 'spot-on' on the 5th of this month! arrrghh! its driving me crazy!
Barnes now again has 'bald patches' - and I suspect, also has worms as fleas and worms go together. (and I have noticed his poos seem to have 'threads' joining them - and he had Drontal a few weeks back.) Do I have a medication immune cat?

his_missus

I think, Meritaten, that the bugs have become immune to treatments rather than Barnes being immune to medication.
Not sure I like the sound of this new species of grey flea!

meritaten

I am thinking that flea was a 'sick' flea! I aint that fast at catching fleas normally! so it could be that the flea was dying anyway?????????????
Barnes has been extra loving today.............he hasn't disappeared upstairs for naps - he has stayed close by me and has come for strokes often. lol - rather irritating really! he has also let me 'nurse' him a lot. and I have got lots of 'licks'. not sure what's going on his head today.
he is looking a bit 'patchy', but I couldn't see any new flea bites tho he is still scratching a bit.
my local shopkeeper tells me he is getting 'johnsons for fleas' powder for cats and dogs in. I used to use that on my pets in years gone by - so when it comes in I will be getting some. will report back on its efficacy!

scaredy_cat

try seeing black nobbies on a black cat face!!!!

meritaten

The flea powder hasn't come in yet - and Barnes is still scratching himself! yet I cant see any new bites and no sign of fleas. but then, I think I am due for eyesight test and new glasses! I was told that I have beginnings of cataracts a couple of years ago - and recently I am a bit concerned I am not seeing as well as I should. so I may well be just not seeing the fleas or their 'dirt'. DAM old age!

Barnes is a bit more 'himself' today.........took himself off for a windowsill nap. and not been as 'clingy' as the last couple of days. he still comes and licks my face though! lol - my previous cats would never have done that!
I cant get him interested in the Kong Kickeroo thingy - will give it to Atrix for his cats. strange, because I thought he would love it! he loves to kick and bite the PAH one I bought for him for Christmas. its looking 'wrecked' but actually holding up quite nicely.

meritaten

interesting day for Barnes and I. got up early (sparrowfart) as was expecting GS before 7.00am. Gave Barnes some breakfast (how does he know its a GS day? any other day he stays asleep til about 9.00), but 7.00 came and no GS. by 7.15 I had guessed that Son had had a late call out and had to obey company rules. the 'cinderella' rule. every hour spent on a call out after midnight results in starting work hour later.
sure enough, Son phones at 8.10 and says he will take GS into school.
Barnes retires to catch up on his sleep.
at about 11.00 DD arrives. Barnes shoots downstairs as he hears the front door opening. greets DD politely and they exchange 'pleasantries' while I make her a coffee.
We go into living room for a 'chat' accompanied by Barnes. who jumps on side table and shoots off the other end!!!!!!!! DD is laffing hysterically so Barnes goes off in a huff! we hear him go into spare room then a short silence (as he jumps up to windowsill) then THUMP! he missed! I then hear some small thumps..........WTH? go up and he has taken the alternate route to windowsill across a bookcase which is actually filled with my craft stuff - most of which is now on the floor! Barnes is pretending to be fast asleep on windowsill. hmmm, quick tidy up and back downstairs to catch up with DD.
DD wants me to alter a watch for her - back up for tools and wire - which is in craft cupboard. Stupidly, I leave the cupboard door open........forgetting Barnes fascination with cupboards ........and yes, it isn't 'tidy' enough so the contents are removed and left on floor for me to put away 'properly'!
okayyy. me and DD are having a lovely chat and Barnes comes back down - DD doesn't notice him and is sitting drinking another cup of coffee when Barnes jumps on settee and then over her legs because he wants to sit by me. startles DD. who laughs again. This time Barnes just yowls loudly at me. then sits and 'cat smiles' at DD. She adores him so talks to him, Barnes is appeased and disappears for his midmorning snack then we hear a loud yowling as he goes upstairs. DD looks at me.........'He is going for a poo, he likes to let me know beforehand'. DD is giggling now, 'wait and listen'. we hear REALLY LOUD yowling. 'He has had his poo, now I have to go clean it up'! DD cant stop laughing. she wants to know if Barnes has 'Aspergers' or believes I am his slave 'Both' I reply!.

DD has two children - both of them have Asperger Syndrome. GD has recently started in a different school. DD heard her tell a friend who asked what it was like......... 'Its school isn't it? same as last one, but I don't like the prayer they say there'. on being asked by friend what prayer. she says 'Our Father who rot in Heaven'!
She must take after me - my kids say I am the 'Queen of Mis-heard Lyrics'!

meritaten

Barnes is currently curled up in 'my' place on the settee - OH is sitting next to him and the grandgirls have taken over OHs' settee to watch Desperaux. They haven't watched that one for ages.

earlier though I was startled to see Barnes dash past me and run hell for leather up the stairs, closely followed by C who was giggling and saying 'Barney! give me my necklace back!'.
she had put the necklace down and 'somehow' it got draped around Barnes neck and he ran off with it................(hmmm, I suspect one of the other girls put it there).
we then had to play 'Find Barnes' as he was hiding! eventually found him behind a curtain and returned the necklace to C!
otherwise we had a pretty uneventful day - think Barnes likes it that way. he did a bit of bird watching, as its got much colder today and the birds were making good use of the bird feeders.

meritaten

Whew, grandgirls dropped off at home, its quiet again at Chez Meritaten!
OH got up with the grandgirls at about 7.30 leaving me to a lovely lie in! he fed the cat but not the kids! lol. so, I was cooking porridge while trying to get enough coffee down me to wake up properly. C and K found my 'mini sewing machine' and wanted instruction. I had them 'sewing' pencil lines on paper without thread - just as I was trained as a seamstress. lmao - they were gobsmacked when I told them I spent a whole day doing that! and another two days learning how to do wavy lines and circles. it was a week before I was allowed near actual fabric and another week before I worked on the actual clothes on the production line!
Barnes couldn't seem to understand the attraction and watched carefully, waiting for something to happen I think..........he got bored and was going off to nap when K shrieked 'Barney is bleeding'! He had scratched the scabs off an area which was previously healing - so I had to go make another catnip infusion which the girls helped me apply. every two hours we applied catnip tea while the girls fed him dreamies. (he had really made a mess of the area), this evening its scabbed over and the inflammation has GONE! healing nicely! that catnip tea stuff works ever so fast and he stops scratching as soon as its applied.
it must be sore, as he isn't really interested in playing today - he just wants to sleep, cwtched up in MY place on settee.

btw - I offered Atrix the Kong Kickeroo as Barnes doesn't like it - and K wanted it! I showed her how to sew buttons on and she sewed buttons on for eyes and used my ProMarkers to make a cat nose and mouth! slept with it too!