Tidge Is 6 and Meeting the Neighbours

Greetings My Loyal Subjects,

I apologise for not posting for so long. Here's a quick update on what's been happening here.

First and most importantly- we have a 6-year-old now- Tidge was six on October 16th! He had a lovely birthday with lots of fuss and a blue mouse. My sister also gave him the purple teddy bear for good that he stole from her a few weeks ago. Thanks to all those who sent him gifts and messages. We have made new friends too, including Pumpkin- who could be my twin- and his family.

Secondly, we've made friends with some neighbours owing to our mutual love of cats. The couple have three cats, Frankie (short for Frankenstein) is black and white like our Tidge and quite shy. Then there's Oscar, who's ginger like Simba but younger and with different markings. He's got darker patches with a lighter shade underneath. Lastly, there is Leo (also a girl), who is tortoiseshell and white. She brought our two families together when she was chased up onto a roof by two loose dogs.

Tidge and I were inside at the time but Mum heard the noise and later, when it was getting light and the dogs had gone, she saw the couple trying to bring Leo down with a ladder and went out to help. She climbed up the ladder while they held it and Leo was rescued safely. They later came round with a thank you card, calling Mum Leo's hero and now they and Mum look out for all of us cats. Leo and her siblings also share their home with another pet like me and Tidge, but a bunny instead of a dog, which is so cute.

Two small funny incidents have already resulted from this new friendship. A few weeks ago, Oscar wandered into our garden and Zack, who is very short-sighted and a little goofy, thought he was me. He didn't stay long, of course. Then I wandered into his garden. It was night time and I gave Leo's Dad a scare as he was watching a horror film. He looked out of their patio doors and sitting there in the dark was me, with my glowing amber eyes!

Even funnier, was my reaction when he opened the door. Purring, I got up and headed back to my own garden, showing him my tail but then he said 'Simba!' and I looked back. The way Leo's Dad described it to my Mum, my face was priceless. Have you ever had someone speak to you when you didn't even know they knew your name? Apparently, he could almost see the thought process going on- you know my NAME? Who are you and how do you know me? Yes, it's true. Cats can do double takes too.

Oh and before I forget, Tidge had his sixth birthday check up and his 'rooster booster' as Mum calls our vaccinations. He is doing fine, very healthy and his toothless mouth is in great condition. Not surprisingly, he doesn't need a full dental like I had after my sixth birthday. He has been getting dandruff but the vet said more oils will cure that, so we now get a tin of tuna every week. Thanks Tidge! He's also lost a little weight, which is good as both he and Zack are chubby. He's 5 kilos now, down from 5.9 kilos last year. The day of reckoning for me this year will come after my birthday on November 14th.

Thanks for reading.

King Simba XXX

Belated Angel Day Thoughts

Greetings My Loyal Subjects,

On October 19th, it was my sweet brother Jet's 6th Angel Day, as we like to call it. This is a slightly edited version of my entry last year- 5 long years- because I think it said all that needed to be said.

I wrote...

It has been six long years today since my brother Jet earned his wings at just 11 months old. It is something my family can still feel very bitter about, both given Jet's age and the fact that I had already been hit by a car myself, when he died. If I had also died my family would have lost both of their recently acquired kittens- we went to our new home at two months- within six months of each other, less than a year after we joined the family. And 11 months old is too young to die, far far too young. Cats can live around 15 years or more! My family had one cat who reached 20.

Jet had not developed his whole personality but was fast becoming a wonderful character. He was totally the opposite of me and not only in looks- I am a ginger tabby while he was pure black- but in nature, too. While I was adventurous, Jet was always cautious and extremely sensitive. He hated loud noises and only ventured outside hesitantly. The only day he went further afield was the day he got killed and we think he had been startled by something, running the wrong way and into the road, rather than towards home.

The thing that made losing Jet more tragic for all of us, is that it was a week before we found out what had happened. Mum let us out early on Monday morning and Jet simply never came home. The rest of the week was fraught with uncertainty and fear. Was he cold? Hurt? Had he been wrongly adopted as a stray? We scoured the neighbourhood and delivered flyers. Our insurance company even offered a reward.

In fact, Jet had been killed not long after he left home. Being black, he was invisible when he ran into the road. It was October and still very dark until mid-morning and this was about 6am. The driver who hit him would never have seen him. We do feel angry at the driver still but try not to. They did have the decency to stop and lift Jet onto the grass beside the road, so his body would not be run over again. Or somebody else did. And we were thankful for that.

The children of a man who lived on the street told him that there was a cat 'asleep' in the grass, so he must have looked very peaceful. The man took Jet home to lay him to rest there but then he received our flyer. Of course, he knew he had our cat. Mum took the phone call he made and went round to collect him. The man was as upset as she was and would not accept the reward money. Mum thanked him a lot.

We brought Jet home and buried him in the garden and when summer arrived, we erected a shed on top of his grave, so he would always be safe. It was a great comfort to us that he had died instantly; from a broken neck, we believe and had not suffered or been stuck out in the wet and the cold. But it was hard. I was still sick from my own accident at the time and we were angry.

Jet had been turning into such a wonderful, handsome cat and such an endearing, unusual character. He had only the faintest miaow and hardly ever used it but an incredible throaty purr. When he purred, his whole body shook with it. I have never been much of a treader but Jet loved to tread everything. And when he did, he would go into a trance, his eyes rolling in his head.

After they lost their baby blue, even Jet's eyes were black. It was so strange. Apart from his mouth, only his pads, which were a gorgeous rich chocolate brown, were not black. He also had six white hairs. It was so cute. Just six white hairs, under his chin. Jet nearly always moved very slowly, he prowled, like a panther. You would catch him from the corner of your eye, coming through a gap in the door and jump out of your skin.

It distressed my family that initially, at least, I seemed unaffected by his loss. But we had been separated for so long while I was at the vet and then confined to a cage for six weeks to rest my hip, that we had grown apart. I certainly noticed the quietness and it was hard, not having anyone to play with.

When my family moved, my sister and Mum particularly struggled with leaving Jet behind. It felt wrong. But they had me with them, as a link to him. And this year is different to all the intervening four years since his death. This year, thanks to his Catster page, there is a place for us to mourn him. And people to mourn with.

It never gets easier, Jet. But you're in a happy place. Have you met up with Mum's old cats? Jess and Gladys will look out for you. Have you met Queen Tallulah too? We're thinking of you all.

Miss you lots, little bro.

Simba XXX

Lots To Come Here!

Greetings My Loyal Subjects,

September is here and things are starting to get a little crazy here. It's exam season for my sister at university (til October 14th)and Zack, Tidge and I all have birthdays coming up. Zack's first on the 23rd this month (he'll be three, or the big 2-1 in dog years, meaning he beats my sister there, she's 20 next). On October 16th, Tidge will be six and last but not least, I'll be seven on November 14th.

I've added some new photos to my page and may be posting a new video soon. It's for my Queen Tallulah, though, so I want her Mom to be able to see it before I post it. There's some photos on the way for Tidge's profile too, including a new main photo, finally. Come October 19th, there is also my brother Jet's 6th Angel Day and in December, Tidge and I will be at The Cattery for their Christmas minibreak in a forest cabin (see Zack's diary, as he's going too, lucky mutt).

Note to Catster HQ: I was quick to criticise when you altered all the site so I feel I ought to give credit where it's due too. The new spaces to list our birthday and gotcha dates are cool and the reminder system for special dates ROCKS. Thanks!

Please pay a visit to Queen Tallulah and her Mom.

Thanks for reading.

The King XXX

Kingdom News and Updates

Greetings My Loyal Subjects,

First of all, a request. Please visit my dear Queen Tallulah to give her and her Mom some love. After surviving mammary cancer last year and going into remission for a while, QT was struck down with lung cancer and has put up a tremendous fight. Now she and her family need your love more than ever because QT recently crossed the Bridge. Visit www.catster.com/cats/947825 and show some love.

The latest news from the Kingdom, is that Tidge and I will be going to The Cattery for the third time this year in December as the lucky mutt (a.k.a Zack) who doesn't board well so has to tag along, will be enjoying a week in a luxury log cabin in a wood. More details from his perspective in his diary. As for me, can you feel the enthusiasm. I hope that cattery has good heating or we'll be cold.

The three of us (myself, Tidge and The Mutt) have all been out in the garden a lot. We've also been the favourite models of our sister as she figures out her new camera. Enjoy the new photos I've added to my page.

Thanks for reading.

The King XXX

Home Again!

Greetings My Loyal Subjects,

This is just a little note to let you know all is well here in my Kingdom again. Mum and my sister are home from their week in Germany for the summer school, which was very hard. It was good on the whole but my sister lost her bag on the very first day. It had some important stuff in it but there's still a chance it might turn up, either at the university (there's another group of students there this week) or at the city lost and found. My sister is monitoring this online. Please hope for her getting it back.

The week for me and Tidge was long and mostly uneventful. The weather was very bad. I have gained a little weight which Mum is pleased with as I needed to. Tidge has also but he was a bit on the large side already. Zack is meanwhile very slim and was very pleased to see us home today. Bless him! He was pleased to see his Mummy and sister at the airport too. He has spent the past week at work with Daddy, which apparently was fun.

My Queen Tallulah is poorly at the moment so please pay her a visit and cheer her up.

Thank you for reading.

King Simba XXX

Not Again!

Greetings My Loyal Subjects,

Can you believe that there is talk of me and Tidge being sent to The Cattery again around the 23rd of this month? And not so long after their last holiday in June. My sister must spend a week at summer school in Germany for her university course and leaves on the 23rd. Mum is going with her so there could be no one to look after us. Dad had originally booked the week off work but may have to go in anyway now. He can take Zack with him but not us, too. It's not definite yet, though, we'll have to see.

In stranger news, (but sad for Mum), Tidge has accidentally eaten one of her little fish. Ages and ages ago, she rescued two tiny fish from a boy on our street, who didn't want them. She didn't really expect them to live long (they were even smaller than a goldfish, short and thin) but they did, living in a big bowl of water on the windowsill in the hallway. Now one has gone, apparently into Tidge, because it disappeared after Mum cleaned out the bowl.

She had finished cleaning the bowl but something distracted her and instead of carrying it back to the windowsill, she left it on the kitchen worktop, but well away from the edge, seemingly safe. The problem is, Tidge and I are not put off by Zack now so wander freely around the kitchen. Tidge even drinks out of Zack's water bowl. Anyway, what we think must have happened is that while walking on the worktop, he was lapping water out of the goldfish bowl and accidentally swallowed one of the fish.

If this sounds unlikely, it isn't. Tidge goes on the worktops now and then and has also drunk from the fish bowl once before. He is rather mentally challenged and does silly stuff like that but we were still surprised. The fish which died lived about 18 months longer than it would have done, at least, but now there is just one fish in the bowl on its own. It's a good job they only have short memories or it would be very bored. Mummy got sad at first but the story has quickly become an anecdote of the family and will be one of those stories we all remember about Tidge.

Thank you for reading.

The King XXX

Writing On The Wall: Of Angels And Chocolates

Greetings My Loyal Subjects,

You'll be pleased to hear my time in jail (aka The Cattery) as the family were away went well. When Mum came to pick me up, I was sunbathing. I was pleased to see her, though, knowing her arrival meant it was home time, so I went to rub against her, chirruping. Then I climbed into my basket and waited while she coaxed Tidge into his from under a blanket on a chair, where he had stayed almost the whole time. Bless!

Zack (a.k.a The Lucky Mutt, who got to go away with them) was at home, waiting for us. He watched and wagged his tail as Mum let us out and Tidge immediately went over and rubbed against him and rolled over for him, reaching up a paw to playfully dab at his long nose. I headed into the kitchen too, gave him a far less sloppy, perfunctory hello and wandered out into the garden to purloin his red holiday ball for my own. I batted it, kicked it, licked it, hugged it. He came and took it back eventually, of course, the spoilt brat that he is.

It's been very warm the last few days and we have all been in the garden together, the three of us. Mum is overjoyed about this. It's taken four years of hard work and gentle coaxing but we are finally able to share the garden together. All that time ago, when Zack first came, Tidge took one look at him and ran away, hiding under a bed for four solid days without emerging. Look how far we have come.

Anyway, to return to the title of this post. I was pleased and amused by some lovely decorative magnets Mum picked up for the house while they were on holiday, proof she was thinking of us, even though we weren't there. One is now on my sister's bedroom wall (the top one below) and the other is in the kitchen. The writing on the wall is:

MY CAT is an ANGEL from HEAVEN ABOVE with
sandpaper KISSES and a HEART full of LOVE.

CATS are like CHOCOLATES,
It's HARD to have just ONE.

Don't you just love those?

My sister wants to know if you've heard anything similar. Why not tell us your favourite slogan?

My Queen Tallulah had a check up recently and the tumour in her lungs has not changed, which is good. She has recently had some chemo and will be having more every five weeks. Her veins seem fine now.

Thank you for reading,

King Simba XXX

Half The Year Gone Already!

Greetings My Loyal Subjects,

Wow! We are halfway through 2010 already. How time flies. All is well in the Kingdom. The weather is steadily improving so despite the odd cloudy or windy day, I am able to go out a lot more and have even enjoyed some nights on the town. Changes are occuring here right now, though.

Suitcases have appeared out of nowhere, a lot of shopping and packing have been done and there is excited talk of a 'caravan holiday'. There's no sign of our baskets yet, which are usually kept hidden until the last minute but I have an uneasy feeling that myself and Tidge will be spending the next few days at the cattery. This means several days of being nervous for Tidge and several days of utter boredom for me. The place we go to is very nice but I'm still not relishing the prospect. Worse, it seems they are taking the dog with them as 'he doesn't board well'. Great- the problem child gets the special holiday!

In better news, some tweaks have been made to our pages so they are looking much better and not too worse for wear after they were messed up by the recent redesign. And we have started to adjust to the changes. Catster HQ, you are not off the hook yet. We still feel the community aspect of the site has been shunned in favour of the informational. The community bar, colours and backgrounds are still hideous. Navigation is still not easy and it still takes far more clicks than before to find the stuff we need.

But, the heart of the community and all of the features we have always enjoyed are still here, shunned and difficult to access or otherwise. We can still create our profiles the way we wish, upload our photos and videos, keep our diaries and talk to our friends. Adding the toys to the horrible backgrounds has made the yucky carpet and grass marginally more bearable, though we think there still needs to be more. We still miss the old site terribly and would switch back in a heartbeat but reluctantly, we are adapting.

I hope you like the new photos added to our pages. There's some of me in the garden and exerting my authority over Zack in the kitchen and some of Tidge looking cute in the laundry basket and with Zack. He also uploaded a new video of him playing with a mouse recently, which is cute. When Zack returns from the big holiday, there'll no doubt be tons more pictures plus a video. I'm not bitter-much. My Queen Tallulah continues to be fine and has recently been able to have more chemotherapy. Keep her in your thoughts for me.

Thank you for reading.

The King XXX

Dear Catster HQ

Dear Catster HQ,

Normally, I let my boys speak for themselves on Catster but I'm borrowing The Diary Of The King today. I am in mourning for the Catster I LOVED and I'm writing to beg you to please, please do the right thing and bring the OLD CATSTER back. The changes you have made have turned Catster into an amateurish informational site- there are many better ones around- while the community at the heart and soul of Catster has become an afterthought, stuck behind a ridiculous button which no one wanted and no one likes.

I would go so far as to say that no one really wanted or likes anything you've done. Like 99.9% of Catster users, I have never used this site for advice. To be honest, I have always thought the factual parts to be the weaker parts of the site and what advice I have needed, I have obtained from my vet. The appeal of Catster has always been in the cats and their profiles. On no other site, could cats send each other messages and keep diaries, all using their own voices and no one say anything to spoil the fun. I'm sure I'm not the only one to have put real thought into how to express things in my cat's voice and avoid saying anything I doubt he would say.

The site doesn't even look appealing anymore but unprofessional and dull. The community button sticks out like a sore thumb on the new nav bar. Adverts seem to have sprung up everywhere. The new logo is totally rubbish and not even consistent on a page. Above me as I type, is 'Catster' in plain white writing. Below, is Catster with a cat's head for the A. The new default colours are atrocious, the new backgrounds disgusting (espcially the dirty carpet one)and nothing loads quickly or properly. I have had to take my boys profile borders off as your changes mucked up my codes and frequently get a strange warning about some kind of script running on the page which might make my computer stop responding if it continues to run.

I am not going to leave Catster for the time being as I have a lot of friends on here and have put lots of effort into all my boys pages. However, the site is no fun at all now. Stop trying to be something you are not, because information is certainly not what you are good at and remember what Catster was created for in the first place. We all loved what we had so please see sense and press that undo button. If I could, I'd fly over and press it myself. I hope for the day when I see the lovely old home page again and know this bad dream has ended.

Catster was BRILLIANT. Please bring it back. PLEASE?

Alex

The King Celebrates His Catster-versary 2010!

Greetings My Loyal Subjects,

I am pleased to report that summer seems to have come to the UK and for the past few days my kingdom has been bathed with glorious sunshine! This has allowed me to spend many hours sunbathing by the patio doors, rolling on the path and cutting a swathe through the local rodent population on the warm summer nights. As Zack has already said in his diary, my brothers and I have now been online for more than a year! Zack has written a little review of his year in his diary so I will attempt to do the same. I've had an exciting year, marked by several key incidents, bad as well as good.

To start with the bad, my first entry described my terrible car accident at 6 months old and long road to recovery. Over the year, I have also faced a food fight with my Mum over a yucky new food, got trapped inside our greenhouse, almost died after nearly falling from an upstairs window onto said greenhouse, made a lucky escape from a neighbour's dog when it escaped from its garden and chased me and marked the 5th anniversary of my true brother's death in a car accident (shortly after mine when we were 11 months old) with the special entry '5 Long Years' last October.

In good news, I have a lovely Catster page with a wonderful collection of films and photos. I am The King no less to the beautiful Queen Tallulah and have already won my first Catster honour- Diary Of The Day- last January. My sister has been lucky to capture a few photos for my page of me out 'doing my thing' and we have taken part in two games of tag, one at Halloween and another which involved doing a little bit of a fact file about yourself. I have celebrated my 30th birthday, my 6th in human years and marked Tidge's 5th birthday with a special entry in tribute to my adopted baby brother. I have also celebrated 6 years in my Forever Home. Lastly, my first year on Catster came to a fun end when the Catster Celebrity Pet Quiz confirmed I am indeed the feline version of Mr Simon Cowell. Just as I thought.

I have enjoyed sharing messages and gifts with too many doggies and kitties to list you all. I have enjoyed correspondence with fellow Orangies like Aedan and Elliott, who looks eerily identical to me. I also want to give a special mention to two very special friends. First, on behalf of my baby brother Tidge, to Ollie Popoki, who has become a good friend of Tidge's. Beautiful Ollie, who is part-Persian, was diagnosed a few years ago with a severe case of a feline dental disease called FORL, that means she has already needed several teeth extracting and might eventually lose them all. As Tidge developed acute recurring gum disease due to his terrible start in life and had to have all of his teeth, bar his lower canines, taken out at just two years old, he and Ollie can relate to each other's 'toothie troubles'. Tidge is pleased to have met you Ollie!

Second, to my wonderful Queen Tallulah and her family. I met Queen Tallulah, then a princess, soon after we joined Catster. She has two cat siblings, Zeke and Xena and two dog siblings, Mia and Milo. I believe it was Zack and Milo who met first and then Tallulah and I. At the time, Tallulah was bravely battling mammary cancer and the two of us started exchanging messages and gifts. Shortly after Tallulah won her battle with the cancer, she and I became King and Queen. Don't we look lovely in our big crowns? Tallulah remained in remission for several months but in March, she found out her cancer was back and in her lungs. She has been having chemo again but her veins have recently made the treatment difficult and she may not be able to have it anymore. We are all hoping and praying for my dear Queen. You can see a video I made for her on my page. If you would like to visit her, her ID is: 947825

That concludes my Review Of The Year 2010. I am very pleased to have met you all and I look forward to many more happy years on Catster!

Love,

King Simba XXX