Rachel

Being Your Cat by Celia Haddon and Prof. Daniel Mills FRCVS….

March 21, 2023 By Rachel

Exciting new cat book, discover what's really going on in your feline's mind. — Lola suitably impressed…

Have you ever wondered why cat behave the way they do? Cats are often a mystery to us humans, this new book can prepare you to enter the mind of your feline and help you understand how they see, smell and hear the world.

Celia Haddon a best selling cat author and cat expert has written this new book with veterinary behaviourist Prof. Daniel Mills, together they will take you into your cat’s mind and look at the latest scientific research and explain how your cat experiences the world we live in.

This book examines the cat by explaining what it’s like physically, psychologically and emotionally to be a cat.

The book is written in such a way that is comes across as though you are reading it to your cat and therefore it is easy for us mere humans to understand 🙂 This also makes it a charming book to read and fun. There are many feline behaviour books around and some can be a heavy read, which can put cat owners off reading, but this book is very engaging and the information easy to digest.

I particularly enjoyed the chapters about being a kitten, chapters on the different feline senses but most of all the chapter called “What You As A Cat Want, Choice and Control” It’s becoming much more common for behaviourists and cat educators to talk about giving cats a choice and control in their lives and treatment, this may sound funny to most cat owners as we often think cat do what they want anyway, but every cat is different and has it’s own individual personality and just because one cat likes to be treated in a certain way, doesn’t mean all cats do, for example being fussed and cuddled, being picked up, held like a baby, dressed up (i’ve never met a cat who loved this apart from a Sphynx who suffered from the cold). There is no one size fits all when it comes to cat happiness. Cats deserve our respect, the same as any family member. As a pet cat, cats need humans who accept them as they are and not force them to behave in a way that makes them unhappy and stressed.

Many cats may not wish to be lap cats but prefer to be nearby while others are like limpets and would stay on you all day and night 🙂

I enjoyed this book very much and recommend it to all cat owners especially new inexperienced owners, but also experienced owners as there is always new things to discover about our feline friends.

I was sent this book from Octopus Publishing for an honest review and is available from all the usual places.

Until next time, love and purrs Rachel & Lola xxx

Loving Cats……

February 14, 2023 By Rachel

People often ask me why I love cats so much, I’ve been working with them or for them for over 20 years now and living with them for longer and they always fascinate and make me laugh…..

I often remember going to my now husband’s home to meet his Mum and the family cat Tiger. Tiger had been a stray that just wandered into their lives and never left. Tiger always sat at the dinner table and would sit on her own chair and tap me gently when she wanted me to know she was waiting for food, she wanted some of my dinner….I’m sure Tiger put a spell on me as I was a dog person before I met her….

A great example of how cats make me smile and laugh is when people get a cat for the first time and I go to meet them. Owners often tell me that they have cat rules for the house and they would appreciate me sticking to them. These rules often include no sleeping on the owners bed at night, no scratching the furniture, no sitting on the sofa and the cat being allowed only certain rooms at night or when the owners are out. It often makes me smile and when I look at the cat I just know these rules will soon be forgotten and all changed by the time I return again for more cat sitting duties 🙂

A few months later when I return all the rooms are open, the sofa is covered in cat hairs and possibly scratched and the cat always sleeps with the owners at night 🙂 When I question the owners, they often say “oh it’s a cat, they do what they want don’t they?” I see this scenario all the time!

When we took Lola on, we never had any rules because we knew she would do as she wanted….. Mr Ringo was not supposed to be allowed in the spare room, but then it miraculously became “Ringo’s Room!” Our first two cats weren’t supposed to be in our bed at night but that lasted about a week!

I love how most of my cat sitting clients slowly add new cat resources to their (or the cat’s) homes. You can never have enough cat beds, cat toys and water fountains and cat trees etc. Some of my best cat homes look like cat cafe’s! All fantastic for the cats!

A recent cat sitting client sent me a photo of their cat helping with the jigsaw over the Christmas period!

Lola always makes me laugh when she’s outside but returns indoors to use the litter tray and then goes outside again, but to be honest it’s nice that she feels safe and secure to only toilet inside and I can keep an eye on her toileting habits and she obviously loves her clean litter trays!

She’s also funny when I put food down that she doesn’t fancy as she walks away and swipes my feet! She’s such a madam!

I hope on this Valentine’s Day you are all enjoying your time with loved one’s whether they are human or feline!

Happy Valentine’s Day from Rachel and Lola! xxxx

Lola’s Go to Cat Litter- Natusan

January 20, 2023 By Rachel

Lola modelling with her cat litter from Natusan

When we lived with Mr Ringo he used a sand-like litter from a well known supermarket and pet store. The sandy litter was soft on his paws and this was important as he was elderly and had some arthritis.

In the wild cats prefer to use a fine sand, as it is soft on paws and easy to dig and bury their waste, this is important to keep their presence hidden from predators, so feline behaviourists will always recommend a sandy litter.

I always worried that the litter we used for Mr Ringo was not good for the environment but I didn’t want to stress an older cat with new litter so decided to change the brand when we adopted Lola. I was excited and pleased to be offered a free sample from Natusan to try for Lola and we have been using it since November 2022.

Natusan litter is made from a PEPC-certified recycled wood and is a by product. The natural material is biodegradable and it comes in wood or wheat and both have long-lasting odour control and both types are chemical and fragrance free, this is important to me as most cats dislike fragrances in their litter and it just covers up the smell which a regularly cleaned tray shouldn’t have anyway.

So what did we think of it? Well after mixing it in the Lola’s normal litter and eventually just using Natusan, Lola seemed happy to use it, in fact she loved lying in it and playing in it! I think she was using this behaviour as attention seeking as it always got my attention when she flicked it all over the floor!

When Lola uses it normally she seems very happy and it is great at clumping and doesn’t leave a lot of tracking on the carpet when leaving the tray. It’s light and smells of natural wood and looks lovely and clean. I am definitely using less litter and the litter clumps of wee are lighter and don’t appear to smell. It is about £17 for 10L which seems more expensive but it is lasting so much longer and the lack of odour from wee is worth it. I can’t comment on the odour control with Lola’s poo as she doesn’t cover it and so it can be a bit whiffy!!

Natusan always seem to be having offers so it’s well worth signing up for their newsletters. You can also sign up for a subscription service to deliver every month, so I may well do this in the future.

You can flush small amounts down the loo but I don’t as I’m not sure this is ideal for the plumbing and drainage system so choose not too. I therefore pop it into biodegradable poo bags and place in the normal bin.

Lola uses a high sided open top litter tray and has two trays in the house. I like open trays for cats, especially if they live in multi cat households as some cats will attack other cats when leaving the tray if it is covered. It’s important for a cat to feel safe in its tray and stress can therefore be avoided.

The packaging Natusan uses is paper with no plastic and can be put in the recycling bin.

This product was sent to me to try for Lola free of charge and this is an honest review giving you my opinion and is not just positive because it was free. I recommend this litter and will be buying it in the near future. If you are interested in Natusan it’s worth checking out their website as they do other products too including cat beds, litter bags, dried food and scoops.

Lola and I wish you all a Happy 2023!

Love and purrs Rachel & Lola xx

Purrfect Cat Books for Christmas….

December 1, 2022 By Rachel

Those of you that follow me will have noticed from this blog and many of my social media posts that I’m a bit of a bookworm especially books with a feline theme. Studying to eventually become a feline behaviourist has also enabled me to buy even more feline focused books, I could open a feline library! I will read academic cat books, fictional cat books (especially crime cozies), Japanese feline themed stories (often quite spiritual and different), non-fiction cat themed books and even the occasional children’s cat book. This year I have discovered a few feline literary delights which would make purrfect gifts for cat lovers and I’m going to mention two older books that I adore and have read more than once…..

The first on the list is newly published Cat Lady by Dawn O’Porter, this book is about a women and her beloved cat, this book will make you laugh out loud in places and be deeply touched in others. It mentions and brings into the story cat bereavement and how powerful animal loss can be and the need for it to be recognised more in society, cats are family after all. I was hooked by this book from the first page and couldn’t put it down, it’s a very human story also, not just about cats and it does contain scenes of a sexual nature (human not feline)……

Second on the list is Mala’s Cat by Mala Kacenberg, this is the moving true story of a young Jewish girl escaping the German Invasion of Poland by living alone in a forest with only a cat for company and surviving in the shadow of the Holocaust, gripping and often shocking, heartbreaking but definitely worth reading……

The Cat With Three Passports by CJ Fentiman is number three on my list, a story of working and travelling in Japan, of what happens when you are working and travelling in a foreign land and you find a homeless kitten which changes all your plans. This is a great read especially if you are interested in Japan, I really enjoyed the author’s writing and hope she writes more in the future….

Number four on my list is Homer’s Odyssey by great cat writer Gwen Cooper, this book came out over 10 years ago and I blame Gwen for my obsession for cat books. Homer’s Odyssey is the true story of a blind abandoned kitten who finds a wonderful home with Gwen who really didn’t want another cat and how they changed each other’s lives for the better, this is a great book that will melt your heart. Gwen has over the years been writing many more cat books and I love her style of writing and sense of humour, totally recommend her books.

Last but not least is Strays by Britt Collins, this book will hook you from the first chapter, a true story of a lost cat and a homeless man and their travels across America. This book tells you how inseparable these two become, helping each other heals scars from their past. I could tell you more but I don’t want to spoil the wonderful beautifully written book for you.

These books are all available from the usual places and all make fabulous pressies for cat loving bookworms….. beware you may want to read them before giving them as gifts 🙂

Please let me know if you read any of them and what you thought too.

Love & Purrs Rachel and Lola xxx

Lola’s Christmas List

November 23, 2022 By Rachel

This will be our first Christmas without Mr Ringo and we will miss his little face on Christmas morning. He would look at me in an approving way only a cat can give as I left the house to go and visit and feed “his people” at Christmas.

The Christmas tree was fascinating to Ringo especially when he was young but he ignored it when older preferring to attempt to open the presents beneath (wise cat) instead. We have no idea what Miss Lola will make of it but I’m expecting lots of swiping! I think we will hide the breakable cat ornaments this year.

Lola loves to play and it’s so important to play with your cats especially if they are indoor only cats with lots of energy to expel. We try to play with Lola at least twice a day sometimes more as she’s young but older cats love to play too. Lola’s favourite toy is her wand toy, she loves to jump up to catch the “prey” on the end or stalk her “catch” when its dragged along the floor before she pounces for the “kill”! She often chirps as she stalks, which is entertaining for us too. Playing with your cat really helps with the human-cat bond and even if you lack time in your life, twice a day play for 10 minutes is better than nothing. So what’s on Lola’s Christmas list? Here’s a few of her favourite toys and a couple of new ones I’ve got for her to try…….

Anything by Honeysuckle Cat Toys, Ringo loved these toys and now Lola too. The toys are made from natural Tatarian Honeysuckle wood that comes from Canada where it has been used for cat toys for over 30 years, think of it as the new catnip. The toys come in wood slices or pouches filled with ground honeysuckle wood. This company is a small UK based business started by a women who is a feline behaviourist and knows cats well and what interests them. The wood slices can be re-vamped by wetting them, Lola reacts to these toys very like catnip, which she’s not really excited by.

From the next photo below you can see more toys, Lola’s wand toy is there and any make of wand toy cats love and I tend to buy any that has a clip at the end to attach replacement toys to and a wand that is retractable is useful for storage as they tend to be on the long side. If you buy a wand toy just remember to put them away when not being used for safety reasons.

The Catit Groovy Fish is a new toy that I’m trying out with Lola and I love the fact I can charge it up with a USB lead and so saving on expensive batteries, Catit products are good quality I love the design of their products. I will report back on Lola’s reaction to this new toy.

The mouse with the VERY long tail is from a company new to me Mimi’s Daughters, this company is run by another inspiring woman after a trip to Nepal, the products are all luxury, handmade eco-friendly and natural made from organic felted sheep’s wool and cats appear to be attracted to the lanolin which is antimicrobial and antifungal. I chose the mouse tail as Lola loves long strings to chase and attack,I will remember to put it away when not playing for safety. I’m also secretly in-love with their cat caves especially the tomato one.

Lastly I’m thinking of getting Lola a bigger cat tunnel because she loves her kitten one but it’s a bit short and there are longer ones on the market, she often goes in her tunnel to chase the wand toy and sometimes to just chill out and appears to feel safe in it. It’s important for cats to have a place to hide and chill out especially if they live in busy homes with other animals or small children.

So there we have it, Lola’s Christmas list and favourite cat toys, none of these toys were sent to me free of charge to feature on this blog, they are all products I have bought for her to try….

Let me know if you try any of these products and what you and your cats think, I’d love to know 🙂

I’ll be back before Christmas with a list of cat books that I’ve discovered this year that will make fab Christmas pressies for cat friends…….

Love and purrs Rachel & Lola xxx

I’ve Been Cat Sitting for 20 Years!

October 27, 2022 By Rachel

I had to let you all know that I can’t quite believe it, but Portsmouth Cat Sitting has been in business for 20 years! I was thinking the other day, how things have changed in those years and thought it would make a fun blog to write. So here goes……..

When I first set up the business mobile phones were very rare and I didn’t have one for quite a while and all my calls were done via my land line, it’s so much nicer and quicker using a mobile for texting and calls, clients can also get a quick response..
The internet has changed so much and I used to have to use dial-up to go on my website!! Imagine trying to sort out your website while a client is trying to call you on the landline but it’s engaged……
Before meeting a new client, I remember having to look up addresses with my faithful paper street map! Remember those wonderful A-Z maps from Smith’s? Now I just use Google Maps or Sat Nav.
Social Media! Well Facebook didn’t exist and my mobile definitely didn’t take photos for many years and my texting was very iffy…..
If people wanted to get hold of me they had to call me on my landline or write me a letter (remember those?) and email was just becoming popular…..
Apart from a few months I have always had a Smart Car for work, the perfect car for nipping around Portsmouth and parking in very tight places. I have had as far as I can remember 7 Smart cars, I love them. Working as a cat sitter I’m often up early in the summer months and Christmas to feed cats and parking can be a nightmare, so a small car is a must……love my Smartie
Talking of Smart Cars, my first one was a left hand drive, it was all you could get. I remember having my Mum’s dog to stay and the dog would sit in the car with me and of course she looked like she was driving to people. People used to stare at me in the tiny car anyway as Smart cars were rare then and seeing a dog driving one was even odder, especially with cat sitting signage written on the car!
There’s lots of cat sitters in Portsmouth now, when I set up there was just me and another person who did dogs as well..
People can sit on a plane and pay me now! No waiting days for a cheque to clear…
Some people are slowly coming around to learning more about cat welfare and understanding that cats are not an easy option, I believe social media is helping with this but it’s a slow process, I hope to do more blogs and social media posts when I finally finish my Feline Behaviour studies.
I wonder how many cats I have fed and litter trays I have cleaned over 20 years?
In the 20 years in business 4 cats have shared our home,Tam, (RIP) Gizmo (RIP), Mr Ringo (RIP) and now Lola, it’s always tempting to have more but cats can become very stressed in multi cat households and Lola is so settled.
Have a giggle at a very young Rachel, with dark hair! See photo below as featured in the Portsmouth News in 2002! With the very special Gizzy who lived with us until she was 23!

This is a copy I found of a newspaper feature in Portsmouth News (local paper)

Meet Lola new CEO of Portsmouth Cat Sitting

September 14, 2022 By Rachel

Back in July I told you all that sadly Mr Ringo had passed away, he was such a character and a big part of both myself and husband Tony’s life. We knew he would be a hard act to follow and we decided to wait and find another cat later in the year. Well after just 6 weeks we realised we hated not having a cat in the house and waiting a while just went out the window and off we went to see a cat that needed a home. Mr Ringo can never be replaced and we wanted a cat that was nothing like him and I think Lola will be fabulous.

Local cats rescue Portsmouth Lost and Found and Rehomed is a charity close to my heart and run by the wonderful Penny. Penny has helped me in the past with various cat issues and was my first place to look. Penny’s rescue is run by herself and an amazing group of volunteers in the Portsmouth area. Penny had a cat called Lola who had been found as a stray and had 4 kittens. As is often the way the kittens all found homes and no one seemed to want Mummy cat Lola. Lola needed to be an only cat as she didn’t appear to like male cats but was more tolerant of females. I suppose most of the people that would have had Lola, already had other cats, so it was hard to find her a forever home.

Well as soon as we met her, we knew she was going to be a little character, we had been warned she liked to swipe with her front paws and she greeted Tony with a good couple of left hooks but no claws! Tony is very calm with cats and he just stood there and didn’t react to the swipes…… and so after a while we took her home as a possible foster cat……

Foster cat! well we all knew how that would end……ummmmmm! I’m not sure I would make a good fosterer and there’s only so many cats I can fit into our average sized home!

And so began Miss Lola’s journey to her new home and she’s doing well. She’s so tiny and quiet compared to Mr Ringo and the vet has told us to get her weight up a bit, that won’t be hard as she loves food and also loves to play (especially swiping toys). She has taken an interest in most of Ringo’s old toys and lots of new ones too. We have put her on a high meat content food called Untamed and she loves it!

After a couple of days we knew she was here to stay and officially adopted her and promoted her to CEO of Portsmouth Cat Sitting, so you will see her pop up on the social media pages and my blog here… wish Lola good luck in her new home with us!

Until next time, love and purrs Rachel and Lola xxxx

Remembering Mr Ringo……our boy…..

July 25, 2022 By Rachel

I have sad news Mr Ringo passed away on the 4th July, he was 19 years old and had lived his best life with my husband Tony and me. He had lived with a few health issues that were managed with medication but the time had come when he had simply had enough and we didn’t want him to suffer. Heartbreaking as it was and still is, you as responsible owners have to think of the cat and their quality of life. He was always such a lion, sleeping in the sun but keeping one eye on his territory and help any other cat that walked his way…….

Apart from his last 6 months he was always an active and adventurous cat, he loved going outside and would never had been a cat that was happy indoors. His favourite hobby included visiting the neighbours (lots of them, rather a lot!), he once stole a tuna steak from our next door neighbour and spent the night at another neighbours, sleeping on their son’s bed! I also often saw my close neighbours leave for the day to then notice Ringo in their bedroom window!

While cat sitting for my neighbours I would often find him sat on their sofa or eating their cats food, not sure who was more surprised Ringo or me!

19 years ago when I worked at a feline only vets a lady called and said she had a 20 week old ginger kitten that needed to find a home because he had been returned, due to him being too naughty!

My husband had always said he would like a ginger kitten and so home he came with us. We called him Ringo because he had ring markings on his side which unfortunately looked like a target! They fortunately disappeared as he got bigger 🙂

We had him neutered as soon as we could and as I worked at his vets,I was lucky to be present. He was very fortunate in having many amazing vets looking after him in the same practice for 19 years and they knew him well, this was just as well as he could be aggressive towards them when he was young but he mellowed in his later years.

Ringo lived with our two other older cats and they tolerated him, I’m not sure I would ever have a kitten with older cats again and I often had to keep him away from them in their later years. When they later passed away we decided to keep him as an only cat.

Over his life time he brought mice back but fortunately he wasn’t good at catching birds and in true lion style he was happy for someone else to provide the food while he protected his territory.

Both my husband and me are heartbroken and miss him very much but take comfort that he had such a good life and didn’t suffer at the end. We are very touched by the kind messages, cards and even donations remembering him, some from people I hardly know or know him from social media. We feel lucky to have had him in our lives for 19 years…………

We will of course open our home to another cat or cats in the future, when the time feels right.

Mr Ringo you were a legend! Meowsers!!!

Love and Purrs Rachel xxx

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Being Your Cat by Celia Haddon and Prof. Daniel Mills FRCVS….

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Meet Lola new CEO of Portsmouth Cat Sitting

Remembering Mr Ringo……our boy…..

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