A Worrying Few Minutes

Are my humans going to abandon me? Are they even going to leave me behind for a few days?

Let me explain.  It's an important story for my human, Andrew.

Andrew has been waiting to hear about an operation to repair an enlarged blood vessel in his left arm.  It doesn't look very nice (no picture, you'll be pleased to hear) but it also means too much blood is getting back to his heart too easily and putting strain on it.  There's been a long story about arranging the operation and we have arranged two trips to London already only to hear at the last minute that the operation was cancelled.  So now we are all hoping it will be on Monday.  We will have to go to London for a few days.  Also, we think that immediately afterwards Andrew will have to keep his left arm raised and not be able to use it for much.  This is inconvenient.  He has been practicing things like shaving with one hand and Mikki has been gearing herself up for having to cut up food for him.  Most important, of course, is that he will have only one arm available to cuddle me.

The humans have been saying that the simplest thing is not to take me to London at all.  I will be left with the bed to myself (see top photo), which is nice in one way but really very worrying for a toy who is used to being with his humans.  They may have something of a point when they say Andrew may bleed a little after the operation and they don't want marks or stains on me - but I'm not convinced.  I could sit near him for the first night or two.

Well, we've been talking about it as the day approaches.  We're off to London tomorrow with an overnight stay in a hotel so Andrew can be at the hospital by 7.00am.  And I've finally convinced them they need me with them.  There was no serious doubt really, was there (see lower photo)?

It's what your right arm's for, Andrew.

Prrrrr.

Why Cuddly Toy Cats are Better than Real Cats

I've noticed one of the things that divides humans more than most is their pets.  Some are "dog people" and some "cat people".  With my help, my humans have solved the conflict by becoming "cuddly toy people".

I've been thinking for a long time of all the reasons toy cats like me are better than real cats and I've finally decided to write it down.  I expect this is a post I wil edit as I add to the list.

1.           Cuddly toy cats don't need feeding.

2.           Cuddly toy cats don't demand to be let out of the house - only to ask to be let in again.

3.           Cuddly toy cats don't scratch the furniture, curtains or carpets.

4.           Cuddly toy cats don't need a litter tray.

5.           Since toy cats don't eat at all, they won't wait for you to fill their food bowl only to turn their noses up at anything less than the steak or fish you're eating.

6.           Toy cats don't prowl the kitchen looking for food to steal.

7.           Cuddly toy cats don't bring up hairballs on the carpet.

8.           Toy cats don't bring you little presents, like live mice and dead birds.

9.           When cuddly toy cats roll over to let you tickle their tummy, they lie back and enjoy it without suddenly trying to scratch your hand.

10.         Toy cats don't have to go to the vet or incur vet bills.

11.         You can take toy cats away on holiday (vacation) without injections, pet passports or quarantine.

12.         Alternatively, you can leave cuddly toy cats "home alone" without fear of prosecution from the RSPCA.

13.         Cuddly toy cats do not shed hair on your clothes.

14.         Cuddly toy cats really do love car rides . . .

15.         . . . and you can leave them in the car without leaving a window open for ventilation.       

16.         Cuddly toy cats don't wake up before you and start making a fuss of you to get up and feed them.

17.         Cuddly toy cats will lie on your lap without padding your legs down with their claws.

18.         Cuddly toy cats do not hiss and scratch when you move them off your favourite chair.

19.         Cuddly toy cats will let you put name tags or other things around their necks without developing allergies to anything but precious metals.

20.         Cuddly toy cats don't help themselves to what's left on your plate while you are distracted by the telephone.

21.         Cuddly toys are extremely patient.  You can put them in poses for any reason you like and they will wait for you.

22.         Cuddly toy cats will not hunt out the most awkward place to sit:  on the keyboard you want to play or on the operation scar that is still sore.     

23.         You can leave your Sunday newspaper next to a cuddly toy cat and it won't be shredded when you get back

24.         Cuddly toy cats don't wreck your newly planted bulbs by digging up the soft earth to make their little holes.

25.        Cuddly toy cats will not set off the motion sensors in your security system.

26.         If they have claws, the claws on a cuddly toy cat are soft and gentle.

27.         Cuddly toy cats are obedient.  They respond very well to the "stay" command.

28.         No tricks, no kidding:  cuddly toy cats really do love being cuddled.  And they don't even wriggle if you squeeze them just a little too hard.

29.         You never need to worry about the cuddly toy cat accidently climbing into the washing machine, sitting on the wheel of the car etc.  That's not to suggest cuddly toys like going in the washing machine but some people do it to them and sometimes they just come out cleaner.

30.         You can leave cuddly toy cats alone with cuddly toy dogs and they won't fight.

31.         Cuddly toy cats will not treat your other cuddly toys as things to play with and tear them to pieces.  Even cuddly toy mice are safe.

32.       Cuddly toy cats don't suffer from stress - or at least nobody tries to see you pills for them if they do.

33.       Cuddly toy cats grow old only as fast as you want them to.  If you want to call your 20 year old toy a kitten, that's fine.  And he will jump about and play with no more help from you than he needed when he was new.

That should be a long enough list to convince anyone.  Isn't it?

Prrrr.

Preparing for the Next Trip

With only about a month to go, it's time to be preparing for the next trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.  Except this trip is very different.  I'm not going - and neither is my human, Andrew.  So a lot of my preparation consists of dreaming about what I might have done or where I might have been.

Mikki is taking two weeks to include the 15th anniversary meet of the discussion board where she moderates - Intercot.  The meet is only over a weekend but Mikki said it wasn't worth flying that far for so short a time.

Mikki's preparations are quite different from normal.  There's no need to divert the post or warn the neighbours the house will be empty.  But she is worrying about Andrew.  I tell her I'll look after him but she worries about things like whether he will get enough to eat (oh yes, humans need to do that, don't they).  She's training him in using Skype and in texting so they can keep in touch.

She's also working hard on two events she's responsible for at the Intercot meet.  She'll do fine.

And so will we.

Prrr

Characters: Pluto

I have many pictures with Pluto.  He is one of the "Fab Five" and is about lots in the parks.  And he also likes playing with me, as Pluto and Figaro play together in animated films.  Although both of them can be a little mean at times, they generally get on a lot better than the standard image of dog and cat.

I've had lots of fun with Pluto in the Disney parks.  Sometimes he has put me in his mouth but I know he isn't going to eat me (it helps that I know he can't close his mouth).  Sometimes he puts me on top of his snout.  And here he is balancing me on top of my human Andrew's head.

You can probably recognise that the picture was taken at Liberty Tree Tavern during one of the character meals they do there.  You can also see I am wearing a nice name badge my humans had made for me.  I wear it sometimes to please them even though everyone should know who I am - and most do.

It's now about 6 weeks until Mikki goes back to Walt Disney World.

6 weeks during which she can cuddle me.

Prrrrr.

Characters: Alice

Here I am in Walt Disney World with Alice, as in "Alice in Wonderland" (except she's actually in Epcot but let's not worry about that).

Alice was very nice and gave me a little cuddle.  She was a little worried because it seemed she had a cat of her own called Dinah, but she was asleep and Alice didn't want to wake her up.  But I couldn't see any other cats around sleeping so I think we were all right.

I'm not sure Alice was terribly good at the English accent.  That's one of the difficulties for the "face" characters in the parks.  I am sure they all do their best but some can't quite fool real English people that they are young English schoolgirls.

My human Andrew tells me "Alice in Wonderland" was one of the Disney movies he never saw in the cinema as a child.  He only occasionally saw clips during the "Disney Time" shows the BBC used to have every bank holiday.  So he had no real idea of the Disney version of "Alice" until long after he had read the original book.  In fact he remembers he didn't see it until he had had the book (and "Through the Looking Glass") read to him as bedtime stories and then he had grown up enough to read them himself.  So he never really took to the Disney version.

I'm glad he never read "Pinocchio".

Prrr

Characters: Bolt

There doesn't seem to be much happening in our village at the moment (raining today) so I thought it's time for more pictures of me with other Disney characters to hep us all think of nice times in sunny Wallt Disney World.  Here I am with the characters from "Bolt".

At first, I wasn't too sure about the film, "Bolt".  Yes, there were lots of exciting bits (especially at the beginning and the end) and there were lots of cute bits.  But the main character was a d*g and they had a black and white cat who wasn't Disney's established star.  But eventually the charm and cuteness got through to me - and I realised Mittens was a rather different character from Figaro.  So when we finally met I was able to talk abut the fun of appearing as a character in the parks (something Figaro hasn't managed yet).  It was, of course, rather devastating when Mittens was later withdrawn from park service after allegations of scaring guests (see my Post on 16 January 2009 - don't know why I didn't put the picture up then). Perhaps there was just a little too much black on Mittens' face.

This picture was taken in 2008 when "Bolt" was new in cinemas and they had the latest characters in what had been the Animation building at the Studios.  It's a bit of a shame characters from there recent films don't last.  Perhaps poor Bolt, Mittens and Rhino also suffer from not being Pixar characters. I suppose classic quality will out.

Oh, here's another picture.  See, I wasn't turning my back on the d*g all the time.

Still raining here in England.  At least we haven't had a hurricane.  But I still need a cuddle.

Prrrr.

Down Memory Lane: 1989

Here's some pictures my humans thought I should share.  They're from their trip to Walt Disney World in 1989 (can you believe their third trip!!).

This first one is of Mickey Mouse in a spacesuit outfit visiting guests at breakfast in what was then called the "Stargate Cafe" (since renamed "Electric Umbrella").  Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Chip and Dale all used to visit that restaurant and play with diners.  And here's the special point:  nobody had to book and nobody had to pay more for their food.  In fact, so little fuss was made of the visits that my humans didn't know they happened until they experienced it.  Andrew recalls the first he knew about it was when Pluto stood behind him and let his tongue drop onto Andrew's face from over his head.

Elsewhere in EPCOT Center (as it then was), you could meet Figment being carried round by his friend, the Dreamfinder.  Perhaps I'll look out a picture of them for another time.

My second picture this time is of Spaceship Earth in all its original glory.  This view is now crowded with lots of distracting new stuff.  Inside, the commentary was by Walter Cronkite and the music included "Tomorrow's Child".

To the left and right were "Communicore":  beautiful, cool, relaxed places full of interesting displays.

I suppose I have to add that another change is that there appear to be a lot fewer people around than now.  You can't really blame Disney for wanting to get the best return for all the money spent on the place (or can you?).

One of the really special things about my humans' 1989 trip to Walt Disney World was that they hired a video camera.  It was a big thing that took full sized VHS tapes and produced them to PAL standards (that took a lot of finding).  So here's my first attempt to put a video on my Blog.  It's taken in the Magic Kingdom and shows the lagoon or "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" taken from the "Skyway". Both of those attractions had, of course, disappeared long before the latest revamp of Fantasyland.  The quality may not be that good but it is a little bit of history.

Ancient history, actually.  As you probably already realised, this isn't "memory lane" for me at all.  It is long before I even met my humans.