Space Rangers

Mikki is in Florida and she is telling us how things are going.  This morning (Friday 19th Oct) she said she was off to the Magic Kingdom.  She has already been there once and part of her report was about riding the Buzz Lightyear ride in "Tomorrowland".  So here is a picture of me riding the same ride on another visit.  Judging by the outfits, I think (I certainly hope) the picture was taken at a "Pirates and Princesses" party.

You'll notice that it is Andrew who is looking after me.  Thee are good reasons for this.  Mikki takes high scores seriously so needs both hands:  one for shooting and the other to control the "spin" of the car.  Andrew can't see very well (his vision is within the legal definition of "blind") so he's not too concerned which way his gun is pointing.  He always has a spare arm to give me a cuddle.  I need not add that if there ever was a time Andrew got a higher score than Mikki, she is not letting him talk about it.

Which brings me to Mikki's report of her trip now.  It seems Disney have added a refinement to the picture so that the scores of the riders also appear in view.  But when Mikki rode there was a "glitch" in the software and the scores were reversed.  Mikki was riding on her own and she was shown as having a "Zero" score while the empty seat had achieved her total.  Well done empty seat!

She says Disney were very nice and gave her a print of the photo - where the problem didn't occur.

So, Mikki is enjoying her trip and it sounds like she is also already meeting a few friends there.

And back home Andrew can still give me a cuddle.

Prrrrr.

Mickey Comes: Mikki Goes

Some updating.  Today (Monday October 15th) my human Mikki sets off to Walt Disney World.

Also, we have been acquiring some new pictures.  One is of Mickey Mouse (and Tinker Bell) and it is in the photo.  Two more are just of Tink.  I may show you pictures of them later. It's a bit of a long story and I don't want to tell you all of it.  Shortened quite a lot, my humans saw this rather nice original cel from "Pinocchio" of a wonderful black and white kitten.  A friend was getting it but - after a long delay - it turned out the US seller had sold it elsewhere but meanwhile our friend had sent him our money!! Meeeooww!

So to help our friend, the humans have "bought" some other pictures from him and this is one.  It's quite nice but not the same as an original cel of Figaro himself.

So, (another) Mickey has arrived on one of our walls but today Mikki departs for Walt Disney World and won't be back for over 2 weeks.  While there, she will be helping with (and, I hope, enjoying) the 15th anniversary meet of "Intercot".  We all hope she has a lovely time and I have promised to look after Andrew for her.  I know she is very reassured by that.

But she will give me one last cuddle herself too.

Prrrrr.

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