Teach an old cat new tricks.

[Blaketon]

I've been waiting for the forum to reappear, as the new lodger has worked out the litter tray . I don't know how the penny dropped (I had stood him in it and dug the grit over with his paw) but it did not long after the forum went pear shaped.

Anyway, he is now enjoying life and has been introduced to Meg's old igloo, which had been bagged up in my parent's attic since Meg died. He is really hooked on it and I think spends more time in it that Meg did. I spent Christmas at my parents' house and on boxing day, I settled down with a pint of real ale, to watch the Great Escape on DVD. For the first 75 minutes, the cat was on my lap but then (As cats do) he had a priority shift and went into the igloo for the rest of the film and beyond.

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[Nickol]

The Great Escape film - now there is a Topic in itself. In the early fifties, the film " Wooden horse" told the Story of three british airmen who escaped - from the same Stalag Luft camp as the Great Escape. I suppose one has to be impervious to these things that films which do not have US Americans in them playing a dominant role will not do well in the box Office.
There were no americans involved in the escape and no motorbike chases either. The three that got away were two norwegians and a dutchman.

But Entertainment it is for all that and my cats sleep through it on my lap too, even though all is dubbed into German when shown here.

[Blaketon]

It used to be on every Christmas here (There's some great scenery in the film and I suppose they sing a few Christmas songs to mask the noise of the digging - that idea was pinched in the Porridge Series, where someone was digging a tunnel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ-oQMBYPEI ) and it became a sort of joke, which I think the TV people took it to heart, as it's no longer shown at Christmas. From what I could see this Christmas, broadcast TV was total rubbish and I think they need a new channel, which they could call More On TV. Thank God for the DVD and VHS player (I'm on the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes series at present).

[Plin]

congratulations to your lodger on cracking the litter tray! He looks very much at home in his new den - so are you going to give him a suitable name now that he seems to have decided to stay?

[Blaketon]

My mother seems to get a response to the name Tibby (She's tried numerous cat style name), so I suppose he's Tibby. As a spin off my father sometimes calls him Virgil (After Virgil Tibbs). In the third person, he's sometimes referred to as his Lordship. He will respond to the click click sound people often make to horses and if you do that outside and he's about, he will soon appear. He's just been made a huge fuss of by a customer. Meg would never let anyone, except my mother, my father and me, get anywhere near her (Though once she let my mother's aunt, whom she had never met before, stroke her).

[jagnut66]

Lovely looking cat you have there, nice to have a heartwarming story like this on the site.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[Blaketon]

Many thanks. I see you are from Mansfield. I've never been there but my father's best man (For whom my father was best man) was from there. They were in the Air Force together during the 1950s.

He owned loads of cars during his life, tending to try different things. He had owned a Morris Traveller, which is pictured here in France. He even asked me if I wanted to sell mine (My father and I went to see him when he was sadly dying) and when he knew his time was up, bought himself a lovely MG TD, as a last hurrah.

[Lurch]

Glad the moggy is doing well and has acquired a name, ours always end up with several mad nicknames and abbreviations too.

I always wonder if they have names for each other...?

[samuria]

my 2 dogs always like a good cat story..... just around dinner time

[jagnut66]

when he knew his time was up, bought himself a lovely MG TD, as a last hurrah.

Fair play. I hope he enjoyed it thoroughly before he left this mortal coil for the classic car show in the sky.

my 2 dogs always like a good cat story..... just around dinner time

One of my old cats used to chase dogs and I heard of another that used to wait in ambush for them......
The worms (cats) have turned..............

Best wishes,
Mike.

[Nickol]

first dog : what's your Name?
second dog : I don't know, but it could be "down Boy" !!

[Blaketon]

when he knew his time was up, bought himself a lovely MG TD, as a last hurrah.

Fair play. I hope he enjoyed it thoroughly before he left this mortal coil for the classic car show in the sky.

my 2 dogs always like a good cat story..... just around dinner time

One of my old cats used to chase dogs and I heard of another that used to wait in ambush for them......
The worms (cats) have turned..............

Best wishes,
Mike.

I believe he only drove the TD once, after buying it; it was in his garage when we visited and he was past driving at that point. He'd been ill for a while but during the final part, the decline was akin to floodgates opening.

Our new cat will take on any dog PROVIDED he is behind a 5 bar gate. Before Christmas he squared up to a Staffordshire Bull Terrier from behind the gate and I quickly took him inside, telling him that a dog like that would eat you for breakfast. I speak with experience of the breed and whilst they are not generally aggressive dogs, who will start fights, they sure know how to bring one to an end!! Meg, the cat we had before was usually only brave inside a closed window.