2011 galloped out of control towards the end of the year!
Summer was busier than ever; I also moved house in August, at the peak of the bookings, so the rest of my life, and this Blog fell by the wayside, whilst I concentrated on day to day calls, meeting new cats and clients, and trying to live with a small rotating wardrobe of 7 sets of jeans, t.shirts and underwear until I had time to unpack!
During this time, I ( somehow! ) managed to have 2 pictures accepted by the Lewellyn Alexander Gallery, for their annual SOFA ( Society of Feline Artists ) Exhibition - although I was too busy to attend the Private View..... and there was CHAMPAGNE available.... :-( ......Happily, both pictures sold, and those particular cats have gone to new homes! :- )
September was just as busy, but very rewardingly, and unusually, we were able to help a lady finally leave an abusive partner by finding a temporary foster-home for her much-loved Mog with a client whose own beloved cat had passed away earlier in the year, and was in need of some feline companionship.It's not something I'd normally get involved in, but it was lovely to be able to help two ladies and one cat! ( who now has TWO doting mums, albeit one a Foster Mum )
In October I covered for my friend Maggie's Cat Sitting Business whilst she went on Cat Safari in Kenya ( shooting with cameras only - of course ) And there was a busy Half-Term break.
November: getting all the Christmas cards sorted: commissioning the Artwork, agreeing the proofs, having the cards printed, signed and stuffed into envelopes, address labels printed and stuck on and stamps stamped, Mewsletters written, printed,folded, stuffed into envelopes before....Hooray! A break!
At the end of November, FINALLY I was fully unpacked and settled into the new house, and so I re-packed one suitcase, and flew off for a blissful week of Yoga and healthy, delicious food at www.argayall.com in La Gomera, one of the smallest, quietest, but still-sunniest Canary Islands.....pure bliss!
December. Fully recharged, I'm now finalising all the Festive Season Bookings, and steeling myself to write this, dreaded, end of year tribute to the beautiful cats that we have loved and lost this year.
It's never easy. In 2011, it seems, we have lost so many of our favourite, most loved and oldest friends, but I'll try and do their memories justice.
February: Razz Orbell - as mentioned in February's post; a brave little girl who coped with so much, yet was so loved by everone who met her....even when that was only in the final weeks of her life.
Bastet Kenny - Maggie and Drew's littlest girl, run over only a week after they had nursed Razz through to her final hours. A real tragedy that we all found hard to deal with, and a senseless loss of a girl who was still so kittenish at 3 years old.
Hamish Springford - A true gentleman. A very Gentle Cat, he dealt bravely with the onset of old age, and who gave Annie and Mark so much love.
March: Betty Yallop - a terrible shock for Mum Sarah and sister Joan at Betty's sudden passing. They both miss her quiet presence.
April:Jess Hopkins - a dignified and very elderly lady, who slipped away in her early twenties, but is of course, much missed by Linda and the rest of her Human Family.
May: Sid Graber - the whole family, both Grabers and Cat Calls knew Sid to be a feisty, individual lady, lost to us from kidney failure in her late teens. Her absence is still felt at Pippa's house.
June: Koshka Fitsell-Grace - such a sweetheart, who slipped away aged 21 years and 3 months, having shared a life of love with Catherine and Anne. What a lady.....
Caspar Lowrie - a truly individual cat who had his mum Sharon gladly serving his every whim...from a very early age.
Elvis Shorthouse - In his mum Louise's own words..."Charming, lovely, quirky boy....a very special cat, full of personality - not just to us but to all those who met him" I'll second that. Lost in his teens to kidney failure and missed by us all.
July: Sooty Doble - Where do I start? When I met Sooty four years ago, she was already in her mid-teens and had only 3 legs....her mum Sandra went to hell and back with the appearance of tumours, their treatment, the onset of other conditions, but Sooty bore it all stoically, only surrendering when she had squeezed the very last drop from her life, and was unable to overcome a third, catastrophic tumour. Her gentle, clever presence is still tangible in Sandra's home though...and I'm comforted by that.
Dolores West - 8 Nov 1993 - 31 July 2011. A much-loved, and very forthright cat, who brought love, laughter, and ALWAYS her own opinions to us, and her adoring Dad, Roger. Despite increasing old age, she was "out starting fights with foxes" until just a week or so before her passing, and she slipped away with her loving dad close by.She'd been with him since she was 6 weeks old, and I know he still misses her so much...as do we.
August: Katie Godard - Diana's beatiful K-k-k- Katie, who had her own special song, and had worked so hard and with such dignity to lose weight, only to be claimed, in her prime by Leukemia. So unfair.
Cyrus Haselhurst - What a chap. Falling prey to several different conditions in his final years, Cyrus bore the twice-daily indignities of several different sorts of medication, including swallowing something nasty from a syringe. However, he never bore a grudge, and accepted his lot with grace and humour....and chicken. Much loved and missed by us all, and of course his mum Trisha.
Jakey Fisher - Although I only met Jakey for the first time less than a year ago, so didn't get to know him well, he was a sweet and reserved boy, who was taken suddenly at only 9 years old: A terrible shock I know for his poor mum Linda.
September: Mattie Lowrie - A second, terrible loss in one year for poor Mum Sharon - Mattie was her first-born, who I'd known from 10 months old. Mattie really was super-cat....diagnosed with cancer four years ago, she battled on with many, many rounds of Chemotherapy,despite the cystitis the rounds always caused and astounded the vets with her perseverance. Sadly, in her late teens, there came the time when she'd had enough, and she will remain loved and remembered by everyone who ever met her.
JK Hughes - The shyest and gentlest of 3 sisters, a very sweet and loving lady who left us aged 17. Much missed of course by her mum Ceri, and her sisters Pye and Willis.
October: Bathsheba Hesford - Such a quiet and self-contained lady, who never made a fuss and was a gentle joy to all who knew her. Taken with a tumour in her teens, she declined with such dignity.Dad Cameron and Mum Tamsin will never forget their special girl.
November: I.Q. Love - Another quirky individual, but a pleasure to know, and her sad loss is felt by Gavin, Lian and Tramp.
Marcus Fox - tragically taken at only 3 years old by the hideous disease FIP. He'll be missed by all of his neighbours in Kingswood Drive,where he was very sociable, as well of course as by us and his family.
December: Esk Barnes-Lee. A 20 year old lady of such beauty and grace, who seemed to refuse to even acknowlege the passing of the years. Missed by Jenny, Anthony and of course, me.
Writing this list has been emotionally draining for me - so I can only imagine the feelings that their owners still must have, and extend my sincere sympathies to those who knew these lovely cats better than I did, and so feel their loss most keenly. Rest in peace, loved ones, and thank you for choosing to share your grace and beauty with us.Jane, 13th December 2011
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Sunday, 5 June 2011
A CAT'S POEM
"Spring has sprung
The grass is ris
I wonder where the birdies is? "
This is the time of year when cats are getting active in their (and their neighbour's) gardens again, and sadly, our Feathered Friends often come off worst in their encounters.
Despite kindly owners putting warning bells on their cats' collars to alert wildlife to their presence, many cats still manage to catch birds....indeed, my own cats' sister Ruby, who lives in Sydenham, manages an almost weekly massacre... despite having FOUR bells on her collar...
Last month saw me sweeping the first flurry of feathers from a customer's floor, and searching around for any other... evidence. I couldn't see any.
As these customers had just left for a 3-week trip away, I did my usual thing, and moved vulnerable houseplants to a more suitable location, where I could easily check them each day and spot quickly when they needed a watering.
Funny how the mind works sometimes... I was about to lift a large plant down from a shelf onto the kitchen work surface, when I noticed that a most beautiful, life-size figure of a blackbird was also in the plant pot. "Hmmm, I thought - it's very lovely, vibrant colours, and SO lifelike.....but what an odd thing to plonk in a plant pot....." Then shrieked as the VERY ALIVE bird launched itself out and started flapping at the window!
Poor thing; it must already have been traumatised, having been dragged in via the catflap (which is set into a tunnel in the wall....not an easy journey) cat-handled a bit, then fought a losing battle to keep the remains of its tail feathers....I'm sure my girly sqwawk didn't help matters at all.
Still, it was feisty enough, and continued to evade me and the tea-towel for a few minutes more, until I finally persuaded it to leave via the (now wide open) back door, and it swooped off into the trees.
Not so lucky the original owner of several handfuls of very brightly coloured feathers I later found in the lobby of a large house in Dulwich.....
Again, I searched high and low for the rest of this unfortunate bird, dead or alive, but couldn't find a trace.
Knowing the Feline occupants of this house as I do (a pair of very large, healthy, curious and.....active "teenage" Boys) I doubt whether this particular bird lived to tell the tale, so many feathers had been lost, but their vibrant colours worried me... I'm hoping they belonged to one of the feral parakeets who flock in the area these days... not someone's much-loved pet who'd been let out of it's cage for a little flit...
And most recently; I hadn't seen a young chap called Billy for a day or two, which was quite unlike him.
His brother seemed to be fretting, less food than normal was being eaten, and so, worried that he might be stuck in someones garden shed, I canvassed the neighbours......
"Oh, that little "BLEEP" " said one neighbour I asked...." He was certainly fine this morning, the beast, he ate a whole nest of baby robins! " Oooops. He came sauntering home later that day as if butter wouldn't melt.......
Now I don't condone any of the above behaviour:I've rescued MANY mice, frogs, slow-worms (yes, really) and baby rats in my time (even the one that bit me) not to mention numerous garden birds,(and we certainly have a fabulous variety in this area), but cats will always be cats, and birds and other small scurrying things, will always be.....tempting.
If we chose to keep a Top-0f-the-Food Chain, highly specialised predator as a pet...we have to accept that we can't undo thousands of years of evolution.
"Spring has sprung
The grass is ris
I wonder where the birdies is? "
This is the time of year when cats are getting active in their (and their neighbour's) gardens again, and sadly, our Feathered Friends often come off worst in their encounters.
Despite kindly owners putting warning bells on their cats' collars to alert wildlife to their presence, many cats still manage to catch birds....indeed, my own cats' sister Ruby, who lives in Sydenham, manages an almost weekly massacre... despite having FOUR bells on her collar...
Last month saw me sweeping the first flurry of feathers from a customer's floor, and searching around for any other... evidence. I couldn't see any.
As these customers had just left for a 3-week trip away, I did my usual thing, and moved vulnerable houseplants to a more suitable location, where I could easily check them each day and spot quickly when they needed a watering.
Funny how the mind works sometimes... I was about to lift a large plant down from a shelf onto the kitchen work surface, when I noticed that a most beautiful, life-size figure of a blackbird was also in the plant pot. "Hmmm, I thought - it's very lovely, vibrant colours, and SO lifelike.....but what an odd thing to plonk in a plant pot....." Then shrieked as the VERY ALIVE bird launched itself out and started flapping at the window!
Poor thing; it must already have been traumatised, having been dragged in via the catflap (which is set into a tunnel in the wall....not an easy journey) cat-handled a bit, then fought a losing battle to keep the remains of its tail feathers....I'm sure my girly sqwawk didn't help matters at all.
Still, it was feisty enough, and continued to evade me and the tea-towel for a few minutes more, until I finally persuaded it to leave via the (now wide open) back door, and it swooped off into the trees.
Not so lucky the original owner of several handfuls of very brightly coloured feathers I later found in the lobby of a large house in Dulwich.....
Again, I searched high and low for the rest of this unfortunate bird, dead or alive, but couldn't find a trace.
Knowing the Feline occupants of this house as I do (a pair of very large, healthy, curious and.....active "teenage" Boys) I doubt whether this particular bird lived to tell the tale, so many feathers had been lost, but their vibrant colours worried me... I'm hoping they belonged to one of the feral parakeets who flock in the area these days... not someone's much-loved pet who'd been let out of it's cage for a little flit...
And most recently; I hadn't seen a young chap called Billy for a day or two, which was quite unlike him.
His brother seemed to be fretting, less food than normal was being eaten, and so, worried that he might be stuck in someones garden shed, I canvassed the neighbours......
"Oh, that little "BLEEP" " said one neighbour I asked...." He was certainly fine this morning, the beast, he ate a whole nest of baby robins! " Oooops. He came sauntering home later that day as if butter wouldn't melt.......
Now I don't condone any of the above behaviour:I've rescued MANY mice, frogs, slow-worms (yes, really) and baby rats in my time (even the one that bit me) not to mention numerous garden birds,(and we certainly have a fabulous variety in this area), but cats will always be cats, and birds and other small scurrying things, will always be.....tempting.
If we chose to keep a Top-0f-the-Food Chain, highly specialised predator as a pet...we have to accept that we can't undo thousands of years of evolution.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Cat du Jour: the not-so-intimate diaries of a London Cat Sitter!
I'd like to quote ( with permission! ) the writer Tom Cox, from his first cat book "Under the Paw"
"Everyone knows about Mad Cat Lady. She's a social cliche, a cautionary tale, a character that, when she started to pop up in cartoon form on "The Simpsons", was so instantly resonant that she didn't have to be named or introduced. She is the childless woman who lets her cat obsession take over her life, to the detriment of domestic and, finally, personal hygeine.
In truth, as a stereotype she seems a little unfair."
Tom then goes on to remind us of other, well-known and eminent cat-lovers - some may say obsessives - Mark Twain, Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill......all respected and NOT labelled with the wee-stained-nutter tag!
I'd like to reclaim cat-love back from Mad Cat Lady ( although she has her place ) and remind folks that of the 9 million pet cats currently in the UK, most of them are owned by sane and largely rational people.....of both sexes!
Having grown up with James Herriott's fabulous "It shouldn't happen to a Vet" books, and currently reading Marc Abraham's "Vet on Call....My first year as an Out-of Hours Vet", I'm wondering if anyone at all would be interested in the literary musings of a London Cat Sitter?
Ok, so the focus is somewhat narrowed, but our clients and their cats are no less unique or interesting than Vets other customers (and possibly just as diverse as the original Belle's....but I wouldn't know about that side, so couldn't possibly comment!)
I was brought up in a somewhat divided family: Dad, and all his side were /are avid, sometimes almost rabid, animal lovers, prone to taking anything in and caring for it: all my Dad's early stories were about family pets, the animals he met during his service in the Second World War (he was 19 when it started, and he served for the whole 6 years)
and all Christmas and Birthday cards from that side of the family always included the names of the pets they were sent from, as well as those they were sent to.
Horses & Motorbikes
My Dad had 3 older sisters. They all had their teenage years and young-womanhood in the years between the two wars; my Aunty Phyllis in particular, who was "In Service" to a posh family with a large Estate, blossomed in that atmosphere, and told idyllic-sounding tales of being allowed to ride their horses freely (and their motorbikes too!).
Mum's side, I'm guessing because she's a bit younger, and was evacuated during the war, couldn't include pets, due to the worry and privations of her younger years, and so she, and her brothers and sisters were barely pet-owners. In later years, each had a family dog ( for the record: Kim, and Brit, and usually a budgie...always called Joey )
Mum, in particular, has a hatred of cats....and horses....you can see where this is going, can't you?
Puppy Love
My brother, aged 3 years old, was emphatic that all he wanted in life was a puppy ( I think Dad may have helped things along with the translation there ) and so our beautiful Mongrel, Scamp, became the family dog...named, apparently, after a dog-character called "Scampi" in the Manchester Evening News.
I think Mum must have softened to her very quickly, because there are lots of happy family photos from that time (Mum always looking the height of style - she was, and still is, a very talented dressmaker.)
Three years after Scamp, and 6 years after my brother, I came along, and so never knew life without a pet. The sweetest, friendliest dog, Scamp would, I'm told, guard my pram like Cerberus, only letting family come near me unless she'd been told that strangers were friends.
I don't recall much from toddling years, but I DO remember my Fifth Birthday present.....a hobby-horse, called Ginger!
"Everyone knows about Mad Cat Lady. She's a social cliche, a cautionary tale, a character that, when she started to pop up in cartoon form on "The Simpsons", was so instantly resonant that she didn't have to be named or introduced. She is the childless woman who lets her cat obsession take over her life, to the detriment of domestic and, finally, personal hygeine.
In truth, as a stereotype she seems a little unfair."
Tom then goes on to remind us of other, well-known and eminent cat-lovers - some may say obsessives - Mark Twain, Isaac Newton, Winston Churchill......all respected and NOT labelled with the wee-stained-nutter tag!
I'd like to reclaim cat-love back from Mad Cat Lady ( although she has her place ) and remind folks that of the 9 million pet cats currently in the UK, most of them are owned by sane and largely rational people.....of both sexes!
Having grown up with James Herriott's fabulous "It shouldn't happen to a Vet" books, and currently reading Marc Abraham's "Vet on Call....My first year as an Out-of Hours Vet", I'm wondering if anyone at all would be interested in the literary musings of a London Cat Sitter?
Ok, so the focus is somewhat narrowed, but our clients and their cats are no less unique or interesting than Vets other customers (and possibly just as diverse as the original Belle's....but I wouldn't know about that side, so couldn't possibly comment!)
I was brought up in a somewhat divided family: Dad, and all his side were /are avid, sometimes almost rabid, animal lovers, prone to taking anything in and caring for it: all my Dad's early stories were about family pets, the animals he met during his service in the Second World War (he was 19 when it started, and he served for the whole 6 years)and all Christmas and Birthday cards from that side of the family always included the names of the pets they were sent from, as well as those they were sent to.
Horses & Motorbikes
My Dad had 3 older sisters. They all had their teenage years and young-womanhood in the years between the two wars; my Aunty Phyllis in particular, who was "In Service" to a posh family with a large Estate, blossomed in that atmosphere, and told idyllic-sounding tales of being allowed to ride their horses freely (and their motorbikes too!).
Mum's side, I'm guessing because she's a bit younger, and was evacuated during the war, couldn't include pets, due to the worry and privations of her younger years, and so she, and her brothers and sisters were barely pet-owners. In later years, each had a family dog ( for the record: Kim, and Brit, and usually a budgie...always called Joey )
Mum, in particular, has a hatred of cats....and horses....you can see where this is going, can't you?
Puppy Love
My brother, aged 3 years old, was emphatic that all he wanted in life was a puppy ( I think Dad may have helped things along with the translation there ) and so our beautiful Mongrel, Scamp, became the family dog...named, apparently, after a dog-character called "Scampi" in the Manchester Evening News.
I think Mum must have softened to her very quickly, because there are lots of happy family photos from that time (Mum always looking the height of style - she was, and still is, a very talented dressmaker.)
Three years after Scamp, and 6 years after my brother, I came along, and so never knew life without a pet. The sweetest, friendliest dog, Scamp would, I'm told, guard my pram like Cerberus, only letting family come near me unless she'd been told that strangers were friends.
I don't recall much from toddling years, but I DO remember my Fifth Birthday present.....a hobby-horse, called Ginger!
Now, things were simpler in those days, and a "Hobby Horse" then was simply a broom handle, with a fake horses' head on the end....no wheels, nowt fancy.....but, lucky, lucky me; Ginger had been made by my parents, my Dad being a Joiner, and Mum skilled with fabrics..... and Ginger had the most Noble padded fabric head (made from an offcut of the brown fabric Mum had recently re-covered the couch in - times were still hard, ooop North) pearly button eyes, and a REAL WOOL mane! I doubt any kid has ever been happier with any present....but my slide into Horse-Addiction began there and then, and, as many of us know, it's a very slippery slope!
My brother, aided and abbetted by Dad, was fascinated in the whole of the Natural World. On family holidays ( when 4 adults, 4 kids and Scamp were all crammed into a Ford Prefect for the annual trip to North Wales ) he'd be off every day with jars and nets, catching, identifying and releasing anything he could manage. Back home, it was much the same; as Our House backed onto fields and a golf course there was always stuff to find: once, being carried aloft on Dad's shoulders, my brother spotted a leveret in the long grass. Dad did the right thing and left it well alone, but going back 24 hours later, the little hare appeared to be abandoned and suffering. Dad brought it home to try to save - despite feeding with a pipette, it didn't make it.
There was also a grass-snake (called Bartholemew...) who always made his way back despite being re-released frequently in the nearest Pit (pond). He didn't like to eat raw eggs, and we didn't want to feed him live prey, so that was an uncomfortable relationship for a while....!
As kids, we'd "play out" til way after dusk each day, Scamp looking after us both, and my brother surprisingly tolerant of his little shadow.
Terrorist rabbit....
Our family was expanded by Skippy the Terrorist Rabbit (he'd go for dogs...) Sandy the Guinea Pig, Bubble and Squeak the mice, Honey the hamster, numerous grandiosely-named goldfish (including Galadriel... Tolkein had a lot to answer for...!) And finally in my teens, Snoopy and Woodstock the dogs ...... Snoopy was my mum's choice of name.......but a lovely dog, all the same.
But, sadly, no cats. And Ginger was still the only "horse" in residence.
My brother, aided and abbetted by Dad, was fascinated in the whole of the Natural World. On family holidays ( when 4 adults, 4 kids and Scamp were all crammed into a Ford Prefect for the annual trip to North Wales ) he'd be off every day with jars and nets, catching, identifying and releasing anything he could manage. Back home, it was much the same; as Our House backed onto fields and a golf course there was always stuff to find: once, being carried aloft on Dad's shoulders, my brother spotted a leveret in the long grass. Dad did the right thing and left it well alone, but going back 24 hours later, the little hare appeared to be abandoned and suffering. Dad brought it home to try to save - despite feeding with a pipette, it didn't make it.
There was also a grass-snake (called Bartholemew...) who always made his way back despite being re-released frequently in the nearest Pit (pond). He didn't like to eat raw eggs, and we didn't want to feed him live prey, so that was an uncomfortable relationship for a while....!
As kids, we'd "play out" til way after dusk each day, Scamp looking after us both, and my brother surprisingly tolerant of his little shadow.
Terrorist rabbit....
Our family was expanded by Skippy the Terrorist Rabbit (he'd go for dogs...) Sandy the Guinea Pig, Bubble and Squeak the mice, Honey the hamster, numerous grandiosely-named goldfish (including Galadriel... Tolkein had a lot to answer for...!) And finally in my teens, Snoopy and Woodstock the dogs ...... Snoopy was my mum's choice of name.......but a lovely dog, all the same.
But, sadly, no cats. And Ginger was still the only "horse" in residence.
Monday, 16 May 2011
Pixies and Pictures...
April? Showers? Not likely!
I'm NOT complaining! I love the sunshine, and April has been the sunniest month on record....yay! The poor plants could do with a drink, though.
It's the time of year when we start seeing lots of kittens, who are ALWAYS charming,
but a special chap who has crept into my heart is Pixie, who I had the pleasure of looking after in April. Pixie lives with his friend, stunningly pretty little girl Tinsel (she was a Christmas Kitten) and although she's a few months older than him, they get along really well. Pixie, as you might guess from his name, is a Cornish Rex, and I've never had as much contact with a Rex this young before. I was utterly enchanted - he's a blue-point, meaning that he has a creamy-coloured body, and pale blue colouring from his toes up each leg, on his tail, and on his "Mask" .....around his nose, eyes, and ears. He also has the dreamiest blue eyes, short, silky, wavy fur, and a personality to match his looks! Being a little bit older, a Young Lady, and therefore more aware of her dignity, Tinsel loved gentle games and girly cuddles; Pixie was happy to fling himself around chasing strings, leaping up their (8ft tall?) scratching post / playing station in great bounds and exhausted, drop off to sleep in my lap with a contented smile on his little, wiggly whiskers, in his little Alien face. I love my job!
Tinsel and Pixie's owner, R, has kindly given me permission to photograph them, so I'm hoping to be able to give her a full pictorial record of their kittenhood.....and have some stunning images for my own portfolio of resource material for my catty-doodlings.....
Which, neatly, brings me on to my purrrsonally exciting mews (sorry!)
Cat Paw-traits & Dulwich Picture Gallery
I've been asked a few times by clients who've seen my illustrations on the website, if I'd paint/draw their cats....Until very recently, I've been too scared / nervous to attempt it, but last year did a couple of pastel portraits of Spike and Willow B, and their parents were very complimentary.
I've been doodling random cats since then, and decided to enter a couple of them in the Dulwich Picture Gallery's "Friends" exhibition.....(Actually, I was too cowardly to take them myself, and asked my friend Chon to drop them off for me!)
Amazingly, they were both accepted, and for two weeks shared gallery space with the likes of Velazquez, Reubens, Vermeer and Van Dyke, not to mention the works of other very talented, local, professional and amateur artists - including Audrey Hammond, whose work I've always admired.
Talk about a result?!! I was thoroughly over-excited, but luckily, the Exhibition coincided with a VERY busy time with Cat Calls - the Royal Wedding Weekend, followed by a short working week (for Employed folks, not for me....we were flat out with bookings!) and then another Bank Holiday weekend.... So thankfully I was so busy looking after the cats that I couldn't hang around the Dulwich Picture Gallery, stalking anyone who may have shown an interest in my pics; At least I got through that time with my dignity intact!
Since then, I've had a few more enquiries about possible commissions from customers, and also have had a couple of other pictures tentatively approved by another gallery for an exhibition in August - so I've got my work cut out spending all my spare time dabbling and doodling as well as blogging and cuddling!
Valerie/Katie/Jan / Kate / Richard/ Ghislaine /Colin - and numerous others....you know who you are..... thanks for your interest and support...I'll try VERY hard not to disappoint you on canvas......and thanks for the opportunity to work even closer with your lovely cats!
I'm NOT complaining! I love the sunshine, and April has been the sunniest month on record....yay! The poor plants could do with a drink, though.
It's the time of year when we start seeing lots of kittens, who are ALWAYS charming,
but a special chap who has crept into my heart is Pixie, who I had the pleasure of looking after in April. Pixie lives with his friend, stunningly pretty little girl Tinsel (she was a Christmas Kitten) and although she's a few months older than him, they get along really well. Pixie, as you might guess from his name, is a Cornish Rex, and I've never had as much contact with a Rex this young before. I was utterly enchanted - he's a blue-point, meaning that he has a creamy-coloured body, and pale blue colouring from his toes up each leg, on his tail, and on his "Mask" .....around his nose, eyes, and ears. He also has the dreamiest blue eyes, short, silky, wavy fur, and a personality to match his looks! Being a little bit older, a Young Lady, and therefore more aware of her dignity, Tinsel loved gentle games and girly cuddles; Pixie was happy to fling himself around chasing strings, leaping up their (8ft tall?) scratching post / playing station in great bounds and exhausted, drop off to sleep in my lap with a contented smile on his little, wiggly whiskers, in his little Alien face. I love my job!Tinsel and Pixie's owner, R, has kindly given me permission to photograph them, so I'm hoping to be able to give her a full pictorial record of their kittenhood.....and have some stunning images for my own portfolio of resource material for my catty-doodlings.....
Which, neatly, brings me on to my purrrsonally exciting mews (sorry!)
Cat Paw-traits & Dulwich Picture Gallery
I've been asked a few times by clients who've seen my illustrations on the website, if I'd paint/draw their cats....Until very recently, I've been too scared / nervous to attempt it, but last year did a couple of pastel portraits of Spike and Willow B, and their parents were very complimentary.
I've been doodling random cats since then, and decided to enter a couple of them in the Dulwich Picture Gallery's "Friends" exhibition.....(Actually, I was too cowardly to take them myself, and asked my friend Chon to drop them off for me!)
Amazingly, they were both accepted, and for two weeks shared gallery space with the likes of Velazquez, Reubens, Vermeer and Van Dyke, not to mention the works of other very talented, local, professional and amateur artists - including Audrey Hammond, whose work I've always admired.
Talk about a result?!! I was thoroughly over-excited, but luckily, the Exhibition coincided with a VERY busy time with Cat Calls - the Royal Wedding Weekend, followed by a short working week (for Employed folks, not for me....we were flat out with bookings!) and then another Bank Holiday weekend.... So thankfully I was so busy looking after the cats that I couldn't hang around the Dulwich Picture Gallery, stalking anyone who may have shown an interest in my pics; At least I got through that time with my dignity intact!
Since then, I've had a few more enquiries about possible commissions from customers, and also have had a couple of other pictures tentatively approved by another gallery for an exhibition in August - so I've got my work cut out spending all my spare time dabbling and doodling as well as blogging and cuddling!
Valerie/Katie/Jan / Kate / Richard/ Ghislaine /Colin - and numerous others....you know who you are..... thanks for your interest and support...I'll try VERY hard not to disappoint you on canvas......and thanks for the opportunity to work even closer with your lovely cats!
Diabetes and Deep Fried Mars Bars....
Well, March was pretty uneventful after the emotional highs and lows of February, but a busy, working month nonetheless.
One of my favourite cats ( of course, they're ALL lovely! ) called Elvis Mc.D. was diagnosed with Diabetes.
As he was only newly diagnosed, just before his parents went away on holiday, the whole experience of needles and timings was new to him, and he got a little anxious....not helped by the fact that most of the other cats in the neighbourhood ( it seemed ) were taking advantage of his parents being away, to come over and party every day! Thankfully, he's a clever cat, and with the help of gentle persuasion, familiarity, and a secret temptation weapon, that I'm not about to divulge, I had him coming gladly in to take his meds and have his reward twice-daily by the time his Mum and Dad got home. Switching his cat-flap so that he and his sister are the only ones with access to the house has helped too, and he's now a happy, stable diabetic.....albeit with an addiction issue to my Secret Weapon! Still, whatever it takes!
It's also my birthday at the end of March, and this year I celebrated by flying up to Edinburgh, to see my oldest schoolfriend Louise, and her husband Steve, who'd recently relocated there with their jobs.
I was enchanted with the city, which I've never visited before, and had a bit of a literary weekend, checking out locations in Alexander Mc Call Smith's "Scotland Street" series ( Valvona and Crolla.....chocolate cake TRULY to diet for ) and also meeting up with my fabulous friend, Catriona Clark, who had her first novel published this January. ( "Entwined" by Catriona Clarke, published by Quercus at £6.99....a really, really good read )
As I'd first met Cat when she needed us to look after her lovely large boy, Atticus, years ago, and had loaned her a large basket to transport her current cats, Scout and Jem ( can you see the theme developing...? ) back to Edinburgh when she re-located late last year, she kindly presented me with a SIGNED! copy of "Entwined". We had a lovely chat in JK Rowling's ( allegedly ) favourite writing Cafe, The Elephant House, where there are pictures of Ms Rowling all over the walls, and love-messages to Dobby, Harry and Dumbledore (!) scrawled all over the doors in the ladies loo..... I'm wondering what I can do to get the same treatment when Cat's next book comes out next January!
And yes, well I couldn't go all that way without locating and trying the Speciality Dish.....Deep Fried Mars Bar with ice-cream......It was flippin' deeelish!
One of my favourite cats ( of course, they're ALL lovely! ) called Elvis Mc.D. was diagnosed with Diabetes.
As he was only newly diagnosed, just before his parents went away on holiday, the whole experience of needles and timings was new to him, and he got a little anxious....not helped by the fact that most of the other cats in the neighbourhood ( it seemed ) were taking advantage of his parents being away, to come over and party every day! Thankfully, he's a clever cat, and with the help of gentle persuasion, familiarity, and a secret temptation weapon, that I'm not about to divulge, I had him coming gladly in to take his meds and have his reward twice-daily by the time his Mum and Dad got home. Switching his cat-flap so that he and his sister are the only ones with access to the house has helped too, and he's now a happy, stable diabetic.....albeit with an addiction issue to my Secret Weapon! Still, whatever it takes!
It's also my birthday at the end of March, and this year I celebrated by flying up to Edinburgh, to see my oldest schoolfriend Louise, and her husband Steve, who'd recently relocated there with their jobs.
I was enchanted with the city, which I've never visited before, and had a bit of a literary weekend, checking out locations in Alexander Mc Call Smith's "Scotland Street" series ( Valvona and Crolla.....chocolate cake TRULY to diet for ) and also meeting up with my fabulous friend, Catriona Clark, who had her first novel published this January. ( "Entwined" by Catriona Clarke, published by Quercus at £6.99....a really, really good read )
As I'd first met Cat when she needed us to look after her lovely large boy, Atticus, years ago, and had loaned her a large basket to transport her current cats, Scout and Jem ( can you see the theme developing...? ) back to Edinburgh when she re-located late last year, she kindly presented me with a SIGNED! copy of "Entwined". We had a lovely chat in JK Rowling's ( allegedly ) favourite writing Cafe, The Elephant House, where there are pictures of Ms Rowling all over the walls, and love-messages to Dobby, Harry and Dumbledore (!) scrawled all over the doors in the ladies loo..... I'm wondering what I can do to get the same treatment when Cat's next book comes out next January!
And yes, well I couldn't go all that way without locating and trying the Speciality Dish.....Deep Fried Mars Bar with ice-cream......It was flippin' deeelish!
Monday, 9 May 2011
Razz the Brave
Well, it's been a busy start to the year, with emotional highs and lows already.....
On 5th Jan I started the saddest booking we've ever had. A client, "C" that I'd met for the first time only last year, when she was fit and healthy, had been admitted to St Christopher's Hospice in the final stages of terminal illness.
One of her cats, Razz, had been found to have a shadow on her lung last year. The vet had felt that surgery would be too invasive; medication hadn't worked, but Razz was a happy and content cat, and much comfort to her mum. Sadly, as C's condition deteriorated, so did Razz's; it's amazing how our cats pick up thoughts, fears and emotions from us....
I'd been asked to take Razz to the vets again, and since she'd lost so much weight in the previous few weeks, the vet was very gloomy with her prognosis....she didn't think that Razz could live for very long at all, but we agreed, with C's family, that as Razz was still feisty and bright, we'd take her home and let her spend what time she had left with her sister, Jazz. I was given some syringes of Steroid to inject in case Razz deteriorated rapidly over a weekend, when her own vet wouldn't be available. Our lovely vet, Helen Spencer, of Paxton Vet Group, was so supportive, and was happy to allow us to do what we all felt was bestfor Razz, knowing that should she appear to be in pain, or distressed, we wouldn't hesitate to ask a vet to end her suffering.
I suppose that we all thought that losing Razz would make C lose all hope, and I know that she was comforted by and enjoyed hearing updates on Jazz - namely that she continued to be bright and demanding, and cuddly - and that through tempting her with every variety of food imaginable ( prawnies, steak, fresh fish, etc etc etc ) Razz was managing to eat a tiny amount each day.
Sadly, C lost her battle in mid-January.
The family then asked us to find homes for the cats. They couldn't be placed together, as Razz's medical needs needed expert care, and few folks would be willing or able to take on the emotional burden of caring for a very poorly cat who might not have long to live.
I contacted a couple of clients who had lost sick or elderly cats, and explained Jazz's circumstances......the fantastic Sarah B stepped up to the plate, came and met both cats, and adopted Jazz on the spot. I delivered her to Sarah's house on 20th January, and was AMAZED when she settled straight in......after the trauma she'd been suffering from living with a poorly Mum and Sister, it was so nice to see Jazz relax within minutes.
The following day, I delivered Razz to her new home, with my friend Maggie, and her existing household of 6 cats. I was terrified that Razz wouldn't survive the 10-minute car journey, and that the stress of it could cause a collapse, but Razz sat up in her basket all the way, taking a huge interest in her surroundings!
Razz settled straight into her new, cosy bed in Maggies spare room. Although very thin, and hardly eating, she continued to be bright, and after a couple of days made it abundantly clear that she did NOT wish to be confined to her room, and would come downstairs and partake fully in Cat-Family life! The other cats, no doubt sensing that she was poorly, accepted her immediately, and Maggie's cat Morris, appointed himself as Razz's own special Guardian Cat!
Since we all know that cats think food tastes better when it's stolen, she even continued to eat a tiny bit more.....theived from the other cats' bowls!
Maggie's lovely husband, Drew, fell head over heels in love with Razz on their first meeting, and the feeling was clearly mutual.....from then on Razz would be firmly on his lap whenever she could be!
I still visited her every day, and whilst she was clearly still very poorly, she always welcomed a cuddle, and would try to eat the little bits of food I tempted her with.
On 6th February, I left the UK for a much-needed week away, and Maggie updated me daily about "our girl" ( and also my own cats, as she visits them when I'm away )
C's funeral was on Friday 11th February: Pennie attended on our behalf, and C's sister gave a very brave and moving eulogy, mentioning, of course, C's beloved cats.
That very evening, Razz took a turn for the worse.
Maggie called me the following day, to tell me that Razz was rapidly deteriorating, and we made the decision not to put her through the indignity of being hauled to a strange vet in what could be her final hours, knowing that her condition was terminal.
When I reached Tunis airport on the following morning of Sunday 13th February, I called Maggie to find out how Razz was. Maggies phone was engaged. She was ringing me to let me know that Razz had passed away in Maggie's arms, with Drew at her side, at 6am that morning.
I wept all the way home.
Such a brave little cat, who touched so many lives, and fought and fought to stay with us. We'd managed to give her an extra 5 weeks, and now, I hope she's happily re-united with her mum.
On 5th Jan I started the saddest booking we've ever had. A client, "C" that I'd met for the first time only last year, when she was fit and healthy, had been admitted to St Christopher's Hospice in the final stages of terminal illness.
One of her cats, Razz, had been found to have a shadow on her lung last year. The vet had felt that surgery would be too invasive; medication hadn't worked, but Razz was a happy and content cat, and much comfort to her mum. Sadly, as C's condition deteriorated, so did Razz's; it's amazing how our cats pick up thoughts, fears and emotions from us....
I'd been asked to take Razz to the vets again, and since she'd lost so much weight in the previous few weeks, the vet was very gloomy with her prognosis....she didn't think that Razz could live for very long at all, but we agreed, with C's family, that as Razz was still feisty and bright, we'd take her home and let her spend what time she had left with her sister, Jazz. I was given some syringes of Steroid to inject in case Razz deteriorated rapidly over a weekend, when her own vet wouldn't be available. Our lovely vet, Helen Spencer, of Paxton Vet Group, was so supportive, and was happy to allow us to do what we all felt was bestfor Razz, knowing that should she appear to be in pain, or distressed, we wouldn't hesitate to ask a vet to end her suffering.
I suppose that we all thought that losing Razz would make C lose all hope, and I know that she was comforted by and enjoyed hearing updates on Jazz - namely that she continued to be bright and demanding, and cuddly - and that through tempting her with every variety of food imaginable ( prawnies, steak, fresh fish, etc etc etc ) Razz was managing to eat a tiny amount each day.
Sadly, C lost her battle in mid-January.
The family then asked us to find homes for the cats. They couldn't be placed together, as Razz's medical needs needed expert care, and few folks would be willing or able to take on the emotional burden of caring for a very poorly cat who might not have long to live.
I contacted a couple of clients who had lost sick or elderly cats, and explained Jazz's circumstances......the fantastic Sarah B stepped up to the plate, came and met both cats, and adopted Jazz on the spot. I delivered her to Sarah's house on 20th January, and was AMAZED when she settled straight in......after the trauma she'd been suffering from living with a poorly Mum and Sister, it was so nice to see Jazz relax within minutes.
The following day, I delivered Razz to her new home, with my friend Maggie, and her existing household of 6 cats. I was terrified that Razz wouldn't survive the 10-minute car journey, and that the stress of it could cause a collapse, but Razz sat up in her basket all the way, taking a huge interest in her surroundings!
Razz settled straight into her new, cosy bed in Maggies spare room. Although very thin, and hardly eating, she continued to be bright, and after a couple of days made it abundantly clear that she did NOT wish to be confined to her room, and would come downstairs and partake fully in Cat-Family life! The other cats, no doubt sensing that she was poorly, accepted her immediately, and Maggie's cat Morris, appointed himself as Razz's own special Guardian Cat!
Since we all know that cats think food tastes better when it's stolen, she even continued to eat a tiny bit more.....theived from the other cats' bowls!
Maggie's lovely husband, Drew, fell head over heels in love with Razz on their first meeting, and the feeling was clearly mutual.....from then on Razz would be firmly on his lap whenever she could be!I still visited her every day, and whilst she was clearly still very poorly, she always welcomed a cuddle, and would try to eat the little bits of food I tempted her with.
On 6th February, I left the UK for a much-needed week away, and Maggie updated me daily about "our girl" ( and also my own cats, as she visits them when I'm away )
C's funeral was on Friday 11th February: Pennie attended on our behalf, and C's sister gave a very brave and moving eulogy, mentioning, of course, C's beloved cats.
That very evening, Razz took a turn for the worse.
Maggie called me the following day, to tell me that Razz was rapidly deteriorating, and we made the decision not to put her through the indignity of being hauled to a strange vet in what could be her final hours, knowing that her condition was terminal.
When I reached Tunis airport on the following morning of Sunday 13th February, I called Maggie to find out how Razz was. Maggies phone was engaged. She was ringing me to let me know that Razz had passed away in Maggie's arms, with Drew at her side, at 6am that morning.
I wept all the way home.
Such a brave little cat, who touched so many lives, and fought and fought to stay with us. We'd managed to give her an extra 5 weeks, and now, I hope she's happily re-united with her mum.
Friday, 3 December 2010
Well, the New Year's resolution didn't make it very far....
A potted history of 2010...
Snow, Volcanoes, legal stuff.....and now more snow!
Once we'd got over January's snow, February was pretty un-eventful by comparison.
In March, Lucy, Pennie and I met a new client, Artemis, whose medical condition means that she needs to have an IV drip set up and administered to her, for 5 minutes twice daily. Her owners demonstrated the procedure, and Atremis herself was pure patience purrsonified - a humbling experience, and we've added another skill to our particularly peculiar CV's!
April was fun...not!
Remember the Volcano in Iceland? We had 9 families stranded in various locations across the planet: Europe, India, the USA....it actually wasn't a problem for us, or the cats, as we simply carried on Calling on the cats in our care until we were certain their owners were home, buying the correct diet / litter when anything ran out.
The final strandees arrived home 9 days after their original due date....and they were only in the South of France!
The following few weeks WERE a bit scary for us, however, as nobody seemed to want to go away, afraid of being stuck somewhere.... which, as it turned out, was a bit of a blessing in disguise...
....as in May, I discovered that someone was, very naughtily, using the Cat Calls ( registered ) Trade Mark to promote her own cat-sitting business.
This does happen from time to time, as folks fail to do their homework on the legal implications of Passing Off, or using someone else's Trade Name, and a polite phone call or email usually suffices.
However, this particular lady was very evasive, clearly running a Cat-Sitting bisiness based on our model ( the website even used the same base-colours ) and regularly blogging as "Cat Calls Cat Sitting" which is how she came to my attention.
Since she refused to co-operate with polite communication pointing out her mistake, and asking her to change her name and website, I had to engage a solicitor, at my own considerable expense, to force her to obey the law.
She argued and avoided agreeing to to the Solicitor's requests in every way possible, until, finally, when she couldn't refute that she was infringing my legally-held copywrite and WOULD be prosecuted, she capitulated, said that her business wasn't actually a business at all, just something she did in her spare time, and that the fact that she was using my name/format/web-layout was purely co-incidence, as she lives in the North East of England.
Maybe so. But this Northern Lady also subscribes to the "Dulwich Divorcee" blog.....some coincidence eh?
Very fishy place, Tyneside....
As most lovely, lovely customers know, I've put my heart and soul, and a lot of income into developing, growing, improving and legitimising my Baby, Cat Calls over the last 18 years, and was upset, stressed, depressed and out of pocket from the whole experience....
If you're going to run a cat-sitting business which is, after all, based ENTIRELY on faith, trust and integrity....then don't do it by pinching other folks ideas, hard work and web-look!
Anyway, the upshot is, that we've been working hard on finally Franchising Cat Calls; offering folks in other parts of the country a chance to run their own, ethical, satisfying businesses, with our guidelines, procedures and ...blessing! Please email if you want details - should be available form March 2011.
Rant over!
End of May....well, I broke me leg! Nothing dramatic! I slid off a 4-inch step and sustained a spiral fracture if the fibula. Being me ( dumb, blonde, and, maybe, as my Dad used to say.."Where there's no sense there's no feeling"...yup, he were a Lancashire Lad! ) ( or, a super-hero Cat-Woman-Type, if you prefer.... )I walked on it for 10 days - albeit firmly strapped up in the stuff they use for horses' legs .
When it was still hurting after that time , I went to Tom the Osteo, who took one look and said words to the effect of: "whoa! I'm not touching that!" and packed me off for an xray.....Luckily, it had started knitting rather well - horse-dressings, eh? - and they let me go without a cast, but with a good telling off.
It's better now, thanks!
June...quiet...mostly trying to perfect the limp for maximum sympathy ( wasted effort ) and gearing up for Summer.
July and August.....mad, busy, long and hot, with lots and lots of plants to water, as well as cats to feed. It's always flat out at this time of year, but I enjoy the buzz, and the privilege of being able to be out and about on long, hot summer days, rather than stuck in an office.
Pennie also married her long-term partner Tony in July...but kept it quiet!
On a personal note, my lovely, longed-for First Pony, William ( he IS my first pony...I just had to wait til I was 38 to find him....) reached the grand old age of 20. Though he is fit, well, and very, very feisty, I decided to let him retire from work, and he's moved yards to go live the life of Riley at a wonderful place in the Weald of Kent. Though it's been hard for me to not see him daily ( there's nothing like horse-hay-breath for calming you down after a stressful day battling London traffic ) I see him still most weeks, and he's thriving in his new lush meadows and warm stable with his other, retired, horse-mates.
September...Whilst nearly as busy as August these days, the end of the summer also now marks the start of the "Academic" year for me, when I like to sign up to an evening course or two to fill the dark evenings.
My local Authority college is excellent, and I had the luck, last year, to do a general Drawing and Painting course, run by the lovely Mark Huggett. Mark is a very laissez-faire teacher, who will support, advise, encourage, provoke, but also allow you to set your own agenda; he wasn't at all fazed when I told him I just wanted to concentrate on becoming proficient at "capturing" cats this term and next . ( possibly because I'd met and looked after his and Annie's lovely boy Hamish for 2 weeks in the summer! )
I'm still a long way from "proficient" at the "capturing", but am SO much enjoying the process!
October - A HOLIDAY! I spent a fantastic week staying with my friend Marina, who has moved to Hong Kong for work for 2 years. It was fascinating, frantic, busy, hot, and a total privilege to be staying in someone's home rather than a hotel. ( she was in the process of adopting 2 cats for me to look after too, but they hadn't arrived when I got there.... it was supposed to be a
busman's holiday! )
Then - ANOTHER WEDDING! Lucy married her teen-love and boyfriend of 13 years, John.
November....( sleep!) And then prepare all the Christmas Cards and Mewsletter. This year we printed our own cards, using, with permission, a lovely painting by Lois Sykes ( http://www.loissykes.com/) that I bought at the September SOFA exhibition ( Society of Feline Artists)
My friend Chon Donnelly hepled with all the layout, artwork, printing, slicing and stuffing ( she's a whizz with computer programmes...I can just about manage to type, as you can tell...) and we got them all out on time.
She's also going to be helping with all the Franchising paperwork / admin.
I do hope you enjoyed your card. ( and for the few that received last years' card...there were a few left over that I couldn't bear to recycle ....I hope you liked that one too.)
Which now brings us to December...and guess what! Snowing again!
Once more, it seems that The Angels are guarding us, as the really bad snow hit the quietest time of the year. So whilst it's taken AGES to very carefully get to all the cats in our care.(...most are on un-gritted side-roads....) we can get to each and every one, and give them the fuss and attention that they want.
So finally, the bit I've been dreading.
Inevitably, as cats grow old or become poorly, we lose a few dear friends every year, and I feel I ought to pay tribute to the cats that make my working life a joy, and to let their owners know that they were not the only ones whose lives were touched by their cats' unique Feline Magic.
So, in loving memory of
Socks Preece: A shy boy, who brought 17 years of love to Bob and Diane
Deisel Reid: sadly, we never knew him as a young cat, meeting him only on the final few weeks of his long life, but he was a true character, and much loved and missed by Sophy and Barney
Willum Andrews: He battled long and hard the illnesses of old age with grace and extreme dignity. Missed by his Mum Joanne.
Vinnie Pacheco: This huge Bear of a cat was also one of the gentlest gentlemen I ever knew. Much loved by Marina.
Fluffy Weight: One of the Magnificent Seven. Missed by Dave and Sally, and I'm sure, the remaining Six.
Little Socks Hiles: Tom and Laura, and ourselves, are still struggling with the sudden loss of this shy, sweet lady.
Mister Bojangles Allison: Heart problems took this big, handsome, boy at only 5 years old. Much missed by his own, and the Cat Calls family.
A potted history of 2010...
Snow, Volcanoes, legal stuff.....and now more snow!
Once we'd got over January's snow, February was pretty un-eventful by comparison.
In March, Lucy, Pennie and I met a new client, Artemis, whose medical condition means that she needs to have an IV drip set up and administered to her, for 5 minutes twice daily. Her owners demonstrated the procedure, and Atremis herself was pure patience purrsonified - a humbling experience, and we've added another skill to our particularly peculiar CV's!
April was fun...not!
Remember the Volcano in Iceland? We had 9 families stranded in various locations across the planet: Europe, India, the USA....it actually wasn't a problem for us, or the cats, as we simply carried on Calling on the cats in our care until we were certain their owners were home, buying the correct diet / litter when anything ran out.
The final strandees arrived home 9 days after their original due date....and they were only in the South of France!
The following few weeks WERE a bit scary for us, however, as nobody seemed to want to go away, afraid of being stuck somewhere.... which, as it turned out, was a bit of a blessing in disguise...
....as in May, I discovered that someone was, very naughtily, using the Cat Calls ( registered ) Trade Mark to promote her own cat-sitting business.
This does happen from time to time, as folks fail to do their homework on the legal implications of Passing Off, or using someone else's Trade Name, and a polite phone call or email usually suffices.
However, this particular lady was very evasive, clearly running a Cat-Sitting bisiness based on our model ( the website even used the same base-colours ) and regularly blogging as "Cat Calls Cat Sitting" which is how she came to my attention.
Since she refused to co-operate with polite communication pointing out her mistake, and asking her to change her name and website, I had to engage a solicitor, at my own considerable expense, to force her to obey the law.
She argued and avoided agreeing to to the Solicitor's requests in every way possible, until, finally, when she couldn't refute that she was infringing my legally-held copywrite and WOULD be prosecuted, she capitulated, said that her business wasn't actually a business at all, just something she did in her spare time, and that the fact that she was using my name/format/web-layout was purely co-incidence, as she lives in the North East of England.
Maybe so. But this Northern Lady also subscribes to the "Dulwich Divorcee" blog.....some coincidence eh?
Very fishy place, Tyneside....
As most lovely, lovely customers know, I've put my heart and soul, and a lot of income into developing, growing, improving and legitimising my Baby, Cat Calls over the last 18 years, and was upset, stressed, depressed and out of pocket from the whole experience....
If you're going to run a cat-sitting business which is, after all, based ENTIRELY on faith, trust and integrity....then don't do it by pinching other folks ideas, hard work and web-look!
Anyway, the upshot is, that we've been working hard on finally Franchising Cat Calls; offering folks in other parts of the country a chance to run their own, ethical, satisfying businesses, with our guidelines, procedures and ...blessing! Please email if you want details - should be available form March 2011.
Rant over!
End of May....well, I broke me leg! Nothing dramatic! I slid off a 4-inch step and sustained a spiral fracture if the fibula. Being me ( dumb, blonde, and, maybe, as my Dad used to say.."Where there's no sense there's no feeling"...yup, he were a Lancashire Lad! ) ( or, a super-hero Cat-Woman-Type, if you prefer.... )I walked on it for 10 days - albeit firmly strapped up in the stuff they use for horses' legs .
When it was still hurting after that time , I went to Tom the Osteo, who took one look and said words to the effect of: "whoa! I'm not touching that!" and packed me off for an xray.....Luckily, it had started knitting rather well - horse-dressings, eh? - and they let me go without a cast, but with a good telling off.
It's better now, thanks!
June...quiet...mostly trying to perfect the limp for maximum sympathy ( wasted effort ) and gearing up for Summer.
July and August.....mad, busy, long and hot, with lots and lots of plants to water, as well as cats to feed. It's always flat out at this time of year, but I enjoy the buzz, and the privilege of being able to be out and about on long, hot summer days, rather than stuck in an office.
Pennie also married her long-term partner Tony in July...but kept it quiet!
On a personal note, my lovely, longed-for First Pony, William ( he IS my first pony...I just had to wait til I was 38 to find him....) reached the grand old age of 20. Though he is fit, well, and very, very feisty, I decided to let him retire from work, and he's moved yards to go live the life of Riley at a wonderful place in the Weald of Kent. Though it's been hard for me to not see him daily ( there's nothing like horse-hay-breath for calming you down after a stressful day battling London traffic ) I see him still most weeks, and he's thriving in his new lush meadows and warm stable with his other, retired, horse-mates.
September...Whilst nearly as busy as August these days, the end of the summer also now marks the start of the "Academic" year for me, when I like to sign up to an evening course or two to fill the dark evenings.
My local Authority college is excellent, and I had the luck, last year, to do a general Drawing and Painting course, run by the lovely Mark Huggett. Mark is a very laissez-faire teacher, who will support, advise, encourage, provoke, but also allow you to set your own agenda; he wasn't at all fazed when I told him I just wanted to concentrate on becoming proficient at "capturing" cats this term and next . ( possibly because I'd met and looked after his and Annie's lovely boy Hamish for 2 weeks in the summer! )
I'm still a long way from "proficient" at the "capturing", but am SO much enjoying the process!
October - A HOLIDAY! I spent a fantastic week staying with my friend Marina, who has moved to Hong Kong for work for 2 years. It was fascinating, frantic, busy, hot, and a total privilege to be staying in someone's home rather than a hotel. ( she was in the process of adopting 2 cats for me to look after too, but they hadn't arrived when I got there.... it was supposed to be a
busman's holiday! )
Then - ANOTHER WEDDING! Lucy married her teen-love and boyfriend of 13 years, John.
It was a lovely, lovely day.
After all that, I needed a rest, so was glad when the October half term was over and things went quiet again. I was able to grab a weekend at the Seaside with Boyfriend Tim, and his lovely Collies, Zak and Bella, visiting William en route.November....( sleep!) And then prepare all the Christmas Cards and Mewsletter. This year we printed our own cards, using, with permission, a lovely painting by Lois Sykes ( http://www.loissykes.com/) that I bought at the September SOFA exhibition ( Society of Feline Artists)
My friend Chon Donnelly hepled with all the layout, artwork, printing, slicing and stuffing ( she's a whizz with computer programmes...I can just about manage to type, as you can tell...) and we got them all out on time.
She's also going to be helping with all the Franchising paperwork / admin.
I do hope you enjoyed your card. ( and for the few that received last years' card...there were a few left over that I couldn't bear to recycle ....I hope you liked that one too.)
Which now brings us to December...and guess what! Snowing again!
Once more, it seems that The Angels are guarding us, as the really bad snow hit the quietest time of the year. So whilst it's taken AGES to very carefully get to all the cats in our care.(...most are on un-gritted side-roads....) we can get to each and every one, and give them the fuss and attention that they want.
So finally, the bit I've been dreading.
Inevitably, as cats grow old or become poorly, we lose a few dear friends every year, and I feel I ought to pay tribute to the cats that make my working life a joy, and to let their owners know that they were not the only ones whose lives were touched by their cats' unique Feline Magic.
So, in loving memory of
Socks Preece: A shy boy, who brought 17 years of love to Bob and Diane
Deisel Reid: sadly, we never knew him as a young cat, meeting him only on the final few weeks of his long life, but he was a true character, and much loved and missed by Sophy and Barney
Willum Andrews: He battled long and hard the illnesses of old age with grace and extreme dignity. Missed by his Mum Joanne.
Vinnie Pacheco: This huge Bear of a cat was also one of the gentlest gentlemen I ever knew. Much loved by Marina.
Fluffy Weight: One of the Magnificent Seven. Missed by Dave and Sally, and I'm sure, the remaining Six.
Little Socks Hiles: Tom and Laura, and ourselves, are still struggling with the sudden loss of this shy, sweet lady.
Mister Bojangles Allison: Heart problems took this big, handsome, boy at only 5 years old. Much missed by his own, and the Cat Calls family.
"They go; the beautiful, the tender, the kind
I know, but I do not approve.
And I am not resigned"
Edna St Vincent.
Much love, and wishing every one
a Miouwy Christmas, and a Happy Mew Year,
Jane xxxx
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