I found this cool hedge monster on the BBC website. Apparently it has taken John Dobson 17 years to perfect it.

Further to my post about Lucy's attack on Rorys hand, Rory had been been feeling hot and generally unwell for most of the weekend following the attack. When he went to the doctors he was told his hand was infected and given a huge dose of pills (pictured below) with the instructions to take one three times a day for a week.

Lucy is not a very popular cat.

Lucy the evil cat.

Having four cats I find one of the worst jobs is cleaning out the litter box. It needs doing a twice a day and sometimes even more often. It can also be an issue when we want to go away for a few days. Whilst it is easy to find people to come and feed the cats, not many people want to clean the litter tray. With this is mind I have been investigating some alternatives to the basic litter tray.

I came across the Littermaid. This handy device is an automated self cleaning litter tray. The litter tray itself has a large open design enabling and includes an automated cleaning rake. Basically what happens is the cat uses the littermaid. When the cat exits the tray it triggers the sensors, setting the timer for the cleaning cycle. Ten minutes after the cat has left the tray the cleaning cycle starts and the rake moves the clumps of waste into the receptacle. If a cat should enter the tray before the tem minutes is up then the timer simply resets itself and waits an additional ten minutes before starting the cleaning process, meaning that there is no risk of cats becoming trapped inside during the cleaning cycle. All of the collected waste is deposited in the disposable plastic trays.

To clean the littermaid you simply need to remove the sealed plastic trays which are sealed to close in any bad smells. The disposable trays are available to purchase separately but you can always line them with plastic bags to prolong their life. The littermaid is also available in several sizes to suit different households, such as the LitterMaid LM900 Mega which is designed for people who have four or more cats. This model features a larger tray area to hold more litter and the disposable trays are also deeper to hold more waste.

In all it’s a very good idea and should cut down greatly on the time spent cleaning the litter tray. It also means that when we have other people looking after the cats they would only have to replace the plastic tray every couple of days rather than cleaning the litter tray itself which is a much more pleasant experience altogether.

These cute orphaned owls have a new mother in the form of a cuddly toy. They don’t seem to mind though cuddling up to the stuffed owl for warmth.

We have had our cat Willow for four years now, since she was a kitten. She follows us with the devotion you would usually only associate with dogs.  Willow follows me around all day, everywhere I go in the house or garden she is there. When I go to the bathroom she waits outside the door, I sit on the sofa she sits next me, I go in the kitchen to make a sandwich she sits and waits for treats. She also knows exactly what time Rory gets home from work. When the time approaches she sits by the front door waiting for him. As soon as he comes in the door she is there to greet him. She waits for him to take off his shoes and then runs upstairs past him and jumps on the bed as he opens the bedroom door to change out of his work clothes, just waiting to have her ears scratched. Such a loyal pussy cat.

A picture of Willow trying to look cute.

Cats can be very unpredictable creatures. You just think you are getting along and they turn round and attack you for no reason. Lucy did just that today leaving Rory with two nasty bites and several scratches, making it the worst attack yet from one of our cats. The only previous attack that involved biting was when Ollie bit Rory’s hand several years ago. That particular attack did not really come as a surprise, as we had only just got Ollie from the cat home and he was slightly feral. With Lucy, however, what caused her to attack is a mystery. One thing is for sure, if this becomes a habit it will take a lot to convince Rory not to send her to the cat home.

Rorys hand after the attack.

Lucy (left) and Willow.

They look so cute but this friendly behaviour ultimately ends in a fight for the beanbag. It starts with Willow (Grey) sitting on the beanbag. Oscar then comes along and decides he wants to sit with her, so makes himself comfortable. This leads to a prolonged cleaning session with Willow and Oscar fighting to be the first to clean each other. After a while they stop cleaning each other and start biting each other until one of them gives up (usually Oscar) and leaves the beanbag.

Willow and Oscar pictured before they start attacking each other.

A mouse mouse is exactly that. A computer mouse made out of a dead mouse. Full instructions on how to make one are here. It does however involve cutting up a dead mouse.

After running a red light a train driver mistakenly announced the fact to the passengers. He said to the guard I've run through a red signal, I'm talking to the signaller. Don't tell the passengers”, not realising the tannoy was switched on. A great way to reassure them.

According to an article on The Daily Mail’s website eating two eggs for breakfast every day can actually help you lose weight. Apparently starting the day with eggs for breakfast makes you feel fuller for longer so you eat less throughout the rest of the day. I’m not sure if there is any truth in this but I like eggs so will give it a go. 

Fishermen Chris Earl and Tony Allsopp got more than they bargained on a trip to check their lobster pots. Finding a large deer swimming past them in the sea, they lassoed it and took it back to shore. Quite a catch.

Could this be the oldest fridge in Britain? Sally Garrod who owns it thinks so. She has had the fridge for 50 years and it still works.