Ginger Gentleman is continuing

The ginger gentleman is an un-neutered tom cat. This means he has a large territory and a belligerent attitude to other cats, although he does give very nice cuddles. He has been seen at some distance, and is frequently in our little road. Our street is a very desirable location for a cat. There is not too much traffic, plenty of sun if you pick the right spots, some quiet kipping places and some really good hunting. We often see Oscar or Roxy trotting past with something grey, furry and limp in their mouths, and one of them left a dead magpie on their owners' step. There are a lot of small birds like finches and sparrows about, and I expect that they also get chased, if not caught. So the ginger gentleman is muscling in.

He has already tried to go for evil cat, and she is just too old and frail to cope. Last night we realised that her tummy was so shrunken that the flap of loose skin she had after neutering was no longer swinging like it used to but sucked up to her rib cage. The days when she could have given the ginger gentleman a nasty surprise are gone. And ginger gentleman is having so many running battles with Oscar that Nice Mr Next Door has been picking huge chunks of ginger fur out of Oscar's black claws.

So I was not entirely surprised to hear the sounds of battle yesterday. But I am trying to chase ginger gentleman out of the garden in case evil cat is taken by surprise, and I don't want our garden to be disputed territory with all the spraying. So I opened the the kitchen door to the sound of battle and found that the ginger gentleman had a young tabby from next door cornered in the cupboard under our steps. The young tabby is called Alfie, he is about a teenager, very small (so far!) and slim, but with a tom cat attitude. He has only just started going out. However he seems to be getting stuck in on the side of Oscar and Roxy.

The ginger gentleman appears to be outnumbered. However I am not sure that he can work that out - he doesn't seem bright, even for a cat!

Cat Wars

The ginger gentleman is hovering around the street, but either Oscar or Roxy seem to be on guard all the time. Nice Mr Next Door was picking ginger fur out of Oscar's claws this morning. I think that this is one of the blessings of double glazing - it has filtered out a lot of sound.

Darling father came in with a sore mouth - he had had five teeth out and was full of cotton wool. However he was not too full to point out the massive bulk of Oscar, curled up on a garden chair. When I went out to throw stuff in the bin, Oscar had moved over with the travelling sunshine and was occupying a very large patch of earth. He really is enormous.

The youngest cat from next door, Alfie, doesn't really bother about coming out of the house, but I am sure he will be roaming about soon. Then the ginger gentleman will really face opposition in numbers. He is not yet a year old, though, so a little young for pitched battles.

Darling father and little bear are both doing pretty well. Darling father was feeling a bit low, and little bear is too tired to do anything (while denying completely that he is tired), but nothing that can't be expected. I expect I will be dealing with a lot of faddy food requests over the next few days (little bear) and special diet requests (darling father). It could be worse. Little bear has just insisted on having crisps. I was bad enough to let him try them - he has chicken pox all around the inside of his lips and he didn't like it. Actually, he didn't like it after a sterling effort that demolished half the bag, so I am not worrying too much.

Evil cat threatened!

I had the Asda delivery (hint to Asda delivery drivers - no means no, and no, I don't like strangers in my home, and it's quicker to unload in the garden, so no, you are not coming in! I thought I was going to have to rugby tackle him!) and evil cat sneaked out to take the sun and enjoy a cuddle from Nice Mr Next Door. The ginger gentleman was also out and about.

Evil cat was just taking it easy, when the ginger gentleman started to stalk her. He was coming from a few yards away and he was all feline crouched intent. He was completely focussed on her and in 'about to attack' pose. Evil cat was oblivious. I am not sure how good her eyes are these days, and she is not looking well at all. Once upon a time I would have let the ginger gentleman have the unpleasant surprise that any cat got with an encounter with the younger evil cat, but the poor old girl really is not in a fit state.

Fortunately Nice Mr Next Door chased off the ginger gentleman. It took some doing, the ginger gentleman was very much focussed on his target. He had to do some serious shouting. I chased evil cat inside. She still has the fighting spirit, but she hasn't the old strength. I think she could have been quite badly injured if the ginger gentleman had managed to complete his attack.

So, now I know to keep a very careful eye out for the ginger gentleman. And evil cat has been looking particularly frail today.

Glass half full - the Asda delivery contained all the doughnuts I plan on using instead of birthday cake, so that's good. Darling father is looking better. The Book People delivery is due today. All things to be grateful for.

Cats at War

I opened this morning to take little bear to school and was met by war - the ginger gentleman had chased Roxy under a car across the street and they were hissing and spitting and yowling at each other as only cats can. If I hadn't already had war with little bear then I think I would have found it a shock to the system.

The ginger gentleman is definitely trying to stake his claim. He refused to back down and chased Roxy along to another car. She then dashed across to her garden. The next thing I saw was the ginger gentleman fleeing down the street with a very bottle brush tail and Oscar peering over the wall.

To be fair to the ginger gentleman, he is almost certainly not scared of Oscar, but he wasn't expecting to see him or be outnumbered. So he ran!

Later on as I was pegging out washing (a bit of a forlorn hope I think) the ginger gentleman was watching me carefully through the rose bush. I think he would quite like to get his paws under the table where tuna is so freely available, but I am aware of at least one home where he is fed, and I suspect he is something of a Six Dinner Sid.

Evil Cat has a gentleman caller

I was cooking dinner (beeferoni, very pleasant, extra plain pasta for little bear) when I heard a cat crying outside. I had heard it a few times recently but I always put it down to Oscar. As there is usually someone around to let Oscar in next door I have always ignored it. However it was cold outside, wet, and I thought that the lovely family next door might have gone in for the night. So I opened the door to knock for him to go in, and was surprised by a large ginger tom!

Evil cat was wary. She carefully crept towards the door and stared coldly at the newcomer. I didn't dare shut the door as I didn't want to interrupt ongoing cat psychology. However I was worried as evil cat has only ever worked out how to attack, and has never worked out the idea of retreat, and this looked like a young cat. However they gently touched noses and then parted. Neither seemed overly traumatised, but the ginger gentleman didn't immediately cross the threshold.

I did, however, shut the ginger tom out. It may have been a cold night, but it was only 6.30pm, there wasn't snow on the ground, and most of all, this was a large, well fed, ginger gentleman cat wearing a reflective collar with a bell on. I am confident he will be around again, and I may donate some treats outside - if the weather permits.