Mothering Sunday and a warm weekend

                                        OR An excuse for taking loads of photos : )

Bertie under the blossom

Casual chat

Luna in search of butterflies

Perfect set of teeth

After a dismal wet cold week it was lovely to behold a wonderful blue sky that promised and gave a warm sunny day on Saturday. Doors were flung open and fresh balmy air filled the house. The cats chased around and around the circuit of the back door and into the conservatory. The first proper early morning cup of tea outside on a warm morning.

My eldest had asked me what I wanted to do for Mother's Day, so it was decided that 'Venison Wellington' would be done as my treat. As a result we both headed off to 'Hiller's Farm Shop.' This is a great large farm shop having produce primarily from a ten mile radius. The meat is lovely coming from 'Ragley Hall' estate however we have recently not visited as they are rather too proud of their meat, if that is possible, and whereas I can chat requesting trim and offal from other farm shops they expected me to pay lean mince prices!!!

Bertie not quite fitting in his leg into 

Monty staring me down

The camera came out and the cats were very photogenic especially in the low morning and evening light.

 What it did highlight was the need for the garden to be dug over, fences sprayed and the drive pressure washed.

On Sunday we had the In-laws over, the FIL is going to be having Chemotherapy from Wednesday as some palliative care for his cancer, so they wanted to come over, hopefully to see me but I know it was to see the cats. They say they don't have favourites but between you and me Harvey just loves FIL and that is reciprocated and MIL adores Bertie who comes and squeaks at her in the morning when they look after the cats. It was a snack lunch of Scotch Eggs, Pork pie, ham and other bits and pieces with salad but I have to say we stuffed ourselves. So much so that the Mothering Sunday treat of Venison Wellington was put on hold for another time.

 When the In-laws went my eldest instead made a beautiful Tart Tatin using bananas and mango, yummy yumm and a really nice present. I also had a lovely card and an orchid as well, thank you : ))

Accidents will happen

Well the weekend started well enough I even had a chance of a morning bath……. maybe I shouldn't have?

Bertie just back from the vets

On Saturday morning I woke up early so I quickly fed the cats so they would not demand feeding whilst I was in the bath and left at least two of them playing in the bedroom. Off for a quiet bath. I came out a while later to find Bertie lame.

The vet was phoned and we got in at 8.45 am, so much for a slow start to the day…….. the vet was a little worried as his swelling in his back leg had come up very quickly however he felt little movement. We left him there  to have X-rays.

Four hours later we received a call, he had broken his leg!!!!!! and it was now in a cast.

Off we went…. the vet was great wanting to show off his brand new Xray machine which unfortunately showed and amazingly clear break in the large bone above the ankle of his back leg, unusually however the smaller bone was intact and acting as a splint!! A little confused. His leg was plastered up and down and although as slight as it could be it is a most unwieldy item.

We are confused to say the least. We heard nothing and Bertie was still in the room we had left him in. I surmise that maybe he had tried to jump up to the window cill which he does all the time and accidentally slipped getting his back legs stuck in the radiator under the window. Then he fell twisting the leg, which may explain the main bone break whilst not the other.

Resting, but that cast looks huge!!

So then after being told he was not allowed to jump or put excessive stress on the limb we had to go and get a crate to rest him in away from the other cats whilst we are out. Thus we have a crate big enough for a Great Dane, officially. In it is litter, a favourite cat bed and food and toys.

Litter tray resting! Now got a smaller one.

I am beginning to worry however……….we are giving him Metacam for the pain and he seems to be coping with the leg however huge it is. The vet mentioned keeping an eye out for severe changes of behaviour incase it suggested pain within the cast from swelling etc. However apart from some food yesterday he has eaten nothing. I have managed to hand feed a slither of Applaws wet food and some nutrigel into him with a tiny amount of Webbox lick e liks with some Zyklene added to relax him. Just very aware of issues arising in cats quickly that don't eat for 24 hours.

 I've now bought food syringes and have managed to get 4 syringes of kitten milk into him for hydration and 2 of his pureed food.

I can't believe that we are going to be looking at a month of this……5 days until the cast if first changed, then another 5 days for another change, then 7 days etc. So pleased I've got Petplan the bill is already up to £500, so goodness knows where we'll finish with more sedation, X-rays and casts……

Update - Monday

Still not eating or showing interest so I got him to the vet ASAP. His temperature is fine as is his cast, which will now be changed on Friday as it is ok at the moment. The vet has given him an injection of Metacam, with an antibiotic, an anti nausea, and a strong appetite stimulant. Well I have been back three hours and he has eaten one of his favourite frozen mice!!! and some food off my fingers, yea. On top of that I have syringed another two syringes of kitten milk and one of pureed food as he is a little constipated at the moment and needing to get fluid in him.

I will keep you updated on his progress…..


Ok, things did not go well……Monday Bertie was taken back to the vets as he was still not eating. They ended up giving him Metacam, antibiotics, anti nausea and an appetite stimulant.

We waited for things to work but he still was eating so little I had begun to syringe feed him so by Wednesday he was back at the vets. However this time he had a temperature which confused them as he had been given antibiotics. At this point they took him in to stay over night in the hospital. This ended up being a two day stay unfortunately. Finally he was eating by himself and his temperature was down. Therefore on Friday at 4pm I was able to pick him up to come home. Last night he slept well destroying his bed a little, which must be a good sign and eating up the food I had left in the cage.

So that is the situation up to now.

Got him outside for a change of scene

Photos on a sunny warm day

Bertie and Luna

Luna

Well finally a lovely warm day, no rain and blue sky with a warmth in the sun. Not bad for the middle of February…….. Out comes the camera however I feel immensely clumsy trying to remember all the settings. The garden in not looking it best, spartan is a good word and at the moment it has similarities to a lake with the amount of rain we have had. However the cats were having fun with the tunnels and cardboard boxes which we put out for them and I thought a few photos were in order.

Monty

 My clowder of cats….seem to know when the camera is out and stop doing all the cute things, so these are the ones I could get.  I couldn't get all of them, Reuben tends to keep to the edges of the garden and in the shrubbery and it was still a bit cold for Harvey.

Hope you like them.

Luna

Bertie

Harvey

Bertie

Luna

Monty

Four out of five cats - Vet visits this week

Well what a week that has been…. we just never go to the vets apart from the annual check and neutering however this week was different.

Harvey

Monty

At the beginning of the week Harvey seemed out of sorts. Cats are notorious for hiding pain but he was not eating  and he was sitting in a very crouched bent back position. For a day I did not see him laid out resting, always in the same position. I was adding all the best treats on the food and nothing was enticing him so on Monday we went off to the vets. On examination he had no bladder, kidney or constipation  problems however as she pushed her thumbs along his back he was visibly wincing around his lower back. So metacam, antibiotics and a vitamin injection later we came home.

Bertie and Luna

Only to notice then that Monty had obviously scratched/hurt his eye which was junky and weeping. The next day we had to be at the vets early for Bertie's neutering so off the two went. Monty sorted and Bertie in the afternoon then collected! Bertie was fine just a lot of sorting out and cleaning needed to make him happy.

Reuben

As we then brushed Luna I noticed a lumpy matt which then I had a go at. On further examination their seemed to be detritus from outside within the matt and then when I opened the matt up further I found a small one penny sized flap of skin opened up. Off to the vets again. I felt very abashed that I had not noticed quicker as the vet said it had probably happened a couple of days ago as the edges of the tear were dying. Luna has a lot of loose skin being a kitten of 8 months so the vet said she had probably pulled it on a thorn outside and continued to walk not noticing. The vet was able to use a local on Luna as she is one very relaxed calm cat, she cut off the dead flap and glued the edges together. Another antibiotic injection and a £42 cost.

So we have one day left of the week and one cat that hasn't been……please Reuben just let our next visit only be for your annual check.





I have to say I know the vets are expensive but I have to say

Harvey was examined for 15 minutes and had Metacam, vitamin and an antibiotic = £34
Bertie neutering/ Monty exam = £52
Luna Saturday morning exam, local, flap excised, glued, and antibiotic = £42

Does not seem excessive but just a little unfortunate in one week.

Shortbread and Dundee cake

Well there are two recipes  I can remember off the top of my head, one is my mum's Shortbread and the other the Dundee cake recipe.

Mum was a fantastic baker and it is something as a Vicar's wife she had a lot to do.

Shortbread

This will make a very buttery short Shortbread.

Ingredients

3 Oz Cornflour
3 Oz Caster Sugar
8 Oz Plain Flour
8 Oz Cubed Butter, salted

1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla extract ( personal favourite Ndali Vanilla extract from Waitrose
Ndali Vanilla )

1. Get grease proofed paper cut and ready in container

2. Cubed Salted butter

3. Caster sugar added

4. Flour, cornflour, vanilla also added

5. Mix slowly

6. Combine to look like large breadcrumbs

7. Mix until one ball or combine in the tray

8. Pierce dough with a fork and decorate the edge

10. 150 C for 40-45 min leave in after for approx 10 min

9. Not immediately nor when cold CUT

This is the easiest thing to do. Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix. Initially the mix will combine to look like breadcrumbs which will then combine to one clump giving your mixer a hernia trying to mix it : )

Use a greased and baking parchment covered tin and put the mix in ensuring that it is in all corners. I then add a fluted pattern around the edge and fork the mixture over. Why? because that's what my mum did.

In my oven it then goes in at 150 C for 40-45 minutes. I tend to then turn the oven off and leave it in there for 20 minutes. Guess work really, most people like the Shortbread yellow and light and crumbly however my OH likes a little more colour and a more caramel taste!!

Dundee cake

You can have this plain or add split flaked almonds on top (whole almonds divided down  the middle) in increasing sized circles - Mum called it Toenail cake : ) it appealed to a kids uggy nature!!

Ingredients
6 Oz Butter
6 Oz Caster Sugar
4  Eggs
10 Oz Self Raising Flour
1 lb Soft Fruit mix including raisins, currants and peel, personally NO cherries, ughhhhhh

150 C 2 hours, personally I would look at 1 and a half  hours then judge from there.