Reader Photo Of The Month

Feebee, from Alex Clifton-Fearnside.

CatNav

I've been stubbornly resisting using CatNav for years but I've decided to say sod it & give it a go on my walk today.

Couple Of Photos For Those Who Doubt That The Deep Conversations I Reckon I Have With The Bear Actually Take Place

Reader's Cat Of The Month: Welsh Felix

Name?

Felix

Nicknames? 

Angel cat, Lalee, Hussar

Theme tune?

Johnny's Garden by Stephen Stills. I live in a great area now (with the exception of Storm, see below). I wake up & go to sleep feeling happy to be here.

Age? 

16. I know, I don’t look my age (unless you see my back teeth).

Owners?

Constance is more like a friend, one who feeds me a lot. When she comes home from work I run to greet her, & I come when she calls me. I know you'll think this is embarrassing, but it’s not like I’m usually very busy. She feeds me when I sit by my bowl, she lets me out when I like (except at night because she says ‘only bad cats go out at night’. Not sure about that?). When it’s cold we sleep together, when it’s hot she brushes my fur with a wet brush. We were both pretty sad before we met. Things are good, now we have each other.

Brief biography?

I am a Welsh cat and Constance suspects I was a country cat before my time in the shelter because I hunt well and I don’t mind sheep. Other than my time in the shelter (sad time) I also had skin cancer surgery twice in the past few years, one time required me having a CONE ON MY HEAD for 3 months. 

Catchphrase? 

Life is better together.

Favourite habits?

I like to sit silently in meditation after dark, and look at the trees moving against the night sky. I often sit close to Constance when she is sleeping, so that my whiskers just touch her face. This lets her know I am there. If she doesn’t notice this, I might meow, just to make sure. Constance also has some very nice soft clothes, like a knitted poncho and a fluffy robe. I have persuaded her to give them to me, so maybe I have a clothes habit, too.

Perfect evening?

Some tuna flavoured cat parcel followed by curling up on the sofa with Constance, space heater on next to us, music playing, AND a blanket over me. 

Favourite food?

Anything in a parcel with a picture of a cat that looks like me. Or, well . . . probably mice.

Defining moment?

I suppose that would have to be my time in the shelter. My last family just dropped me off one day. I felt like the air had been taken out me.  I was there for almost a year. Constance came to get me, after seeing my picture. Her cat of 16 had recently died. She called to me. It had been a long time since I’d heard my name; ten months since anyone had really noticed me at all. As you can imagine I walked into the carrier without hesitation, & never looked back. 

Enemies?

There is a local ne'er-do-well, a grey tabby called 'Storm'. He greeted me on the first day I arrived by coming into MY house when I was still in my carrier, & freaked out by the move. He’s since bit my ears, face, almost pulled my whiskers off, and generally been a nuisance. I am as calm and friendly as I can be with him but he’s just one of those stress-heads that turns everything into a fight. Mostly now I try to avoid him but sometimes if he’s too near the house at the wrong time I will stand my ground.

If you could do one thing to make the world a better place for felines, what would it be?

Eliminate cars; they're loud, polluting, and dangerous. And they take us to the vets.

Which celebrity would you most like to meet?

Tom Cox! I like people and he’s seems a particularly good sort. I’d like to see what his day to day life must be like caring for so many cats, and I wouldn’t mind playing a game of Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit with him.

Which of the cats in Under The Paw, Talk To The Tail and The Good, The Bad And The Furry would you most like to be stuck in a lift with?

The Bear might bring me down a bit (in a lift) with all those Smiths lyrics, Ralph's sideburns are slightly intimidating, Shipley makes me nervous, and Roscoe is so young...what would we talk about? I'm sure they're all great cats, but I am going to cheat and say a cat that will be in the next book. I know he’s moved on to Tom’s parents, but I think George & I would've been good friends. He’s relaxed and cheerful like me. In a lift together we’d  just make ourselves comfortable, have a nap, and wait for someone to fix it & then make a fuss over us. I’d also like to have gone on a walk though with Monty, he was so adventurous.

@MYSADCAT goodies for people who'd like to get to know The Bear better

Here are a few links to @MYSADCAT stuff for people who've started following The Bear recently and would like to get to know him better. I've included amazon.co.uk links below purely because I know that a lot of people find that the most convenient place to buy from, but, if I'm honest, my ideal choice would be that you buy from hive.co.uk, who support independent bookshops and represent a fairer, less soulless future for the publishing industry. If you're outside the UK, wordery is an independent site which does free worldwide delivery (and, unlike fellow free international deliverer The Book Depository, is not owned by amazon).

Under The Paw is the first book about The Bear and friends.

Talk To The Tail is the second book about The Bear and friends.

The Good, The Bad And The Furry is the third - and most recent - book about The Bear and friends.

There is also a 2015 @MYSADCAT calendar and some @MYSADCAT Christmas cards available. Both are best purchased direct from the publishers, Graffeg, who will deliver anywhere worldwide.

If you're outside the UK, wordery is an independent site which does free worldwide delivery. That said, it has sold out of The Good, The Bad And The Furry right now, unlike The Book Depository, who also do free worldwide delivery.

(NB: For those who have asked recently, there will be a fourth book about The Bear next autumn, published by Little Brown.)