Charlie ShortTail has a scary encounter with “the Horrid Creature”.
I was out for a nice, relaxing evening stroll and then I saw it, the horrid creature.🙀
It was smelly, hairy and it had slobber drooling from it’s mouth.
I cringed, drew back and felt the fur on my back rise and bristle. My tiny (but very cute) tail bushed up in fear.
It was the man next door!
I ran quickly to hide under the bushes. Lando was nowhere to be seen. He’s supposed to be on guard.
The creature’s big feet thumped along the path to Mama’s house; the man rang the door bell. What could he want? I hoped I could sneak into the shadows and climb over the wall to safety. With a swift jump I was gone! I couldn’t risk him seeing me. What if he tried to touch me?
The creature spoke in a loud, deep voice but I couldn’t understand what the man was saying.
It got worse, the ‘Dad’ opened the door and let the horrid creature into Mama’s house.
The creatures clothes were tatty, dirty, smelly and oily. He had huge, scary boots. What could he possibly want?
I leapt quickly over the side roof, and ran along the hedges to the back garden to warn Lando.
This was a disaster. When would it be safe to go home?
Mama came into the garden and called us. “Charlie”, “Lando” she called; we crept out of the thick bushes with trepidation.
“What is wrong?” She asked. We looked towards the house…. Mama knows we are scared of him.
Oh! Him, he has just bought some eggs for us … “come in you two”.
I let Mama carry me, and Lando walked close to Mama.
Always trust your instincts me and Lando think. We don’t trust him….What do you think?
Read about Charlie’s awful tar episode…
Tar on my cat paws
I came home today with tar on my paws. Mama panicked in case they were burnt too.
It was thick, black, sticky, stinky and matted into my fur. Mama held me and dipped my paws into vegetable oil right away as this is supposed to soften the tar.
She was able to get a big lump of it off, but holding me in one arm and trying to clean me wiv the other hand was proving too difficult, if not impossible.
Help from Nan.
So, Mama phoned the Nan (not on da banana fone). Mama wrapped me in a blanket and Nan soaked my paws in oil and used a Qtip to get in between my pads.
I was very good (mostly). After they cleaned what they could, the next stage was to cut off the fur that was really caked in the awful tar.
Nan was worried about which was fur and which was paw, so I shut my eyes and hoped for the best. It was okay she didn’t hurt me at all.
The final clean up
After all this they scrubbed my paws with washing up liquid and then rinsed with lots and lots of warm water.
Mama was much calmer at this point as she could see I had not burnt or hurt my paws.
I was a bit of a mess though! I had streaks of oil in my fur and loads of wet patches. I looked a bit pitiful Mama thought.
The reward
Because I was so good and let mama hold me in the blanket, and let the Nan clean me up without biting or scratching I got a big bowl of tuna.
What happens next?
I’m grounded because no-one knows where the tar was from. Mama says tar is really toxic for cats and we mustn’t be allowed to lick it.
If it hadn’t of come off Mama would have had to cover my paws with something. That would have been trouble so we are all glad it got sorted out.
Charlie ShortTails’s brother ‘Lando Enzo’
This is my very special brother ‘Lando Enzo’.
He is older than me and a clever cat. Lando is a tabby with spots that turn into stripes.
Lando loves to patrol the garden and no other cats are allowed into our patch.
He thinks he is special forces cat with ninja skills! He practises with his favourite toy smelly mouse.
Lando likes to stage watch from the window seat; this is also next to the radiator!
Lando is a very neat cat and is never seen with a muddy paw or face.
Charlie’s furriends and pawtraits
Introducing Mz. Chaos
Chaos is a little tortoiseshell cat. She is gentle and loving and likes nothing better than a big cuddle up with her small human brother.
Mz. Chaos has to have a special diet because she is allergic to many things and her Mama spent a lot of time researching and reading up on how to help with her problems.
She cannot eat foods with grains in, and she is also allergic to flea bites (flea allergy dermatitis), so she becomes itchy and scratches a lot.
When she is bad she can have loss of fur and many lumps.
She left her old home because she was unhappy and adopted her new Mama and brother.
She is now much loved and cared for and her allergies are under control.
Her only bad habits are sneaking inside beds and drooling!
Origins of the Abyssinian Cat – breed history
Abyssinian cats are thought to have been the direct descendants of the scared Temple cats of ancient Egypt.
Modern cats have been compared to the mummified remains of cats from the tombs and also to the painted frescoes in the tombs and the evidence seems to support this belief.
Soldiers are said to have brought over the cats to Great Britain in the 1860’s on returning from Abyssinia; the popularity of the breed grew quickly.
During the two world wars lack of suitable food and feline leukaemia reduced the numbers severely in the UK.
Abyssinian cats are particularly popular in the United States.
Characteristics of the Abyssinian cat
Abyssinian cats have a long, lithe and slender and natural cat body shape.
They have large, very beautiful eyes which are almond-shaped, in a clear deep shade of amber, green or hazel.
The ears are prominent, erect and set wide apart, well cupped, and furry on their inner edges; ear tufts are desirable.
The tail is long and tapered and the paws are egg-shaped, the head is rounded with medium sized nose. Abyssinans are beautiful and regal cats.
The cats have a rich, golden brown coat (known as ‘usuals’) with a dark brown or black ticking; the tip of the tail is also dark brown or black, the hind legs also being darker, the paw pads are black.
Abyssinians may also have a ruddy, red or blue tinged coat.
In more recent years many other new colours have been introduced to the breed. These include fawn, chocolate, lilac, sex-linked red and cream, many new silver combinations, and even torties, although at present most of these do not have Championship status.
Common faults in the breed include: stocky body, spots and markings on the body and white upon the neck.
Personality of Abyssinian cats
Intelligent, gentle, inquisitive, very active and agile these cats make lovely companions.
Abyssinians often attach themselves to one member of the family and may take more time than some cats to form bonds with people.
They need a lot of stimulation and benefit from daily play and access to the outdoors. The cats love to climb and need to be able to jump and play; they need attention and may become sullen if they feel neglected.
Care of Abyssinian cats
Daily grooming i.e. rubbing the coat with a gloved hand should be sufficeint.
Pregnant females may need additional care as they remain very active; a litter of three to four kittens is usual. The kittens start life with darker markings which disappear after a few months.
