Worming

I really must worm the cats…

In true female fashion I have two cats – Henry an elderly grey cat that has lived with me since he was 9 weeks old; he is now coming up on twelve. My other cat is Mog – a very large black monster of a cat; he hunts voraciously and will eat just about everything he catches – mice and various other rodents, pheasants, pigeons, doves, plenty of other small birds, rabbits – yes that’s fun when you discover half a dead rabbit in the kitchen first thing in the morning….He doesn’t eat the rats he kills; those just get left at the back door as a gift. Likewise the snakes he sometimes has a go at, or the fox he had a fight with…Well, he is of a similar size…

Now because of Mog’s eating habits he has also picked up a worm problem…you would think that this would cause him to lose weight, but no, he’s also one of the largest and fattest cats you are likely to see and the vet has repeatedly suggested weigh-loss programmes for him…but unless he’s entirely confined to barracks he’s not going to lose weight…God only knows how he manages to catch his prey – although he can move pretty damn fast when he wants to….

So, the worm problem…I do hope you’re not eating as you read this….Mog’s worms have done the full cycle…and now they have started to drop out of his smelly backside – yes he is a disgusting cat…he does get very smelly now and then – his size sometimes prevents him from cleaning himself effectively, or maybe it’s just laziness…But I do shower him down every so often – he loves warm water…he's just not so keen on the animal shampoo...

In the past his worms have not been such a problem….both cats are wormed regularly…Generally I use Bob Martin’s Worm tablets – but now because of Mog’s expanded girth I’ve got to get him weighed by the vet to ensure correct and adequate dosage….

Bob Martin’s Worming tablets are actually completely safe for human consumption…..

How do I know?

A very lengthy conversation to the Poisons Department of a London hospital a few years ago……

Take one small hungry boy; add a small chair, a plastic tea set – with plastic knives and forks, and an open packet of Bob Martin’s Worming tablets placed supposedly out of a child’s reach. Mix in a short telephone conversation taken out of the room but the ‘responsible’ adult (read Me) and stir in an encouraging twin brother.

Final result? A very nice doctor in the Poisons department trying very hard not to laugh (after I had spelt out the active ingredient in the tablets, up until that point he was justifiably concerned). Small boy? Lovely glossy hair, damp nose and no worms.

Oh the joys of twin boys….


And I haven’t even mentioned the day they attempted to burn the house down….another post I think….

Roadkill

Living in the countryside we are surrounded by not only our own animals but also the wild ones too…

Just before Christmas I was going off to meet some friends in a local pub, I left the house at around 7pm - it was very dark. I drove down the single track road that runs through our village. The road goes between our fields and our neighbour’s orchards, and on the other side of most of the fields and orchards around here are ancient woodlands. Our village many hundreds of years ago was the hunting ground for the local lord of the manor who lived in the castle…And no, this is not turning into a fairy story, even though I can write a good one….

Anyway, the point being that we have lots of local wild deer, most of the time they are lovely to see; frosty February mornings they can be seen wandering out of the woods and into the stubble; last summer we took out goats out into a field near the woods and saw some deer – both herds of animals were transfixed.

So, back to the drive out to the pub…I wasn’t going that fast but almost drove into a hedge as I had to avoid the huge stag which wanted to walk out in front of me….Scary moment number 1…..

Got to the pub, had only one small glass of wine…actually another story entirely about a woman I know only slightly who was there and must have had the best part of two bottles of red wine and the drove home….horrifying.

But back to the wild animals…after finishing at the pub I said goodbye, as you do, and drove home.

As you’ve probably guessed we don’t have streetlights around us, or cats eyes in the road, or pavements – yes, I do live in the sticks and no, I’m not related to Mr Chickenlady in any way, but he does have large ears…I don’t.

So going back up the road where I met the stag out pops what I thought at first was a small black Labrador…no, actually it was a bloody big badger…I avoided it, but the car behind me didn’t…..Scary moment number 2

The following day (Saturday) the badger’s body had found its way onto the grass verge and into our neighbour’s field. The next day our neighbour and his elderly wife decided to bury the animal where it lay.

By Tuesday the body was laying above ground…foxes perhaps….

Wednesday neighbour and wife digging a hole again….deeper this time

Thursday very bloated badger body above ground again…….

Friday…digging

Saturday….bloody foxes

Sunday….someone hired a small digger….

Oh the joys of living in the countryside…it didn’t quite reach the local paper but it was the main topic of conversation in the pub…almost as much as when one of the foreign students spray painted very rude remarks about a local farmer on the main road in six foot high letters….very good command of English he had too….