Outnumbered by Cats, Buster collars and tablets for cats

I usually say that my cats are a distraction and inspiration in equal measure, not so when they have injuries however, when they become pure distraction. Not only down to a need to take them to vet appointments and administer medication, but also because sitting down to write when I'm worried about their welfare is just a bit too hard.
 
So what have they been up to...?

Well there's Captain, who's on eye drops, and now shuts one eye every time I go near him, so that the only way I can see if he's opening it normally is to view him from a distance, when he's distracted by something else. And while he's fairly accepting of the eye drops - putting a Buster collar on was a step too far. The Buster collar is a hand-me-down from his mum, who only wore it for about 30 seconds, and it's more likely to biodegrade than ever wear out from actually being worn by a cat...

Bumble, not to be outdone, came in sporting a large lump on his neck. It was an abscess, most likely from a fight, and after a trip to the vets, he ultimately burst it himself, and then carried on as if he hadn't noticed that there was a hole in his neck. He did rather enjoy his medication though... The vet suggested emptying the antibiotic capsule and mixing the powder with butter, then spreading the butter on Bumble's leg, as a cat hates to be dirty and would wash it off. I got the butter mixture ready and was just about to start spreading it on Bumble's leg, but first I offered it to him to eat off the spoon - he loved it! He licked the spoon, and then the bowl I'd mixed it in and it became his daily treat, I think he was quite sorry when his medication came to an end.

The true story - complete with photos

After another couple of sales this week, Kryten will soon be getting his box!!

Just 2 more books in this box and then the box becomes a cat toy, to jump in , hide in, and ultimately shred...

Just one more week at launch price of £7.99 - so grab yourself something special - a book from a small print run of just 100 books - each one hand numbered and signed.

Outnumbered by Cats is a true story - share with me the joys and dramas of living with a house full of kittens...  and put faces to their antics with 82 colour photos.

Monday ramblings and book marketing

Monday ramblings:

Well that was a busy, if a little maddening morning, sorting out the mess I made of my blog header on Friday night, when I would have been better employed leaving the computer well alone and reading a book instead...

My marketing team are busy taking a siesta in various sunny and shady places about the house depending on their current preference - the darker their coats, the sooner they seek shade.

So that leaves me tackling the hardest part of writing a book - namely: shouting about it and getting it out to a greater audience.

    So why should you buy my new book?

• Colour photos - if a picture is worth a thousand words, then the word count in this book is immense - with 82 colour photos of cats and kittens, from all the time when they were getting into mischief and I reached for the camera instead of lifting them down...
• Small first print run - this is a print run of just 100 books, and all the books will be hand numbered and signed
• True story - it's all there, maybe a little too much at times...
• Launch price of £7.99 till the end of May.

The Blurb:

I'd like to get a female kitten and let her have one litter," I said to my stunned family when they raised the kitten topic. Not surprisingly a suitable kitten was quickly found...  and Mitzi arrived in time for Christmas, bringing her own brand of fun and chaos, and demanding friendship from our 5 year old cat Cleo.

By summer Mitzi was quite confused, she came into season and started calling shamelessly. But when a hapless tomcat answered her call, she was far from impressed; causing more than one cat flap drama, and a hole in the door where a flap used to be. 

Eventually nature took it its course and Mitzi had kittens. The first few weeks were blissfully peaceful, watching as Mitzi took care of their every need. We had a week of heartache when one of the kittens was poorly, and then not developing properly, and was destined to challenge and inspire us in ways we could not yet imagine. 

Then they grew big enough to escape their box, and the bedlam began... 

The story that emerged from the kitten diaries, written as kittens climbed on me and chewed the edges of my note books... 

...because cats love to be the centre of attention

Meet Bumble - from Outnumbered by Cats, giving his own input to proceedings...

Not much happens around here without a bit of furry input - in fact there seems to be fur everywhere...

Here is Bumble taking an early interest in the book.