Furred activities.......

Hello Friends,
Our furred friend Albert Whiskers has now been with us here at 'Hagstones' for two years. I thought it was three. That's the thing about Albert Whiskers. You soon feel you have known him forever. 

He still looks pretty rough, doesn't he? He's very good natured, though, on the whole, despite the occasional chomp of his humans (not usually me!) which is for bowl-filling or general attention-seeking purposes. His behaviour hasn't really improved. Still arguably the worst behaved cat we've ever had. As if last night's tropical temperatures were not difficult enough to sleep in, I also had to contend with a 3 a.m meow-fest from the front drive, as he obviously decided it was far too hot to waste energy going round the back to enter via his own door!

I'm afraid Albert Whiskers has stayed out all night for the last 3 days. It's unusual for him. He likes his bed & the chance of a few 'Dreamies' while he's watching TV. The last few nights have seen him taking up position smack in the middle of the pavement at the end of our drive guarding his property as if his life depended on it. I assumed it was a new phase of local cat turf wars, but wasn't aware of any new cats recently.....particularly none that would bother our own large rugged lad. The neighbourhood moggies are:
- Taz - Small young black & white. An irritant & gets the occasional chase or bash, but no threat.
- Abbie - Teeny tiny brindle tortie. Threat level minus 3. Her human has complained about Albert Whiskers helping himself to Abbie's 'Whiskas' & hissing at her when she tried to get some of her own food!
-Big Grey Fluffy - Must be quite old now as he was on the scene years ago when we still had Willow. Siegfried's old sparring partner. Looks huge but most of it's wobble & fur. AW likes to know what he's up to, but no apparent conflict at present.
-The Tabster - Not bothered about him.
-Little Tabby Pink Collar  - Not bothered about her.
-Hungry Blackie - Not bothered about him UNLESS the hanging around the kitchen door hoping for scraps tips over into taking the p*ss.
-Limpy Ginge - Really cute smallish ginger & white. Have horrible feeling Albert Whiskers may be implicated in the 'limp'. No threat.
-Tabby White Paws -Last big turf war was with TWP.Last seen rolling around the road with AW, locked in combat, screeching fit to wake the dead. Was soundly vanquished (Albert was chuffed with that one!) & has not been seen since.
-Splodgy - Not really bothered about scrapping. Chief concern is stealth raids through cat flaps belonging to others & robbing food. Only seen 3 or 4 times a year.
-Big tabby from further down the road - Looks like he might be handy, but never actually ventures further than his own gatepost.
So that was the puzzle. No-one of any threat to Albert Whiskers, yet every night he has been taking up position, wired like a sentry, waiting for whatever or whoever it is. I happened to peep around the bedroom curtains a couple of nights ago & that solved the mystery. Albert sitting up on the wall while a dark shadow padded down the street...........Genghis!! I'd forgotten about him. This cat is a local legend. I can go for months without seeing him, but he always reappears. He is a large, lean, but muscled black Tomcat. From the size of him & particularly the width of his head, I'd guess he's still very much in possession of his love-nuggets. His territory is extensive. I've seen him at the far southern end of our village, as well as our 'town' end & he is also known to wander the edge of town on the other side of the roundabout. That's a busy junction with a major A-road, so I assume he crosses underneath, using the subway. I know there have been feral cats/kittens in the village & wonder how many of them have been sired by this big wandering boy.  I have never seen him sitting down or standing still. He roams constantly. He's always on the move, not rushing anywhere, but silently, purposefully. It's most noticeable when I've seen him coming up or down the old A46 Fosse Way. It has a narrow pavement on its far side & he will have his head lowered, looking straight ahead, putting one paw in front of the other, just walking. He's crossed our garden on several occasions. I have tried to get a closer look at him to see what condition he's in, but he doesn't welcome human contact. He would run away from Siegfried, but Siegfried lived a similar lifestyle for many years & no sensible cat, whether feral or otherwise tended to take him on willingly. I hadn't seen Genghis for ages, & wasn't aware that Albert Whiskers had even met him, but seeing his black shadowy form padding past our house the other night while Albert watched from just out of reach, explained why our own ex-street cat boy is on permanent nocturnal watch. I don't know where Genghis came from, whether he ever had a proper home or if anyone ever puts any food out for him. He is a good size. He's probably a crack hunter. I guess that the only thing that would change his lifestyle is trapping & neutering. That would probably not be easy. Part of the legend of Genghis is that he is only rarely seen & never in the same place as last time. Long may he prosper! (And there will always be a spare dinner at our door if he ever turns up in need of one).

So that's the tale of how Albert Whiskers came to be (hopefully temporarily!) a nocturnal guard cat. 
Hope you are loving the summer weather.
Till next time,
C x