Spud's gotcha....and Ducky grows up

In two days it is one year since Splash (now commonly known as Spud or names appropriate to his behaviour!) came tottering down the track to complicate our busy lives. What a learning experience it has been, full of worry, pain (insert nasty name) joy and cuddles...and not a little disruption, but how could we have ever turned such a pathetic little scrap away?

The start of the story is here, half way down

http://debrazzaman.blogspot.co.uk/2014_08_01_archive.html

He is not easy, as some who have followed the blog long term will know. I am not a cat person, I was cured of them many years ago, though Dave is. But no animal lover could have resisted that poor little, gungy eyed, hungry and noisy scrap...called Splash because of the flash of white on his back, but he's sort of grown out of that name and most of the other names he is called are a bit rude for here, so Spud it is. A nickname I suppose.

Saying all that, he has grown to be an amusing companion, all the animals tolerate him except Bella who was the object of his play instinct and got wary of her face being attacked by a ginger and white bag of bones with very sharp claws and teeth who has no idea of manners or where to draw the line! Bella get's a bit anxious when Spud is in play mode but generally they are good friends and when he plays nicely they still charge around chasing each other.

Helping in the garden

As he grew and started to want to stay out later at night I would anxiously keep an ear out for fighting cats or pleas to be let in. He would alternate between jumping all the way up to the bedroom window (he soon wrecked the fly screen) and scrabbling at the door downstairs usually about 11 15. Once in he would sleep until 3am ish when he would wake, jump all over us, the bedhead, bedside tables and chest of drawers, knocking stuff flying, playing with the digital clock, and making Bella anxious (Bonnie is oblivious in her own little geriatric world!) Sometimes putting him out worked to an extent...but if I heard cats or martens in the garden I had to get him in....that was me getting anxious. We had broken sleep for a long time, even when he found he could open the door himself, I still had to go down and shut it against unwelcome visitors. The door, at that time, wouldn't lock from inside

Worn out after all the night time activities

But we have made adaptations, mainly in fitting a cat door (and fixing the lock) and now he has his new friend, the grey rescue who came to us called Mishco (on his passport) and has now been stuck with Herbert (he is from Lom) Dave tells me Herbert Lom is someone to do with the Pink Panther???? Herbert is smaller than Spud with excellent cat manners, has attached himself firmly to Dave , happily sits on the dogs (though Bella is wary...just in case) and is a little sweetheart to live with but a ferocious hunter, he changes completely when hunting. So Spud, after a lot of swearing and spitting (because he has no cat manners and is always in scrapes) has a playmate when he can be bothered (H) as he is a real couch potato. Spud still goes out for most of the night, no idea about H as he doesn't come upstairs...he loves his couch....and comes in once the Babas have gone to bed, they find it highly amusing that he sits watching them chatter from the garage roof, and Venka and Jordan have taken a liking to him too...I hope he keeps his claws under control! If we are round there he will sit on their flat roof looking down and joining in the conversation, then follow us home. He comes in for a sleep then takes himself off early morning before waking us up for food. He then spends all day on the bed! It is lovely to see him playing chase with H though, the trees making great places to excercise....but I wish they wouldn't hunt hawk moths!

Herbert, the couch potato. He would rather lounge than play, but not all the time

That's my boy! Tall, skinny and bad mannered, but we love him

Keeping an eye on the Babas as they catch up on each other's news (otherwise known a gossiping!) in the cool of the night

DUCKY

Well, this week Ducky has realised he might be a duck after all...and is causing havok! He still gets a little confused at times, turning his attention to one of the more amenable ex-batts which luckily her crouching seems to confuse him even more. He is chasing the female ducks, then a couple chase him back, then the drake chases Ducky...the noise is awful. At night he is still going into the hen house and wants to be with Mum Cagney, but is jealous of the chicks so Cagney and the chicks now need to be shut away. He then tries to take his frustrations out on the three amigos who have a lower perch which means they are just out of reach but they are getting nervous and the adults (who take no notice) will not allow them on the higher perches.

So something will have to be done. We can't have two drakes but who goes? Ducky who we are rather fond of and is a very handsome boy, but who a couple of the females won't tolerate or the drake with no name, who has (ahem) looked after his harem all summer and is now a drab and worn out shadow of his breeding self? We will have to get it sorted before someone gets hurt.

                                         The drake is the one who chases Ducky away