A Disastrous Event for Molly Cat

On Sunday, with the sun shining and all to play for, and with the advantage of a friend here and a cat who would allow me to pick her up, I decided that we were going to get the choker collar and lead on to Molly so that we could all go outside. I picked her up and petted her, while my friend got the collar on her.

She was terrified and furious. She threw herself about. Although I was clinging to the other side, I could not get her on to the terrace. Where before she had been so keen to go out, now she just threw herself about, a hissing storm of anger and despair. After less than a minute I managed to get it off her and throw it away.

She still won't wear the harness. And she is still super wary. Another silly mistake. Oh dear. Cats are so COMPLICATED!!!

I am Dying of Heat

At last summer has arrived. I adore the summer. I love the heat and the light and the general sense of well-being. Ordinarily, I would be out on the terrace relaxing. However, there is Molly. She cannot go out yet, because it has not been made safe, so the only way she can come out is if she is on a lead. And I cannot get a lead on her.

I wish you could see us. As soon as I appear carrying anything that looks like a collar, she disappears, sometimes for up to half an hour. She is deeply unimpressed. And so am I, as I struggle in the heat with all the windows closed.

However, five minutes ago I decided that enough was enough. I can see no reason why her refusal to do what I want means that I have to sit indoors on such a glorious evening. I am now on the terrace. I assume the guilt will eventually pass.

Public Health is Heaemorrhaging

I make no apologies for returning to the vexed subject of Public Health and the impact of the recent Health and Social Care Act on that discipline.

Public Health (PH) is being moved out of the NHS and into Local Authorities. Our lords and masters tell us that this will work better, and so it might for some aspects of PH. I am perfectly happy to accept that the health improvement parts of PH, those things that relate to lifestyle and the wider determinants of health (e.g. housing and occupation etc) are very likely to find advantages and synergies in local authorities. Unfortunately, however, there is rather more to PH than that.

PH comprises three strands: the health improvement I have discussed above; health protection (that branch of PH that deals with communicable diseases, environmental threats and so forth); and health services PH, the branch that deals with commissioning of NHS services, with assessing proprieties, with commissioning pathways of care, with dealing with unusual requests for non-commissioned treatments. I have no expertise in health protection, and would not presume to speak for those in that field, but they are, in any event, being moved to Public Health England, not to the Local Authority.

Which leaves those of us in health services PH. I admit that we suffer from the fact that it is difficult to really explain what we do in simple terms. This may be because what we do is not simple. All I can tell you is that it is vital to the NHS. The NHS is facing a chronic shortage of funds and an increasing pressure to ensure that we only commission treatments that are evidence based and effective. And at this crucial time, those of us who are trained in this field have been written out of the picture. We are told that GPs will be commissioning leads, but this is patently ridiculous: they have neither the time nor the expertise. I would rather have my GP in surgery, available to treat me, than sitting in meetings trying to do not very well what I was trained to do. And it will be extremely expensive, since we have to pay locum fees for every meeting they attend.

As a direct result of all this, health services PH experts are leaving. We are a tiny sub-speciality, certainly less than 100, probably closer to 50. Yet in the last week I have heard of one person going to Canada, another to New Zealand's South Island ("as far as I can get from Richmond House" in his own words), two more taking early retirement. There are many others looking for ways out. We cannot afford or sustain this attrition rate. This needs to be acknowledged and addressed by the Department of Health before we are past the point of no return.

Molly Cat is a Hunter

When Molly came to me, it was on the understanding that she was going to be a house cat. Her foster carer told me that she had shown no interest in going out. As her confidence has increased, however, she is showing ever more interest in outside and has become surprisingly good at scaring the pigeons off the terrace even from behind the glass (of which I totally approve). I am glad that I have decided to fence off part of the second terrace to give her some outside space.

In the meantime, however, we have those squeaky mice on poles and elastic. She will play for hours if I can be persuaded. She certainly gets more than an hour a day. We walk up and down with Molly stalking the mouse at my feet as I drag it along. When I stop and let it stray from next to me, she crouches down and does this funny wiggle with her back side as she prepares to pounce. Sometimes, I laugh out loud and she is put off and glares at me.

I suspect her to be very intelligent. She is clearly highly suspicious of the part I play in mouse moving about and looks at me as often as she looks at it until the very end. She has also started sniffing suspiciously at the elastic.

And she has formed a major attachment to my new shoes. I now have to put them away to stop her playing with them. My cleaner approves. I do not.

HELP........

The subject is, once again, Molly's litter tray, for which I apologise.

Back in it? Well, yes, sometimes. And for some things. Basically, even though I have now taken the house bit off so that all there is is the litter tray, she is still leaving solid offerings near it. Why? I don't understand.

Help! What do I do next? I cannot think what I can do to encourage her back in. I cannot have my guest bathroom studded on a regular basis with faecal matter: a) it smells and b) it is unhygienic. I need to persuade her to get back in the box.

If there is anybody out there with a good idea, please post.

A Long Abscence

Today I had to leave Molly for almost twelve hours. Given the fact that I had another offering outside the litter box this morning, I was not totally happy, but there really was no choice.

I got home at about 8.30 this evening. I was determined that, regardless of anything that had happened, I was going to be her best friend. I arrived and she rapidly came to meet me. I deliberately ignored the bathroom and petted and played with her and fed her. Niceties completed, I went to investigate.

Hurrah!! The litter house had been used. She may not totally like it, but she is definitely back in it. I am a happy lady.

Unduly Optimistic

Oh dear. I fear we had an accident again yesterday. I was not happy and neither was she. I am not sure what to do next. I have tried enticing her back into the box. I really cannot do with ongoing mess.

On the other hand, she is clearly easily frightened and I have been an idiot. I have tried enticing her back into the box with feathers. Watch this space!

Molly has a Troubled Morning

I heard her, early this morning, yowling rather. But her foster carer had warned me that she made a lot of noise going in to the litter house (which, to be honest, she hadn't done with me so far) and I assumed that she was returning to old habits. I rolled over in bed and ignored her. Bad mistake.

Later, washed and bathed, cat fed and watered, I went to do her litter tray. Oh dear. What did I find? There was a solid offering by the bathroom door (her litter house is in the second bathroom) and the bathmat had been well and truly scrabbled about in an effort to hide the wet marks. I was the unimpressed one this time. However, I have to say, it is totally my fault. Put it down to the INEXPERIENCED & IDIOTIC FIRST TIME CAT OWNER SYNDROME (IIFTCOS). It is a disorder of which I have become very aware over the last week. So, what was the problem?

The litter house had arrived with a door, which I had not bothered to put on in order to make it easier for her to work out where things were. Yesterday, I decided to put the door on. It never even occurred to me that she would not use it. I blithely left her to it. As I said - IIFTCOS. I have taken the door off again. Hopefully, there will be no more problems.

The Cabby Who Made My Day

Today, I had to be at a meeting in London. Plan A was that I would be on the 07.50 train this morning, but  the best laid plans etc., so I was actually at the station at 08.05 (having just missed the 08.04) waiting for the 08.28. Unfortunately, the 08.28 was running late. It was 'expected' at 08.37.

It was cold this morning, far colder than I had catered for. There was the kind of chill in the air that I associate with late Autumn, not Spring. I retreated to the coffee shop. A stranger and I sat at a table, both watching the approach of our train on our iPhones: thus the modern world.

When we boarded the train, I texted ahead to say I would be about half an hour late for the meeting and settled down to do some work. It transpired that the delay had been caused by somebody not turning up for work at 06.30 this morning. The train had had to wait more than half an hour for a replacement to arrive. Can you imagine how you would have felt if you had turned up for an 06.30 train on a cold morning only to discover that it was going to be delayed for half an hour? No wonder so many of my fellow passengers looked unhappy.

Sadly, things got worse. A little further down, there was 'an incident on the line'. A further 10 minute delay. Twenty minutes later, we stopped 'waiting for a platform'. Another 10 minutes. By the time we drew in to St. Pancras, we were forty minutes late. I made a bee-line for the taxi queue. Wouldn't you know it? We had arrived just after a Eurostar train and it was pouring with rain. The queue stretched for miles and there wasn't a taxi in sight.

Abandoning it, I headed for the taxi queue at King's Cross, which was a little better, since there were at least taxis, but not enough. Cursing the fact that I had neither umbrella nor hood (I had left home in bright sunshine) I headed for the main road and, happily, managed to flag down a cab. And the Cabby was a delight.

He cheerfully explained that the traffic East to West was dreadful, but that he'd take some short cuts. He went past everything, at one point up on the pavement! He made me laugh and threatened to tell the law/other cabbies that it was all my fault because I was being so unpleasant to him. By the time I arrived at my destination (only an hour late for the meeting) I was relaxed and had a smile on my face. So Mr Cabby, if you are reading this, thank you very much indeed. You really did make my day.

The Further Adventures of Molly the Cat

Molly is settling down very nicely. She is now much less frightened when the door bell rings and does not always bother to hide. Her appetite is back to normal, although she still does not seem to drink very much. She loves her tennis ball in a circular track, with which she can play for hours! I have now to be very careful that all windows are properly shut, since she is beginning to show an interest in the outside world. One of the balconies will soon be netted so that she can have her outside space.

The only down side is that she is still rather jumpy with me. If I make a sudden movement, she jumps and runs. When I enter a room, she cowers away. She soon comes back to apologise and be friends, but it upsets me that she is still so nervy with me. I wonder if I am doing something wrong. However, I assume that this will improve over time, so I am possessing my soul with patience and hoping for the best.

The House is Invaded

Today, I am working form home. The plan was, that early this morning two men from British Gas would arrive and, while I continued with my work, they would quietly remove my old boiler and replace it with a more efficient and safer modern version.

One man duly arrived. He left an hour later. He said that there was no way the job could be completed as envisaged, and that he would need further advice. Two hours later, he returned with his boss and three other men. They have been tramping all over the house since, making noise and leaving the outside door open. Apparently, my flat is impossible.

Molly is not impressed. I haven't seen her for at least two hours. I hope she is alright and has not slipped out, but I suspect she is hiding again. Poor Molly. she must think she's moved into King's Cross Station.

Molly is Content

She seems completely happy. She is with me. And I note that she has never unsheathed her claws - a well-behaved cat!

She's Out

What can I say? Molly is with me. We are starting again. And I now know what she means to me. She is happily snoring as we speak. Bless her.

I'm scared

I got home. There is still no sign of Molly Cat. And all the electrics connected to my computer seemed to have blown. I was terrified. Had she chewed through a cable an killed herself? Where was she?

The good news is, she is not dead under the desk. We looked  and she is certainly not there. Also, I was able to reconnect the electrics, which had come loose. The bad news is, I still don't know where she is. I'm scared. My head tells me that she must be in the flat. My heart is palpitating.  I miss her. Please come out, Molly mine.

A Set-Back

After all that confidence, today we had a set-back and it is entirely my fault. I had bought her a collar, but on the two occasions I tried to put it on, she was not keen on the idea, so I left it. Today, a young friend came to visit. She has a number of cats and said we'd do it together. Which we did.

Unfortunately, I had bought a collar with a bell. The noise terrified her. She raced round the room trying to get away from it and, obviously, making it worse. Eventually, she hid in her dark corner. At least she was quiet. But I had to go to work, and there was no way that I was leaving her with that collar still on. It took ages, but eventually we managed, between us, to get it off her. She bolted back under the desk and refused to come out. I haven't seen her since.

Poor Molly. No more bells for us.

A Picture of Molly

I was asked for a picture, so here it is. Isn't she cute? She is becoming so confident now that she is in and out of everything. More later.

Continued Chronicles of the Cat

Molly continues to settle. We are happy together. She is far less shy, although she still bolts when I return to a room she is in – presumably, she is not sure it is me. However, she now sits happily with me most of the time and is also exploring the flat widely. At the moment, I can hear her using the scratching post in the lounge.

I find her dietary preferences slightly difficult to fathom, but I am sure we shall work it out. She certainly isn’t starving! She has also started playing with her toys alone much more, and I enjoy watching her. The sight of her chasing a table tennis ball around a loop had me in stitches!

Down side: I have to take her to the vet to complete her vaccinations. Do you think they do house calls?

Chronicles of The Cat

Molly has had an interesting day. She awoke early and when, at 7.30, I joined her she was demanding attention. Food and water provided, we settled down to a chat – well, alright, I did all the talking, but she was certainly vocal. I was thrilled.

Some time later, she tried to join me in my bath, but was put off by the hot water. The bubbles, however, definitely found favour. I may have to re-design the bathroom to give her somewhere to sit when I’m in the bath (only joking!).

Things went downhill a bit after that. I had arranged for a handyman to come and do some work in the house. Molly was unimpressed in the extreme. It was back to the dark corner under my desk and she refused to come out. Later my cleaner also arrived. Not a good thing!

Leaving her to go to work was really hard. I kept reminding the handyman that he had to be very careful and not let her out. I could see him thinking that he was hardly going to get the chance, since she was stuck firmly beneath my desk.

Returning some hours later, he still had not seen her. We chatted a little, then I returned to the study. To my surprise, she came out from under the desk to welcome me, sliding back under it every time she heard his footsteps. I was talking again and she came in and out from under that desk like a little yo-yo, but she was not going right under now, and was coming out faster. Finally, after about ten minutes, she did not bother going under at all; she just sat under my chair very close to my legs. I think we have definitely made progress.

Molly Is Out

‘It will take two days’ I was told. Well, it hasn’t!! Molly is out from the darkest corner of the room and is slowly and warily exploring the rest of the room. She is now happily (I hope) tucking in to her first supper in her new home.  Admittedly, she doesn’t seem too impressed and has disappeared again, but we have obviously broken the ice. It was the toy with the feathers that did it. I left it perched on a chair near her and she could not resist it.

She is clearly taking to exploring. She suddenly appears at my feet then takes fright when I notice her. She has currently disappeared again, but I am cheered by the rapidity with which she is settling down. More tomorrow (probably!).

Molly is Here

I have just arrived home with Molly. The poor little lass did not enjoy getting into the carry basket that I had provided, however, her foster carer finally managed it. She was amazingly good in the car, occasionally peering at me through the side windows provided in the cathouse, but not otherwise objecting or apparently being too unhappy. I suspect she was terrified, but have no way of actually knowing.

When I opened the door of the cathouse, she did not immediately make her escape but dawdled in the doorway for a few seconds. She then came out, skirted the walls of the room in which we are sitting, and then disappeared into the darkest corner, where she is still crouching, watching me with what I suspect is suspicion. I was told that I must let her come to me, so I am ignoring her, but talking gently under my breath in the hope that this will help to calm her. I dare say she will come out when she gets hungry or thirsty.

In the mean time I am just happy to have her here. I am sure that we are going to be very good friends.

Another Weekend in London

Unusually for me, I had to be in London again this weekend, however this time I stayed the night. The jollifications have been extensive; not only did I have lunch with my brother yesterday, do some shopping and then have a pleasant evening, but they have continued today.

One of my Godchildren made her First Holy Communion today. It was a brilliant event, joyous and special. Her family and her three godparents were there, and a great time was had by all. It is always a special day; I have vivid memories of my own, some fifty years ago (we did it younger then!)

This was followed by a mad dash into central London to meet up with a crowd of old friends from medical school days. It turned into a very raucous and rather boozy affair, although I was not really at my best. There was too much talk of the Health and Social Care Act for me to be anything other than stressed.

I am now on the train home and, the good news is, I even got on the right train! No little mishaps like last week. And tomorrow is a Bank Holiday, and Molly comes home! Altogether, a good weekend.