by Batcatz | Feb 1, 2021 | Dobby, My cats, Uncategorized
Meet Dobby! He’s my logo boy! You may have already noticed him in Southsea Pet Sitting’s logo! I chose to use him as my branding colour was already blue and because of his cheeky, confident personality. Lorri Slee, a local Southsea cat artist, created the logo for me and it was exactly what I imagined. Look out for it on my car!
Dobby was born in 2016 and is the most intelligent and naughtiest Devon Rex cat I’ve ever owned. He was a very bold kitten and boxed Batfink around the ears on his very first introduction. They became playmates, but even now, 4 years later, he can be mean to Batfink. He wants to be boss, but elderly Batfink has managed to retained the title. They argue like brothers, but snuggle up to each other too. So he fits in perfectly at Southsea Pet Sitting HQ.
Southsea cat Playmates
I soon realised that Dobby needed friends! Teddy and Batfink would go out a lot in the summer to sit in the garden. I’d be out a couple of times a day to cat sit. So, Dobby was alone. Even when I was home he’d tailgate the cat flap to follow Batfink and yowl to be with him. In 2018, I introduced him to two rex brothers, Wiggy and Ziggy and they thought he was their Dad. It was so sweet and they are a lovely trio now. They play and cuddle together. I often find them wrestling for for fun.
Naughtiness
He’s always been naughty. When he was a kitten I couldn’t relax in the evening as he’d climb onto the parrot cage and go on Taz’s swing. Taz was out the whole time he was a kitten and they eventually reached a truce and he stopped going near him.
He loves to escape. I couldn’t find him one day and realised he’d tailgated the cat flap – it’s a dual microchip one and he wasn’t added. I bought it especially so my two older cats could go outside and he would be inside. For some reason, he was desperate to go outside and used to bang the cat flap door. I think it was because he wanted to follow Batfink and didn’t want to be alone. Anyway, I saw a blue cat walking along my next door neighbour’s fence and realised it was Dobby. That wasn’t the only time.
His favourite thing is to do a runner to the end of the garden to see the chickens. The side of my house is enclosed in a catio for Dobby, but he still tries his best to follow me when I feed the chickens. I only have to rattle the chicken food bag and he appears in an instant.
Southsea Cat School
Dobby the Devon Rex is the most intelligent cat I’ve ever owned. All my cats can do a high five and stand up for a treat, but Dobby is something else! Is he really human? I had to teach him to sit as a kitten as he’d dig his claws into my legs at the sound of a rustling plastic bag – even if it was apples and my legs were full of red scratches.
He naturally used his paws. He’d box Batfink, hit Teddy, reach for the door handle, bang the cat flap, reach for people at the door, catch flies in his paw pads and so it was fairly easy to teach him to do a high five. Stick em up was next! He’d stand up and put his paws up in the air! Then I taught him to wave, one paw up at a time. This wasn’t too difficult as it was natural for him.
Next, I taught him to play dead. This was not so easy and it took him ages to understand. I held a treat, asked him to sit which he’d do straight away. Then it got difficult. I’d say BANG! and usually have to poke him in the side to make him fall over. Sometimes it’s most spectacular like he’s a Southsea cat movie star other times not so good.
I’ve recently taught Dobby to ring a bell for a treat. It took two sessions, but he’ll do anything for a treat. Clever boy! I’m going to look at Learn How To Clicker Train Your Cat – Teach Your Cat To Fist Bump (catschool.co) next, but without a clicker as he learns quickly anyway.
by Batcatz | Jul 2, 2020 | Cat Shows, My cats
I enjoy entering cat shows in my free time! It’s rewarding, but hard work. The main thing is that my cat, Wiggy enjoys it too. I’ve shown him since he was a kitten and he calmly goes in his show pen and relaxes for the day. I use Pet Remedy spray in the cat carrier for the car journey as Wiggy sings the song of his people for most of the drive.
I showed Dobby twice and the second time he growled at other cats so I stopped showing him. I only show cats if they enjoy it and when they become adults they can become stressed at other cats. He is only one certificate away from a Premier. Wiggy is already a Premier and one certificate away from a Grand Premier. Unfortunately, due to the covid-19 pandemic the last cat show we attended was in March 2020. Cat shows may start again after June, but I am not very hopeful, or keen to be in a crowd just yet and will Wiggy still enjoy it? Here’s the latest show calendar and news. Show Calendar and Events (gccfcats.org)
Preparation
A typical cat show routine involves bathing and grooming Wiggy twice because he is white and the white turns yellow, especially around his legs and paws! He does seem to like playing in any mud he can find – especially potatoes. Cat shows are on Saturday’s so I’d bath him on Monday to clean up his white fur and again on Wednesday or Thursday. He loves splashing in water, but he hates baths! He has access to a catio so he can get dirty paws easily. His favourite game is tipping over anything containing water.
I clean his ears, eyes, paws and trim all his claws. He tends to get a dirty chin so I have to keep an eye on that. He also gets grubby under his arm pits and neck as he has no fur there. I may have fixed the dirty chin, by switching to a stainless steel water fountain and ceramic bowls.
The day of the cat show
I’m up at 5.30am for the morning of the show. Wiggy doesn’t like going in his usual open top cat carrier so I bought him a new one called a sleepy pod especially for cat shows. It’s round so he can curl up, it can be used as a bed at home too as the lid zips off. We sometimes have a little struggle and sometimes a chase to get him in the carrier.
I’m in the car by 6.30am to drive to either Bracknell or Woking. It takes around an hour and a half and Wiggy sings almost all the way. When he’s quiet I worry if he’s okay! I spray pet remedy and pop a wipe in the cat carrier to help him relax. The party season pet remedy kit is very handy! These cat shows are usually in winter, around March and December. There is a cat show in Southampton, but it’s usually once a year in August during my busiest cat sitting month. However, I have managed to go cat sitting in Southsea on a less busy August, collect Wiggy and then drive to Southampton and still arrive by 8.30 am.
Arrival and Vetting in
Apart from the drive, this is another scary part. When we arrive at the cat show location, Wiggy needs to vetted in, which involves a quick check from a vet. Vets won’t let cats in if they have scratches in case it’s something more sinister like ringworm. My boys are always play fighting and scratches often appear a couple of days before a show!
Once, I vetted in Wiggy when he was a kitten. Of course, he had a big scratch, but I had used Leucillin on it which helped to fade the scratch. It’s miracle stuff! It also kills Covid-19 so I use it as a spray on door handles when cat sitting too. Luckily, the vet saw it was just a scratch, not ringworm and I was able to take him straight to his show pen.
I pop him in his pen with a white non tasselled blanket, white bed, white litter tray, white water bowl etc. This is to ensure there is nothing that stands out in case of cheating. He relaxes and sleeps straight away. I have to leave him by 10am for judging. This part is exciting. I meet up with cat show friends, watch the judges from a distance, drink coffee (lots) and have lunch. Then check the results board often to see if he has been placed.
He’s had great results so far and is one certificate away from being a Grand Premier. He’s enjoyed every show and been really sweet with the judges, male and female. Paws crossed for future cat shows!
Recent Comments