Deb is back and Im looking after Amber now . Ive known her for a while , shes a tiny ginger cat who eats for England , 3 pouches per day , amazing as she really is tiny . My own four , two of whom are large , share five or so per day and most of that gets scraped into the bin after they've examined the edges . But Amber flies to her bowl as soon as its down and pounces.
All in all shes a great cat to care for . She looks forward to visitors and whizzes around at speed to see whats happening next , bombing out into the yard then back again to see what Ive brought for her to play with . She has a thing about rubber bands so any spare time is spent flicking them for her to chase .

And all that was yesterday before I had caught up with the Get Well Freddie 'blog, life was going on much as usual , cats , foghorns , bikes and the sea in the sun .
I started reading Fred's dad s blog along with one or two others when laid up with chest problems , and found it compelling , wanting to know how the baby was progressing , how his parents were coping .
There had been mention of a rogue cell in the middle of last week but I found myself reading and re reading what was written late the night before last , picturing the parents having to face putting it in black and white , posting it for all to see. Once its said , no going back . No more hope of a cure , or of more time , another transplant , just facing the fact that his treatment hasn't worked and their time with him is a few weeks now .
A shadow over the day ........

No mice today and Miss Downstairs only appears when Im washing the food bowls and trying to work out where the plastic bags are , always a challenge in someone else's house . You learn from experience to bag up any leftover food if you want the house to smell fresh each day . No sign at all of Mr Upstairs ; I check under the beds and call a couple of times but he is clearly out already in the sunshine . The fohorns don't start till later today .
Miss D follows me around rolling in the sunny patches and I sit down with her for a few minutes . She s a friendly little cat who resembles an owl but the corpses tell a different story . Once there was what looked like a complete family on a cushion on the sofa , all tiny and perfect and only when I picked them up for disposal in a tissue did I realise they were all unharmed , too young to have died of fright , possibly . I placed them carefully back out in the garden and hoped for the best , though with a heavy heart .
D is waiting for me with the bikes and we ride round the coast along the sea front in the early sunshine .

The foghorns are quiet

The foghorns are quiet and the mist is gone . Tulips outside in pots at the first call of the season , April is here and the holidays are starting . We do get CatCalls in Winter , people go away at Christmas and for New Year and the odd February trip away , but the warmer weather is a sign of things to come . People packing their cars and off to visit friends , City break weekends , the occasional longer holiday .
Deb s house is quiet , ticking clocks and silent cats . An upstairs cat and a downstairs , with clear lines of demarcation . The downstairs cat hears my arrival and flies through to show her appreciation . Im already on my guard as she saw me here last night and , yes there it is , a tiny perfect field mouse presented on a shiny colour supplement . A protocol exists for all these visits , and an established way of doing things . For the mouse its a shroud of tissue and the compost heap and a few words in my head . Prior to the compost heap it was more of a coffin in the rubbish bin .
Catcalls was set up for people going away for short stays who didnt want the bother of putting their cats into a cattery and preferred them to be able to stay at home with people coming in to feed and take care of them . It suits families with " multiple occupancy " cats . We dont charge more depending on how many cats you have , unlike catteries and we dont inisist that you have your cats vaccinated either which is an advantage for some , especially with elderly cats who dont go out much now and are at less risk of infection .
Some also like the idea that their house is being taken care of too , a watchful eye cast over everything .


Later I call to feed and water and check on Deb s cats and the house , all quiet and both cats are out , hopefully not hunting for more gifts for my morning call .
I check under both beds as I sometimes text to let her know if both cats are safely tucked up for the night . Theyre not so unless she texts me to ask I will wait until I have seen them both in the morning .

The mist has settled again and the foghorns are much in evidence near the sea . Inland , where we 've been visiting , it was sunny and warm , cats playing on lawns . Quite a different outlook here .
Close the house up till tomorrow and back to our shouting cats and squealing guinea pigs .