Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Wed 30 Nov 2016, 07:38
Lovely picture, MM!
I think "Tostig" really suits him. He is most definitely not a Willibald.
T. is a very handsome moggy indeed. I'm glad he's found a good home with friends.
PS There has been more fighting at Whitehall, but it's all been hushed up recently.
Meles meles Censura
Posts : 5037 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Wed 30 Nov 2016, 08:38
There's one difficulty though ... Tostig looks very similar to one of my other cats, Zwartje, and so with my eyesight telling them apart is not always that easy, especially as she also likes to spend time in the dog's company:
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Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Wed 30 Nov 2016, 12:13
Black cats do seem to be more wary than other cats. Our transgender village cat, Denis, aka Denise, looks identical to Tostig; he/she is often in my garden miaowing plaintively at Bosworth, but runs off if I make any attempt to get close, let alone stroke him/her.
Denis lives across the river, yet has never been seen on the bridge. Rumour has it that he/she has been spotted crossing the Torridge at low tide - there is a shallow ford with stones at one point. Then, cut off by the tidal flow, he/she hangs about in the field or in my garden waiting for the next low tide so he/she can go back home. Denis's apparent ability to ford the river is a mystery. Perhaps he/she does a bit of fishing en route.
Bosworth igores D. - never tries to chase him/her away. But then Bos can't be bothered to chase anything these days.
PS Not just saying this - but Doggy-Dog is a beautiful animal. He looks very loving.
Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
Posts : 6895 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : UK
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Wed 30 Nov 2016, 13:04
Oh dear, I am now fretting dreadfully thinking that I may have offended PC sensibilities by calling Denis a transgender cat. It's just that he is. He started out as a boy, but was then discovered to have been a girl all along. He still is known as Denis, though - Denise as a name just hasn't "taken".
No offence meant to anyone, human or moggy.
Meles meles Censura
Posts : 5037 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Wed 30 Nov 2016, 13:06
Well Doggy-Dog's a golden retriever so he is generally very placid and friendly, and since I do b&b he's well used to other people and their dogs. He'll be anyone's friend for life if they'll just rub his tummy!
.... not much doubt about DD's sex though.
My sister had a tortoise called George who when we went on holiday spent the time at the home of one of my dad's colleagues who had several tortoises. We always thought George was a boy (we had thoroughly looked and checked in books etc) ... but then once after coming back from staying with these other tortoises, she laid some eggs!
Wasn't the river Torridge the home of Tarka the otter? Any otters there still? I once, many years ago (1970s), saw an otter, very briefly, in a stream near Tavistock.
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Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
Posts : 6895 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : UK
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Wed 30 Nov 2016, 13:50
Please give Doggy-Dog's tum a tickle from me!
Yes, Tarka was born here, near Beam Aqueduct. It is only about twenty minutes' walk away from where I live. Henry Williamson, who wrote Tarka the Otter, was married in the little church I have mentioned on the Confused Christian thread.
Otters are indeed back in the river: my neighbour has seen one, as has the local farmer. So far I haven't, but I keep looking.
ferval Censura
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Wed 30 Nov 2016, 14:13
Awww,MM, that's lovely.
I currently have 1.75 cats - 1.00 of my own, 0.5 of next door's tabby and 0.25 of the ginger tom from two doors down.
The tabby's owner however thinks I am trying to kidnap her cat; she clearly has no experience of how the sods make up their own wee hairy minds about where to go and what to do there. Ozzie, for that is his name, knows my car and beats me in the door when I open it or forces it open if it's on the snib when my own is out and about. Having cleared up any food left in bowls, he then hides in dark corners, cupboards and, a couple of days ago, in the washing machine thus:
"
Needless to say, both interlopers are far more affectionate and appreciative than my resident feline.
Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
Posts : 6895 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : UK
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Thu 01 Dec 2016, 08:00
That moggy is adopting you, ferval. I know the signs!
Great picture.
ferval Censura
Posts : 2602 Join date : 2011-12-27
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Tue 06 Dec 2016, 15:35
This year's Liverpool Museum advent calendar is cat themed.
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Mon 20 Feb 2017, 08:41
I am distressed that Larry appears to be adopting Presidential tactics in his war on Palmerston (which continues, whatever the media black-out would have us think).
A comment by a so-called journalist that "Palmerston is a much friendlier cat than Larry" evoked the terse tweet from Number 10: "Fake news!"
You really can do better than this, Larry.
Priscilla Censura
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Mon 20 Feb 2017, 15:02
Larry could well sack his PR personage aide. Appointing a successor might be a trial A suitable spokesperson chosen by referendum could be catastrophic.
Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
Posts : 6895 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : UK
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Sun 12 Mar 2017, 09:31
@PoliticalPics has posted the above rather splendid image and tweeted that, as shown, Palmerston has been allowed out again: he's been spotted roaming about in Downing Street this week, looking for Larry. Watch this space (or don't, as you see fit).
PS Larry tweeted that for Lent he had given up tormenting Palmerston: this came after a very regrettable - possibly drunken - post on Shrove Tuesday when he called the Foreign Office mouser "a tosser". Palmerston, as the cleverer and more dignified (snooty) moggy of the two, simply ignored the provocative remark: Palmerston obviously believes you can take the cat out of South London, but you can't take South London out of the cat.
PPS Following two cats on Twitter - how sad have I become?
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ferval Censura
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Mon 13 Mar 2017, 18:14
Come on you saft, southern pussies - "Who're you looking at?" -
Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Fri 17 Mar 2017, 09:20
The London Times only featured the horribly embarrassing photo shown above: political comment and analysis offered by the Telegraph. The Foreign Office - so far - remains silent on the matter.
An interesting metaphor for these interesting times: that insolent little mouse should surely be wearing a tam o' shanter.
PS I was appalled to read Conservative member Andrew Boff's comment on Labour Assembly member Tom Copley's question to Sadiq Khan on the need for a mouser at City Hall - exchange reproduced here (from the Telegraph):
In addition, recently London Assembly members begged Sadiq Khan to get them a mouser.
After a mouse fell from the ceiling in front of a group of startled schoolchildren, Labour Assembly member Tom Copley asked Mr Khan: “Given the problem with mice in the building will you consider getting a cat for City Hall, preferably rehoming one from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home?
Andrew Boff, a Conservative member of the London Assembly, said: “I’m fully in favour of this idea and in fact I’d go a step further and recommend a cat for each political group to give it real cross party support. The problem here, however, is that, as is well known, cats are mostly Tory.”
Meles meles Censura
Posts : 5037 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Wed 22 Mar 2017, 18:02
What is it about boy cats? I took in the stray, Tostig, as a mouser to gradually take over from my two girls who are both now getting very old. I thought he must be a good hunter as he'd been hanging around the house and garden for over two years, summer and winter, and I know he wasn't cadging food from the immediate neighbours (the only other house within a kilometre distance). And he seemed to have settled in and was generally accepted by my existing cats and by the dog.
But I think perhaps he's settled in a bit too well. He spends most of the day lolling in the sun with his feet up ...
... or just mooching around the garden with the dog:
Perhaps he hunts at night although he never brings any 'presents' and he seems more concerned about keeping an eye on the food bowl than on any mouseholes. I'm coming to the conclusion that he's just a big fat lazy tom who thinks he's now on a full board holiday. Oh well maybe just his presence around the house and in the cellar, where I know he slept over winter, will keep the wee timorous beasties away.
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Islanddawn Censura
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Wed 22 Mar 2017, 19:37
Ah if you want a good mouser MM you'd best stick to the females. Male cats are lazy buggers.
Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
Posts : 6895 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : UK
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Thu 23 Mar 2017, 06:07
Love the flowerpot pic, MM - the position of that paw says it all.
But yes, just having a cat puts the mice off (Downing Street excepted) - and, even more important, perhaps keeps the rats away. My neighbours' cat (female) has killed and presented three huge rats here in as many weeks - worrying to think there are so many around, especially as we are all so careful with bagging rubbish etc. .
Bosworth would get on well with your Tostig. They could have adjacent flowerpots.
Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Wed 29 Mar 2017, 07:06
Today is not really a day for Moggy Thread joking, but Larry posted a panic-stricken tweet from Number 10 yesterday:
Has anyone seen Article 50? Theresa needs to trigger it on Wednesday, but we can't find it anywhere...
Not that anyone is particularly interested but my oldest cat, Mama Poes, died on 5 April. It wasn't really unexpected, she was 24 years old and for the past 6 months had been getting increasingly frail, but it was still a sad day.
Here she was several years ago with her two daughters (one of whom, the little black one, Zwartje, is still with me):
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Of course we're interested (some of us anyway), that's a family bereavement. Commiserations, MM, no matter how much we moan about them, they are part of our lives.
On a different note, I understand Palmerston has had the snip and is now quiet and subdued - if only the same could be arranged for his ultimate boss at the F.O.
Not that anyone is particularly interested but my oldest cat, Mama Poes, died on 5 April. It wasn't really unexpected, she was 24 years old and for the past 6 months had been getting increaingly frail, but it was still a sad day.
Of course we're interested (some of us anyway), that's a family bereavement. Commiserations, MM, no matter how much we moan about them, they are part of our lives.
Agreed.
Your Mama Poes seems to have led an idyllic life: a huge and interesting garden to roam and hunt in; a cosy cellar to sleep in; human and animal companionship when required; food supplementation generously and regularly supplied - and her own children around her. Couldn't have been better. I think I'll opt to come back as such a cat.
PS No official bulletin about Palmerston's operation has been issued from the Foreign Office, but he certainly has got much fatter recently, as Larry has - with rather malicious glee - been quick to point out. I'm surprised Larry has not commented on his rival's alleged reduced capacity. Palmerston is no doubt saying it's all fake news.
Meles meles Censura
Posts : 5037 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Your Mama Poes seems to have led an idyllic life: a huge and interesting garden to roam and hunt in; a cosy cellar to sleep in; human and animal companionship when required; food supplementation generously and regularly supplied - and her own children around her.
She'd also in the last couple of months taken to spending a lot of time round the neighbour's house (probably because it was quieter there, especially since their dog died) and they had been giving her treats and "beauty treatments":
They've given me all the stuff they bought so both Zwartje and Tostig are now getting pampered too. Tostig by the way has got a couple of ticks on him at the moment which will probably cause some temporary bald patches. Hopefully they won't cause anything worse but the ticks here potentially carry Lyme disease and other bacterial infections. I could easily get them off him but he still won't let me touch him so I'm afraid he'll just have to suffer and as he was living wild in the forest for at least two years before he settled here I assume he's probably got some resistance to the local pathogens.
Last edited by Meles meles on Sat 23 Sep 2017, 19:42; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : spelled my cat's name wrong!)
LadyinRetirement Censura
Posts : 3293 Join date : 2013-09-16 Location : North-West Midlands, England
Sorry to hear about your kitty, MM, my penultimate kitty was a dark tortie but quite small though she did make it to 18 or 19. The one I have now is a rescue cat (wasn't ill-treated or a stray - the lady who had her before went into a care home). She's currently 13 and is tortie and white. While I was typing (why do these things always happen when one is trying to prioritise something else?) this morning I heard some awful yowling and she and another cat were going at it paw and claw through the cat door. I presume the other cat wanted to share her breakfast and she didn't feel like sharing.
Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
Posts : 6895 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : UK
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Sun 30 Apr 2017, 08:12
More astute political comment from Larry in response to comments that European Union leaders have unanimously agreed negotiating guidelines for Brexit talks with UK.
Cunning blighters have seemingly formed some sort of union...
Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Sun 30 Apr 2017, 09:01
PS
Haven't people been unkind about the Indonesian tiger statue? I think he's great - such a shame he's been destroyed.
Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Sun 30 Apr 2017, 09:32
Just been reading more about Bonaparte's alleged fear of cats:
Here are the opening paragraphs from the above interesting site:
Was Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France, and the man who, for a time, controlled nearly all of Europe, really afraid of cats? There are several sites on the web which will tell you that he was terrified of them. There are even a few books of so-called trivia "facts" which also repeat the various tales of Napoleon’s ailurophobia.
But was it true?
In a word, no. It seems that this misinformation was perpetrated decades after the Regency, when there actually was a Napoleon who was indeed terrified of cats. However, the Napoleon who suffered from ailurophobia was not the French Emperor, but his nephew, who became Napoleon III in the mid-nineteenth century. In fact, Napoleon III had such a severe and irrational fear of cats that he would jump onto a piece of furniture if he saw a cat when he entered a room and would not come down until the cat was removed. Over time, of course, the first Napoleon was the one everyone remembered and his nephew’s phobia was eventually ascribed to him. This may also be due, at least in part, to the fact that both Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, both personal heros of Napoleon I, where believed to have ailurophobia. There are many who are of the opinion that all men hungry for power have a fear of felines, so it was a natural progression to consider the first Napoleon an ailurophobe.
In addition to the fact that it was the third Napoleon who was afraid of cats, there are no trustworthy, reputable sources on the life of Napoleon Bonaparte which suggest that he had any phobias, including that for cats. Yet there are a number of articles posted across the web which tell the most extraordinary tales involving Napoleon Bonaparte and his supposed fear of felines. Despite the fact that they are fiction, Regency authors will want to be aware of these stories to ensure they do no allow them to creep into their own writing. But first, it is necessary to understand Napoleon’s actual view of cats...
nordmann Nobiles Barbariæ
Posts : 7223 Join date : 2011-12-25
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Sun 30 Apr 2017, 12:08
I had posted a link to Kathryn Kane's blog on another thread before I saw that you had also done the same, Temp. This prompts me to echo ferval's earlier suggestion that we should encourage, when we find them, traffic towards history related blogs on the internet which respect veracity and are interesting to read in their own right too. If Res Historica should have an identity it might hopefully be based less on assertion and counter assertion, as so many such sites descend into, and more based on a mutual respect for the promotion of actual history. Kathryn's site is as good a starting point as any, though if you find more and recommend them we can - as we have done before - give them a prominent link from our own site as a sign of solidarity.
LadyinRetirement Censura
Posts : 3293 Join date : 2013-09-16 Location : North-West Midlands, England
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Sun 30 Apr 2017, 14:31
A bill from the EU for €100bn arrived at Downing Street this morning; Theresa May hid it behind the toaster.
PS I did laugh at Larry's comment about that poor cat that got chased over the edge at the Royal London Docks.
Wonder if this would work on Palmerston?
You have probably all seen the incident, but if not you can watch the chase - and Felix's timely rescue from the depths - here. Apparently it was shown world-wide on TV and went viral on tinternet. The entire globe seems to be fascinated by the antics of British moggies - hence the vital importance of this thread.
Posts : 5037 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Mon 08 May 2017, 13:07
I don't know whether the French government also employs cats, but if it does they'd all better look out, M. Macron has a big doggy-dog, called Figaro:
According to 'Paris Match' - always first with the really important news - Figaro is an Argentine Mastiff, a breed also apparently known in all seriousness as a Dogo Argentino.
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ferval Censura
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Mon 08 May 2017, 13:57
Powerful, yet possessed of an almost feline grace, he is fearless yet sensitive; vivacious outdoors yet calm indoors. He must have plenty of physical exercise to maintain his superb muscle structure and plenty of mental exercise to satisfy his desire to work and hunt. Though tough to the core, he will love to be petted, craving close physical contact, leaning against you and lying on your feet. With his fighting ancestry, aggression can be a problem. Looks imposing, so makes an effective deterrent, yet is usually non-aggressive with people. Carries himself with a steady, dignified, impressive presence
and that's just the dog!
It looks to me like a real poser (or poseur)'s dog, perfect for a politician, and I'll bet he slobbers.
Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
Posts : 6895 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : UK
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Mon 08 May 2017, 14:13
ferval wrote:
Powerful, yet possessed of an almost feline grace, he is fearless yet sensitive; vivacious outdoors yet calm indoors. He must have plenty of physical exercise to maintain his superb muscle structure and plenty of mental exercise to satisfy his desire to work and hunt. Though tough to the core, he will love to be petted, craving close physical contact, leaning against you and lying on your feet. With his fighting ancestry, aggression can be a problem. Looks imposing, so makes an effective deterrent, yet is usually non-aggressive with people. Carries himself with a steady, dignified, impressive presence.
Ah, magnifique, n'est-ce pas - et M. Macron et son chien?
Wrong thread, but I wonder what sort of dog Boris has? I'm tempted to write a description of a pretend dog.
Larry's comments on above are unprintable.
Islanddawn Censura
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Mon 08 May 2017, 16:57
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Thu 18 May 2017, 15:04
That particular YouTube video has seemingly not been made available for embedding by the person who posted it there.
This one has, though.
Triceratops Censura
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Thu 18 May 2017, 15:19
Well that's relief. I was on Historum this morning and the videos over there now appear as black squares on this computer.
A slightly different type of Cat
Meles meles Censura
Posts : 5037 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Fri 19 May 2017, 11:14
Those dancing dead cats are, errr ... well, different if nothing else. But although not nearly as animated, I still think Walter Potter's deceased pussies have rather more style, whether in his tableau of the "Kittens' Tea and Croquet Party", or the"Kittens' Wedding":
Walter Potter, as you've probably guessed, was a Victorian taxidermist, and his quirky little museum at Bramber in West Sussex, was a regular family outing when I was little. Besides the numerous tableaux there were all sorts of local natural history curiosities, such as an enormous stuffed pike from a local pond, a three-legged duck, a two-headed lamb, a 'mermaid', local fossils, ... plus various ethnic 'stuff' he'd accumulated: shrunken heads from South America, an elephant's foot umbrella stand, a unicorn's tusk (from a narwhal), Zulu shields and weapons, voodoo dolls, etc ... most of which would now be considered non-PC or at least unsuitable for public display, especially to children. As a little boy I loved it, though my sister thought it all a bit creepy. Unfortunately I think the entire collection, after several moves, has now been auctioned off and dispersed.
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Triceratops Censura
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Fri 19 May 2017, 11:56
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Thu 01 Jun 2017, 15:47
This is the moggy that was featured on last Friday's "Have I Got News For You". He has been renamed Utter Bastard. I think we should adopt him as the official Res His mascot:
But as this is a moggy thread here's some breaking news:
Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Fri 09 Jun 2017, 06:48
And we have...
Triceratops Censura
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Fri 09 Jun 2017, 11:21
BREAKING NEWS: Larry the cat is currently standing outside of number 10 Downing Street prepared to make a statement ...
Temperance Virgo Vestalis Maxima
Posts : 6895 Join date : 2011-12-30 Location : UK
Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Sun 11 Jun 2017, 17:48
Larry has tweeted that he's doing a #reshuffle of Government cats - @HMCabinetCat and @HMTreasuryCat stay in place - Palmerston is going to the Falklands...
Triceratops Censura
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Subject: Re: Moggy Thread 3 Tue 13 Jun 2017, 16:07