Cats & Animals « Cotton and Cloud

Category Archive: Cats & Animals

Cat Rescue: Mission Was Not Impossible

August 12th, 2011

Do you remember that I rescued 4 kittens while I was in Japan in July?

This was just over a month ago. We were rescuing kittens high up in the tree... four of them on individual trees.

Out of 4 kittens three found a good home to each: My sister kindly adopted one, and two other really great family who I am confident that the kittens will be happy.

I have been watching Animal Planet program, namely Pitbulls and Parolles, Pit Boss, and My Cats from Hell. They are amazing program but it also made me realise the seriousness of stray dogs and cats all around the world and how difficult it is to adopt them to a family.

So when the last kitten was left, I was concerned. My sister now has total of 5 cats. My middle sister lives in a rented home so she cannot keep a pet. I seriously considered about bringing the kitten over to the UK and look for someone who would love the kitty.

BUT I am soooooo happy to let you guys know that the last kitten has now found a fantastic family.

He is going to be a lovely cat. I know it. He has been chomping the cardboard box. I can see.

They are old couple, whose children have already grown up. They had a cat before and they wanted have a new cat to keep them company. My sister gave the kitten to live with them as a trial period, but I think he will stay there. How can you refuse such a cute kitten!!!

So all is good and I feel like I can have a nice relaxing knitty weekend.

So to celebrate the cat rescue success, I have linked some of my favourite kitty sites here:

Modern Cat – Excellent site. I keep going there every day.

Ikea Hackers Pet Furniture Section – This makes me want to do DIY for my kitties.

Finally I found Da Bird here in the UK. This toy was not available in the UK before. Now you can buy them there . I think Da Butterflier is also good, but since I have a butterfly / moth phobia, I am still thinking about it…

Happy weekends everyone!!

6 comments

Visit to Japan: Part 2 – Japanese Yarn Shop (& Cats)

July 26th, 2011

I love visiting different yarn shop wherever I go. This time, since our schedule was just too busy, I was only able to go to one shop (actually there were 2 shops next to each other).

My only visit to central Tokyo - Shibuya....According to Wesley, this Starbucks is the busiest shop in the world.

Even before you reach your yarn destination, you see lots of unusual things in Tokyo. This one is an instant cup noodle restaurant. For Tokyoers speed and economy is very important (?)

The nearest Japanese yarn store from where we were staying was in Shibuya Seibu department store.

My first ever visit to la droguerie. This is a French store but extremely popular in Japan.

I was only allowed to take photos outside of the store but there were loads of nice yarn, buttons, ribbons etc. Patterns were generally quite simple I thought but they all had a particular “style” which was nice.

Next door was another Japanese craft shop.

I asked the shop person if I could take a photo and she kindly told me that it was OK.

This is just a display but they were so pretty!

I really wanted to explore more Japanese knitting while I was there but the time was so limited. Next time I will make sure to spend all day visiting various shops there.

Another thing about Japan was that there were so many stray cats everywhere! The weather is warm, there is not many animal welfare organisations like Cat Protection and pet insurance is relatively new thing in Japan. All these things, I think, results in high number of un-neutered cats – and it just becomes a snowball effect.

3-4 kittens with a very timid mum cat living in the bush right in front of a hotel.

My sister’s neighbour was planning to rescue the whole family of cat above but she said that it’s just a tip of the iceberg. The worst one was when Wesley and I went for a 5 minutes walk and we found 4 kittens high up in different trees. The local people were saying that they have been there for 2 days and reckons that the mum cat was attacked by a wild animal (a stray dot (another problem) or a racoon) and kittens climb up the tree as high as possible.

Can you see a tiny yellow dot? That is a month-old kitten high up in the tree.

… so what did we do? We rescued them! (took several hours to rescue all 4 of them and we ended up calling fire brigade with the local residents). Kindly my eldest sister looked after them while looking for a new owner. My sister took one of them, 2 found new owners. We have one left…

He was the healthiest one rescued but is the last to find a good owner.

He has been vaccinated and clear from any infections and parasites. He is really good with other cats and is very playful. I am so praying that he will find the kindest owner that would love him to bits…

15 comments

Kitty Distraction, Never Get Tempted.

July 12th, 2010

Hope you all had a great weekend! I had a fabulous day with Mary at Intertwined Crafts on Sunday afternoon meeting with friends and eating Vietnamese food

For me, summer is a cruicial time to create knitting patterns for the winter season. So I have been working really hard designing, sampling, patterning etc. I will soon be introducing adult version of the Flower Girl’s Knitted Bolero with brand new Jamieson’s of Shetland DK in fabulous mirage colour.

New colour from Jamieson's of Shetland DK. This one is called Mirage. I love the specks of colours in magical blue!

Slowly but surely, my new men’s “simple but not simple” crewneck sweater is also being completed. This week I must calculate on the armhole knitting.

Another new colour from Jamieson's of Shetland called Camel. This is in Heather (aran weight yarn).

But the busier you get, the more distractions you encounter. While I am busy knitting and doing all the work for the shop, I can’t but notice how long my cats have enlongated due to hot weather.

Kumo is such a long cat but he is even longer during the hot weather.

I then notice Wata elongated too.

So I decided to measure their body (yes, I am totally being distracted!).

You know what will happen when you use a tape measure next to a cat.

Kumo is so uncooperative. He just wants to destroy everything including a tape measure. I then try on Wata as he is a slightly better-behaved cat.

Kumo then jumps onto the tape. Really, I am wasting my time.

I kept thinking why I am doing this? If your pet(s) ever get elongated due to hot weather, do not be tempted to measure them. It is a toal waste of time. Now, back to knitting.

14 comments

A Bug

May 19th, 2010

I reckon I was not vaccinated properly when I was a child. I previously had an infection called “knitting” and I am still having it. My doctor said to me that it is a chronic condition and I probably won’t be able to recover from it.

A sneak preview of the new pattern. This will be a lovely Shetland lace shawl. I have been reading up lots on Shetland lace knitting.

Couple of weeks ago, I had a new infection called “baking”. It’s the type “B” (for bread).

My first attempt of making brioche.

The symptoms include not able to do anything else except for baking. This is similar to the knitting bug.

I would say 90% success. I would like to try again to perfect the flavour and presentation.

I would say 90% success. I would like to try again to perfect the flavour and the presentation.

Also amnesia – specifically forgetting about cats and one’s own husband.

My sweet fragile Wata enjoying the sun.

I nearly forgot my own birthday which is today!! The weather is so nice here so I am really happy. Hope to share my BD photos with you later this week.

Have a wonderful week!

31 comments

Furry Friday – Funny Japanese Dog Commercials

February 19th, 2010

Hello everyone! For the first time since I started running, I was able to run 3 laps (7.5k (4.6miles) today!!! My legs are felling completely numb at the moment but I feel really good. Being a hard-core knitter who knits in front of a computer to pattern and don’t move much within 1m square of the area for all day, stiff neck was my best friend. It is even worse at the moment because I am finishing off my Spring 2010 “collections” (sounds so designer doesn’t it??) and I am writing the patterns like no tomorrow. Running really clears my mind and cures my stiff neck. On top of this, I can raise money for charities in summer time to make a difference to others. How great is that? I can recommend to anyone to run, even just for a shorter distance, every other day, every week. You will see a difference within a month.

The these for this season is "ocean". Sometimes I get a head like this one when I do too much knitting.

The these for this season is "ocean". But sometimes I get a head like this one when I do too much knitting.

Anyway, I will stop mumbling. Today is a furry time. It’s a post about animals I feel passionate about (second to knitting) and as promised I dug out some funny Japanese dog commercials (and one funny English one).

Ad 1: Olympus camera commercial (this is in English)

Ad 2: A commercial about a computer hardware or something. It’s basically asking whether your PC include this special “chip” or not. The dog is amazing and is called Halo. There are other YouTube home video clips about him playing pool.

Ad 3: This is about a Japanese mobile phone tariff called “white rate” hence the white dog. There are series of this commercial but I thought this one was the best because he plays the piano on iPhone. What a clever dog!

Hehe! I am loving all these animals I am off to see friend’s smiliest baby!

Hope you have a lovely weekend *hugs*.

6 comments

Furry Friday – Funny Japanese Cat TV Commercials

February 12th, 2010

I wish I were a cat...

It’s Furry time everyone! Hope your week was good. I have to admit that mine was not as productive as usual because I felt very tired for some reason. Oh, before I forget, I am currently tidying up the side colums and link section of my site. If anything has disappeared, do not worry. It is somehwere. I just removed some duplicate links etc…

As per usual, I was waisting my time browsing through YouTube and I found funny Japanese cat TV commercials and since they gave me more energy, I really wanted to share these with you today. Next week will be for dogs!

Watching these clips really made me laugh. So check them out

Video 1: This is a TV ad about lux cat food. A man finds a stray cat (a woman dressing like a cat) but the cat is fussy and very difficult to please. Then he finds this lux cat food and the cat (i.e. the woman) is happy.

Video 2: Ad about windows. It’s emphasising good windows cat creates better environment.

Video 3: Ad about healthy cat food. The guy interviews cats in the neighbourhood asking what they do to keep themselves healthy. But the cats all ignore him. The conclusion is that cats don’t care about their health so we have to.

Video 4: Version 2 of the above. I love this one

Hope you all have a great weekend!

10 comments

Furry Friday – When Your Pet(s) Sleep…

February 5th, 2010

It’s furry time! I hope your week has been good. This week, I caught Kumo snoring so I secretly took a video of him…

Like us, sometimes cats and dogs (and probably all mammals) snore while asleep. They do twitch, sleep talk (meow / wof). So to prepare you all for a lovely weekend, today’s FF is all about when your pet(s) sleep.

Generally we, i.e. warm blooded mammals, pass through five phases of sleep: stages 1, 2, 3, 4, then 3, 2, 1, and REM (rapid eye movement). In the REM stage, our eyes and muscles twitch (please note that this is different from fit) and we are dreaming. Apparently, the end of REM stage is an ideal time for waking up.

So, when our furry friends twitches or do something strange while asleep they are probably going through the REM stage. I am often inclined to stroke my cats when they stitch (or even hiss in sleep!), but since now I know that Kumo and Wata would wake up fresh if they complete the REM, I will leave them alone…(although I personally think I am being very kind to them since they don’t care which sleep stage I am in when I am asleep -I presume it is the same case with you and your furries…).

when animals sleep So here are some cute videos I found with sleeping furries. Enjoy

Next week, I hope to do some nice knitting tutorials. Have a wonderful weekend!

12 comments

Furry Friday – A Bit More About Me & Life Changes to Your Animals

January 22nd, 2010

I would like to share with you something personal today.

In September 2008, 4 months after our engagement, Wesley was made redundant from his job. It was right in the middle of the credit crunch and soon after many people also lost their jobs.

At the time, we never anticipated the seriousness of this whole job losses. But months just passed away without any job offers. One year was gone. By then Wesley had over 40 interviews and countless rejections.

It was a serious learning curve and a challenge for both of us. We realised that one can never take anything for granted but always appreciate one another. We tried to save so much money doing everything from stopping my contact lenses monthly subscriptions to involving Wesley to become pseudo-vegetarian. We did not go out to eat nor buy any new items. Everything was static. The only thing that was moving was our budgets and emotions towards the negative. We had SO many arguments which nearly torn us apart but at the same time we tried our best to remain positive and eventually became closer to each other than ever.

I caught him sending a job request message in a bottle into the River Thames.. LOL!

1 year and 3 months passed and it was just few days after Wesley’s birthday, he was invited for yet another interview. He seemed to have hit a target.

…and yes, HE NOW HAS A JOB!

This week was Wesley’s first week at his new office. He loves it. I must say, he has to work long hours but it is better than his previous job so he finds it rewarding, which is good. I am so happy and we promised to each other that we will remain positive and work hard together..♥

Kumo was never fond of anyone but me until I met Wesley...

Kumo and Wata were so used to be with Wesley all day. Now he has to wake up at 5.30am every morning, I think they find it very strange. Every morning, when Wesley wakes up, they dash around as if to say “we are supposed to be waking you up and not you!”. In the evenings, Kumo cries because he misses W.

Some cats can stop eating when their loneliness get too much. Seeing how little life style change can affect my cats, I must make sure that they are OK when I go back to Japan (soon by the way! – and you will see LOADS of cool Japanese photos), especially Wata who has sadly lost significant amount of weight over the past 6 months because of his illness.

Wata is my fragile baby who just is the loveliest.

So today’s one important Furry tip is to make sure your cats have some sort of stimuli when they are home alone and make sure that they eat food (especially very emotionally sensitive cats) by giving them nicer-than-usual food while on holiday so that they cannot resist.

If you got to this far, thank you so much for reading this post – it’s a long one you see. Thank you for all your support and kind words and comments throughout last year. Your comments always made me happy and gave me positive energy to go on. – BIG HUGS-

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

22 comments

Furry Friday (well, it’s almost the end of Saturday) – Pets & Cold Weather

January 17th, 2010

Last year I have started Furry Fridays, a series of interviews with crafters who love animals. This was because of an increase in the number of abandoned pets during the 2008 global credit crunch. The aim was to increase the awareness and education about pets in general and hopefully quality of life for both owners and their animals by sharing our pet experience with others. Also, this also meant more exposure to all the talented crafters, killing two birds with one stone!

This year, I decided to write about some furry issues in addition to interviews. This way, we have something new every Fridays to think about for our furry friends!

I felt really bad that I didn't realise Mittens was waiting outside of our veranda on the coldest night... Hope he is OK..

Today’s furry issue is “pets and cold weather“. Last week we had the coldest day in London and after so many months, Mittens came to our flat at night. I suspected that the owner was out and left Mittens outside for the day. He was freezing cold. Because his paws were so icy and probably a little numb, he fell off the balcony. I was terrified. When I ran downstairs, there was no sign of any “body” so I am sort of reassured that he probably was OK.

Anyway, the following is a collection of information that I read from various sources. I selected logical facts that would apply to both cats and dogs. Hope they are something you didn’t know and useful

Hidden danger... Tips of a tail or ears of animals are prone to frostbite (this is Kumo's tail...)

Firstly, in cold weather animals can suffer are hypothermia and frostbite. They must be treated by the vet as quick as possible. Older animals are especially prone to these conditions so do take super care for them. One thing I did not know about frostbite is that one should NEVER RUB or USE HOT WATER to warm the tissue.

DIET – Like us (at least me), animals eat more in the cold weather. It’s OK because this will help them insulate their body and grow thick fur. Keep them groomed well so that they can trap the air between their fur to keep them warm.

PAWS – Check there is no snow collecting between their paws. Presence of ice in between their paws can cause pain and prevent blood flow.

FOOD & WATER – Make sure they are not frozen – they won’t eat or drink otherwise. Avoid using metal bowls in winter as you animal’s tongue could accidentally stick to the bowl.

SHELTER – For indoor animals, their beds should preferably off the floor. Kumo and Wata refuse to lie on the floor during the cold weather because of draught. If the animals stay outside make sure there is a shelter. Materials such as newspaper and towels retain water and freeze so they are not recommended. I read that cedar shavings or straw are good alternative – though I am not sure where you can get them…

The other day, I bought a pair of wellighton boots from this shop and I found this really cool tweed pet bed. Since then I, Kumo and Wat have been drooling over this image.

ANTIFREEZE – is very poisonous to animals too. I didn’t know that it does attract animals because of its taste. Be careful with them, wipe away any leaked antifreeze and hide them away.

SALT on the pavement can be very irritant to animals’ paws. Use warm wet cloth to wipe off their sensitive paws if they have been walking on a salted road.

KNOCK on your bonnet as cats sometimes sleep under the hood of cars when the engine is still warm.

Kumo says he likes being cozy... especially on Wesle's lap...

If only they could wear thermal underwear and knitted socks like I do…

Hope you have a cozy Sunday! I am feeling like pancakes…

14 comments

Furry Friday: Cotton & Cloud’s Cats (CCC)

December 18th, 2009

It’s Furry time everyone!

Today is all about Kumo and Wata. Yes, they are my cats. Since it’s Christmas, I thought I will write about something that you didn’t know about them.

Also, I have been awarded by Pili and Sue for the blog (thank you!) so I will also incorporate this by writing something that you didn’t know about me:

1) I came to the UK when I was 13 and went to a boarding school called Malvern Girls’ College. I was already known to be good at knitting (or the only person who knitted).

2) Believe it or not, I had two DOGS (what!!??) when I was a child. When both of them died of old age, a lot of stray cats started to live in our house garden. This is how I have become crazy about cats.

3) I am good at skipping rope.

4) In school, my friend told me that cockroaches become white when they become really big. I believed it for a long time.

5) I have flat feet.

Kumo (behind) 7 years, Wata (front) 7 years.

How did you find Kumo & Wata?

My life is not complete with animals. Unfortunately my ex boyfriend was really allergic to cat (yes, it just was not meant to be!). So being a cat crazy person, I researched so much and found that Cornish Rex cats can be tolerated with people who are allergic to cats.

I was just planning to have one cat. There were three kittens at the time and one was already reserved by someone. Looking at Kumo and Wata as kittens at the time, I just could not part them. So without a question I took both home with me. They were 14 weeks old.

How would you describe Kumo & Wata’s personality?

Kumo: Very naughty but loving. He loves to cuddle and play. He is a real sweetheart who always comes to cheer me up when I cry.

Wata: Very shy but curious. He only allows to be cuddled by me. He is a clever shy little kitty cat who loves to play privately.

Kumo = naughty cat. He even demolishes his own home.

What is Kumo and Wata’s favourite toy?

Kumo loves my hairband. He always abduct one from somewhere and drown it in his water bowl. Afterward he splashes the water bowl by trying to get the hairband out of water.

Wata loves Mr Snake. He randomly drags him from the living room to the bedroom. It is the sign of him wanting to play so I always play with him when he does this.

Wata also loves playing within the tunnel I bought from Ikea.

What is Kumo & Wata’s favourite food?

Both of them loves freeze dried food by thrive. They also like steamed cod and chicken…

What is your favorite website for pets (e.g. shop, arts, toys etc.)

I like Mungo and Maud. I have never bought anything from there before because it is pricy but I love their product and it’s a real inspirations for crafters.

What do you like most about living with Kumo & Wata?

They are my furry best friends. They always cheer me up and make me a better person whenever I am going through a difficult time.

I also sleep with them because they are super cuddly (and they sleep like human with their head out of duvet – it’s kind of funny).

Kumo likes to put his head on human pillow and sleep.

What is the most annoying thing that Kumo & Wata do?

When Kumo is feeling insecure, he uses our bed as his loo…. He hasn’t done this for a long time now.. fingers crossed.. Kumo also likes to smash tea cups if there are some water in them. So we have to make sure that there are absolutely no cups lying around “unsupervised” in the flat.

Wata generally is a good kitty. Though he likes to rub his wet nose onto Wesley’s bare leg which W really doesn’t like.

What is the most memorable moment with Kumo & Wata?

Kumo was even naughtier when he was a kitten. He used to run and jump around everywhere. I was having a bath one day and Kumo had never seen water before. When the water in the bath was being drained, he decided that he would like to jump into the water (I think he thought he could walk on it). He quickly jumped out of the water and literally ran soaking wet around the flat. It was a mad moment. Now he is a little more grown up, he goes into the shower cubicle after we had shower and stay there to warm up (a but like a sauna).

For Wata, it was when he was first diagnosed to have a nasal cancer (it really is located between the back of his nose and his brain). Whenever I had to take him to the vet I would always stay with him. He never had any operations: just two rounds of chemo but I stopped before his renal function went down. I would always tell him that I would never let anyone hurt him and that he will be OK. Now he always sits on my lap or sleeps with me as if to say that he is OK. It’s been two years and I am thankful everyday for his health.

He is my precious little kitty cat who is really shy. I am so glad he is doing very well.

Which part of Kumo & Wata’s life style do you care most about?

Health. I make sure that they eat the healthy food and play with them everyday properly so that they are not bored.

What has living with Kumo & Wata taught you?

To love more than you get even they love me back lots more.

Thank you for reading my FF!

Don’t forget next post on the 20th will be the announcement for the draw for the knitting books (this one and that one). You still have time to enter if you haven’t done so.

I plan to finish off my Christmas gift knitting this weekend…. (fingers crossed!).

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

14 comments