Porridge again

We’re just out of prison after a short stretch, and to be honest it wasn’t bad this time. We’ve been in the cattery three times in the past six months, so despite having small brains and short memories, my sister and I have worked out that when we go in, we’ll only be there for a week, or two at the most.

Now that I know I’m not going to be in there forever, I can relax and enjoy the novelty of having dozens of other cats to observe. It was busy last week, and nearly all the cages were occupied. Not everyone was as happy as we were. The poor chap in the photograph cried and moped the whole time we were there, and nobody came to pick him up at the weekend, so I suppose he’s in there for a while. I felt awfully sorry for him. There was also a Persian with unfortunate weepy eyes and a squashed-looking face. He had a strange accent when he mewed, and the rest of us could hardly make out what he was saying. As usual there were lots of sleek, bouncy young cats and kittens who made me feel old by comparison.

Getting back home was absolutely fantastic, of course. Once I’d run around and had a quick check on the property, I stretched out on the first-floor landing and purred as loud as I could for about half an hour. Then I was almost embarrassingly affectionate to Annie and Martin for a bit, before settling in for a good long sleep. Even Chutney was quite cheerful, and surprisingly hungry.

Fortunately, I didn’t really have to eat porridge in prison - I got the usual fish and biscuits. Helpings were more than adequate, though dinner was served rather late for my liking. As for A and M, they’ve been in Spain again, so I would hazard a guess that they’ve been living on ham and wine, though they probably ate fish as well, as they were in Seville and Malaga as well as the mountains. On their first night back, Martin made a brief visit to the shops before cooking simple lamb chops (with garlic, and rosemary from the back yard), and then yesterday it was the traditional post-holiday curry. Nothing too elaborate (rice with green lentils, kheema, greens cooked with mustard seeds) but hot as hell thanks to the addition of some naga peppers. They must miss the capsaicin when they’re away, as they’re dying for a fix when they get home.