My name is George

Hello folks & moggies,

I hope you are doing well? I just wanted to say Hi again, as I have recently had my portrait done and it’s a beauty of a painting (even if I do say so myself). As you know I have been keeping my human company for over ten years now and I am so well loved and no trouble at all. My first post here was on 10th July 2011….how time flies when youre having fun, eh!

A new photograph of me

Anyway, I’ll cut to the chase and tell you that my portrait is below … you know I always like to sit like that: with one paw out; the other tucked under. It keeps one cool and one warm, just how I like it.

George the cat. An artist impression
…and Hey look. Its a painting of me

Have a great summer everyone.

Love,

George x

Flossie, the Oldest Living Cat

A beautiful cat from here in the UK called Flossie is officially, at 27 years of age, the Guinness World Records oldest living cat

Peacefully sleeping

Even though she is now deaf and has lost some of her sight, Flossie is still very healthy overall.

Flossie has lived in many homes and was handed to Cats Protection in August when her owner felt that he was unable to give her the care and attention she needed. He made the difficult decision and sought help in the cat’s best interests.

Luckily through Cat’s Protection, Flossie was able to meet Vicki Green who had experience of older cats. Vicki, says that Flossie is still playful and curious and, despite being partially blind, can quickly adapt to change! 

Of course, like most cats, she loves napping and eating well. “She never turns her nose up at the chance of a good meal,” Vicki says. 

… stepping out by her award

It seems like Flossie has landed on her paws and we are sure that the love is well reciprocated. We wish them both all the best. It is heart-warming to hear the full story below.

 

 

 

Paul O’Grady, we love you

We were so sad to hear of the passing of dear Paul O’Grady that we wanted to include a tribute to this great man on our humble site.

This is just a short story about Paul and about the time he ventured into ‘the dark side’ or so said Battesea Dogs home … but we here like to think he ‘saw the light’ :-). So cover your ears Mrs Mog we may mention dogs . What is for certain is that Paul loved all animals and kept many kinds at home including five dogs, pigs, sheep, chickens, goats, alpacas and even owls.

Paul O’Grady made viewers of For the Love of Dogs jump back in their seats when he ventured into Battersea’s Cattery (for the first time) and fell in love with a pair of orphaned kittens.

Paul with kittens Thomas and Toby

Photograph: © https://www.battersea.org.uk/

Sadly, at the time, as the kittens began to find their feet and as Thomas thrived, it became clear that Toby was struggling more than his brother as he was unsteady on his feet and his head wobbled uncontrollably. Expert vets said this kittten’s rare condition (passed on from his mother) would hopefully heal completely, but it would take time.

Paul took to these tiny creatures and, as he did with many of the dogs he encountered on his travels, wanted to take them home with him.

Paul O'Grady - RIP.
Paul, With some of his more usual ‘pals’ at Battersea.

Photograph: © Sky News

Born to a working-class Irish migrant family in Tranmere, Cheshire, Paul James O’Grady MBE DL moved to London in the late 1970s, initially working as a care officer for Camden Council. He developed his drag act in 1978, basing his comic character of Lily Savage on the antics and personalities of his female relatives.

Touring England as part of drag mime duo ‘The Playgirls’, O’Grady then went solo as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s. Paul went on to present a string of highly successful programmes across the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, including The Big Breakfast (1995–1996), Blankety Blank (1997–2002), and Lily Live! (2000–2001). After winning several awards more work followed, For the Love of Dogs (2012–2023), Paul O’Grady’s Animal Orphans (2014–2016), Blind Date (2017–2019), and Paul O’Grady’s Great British Escape (2020). He also published several books, including a four-volume memoir.

He was given a special recognition award at the 2018 National Television Awards for the impact the ‘For The Love Of Dogs’ series had on helping find homes for rescue animals nationwide.

His contribution to animal welfare was also recognised with an RSPCA animal hero award.

We remember Paul as host of his own Radio 2 show (Paul O’Grady on the Wireless) on every Sunday for many years. He was the most friendly and down to earth presenter in all of his shows, and always had an amusing story to share with us listeners. We just loved him.

Paul, your kindness and care for animals was inspirational to us all.

RIP

 

 

One Cat’s Christmas

Kitten
Kitten Etching

A Feline Reverie

I lie easy by the hearth
Recalling a winter long ago
Just a sparkly eyed kitten
The first time I saw snow.

They brought me home that December
The house was new and strange
With curiosity I walked it over
And soon my life it changed.

Early Christmas morning.
The humans they crept down
A new scratching post and some toy mice
Were the presents that I found.

As I clawed off all the paper
I knew this place was good
I started to play, to whirl & whirl away
As only this cat could.

Soon, tiredness overtook me,
In the warmth of the winter fire.
Into a ball I curled, and my tail furled
To the sound of a christmas choir.

Now I’m an older wiser cat,
There’s something that occurs to me
The best present that you can ever have,
Is to be settled on a kind human’s knee.

You see, its warm and safe there
To be lost in feline dreams,
Of warm and food, and a mother cat
A feline reverie.

 

 

Wishing all you cats out there a Merry & Restful Christmas & A Very Happy New Year. ….. o.k. humans too!

 

George on his cosy electric blanket

Dave the Cat

Well now, the England Football squad are currently in Qatar and training in the Heat of Doha, but some of their news has been hijacked by Dave the cat. Dave, who has been so named by John Stones, seems to have caught the hearts of Stones and Walker (no surprise there, that’s cats for ya).

Dave the Cat
Dave – The world Cup Cat for the England Football Cat

Photograph: © The Independent

There are many stray cats in Doha but Kyle Walker has said that, if possible, he would like to adopt Dave if England win the World Cup.

Dave with Kyle in the England Squad Football Camp.

Photograph: © Kyle Walker

We wish the team well for Saturday, so come on you Lions! And, of course those three lions would certainly care about a fellow cat like Dave.

The three lions - engan football team.
Good Luck to the three lions from the Moggyblog bunch.

Jasper and Willow

We wanted to say a huge congratulations from Moggyblog to two super cats called Jasper and Willow who are joint winners of the National Cat of the Year Award 2022 held by Cats Protection.

Cat of the Months ~ October 2022

The star moggies Jasper and Lewis

The two cats joined the team at St Peter and St James Hospice in 2018 and it sounds like they are both invaluable for patients, their families and staff too at the hospice. Jasper and Willow are a brother and sister and have really made a difference in their hospice home as the YT video (below) explains. Thier continued support “comfort and support they bring to people at the end of their life”.

Congratulations to all the runners up too and indeed to the Cats Protection for all the work they do every day for our wonderful feline friends.

International Cat Day

Every year on August the 8th International Cat Day is celebrated. These beloved and household and backyard companions are one of our most common and ancient pets. They provide us with so many benefits to our health and wellbeing that its only right we should pay them back in some small way.

Equally, the wild cats (whether a big cat like a Lion or Cheetah, or a small delicate Kodkod Cat) are important as an integral part of the natural world and its ‘balance of nature’. We surely need em!

International Cat Day ~ 8th August 2022

International Cat of Mystery

Photograph: © Ed

Location: Packwood House, Warwickshire, U.K.

The ‘holiday’ (hey, maybe it should be one!) was conceived and created by the animal rights organization ‘The International Fund for Animal Welfare‘ in 2002, in the hope that cat owners and fans wouldwide would begin to honour their fabulous furry friends. It is a day for us to raise awareness for cats (big and small, wild and domestic) and learn about ways to help and protect them.

In 2020 custodianship of International Cat Day passed to International Cat Care, a not-for-profit British organization that has been striving to improve the health and welfare of domestic cats worldwide since 1958.

As custodians, iCatCare has announced the theme for this year is Cat friendly resources. They teamed up with world-renowned animal artist and illustrator Lili Chin to design educational materials to help us humans make sure we’re providing cats with the essential resources they need to stay physically and mentally healthy in a cat friendly way.

Lili created some new feline faces to the initiative. The ambassador cats Domino and McTatters.

Domino & McTatters

Domino represents pet cats that live in a more traditional home environment whilst McTatters represents the unowned cats that will vary in the way they live and interact with humans (if choosing to at all). You can grab your resources on the icatcare.org website

Peace and Love to all Cats (and Humans) everywhere!

References:

https://icatcare.org/international-cat-day/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Cat_Day

Hashtags – #BeCatCurious & #InternationalCatDay