Tuesday 22 November 2022

A new visitor

No, we haven't got another cat.  Over the years, Ginny, Gonga and Scruffy have all appeared on this blog. They all adopted us and now it seems another one might have done the same.  This one used to follow Scruffy about and did come into the house, hoovering up any food Scruffy had eaten.  He followed Scruffy up to the bedroom one night too.  We did 'encourage' him not to stay, because we had Scruffy, but he was quite persistent.  Even though Scruffy is no longer with us, this cat continued to come to us, because we made the mistake of feeding him - he always seemed hungry.  Then he came in and started spending time in the house.
He has decided that my chair is his favourite place to be.  He also likes the red toy mouse.  He has certainly made himself at home.  We know that he belongs to someone in the next street and we have seen him out on the street on quite a few occasions.
We have called him Slinky Malinki (after the cat in the Hairy Maclary books by Lynley Dodd) because he has such long legs and is a thin and slinky-looking cat.  Currently he often spends the mornings with us and then is back overnight.  We are trying not to get too attached to him because he isn't ours (Chris is finding this quite challenging!)!  He is not a particularly affectionate cat, he doesn't meeow very often and has a very quiet purr. We are trying to keep him restricted to the sitting room but if the door is accidentally left open, he goes upstairs and has a good look round. I think he may be looking for Scruffy. How long he will keep visiting us is anyone's guess!

8 comments:

  1. I loved those books. And Slinky Malinki does look to have adopted you - which is how we acquired many of our much loved cats over the years.

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    1. Thanks, EC. In my previous incarnation working with children, the Hairy Maclary books were always really popular. Slinky was waiting for me again this morning and is now curled up in my chair...again!
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  2. I love that cats do this, I suspect that the owners may be completely unaware of what their cat is up to! I too love the Slinky Malinki books, a great name!

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    1. Thanks, sustainablemum. I have met a friend of the owner who said that 'the cat goes everywhere!' I didn't mention that he visits us. However, it may be that we are not his only stop off...
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  3. Cats certainly choose you, most of ours have come to us like that xcx

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    1. Thanks, Chrissie. All our previous cats came to us like that but this one does just visit for a while and then go again. However, we enjoy his company while he's here.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  4. Great name Ellie. Moggy suits it. What a cutie :) x

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    1. Thanks, Lulu. He is a slinky cat, all legs, so the name does suit him. I wonder what his owner calls him?
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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