Another cat run over.

I know!!! The flat may be so small that it's almost a glorified cupboard but I can see why he was so keen to take it

Lucky son !

I've just visited my son's flat in Caversham for the first time. Their bedroom is in the roof with a skylight over the bed and they can literally lie in bed and watch the kites circling over head

I was OK being distracted by the kites shysal there was hardly any traffic because of thre snow and no one was doing much more than 30mph. Would have to be more careful in normal weather!

Yesterday I watched rooks mobbing a microlight aircraft! There were dozens of them, they must have thought it was a large bird. I was scared for the pilot.
Deedaa, yes there are lots of kites around the M40 approaching Oxford. I find them quite distracting, can't help taking my eyes off the road. They were re-introduced to Watlington Hill nearby.

My daughter works in Caversham and she loves watching them swoop quite low overhead. They really are a magnificent sight often being pursued by several crows.

It's certainly only in the last year I've started to see them Gorki so they must be on the move. My son has them all the time in Caversham.

Two years ago I had to drive backwards and forwards through the snow to Oxford to visit my husband in hospital shysal and the main thing that kept me going was watching the kites along the way. I think 12 in one field was my record

Still haven't quite got the hang of highlighting names Deeda.Better this time !

The red kites will be with you very soon*deeda*.I've just looked up your profile and discovered I live only about 6 or 7 miles from you and for the last year we have had them regularly overhead.Before that there were only a few.

deeda, I think the nest is still under construction, not even sure it is being made by the kites, it could be the magpies. I am in Oxford where the kites are ten-a-penny these days, but I still love to see them. I occasionally put out some meat for them, for GCs to watch, but regular feeding is not advised. The cat seemed a bit shaken after her climb, so hope it was a one-off.

shysal I really feel for you, my pets (currently just cats) have always been an important part of the family.

When I lost the eldest of my 3, even though she was a very good age, I did feel the loss of her as an individual, although some people felt that as we still had the other 2, it didn't really count for much! Fortunately dear old Clucky had a good passing, I posted about it under the thread title "And then there were two" or something like that.

Thinking of you,

R.

Had she laid any eggs?
Very jealous about the red kite. I've seen one in the area a couple of times but they haven't really moved in yet.

My goodness, cats can be a worry! This morning I heard a commotion beyond the end of my garden - it was magpies cackling and a red kite swooping around a new nest at the top of a tree. Sitting in the nest was Saffron! Fortunately, when I called her, she very carefully climbed down, nearly falling a few times. My heart was in my mouth! She usually sleeps all morning, but has been enjoying the sunshine and a bit of warmth for a change.
I have noticed a red kite sitting in the tree frequently, and was thrilled that it might be nesting there, now I hope it won't.

Oh absent how heartbreaking! It reminds me of the horrible fate that befell one of our kittens. I still wake up riddled with guilt occasionally and it was nearly 40 years ago! However hard you try accidents do happen, it's just so horrible when they do.

Had a quick look at your cats shysal aren't they beautiful? Bugsie looks very like my rescue Batman.

Your poor daughter, absent. You must both have felt the distance between you very keenly. I do hope she has friends 'down under' whom she can unload on - though there is no substitute for mum.

How awful, absent, was this recently? My sympathy goes out to you all.
I have decided against getting another cat. Saffron's absences have become shorter recently, so I don't want to upset her, as she gets jealous. She used to disappear for up to 10 days on a regular basis, I suspect she has another home in the next village, reached across the fields. Trips are now only for 48 hours so perhaps the family has moved or something. Pedigree animal can have quirky characters, pretty though they are (see my profile), should probably have stuck to moggies!

Poor absentdaughter was having a bad day. The man who was coming to fix the oven was late, so everything was very stressful as children had dentist's appointments. Then one of the kittens poohed on a bedroom rug and was booted outside while the mess was cleared up. Just about time to leave and the heavens opened – but only for about 5 minutes. She packed the kids in the car and reversed – girl kitten who had been raised from premature birth by hand with absentdaughter doing 2-hourly feeds with a dropper while also breastfeeding a baby on a wholly different schedule – flew out from underneath because she had been sheltering from the rain, made it to the back door and died. Children and absentdaughter distraught. Absentdaughter flew into the house, skidded, fell and hurt her hip. How bad can it get? She sobbed her heart out on the phone to me from all those miles away (how comforting can I be when I cannot give her a hug?) distraught about the little kit's death (though one of the three premature kits remains) and feeling so much sense of injustice when she had worked so hard to save the little ones. How hard is that?

We put ourselves through a lot for our beloved pets.

shysal you're right I haven't updated that 'upset' thread - actually it's almost too painful for me to address, but I'm working myself up to it.
Hope you're feeling a bit better today - did you get the rescue cat?

We used to live on a busy road and our offspring had been crazing for kittens to add to our menagerie. A friend (living on the opposite side of the road) advised that we waited until her cat had kittens since, having been bred along side the road they wouldn't get knocked down. We duly waited and had two kittens from her - on the basis that one would survive being knocked down.
One died from that pussy cats Aids type virus, the other lived to 18. Both crossed the road regularly. There were several other step siblings living locally. None were killed on the road.
Perhaps more attention should be paid to a kitten's upbringing?

So sorry to hear about your loss Shysal roads are a constant worry aren't they? Getting a middleaged rescue cat seems a good idea, they are always glad of homes for the older ones. I know what you mean about getting too old, when we got our kitten two years ago I suddenly realised I might be pushing it a bit to out live him.

Only just caught up with this thread. So sorry Shysal. We have had numerous cats run over and think we won't have any more but they are so lovely and cosy, aren't they?

Sorry Shysal, I forgot you`d still got 2 cats, maybe they wouldn`t take kindly to a newcomer, only you would have an idea about that. Good luck and best wishes, whatever you decide.

But I still have 2 cats, number. Would it be unkind to them, they would probably get jealous? I am not going to rush into a decision. (But I expect I shall keep checking to see if she is available!)
Thanks again for your kind words everybody.

Shysal, when we lost our beloved Pepper, I refused to even consider getting another rescue cat, or another cat at all, but my husband persuaded me, and a month later we brought Mia home. Go and get your rescue cat!

shysal I feel so sorry for you. Whenever a pet dies, we say "never again" because the pain seems too much to bear. So what do we do? We adopt another cat. Sugababe had a good life and was dearly loved. You did your best and that matters. If I could, I would hug you...gently.

Hi shysal

I would have stopped if I had hit the cat this morning as the road has a 30mph limit.
Thinking about it I may have knocked the cat but it shot off so fast I could not have done anything about it.
If I has hit the cat on the motorway I would have not stopped.

Frank