Off the hook

When the cat's away, the rats dance on the table

Byzans has found a new restplace on a kitchen chair. I think she enjoys being close, should Treats appear.

The cruise is approaching, and I'm a little nutty. I have actually been shopping. M asked me who I was, and what I had done to his wife...

Speaking of M, he is going off on his own on Wednesday night, so I will have to go to the cat hotel with Loffe and Byzans on Friday. He'll pick them up next week.

The bus leaves Ånge at nine Saturday night, and will pick me up about five minutes later. Plus delay, of course, but I'll be sitting there.

Dear Byzans,

You're quite right in examining the inside of the stove now. I you examine it later, we'll have black paw prints all over the living room. and we don't want that.

Love,
Matte

M and I are on our way to Geneva, where we'll meet my parents and siblings. I'm not sure what we are going to do, but the plan is outings by car.

This means we'll stay home for Christmas this year. Which seems odd.

It looks like our luggage has got itself a tail. The latest thing, I suppose.

Jigsaw puzzles are an amazing pastime. The hours just tick by. Then I find I have forgotten about everything else I was going to do.

I bought two when M and I were at Göksäter. I have done both, and so far not lost any pieces, although Byzans was very interested.

My neighbour came and told me he had had to take away** his dog. That was a lovely dog: big and friendly, always following him around. She had been ill for a time, a tumour, and possibly some other age-related things, and at last she couldn't get up, and wouldn't eat, so it was time.

The day after, he told me, he'd had a visit -- from Loffe, who had come up to his house, and even entered it, for the first time ever. "Do you think he could tell so soon that the dog was gone?", he asked me. I said: "Quite likely".



**Ta bort -- that's how they say it around here

Dear Byzans,

That is where my onions grow. It's not a suitable place for rolling around and scratching your back. You can go and do that on the grass. Or under the car, if you insist.

Love, Matte

Loffe appears to be happy, despite the lamp he's still wearing on his head. We had the tube taken from his face today, and now the black hole that was there has turned into a red hole. That is as it should be, I understand: the dead skin has fallen off, and left an open wound.

Once the wound starts closing, it should heal quickly.

Loffe and I had to go to the vet today. Yesterday we noticed that the side of his face was swollen like a big ball, and all the fur had fallen off. A few hours later, he had managed to scratch a hole in it, and spread bloody pus all over the kitchen table.

Now he wears a collar, and has a small piece of hose under his ear. The vet says that injuries like this one is often because the cat has been bitten by another cat, and that he may have had it for weeks. I had to admit that I hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

He seems to be okay, apart from that annoying collar, and Matte, who is still a little nervous.