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| Sybil Butterfly Watching |
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| SureFlap |
A bit of a cheat again today, sorry (the mind is willing to write, time isn't so co-operative)
So here is an article I wrote for SureFlap cat flaps....
Why am I advertising products on my blog page?
Are you sitting comfortably? Cup of tea/coffee in your hand?
Cat curled up on your lap?
I'll tell you.
We are getting unwanted visits from a prowling Tom. He is a pest. he has attacked most of the un-neutered females in the area, fights with other cats & is a horrible cat.
My girls have been "done" so they are safe, but he has discovered their dried-food bowl in my kitchen and is as boldly as you please using the cat flap.
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Bad enough putting up with him prowling around - but I'm blowed if I am going to feed him as well!
So I posted on Twitter did anyone use the magnetic cat flaps - did they work etc. Several people answered that the magnetics were OK - until the cat lost their collar, which meant couldn't get in or out. This is worrying as Sybil is always loosing hers. (Had three already this month! I swear she's selling them to the lady up the road!)
Someone suggested SureFlap - which is magnetic but is activated by the cat's implanted microchip.
So I asked "Anyone use #SureFlap? Loads of responses, saying how good they were & how helpful the company was, plus, I had a Tweet from @SureFlap asking if I would like to contribute to their website blog.
So here it is.
I am an author. I write Historical Fiction and pirate-based adventure. I have a pleasant office, with my desk beside a window which looks out over a small patio, a pond, and some trees. The wisteria hanging down over the pergola is beautiful in spring.
My two cats love fishing and climbing; hanging from a trailing wisteria creeper is the feline equivalent of bungee jumping. The window must remain open even though they have a perfectly good cat flap. Who wants to use the public entrance when the private one is much more fun?
Mab is black and white and almost two years old. She’s more aloof than ten month old Sybil, the white and black cat. Sybil’s full name is Sybil Suitcase for as a small kitten she was found abandoned in a suitcase. When she came to us she was very frightened and hid for almost three weeks, but she was eventually lured out with toy mice and ribbons – oh my goodness does she love ribbons!
I have had cats for many years, including Basil, Poppy, Tizzy, Allie Cat, Daisy and Maddie. There was also Bootsie, who stole some steak from a neighbour’s kitchen and Bill, a retriever cat. He used to bring me presents. Not boring cat things like birds and mice. He collected pegs, string, slices of bread (meant for the birds), take-away food cartons, newspaper binder twine… all of it came in through the cat flap to be left on my kitchen floor. The worst gift was a corn cob. That inner bit of cob looks revolting without its outer layer of corn, and at first, you’re not sure what it actually is.
I realised I was a slave to my cats when I was trying to write a difficult chapter and had to keep bobbing about to see the VDU screen because Sybil was trying to catch the moving cursor. And I have sat here at my desk wearing fingerless mittens while wrapped in a blanket because Mab insists on the window being open.
Cats, Kittens and mittens – I wouldn’t be without any of them!
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| Mab |
About the Author
Helen Hollick started writing pony stories as a teenager. She moved onto science fiction and fantasy, and then discovered the delight of writing historical fiction.
Helen is published in the UK and USA with her books about King Arthur and the 1066 Battle of Hastings, officially making the USA Today best seller list with her novel Forever Queen. She also writes a series of seafaring books inspired by her love of the Golden Age of Piracy.
Helen lives on the outskirts of London with her husband, adult daughter, a dog, two cats, and two horses. She is investing in a SureFlap cat flap because a local tom has become an unwanted nuisance. Sybil and Mab often lose their collars so a magnetic flap will be no use – SureFlap operated by the cat’s own microchip seems the perfect solution. And the window will have to remain closed. Sorry Mab!
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| Mab when she was only a few months old |
Now all I have to do is get both cats chipped (on the 'to do' list for when their jabs are due next month) and fit the new flap.
My appreciation to SureFlap for their interest!
