Open the door

from Basil and the Flappy Thing

It's raining - OPEN THE DOOR!

Cats are very independent, and yet even when they have their own door, they'd rather knock and wait at the big door... maybe they just like to make an entrance,,,

Outnumbered by kittens...

Mitzi and her litter of kittens, all safely in their birthing box. Back at the stage when Mitzi did all the work, and I could just look on - all that changed when they escaped the box...

For a cat who had carried all sorts of random things around from an early age, it was surprising that Mitzi never carried her kittens anywhere - but given that there were 5 kittens in the litter, the method she used to gather them together was a far more practical solution... read the book

...and where do you think you're going?

But Mum...

© Anne M Stephenson | created at www.mrsite.com

Cats and boxes

Outnumbered by Cats: the book that emerged from kitten diaries with chewed edges, written as kittens climbed over me, when trying to work on the computer was not really an option...

 

Boxes seem to be a big feature in a house full of cats - no box can be discarded until every last scrap of play value has been ripped out of it.

I now have a stack of boxes forming the kitchen island I never wanted...

 I'm not sure if he's king of his castle or an engine driver... 

 ...and I don't think this box is quite big enough.

Cats, Nocturnal... really?

Why is it that everything always kicks off when I want to go to sleep?

 Is it because I'm outnumbered by nocturnal creatures...? 

Well maybe, but I'm not convinced that cats are truly nocturnal - I think their definition of nocturnal is a mad half hour after supper - just long enough  to upset the local rodents, before turning in for the night.

Knitted cats

A bagfull full of Basils...

 

I think maybe it's time to get back to some sheep production - before the Basils overrun the place.

So, I'm all ready for the rush on my Basil and the Flappy Thing gift packs...

 

Knitted cats

A birds nest of Basils is what happens when I try to save time by knitting a batch of Basils all strung together...  

                         

But with a little untangling and stitching together they transform into the lovable little ginger cats, ready to go out in Basil gift packs.  

  

Basil gift pack - book and toy

NEW! 

These little knitted Basils were very popular at Christmas fairs, so now for the first time they're available online in a new gift pack...

Gift pack includes 1 book and 1 handknitted toy (Basil) cat: approximatly 7cm tall, 9cm nose to back end.

 Front view book and cat:   Back view book and cat: 

Book synopsis:

The door had always worked perfectly well, until the day that Mr Feed-Me cut a hole in it and fitted a flappy thing. Then the door stopped working and everyone started acting a bit crazy… Mr Feed-Me was on the floor using it as a window.

 Mrs Feed-Me kept calling to Basil through it instead of opening the door, and Small Feed-Me tried to post Basil through it like a letter through a letter box.

Then one stormy night Basil found that he had a use for the flappy thing after all, but it wasn't really what Mr Feed-Me had in mind…

32 page full colour paperback

ISBN 978-0-9560232-5-4

Lost in a Book

Outnumbered by Cats - breaking out of the box

Breaking out of the box - my first book for adults or more competent young readers with a love of cats...

Outnumbered by Cats - breaking out of the box...

 

No, not that sort of box... I mean the idea that an author should stick to one genre - up until now I've written children's books, and though this one will appeal to older children, it is aimed at adults.

One for the adults - A true story bursting with colour photos of cats and kittens.

I'd like to get a female kitten and let her have one litter," I said to my stunned family when they raised the kitten topic. Not surprisingly a suitable kitten was quickly found...  and Mitzi arrived in time for Christmas, bringing her own brand of fun and chaos, and demanding friendship from our 5 year old cat Cleo.

By summer Mitzi was quite confused, she came into season and started calling shamelessly. But when a hapless tomcat answered her call, she was far from impressed; causing more than one cat flap drama, and a hole in the door where a flap used to be. 

Eventually nature took it its course and Mitzi had kittens. The first few weeks were blissfully peaceful, watching as Mitzi took care of their every need. We had a week of heartache when one of the kittens was poorly, and then not developing properly, and was destined to challenge and inspire us in ways we could not yet imagine. 

Then they grew big enough to escape their box, and the bedlam began... 

The story that emerged from the kitten diaries, written as kittens climbed on me and chewed the edges of my note books... 

Cat's instinct to cover food...

I know that cats have an instinct to cover their food, but I have a cat that takes this to a new level - nothing is safe in the quest to cover his dish and any other dish...