Mouse tales

On Saturday morning I went to a free screening of the new film The Tale of Despereaux. OK, so it's a kids' movie, but free is free. It also had a nice tie-in for anglophiles, as about 1/2 of the voice cast was British. Some of the actors included Tracey Ullman, Robbie Coltraine, Emma Watson and Charles Shaughnessy. The story took place in the city of Dor, and about half the inhabitants (both 2 and 4 footed) spoke with British accents and the other half spoke with American accents. I suppose the target audience of the film won't question the inconsistency!

The story concerns creatures that don't conform to the accepted roles that they are supposed to play. Roscuro the rat loves the sunshine while Despereaux the mouse refuses to cower and scurry. After a tragedy involving Roscuro and soup, the King of Dor bans all soup, rats and joy from his kingdom. His daughter, the Princess, is locked away in her tower longing for sunshine and happiness. It is up to the little mouse Despereaux (who is tiny even in mouse terms) to take on the scary rat underworld, the miserable king, and his own disapproving mouse society in order to put things right.

The movie is just adorable, and the computer graphics work is amazing. There are, of course, funny moments as well as touching moments. There are some scenes which might be scary for younger children, but none of the children in the theater where I saw the film seemed particularly upset.

The main objection I have with the film is that the dog lobby has infiltrated a children's film and made an anti-feline statement. Again. Why is it that basically any children's film made over the past 20 years has a cat as the villain? (Babe, anyone?) In this film, there are plenty of villains to go around, but the cat is the biggest and scariest of all. Naturally, there is a dog in the film also, but it is seen as basically cheerful and brainless. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but a much more positive portrayal than that of the evil, skulking cat. Honestly, have these movie makers ever lived with a cat? They can barely get up the energy to rouse themselves long enough to eat, let alone be cunning and evil enough to plot and scheme for the downfall of other creatures. Let's give cats a break Hollywood!
Final Verdict for The Tale of Despereaux: Three Gherkins, for being a beautifully rendered fairy tale about staying true to yourself

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A Tale of Three Kitties

As a "cat mom" to three house cats, I sometimes can't devote as much time as I would like to my pursuit of all things British, what with waiting on them paw and, erm, paw (as opposed to hand and foot). Today was no exception. The Domain of the Kitties is in the basement, although of course they have the run of the house. Food and litter boxes are downstairs. Today, Kitty #1 (hereafter known as K1) decided to leave a little "gift" on one of the rugs downstairs. He does this about 3 or 4 times per year, always in the same place, and for no discernible reason. So I set about picking up, vacuuming and spot shampooing, while K1 looked on coolly. I'm sure in these circumstances he's trying to send a message, although I haven't yet worked out what it is . . .

Right, on to the food. I cleaned the food bowls and topped them up with food. Then I set about cleaning the litter boxes. With my back turned to the food bowls, I heard that distinctive gagging sound, and turned just in time to see Kitty #2 (K2) barf into his food dish. *sigh* I've had cats all my life, but not until the recent three have they been strictly indoor cats. I had no idea that they had such delicate little stomachs. In fact, soon after acquiring them, I grew alarmed at the frequency of the bouts of vomiting (in the cats, not myself), and packed them off to the vet. The vet's verdict? Cats vomit a lot. Hmmm, I can honestly say I never knew that!

Then it was on to cleaning the food dish AGAIN and replacing the food, and finishing with the litter boxes. As soon as I did, naturally, Kitty #3 (K3) jumped in and used it. As that was his only transgression of the day (that I know of), I wasn't too upset. K3 likes a fresh box.

K1 is a "Type A" kitty, if there is such a thing. He's constantly slamming doors (then yowling to be let out), knocking things over, jumping up on high shelves (and as he weighs nearly 20 pounds, this makes quite a thud), chasing poor K3 (who clearly wants to be left alone), etc. We got him after having K2 and K3, both relatively quiet, mild-mannered cats who had lulled us into a false sense of security. Oh, we've learned the hard way that all kitties don't fit into the lap-kitty mold.

K2 likes nothing better than eating and napping. Definitely not from the same mold as K1! He does have one strange quirk. Two or three times a day, he must engage in an activity that has come to be known as "sucky t-shirt." He will get into the lap of the nearest person (usually yours truly) and proceed to . . . suck on your shirt.

It must be a cotton-based shirt, preferably a t-shirt, or he will give the offender a disgusted look and flounce off, affronted. We think that he must have been taken away from his mother too soon when he was young, and is reliving his kittenhood by simulating nursing behavior. It does leave the t-shirt wearer with a large wet spot on the shirt, and it will wear out the fibers, but it is better to just give in and immediately put on a t-shirt upon entering the house in the evenings.

K3 is very sweet, but the definition of a "scaredy-cat". He is prone to hiding behind the washer or under the bed at the first hint of thunder. Other than that, he's very mild-mannered and calm. We had a leaky faucet in the bathtub once, and since that time, he's become very fond of water faucets. He will follow anyone to the bathroom and jump on the sink and look hopefully at the faucet. I usually have to turn on a stream for him to get a drink before I can get past him to brush my teeth. This is the cat, by the way, that refused to drink tap water from a bowl, resulting in a urinary infection and the vet's recommendation that he only be given bottled spring water. Water in a bowl on the floor: bad. Water coming out of the tap one drop at a time: priceless!

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