January : Birds and Cat

The blue tits on the bird table are enjoying an extra treat.
We’ve run out of birdseed so the birds are finishing off what’s left of the Christmas nuts.

The robins really enjoy my mince pies. This pleases me as nobody else does. I am not famed for my pastry making skills and we have, as usual, many left. I feel obliged to make them because of tradition, yet they are an uninspiring choice amongst the plethora of more exciting seasonal treats. The blackbirds and robins love them so they aren’t wasted, and it’s worth the effort of making them for this reason alone.

The stray black cat was waiting when I went out to feed the birds, and rushed over to see what I had left him. I came in and got a tin of tuna and some milk which he enjoyed with tremendous relish. He defiantly eyed our dog who watched enviously through the glass door. The cat then ate all the bird’s crusts and moved casually back to the raised border when he was fully stuffed.

Very soon I will have to accept we have a cat and start buying cat food. He was a pitiful sight: twitching his ears as the wet snow dropped onto his head from the Acer tree. At one point he shook a mist of dampness from his coat.

He knows precisely where to position himself on the edge of the railway sleepers, facing directly towards me when I sit at my desk. His body is virtually invisible in the dark foliage. All I can see is his steady cat stare, lopsided ears and sad little face. He seems very elderly, though timid and aggressive in equal parts. What can you do?