CARPET CLEAN COMPANY

After her vet outing last week it was determined that Ms. Z. could use a little more stimulation and a little less food in her life, so several new cat accoutrements were purchased the following day. They arrived recently and have shown mixed success.

The crazy mouse-bird with feathers and a bell and a ridiculously loud animatronic chirp when you drop or kick it is vaguely interesting to Zheli, but possibly too big for her. She likes small, light toys. Anything bigger than a toenail is deemed too intimidating to bat.

The "Turbo Scratcher Cat Toy" shown above (which the Internet informed me was certain to be a big hit) has also been of limited interest in terms of play; Zheli will watch the little white ball go round and round if you push it, but makes very little move to push it along the groove herself. She does, however, like very much to sit in the corrugated cardboard center with her toes together and her nose in the air, like a fluffy wax model. I have decided that what she wants more than anything is not more toys, but more seats.

The "Slimcat" puzzle feeder, however, designed to make eating more interesting, has been a resounding triumph. For the first two days Zheli seemed destined to starve due to terminal stupidity. (All you have to do is nudge the little plastic ball lightly and food falls out; a breeze would basically do it, but Zhelonius Monk is not quite as smart as a breeze.) But this afternoon she finally seemed to get it, and fed herself quite happily (see below). She is now deep in a well-deserved sleep.

And that, ladies and gents, concludes your cat update for the day.

These houses face the crown bowls greens in the centre of Port Sunlight. On the other side of the greens is Cross Street and the houses seen earlier in this stream. The design of this batch of housing is in stark contrast to those in Cross Street. I have been unable to determine the architect for these houses. They make up a small selection of the 900 Grade II listed buildings in the model village of Port Sunlight on the Wirral. It was purpose-built by William Hesketh Lever (later Lord Leverhulme) starting in 1888 for the employees of Lever Brothers soap factory (now part of Unilever). The name is derived from Lever's most popular brand of cleaning agent, Sunlight Soap.