Tag Archives: Shadthecat

Shad does Strictly

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When John told me we were going to Birmingham to see the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour at the Barclaycard Arena I was thrilled, although you wouldn’t have guessed it from my cool demeanour and ever-so-slightly derisive snigger.  After all, a strong boy like me has a reputation to uphold.  But I could only keep up the nonchalant pretence for so long before excitement got the better of me.  We were going to see the loveable TV star Mark Wright, the handsome professional dancer Aljaž, the talented Simon Webbe and the delightful Zoe Ball.  If a cat could squeal, the local dogs would have howled at the high-pitch sound I wanted to make.  Instead I eagerly flicked my tail and pointed my ears up with glee as we made our way through the crowds to find our seats.

 

As the silver glitter ball glistened and sparkled, Zoe and the judges made their way out on to the stage and the crowd cheered as Craig Revel Horwood made his entrance.  It was just like the real Strictly that you see on the television, the professional dancers and their celebrity partners coming on to the floor to each perform two of their best dances.  As you can see, the men looked dapper and the ladies looked alluring in their ruffles and sequins.  Poor Scott Mills performed his lobster samba to Under the Sea and got a 2 from Craig which I thought was a little mean considering the effort he put in.  Scott seems like a nice guy but he has 2 left feet!  Simon Webbe performed his Argentine Tango and quite rightly got a 10 (yes a 10) from Craig while the crowd applauded enthusiastically.  Caroline Flack’s Charleston was superb and in the grand finale all the dancers looked wonderful as they kicked, flicked, spun, tapped and promenaded their way around the dance floor.  To top things off, Zoe and the other judges joined the entire cast for a dance and I was most impressed with Craig’s pivot!

 

My paws were drumming on the floor most of the night and at one point I was so carried away with the glitz and glamour of it all that John had to hold me back.  I certainly had a great time and it turns out I have a latent fondness for the ballroom .  Fab-u-lous darling!  (You have to be a Strictly fan to appreciate that phrase).  On the way home, I drifted into a satisfied sleep, dreaming of my Latin moves and whirling round the dance floor with a beautiful fluffy tortoiseshell lady!  Shimmy shimmy!

Shad starts the New Year 2015

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New Year’s celebrations often include watching fireworks or singing songs and enjoying meals that invite good luck for the coming year.  In some parts of the world, traditional New Year’s dishes feature vegetables that resemble coins to bring future financial success such as lentils in Italy or black-eyed peas in the southern United States or grapes in Spain.   Yes I know they’re a fruit not a vegetable!  Ring-shaped cakes are popular in some areas of Europe as a sign that the year has come full circle and it is traditional in Sweden and Norway to serve rice pudding with an almond hidden inside.  It is said that whoever finds the nut can expect 12 months of good fortune (which they will need to pay for the dentist bills)!  My John knows all about dentist bills because he had to spend a few hundred quid last year on me at the vets.  I had a bad case of gum disease but I’m fine now and although I’m missing a few teeth, I could easily get my mouth around a bowl of rice pudding (preferably without the nut)!  That won’t happen though because us cats are not supposed to have dairy; it tastes yummy but our digestive systems are not designed to handle it.

 

Shadow

This weekend John went over to see a friend of his and took me with him so I could hang out with some of my mates.  It was a clear crisp sunny morning and while the humans were indoors chatting over coffee, my buddies and I sat in the garden discussing our New Year’s resolutions.  My friend Muffin is a 5 year old black girl who I’ve known since she was knee-high to grass-hopper and her resolution for 2015 is to continue her birdwatching hobby.  She has her own set of binoculars and a bird book and is getting so knowledgeable about British garden birds that she would probably do well on Mastermind.  The only problem is that Magnus Magnusson probably wouldn’t understand her answers!

 

The practice of making resolutions is said to have originated from the ancient Babylonians who made promises to their gods in order to earn favour such as vowing to pay off debts or return borrowed farm equipment.  So my good pal Ginger promised to return my Cats and Dogs in 3D on Blu-Ray that he borrowed from me last Christmas.  Ginger’s brother Basil (the chunky black and white 4 year old in the picture) assured his owner that he would keep the neighbours happy but curtailing his naughty behaviour.  Basil is often given to bouts of mischief including skidding down the neighbour’s conservatory, stalking the pigeons and chasing butterflies off the fence.

 

Basil
Ginger

Tiffin (Muffin’s sister) is another black cat with sleek shiny fur like mine and she is calm and reserved.  Her New Year’s resolution is to lose some weight because she (also like me) is a bit on the cuddly side and needs to improve her waistline.  Unlike the slender and agile Zoukia (the black and white 2 year old with 3 paws) who resolved this year to beat his high-jump record which currently stands at 31 inches from the ground.  Here he is getting some practice on the grass today while his owner flicked a feather toy around.

 

My New Year’s resolution is to build the business and develop Shadow Photography’s portfolio by doing more wedding shoots and bagging the best wildlife shot I’ve ever done.  The business is very important to John and me because we love the art of photography and enjoy expressing ourselves through this medium.  That’s why I write this blog and share my photos with you and that’s why John dedicates a huge amount of his time trekking around in search of opportunities to capture events and subjects of interest.  John and I thank you for your continued support and best wishes to everyone for 2015.

Shad does the Pagham Pram Race

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When John said we were going to the races I pictured a Maserati Granturismo (in my favourite British Racing Green) streaking past me like a blur, or that amazing car built with an aircraft turbine engine that I watched charging up the track at Goodwood Race Course last summer.  What I got instead was a horde of madly dressed and slightly eccentric people pushing perambulators and varieties thereof through the streets of Pagham to raise money for charity and generally entertain the 3,000 people and 4 cats that were there to experience the fun.  Who needs the thrill of Italian sports cars when you can watch the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and 2 grown men in Harry Enfield scouser wigs and leopard print onesies strolling up the road in 2°c.  The other cats were Jess (Postman’s Pat’s black and white cat) and 2 cheeky white cats from the Cat. Rabbit and Guinea Pig Rescue!

 

Apparently, on Boxing Day every year whatever the weather, as many as 60 entrants complete the 3 mile course in fantastically designed floats accompanied by weird and wonderful fancy dress costumes.  The tradition goes back 60 years and participants come from across the world to take part in the wacky event which involves no running and the consumption of 3 pints of beer along the way.  That’s my kind of race!  Well it would be if you changed the pram for a bed and the beer for cat-milk and the cold air for a warm fire!  One person who needed a warm fire far more than I did was the rather brave young gentleman in a bobble-hat and elephant style underpants being pushed by his mate with a bare bottom!  This race is not for the faint-hearted, for a multitude of reasons!

 

Despite my joking earlier about the difference between Pagham Pram Race and the Goodwood Festival of Speed, there is a connection with one of the world’s prestigious automobile races, Le Mans (an endurance racing event held at a circuit in France).  This connection comes in the form of Pagham Pram Race President Derek Bell, a sports car driver who won Le Mans five times in the 80’s and who attended the Festival of Speed in 2014 to be awarded a plaque in recognition of his 50 years in motorsport.  He probably wouldn’t have received this accolade if he had been driving the pram version of the General Lee (the car driven by Bo and Luke Duke from the Dukes of Hazzard)!

Shad gets some sad news

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When I look at the face of this beautiful lioness named Frosty, I see a long proud snout, focused curious eyes and a tufty beard (although I wouldn’t say that bit in front of her!).  She lives at the Isle of Wight Zoo which regular readers will know is a sanctuary for rescued big cats overlooking the scenic beaches of Sandown.  See how her rounded ears are facing forward probably listening to sounds in that direction, fully alert and concentrating on her surroundings, a perfect portrayal of the skill and patience required to capture prey so that herself and her family can survive.  Her broad nose is designed for superior scent detection although her whiskers are a little lack-luster compared to mine (I wouldn’t mention that to her either!).

 

One of the things I respect about lions is that they are the only social members of the feline family, choosing to live in large groups called ‘prides’ and engaging in a variety of peaceful tactile behaviours such as head-rubbing with other lions in greeting and licking each other.  So it is with great sadness I have to tell you that the noble big-hearted Charlie Brown passed away just a few days ago.  I met Charlie Brown at the beginning of the year on a previous trip to the Isle of Wight Zoo and you can see a photo of him just below.  He was a much loved character who arrived at the Zoo more than 10 years ago with his litter-mate Snoopy.  Snoopy was a dominant male who used to lead the lions in their evening roaring sessions but he sadly died in 2012 when it was discovered that he had an inoperable tumour.  Charlie relied on Snoopy for his sense of security so you can imagine how much Charlie must have missed his bro, but the keepers watched him carefully and after a while his neighbour Nahla moved in as his companion.  Poor Charlie became unwell this year and had been undergoing chemotherapy when he suffered an aneurysm and was put to sleep.  As I watched Nahla alone in the enclosure, I thought she looked lost and I wondered if she roared her goodbye when she realised Charlie would never come back.  It’s a sad business and Charlotte (the Zoo Director) is broken-hearted but I have no doubt she will continue to pour lots of love on to the remaining residents and welcome any new arrivals in need of help.

 

I gave Nahla a soft trill and walked slowly away from her enclosure with my tail low in respect and headed towards the tiger enclosures whilst pondering the circle of life.  Life does indeed go on and the gorgeous Ayesha lounging by her pool is a fine example, luxuriating in the winter sun and generally making the place look classy.  There is something regal about these magnificent creatures, whether it’s the aristocratic gaze or the eye-catching stripes I can’t tell.  Just across the way is my old buddy Xena the one-eyed white tiger I’ve told you about before.  Unfortunately Xena’s rock where she sleeps fell-in the other day so her enclosure is in need of repairs.  It seems they’re having a tough time at the moment at the Isle of Wight Zoo and my admiration goes to the keepers who were working hard on this freezing cold day while John, John’s daughter Natasha and myself sauntered around chatting to Charlotte and admiring the view (of the animals obviously)!  On our way home while we were waiting for the ferry to take us back across The Solent, we watched the hovercraft leaving Ryde Pier and as the powerful engines fired up, the blast-off really took me by surprise and a mighty wind shot through my fur and made John’s curly hair stand on end.  We all laughed!

Shad does a Selfie

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Who is this mysterious character strolling along the beach with a camera?  It’s none other than my good friend and business partner, John.  This is a rare sighting indeed because John normally prefers to be behind the camera.  But John’s daughter Natasha cleverly caught him in the frame the other day when we were at the beach on the Isle of Wight.  Twilight was fast approaching and as the sun disappeared I could feel the drop in temperature and the quiet that follows as people head home and the nourishing warmth of day is gone.  As John walked ahead, I felt proud to live and work alongside him, hard-working and honourable man that he is.  But boy does he have big feet!  I had great fun jumping in the footprints he left in the sand.

 

Check out the selfie!  I like the purple shirt John is wearing.  It’s both mine and John’s favourite colour, very chic and a purrfect match for my shiny black fur.  There have been a few cheeky comments about the similarity between us and Ernest Blofeld (the James Bond supervillain) stroking his cat in this picture!  I think it’s the way John’s hand is touching my back.  But I can assure you that John is no evil genius with aspirations of world domination.  Although I can’t promise you that I’m not a secret service agent posing as a photographer with a covert agenda to destroy the arch-enemies of the free world!

Shad & John

Shad Enjoys a Sunset on the Beach

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Now I’m not normally given to romantic notions and the mushy stuff, but a beautiful sunset will have me mesmerised by its radiance and charm.  Is it the warmth of those last rays of sunshine?  Could it be the brilliance of the red and orange hues or the patterns thrown across the sky by the beams of light?  May be it’s the promise of a new dawn approaching?  I think a glorious sunset means something different to every individual each time they look at one.

 

John and I have spent several early evenings on the seafront in our home town of Bognor Regis scouring the promenade for a perfect shot.  I love how the dusk light reflects off the water and the clouds, revealing the expanse of the ocean and the scope of the horizon.  It’s strange to think that while this British cat watched the sun disappear below the skyline, an Aussie cat somewhere in the Tropic of Capricorn was watching the sun rise up in the distance.

 

Some of these pictures were taken the other evening looking out to sea just as the sun was beginning to set in one of our favourite locations, Sandown Bay on the Isle of Wight.  I found the gentle swell of the water washing back and forth very relaxing and gazed happily at the sea-sprays, as the waves broke and the crest of each one spilled effortlessly down its front face.  See how the light dances on the surface of the water, glimmering its goodbye as the day comes to an end.  But for some creatures that live in the sea, their day is just beginning once the sun has gone to bed.  Many animals such as lobsters, octopuses and cuttlefish come out only at night to feed and hunt.  Of course I can’t vouch for that personally, I have no intention of getting my paws wet to check!  As it is, I got damp sand between my toes and it took me half an hour to lick it off!  It didn’t taste good either! But a good photographer makes sacrifices for his art!

Shad does the Wingham Wildlife Park

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Dry feet are very important to a pussy cat.  We like our paws to be shipshape, our whiskers to float free and our bellies to feel full!  But this day my fur glistened with moisture from the endless drizzly rain that fell from the sky.  It’s not uncommon to see doggies wearing a waterproof overcoat or a tartan jumper, but cats mostly don’t tolerate costumes or too much bling.  And this cat certainly isn’t prissy enough to pull-off a leopard-print mackintosh.  So I went ‘á la nature’, in reverence to my unadorned big cat cousins residing at the Wingham Wildlife Park in Kent.  John, Natasha (the other photographer in John’s family) and I had driven all the way over to Canterbury to catch a glimpse of Poppy the baby jaguar and it was worth every lick of my coat required later to get myself clean and dry.

 

Having never seen a jaguar in real life before, I switched from happy-go-lucky ‘human mode’ (which employs the skills I have perfected to communicate with humans in their visual / auditory way) to ‘untamed feline mode’ (which involves using body language and scent to connect with other cats).  My whiskers stood proud and bristled with excitement as I flicked a few happy pheromones in the direction of Poppy’s mum whose name is Luna.  I wanted her to know I was there to admire her baby so there was no need for her to fret.  You can imagine my surprise when I strode purposefully to the fence and found that Poppy looked just like me – sleek, black, handsome and proud.  The only difference I could see (apart from the size perhaps) was that Poppy had big blue eyes and mine are yellow.  Poppy is the first big cat to the born at the park and she takes after her black mum Luna more than her yellow-spotted dad Loki.  She was born in July 2014 and has recently gone on show to the public now the zookeepers are satisfied that her protective mother is comfortable with the idea.

 

Another new sight for me was the pardine genet.  This debonair exotic creature is very shy in the wild and as such there is not much known about its natural mating, courtship and hunting behaviours.  This mysterious cat-like mammal is similar to a civet, a fossa or a mongoose and has a vast range from Canada down to the Andes.  It’s a protected species throughout most of its range except for a few areas including Ecuador and El Salvador, yet they are hunted in many parts of Canada and the United States.  Seems like a contradiction to me but I’ve never understood the killing for sport thing.

 

There are far too many animals at the park to mention them all but some of the striking ones in these photos are the Puma (also known as a cougar or a mountain cat), the noble lion and magnificent tiger, curious meerkats and the dignified red panda, as well as quirky perky penguins.  There was also a monkey with a teddy who made me laugh because I have a teddy at home, but don’t go telling everybody that!

Shad Says thank you for visiting

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This is a moment for celebration and I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you lovely readers for your commitment and interest in Shad the Cat’s blog.  The reason for celebration is that I’ve had 10,000 views.  I love sharing my escapades and reflections with you and I sincerely hope you enjoy reading about them.  I do have a tendency to contemplate life and sometimes it’s hard for me as a cat to live in a world I don’t always understand.  But I try not to grumble too much despite all the crazy and often unkind things that go on in this beautiful world.  I hope to continue spreading a little smile across all your faces in the months to come and give you a few insights into the unique requirements of the feline variety, as well as some other of my other furry, scaly and prickly friends from the animal kingdom.

 

Zoukia
Monty
Basil
Ginger
Muffin
Muffin
Bandit

 

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Shad does a basket-ball shoot

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John and I have been looking for a way to build our portfolio and enhance our capabilities so we decided to enroll in Sports Photography School.  I dug out my old satchel from the bottom of the wardrobe and insisted that John find my pencil case as I was very keen to make a good impression.  But it turns out that photography school isn’t based in a classroom, but is actually an event shooting experience that takes you to all sorts of interesting settings.  Like the Copper Box Arena (a multi-sport venue in the Olympic Park in London used for the 2012 Summer Olympics) which was the location for a championship British Basketball League game between the London Lions and the Bristol Flyers last Friday.

 

Apparently the Flyers are a force to be reckoned with and unbeaten in their last few games.  However the Lions triumphed that night due to their mastery of offensive and defensive techniques.  Oh yes, I learned more than just how to improve my photography.  I discovered that basketball players pass and shoot, but more worrying they also foul, block and dribble.  Most of these guys were over 6 feet tall with huge strides and an extraordinary ability to navigate through the crowded areas of the court.  As you can see from the pictures, they were also adept at leaping vertically into the air, an essential skill required to perform a classic slam-dunk.

 

It was a great opportunity for John and I to develop our camera skills and I learnt loads about the importance of backgrounds and the challenges of timing key moments.  Some of the fun moments of the evening involved these pretty ladies collectively known as the Lioness’s as they danced their support for the team, always smiling and so cheery.  But there is also a role for the more sporty ladies out there and the game is played professionally by women in England.  The Women’s English Basketball League is a professional competition that has thirty national league sides and includes teams such as the Rhondda Rebels and the Sheffield Hatters.  I just love the names of basketball teams, like the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Denver Nuggets.  I discovered that there appears to be great reverence directed towards the feline species demonstrated through the names of teams such as the Charlotte Bobcats, the Detroit Tigers, the San Jose Sabercats, the Florida Panthers and closer to home, the Nottingham Wildcats.  I approve!

Shad does the British Wildlife Centre

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Not many animals can grow themselves a pair of earmuffs every winter to keep their ears warm.  But the attractive ear tufts of the red squirrel are only required during the winter months and are molted in time for summer, ready to sprout again the following year.  I have tufty bits on my ears but they don’t shed and spread according to the season.  Still, I’m not jealous!  Anyway, if I want warm ears, John puts a woolly beanie on my head, which never goes down well because it messes up my coiffure!  The super-friendly red squirrels roam free in the walk-through enclosure and there were also some young ones called kittens can you believe.  I watched them hurtle across the trees and climb up John’s leg and one of them sat on his backpack and nibbled a toggle in case it was a nut.  They didn’t have to wait long for food when the keeper came with a bag of sunflower seeds, pine-nuts, apples and carrots.  It’s a myth that red squirrels eat acorns because in fact the acorn is difficult for the squirrel to digest.  Sadly they are very few in numbers thanks to the introduction of the grey squirrel from North America.  Not the poor old grey squirrel’s fault of course, but they carry a virus that is lethal to reds and have a tendency to gobble up the food before it matures enough for the reds to eat.

 

The British Wildlife Centre in Lingfield (Surrey) was the location of my tour of Britain’s nature and it was a fabulous opportunity to see a great collection of species native to the country including buzzards, eagle owls, adders, badgers, Muntjac deer and the endangered water vole.  The dinky little stoats and weasels were only around 7-10cm long and as cute as buttons but apparently they are voracious little carnivores and you wouldn’t want to stick your paw out to one of them.  Stoats, weasels, polecats, mink and pine martens are members of the ‘mustelid’ family and have all faced persecution by being hunted for their fur.  But they are feisty little critters and a few escapees are starting to re-populate numbers in the wild.  Unlike the meek and mild hedgehog who are becoming increasingly rare in the UK’s gardens and hedgerows.  I was lucky enough to watch Turbo, a zippy little spikey thing with the tiniest of noses scuttle around in the grass with her keeper, showing us all how delightful hedgehogs are.  John and I were so moved by their plight for survival that we are now making a few adaptations to the garden to make it a hedgehog friendly place.

 

As John and I continued our strolls around this wonderfully natural place, I stopped suddenly, sensing the close proximity of a family relative.  I expected to see fearsome felines as I stalked my way to the Scottish wildcat enclosures, creeping slowly round the corner on my haunches, keeping my head low to the ground as my eyes darted left to right.  But instead of terrifying, the 3 quiet striped tabby cats with bushy ringed tails in front of me were really quite pretty and surprisingly small.  My posture changed to that of a confident moggy with a swagger in his step and a flick in his sleek black tail.  But my cockiness was soon replaced by a healthy respect when I found out that although they have pink noses and white whiskers and are the same size as me, their species dates back to pre-history and they are completely untamable.  Domestic cats like me are descended from the African wildcat and have developed a certain understanding with our human companions, but the Scottish wildcat is truly wild and walked this land for millions of years before mankind arrived or domestic cats even existed.  Even sadder then to find out that they are on the brink of extinction thanks to hunting and habitat destruction.  Once found across the British mainland, they are now confined to the Scottish Highlands and number as a few as 300.  The cats at the Centre represent pure stock and have been identified as suitable for a captive breeding programme aimed at reintroduction to the wild.  In the meantime, they are being well cared for at the Centre and I noticed that all the animals lived in paddocks and pens that reflect their natural habitats, the drinking water in every enclosure was clean, and it was clear that the focus of the Centre was the animals.  So good luck my little furry friends and I hope you prosper!