Catfish?

I thought that I was going to lose Parsifal for a minute this evening. He has developed a fascination with water, especially in the bathroom. He wants to get into the shower with me, traipses all over the vanity, leaving grubby paw marks, and last night I had to leap out of the shower to haul him out of the toilet. I need to explain here that the toilets are a very good design so that there is actually only a small hole where the water is and the rest is sloping porcelain. It looks as though someone has put a lot of thought into designing a pedestal in which it would be impossible for a child, or even a small animal, to drown.

However, Parsifal was spreadeagled around the porcelain part and I suspect that he was drinking the water, although I didn't wait to find out; I just grabbed him and put the lid down.

Tonight was worse. He had just used his litter and I had scooped it out and was flushing it down the loo when he jumped onto the rim of the bowl. I knocked him unceremoniously into his litter tray and in future will put the lid down before I flush, at least until he is bigger because, although I think that he is too big to be flushed down I certainly don't intend to take any chances.

He is being castrated the day after tomorrow and perhaps that will simmer him down a bit; he is the most curious kitten I have ever had and I have been owned by Oriental cats for over 30 years.

He and Poppy are also among the most affectionate kittens I have ever had. They are totally charming except at 5.30 am and I am going to have to shut them out of the bedroom for the next two nights - tonight so that I can catch up on some much-needed sleep and tomorrow night because they will be fasting and I don't want to be woken up at some ungodly hour by two babies reminding me that I forgot to leave any supper for them and they are both about to succumb to "night starvation". (For those too young to remember - that was the catch phrase for a malt drink called Horlicks.)