It hurts when I move... Checklist for your human.

Humans take us for granted when we are elderly. "It's only old age," they say when they see us walking slowly or hesitating  before jumping up. As if it doesn't matter...

Humans don't take their own old age for granted. They take painkillers - as all those advertisements on daytime TV show. They consult doctors and physiotherapists.

This blindness to our arthritis must stop!

I've found a checklist that will tell ignorant humans that we are hurting. Here it is: 

• Do you bunny hop going upstairs - using both hind legs to propel yourself upward.
• Do you go downstairs pausing at each stair, or leaning to one side, or taking a break on the way down?
• Do you hesitate before jumping up onto the kitchen table or high place? Or use your front legs to haul yourself up?
• Do you hesitate before jumping down? Or start reaching down with your front legs before launching yourself off?

You can get the full details here. And there is a useful graphic among others for vets and owners here.

Fleas... in 10 Downing St.

Now we can reveal - for the first time - that 10 Downing Street, the equivalent of the US White House - has fleas. Lots of 'em. The whistleblower is Liz Truss, the UK's shortest serving prime minister.

She writes in her memoir just published: "The place was infested with fleas. The entire place had to be sprayed with flea killer. I spent several weeks itching." 

As a cat who knows more about fleas (and probably more about the UK economy) than Liz Truss, I want to put it on record that the woman only spent a few weeks in 10 Downing St anyway. 

Perhaps if she had concentrated on on not wrecking the UK economy, rather than scratching herself and complaining about fleas, she might have had a longer term.

Larry the 10 Downing St cat has claimed " The fleas came from Boris Johnson, the previous prime minister, not me."

Dylan, the Johnson dog, has so far made no comment - which may be suspicious.

I am waiting to hear from Boris Johnson. He is always messing with his hair... is this a sign that the fleas really did come from him?