This day, last year, was a very, very sad day indeed. Our Raspy left us. At the time it felt far too soon for her to go & 12 months later it still feels that she was with us for too short a time.
She is often in my thoughts. Recently I have been remembering how, when I sat on the (popular) poang chair, she used to spend ages chewing my sleeve, my jumper, my trouser leg, or the chair itself. Many times I would sit for longer than I intended as I did not want to distract her from her obviously very important mission. 🙂
A few days ago, I noticed a strange orange-coloured patch on Atilla’s lump. It did not look right so I dropped an email to Mr Avian Vet, with a photo, asking if it was something I should be concerned about. Here was his response:
This is a localised area of infection – possibly because she has scratched or rubbed the surface. Initially I would treat it with some antiseptic cream such as Savlon, E45 or similar.
So, not only does she have a horrible hernia/lump, there is now an area of infection on it. 😦 I already had a tube of Savlon so I have been applying this twice a day. It has been a relatively easy task as Atilla still likes going inside the tea towel at the back of the chair & her lump is very conveniently positioned for me to gently smear some cream on. So far, the orange patch seems contained. Atilla is still fine in herself & does not appear troubled by the infection.
Atilla was well enough to visit the Poang chair today! I’m sure the chair gave a sigh of relief to feel her chewing it.
The last couple of days Atilla has been quite lively, in her non-sleeping moments. She tentatively made her way over to the chair, via a pathway of my palms (bit like a sideways one-potato-two-potato with palms, not clenched fist). Once there, she rested & got her bearings.
Since then, she has managed to fly there herself, thundering across from the manor. It was a pleasure to hear the heavy beating of her wings & feel the turbulence in the air where it was displaced as she bombed her way over. There was no time for exchanging any pleasantries or long-time-no-see’s, as she immediately commenced her chewing. “Welcome back Atilla!” the chair seemed to say. 🙂
Atilla’s outside-Manor time is exclusively spent at the Poang Chairground Resort. Although she is very busy, I felt it was time to introduce another Chair Challenge to keep her mentally as well as physically active. This new “ride” has taken the shape of The Tea Towel Tunnel.
Basically, I pegged (another) tea towel up in loops at the back of the chair so she could enter it from the ladder & exit at various points either upwards to the top of the chair or to the far end, the side of the chair.
It did not take her long to investigate, in fact it was a matter of minutes! Since then, it has been a firm favourite as you can see by these videos:
Once she emerges, she usually immediately returns to the ladder to go through the tunnel again, however in this video you will see that she decides to go back in the way she came out…. she has such a creative mind!
Atilla continues to be very busy behind the chair.
She is being very industrious & is now manufacturing her own nesting material:
First shipment of nesting material
I kept finding bits of fluff scattered around & when I investigated further, found it had come from the (rapidly thinning) tea-towels she is continuously chewing.
The last two evenings he has been wanting to get close to Atilla. This evening, having all spent a trouble-free day locked up in the Manor (thanks to PuddingCam staying online I know this is true) they, read Bezukhov, went a bit mad when let out.
Atilla, as usual, made straight for the Poang chair & ducked under the tea towel to begin chewing. Interestingly, Bezukhov decided he wanted to sit next to Atilla on the ladder & would not let Cagney sit there. Of course it was Cagney’s right, as Atilla’s boyfriend, to sit there, so there was a lot of chasing but Bezuky managed to seize the ladder position.
I wanna sit next to her!
However, he then tried to engage with Atilla by pecking at the tea towel & trying to peer underneath it. Atilla was not impressed & would bang the tea towel back or lunge at him or simply ignore him. Meanwhile, Cagney was clinging onto the back of the chair to feed Atilla under the cover (to show his rightful position).
At one point, Bezukhov dared to nip under the tea towel with Atilla! Sharp intake of breath! I quickly put my hand there in case he needed a quick getaway & indeed he did & emerged with wide-eyes, very much like he had seen a ghost. He did not go under that cover again.
Dare I touch her tea towel?
When Atilla stopped chewing & wanted to stretch her wings, both toyboys crowded around her, wanting to be the one closest, even fighting to be the one next to her. When Atilla tried to break away from them, it looked like a rugby match where she has the ball (or IS the ball!) & the boys race after her & dive on her & it ends in a scrum! Had there been an opportunity I would have locked Atilla up to give her some peace & left the toyboys out to cool off.
Strangely, when they are all locked in the Manor, there are no silly shenanigans. Either way, I think Bezukhov has still been a little big for his boots this evening.
You're such a great leader, boss. I really look up to you!
Atilla is still obsessed with the back of the Poang chair. She spends a lot of time on the ladder, chewing the tea towels I have draped over the back to protect the chair cover. She likes spending time under the tea towel & many times Cagney has to bend down to feed her underneath it or sometimes he hangs precariously from the ladder so he can get food into her whilst she is hiding in a hanging part of the tea towel.
Atilla is obsessed with chewing the back of the chair. Knowing how single-minded she is I decided to work with her rather than against her.
To protect the chair I draped a tea-towel over the back so she is chewing on that rather than the chair cover.
I hooked an empty seed pot over the chair frame so she had somewhere else to grip onto.
I moved the plant pot stand nearer the chair so it was easier for her to get there/leave there.
Finally, I assembled a recently purchasedladder system & hung it from the back chair frame to make her experience more comfortable.
In other words, I have turned the IKEA Poang chair into a play gym. I should also add to the above list the fact that I moved my futon back into the room so I have something soft to sit on whilst she is busy chewing.
Once in position, she rarely leaves. She may go for a little mooch about but not for long. She will rest in-between chewing sessions on the ladder. She has no need to go back to the Manor for food as Cagney sits on the ladder with her & regurgitates his seed. In general, she goes back to the Manor for bedtime just after 9pm. Bezukhov is usually a bit agitated by this time as he wants to settle down for bedtime but cannot do so until the leader is back home.
I have had my IKEA Poang chair for some time now. At the moment, it is the only soft chair in the room as I only moved back the necessaries from when the floor was done. Just recently, Atilla has decided the chair has good chewing potential. Raspy was often on the chair with me but she was chewing my clothes. Atilla likes to chew the back of the chair. She clings onto the wooden frame & chews the material. I have hung a tea-towel down the back so she can make holes in that rather than the chair cover.
Unfortunately, because she hangs onto the chair frame, it is not possible for me to sit in the chair at the same time as that would push the cushion back into the frame. That means I have to sit on a hard chair or a stool whilst she is busy on my IKEA chair.
You can see from the video above that I normally hide or store my web cam away by hooking it behind the chair. 🙂 I also hooked a seed pot there so she had something else to hold onto.
Puddings & Toyboys 