Nasty Creatures

As I stepped out of my back door this morning, I was greeted by the unwelcome sight of half of a dead lizard, with its partially severed head trickling blood. This was my gift from Moshi the cat! With a shudder of disgust, I brushed it away from the door.
Yet I have to say that a dead lizard is better than the live ticks which still plague Moshi. Although we are able to remove some, the problem persists and if left indoors, the ticks crawl off her and creep around the furniture, looking for a tasty new host. Here is a sample of Moshi's ticks to share with you:



Moshi is now an outdoor cat. We don't want anyone to contract nasty tick-bite sicknesses. It does not seem to bother her too much- there are plenty of other places she can find to sleep:


Andrew has also built her a wooden "cat-house" outside and her food bowls are placed underneath her little house.
Now a new situation has arisen, where Moshi seems to invite all the neighbourhood cats to share in her food and her home. "Hotel Moshi" is a regular hang-out joint for the local feline population! But I would rather have a garden with visiting cats than a home with resident ticks!

Meanwhile, we are not entirely certain whether the nasty little scabies creatures have left Ben alone. Ben has had several treatments that do not appear to have worked (and they are very uncomfortable for him, bless him) and last weekend, we joined him and treated the whole family with the unpleasant-smelling anti-scabies cream, making us a very unsociable family! Then came all the washing of all clothes, bedding and towels. I am just so very grateful for our washing machine- it really does make things easier!