Humphrey update

I was watching Animal Watch from Longleat on BBC2 during the week. They had on lots about tigers in particular the death of an old lady tiger.

It was so sad. The keepers who had looked after her for over 20 years were in pieces when she had to be put to sleep. I know it’s not ideal keeping them in captivity(though conditions out in the wild aren’t too helpful) but even accepting she was a wild animal to the end there was definitely a bond between the keepers and her.

Sometimes I know in these blogs it sometimes sounds like I shout at Humphs a lot but really I love the bones of him. He’s such a conundrum; sometimes naughty and wild and sometimes the biggest wuss out.

Because it had been so cold one evening we had the door almost closed between the living room and the dining room and a rug stuffed up to the gap under the door (if I say it’s an old house you’ll understand). For five minutes Humphs sat behind the door and cried because every time he pushed at the door he met resistance.

In the end rather than push harder he went and curled up on a dining chair.

All to make me feel guilty I guess! We’ve seen more of him this week with the cold than normal.

Next week probably he’ll ignore us because the temperature is set to rise I understand.

But to go back to the tigers, when I see Humphrey at full stretch in the garden or racing in pursuit of his quarry he’s my mini-tiger.