It was a bit pongy inside, but an almost Siamese was being cuddled and fussed by staff. I think he’s a fixture. He certainly behaved as though he owned the place. The naughty tortie I’d seen online has gone, but Alfie and Mistry were still there and a ginger called Sandy. Suddenly my world seems to be full of ginger cats called Sandy. Are there an equal number of tabby Julians I want to know.

Sandy was sweet and affectionate, had been living rough and fed by builders who brought him in. We were getting on quite well, despite his stringy tail and pigeon chest, when the staff mentioned he had a grade 1 heart murmur. I know it’s silly, but with Cat’s recent heart failure and death, I could almost see this boy suffering the same distressing end.

Moving on. Mistry is a Madam. A British Blue who came from a multiple cat home. She wants affection, and attention, but she’s not sure how to get either without losing face. She pushed me away and then invited me back. I rather liked her. Tail like a bottle brush. I’m only just realising that I like a cat to have a thick tail. Do they ever bulk out, does anyone know? Can they fill out as the rest of the cat puts on weight? Or is a cat with a stringy tail always a cat with a stringy tail?

In his online photo, Alfie looks like a tabby, but he’s a big grey boy who sleeps in odd poses. He did wake up when I stroked his head and he patted my hands gently, no claws, something Cat rarely managed, but he was not going to get out of bed. So I don’t know what his tail is like, because it was wrapped round him.

Up to the boat, and lots of people there. I said hello to Margaret and fussed her two labradors, and met Aurelie and her fairly recently adopted bull terrier who is a complete darling.

Over to Mother’s flat.

I can’t face writing about it tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe never. Just take it from me, it wasn’t good and if you want a scene of crime with blood stains on the carpet for a home movie you’re making, get in touch.

The hospital was a different story. Mother beamed at me as soon as I entered the bay. “Darling!” she called. Very flattering, but I don’t think she knew who I was for at least ten minutes. I cut and cleaned and filed her nails. She drank Innocent apple juice with enthusiasm and relish. I found two discarded foam slings for her arm under the bed. She doesn’t seem in pain, and the facial bruising is going down.

A nurse came into the bay and spoke to another patient. A Belfast accent. It turns out she knows the hospital where Mother started in her pre-qualified days, Forster Green, and although she trained at the Royal in Belfast, had worked at Dudley Road Hospital Birmingham, where Mother did her SRN training during the war.

She hadn’t known Mother’s provenance, and she talked so much I began to suspect we were related. She promised Mother they’d have a wee chat later.

I left as dinner came round. Mother’s was a most unappetising pureed GF macaroni cheese with mashed potato. Honestly, they want her to eat. It looked like a beige carpet. However, there was a highly calorific chocolate something for pudding, and she drank her soup greedily.

The boat is dirty, but it’s dark now so I can’t really tell. I ate my dinner sitting on the gunwale watching the last of the sunset and listening to the geese honking in the neighbouring field, the plop of fish jumping, and the sound of birds I can’t identify.

I’m so tired I’m going to bed just as soon as I’ve finished the glass of wine I’ve not yet started.

This is the first time I’ve stayed on Das Boot without Cat. I keep expecting to hear the thump that means he’s jumped off the bed and is coming to join me. It’s not happening.

I was walking along the left side of the main Parliament building when I saw people crowding around some small enclosure on the edge of the slope by the Ottawa River. The adults were taking pictures and the children were trying to get closer in. Being the usisero (busybody) that I am, I went up for a look, and ‘discovered’ little- known the Cat Sanctuary!

The Cat Sanctuary was an enclosed row of wooden structures with ‘verandas’, where the food bowls were placed. The cats roamed around freely, and slipped in and out of the gates a couple of times while we were there. It was a little scary at first as they were not ordinary house pets, but they seemed fine as long as you left them alone.

History has it that the Sanctuary was started in the 1970s to accommodate the cats who ’worked’ as mousers in the Parliament buildings. Supervision of the place was passed on from one person to the next, and is now in the hands of a group of volunteers who see to it that it is properly maintained and the cats are well fed.

Sustenance for the cats, and spaying and neutering them is said to cost around $4,000 annually. This amount is amply covered by donations. (A donation box perched on the gate.)

I liked the concept of the Cat Sanctuary. It is very unique. That it has found its home on the grand Parliament Hill is also very unusual. But what I liked the most about it was that it shows that there’s a way for the ‘rich and powerful’ and the ‘poor and weak’ to co-exist in harmony, and that humaneness and compassion are still alive and well in men.

Anthony Woods, emceeing at the Sears Great Canadian Chill

Anthony Woods is a consultant and entrepreneur who has lived in Ottawa his whole life. In his spare time, Tony enjoys paintballing, musicals, and participating in City Chases.

So, tell me about the history and premise of Urban Quest.

The founders of UrbanQuest love reality TV shows like the Amazing Race that combine challenges and travel, and require resourcefulness. The idea was to recreate a smaller scale version of the experience that’s available to the average person and isn’t hugely expensive.

What led you to start such a unique business?

There was a long time that we couldn’t figure out how to make the model work.  We could build a huge experience that had a secret ending – but the costs involved meant we’d need to charge hundreds of dollars per experience.  And we felt sure that immediately after we had finished all the answers would be posted on the Internet. The breakthrough for the company was actually the release of the newest Zelda game. The day the game was released, you could pick up a full walk through at EB Games. It made us realize that it was the user’s experience. Give them the answers and if they want to use them, it is their choice. It allowed us to build something cost-effective because we didn’t need to keep everything a secret.

Who is your target audience? Locals or out-of-towners?

The original thinking behind UQ was that it would be a fun activity for locals. In particular, we thought it was going to be “the greatest date night ever.” What we’ve found is another market that loves Quests which we didn’t see coming: families.  Parents started telling us stories about how they loved doing it with their kids and how their kids loved the “treasure hunt.” We are working now to build more family oriented events – we have three museum Quests in queue.

How do you write the quiz questions?

Writing the Quest clues isn’t exactly a science but we do have a methodology worked out.  We always try to design the clues more around shapes, colours and numbers rather than making them trivia based.  We also do a lot of puzzles, books, games, etc. We also read a lot of tour books, surf the web, and a few late night brainstorming sessions over some beers and a game of settlers never hurt either!

Bryan McKenzie running at the launch of Urban Quest's Museum of Nature Quest

What kind of reaction are you receiving from people?

We have actually been receiving an overall positive response to the company’s idea and to the Quests themselves. The vast majority of people are up to the challenge and absolutely love the idea.  We’ve had second hand stories come back from people we know that had friends telling them about this “great puzzle, Amazing Race” thing they did and how they have to try it.  It’s interesting to create that kind of buzz.  There are a few people that have come back without enjoying the experience, but in those cases we have found that we didn’t manage customer experience well enough.  For example, a grandfather did it with his grandson and came back saying that it was way too much walking – so we now post on each quest how much walking you can expect to do.  We listen to our customers and work to improve the product with every response.

Do you have goals for expanding your business in the future?

We recently launched our first Quest in Toronto, with more to come. We’ll also be moving to Kingston soon. We will continue to work the east coast from there.  We also recognize that we will have to move past our small crew writing all the clues and are working on a writing contest to try to get others involved in the process.  Becoming mobile is also key for us – both Blackberry and iPhone versions of the product are in development.

What do you think is the number one misconception about Ottawa?

Ottawa’s painted with the stigma that we are a boring government town!  There are two things I have against this. First, Ottawa is one of the most diverse and beautiful cities out there.  We cover the range of winter sports like skiing to summer activities like white water rafting.  The second is as a government town, Ottawa isn’t without entrepreneurialism.  If you look to some of the historic companies that have come out of the Ottawa area, especially Kanata, it is tough to say we are without business innovation.  We’re hoping that UrbanQuest can be just another one out of this great city.

Can you describe your perfect day in the city?

Of course my first natural answer is “spend my day doing an Urban Quest”.  That aside – it depends on the season.  In the winter, a day snowboarding.  In the summer, that’s a tough one but I’d probably say a day on the Ottawa River.  Either way – this is a city that requires going outside!

Why do you think it is important for people to get out, pound the pavement a little bit, and explore this city?

This city is filled with hidden spots and neat areas.  How many people drive to work every day passing the Parliament buildings but have never heard of the cat sanctuary or the whispering wall?  People spend lots of money to go visit foreign places but especially in a tough economy, one of the cheapest things people can do is visit their own city!  Urban Quest just makes doing so a lot more fun!

Thanks for dropping by Tony!

Also: this just in — LTOttawa will be doing an Urban Quest and writing about it (as soon as the weather and our schedule clears up!). If you’d like to tell us about your Urban Quest, send us a note and we’ll bring you in on the fun.

The sanctuary spans 12 acres, with much of it being open for the cats to roam in. Enclosures help protect the cats, and special facilities are available for cats that need quarantine.

For more on this unique sanctuary, visit the website: http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/

NEW YORK, NY – One man has given his cats a life that any other cat would envy!

If you’re a cat and Craig Grant is your owner, than your pretty much living a sweet life. Grant didn’t always love cats – actually he borderline hated them. Thanks to his son, however, that slowly changed.

When his son moved out of the house, he left his cat Pepper behind. It turns out that Pepper was pregnant and shortly after gave birth to five kittens. Grant was about to give them up for adoption when his son told him that the kittens had to stay with their mom for at least 8 months. “It wasn’t long before the kittens were swinging from my curtains,” he notes on his website.

Well that was the start of a beautiful relationship between Grant and his cats. He developed a fondness for the felines – so much so that he purchased a 30 acre piece of land and built his collection of cats a beautiful “cat village.” In 2003, Grant had 11 cats. That number has gone up a few today – 660 total cats.

The cat habitat – Caboodle Ranch – takes up barely 5 acres of the 30-acre piece of land. The ranch has the seal of approval from the Tallahassee Humane Society and the Tallahassee/Madison County Animal Control.

Each individual cat costs about $550 a year to tend to. All of the costs come out of Grant’s pocket and donations from the public.