Welcome Ciri!

After the sad loss of Verona’s kitten Innocento I needed some time to think about what to do, continue breeding or not. Meanwhile I started helping Judit to find places for the kittens of Felicia, Didi’s daugther who lived with Judit and Peter in Hungary since 2021. It wasn’t easy to find the right places in Hungary. The kittens meanwhile reached the age of five months so it was about time for their forever homes. I had some Dutch people who had waited in vain for Verona’s kittens again… maybe I could help both sides in this case. So I contacted them and sended some pictures of the three black silver kittens. But then I noticed my eyes went to one kitten again and again, to the Somali girl on the picture, Cirilla. Her brother and sister are Aby’s. My thoughts went back to Yara, our first Somali girl, black silver. Her line never gave a black silver Somali girl back. I also stopped the silver breeding a few years ago. But this girl had my special attention and to have her would in a way make the cirkel round, a black silver Somali girl again after so many years.

Cirilla, Chili and Cosmo at the age of about five months. I kept looking to the left everytime I saw this pic

So we went to visit Cirilla in Hungary to see if my feeling would be still there when meeting her. And yes, it was. So a few weeks later Ciri came to us 🙂

Cosmo, Cirilla and Chili when we visited them early March. They had played non stop but finally there was a moment for pictures 😉

Cirilla’s first days with us

It was amazingly how quickly Ciri was integrated. With the other cats, with us, but also with the dogs…she had never seen a dog before but it took her not more than a few days to feel fully ok with them. She’s a lovely girl, very active and curious and she has a lot to tell, specially when things don’t go the way she has in mind 😉 . She gives me a smile on my face every day and I am very happy she ’s here.

And what a tail!

The Dutch couple Aart and Fia who waited twice in vain for Verona’s kittens fell in love with the pictures and character description of Chili and Cosmo. So when everything was arranged they where brought to us in Austria and picked up by them last weekend. Aart and Fia had a kitten from us long time ago, Djemo. After Djemo and his co Somali girlfriend Aimaye died there was not a single doubt for them to choose this wonderful breed again.

Chili and Cosmo during their one week stay with us

Ready for the trip to Holland, to their forever home

Meanwhile we also experienced our first Austrian winter. We expected more snow than those two times 10 /15 cm. Those did stay for a few weeks but that was all. It was a mild winter we understood from the locals.

The cats stayed more indoor, and enjoyed the winter view from their warm seats

Mid Februar there were already some days that felt a bit like spring

Around March 21 we had this amazingly view just after sunset. It was extra special because the spectacular and intense colours appeared only above the mountain behind us, it was really magic.

Early april spring really arrived

Last year we made the garden safe for the cats but it needed some more decoration. We bought some plants and decided to make another playground for the cats. A place for them to climb, to relax and have a view over their territory.

Didi helped me out with the spireas, butterfly bushes, curly hazel, lilac bush etc….

And when the first signs of the new playground appeared everybody was interested immediately 😉

Kallima checking the view

Still not 100% finished yet but ready for use

Noortje is very happy, her hanging baskets are back after two years

After two weekends where the temperature soared to nearly 30 degrees, it is now back to winter with temperatures under 10 degrees. Hopefully spring will return soon and we can all start enjoying the outdoors again.

Poor Verona, poor Innocento….

Unfortunately Verona also lost her second (and last) litter….

After an X-ray made on day 55 we knew there was only one kitten. So we decided to do a c-section on day 65 because mostly a single kitten is (too) big and the contractions might not be strong enough in case of one kitten. After losing her first litter last summer we didn’t want to take any risk.

Due to an unexpected staff shortage we had to go to another vet as the one we have since september and in which we have a lot of faith. We really didn’t like it but we had no choice. The c-section was planned on January 19 early afternoon.

Both anesthesia and being a single kitten are difficult things for a new born kitten, so this were two difficulties for him. They are so vonerable. But I am also afraid they gave Verona a little bit too much anesthesia. We had to go back to the vet a few hours after the c-section because she didn’t wake up at home. The sorrel boy was small for a single kitten, 80 grams only, and too quiet from the beginning…it didn’t feel good. He was just laying there and hardly moved. Later in the evening I could’t even wake him up to feed him. A few hours later,13 hours after his birth, he died.
Our hearts are broken….

Verona with her little boy Innocento

Ready for 2024

It’s been a while ago since my last blog. There was not so much news and after Verona’s lost litter and the extreme weather period untill early august we were happy that a more relaxed period started. We had a fantastic late summer and autumn untill the end of october. A lot of sun, hardly rain or wind, it was great and very welcome. We did some more trips and enjoyed the lovely area we live now. We both feel very happy here. The impressive Petzen behind us has showed us so many faces since we arrived, fascinating us every day. Mid october the first snow popped op on top it and meanwhile it is fully covered. The ski season has started also and will last untill the end of march.

The beautiful setting of lake Jasna, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia

View from the Hochobir near Bad Eisenkappel, end October

Even mid November it was possible to take a sun bath!

But now summer has really passed 😉

In the meantime, the pile of paperwork we had due to two emigrations within a year has finally shrunk, it was a lot…

The cats and dogs are doing very well. They spend may hours in the garden untill the last few weeks when it started to get colder. A while ago we found a vet that we feel good about. We are very happy because it is so important. Ganna, Verona and Kallima already went there for vaccinations and check ups. Ganna and Kallima also had to go because of some dental problems. The clinic is specialised in this. Very good because many cats and dogs have problems with their teeth and often it is not seen in time.

Verona doesn’t have that many problems with the snow 😉

Kallima reached the age of 14 in november and since Zaina died last year she’s the eldest. She’s still very fit, playfull, funny….but now she has a little problem with her thyroid. The T4 level was a bit too high as it was checked early october, but the last check two weeks ago showed a better result because she was on a diet since than. The not so good news is that now she doesn’t want to eat the diet food anymore. So looks like we have to go for medication.

Kallima’s favorite place, her nice warm cat cave 😉

Verona is doing very well. In november she was in heat again and I decided to give it another try. She and Ganna had a lovely honeymoon and I am very happy to tell you that she is pregnant! Becoming pregnant can be more difficult after a caesarean but in this case it seemed no problem. She is doing very well and gained quite some weight already. Babies will be expected around January 19.

Verona and Ganna

So let’s hope 2024 will give us a wonderful start. And that’s what I hope for everybody. Wishing you all a wonderful X-mas time and all the best and a good health for the coming year!

Merry X-mas!!!

A sad chapter

It took me some time to find the energy and motivation to write a new blog. Time to grieve, put everything together, give it some time.

I will only write in short about what happend. It is still to painfull and it doesn’t change the situation anymore.

Verona’s pregnancy went perfectly. She was so relaxed, and looked so good. From day 61 I was with her also at night to make sure I was with her when she started. But she didn’t start…not even on day 68. Then I contacted the vet because it was about time. I had a previous experience with Fealynn who delivered at day 69, so I was still not in panic but at day 68 it is time to contact the vet. She did some ultrasounds and X-rays on day 69 and 70 and everything was fine, four beating hearts inside. But she would not intervene and convinced us that we could wait a few more days, supported by some colleagues she had asked for advice online. I was in doubt about it, very tired of all the sleepless nights, but she convinced me…
But unfortunately she was wrong. On day 71 Verona had a caesarean section and it was too late, three kittens had died and number four was alive for only a few minutes…..We were shocked.

Verona and Ganna in front of the litter box, when everything was still ok….

Heartbreaking, this in our opinion needless death of four young lives. I’ve seen them….. so intensely sad. And yes, I have blamed myself for everything, if only I had……..but nothing brings them back, you have to start dealing with it….

Fortunately, Verona recovered quickly from the cesarean section and she seemed ok after the first days when she was a bit restless and looking for her babies….poor thing.

Poor and brave Verona, a few days after her scesarean.

It took John and me some time to decide what to do…stop breeding or maybe try again. It was a real rollercoaster for a while but slowly I got to the point where I want to try again. Verona and Ganna are such a sweet couple, it would be such a shame not to have at least one litter with them. We hope we can give it another try later this autumn.

What else happened….in June we worked very hard to fence off the garden. The furries now have more than 600 square meters at their disposal. It still needs to be furnished a bit further, but in the meantime they have at least one of the playground equipment that they had in Holland and we had brought over to Austria.

Didi studies the first contours of their new outdoor paradise

A lot of meters to go….

Verona and Ganna on their returned playground equipment

Didi relaxing….

Another heavy thing we had to deal with in july and early august was the extreme weather in our area. Many places in the world had to deal with extrem weather this summer but the striking thing here was that it took three-four weeks. From mid July there where storms and supercells almost every day, quite scary sometimes! And in the first weekend of August so much rain fell that it led to massive floods with a lot of damage on roads, houses etc. In Slovenia, only a few miles from here the damage was really dramatic in some villages, it will take years before everthing is reconstructed.

A supercell approaching our little village. Luckily we had no damage but later on this one caused a lot of trouble in Zagreb, Croatia.

The flood in our village on August 4-5.

Since a few weeks the real summer has finally started and we made some lovely trips in Austria, Slovenia and Italy, there is so much to discover….

A beautiful view of Italy from the Dobratsch near Villach

The amazing Vršič-pass in Slovenia

We hope that summer will last a little longer before we start autumn. Later in the autumn, in October or November, we hope that Verona will be in heat and we can look forward to a new litter ❤ ❤ ❤

A fruitful start ;-)

On Friday, April 14, we started our two-day journey from Sweden to our new home in Austria. The cats were amazingly quiet at first and we wondered how long that would last 😉 . But they all surprised us, they seemed quite relaxed and content in their carriers in the backseat, and in the trunk where Noor sat with the dogs. Even the 50 minute boat trip from Rodny to Putgarden (Denmark to Germany) didn’t bother them a lot. There was a lot of traffic in Germany and it started to rain, and rain, and rain… it wasn’t a pleasant journey from there and we were glad when we arrived at our overnight stay not far from Leipzig.

The cats were finally able to stretch their legs and go to the litter box. They were curious and checked every corner of the apartment. The trip was okay for the dogs anyway, they are much more used to longer car journeys and they have their little walk every few hours.

Bye bye Sweden

Our fully packed backseat

The next day we left for the second part of the journey, which was a little shorter. But the weather was still terrible. So no nice views…. And now there was some protest from the back seat, especially from Verona.
Around 2 pm we reached the Austrian border. As with the previous border crossings there was no check so the passage was fast. No long traffic jams or unpacking… thank goodness!

Entering Austria at Passau

Early in the evening we finally reached our goal and it was the first time I saw the surroundings, the small village, the lovely house and the impressive Petzen mountain ‘in our backyard’. It looked so beautiful and peaceful. And finally it had stopped raining during the last part of the journey. It was a great relief that we all arrived safely and without too much stress for the animals.

We now live at the foot of the majestic Petzen

Our stuff arrived a few days later from Sweden and the first weeks were full with unpacking and making the house feel like a home. And of course there was/is a lot to arrange with this new international step.

Everyone was happy when the scratchingposts were set up again

The cats love it but I’m not a fan of this open staircase. It’s also very slippery so we will do something about this to prevent accidents, specially when we will have kittens again

A week before leaving Sweden I gave Verona her last pill. I expected her to come into heat in the last week of April. It’s always wait and see, but on Sunday April 23 I saw the first signs. It continued a few days later and on Thursday 27 (Verona’s second birthday) it was time to give it a try with Ganna.

Both were inexperienced. Ganna wanted to go too fast, Verona was unsure, so it didn’t work right away. A second attempt later in the day got a little further. I had chosen the quiet room upstairs where Ganna was waiting, but Verona seemed to be done with it as soon as I went upstairs with her. Maybe she didn’t like the place?
In the evening I decided to bring Ganna downstairs in the living room to Verona. And they succeeded, within half an hour there were two matings. Later in the evening a third.

The next day there were five more matings and then it was a bit over for both parties. The heat subsided and Ganna calmed down, a good sign.

Verona in heat on her second birthday

And we’re absolute beginners…..

In the living room where it worked. After mating, Verona didn’t roll out like most queens do after mating, but she went quickly into Donna’s crate, haha. I closed it for a while so she could rest from Ganna who was very motivated for the next attempt 😉

Two and a half weeks later, I noticed the first deep pink discolorations on some of Verona’s nipples, a sign of pregnancy. Her appetite had also increased somewhat.

She’s now three and a half weeks pregnant and everything seems to be going well. The kittens are expected around July 1. So exciting again!

two and a half weeks after the matings. The nipples turn deep pink and can be felt more clearly

To be continued….

Ready for Austria

As I write this we live in a house full of cardboard boxes again, less than one year after the last time. We are ready to leave Sweden and ready for our next step in Austria. And ready to finally feel some spring! Even in the very southern part of Sweden where we live it is actually still winter. Snow still comes and goes, and we haven’t really had that spring feeling untill now on any day. It is one of those things of Sweden, the winter is very long…

Yesterday morning even Didi seemed to think…when wil this stop 😉

We have had some ok days, but the temperature has not yet reached 10 degrees this year. But tomorrow it seems to happen!

Ganna enjoying a sunny moment in march

So the house is fully packed again. Of course the cats all were very helpful as expected 😉

Verona checking what’s this all about

The youngsters don’t seem to have stress already but I notice that Kallima and Didi get nervous when I am packing. They get restless and I have to give them some extra attention to make them feel comfortable again. Cats don’t like changes…I feel so sorry for them that they have to go through this again, and a two days ride to their new home.

Sweet Didi ❤

Kallima

Noortje seems to be very relaxed about everything untill now

I can’t wait to see them all happy again in the new garden. I hope we can make it save for them within a few months. The coniferhedge is perfect, the fencing will be out of sight for the neighbours, so we can do it as we like 😉

And also I can’t wait for myself to go and finally see the house, garden, village, mountains….looking forward to it a lot!

A sunny afternoon

A little bit of snow, not too cold, no wind and a bright sun……..life in Sweden is pleasant on days like this 🙂

Ganna overviewing the winter wonderland

Didi checking the plants

Verona, observing who might be in for some extra fun

Looks like she’s found somebody 😉

yup…

Hmmm, it feels a bit cold….

On her way again

Lovely Didi

❤ ❤ ❤

A new year, another new start…

2023 has started grey and quite dark in Sweden. Snow comes and goes and we miss the sun for several weeks now. Maybe it will get better when the real winter starts….but to be honest I would prefer an early spring ;-).

2022 unfortunately ended a bit sad. Half december I was informed that Brasil, the almost 12 years old son of Kallima and Massimo, was diagnosed with Feline lymphoma. Lymphoma is one of the most common cancers seen in cats.
I felt so sorry for his owner Ronald, but what can you do…I knew Brasil was in good hands and we could only hope that he could stay with him some more time. But things went faster as everybody expected and on December 30 Ronald informed me that Brasil was put asleep at the vet that afternoon.

Brasil at the age of two months. Such a sweetheart. He was Ronald’s favourite from the day he was born

Brasil earlier in 2022

After Zaina and Thyrza Brasil is our third ‘kitten’ in three months that now has become a star. Time goes by so fast…I still can remember them so well as a kitten. I am thankful that also Brasil had a wonderful life as a deeply loved family member. Rest in peace dear Brasil ❤ .

A bit earlier we also had to say goodbye to Cheetah, our Galgo Espagnol. She’s alive and healthy but not with us anymore. Donna, our whippet girl was not very happy with her. When Cheetah arrived in 2019 it was ok but after a year or so she began to have problems with her and she started t withdraw in the corner of the living instead of being with us like she did before. Of course we tried to change this, and it wasn’t that Cheetah was agressive to her or so, but it was clear that Donna was not happy with the situation. In October we decided that this was not fair anymore and we contacted the German rescue organisation where Cheetah came from. Meanwhile she has found a lovely new home. We miss her, but Donna is happy and back again in my arms on the couch, like she was before. Have a wonderful new life dear Cheetah, you will stay in our hearts forever.

Cheetah with Verona. Cheetah loved the cats, and specially the kittens. She was great with them and learned them that big dogs are nothing to be afraid of.

We’ll…so far the not so happy news. But the title of this blog suggests also other kind of news…

Seven months ago we moved to Sweden. My husband’s wish, not so much mine but I wanted to give it a try because he had been talking about it for years.
But when you really feel from the beginning this is not the place that will make you happy, it becomes very difficult. For a while we thought about returning to Holland. But then I found a beautiful house on the internet, in Carinthia, Austria. Austria was second on our list. It was in the area we had been thinking of earlier and it seemed the perfect fit. John went to see it and a few weeks later the house was ours!

Our new home near Bleiburg, Carinthia, Austria

A magnificent view on the mountains which mark the border with Slovenia.

A perfect plot for the cats and dogs, and ourselves 😉

Meanwhile our house in Sweden is sold and in April we will move to Austria. Of course there’s lots to arrange again, and Verona and Ganna have to wait for their honeymoon until we get there.

It will also be a long trip for the cats, about 20 hours by car. I am a bit worried about Kallima, she has become a bit older and the switch from Holland to Sweden last june wasn’t easy for her. She needed her time to feel relaxed again.

My sweet little Kallima, 13 years now. She prefers the rest of the bedroom these days. She loves the heat mat I bought her 😉 . I hope the new change in her life won’t be too hard for her.

The coming months will be filled with packing again etc. And I’ll think about the future language for this blog. I speak German quite well but for writing I might prefer English. On the other hand, it would be a good exercise and better for new contacts in my new home country if I choose for German. We’ll see….to be continued 😉

Let it snow….

Seven weeks have past since Zaina died. She is on our minds every day and it is still strange to see the empty spot on the couch were she mostly stayed the last months.

Early december we where informed that Thyrza, Zaina’s sister, also died. The two boys of this litter passed away some years ago so now they are all gone…a strange feeling an idea. I still can remember their kitty time with us so well. It wasn’t an easy littter and we had zero experience so it was a hard time. But they all made it and gave their later families so much love and happiness, they will never be forgotten.

Yara with her first litter; Chipo, Djemo, Zaina and Thyrza. Together again after 15,5 years…

But as they say…life goes on…..and we are lucky to have Ganna to coninue the line of Yara. Ganna is doing very well but he has changed from boy to man in the last month. He is still such a sweetheart but his hormones now tell him he wants a love affair. He looks at his mother and Verona in a different way now and that makes all three a bit stressed. So we keep Ganna a bit more seperated now from them which he accepts very well. Lucky for him he can stay with Noortje in one room, she knows how to handle his amorous ambitions 😉 . Verona was finally in heat again last week but a litter doesn’t fit in our planning for the next few months so she and Ganna will have to wait untill spring.

Ganna and Verona early november, watching the deer around the house

Kallima catching the late autum sun in the kitchen

Suddenly, a bit by suprise it started snowing on November 19…and quite a lot, almost 30 cm in 24 hours! Specially the youngsters Ganna but above all Verona loves it! The cold doesn’t seem to bother her at all, she is outside for hours.

Ganna overlooking the transformation from green to white

30 cm of snow

Playing time in the winter chalet

From wigwam to igloo 😉 Didi is not a big fan of the new decoration

The couch is more her favourite these days 😉

With the sun the effect is magnificent, specially in the forest

After today the snow will start to melt so we are not sure of a white Christmas. We’ll wait and see.

Despite of the difficult and huge expensive time for many of us we wish everybody a merry Christmas and a wonderful, happy and healthy 2023.

Goodbye sweetheart

Not unexpected but still very sadly we had to say goodbye to our sweetheart Zaina.

We knew winter would become very difficult for her because colds are influenced by the seasons, and it was clear that Zaina’s problem increased again since autumn started. In my last post I wrote that we would hope for the best, but inside I knew better…

Over the course of October, we saw further deterioration in her well-being and it became increasingly clear that we had to let her go soon. As the antibiotic treatments early this year did not, or only briefly, help and at the same time were quite taxing for Zaina, restarting with it was no option. She also started to lose some weight, for the first time since we arrived in Sweden.

October 10, the last day that she enjoyed the sun

In the last week of October we contacted the vet in Hogsby to help Zaina. Unfortunately euthanasia here is only done in the clinic. That made me very sad because we prefer to let our animals go in their familiar environment, but there was no choice. On Friday 28 October we drove with Zaina to the clinic where she breathed her last at 15.00 pm. I consoled myself that she had felt me untill her last moment.

Zaina about half an hour before we went to the clinic. She suddenly posed for me this way. Her face shows the fatigue and that she’s not feeling well, but it also still shows her strong personality

Zaina was born in my hands, and she died in my hands. 15,5 years were in between….We are very sad but also grateful she was there for such a long time, and most of the time in good health.

She wil be remembered as the most social cat we have had. Zaina was social with everone; congeners, the kittens who were born here, the dogs, visitors….Zaina had no problems with anyone, and nobody ever had a problem with Zaina. When a kitten from outside the cattery was introduced Zaina immediatly cared about the new resident to make them feel comfortable.

Verona as she arrived last year august. After the first introduction to the house and one or two cats I always give them a rest in the bedroom because they are tired after the trip and all the new impressions. But Zaina always insisted on staying with the new resident to comfort her. I loved how she did that. Not pushy, but just being there ❤ .

Zaina loved the kittens who were born here. As she got older she didn’t play with them but she was often near them…and helpful when needed 😉

She also was always good friends with the dogs

Zaina was also our cuddliest cat ever. Of course all Somali’s are very people oriented but Zaina was VERY people oriented and cuddling was one of her first necessities. Untill she was about ten years old this cuddling was also during the night when she insisted on sleeping half over my face. I finally had to stop this because it was just too much. Finishing my diner beside her was also impossible, she just couldn’t wait to ‘attack’, she just had to cuddle…

Dear Zaina, a few days ago you returned home, as ashes… We reunited you with your beloved mother Yara who left us much too soon in 2011.

Dear ones, we will never forget the two of you. You have brought us so much, we could never have imagined when we decided in 2006 to adopt a Somali female, Yara.

Rest in peace sweethearts ❤ ❤