An update on some non-red and red kitties whom we know and love

Cajsa, 1999-2015

 Cajsa, born, 29th May 1999, died 9th July 2015

This is the very last photo of my first cat, Cajsa. My daughter, Elisabet, and her father, took Cajsa to the vet's, where she was put to sleep.

Cajsa was suffering from cancer tumors and, being already 16 years old, she did not have much strength to fight it. 

Cajsa was the mother of thirteen kittens in three litters. She was my dear friend, companion, inspiration and comfort. May she rest in peace.

Cajsa is buried on the farm in a grave next to her daughter, Sara, who died 6th February 2013.

Cajsa's daughter, Matilda (born 5th April 2011) is now my sole, cat-companion.  

Matilda, lounging on the windowed balcony

Matilda's daughter, Rosetta, spent three weeks with us this summer (4th-26th July)

Rosetta hugging and napping with her mother, Matilda.

Mostly, mother and daughter got along well:

with some bickering...

and making up afterwards.

Is this alright?

Eventually, in September, we will have a new cat, as Elisabet's own, little Vanessa, born in June. (She is the grandchild of the cat Anna-Lisa, Rosetta's paternal grandmother. Vanessa is Rosetta's cousin):

 

In spite of Elisabet's cat-fur-allergy, we are not quite finished with cats. I am not getting much writing done. Maybe I could write a cat story or two? Some day. 

Why should we allow these obviously non-redcats a post on the Red Cat Society Blog? 

Anna-Lisa with her son, Olle

Because these cats are related to some very dear red cats: Anna-Lisa

Olle in the arms of my daughter, Elisabet

Olle is a huggable kitten!

and, of course, the twins, Lars and Sigge:

Sigge and Lars with Rosetta, when she was a kitten

Lars and Sigge would have been great heirs of the Red Cat Society, but they wanted a to live a more outdoor cat-life, and not a cooped-up apartment cat-life. So I let them move to good people who could give them that.

Rosetta and Elisabet

Sweet little Rosetta lives in Söderköping, but comes to visit us on holidays and summer vacation.

Olle would also have been a great addition to the Red Cat Society, but he and his sister are moving to a farm, where I know he will be happy.

Olle and Elisabet

Olle, wrestling with his sisters

 






















Best wishes,
Anna










First Commenter:
xxx

Ahh. Nap Time!

Where's the Kitty?

For some odd reason, Hobbes thinks we can't see him when he hides under the cuttings.  

  He is orange AND he is very large.  He is not invisible by any means.

 I like his positive attitude though.

Red Kitty Checking In!

Hello?  Anybody home?  Or is everyone feeling as laid back as Red Kitty?

We're back in our summer camper mode here, working at the campground.  Yep, the old camping kitties meme......

Man this camper seems small compared to our new digs in town, but with new scratching posts in every possible corner, with all the windows open, with a big cozy bed to lounge on, I guess everyone is doing as well as possible.  I'd be so happy if this group of felines could pitch in and help me some as there's too much work to do here....but at least I have them to keep me warm at night.  You see, it's been around 34F the past couple of nights--forget Three Dog Night--I've got a Three Cat Night......no doubt we'll be complaining about the heat any day now....

So Red Kitty wants to know, wassup with all the other red kitties out there???

Happy Birthday Red Kitty!

Red Kitty is 11 years old!  Nominally, I celebrate on January 1, but in fact, it's a mystery when he was really born.  He wandered into our lives in July: just waltzed onto our tiny farm in Iowa, and immediately caused me and my 3 stepdaughters to fall head over heels in love.  A trip to our vet gave us a guestimate of his age, got him the health seal of approval, got him "snipped" and after that, into our household (& hearts) he moved for good.

When my marriage ended a year later, Red moved to Illinois with me.  We've been through a lot together the past 11 years!

 

 Mariah joined Red and me in December, when Red was about to turn 2. She was the size of a teacup and the way Red carried on-hissing and spitting at the sight of her-you'd have thought she was very threatening.

Apparently, they came to some kind of agreement in due time.  

And they have been (mostly) best buddies ever since.

 

 

 So some days, we all miss our old farm house-especially the old porch-sunroom-entry, where the 

critters loved to hang out.  But slowly, we are beginning to adjust to the new digs.  All the critters think it's pretty good--but I don't think it's nearly camera ready yet--so I dug into the archives in order to post this.

 Oh Red, sometimes your poses can be so unattractive....

But anyways....Happy Birthday my big Red Love!

Happy New Year and Best Wishes for a Wonderful 2013!

Maybe they just need larger scratchers?

You know you are too chubby when you don't fit on your new cat scratcher.

Typical redhead - Freckles!

It's that time of year again....

You know, where you start to feel overwhelmed and stressed, and boxes and decorations suddenly come to life. 

How come the cats love all of this chaos so darn much? 

I broke her kitty...

So we welcomed my girlfriend's cat, Lucy,  into the family.

 

The family being myself, my son, my daughter, our cat Maddux and our other cat Irish. Poor Maddux is outnumbered.

My girlfriend made a point of telling me and the kids that her cat is very independent, does not like to be petted, picked up, or given treats.  I think she even used the word "skid-dish" when she described how Lucy was around other people, even members of her own family.

Well...Lucy, you had only met me once prior to the move in, and now...she is my pal.  Lucy takes treats from me, lets me pick her up, lets me pet her, and has even slept on my feet.

Initially Lucy just hissed at Maddux and Irish.  Poor Maddux, our resident Lothario...he was sooo trying to woo Lucy.  He followed her everywhere, she would just hiss at him.  Irish was constantly on the attack when Lucy was out.

Now...Lucy is breaking up cat fights between Irish and Maddux.  My girlfriend saw Irish and Maddux fighting at the top of the stairs and Lucy just watching...watching to make her stealth move.  She accessed the situation, jumped and landing right in the middle of the fight.  Irish and Maddux scattered, one went upstairs, the other down.  Lucy then sat guard at the top of the stairs.

Now Lucy wants to be freed from her little bed in the master bedroom closet.  She paws the door to get out, just like the other 2 cats.  She's also padding around the house, not caring if she brushes past one of the kids (early on she would hiss and run).

So the other night my girlfriend said "you broke my kitty".  And I said "great title for a blog post."

Lola
From Lola's Diner

BB Goes A-Wandering

When we lived in a house the Beebster was not interested in outside. Now that we live in an apartment building outside isn't so scary...

Red Kitties are the Warmest!

Early frosts, colder nights in the camper but Red and Mariah have it right!!  Less than 3 weeks 'til camground closing day and I'm finally beginning to organize my new townhouse so we can "move indoors" all together, very soon.  I'm so relieved I'm getting to the end of this unbelievable summer.  And I'm very sure that soon, when Dakota (the dog) and the three cats are all back in a "real house" they will (first) freak out totally and then (second) make it their new home.

Meanwhile, with nights in the lower 40's and lower still, I benefit from kitty heat, too.  Purrmeister sleeps on or near my head, Red Kitty prefers my left side and Mariah likes my feet.  Of course, when they are all weighing down my comforter like that, I'd better not plan on moving. 

Happy Autumn Days, everyone!

Now You See Her...

Now you don't!

Meet our new addition...Bubba

Bubba officially moved in Saturday night and spent up until this morning hiding in various spots in the master bedroom.  Yesterday I started working on cleaning out my closet and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I pulled a box out of my closet and there she was.  She would not let me take her out, Ms. Attitude would have none of that.  She didn't eat, drink or use the litter box until this morning when I told my gf that she needed to put her in the bathroom where her box and food were and just shut the door.  She'll figure it out eventually.  She did, she used the litter box and had a snack.

After about 2 hours my son let her out of the bathroom when Irish and Maddux were out.  It was kind of like a prize fight where they kind of circled around each other and gave each other the evil eye.  Then Bubba made a beeline for her sofa, stood on the arm, plotting her exit and jumped down and under the end table and hid there until Irish and Maddux went back upstairs.  Maddux did manage to hiss at her once, that was about it.

Lola
Lola's Diner

Dog Days. hrumph.

Dog Days? I think not. Cats somehow seem to have the corner on chilling when it's extra hot.

Well, at least Hobbes does.

The term "Dog Days of Summer" comes from the dog star, Sirius, being high in the sky at this time of year. Is there a cat star, I wonder? There should be.

Beat the Heat (Cold Air Sinks)

The heat wave is unrelenting, unless you count a handful of cooler nights.  The camping kitties are no fools.  There's an air conditioner directly above this part of the camper.  So lounging cats litter the floor.  It looks REALLY funny when they are all on their backs with tummies splayed upwards.  Kind of reminded me of a battlefield aftermath at first glance....ewwww....

Hope you're all either a.) beating the heat in your own ways or, better yet b.) not subjected to this record breaking taste of hell that has descended on parts of middle America.  We're in a serious drought here.  The pond is at least a foot low; the corn crop is probably ruined after a beautiful start; I'm becoming concerned about some of the trees that, despite their deeper roots, are showing stress now, too....

Still praying for rain.....

Garden Slug

Life is good when you are orange and stripey....and napping in the garden.  It doesn't get much better than that. 

Red Kitty Camping - Life is Good!

 Security snuggle (you can't see me)

Red Kitty fills up all available space

More lessons in making a camper cat friendly.  Staging new and different sleeping spots so the 3 camping kitties can change it up.  Are we having fun yet?

Chopper...

Sometimes...

You've just got to take refuge in your paper bag...



Baby Billie

Camping Cats

We aren't really roughing it here, but it sure is a huge change of scene! Red Kitty, Mariah and the Purrmeister spent their first weekend in my camper. We had a tricky adjustment period, that first 24 hours, and then, since all the comforts of home are right here, things settled down.

We'll probably make a habit of this: weekends at the campground. My theory is this is good practice for the "big move" we'll make to the new home later in the summer. Though Purrmeister lived here a couple of summers ago, the two older cats have never been anywhere except to the vet....so it's all a grand experiment.

I arranged a rug collection on the bed for them to lounge upon, and installed a little table for window watching. I plan to hang a few bird feeders in view for their pleasure, and so far, not too much fighting with me, a dog and three cats jockeying for space to move around. Sorry for the iPhone photos and I'll get better ones as we get settled in!