Hi everybody
I would like to introduce myself. I am a 31 year old woman from Iceland, and I live 40 min drive east from the capital in a 122 year old house in a small village by the sea. With me in this old house are my 6 cats (and my partner of course
)
The first cat was Múddi. I got him in march 2001 from a cat shelter, when he was little over 1 year old. He had been found outside 5 months prior in a bad state, and had obviously been molested, because he was so afraid of people, specially men and people in outdoor clothing. In fact the people in the shelter had nearly given up on him, since he was so afraid and nervous, and they never thought that he could be adopted out because of it. Of course no one wants a cat that is scared of them. Well that was untill he met me
When I first went into the room where he was with probably 20-30 other cats, he came directly to me and miawed, then he jumped on top of a table that was there, I went to him and then he put his paws on my shoulders and gave me his first kitty kiss. He even allowed me to hold him in my arms for a long time. In fact he never wants anybody to hold him ever, not even me, except for this time. The first weeks in his new home, he was so scared with all the new smells and noices, so most of the time he spent under the covers with me, purring and kissing me, because I knew he felt safe under there. Today you wouldnt recognize him for the same cat. He is now an outdoor cat, and obviously the king of the neighborhood cats, so full of confidence protecting his yard for intruders, playing in all the overgrown old gardens next to our house or taking a stroll in the sand on the beach. He always comes in before bedtime (except in the nights in the summer that are very warm and have the sun shining the whole night) and he always comes to me in bed and we cuddle and kiss, such a happy cat having a quality time with me.
Here is a picture of him on top of me, he looks so happy in the picture, really warms my heart:
The next cat was in fact a cat that i got for Múddi, because I felt he needed something in his life. Despite being home a lot at the time, and playing with him a lot, he seemed bored. Then I went back to the cat shelter and asked if they had a cat that was very social. They brought out Snælda, a 6 month old female kitten, that was a small skinny thing, that was basically only enormous ears and tail. Múddi and her became instant friends from the minute they met, and are still best buddies. Here is picture of her, she looks very happy in this pic:
The third one is a purebreed norwegian forest cat called AfródÃ:censor:ta (but we always call her "white cat"). A female that is also deaf (because of her white color). I got her one year old from a family that couldnt handle her deaf-cat-behaviour, that included throwing all the fancy things in the shelfs and windows on the floor and breaking them and a strong (nearly manic) urge to go outside, and you cant let a deaf cat go outside, because they cant hear the sound of cars, they dont have a fear from anything and that makes them walk straight into dangers, like barking and growling dogs or other animals plus it seems that animals sense that she is different and attack her. Now she goes only outside with a harness that has a long leash, so she can roam free in the garden while we watch her not getting tangled in anything. She is a very smart, self-assure cat that really thinks she is the boss:
The nest two are retired queens from a Bengal breeder here in Iceland. I got them at the same time. Vicky was 2 years old when I got her and Icy was 5 years old. Vicky is hyperactive, very smart, always with her nose in everything and can do the darnest things. I guess she has similar personality as "Dr. Evil" in the Austin Powers movies, always out there plotting something "evil".... Here is a picture that proves my point, Notice the moon on the left and the cross of the local church on the right. It was not my intention to make this picture so symbolic, I was just taking a picture of Vicky acting crazy, but somehow it turned out like this:
Icy is snowbengal, and when I got her she was nearly feral, but with a lot of TLC and training she has gotten to be a big bundle of purring furryness, and in fact you would never have believed that she used to be so wild. She even lets strangers pet her now, and she is in fact the cat that spends most of her time with us. She really hates when I take photos of her, but this one turned out okay, at least she didnt have time to put her sour face on:
The last cat I got in june last year, and he is 1 year and 3-4 months old now and already 9 kg (little less then 20 lbs). He is a purebreed Maine Coon, and is called Krummi. He always comes with me to work at the pet shop. He really loves it there, specially when he is the center of attention. He is the smartest cat around and I have even made him do tricks. In fact I have been teaching him the last 1-2 months, and the progress is amazing. I will tell more about his tricks in another post but just to give you an idea then he is able to choose a certain color from 4 colors, and in fact I can let him choose between any 2 objects, just by showing him the objects and tell him the name of them, and then say "choose....... Here is a recent picture of the brains in the family:
At the pet shop, disciplining the hamsters, that arent even afraid of him.
There sure are other use for the bath sink then washing hands.
Hugs and kisses
Heidrun and the kitties
I would like to introduce myself. I am a 31 year old woman from Iceland, and I live 40 min drive east from the capital in a 122 year old house in a small village by the sea. With me in this old house are my 6 cats (and my partner of course
The first cat was Múddi. I got him in march 2001 from a cat shelter, when he was little over 1 year old. He had been found outside 5 months prior in a bad state, and had obviously been molested, because he was so afraid of people, specially men and people in outdoor clothing. In fact the people in the shelter had nearly given up on him, since he was so afraid and nervous, and they never thought that he could be adopted out because of it. Of course no one wants a cat that is scared of them. Well that was untill he met me
Here is a picture of him on top of me, he looks so happy in the picture, really warms my heart:
The next cat was in fact a cat that i got for Múddi, because I felt he needed something in his life. Despite being home a lot at the time, and playing with him a lot, he seemed bored. Then I went back to the cat shelter and asked if they had a cat that was very social. They brought out Snælda, a 6 month old female kitten, that was a small skinny thing, that was basically only enormous ears and tail. Múddi and her became instant friends from the minute they met, and are still best buddies. Here is picture of her, she looks very happy in this pic:
The third one is a purebreed norwegian forest cat called AfródÃ:censor:ta (but we always call her "white cat"). A female that is also deaf (because of her white color). I got her one year old from a family that couldnt handle her deaf-cat-behaviour, that included throwing all the fancy things in the shelfs and windows on the floor and breaking them and a strong (nearly manic) urge to go outside, and you cant let a deaf cat go outside, because they cant hear the sound of cars, they dont have a fear from anything and that makes them walk straight into dangers, like barking and growling dogs or other animals plus it seems that animals sense that she is different and attack her. Now she goes only outside with a harness that has a long leash, so she can roam free in the garden while we watch her not getting tangled in anything. She is a very smart, self-assure cat that really thinks she is the boss:
The nest two are retired queens from a Bengal breeder here in Iceland. I got them at the same time. Vicky was 2 years old when I got her and Icy was 5 years old. Vicky is hyperactive, very smart, always with her nose in everything and can do the darnest things. I guess she has similar personality as "Dr. Evil" in the Austin Powers movies, always out there plotting something "evil".... Here is a picture that proves my point, Notice the moon on the left and the cross of the local church on the right. It was not my intention to make this picture so symbolic, I was just taking a picture of Vicky acting crazy, but somehow it turned out like this:
Icy is snowbengal, and when I got her she was nearly feral, but with a lot of TLC and training she has gotten to be a big bundle of purring furryness, and in fact you would never have believed that she used to be so wild. She even lets strangers pet her now, and she is in fact the cat that spends most of her time with us. She really hates when I take photos of her, but this one turned out okay, at least she didnt have time to put her sour face on:
The last cat I got in june last year, and he is 1 year and 3-4 months old now and already 9 kg (little less then 20 lbs). He is a purebreed Maine Coon, and is called Krummi. He always comes with me to work at the pet shop. He really loves it there, specially when he is the center of attention. He is the smartest cat around and I have even made him do tricks. In fact I have been teaching him the last 1-2 months, and the progress is amazing. I will tell more about his tricks in another post but just to give you an idea then he is able to choose a certain color from 4 colors, and in fact I can let him choose between any 2 objects, just by showing him the objects and tell him the name of them, and then say "choose....... Here is a recent picture of the brains in the family:
At the pet shop, disciplining the hamsters, that arent even afraid of him.
There sure are other use for the bath sink then washing hands.
Hugs and kisses
Heidrun and the kitties
