After a long trip from Italy, my parents picked us up in New York and all of us drove to Connecticut to our temporary duty station. I told you these cats are good travelers. We lived in CT for 5 months, just enough time for Sebastian to get into some trouble. Coco is content to stay inside, NOT Sebastian! He insists on exploring. One day Mike found him about to climb over the fence onto the secret part of the Navy Base! He is lucky Marines didn’t shoot him! After that little incident Sebastian was not allowed outside without supervision, but that didn't stop him from trying! I finally had to put a leash on him which he HATED! He used to growl and growl at it, but the desire to go outside was so strong that he put up with it!
When April rolled around, it was time to leave CT and head to our new home, WA. We planned to drive across country; (I will never do that again) We went from CT to DC then to Huntsville AL via the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was a winding road through beautiful scenery. For the first half of the drive, my parents were following us and Mike was going at a decent speed, then my Dad decided to pass us and ZOOM, suddenly Dad was flying like the pilot he is! Coco just slept on the seat but Sebastian has to be part of the action. He sat right between Mike and I and “skied” the road, leaning into each turn just like Alberto Tomba! It was funny and impressive; he didn’t even get carsick. Eventually we made it to WA and our new home.
With cats in tow we moved into a new house with a huge back yard and lots of forest around us. The cats love exploring in the yard. Almost from day one our back yard has been transformed into something you might see on the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet. Sebastian catches at least one mole or mouse a day. Here is the routine.
Sebastian will go out hunting while Coco waits on the porch, god forbid that she would be caught hunting. Sebastian brings the mole or mouse to her, leaves it at her feet and then moves on to other adventures. Meanwhile, Coco proceeds to play with the poor thing until it is dead then she eats the head and leaves the body on the porch for me to find. Nice kitty! Now usually Mike and I are the only ones that get to enjoy this, but lately Sebastian has been doing this in front of other people, particularly dinner guests, how appetizing! One recent dinner guest was amazed at the variety of creatures Sebastian finds. He brought us a gecko and a mole within an hour! Usually the men find it entertaining and the women find it disgusting. CE la Vie!
Sebastian’s all time challenge is to catch the squirrel. It is much too fast and it can climb the tree. One day however, he caught a chipmunk. I caught him with it in his mouth and tried to free it as usual. I turned him on his side a proceeded to tickle his feet, which he hates! It was enough of a distraction for me to pry his jaws of death open and free the chipmunk. Once the chipmunk got over the shock he chittered and chattered all the way to the tree. I’m sure he was cursing at Sebastian. Coco just watched from the porch and when she saw she wasn’t getting a snack she went inside....more Cat Tails to come
Monday, November 26, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
I mean, do you really need more STUFF!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
Not only do I love small cats I also love big cats, like lions, tigers, leopards cheetahs, the list goes on and on. Some of these animals are in great need of our help, especially tigers so now that the start of the holiday shopping season is upon us please think about giving the gift of animal conservation, and donate to the World Wildlife Fund. They are doing amazing things around the world to help endangered species have a fighting chance at survival. It means so much more then just giving more "stuff" Happy Holidays! Click on the X to see the photos.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Mission Impossible...or is it?
When all the kittens finally started to live outside we decided it was time to find them homes. We just could not take care of 12 cats! I found homes for all except 2, Tigger and Ginger, but I heard through the Italian grapevine that the couple that moved into our place after we left Italy adopted them both. I hope that all the Italian cats are happy they certainly gave us hours of entertainment!
As our time in Italy grew short we took many trips through Europe. One time we went to Germany and we had a friend (Yvonne) stay at the “villa” and take care of the cats. Well, Coco has a routine in the morning. When it is time for her breakfast she will bug you until you get up and feed her. After all she is up so you should be up too! Did I mention that she is a princess? Anyway she plays this game, she will sit on you and put her cold wet nose on your nose and if that doesn’t work she will paw at you until you wake up! Pat, pat, pat, purr, purr, purr. Well, Yvonne wanted to sleep-in one morning so she shut the bedroom door. At 7 am Coco was there, in her face, wanting her to get up! “How did you get in here?”Yvonne said, and a mystery was born! The same thing happened the next morning. On the third morning Yvonne set the alarm to wake her up BEFORE 7am to try and catch Coco getting into the room. The door to the bedroom is closed and there is this pane of wavy glass so it's private but you can still see through the door At 6:45am Yvonne is awake and waiting, she sees a dark blob on the other side of the door, you guessed it, Coco! Coco waited patiently until 7am and then began leaping up in the air and hitting the door handle! It took her about 3 times before she finally got the door open. Smart cat! Our friend was very impressed, we were not surprised, after all it's Coco were talking about!
Soon it was time to leave Bella Napoli! As we drove out of town, we looked back at the great shape of the volcano Vesuvius being illuminated by the sunrise. We were both sad but also thankful that the volcano decided NOT to erupt and we hope to live there again someday. During the drive to Rome for our flight there was a huge rainstorm, this might not sound like a big deal BUT the roads in Italy do not have proper drainage so it made us late, and therefore we missed our flight! Picture this, little tiny car, loads of luggage and two cats stuck at the Rome airport! We were so late we just drove up, parked the car in the NO LOADING ZONE and ran in, all in perfect view of the Caribinieri (Military Police). He says "No Parcheggio qui!" (no parking here) and I said "solo uno momento?" (only for a moment) He just rolled his eyes and waved us in! Once inside Mike says "what are we going to do with the rental car?" "I HAVE to return it don't I?" "There's no time!" I said "Just leave it there!" We both knew we weren't getting on the flight anyway. We were exhausted, the cats were exhausted we made a valiant effort, but not good enough. We gathered our bags and the cats, went back outside, climbed in the car (yes it was still there, not even a ticket) and found a little hotel close to the airport. Once settled in the hotel the cats just slept in the closet, I think they wanted some peace and quiet! We on the other hand, spent the rest of the day touring Roma and enjoying "la dolce vita" (the sweet life). The next day it was off to the airport with plenty of time to RETURN the rental car. All the Italians in the airport just loved Sebastian and Coco, so there was plenty of entertainment prior to the flight. Once on board both cats just settled into their little carriers under the seat and slept the whole flight back to the USA. They are such good travelers!
As our time in Italy grew short we took many trips through Europe. One time we went to Germany and we had a friend (Yvonne) stay at the “villa” and take care of the cats. Well, Coco has a routine in the morning. When it is time for her breakfast she will bug you until you get up and feed her. After all she is up so you should be up too! Did I mention that she is a princess? Anyway she plays this game, she will sit on you and put her cold wet nose on your nose and if that doesn’t work she will paw at you until you wake up! Pat, pat, pat, purr, purr, purr. Well, Yvonne wanted to sleep-in one morning so she shut the bedroom door. At 7 am Coco was there, in her face, wanting her to get up! “How did you get in here?”Yvonne said, and a mystery was born! The same thing happened the next morning. On the third morning Yvonne set the alarm to wake her up BEFORE 7am to try and catch Coco getting into the room. The door to the bedroom is closed and there is this pane of wavy glass so it's private but you can still see through the door At 6:45am Yvonne is awake and waiting, she sees a dark blob on the other side of the door, you guessed it, Coco! Coco waited patiently until 7am and then began leaping up in the air and hitting the door handle! It took her about 3 times before she finally got the door open. Smart cat! Our friend was very impressed, we were not surprised, after all it's Coco were talking about!
Soon it was time to leave Bella Napoli! As we drove out of town, we looked back at the great shape of the volcano Vesuvius being illuminated by the sunrise. We were both sad but also thankful that the volcano decided NOT to erupt and we hope to live there again someday. During the drive to Rome for our flight there was a huge rainstorm, this might not sound like a big deal BUT the roads in Italy do not have proper drainage so it made us late, and therefore we missed our flight! Picture this, little tiny car, loads of luggage and two cats stuck at the Rome airport! We were so late we just drove up, parked the car in the NO LOADING ZONE and ran in, all in perfect view of the Caribinieri (Military Police). He says "No Parcheggio qui!" (no parking here) and I said "solo uno momento?" (only for a moment) He just rolled his eyes and waved us in! Once inside Mike says "what are we going to do with the rental car?" "I HAVE to return it don't I?" "There's no time!" I said "Just leave it there!" We both knew we weren't getting on the flight anyway. We were exhausted, the cats were exhausted we made a valiant effort, but not good enough. We gathered our bags and the cats, went back outside, climbed in the car (yes it was still there, not even a ticket) and found a little hotel close to the airport. Once settled in the hotel the cats just slept in the closet, I think they wanted some peace and quiet! We on the other hand, spent the rest of the day touring Roma and enjoying "la dolce vita" (the sweet life). The next day it was off to the airport with plenty of time to RETURN the rental car. All the Italians in the airport just loved Sebastian and Coco, so there was plenty of entertainment prior to the flight. Once on board both cats just settled into their little carriers under the seat and slept the whole flight back to the USA. They are such good travelers!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Kittens, Kittens EVERYWHERE!
Sebastian and Coco spent their days lounging on the balcony in the sun watching the garden kitties play with each other. Then one day Mike and I noticed that Tigger and Bianca were getting quite fat! Apparently a male cat found his way to our garden, and.........well you know! OK, let me spell it out for you, they were preggars! That made both of them really hungry, they ate everything in sight including pasta! Cleaning out the fridge was always a blast, we would just throw food over the balcony and the cats would devour it. Poor Billy couldn't figure out how all this happened he just knew he was the lowest on the totem pole when it came to eating meals!
Then one fine day I opened the front door, and there was Tigger on the welcome mat having kittens! Welcome to Italy kitties! I ran and got a box with a towel for her. She had four little ones. When she was done, I got her a new box with a fluffy pink blanket in it, she was very happy. Two days later Bianca had her kittens. She had them on the neighbor’s balcony in a box with newspaper and it was outside in the wind. She stayed there for about three days then she came in the hallway for dinner one night and saw Tigger’s set up. A minute later we heard this meow and here comes Bianca with one of her little kittens. She put it in the box with Tigger’s and then went and got the rest. She piled all of them in the box and kicked Tigger out! I had to get a new box for Tigger and her kittens, but most of the time Bianca just took care of all 7! Tigger would rather be out roaming around then nursing kittens.
Sebastian and Coco kept their distance, they didn't want anything to do with all those cats! Pretty soon the kittens were old enough to go outside in the garden, much to the relief of Sebastian and Coco. And when they were no longer nursing, we got Bianca and Tigger fixed....more cat tails to come!
Then one fine day I opened the front door, and there was Tigger on the welcome mat having kittens! Welcome to Italy kitties! I ran and got a box with a towel for her. She had four little ones. When she was done, I got her a new box with a fluffy pink blanket in it, she was very happy. Two days later Bianca had her kittens. She had them on the neighbor’s balcony in a box with newspaper and it was outside in the wind. She stayed there for about three days then she came in the hallway for dinner one night and saw Tigger’s set up. A minute later we heard this meow and here comes Bianca with one of her little kittens. She put it in the box with Tigger’s and then went and got the rest. She piled all of them in the box and kicked Tigger out! I had to get a new box for Tigger and her kittens, but most of the time Bianca just took care of all 7! Tigger would rather be out roaming around then nursing kittens.
Sebastian and Coco kept their distance, they didn't want anything to do with all those cats! Pretty soon the kittens were old enough to go outside in the garden, much to the relief of Sebastian and Coco. And when they were no longer nursing, we got Bianca and Tigger fixed....more cat tails to come!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Casa della Gatti
Sebastian and Coco spent the next few days getting used to their new Italian Villa. It was a big place with a wrap around balcony and a rooftop balcony so they had plenty of space to explore. There was also a garden full of lemon trees and grapevines. It was a kitty paradise, or so I thought...
Naples is rather over run with stray cats and dogs so I didn’t feel comfortable letting Sebastian and Coco explore the garden. They spent many hours looking longingly at it from the balcony. Then one day I just couldn't take it anymore and I decided to let Sebastian out. Well, just like a good kitty he disappeared. I thought "GREAT! I've lost him in Italy!" I spent the afternoon looking for him, then at about 4:00pm I heard the not so distant sound of barking dogs! I went out on the balcony to see what the commotion was and here comes Sebastian running at full kitty sprint down the street with three hungry Naples dogs in hot pursuit! They had a look in their eyes that said lunch! I screamed for Mike to come quickly and just as he made it outside Sebastian made it to the safety of our gate! Once inside the yard he collapsed under the car, he must have been thinking "Shit! That was close, I think those dogs literally wanted to eat me for lunch!" Once he could breathe again I dragged him out from under the car and took him upstairs. Coco greeted him with the usual biff upside his head and seemed to be saying “You fool, I told you that would happen!” Needless to say, he didn’t express any interest to go outside again for a while.
A few months later a little kitten appeared in the yard. Our neighbor adopted him and he became the garden cat. We named him “Billy” as in Bill the Cat. He was one of the sweetest cats I have known in a stupid, silly kind of way. He got along with everyone including Sebastian. They would chase each other for hours in the garden. I don’t know if Sebastian was really enjoying it, but Billy sure was. Coco just looked down at the commotion from the balcony glad not to be a part of it. Well, one cat in the garden soon led to more. Billy went out and brought home two of his friends, Bianca and Tigger. Bianca was pure white with beautiful green eyes and Tigger, well she looked like a tiger! The three of them became the extended family as Mike called them. We took good care of them, got them their shots and had Billy fixed. We also provided a warm blanket in a box that was inside our hallway. At night, they would all curl up together and dream of chasing each other in the garden. Life was good at "Casa della Gatti" (house of the cats).
Naples is rather over run with stray cats and dogs so I didn’t feel comfortable letting Sebastian and Coco explore the garden. They spent many hours looking longingly at it from the balcony. Then one day I just couldn't take it anymore and I decided to let Sebastian out. Well, just like a good kitty he disappeared. I thought "GREAT! I've lost him in Italy!" I spent the afternoon looking for him, then at about 4:00pm I heard the not so distant sound of barking dogs! I went out on the balcony to see what the commotion was and here comes Sebastian running at full kitty sprint down the street with three hungry Naples dogs in hot pursuit! They had a look in their eyes that said lunch! I screamed for Mike to come quickly and just as he made it outside Sebastian made it to the safety of our gate! Once inside the yard he collapsed under the car, he must have been thinking "Shit! That was close, I think those dogs literally wanted to eat me for lunch!" Once he could breathe again I dragged him out from under the car and took him upstairs. Coco greeted him with the usual biff upside his head and seemed to be saying “You fool, I told you that would happen!” Needless to say, he didn’t express any interest to go outside again for a while.
A few months later a little kitten appeared in the yard. Our neighbor adopted him and he became the garden cat. We named him “Billy” as in Bill the Cat. He was one of the sweetest cats I have known in a stupid, silly kind of way. He got along with everyone including Sebastian. They would chase each other for hours in the garden. I don’t know if Sebastian was really enjoying it, but Billy sure was. Coco just looked down at the commotion from the balcony glad not to be a part of it. Well, one cat in the garden soon led to more. Billy went out and brought home two of his friends, Bianca and Tigger. Bianca was pure white with beautiful green eyes and Tigger, well she looked like a tiger! The three of them became the extended family as Mike called them. We took good care of them, got them their shots and had Billy fixed. We also provided a warm blanket in a box that was inside our hallway. At night, they would all curl up together and dream of chasing each other in the garden. Life was good at "Casa della Gatti" (house of the cats).
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh Napoli!
Well October rolled around and it was time for the cats to come to Italy. So my parents made arrangements to fly with the them under the seat, they all flew to Rome first class of course. During the flight Mum would take Sebastian to the bathroom to smell things (LOVELY) and Coco just traveled from lap to lap sampling the many delicacies that first class has to offer! That is still an issue for my husband, the cats have flown first class and he never has! Poetic justice I guess. Anyway, Mike and I met the whole gang in Rome.
Now it was time to drive to Naples, 2 hours south of Rome. It’s not a bad drive, but when you have been on a plane for 24 hours it can be a little hectic, you see Italians don’t drive like Americans. Matter of a fact, Italians don’t drive, they "race" down the Autostrade, especially southern Italians. Mike and I soon learned that if we were going to get anywhere in Italy we better learn to drive like an Italian. What’s the saying? When in Rome, do as the Romans. Well we did. So we were in the car racing down the Autostrade to Naples going about 100 MPH when Sebastian decided that it was time to pee. He was sitting on Dad's lap and he looked back at me and did his pee pee meow! I immediately showed him the box on the back dash of the car. He tip toed over Dad, luggage and coats to get back there and then.....peed and peed! Thank god Mike didn't have to slam on the brakes or the whole shebang would have flown forward! After he was done, he just settled down for a nap.
When we finally arrived in Naples both the cats started to wrinkle their noses. Naples is quite aromatic so they had a lot to smell. There was burning trash, volcano farts and nasty exhaust from old cars, welcome to Bella Napoli! It had to have been one of the worst pollution days I had ever seen. And we arrived right at rush hour! Then I said, “The only thing that would top this, is a traffic jam in the tunnel.” Need I say more, you guessed it, we got stuck in a traffic jam in the tunnel. As we were sitting there I heard the not so distance siren of an ambulance! Yep, that ambulance needed to get through the tunnel! "Where is he going to go?" my Mum exclaimed! I said "Right here between these cars!" "There's NO ROOM!" She said, "Yeah, I know, so maybe we better put the side view mirrors in." I said in an unusually calm voice. Then here it came, like a Tasmanian Devil! It went right between us and another car, with inches to spare ("good thing we put the mirrors in" I thought) then there were 5 cars in hot pursuit! That is how Neapolitans get through rush hour traffic, they follow ambulances! Just another Naples day! WHEW, glad that ordeal was over, now we can focus on getting home to the peaceful tranquility of our Italian villa. When we arrived, the cats didn't even care, all they wanted was dinner and a big cat nap, can't say I blame them....
Now it was time to drive to Naples, 2 hours south of Rome. It’s not a bad drive, but when you have been on a plane for 24 hours it can be a little hectic, you see Italians don’t drive like Americans. Matter of a fact, Italians don’t drive, they "race" down the Autostrade, especially southern Italians. Mike and I soon learned that if we were going to get anywhere in Italy we better learn to drive like an Italian. What’s the saying? When in Rome, do as the Romans. Well we did. So we were in the car racing down the Autostrade to Naples going about 100 MPH when Sebastian decided that it was time to pee. He was sitting on Dad's lap and he looked back at me and did his pee pee meow! I immediately showed him the box on the back dash of the car. He tip toed over Dad, luggage and coats to get back there and then.....peed and peed! Thank god Mike didn't have to slam on the brakes or the whole shebang would have flown forward! After he was done, he just settled down for a nap.
When we finally arrived in Naples both the cats started to wrinkle their noses. Naples is quite aromatic so they had a lot to smell. There was burning trash, volcano farts and nasty exhaust from old cars, welcome to Bella Napoli! It had to have been one of the worst pollution days I had ever seen. And we arrived right at rush hour! Then I said, “The only thing that would top this, is a traffic jam in the tunnel.” Need I say more, you guessed it, we got stuck in a traffic jam in the tunnel. As we were sitting there I heard the not so distance siren of an ambulance! Yep, that ambulance needed to get through the tunnel! "Where is he going to go?" my Mum exclaimed! I said "Right here between these cars!" "There's NO ROOM!" She said, "Yeah, I know, so maybe we better put the side view mirrors in." I said in an unusually calm voice. Then here it came, like a Tasmanian Devil! It went right between us and another car, with inches to spare ("good thing we put the mirrors in" I thought) then there were 5 cars in hot pursuit! That is how Neapolitans get through rush hour traffic, they follow ambulances! Just another Naples day! WHEW, glad that ordeal was over, now we can focus on getting home to the peaceful tranquility of our Italian villa. When we arrived, the cats didn't even care, all they wanted was dinner and a big cat nap, can't say I blame them....
Monday, November 5, 2007
Sebastian, Coco and the GREAT ITALIAN ADVENTURE!
It was soon time for Mike and I to pack up and move to Italy, where we planned to eat pizza and drink cappuccinos. It was a tearful goodbye at the airport, but the one thing I knew, was that Sebastian and Coco were in VERY good hands. Besides, this gave us time to find a house and get settled, that way the cats didn't have to live in a kennel!
The cats settled into "grandma's" house in no time. Coco established herself as queen and Sebastian and Ringo were just there as entertainment, and Mum of course was the royal chef, Coco was quite content. Sebastian pretty much took over the garden and Coco took over the kitchen.....OK, the WHOLE house! Poor Ringo was banished to the living room, and only came out for the great chicken feast! It soon became clear to Mum that in order to have a peaceful house, she had to let Sebastian outside, once that happened a feeling of ZEN washed over the household and everyone was happy.
So everyday, after breakfast, Sebastian was allowed to go outside. One day, Sebastian didn't come home for dinner, so Mum got in her car and went over to my old house, which was about 2 blocks away. Well, there was Sebastian sitting on the porch! The people that bought my house had no problem with him being there, in fact, they wanted to adopt him but my Mum explained to them that Sebastian was temporarily living with her and would be moving to Italy soon! Everyday Sebastian went over to the old house , AND EVERY DAY Mum would have to go over with the car, call for Sebastian, he would come out jump in the back of the car and she would drive him home for the night.
Meanwhile, the competition for chicken between Ringo and Coco escalated to Olympic proportions! Mum would throw pieces of chicken across the kitchen, and Coco and Ringo would then battle for the prize. Coco is small, but she is fast and if speed didn't work she would just biff Ringo upside he head and steal the chicken! Ringo must have been thinking "WHEN are these two moving, I just want my house back!"
The cats settled into "grandma's" house in no time. Coco established herself as queen and Sebastian and Ringo were just there as entertainment, and Mum of course was the royal chef, Coco was quite content. Sebastian pretty much took over the garden and Coco took over the kitchen.....OK, the WHOLE house! Poor Ringo was banished to the living room, and only came out for the great chicken feast! It soon became clear to Mum that in order to have a peaceful house, she had to let Sebastian outside, once that happened a feeling of ZEN washed over the household and everyone was happy.
So everyday, after breakfast, Sebastian was allowed to go outside. One day, Sebastian didn't come home for dinner, so Mum got in her car and went over to my old house, which was about 2 blocks away. Well, there was Sebastian sitting on the porch! The people that bought my house had no problem with him being there, in fact, they wanted to adopt him but my Mum explained to them that Sebastian was temporarily living with her and would be moving to Italy soon! Everyday Sebastian went over to the old house , AND EVERY DAY Mum would have to go over with the car, call for Sebastian, he would come out jump in the back of the car and she would drive him home for the night.
Meanwhile, the competition for chicken between Ringo and Coco escalated to Olympic proportions! Mum would throw pieces of chicken across the kitchen, and Coco and Ringo would then battle for the prize. Coco is small, but she is fast and if speed didn't work she would just biff Ringo upside he head and steal the chicken! Ringo must have been thinking "WHEN are these two moving, I just want my house back!"
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