Digging Holes

Life went on in Casa Della Gatti without much drama. All three cats seemed to get along just fine. We did our best to keep Alex, Coco and Tari inside but we still want them to be allowed to be cats so on occasion we would let them out in the garden (scary music please).

Now the garden was dominated by a gang of cats that Mike and I referred to as "the Gatti della Mafioso" (cat mafia) it was an appropriate title since we were living in Bella Napoli!

The "cat mafia" consisted of 9 bad ass Neapolitan cats, Augusta, Butters, Julia, The Gay Duo (Hadrian and Antonius) Cassandra, Mischa, Angus and Helmut. These were wild cats that lived exclusively in our garden so we did not want our cats to mix with the mafia because we were afraid of disease! And besides these cats were tough as nails!

One day Tari was determined to get outside, she broke through the screen we had in the kitchen and out she went! I thought for sure she was dead meat, but much to my surprise the mafia was terrified of her!!! It must have been her royal Egyptian blood or something, because they gave her plenty of room and pretty much vacated the garden when she was around! Alex loved it, he could finally go outside without fear of a mafia hit! Coco just preferred to watch all the action from the balcony. Pretty soon Tari was outside every day, usually while we ate dinner in the garden, that way we could keep an eye on her. One beautiful summer evening Mike and I were enjoying a perfect Italian meal of insalata caprese and penne pasta when suddenly Tari went charging across the lawn. She stopped and listened and then started to dig frantically! A HUGE beetle flew out from the hole and she leaped up in the air and caught it! Yum Yum! Then she ran across the lawn again started to dig another hole and, poof, out came another beetle she ate that one too, she ate about 5 or 6. This routine continued every night at 8pm...forget gourmet fancy feast, she wanted beetles alla giardino (garden beetles) It was most entertaining to see her digging the hole and then flying across the yard as the beetle attempted to fly away. They must have tasted like french fries or something because she completely stopped eating cat food and only ate delicious crunchy beetles! GROSS!

LONG, HOT SUMMER

Paulina Cattails is on summer vacation! More heartwarming stories to come!

OOPS upside the head, I said OOPS upside the head!

There she was, sitting on the stairs, cute little Egyptian Mau with bright green eyes and huge feet! I could tell she was going to be very entertaining, she just had this attitude about her. There were all these little Maus running around wanting to play with her, but Nefertari kept her distance. When I brought out the little mouse that I had for her, she snatched it right out of my hand and ran under the table with it, as if to say "mine, mine, mine!" She eventually came back out from under the table and settled down enough for me to pick her up........I propped her over my shoulder when she promptly pushed away from me and then proceeded to WAP me upside the head! THWACK!!! I said "WHOA, she's going to kick Alexs' ASS! Then Marie-Christine said, "yes, yes that one, she is a pistol" "Greeeeaaaaat" I thought. Mike just stood there grinning, I could tell he was proud to have such a feisty cat joining our family!

Soon it was time to go, we said our good byes and back to Paris we went with Nefertari (Tari). She was very comfortable in the car and even in the hotel room. She settled in, after a huge dinner of crunchies, for a long nap. The next day we flew home to Naples, again, she was no problemo on the plane. We started discussing the plan for introducing her to Alex and Coco, we thought it would be best to keep her in the guest room for a bit and let them sniff each other under the door.

We followed our plan, but Tari doesn't like being told what to do, soooooooo out she came! Poor Alex was waiting in the hall and boy did he (and the neighbors) get an ear full! No cat fight, just a lot of hissing and howling. Then as if to say "I'm glad that's over" Tari and Alex began to warm up to each other. Coco was just happy to have a lap to sit on again and didn't really care that there was another cat in the house.

Beautiful Companion

Losing Cleo was a very difficult experience. Mike and I were extremely upset, and to make things worse, we were living in a place where animals are not cherished like they are in the USA. We had her cremated so we could bring her home with us, there was no way I was leaving her in Naples!

I was so distraught about losing Cleo that I reached out to the International Egyptian Mau Association. The Italian vets kept flip flopping on the diagnosis, they really didn't know what killed Cleo. I felt I knew more then they did. Anyway, Marie Christine, the President of the Egyptian Mau Association, helped me do a little research. We found that in the past when Egyptian Maus were first brought to the USA the breeders were guilty of inbreeding, this would cause health problems in the cats. Cleo was a classic case of inbreeding. As a result of this, she acquired bad teeth, she was constantly swallowing bacteria which led to the vicious infection. We reported the breeder so hopefully no one ever has to go through what we did. I would give anything to have Cleo back, she was such a joy.....

During the time Marie Christine was helping me, she always said, "when you are ready, I will have a kitten for you." Well, we finally felt ready in November. Marie-Christine's cattery is just outside Paris. She believes in the same philosophy I do, that we should preserve the Egyptian Mau so that is around for future generations, it's not about cat shows and competitions. She actually said "if we can't breed a healthy Mau then we should leave them all in Egypt, where they are from!" She makes annual trips to Egypt for healthy Maus to keep the bloodline STRONG. We told her we were coming to Paris to celebrate our 10th anniversary and perhaps we could come by and visit her and her Maus! She said "of course!" That is also when she said, "I have the perfect kitten for you." She sent us photos and we were smitten!

November came and off to Paris we went! On my birthday, we took the train to just outside Paris, where Marie-Christine's husband picked us up. We stopped at the bakery and cheese shop before getting to the house. We pulled up in the driveway of a beautiful chateau, I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a large garden that was completely fenced in with trees and all these little Maus running around! Inside, the place was spotless. It had all the original wood floors and beautiful antiques. "This is a cattery?" I thought. The Maus had full range of the house, and there was a cat door to the garden, so they could go outside and climb the trees. or take a cat nap in the sun. I loved that, I always believe that a cat should be allowed to be a cat! After touring the house and garden, we sat down for lunch. Marie-Christine and her husband prepared the most wonderful meal, there were fresh veggies from the garden wonderful bread and cheese and of course wine! They treated us like part of the family. After lunch we met our kitten. She was 6 months old and HUGE!!! We named her Nefertari, which means beautiful companion.

There she was, sitting on the stairs, she seemed innocent enough........

Meeeeeeowww!

Paulina Cattails will be back SOON with more heartwarming stories! Stay Tuned!

Have a PURRRRRRRRFECT Day!

Bittersweet Memories

Cleopatra was born July 24th 2002 and like I said it was time to think about getting a cat closer in age to Alex. Mike and I decided that we wanted an Egyptian Mau being that we have visited Egypt and I have studied Egyptology, I too wanted to own the “cat of the Pharaohs.”

Cleopatra looks like a little snow leopard and she has beautiful green eyes. We picked her up on November 16th and she has been a joy to have around. We were concerned about how the other cats would react, but that fear was put to rest the first night when all three of them slept on the bed together! There was a bit of hissing but no cat fights, thank god! Cleo is an extremely playful kitten, which is exactly what Alex needs, now Coco can enjoy her retirement! Funny enough Cleo does most of the chasing even though she is half of Alex’s size! Alex really is a chicken! Coco joins in on some of the playtime, but she really prefers to watch from her queenly perch.

Although we have only had Cleo a month she fits perfectly with our family. She is also a very smart little cat; she loves to play with her “sticky mouse” (mouse on a stick). When she wants to play she will claw my leg, I’m trying to break her of that habit. She loves it when I throw it down the stairs, she chases it and runs at full speed back up the stairs with it in her mouth! AND the newest thing is to climb the Christmas tree, I’m almost ready to take it down because she is destroying it! And I thought Alex was the climber!

Cleo has settled in nicely with our family and in true Navy style it is time to move AGAIN! Guess where we are going…..NAPLES ITALY! I seem to be having moments of déjà vu!

So here we go again, we packed up the house and flew to Munich and then Napoli, yes, with three cats. About 4 hours into the flight Coco decided she wanted OUT of the cat carrier so we let her climb into Mike’s lap. So picture this, we were seated in coach, middle seats a business man on one side me in the middle and Mike. So it’s a bit dark in the cabin so Coco just blends in BUT at one point the business man turns and see Coco sitting there! He kind of does a double take and I say “I’m sorry are you allergic to cat? We can put her back in the carrier if you are” He says “no, just surprised to see a cat!” I say, “actually, there are three!” At that moment I unzipped the carrier and Cleo pops her head out! Now she has these incredible shining green eyes and the macho business man says “oh how cuuuuuuuuute!” I thought it was funny! At about that time Coco was noticed by the flight attendant so we had to put her back in the carrier! We had a crazy 5 hour layover in Munich but that was OK, because the kitties could get out and walk around.

Upon arrival in Naples, I realized that nothing had changed! Still polluted and crazy with stray cats and dogs running around everywhere (what am I doing living here again?) We eventually found a lovely villa to live in with a view of the water and an amazing garden. Cleo and Alex immediately fell in love with the garden and played chase around the lemon and tangerine trees, Coco just enjoyed sleeping in the sun.

July rolled around and something terrible happened…Cleo was struck with a bizarre illness called Pyothorax after many horrible trips to the Italian Vets, where they really didn't know what they were doing, she died……it was a horrible experience and it made me want to come home more then ever! Alex was extremely upset too, he lost his playmate and we lost part of our little family. She was just 2 days shy of her 2nd birthday. We will always remember her...

Jolly Green Giant!

Our time in Denver was short, but Alex and Coco had a great time at grandma and grandpa’s. They got along great with Ringo and got plenty of kitty treats.

We arrived in Washington DC in April and moved into a four story townhouse, boy talk about stairs! Alex enjoys chasing Coco up and down and up and down, it is very entertaining. After renting for a year we decided to buy our own house and in June of 2002 we moved into our very own town home in the same neighborhood with a wonderful park view. I always say that if Sebastian were still here he would be bringing all sorts of wildlife from the park into the house! But now I have Alex and he does his share of bird hunting even though he’s an inside cat, sort of…

Alex can go out on our balcony, not good news for the birds, but hey, he's a cat right! One day Alex was out on the balcony, hiding in the geraniums, not a big deal, he's always out there....or so I thought! I had just gone upstairs to have a morning of beauty. You know, deep cleansing mask on the face, nail polish, you get the idea. WELL, Alex caught a bird as it was flying, yes flying, by! He immediately brought it in the house and started to bring it to me! Of course Mike is chasing him around and yelling for me to come and do something (remember the beauty morning) sooooooooo I’m in my robe with a GREEN mask on my face and cotton balls between my toes, I mean it was classic. And here comes Alex with the bird. Well Alex had never seen me with the mask before so he didn’t recognize me, I don’t think Mike did either, Ha Ha. He was so startled by my green face that he dropped the bird! Now we have a bird flying around the house a cat chasing it, a husband trying to catch it in the laundry basket and a wife with a cracking face!!!! That poor bird finally just flopped to the ground and Mike got him in the basket and put him back outside. Alex was very upset that we took his prize, but I told him he was a good boy, and fed him a big plate of turkey!

Alex has many other talents besides being a first rate hunter. He is also not afraid of heights. He actually prefers to be on the highest place in the room. His favorite perch is on top of the kitchen cabinets, he likes to keep an eye on his kingdom. He also plays fetch and when he wants to play he will go to his toy box pick a toy and bring it to you, as if to say, “OK I’m ready to play now” He is a very smart cat and he has taught Coco to fetch as well!

Time keeps passing us by and it only reminds me that my precious princess Coco Chanel will not be with us forever. She is 13 and Alex just turned 2 so it is time to think about getting a cat that is closer in age to Alex. So November 2002 Mike and I expanded our cat family to include a new addition. Her name is Cleopatra, Cleo for short, and she is an Egyptian Mau, hence the name Cleopatra. More Cat Tails to come.......

Vacation is All I Ever Wanted, Vacation Had to Get Away

Paulina Cattails is on vacation, more Cat Tails coming SOON!