Happy Halloween!!!!!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
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!
Friday, March 28, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
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........
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Meeeeeeowww!
Paulina Cattails will be back SOON with more heartwarming stories! Stay Tuned!
Have a PURRRRRRRRFECT Day!
Have a PURRRRRRRRFECT Day!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
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...
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...
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
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.......
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.......
Monday, January 7, 2008
Vacation is All I Ever Wanted, Vacation Had to Get Away
Paulina Cattails is on vacation, more Cat Tails coming SOON!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Big Voice, Small Package
Alexander
Alex came into my life just when I needed him most. Coco also needed a mate as she was still trying to figure out what happened to Sebastian. She would walk around the house meowing for him, it just added to the stress of the situation. So Mike took things into his hands and started pursuing getting another cat.
We found Alex in the paper as I mentioned above. He was a beautiful little 2 pound kitten with green eyes. He was VERY shy and during the ride back to our house he didn’t make a peep so I thought “wow, this is a quiet cat” BOY WAS I WRONG! That night Alex was adjusting to his new home and he was NOT happy. He “kitten screamed” all night long. I tried to have him with us in our room, but I couldn’t catch him. Instead he preferred the office under the desk. So we left him in there with a bowl of food and a cat box, but still he cried all night.
Alex came into my life just when I needed him most. Coco also needed a mate as she was still trying to figure out what happened to Sebastian. She would walk around the house meowing for him, it just added to the stress of the situation. So Mike took things into his hands and started pursuing getting another cat.
We found Alex in the paper as I mentioned above. He was a beautiful little 2 pound kitten with green eyes. He was VERY shy and during the ride back to our house he didn’t make a peep so I thought “wow, this is a quiet cat” BOY WAS I WRONG! That night Alex was adjusting to his new home and he was NOT happy. He “kitten screamed” all night long. I tried to have him with us in our room, but I couldn’t catch him. Instead he preferred the office under the desk. So we left him in there with a bowl of food and a cat box, but still he cried all night.
The next morning Alex finally fell asleep, I think he wore himself out! So I went into the office to try and see if he would warm up to me. NOPE, he would have nothing to do with me and then he started meowing again, did I mention that he is loud? So I shut the door and tried to give him some peace. After about 2 hours of this I called Mike and told him that I didn’t know what to do, he said "just give him more time." I finally decided that the only way this cat was going to get over his fear of me was if I could somehow get him NOT to run away every time he saw me! So I went and got a cat leash. I carefully coaxed him out from under the bed (he had moved to the guest room) and miraculously I got the leash on him! I put him in his carrier and took him outside on the patio, after all it was a rare sunny day in WA. He was still meowing quite loud and I was beginning to wonder what the neighbors were going to think! So I decided to give Alex some more of his food, well he turned his nose up to the stuff, apparently he really didn’t like it. BUT there was some of Coco’s food nearby and he went for it! He ate everything in sight. I bet I fed him three cans of cat food! He was HUNGRY, that’s why he was meowing so loud and he didn’t like the food that the breeder had been feeding him poor kitty! After he gorged himself he washed his face and promptly curled up on my lap and went to sleep! AMAZING! After that it was smooth sailing for our family. Alex gets along famously with Coco, she grooms him and they play together, it’s heart warming.
Just as Alex was getting settled it was time for us to move across the country again, this time to Washington DC. I was so glad to leave Washington State and yet, it was bitter sweet, I had to leave my beautiful Sebastian there. Moving day was both a sad and incredibly happy day, if that’s possible. As we drove away from Washington State I cried and cried I was saying my goodbyes to Sebastian and it was terribly hard....I will never ever forget him....
It was a peaceful drive towards our new life, Mike and I thought “this will be a piece of cake." But then came day three, the day that Alex discovered the sun roof. I don’t think he had ever seen the sun before! Anyway, here we are driving and Alex decided that he wanted out of the car through the sun roof! He quickly got up on the back of my seat and hung there like King Kong on the Empire State Building, yowling at the sun roof! He was determined to get out! It was a very interesting sight, I think Alex had had enough of being in the car! Coco in her usual principessa style, just biffed him upside the head as if you say "stop whining, it's not that bad!" Mike quickly closed the sun roof and Alex calmed right down. More Cat Tails to come......
Just as Alex was getting settled it was time for us to move across the country again, this time to Washington DC. I was so glad to leave Washington State and yet, it was bitter sweet, I had to leave my beautiful Sebastian there. Moving day was both a sad and incredibly happy day, if that’s possible. As we drove away from Washington State I cried and cried I was saying my goodbyes to Sebastian and it was terribly hard....I will never ever forget him....
It was a peaceful drive towards our new life, Mike and I thought “this will be a piece of cake." But then came day three, the day that Alex discovered the sun roof. I don’t think he had ever seen the sun before! Anyway, here we are driving and Alex decided that he wanted out of the car through the sun roof! He quickly got up on the back of my seat and hung there like King Kong on the Empire State Building, yowling at the sun roof! He was determined to get out! It was a very interesting sight, I think Alex had had enough of being in the car! Coco in her usual principessa style, just biffed him upside the head as if you say "stop whining, it's not that bad!" Mike quickly closed the sun roof and Alex calmed right down. More Cat Tails to come......
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Reflections and Tears
Our time in Washington ended on March 16th that was the day we left for our new home on the East Coast. We were missing one thing on that day……Sebastian. Sadly, and I am writing this with tears in my eyes, I lost my beautiful cat 2 months earlier on January 10, 2001.
I had let him out as usual, it was such a nice day and I thought he would enjoy the sunshine. He and Coco went out around the corner of the house Like they had done so many times before. I went upstairs to take a shower. About 20 minutes later Coco came running up the stairs with a poofy tail and she kept looking behind her as though something was chasing her. I went outside and called Sebastian but it was quiet and peaceful, still there was something not right. I continued to call him for the rest of the day and I looked all day and asked the neighbors if they had seen him. The day turned to night and it was cold and still no Sebastian. I didn’t sleep at all that night and I was out searching through the forest by 5:30am, this pattern went on for 2 solid weeks, I also put up signs EVERYWHERE and called the Humane Society everyday. Nothing I did worked I was alone (Mike was at sea) and very depressed. I had just lost my little soul mate. My friend, Annette, came over and helped me look but I never did find him…..
Here is what I think happened to him. We had a family of Coyotes living down the valley from us and the day Sebastian disappeared the neighbors and I heard them howling. I am 99% sure that he was taken by a Coyote and Coco witnessed the whole thing. When she came running in that day she had been really spooked and now if she even hears a dog bark she freaks out a little. This has been a traumatic and horrible experience and I’m not sure what I am supposed to learn from it but I urge all of you to keep your kitties inside especially if you live in a wooded area. There are so many things I wish I could change and not letting Sebastian out that day tops the list. I miss him….
When Mike arrived home to this tragedy he tried to help by looking day and night for Sebastian, but you see, I had already done that. Never-the-less we looked together it was nice to have him home and not have to go through this alone anymore. January turned to February and still no Sebastian I was feeling really low, lower then I have EVER felt in my life. It was the Saturday before Valentine’s Day and I was on-line checking the Humane Society in case Sebastian was there, when I came across a little Russian Blue kitten that was up for adoption. I mentioned to Mike that I thought he was beautiful so he grabbed my coat and said “lets go have a look.” So we went, but when we arrived the kitten had already been adopted, but did I really want another cat? I was still mourning Sebastian as I am right now. Anyway, we went home empty handed which was OK too. Then on Sunday, Mike was looking in the classifieds and there was a Russian Blue advertised for sale. So we called and off we went to the apartment where the cat was. I have never in my life bought a cat they have always just shown up in my yard or I get them from the Humane Society, but this little kitten NEEDED to get out of where it was living. The apartment was filthy and overrun with cats, the woman that had him was obviously a drug addict so Mike and I quickly adopted the kitten and got the heck outta there. His name is Alexander, Alex for short and he has started a new chapter in his life and brought much needed joy and laughter to mine.......more Cat Tails to come.......
When Mike arrived home to this tragedy he tried to help by looking day and night for Sebastian, but you see, I had already done that. Never-the-less we looked together it was nice to have him home and not have to go through this alone anymore. January turned to February and still no Sebastian I was feeling really low, lower then I have EVER felt in my life. It was the Saturday before Valentine’s Day and I was on-line checking the Humane Society in case Sebastian was there, when I came across a little Russian Blue kitten that was up for adoption. I mentioned to Mike that I thought he was beautiful so he grabbed my coat and said “lets go have a look.” So we went, but when we arrived the kitten had already been adopted, but did I really want another cat? I was still mourning Sebastian as I am right now. Anyway, we went home empty handed which was OK too. Then on Sunday, Mike was looking in the classifieds and there was a Russian Blue advertised for sale. So we called and off we went to the apartment where the cat was. I have never in my life bought a cat they have always just shown up in my yard or I get them from the Humane Society, but this little kitten NEEDED to get out of where it was living. The apartment was filthy and overrun with cats, the woman that had him was obviously a drug addict so Mike and I quickly adopted the kitten and got the heck outta there. His name is Alexander, Alex for short and he has started a new chapter in his life and brought much needed joy and laughter to mine.......more Cat Tails to come.......
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Pampas Grass and Swaying Trees
As anyone who owns cats knows, trips to the vet are a way of life but Sebastian should really rent a room at the vet! He is always getting into some kind of trouble! One sunny (rare in western Washington) morning Sebastian went outside, everything was fine. He came back an hour later with stuff coming out his nose and mouth! It was disturbing and scary! He looked like something from a Stephen King novel. So off to the vet we went. They informed me after a thorough investigation (that included the thermometer up the butt, which Sebastian despises) that he had a piece of pampas grass stuck in his nose! Thank God it wasn’t serious, but how does one get a piece of pampas grass stuck in one’s nose? He apparently tried to throw up grass and it went into his nasal passage instead, poor kitty! It was constantly tickling the back of his throat causing the gag reflex. The vet had to knock him out to remove the grass. When we went back later that day to pick him up, the vet says "he's pretty pissed off, you better go back and get him!" I said, "yeah, I'm used to it!" We took him home and he was fine. What a way to spend a Sunday!
Sebastian was up to his old tricks pretty much immediately following the pampas grass episode. Early one evening I said to Mike "where is Sebastian?" He says "I don't know." So I go to the door and call him....now I can hear his bell but I can't see him! So I call for Mike to come and help look for him. We are walking around the yard, which is pretty much a forest, calling and listening. Finally I say, "look up!" There is Sebastian WAAAAAAAAYYYY up in a tree! By now it's completely dark and the wind is blowing making the tall tree sway, Sebastian is hanging on for dear life and all the while we hear the tinkle tinkle of his little bell. After surveying the situation Mike's Navy training kicks in and he decides on a plan of action to get Sebastian out of the tree. He climbs up on a fallen tree, balances a ladder on top of it, then proceeds to climb up the ladder as far as he can. Then I hand him the laundry basket which he holds out for Sebastian to jump into. In he goes, then Mike lowers him down to the fallen tree like an elevator, Sebastian jumps out, like nothing has happened, and goes inside to eat! The things we do for that cat!
And so the wild adventures continue. I have had the pleasure of meeting all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures thanks to Sebastian and Coco. I have had snakes and geckos in the house as well as mice and moles. It gives a whole new meaning to the title of mother! Even if it is mother to a couple of cats. At least it keeps me entertained as I sit here in Washington State waiting for the sun to come out! More Cat Tails to come...
Sebastian was up to his old tricks pretty much immediately following the pampas grass episode. Early one evening I said to Mike "where is Sebastian?" He says "I don't know." So I go to the door and call him....now I can hear his bell but I can't see him! So I call for Mike to come and help look for him. We are walking around the yard, which is pretty much a forest, calling and listening. Finally I say, "look up!" There is Sebastian WAAAAAAAAYYYY up in a tree! By now it's completely dark and the wind is blowing making the tall tree sway, Sebastian is hanging on for dear life and all the while we hear the tinkle tinkle of his little bell. After surveying the situation Mike's Navy training kicks in and he decides on a plan of action to get Sebastian out of the tree. He climbs up on a fallen tree, balances a ladder on top of it, then proceeds to climb up the ladder as far as he can. Then I hand him the laundry basket which he holds out for Sebastian to jump into. In he goes, then Mike lowers him down to the fallen tree like an elevator, Sebastian jumps out, like nothing has happened, and goes inside to eat! The things we do for that cat!
And so the wild adventures continue. I have had the pleasure of meeting all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures thanks to Sebastian and Coco. I have had snakes and geckos in the house as well as mice and moles. It gives a whole new meaning to the title of mother! Even if it is mother to a couple of cats. At least it keeps me entertained as I sit here in Washington State waiting for the sun to come out! More Cat Tails to come...
Monday, November 26, 2007
Washington's Wild Discovery
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
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 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!"
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
