Friday, April 15

Life lately + my furbabies


It's finally Friday and I can't tell you how glad I am! After three incredibly busy months plus my tax appointment I really thought I could wind down a little and focus on future projects for my blog, but at the beginning of this week one small mistake made by a third party resulted in widespread repercussions, leaving me with having to deal with the aftermath. I'm sure you can relate. Unfortunately until the messy business is solved I have to push back those projects. I guess here's where I admit I'm a bit of a control freak. I like overseeing every single step in my business, be it sales, accounting, shipping, ordering, customer service and so on and so forth. My family always jokes that they would gladly help me out, but never actually be employed by me. haha.

The weather over here has been a mix of rain, hail, fog, storms with some record low and high temps. Most mornings in my area look like in the picture above. While the mist dissipates over the course of the day, the wind around here can be especially chilly. I'll be glad when I can finally put my coat away for good. In good news I sold tote bags and a couple of rectangular pillows over in my society6 store and in better news the awesome company Art Gallery Fabrics is now following me on instagram :)

Some of my readers with cats have been asking and I realized that it's been quite a while since I posted pictures of my furbabies! My kitties always cheer me up without fail and just looking at their pictures makes me go squeeee :) Apart from Sammy, who doesn't move around much it's really difficult getting a good picture of the other three kitties, as they either come up really close to the camera and start sniffing it or run away at the sound of the click. However, I did finally manage to get a photo of each without too much blurring!


Sammy, at nearly fourteen, is the oldest of the bunch. He's never been a cuddly kind of cat but over the years he's grown quite mellow and he's the only cat of the four I can actually pick up and carry. Mostly though he snoozes on the couch or his favorite cushion near the window. Sadly, just like humans, various aches and pains come with age. Lately he's developed mild osteoarthritis in his hind legs, for which he now gets daily medication. Luckily he eats well, so I can "hide" the icky meds in his food without him noticing. Sammy is the only kitty I know that doesn't want to go out into the garden. Sammy is a rescue cat from the shelter. I have been told that he had been stuffed into a box ready to be dumped. Someone with a heart rescued him from the box and brought him to the shelter. He was about a year old back then, but he's never overcome this traumatic experience. I always keep any type of box away from him, because he's so afraid of them. Also, he is seized with panic every time the doorbell rings and strangers come in the house. I've made sure that he has a safe place for hiding and that whoever comes in the house, even family, doesn't go near him. Sammy has always been special in a way that we need to take extra care of him.


After living her entire life (she's almost twelve now) at my Mom's place, Sumi has adjusted pretty well over here. We have established a routine - so important for cats - and since Sumi is somewhat finicky, I really make sure to stick to it! Because she was born with kidney insufficiency she's been on meds her entire life and it is not easy administering them, as compared to Sammy, she's a picky eater. I have to sit with her in the mornings to make sure she at least eats a portion of the specialty food with the medication in it. But make no mistake, she's feisty despite her age and small size! Now that she's no longer afraid she loves exploring the entire house. She's not allowed in the garden though, even if it breaks my heart to see the longing on her little face. But she's all I have left of my Mom, so I'm not about to lose her too. She doesn't know cars and doesn't know that some neighbors don't like cats. I compromise by letting her sit - supervised - at a window which I've opened a crack. She enjoys that so much. She also enjoys daily grooming and games, lots of games! I've noticed that ever since she's moved here she's become a lot more active and she really enjoys the company of humans! I do believe she's quite happy :)

For those who asked, I'm afraid she and Sammy still don't get along. They simply don't like each other. I'm just glad they instinctively avoid each other's company most of the time, so I can work in peace without fearing cat attacks or that my home will be torn to shreds.


Molly is an infrequent visitor and she only ever comes to the back door. She's a true huntress. Just the other day I saw her chasing a squirrel. The squirrel scrambled up a tree, and Molly was trying to catch it but wasn't able to climb high enough. Then the squirrel jumped on the next tree and Molly had to admit defeat. I was so relieved she didn't catch the squirrel! I'm not sure of her age, but I believe she must be around five years old now. She's not too fond of the food I put out for her...I have an inkling this is because more often than not she's already had her meal. However, she never says "no" to a small dish of cream! Again, she's not very cuddly and she prefers for humans to keep their distance; on the other hand she's not shy at all and in summer time when the back door is open during the day she simply waltzes in and searches the rooms until she finds me! Being an outdoor cat she's highly alert and quite the independent lady. She does not tolerate any other cats around her turf and will chase them away. I've seen her two streets away, so her turf covers a pretty big area. She seems to have accepted though, that the garden is Leo's turf.


Leo!!! My adorable roly-poly Leo, who simply walked up to our house several winters ago and never left. Being a former feral cat with probably bad experiences with humans in his young life he's skittish most of the time...except when he's around me. I am the only person who is allowed to pet him and he headbutts me in return. He is in fact very sweet natured, but so terribly frightened of every unknown noise, cars, screaming kids and of being locked in. I don't think he's over his last vet visit. Poor guy. I had no other choice but to bring him there to have his injured leg treated. Thankfully the leg is all healed now and ever since that terrible episode he keeps close to the house, not leaving the perimeter of the garden. At three years old he's like a playful kitten. It's too funny watching him jump around in the garden! He has his own little wooden house with a special sheet on top to protect against rain and wind plus there's a comfy blanket inside. When the sun is out, like in the photo above, he lays on the flagstones for hours. Naturally, I worry about my two outdoor kitties, but I respect their need for freedom. They aren't typical house cats and would feel trapped inside, plus I wouldn't have enough space to accomodate them indoors anyway. This solution is the best I can offer and by all accounts they are healthy and look happy. And that makes me happy.


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15 comments:

  1. Hallo liebe Duni,
    oh mein Gott. Du hast 4 Katzen ! Das habe ich jetzt erst richtig realisiert.
    Ich habe schon mit einer Katze gut zu tun, aber sie ist zwar schon 15 Jahre alt, braucht aber keinerlei Medikamente. Das würde mich echt stressen.
    Die Fotos von Deinen süßen 4 Katzen sind alle wunderschön.
    Viele liebe Grüße, Synnöve

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  2. You have quite an indoor-outdoor kitty family there! Many years ago my human had the cat before Sparkle, and a cat that was even older than her, and the two of them really did not like each other. But like yours, they had a silent agreement to coexist and ignore each other. It helped that Harlot (the cat before Sparkle) ventured outdoors, which left the older cat with some peace and attention from my human. Sometimes you have to tiptoe around kitties and their relationships!

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    1. Hi Summer :)
      that is true. Mornings have become pretty stressful around here. Sigh...

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  3. It is wonderful hearing about all your kitties and their stories. You are an awesome person taking care of them all with such love. They are very lucky. :) I'm sad to hear that Sammy and Sumi never warmed up to each other but I like hearing that they are happy since that is truly what matters.

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  4. Liebste Duni,
    danke für die so schönen Bilder von Sumi und Sammy! Schade, daß sie sich noch immer nciht angefreundet haben ....Molly und Leo sind ja auch zwei bildschöne Miezen ...die kannte ich noch agr nicht *lächel* ... für alle 4 ganz viele liebe Kraulerchen :O)))
    Ich wünsche Dir ein wunderschönes Wochenende!
    ♥ Allerliebste Grüße, Claudia ♥

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  5. I've known that all of your kitties had unique qualities/situations, but reading about all of them together like this is incredible. You're an amazing fur mommy for taking care of all of them. :-)

    I hope your business issue gets resolved quickly, too. It's so irritating to be impacted by somebody else's mistake.

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  6. I think you really love your pets. Very nice and interesting to read about your cats. Hopefully, your problems will be solved.

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  7. Leo made me smile and say "hehehe" to myself. What a super cutie! It's so sweet you open the window a crack for Sumi. My sister recently tried to take her cat outside on a leash...he was not amused. They came right back in for plenty of treats and ear scratches! It's really nice to hear the your kitty's stories all in one place. =)

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  8. I enjoyed getting to know more about your furbabies! I learned a lot about all of them! They are very lucky to received such love and good care from you and of course I know you're lucky to share your life with such precious kitties! Sorry for the business troubles but hope it all gets resolved.

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  9. What a wonderful fur family you have! Sammy looks so regal! I hope the business issues are resolved quickly. I understand about being a control freak! :)

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  10. Your fur babies are gorgeous :O my kitty is my favorite photography subject too. I think most creatives are control freaks (hence, why we're self-employed, haha) because we have a vivid imagination and a distinct picture of what we want. I'm handling my bookkeeping AND design work back-and-forth right now :P I feel your pain on not being able to give up control.

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  11. Aw, I enjoyed seeing all your fur babies. They're all so pretty

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  12. Each one has quite a personality! I love Sammy sitting there with his paws crossed! and that Sumi will sit with you at the window - so sweet! and Molly has such a sweet face and with those points of hair on the tips of her ears - so cute! And Leo so playful ... you can see how happy he is! Each one brings you love in their own way. Just lovely

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  13. Liebe Duni,
    Leo konnte ich ja schon auf Insta bewundern!! :-)
    Ich finde es schön, dass Du so ein großes Herz für Tiere hast. Deine Katzen haben ein sehr schönes Zuhause gefunden.
    Liebe Grüße
    ANi

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