Summer

Summer has finally, definitely arrived! My first summer with the cats. I'm fascinated by how it's changing their attitude: there is so much happening outside, it's keeping all of them constantly occupied: so many bugs to chase, weeds to hide in, birds to stalk, patches of sun (or shade) to laze in... even feeding time has lost its attraction!

Miki's tail

When Miki was about 4 months old he appreared one morning trailing his tail, with a very noticeable kink in it. It didn't seem to bother him much otherwise. But it worried me - especially as I just had my first disappointing vet experience with their rounds of shots. Should I take him back to the vet? What would/could they do except expensive x-rays to confirm what was obvious? Put his tail in a cast?? Give him drugs that possibly did more harm than they offered relief? And anyway, Miki didn't seem to have a problem with it.
I did some research on 'broken tail in cat', and, as always with the internet, I bumped into any number of opinions and treatments, some of them downright scary (including amputation and euthanasia...) It can be quite overwhelming to pick through seemingly endless opinions offered out there, and make your own informed decision.
To my relief I eventually found some excellent info here. With that advice, I observed his litter box use (no issues), pinched his tail tip to see if he had any feeling in it (he complained, good!), and decided that he was going to recover without problems.
Sure enough, a couple days later he carried his tail high again, and with every week that passed the kink got a bit less obvious. And, finally, as of this month, I can say that any trace of the kink is completely gone - he grew out of it!

Pretty mama

Prince of the garden

Raspberries!

Eating raspberries just off the bush - just the best thing!!

Lily wanted a photo too!

Office kitty...

...chasing pigeons on the roof terrace outside my office.

Box games

Yes, I admit I have fallen for buying various cat toys... They come in various shapes and hanging on various devices, and some come highly praised. But it turns out that the toys that keep my babies really hooked and fascinated every day anew, are the good, old, fail-proof and obvious: piece of string, bit of crumpled paper, cardboard boxes. In fact my flat is now strewn with all of those. And I don't even mind.

Family dynamics

With the kittens now 9 months old, the dynamics within the gang are still constantly changing. Ex feral mama Psipsina is growing more content and affectionate every day - with me. But she mostly treats her kittens like annoying teenagers. Clumsy games or getting in her way is not on, neither is stealing her favourite place, and she prefers to sleep alone these days. And when a kitten interrupts a game or cuddle between me and her, she will immediately turn away sulking. Only Miki is being allowed to play mama's boy these days, sometimes.
And, she can see that Oscar is the one that may one day challenge her queen's crown, and she's already jealous. Oscar gets a lot more swatting and hissing than everybody else, and never a game. Sometimes she even tries to block him at the door. But he just behaves like the clever crown prince he undoubtedly is: gently but confidently keeping out of her way, without any sign of intimidation.

Something's cookin'

 

  Or, maybe not after all...

Bookworm

Cooking (and eating) is another passion of mine (but the cats have definitely taken over the top of the list).

Cats are hunters...

... and as summer has arrived hunting skills have blossomed, leaving me both proud and horrified. Especially Oscar has a deadly instincts, and it's not just the fat flies he catches...

Hunting flies

Glad to be home

Giant weeds in Poland...















... flowers in my garden (with Lily).












Gosh, I'm sooo happy to be back home!!