7 Jan 2008

MANIC MONDAY & FUN MONDAY



MANIC MONDAY LINK
For Manic Monday this week's word is ONE






Lisa @ Lisachaos proposes the following for this funny Monday :

"Let’s meet your pets. I think most of us have at least one pet and I would like to see your fluffy or scaly pal. If you don’t have a camera you can tell us about him/her/them. If you don’t have a pet tell us about a pet you had or a pet you want. If for some weird reason you hate all animals we want to know why gosh-dang-it."

That's a theme I really love and it gives me the opportunity to present you my five cats although some of you know them already from their adventures on my Cat Blog.

For years when we were both working we had two cats. The first one belonged to the whole family but the second one belonged officially to our son. Of course for feeding and vet purposes this cat belonged suddenly also to us.




This is Lisa our oldest cat she will be 17 years old this year. Lisa is a very bullheaded cat when she has something in mind there is nothing to do she always wins. When she decides to be hungry at 3 or 4 am, you have to get up and feed her otherwise she would meauw an opera and scratch whatever comes under her paws. We tried to educate her but it was useless, now we get up, stumble in the kitchen feed her half asleep and climb in our beds again. Then we are allowed to sleep longer.



Arthur was adopted because Mr. Gattino had always dreamt to own a white cat. He is 6 years old and very special. He knows the whole neighborhood and they know him. He usually naps in all their beds too, loves to work under cars and comes home covered with black oil spots. He also loves to climb in cars as soon as a door is open ! All neighbors know it ! He is a very friendly and social cat. He is the one who always has funny adventures and puts himself in the most strangest situations. Since we adopted Rosie he is in love with his little "sister" and plays around with her.



Rosie is 8 months old now, she is the first cat I adopted through Internet, because I wanted a "tuxi" cat with a black mask on her face. She also is the first cat I could follow with my camera from the very beginning and could follow up her development since her birth day. I even have a picture of her with her mother.

Rosie is very affectionated and she shows now to be the most intelligent one. One of her specialities is to make order, that means during the night she collects her 5 little mice "dolls" and puts them neatly around the food bowls. Four around and one in the food ! It makes us laugh every morning. She also takes good care of Arthur and washes him until he gets angry, probably she is afraid that his white fur could seem dirty.



We had enough of course with our 3 cats until one day our son asked us if we could host his two cats for 3 months because he had to move to Amsterdam (NL) for his work. He lived in London and had a house so the cats were used to get in and out. But in Amsterdam he was in a flat and although Pookie (picture above) got used to the inside life quite well, Kim was impossible to keep in a flat. She was so unhappy that she refused to eat.

This happened 5 years ago and the two cats are still here. Of course they could never go back to our son, they are now so used to us.

Pookie is 10 years old now but I also knew her since she was a kitten. She is a very "female" cat, doesn't like Lisa and doesn't like Rosie. But she loves me and she also is a clever cat. She considers Kim who is much bigger as her daughter because she was one year old when our son adopted Kim.




And here is Kim, she really is a beauty but unfortunately that's it. She is very shy only loves cats even the bad once, but doesn't like humans. If I didn't know that she was born at my English friend's house and our son picked her up there, I would think that she had been badly treated when she was a kitten. But she always had a good life and grew up with Pookie. Kim always lives outside but comes in for food and allows us to pet her a little but not too long. She never plays and had never played either even when she was a kitten. She really is a strange cat. Sometimes she just sits there and meauws as if she would talk to herself.

Cats are just like humans, they also have all kind of characters and intelligence levels.

Now you know why we have 5 cats. But I have to say they are never really all together. Sometimes there is not even one cat around and we are sitting alone in the living room. Sometimes they are two or even three but never all five together. They come and go through the cat flap and they also eat whenever they want to. For that Mr. Gattino is the official canopener.

44 comments:

  1. Gorgeous kitties! Arthur sounds like such a delight! I had a white cat as a child, so they are so special to me!

    The cat I had before my current 3 was much like Kim. She would play for about 2 seconds before she realized someone might be watching. I could pet her for 2 1/2 strokes exactly before she attacked me. She just didn't care for humans, or cats, or any other living creature.

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  2. they really are gorgeous cats. I like the tortoise shell calico. We had one of those that was our daughters before she left home.

    My SIL has a cat that is on a special diet -- but tends to run the neighborhood. She had to put a note on his collar.
    "Please don't feed"

    She's gotten a notes back
    "We only let him nap on the couch. We don't feed him"

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  3. They are all beautiful Gattina, especially your 'tuxi'. Interesting about that Kim, although cats do tend to have their own distinctive personalities, whatever it is.

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  4. You know I've never met a pet with my name before. Cool! She sounds like a wonderful kitty too! XO

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  5. what a houseful! and a beautiful crew ;-)

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  6. It was great to get the entire feline picture, I didn't know Pookie and Kim belonged to your son!
    Pretty cats. I was just wondering if you could leave Lisa's breakfast served before you go to bed (we used to leave cornflakes out for our -then- little son in case he was very hungry on a Sunday before we woke up and all he had to do was to get the milk out of the fridge, lol!) but maybe I am thinking this because I have no feline experience!

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  7. Well fancy your post being about cats... who would have thought? they are cute though.

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  8. I get to meet all your cats today! hehe....

    They are just like children - every one has a different character and personality. Wish they could talk. hehe...

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  9. don't tell anyone, but I love cats best of all. We also have five...it kinda came about by accident. Like yours, they all have very distinct and wonderful personalities.

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  10. You are what we call in this country "a cattery!"

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  11. P,S.: Ich spreche Deutsch weil ich original aus Koeln komme!! :-)

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  12. Each and every ONE is gorgeous in their own right! Love the stories behind all the photos, and I'm happy to meet them all at once! Wonderful post Gattina. But of course, you and I know that CATS RULE.

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  13. Hi Gattina, you are such a keen observer of the cat culture in your home. Like the way you appreciate each of their personalities and respond as they would like. Dog lovers are not that disciplined!

    I'll be back to your blog to check out your non-cat writing--like the way you set it up.

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  14. They are all so beautiful! I do love cats, but with 4 dogs it just isn't practical.

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  15. Nice Monday post! Come by and check out my revamped, made over blog, and take a peak at my Manic Monday blog!

    Deb

    http://palofmine.wordpress.com

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  16. Those are all beautiful cats! I really enjoyed reading their stories!

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  17. Love your cats! I have always been a cat lover, but my hubby loves dogs. We have managed over the years to have a little of both.

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  18. As soon as I saw the picture of Kim it took me right back to my childhood~she is just like the cat my brother has 'Blackie' my cat was smooth haired and called Captain ( there is a story and it was a girl!)

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  19. The nice thing about cats is that they are all so "one" of a kind.

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  20. Beautiful, beautiful cats! Rosie reminds me of one my daughters had when they were little. They named him Copper Kitty because he was black and white like a cop car.

    Thanks for reminding me of him and for sharing your babies.

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  21. As I have said before I can't believe you live with all "them there" cats!! They do look like fun however---but not the getting up at 3 am. I have posted stuff about our cat on my blog. Oh--I came to your blog to tell you the makeup I bought the other day, by Clinique, was made in Belgium--weird!!! I have used this for over 20 years but I do not believe he came from Belgium all those years. I have rosacea and it helps tone down my red skin!!! lol

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  22. Wow, they are pretty. I guess it's true what they say about cats being like potato chips? You can't have just one!


    Lisa

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  23. Bonjour! I always think tortoiseshell cats are the prettiest... along with ginger, tabby and black... ok and practically anything else...

    what you said about the hamsters' eyes: it is unusual for such small animals to look anyone in the eye, at least for longer than a split-second. Bashful however makes prolonged eyecontact with me... I only noticed this was unusual quite recently... all I could think was she must be unusually intelligent...

    ☆*´¨`*☆.¸¸.☆*´¨`*☆.¸¸.☆*´¨`*☆.¸¸.☆*´¨`*☆

    like the stars??

    Take care Gattina and all the best!

    I'll be by soon again...

    xx

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  24. Maybe Kim is deaf? I know there are vets that can check the hearing and see if maybe she is deaf and therefore doesn't socialize???
    I love seeing your cats and their profiles - how nice of you to do that!!

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  25. I adore cats, and yours are very beautiful.

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  26. I love those big bushy cats. They have such a personality.

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  27. Rosie's trick with the mice makes me laugh. What an organized girl!

    Your cats are lovely.

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  28. Wow five cats! They are all so pretty and I love how you describe each personality. Beautiful.

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  29. Beautiful cats, Gattina! Happy MM! :)

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  30. You see, Mr Gattino is a VIC - very important can-opener *LOL*

    Kuschel mal die Kätzchen von mir, bitte =)

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  31. Wow Gattina, I never knew you had 5 cats. I think I knew about 3 of them. They are all gorgeous and each definitely has a unique personality. We have litter mates (brother and sister) that rule our home.

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  32. So sweet all of them and in their own way!

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  33. I love all your cats...they are beautiful!!

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  34. I didn't realize you had FIVE!! Wow. And, two you inherited. I think all animals have various personalities. I've had four of the same breed of dog & none were quite the same.

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  35. Five cats - that apparently get along! We have 2.5 cats (haven't decided if a stray will stay or not) and they each have a different personality. We also have two small dogs that terrorize the cats and force them to higher ground. I figure its good exercise for all. Stop by sometime. Thanks for sharing. NLM

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  36. Love Lisa's colours. She is very beautiful. Kim looks a bit like our Eloise. You have a very beautiful brood of cats.

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  37. Is fun getting to know your cats...They are all very beautuful! Even that last one who is rather Anti-Social around people.
    Arthur sounds like he is loved all over your neighborhood...He is darling!

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  38. I'm a little late, but I also posted photos of our dogs on my blog tonight. Come see!

    Katherine

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  39. Being a fellow cat person, I loved seeing all of your crew! They're all so lovely. It's amazing how different their personalities can be.

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  40. What a fascinating story of your cats. Our Minnie is 17 also and very vocal and moody and gets mad when you move her over a little to sit down. Our Howard is 6 and the one we have most of the photos of as he will pose and put up with the photo taking for awhile. He like to be out most of the time and gets pretty goofy in winter when even he finds it to cold to be out for long. Our Eloise is a little like you Kim, but she was a feral cat when we got her at about 12 weeks. She is more affectionate now, but can be giddy and doesn't like to be held and doesn't like strangers.

    I love how Rosie arranges her toy mice around and in the food.

    You have very beautiful cats and well loved, I can see.

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  41. What gorgeous cats. And I love the names you have chosen for them. Very cute.

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  42. I certainly agree to that - they really are there own personalities! That's the fun with it too.

    Oh my, Rosie really has grew up now, an adult lady :-) Nice face mask.

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  43. What lovely faces they all have.


    The new Fun Monday topic is now available. :)

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  44. I love that a cat would actually arrange play mice - too funny!

    Arthur and the grease spots - that was classic. And any cat that lives for 17 years is VERY well-loved!

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