Aby-a-Day – 30 September: Tiger by the tail (Silly Cinema Sunday)

A month or so ago, Izaak and Alfred were lazing together on the sofa next to us when Zak idly started to play with Freddy’s tail.

It reminded me of those videos of young lions playing with the head male lion’s tail.

Zak went from attacking Freddy’s tail, to licking it lovingly…

…and back to biting it again.

It was super cute to watch.

And you know Freddy was twitching his tail for Zak to play with.

Zak seemed to be having an excellent time with Freddy’s tail.

Oh…and, we’re back to licking.

When Zak went from biting Freddy’s tail to biting his leg, Freddy started to object.

Okay, Freddy…back to the tail, then.

Wait…just one more bite to your leg, okay?

Then Zak got a little distracted by his own tail.

…Annnnddd…back to Freddy’s tail.

“Oh no! It’s getting away! Get it! GET IT!”

The photos were looking so great and funny that I thought I should take a little video, too.

You can probably guess what happened next…

Aby-a-Day – 29 September: Why we don’t let Alfred outside off leash (Swedish Saturday)

People have asked why we don’t take Alfred out on our off-leash walking training with Lorelai and Izaak.

This is why. He bolts. The second he’s let outside, he heads for the trees at the bottom of the slope.

And naturally the kittens follow him into the exciting jungle. I was too busy capturing Freddy to get any good photos. But he spent the rest of the outing on his leash.

He was good-natured about it. But he tried to go back into the woods again despite his leash.

Freddy is an excellent leash walker, though.

You can see how far those trees are…and how Freddy longs to go back down there. Sorry, Freddy.

Aby-a-Day – 28 September: Behind the artwork (Photoshop Friday)

I thought you might be interested in how I create a cartoon. I only rarely ever draw a complete drawing in one go. At least not when I am drawing on paper and scanning the the result.

When I draw on paper, I do a sketch and then trace the sketches in ink. I sometimes do more than one trace of the sketch on the inking sheet.

Then I assemble the best parts and start colouring.

Other bits, like the BBQ grill and the apron, are drawn and assembled on separate layers. But when it’s all assembled, it looks like the image at the top.

The next year, I added Dory. While Marlin is a cream Maine Coon, Dory is a blue Oriental Shorthair. I actually did draw Dory in one go, so her layer is not as exciting.

For the newest NEMO iteration of Marlin, I realised I didn’t need to redraw all of Marlin, but only certain parts. Just his head, both arms, and some whiskers. But it worked. And it was so much easier than reinventing the wheel. Thanks to Photoshop, I didn’t have to.

The Singapuras were a bit more tricky.

I drew each one separately and three of them are complete, stand-alone cats. Only the one in the very back is a partial Singapura.

The whiskers were done separately.

Aby-a-Day – 27 September: Role reversal (Thursday Things)

When we were outside the other weekend, Lorelai encountered a very sweet, very well-behaved Papillon.

At first, she was a bit on the defensive. Yet, she still approached him.

They even almost touched noses!

Rory wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

Meanwhile, Izaak…

…Zak was not having any of this dog nonsense.

The dog’s owner tried to continue on their walk, and pulled the dog along with her.

But Rory chased after the dog! Have you ever seen a cat chase a dog before?

Aby-a-Day – 26 September: Wordless Wednesday (Run, Izaak, run!)

A vaccine for FIP? Compound GC376 may be the answer

There may be a vaccine to prevent FIP in the future. Researchers at Kansas State University, together with a medicinal chemist at Wichita University and Dr. Neils Pedersen at UC Davis, have been working on an FIP vaccine, and last week it was announced that they had licensed their compound GC376 to Anivive Lifesciences, which is a major step towards developing the compound into a commercial vaccine available to veterinarians.

Remember, though, that getting the compound to a pharmaceutical developer is just the first step. Clinical trials need to be run, and then the vaccine needs to be approved by the FDA before it will be available for sale. That will probably take a few years. But still…we may very well see a vaccine in our lifetimes that will prevent FIP in our feline companions!

Aby-a-Day – 25 September: My new tattoo (Cartoon Tuesday)

Today we started work on my memorial tattoo of Gun-Hee and Logan. Yesterday, Linus, my artist, sent me the above outline drawing…

…and this complete drawing- I was blown away. Linus thought that just their heads worked better as a tattoo than showing their whole bodies…and he was right.

These are the photos Linus used as a reference.

Here is the tattoo after the lines were done.

Linus working. He wanted to make sure he looked “ugly” before I took the photo.

Here is Gun-Hee and his leaves coloured in.

And here is Gun-Hee’s part done completely with blue shading. On 10 October, Logan will get coloured in and it will be finished.

Aby-a-Day – 24 September: What’s with the tail, Lorelai? (Monday Mystery)

The other day, I was doing stuff around the house, watching the Red Sox play the Indians in Cleveland (they won, by the way), when, suddenly, Lorelai jumped onto the coffee table all puffed up.

I have no idea what was out there. I looked out the window, but I couldn’t see anything.

She went to the window to see what it was, tail still a-puffed.

I will probably never know what triggered her.

Aby-a-Day – 23 September: Sand cats (Cinema Swedish Sunday)

Continuing yesterday’s post…After we hunted pigeons, we went to the swingset to play in the sand.

Lorelai loved digging in the sand.

Meanwhile, Izaak appreciated the camouflage properties of the sand.

It was hilarious to watch them play in the sand.

Watch Zak “hunt” Rory…

…And…BOOM!

Severe lack of follow-through, though.

More clever stalking on Zak’s part…but no more spectacular ambushes.

It was just so much fun watching them play in that sand! I made a movie of it, here:

You can see for yourself how much fun they had in that sand around the swingset.

But the saddest part of the afternoon is, whilst we were playing around the swings, we kept hearing this plaintful meowing. It turned out to be Alfred, watching us from the kitchen. Poor Freddy! But there’s a reason Freddy doesn’t get to go out with us on leash-free training…

Aby-a-Day – 22 September: Run like the wind (Swedish Saturday)

Lorelai and Izaak love to go on walks around our apartment buildings.

We are teaching them to go outside with us in the områden of our apartment. We want to be able to have them come outside with us without leashes and harnesses, and to come back to us when we call them.

So far, it’s going fairly well.

They love going outside, there’s no question there.

It’s fun to watch them run with no limitations, that’s for sure. Look at Zak! He’s airborne!

They work as a team when they are outside together.

Although Rory is a little more adventurous than Zak is.

Look at her run!

Her energy is boundless.

She loves to just run as fast as she can.

…And then, she saw the pigeon

At first, she wasn’t sure what to do.

But Zak did.

It was truly impressive, watching his raw instinct take over as he stalked the pigeon (which was almost as big as he is).

Watching him approach the bird, you would think he had done this before. He was that good.

And then…he made his rush. It was glorious.

Rory finally joined in. And then I noticed that there were actually two pigeons!

But too little, too late. The pigeons were gone.

One did remain sitting high atop a street lamp, mocking our kittens.

Zak didn’t mind. He ran it off.

Run, Izaak, run!

Aby-a-Day – 21 September: Arrrrrrgh! It be Talk Like a Pirate Day! (Friday Fashion Flashback)

Wednesday was Talk Like a Pirate Day. But as you know, Angel has always been our pirate.

She has had her pirate dress, hat and eyepatch for over five years now!

That’s kind of mind-boggling to me. It feels like we just got everything yesterday!

But in fact, last year I had to replace the feathers on Angel’s hat because they were just starting to disintegrate.

However, I think the new feathers look a lot better than the old ones! Feathers are a big part of the Swedish Easter celebration; they are used to make Påskris, birch twigs decorated with colourful feathers. So every spring I will be able to easily find replacement feathers for Angel…

…as long as I can remember in October where I put them when I bought them in April!

Aby-a-Day – 20 September: “It is usually customary for the life of the party about the middle of the evening to put a lampshade on his head…” (Thursday Things)

At the hotel we stayed in when we went to the show in Västra Frölunda, Izaak was fascinated with the lamp. And not just because Björn was waving a feathery cat toy above it.

So of course Lorelai had to join in.

And go inside the lampshade. Because apparently all the kittens are doing it these days.

She kinda took over, there, for a while. It’s hard to remember that she’s actually two weeks younger than Zak.

They were both enchanted and mesmerised by the cat toy over the lamp.

Rory may be a little bigger, but Zak can hold his own, thank you.

Rory is such a copycat…

I don’t know how long they played with that stupid lamp and cat toy, but oh, it was so much fun to watch!

Aby-a-Day – 19 September: Wordless Wednesday (Pro photos from last weekend’s show)

Aby-a-Day – 18 September: NO CAPES! (Cartoon Tuesday)

I am sure most of you saw this coming…yes, it’s Lorelai as Edna Mode. Above is the inked linework, done in Procreate, with the speech bubble and text done in Photoshop.

And…here is the colour version, started in Procreate and finished in Photoshop (I haven’t been able to find as good a fur brush in Procreate, and I had no way to make the eyeglass lenses or the background without Photoshop.

And if you’re curious about why Edna reacts so vehemently when capes are mentioned, check out this very insightful analysis of just why Edna is so anti-cape. You’ll never see that scene the same way again.

Clawdius hunts with StarClan

I cannot believe I am having to write ANOTHER of these posts this year. But last night, my amazing friend Molly posted the following to Facebook: Walked Clawdius to the Rainbow Bridge tonight and our wonderful Vet sent him on his journey. I Clawdius II, 08/22/99 – 09/17/18. A life well lived. He will be so very missed…

Clawdius was actually three days younger than Björn’s Pyret, but he was able to celebrate one last birthday.

While the loss of any cat is sad, Clawdius’ death is particularly tragic as Molly’s husband, Don, passed away on 2 July. This is Don with both Clawdius and Mosey.

Ch. Tigerflower I Clawdius II‘s career ended (with 3 grand points from Wain Harding) in the third ring of his first show as a Champion. He growled at Lois Jensen and Molly pulled him. But he went on to father kittens, and his name appears in many well-known pedigrees. He is even very distantly related to Angel, Jacoby, Lorelai and Alfred!

It’s a different kind of sadness when you lose a longtime companion. When they’ve been by your side for 15 years or more, it’s not just their passing that you mourn. It’s also the loss of over a decade of always having been there. You reach out to pet them in the middle of the night, or you look in their favourite napping spot…and they just aren’t there.

My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend has stopped running today. Sleep well in Tuonela, darling Clawdius.

Aby-a-Day – 17 September: “I’m happy to sparkle like a glazed disco ball” (Hipstamatic Monday)

Just another random post-show Monday…here’s how we’re doing, through Hipstamatic’s filters.

Jacoby loves his leopard canoe bed.

After he eats in his own room, he can be found in this bed, digesting and waiting for me to open the door.

Aw, Jake…don’t be shy!

Next we have Angel. Whoa, Angel! Not so close!

That’s better! Now we can see you!

Angel likes to hang out under the kitchen table.

I have had her almost ten years, and she is still skittish.

Next we have Alfred.

Freddy is so expressive.

“I’m napping, here! I’m napping!”

“Oh, okay…one more photo.”

Last, but definitely not least, we have Izaak and Lorelai.

Apparently, Zak’s tail makes a great eye mask to keep the light out.

I just don’t know how Rory can breathe with her nose in Zak’s flank, though.

They really are the best of friends. It’s lovely to travel with them, because they just keep each other company. It’s actually almost easier to travel with two of them than it is with one cat!

Aby-a-Day – 16 September: Dogs on a train (Cat Show Sunday)

Still processing everything from the show. On Sunday, neither Lorelai nor Izaak were nominated, so it was a fairly peaceful show day. We just sat and talked to people. I got to talk to Göran, my one-time nurse, and found out an interesting fact that no one bothered to mention before: Not only could I have lost my finger or hand from the infection caused by the cat bite…I could have lost my life! So, everyone reading, please remember: If you are bitten in the hand or finger by a cat and it becomes at all swollen…go to an ER immediately. Don’t waste time at a local urgent care.

Our train ride home was interesting, though. On Swedish trains, there are special pet compartments that are the only places animals are allowed. In this particular pet car, there were only nine seats…and we had two cats and four dogs! We boarded the train in Göteborg with a very well behaved rescue dog from Greece. He lived with cats and was not at all fazed by Zak and Rory. When a Border Collie got on a few stations later, though, the dog reacted. The Border Collie and his human sat in the doorway. Then in Falköping, we were joined by a Bedlington Terrier and a Chinese Crested!

Their human was delighted to see a Singapura in person and had to have a photo. She said her friend, who had a Somali, would be so jealous that she had met a Singa.

Rory in particular was fascinated by the Chinese Crested. She never puffed up, growled or hissed, and she actually got up the nerve to touch the dog’s ear with her nose!

Aby-a-Day – 15 September: Full court press (Cat Show Saturday)

We’re at a cat show this weekend in a basketball arena in Västra Frölunda, a suburb of Göteborg.

We took the train last night. Izaak and Lorelai once again proved themselves to be excellent travellers.

They had to explore the luggage rack, though.

We were in the nine-seat pet compartment with a group of four young gamer geeks. One of them was allergic to cats and complained when we let them play on the luggage. On Swedish trains, there are only a limited number of pet compartment seats, so you would think people without pets would choose to sit elsewhere. But that just goes to show you that Sweden ain’t perfect…we have our share of entitled jerks who sit in the pet compartment and then complain when someone who has a pet he’s allergic to happens to sit in there with him…it’s just like home!

When we got to our hotel, the kittens – excuse me, juniors, set about proving the axiom about cats loving hotel rooms correct once again.

Like Logan before her, Rory discovered the joy of heated bathroom floors.

And both Zak and Rory were unbearably cute cuddling on the bed.

One thing we got to do was get some professional photos done.

We got some of them done with both of them together, and then some of each of them on their own. I ended up buying four of each: Zak, Rory, and then both together.

As with their first show together, the two of them were remarkably relaxed.

And we got to see our Göteborg friends at this show! We got to see Peter, Anna and Bonk…

…and Jasper…

…As well as Stellan with Oskar and two other Singas.

I didn’t notice the beauty of this photo until long after I had taken it.

This, though…this is awesome. Across from where we are benched is Arextocats. You remember from my my post about my finger surgery, when I ran into a nurse named Göran in Recovery whose fiancée had Rexes..? Yeah…this is her. She doesn’t have a cat from Arextocats…she is Arextocats! And Göran will be at the show tomorrow…which for some reason makes me stupidly happy.

But onto the results. Zak was up against a pretty chocolate Burmese and didn’t get nominated to the panel. But Rory was nominated!

In the panel, first the judge who nominated a cat looks him or her over.

Then the judge looks at the cat or cats that the other judges nominated.

Rory was up against a slightly older, male Oriental Shorthair…and he was Best in Show. This time.

Here they are on the bus back to our hotel. What will tomorrow hold? We’ll find out!

Aby-a-Day – 14 September: Gun-Hee’s 12th Birthday

This Sunday, 16 September, would have been Gun-Hee’s 12th birthday.

These photos are from his first and only birthday in 2007.

I had gotten these balloons from some sort of work-related function. I brought them home to see if Gun-Hee would enjoy them.

As you can see, he did!

Compared to Jacoby, Gun-Hee was far more agile. He could jump very high and often would leap onto your shoulder.

He also tended to stand on his back legs more than Jake ever does.

Even though he’s been gone 10 years, I will never forget him. Happy birthday, Gun-Hee.

Aby-a-Day – 13 September: Backstory to Wordless Wednesday (Thursday Things)

Yesterday’s post showed professional photos I had taken of Angel, Jacoby, Alfred and Lorelai back in May.

When I saw the poster at our local DjurMagazinet, I jumped at the chance. Not so much for Jake, who has had his photos taken by Chanan as well as other professionals, or Rory, who will have plenty of opportunities to have photos taken at shows throughout her career, but for Angel and Freddy, who won’t ever get to go to a show.

Unfortunately, Björn had to work that Saturday, so I was on my own with the four LunaTicks. I packed up the lot and put them in Jake’s Strollercat stroller.

There was just one teensy problem with that. Jake didn’t want to share. This was the early days of his mystery illness, and he was cranky. So I let him ride on top of the stroller. He was actually fine with that arrangement.

It was not at all easy to wrangle them over to DjurMagaznet…but at least it was scenic. Look at those gorgeous poppies!

When we got to the store, Jake didn’t want me to unzip the stroller and let the others out.

Too bad, Jake.

Of course, all the LunaTicks were instant hits with staff and other shoppers.

It’s one of the idiosyncrasies of Sweden that there are ice boxes full of ice creams for sale in all kinds of random stores. Even pet shops will sell you an iced lolly. And Freddy wanted one.

He was disappointed- “Aw…Mooooooommmmmmm…!”

Meanwhile, Jake occupied his stroller.

And pretended to ignore that Rory was still in there.

Meanwhile, Angel and Freddy were exploring the little café that the store has set up for customers.

And Angel and Rory spent some girl-time together as well.

This was Rory’s first really big outing with other cats.

I wonder if she saw Angel as a sort of mother figure? She’d only been with us three weeks…

Yeah.

Stay classy, Freddy.

Rory especially drew a lot of attention from people…kittens have that effect on people.

Jake occupied his stroller whilst shooting daggers at the other cats.

When it was our turn to have photos taken, I had some help transferring the cats to the photo room. There are, of course, no “behind the scenes” photos…I was too busy trying to herd four cats!

Towards the end of the session, Rory was starting to get sleepy.

On the walk home, I was able to open the stroller and let them walk. They didn’t all avail themselves of the privilege right at first.

Eventually, they all got out and walked a bit.

Although it would have been a lot easier if they all wanted to go in the same direction at the same time, but hey.