Aby-a-Day – 29 Februari 2020: Happy Leap Day!! (Swedish Saturday)

Today is leap day! A very special day that happens only once every four years.

Since it snowed this week, I took the cats out to play in the snow.

As you can imagine, Lorelai loved it.

She is our smallest, lightest cat, so you would think she would get cold out there. I mean, Jacoby would shiver in 10°C.

Not our Rory, though.

She loves to be outside, regardless of the weather or the temperature.

And you know I wouldn’t be able to get her to keep a coat on…

She did a lot of leaping out in the snow…

It’s amazing that a cat can be so athletic and graceful…and so goofy, all at once.

Alfred did some leaping too.

He actually ran more than Rory did…if that’s even possible.

He got some good air. He must have felt like he was flying.

Even Izaak got into the leaping game.

It was so amazing to watch him chase Freddy along the side of the building.

He also got a little airborne at times. It was great fun to watch.

Aby-a-Day – 28 Februari 2020: First Snows (Friday Flashback)

Now that we finally have snow, I was thinking about the first times all the cats saw their first snows. The most recent, of course was the first time Izaak and Lorelai saw snow.

Rory, of course, loved it.

She loves any chance to go outside…and she honestly seems completely immune to the cold.

Zak, however…

…was less than impressed. I never bothered to put coats on Rory and Zak when we went outside, because of what Alfred did the first time he went out in snow

I tried to put a coat on him. Oh, how I tried.

Fred would have none of it.

He preferred to experience the snow au naturel.

Like Jacoby, Logan appreciated having a coat in the snow.

He probably would have enjoyed wearing boots, too.

Jake never went out in the snow without a coat.

That was such a fun thing about Jake. He did love his coats.

Angel’s very first snow did not involve going outside.

But she eventually went out and experienced snow first paw.

She was less than enthused. Well, she was born in California.

But she did seem to have fun out in the snow with Jake. I’ll give her that.

Aby-a-Day – 27 Februari 2020: It finally snowed! Actual real snow! (Thursday Things)

As I may have mentioned before, we’ve been having a pretty crap winter with almost no snow

But on Tuesday, finally, it snowed all day Tuesday!

And on Wednesday morning, when I looked out the window, I saw the cutest thing.

Our upstairs neighbours’ girls were sledding down the small hill in our område, and Markis was just hanging out nearby, playing in the snow.

He really looked like he was happy we finally had snow, too.

He really seemed to be enjoying himself out there.

All the while keeping his eye on his smol hoomans.

Markis’ fun was not unnoticed by Dashiell, however.

Although I am not sure if he was wishing he was out there too…or if he was happy someone else was out there in the cold, wet snow.

Markis really seemed to be having a good time, though.

He just plowed back and forth out there in the snow. It was adorable.

Aby-a-Day – 26 Februari 2020: Wordless Wednesday (Alfred’s new X-rays)

Aby-a-Day – 25 Februari 2020: The Zakdalorian again (Cartoon Tuesday)

Last week, I posted a sketch and a preliminary inking of Izaak as The Child (aka Baby Yoda)

Starting with the shaded ink layer I did last week, I changed it from black to blue-green and did a second, cleaner ink layer.

The whiskers and eyeshine are actually on their own layer. I really like having the whiskers as a separate layer from the rest of the drawing. There’s also a slight outer glow on this layer.

Using the clean ink version, I made a flat colour layer. This layer is about 70% opaque.

Using the same colours, and following the shading done on the first ink, I added a texture layer, with the fur and ticking and the rough cloth of the robe.

The background is a combination of the original screenshot I based my drawing on, and a painted background using bark and grass brushes, run through the oil painting filter.

I also added a shadow and backlighting, to capture the feel of the original scene.

One final, tiny touch: I have a set of steam/smoke brushes. One little stamp at 60% opacity, and…the bone broth is hot!

And here is the final, complete drawing. I am pretty proud of this one!

Aby-a-Day – 24 Februari 2020: Alfred and the vet…(Medical Monday)

Alfred and I have had to travel to Skultorp a few times since he got pneumonia.

Last Wednesday, we went to Min Veterinär to get some blood tested.

On the way home, I let him walk home alongside me. He loved it. I think he liked being outside despite his ailment.

I mean…look at his determination!

Of course, Freddy is lucky that we have had a ridiculously warm winter…hell, we have barely had any winter at all!

It’s still February! We should not be having daisies this early!

Today we had to go back to Min Veterinär to get new lung X-rays, so we could see if the antibiotics beat the pneumonia.

But when I let him out of the carrier, I discovered this!

WTF? I have no idea how it happened or who did it. It wasn’t there when I fed him last night.

I asked him who he pissed off, but he didn’t tell me.

Today, our visit was just about the X-rays (which they will email me soon), and a lot of chilling in his carrier.

On our way home, we stopped off at DjurMagazinet to get more cat food. I also let Freddy choose a toy to make up for all the vet visits he’s had to endure lately.

He quickly made his decision: A Yeowww catnip cigar.

I checked to make sure he really wanted that cat toy.

He did. He even checked our basket to make sure his cigar was in there.

Then we checked out the cat trees.

They were pretty awesome. Too bad we don’t need any more cat trees.

Freddy loves going to DjurMagazinet.

And then today, Freddy walked all the way home from DjurMagazinet. I am very proud of him…he had to deal with traffic, bicycles and a motorbike, and he was bulletproof. Not quite Jacoby-level, but still very admirable.

Aby-a-Day – 23 Februari 2020: Singapuras don’t share (Singapura Cinema Sunday)

The other day, a little drama unfolded right on our living room sofa.

Dashiell was happily napping in the corner closest to the television, which also happens to get the best sunshine in the early afternoon.

But Izaak wanted to nap there.

So he pulled out the super-stealth licking manoeuver. You start out with just a little friendly licking on the top of the head.

Then, when the target is lulled into docility…

…Zak starts to make his move.

And there you go: Singapuras always get the best napping spot in the house. Regardless if someone is already napping there.

Here’s a little video of Zak assimilating Dash’s napping spot. Resistance is futile!

Aby-a-Day – 22 Februari 2020: Best blue Abyssinian in Sverak! (Cat Show Saturday)

You may recall on Wednesday, I posted Lorelai’s Diplom from our club, AbSolut Kattklub naming her the best female Championship Aby for 2019. Well, yesterday I got another big envelope, this time from Sverak. Turns out, our Rory is also the best blue Abyssinian in Sweden.

Along with the certificate, I also got the latest issue of Våra Katter, the Sverak magazine/newsletter (similar to CFA’s Cat Talk and TICA’s TICA Trend magazines)…and way in the back, there were their photos announcing their International Champion titles earned in Turku. It was a pretty good day for mail, yesterday.

Aby-a-Day – 21 Februari 2020: New collars and travel leashes (Fashion Friday)

I thought I had posted about this here, but apparently I only ever mentioned it on Facebook: I am bereft. I just discovered my friend, Sally Keats, died last month. She was the person who made all my leashes and collars…I have “known” her for at least 10 years. I just can’t even.

I had been in the middle of a conversation with her about a new collar for Dashiell. She had gotten a new shade of green leather and we were excited to use it on Dash’s new collar, so he would have something a little different from Jacoby. She had beat cancer, and when she didn’t respond to my messages, I got concerned…and discovered she had died.

Reluctantly, I had to find a new person to make collars and leashes for the cats. So I went to Etsy and looked for people who make kangaroo leather show leads and collars. I looked for people in Europe…and, serendipitously, I found Emoticon Leads, and Jessica…in Jönköping!

When I had been trying to contact Sally, besides Dash’s own collar (and not one of Jake’s hand-me-downs), I had wanted short leashes for the show cats, because the long ones we have are a bit unmanageable on the train. After finding Jessica, I decided to get everycat a new collar (it’s been a while for all of them, especially Angel) as well as the travel leashes for Izaak, Lorelai and Dash.

They arrived last week. Angel and Alfred’s collars on their own, and the others in lovely silk bags. Jessica also made little paracord tassels to match the three leashes.

Jessica uses smaller rings on the collars than Sally did. It’s kind of nice. A little more dainty and cat-like. I really like the purples on Angel’s collar.

Zak’s collar and leash in shades of blue. Jessica made the leash handles openable adjustable, the same way Sally did.

Rory’s collar and leash in shades of red. Jessica has bronze hardware as well as brass, and she used the bronze for Rory.

And here is Dash’s collar and leash. Jessica had the same new green that Sally had. I think it’s really pretty, and perfect for Dash. It’s also different from all the collars and leashes Jake had, which is kind of nice.

And here are all the new collars in action! Angel’s purple always looks so good with her sorrel fur.

Freddy’s new collar has more grey and less black. It suits him.

Rory’s collar looks like it’s just red, but it’s actually three different, subtle, shades of red.

I love Zak’s combination of blues. Blue really goes with sepia.

And here is Dash, proudly wearing his very first, all his own, green collar.

Aby-a-Day – 20 Februari 2020: Alfred’s X-rays (Thursday Things)

Yesterday, Alfred and I went back to Min Veterinär to have Freddy’s blood tested again while he’s still on his Amoxycillin.

While we were there, I asked them if they could send me Freddy’s X-rays from last week. And here they are. You can see how cloudy and grey his lungs are. I just wish I had gotten X-rays, too, so we could compare. We are going back to get a second set of X-rays on Monday, just to see if his lungs look better.

Aby-a-Day – 18 Februari 2020: The Zakdalorian (Cartoon Tuesday)

Like 90% of the world, Björn and I watched the The Mandalorian a few weeks ago. and the minute I saw Baby Yoda/”The Child” sipping a cup of bone broth, I knew what had to be done.

So far, it’s just at the sketch and ink phase…I am trying to decide how I want to colour it. The green of Baby Yoda’s skin is almost the same colour as Izaak’s eyes, but it won’t look as much like Baby Yoda if I colour it in sepia tones…so I am still deciding how I want to finish this. I also have an untested idea of doing a pale green background, with an overlay of sepia ticking.

I need to think about this. Stay tuned for the finished version!

Aby-a-Day – 17 Februari 2020: What’s your type? (Medical Monday)

We want to breed Lorelai later this year, and the breeder who bred Alfred now has a lovely sorrel (red) male. But before we can mate them, we need to know Rory’s blood type to prevent Neonatal Isoerythrolysis (It’s kind of like the Rh factor in humans).

So, I figured I could do it myself. I mean, I’ve done my own blood type in high school, so how hard can it be? I found a test from Genomia, a Czech company, and bought a test kit.

The kit arrived on Wednesday. I was excited to do the test!

The instructions were fairly straightforward…except for how to get the blood out of the cat being tested.

The only way I could think of to get blood from Rory was to clip one claw too short. I felt really bad about that, but it worked.

The test only took a few minutes…

…But the result was very clear: Rory is blood type A. Most cats are Type A, so that’s just one hurdle cleared for Rory to have kittens.

Aby-a-Day – 16 Februari 2020: iPhone 11 Pro Live Photos

One feature of the new iPhone 11 Pro is that when you take a regular photo, the camera also takes what Apple calls a “LivePhoto,” which is the photo you took time-lapsed for three or four seconds with a little motion. It’s kind of like those moving pictures in Harry Potter.

I thought it would be interesting to string a bunch of these LivePhotos together into a movie. So…here is what a string of iPhone LivePhotos looks like, put together into a movie.

Aby-a-Day – 15 Februari 2020: The weather, it’s a’changing (Swedish Saturday)

As I have mentioned previously, we’ve been having what can only be described as a crap winter. It’s only snowed four times all winter (if you can call it that), and the fourth time it didn’t even stick.

This. This right here is what’s wrong with winter in Sweden. I took these photos on 11 February. Those are DAISIES.

Daisies don’t usually pop up in February. There’s usually still snow on the ground in February. Daisies don’t usually pop up until late March, early April. And, yet, here they are.

So, it’s wet and muddy…but it’s also green and warm. So, cats got to go outside.

They weren’t as excited about being outside as usual…but it was muddy and wet.

You could see them being picky about where they put their feet.

Still, even though it was kind of sloshy outside, it was also 6-7° C (about 43-45°F) which, for February, is pretty damn warm, especially in Sweden. But, you know…climate change isn’t a real thing, right?

Regardless, I think they enjoyed getting outside so early in the year.

Aby-a-Day – 14 Februari 2020: Happy Valentine’s Day! (Photoshop Friday)

I find it cute that Izaak and Dashiell sleep together in a heart shape.

I think it’s a Zak thing. He does it with Alfred, too.

They are so adorable together.

How can you NOT draw a heart around these cuddle buddies?

Aby-a-Day – 13 Februari: Like human, like cat (Thursday Things)

Last week, I heard a cat let out a loud YOWL, and when I went to see who it was and what was going on, I discovered Alfred collapsed in our bedroom doorway.

I found him collapsed and floppy, drooling and gasping for breath with his eyes locked in a thousand yard stare.

It may seem silly, but one of the first things I did was make a short video of him. I sent it to Meg, Molly and Anne, and also to Freddy’s breeder, to see if they had any idea what could be causing it. I also rang our local vet (and was lucky to speak to our regular vet, because this happened at 16:16 and they close at 17:00) and also the emergency vet in Jönköping.

The emergency vet was prepared for us if we decided to drive there that evening (Björn didn’t get home until 19:00), and I made an appointment for Freddy for the next day at Min Vetrinär.

I didn’t know what to do apart from just being with him.

After a little while, I got him to sit up again.

I made a box for Freddy so I could move him – and take him to the emergency vet if necessary. Of course, Izaak jumped right in with him.

When Björn got home, Freddy was doing a bit better, so we decided he’d be okay until the local vet appointment (those are the photos you saw yesterday). We kept an eye on him all night, and this is how he looked in the morning. When we got to the clinic, they tested Freddy’s blood, and we took chest Xrays (Unfortunately, I was unable to get photos of those). Turns out, the video I made was very useful for the vet to see. She diagnosed him with pneumonia and prescribed Amoxycillin. Which is ironic…since I was also diagnosed with pneumonia and prescribed Amoxycillin. We even started our meds on the same day, and we have the same schedule, one pill three times a day. It’s actually kind of great having a medicine buddy: It helps me remember when to take my pill, and when to give Freddy his – because it’s the same time!

Aby-a-Day – 12 Februari 2020: Wordless Wednesday (Another trip to the vet)

Aby-a-Day – 11 Februari 2020: More fun from This Cat is PHOTOSHOPPED (Cartoon Tuesday)

I posted a photo of Lorelai running in the snow to the This Cat is PHOTOSHOPPED yesterday and the response was amazing. But the best reaction was the above cartoon drawn by Eunseok Jang.

Here is the original photo that Eunseok used for reference. I absolutely love this and had to share it!

Aby-a-Day – 10 Februari 2020: Happy 2nd birthday, Lorelai!

Today is Lorelai’s second birthday!

Before, in Boston, our cat birthdays were more spread out: Tessie in August, Jacoby and Kylie (and Harri) in April, Angel in June, and Patrick in October. Even Logan’s birthday was in March. But now, four of our five cats have birthdays in the first two months of the year: Dashiell and Izaak on the 4th and 26th of January, and Alfred and Rory on the 4th and 10th of February.

So, here we are…Rory’s two years old today!

Rory was very intimidated by the candle flame. Enough so that she didn’t want to get anywhere near her delicious cake.

Finally, Rory just noped out of there. No candles for her!

Once the candle was extinguished, Rory wasted no time tucking into her birthday cake.