So, here’s the deal. Lorelai’s in heat, and Karin neutered Io before we could have a second go (Which was a condition on the contract, but whatever).
So guess what, now she’s in heat, and I have no male to put her up with. I am beyond pissed off about this, but it is what it is. At least I got the breeding fee back (1500kr/$150).
But the fact is, Rory’s in heat. So Izaak tried to step in. He’s got the concept, but not the theory.
This is what it looks like.
This memory came up on Facebook today; on this day last year, Alfred opened the front door. Now, we have to keep it locked at all times, even if we’re just going to get the mail.
I know we call Freddy our “Extra Cat”, but he is a very special boy. Karin called him a “philosopher.”
He’s also wicked smart.
Sometimes he’s a little too smart. Yesterday, I woke up to a crash and found Freddy had opened the kitchen cabinet, dragged out two bags of cat treats, and spilled a box of fusilli all over the floor. Thanks a lot, Freddy.
Wonder what his next grand plan is?
Yesterday, we drove back to Överum to collect Lorelai from her sleepover with Io. When we got there, everyone was outside; Rory in her car cage and Io on his leash.
Look at how handome Io is in the sunshine!
We aren’t sure if they actually mated during the past week
As soon as we got there, we put her harness and leash on so she could say farewell to her beau.
They weren’t unfriendly towards each other…
…But Rory wasn’t all googly-eyes over Io, either.
Rory was super happy to see us again. I wonder if she thought we’d left her and gone forever?
Rory was VERY happy to go for a little walk around Karin’s yard.
Rory said her goodbyes to Io and we were back on the road. If Rory hasn’t gotten pregnant from this visit, we’ll make the trip again in a few weeks. I hope she is knocked up, though; we didn’t get home til after 10pm, which is why this is another two-day post!
On the way back, we stopped at Björn’s brother Örjan’s house.
Looks like someone really missed her daddy!
When we got home, we brought Rory into the apartment still in her car carrier. Izaak and Alfred were the first to greet her. I think Zak missed her!
After her evening chicken neck, Rory was acting like she hadn’t been away for a week. We just need to wait and see if anything developed between her and Io.
I guess the LivePhoto function on my iPhone got switched on again, because all the photos I took of Rory’s journey were also saved as LivePhotos. I compiled them into one video, so take a look at what just might be the origin story of Rory’s kittens.
The reason for this special, two-day post is that yesterday we drove the above route in a round-trip around the middle of Sweden. The distance we travelled is roughly the trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles, Boston to Baltimore, or Montréal to Toronto.
The reason for such a trip? We were taking Lorelai…
…to meet this handsome man in Överum.
We rented a car and left around 10am Saturday, settling Rory comfortably in a carrier in the back seat.
She isn’t showing any signs of being in heat yet, but she is doing some…odd…things, like attacking my ankles.
Based on past experienceprevious experience, she should go into obvious heat by this Wednesday, since she had her last pill on the first of the month. Also, being around a male can speed up the process.
We stopped for a snack at a Burger King, because there wasn’t a Max anywhere nearby. Rory was so happy to be out of the car for a while!
Look how she tangled up her leash going around in circles!
And she expected a share of our food, too.
Which…she got, of course.
I’m not sure how much of his burger Björn actually got to eat!
Finally, around 5pm, we got to Karin’s house in Överum (we stopped at IKEA in Jönköping on the way).
We got Rory settled in her love nest, and went for a little fika.
While we drank tea and ate cake, Io watched us from an upstairs window.
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Then the magic moment arrived! We introduced the happy couple.
It went pretty well.
In case you’re wondering, Io weighs 4.5kg (between Alfred and Dashiell), and Rory weighs 2.6kg.
Until…
…Io used her litterbox.
Io was interested in her, but also very cordial. He never hissed or swatted at her.
The same could not be said of Rory.
They spent a lot of time on the bench in the room, her underneath, him above.
At one point, Io pooped…and stepped in it. Karin put him in the shower to rinse his feet off with the hand shower. Please note: This was Io’s first time in a shower. And just look at him. He has the best personality.
Since the father’s personality influences the kittens, this is a great sign!
And Karin was impressed with Rory’s fearlessness and confidence in an entirely new environment. This bodes well for the kittens they might have together.
We also got to see Hera again. She is Freddy’s big sister, and we met her when we visited Freddy’s litter.
When Karin saw Rory, she thought she looked like a Mini-Hera, and one time Hera walked up to us and I did a double-take, thinking Rory had gotten out!
Just putting two fertile cats together doesn’t generally guarantee kittens, but on the drive home, we saw this rainbow (it was actually a double rainbow), so let’s hope that’s a good omen! We go back to pick her up on Friday. Let’s hope some magic happens!
Karin sent this video update to me this afternoon. Well…at least they aren’t fighting, right?
I have an exciting announcement to make…in two weeks, our Lorelai is going to meet a lovely gentleman called Io, who just happens to live with Alfred’s breeder, Karin.
We don’t know if Rory carries Cinnamon or if Io carries dilute, but it looks like a very good match. Of course I will keep you posted…but our Rory is going to be a mom!
(Edit: Someone asked about Io. He is a year old, sorrel, and he LOVES kittens. Her Somali, Iris, got out while she was in heat and met a handsome black tom. Io helped her care for them.
He also loves to go outside on his harness and leash. Because kittens’ temperaments are influenced by their father, even if they never meet him, these are two of the reasons I chose him. And since we already have a relationship with Karin, it was kind of a no-brainer.)
Freddy’s breeder Karin posted today:
“Lilla Bertil (bror med Märta, Alfred, Greta och Kerstin) har somnat in.
2½ år ung. Urinstopp.
Enl ägarna var han den bästa katten ever.”
Which means “Little Bertil (brother with Martha, Alfred, Greta and Kerstin) has fallen asleep.
2 1/2 years young. Urinary blockage.
According to the owners he was the best cat ever.” Apparently, it came on very quickly, as urinary blockages can do.
I can’t imagine how we would feel to lose Freddy, our lovable boss chonk and break in artist, and I can’t imagine how Bertil’s owners must feel. We actually had first choice between the two brothers…
My heart has joined the Thousand, for my friend, Freddy’s littermate, has stopped running today. Sleep well in Tuonela, darling Bertil.
(PS…fear not, regular posts will return shortly. Between the Finland trip and acclimating Dashiell, I had a little bout of pneumonia. But I promise to get the posts back on track soon!)
Two years ago today, we met Karin at Stockholm Centralen and collected Alfred on our way back from a cat show in Tallinn.
But I haven’t ever posted how Freddy coped once he got to our apartment.
And the short answer is…he was completely unfazed.
No mum? No littermates?
No problem!
I think Freddy was the easiest kitten we’ve integrated into our family, but then none of our kittens have been that hard to introduce to the others.
But Freddy is just so laid back and easy-going…He integrated himself. Of course, five days later, we got Logan, and he had a built-in best friend, but even without Logan, Freddy would have done just fine.
And here’s our Freddy, almost two years later, on the same sofa with Izaak. He’s our genius philosopher, and I love him.
Jacoby, Björn, Kalle and I had spent a long weekend in Tallinn for a cat show. On the way back, on 6 June, we met Karin at Stockholm’s Centralstation to collect Alfred.
We got there a little early, so we had lunch in the food court.
Jacoby was his usual well-behaved self, as always.
Titti and Emma also met us at the station so they could see Jake and Kalle, and also meet Freddy. Tittl and Kalle stayed at the table with the luggage whilst Björn, Emma, Jake and I went to the parking lot to meet Karin with Freddy.
We walked to Karin’s little yellow car excitedly.
Karin brought Freddy out and introduced him to Jake.
Which went…
…about as well as could be expected.
Karin, Freddy and I sat in the car whilst we dealt with Freddy’s paperwork.
Emma helped keep Freddy amused.
We didn’t think Jake was ready to share his stroller, so we put Freddy into a carrier, said goodby to Karin, and went to rejoin Kalle and Titti.
Back in the station, we all got acquainted whilst waiting for train back to Skövde.
Having gotten his hissing out of the way, Jake was very curious about the newcomer.
This time, Freddy was the one hissing. Which I found a bit surprising, since Freddy had four littermates and grew up with three adult cats. I didn’t expect him to be so defensive.
I think Jake was a little taken aback by Freddy’s reaction, too. They had words.
Jake broke the spell with a nose-lick.
By that time, our train was ready to depart, so we packed Freddy into the carrier with his baby blanket and headed out to the platform, homeward bound.
This is the third installment of posts about Alfred’s family. I was lucky enough to get to meet both of his parents, all of his littermates, and some other relations as well. Today we’ll see a little bit of Freddy’s relationship with his mother. Last week’s post is here.
While we were visiting Alfred and his littermates, Artemis, their mother, decided that Freddy needed to go upstairs to bed.
Although she’s had several litters, Artemis seems a little unclear on the whole “carrying kittens by their scruffs” concept.
She sort of carried him by his front neck.
Of course, it didn’t help that Freddy wasn’t sleepy and didn’t want to go to bed upstairs.
Okay, upstairs we go, little man.
…A slight readjustment of grip…and we’re carrying, we’re carrying…
Come on, you little brat…cooperate. Mommy needs…I mean, YOU need a nap!
Mother knows best, after all.
…And up the stairs she whisks him.
Say goodnight, Freddy.
But what’s funny is, when Freddy wants to grab Logan by the scruff…he usually grabs him by the throat, just like his mother did to him. The only difference is, Logan doesn’t put up with it.
This is the second installment of posts about Alfred’s family. I was lucky enough to get to meet both of his parents, all of his littermates, and some other relations as well. Today we’ll meet Freddy’s mom and littermates. Last week’s post is here.
Alfred’s mother, Artemis, is devoted to her kittens. She went from having a singleton, Beaver, to a very active litter of five. Five is a large litter by Abyssinian standards!
When we went to visit the family, Artemis was present, monitoring her brood and making sure the visitors behaved.
Monitoring five kittens is a lot of work!
Especially these kittens! At times, they seemed to fly around the living room!
She took time to spend a little one-on-one time with each kitten. Here she feeds Freddy’s brother, Bertil…
…until she decided he was finished.
She also spent a little quality time with both her sons. Freddy and Bertil have a little cuddle, wash and snack with mum.
His sisters were busy, too. Märta and Greta were very interested in me, my camera, and my phone.
Meanwhile, Kerstin played on the climbing board.
I wonder if fighting his siblings for a place at the milk bar is what made him so food-obsessed?
Alfred’s story actually started on 21 March 2016, when his mother, Artemis, had a litter of blue silver kittens. Sadly, only one survived, a little boy named Beaver.
Karin, his breeder, posted endless photos and videos of him as he grew up. He was a charming, sweet little survivor, growing up without kittens his own age, just his mother, father and older sister. I fell in love with him and would have adopted him in a heartbeat …but he was already spoken for.
But then, last year in February, Artemis had another litter. And this time, there were FIVE kittens, and every single one survived! There were three girls (Greta, Märta and Kerstin), two boys (Albert and Bertil), and four of them were black silver Abys while Märta, was Ruddy. They were all named after characters in Astrid Lindgren‘s books.
When he was five weeks old, Freddy met the love of his life…food!
Freddy at six weeks, showing off.
Freddy has always been a bit of a goofball.
It’s wonderful to watch your kitten grow up…I have seen photos of Jacoby’s littermates and siblings, and met his father, uncle and one brother, but I never got to see them all together. And I got to see Logan together with his sister and mother and several cousins, but I didn’t get to meet his father. Freddy’s the only one I’ve seen grow up from birth, met all his littermates (and also a half-sister) as well as his father and some cousins.
We went to Stockholm when Freddy and his siblings were just seven weeks old. We got to play with them and watch them interact with each other…something I didn’t get to do with the others.
Watching five kittens play in a house that’s basically set up as a kitten playground is a lot of fun!
Karin had a ton of interactive climbing play areas for the kittens…
…Like this hanging mesh tunnel from IKEA. I actually found one for our kitten room here…but Freddy pulled it out of the ceiling.
Freddy has always liked to be on a high perch.
It was so much fun watching the kittens play! I took so many photos…too many for just one Friday Flashback. So, come back next Friday for more of Freddy and his family!
The Daily Abyssinian...and Singapura 