Today I found a silly old video I made back in 2017 when we only had three cats.
We were all in the kitchen, preparing salmon for dinner.
Angel, Jacoby and Pyret.
I don’t even know why I was taking photos. I mean, it was just an ordinary, everyday thing.
But sometimes, those little bits of random normality are nice to look back.
And I really don’t know what possessed me to make a video…but again, here we are.
Yesterday when Björn and Emma were making breakfast, they gave the cats a little bit of ham…and a piece fell on Alfred’s back.
He could smell it, but couldn’t figure out where the delicious ham was.
Meanwhile, here it is.
Meanwhile, Izaak is wondering why we are all giggling and taking photos.
“Mooooommmmmm…where’s the haaammmmm..?”
“Wait? There’s ham? I thought I smelled ham…”
I thought for sure Izaak would clock the ham on Freddy’s back.
Because I am a meanie, I tried to get Zak to notice the ham on Freddy’s back.
I almost thought he was going to see it.
But in the end, Freddy managed to knock the ham off of his back and eat it. Sorry, Zak.
Björn’s daughter Emma is visiting us this weekend! She’s here for her birthday, which was last Friday, but as Björn’s holiday started today, here’s here from today until Wednesday morning.
Tonight, we had options for dinner, and Emma chose ribs.
So, we had ribs.
And when we had finished, we let the cats gnaw the meat of said ribs.
Emma doesn’t have a cat at home in Stockholm, so she was quite amused to watch the feeding frenzy that ensued.
After the cats had their ribs, Emma had her cake.
She also mentioned that she didn’t like wearing a mask, so I gave her my two cat-face masks. I mean, if you don’t like wearing a mask, it’s easier to wear a fun one, amirite?
I walked into the kitchen to find Izaak on the stove. And, as you can see, he’s clearly not doing anything at all suspicious.
“La la la…pay no attention to the feline on the stovetop…”
I have no idea what he was doing there.
He’s not usually the one on that counter. That’s usually Alfred, looking for edibles.
“Oh! Hi! I totally did not realise you were standing there!” (Spoiler alert: He totally did know I was there).
“And I absolutely was not doing anything at all naughty.”
“I promise!”
Last weekend, we had a little box of various cheeses. The box was pretty nice for putting little things in, so we put it on the kitchen table.
And sure enough, a little thing ended up in the box.
Lorelai loves to chew on her claws.
I think that’s why she hates it when I clip them for her.
“I can do my OWN nails, Mom!”
Today is Alfred’s fourth birthday! I can’t believe he’s four already. He was very excited about his “cake,” too.
The candles, however, gave him pause.
For about fifteen seconds.
Freddy seemed about ready to eat his cake despite the flames, so I blew them out.
Then he really tucked in. At least this year, no candles were eaten on Freddy’s birthday.
Izaak turned three years old on Tuesday, and I got him a little black chirpy bird made by the same company that made the favourite, beloved chirpy mouse he got for his first birthday.
He knew what it was immediately and wanted to play with it immediately, even before we pulled out the little plastic battery thingy.
And once it started making noises…look out!
Usually, Zak prefers light-coloured toys, but he really liked this little black woodpecker.
It picked it up and carried it off. He loves to carry his mousies and birdies.
Happy third birthday, little man!
Today is Dashiell’s second birthday, and of course he got the usual cat food cake. He was a lot less intimidated by the flame than he was last year.
If anything, he was almost too unintimidated. We were afraid he was going to singe his ears!
We gave him his cake in the bedroom, for two reasons: one, he was already on the bed and he feels secure in there; and two, to protect the other cats from trying to eat his cake before he had a chance to even sniff it (and by “other cats,” I mean Alfred).
Izaak, however, insisted on being with Dash for moral support. I reckoned that was okay, because Zak doesn’t really like regular wet cat food.
So Dash got to celebrate with his best friend.
Zak did check out the food…but once he sniffed it, he retreated, uninterested. Maybe he’ll change his mind in three weeks when it’s his birthday.
“Oh, well…more for me!”
Pickled Herring is one of the traditional foods on the traditional foods on the Swedish Julbord (Christmas table)…so of course there’s a version of Julsill for cats!
It’s made by Mjau, the “low-rent” version of Bozita, which I’ve mentioned before (Both Bozita and Mjau are made by Doggy AB in Vårgårda). The main difference between the two brands seems to be the range of flavours and the ingredients labels. Mjau lists “meat and animal by-products” and “fish and fish by-products,” with 4% actual herring. Bozita lists the specific animals used, and doesn’t include “by-products.”
But do the cats mind if they get a little Julsill along with their raw? Apparently not…well, except maybe for Izaak.
A memory of Logan came up in my Facebook feed today.
Logan was a lot more agile than Izaak is. This is Logan on a tiny ledge on the top of the door to the cabinet above our refrigerator.
Not to say he was 100% confident up there, but the fact that he got up there at all is huge.
I cannot imagine Izaak even thinking of trying to go up there, let alone actually doing it.
He even started to groom himself up there!
As similar as Singapuras seem to each other…they are definitely individuals!
I took some really nice portraits of Izaak in the kitchen, but they were kind of…Meh. So I took to Hipstamatic to spice them up. The above is my favourite.
I like this one, too…something about the melted film effect appeals to me.
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I really like the “shattered” effect on this photo, and the way it focuses on Zak’s eyes…but I cant decide which version I like better. What do you think?
Lately, Angel has started doing the cutest thing. When I give the others their evening raw chicken neck, Angel gets some dry food.
And this is a new thing for her, but she stands up in anticipation of her snack.
And she meows at me to hurry up, too! It’s the most adorable thing, ever, and she only started doing it a few months ago.
She stands up for regular meals, too…but she’s cutest when it’s snack time.
I wish she could eat a chicken neck like the rest of the cats…but she just hasn’t got the teeth for it. She’s happy with kibble, though.
Izaak loves his chicken necks.
I left the refrigerator door open for a minute while I was making dinner today.
And…yeah. He jumped up into the fridge.
Like a heat-seeking missile, Zak zeroed in on his precious necks.
And he would have stolen one, too…if I hadn’t been standing right THERE. I think there’s a flaw in your masterplan there, cat burglar.
Whenever we have spare ribs, we lock the cats out of the room. As a sort of reward, we let them chew the meat scraps and cartilage off of the bones. It’s very popular with the feline set.
Of course Alfred is the first one to grab some bones, with Lorelai close behind.
Freddy especially loves the cartilage bits.
Rory may be the smallest cat in our family, but she’s feisty. She gets her share of the bones.
But possibly the most enthusiastic bone-eater is Izaak.
Look at him go! All that chicken neck practice is clearly paying off.
I should have made a video. He’s making little growling noises as he gnaws.
Angel even tries to join in the rib-gnawing fun.
It’s kind of hard, though, since she only has two teeth left.
So we gave her a corn cob instead.
She was happy with that.
Dashiell wanted to try corn, too. We may have another corn-eater in the house.
I’ve written before about how much Izaak enjoys his raw chicken necks.
I mean, he REALLY loves them. Here he is, trying to grab a neck from the bowl.
He actually did manage to snag one!
But then Lorelai happened.
The funny thing is, Dashiell is just as mad for chicken necks as Zak is. He just expresses it differently.
Bone appetit!
Here’s the full video showing what happens when it’s neck o’clock.
So the other day I walked into the kitchen, and the cabinet above the refrigerator, where we store the dry food we give Angel as a treat, was open. And the bag was…somehow…on the kitchen counter. Pretty sure it was Alfred, but he tried to frame Dashiell for the crime. For some reason, most of the photos I took were “Live Photos,” so here they are as a short YouTube video:
The Daily Abyssinian...and Singapura 