02/08/2017
Meet the kitty cats from Vaidelotes Street who are hosting a housewarming party! Seven tails are in attendance at the celebrations plus two visiting female guests with smooth coats – Missy (brown) and
Lynxy (spotted, cheetah-like).
In the past Missy and Lynxy were persecuted by the cats of this colony. But on this special day both sides have agreed to maintain a neutral relationship. During lunch they’re allowed to eat in this
neighborhood (but only on the side from the main dining area) and take walks in the grass with other members of the ruling cat family. This neighborhood is particularly appealing to the two ladies on sunny
days. It has everything one’s heart can desire – soft grass, plenty of good surfaces for claw sharpening and comfortable stumps for sunbathing on those warm days. Here’s hoping that Missy and Lynxy will
also be granted access to the new kitty house.
Another guest of the housewarming party that is worth mentioning is the brown cat in the photo with white chest and paws, and an unfriendly look on his face. I call him Bandit. His real name, as I’ve
just learned, is actually Purrson. I, personally, don’t think his real name suits his feisty personality. Despite his predisposition to cause trouble he does not bother the Vaidelotes colony, but he isn’t
exactly best friends with any other cats either. He likes to chase around Missy and Lynxy and any other cats who are unlucky enough to find themselves on his royal domain. While he is somewhat skinny, his
walk is truly royal. It is especially noticeable when you see him proudly walking along the neighborhood trails looking for more victims to chase around. Last winter I had to rescue of one unlucky cat, who
Bandit greatly disliked and made a habit of attacking. That day I was minding my own business in the neighborhood when I saw something flying through the air. After having a closer look, I realized that it
was Bandit locked in mortal combat with this other unlucky cat. Eventually the cat managed to break free from Bandit’s deadly claw grasp. He gathered his last strength and made a run for the opening to the
basement. Unfortunately, Bandit managed to catch up to him and sank his claws in the back of the poor cat trying to get to safety. I simply had to intervene and rescue this poor cat who Bandit decided to
target that day. Last winter during one of those unbearably cold days I was a witness to another similar incident involving Bandit and his unsuspecting victim. That day I was feeding my cat colony when I
heard loud screams and saw Bandit flying out of the first floor window and disappearing into the snowy horizon. As his owner later explained to me, Bandit mercilessly killed their pet parrot. This was the
day I came up with the name ‘Bandit’.
Another member of the cat colony worth mentioning is Brawler-Bunny – the white cat wearing a gray ‘hat’. About three years ago he lost his whole tail. We suspect a dog might have bit it off. I’ve
noticed that him and his cat friends are absolutely terrified of dogs. They run right for the basement as soon as they see a dog in sight. Maybe this fear comes from one bad encounter with a dog which
turned this cat into a tailless bunny. The other part of his name ‘Brawler’ comes from the fact that he loves to brawl and make statements. Even when you try to add more food to his bowl, he cant’ help but
hit it with his paw. He also actively chases around all other cats that he considers to be outside his inner circle. He is a very pugnacious kitty cat. Him and his sister have very similar coats.
Initially, I could only tell them apart by the absence/presence of a tail. While we were installing the new kitty house, Bunny caught me by surprise communicating his gratitude. As I was taking pictures of
the installation process he snuck up on me and licked my leg. That was his special way of saying thank you. He was very excited about the new kitty house and explored all parts of it immediately. He walked
through all the apartments inside, inspected the roof and did a few laps around the house to see his new home from all angles.
After spending more time with this gray cat with a white face, I officially named him Gray. One of his peculiar characteristics is that he loves kefir (fermented milk drink that originated in the
north Caucasus Mountains).
The cat colony that I feed also consists of two fluffy cats – a female with a gentle face and a gentle personality, and her look-alike brother. I have to feed this gentle female separately because
other cats swamp around the bowl and leave no room for her. She just sits back and patiently waits for them to finish eating. I started feeding her on the side from the main group not letting other cats
steal her food. In time cats learned to respond to my loud “No, you can’t do that!” and stopped making advances on Sweetie’s portion of the food.
During spring Sweetie suffers from her extreme fluffiness – her fur literally hangs all the way down to the ground on her chest making her almost trip over it. Unfortunately, she does not allow for
grooming or cutting off her tangled long fur. All that is left to do is patiently wait for the fur problem to resolve itself during the shedding process.
Marina Koshkina
I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart and the hearts of kitty cats from Vaidelotes Street for the donations made to build a new kitty house on 112 Slokas Street. Now these cats
have a safe shelter and a chance to enjoy life in their new beautiful home.
Thank you very much!
SUROVJAGINA MARINA
IRĒNE DMITRIJEVA
AŠUIKO ANASTASIJA
ANNA BIČKOVA
BICKOVA SVETLANA
IRĒNA KOMANE
ANITA ABRAHAM
Anf surely everyone for donations last year to build this house!
Thank you very much!
Olja Bolshak
Marina Kirjushina
Svetlana Cvetkova
Vjaceslavs Cvetkovs
Marina Surovjagina
Please, you can help too!
There are still lots of cats who need cozy and safe shelters in our city. You can help them by donating to the following bank account:
Account for donation:
Biedriba "Šri Ganeša"
LV93HABA0551042428762
Reg. 40008255244
Riga, Bruninieku 65, LV-1011
Details: Donation for Kitty street
PayPal:
http://paypal.me/Kittystreet
We'll keep you notified on the kitties you help.
We say a big thank you to all who help!
Charity social and ecological programm:
http://www.facebook.com/Kakisu.iela/
http://www.instagram.com/Kakisu.iela/
http://www.kakisu-iela.lv
http://www.kitty-street.org
Paldies par tulkojumu Agate Skrebele.
Thanks to Margarita Atlasova for translation.
