What a summer!

It is mid september and summer is drawing to a close. It was a long, hot and beautiful summer, but—as everyone experienced—actually to hot. The sun was so intense in July that, for the first time in all these years, two of our cats—Ganna and Ciri, the youngest ones—got sunburned on their ears! They are the ones who spend the most time outdoors and are the most active outside, though they don’t actually lie directly in the sun.
There were tiny scabs along the edges and bald patches had formed, leaving them without their natural protection against the sun. From that day on, they had to stay indoors between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. until they had fully healed. That process took about seven weeks; by then, it was early September, and the sun was no longer quite as strong.

But apart from this, they all thoroughly enjoyed spending many hours outdoors, just like us.

*Three generations: Didi, Ganna and Ciri*

*Also Kallima spent a lot of time outdours*

*The burnt tips of Ganna’s ears*. *While cuddling, I felt the rough edges, and when I put on my reading glasses, I saw what was going on.*

*The little black scabs on Ciri. And the missing hairs. I was really shocked*, *I’ve never experienced this before*

*Fortunately, they could go outside almost every evening until nearly midnigh*t

The weather was also beautiful for mountainhikes.

*On top of the Petzen, the mountain we look out at from our garden*

*The evenings were the best to do a longer walk with Donna*

We also did some travelling, to Holland and Italy.

*Inspecting a bedroom in a Tuscan apartment. As always we cover everything carefully to keep the area as clean and hair-free as possible*

*Delightful Cortona, beautifully perched 600 meters above the Val di Chiana* *in eastern Tuscany*

*In august I made a trip by myself to Umbria. This is the magnificent view of the Duomo of Spoleto* *by night*

Also there was quite some news from our Somali family members living elsewhere.
Ciri’s two boys, Julius and Jaro who were born this winter, moved to Ronald in Holland mid-April and we receive regulary updates since. Ronald previously had Brasil, a kitten from Kallima’s first litter. Brasil passed away a few years ago.

*By now, they have grown into handsome young men and remain exceptionally close to one another*

Sadly, there was also very sad news this summer. On July 21 Bushy- known as Buschka to her owners, passed away at the age of 15, most likely due to a bladder tumor. She was the oldest daughter from Kallima and Massimo, and Brasil’s sister.

*Buschka/ Bushy during my visit to her in the autumn of 2025, when she was still healthy*

Ten days later, on July 31, Fealynn passed away—far too soon, at the age of ten. She had fallen ill, and after some tests, it turned out she had an inoperable tumor on one of her kidneys.

*Beautiful, sweet and quirky Fealynn. Im feel so sorry for you and Willy that your time came so soon*

Fortunately, there was also some wonderful news. On July 30th, Ameerah turned a remarkable 18 years old. Apart from a few minor ailments, she is still in excellent shape. Ameerah was the female kitten from the first litter we bred ourselves. She continued the line in Germany. The line returned to the Netherlands with her son, Guus. A granddaughter of Guus, Fealynn, subsequently came to our cattery in 2016, and in this way, I regained the line of my very first Somali, the unforgettable Yara.
The line has since been continued through Fealynn’s daughter Didi, granddaughter Felicia, and her daughter Ciri. It is truly special to still have this line after so many years. And even more remarkable is the fact that the little black-silver kitten—whom I handed over to the German breeder in 2008, admittedly in tears—is still around after all this time.

*On July 30th, Ameerah turned 18 years old. Apart from a few minor ailments, she is still in excellent shape*

*Our own Kallima hopes to turn 17 on November 6th. She is also still doing very well*

That brings us to our youngest, Ciri! We’ve decided to have a third litter with our youngest this coming winter. Ciri is the first cat I’ll be having a third litter with, so that’s quite special. The tests have been done recently, and everything was fine. We hope she goes in heat in October.