The last weeks of Ciri’s pregnancy went very well. She was relaxed and happy and ultimately gained about 2.2 pounds (1 kg). In the last two weeks, I noticed a lot of movement on her right side. Her left side was much calmer. She was round, but not excessively so, so I thought she was carrying two or at most three kittens. But it’s still a guess….

From day 60 onwards, we became more alert, and one of us even slept with her at night. But just like last time, she waited until day 65, the average day a cat gives birth.

That day, Tuesday, December 30th, it became clear in the morning that it was coming. From then on, I was always with her. Later in the afternoon, the signs became clearer, and she started moving to the whelping box more often.

Around 6:15 PM, she lost her mucus plug, and an hour later, desent contractions began. Around 8:30 PM, strong contractions began, and not much later, the first kitten was born. A sorrel silver male kitten weighing a whopping 110 grams. His size had injured her badly, but after the birth, Ciri immediately became very caring and sweet to him. The little one seemed quite hungry, because he almost immediately searched for a nipple, which he quickly found.

Everything was calm and relaxed. Ciri took good care of the boy, and he seemed fine. About 75 minutes later, new contractions started, and within a few minutes, the second kitten was visible. Just like the first, it was headfirst, how lucky for Ciri. It was a beautiful moment to watch the kitten slowly glide into the world. I immediately saw the color of his face, black-silver, but also that this wasn’t a small kitten either. And that proved to be the case once he was fully born; he was a large kitten too, and also a boy. He looked a bit more delicately built than his brother, but he weighed the same, also 110 grams.

He hadn’t caused Ciri as much pain and needed a little more time to recover from the journey. She washed him, and after we dried him further, to keep him from getting cold. It took him a while to understand how the milk bar worked. Finally, he realized he had to do something himself, and then he couldn’t let go ;-).

Now there was another pause, and an hour later, around 11.00 PM, things seemed to be starting up again. But it remained just a few (after) contractions. Ciri’s litter was complete with two kittens.

Ciri is a perfect mother, and of course experienced after her first litter. She’s relaxed and take very good care of her boys. Besides their color, their personalities are also clearly different. The sorrel silver is less enthusiastic when his mother goes grocery shopping; he quickly makes himself heard. Picking up and weighing him also always gets a comment. The black silver is much calmer and less vocal; he accepts everything more easily. Over the course of the week, they also received their names: Julius for the sorrel silver and Jaro for the black silver. The second names aren’t entirely certain yet. They are now ten days old and both weigh over 250 grams. Today I also saw Jaro’s eyes open a little. Julius is apparently still waiting a while, but that won’t be too long either.

After two lost litters, it’s wonderful to have such beautiful creatures back home. It’s truly wonderful, and I’m already looking forward to their next phases, where they’ll increasingly explore the world around them and interact more with each other and us.

Mid August, a few days after my last blog we made a trip to Italy again and of course they all went with us again. It’s amazing how much you need to take with you for the cats. For the two dogs it’s not that much; their leashes, food, some toys and a cozy basket will do, but for the cats you need so much more. Carriers, litterboxes, cat litter, dustpan and broom because of the cat litter, several baskets, a schratching post and other scratching stuff, all kinds of food, all kinds of blankets to cover the couches etc etc…, the car is loaded and the smallest bags are the ones for our selves 🙂

After a trip of about seven hours we arrived at the holiday home near Cortona, Tuscany. It was a lovely place but the ultra-narrow forest road on the last kilometer was quite a challenge.

We had a wonderful week ❤

On friday October 24 we recieved the sad news that our previous lovely sorrel boy Massimo had passed away that morning. He suddenly developed kidney failure and his condition deteriorated rapidly. His family, with whom he lived for almost thirteen years, spared him further suffering. Massimo lived to be 15 and a half, a truly wonderful age. RIP sweetheart ❤

Two days after this sad news Ciri went into heat. I still needed some time to decide whether I really dared to do it again, but the thoughts of Massimo helped me a bit. Because although he isn’t a direct relative of Ciri and her lover Belmonte, he too would live on in a new generation of this beautiful breed. So a few hours later we were on our way to Salzburg. Ciri and Belmonte still knew each other well and were very happy together again for a few days.

After we picked Ciri up again it was almost immediatly clear that it had been successful. We noticed little changes in her behaviour and she started to gain weight the week after. After three weeks her nipples became dark pink and a bit fuller, so then it was really certain.

On November 6th we had a special party, Kallima turned 16! Quite a very respectable age. And she has reached it in a good condition. Aside from the onset of kidney failure and some stiffness in her body, she’s still doing very well. She can still be playful and sometimes even gallops in the garden. We’re aware that her health can change quickly at this age, but we hope she can stay with us for a few more years.

Meanwhile, it’s early December, and the days here are short and gray. The cats are indoors a lot, cozying up by the heater, or close to us…

Ciri is doing very well. She’s 5,5 weeks pregnant now so more than halfway. She has gained 550 grams which is perfect for this phase. She already likes to spend time in the guestroom where the whelping box is located, which she has already thoroughly inspected. She eats a lot and Leonardo is her favourite. To make sure we don’t run out during the holidays, I’ve bought a large supply 😉

We hope all goes well with Ciri over the next four weeks and with her delivery, which is scheduled just before the end of the year. A new update won’t be available until the new year, so I’d like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season and a healthy and prosperous 2026.

In June we spended a few weeks in Holland where we bought a little second home to make it more easy to spend time in Holland with family and friends. And although we love it in Austria, we know that one day we will go back to Holland so it’s wonderful to have our own place there again.

Untill the keys were handed to us we stayed in the chalet in the holiday park we visited in spring. The cats and dogs seemed to remeber it and they felt at home again immidiatly.

June 17 finally was the day we finally could move over to our new place. And everyone was so relaxed again, they have become real travellers.

At the end of June, we drove back to Carinthia. We’d heard it had been very hot there. Our village had even broken a record. A temperature of 38.3 degrees Celsius had been recorded, the highest June temperature ever recorded in Carinthia.

Back in Austria, it was time to make an appointment to pick up Ciri in Salzburg. The kittens were now over three months old. On Thursday, July 10th the time had come, and we drove there. Two kittens had just moved to their new owners, but the two kittens who would continue the line in Denmark and Sweden were still there. They had turned out so beautifully!

fotos van telefoon

Ciri was happy to see me again, and when it was time to leave, she stepped into the transport board herself, completely relaxed. That was a difficult moment for Filippo…

During the little three-hour journey, Ciri remained very relaxed, so it didn’t feel like we’d taken her away too soon. And Filippo and Fumiko still had each other. Two days later, they would begin their journey, first together to Denmark, and from there, Fumiko would continue on to Sweden.

Once home, I kept Ciri isolated for a day so she could recover and get rid of the smell of her new environment, which might help her get re-introduced to the others. I was also curious to see how that would go.

The next day, I brought Ganna to the room where she was staying. The reunion was wonderful; they saw each other and there was an immediate “Hey, you’re back!” as if they’d only been separated for a few hours. There was no hesitation whatsoever, so beautiful to see. Cats usually need some time, especially after such a long time.

A day later, she saw Noortje again for the first time. Noortje hesitated for a moment, but there wasn’t really a problem. Didi wasn’t immediately thrilled, but in the days that followed, they got used to each other again. With Kallima, things proved a bit more difficult, just as before. In fact, all the relationships remained exactly as they had been before Ciri’s departure.

Meanwhile, she’s been home for a month now and is enjoying outdoor life in the garden. She’s also gained some weight and is having a great time just like the others.
The garden itself is looking better again. In July, we had a bit more rain and it was a bit cooler. Now summer is back in full force for a second round with temperatures above thirty degrees Celsius. We’re going to make the most of it, because autumn might be here sooner than we expect.

Three weeks ago I visited Ciri and her kittens the second time in Salzburg. Elizabeth had updatet me on their development and sent me pictures since my first visit. Everything went perfectly well.
I was so happy to see them and Ciri again. They were now eight weeks old little active fluffy balls, playing around, and do things kittens are supposed to do. Mother Ciri was very relaxed and took good care of them.

The next day it was time to go back to Carinthia again. It was a lovely experience and I think it gave me new faith for the future 🙂

Last week I received new pictures again. The kittens at the age of 10 weeks. They all have their names now and all are reserved.

I will visit them for the last time in July, just before they move into their new home. Fumiko and Findus will continue the line, which was the goal for Elizabeth and me when we started this adventure. Filippo and Peach also found beautiful homes.
I have missed Ciri a lot, and I’m looking forward to having her home again in a month. I’m very proud of her and happy that everything went so well. And I’m grateful to Elizabeth for taking such good care of Ciri and her beautiful litter.

It’s such a long time ago since I posted an update….

I had planned to do a litter with Ciri last autum. End of October she seemed to get in heat. My first reation however was fear, instead of happiness or exitement, and that feeling stayed. So it was clear that I still wasn’t over the two lost litters from Verona. Specially the second one was very heavy for me.

After about a week I decided it would be better to stop the breeding. No more fear, no more pain, no more sleepless nights about going on or not. So I planned Ciri’s castration, I wanted to leave everything behind me as soon as possible now I made up my mind.

I also phoned with Elizabeth Wilcox, the owner of the stud where Ciri was supposed te go to if in heat. Elizabeth understood and accepted my decision but she asked me not to have Ciri neutered. There’s so few silvers left and Ciri is a wonderful silver girl.

Long story short, we talked about possibilities and early January Ciri moved to Salzburg to have a litter at Elizabeth’s place. It was very difficult to let her go, even temporary, but like Elizabeth I also felt that it was a very good idea to do this litter so the line could be continued and preserved for the silver Somali’s. And I was sure that Ciri would be in good hands with Elizabeth, no doubts about that.

Ciri felt at home soon and within a week she was in heat! So Elizabeth brought her to her wonderful and so friendly male Belmonte. They really fell in love with eachother and had a few wonderful days together.

Within a few weeks it was clear that their love had been succesful. However, after about four five weeks Ciri was in heat again, but she still seemed pregnant, very strange and unusual. She also did not gain wait a lot, but in the last two weeks she grew a lot. Now fingers were crossed for the big day.

On sunday March 23, day 65 of the pregnancy, Elizabeth sended me messages early morning that labor was about to start.

It took a while before the first one to arrive, a black silver girl. But after that the others came quite quickly. A sorrel silver girl, a sorrel silver boy and fourth and last a very big blacksilver boy.
Ciri did so well and the result is fantastic!

The first few days thing were a bit new to Ciri but she learned quicly and soon was a very devoted mother. I’m so proud of her.

Of course I wanted to visti her as soon as possible. The weekend after the birth it was possible and I could finally see Ciri again and get to know the newborn family. She was really happy to see me and to show me the little ones. They looked so beautiful and content, so well cared for by Ciri. And Elizabeth made sure that everything Ciri or the kittens needed was there. And she gave me the opportunity to sleep with the little family, which was fantastic ❤ .

The next morning we made some pictures:

Of course I miss Ciri a lot, and I’m counting the days, weeks and months untill she will return end of June or beginning of July. But I am very happy Elizabeth suggested to do this litter with her and I agreed. Happy for the Silver Somali’s and happy with this wonderful result. And a wonderful experience after the sad events with Verona. And maybe, maybe this will give me courage for a new litter in the future. Time will tell…..

Can’t believe my last blog was four months ago, in april! High time for a serious update!

End of April/ early May we went for a trip to Holland. My husband visited Holland a few times for his work since we left in June 2022 but for me it was the first time since than. It was a beautiful week and it was so nice to visit family, friends and places I missed over the last two years. It was good to be back.

Unfortunately there was also a more difficult task during our stay. Verona couldn’t stay with us because she and Kallima were a very bad combination, I had been keeping them seperated from eachother since two years. And after Verona’s sterilisation her relationship with Didi also became more difficult. So I decided to find a new home for her, in Austria or Holland. It didn’t take long to find the perfect place, she would go to Astrid and her family in Millingen aan de Rijn, Holland. So we brought our sweetheart there the first day after our arrival. In case it wouldn’t work we could take her back with us. But everything went well, the people had been looking so much forward to Verona’s arrival and only a few days after a difficult goodbye we already received good news from her new home.

Back in Austria spring and summer were not in a hurry…we had rain and low temperatures untill second half of june

Shortly before we went to the Netherlands I discovered a small lump on one of Didi’s nipples. A real red flag because Didi sometimes had to take the pill in the past. Not often, but a few and unfortunately they pose a serious risk of developing mammary gland tumors. I check the girls regularly so I discovered it when it was still very small, about 5 mm. A biopt was taken and although the vet thought after taken it that it seemed someting rather innocent the lab result showed some bad cells. So we had to decide to have it taken away and I was seriously worried again.

Histological research then showed that fortunately it wasn’t that bad. It turned out to be an inflammation of the mammary gland. Also good that it was removed because that could still cause problems in the long run. Anyway a huge relief that wasn’t a breast tumor!

Meanwhile little Ciri has grown up a bit over the last four months. She’s still quite a small girl but she’s not a real kitten anymore. She and Ganna have become such a nice couple. Ganna liked Verona also but it seems he loves Ciri even more. Verona was a bit of a bully sometimes and Ganna didn’t always like that.

Around June 21 summer finally arrived! And since than we had a lot of days where temperature reached about thirty degrees or higher. We have also had our fair share of thunderstorms, but fortunately so far, at least not the kind we have had last year, hopefully it will stay that way….

Eidnelijk toch z

And also John and I enjoy our second summer in Austria a lot. We visit cities like Villach and Klagenfurt and sometimes we go for a walk in the mountains

Early autum we will travel to Holland again and after I hope Ciri is ready for her honeymoon. Most of the examinations have been done yet, the last ones will be done later this month.

To be continued….

After the sad loss of Verona’s kitten Innocento I needed some time to think about what to do, continue breeding or not. Meanwhile I started helping Judit to find places for the kittens of Felicia, Didi’s daugther who lived with Judit and Peter in Hungary since 2021. It wasn’t easy to find the right places in Hungary. The kittens meanwhile reached the age of five months so it was about time for their forever homes. I had some Dutch people who had waited in vain for Verona’s kittens again… maybe I could help both sides in this case. So I contacted them and sended some pictures of the three black silver kittens. But then I noticed my eyes went to one kitten again and again, to the Somali girl on the picture, Cirilla. Her brother and sister are Aby’s. My thoughts went back to Yara, our first Somali girl, black silver. Her line never gave a black silver Somali girl back. I also stopped the silver breeding a few years ago. But this girl had my special attention and to have her would in a way make the cirkel round, a black silver Somali girl again after so many years.

So we went to visit Cirilla in Hungary to see if my feeling would be still there when meeting her. And yes, it was. So a few weeks later Ciri came to us 🙂

It was amazingly how quickly Ciri was integrated. With the other cats, with us, but also with the dogs…she had never seen a dog before but it took her not more than a few days to feel fully ok with them. She’s a lovely girl, very active and curious and she has a lot to tell, specially when things don’t go the way she has in mind 😉 . She gives me a smile on my face every day and I am very happy she ’s here.

The Dutch couple Aart and Fia who waited twice in vain for Verona’s kittens fell in love with the pictures and character description of Chili and Cosmo. So when everything was arranged they where brought to us in Austria and picked up by them last weekend. Aart and Fia had a kitten from us long time ago, Djemo. After Djemo and his co Somali girlfriend Aimaye died there was not a single doubt for them to choose this wonderful breed again.

Meanwhile we also experienced our first Austrian winter. We expected more snow than those two times 10 /15 cm. Those did stay for a few weeks but that was all. It was a mild winter we understood from the locals.

Last year we made the garden safe for the cats but it needed some more decoration. We bought some plants and decided to make another playground for the cats. A place for them to climb, to relax and have a view over their territory.

After two weekends where the temperature soared to nearly 30 degrees, it is now back to winter with temperatures under 10 degrees. Hopefully spring will return soon and we can all start enjoying the outdoors again.

Unfortunately Verona also lost her second (and last) litter….

After an X-ray made on day 55 we knew there was only one kitten. So we decided to do a c-section on day 65 because mostly a single kitten is (too) big and the contractions might not be strong enough in case of one kitten. After losing her first litter last summer we didn’t want to take any risk.

Due to an unexpected staff shortage we had to go to another vet as the one we have since september and in which we have a lot of faith. We really didn’t like it but we had no choice. The c-section was planned on January 19 early afternoon.

Both anesthesia and being a single kitten are difficult things for a new born kitten, so this were two difficulties for him. They are so vonerable. But I am also afraid they gave Verona a little bit too much anesthesia. We had to go back to the vet a few hours after the c-section because she didn’t wake up at home. The sorrel boy was small for a single kitten, 80 grams only, and too quiet from the beginning…it didn’t feel good. He was just laying there and hardly moved. Later in the evening I could’t even wake him up to feed him. A few hours later,13 hours after his birth, he died.
Our hearts are broken….

It’s been a while ago since my last blog. There was not so much news and after Verona’s lost litter and the extreme weather period untill early august we were happy that a more relaxed period started. We had a fantastic late summer and autumn untill the end of october. A lot of sun, hardly rain or wind, it was great and very welcome. We did some more trips and enjoyed the lovely area we live now. We both feel very happy here. The impressive Petzen behind us has showed us so many faces since we arrived, fascinating us every day. Mid october the first snow popped op on top it and meanwhile it is fully covered. The ski season has started also and will last untill the end of march.

In the meantime, the pile of paperwork we had due to two emigrations within a year has finally shrunk, it was a lot…

The cats and dogs are doing very well. They spend may hours in the garden untill the last few weeks when it started to get colder. A while ago we found a vet that we feel good about. We are very happy because it is so important. Ganna, Verona and Kallima already went there for vaccinations and check ups. Ganna and Kallima also had to go because of some dental problems. The clinic is specialised in this. Very good because many cats and dogs have problems with their teeth and often it is not seen in time.

Kallima reached the age of 14 in november and since Zaina died last year she’s the eldest. She’s still very fit, playfull, funny….but now she has a little problem with her thyroid. The T4 level was a bit too high as it was checked early october, but the last check two weeks ago showed a better result because she was on a diet since than. The not so good news is that now she doesn’t want to eat the diet food anymore. So looks like we have to go for medication.

Verona is doing very well. In november she was in heat again and I decided to give it another try. She and Ganna had a lovely honeymoon and I am very happy to tell you that she is pregnant! Becoming pregnant can be more difficult after a caesarean but in this case it seemed no problem. She is doing very well and gained quite some weight already. Babies will be expected around January 19.

So let’s hope 2024 will give us a wonderful start. And that’s what I hope for everybody. Wishing you all a wonderful X-mas time and all the best and a good health for the coming year!

It took me some time to find the energy and motivation to write a new blog. Time to grieve, put everything together, give it some time.

I will only write in short about what happend. It is still to painfull and it doesn’t change the situation anymore.

Verona’s pregnancy went perfectly. She was so relaxed, and looked so good. From day 61 I was with her also at night to make sure I was with her when she started. But she didn’t start…not even on day 68. Then I contacted the vet because it was about time. I had a previous experience with Fealynn who delivered at day 69, so I was still not in panic but at day 68 it is time to contact the vet. She did some ultrasounds and X-rays on day 69 and 70 and everything was fine, four beating hearts inside. But she would not intervene and convinced us that we could wait a few more days, supported by some colleagues she had asked for advice online. I was in doubt about it, very tired of all the sleepless nights, but she convinced me…
But unfortunately she was wrong. On day 71 Verona had a caesarean section and it was too late, three kittens had died and number four was alive for only a few minutes…..We were shocked.

Heartbreaking, this in our opinion needless death of four young lives. I’ve seen them….. so intensely sad. And yes, I have blamed myself for everything, if only I had……..but nothing brings them back, you have to start dealing with it….

Fortunately, Verona recovered quickly from the cesarean section and she seemed ok after the first days when she was a bit restless and looking for her babies….poor thing.

It took John and me some time to decide what to do…stop breeding or maybe try again. It was a real rollercoaster for a while but slowly I got to the point where I want to try again. Verona and Ganna are such a sweet couple, it would be such a shame not to have at least one litter with them. We hope we can give it another try later this autumn.

What else happened….in June we worked very hard to fence off the garden. The furries now have more than 600 square meters at their disposal. It still needs to be furnished a bit further, but in the meantime they have at least one of the playground equipment that they had in Holland and we had brought over to Austria.

Another heavy thing we had to deal with in july and early august was the extreme weather in our area. Many places in the world had to deal with extrem weather this summer but the striking thing here was that it took three-four weeks. From mid July there where storms and supercells almost every day, quite scary sometimes! And in the first weekend of August so much rain fell that it led to massive floods with a lot of damage on roads, houses etc. In Slovenia, only a few miles from here the damage was really dramatic in some villages, it will take years before everthing is reconstructed.

Since a few weeks the real summer has finally started and we made some lovely trips in Austria, Slovenia and Italy, there is so much to discover….

We hope that summer will last a little longer before we start autumn. Later in the autumn, in October or November, we hope that Verona will be in heat and we can look forward to a new litter ❤ ❤ ❤