In between days
We had a few months of stability after Kai joined us and before the next batch of fur-faces arrived. The apartment was filled with happy galloping and playing and the kitties fell into two pairs – Pip and Maxi, Asha and Kai. They were thriving and getting along well and I made a happy discovery. After years of being a non-photographer (I didn’t even take my camera on vacation) I found that with a favourite subject, I loved snapping pics! My photo’s weren’t great, I used my iPad for all of them, so I jazzed them up a bit with filters and frames and other tools to disguise the out-of-focus shots, the poor lighting etc., but it was a thoroughly pleasant hobby to fill my days. I took so many photos and wanted to share my wonderful kitties, I was pleased that I had discovered Instagram so that I had a place to keep all these memories for posterity.
During this time I also left the kitties alone for the first time, while I travelled to Bali for a week to celebrate a “significant” birthday, leaving the kitties in the capable and loving care of my helper, Lyn.
Lyn is the secret to my sanity with the kitties. I am fortunate to live in a country where I can provide employment to domestic staff. It’s not exploitation – as a Westerner, it is expected that I will employ staff to provide a living for locals. I have a helper and a driver and they are fantastic companions to me as well as getting stuff done that foreigners in this country can find unfathomable. Lyn was originally hired to clean my home (including litter boxes) and care for the kitties while I travelled, but she quickly fell in love with them and often feeds them too. When I moved to Cebu, she moved with me at her own suggestion as a live-in, and I have subsequently relocated her family her to join her. Since working for me, Lyn has rescued and cared for about 8 kitties of her own!
After returning from travel, my container finally arrived from India with all my much-missed belongings, so there was excitement amongst the crew as they got to sniff all the new stuff, discover new places to sleep and for Asha to discover the hole underneath the sofa….. At first I thought there were rats in my sofa! It had been in storage in India for 6 months after all, but that naughty monkey Asha was running around in there and then invited all her buddies in. When I eventually had someone over to repair the hole, we found SD cards, iPad cables, an earring, toys, a scarf of mine and various other things that I had lost – all which Asha considered her personal treasures.
Below are some pics and vids from these early years of the four big kitties, before “The Fosters” arrived.
