The Catio-vala*

Once a long, long time ago

In the land of tea and cake

Unhappy Äiti's life did change;

Cat rescue bound, her tide did turn. 

Caged up and scared the brothers were;

Harris and Lewis found home with her

And soon Stran, brave street-cat, came 

To join the gang in Bristol fair.

Islay the kit with her eyes a-shine,

Sweet and bright, then made the family four.

Next old Monty-cat from the same rescue

Making journey to his home anew.

Happier now, Äiti's life moved on,

Finland-bound she flew. To visit? 

Nay! Her life was changed and

Passports for cats were fast arranged.

Boxes packed and food bowls stacked, 

Brave Britcats northward-bound

Took to vast skies and thence

Touched paws on great Finland's ground

Joy did flourish, a better life ahead 

Even if Finnish words did not make flow; 

Islay now was Aila as it sounds the same 

And Äiti sought a vet in which to place her trust. 

Old age called Monty, from his time in this world,

But five months of Nordic bliss he’d lived:

Squirrels, pine trees, a fresh Finnish breeze

Salmon and reindeer, the finest he deserved. 

The greatest gift, the most serendipitous lift

did Äiti then receive; a tiny fluff from 

Muhos fields, too young to be alone,

was placed in her hand, and thence swiftly carried home. 

Stran took his role as mentor fine--

Master-hunter and teacher both; 

The young kitten played and learned his 

Trade; ruling the expanding home.

Punapippuri his name, the youngster became

a blogger extraordinaire.

His fame did grow, his ego too

And friends visited from far and near.

Royal tendencies showed, and a palace procured,

And Tuomo from Raahe joined

the expanding crew, now most fairly ruled

By the King Kitty Cat of Finland(North)

A great builder came and made a Catio frame 

So the perhe could wander outside;

Much joy to behold as soft grass under paw

Was in winter replaced by fresh snow.

New face Mirsku, another one saved, settled well

With kissanminttu addiction and playful swipes;

Winter here can be cruel as Pekka would tell- 

From cold fields he was grateful for shelter. 

And still an open door: Rilli the senior, 

Risto and Roosa the Manxies two more; 

Ruska came too; these four dearly loved

By their human who left them too soon.

And all of this time our Stran took in his stride 

These additions and changes all new.

He was wise and gentle, ruling with mighty paws fair,

Not averse to an extra fishie or two.

And then a great shock, which did young Punapip rock

As Jaava and Jura appeared.

Two lightning bolt ninjas of Burmese descent

They tumbled the Catio and battered the walls 

Punapippuri got jittery

His royal self all pissery

So the palace walls did he spray

To show his utter dismay. 

Sampo was next, a handsome brown Burmese;

Stran was delighted, but Puna was teased.

So he strutted, fussed and grew cross 

And acted as the bratty boss.

Tuomo, Rilli and Harris left for the stars, 

Their tuxies’ tails swish as the northern lights

Dance above the Catio, sending greetings from afar

Of those we miss most every night.

And then a shock as Äiti came from Tampere

With Seppo cat, a total mystery!

He had no whiskers, he had no fur

But it was really clear he was no girl!

Sphynx-love for Äiti was a new disease

And Puna acted so displeased.

Yet in time he grew to love the nekkid

But it was not easy, just tolerated.

And then the world went very dark;

Great loss across the perhe felt.

Stran our God Emperor could live no more

And left us with grief in heavy hearts.

We missed his rule, his firmness fair

We missed his manners – peemails nowhere.

Unlike his pupil, Punapip

From whose bladder things often dripped. 

Mesi, the tiny Burmese minx joined us

To tease us all and play;

With tailio floofed, her tortitude showed,

Her kitten-cat eyes with mischief glowed 

Yet still one more did join the throng,

Veikko the furless slipped in the ranks,

For which our King of course

Refused to give his gracious thanks.

Risto the brave then slipped away,

His sister Roosa now spending days 

In her own quarters, with others afraid

Of falling foul of her Claw of Doom.

But all could live as peacefully as any human community;

Tussles and scraps, chases and play,

Fine food and long sleeps through the midsummer days,

The Catio calm, and Äiti now happier in all ways.

But sadness did come, as Punapippuri declined

To eat well and enjoy the fruits of this life.

He passed bravely on, and our flag now flies low

Our kingdom has changed, and we move ever on.


*The Kalevala is a great epic of Finnish literature.

We think it fitting that our first blogpost is Our Story. Welcome to the new blog. Tervetuloa!