Sad, sad Wednesday

We are devastated to report that Sampo has left the Felocracy, and gone to meet Those Who Have Gone Before.  He was far too young for this, and he is greatly missed.  Äiti is very upset to lose another young mancat before their time.

Recently he had lost some weight - he had been rather, erm muscular - but this loss became rapid about two weeks ago. X-rays showed a mysterious mass and surgery revealed this to be a huge tumor in his stomach (which is rare). Given its size, it was far kinder to not allow him to wake from the surgery.  In his last few days Sampo was extremely happy and playful - thanks to ystävämme eläinlääkäri and some good drugs to help his appetite!  He did not suffer and for Äiti that is the most important thing. She is so glad that on his last day his breeder and friend came to see him and he played like pikku pentu, and purred loudly.

This was one of the photos taken the day before he left us. Apart from being too thin, it was hard to believe what nastiness was inside him.

And this was the last picture taken of him, washing his Great Uncle Jura's ear in a sunpuddle.

Äiti will never forget the moment you were born - she received a message on her phone and photo of you, 'brown boy'. yes, she was in the middle of teaching a class but some things are more important!

Fly free, Sampo. You were a very, very special mancat. 

Saturday Slap Down

'We got him! Now Sampo you keep a look out while I make sure Papu stays still.´' 

Well, a little girlcat can dream, can't she! Papu will surely do whatever he wants - when he wakes up.

Here's the jigsaw. Enjoy.

Mesi Sampo Papu

A Full Felocracy

Jaava and Jura are as close as ever to each other. They make good mutual pillows.

And there has been peace and calm with all of us - for a few moments at least. The Highly Prized Full Felocracy Photo was taken the other evening. Now it does reveal just how messy and disordered the Castle is (and Äiti's belief that jeesusteippi is the best thing for solving all decoration problems after Otso and Papu did their worst on the folding door!). So here we have our evening meal.

Kalle is gradually braving the world a the bottom of the stairs, and eating more than the rest of us added together. And he is coming for scritches in the night - this makes us all happy.

We are going to take a bit of a blogcation - Äiti is having the seasonal disorganisation and Black Dog visits, and feels she is lacking the creativity and oomph that our blog deserves. We have tried to slap her into shape and cajole her into recognising her priorities, but maybe she needs a bit of hibernation. So, we shall be back as soon as we can. In the meantime, here's a jigsaw from Wednesday's artified picture, and also one of the Full Felocracy - although none of us is showing our best sides. Enjoy!

Jaava

Felocrats

Wednesday Wake Up

Well, Äiti may have tried to hibernate all through Christmas, but our loyal readers still though of us! We had the best parcel including these, described by a US pal as 'kitty crack'. They are not found in Finland(N), so we are massively grateful to our 'supplier' in Finland(S). Kiitos kovasti! Now open them up, Äiti...

We have all been feasting - very politely for once with the downstairs bunch all lining up.

Jaava is not so polite when she gets a treat. She got to chew on the lamb bone - note the placement of the paw with the ever-ready claw for anyone who dares approach.

And afterwards, there was much snoozing and snoring - Boxing Day can last for a long time here.

Wednesday Worrying

Äiti heard some niggly whining from upstairs - some kitty was harrassing another. She immediately called out for Papu to behave, and went to investigate.  Papu was innocent (for once).  Jura was just showing Sampo he was boss.

Jura was neutered 11 years ago, well before any little swimmers would appear. The instinct runs deep!

Saturday Sulk

A late post - guess who abandoned us to go watch stinky birds? She was not happy to find various parts of a birdie indoors when she got home,. We call it revenge.

But sadly no original photos today, just Sampo looking severe. The jigsaw is here though - enjoy!

White-whiskered Wednesday

 For wisdom, of course - not age.  

Windy Wednesday

No, not the sort of wind in the toxic-gas-Seppo sense; outside it is sunny but chilly due to some icy air that is ruining our outdoor hammock time. Just as well we can snuggle in a beddie.

 

Sunday Supplement

Sampo has been artified for the jigsaw. Apologies it is late. 

Slacking Saturday

 Sampo has apparently prevented the blog being posted - he is holding Äiti up from her duties. The fact she is spending ridiculous amounts of time watching Stinky Birds is of course not a reason for the lateness of the blog. Oh no, not at all, blame us kitties.

We tell you, she better have a jigsaw ready for tomorrow.

Wednesday Flight Mode

Otso has full airplane-ear mode engaged.

Same with Sampo. Stinkeyes are focused.

Why ? Some Tabster toyed with a burmese tailio. Sampo did not like to have his furs combed by Otso's claws. But Sampo is a bit of a wimp when it comes to Otso, so after he turned round in a temper, he realised he perhaps should back down. Buit how to do it gracefully ?  Well, a session of fifteen minutes of flat ears meant that no one lost their dignity. 

Wednesday Wolfing

 Jaava, Sampo, Seppo and Mesi were gobbling away at an extra snack. Brave creatures - but only because Otso was outside - had he heard the pouches open he would have tried to hog the lot!

Sampo's Saturday

 Sampo is all wide-eyed and wide-awake. He can see birdies outside on the Catio......

And here he is artified and puzzled up for you. Enjoy.

Sunny Saturday

Good news - the sun is returning! We have sunpuddles.  And the bad news - there is still a load of snow and the temperature is icy cold underpaw. Jura is, however, brave.

Sampo - well, not so much!

And here we have the link for the jigsaw and some artification. Enjoy.

Whiskery Wednesday

Rarely, Sampo scuttles out of the sauna and glues himself to Äiti's lap. He is really sneaky when the camera appears, and is hard to catch in a good pose. This was the best of the latest bunch of fuzzy photos. He's biscuiting away, and buzzing up a storm.

But notice he has white whisers on the left cheek, and a half whitey on his right! And this stumplet does not seem to be growing much. 

New Year's Eve Revolution

We have indeed been busy, and are pleased to announce that we Felocrats have thwarted a rebellion by Äiti. This has had to be handled very carefully, but we are pleased to announce victory. 

It came to our notice - through much staring over the shoulder and pretending to doze whilst Äiti wrote and sent her Christmas missives - that she was thinking about 'winding down the blog'. Jaava here is digesting the implications of this. Jura provides comfort for her.

Sampo was a little less subtle in his horror.

Why was she thinking this ? Otso had to try to find out. He got close to the source - not totally relaxed, he did fool her into some snuggles while he really tried to work out what was going on. He was in stealth mode - ears back and no more than seconds away from a chomp on her hand if needed.

Papu was keen to join in - occupying her chair so she could not sit and type these wicked things on her laptop. 

And at night, well Seppo and I stayed very close to her: I was undercover and Seppo - well, he just sat on her head and showed off his butt-fuzz.

And even Mesi did her best to pin Äiti down, dissolving herself into her very snuggly jumper, which is very popular with us this winter. 

If only Aila had been with us still - she was ace at destroying laptops (two!!). And there is a very good reason we never had plants in the house. This is photo of a young Aila back in England, when there was still some greenery in the flat.

But then we realised that if the laptop were destroyed, maybe the blog would in fact stop. Nope, we need to keep the innerweb connection going. 

And thanks to Loyal Readers who have said how much they like the blog -it will still be produced twice a week. She has relented. She had wondered if it was becoming too 'samey'. She feels guilt at not commenting on other blogs, when in fact she gets comments on ours from a really loyal following, and she knows many more read without commenting. We have a facebook page, but she really does not 'do' social media, and in her increasingly cranky aging process, she is unlikely to change that. But no - the jigsaws and joy will continue for the time being, here on Catio Tales.

And here is a puzzle for you, as we welcome in 2023. May it be healthier, wealthier and more peaceful for everyone; may the times be 'less interesting' for the human race, so that the planet and nature can get on with existing unharmed.  And so Äiti can get taking more photos of us doing exactly the same things as we have done all year - because that is how life should be!

All the best for 2023 to you all!

Saturday Sloth

Another late blog post. I am too patient with Äiti, and was dozing as she dozed, and then got up late. Maybe waking her at 4am is not the best tactic, if we then go back to sleep.

And here is the image for the jigsaw for today - Sampo and his little fangs. Clickey click!

Saturday Stealth

Sampo is doing his bit to pin down Äiti and stop her abandoning us (notice the claws at the ready).  But he is also on the alert for Otso show loves to chase him. Äiti's lap is red hot real estate - and Otso regards Sampo as a squatter.

Äiti has artified the photo but to see it you have to complete the jigsaw here! 
 

Wednesday Round Up

 Seppo is doing well, and is beginning to draw blood when Äiti gives him antibiotics. Hurrah. His stitches are healing up - it was a huge wound so will take time.  Jaava has been keeping him warm.

Otso is making sure Papu knows his place. This is all rough play, but it pleases us greatly.

Especially when it is like this !

Sampo got a real treat - he has been very well behaved recently. He loves his raw eggy.

And Mesi will not say no to some either. However she does say no to facing the camera.

I, however, posed beautifully. My claws are at the ready for when I declare enough is enough.

Wednesday Round Up

All has been quiet in the last few days, thankfully.  I have often pondered why I get picked upon, and it is something Äiti thinks about a lot too. When she thinks about the Felocrats who have been bitten, it is often those of us who fight bck and protest. If there is no fight or challenge to the 'bully', then there is no fun for the bully and they go away. We nekkids do seem to get the raw deal, so maybe there is some feline 'breedism' involved. It is not fun at all.   But we felines need a hierarchy and any kitty who does not accept it and challenges back, gets in trouble. Sampo and I are both fairly peace-loving, so it was a real shock to Äiti that we had a fight. However, I am  brave mancat and will always fight back, so maybe that is why I get bitten a lot. I also have no protective fur, so bites penetrate deeply and cause problems.

And here is a photo of perfect peace and sweetness. Papu - asleep!

And here are two of us who are usually the victims -Sampo and Mesi. Yes, it is ironic that the tortie terrorist is now chased around - but Otso (who loves to tease her) is three times her size, so of course she runs away fast from him.

We do have a complicated hierarchy. Jaava is the boss - she is top girl. However she is not physically the strongest, so we mancats do flex our paws too.  Well, except Seppo who just screams like a banshee when any kitty looks at him. Otso, the biggest, is a big gallumphing mancat, but he never means harm - he just do not know how to play. Jura is pretty good at standing up to everyone, and he has been mean to me too. And then there's Papu - he does what he wants. If three of us are snuggled and he wants into the pile, he goes there. Äiti affectionately has started calling him Paputin.   Pffft.