He is so happy when he gets it, he likes it more than his favorite cat candy! Archimedes (Ash), his grandson, is crazy about melons and Leroy likes them too, but he does not get them, because of all the sugar they contain.

Our other cats do not understand Leroy’s excitement about the cabbage. They tried and keep on trying to chew on it, but – nothing! They just do not like it.

Albert does not understand! Why does grandpa think that cabbage is tasty?

Jossan actually hit Leroy today on the head lightly with her paw after she tried a piece of cabbage (again) and found (again) that it does not taste well!

She thought that Leroy is silly and was so upset that she had to hit him in order to demonstrate how frustrated she was. It was funny.

She does that seldom, since Leroy is her dad who brought her up and she is not really bossing him around, but she is still a queen, which makes her and her opinions very important in our little cat pride. Cats do not have ranks like dogs, they have different roles, that do include a bit of ranking, but it is more loose and different than in dog packs.

Jossan does not understand either.

Leroy is the reason we started breeding Siamese in the first place.  He was the coolest and the most charismatic cat we’ve ever seen. Social, never scared of anything, smart, emotional and loving. He took care of Jossan, Miii and all of Jossans kittens, he brought them up. He still takes care of the whole mini lions’ pride, checks if everyone is around and patrols the house regularly. He is our Siamese #1 in every sense.

Leroy as kitten. Adorable! (picture by Nathalie Ädel)

Leroy's second day at our home, 12 weeks old

Leroy in our old apartment, 14 weeks old

Leroy, 7 months old

Leroy, 9 months old, so stylish

Leroy admires mini Saintpaulia

This was the happiest day in Leroy’s life, when we (or – he) got Jossan:

Josephine, Leroys daughter, moves to us in March 2008. Leroy is 15 months old.

Leroy outside

Leroy, November 2011, almost 5 years old. (picture by Daniel Brolund)

You can sit like this:

Leroy, the king of our house

Or hide a bit like this:

Albert

Or you can sit there nice as two ornaments. Albert and his grandfather Leroy:

Albert and Leroy

This is how the beginning of our evening with the kittens looked like (it is Stockholm, and summer, it is still not completely dark yet).

In the living room, Leroy was sleeping on one of his sheep

While in another room, the kittens were slowly waking up from their afternoon nap (Bea, Blanche and Jossan is behind them)

Balthazar and Belle, on another highest part of the cat tree

"You were saying?"

Cats got so tired from watching all the work. Cats love work. It fascinates them.

"Nothing would ever get done if it weren't for us!"

The kittens moved to the nice big kitten house we bought from Germany, and Leroy and Albert love to sit with them. They sometimes sleep next to them, sometimes they lick them clean! The big cats are very enthusiastic about the hygiene.

The small ones started to be playful and are attacking and biting the big ones, but Leroy and Albert are very patient with them. They do not even try to discipline them yet, they seem to be aware of that the kittens are too small.

(It is never this bright in the tipi like it is on the picture. There are curtains in the room that shade the kitten house, but I moved them so I could take the photos without the flash).

"Stop licking me, grandpa!"

All of Jossan’s all-white children, one big and two small ones:

The individual pictures of the kittens, taken today are here: 20 days old.

"Mom, you are almost as big as grandpa!"

Jossan, Albert and Leroy were resting on their favorite blanket  last evening.

Jossan is much smaller than Leroy otherwise, but now her weight went from 2,9kg before the pregnancy to 4,1kg. There is about 10-13 days to go. I think that there may be six kittens this time, but I do not know for sure. Jossan’s weight gain was about the same as before, a bit lower, but that could do with a two days error in the estimated time of arrival.

So exciting! Yesterday I’ve ordered a new kitten house and cushions from Germany, made out of a new high quality material that has no loops so that the claws of small kittens can not get stuck in them, and it is also washable in 60 degrees. http://eng.katzen-deko.de/

I cannot wait for the kittens to arrive!

I had the light in the background, could not use the flash, did not have much time to focus, but it was a nice situation and a not so bad composition. The judge’s motivation for awarding the 1:st prize to this photo was “för sin utpräglade vardagssurrealism” (“for its striking surrealism of everyday life”).

We are very happy!

Maven was the first to hug, pet and take care of her sheep friend. She would clean herself, walk all over the sheep, put it in the right shape and then sleep on it or beside it.

But, then, Leroy also liked the sheep. He was jealous of Maven and stole the sheep whenever he could.

Leroy also loves the sheep

Then the other cats wanted the sheep as well.

After a few weeks of occasional quarreling about the sheep, we went and bought them 3 more sheep! One in beige color as the first one, and two white ones.  Of course, NO ONE wanted any sheep when there were so many around, but after a few days, everyone loves sheep again.

Jossan licking the sheep goodnight

Everyone loves sheep!

Siamese and the white sheep

This picture of Miii and Albert posing in front of the Christmas tree won the 3rd prize (shared) on the Siames i Fokus Christmas 2010 competition and our prize arrived in the mailbox two days ago! Three yummy furry mice toys! (Thank you Nilla!)

Albert apparently thought that he and Miii were the ones who deserved the prize the most, since they posed for the picture, and went eagerly for the mice, but Leroy thought that such an opinion was ridiculous. He tossed two of the mice under the sofa immediately and then started playing with the third one. Alone!

Oh, that is a yummy mouse!	Albert, you may watch while I am playing with the mouse.
Look, the mouse is flying! I am flying!	Someone help!!! Grandpa Leroy is a big bully! Muaaaaaaa

We are arranging one of the rooms as ‘the kitty room’, where we keep their furniture, clean towels, beds, some of our books etc.

In the future this is where we will have the kittens when they are small. Right now the litter boxes are also there, but we will place them in the cellar later.

We kept the wallpaper on one wall (put by the previous house owners). This was one of their children rooms, and there are butterflies on the wallpaper. We thought it looks cute in the kitty room.

We also bought a curtain with butterflies as well and yesterday we put that up. Ribbons were highly appreciated!

(För er som bor i Sverige – vi köpte gardinen här: hissgardin Audrey . Jag tror att det finns tyg och gardinlängder med samma mönster).

Albert and his siblings turned 8 months yesterday. They all are big and healthy and loved.

…

Here is Albert, enjoying the new curtain!

And this is how the living room looks a week later. Maven likes to lie in boxes, but bags are also good. Soft plastic bags are dangerous for cats in the same way they are dangerous for small children and we are trying not to leave them around. This is a bag made of thicker and harder plastic.

I am sorry about the flash, Maven! (Though it is funny, those shiny eyes make Maven look like a little cat-robot!).

Here is a bigger picture of a small part of our mess:

The cats are helping, of course!

Miii is checking if everything is closed properly.

‘You are not leaving without me!’

Leroy is tired, he has been helping us all day. Albert and Jossan are taking a nap as well:

I am tired and just now I wish I were one of my cats…

Back to packing!

Later when the fireplace cooled down he jumped over the protection and put his head into the chimney. He looks like panda now. I managed to clean his body, but not around the eyes.

But this is how it looked when there was fire!

Last week we tested Leroy’s blood values, urea and creatinine, and everything was fine. We checked him once earlier, before he was paired with Hannah. We also tested Josssan before she was paired. I thought to test the cats every few years, because one can detect problems with kidneys well before the symptoms show. If the issues are detected early, a change in cat’s diet can prevent illness and a possible kidney failure. Siamese are not more predisposed to urinary tract diseases than the other cat races are, but I feel that if there is something one can do so that they can live long and healthy lives, I want to do it. And that includes occasional tests.

Here is he, to the right, sleeping next to Alfred (looking at the camera) and Ada this afternoon:

Archimedes’ body temperature goes up and down, and he is still tired, but we’ve managed to feed him regularly, so he got all the nutrients and water he needs. He weighs 30 gr more than before we went to the vet (saline certainly helped a lot). Leroy is licking him here, while Archimedes is resting on his pillow that we put on the sofa in the living room:

…

Filed under: Group dynamics, Health, Kittens Tagged: Archimedes, kitten, Leroy, Siamese, sick, side effects, vaccine ]]> http://cats.jelenaandjoakim.eu/2010/07/23/archimedes-against-vaccine/feed/ 2 Jelena ArchimedesAlfredAda20100722 LeroyArchimedes20100722 http://cats.jelenaandjoakim.eu/2010/06/14/leroy-and-the-kittens/ http://cats.jelenaandjoakim.eu/2010/06/14/leroy-and-the-kittens/#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 19:53:58 +0000 Jelena http://cats.jelenaandjoakim.eu/?p=967 Continue reading →]]>

Grandfather Leroy was curious, excited and a bit scared from the day one, but now when the kittens started crawling around he really likes to jump in the play-pen to lick and watch them.

He even went into the tipi when Jossan left them for a minute and licked the ones who slept there.

We were very cautious with Leroy being around the kittens, since he is male (although neutered), and the small ones took away his Jossan from him, but he is behaving well so far, and we are always close when he is with them.

He was a very good father when Jossan was small and brought her up, so we guess he will be a good grandfather also. Only, when Jossan arrived, she was three months old. These kittens are small and very fragile.

Still, he is very careful around them and when they attack him in huge numbers, he moves to another place.

BEFORE…

Some time ago, this is how the Siamese used to lie together, on a pile in one of their beds:

Please, notice: Jossan is the smallest one, lying in the middle of the pile.

AND, NOW…

This is how they look together today (sorry, Miii, you are out of the picture and out of our bed…)

Pregnant Jossan, much bigger than before, is hugging Leroy:

Selma, one of the cats from the neighborhood was naughty again and climbed on our balcony! She was fast to escape and I did not manage to take any picture of her this time.

Coincidence? I don’t think so!

Siamese are very slim and muscular cats, of medium weight and great lenghts. Still, some of them do get a bit overweight if they do not get enough exercise. Well, Miii’s days as being overweight are over!

I filmed one of their wrestling episodes a few days ago. It is a bit hard to catch them with a camera being ready… it is much easier taking shots of flowers.

Miii (Angel) is the darker one, the blue point Siamese. At the end of the clip, you can notice Jossan, a little white spectator watching from a cat transport cage that was temporarily on the floor. Jossan likes to watch our other cats play, and sometimes she joins them, sometimes not.

Miii did not want to come home when it got dark this evening. I called her, and she did not come.

Usually the Siamese stay out only for a short while, unless we are out with them. They are never out if we are not at home. Maven is allowed more, since she is “street smart”, and also, she likes to stay out longer. The Siamese like to be close to their humans, but it is good for them to run out a bit and eat grass when the weather is warm and it is not raining. They like a lot when we are out gardening, they are always “helping” us.

So, this evening, Leroy and Jossan were inside and Leroy got upset hat Miii did not want to come home.  I let him out and he found Miii and took her home! 

Leroy was totally crazy and wild when he was small, but now he has became a very responsible cat who takes care of the other members of the cat family. Cats mature socially between 2 and 4 years of age. He is about 2,5 years old now.

This picture could not have been taken before one week stay at a cat hostel. Spending time together on a much less space than usual does wonders for their love for each other. Every time we got them back from there they were nicer towards each other.

Our cats always stay at Solgläntans kattpensionat when we are out of town for a longer time. One day they can be without us. Two – four days they can be at home with a cat-sitter. Usually our friend Thomas takes care of the little ones. He sits and codes on his computer and they let him.

They take good care of our and other kitties in Solgläntans. They are cat enthusiasts that also take care of homeless cats and find them good homes. That is their primary area of engagement. If you live in Stockholm area and need a good place to leave your kitty while on vacation, we warmly recommend Solgläntans kattpensionat.

Leroy weighs 4,2kg and Angel 4,3 kg, but he is more muscular. Angel is running a lot with the other cats since she came to us and is getting leaner. Jossan is very lean and small cat, 2,9kg. That is okay for a Siamese. Leroy’s mom, girls’ grandmother, is also lean and thin, but Jossan’s and Angel’s mom, Hannah, is quite big boned, and Angel has inherited her build, but Leroy’s length. Their half brother, one of Hannah’s sons, LillFrank, weighs 6,5 kg! He is not really fat, he is very muscular and big.

Leroy has a perfect eye shape and color for a Siamese. Jossan has a bit pale, and shape is rounder than Leroy’s, but not much. Angel has a tad protruding eyes for a Siamese, but they are very deep in color. She got those big, dreamy eyes from Leroy’s mom. Leroy’s father has somewhat deep-set, oriental eyes, but that combination turned out really beautifully with Leroy’s perfectly formed and colored eyes.

I think all of our cats are beautiful and have nice personalities, no matter what eye shade or shape they have, but it is interesting to see what the standard for Siamese says:

The Siamese cat should be a beautifully balanced animal with head, ears and neck carried on a long svelte body, supported on fine legs and feet, with a tail in proportion. The head and profile should be wedge shaped, neither round nor pointed. The eyes should be a clear brilliant blue, the expression alert and intelligent.  more

Our cats are family members, before everything else. Three of our four cats are castrated. We read a lot about cat genetics and on Siamese race, since if we get a litter or two from Jossan (we would like to, she has an unique pedigree, which is good for the Siamese gene pool), we want to bring up healthy, pretty kittens with a good type. Their character is also very important; it the most important thing after their health. The kittens should be open, friendly and social individuals. The most Siamese are just like that.

I heard that the Siamese in Sweden were bred mostly on type in the past, but in the last 2 decades, at least, a character and temper of a potential parent played a huge role in Siamese breeding. All the Siamese cats I met here are intelligent, talkative, loving, emotional, dedicated to their family and absolutely non-aggressive cats.

This is Leroy, who stopped for a a moment when he heard me calling him from the balcony, while he was running around like crazy. This is the only picture I took that does not look like an unidentifiable white blob in the middle of the field. 

We always get so happy when we see bumble bees on our balcony or in the garden.

This is Sweden. We who live here love sun, too, but we do not get to see it as much as we would like to.  But, when we do, it’s a blast.

Jocke got scratched on his tummy, quite a lot; he was holding Maven while I was changing her bandage. She did not bite him, but she tried to escape, and accidentally scratched him with her back paws while doing that. The wound apparently hurts her a lot. Maven got painkillers when we were at the veterinary, but we do not have them at home. She cried like never before. I feel so sorry for her. And for Jocke, he is so badly scratched. :( Still, Maven’s wound looks better today.

We had problems giving her antibiotics; twice a day we have to trick her. We diluted the medicine in a drop of yogurt so it formed a paste. It worked the first time. The second time she refused to lick the paste from the plate, so we smeared her front paw with it. She licked it promptly; cats are compulsive-obsessive when it comes to their hygiene.

The cats went out for an excursion yesterday. We have some nice pictures of the event on flickr here

Cats care a lot about their beauty and hygiene. In average they spend at least an hour per day engaged in grooming activities. Here, Leroy is licking Angel clean.

Sometimes the cats lick our hands or faces, too. Their tongues are not really smooth, they feel like sandpaper. We enjoy it anyway.

At least once every day one can hear a rebel yell from our bathroom, from Leroy, a very special one, that we translate to “The towel must die”.

Leroy yells loudly as he jumps up on the edge of the bath tub and starts wrestling with a towel hanging on the towel drier.

Leroy usually wins in his wrestling match, which results in the towel falling on his head and dragging him into the bath tub. A bit more wrestling, and our little winner emerges out of under the towel, happy and satisfied.

“Mau mau mauuuuuuuu, come and see me, I won!”

Jossan does not really wrestle, but she likes to join Leroy after the fight is done and pretend she won as well.

Leroy and Josephine are two pure breed lilac point Siamese cats, right. SIA c. But, Leroy decided that he has to toughen up his image and went BLACK!

What really happened is that the little boy pushed his head in the chimney while examining our cold fireplace, always looking for even more sources of warmth… and then came for a bit of hugging with Jelena who was focusing on something else and did not notice anything weird.

Joakim caught two black faces on camera.

Leroy and mini Leroy, sleeping on Maven’s pillow.

All three cats share the sleeping places, but each has their most favourite ones. This pillow is one of Maven’s favourite resting spots. She likes to lie there and look at people and cars out on the street, or just be near Joakim when he works on the stationary computer.

We were not so active for some time, but now – here we are again!

This is how it looks when Leroy and Jossan are sleeping in the flower cupboard (well, it was supposed to be a flower cupboard, but Leroy occupied one of the shelves for good, and Jossan followed. Our Saintpaulias still got 3 shelves, not that bad after all).

Close-up: