All is well in my kingdom. I have been Outside and inspected the land. I have even forgiven Äiti for the last few days as she took me outside and I was able to feel the fresh soil of Finland between my paws. I decided today not to hunt anything, but instead to explore.
I discovered some pots where I think Äiti is growing kissanminttu. I shall have to regularly check this crop I think.
And it was my lucky day too as two lovely girl cats were also out with their human, who was very charming to Äiti and spoke excellent English (I wish Äiti would hurry up and learn suomea as it is embarrassing having one's subjects visit and hearing 'anteeksi, olen ulkomaalainen....'). But the girl cats were very nice indeed, and I let one of them (a very cute little tortoiseshell with lovely eyes) sit right on my lawn. And then, their man asked what type of special breed cat I am: he clearly saw the nobility and royal blood in my veins. So now I am back inside I shall sit and be very proud of myself, and tell Äiti that she moved to a good place for me. Maybe I shall dream of catching butterflies with that little tortie tonight........

Today was warm and sunny and beautiful and boring because we were stuck inside while Äiti was out celebrating the end of the school year. This is so unfair. She should celebrate with us! And we did not even get a tiny piece of steak from the barbecue. This is really not fair and we showed how upset we were by knocking over shelves on the balcony, which was actually quite scary and perhaps not our best idea. But we demand we have more attention. And food. Oh, but not the sort of attention I got yesterday when my tummy fur was abused.

Äiti says she has to go to work tomorrow, which I think is odd as this will be the sixth day running and she only usually goes in for five days in a row. But hse has said that then she is home for a long time - except when she visits friends. Or we have visitors. I am not sure I like the sound of that but everyone else is really really excited. I am keeping calm by beating up Veli Tuomo. Here he is trying to steal my favourite mouse which of course cannot be allowed.
Something else which should not be allowed is FUR TRIMMING. And here I must trust the therapeutic powers of sharing and writing my feelings This is not easy for suomalainen mies-kissa. Today I had my tummy fur trimmed in a couple of places where I was growing little dreadlocks. Now this was a battle and I am pleased to sayÄiti has been told off by my claws and teeth, but I must also admit it is a bit more comfortable now. Äiti has said we have to compromise and I must have my tummy combed to stop this happening. I have not responded to this as I am still too traumatised. I cannot help it if I have long, silky fur which wants to twist and knot.

This has not been a good day. I should have realised it would be a trial for me when Äiti did not get up until 5.45am to give us breakfast. I had been snuggling my claws against her for a whole hour, starving.
But the horror I saw after my meagre morning snack. KOLME ORAVAA! Perkele. All dancing around and running away, free. But they cannot beat me in the competition for fluffiest tail - they are truly rats who have just a bit of fur on their bottoms. Not like me - I have a glorious brush.
And then later, when playing in Tuomo's bed, he decides to prove he is bigger than me and after a brief 'cuddle' then only he is left in his bed. I have discovered he is actually quite strong and the tubbiness is not so much flab as muscle. I shall have to be careful. it would not be good for King Kitty Cat of all Finland (except the South) to lose too much face.
But last night I was a true film satr - Äiti took this little video of me hunting my favourite mouse. As you can see it runs away a lot so I have to bring it back. Sisko Aila said something about 'pölhö, oletko koira?' which was impressive as she has been learning Finnish even though she was being a horrible rude girl cat.

Äiti says there's one more week of early breakfasts then she will be getting up later, as 'work' will have finished. This means she can go hunting more for us and bring us yummy food. We hope that she will use the new bbq and skewers to catch orava. Veli Tuomo and I are now trying to plan together how to catch him.
And Veli Tuomo is showing off saying how big the last orava was that he caught. I am not sure I believe him.
Äiti did go out for a long time today and came back with some nasty ruotsalainen Ikea bags. However she also came back with lots of toys from Djurmagazinet so I am perhaps beginning to soften in my defenses. Also I was bought this ace tent.
It is perfect for me as it is camouflaged, and the orange matches my fur so no one will ever find me in here. I will hide from Sisko Aila and when she sneaks by I will biff her legs.
We had a minor problem last night when one cat tree met with a little accident. No one is sure who is to blame but we had a bit of a playfight and the top snapped off. This now means we have two smaller but stronger cat trees which was an excellent outcome, even if Veli Harris was so shocked we haven't seen him all day.

I am the cutest and most adorable here.
Beat these poses, Raahe-boy!
And I even help Äiti with the recycling. Admittedly she was not so happy when I emptied the bag over the floor, but at least I am willing to help out, rather than sitting in my bed all day looking cute. Pah!

We are enjoying a nice relaxing day with Äiti being at home. Well, it would be relaxing if she was not cleaning windows and generally 'pottering' which means doing things for the house and not for us. I have noticed that no more cat trees have appeared, and we have not really had any special presents in the last few days. I have been extra playful too - sneaking into her duvet cover from about 3am today and just as she was dozing off making sure she knew I was there with a playful paw or nip.
I am also deeply concerned that Tuomo is perfecting cute poses without even trying. Perhaps I can learn from his obvious natural abilities.
Sisko Aila also deeply resents this, and she thinks she is getting far fewer tickles than before. I do not think this is true; she is just a girl who wants more and more attention. Besides, she has the best bed in the house, on top of the wardrobe. If it were my bed I would pounce down on everyone that came in the room, but she just lies there and snores.

What a joyful Sunday morning, playing on the balcony. Here Veli Stran and I are practising an exercise routine, and you can see just how magnificent and golden I have become. Even my tail glows. No squirrel would dare compete with this.
Our game was quite exhausting, and as you can see here I am having to catch my breath. I am not, as Äiti suggested, snorting in defeat. This was not competitive play, afterall, so I let Veli Stran walk away.
And I'll make sure I have the upper paw next time.

Our final cat tree has arrived - apparently this one is for 'stronger cats' like Norwegian forest and Maine coone breeds. And me, of course! Anyway, we have been ignoring this one and Veli Harris still hides in the bed behind it. That's when he isn't being brave enough to come outside.
We have been having a very good week, and now the Finnish summer is beginning so it is time to be outside. We start at 4am trying to persuade Äiti to open the balcony door. She is slow to get the message and I make no apology for the toe-biting which is necessary to get her to move. I did not appreciate being kicked off the bed though this morning after an especially sharp nip to her ankle. We may need to make a compromise.
Veli Tuomo has really made himself at home. He even is trying to biff me at times (which I take graciously like a true noble cat, and only bash him back when Äiti is not looking). But I do object to his falling asleep on Äiti and getting lots of tummy tickles.
Only I am allowed to be this cute......

We have another cat tree - this looks over the stairs and will allow me to control movement in and out of the sauna and bedroom.
Unfortunately Sisko Aila has laid claim to the bedroom tree as it lets her get on top of the wardrobe more easily. I am sure I will join her when her guard is down and conquer this area too.
And here I am doing my morning stretches on the balcony. I am saluting the flag as it is another joyous lippupäivä. And it is so good to let my curly bits breath.

Now I can truly look over my kingdom! What a wonderful day - Christmas has come in May. Äiti collected 5 huge boxes (which will also be fun to play with) - many thanks to Täti Johanna for helping her as it would have been difficult to carry them on a bicycle (Äiti has not yet bought us a car for transporting all our necessities). We will eventually have 4 new cat trees - here is one for the balcony. I can now look down on everything that is happening so can keep track of orava better. There's also a very over-confident peippo who is far too noisy - he is also now on my list of public enemies.

This has been a week in which I have had to become stronger, or dark moods would have taken me over. We suffered two nights in which we had no access to Äiti's bed, but Veli Tuomo did. This was all Sisko Aila's fault so I am not very happy with her. Luckily Veli Tuomo is becoming more confident with her, and with me - well, he needs to show some respect. Afterall, this is MY platform and he is making his mark on it!
We have been on the balcony more and I am perfecting my leaps onto the ledge, thanks to using Äiti's shoulders as a springboard. Perhaps one day I try to do it without claws as she always seems to yell. Most times now when the door is open we are all out there in harmony and peace, listening to the birds (there are lovely sounds from kouvi in the early morning). And when it is cold we have nice new cushions and curtains in our downstairs residence.
Veli Stran looks so happy and relaxed. Luckily the bacteria and viruses seem to be leaving him alone but he says he'll be glad when his tablets have finished as he's getting fed up with taking them.
Last night Äiti had visitors - well, she didn't: we did! And we were played with for the evening - lots of chase with the magic fish (luckily Veli Tuomo has not said it is his but is happy to share, just like his benevolent lord and master, myself). I had a lovely time. But then this morning Äiti got out the nasty comb and removed all the little dreadlocks from my tummy. I was not happy, but I must admit it feels better now. She was not happy as there was blood everywhere. I must have perfected my claw sharpening nicely.

Veli Tuomo is learning to play and realises that when we look like we are going to beat him up actually we just want a nice game of chase. He gets a bit spooked though and still will not eat with us - mainly because Sisko Aila spots him and chases him upstairs.
However he has discovered the delights of catnip and went really silly which was fun to watch until Äiti shut us out of the bedroom. We are getting used to this sort of neglect, unfortunately. It is not much fun but I did have a sauna with her this evening just to check she still knew who I was. Velit Stran and Lewis both seem to have bacteria and viruses again which is not so good - especially as Veli Lewis hates being touched and made a puddle when Äiti tried to catch him.
Here we have much catnip fixing - I am sure that it is a spiritual thing for us cats, almost like a shamanistic rite. This is our current temple, closely followed by the Altar of the Red Apple (which I have hidden somewhere). If Tuomo finds it I think we are in for trouble - this is what he was like over a cigar!

That squirrel...... he is tormenting us. We will have him. Punapippuri of Muhos Fields, King Kitty Cat of Northern Finland, will not be teased by a rat with a furry tail. We are planning. Well, I am, Sisko Aila is just chasing everyone she can.

Veli Tuomo got to spend the whole night with Äiti and even slept on her bed. This is entirely not fair and I demand that we be treated equally - except for me because I am king so I should get more. He gets up every time Äiti goes near him and rubs his head against her, and is very demanding and, dare I say it, loving. The rest of us are crying out for her attention. However we have been very nice to him even if he sits and growls at us a little. Äiti says he has played with the magic fish (MY magic fish toy may I add, how generous am I?) and thinks he will settle okay. Sisko Aila had been more mean and tried to chase him, but she is just nasty. She was very bossy when we were sitting on my noble platform.
But as you can see, justice did win and I couldn't resist giving her a flick when she left.

It has been a very busy and stressful day. Instead of having our usual midday nap, we were disturbed by lots of building noises. We now have a fantastic cat platform on our balcony, and can watch my kingdom. In particular I will be able to keep an eye on the squirrel situation.
Our platform has so much history and again I am proud to be a Finncat (and it is indeed special that we can look out onto the flag now, my heart swells with pride on lippupäivät). The wood has come from an outdoor sauna that is about 100 years old: ancient pine from the forests of the north which have seen many generations and much sweat and toil. And now I can tell my family of this when they sit near me on this noble shelf. They tell me to be quiet as I know nothing of sweat and toil, but I have to try.
We also have our new brother but cannot see him yet. This is not fair as he is in the bedroom and it is nice and sunny there. Äiti says he must feel safe and confident before he meets us. Ha! He has his own food, and toilet, and lots of blankets. At least when the nice people from eläinkoti came along they played with me and thatt made me feel quite special. Veli Stran hid behind the washing machine which really worried Äiti but maybe he had seen a cat box. We don't like cat boxes as they normally mean we have a trip to somewhere we don't want to go. But Veli Stran is okay now and having a wash. Äiti has said Tuomo is having a wash too but that is not good enough - I need to see him and check him out. We need to sniff bottoms at the very least!

Well the good news is that I found my mouse - he was hiding trying to get some sleep after all the chasing around last night. Veli Lewis was hiding too and Äiti left him on the balcony - he makes himself so small that he is hard to find - I have given him lots of attention to make up for it. He liked some of it.
We are all nervous because Äiti went out today to visit Raahen Eläinkoti. Veli Stran said that she would not come back alone, but she did (well apart from two lovely ladies who came back and said nice things about the house and what wonderful cats we are). However tomorrow apparently we are to have a new Veli; Veli Tuomo. That will happen if the house is thought to be okay for cats, which of course it is because it is my kingdom and fit only for royalty so we shall have to see if Tuomo is suitable for us. I think as long as he does not steal my mouse it will be okay, but the others are a little bit worried that all their food will get eaten and he will sit in all the favourite sleeping places. And for some reason Äiti is more worried that we will cause him stress: as he has been in eläinkoti for a year it will not be easy. So it is all very exciting here and it has been a very good Vappu. Äiti says she now needs a good night's sleep so she can get everything sorted for welcoming the new boy. I have other ideas of course......

Hauskaa Vappua! After a night of heavy partying with my favourite pet mouse (whom I cannot now find), we are now sunbathing on the balcony. Veli Lewis is loving feeling the sun on his fur, but Veli Harris has not made it outside yet which is sad because it is great fun listening to all the birds and planning how to catch them.
Yesterday I went out hunting. As it was my first attempt I decided not to actually catch anything and just staked out my territory carefully.
But that squirrel had better watch out. He may think he has a fluffier tail than me, but his days are numbered.