I have not enjoyed this week. Äiti as been out late, so we have been starving and neglected. Last night we were not fed until after 7pm! It is dark and cold outside and there is no snow to brighten our lives. Luckily Äiti has plugged in some 'feliway' so Tuomo-veli is more chilled and the chases up and down stairs are more fun than trying to jump on and beat up Aila-sisko. But Äiti has promised us more time this weekend - and I shall make sure that our play starts at about 2am tomorrow.

Life is very boring again as Äiti is off to work, and even worse is staying out some evenings to go to a Finnish class. I could teach her everything she needs to know if only she would listen: ruoka, kana, kala jne..
So we are spending a lot of time sleeping as she is not entertaining us, and it is no surprise when she actually is at home and wanting to sleep, that we are playful and 'demanding'.
Tuomo-veli has been amusing himself with yoga, and more ninja attacks on Aila-sisko. She, however, takes every opportunity to bash him when he is not expecting it.
Lewis-veli is hiding in his 'pod' all the time, but here was caught out when he went for a brief stroll to the litter boxes.
And of course I am always vigilant, and ready to pounce. This bag did contain a present Äiti bought for someone, but as it was a cuddly toy I of course knew it was for me (it was a big orange cat-ball), and so I began playing with it.
Äiti had to go to buy another present, and I didn't even get to see it this time. This I think was not fair as I should test all such things out.

Sleepy time! And we are all feeling the need for Äiti to be gentle (and not watch loud motorbike racing!).

Even Tuomo-veli has been calm, but I did not like the way he slept on my bed with Äiti last night. That is my place and he did not quite have my permission to be there so we will have to talk about this carefully (and when I am far away from his paws).

Well, Äiti was so worried about us she gave us a good evening. It began with some quality time for Tuomo-veli and myself. We went hunting!

We were allowed out onto the balcony which has become a feeding place for feathered creatures who are small and sneaky enough to fly through the mesh, swoop on the seeds Äiti leaves there and stuff their little stomachs. These are talitiainen and in the video you can see me catching one, only he was especially skilled, had greased his feathers so they were slippery, and he of course had much luck, and got away (Äiti's note: all hunting activities were strictly monitored and there was no danger of any birds actually being caught!).
And then, after we were tired and cold from our excursion, we had a fine feast of Mr Purrkin's famous catnip cigars! These are full of some seriously mood altering 'nip and are to be highly recommended. Äiti smuggled a load through customs last Christmas and we are hoping she will do so again. Stran-veli can't wait to get it out of the wrapper....
And Harris-veli's toes are stretching in ecstasy (he really should keep his claws a bit shorter!).
The rest of us took our turn, and by the end of it Tuomo-veli and Aila-sisko managed to stay in the same room together In fact, and this is a Big Achievement, Äiti managed to get her first ever '6 catter' photograph - all of us in the same frame! Well, you have to believe that Lewis-veli is there, but this is indeed a family photo.
But enough of such things, I need to go and find that cigar as it helped me see lots of pink mousies which were running around on the ceiling and I need to chase them all over again.

Thank you all for your kind greetings and comments about how gorgeous I was as pentu, and still am :) I had a great anniversary and made sure I played lots and lots with all the toys. This is just as well as yesterday I woke up and Äiti had been tidying again. And the worst thing was that she had been to visit the cardboard recycling place and I have no boxes. But I have seen through a crack in the cupboard door some very nice boxes saved just for me!
We have actually had a stressful time, and Lewis-veli in particular is very upset. This does not take much, but he hid all day in the bedroom he was so worried. Tuomo-veli and Aila-sisko have had two very loud nasty arguments. Yesterday Äiti had to remove part of a claw-shed from Tuomo's head fur, and today Aila has a scratch down her nose. The things they have been calling each other are not very nice, although personally I do not think 'farm boy' is much of an insult. And I am not sure what 'Bristol chav' means.Äiti is trying hard to make them make peace but this is not easy. If she gives tickles to one and the other finds out, there is so much jealousy. She has been spraying the chill out potion 'feliway' everywhere and Tuomo was relaxed until Aila looked at him this morning, and then it was a mad dash up the stairs again. Stran-veli and I just sat poking out heads round the bannister hoping we were not going to get trodden on. Stran says Tuomo must realise he has to act as if Aila is top cat, just to shut her up, even if he doesn't believe it! After all, we all know who does rule this place......

Today is a special day, and the kana is roasting in the oven for me and my family in celebration. It is one year since I came home with Äiti! I was taken in by such kind people in Muhos and rescued before the snows fell, and then Äiti said she would give me a home, and I have been a very lucky kitten cat ever since. It is a sad time for Äiti as she remembers Monty-cat: she had taken hime to ystävämme eläinlääkäri as he was very unwell. Äitiwent with one cat and came home with two! Monty only lived a few more days but I was there to help Äiti and the others not feel so sad.
Äiti has been looking through my baby photos. This was on the day of my arrival - I am learning young to bite feet!
And this is a precious picture of me with Monty-cat.
And of course with my paras ystävä - Stran-veli. For some reason he was very responsible for licking my bottom.
So we will be celebrating here tonight, and hoping for many more adoption anniversaries, and wishing that all lost and hungry kitten-cats find such good forevever-homes as I did!

Now usually I do not approve when Äiti disappears for the day, especially when she goes to Ruotsi, but today she came home with lots of paper bags and lovely boxes, and a new big mousie for me! I have been chasing it ever since and here you can see me hide it in a huge box which I have to get my teeth into still.
So even though I have been sleeping, bored and neglected all day, I think I shall be very busy tonight with all my new toys.

It is so nice not to worry about my naughty patella and I am indeed leaping around as an agile kitten. It is purely by coincidence here that I am lying in wait by the electricity - I am not getting myself recharged for another three hours of chasing.
But here I admit I am recharging with our favourite catnip apple. It is wonderful and I spent half an hour dribbling all over it. For some reason no one wants to share it with me: I cannot think why but at least I get to keep it all.
I did have to sleep later and here I am letting my curly bits breathe. I allowed myself to relax when I saw Äiti only had the camera in her hand and not the diabolical comb.

I am full of energy at the moment and have been racing up and down the stairs, and chasing anyone who will play. Here Tuomo-veli is lying exhausted under the exercise bike Äiti pretends to use. My joints are feeling nice and supple, and life is very enjoyable. But it would be better if Äiti did not disappear for a couple of hours each day to go to feed the Girl Cats. It takes her all of two seconds to feed us (after hours of waiting of course) so I wonder what she is doing there. I hope she is not playing with them as that would be very unfair to us.

Sunday morning peace and quiet - until Äiti starts to sweep the floor and wash it. All my little cardboard piles - gone! I have to start again. Luckily here is a big box which I can start to destroy - once Tuomo-veli moves himself.
And here I am with Stran-veli having a relaxed evening. He has been sleeping a lot, and wanting cuddles and chin tickles. He actually LIKES having his fur brushed - I hate it! I will struggle away - if my fur choses to tangle itself then so be it! But no, I am grabbed and combed and even have tanlges cut away. Admittedly afterwards it feels more comfortable, but I am nuori poika kissa and demand the right to be untidy.

I do love the simple things in life. Waking Äiti at 6am for breakfast and finding it's a day when she comes back to bed so we can have a lie in and I can wake her again later for cuddles. Today she was trying to read a book and Tuomo-veli and I were not so interested in this so we played our own games.


It has been snowing outside so everything is very bright.
Äiti is looking after some GIRL CATS this week so has a car to take food to them. I hope this means she will not neglect us in her duties and will use the car to bring us plenty of food and toys too. The Girl Cats have already sent me one present - a toy with a noisy little bell inside. it was quite nice playing with that at 3am the other morning. That reminds me, I have not seen it today and need to find it again so I can carry it up and down the stairs (dropping it makes a good louder sound). I wonder where I have left it? I am sure it was under the bed but cannot see it there any more.

Ha! The new facilities have arrived and I have been busy inspecting and making sure they are fit for purpose. The lid ensures that I cannot flick litter everywhere so I shall have to make sure that I take plenty out between my paw pads. The mat under-paw as we step out is not quite soft enough, but I suppose this will have to do. Maybe Lewis-veli could spill a bit onto it - he can be good at that sometimes. Then Äiti has to wash it and might replace it with something more luxurious.
And of course the new litter tray arrived in a box which Tuomo-veli and I have been climbing all over. He is pleased because there is also the plastic packing strip which is his favourite.
Now all I need is a sauna and some catnip, and my day will be complete......

I have been very busy preparing for winter and the cold weather. I have been running around chasing everyone so they know that I am the boss, and making sure that they know not to hide in my favourite places. I have been nesting away in my box, and making sure there are cardboard piles everywhere. Äiti is not happy every time she sweeps them up, and today I had a major victory - she did not sweep the floor so the piles are still very big! She says she is tired and is looking forard to a holiday. And of course she blames me for being tired - just because I like playing under the duvet where it is nice and warm in the middle of the night. It will be great if she has got a holiday, as that means there will be lots more playtime! And in fact I have been having so much fun, I have forgotten to limp !

This is not as bad as it looks. Aila-sisko and I were just having a minor disagreement about who should sit on the arm of the sofa, and of course Äiti had to have her camera ready. We are good friends really. Just like Tuomo-veli and me. This is play, and no one ends up bleeding. Usually.
Sometimes I wish Äiti would go slow with the camera. Surely portraits are more rewarding than action shots? I mean, who wants to see things like this?
And even this is not my best aspect. But you can see just how beautiful my fur is (local squirrels, take note: you will not be able to win any fluffy tail competitions with me around).

This has been a very good day. Firstly I would like to thank all my friends for advice on what Äiti must get me to help my joints. I think I will have some relief tonight as we harvested the catnip crop for the last time this season. Stran-veli was unable to tell me what quality it is because he was talking about pink mousies and making absolutely no sense. But I am very pleased because Äiti let me outside in the soft autumn sunshine to supervise her. Now we have come back in I am just waiting for the sauna to get toasty so I can warm my paws up.
I have in fact been feeling much better today, mainly due to the fact I yacked up a furball the size of a small elk. I wish there had been a photo...... Much better out than in - it was magnificently golden, just like my fur. Äiti rushed it into the human toilet as soon as it was produced, which felt very wrong because I think such things should be a source of pride. My one regret is that I deposited it on the floor (it came in a rush) and I did not have time to plant it delicately in a pile of clean washing.
After all that activity, it is time for a small sleep. I am also doing some stretching exercises - perhaps yoga will indeed help my joints too. Although Äiti did make the comment that perhaps there was in fact nothing wrong with me when she saw me rabbit punch Tuomo-veli in the face with my rear right paw. I made sure I limped down the stairs after that, just so she would still be worried.

Friday afternoon chill out time!
And I have had a cuddle with Äiti. I lay on her purring away as I have felt a bit unhappy with my naughty patella. My leg is stiff and Äiti is looking for things she can buy here to add to my food to help my joints. She keeps grabbing my knee to check it, which is not so nice. But my naughty kneecap is in place okay when she feels it. But then still I limp a bit. And then it is better so I race around and jump - and then I limp some more.....I may have to have my leg checked soon, but it always behaves perfectly when I visit ystävämme eläinlääkäri so Äiti doesn't want a wasted visit there because I will magically get better as soon as I get in the car (although she likes chatting to ystävämme eläinlääkäri about things like English tea! Voi ei.).
And I must also say that the toilet situation is not sorted. Even though I watched Äiti order our new facilities from Saksa, they have not arrived yet and my royal motions are being passed without a lid! Stran-veli decided to join in today by very publicly squatting in the box-with-no-roof. He produced a very stinky package of which he was very proud. All Äiti did was scoop the poop and bag it up - no apology for our humiliation! Still, there are two nice five star toilets downstairs, and they have just had fresh clean litter - which will only last as long as it takes for me to log off and investigate.

Here Aila-sisko is practising her 'go away' look in case Tuomo-veli appears. They have been quite friendly recently - well, there have been no fights let us say.
And I have been enjoying the new table cloth in the kitchen. Of course it would be better if there were some food on it but we cannot have everything! And we did have some very nice white kala in our bowls. It was still warm from cooking and reminded me of my days hunting when I would grab big ahven from the lake and quickly gobble the tasty prey before it was even cold. Stran-veli says I have a big imagination and a tiny kitten could not catch a big fish, but I am King Kitty Cat of Finland North and I am sure that I have done these things as I am a brave royal man cat.

I love clean bed sheets. I've been chilling with Silver Tabby Toy while Äiti has gone hunting in the sleet and cold: we have a few centimetres of snow outside. I hope that she has harvested the catnip properly and it will be prepared for winter. I hope also that there is plenty in our food cupboard as we must prepare for the long nights and darkness. We do try to make the most of it, and by mid-December our body clocks are so confused we are regularly awake playing from midnight until 6am. Äiti must understand this before she moans about her need for sleep.

I am pleased to report my naughty little patella has been behaving and I am walking well - maybe a little stiff but no sign of any wandering kneecap. I have been rushing around helping Äiti to clean and cook as we had visitors tonight. We are having a very busy social life! Äiti was really quite mean and didn't let me help with the cooking - I tried to dip my paw in to stir the curry but this was not allowed.
And this was also not allowed, but did happen (and I cannot reveal who did this naughty nibbling).
As you can see Tuomo-veli has an additional beauty spot - a scar from his practice in guarding the mighty King Kitty Cat of Finland (North). He needs to learn to be quicker in defence. Luckily there were only a couple of drops of blood as evidence, and they were on the floor and not on my tummy.

I am happy to report I feel much better than I did - even though I do still try to drink from the sauna bowl. Äiti has covered it up now. I have been playing a lot, and hiding from Aila-sisko so I can pounce when she walks by. Tuomo-veli has also been chasing her but he is less skillful at hiding. You can see from the picture just how expert I have become. Äiti says this is not always so good as it means I will get trodden on or sat on. Aila-sisko has actually been quite fun recently and we had a huge game of chase this afternoon. Äiti had put an extra smooth tablecloth out in the kitchen and she came home to everything on the floor as one of us managed to slide everything onto the floor (and I have such honour and loyalty to my family I shall not reveal which girlcat was to blame).
And now it is Friday evening - my favourite time of the week as Äiti is very tired so goes to bed early and I get a good cuddle with her and Silver Tabby toy. And then when I wake her early she does not mind so much as she can have an extra long snooze. Well, she thinks she can......