“Catsitting”

Last Saturday I went with my brother to this shelter for dogs, cats, rabbits and birds who are found on the street, or of whom the owners can’t or don’t want to take care of anymore. My brother was missing his former 2 cats and went cat searching on the internet. That’s how he met Tijger (Tiger in english). As I had never been to such a shelter, my rabbit is ‘just’ from a shop, I was anxious to go with him.
Such a bad plan if you have a weak heart and love animals, like me…..

Of course I fell immediately in love with the first rabbit I saw. He was a big look-a-like of my beloved rabbit Tommy. Sitting there, with his ears up, listening to everything, turning them like satellites, his big dark eyes curiously following my moves, chewing on some grass, I had difficulties leaving that room. However, we were here for a cat, not for a rabbit, so I followed my brother to the cat area. And here they were: many cats, some very active, other ones lying lazy catching a nap, some afraid, some ignoring you, with other ones it was difficult to ignore them as they were all over you 
It wasn’t love at first sight between Tijger and my brother, but what is wrong with love at 2nd sight? The 2nd time he went in, Tijger was all over him, wanted to be pad and was talking to him in cat language. So of course we had to take him home!
Although the sight of so many cats, dogs and don’t forget my Tommy look-a-like rabbit made me a bit sad - you all want to take them!- it was already good to see that next to Tijger some other cats were getting new ‘parents’ as well.

Saturday evening my brother had a birthday party and I suggested I would stay at his place, just to see how Tijger was doing. Because of all the stress, being abandoned after 8,5 years, staying in this shelter and then being placed in a new home, he was looking for shelter in my brothers big house, most of the time just lying under the bed, where we couldn’t reach him. My brother told me where I could find drinks and some chips and I felt immediately like 18 years old again, babysitting at my 2 little boys, this time with the slightly difference that I was babysitting a cat… catsitting :-D
A couple of times I went upstairs, laid next to the bed for a while, talking to him or just saying nothing. From the couch downstairs I talked to him upstairs as well. And then the unbelievable happened, he came downstairs, explored the living room, not scared at all, passed me a couple of times at the couch and then jumped next to me. Since then we have only been in love with each other ;-) He just wanted to be padded, padded and padded. I sat with him on the floor and he was spinning big time, we had a small accident with the cheese sweets but it was all fun! By then he started to follow me when I was walking to the kitchen and back, meanwhile with his head constantly rubbing my legs. I assumed he was hungry, we left his food upstairs, so I walked upstairs and he followed. He ate a little and then just wanted to play again. Lying on his back, I was pedding him everywhere, even on his stomach, he gave me some small licks, he even laid down on my lap….
My brother came home, my mother visited us as well, and he was just a happy cat.

Unfortunately today he had an accident with a photoframe and since then he is so scared again, sitting in a closet, not coming out already for many hours. But I’m confident that within a couple of days he will be walking around like it’s his house and my brother and Tijger will be best friends! Photo of this handsome cat will be on as soon as possible!

O yes, for the ones among you who are curious about how my tapas in Madrid were….. They were disappointing! When we arrived in Madrid it appeared to be a local holiday, so everything, but really everything except the Starbucks and Fridays restaurant, was closed…. No shopping in the Zara, no eating tapas…. To make it even more worse, it was cold, about 10 degrees max and raining…. Yep, this was the destination my purser and I were looking forward to for 5 days already, we were so excited about our free time over there, haha! Well, we just spend it in the Starbucks with the complete crew (sat down for about 3 hours!), then went in the cold and rain to Fridays, ate some and went to bed. Even the hotel was empty, as the hotel is located in the business area of Madrid, so on a holiday, everything is empty and depressive….
Anyway, tomorrow we just try another time, but then in Sweden ;-)