So It's Summer... Again! Porca Miseria!

Where is Richard ??? Where have you been?

Ciao raGatti! Tutto bene? Qui fa caldissimo e non mi piace afatto. I have to say that summer is my least favourite season. First of all because here in central Italy it gets very very hot and that is hard on a furry fellow like me. And truth be told, I think it is hard on my human family and their friends... I know we cats sleep a lot, but when it gets hot like this my human friends seem to stay at home more and don't come to visit...

The temperature on my 16th birthday

It wouldn't be so bad, but also at this time, both of my humans, in turn, go back to Canada for a month at a time and a month, especially when it is an oppressively hot month, feels like a very long time. You know me, I like being social. I love when friends come over for a visit... Why just the other day, July 7th to be exact, was my 16th birthday and the people I call "Team Smokey", the friends... well they are not really friends... I consider Uncle Ritchie, Auntie Helen and Auntie Maria to be my family,.. Anyway, these three special humans, who looked after me in the past when both my humans have been away, came over to celebrate my birthday.

Ritchie, Helen and Maria enjoying an Aperitivo. Aperitivo is Italian for Dreamies or Catisfactions... for humans, that is...

It was great, not only because was I surrounded by my favourite people, but also because I had some feline visitors as well... Dennis, who lives with Helen and Ritchie came along, and Binduu, my new neighbour who lives with Sara and Paolo and their son Luca and another female cat name Runa, came along as well.

Dennis rests on the cool stones of Via Latini while Binduu sits on his front porch

Having all these visitors over meant a lot to me, especially because I have been missing Richard, who left for Canada five days before my birthday. It would have been great if Richard had been here to celebrate with us. 

It was a great party. Helen and Ritchie brought me a present... Not the bottle, that was wine for the humans at dinner... No my present was a package of cat treats... 

Me one the cool steps of Gianluca's apartment, my Dreamies and the wine.

I thought that seeing we were celebrating my "Sweet Sixteen" that I would be given 16 cat treats but that was not to be... Just as well. With all this heat and humidity I don't really have a huge appetite. 

Me and my Birthday Bowl of Ham with Dennis waiting patiently for his share.

Even the ham that James bought me for my birthday, usually a big favourite of mine, I ended up sharing with Dennis and Binduu. Both Dennis and Binduu were born here in Italy so I suppose the hot weather doesn't affect their appetite the way it affects mine.

Yes, it was a wonderful party... When my human family came inside the house for dinner I went upstairs and lay down on the cool floor listening to their voices... feeling how lucky I am to have a home and a family when so many of my furry friends struggle to find shelter and enough to eat and drink.

You who know me know that I have always loved water. When I was a kitten in Vancouver I used to jump into the emptying bathtub and play in the water. And I have always drunk a lot of water,,, but these days... and perhaps it is not just because of the heat, but because of my age, I find I am often thirsty. Thankfully my humans not only keep my Martini glass full of water by my food, they also keep my favourite watering can full of fresh water beside the front door.

But the best water, as far as I am concerned, is cool running water, fresh from the tap. I don't know how many times during the day, and sometimes in the middle of the night, that I feel the need for a cool drink. My humans are very patient with me, and one or the other will get up and walk with me to the upstairs sink and turn on the tap for me. As I am getting older, sometimes it is a bit uncomfortable to hold my head in the position necessary to reach the water and sometimes one or the other of my humans will hold their cupped hand under the water to make a small bowl. I love liking the cool water from their fingers. I wonder if my tongue tickles them... 

Sleepy me, just after my last drink before bed

Anyway, it is late. I should take my human to bed. I love it at night because it is cooler... cool enough to snuggle up to my human and give him a kiss, or a couple of kisses... 

Sometimes, even when the light is out, I just lay for a while on his shoulder or his tummy and stare at his furry face and wonder what he's thinking...

I know we are going to survive this heat... We have each other... and this time of separation will be over soon and we will be a family again... As I said, I know I am lucky. I have a house, a family, food and drink when I want, and I have friends... lots of wonderful friends... both here and in Canada... and sometimes those friends come to visit... That makes me really happy... 

So before we drop off to sleep I will leave you with this... Do good... Be good... When you see a cat or dog in need of a pat, or some food or water, do what you can... We cats remember... You will not go unrewarded...

¶ ¶ ¶ ¶

This post is written in the memory of Scout, a thirteen year-old tabby cat in Vancouver who recently crossed over the Rainbow Bridge... and for Gracie... Scoutie's bereaved human.

DENNIS - A CHRISTMAS STORY

Ciao raGatti. Tutto bene? Spero di sì. I am really excited to introduce this post which features the story of three very special friends, two of them human, and one, a tabby cat like me. The tabby cat is my neighbour Dennis, and the two humans are my very good friends Helen and Ritchie Dakin.

Dreamies!

If you have been following this blog, you have already read about Helen and Ritchie. These amazing humans have been living in Casperia for almost as long as I have and they look after me from time to time when my humans are away. They also introduced me to Dreamies!

As far as I know, they are from a place near Cambridge in England. I am sad to say that I don't know exactly where that is. I know that it is not anywhere near Vancouver. I am told it is closer to Italy where we live, but on a big island, perhaps in the Mediterranean. That might not be right. The only thing I know is that wherever Cambridge, England is, that it must be a wonderful place because really nice people come from there. That is my experience anyway. Come to think of it, another good friend who lives here in Casperia, Maria, was born in England too... but I don't think she is from Cambridge.

Anyway, before they moved here permanently, Ritchie and Helen had been coming to this hill town for a number of years. Apparently their first visit to Casperia was on a yoga retreat, which I understand is a special holiday where humans try to become as flexible as felines, perhaps to help them keep themselves clean as a cat can...

Whatever the reason—it might have been the stringozzi—Helen and Ritchie, like my humans, fell in love with this part of Italy, and have been permanent residents here from November of 2014. Dennis came into their lives a number of weeks later.

Smokey: Helen, this wasn't the first time you have shared your home with a cat, was it?

Helen: You are right Smokey. Before we came to live here in Casperia we shared our house with a female cat named Molly. She turned up one day when we were out BBQing in the back yard and slowly she adopted us, and we her.

Molly, a.k.a. Mollie moo

Smokey: I understand that you had originally planned to bring Molly with you, but somehow that did not work out. What happened?

Ritchie: Well Smokey, when you came over on that long flight from Canada, you were lucky to be able to come over in the cabin with Richard and James. Unfortunately, we were not allowed that option. The airline we were flying on promised that Molly would be safe at the airport in England and in the hold on the much shorter flight that she would make from London to Rome but they told us that they could not guarantee how she would be handled in Rome... We loved Molly and did not want to leave here in England but we also did not want to risk her being mishandled or injured upon arrival. We decided that it would be best to put her up for adoption. So we came without her. 

Smokey: That must have been very hard on you both... 

Helen: Yes, it was, but luckily Molly found a wonderful new home with a very nice lady who loves and cares for her. Molly even has her own room. We are in contact with Molly's new human from time to time and get reports and pictures. 

Smokey: That is wonderful to hear.

Helen: Yes, she seems very well situated. She even has her own room and own bed.

Smokey: Miaow! That's great! So... how long was it after you came here to Casperia that Dennis came into your life?

Ritchie: We arrived in early November and we first heard about Dennis through our mutual friend Maria in the week leading up to Christmas of 2014, so we had only been moved here about a month and a half.

Helen: As you know, Smokey, Maria shares her house with a number of cats, most of them who are former strays or who had been abandoned: Lupa, Giorgio, Sleepy, Marzia, Romulo and Chicco. Six cats is a lot for one house and when Dennis turned up, wanting in too, poor Maria was very torn. Her heart went out to this handsome friendly tabby... 

Ritchie: But I think she didn't feel it would be the ideal situation for all concerned if she took him in.

Smokey: I remember this... Right... It was just before Christmas and things were getting cold here in Casperia... I remember Richard and James talking to Maria and her asking them to put the word out about this handsome tabby who had turned up a her door needing a home. 

Helen: We went down for a visit. Maria was feeding the new pussycat but he was sleeping outside her house in a clay igloo-like shelter.

Smokey: How did you feel when you first met him?  

Helen: Well of course we loved him the first moment we set eyes on him. Poor lad... He was a handsome tabby indeed but he was doing poorly. He was thin and starving. His coat was full of burrs and he sure had fleas... We had to have a talk, Ritchie and I, but it didn't take us long to decide to take him home. That was Christmas Eve 2014. People say that giving Dennis a home was his Christmas present but it felt to us that he was our Christmas present.

Ritchie: The funny thing Smokey was that despite Dennis being thrilled at having a proper forever home, he still was very much an outdoor cat. We tried hard to keep him inside the house for the first while to get used to living with us, but he escaped a number of times...

Helen: Yes, bless him. He found a way to actually open a window and escaped through the window a couple of times. Of course, the first time this happened we were very worried, but the funny thing is that he would always end up back at Maria's place. He would miaow at her door in the morning, she would let him, feed him something, and give us a call. "Come and get your little man. He's here," she'd say and we would trot down to get him. 

Smokey: But he obviously settled down...

Ritchie: Yes, but he still likes to roam...

Helen: And wake me up very early in the morning to ask to be let out.

Smokey: You mentioned that Dennis was in poor health at the beginning. I have a great Vet, Doctor Rob Spooner, back in Vancouver, but I remember that I did not like being put in a carry case, nor did I like the car ride.

Ritchie: Sort of ironic Smokey, given the distance you had to travel in that carry case to come to your new life here in Italy.

Smokey: Miao, Ritchie!

Ritchie: Ha ha! But no, you are right, Smokey. We had to take Dennis to the vet a number of times. The way he was gorging when we took him in, we suspected he had worms.

Helen: That was soon confirmed when we checked his box, poor thing. And it took a while, but he has a clean bill of health now, and doesn't seem to mind the trips in the car.

Smokey: So Dennis, it has been a little more than a year that you have been living here with Helen and Ritchie. How is life with the Dakins?

Dennis: Well Smokey, you know Ritchie and Helen almost as well as I do, so you know what type of people they are. 

Smokey: Are you blushing Helen?

Dennis: Seriously! I remember very little of my life before Helen and Ritchie.  I know I had a home and food but somehow that was all taken away from me. I remember being on my own, struggling to find food and a warm place to sleep and finding Maria's house and her cats... At first I really wanted to stay there. Maria is such a nice lady... But being invited to share Helen and Ritchie's wonderful home with its big fireplace and comfy, dry, warm places to sleep, and a window and balcony to watch the birds, a huge cantina to play in and a back door onto the stone town walls... But that is just the home. Helen and Ritchie are my angels. They literally saved my life. Being invited into their house with all their love and care... Did you see my toys? It was like being rescued from a horrible nightmare. My life right now is a beautiful dream.

I get wonderful food pretty well any time I want it. I don't gobble like I used to now... I know there will always be food in my bowl and a treat or two when I get home from my walks outside.

Smokey: A treat or two or three, all the way to ten... I hear you taught Ritchie how to count.

Ritchie: Ha ha, Smokey.

Dennis: This thing is Smokey, Ritchie, and Helen taught me how to count... But not just from one to ten when I get my Dreamies. I mean I have learned that I can count on people... I mean these two people. You know what I am talking about. I know that this is my forever home and that Ritchie and Helen are my forever people... and that if they have to go away for some reason that there are other kind people, dependable people, who will come and feed me and brush me, look after my lettiere, and keep me company. People like Maria and your humans. 

No, I have to say that life here is very very good. I am a very lucky cat. We should all be so lucky.

Smokey: Well that really sums it all up nicely. Anything anyone else would like to add?

Ritchie: About England being in the Mediterranean, Smokey... and that thing about Yoga...

Smokey: I got that wrong, didn't I? 

Ritchie: Yes, Smokey, but we can discuss that some other time.

Smokey: Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed, everyone. Ciao for now!

OKAY... THIS IS A BIT EMBARRASSING - Sometimes I Hate Technology

Ciao RaGatti! Okay, I admit it... Sometimes technology and computers confuse and even scare me. You may think that just because I have learned to use a keyboard and post on this blog that I know everything about computers, but I don't... 

The last time I posted I was writing about missing my humans who had to return to Canada for some reason. I know my humans love me and would never abandon me, but we cats like our routines and when they are changed all of a sudden that can cause some stress. 

First of all, let me reassure you that I am completely fine now. Both my humans are back home. James, who was away from Casperia for over a month, finally came back last week so we are back to our usual routines, the three of us.

What caused me some anxiety and confusion while he was away is that every so often I could hear his voice but I could not see him. Richard would be talking away as if James was in the room, but I could not see James. I could only hear his voice.

James' voice came from the computer. Richard would be sitting in front of the laptop I use for my blog talking as if James was in the computer. I could hear James calling my name. "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke!" He always calls me Smoke instead of Smokey... unless he is somehow upset or annoyed with me. 

I looked up at Richard and called to him. He looked down at me and then all of a sudden picked me up and put me in his lap so I could be closer to the computer. Then I saw him. James, stuck in the computer.

He was squashed flat... and making an awful face. Was he hurt? How did he get inside there? Did Richard have something to do with it?

It was scary to think that Richard might have somehow trapped James in the computer...

Later on when James finally returned to Casperia, he explained to me a little about something called Skype. I still don't understand it completely, but I now know that James was not in the computer but that he was communicating with Richard from far away with a type of video message... What a relief! 

Yes, I am a little embarrassed, but how was I to know? Oh well... Anyway, I know about this now. Piano piano! Passo dopo passo, I am getting used to my new life in Italy and to computer technology. 

I have been thinking about what my next post will be. We are going to be busy over the next while, visiting Orvieto with our friend Candace from Vancouver. I am thinking of doing a couple of other interviews, but I think I will sleep on it... Until then, ciao for now. Vi voglio bene!