Medieval Cats

The pregnant kitty from Sighisoara

2012-05-06T08:44:00.002+03:00

We visited Sighisoara recently and we met an adorable, friendly and very pregnant kitty inside the fortress walls, in the parish garden -- which makes her, beyond a doubt, a medieval cat. She acted as our host while we explored the garden.

She got a belly rub from both of us, which made her very happy indeed.

When we got done visiting the garden, she did the civilized thing and accompanied us to the gate.

Sasha causes five train accidents ;-)

2012-04-29T08:15:00.001+03:00

Sasha was recuperating after being spayed and we played together with my wooden train set. She caused five "train accidents" as she pawed at them. Adorable!

Ligia plays with Felix

2012-04-23T21:24:00.001+03:00

Felix, our adorable tomcat, is playing with Ligia. He loved to play with her like this, always pouncing on her hand, making those cute squeaky meows. He'd chase after her everywhere, trying to get her to play with him like this.

Trixie and Felix play with a paper bag

2012-04-22T01:44:00.001+03:00

After we came back home from travel, Trixie and Felix found one of our bags particularly interesting.

Cat Spaghetti

2012-04-20T10:28:00.001+03:00

They love to sleep together in cold weather. They curl up in their little bed and start purring (Bubu starts snoring) and they keep each other warm.

Tira being herself

2012-04-19T16:44:00.001+03:00

Here's a video of Tira that goes together with her story. She's such a sweet little kitty.

Playing with Felix

2012-04-18T15:19:00.001+03:00

We adopted Felix after his mother, who'd had a litter of five or six kittens, rejected him. He grew up with us, and at about one and a half years of age, he disappeared while exploring the neighborhood. We're still hoping to see him back, although it's been almost two years since his disappearance. He's still one of the Medieval Cats and we love watching videos we recorded while he was still with us.

This is one of those videos, when he was still tiny and I played with him while he sat in my office chair.

Sasha's Dramatic Eyes

2012-04-17T23:27:00.001+03:00

Watch Sasha's pupils dilate and contract as she reacts to sounds and movements within the room.

Meet Tira

2012-04-16T19:30:00.000+03:00

Tira is one of our adorable Medieval Cats. We adopted her in the fall of 2010 along with Bubu, her brother, from a vet's office in Bucharest. You can find more details about that event here. The point is, her whole upbringing, from a little tiny newborn kitten up to 4-5 months of age, when we adopted her, was fairly traumatic. Can you imagine living in a metal crate, under fluorescent lights, with scores of people parading by, almost all of them strangers, and being passed over for adoption after being picked up, handled and put back down?

When we got her home, all she would do, all day long, was to hide in corners and crevices, like you see her in these photographs, with a scared look on her face.

It took time for her to blossom into the trusting beauty she is today. Just a couple of weeks later, we were able to take her outside, where a new world opened up to her. These are a few photos taken in our yard at that time.

While she was able to relax a bit more by this time, you can still see some fear in her eyes. She's just not sure of herself.

What's more, she was easily spooked by any sudden sounds. She hadn't come into her own yet.

Even as she ventured into the garden, her stance was clearly cautious and timid. She had a bit of growing up to do.

Thankfully, just a few months later, she had opened up to us completely. Here she's sleeping in one of the rooms together with Bubu (her brother) and Sasha, on her back nonetheless, which means her abdomen is exposed to us -- a sign of trust and safety. Also note the look of full contentment on her face, a look which you'll see in more of her recent photographs.

And here's Tira as we know her these days: a happy, loving, peaceful and very adorable kitty. She's maintained her diminutive size, which makes her even more lovable. She's still as small as the day we got her, while Bubu, her brother, has grown into a huge tabby with very sharp claws.

Bubu gets petted

2012-04-13T11:39:00.001+03:00

Bubu gets petted while sleeping and is completely adorable. He is such a cuddly cat. Loves all the attention he can get.

Shhh, the Medieval Cats are sleeping

2012-04-11T22:52:00.002+03:00

Our four cats love to sleep, as all cats do. What we think sets them apart though, is their preference for sleeping together, particularly in colder weather. Here are a few photos. Aren't they adorable?

In the yard on a beautiful spring day

2012-04-09T18:30:00.000+03:00

It's a wonderful day!

Warmer, sunny weather is finally here and our medieval cats can't wait to spend time outside, lounging about in the garden or the yard, climbing trees, rooftops -- all the fun things they love to do! Whereas before they begged to come inside and sleep, now they won't even hear of it. They're outside, romping about.

Sasha peers at a newfangled contraption called a "camera". (In LOLCat, "Ceiling cat is looking at your soul.")

Here's Sasha in a tree

Here's the tree that Sasha was climbing (it's in the background)

Bubu looks over his domain (the garden)

Tira loves to relax just about anywhere. Here, she's doing it in the garden.

Bubu loves to sit underneath our MINI

Bubu loves to play with the stick. He wraps his huge, sharp claws around it and starts chewing it up

The wooden house you see in the background of this last photo is their home. I'll have more on that in a future post.

Bubu and Tira playfighting

2012-04-02T18:30:00.000+03:00

It is a well-known fact that kittens (even larger ones) love to playfight. They tumble around and over each other all day long, jumping on each other, frolicking, squeaking, filling our hearts with joy. Bubu and Tira are no different. They're siblings and they've been together since birth. What makes this playfighting extra special is their special relationship and their origins.

They were found with their mother in Bucharest on the streets and were taken into a vet's office to be cared for and put up for adoption. They were small, malnourished and fearful of people. They spent the first four or five months of their life in the vet's office, in a room at the back, in a cage, without seeing sunlight, without running outside, without their mother. Nobody wanted them. Looking at them now, few people could understand how such beautiful kittens could be left unadopted, living in a crate for months. We certainly couldn't understand it.

When we saw them, we fell in love with them right away, and when we found out that the vet couldn't afford to keep them any more, because no one wanted them, we decided to adopt them on the spot and brought them to our home in the medieval city of Medias, where they live on a beautiful estate and can roam freely wherever they like, inside or outside the house.

So you see, that's what makes them and their playfighting so special. They've literally been together since birth and love each other very much. We loved seeing them blossom from the shy, scared little kittens they were when we adopted them into the beautiful, loving, emotionally well-rounded creatures they are now, and we are so glad that we could offer them the chance to become Medieval Cats!

Welcome to Medieval Cats!

2012-04-01T23:20:00.002+03:00

Here we will write of the adventures of four wise cats -- Sasha, Zuzu, Tira and Bubu -- who live in the medieval city of Medias, in the heart of Transilvania, Romania.

Sasha

Zuzu

Tira

Bubu