Russia and Cats!

 In the night he has clearly jumped around in panic - managed to knock several things off shelves and smash a glass - thought I ought to move them!! Had to hunt everywhere and eventually found him squeezed behind my sewing basket on a shelf - peering round at me! Put wet food out for him, but I think he is still too stressed! Every time I go back in, he has rushed to a new hiding place - I assume because I keep finding him! Found him on top of the big drinks unit, so put the little bed up there near to him and he was in it the next time I went in! Also found him in the cupboard of my desk behind the closed door - he'd gone in through the open back! In and out all day, talking to him and also managing to stroke his head - still very tense! Anoushka sniffed towards the dining room door - turned and walked off!!!

 February 28th 2021 Up at 7am, out by 8am and picking up Janet and Nina - off to go and pick up my new kitten - Nikki! Snow in forecast, but pleasant morning, bit of sun hovering around 0C - but Nikki is being fostered by a family that live not far from Sergiev Posad - 160km away!! 2 hours later and we park up at the arranged meeting place - because I would have needed 4xwheel drive to get through the village and out to their home!! They meet us, Svetlana gets into my car and proceeds to stuff a hissing, gray kitten out of her cat carrier into mine - say Good Luck! hands over his Pet Passport and off they go. He's panting but quietens down very quickly and settles into a half sleep for the rest of the journey. The journey which Yandex Maps has set when I just pressed 'Home' - not realising until too late (too much thought on kitten and not where we are going) that it has whipped us up onto a big new outer ring toll road! With no way of actually getting off once you're o...

 We moved into my Russian house on December 27th 2020. Anoushka a bit wary at first, soon loved being able to choose which floor she wanted to sleep on!! And very quickly found the tiled floor in the basement where the hot water pipes run underneath!! She found favourite windows to watch the birds out of and got a few wanders outside round the garden with me watching very closely, before the Big Snow came - most snow Moscow has seen for 47 years!! Great - just what I needed living in a house by myself for the first time! But - in such a big house, and with me away longer (as it's a 25 minute drive to and from work - not the 6 minute walk from the flats! I decided it would be better for to have a cat companion. So, started thinking about a very little kitten, then changed to a young 2/3 year old act - and then... saw on a Rescue site a picture of a smoky black, half Maine Coon kitten, 6 months old, called Nikki!! And that is what has got me onto a Blog again!! So here I am, Nikki cu...

 It's 2nd of November 2016 and in comes Anna, my boss. On her phone she has photos of a little gray kitten that she found on her doorstep as she arrived home last night. It was raining and forecast -5C overnight - so of course she took the soggy little creature inside, gave it a warm shower and some food. But, she has a Lola, who is a pug with alsorts of problems and is worried that a cat won't help! Anna shows the photos and video to everyone... someone must want a beautiful, fluffy, little gray kitten....... By the end of the day, after having said no - because who is going to look after it when I go on holidays - Anna returns saying that no-one else will take her... promising that if I take her, she will help me when it comes to holidays...!! And, so, the next day, I am the owner of a tiny, gray, very fluffy girl kitten!!! I search for names, wanting a Russian sounding name - and choose Anoushka! (Not associating it with being the Russian cute form of Anna!!! And not a pet n...

 I arrived in Moscow, Russia 8 years ago - Saturday 8th Febraury 2013 (I know - and I've only just got round to setting up a Blog!!!) Whisked from Domodedovo airport (easy to say now!!) by a 'driver' - who turned out to be a very good friend!! I was taken up to the 8th floor of a dingy looking apartment block, entrance at the back and into what turned out to be quite a nice flat - with 3 bedrooms, living room, kitchen and bathroom. The other occupants were out, so I ate some of the pre-ordered pizza and went to bed. Next morning with still no sign of the other occupants, I went downstairs to explore - Strogino in February!! Blue winter sky, huge piles of gray snow, surrounded by looming gray tower blocks - and oddly I felt at home!!