The circle of life

Ulla is taking a break. She has moved out of the kitten box under my blanket, I have spreaded absorbent pad just in case, and now girls are in bed while boys occupied their favourite basket.

I am a bit tired and my eyes are closing, as I have her so close and under control, we will try to sleep a bit.
She is taking a break from the contractions, and it is better we are rested in case we need a vet as it is a long drive.

5 years ago on today's date, Max, my domestic cat had broken his fron paw in elbow. At that time I did not know the "cat" people I know now, and who are staying awake with me now or holding their cell phones close to their beds in case I need them.
Guys, I love you all and both me and Ulla are very grateful that you are here for us.

At the time Max needed the vet care I had no one to call but the vet clinic in my home town. We had to wait until the next day, as 6th of January was a holiday, and even if vet worked, the technician ws having a day off...so nothing could be done to help Max. Not much was done the following day, his paw was broken in elbow and we were told he had to be put asleep, without any alternative offered.
I remember the expression on the vet's face when he told me to come to my sences, as Max was one of those cats I could pick up just every where when I left the clinic. We paid for him to be put to sleep, and then we were roughly asked to leave, they did not let me stay with him till the end. They did not even let me bring him home and barry him behind the tree in the back yard.

Later on, from the vet who is entrusted with the health of my cats nowadays, we have heard that the condition could had been solved with an operation, and as Max was still a youngster he might have just been fine or limping a bit.
Problem was, as he was a domestic, no pedigree cat, nobody would expect us to be ready to pay for the procedure. So they did not even bothered to ask.

Now, if we need a vet, we drive every time 200 km to the clinic Tristokosmatih in Ljubljana, and there is a vet of with sharp aditude but golden hear and a recently refreshed database of knowledge. Her name is Vanja Knez.

That is the place that is waiting for us tonight if something goes wrong with Ulla and her kittens, and I have full trust that they will be in good hands.
Without Vanja, I would not dare to go into the adventure of breeding.

I have always loved cats, and we have always had a domestic cat at home. I have grown up with my grandma's two cats,both black and white, one longhaired, black with a white collar, and her daughter a shorthaired white smart girl, with couple of black spotts on one side of her belly and black tail. That cat had a special way of eating, she used to grab the food with her paw and bring it closer to her mouth. She used to have kittens every now and then and while waiting for them to grow up, i had a priviledge to play with them.
I was a skinny, stubborn child, and the only way that could make me eat my lunch was a promise I could go to see kittens or bring one to the living room when I was done with my meal.

When Max passed away, I was tired of saying goodbye to my cats. First I thought I will never have another cat again, and then couple of months later I started reading a bit and enrolled in a forum.
I have wanted a cat who would have a long life expectancy, and be easily trained, as I was travelling a lot at the time and had intentions of taking it everywhere with me.
As Max was a silver tabby, I had a soft spott for tabbies. So I looked and I read, and when I have seen an ocicat I knew it was "the" breed. There was a breeder at the forum who was kind enough, even if she did not knew me well, to offer to help me out.
To cut the long story short, thanks to Alenka who knew Marjo, Harski came to my home.

I know it was a hard decision to Marjo, sending her baby boy away to someone she knew only from emails, to a country on the other side of the continent. Marjo was thinking for quite a while...I wrote her down about me, my job, my plans with Harski doing working days and holidays, I included my photos and the house photos, and Alenka did her best to recommend me.

Now when the time is coming for me to decide on the kitten placement, I can see what kind of decision Marjo had to make.
And I am forever grateful to her.

As there will obviously be no kittens tonight, I am going to quietly hug Ulla and go to sleep.

It seems that 6th January will be remembered even for something good. And who knows, maybe on the same day, Max will find a way to come back to us.
I have this funny thought, that our cats if we are really bonded with them, do not leave for good, but change the shape and look for us.

I have seen this recognition with Meke, he just knew he has chosen me , and he has done all he could do attract my attention at the times I was visiting his breeder. It was love on the first sight.

I hope that, among the people who contact us about the kittens, there will be just those people our babies have come for, and that I will manage to match them.

So do not mind if we ask so many questions when you contact us, and do not hesitate to put the extra effort and pay us a visit if you are considering adopting one of our babies.
In the end, it will be a companion and a friend for many years, and there is no better way to chose then to allow to be the chosen one.

Good night and I will be back as soon as there are news:)