Fifi, the whiskered soul

It all began with my cat blog articles over ten years ago. I was browsing through cat images when I reached an unusual cat breed, the ragdoll. I was captivated by its beauty and knew I had to have it. 

I moved in with my partner and thought it was time to get a cat. At the same time, my parents had a cat that gave birth to some gorgeous kittens, which happened to be Ragdolls with God’s grace. Fifi has been with us for 7 years. We adopted him as a kitten from my parents’ house and have cared for him ever since. He is the pampered spirit of our family, and we adore him.

Feline habits

Fifi loses a lot of hair in the fall (a normal process since cats lose their coats as the seasons change), so we take him to the vet three times a year to get his hair trimmed. Yes, you may differ, but the last time I put off cutting his hair, he struggled with hairballs and felt quite uncomfortable in the summertime heat.

He despises going to the vet because he needs to be anesthetized and exposed to other animals, plus he gets sick after we bring him home. He’s full of energy after a day or two, leaps around the flat, and is back to his old, cute self.

Fifi gets very enthusiastic, especially when I start work; he’s all over the place, begging for attention and love, trying to distract me from my tasks. This obviously does not work, and when that fails, he returns to his mischievous ways, dropping things down on purpose, and meowing like there’s no tomorrow.

He enjoys making biscuits, which I don’t necessarily object to; however, he has a propensity to do this on the pillows we sleep on, which is obviously unsanitary. We try things to get him off them, such as changing the sheets regularly and throwing a blanket over them.

He still does it when we aren’t looking and ends up getting argued over, while he meows back to us with confidence, indicating that he can’t alter the habit; let’s just say that the debates aren’t easy to finish.

Fifi only eats cat food, and we tried to entice him with human food without chance. He gets irritated when we buy food that he doesn’t like. He goes above and beyond his usual level of misbehavior and is a nuisance both during the day and at night. We’re at ease once we provide him with any meal he desires.

When we go on vacations, we always leave him with someone we know and trust to look after him, although he isn’t too fond of outsiders. When we return, he’s all lovey-dovey for a week or two. He purrs, meows, chats with us, and tells us how much he misses us; and maybe quarrels with us a little for spending too much time without him.

During the holidays, Fifi is the first soul to welcome the carolers, listening to those with a great voice or dropping his ears, and fleeing when he hears a kid whose carol he dislikes.

He has been involved in three accidents, which included jumps from our fourth-floor flat. We didn’t notice he was outdoors and fell the first time. We sought and found him later that night, hidden behind a car.

We couldn’t figure out why he leaped on his own the second time, he got a bit injured but recovered quickly. The third time was a little more severe, and he took a longer to recover; we found him hiding in a flat compartment on the exterior, all shaken and afraid.

We believe he is always at war with the birds, as there are several nests near our flat and he enjoys gazing out the window. One time I watched the birds pressuring him to jump again during the day, but he stood firm and was more cautious.

Conclusion

Fifi is incredible, and I’m thankful to have such a lovely cat in my life. While working from home might be lonely, I can’t say the same with this fluffy, purring being; it just adds up in the most elegant of ways. He’s always there when my day becomes tough and senses when I’m in distress, ready to soothe me. He’s a whiskered angel sent from Heaven who leaves paw prints in our hearts.

Patrocle’s dog shelter

It all began in July, when I first found the Patrocle’s house dog shelter, I remember it as if it had been yesterday. It was a rainy day, and I was going through a tough time with my colleagues because we had to change our workplace and start a new journey. We were sad, irritated, and wished to simply disappear for a moment.

Our colleague noticed our mood and offered to drive us to Patrocle’s dog shelter for a rescue. At first, we were puzzled and didn’t understand where he was trying to take us, but when we learned we would go to a dog shelter and save a dog’s life we were excited. For a second, it made us look like tiny heroes and forget about our situation.

Therefore, as initially planned, we gathered and took the dog to the vet. Unfortunately, at that hour, the vet was not available and instructed us to take the dog to the shelter and take him for examination tomorrow. Somehow, it seemed that our mission had failed, but we had to visit the shelter and take good care of the puppy, which we did.

We were welcomed to the shelter by big dogs, little puppies, and even cats, each one of them trying to express their love in their specific way and wanting to go to a safe and secure home.

In the beginning, we didn’t even know how to respond, seeing all of that energy and pure love. It was so difficult to keep away from them, and we were all surrounded in the next few minutes by little souls, all wanting to express their love and have a moment of recognition. The little dogs appeared from everywhere, each and one of them jumping around with joy, barking and wagging their tails.

We’ve been playing with them for hours, and frankly, we haven’t noticed the minutes go by and got lost in their innocence and excitement. I got to see my friends laughing and having a wonderful time, playing and forgetting it all. It was like we were walking into a world of magic where all the problems had disappeared.

We wanted the day to never end and to enjoy these pets’ energy and happiness forever. Unfortunately, it was practically impossible, no matter how much we needed to take them with us.

That day was one of the most beautiful days of my life, but one of the saddest ones at the same time. As we left the shelter, my heart was aching, hearing their sad crying and thinking that we had such a wonderful time, but we were leaving them behind.

The harsh reality

If you pay attention to these poor souls, you can see under their enthusiasm, their running eyes their determination to belong to someone, and make it a pleasant, worthwhile life for them. They don’t end up in a dog shelter because they had a great life or over loving owners, it’s exactly the opposite.

The dog shelter of Patrocle takes good care of the dogs, but what they can not guarantee is an owner’s true love, a human who can love them unconditionally and make them feel special.

Behind the metallic barrier, you can see their desire to try to accept a new owner, a ray of hope. They just have visitors most of the time, like us, and no matter how excited they are, they end up with the other dogs at the end of the day, unaware of their future.

True facts

The dog shelter of Patrocle is doing its best to keep these animals well cared for, well-fed, and safe. It shelters over 300 dogs right now and the numbers are constantly increasing. Plus, the parvovirus is making victims every day and it’s getting almost impossible for the staff only to provide for them, and here is where we can contribute and offer to donate a small amount.

We can choose to donate food: https://www.paws-hope.com/casa-lui-patrocle/. From the moment a full pallet of 60 bags of food is donated, the company delivers it to the shelter.

Or we can chose to make a bigger difference and donate for the animal’s health and good care:

Patrocle’s Shelter Association: CIF 35380816

Ron: RO22BRDE340SV63867373400
Euro: RO18BRDE340SV63867453400
Beneficiary: Patrocle’s Shelter Association

Swift: BRDEROBU
Paypal: casaluipatrocle@yahoo.com

You can make a difference today, adopting a pet, helping to buy food for them, or even donating to their health and well-being. In these harsh pandemic times, be the hero and you will be rewarded!

Quarantined with Fifi

Hello, my dearest ones, how is quarantine going?

I got to understand in this quarantine the importance of having a pet, a cat pet to be more precise. You never realize how important are these souls that surround you until something critical happens.

So, my day usually starts with Fifi waking me up and doing crazy things. Like scratching the chair or the door, eating the strands of the broom, biting my foot fingers, or just coming peacefully and starting purring on my chest.

When I am awake because of him, I want some coffee, of course. Fifi craves to sit on my lap, but it’s not so sure about it. Hence, he starts walking from an end of the couch to another, to my struggle, trying to keep the cup of coffee full and not spill it.

Then we end up, eventually, playing and he biting me until blood comes out and me yelling at him to stop.

Later I get to finally enjoy my cup of coffee and scroll on the phone, while he is sitting at the end of the couch and watches me.

He suddenly hears something on the stairs, and starts to act curious, listening very carefully and paying attention to every sound.

In a short time, he returns to me, meowing with curiosity, like asking me, what was that? And then he keeps looking at me for an answer while I stare baffled at him with a smile on my face.

Fifi usually spends the rest of his day sleeping, a large amount of time, I would say, but hey, he is a cat and that’s what cats do. Next he wakes up with an appetite for playing and for biting, especially when I am working. So, he starts scratching the chair for attention, and then I grab and place him in my lap.

He sits for a minute and purrs, and then starts to bite. Crunch, crunch, I disregard him for a moment but then I observe the pain, the blood and stop him again.

Sometimes, during the calls at work, while being busy with the customers and trying to pay attention to them, he looks intensely at me and starts to meow, as if he is talking to me.

The customer usually listens and does not say anything, until from his end I could hear a dog, curiously barking. Not very professional, but this is work at home and we need to deal with it 😅

At times, when we have guests (or used to have, before the quarantine) he was very thoughtful and payed attention to them, trying not to scratch or to hurt them in any way. While the kids were throwing a party, pulling him by the whiskers and yelling happily, he just stood like a nice cat and simply observed.

During the night he likes to take ownership over all the bed, and if possible, to bite us if we dare to disturb him.

In no time, when nobody pays attention he falls in a profound sleep.

I believe God loves me to have brought such a nice pet in my life. I realized a few weeks before that I was watching some nice cats, Ragdoll breed, before I even had him, years ago. I wished one so bad and God gifted him to me. 

“You cannot live with a paw in each world.”
― Erin Hunter, Into the Wild

Dogs in our life

I managed to speak with a person about happy souls that were at a moment present in our lives, about pets and their presence in our souls.

Being separated from people, having to work remotely from home on this period with Corona Virus just brings old feelings back to life, memories about moments in life that already passed, but left a mark.

Memories and feelings

We are so blessed by God with such surprising animals since the beginning of life. In my case, for example, I had many amazing souls that I can remember.

In my childhood, in the early years of life, at the age of 2, a crazy shepherd dog was just adopted in our family. He was not brought in our life as a pet, but more as a guardian, his purpose is to protect the house.

I, like a curious child at that time, wanted to play with the dog and tried to hug and to throw things, while playing at him. The dog, in his mind, took my attempt to play as a threat and tried to bite me.

He did not manage to bite me though, as my family arrived in time and took me away from the dog. In time, this beautiful white and black colored dog proved to be more than a guardian to the home and protected it with his last powers.

I do remember, as I have grown up playing with him, petting him and giving him food. It’s like I can see his kind look and playful manner always trying to greet and protect his loved ones. He is a dog that I will not forget in this life.

I also remember wanting to have small dogs, trying to adopt them in the family. But whenever I tried to get out of the house or go grocery shopping or school, they always got involved in some trouble and ended either dead in a car accident or being taken by somebody else.

A new hope

When we had to move to the other house, my dad managed to get us a new dog, Shogun. A white and orange big dog used to guard the ships at the sheepfold. I remember his strong presence since I got to know him.

Shogun was so strong and beautiful, had a powerful voice and everybody was afraid of his barking and was just mesmerized by his attitude. I remember one time when I arrived from school and he was let loose as the belt was broken and he just jumped around me, wanting to play and have fun.

At that time I was so scared and wanted to hide somewhere, thinking that maybe he wants to bite me, but it was not the case. The neighbors were afraid of him and did not want to enter the yard, colleagues were amazed and we were just happy and thought that we were lucky to have him.

I was 8 when he arrived at the new house and 18 when we had to let him go. Unfortunately, due to old age and sickness, Shogun died in the garden. It is hard to describe the pain and the empty spot that he left behind, we knew that he was our best dog, the most beautiful gift that God could offer.

(Image Source – Unsplash)

Old hopes bring new souls

When I had to leave at the college my parents adopted another dog, a white and black breed between a wolf and a rottweiler. I did not have enough time to get familiarized and get to know this dog so well, as I was most of the time away for college and always working.

My parents decided to give this new dog the same name as the old one had, Shogun. He had a strong attitude as well and was more powerful and different from the other. Even if his presence was intimidating, in time he got to love the family and became a part of it, protecting it and giving his best to be the best guardian of the house.

I remember him when going home in his last years, always jumping around, cheerful to meet us, wanting to play and at times it was like you can see him smile. He was happy with the family and knew that this was his place to be. But, unfortunately, he died a few days ago.

My mother called me in tears and announced to me that Shogun has died, again. For us, the dog is a guardian and a symbol of protection, a friend and more than that, a part of the family.

(Image Source – Unsplash)

Last thoughts

The guardians of the new home are now buried in the garden, both in the same place. Now, an apricot tree has raised in the place where these beautiful souls have died, and whenever we go home we visit the garden and take a moment to remember and to honor these souls.

Now, our home is empty and does not have the mesmerizing presence of the missing guardians, as now they rest in the garden and guard us from above.

I thank God for sending these beautiful souls and for their unlimited gifts that they offered. They filled the exact empty spot that it was missing and completed the family, at its best.

I want to also say thank you to God for the pets that we have at the moment in our lives, for the many curious cats that now reside at the country in the new house and for Fifi. And I am sure that shortly a new guardian will bless the family at home and will fill it again with joy and barks.

(Image Source – Unsplash)