Benny turned 1 year old on Sept. 24th and he is the greatest. He is so lovable and such a mellow and relaxed guy. Lucia is his exercise program. They love to run through the house and up and down the stairs together.

Simon the Cat is always a highlight for Benny

Leoni is the little mom in the household and she watches very carefully, most often when she thinks Lucia may be getting into something she is not supposed to do. They love each other a lot and have started their morning cleaning routine while Mr. Nice is getting ready for work. She is a very gentle cat and just like Benny not an ounce of agression in her body.

Lucia became part of double trouble team very fast. She is such a bright and intelligent cat. A “no” does not mean “no” to Lucia. She has to be right in the middle, is always curious. It is nice to see how well they learn from one another. She is a very strong-minded cat.

It is nice to cuddle together

After all these good time we had quite scare.

Mr. B decided to sneak into the kitchen and jump on the counter. Apparently when he jumped down something happened. He came into the living room on three legs. Emergency treatment at our vet’s office was called for where it was discovered that he had several broken bones in his right hind leg. The next day he had to go to veterinary clinic in Munich to have his surgery. The poor guy has a number of nails and a fixture in place to keep his broken bones together. He is handling it like a trooper and being brave. For the next 4-6 weeks no jumping, going up stairs, scratch poles etc. Mr. Nice built a two bedroom apartment for him which he accepts quite well considering the circumstances.

Benny and his broken leg

Enjoy our pictures taken in June.

Leoni und Benny

Leoni concentrating on Mr. Nice's laser pointer

Benny playing with his mouse

Mr. Nice has all kinds of ideas to keep us occupied. The newest invention, though not all done yet, is a toy that makes us work for our treats. We are not sure, why we should work for treats since it is much easier to eat right out of their hands? Could someone enlighten us please?

The food is great and they give us lots of varieties. We have grown a lot since we got here. Last week Benny weighed 2.3 kg and Leoni weighed 2.1 kg. Leoni turned 4 months on Jan. 15 and Benny turned 4 months on Jan. 29. Time seems to fly when you are with people who love you.

Here is a collection of pictures of us over the last few weeks.

We hope you enjoyed our update.

Leoni is 4 months old today and developing quite nicely. Benny is a typical male cat. He demands his cuddle sessions and has to be reminded that he is not the only cat in the household. He loves his step-sister and would not be without her for a minute and she feels the same way about Benny.

A new scratch post had to be purchased though. Stella’s small one just was not enough for two active kittens. They mind quite well and know the meaning of “no”. Benny is more stubborn than Leoni though.

Anyhow, though they cannot replace Ms. Stella, they are the greatest little “souls” and are filling the house with their lively spirits.

Here is birthday girl Leoni. She is 4 months old today on Jan. 15.

Mr. Benny – thinking about what to do next. How about this.

Mountain climber Benny

Here I am – I WON

Here is a quick run down on last year!

During the summer my job was to be part of the garden design. I do this job really well and chase every other cat out of my garden.

Looking good, aren't I?

Pretty soon the Misses won’t have to buy flowers anymore. I’m the most beautiful flower in her garden anyhow.

It got bit cooler during autumn, so you could find me upstairs with my bud Shrek on the couch.

Christmas came along and that always means that I don’t get to go outdoors a lot anymore. It is too cold and they are afraid that I may fall into the neighbor’s pond when I climb around the neighbor’s patio. I discovered television, people! What a deal!

Nature shows are cool!

Check this out!

These past weeks we’ve had lots of snow. I am SICK of it, because my paws freeze. They haven’t bought any shoes for me yet. YET – I say!

I had to try it though… I DO NOT LIKE SNOW

When the sun is out it isn’t too bad and the patio stones are warmed by the sun.

During the winter though I spend most of my time begging to go outdoors. Just what’s cat to do?

Ok, my cat sisters and brothers … I see ya’ around. Hopefully, it will not take Mrs. Nice another year before she types my stories.

Yours truly,
Stella-The-Cat

I have been neglecting you so much.  Now it is winter and just a few days before Christmas. I will take the opportunity of our first snow of the season to drop a few lines.

Summer was not so great. It all started nicely in the spring, but summer time was not like last year where we were spoiled with lots of sun.

I have enjoyed our garden anyhow. I just picked the sunny days to be outdoors.

Stella in her favorite spot -where catnip grows

Winter is a different story. I don’t like to have wet paws. I just run outdoors, looking for my catwalk which is snowed in as well and find my way back home soon.

First snow

Christmas is right before us. I am wishing all of you a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and that all your wishes may come true. Most of all I hope that health and happiness will be your companions throughout the year.

Stella-The-Cat

Do you think he would mind when he is not home or at work if I laid down there a little? Look at the picture of him and myself. He likes ME, Stella-The-Cat. I greet him when he gets home from work with Mr. Nice and cuddle with him just like I do with Mr. & Mrs. Nice.

Mrs. Nice is at home at the moment because she is not feeling too well, so I really need to enjoy the time while I have her for company during the day. She’s told Mr. Nice that I am like medicine for her – whatever that means. I just love that I get held, my coat brushed and attention whenever I need it.

Mrs. Nice is busy in the house and doesn’t always have time for me when I want it, but I have learned to get her attention. I just jump up into her lap and make room for myself. Who could resist when I do that and when I purr like I do?

Mrs. Nice is stricter than Mr. Nice and she tells him about the little tricks I use. She caught me jumping on the diningroom table and I reeeeaaaly got fussed at for that. I better not do that again. As it is with everything in life, you have to try something to find out if you are allowed to do it or not.

I don’t jump on kitchen counters either. Mrs. Nice thinks I have really good manners. On the couch I have a soft blanket where I am allowed to sit. My favorite spot is on Mr. Nice’s belly. Here is a picture Mrs. Nice has taken when I do that. Mr. Nice thinks this is pretty funny how I demand attention and compares me to the cat his family used to have.

Approximately during the middle of my first week at my new home, I felt good enough to start talking to my family. Now I meow and they talk back. At first, I wouldn’t do that and they thought this was strange. Don’t ask me why, but talking to them makes things much easier. They seem to understand what I am telling them.

The very first Saturday in my new house Mr. & Mrs. Nice worked outdoors in the garden. Hey, I wanted to go there, too. The door was only pulled shut. I jumped up, but the door did not open. Terrace doors seem to work differently than the regular doors in the house. You should have seen all the excitement escalating outside. Suddenly I hear someone working on the kitchen window which was on tilt and here comes Mr. Nice through the kitchen window. He is no small fellow, you must know. Pretty smart, don’t you think? Going out the terrace door and coming back in through the kitchen window. The next time I went to my terrace door there was a balloon hanging there. What a surprise! It looked so inviting and I jumped against it. Have you ever heard a balloon pop? Surely, you have, but you don’t know the effect it had on me. It really scared me. I wonder why they did that?

One night I wanted to play with Mr. Nice, but he was in bed already. Mrs. Nice was at the computer. Naturally, I went upstairs, jumped on the door handle, grabbed it with both paws and my weight opened the door with a loud sound. That must’ve scared him! Quickly I was put back into my basket in the livingroom by Mr. Nice. I don’t think he was too happy about me waking him up. The next day they had a balloon on the bedroom door handle as well. I am scared of balloons, so I’ve decided not to try that one again.

I can’t complain, though. Every day I get to go outdoors. Early in the morning, Mr. Nice brushes me before he is off to work. When Mrs. Nice is up I get more food, more loving and lots of attention. I think I will try not to upset them and mind them. Looks like I am the one being trained, doesn’t it?

That is a summary of my first week in my new home. The story of week #2 follows soon.

They were telling my caretaker that they wanted to look at a BKH-mix they had seen on the web page. What they didn’t know was, that I reaaaaly wanted to be with them. I took the first opportunity available and jumped on the lady’s shoulders. When Mr. Nice stood close, I went right to him, too. I must have done a really good job because they went nuts about me, stroked me and gave me lots of love.

Then I heard my caretaker telling them that I was a really good cat and liked only myself and the people around me. Nevertheless, they still wanted to look at the other cat. I decided to go outdoors while they were looking, but imagined that my chances were pretty good that they would end up coming back to my room.

Patience pays off! They came back to MY room and THEY wanted ME! ME! ME! There were some hurdles to get past, though. My caretaker is a careful one and she told my prospective can openers that she would not allow me to live near a busy street and she wanted to see the house where I was going to be living. She also told them that I knew how to open doors. Why did she do that? Couldn’t they find out themselves? Then I heard the nice couple tell her that they would go to the store and buy a new scratching post, food, a sleeping basket and toys. It sounded like they really wanted me and were willing to spend some €€€€ on me, Stella-The-Cat.

Another long night passed and the next morning on Sunday, May 20th, 8 a.m. they arrived with a new carrying case for ME, Stella-The-Cat. My caretaker put me in there. Then I had to wait and put up with this obnoxious terrier mutt sniffing at my new case while my new friends had to sign adoption papers.

Off I went to my new home!