We live in a small village in Nordland, called Straumen. It is located some 80 km from Bodö.
Our house is very well located by a small road with 3 neighbours. Below the house is a large open area with a great view over the nearby river. Our house is quite large and has a very practical layout that makes it possible for us to give our cats and the dog a real chance of a very happy life!
>>Click here to see the pictures from our home and surroundings
Our cats live together with us as real family members, even the Tomcats. We think it is very important to have a cat-group that functions together, and we do not like to split them up. If it becomes necessary we still do, and even then no cats will have to be alone. We have a lot of space, and use the basement living room as a sanctuary for one group while the other group has access to the whole house. Then we change groups once a day.
Our cats are strictly indoor-cats. To some this may sound negative, but an indoor-cat can have a full and happy life if we, the owners, take responsibility and accommodate so that the cat has plenty of stimuli, both mental and physical. Our cats have plenty of space to roam, they have many climbing stations and posts helping to keep them in good shape. They really like to run through the entire house - all after each other! In late spring/summer/early fall they also have access to a cat run that is connected to the basement living room. This cat-run is not very large, only about 15 square meters, but it is well decorated with tree trunks for climbing and shelves to lie on. Coming summer 2012 we are planning to make an even bigger cat-run on the other side of the house, also richly filled with trees and shelves. This cat-run will be about 60 square meters, and will enrich the life of our cats even more!
We choose to mate our females quite early, and minimize the length of the fertile period for both males and females. We do this simply because it can be quite stressful for a cat to be fertile for any length of time. Tomcats do tend to stress a lot, shouting and being very restless when kept fertile. Since we have chosen to keep our cats mostly together, both males and females, we are forced to use birth-control pills on our females. It is not desirable to use these pills over a long time because of the risk for cancer. Therefore we use to castrate our cats quite early, and find new homes for some of them - often together with a kitten.
We moved in together January 2004, and during the winter of 2005 he found our dear Anubis that became our first cat.
Finn-Ove loves our four legged friends, and will do everything in his power to make sure they are happy. He acts as midwife when our females are giving birth, and does all the practical stuff that is necessary for the cats.
Finn-Ove is working as a teacher in a small private school. In addition to his work and his duties as a cat-breeder, he is also building models of planes, so far mainly F-16.
Lisbeth was born in May 1964.
She is the grand administrator for the team, the one that makes sure everything is done and that we have everything when we go to cat-shows. She is also the teams driver and takes care of all work that involves marketing and stuff that goes on in cyber-space.
She is originally afraid of cats, but that has never stopped her from starting a cattery! She has a thing for kittens and especially if they are "home-made".
Ellie was born in september 2006. Not a cat, not a human - she really is a dog, but she doesn't seem to mind! Ellie acts as a self-assigned police-dog, with a license to..thrill, especially amongst the cats. She is always making sure that her minions, (the cats.she thinks!) follow all the rules. If someone should happen to forget a rule, Ellie will be there and remind them quickly.
But silliness aside, Ellie has a lot of love and affection for our cats. She was the one who taught Jeanne D'Arc and Dark Rose how to make the newborn kittens go to the toilet.
Ellie has been like an extra mother for several of our cats, and some of them have a strong love for her, like Joker, Spitfire and Morticia. Ellie is known for practicing tough love and loves to wrestle and run with the cats.