Poeka [5]

Jan says: Poeka comes from the same household as Pebbel and Pip, but from a different litter and a different mother. We actually didn't mean to have Poeka. Before Pip and Peb came to our house we paid them a few visits at their birth home and discovered that there was a second litter in the house. My wife fell in love with Poeka, but I persuaded her that two new kittens was enough. After our holidays we went to pick up Pip and Pebbel. We found that Poeka was still there and no one had adopted her yet. She was being neglected by her "owners," so in the end I gave in and we took Poeka home as well. Tucked away in my wife's coat, she made the trip to our house.

From day one she settled in the old cardboard box that had been Ebby's home for so long. Very soon it became clear that she was different from the others, perhaps because we had to take her in at such a tender age. Pip and Pebbel, being sisters, sometimes seemed to team up against Poeka. Old Sheba tried to ignore the youngsters as much as he could. Poeka tried to make contact, but has turned into a bit of a solitary cat.

Poeka feels best when she is left alone. Everyone who sees her cute little face loves her, but hardly anyone can pick her up and cuddle her -- only the four people in our family she trusts. She loves to be in our daughter Flora's room before she goes to bed. When she is sleeping in her private cardboard box, she loves being cuddled, but only by familiar hands.She will never sleep on our laps, unless we have a soft fleece plaid on it. Last summer we had a cat-sitter during our holidays, and Poeka refused to go outdoors for a week, even though she loves to go outside.

Our small garden is Poeka's little paradise. She loves roaming the garden, hiding in dark places or basking in the sun. If she can, she spends most of her days outside, jumping for bees and birds or climbing trees. She has remained very small, which makes her a champion tree climber. When we're away at work we keep our cats inside. The moment we get home, Poeka is always the first who wants to go outside. In summer she'll stay out as long as she can. In winter she'll come in when it gets dark and cuddle up in a warm place. So far, she's only been out on a single night, and that's the way we want to keep it.

Even though Poeka is not the kind of cat that gets along with everyone, we love her to death. On her own terms, she seems to like us too. She's a perfect photo model and we wouldn't want to miss her for the world.