We love cats!
We love cats! We built a home, raised children, chickens, parrots, bunnies, and cats. When the last of our four beautiful and beloved felines died a few years ago, we decided to travel. Sometimes we visit cat shelters on our travels. Below is a photo from inside the shelter in Mazatlan, Mexico.
Four cats were with us from 1998 through 2021. When they were young, we had cat-sitters care for them when when we took short vacations. But when they got older, after the age 15 or so, we knew they wouldn’t thrive with strangers. Because their ages were within a few years of each other, they became “old” one-by-one. Robert felt he was almost running a care home for cats. In reality, the aging process gave both of us a glimpse into the human aging process, the gradual weakening, slowing down, problems with digestion and all the other stuff that embodied beings experience toward the end of life. Which, hopefully, will give us patience with our own processes.
A Feral Cat Family Adopted Us
For Carolyn, the love of cats started in her childhood. For Robert, it started later, when we built the house in Valley Springs, California. A feral cat gave birth to kittens while our home was under construction. Robert placed the mother and the kittens in a cloth-lined cardboard box and placed it under the porch. The mother cat was so appreciative that she followed us around our property whenever we went on walks. That family of cats was the start. We took walks every day. The cats lined up to follow us down the hill, to the spring, and back again. Dali, the Siamese pictured above, was one of many kittens born on that property. The cats and kittens formed a feral family. Their behaviors left us in wonder, sometimes. The old feral male, kind of rough looking, and not a all tame, sometimes sat on a log next to his son, our own loving outdoor pet. Their bond was evident.
Cat Parenting
When the son, the cat we named Mr. Meow, became a father to Dali’s kittens, he always groomed them and lay down near the box where they slept. When they were old enough to eat solid food, he stood by their bowl until they all had their fill. It was only then, when they were satiated, that he would eat the remainder.
These behaviors endeared these beings to us. It was by watching them as a family group that we could see their loving interactions. I’ve written more about the cat family in my blog post here.
Baby Meow was with us for 18 years. We love cats and especially loved this gentle tuxedo.
Dali, the tiny Siamese kitten in the photo, was nineteen years old when she crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2021. Without a pet, the house didn’t seem like a home. We sold our house. Since then we’ve traveled in many parts of Mexico and the Southwest of the USA. We are available for inquiries for house and cat-sitting your home in Mexico or the American Southwest. We are between houses now. As soon as we settle more permanently we know a beautiful cat or two will wander into our lives, purring. And our traveling days will probably be over.
Cat, House and Plant Sitting
Before we settle down again in our own home, we are offering our expertise as house and cat sitters. And yes, our experience as home owners even includes care of house plants and gardens, including lush greenery and desertscapes.
In the 1990s, We Built Our Own Home
For Carolyn the love started in her childhood. For Robert, it started later, when we built our house in Valley Springs, California. A feral cat gave birth to kittens while our home was under construction. Robert placed the mother and the kittens in a cloth-lined cardboard box and placed it under the porch. The mother cat was so appreciative that she followed us around our property whenever we went on walks. That family of cats was the start. We took walks every day. The cats lined up to follow us down the hill, to the spring, and back again. The house we built is pictured here- it was very beautiful, we were meticulous to get every detail right, but by the time construction was finished we were ready for a change of scenery!
Our background in house care includes remodeling, upgrading, and maintaining of several houses over the years as well as completing a Victorian-style country home, from the bare land to the finished project.
Available for House and Pet Sitting 2024
We are open to house sitting in the Coachella Valley in the summer months of this year, 2024 and in Mexico, the Chapala-Ajijic area, Mexico City or La Paz, Baja California.
We have references available and are happy to do a zoom or whatsapp call or two to see if we are a good fit.
Contact me via whatsapp at +529992588366
