July – August 2015
We had a lot of fun looking after this adorable trio over 7 weeks. Without meaning to devalue the fond memories we have of our other assignments (indeed, we have been very fortunate to meet wonderful people and pets half way around the world), the truth is that this became our favourite house & pet sitting experience, and still remains so to this day.
We fell in love with the city and became good friends with our hosts, who went to incredible lengths to make us feel welcome. We have been fortunate enough to return two more times and hope to return many more in the future.
♥ Bafana ♥
Gorgeous, adorable Bafana. A ginger cuddle monster who would jump on a chair to greet you and rub noses the moment you walked in.
He would get grumpy with the twins, particularly when they tried to steal his food, but couldn’t be sweeter with his human friends. He would look up every time you called his name and reply with the sweetest “meow”. And when he looked at you with his big green eyes, you couldn’t help but love him.
As a senior cat with some health issues, he wasn’t particularly playful, but he allowed us to put drops in his ears and cream on his chin without fuss or complaints.
He enjoyed having brushing sessions whilst lying down, spending lazy afternoons on a shady spot in the garden when the temperature went up, getting a good amount of cheek rubs at any time of the day, and following you everywhere when he was awake. And I really mean everywhere!
Sadly, barely a month after we left, he was diagnosed with an inoperable mouth tumour and he had to be put to sleep. I cried for 3 days every time I thought of him and remembered the many sweet moments we had shared together! R.I.P. sweet Bafana, we’ll never forget you!
♥ Mukiwa ♥
Mukiwa is technically a Colorpoint Shorthair, a man-made breed derived from the Siamese. Although different in appearance, the breed’s main character traits remain: they are said to be highly intelligent, inquisitive, affectionate and very vocal. And boy, Mukiwa was vocal!
If he wanted something, you can rest assured he would let you know… loudly and repeatedly! You would sometimes hear him calling from the top floor with a loud, long “meeeeeeooooooowwwwww”, as if asking “where is everybody??”; and the moment you answered his calls, he would come running downstairs to meet you wherever you were.
When it was time to eat, he would helpfully tap the kitchen cabinet door to tell you exactly where the food was (whilst meowing loudly, of course!). And when he wanted some attention, he would tap your arm and… yep, you guessed it, meow loudly if you didn’t immediately obliged. We really had some very interesting conversations with him!
He was such a character and so much fun to be with. He usually followed his brother Pafuri around and it was just so cute to see them interacting together – playing, exploring, sleeping together and grooming each other. If we wasn’t following his brother, he was following me!
♥ Pafuri ♥
Pafuri is an Oriental Shorthair with a beautifully shiny black coat, an insatiable curiosity and a seemingly overwhelming need to know what you are up to at all times. He was my little supervisor and followed me around as if wanting to ensure I was doing things right, be it hanging the laundry, filling up the dishwasher, or watering the plants.
Initially he had been terrified of us, as he is of every new person he meets – in fact, all it took was the sound of the doorbell to make him jump out of his skin, run out through the garden door, and disappear into the neighbours’ garden for a couple of hours.
Thankfully, his very inquisitive nature made it relatively easy to earn his trust, as he loved playing and could never resist a game of “hide and chase”. From playing fetch with a stuffed toy elephant, to chasing bugs or playing with a long blade of grass in the garden, pretty much anything could be turned into a toy to keep him entertained.
We loved watching him and his brother Mukiwa interacting together, it often seemed that they were somehow conspiring to get up to some sort of mischief. Their sometimes naughty but always sweet character was as heartwarming as it was entertaining to watch, and we didn’t have a boring moment with them!
