Joaquim Janeiro

Duque

Kittie	Kittie was the first cat living with us ! My daughter Ines brought her , when returning home from the school , she saw this sad , skinny and dirty little kitten in the street . The problem was ... " ... father doesn't like cats !!! For me it was really a surprise , I thought I didn't like cats , but when even the dog fell in love with her , how could I feel otherwise ? She was charming as only cats can be , now we know it , and after a couple of minutes playing with her I was conquered ! She was special , very special , at least for me and my daugther Ines ! She was the Queen of the house , but also the jolly fellow , playing , asking for attention , or just staying nearby , staring at us . Beautiful in her always clean grey , white and yellow " hair " , a bit chubby , making special sounds , not the normal mewing , always active , she was unique . Unfortunately she died sometime ago . Pictures

Magui	Magui , is now the oldest cat at home , after Kittie's death and she is now almost 11 years old . Small , 3,2 kg , Siamese she-cat , full of life and with beautifull blue eyes . Noisy and sweet , I brouhgt her home when I saw her in a pet shop . She was the last of her brood and supposedly the ugliest , but for me and my son it was " love at first sight " when we saw that little white cat with dark brown head . We take her from the cage and she just nestled in my son's arms . She was a gift to my wife , as she was always grumbling " I want a cat only for me ! " . Now as a " senior " , she is an happy , and healthy cat and we hope , with a long life ahead . Magui died a couple of months ago ! She was old ! The 7 lifes burned out till the end ! This the bad side of these love stories ! Our " pet " loved ones , our " pets " die like humans and for us when a pet dies , this is something really bad . I remember Kitty , Chico , Magui , Duque and Ataegina as friends that walk to us to receive their share of caress ! Curiously all the caress we gave them ... was returned calmly , without " noise " , but we could feel it , without any doubt . Thanks for all you gave us ! It is curious ,,, I wrote this , the guy that told , almost 20years ago " I DONT WANT PETS AT HOME " ! Pictures

^Xico	Xico or Fanchico * , his real name , is my cat and follows me as a shadow when I'm at home . After Kitties death , Maggie was alone so my daughters thought that it was time to find another cat for me and her ! So , one day when I arrived home ... I had a reception commitee with a small black cat ! He was realy small with very dark brown raised hair a big tail and he had already a name , " Fanchico " ! He was already adapted , squeaking , playing with a toy and studying is new home . His now almost 4 years old and he grew becoming a big , 60 cm of lenght and heavy , 6 kg , cat . Love and food is what he want . When we call him he comes to us almost like a dog , rubbing his head on our legs and mewing ! A small paper ball is his favourite toy ! I threw the ball and he brings it to me again like a dog ! * The reason for the name is curious and I loved it , because it means a lot to me . For years we spent our summer holidays in Algarve , a 600 km and almost 10 hours of highways and small country roads trip . After 10 minutes travelling , my daughters and my son were already asking us to eat , or asking " are we arriving ? " , " I want ... " , etc . So I was the driver but also an entertainer , telling stories , etc . The best of all stories was Mrs Engracia's " loco " dog Fanchico ! Chico was the cat that everyone would love to have at home ! A bit chubby , foolishly sentimental , he was the perfect cat ! Tender , calm and peaceful , the only thing that bored him was lack of food and a dirty WC ! He died a couple of months ago after falling from the balcony . After Kitty and Chico I don't want another cat ! Both were so special that I believe that they were unique ! I will not find another like them in the next thousand years !

Safira	Returning from lunch with a friend , we found this wonderful puppy abandoned on the road side ! We stop the car and she ran away , but when I called her , she just jumped to my lap and slip his nose inside my coat . It was love at first sight ! The first " pit stop " was home for a snack and after a couple of minutes , the vet clinic to take a bath and all medical care . Her first name was Astra ( my daughters choice , a new model to my Opel collection :) ) , but my wife changed it to Zafira and later I've changed it again to Safira , as she is a " gem " . Now after a month , we can say that she is a " wonder dog " , she love us all and she is now a big " fan " of Chico and Magui ! These pictures were taken after a bath and " hair care " so she looks like a stuffed dog . Education is improving slowly but steadily , pee and poo aren't perfect yet . She ate my wife's pencil , later a pen and she loves also the computer with all those small parts and wires ! With all this interest for culture , she can get an academic degree in just a couple of years ! Safira is what we could tell a 5 * dog ! She improves with age , like Oporto wine ;) !

Ataegina	Ataegina was found hiding under our car ! She was very sick , weak and dirty . I remember her eyes closed with dirt and pus . After a week her eyes were cleaned . Wonderful eyes ! She never recovered , even with all our attention and care and died with FIV a month or so after we find her . Unfortunately I haven't any pictures of Ataegina .