I'm sure you all know Fanny's work and blog - she's an amazing and prolific artist and now we know she is also an amazing cat mama! This is why I love doing this series - otherwise how would we ever know these things? This is the thirteenth Bloggers + Cats interview I've done and at this point I'd like to raise a glass and say a heartfelt cheers to everyone who has ever rescued a cat/chosen a rescue cat from a shelter - it takes a lot of hard work and patience - as you will hear below, but it is so worth it.
Thank you so much Fanny for answering the questions!
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| Fanny with Bean © Todd Selby |
I got Siri when I first moved to New York six years ago. I bought her from a store in Chelsea, her mum was a rescue and an Abyssinian cat so they took her in and then sold the kittens for a small sum. She was so beautiful! All her sisters and brothers where playing around but she just sat in the middle looking out. As soon as I held her she started purring. I was choosing between Signe or Siri both old Swedish names but I went for Siri, it was more her.
Gidget I found on a garbage pail just by my studio three years ago, she was so ill she couldn't outrun me. She was all dusty with tarmac caked into her fur lying on a heap of trash taking some sun. Then she hid under a truck and I got a person there helping me to hold up the fence to the enclosed parking space and I crawled in and rescued her. She had toxoplasmosis, giardia and worms and she was real feral.
I had to keep her in a cage for the first weeks and give a lot of medicine and salt baths. I would keep her in my lap when I was drawing to get her more familiar to humans. She is still a tiny little runt with a head too big for her body but she is the kindest sweetest little girl! My friend Simon named her after the sixties girl surf movie Gidget.
How would you describe their personalities? Are they friends?
Well, I used to have three cats but unfortunately my husband is allergic so I sent one of my cats Bean home to my mum's in the countryside in Sweden. I'm actually here with Gidget right now. Gidget and Bean used to be best of friends and they are reconnecting right now with lots of hisses.. It's funny, you'd think they'd recognize each other. Gidget is a sweet little couch potato, she doesn't really like going out or lying in the lap but she wants to be close, lay next to you, it's a big honour when she comes for one of her rare lap sitting sessions.
Siri has always been a loner, if it was just me and her in the world she would be happy. She loves to be wherever I am at all times, sometimes it gets on my nerves, if I've got to do something, since she just wants me to look at her and get petted. She loves going out so I think she's a bit bored at the moment since we live in an apartment.
{Siri and Gidget modelling Fanny's Folki jewellery for Anthropologie collection}
What are their respective favourite foods?
Siri likes cooked chicken, prosciutto and lots of greenies...and of course dry and wet food. Gidget once been a scavenger likes anything you are eating, if you leave her a second alone with a bone with some meat she will drag it into the bed for a snack. She likes chicken, fish, most anything really!
Do Gidget and Siri have preferred lounging locations? Any signature poses?
Gidget's favourite spot is the bed, she loves sleeping all day. Siri loves one of those small cushiony dog houses, preferably too small so it gets really crammed and toasty.
What is a day in the lives of Gidget and Siri like?
Well, they're usually lounging around sleeping and eating and having a few cat crazy night hours. Right now I'm majorly relocating since my husband's allergies are getting worse. So they have been living in the studio for a while but I think in the end they are all going to stay in the country side with my mum. I want them to have a real cat life, go outside catch mice, bathe in the sun and and sleep in one of the four guest beds. It's been a real hard decision since I am absolutely in love with them. But Bean has been here for a year now and she is so happy!! Also if we move somewhere where they can go out I might have them back, but then again I think my mum will have word or two about that, she has already claimed Bean as her own.
Do you have any amusing/weird/cute Gidget and Siri moments or stories you'd like to share?
Oh, they do cute things all the time!!
I love waking up and turning around to see Siri lying under the cover with her head on the pillow like a little human. Gidget has come such a long way from her scaredy cat days and now she always comes when you call her to give you some cuddles, she loves throwing herself down so you can pat her tummy.
Quickfire round:
Birds or mice?
Anything they can get their paws on, mum told me Bean took a snake the other day!
Sunlight or radiator?
Oh, hard one - the one that is the warmest.
Tap or bowl?
Tap most definitely!
Lap or laptop?
I would say lap.
Snuggling or stretching?
Snuggling.
Cats or humans?
Depends on who it is.
{Thank you Tiffany for recommending Siri, Gidget and Bean as subjects!}
{Pictures 1 and 4 © Todd Selby, pictures 2 and 3 © Fanny Bostrom}
5 comments:
fine and fancy felines...;)) (true...what guys don't have cats too? )
I love this post...partic because of the Swedish names! And my husband, Patrick loves our cat, Mia...who, as chance would have it, was from the Edinburgh Cat Shelter...badly abused, tail broken in 2 places (she had already been rehomed once and been brought back into the shelter again and was under the threat of 'extermination'). She hid under our kitchen sink for the first two months and would only come out at night to rake through the bin...sorry, this is turning into an epic 'comment'. Anyhoo, just wanted to vouch for sensitive males who love cats...they are out there!
Oh, the story about Gidget...! So glad she was rescued.
best cat mom! i remember when fanny first rescued gidget. she treated that little ball with so much love. it was a brave thing to do because gidget was really quite sick.
oh, those cats are lucky to have found fanny. it's always heartwarming to hear a rescue story.
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