Merry Christmas, everyone!

(Thanks, Wes. aka Hairlover)

Snow White left us three years ago, on June 10th, 2015, but when an old cat dies, we should not mourn, but instead celebrate all that it has given us. Our beloved Princess was one such cat that forever will live on in our memories.

Also see "The Love I Left Behind - Paul's Last Will and Testament" by Wes/Hairlover here

Snow White (mixed breed), 31.08.2012.

Olympus E-400 Digital Camera

The Princess left us three years ago on June 10th, 2015.

Also see "The Love I Left Behind - Paul's Last Will and Testament" by Wes/Hairlover here

Snow White (mixed breed), 05.05.2015.

Olympus E-400 Digital Camera

For the last 20 years of his life, we went to the mall twice a week, without fail.

Pink boots. How appropriate!

Richard Gere wishing you a great week ahead!

Hairlover says: "He's a cat. Cats do nothing as a matter of course. And, on those rare occasions when a cat actually does something, he doesn't want anyone watching."

Since her spaying, Amber spends more time with Paul than she does with Beck, my other gray Tabby.

She's just discovered that climbing up a tree is much easier than climbing down.

With a claw caught in the throw rug

Winner of the Ginger Cats' Cuddly Belly contest!

From this video

After two weeks of hissing and growling at her, Beck's letting her sleep next to him now.

From this video.

Paul is my three-legged cat. Since Amber's spaying, these two have become inseparable. I'm so glad she's got him for a friend and protector.

Yesterday we visited Dyreværnet's shelter in Copenhagen - and on Friday Bastian will move in with us and the Somalis.

We were browsing the shelter homepages for a suitable third cat to adopt and this boy seemed to fill our wishes - mixed breed, 5 years old, brown tabby with white, very cuddly and used to living with other cats.

At the shelter he is known as Bailey, but since we know another cat of that name, he will be renamed to Bastian.

I'll pick him up tomorrow and an appointment for neutering has been arranged on Monday. Hopefully by the end of next week we have succesfully brought him together with Rags and Caitlin.

No other cat can ever replace Snow White and her special personality, but this old boy is unique too and deserves the same chance that she got - to be loved and appreciated for what he is.♥

Also see "The Love I Left Behind - Paul's Last Will and Testament" by Wes/Hairlover here

Bastian (aka Bailey) (mixed breed) at shelter , 26.08.2015.

Olympus OMD EM5 Digital Camera

Amber's latest video.

My precious three-legged cat

Snow White left us three years ago, on June 10th, 2015, but when an old cat dies, we should not mourn, but instead celebrate it for all it has given us. Our beloved Princess will forever live on in our memories.

Also see "The Love I Left Behind - Paul's Last Will and Testament" by Wes/Hairlover here

Snow White (mixed breed), 30.08.2012.

Olympus E-400 Digital Camera

Yesterday we visited Dyreværnet's shelter in Copenhagen - and on Friday Bastian will move in with us and the Somalis.

We were browsing the shelter homepages for a suitable third cat to adopt and this boy seemed to fill our wishes - mixed breed, 5 years old, brown tabby with white, very cuddly and used to living with other cats.

At the shelter he is known as Bailey, but since we know another cat of that name, he will be renamed to Bastian.

I'll pick him up tomorrow and an appointment for neutering has been arranged on Monday. Hopefully by the end of next week we have succesfully brought him together with Rags and Caitlin.

No other cat can ever replace Snow White and her special personality, but this old boy is unique too and deserves the same chance that she got - to be loved and appreciated for what he is.♥

Also see "The Love I Left Behind - Paul's Last Will and Testament" by Wes/Hairlover here

Bastian (aka Bailey) (mixed breed) at shelter , 26.08.2015.

Olympus OMD EM5 Digital Camera

Sharing body heat on a cold evening.

Paul is so timid. As soon as the camera flashed, he bolted.

Yesterday we visited Dyreværnet's shelter in Copenhagen - and on Friday Bastian will move in with us and the Somalis.

We were browsing the shelter homepages for a suitable third cat to adopt and this boy seemed to fill our wishes - mixed breed, 5 years old, brown tabby with white, very cuddly and used to living with other cats.

At the shelter he is known as Bailey, but since we know another cat of that name, he will be renamed to Bastian.

I'll pick him up tomorrow and an appointment for neutering has been arranged on Monday. Hopefully by the end of next week we have succesfully brought him together with Rags and Caitlin.

No other cat can ever replace Snow White and her special personality, but this old boy is unique too and deserves the same chance that she got - to be loved and appreciated for what he is.♥

Also see "The Love I Left Behind - Paul's Last Will and Testament" by Wes/Hairlover here

Bastian (aka Bailey) (mixed breed) at shelter , 26.08.2015.

Olympus OMD EM5 Digital Camera

Inspecting some Spring repairs

Complied with this photo.

Yesterday we visited Dyreværnet's shelter in Copenhagen - and on Friday Bastian will move in with us and the Somalis.

We were browsing the shelter homepages for a suitable third cat to adopt and this boy seemed to fill our wishes - mixed breed, 5 years old, brown tabby with white, very cuddly and used to living with other cats.

At the shelter he is known as Bailey, but since we know another cat of that name, he will be renamed to Bastian.

I'll pick him up tomorrow and an appointment for neutering has been arranged on Monday. Hopefully by the end of next week we have succesfully brought him together with Rags and Caitlin.

No other cat can ever replace Snow White and her special personality, but this old boy is unique too and deserves the same chance that she got - to be loved and appreciated for what he is.♥

Also see "The Love I Left Behind - Paul's Last Will and Testament" by Wes/Hairlover here

Bastian (aka Bailey) (mixed breed) at shelter , 26.08.2015.

Olympus OMD EM5 Digital Camera

I am so sorry for having to announce that our Snow White has passed away today.

She was suffering from hyperthyroidism, which meant she was loosing weight. Since 2012 we have been able to stabilize her through daily medication, but over the last year her kidneys have deteriated too, causing further weight loss. Increasing the medicine was not an option anymore, as most likely it would result in total kidney collaps.

Although she still carried out her duties in our little group, over the last month she has gotten increasingly tired, become less interested in food and seemed to loose much of her will to live. As responsible cat keepers it is our duty to protect our pets from sickness and pain, and we could not bear to see her wither away and possibly go into a painful organ failure. At some point we had to consider, whether the treatment was for her own good or just for our own sake. That point in time was today and so we took that hard trip to the vet, where Snow White passed away peacefully with her humans by her side and carressing her.

We adopted Snow White from a shelter at the age of "about 8" and never has she let us down, but surprised us in so many ways. She adapted gracefully to whatever new situation she came in and I believe she enjoyed a happy life here as our "First Cat of the House". We hoped for many more years, but that was not to be.

We are grateful for every day we had with this amazing cat, who became the center of our little cat universe. And we feel sorry for Rags, who has lost his best friend. We know Snow White is loved around the World by many, who only knew her from Flickr, and we thank you for your interest and for visiting. I am sorry for breaking the sad new without any warning, but I did not want to go public until we had made a decision together with our vet, who also knew and loved Snow White.

The lifespan of cats is so much shorter than that of humans, and one thing we know is that the day of the last goodby will inevitably come. Still - life would be so empty without them...

RIP, sweet Princess - once our tears have dried, we still carry you with us.

Snow White's Album is here and my YouTube videos here.

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Postscript June 15th:

My dear friends - first of all my apologies for not answering every single one of you directly, but thank you ever so much for your comments, your condolances and your compassion.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts at Snow White's passing - often in a very personal way. I have carefully read all your comments more than once and I am deeply moved by them. Imagine our old cat has touched so many hearts around the world...

As I said, when our Milly died 18 y.o.: Old cats shall not be mourned, but rather celebrated for all they gave us. Our family is still mourning, but I know that over time the loss will hurt less and all the good memories will remain vivid and clear. We knew we would only have our Snow White for a limited time, and even in our grief we feel that every day has been worth it.

Finally let me put in a word for the elderly shelter cats. Most often they have lost the good life they had in a loving family for no fault of their own. If ever you visit a shelter looking for a new cat, please think of Snow White, who had a real princess hidden inside...

Also see "The Love I Left Behind - Paul's Last Will and Testament" by Wes/Hairlover here

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Snow White (mixed breed), photo taken 02.06.2012

Olympus E-400 Digital Camera.

Inseparable as adults, as well.

Named after the song by the same name, by Reba McEntire, which was playing when I found this abandoned kitten, 1991.

Wikipedia article here

Clearly, this very simple Carnot cycle engine is not homemade. I don't have the equipment or the skill necessary to build such a carefully engineered device.

In comparison, my homopolar motor, made of just four parts, was entirely home made.