Growing up with cats

Taking care of animals

Elize is mother to Lente, who is now six years old. ‘Lente is the reason we decided to get another cat. I think it is very important to show her how to take care of animals, so we started looking for a furry friend,’ Elize explains. ‘We saw an ad online of a cat, which was being sold by a breeder abroad. Once we got him, I noticed how bad he looked. When he stepped out of the basket, all I could think was, ‘I'm so glad you're here, I'm going to take care of you, little boy’.’ Since joining their family, he has been doing much better.

He immediately responded to Jochem, so that's how we decided They didn't know what to name him at first, all they knew was that they didn't want to go for a standard name. ‘We came up with a few names, which we all started calling. He immediately responded to Jochem, so that's how we came up with his name,’ she explains.

Since they got Jochem, Elize has had an extra pair of helping hands.... Or paws? ‘Jochem is my best friend, he follows me everywhere I go. Even if I'm washing dishes, doing laundry, cooking, ... You name it, he's there,’ Elize says. ‘He is always near me. ‘calling him

Love on first scent

A few months later, the family decided to add another boy. ‘The litter was found on the street in Bulgaria and we planned to go for a cream-coloured male. Once we met him, he didn't take any notice of us. His brother, on the other hand, was very interested. It's like he singled us out!’, says Elize. ‘He walked up to my daughter, started sniffing her and then decided to lay on her hoodie. We ended up choosing him instead of his brother, who we originally wanted to take home.

Bringing him in was not exactly the easiest job, as Jochem was not at all amused by his arrival. ‘He was like ‘what's going on!’, but fortunately they got used to each other pretty quickly,’ she says. ‘However, we had no idea what to call him. Then our daughter Lente came up with the idea of naming him Jonas. It took a while for her to give him the right name, because for a year she only called him ‘Dikkie Dik’,’ she says, laughing. He does want a lot of attention, Elize explains. ‘He is neutered like Jonas, but he is so dominant. It's like we have to do what he wants, when he wants,’ she says. They even took him to the vet twice to make sure the castration went well!

Although she loves the two, Elize would not choose two cats again. ‘If I were to go for two cats again, I would want them to come from the same litter,’ she says.