Rupert, Rein and Stogholo (1)

However much I wanted a lie-in this morning, I had something more important to do. So at 9am, as soon as it opened, I was at the pet shop, to buy a litter tray and some cat baskets...

At 9.30, Ruben arrived, to take me to the animal sanctuary in Rijswijk, whose website I've been perusing in search for a cat or, preferably, two. After some difficulty, and help from a passing dog walker, we managed to find the sanctuary which is in the middle of a park, and not particularly obvious.

They have two rooms of cats, with both cats in cages and also running loose around the room. As soon as I walked in, I realized that trying to make any choice based on preferences I had from the website photos was useless.

Rupert leapt out at me (not literally!) as soon as I walked up to his cage. A sleek brown tabby, he came right up to the front of the cage and rubbed against my fingers. Bringing him out of the cage, he was comfortable being held and purred happily. It didn't take me long to decide that Rupert would be coming home with me. Finding a companion for him was a challenge though. Both a friendly black and white cat, and a ginger tom had to be ruled out as neither were happy with other cats.


In the second room, some younger cats caught my eye. I fell for a beautiful grey tabby, but it was quickly clear that he was going to be taken by someone else. In the cage next to him were two black and white cats... Rein and Stogholo. Rein is white and black, and was very friendly and playful, trying to catch my hand through the bars of the cage. Stogholo was more aloof, keeping to the back of the cage, watching. The more I watched, the more I felt they belonged with me.... but I hadn't planned on taking 3 cats home with me! After some consultation, we decided that the two kittens would fit together in one basket, leaving the other for Rupert.