Honza Matula

Our story or how we moved 2 baby cats into our home.

Before this crazy idea was born, I would like to say, and maybe for our whole family, that we have a positive relationship with animals. And given that we have a little house in the country, a little farm is part of that little house. So we got chickens. Sooner or later, a cat will wander into the house. We’ve had a lot of cats in the time we’ve lived here. Even one of the cats in our house has given birth to young kittens. But that was before we got boys. Up until then, I had no idea why it was a good idea to neuter cats to prevent uncontrolled breeding and the spread of various genetic diseases. Unfortunately, to our misfortune, we live on the side of the road. Quite a busy road. Well, on the front lines. And so it has come to pass that most of our cats and kittens have been hit by reckless drivers. I’ve always been the one to turn around. Because to me, it’s a living creature and it has a right to live. Just like us humans. Well, we had a driver run over Camille once. He was a rusty cat. Kind of like our current Phillip. It was horrible because I saw him early in the morning and around 8am I was driving into town and he was lying by the side of the road. Unfortunately, he was already dead. There was a long break after that. Until my mom came in and said she was going to get this big cat. What’s his name? Yeah, the Maine Coon Cat. I just had to make sure my mom was serious. And yes, she was serious. And so the search for the Maine Coon began. The first thing that came to my mind was the Bazoš.cz server, where we also found the cat. When my mom saw him, she fell in love with him. And so began the choice of a name. I don’t even know how many names we came up with, but I know the last one we agreed on. MERLIN! Yes, it’s Merlin.

So I wrote to the breeder to see if our Merlin was still available. The breeder was glad to hear from us. And so she wouldn’t think we were joking, we agreed to pay her a reservation fee. And that was it! I mean, it was almost there.

My first immediate thought….unfortunately I’m a gossip, was to look up a group that deals with Maine Coon cats. So I joined a Maine Coon group without a PP.

I uploaded a picture of our Merlin there, of course. Of course I didn’t know what all the fuss about our cat would be. That day there were really too many reactions for me. What’s more. I even read here something about the fact that the photos of our Merlin are quite famous in the group. And if only him, but also the breeder is supposedly a well-known company. Well, to tell the truth, I wasn’t too happy about that! You get excited about a new addition to the family and the group tells me not to buy him. I said fine. It won’t be as hot as it seems. Of course, I miscalculated!

The night after I posted, a lady texted me asking if I could give her my phone number, saying she needed to talk to me. So I gave it to her!

The lady told me to really reconsider my decision, that she herself had had unpleasant experiences with this breeder and that she had a cat from this lady. She has been putting her together for a long time and even now she has some issues. So I thanked the lady and slowly started to think about how I would tell my mom that taking Merlin was probably not the best idea.

I finally came home and told my mom that getting Merlin probably wouldn’t be the best idea and that we should think about it. Yes she wanted Merlin and when I told her that it wasn’t a good idea she was against it for a while. But I explained to her everything a good breeder should provide and also told her about the phone call I had. So we wrote to the lady and told her not to be angry, but that we would not be taking Merlin after all. So I started looking again.

Well, I got a call from a woman named Anna Kord. By herself. I didn’t know at the time how nice she was and what contacts this little person had. And she directed us to our, as I call her….Cat Mom.

I remember the first day we came to Jolana. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life until then. I just stared like a puck. So many cats and kittens. And they were all cuddly and let me pet them. I was on a high.

And so Jolanka showed us her cattery. And in it, our Phillip and another surprise. I remember the first day. Phil was lying in the basket and sleeping. I just wanted to take a picture of him. But alas. Some little ear (Freddy) got in the shot. At the time, I had no idea that we would take both of them away a little later. And so we started to look forward to our Phillip. In the meantime, we were at home getting ready for the arrival of our new member.

The wait was very long indeed. Jolanka created a group for us, where she sent us pictures of our future kittens. We were in the group with other members. Maruska and Lenicka. So together we were looking forward to the day when we would go to get Phillip, Fox and Forest. We were all looking forward

D-day came. I remember it like it was today when we went to get him. I was home all day. But we didn’t go to get Phillip until the evening. I remember we didn’t get home until a little after 10 pm and I went to work in the morning. Anyway, we arrived at Jolanka’s place and things started to come up. Jolanka showed us how to take care of Filípka, how to trim his claws, etc. Well, when we were about to go home, Jolanka asked me if it would be okay if she could lend us Freddy as well, so that Phillip could get more comfortable with our household. Freddie she lent us for 2 weeks I think? And she shouldn’t have done that. She took a picture of Phillip before we left.

We arrived home and let our new member out. Filípek was the first to start exploring the terrain. Then Freddy came out of the borrowed basket. The boys started exploring the terrain. To make it easier for Filípek and to relieve him of some stress, his mom gave him a one-day old chicken. The time we had Freddy on loan went by really fast. But now it was time to give him back. In the meantime, we’d gotten used to Freddy and whatnot. I even asked at work if anyone wanted a cat. Unfortunately, no one was interested. So I said to myself…mate I hate to say it, it’s up to you. So when we went to Jolanka’s to return Freddy…I told her I’d take him. I don’t even know how it happened, but everything was going my way. Jolanka didn’t have a picture of Freddy, so she couldn’t even put him up on the website. And the next question was… Why did she lend him to me in the first place? Well, I don’t really believe in fate, but I took it as a challenge and said to myself…. this is your chance, kid. So Freddy and I went back to my brother’s house.

The boys have been together ever since. You could say…. inseparable twosome and they do such silly things together that it’s really unbelievable the sounds and bangs you can hear sometimes. In that time, I too have become so attached to my baby (Freddy) that I can’t even imagine what I would do without him.

One thing I’m sure of. If it weren’t for Annika Kordova, my life would probably be very boring indeed. I thank her so much for giving me Jolanka’s contact information that day. And it’s only thanks to Annika and Jolanka that I can write this story now. And ever!!!

It seems to me that everyone around Jolanka are incredibly happy and cheerful people.

Honza Matula