On this page (and under the category of the same name) I would like to share with you my love of animals and conservation.
I am a great lover of nature. I am a firm believer that beauty is found in the great outdoors and seen in the creatures living on this earth. Animals have such a way about them that it is hard to hate or resent them. They are often gentle souls who just wish to live out their lives in what humans might phrase as peace and joy.
Through the coming series, I shall be sharing my favorite animal stories, tips for animal care and conservation ideals. In these posts, I hope to inspire the animal lover in you and share some of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring animal moments I have been fortunate enough to experience.
But first, let me introduce you to my furry family…
Nimaway
This page is named after my beloved bunny – Nimaway. And before you ask she is named after the wife of Merlin in the Arthurian myth. She is a lovely honey-gold flop-eared rabbit with a tendency towards sunbathing and bee gazing, though she does also have a certain tenacity to her despit
e her outward Zen.
She lives in a two-story hutch in the back garden. However, when we first got her she was a house bunny. Having been misinformed about her dwarfen nature, unfortunately, lead to her relocation; however, it all turned out for the best as she is much more suited to outdoor living and seems to prefer it.
Fun facts
Nickname(s): Nim, Nimmy, and Nimmy-Noo
Theme song: In The Jungle replacing ‘A-weema-weh ‘ with ‘A Nimaway’
Favourite Toy: Toilet roll tubes
Funniest Moment: Her funniest moment is probably her most evil too. Back when she was living in my study I would often let her out whilst I was working. One day she kept using a bell toy which was very grating so I took it away for a while so I could work. But Nimmy got her revenge. I had left my Collins dictionary open on a chair, so she peed on it.
Bast
Nimaway is not our only pet. We also have two kittens. The first is Bast. He is coming up to 15 months old at the time of writing. He is a beautiful dark, dark brown (looks black) Siamese-Burmess cross with streaks of blue-gray in his tail. He has a lovely temperament, is very vocal and also very mischievous.
We got him at 8 weeks old as his breeder needed to find a suitable home ASAP due to his mother having given up her litter. Fortunately, the owner has another cat who had given birth within the same 24 hours as Bast’s mum and so could suckle the abandoned kittens, but a litter of 15 was proving a bit too much.
Bast likes to sit on windowsills, shoulders and curl up on the top of the kitchen cupboards. He also has a habit of cuddling up on top of my work on my desk as he likes to be near his mummy and not have her work too hard.
You might automatically think we named him after the Egyptian cat goddess given my obsession with Egyptology, however, he is actually named after a character from Patrick Rothfuss’s novel series, The King Killer Chronicles, which are some of my husband and my favorite books.
Fun facts
Nickname(s): Basticilles, Bastie Cat, and Baby
Theme song: Flash! by Queen, changed to Bast!
Favourite Toy: Crisp packets folded up into triangles.
Funniest Moment: He has too many funny moments but definitely in the top five was when I once made a bacon sandwich. I had just sat down to take a bite when the bread deflated and off runs this kitten smearing brown sauce over the carpet and tripping over a crispy rasher that was twice his size!
Auri
Auri is our second kitty. She had her first birthday in June and is the sweetest little button! She is a gorgeous ginger spotted and striped tabby. She has lovely gray-green eyes, black and white whiskers and purrs so very loudly.
When she is in a playful mood she likes to attack your fingers and toes and will gently suck on them which lead to her nickname. She is also very fond of craft pom-poms.
She was the last of her litter to find a home as she was the runt. However, even if we had had a choice we would have still picked her as she was just lovely and like our others pets, it was an instant love connection.
She and Bast both sleep on our bed at night, preferring to be with us in whatever room we are currently in at any given moment of the day. Auri is also named after a Rothfuss character and is fond of suckling on pillows.
Fun facts
Nickname(s): Auri Pop, Purrincess, and Digit
Theme song: Lollipop Lollipop, replacing ‘lollipop’ with ‘Auri-Pop’.
Favorite Toy: Fingers
Funniest Moment: When my husband cleared her playpen up after the first few days of having her, he took the litter tray out of the living room as “I don’t want her learning to pee here”. However, he forgot to vacuum up some of the fallen litter. Auri then decided to scoop this up into a little pile and pee on it. I was too busy laughing to stop her! After all, she had the right idea
Luna
Luna is the latest addition to the family. At almost 12 years old she is the oldest of our animals. I recently adopted her after her previous owner was taken ill and could no longer care for her. Her original home had 8 cats and 7 dogs, and due to her age and health, the sanctuary thought they would struggle to find her a home. Being an indoor cat with the need for constant companionship she really needed the right fit, which we were happy to give her.
She is a beautiful white and brown Ragdoll-Cross (we think Siemess) who loves her food, sitting on your lap and meowing at 3 o’clock in the morning. Despite her age, she is very playful and really enjoys some one-on-one time with her humans.
Although she and the other kittens did not get along all to well at first they have all grown closer and can often be found in the same room sleeping. When she is not with the other two Luna enjoys peaceful names under our dining room table, on the sofa or the bed or anywhere else that she can take a nap.
She is also a bad influence on the younger two with a Cheech and Chong attitude towards catnip.
Fun facts
Nickname(s): Loony, Loony-Loo, and Yeti
Theme song: She’s so lovely changed to ‘I’m so hungry…’
Favorite Toy: Beanbag toy filled with catnip
Funniest Moment: Another theft of food. I was eating dinner and cutting up a sausage when Luna took the opportunity to lung and grabbed said sausage from my plate, leaving me with a single piece on the end of my fork. I couldn’t get too mad at her though. She obviously had to fight for her food at her old home and so was used to scavaging. She is still learning that two square meals a day are a given in our house.
Love Cats? Auri, Bast, and Luna have their own Facebook Page and community group, The Pesky Cat Appreciation Group. Why not give it a lick…um…like!
a gentlewoman and a scholar 
I thought Nimaway might have been named after Merlin’s wife. She’s a cutie, as all are all of your pets. It’s a pleasure to meet them. I have black four year old rescue kitty named Raven. She’s curled up beside me right now even as I’m typing this, LOL!
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