By Daniela Caride Publisher
At least every couple of years, I travel to my native Brazil to visit family and friends. On my last trip, I was eager to meet Gërtrude, the stray tuxedo kitten my good friend Eduardo and his wife, Bruna, had recently adopted. The cat showed up at their vacation house in the mountains looking for a family.
Gërtrude and me, playing on the floor the day we met. (Photo courtesy of Eduardo)
I arrived bearing supplies for my feline niece — a pink collar with an engraved tag, a wired bag for her to hide inside, cleaning products and a myriad of cat toys.
I bought everything I could think of to please Gërtrude and enhance Eduardo’s and Bruna’s experience as first-time cat owners.
While in America pet superstores offer an incredible variety of cat products for every need and taste, in Brazil you’re lucky to find anything in the first pet shop you visit.
“Ger” (her nickname now) greeted me at the door. I tried to shower her with love, but she was more interested in the toys.
So I spent most of the day on the floor with her, enticing her with a snake-like toy while she stalked it, jumped on it and rolled over it, determined to get it from me at any cost.
We had a wonderful time.
After I returned to America, my regular calls with Eduardo became even more interesting. Now, in addition to our other shared passions — journalism, technology and rock climbing — we talk about pets. And thanks to video chats, I get to see Ger basking in the sun on Bruna’s home office table, bird watching by the window or jumping audaciously from bookcase to wardrobe.
Sabrina, my new niece. (Photo courtesy of Gatil Bourg-en-Bresse/Brazil)
Last week, Eduardo called to tell me all about his two-week trip to Buenos Aires with Bruna. Ger meowed for hours when they returned home, as if she were screaming, “Why the hell did you leave me here alone for so long?!” The cat seemed, fairly enough, outraged by their escapade.
We had a long conversation about how cats act independent but become so upset when we leave them. I mentioned my early days with my first cat, Gaijin, and how she meowed so much while I was at work, the neighbors complained. Then I adopted my second cat, Phoenix, and the problem was solved.
A few days ago, Eduardo sent me an e-mail with pictures of Birman kittens — little white babies with dark paws and faces. Eduardo and Bruna decided to get a second cat, Sabrina, who will be spayed, vaccinated and ready to go home by the end of the month.
I land in Brazil in mid April.
Even though I’m a month away from my trip, I already have a bag full of presents for my family — especially my human nephew and niece, who are 4 and 8 years old, and my canine brother and sister, who are both 11.
After learning I’ll be a cat aunt again, I dusted off another suitcase. I’ll need more room for all the baby things I’ll be bringing for my dear Sabrina.
Dear Dani,
Gertrude and now Sabrina are very luck to have such a caring and charming aunt. Pet stores in Rio de Janeiro are now popping in every corner, but your visit has no match. It's the real gift.
We chose Sabrina because we really wanted to give Gertrude a sister. But we also were enchanted by her breeder's, Ana and Antonio. Both are Ph.D.s in biology and work in Rio's main research facility. They fell in love with Sacred Birman cats during graduate work in France, where the breed is highly praised. So now, they live among cats and mostly as a hobby still find time to be very careful breeders. Check some of the cutest cat pictures at their site Gatil Bourg-en-Bresse (http://www.bourgenbresse.com.br/).
Dani, very cool to have our cats' photos in the Daily Tail!
I loved the breeder's web site, EJ (BTW, I linked to them on Sabrina's picture). But nothing they do can be better than raising my Sabrina while she can't go home.
:-)
Hi Dani, Gertrude was spayed today. Not as a kitten, but as a teenager. Poor Gertrude. She is still recovering from the surgery anaesthesia and doesn't seem to know she is already home. Hope she recovers fast. Many changes in her life. Tomorrow the apartment windows will be secured by nets and in two weeks the family will grow larger. She will have to deal with advantages and nags of having a sibling :- ), especially a baby one, full of energy. BTW, I didn't notice the picture link. I will send Ana and Antonio the post.
Hey Dani,
It´s so nice to hear about our babies here. You´re a great stories teller!
Thanks for all,
bruna
Hey, Bruna! It's so good to see you here! I'm very excited about meeting my new niece!!
:-D
Dani, Gertie and Sabrina are reaaaly beutiful……
Since you left Brazil to live in the USA , things have changed a lot, concerning pet shops…. We have lots of pet shops and even pet supermarkets these mainly in the State of São Paulo). Many pet shops are super sophisticated and you cand find gifts for all kind of animals… I have read a study that the pet shop commerce is the one who has grown more in Brazil in the last two years….. Pet realated occupations have also grown exponentially here…
My fishes, for example, only eat german food. Their filters are also german or italian, Their aquariaum is japanese , the lamp is korean, the heaters are italianand the UV filter is from taiwan. And the CHemicals are mostly from germany ou USA. I buy them from a fish-pet-shop in Curitiba, Parana, But there are hundreds of fish stores , most of them in the states that had japanese colonzation.
Hi Marcia!
Yes, I believe things might have gotten better in Brazil in terms of pet products since the last time I visited. Some people say that the pet industry is crisis-proof. But it's still very different than here.
I say that because my family is constantly trying to find products I buy or that they see on The Daily Tail, and they rarely find them. When they do, they cost at least double the price. Regarding fish, for instance, my sister is trying to find a bunch of products, such as nitrite and nitrate tests (specific ones, not 5 in 1), and she can't find them. And the 5 in 1 tests are double the price in Brazil compared to here.
Regarding cats, my mom has been visiting all the pet shops near her home to find a cat carrier, and she could only find products way below the quality she was interested in, among the very few they had available. Maybe buying over the Internet in Brazil can make things easier. You said you bought products from Curitiba. If I buy on the Internet here, I buy cheaper stuff. But I can always go to a local store for a last-minute thing and find whatever I want.
Dani I caneasily list more than 30 shops where you can find teste for water quality thata are not 5 in 1!!!! It is true that IN RIO it is difficult to find a good fish shop , but in the state of São Paulo and in nay other states you can find hundreds of shops that sell products for fish….
For isntance the link here shows that you can find many kind of 1 in 1 teste for water quality
http://www.aquabetta.com.br/index.php?pag=list_pr...
Concerning cat carriers your mother did not talk with me!!!! remember that I participate to Cora´s Blog where 90 % of the readers are cat lovers and owners and most of them have very nice cat carriers,,,,,, One of us owns a bery good pet shop in Jardim Botanico,,,,,
Yeah, I heard that in São Paulo there are much more options. But, still, here I could buy whatever I need/want in a walking distance from my home.
Dani, your cat nieces are gorgeous! They are lucky to have such a devoted aunt!
My sister, that lives in England, always brings toys and treats when she comes to visit!
Thanks, Marise! I'm very proud of them.
:-D
I really enjoyed the article. They definitely need a mate for the cat. I love cat stories, thank you for sharing it.
Thanks for taking to time to leave a comment, CEWebster!