Hi! I’m Masha and I was surrounded by animals since the moment I was born: cats, dogs, cows, goats, rats, guinea pigs – you name it!
I even had a chance to look after a lovely chameleon one time, can’t say if we became friends but I was very excited to observe such a unique creature!
I’m here to show you how to best care for your awesome pet 🙂
My guinea pigs
A male guinea piggy Chaki was my first pet that I fully owned as an adult (it was 2009 maybe…)! It was in between Sheltie and Peruvian and had beautiful smokey hairs and particular hate for hair combs.
Very loyal, cheerful and a bit jealous. His favorite things was to sit on my lap or hide under my clothes.
At some point I thought he need a friend as cavies are social and got him a girlfriend which was the worst decision 🙁 and not because of her but of the person who sold her to me.
They didn’t mention 2 things: she was pregnant (and she gave birth like 3 days after I bought her but she was smaller than Chaki so I would never guess plus I was a beginner pet owner) and secondly, that she was sick…
She only stayed with us for short time after giving birth and passed.
And unfortunately the virus spreaded on Chaki and he was suffering for a week or 10 days and died in my hands as well. It was my first heartbreak in life. I couldn’t get over it.
The girl was though so sweet and the babies found lovely homes and all were the cutest little balls of happiness.
But the loss of Chaki will forever hurt.
My first cat
I was born and raised in a small village and the moment I was born my parent took in a kitten.
Her name would translate as Little Lynx because she had cute ears with some long tufts (thus the name).
So me and her we grew up together and she stayed by my side since day 1.
My mom would tell me how whenever I cried in my cradle, Lynxy was the first one to hear, she would jump in and lick my head or cheek and I would immediately start to calm down.
Even when I was older, she would always sleep in my bed, in my legs, and I would feel her warmth.
I cannot imagine how terrifying I must’ve been for her when I was a toddle lol! My mom says I would carry her around like my baby, put baby clothes on her, sit her down in my doll stroller…and she would never bite, hiss, protest or anything.
She was the sweetest, most beautiful, multicolor cat, so smart and at the same time unique – I’ve never seen a cat eat bread, watermelon, anything you give her!
The moment I left home for the first time for a trip at the age of 17…she left! She was old, had frequent seizures but didn’t want the family to see her passing.
I will never forget her!
We also kept one of her kittens – a boy, who was just a rascal! Always running around, he could disappear for 3 days and came back all dirty and with a scar on his nose.
I was often at my neighbors house, running around and the lovely granny had goats (I was equally terrified and curious about them), and chickens and another house had 3 cows.
Other households in the village used to have horses, sheep and more cows and they would always stop by our house (it was on the corner) and nibble some grass and I would peak from the window 🙂
I love the fact that I was exposed to so many different experiences in my childhood and I’m sure it made be a more aware and caring person.
My parents used to keep 2 cats and still do.
As it was a village house, we also always had a dog who will guard the compound and stays outdoors.
I’d consider myself a dog person even though I absolutely adore all animals and I had so much fun with our dogs when I was little!
Having pets as a grown-up
As a teen and adult I had 2 smart rats, 2 guinea pigs (one very jealous!), dogs and cats at different times and I was always referring to them as my babies.
I had experience with training a Whippet (god they run!), taking care of street dogs, standard Dachshund, and I’ve interacted with dozens different breeds.
Growing up in a village I saw dark side of people. Owners from the town who got tired of their pets would just stop by our village and dump an old pouch or a pup.
Me and my mom was always feeding them and giving them medication as my mom is a pharmacist with medical background.
My heart was breaking every time a new shows up.
Today my parent still have 2 cats (mom and son), and a funny dog they picked up from one of the dumped ones.
Travelling, I also saw some crazy things but always tried to feed strays and in my last house there is a family of 3 cats – Mama, Cookie and Tiger – who just showed up and refused to leave! So now, I’m taking care of them too 🙂
I’m an artist by day and I decided also to start this blog as my passion project to show my love for animals, learn and share my experience and knowledge, and what worked for me when I had little friends.