Our Cats

The cats Liselle and Charonna saw it all happen before their eyes… Linda’s illness took a heavy toll on them as well. Yet they were there and for that reason alone they supported us tremendously. Without them the Akaija would not be. So on this page we would like to honour and thank them for their unconditional love.

Liselle Soraya des Quartres Montagnes
Liselle is so-called Holy Birman, a cat race bred to be guardians of Birmese temples. I don’t doubt that they are well trained for this task, because I have seen her fight a few times, and I really wouldn’t want to be that thief meeting such a cat acting on protective instincts.
But… they are incredible friendly and well-behaving cats… with a royal attitude. In other words: cats may be called obstinate… but Holy Birmans take that word to a whole different level. If something is not to their liking, they may hold that against you for days.
But I like that: cats with character!

By the way…  Liselle plays an important role in Wim’s book The Lady of the Rings (Opting for Freedom of Choice), about the coming into existence of the Akaija. In this book she’s called ‘Pusj Maika’ by Igor, a man from Uzbekiya who was practising with Maika in his arms, singing songs for the baby, because he soon would seen be a father.

Charonna Nefertete van Dijk

Charonna came into our lives one year later than Liselle. She had a difficult start as she was way too young removed from her mother, so she nearly died.
But she made it and grew up to be a beautiful black cat with, at later age, white whiskers.
She never liked white coats and for that reason we suspected that she might have been used for animal experiments in her last incarnation, if that is be possible for cats.
Charonne too plays a role in Wim’s book, and Igor has even made and sung her a song in his language: the Uzbec of about 500 years ago. Hard to believe, I know, but this is what happened.