Before Findus moved to my neighbours she had lived with an old lady who had not been very kind to Findus. This had affected her trust in people, she was initially very suspicious against people. Neither did she like the company of other animals, she was happiest when she was alone. 

Findus used to come and visit as frequently as she had a chance. As soon as she realized that I was home she came and wanted to visit. She stayed longer and longer. During the years I lived in the Netherlands (1995-1998) she always visited me as soon as I was home, approximately every 6th week. She then stayed until it was time for me to go back home to the Netherlands and then I had to get her out by force.

When I moved back home to Sweden in 1998 she stayed with me all the time I was home. Until late in 2001 I travelled a lot in my work  and before leaving for a trip I always had to get her out by force. Findus owners had another cat that she didn't  like very much, that was part of the reason that she rather spent time with me than in her own home. During the winter 2001/2002, when I started to spend more time in Sweden, she moved in with me for good. Of course her owners were informed. At that same time my neighbours took care of their sons dog, a big German Shepherd Dog, because their son and wife had got their first child. That was the final thing for Findus, she never showed herself at my neighbours place after the dog had moved in. As my neighbours understood that she did not want to live with them they asked me if I could take over the responsibility for Findus. It felt very good to regard her as my cat.

 As Findus initially was almost more wild than tame we at first spent a lot of time to build trust between us. With a lot of patience she slowly learned to control her instinct to bite and scratch as soon as there was something that she didn't like. .

Findus never became a very social cat but she became very close and nice to me. As soon as I had any guests she sneaked outdoors or hid in the very back of the closet. During her last years she could possible take a short walk through the living room just to inspect who was there but she never stayed. As soon as the guests left she was back in the house.

Over time Findus became more and more attached to me. She always slept close to me in the bed and she liked to rest in my arms wile I was working with my PC.

During her whole life Findus was an outdoor cat. She could never accept to use an indoor cat toilet. Even the coldest day she needed a short visit outdoors. She came in again by climbing up our balconies and showing herself outside the window in the room where I happened to be. When she went out she could as well take the way over the roof as climb down the balconies.

She was about 10 years old when I started to bring her to our country house. She managed both the trip and to establish a territory there without any problems. If the days were warm she spent the whole days out in her territory but always returned in the evenings. We had to adjust to her schedule for our trips back home. It was easy to see that she enjoyed these trips, both arriving to our country place but also to get back home and inspect her old territory.

Findus was a good hunter even if she always had plenty of food indoors. She was very generous with her catch and often carried her catch back home and offered it to me. I must admit that I did not always appreciated what she offered in the way she had expected,  especially not if she delivered the catch to my bed. 

Unfortunately her outdoor life one night lead to that I found her badly hurt in one of my neighbours gardens. I drove her as fast as I could to Bagarmossen's animal hospital. They did their best to help her but early the next morning we had to give up and she was put into eternal sleep.

It was a big honour to get to know Findus and live close to her as her friend. She left a big whole in my heart. She will always be remembered.