Hello

This page is all about Tiikat (me!).

I’m most impawtant of course, but I’ll probably write about some of the others on the ship if I have time.

If you are reading this you are probably about to start (or have already started) reading about my adventures while travelling on The Purrpoise!

I’m sailing far and wide while the ship continues its marine conservation work. Who knows where I will visit or what I will see next, or even when I will return home? Ever since I unexpectedly found myself on the ship (a story for another day!), I have been having the most exciting experiences and I can’t wait to have more!

My head has been whirring and purring with such ferocity, I thought it best to write my thoughts down in an AMAZING travel journal so I don’t forget them.

I expect you might like to learn a bit more about the cat behind this tremendous tail. I would certainly want to learn more about me if I wasn’t me!

Where to start?

Have you ever met a Finnish tiger before? No?
Well now you have! Or as close to one as possible. That’s even where my name comes from (Tiikeri is tiger in Finnish).

Isä (dad)
Äiti (mum)

I am almost certain my father was part tiger. He looks just like one in photographs!

Äiti (mum in Finnish) is not very tiger-like I must admit. She is most ferocious when I haven’t made the bed, but even then it isn’t very much. I don’t mind though. She taught me how to respect and care for every living thing. I try my absolute hardest to, though it can be a bit difficult when they are very annoying.

One of her favourite things to do is gardening, and one of my favourite things is eating all the delicious things she grows. She doesn’t like cooking as much as gardening so she always lets me do as much experimenting in the kitchen as I would like. Sometimes though, I think she treats me too much like a kitten.

Finland is a country right up at the top of Europe, with Sweden on one side and Russia on the other. North of Finland is the Arctic Circle, and if you have ever written to Father Christmas, your letters get sent there.

As I mentioned before, I am Finnish. My home, until very recently, was deep within a forest surrounded by pine and silver birch trees. Finland is about ¾ (or 75%) covered in forest, which is a lot if you think about it! I wonder how many trees there are in total? 37 billion if I had to guess.

My forest home is also on the edge of a lake, which is quite common in Finland as there are almost 190,000 lakes in the country!

I love relaxing in my rowboat on the lake, sometimes having a brief cat nap or doing a spot of fishing. Occasionally when I fall asleep my tail falls into the water and a pike or perch nibbles at the end, which is most unpleasant. This certainly wakes me up very quickly!
I love relaxing in my rowboat on the lake, sometimes having a brief cat nap or doing a spot of fishing. Occasionally when I fall asleep my tail falls into the water and a pike or perch nibbles at the end, which is most unpleasant. This certainly wakes me up very quickly!
The water in the lake is lovely and clean, but can look a bit brown because of all the minerals in it. People seem to love swimming in it, but I would rather stay dry in my boat!
The water in the lake is lovely and clean, but can look a bit brown because of all the minerals in it. People seem to love swimming in it, but I would rather stay dry in my boat!
The pontoon on the lake is perfect for playing games, like my version of ‘noughts and crosses’.
The pontoon on the lake is perfect for playing games, like my version of ‘noughts and crosses’.
Nagano won this game unfortunately.
Nagano won this game unfortunately.
But I won this one!
But I won this one!

Normally Nagano, my best forest-living friend, would join me. We love climbing and jumping through the trees together. This super squirrel has some crazy ninja skills too and always landed perfectly on the ground. Even though as a cat I always land on my feet, I am not always so graceful when my long tail gets in the way.

My tail also stops me from being as stealthy as Nagano (another reason I call him a ninja), but I am able to use it to swing from trees which he can’t with his fluffy one. He is better at holding on to trees with his paws though.

Nagano is really fun to draw, because he is almost always in interesting positions. I don’t know if I am any good at drawing, but it is a fun hobby even if it doesn’t always come out like it is supposed to. If I take time over a picture I am almost always happy with it.

He calls this landing stance ‘The Superhero’.

Another hobby of mine is collecting treasures. I don’t have anything specific that I collect, I just add things to my collection that take my fancy. My journal is also a collection: a collection of thoughts and memories so I never forget my wonderful adventures.

Most of these pieces came from the beautiful forests of my home, but I look forward to expanding my collections as I travel the world!

These are just some of my hobbies. I like trying all sorts of activities and building and creating things. I plan to share some of my favourites on here.

My favourite foods

Eating tasty food is also one of the things I love to do most in the world.

  • Cheese
  • Blueberries
  • Fish in butter sauce
  • Karelian pies (filled with rice porridge, yum!)
  • Peas (ones eaten fresh from the pod are my absolute favourites, even though these are only available in some countries during the right season. I am not fussy about my peas though!)

(order subject to change depending on my mood)

photo_20-01[1]
I absolutely adore picnics!!!
I absolutely adore picnics!!!
Rice porridge with blueberry soup
Rice porridge with blueberry soup

3 special things about me

My extra long tail – great for doing all sorts of things, but can also get me in trouble

My super powerful left eye – allows me to see far into the distance when I close or cover my right eye

My excellent purrsonality – meows for itself

Things I love

  • Treasures
  • Cheese
  • Jokes
  • Making up words
  • Foods of all kinds
  • My extra long tail (sometimes)
  • Cheese
  • Trees
  • Belly rubs (if from Sisu)
  • Dressing up
  • Blueberries
  • Neckerchiefs (useful for many things, as well as making me look good of course)
  • Cheese
  • Drawing
  • Writing my adventure journal and other stories
  • Cooking
  • Picnics
  • Did I say CHEESE?

Things I don't love (at all!!!)

  • Getting wet
  • Being shouted at
  • My long tail (sometimes)
  • Taking medicine
  • Chocolate (because it makes me sick)
  • Angry or unkind people
  • People who pull my tail
  • Belly rubs (if not from Sisu)
  • Rude Ferrets

Things I want to do

  • Travel the world (I’m so excited that I have finally been able to start)
  • Perfect my cooking skills
  • Learn to paint properly (and lots of other things, but the list would be as long as my tail so I will start with one. There are also lots I haven’t yet worked out.)
  • Get a world record in something (cat naps? Eating cheese? Are there records for these I wonder?)
  • Catch the red dot
  • Meet one (or more) of my heroes
  • Try all the cheese (my mouth is watering just thinking about it)
  • Invent some cool things
  • Make people laugh
  • Meet a real, 100% tiger
  • Help others achieve their dreams too

 

I will keep adding to this list as I think of them

Activities

If you’d like to learn more about me, here are some activities which might help…

  • All
  • Activities
  • Art
  • Cooking
  • Facts
  • Investigations

Now that it looks like I will be adventuring on The Purrpoise for quite some time I think it is best to tell you a bit about a few of the people on board with me…

Click on this paw to find out more...