Kopjes cat sitters is a family business of the Houwen-da Silva's from Amsterdam. Here's who we are.

Ever since my childhood in Portugal I have been fond of animals. To the sheer delight (cough) of my kinsfolk I brought home injured snakes, tortoises, hedgehogs and what must have been a truckload of dumped kittens.

For years I have been thinking about starting a cat sitting service, but nothing came of it due to my busy teaching job. 

With slight exaggeration you might call me the executive branch of kopjes. I do the preliminary interviews with customers and the actual cat sitting. All by bike, since I adore to ride bicycle. I also adore Amsterdam, my hometown now for more than thirty years.

My favorite imaginary cat is Hobbes, despite the fact that he is 'President-and-First-Tiger' of the G.R.O.S.S. (Get Rid Of Slimy GirlS) club. He enjoys the simple pleasant things in life, such as a big sunny field to be in. Furthermore he is a mathematical whizz-kid, like me (7+3=73). 

My favorite imaginary cat, naturally, is Heinz: a grumpletonian with a heart of gold. He lives in Amsterdam, but is originally from Friesland*.

One of the things I enjoy most in life is playing chess against Fritz (the program, not the cat), while our smart tomcat Capablanca is sitting on my lap. He starts meowing once I threaten to make a mistake, but I have my pride and always ignore his warnings. Hey, no fluffy wise guy is going to tell me how to handle the Ruy Lopez.