#maatiaiskissa

[mehilaiselokuva]

On the cat

"Cat" words:

Kissa [ˈk̟is̠ːɑ̝] is borrowed from Swedish "kisse/kissa"

Katti [ˈkɑ̝t̪ːi] is from Swedish "katt"

Kasi [ˈkɑ̝s̠i] is related to a common word for cat in many other languages that are related to Finnish, and in Finland it is dialectal (mostly eastern Finland)

Kisu [ˈk̟is̠u] is a more informal word but does mean a cat.

Kissimirri [ˈk̟is̠ːiˌmirːi] is also informal.

There are a few types of cat words you might run into, like:

Maatiaiskissa [ˈmɑ̝ːt̪iɑ̝i̯s̠ˌk̟is̠ːɑ̝], a landrace cat

Kotikissa [ˈko̞t̪iˌk̟is̠ːɑ̝], a household cat

Rotukissa [ˈro̞t̪uˌk̟is̠ːɑ̝], a purebred cat

Fun Facts!

- Cats are not native to Finland, they were brought in by the vikings as ship cats that catch mice and rats.

- Newer words for "cat" are "kiisu" and "kassi" from Estonian, which have spread through a few very famous meme (one pictured below)(Although kassi comes from Estonian "kass").

- "Kissanristiäiset" (literally: cat christening) is a word used to mean a "pointless social event"

[Explanation to this meme: as Estonian is related to Finnish, words can sound like "drunk Finnish" a lot. The word "kass" sounds a lot like "kassi" (bag) in Finnish. Kiisu just sounds cute to Finnish speakers.]

[ylapihantila-blog]

Harmitus the Cat arrives from evening Milk. 🐱

[kimchijjigaeda]

My cat has thumbs (extra toes) on both of his front paws. His name is Obiwan. 

[andyqwoods]

Home, home again, I like to be here when I am not somewhere else. . #turku #kotiinpaluu #kuninkaanpaluu #returnoftheking #Olmos #Leon #catsofinstagram #norwegianforestcat #mainecoon #hybridcat #tarvikekissa #maatiaiskissa #domesticcat #edwardjamesolmos #brionjames #ncmiata #mx5 #kattoauki #criterioncollection #criterioncollector #alien #xenomorph #predator #yautja #cylontoaster #cylon #shaunofthedead #alienqueen #ishootraw #googlepixel (at Turku, Finland) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9zesvUHiBU/?igshid=vpg1ydm4hktk

[sadevesiampari]

Let me in! #kissa #maatiaiskissa https://www.instagram.com/p/BsZ9HEZnOMYRpKrRhsnDD6F37YaDnYFxykYGcs0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=40el0gqdypi2

[jelliclekit]

So I recently came across a photo which started the process of me thinking about a Finnish Cats AU and I'm at that point where I can share a few things (mainly about locations). This is under a read more and I couldn't fit everything but enjoy!

Starting from the photo that got me into this:

These are Jerrie and Teazer from the Lahti production back in 2007 and what got my attention were the lyrics "me kämpän laitoimme Kauniaisiin" which translates to"we set up a place in Kauniainen". Kauniainen is a wealthy area and a municipality (located inside of another municipality called Espoo) and it's a good equivalent for Victoria Grove.

At this point my brain went "this means that Ämmässuo is the junkyard". And then THAT thought didn't leave me alone so here we are. Ämmässuo used to be an actual landfill (one article refers to it as the largest in Nordic countries) but nowadays it's a recycling centre and some construction companies use the area as well. Here's a map that shows Kauniainen and Ämmässuo (click the photo to make it larger):

Between these two locations are two golf clubs and Kauniainen and Espoo both have train stations as well. I also like the amount of detached houses present between the areas. It means that some cats are most likely allowed to go out by themselves. You don't see cats roaming free in the cities here but as soon as apartment buildings disappear from sight it's a different story.

As you might have guessed I'm going with actual cats here, and for this AU, most of the jellicles are going to be maatiaiskissoja. Maatiaiskissa is not a breed. It's just a common name for a cat population that has developed in a certain area (maatiais = landrace and kissa = cat). Basically these cats have been here for a long time and some of them look like European shorthairs. (The European shorthair is actually Finland's national cat breed and the first accepted individual to the breed (in Finland) was a maatiaiskissa.)

Okay so I kinda like the idea that Jerrie and Teazer are European shorthairs (not sure about the colour yet). I just find it funny that then these two would basically look like everyone else and let's just say that it might be beneficial to be able to pass off as a street cat or a farm cat. I also see Bustopher and Victoria as European shorthairs, possibly Misto and Griz as well. This doesn't mean that they are related. At this point I only know that Jerrie and Teazer are twins but others? No idea. I do like the hc that Munk and Old D are related tho and since I usually see them as Norwegian forest cats I'm tempted to go with that.

Me writing a fic about all of this is highly unlikely (I have never written a fic before) but in this AU the tribe has only just moved to the junkyard. I still have a lot to go through but for now I'm going with the idea that the jellicles needed a new safer environment. They are a pretty large group of cats and hiding from humans is becoming more and more difficult. One cat doesn't raise questions but a full tribe of cats will. And then there's also Macavity and his tribe. Finding the junkyard offers a chance to be invisible (for a while at least) and this is the reason why Demeter for example manages to stay hidden from Macavity. He knows she's with the jellicles at this point but that's it.

In my map above, the distance between these two locations is around 10-15 km (~6-9 miles) whiiiich is a pretty long walk if you are a cat. But the junkyard being on the outskirts could also explain why Old D for example doesn't visit that often anymore. To clarify, I'm not really following a real map here but I like the general layout so that's the one I'm going to use. I'm going to call the junkyard just "the junkyard" here. Really felt like showing you the references though which is why this post got pretty detail heavy :D

But I'll end this here, thank you for reading! I'm gonna make a second post about this AU when I have the time and I'll focus more on my OC Jacobien there :)

[kodittomat]

Masa Nuori ja herkkäluonteinen maatiaiskissa Masa etsii loppuelämänsä kotia, jossa arvostetaan perässä kulkevaa ystävää.

[oodlenoodleroodle]

Anteeksi IltaLehti mutta oli niin kiinnostava juttu.

Briefly in English: the cats that look like that have a rare genetic mutation (called the Finnish Mutation) and gene researchers are looking for cats who look like that (and the parents of cats who look like that even if the parent looks different!) to study the mutation. So if you know any Finnish Mutation cats (unlikely outside of Finland but you never know), get in touch with those researchers.

[helipirinen]

Kotilauma #kissa #kani #koira #jackrussell #italianajokoira #kääpiöluppakorva #maatiaiskissa #lemmikit #eläinkaverit

[laurranotokset-blog]

#japithebestcat 💖 JAPI 💖#ilovemycat #cat #catsofig #instacat #catsoftheworld #catsoftheinstagram #catstagram #catphoto #catsphotography #catslover #mypet #meow #instapet #fluffycat #cats #lovemycat #bestmodel #catlove #catoftheday #cutecats #crazycatlady #bestmeow #weirdcat #laurranotokset #photooftheday #maatiaiskissa #kissa #catloversclub 📷🐱 (paikassa Vuolenkoski, Etelä-Suomen Lääni, Finland) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuOZMFbHis4/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=flnh6bvltkdl

[kodittomat]

Tiuku ja Kaneli Maatiaiskissa Tiuku ja britti-Kaneli etsivät yhteistä loppuelämän kotia

[sadevesiampari]

Joogakissa tuolissaan 🧡🧘‍♀️ #kissa #maatiaiskissa https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDR9YyHsB7qk78FR-8e6CDTwqeJqoAci5cBBM0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1llgp1t3c3c74