DOGS ACCOMPANYING THEIR OWNERS ARE A COMMON SIGHT AT GEMLIFE, BUT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, CATS ARE ALSO LIVING THE BEST OF THEIR NINE LIVES.
We speak to two homeowners who let the cat out of the bag when it comes to how much their feline friends are enjoying GemLife resorts.
Siggi and Heinz Breustedt with Pepsi and Cola
GemLife Bribie Island
SIGGI AND HEINZ BREUSTEDT OF GEMLIFE BRIBIE ISLAND ARE SELF-CONFESSED ‘CRAZY CAT PEOPLE’.
“For more than 50 years we’ve never been without cats – always two of them, because we don’t want them to get lonely,” said Siggi.
The feline love affair started when the Breustedt family were in the throes of building their own home and visited a local nursery.
“We were actually living in a garage at the time – me, my husband and our eight-year-old son,” she said. “At the nursery, we spotted a kitten in the cage. My son fell in love with him and asked if we could take him home.
“We told him ‘no’, we didn’t have enough money, but my son asked anyway and learned that the cat was being given away for free.
“So, he came home with us to live in a garage along with a friend’s dog we were looking after – and a rooster.”
Cat pedigree means nothing to Siggi. She and Heinz have always rehomed rescue cats and they just love the different personalities of each one.
“We had Misty, a British short hair, and Doug, a Scottish fold, for 15 years – and Scottish folds as a breed are only supposed to live for 12 years,” she said.
“Now we have Pepsi, a part-Ragdoll, and Cola, a black short hair and they are our babies. They even sleep on the bed with us. We’ve had them since 2014.”
Siggi and Heinz are so dedicated to the welfare of their charges that they will go on separate holidays to ensure their beloved felines are never alone.
“Some people might think that is strange,” admitted Siggi. “But there’s nothing wrong with our marriage – we’ve been married for 60 years!
“We love living at GemLife Bribie Island because the homes have gates and fences which means that we feel comfortable letting our cats go outside.
“When we had a larger home on the island, I would never let them outside, but here they can be out in the fresh air and be safe and secure.”