Visiting Wii

Ref: http://www.myanimalcare.org/2011/03/wiis-double-adoption-story.html

Long story cut short, Wii's adoption did not quite work out, so Roselin has taken Wii back to her house. 

I went to visit Wii today, with 8 cans of Fussie Cat in tow.  Roselin says Wii is having problems adjusting back to eating kibbles as his adopter had only given him canned food. 

As I was driving to Roselin's, I did wonder if Wii would remember me....it's been 8 months.  I know dogs will remember for life, but do cats remember too?  I really didn't know because my experience with cats has only been for 5 years. 

As I stepped into the kitchen where Wii was, he saw me and started mewing!  Then, I went near and Wii came towards me and let me cuddle him.  He even touched noses with me!

YES, Wii remembers me....!!

Roselin says Wii had not mewed ever since returning to her house.  Cats mew when they want to communicate. 

Yes, Wii...I hear you.  I may not understand exactly what you want to say, but I hear you, and you are safe in Aunty Roselin's house. 

Wii jumping down to nuzzle at my leg.

Wii letting me rub his belly.

Wii has put on weight too.  Apparently, he is pampered to the core at this adopter's house and he is the only cat (which is exactly what Wii wants, based on his personality).  Wii gets to sleep on the bed and gets showers every week, an even wears cat clothes.  But, the adopter goes overseas for long periods of time and there is no permanent babysitter for Wii.  So Roselin thought it's better Wii comes back to her.

Hey, Wii....!!  It felt so nice holding Wii after so long. 

Wii had been with me for 3 years before I had to rehome him because Wii loved the back alley, but my back neighbour could not stand his mewing and he would throw things at him and shout obscenities at Wii every day.  I was so afraid he would harm Wii one day. 

Roselin says one of her cat-loving friends is very interested in adopting Wii.  Wii will be the only pet (Wii can't seem to get along with other cats, it's his personality).  I trust Roselin will do the best for Wii.  Worse come to worst, Roselin doesn't mind letting Wii stay on in her house though she currently has 14 cats.

I wish I could bring Wii home as well, but Wii is terrified of Cow and Bunny and would exile himself to be back alley again, and my back neighbour.....sigh.

Sometimes it's so hard when we live in a linked house with insufficient space.  That is why I dare not adopt anymore.

The custodians of the AnimalCare tshirts

Our new stock of 400 tshirts arrived a few days ago.  Despite the new arrivals, we are completely out of Sports 36 and almost all out of Child 32, but we have the other sizes, hopefully enough for the Wesak celebrations.

The chief custodian of the AnimalCare tshirts at work.

Can I help too, asks Indy.

Currently, we have enough manpower, says Bobby. 

We'll call you if we need your help.

Eh...Bunny, you are sleeping on the job!

WHO says I'm sleeping???

I created this sentry post for Tiger and he loves it!

Now, HE is sleeping on the job?

Some of our pre-orders.  We even have Afiq, coming all the way from Johor today, to collect his tshirts.

We are extremely grateful to all of you for supporting us in our tshirt sales.  It has now become our main source of funds.  Any festive occasion coming up?  Mother's Day?  Wesak?  Birthdays?  Would you like to purchase our tshirts as gifts for your loved ones?  Support and spread the message of kindness to animals, it'll be a lovely and most appropriate way to celebrate any happy occasion.   

Thank you for the support!

                                       Thank you!


P.S.  The black tshirts are coming end of next week!!!

Goodnight, Sleep Tight...

Cow

Bunny Bun Buns. 

Poor little Bunny got attacked by Cow the other day.  See the scratch on his little pink nose?  Bunny's real big, but as gentle as a lamb.  He's even afraid of Cleo (the fusspot princess). 

Cleo

Bobby on his favourite chair.

Eh...why are you still up?  That's Indy grabbing a midnight snack.

The good thing about having so many cats at home is that one will never be lonely.  Tiger's settled so comfortably at the back.

And if you're 48, you might remember this classic from Danny Kaye's "Five Pennies", one of my very favourite lullabies...ever!

Music hath charm to soothe....

Goodnight, time to call it a day

Sleep tight, dream your troubles away

Goodnight, in spite of any sorrow

There's a brand new day on its way tomorrow

Someday, all your dreams will come true

Someway, for me and you

So close your eyes and dream of it my darling

Till then goodnight, goodnight, sleep tight

Goodnight, everyone!

See you tomorrow.

5am - Breakfast at Tiffany's

Ahh..they don't make movies like they used to anymore these days.  People my age might remember the highly entertaining "Breakfast at Tiffany's", starring the legendary English Rose (and my favourite actress!), Audrey Hepburn, where she portrayed the delightful but slightly neurotic Holly Golightly. 

Talking about neurotic people, I hear there are lots of them these days.  My friends, Jeen and Theresa, were telling me about such cases on our trip to Raub the other day, but never mind...I don't think you'd want to hear about those!

I think it must be our highly stressed-out lifestyle that causes people to be very unhappy these days and they take it out on others, especially if they can do so under a cloak of anonymity. 

Well, never mind about them.  What they do is their problem.  Not ours. 

This morning, Cleo's internal alarm clock went awry and she started waking me up at 4am.  Gosh, it's only 4am, Cleo, but she would not take "no" for an answer, so there she went bleating till no end until I got up.  (Cleo doesn't mew, she really bleats like a little goat.)

Coindentally, my husband had an early flight and had to leave the house early anyway.  I think Cleo knew this. 

She has this uncanny knack of knowing such things.  Call it feline sixth sense or whatever, but she knows.

So, I too had to get up, and it's downstairs for....Breakfast at Tiffany's!

Bunny and Tiger eat first.

Indy

Cow has to guide Bobby to his food and be the connoisseur (or opportunist!)

By the way, for cat-owners who use the small canned Fussie Cat, they have the big can now.  But I was told it's of a different standard compared to the small can (which is very pricey!).  A few of my cats like this as a treat. 

Cleo, the ever-so-prim-and-proper-and-fussy little Calico. 

For breakfast, she has to take either raw chicken breast-meat (with the skin) or Fussie Cat.  Nothing else.  What a fussie-little fusspot!

Bobby now eats, after Cow has certified the food is safe for canine consumption.

A satisfied customer leaves the kitchen.

Finger-lickin' good? 

Another satisfied customer...

After ensuring Bobby is already eating, Cow eats his own food.

This is the Standard Operating Procedure for every meal. 

If the connoisseur does not test the food first, the dog doesn't eat!

I'm not done yet, I'm still hungry.

(That's why Tiger is so fat!)

A satisfied customer (Bunny) returns for a second round.

He doesn't mind left-overs, he's a real easy-going guy. 

(Not neurotic!)

I'm done.

Don't let those eyes deceive you, please.  Tiger's the most gentle cat I've seen all my life.  When attacked by Cow and Bunny, he'd stay in a corner and close his eyes ("if I cannot see you, maybe you won't be able to see me too?")

Indy has this habit of going out to the middle of the road in the early mornings.

Come back, Indy!

You called?

And Cleo searches for her mother, Pole.

Cleo is such a bossy little cat with everyone EXCEPT her mum, Pole.  She simply adores her...but Pole doesn't quite like Cleo.  Poor little Cleo.

Pole comes back for breakfast.

She doesn't like any other food but kibbles though she roams outside.  Maybe she's had enough of "outside food"?  So she wants kibbles at Tiffany's?

After cleaning up Bobby's pee and poo (at age 15 and being blind, he now does it everywhere in the house...poor Bobby, it's old age - will happen to use too, one day, if we get there, that is.), my work is done.

And now, I can have some breakfast...

It's just oats, walnuts and almonds to last me until lunch.  Need 'em brain food to teach calculus at work.

And...the lion shall lay down with the lamb,

And there will be peace on earth.

A tale of two squirrels

I had wanted to write about the two squirrels who come to my house for food a few times a day, but hadn't found time to do it all these months!  


Initially (and that's months ago), it was just one squirrel.  He would come in every day after the cats have eaten and eat all the left-over catfood.  


And boy, what a noise!  I never knew squirrels chewed so loudly!!  You could hear him chew "krak, krak, krak!" in the kitchen from the living room!


Then, one day, interestingly, he brought a friend.


The friend was afraid to come into the kitchen initially, so he would stay in the back area while the brave squirrel (the resident one) would come into the kitchen and take some food in its mouth to give to the one that would be waiting in the back area!  


So sweet, right?


Recently, both squirrels started coming in.  And I've noticed they've grown very fat too.  What with eating catfood so many times day, who wouldn't be fat, right?  


My cats are okay with them.  The squirrels sometimes come into the house to play too.  And once in a while, they leave tell-tale signs...ha ha.  Poo and pee, but not often.  


The other day, I had two combs of bananas in my kitchen.  One from a local place and one from Meiji's farm.  Believe it or not, the squirrels came in, sniffed at both, and went for Meiji's (organic!) bananas.  Ate up two at one go too!  The other comb of bananas was left intact!  Smart squirrels!  They know the good stuff.  


These are some photos I took during Chinese New Year.


Enjoy!

Yum, yum...bananas!

Can I reach?

Not quite...push the container nearer....

Aha...yes!  Chomp, chomp!

That's me!

And me again, eating the catfood.

Yumz!!

Of catfights and back lane neighbours

This afternoon, I heard my back neighbour shouting at the top of his voice again.  He and his family hates cats (and dogs, and I guess, all animals).  And he was the reason I had to get Wii adopted last year. 

From the sounds of it, a cat must have gone into his kitchen again and he was very ferociously shooing the cat out.  I quickly checked - it wasn't any of my cats.  Phew!

I was worried that it might have been little Pixie.  Pixie is this little black cat who comes often to sit in the back lane under a shady tree, to accompany two poor branded cats who are caged for life in their owner's house.  The poor cats used to cry a lot every day until they more or less settled on their "life imprisonment". 

So, little Pixie (bless his kind heart) would come almost every afternoon and sit on the stone slab to keep these cats company.  Whenever I see him, I would give him some catfood as a snack. 

Anyway, later in the evening, I saw Pixie and gave him some food.  I think Pixie has a home somewhere down the lane.  He looks well-fed. 

Just now, I heard the sound of an impending catfight right behind my house in the back lane.  Oh no, is it little Pixie? 

I quickly went to check and saw two LARGE smoky-coloured cats, engaging in a stand-off.  They were huge!  New cats on the block? 

Grabbed the camera and opened the back door.  They saw me and ran away.  Guess that broke up the fight. 

You see the shiny eyes?  That's them.  

Bunny at the frontlines, in case his help is needed.

Cow...second line.  It's safer inside the kitchen.

After all, he's still healing from his previous injuries, from his encounter with the ginger cat. 

And Tiger, radiating kind thoughts to the two cats...

Hatred will not cease by hatred, only by love.

Love thy neighbour as thyself...

Of alphas, marking and comfort zones

I was going to share with all of you what I had learnt from the vet a few days ago, but these few days had been extremely hectic for me. 


Anyway, here goes....


So, there I was at the clinic with Cow for his battle wounds and that was my first time meeting the new owner (he's a vet) who had bought over one of our panel clinics. 


(I'd swear now that he's one of the most brilliant vets I've ever met all my life....)


So, I told the vet that Cow still sprays in the house despite having been neutered and he is also of a very "cranky" (almost insecure) temperament.


Here's what I learnt:


1.  Spraying is caused 70% by hormones and 30% by psychological reasons.  It doesn't mean that once neutered, the cat would not spray/mark anymore.


2.  Cow is an alpha cat, and he needs to keep establishing this fact (ie. reminding the rest of his exalted position in the house).  Hence, the spraying.


3.  He needs to reach a comfort zone before he stops.  Is there any way I can help him reach this "comfort zone"?  Unfortunately, no.  This is amongst the cats, it's got nothing to do with me.  Cat politics...stay out!  Not like you can do anything about it, anyway. 


4.  Is it true that once neutered, the male cat would become less aggressive and may not be able to fight as well anymore?  Not necessarily.  Being neutered only means the cat has reduced sexual desire and hence, will not go after the females.  He will also not fight with other tomcats over a female, but it doesn't mean he cannot fight anymore.  As far as territorial fighting (how dare you trespass into my territory!!) is concerned, he can and will still fight (to the death?).


Okay, Cow can still fight....I'm not sure whether this was a good thing or not...but I had a feeling this might not be the last time Cow would have battle-scars...


5.  If your Cow...oh, I mean, CAT, is still territorial, don't cut or even trim his nails.  He needs it for his own protection and survival.  Got it, sir.  I've never trimmed his nails before. 


6.  Then I showed the vet the two bite-marks on my legs - the Cow bite-marks.  It must have been three months ago that he bit me one night as I was trying to stop a fight between Bunny and him in my son's room.  They were merely at the stand-off stage (about to begin) that I came between them by standing in front of Cow.  Wrong move...he clutched my leg with his two front legs and his two canines sank deep into it.  It was a matter of 2 seconds, I think....but the pain was...worse than childbirth!


Exactly, the vet said.  NEVER try to stop a catfight this way.  Splash water.  Don't try to be a hero (okay...point taken). 


8.  Remember that a cat is not like a dog.  A dog only has his teeth.  A cat has its front legs, the back legs and its teeth.  All these function as "weapons".  Lethal weapons? 


Yes, I know....and hey, wouldn't it be good if our cats could protect us from robbers and would-be assailants?  Imagine an assailant threatening me and my 6 cats pounce on him/her from different directions, with a sum total of 6 sets of teeth, 6 pairs of front legs (with claws intact and un-trimmed) and another 6 pairs of hind legs (claws intact).  Hey, who needs security, yah?


Yes, I'm imagining a scene from Disney's Aristocats and 101 Dalmatians....


If only that were possible, we'll have guard-cats working alongside guard-dogs!  I think cats would be more lethal....


Imagine Cow coming from the left, Bunny from the right, Pole and Cleo joining forces from the back, Indy from the front...and Tiger?  Oh, he's a Gandhi-Reincarnate (An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind), so he'd probably be in the background with his eyes closed, sending thoughts of "May you realise the error of your ways, you foolish human...May you never try to harm your fellow being again...."


Hmm....

Captain Cow

Leftenant Bunny

Advisor Tiger.

"May all of you humans one day gain the wisdom of us cats..."