Cats

Oh How I wish I can go out!

It's been nearly a week here in KL and I miss my cats . This is my little rascal Tommy who can never stay still. He's about 9 months old now and is as hyper as a monkey. The first week he joined the household he broke my favorite blue vase ! Now I have learned to keep all breakable items in storage.

Tommy, peeping through the stairs

This is Bear bear , who is actually Sarah's cat and imported from Russia. He's acclimatized to the heat now but still prefers an air conditioned room. 

 Mulan playing hide and seek

Bear Bear

Mulan is my personal favorite. She's the queen of them all and haughty with it. She allows only me to cuddle her and refuses anybody else, even Repin. 

Mulan

Mulan, the warrior princess

Yukie and Tommy

And these are the brother and sister pair - Yukie and Tommy. Here they are actually grooming each other though it does look like Yukie is bullying Tommy. 

Growing pains

Yukie and Tommy are growing up and are now in need of surgery! I hate the job but Tommy is showing signs of wanting to "hump" poor Yukie, who hasn't got the itch yet. So on Thursday I took the two of them to the vet to have their "operation "done. Poor Yukie though. Tommy came back a bit dizzy but after an hour or so, is back again to his usual  naughty self, climbing out of his cage.

Playing together 

The little rascal, Tommy

 

Yukie, just aftter her operation 

Yukie however will take a longer time to get well - she is still dazed and blur the whole of Thursday and Friday. By Saturday though she shows signs of returning to normal - coming out of her cage and walking around the room. It took her almost a week though to get back to normal. 

Little dynamos

Tommy - always alert for some fun

Yukie and Tommy are my new kittens, though they are not so little anymore. I think they are about 5 months old now. Yukie is beautiful and very feminine looking and Tommy is cute and very like a boy cat. He is also naughty - very mischievous, always hungry and full of energy. Poor Yukie just can't keep up at times with his frantic energy - running, climbing and forever chasing after something.

Yukie at 4 months

Since they came I have had to keep all my flower vases away -last month Tommy climbed on to the piano and as he was jumping down knocked one of my beautiful blue vase. So since then I have learnt my lesson. Keep all things on the floor and if they can break, put them away until they know not to climb and run everywhere!

A new kitten in the family

Yukie playing with Mulan 

My sister Jasmine gave me a new kitten, white in colour and only two months old. We named her Yukie which my daughter says means snow in Japanese. Yukie is hyperactive : climbing, running, teasing and chasing after the older cats. She does not seem to be afraid of any one, not even Mulan who is the class brat and bully. To see her chasing after poor Ginger I could break down laughing. Ginger is my 6 year old fat ginger tabby. It's good to see her running, being chased by this tiny dynamo. At first I worried that Ginger would smack her but I need not have feared - she is so gentle the little one bullies her. Mulan however is a different kettle of fish or rather cat. Mulan plays with her but sometimes she 'accidentally bites' the little one and she scampers off and hides under a cupboard or the bookcase. 

see how cute I am!

Yukie the dynamo

Now we have a total of seven cats!  Here is a picture of some of the others.

Ginger, Mulan and Bear Bear having a meeting and deciding who can be allowed outside!

faithful companions - Mulan and Ginger

My constant companions wherever I sit - be it in the kitchen or upstairs at the computer, these two will sit with me for hours on end, never bored. But the moment I stand up to go downstairs they are alert and ready to move! Like faithful dogs, they follow me downstairs and wait there - if I am sitting at the kitchen table, they will just curl up on the carpet and sleep or like Mulan, above, stretch herself and see what happens.

Mulan the bad

Mulan being naughty

Today Mulan really deserved the nickname that my girls have given her. She is my youngest little kittie, though she isnt really young anymore - at just over a year old.

What did she do? First she jumped onto the kitchen cabinet where I was fixing dinner for Sarah - mushroom soup mixed with chicken. I was cutting the chicken into thin strips when she jumped - right on top of the cutting board. I almost cut her, the naughty girl! After being scolded she went off to the living room to sulk.

Then when I opened the front door to take the rubbish out she zipped out of the house like a bullet before I could say, "No."

And it took me a full 30 minutes to get her back inside! She's a really cheeky one, this kitty. She'd stop and sit when you call her name, but when you get near, up she'll get and run away again, looking at you as if saying, "come let's play catch!" Sometimes I wonder whether she's a puppy in cat skin - she follows me all over the house - upstairs, downstairs, kitchen, even the bathroom - just like Ginger used to.

 

that's her sulking

 

Chi Chi



It's at times like this that I remember Chi Chi my other cat, who died almost 2 years ago now. Her death was so sudden that until today I still feel the pain of losing her. One morning she was fine and running around playing with Ginger and the next she contracted a high fever, had a spasm and died - all within a space of hours. The vet said it must have been a virus but she didnt know what, because Chi CHi had been vaccinated and her shots were all up to date. Chi and Ginger were inseparable - we had found Ginger in the drain outside the house just two weeks before we got Chi Chi. Ginger then was so tiny and malnourished and so dirty, God knows what made me take her in. She certainly wasn't pretty as she is today. And she was such a lady - always grooming herself and walking daintily around the house, unlike Mulan who never walked if she could run anywhere!



Ginger and Chi Chi



Mulan trying to catch some fish!

Our cats come to Malacca

Actually I haven't written for so long my brain must have stagnated. And I blame the Ipad for this! Too many games, apps that are so interesting and lots of magazines online. So I promised myself I will start writing again - even if its only one paragraph each day. So thinking about it I grapple around for ideas. Hmmm... what shall I write about ? Shall I write about my cats? Now that we are staying in Malacca we've brought back all of them - yes, even Apin and Momo the two black monsters.



Momo has control of the staircase



They came about two weeks ago - the two of them amidst a heavy January drizzle. Repin grumbled that they meowed the whole way - two hours on the road, each creating his own cacophony of meows.The moment they were let out of their travel cage they bounded out and started roaming this much bigger area (well bigger compared to the apartment where they lived mainly in the balcony and living room). Momo quickly appropriated the stairs, much to Mulan and Ginger's disgust. In fact Mulan was so unhappy, every time she passed Momo on the staircase, she took a swipe at  Momo for good measure. The poor thing got the fright of his life - who is this little upstart who dares swipe his monsterness?

Apin meanwhile quickly adjusted to the new house, first going to the kitchen where he sensed some food lay in wait. Ginger and Bear Bear both remained upstairs, uncertain about these two new creatures.The first two nights both Momo and Apin made a lot of noise - especially Momo who showed his uncertainty about the new environment by prowling around the house and meowing his discontent.





Bear Bear hiding in the closet



Bear took to the wardrobe during the day to hide from the new 'people' and Ginger took to the window sill, to get away. As for Mulan - she's still the princess, terrorising everyone who happens  her way.

Curious Mulan

Mulan is a really curious one - she'll jump into bags, peep into aquariums and put her head into anything that is different or new!

This is something new...

Maybe I should just take a look....

My cats (without Chichi)

Ginger

Mulan is six months now. Soon I'll have to take her to be spayed, a job I don't really look forward to . She has started bugging Ginger too - chasing Ginger around the room. Poor Ginger has been told by the doctor to lose weight. She  weighed about 5.95kg  yesterday when we took her to the clinic. The naughty girl refused to take her antibiotics so we had to take her back to the clinic. Dr Sam said she's a bit overweight so we have to make sure she exercises more!

 Ginger in her favourite sleeping position

 Mulan however has not gained any weight since I took her from Min my sister. She's a fussy eater and doesn't really like to eat the dried cat food, preferring the canned variety. I wonder what to give her instead, since the vet says its not really nutritious enough.





 This is Karupin, one of the Persian monsters. He's quite old, or at least older than the others. His favourite activity is sleeping and being combed by anybody.

Karupin or Apin as we call him is 10 years old and the last of my sister Lela's persians. Lela used to have half a dozen of them at one time!

 

This is Momo, the twin monster. Like Apin, his favourite activity is sleeping and maybe eating.I can never get a picture of Momo because he is either under the sofa or under the bed, his two favourite sleeping places. He has two baskets, - sometimes he goes there when you try to comb him because he hates being combed! Once I had to resort to cutting his furballs and left him patchy for a while.Another things he hates is visiting the pet groomer and once they even had to give him an anaesthetic just to groom him! After that I stopped taking him to the groomer - I'd rather do the grooming myself, even if the results are not that fetching.

This one is Blackie, who is actually more grey than black, giving a pose. Wan my son says she's more monkey than cat!

And this is Mulan, sleeping blissfully

Remembering Chi Chi

In the garden in Melaka

Its exactly two months since Chi Chi went over the Rainbow Bridge. I still miss her though. Here I'd like to share some photos of her. She was so cute. And the worst thing is until today, I still don't know the cause of death. Neither did the vet who treated her. Her fever had gone down, she looked tired, which I suppose was natural, after the fever.  I guess I will always ask  myself that question - it was rather sudden after all. She was okay in the morning then she suddenly looked tired and couldn't walk. By 1.45pm she had convulsed and died.

Deep sleep

Yawn.... I'm so sleepy

Wherever  you are Chichi I will always think of you.

Mulan goes fishing

Mulan our grey kitten never seems to tire of looking at the fish in my aquarium. Not a day passes by when she sits on the aquarium cover to watch the little fish swim, sometimes pawing the glass to try and catch the fish. I sometimes wonder what she is thinking when she tries to catch the fish!

One day I accidentally left the flip cover of the aquarium open. You can guess what she did when she saw that here's a chance for her. She decided to go fishing!

Mulan

I haven't really much time these days to post on my blog - I've started teaching again this semester - the same course as I taught last year. This year though I've only got 10 students - some of them the ones I taught last year in the Literature Methodology class. This one is Simulated Teaching in Literature Education, that is I'll be teaching students how to teach Literature. Life is busier too because Wan my second boy is getting married! Preparations are already under way and luckily for me I have my sisters to help out. Lela my sister will be making the pelamin or dais which is so necessary for any Malay wedding, be it modern or traditional. We'll have two weddings too - one in Malacca where all my relatives are, and one in KL where all our friends are. When Rizal got married last time we had it at the old Semabok house in Malacca and only a few close friends turned up. So this time we decided to have two weddings -one in each place.

As for  my new little kitty, not so new and not so little now - she's getting bigger and naughtier by the day. We had to change her name back to Mulan, the name they called her back when she belonged to my sister Jasmine. She used to jump on me when I'm praying and cling on to the prayer clothes. My right hand is full of tiny scars - a legacy of hers. When I play with her, she will bite and kick fiercely, not knowing yet how to control her claws so I have to be very careful. I've learnt to pull away when she's too fierce.

 Look at her eyeing my aquarium! She's there every day, morning or night, watching the fish swim. Sometimes she tries to swipe at them with her paws! Sometimes she climbs on top and stares at the tiny fish inside the aquarium!!

"If only I can get those wriggly things... how do I get them?"

A new cat in the house

She's already showing her curiosity

I finally gave in and agreed to take one more cat into our household - Smokey. She's actually a kitten, a bout 5 moths old, and given by my sister Jasmine. You can see her here:



Smokey the new addition to the family



Still missing Chi Chi

We went back to Malacca today - Repin has gone to India for some meetings and since I haven't gone home to the Malacca house for ages I decided to do that while he's away. As usual Ginger came along, though this is the first time we're down here without Chi Chi. At first she didnt seem to notice - well she did look for Chi chi yesterday. I noticed she went round the bedroom sniffing and making mewwling noises, wondering where her best friend had got to. Then she went to Chi Chi's bed and slept there for a while. Not satisfied she got up and went under the bed and sniffed at Chi Chi's box there too. Still no Chi Chi so she jumped on the bed and slept instead.

Today once released from the pet carrier, she ran to the kitchen. Then she came over to us and looked at me, miawing a question. I said "She's not here Girl. She's gone." Then I went upstairs, with Ginger following, or rather leading me because she bounded up the stairs and quickly went into my bedroom. Sniffing under the bed she then looked at me with a long miaw. Who says cats can't talk? I understood perfectly what Ginger was trying to say - "Where the heck is she?"



Ginger wondering where Chi Chi had gone



I stroked her gently and held her. Now she's my comfort - at least I have her. The other three cats - Momo, Apin and Black are just not my cats even though I take care of them. Chi chi and Ginger have always been mine - the whole family knew that. Which was why when they all heard of Chi Chi's death, their first question was "How's mama?" Well Mama is coping. But it will take some time before I adopt another cat. Even a cute one like Min's grey Persian that she wanted to give me. In fact, right now I don't think I want to have another cat at all. Its too heart breaking when they die. And Chi Chi's is too sudden. I wish I knew what was the cause. If it's an infection - where did she get it? How come the other cats didn't get it? Why her?

Loss of a beloved cat

Yesterday Chi chi was sick - she vomitted some green stuff which looked like leaves so I assumed she must have eaten a plant I had bought a few weeks ago. But then she looked tired and listless and refused her meal so I quickly took her to the vet. Her temperature was indeed high - 40 degrees! The vet gave her a jab for the fever and another one for antibiotic. When I took her back home she seemed okay - even played with Ginger for a while. Last night she ate a bit and slept on the bed. Early this morning at 5.30am she woke me up, kneading my tummy and purred loudly. But at 9.00 am she again appeared weak and tired and was lying down on her cushion bed with head down on the floor. I carried her and she was limp and lifeless. Her pulse was too high though she had no fever.  Suspecting something seriously wrong I quickly I took her back to the vet. After checking her for fever the vet told me she had no fever. There was no vomitting too so we didnt really know what was wrong. She was given water intravenously and the vet told me to leave her for observation. When I left her she was miawing in the cage, though her pupils were a bit dilated. I tried to calm her down as best as I could and told the vet I'll come back in the evening to take her back. But at 2.30pm I got a call from the vet. Chi Chi had had a couple of seizures and had died immediately. I just don't know what happened. She's not an outdoor cat - we live in an apartment and Chi Chi as well as the other cats stayed inside. They don't eat anything except what we give them, and that is Royal Canin cat food. In the morning they all have a little wet food - Fancy Feast. Chi Chi however is a picky eater and seldom finishes her wet food, which will be gobbled up by Ginger. So what went wrong? I've lost my beloved cat and feel like howling loudly. I just cannot believe that she's gone just like that.  Here are some pictures of her - you can see that she was indeed a lovely cat.

Chi Chi is curious about the fish and tries to get them out.

                                                           She'll sleep anywhere!




At home in the Malacca garden

Chi Chi and Ginger together



I'm sure Ginger will miss her too - even though they aren't siblings, they grew up together. Ginger was found as a tiny kitten, hardly bigger than my palm, back in June 2006. She was dirty and hungry. When we took her in we had to clean her up for two weeks before she was clean enough. Chi Chi was given to me by my aunt when she was about two months old, sometime in July 2006. She was a round furry ball of white then. But as she grew older her distinctive colour came out and she became more beige than white with brownish tips at her ears and tail. Her face too changed from white to grey and later a darker grey. She would be about 4 this year. I can only console myself by saying that she's gone to a better place. She was here only for a while - on loan as they say. Good bye Chi Chi my darling. I'll miss you always.