Nearly a barbequed cat

One evening after a sumptuous meal at home, we decided to go walk about at the pasar malam. The pot of soup was too large to put into the fridge so we decided to heat it up and leave it overnight. That way it won't go bad the next day without being in the fridge.

So the stove was turned on while I did the dishes. When all done, we just conveniently got into the car and drove off. We came home about an hour later. The moment I pushed open the door, I was assaulted by the smell of something burning. It was then that I realised we had totally forgotten about the heating pot of soup!

I rushed into the kitchen and turned off the stove. We didn't touch the pot at all. I could hear the hissing sound from the pot and the smoke filling up the kitchen. Now not only do I have to bear the hazy rooms, the burnt and choking smell, I also had to bear with loud meows coming from Piper.

Her eyes were wide and her meows were ferocious. She sounded like she was scolding me for forgetting and nearly having barbequed cats if I didn't come home in time. She went on for a while and despite my attempts to calm her and to get her to stop meowing, she went on and on until she was satisfied that I had an earful.

When the smoke cleared out and the smell was almost gone (or we got immuned it?), she was a lot calmer and had forgiven me. The rest of the night she was just a silent, thankful cat. Phew, what a close call!

Hungry kittie

When I got home yesterday, I didn't feed the neighbour's cat. Instead, I hurried inside to feed my furballs because I was late compared to usual. After doing my slavery acts of feeding and cleaning up their poo box, I was in the living room. Then I heard my neighbour's cat meowing. I opened the door and she was pacing up and down the porch meowing, probably for food.

So I filled up her dish with food. She was so hungry that she kept poking her head into the dish that I held in my hands while filling it with biscuits. I moved further so that I could finish filling it. She pawed my hand to pull the dish back into her face! She must have been real hungry.

I set it down for her and she was chomping away at the speed of lighting. Poor hungry kittie!

My cat's a ventriloquist in training!

During the weekend, I sat and stared at my furballs. After their meal, they were like dead logs, each occupying a corner and stretched out to take a snooze. But maybe due to my presence, Prue could not really settle down to nap. I wasn't doing anything to distract them, apart from just trimming the claws before the meal but I'm sure that doesn't count.

Anyway, she came up close to me and started her silent meow. I was looking at her and she was meowing with her mouth closed. Tightly shut, not even just a small opening. I think if she could learn to throw her voice further, she might be the perfect four-legged ventroloquist in the making!

I laughed at her antique but that just made her do a few more before she got fed up of me and turned to walk away. Back in her corner, she did that stretch-plop-yawn action, soon followed by the shutting of the eyes. Now that all 3 are somewhere in La-La-Land, I felt inclined to go join them too. So there I went, stretch, plop, yawn and close my eyes. Purr-fect weekend!

My neighbour's cat is now "my" cat

My neighbour's cat now "lives" in my place. It started off plain and simple, but when one thing led to another...things got out of hand.

I have this shoe cabinet fixed to the high wall separating my neighbour and I. It's not a full wall, measuring up only to my shoulder level. My neighbour has a few cats of her own and they are free to roam the streets and for that matter, anyone's homes since nothing is inaccessible to cats. So this particular one loves climbing over and plonking herself on top of my shoe cabinet. It makes a nice spot for her, shaded from the sun and large enough for her to lie on.

She's grown comfortable seeing people walk in and out of my home and not even afraid that the car coming into the porch will ram her down when she's sitting smack in the middle of it. A lot of times someone will need to get down the car and shoo her back on the cabinet.

We got used to her and thought she's a pretty cat although just a stray. My mom started taking small portions of my furballs' biscuits and giving some to her. Then, I placed an extra cat dish out for her and from then on she got frequent meals at our place. Once I scratched her chin and sides of her face and she was purring so loud. Since that one touch, she kept asking for more. Now whenever she sees me, she meows. I don't know if she's asking for food or for scratches. Perhaps both. She even follows me about when I go round in the garden watering plants.

Now, my mom is talking about taking her out for a bath! She said maybe she'll ask our neighbour's permission. She does already act like she lives with us; she sleeps, eat and even poo in my garden!

Holding A Baby Cat

There is so much satisfaction in bringing up cats - at least for cat lovers. I first touched a newborn, few days old cat in my hands when Prue gave birth to her litter of 7. Sadly, 3 didn't make it. Of the 4, I took only one in my care and she's grown up to be a beautiful and fluffy cat. I was nervous when I first picked her up, afraid that I'll hurt her small and fragile body. Prue was also very protective of her and eyed me all the time while I carried her baby. There were times when she would reach out her paw to pull my hands close to her so that she can see for herself that her baby is safe is my arms. I don't know if I felt more contented holding the baby or seeing my Prue being so concerned for her baby.

The babies climbed all over Prue and she was so tolerant, literally letting them crawl up her head. I could tell she was uncomfortable but she remained a good natured mother nursing and caring for her little ones. She would lick their bodies to clean them and stay curled up in a small space so that she could be there whenever her babies wanted milk.

It was fun watching the then blind kittens wobbling on their weak feet and falling on each other. If I hadn't known better, I would have mistaken them for the "4 blind mice". Pictured here are the properly propped up blind kitties. A flash camera was not gonna hurt them!

As you enjoy each passing day watching them grow, you get a feeling that time passes too quickly and they would have grown so much bigger in just a matter of weeks. Of course by this time they're a bunch of mischievious kittens chasing and jumping on each other.

As they get older, they seem to be a lot less active and their favourite activitiy is sleep. This too I find enjoyable. They have more sleep positions than a human - and humanly impossible ones too. They twitch in their sleep a lot more vigorously too. Probably dreaming of catfights.

Now that my furballs are adult cats, I watch them do only a few things - sleep, sit around staring into space, grooming, using the poo box and leaning on each other. They get vocal only when they're hungry, want attention because they're bored, see birds or insects but can't catch them and protesting about baths, going to vet or boarding.

Who says cats do nothing?

Snuggled to sleep

One night before going to bed, I went to peek in at the girls. They were hurdled in a corner, 3 pretty girls in a row with heads resting on the other's belly. They were dozing off and stirred when they heard me. It was a sight to behold and I stood there for minutes just watching them sleep. I'm a sucker for moments like these.

In a 5ft, double storey tiled home, they could have all the space they want and even a corner to each to stretch out. But they choose to squeeze in a corner, snuggled close for warmth and the touch of each other. Makes me want to go snuggle in too!