Cat Addiction

Many new additions to the family

2010-08-18T13:53:00.002+08:00

My love for pets started with cats. At one point I had all 3 lovely feline girls. Two years ago one of them passed on to a better world, leaving me with the 2 girls and we definitely miss the other one dearly.

But life moves on for us. We have since added several members to the family. Once we had a dog named Pretty. She's a cocker spaniel and a lovely girl. But due to family commitment with a newborn baby, we couldn't cope taking care of her so we had to let her move to a better family who can take better care of her.

We've visited her frequently and we are happy that she's very well cared for. She's now grown up to be quite large and fluffy. I'm glad that she has other canine friends to keep her occupied too. I hear from the her new family that she sometimes even shares dog beds with her friends there too!

Now at home we've got several fishes in an aquarium, a tortoise (we had two but one got out, escaped and never came back) and our newest addition to the family just a couple of weeks ago is a beagle named Snoopy.

Snoopy is adorable, but is kinda naughty. She bites anything in sight! I spoke too soon when I commented after just 2 days she was with us that he's a good dog, who doesn't bark loudly nor chew up stuff.

Now we have no choice but to leash her up so that she doesn't destroy more things in our garden. I'm also looking for suitable large dog beds for him. At least to make him a little more comfortable than sleeping on the cold floor in the nights.

I think it's also more cooling in the day for him to rest in such dog beds for large dogs as the cement flooring can get easily heated from the glare of the sun.

If possible, it would be nice to give him a dog house filled with toys he can chew on. I'm just hoping that giving him all that will help to curb his boredness when we're not around so that he won't go chew on our things!

Anyway, it seems like we have grown into quite a pet family for now. I would like to maintain this family size for now. No more pets to add on as they are all quite a handful. Well, happy handful, that is :)

It's been 3 months

2008-06-10T00:55:00.002+08:00

It's 3 months since Piper's passing. I've never been able to write about it on this blog. I wrote about it on my personal blog and at the time I wrote it, my tears never stopped flowing. So I couldn't bring myself to write once more on this blog that was first set up to talk about them, Prue, Piper and Phoebe.

Anyway, as painful as it has been, I've made it through 3 months without her. I miss her everyday. I pray for her everyday, as if she was still here. I love her so much and I only wish she knew it then that she meant so much to me.

One regret I have is that she never got to meet my baby. He's now 9 months old but they've not met because I was trying to keep him away from the car hair that might cause asthma. He's also got sensitive skin so I thought of waiting till he's older and has a stronger foundation before introducing them. Unfortunately, Piper will not wait.

I am OK now because I tell myself Piper is somewhere better and where she deserves to be. I truly believe that.

Long or short haired cats?

2008-04-20T23:48:00.002+08:00

When choosing a cat or kitten, there are lots of thoughts that need to go into deciding the cat breed that would suit your requirement and lifestyle. Some people don't mind long haired cats whilst some prefer to have short haired ones for ease of grooming.

I personally like long haired cats. Some of the breeds that I love are the Persian, Norwegian Hunting Cats and Ragdoll. Each has its own characteristics but all are just as adorable and loving as a family member. Though the amount of time spent on cat care is incredibly long for such cats because of the hair drops, I don't mind it because I enjoy stroking the long furry felines.

For those who prefer short haired cats, one good breed is the Abyssinian Cats. It's a beautiful cat with a rich, silky coat that requires only an occassional brushing and bath. If I ever go for a short haired cat, I would choose this breed amongst the many short haired available.

Actually, having a short haired cat is not all bad. Apart from making grooming easier, it also helps to reduce issues like potential allergies to cat hair and the risk of developing asthma. I think with short haired cats such as the Abyssinian cat, hair droppings are minimal compared to long haired cats and thus it reduces the risk of potential allergies and health conditions.

With kids in tow within the family, maybe it's time I think about such health factors and go for short haired ones when the time comes for us to have any more cats.

My worst nightmare, ever!

2008-03-05T23:01:00.002+08:00

It's been a while since I updated about Prue, Piper and Phoebe here on this blog. The girls fell sick one by one, starting with Prue. Hers was the mildest of them all with a fever and viral infection. When she got better, Phoebe was in bad shape and the vet suspected it was FIP. FIP is death sentence to my ears. The vet wanted to do more tests and I immediately agreed.

It was a relieve that it wasn't FIP and she is now recovering. However, Piper now suffers from a heart condition. The vet hasn't successfully diagnosed what it is but it could be something uncurable. Sigh, what am I to do, to be slapped with bad news on each girl, one after another.

After all that's going to be needed to be done for the girls for them to recover, I'm going to have to face a huge medical bill from the vet. This is something I can't help but spend. It's about saving lives. Lives of girls that I love so much.

So I'll do whatever necessary to foot the bill, however much it'll cost. Worse come to worse, I'll just have to go for a short term loan the likes of a payday loan to help me tie over.

You don't need to go hungry...

2008-02-28T21:31:00.002+08:00

Some of my friends tend to overspend. Either they are unable to control their shopping habits or they are terribly over committed. Some of them pay for way too many things on a monthly basis. The most painful bills come from paying for a nice, big home which means a huge mortgage, plus owning one too many cars.

I have seen some of them come close to a point of going hungry at times. It's sad and really not funny at all. Then one of them discovered a way to get by. She found a quick payday loan to help bridge her finances from one payday to another. She is one person who doesn't like long term debts so this little cash advance works for her because it is just a short term loan.

When she told me about this, I shared the information with some other friends who are in the same situation. They too paid a visit to check out these payday loans and afterwards thanked me profusely for introducing them to it. Hey, they even bought me a simple meal with some of their advance. Maybe I should thank the one who told me about it too!

How do you choose a card?

2008-02-28T20:53:00.003+08:00

These days the market is flooded with all types of credit cards. All of them offer all kinds of benefits, from collecting loyalty points to redeem gifts to earning cash rebates as you spend. Lots of cards offer discounts with selected merchants too. So how do you pick out a card that's right for you and how do you know it's the right one? It's hard, isn't it?

Well, it won't be that hard if you know where to look. There is a site that offers reviews of the many credit cards available in the market. These reviews help because they are unbiased and independent. I personally tend to believe in third party reviews more than from the product owners themselves.

Besides, if you still can't decide which is the right card for you, you can do a comparison on this site too. Hopefully that way, you can eliminate some of the cards and make your decision quicker. Once you've made up your mind, you don't need to go anywhere else to apply, you can even apply right away, online, at the same site.

If that's not convenience at its best, then what is? This one-stop shop works for me, and maybe for you too!

A golfer's paradise

2008-02-26T23:59:00.002+08:00

My better half was quite hooked on golf at one point. He diligently visited the driving range to get in some swings as practise since he's just a beginner. Soon, he got better with the help of a professional golfer and has since started teeing off at the greens.

Recently he came home all excited. He sat me down and showed me the "gem" he had found that day, A Social Network for Golfers! He explained what seemed like alien information to me, but I tried anyway to digest the information seeing that it made him so thrilled. It must be something great for him to be so fired up.

This site is a place for golfers to meet online. Besides connecting with other golfers online, you can also search for golf courses, post your games' scores, learn more about guides on the greens, etc. You can even post photos and write blog entries.

No wonder he was so excited. He has been trying to convince his non-golfer friends to pick up the sport so that he has more company to golf with. That night, after showing me this new-found website, he proceeded to get his few golfer friends as well as non-golfers to visit and sign up for it. Talk about being efficient!

Update about the cats and dog of my life

2008-02-24T22:51:00.005+08:00

The cats

Two days ago I noticed Prue wasn't eating and was hardly active. She was warm to the touch and I immediately thought she might be running a fever. I didn't bring her to the vet, just observed her for a bit. Then, Phoebe too was feeling warm and that's when I bundled them into the car and off to the vet.

It turns out that they were both running very high temperature and have some viral infections. My poor girls! They had blood test done on them and was injected to bring down their temperature. We walked out of the vet clinic armed with some fever medication and some antibiotics.

When I got home, I realised that Piper has suddenly become inactive too! I touched her and to my horror, she too was warm to the touch. I kicked myself in the foot for not bringing her to the vet to have her checked too.

After feeding them all with medication, I decided to go on the web and do a search to find ways to help them get better faster. I stumbled upon a site that offers lots of cat information, from health to cat breeds and breeders to resources like cat magazines and even a cat community! Just what I need right now to find like-minded people who can share some ideas and stories with me about my cats' situation right now.

I surfed the site for almost an hour reading up on whatever I could about cat health and then I moved on to read about Siamese Cats. A friend had recently asked for help to find him Siamese Cats for sale.

He loves this breed because they are beautiful, have long limbs and very domesticated with a really friendly character to match, too. It also helps that they are rather easy to care for as they are short-haired but they still love to be combed. I guess all cats no matter long or short-haired love a good brushing, just like my Piper, Prue and Phoebe!

Another reason why my friend prefers the Siamese breed and wants to buy them as kittens is because this breed tends to have a longer life expectancy of around 15 to 20 years or even more for some very well cared for felines. He will surely enjoy having them as family for many years to come starting from their kittenhood.

I immediately contacted him and referred him to the site I found and he's been on it for a while now, absorbing all the information he can find and even shortlisting some breeders he sound from the site. Talk about being efficient!

Anyway, enough about the cats for now. I hope the girls get enough rest and that the medication will work on them to get well soon. Now on to updates on the dog...

The dog

It's quite sad that we've never heard from Pretty's family anymore. The last we heard from the girl who adopted her from us was that Pretty was given to her aunt because her father could not cope with looking after Pretty. During Chinese New Year when we were back in the hometown, we didn't have the time to visit Pretty. I think the next time we are back, we have to make it a point to contact the new family and to see how Pretty is doing. We need to know that she's health and happy.

Where to find bad credit loans

2008-02-16T23:27:00.002+08:00

I just saw a website that offers some pretty great service for people who do not have favourable credit to their name. It compiles all available bad credit loans so that you can save your time hunting them down. It's worth the time to check out the site so that you save yourself some stress in your research, too.

Whether it is a credit card, a home loan or a car loan that you need, you will find it all here. This is definitely a one-stop shop for you. Besides, with the choices offered on this site, you are no longer vulnerable in having limited choices and being forced to accept the first offer that comes your way. You will have a suite of products to compare so that you can choose only what fits your best.

Check the website out for yourself and see how it can help you.

Would you pick a labrador or a poodle?

2008-02-12T22:35:00.000+08:00

What if you had to choose one of the two breeds and you love them both equally? Well, how about a Labradoodle then? It's a unique cross between a labrador retriever and a poodle. They look rather cute and adorable, in case you're wondering what comes out of the cross breed.

It's not too difficult to find Labradoodle Breeders too. A dog-lover friend found a website on them and showed it to me. That's where I saw the picture of some very cute Labradoodle Puppies for sale.

We can't afford to have dogs right now because we're tied down with caring for our newborn baby. So we will only admire these cute little puppies from the website!

Cherish your loved ones

2008-02-12T22:15:00.000+08:00

My four-legged friends have become more than just pets to me. They are part of the family and are as precious as just about any member of the family. I often dread to think of what my life would be like without any of them. It's almost unbearable. I am not good at parting. In fact, I don't think anyone is.

A friend was terribly devastated some time ago when his beloved furry friend returned to the arms of God. The only comfort he could offer himself was the fact that his furry friend didn't suffer from long illness or lived in pain before the final day.

To cherish him and the memory of such a special friend, he went in search for Pet memorial products and saw some selection of Pet Photo Urns that interested him. He wanted a proper final resting place for his beloved friend and so he bought an urn to place in his home. He even checked out customised portrait pet memorial urns.

I don't know exactly what he has done to cherish his friend but I do know that finding these items and providing a proper resting place has helped my friend to heal his pain. We all need to learn to cope with the loss of a loved one...

My furry girls are home from CNY boarding!

2008-02-11T22:26:00.000+08:00

They must've been rather angry at us again...this time their boarding was exactly a week. However, Piper seemed less angry this time round, she greeted me when she got home and it wasn't the usual snobbish one that she usually gives me after coming home from boarding. But still, I feel really bad that each time we go somewhere for a holiday or for festive seasons they're always left behind :(

Privacy, please!

2008-02-11T10:30:00.000+08:00

I am one of those who hate receiving direct mailers in my postbox, junk mails in my inbox and what's worst of all are the free credit cards which I really don't need. I don't know who the culprits are who sell or give away my contacts to such companies. But how do I prevent myself from getting more of these annoying mails?

Someone introduced me to Life Lock, a service that can help to protect from receiving such things. It's actually more than what I have asked for because it protects me against having my identity stolen for some fraudulent applications. Impressive, isn't it?

LifeLock definitely seems like a good idea in this day and age where hacking on websites are getting more prevalent. Whenever I log into my internet banking accounts, I am always worried of some hidden hacks that are able to deciphere my usernames and passwords.

There are no protections given by any insurers or banks for that matter on any mishaps in the internet world. Maybe LifeLock.com is my only answer to the crimes of the cyber world. Perhaps it is yours, too?

The girls have gone boarding again

2008-02-06T00:10:00.000+08:00

The girls left for boarding today. I didn't get to see them before Ray took them out because I was at work. But I'm glad I fed them lots and lots of wet food in the morning before I headed out to work. I feel a little better that they've been given a big treat. When they come home next week, I'll make sure to pamper them with more treats for the new year!

Pleasant online shopping experience

2008-02-05T23:53:00.000+08:00

In a much earlier post I talked about my plans to register for a shopping cart software for a small business that I am thinking of venturing into. Apart from it being user friendly to me as an administrator of the software, I found that it is equally if not more important for my potential visitors to find the shopping cart easy to use too. Recently I was on a shopping website and was tempted to buy a couple of things. However, I ended up not buying a single item simply because the ecommerce software was simply too hard to use. Though I was disappointed that my shopping didn't happen, I am glad that I actually learned something valueable from that experience, albeit at someone else's expense. Now I know just what to look out for as an end user, both from the business owner as well as from a customer point of view.

Do they get stretch marks too?

2008-02-05T22:35:00.000+08:00

Some years ago, Prue was pregnant. At that time I didn't think much of the implications of pregnancy until I got pregnant myself just last year. The one thing that I don't appreciate being stuck with after the pregnancy is the stretch mark.

In the initial stage, I didn't have any but when the seventh month kicked in, they started becoming visible. I tried all sorts of ways to prevent stretch marks and I thought I was succeeding. It's really unfortunate that it didn't work.

After I delivered, I found this site that reviews different types of stretch mark creams. Most of the time when you buy a stretch mark cream you expect it to work like magic because of the promises made of the product. But a lot of those promises are really just marketing.

If you want to know what really works and what not, you should visit this site. It has some stories and explanations on why stretch marks appear and it also gives you an idea of what works and what not. Just spend a couple of minutes reading it and it could save you the hassle of trying and even some money.

One of the proven and recommended cream is the revitol stretch mark cream. I'm not sure if I can find this in my country but if I can't, I'd probably have it shipped over because it'll be worth it!

When I finally get hold of this cream, perhaps I should check if I should share it with Prue. But do cats get stretch marks too?

My shopping site needs a name

2008-01-31T21:35:00.000+08:00

Some time back I was talking about coming up with an online pet store. I'm now in the midst of thinking of a suitable name for it. I want the name of my store to bear the same web address so I guess I should start with checking whether the names I come up with are still available on the world wide web.

I've already found a site to do my domain registration so all I need to do is narrow down my list of names and hope that my favourite name is free and available. This site that I'm planning to buy the domain from is rather inexpensive. There are so many of such services out there but this particular one has convinced me to buy from them.

It has a host of other services available too. Most likely I will take up a package and just pick up whatever else that will be necessary for my little pet store. This is going to be a fun business!

Do cats eat less as they age?

2008-01-30T00:31:00.001+08:00

I'm not sure about this...I've noticed my 3 girls have seem to cut down on the amount of food they normally take in. Is it because of age, or are they just sick of the food? It can't really be the latter because I make sure I change the flavour with each bag of cat food that I purchase. Could it be because they're upset too? Or is it that their tummies and appetites have just gotten smaller?

I haven't weighed them for a while already, too. The last they visited a vet was more than a year ago. They had their vaccination done at home so they weren't checked on their weight. I feel that they have gotten a little light when I picked them up...which is not surprising seeing that they didn't eat as much nowadays.

I'm not too concerned at the moment because they don't appear to be ill. But if they keep cutting back on food continuously, maybe it's time to have them checked on. You reckon?

Getting lucky in the new year?

2008-01-30T00:20:00.000+08:00

When the Chinese New Year dawns upon us in just a matter of a week from now, we will enter the Year of The Rat. I looked at my Chinese Zodiac sign's prediction for the new year and it seems to say only good things. Apparently, luck is on my side too!

Maybe I should try my hands at playing a game or two at a casino on days which are said to be my "lucky days". But I'm not one to play blindlyly as I am very careful with my money.

So before i put any bets on the table, I'll do a little study of the many casinos out there. I found a blog that writes about the different casinos, their style of games and what my best odds are playing on whichever site I choose.

It's got some useful articles and for a newbie like me, it'll definitely help to find the most suitable online casino and games. Now here's what I call smart betting!

Be a smarter online bettor

2008-01-23T23:28:00.000+08:00

I'm one who's not gamed to bet. I'm lousy at it, probably because I don't think to think too much. I hate losing money too so it's rather stressful for me even if I lose just one bet. That's why I've never been to a casino.

A friend of mine is hooked on gambling. She used to visit her regular casino almost every weekend. But since the price of fuel has gone up, she has decided to cut down her trips because it's rather far.

Since then she has started gambling online. She finds this even better since she can bet anytime of the day, everyday! I cautioned her about placing her bets online but she assured me that she's done enough research about the sites she plays at.

She uses the service of a website called Pro360.com that reviews and ranks different online casinos available. She finds the information provided to be useful as it saves her time to gauge whether a particular online casino is suitable.

This site reviews a total of 75 online casinos at the moment. Besides ranking them, the site also shows the ratings of the casinos by players themselves. All these independent reviews and ratings are more definitely very beneficial to new players. At least now I don't have to worry about my friend playing on non-suitable sites.

Cool baby gift

2008-01-22T14:57:00.000+08:00

Having a new baby in tow, my shopping radar have now expanded to include the baby department. I'm always looking for a reason to buy stuff for the baby, but then again why should I need a reason? My baby deserves all the gifts in the world!

While looking for unique baby stuff, I saw this site that offers Personalized Baby Gifts and was immediately hooked! I get to create a gift specially just for my little one, and no one else will have the same! What caught my eye was this special photo blanket.

Now all those beautiful pictures we took of baby will have some use other than being placed in frames. It gives me even more reasons to snap even more pictures now!

Even though baby is too small now to appreciate the gift, I'm sure he'll grow up to like it as much as I do. We'll just have to make sure to was it gently so that it remains in good conditions in the years to come.

Smorty sounds good?

2008-01-22T12:50:00.000+08:00

The first time I heard the name Smorty, I thought it sounded very cute. If I get another pet, I would consider the name Smorty!

But on a serious note, no, Smorty isn't a name of any pets I've known. It's a service that connects bloggers like me to advertisers who want their products and services reviewed. It's a great way to advertise on blogs these days. Approved users of Smorty are given varied opportunities and it's completely up to bloggers whether or not to accept the topics to be written on.

Whilst advertisers find a great avenue in advertising, bloggers too have a great way of making a little extra money. The more popular your blog, the higher paid you can be. I'm hooked on Smorty right now. If you want to try out blogging for money, I highly recommend you to check Smorty out. Go and see it for yourself!

Piper does miss home!

2008-01-22T10:40:00.000+08:00

Last night the princesses came home after almost 2 weeks of boarding. They made a fuss at first, probably because it's hot in here compared to the air-conditioned boarding. But they got readjusted soon after dinner!

I could tell that Piper was really happy to be home. She went round and round the house, up the stairs and under the tables and sofas, refusing to let me get hold of her. When I finally caught up and held her in my arms, I could feel her heartbeat beating so rapidly.

This morning when I woke up, I went to take a look at them. They were all happily snuggling up against each other, still half drowsy with sleep. Ahh...such gentle babies :) Isn't life just so pretty?

Time for a new laptop

2008-01-22T10:27:00.000+08:00

Just two weeks ago, MR came to town for a 2-week stay. He brought along his laptop that needed servicing because it won't power up anymore. When we probed further about the possible reasons why it's not functioning, he then revealed that he had dropped the laptop! No wonder.

We brought it to the technician and after checking the damages, he quoted us a bomb to have it fixed. We thought it might be a smarter move to buy a new laptop than to fix the badly broken one.

So we shopped for laptops in the IT centers around town as well as from online vendors. We found a site that sells very reasonably priced laptops that also come with accessories and such. It's got a variety of brands available and what's best is that I can compare prices with just a click of my mouse. I don't even need to get out of my home to shop!

We've shortlisted a couple of laptops from this site to recommend to MR. It might be hard for him to make a choice because they're all good!

The girls are coming home today!

2008-01-21T12:47:00.000+08:00

While I was in Japan, I sent the three furry princesses out to boarding. I've been back for a day now but I couldn't pick them up as the place was closed yesterday. I'm so excited about picking them up later today to bring them home. I'm hoping they're as excited as me too to be coming home! :)

Now it's time to pick up some of their favourite treats!

Better home for the ones you love

2008-01-21T11:59:00.000+08:00

It's never easy to have to find another home other than our very own to house a loved one. But sometimes, it is necessary and maybe even a better solution for our loved ones. Especially so when our loved ones need special care and attention and we're unable to provide that due to work commitments.

If you are ever in such a situation where you need to find nursing homes for your loved ones, here's a short cut way that's reliable. Check out information on different types of homes, read true stories and search through the database to find suitable homes on a website provided by Bettercaring.

You can gather lots of information on this site by reading its reviews and related articles on various topics. There's also a discussion area and you definitely won't be going on this path alone when there is a ready group of people in the same situation.

Hopefully it all works out for the best interest of everyone...

Online fun

2008-01-21T10:26:00.000+08:00

Are you a fan of online gaming? If you are, here's some good news. A friend of mine was telling me about a particular website that should be every bettor's first stop before you settle on an online casino and place your bets blindly. Visit Top USA Online Casinos to check out which are the recommended online gaming websites that accept US players. It's a reliable site that many bettors have found to be useful.

Top USA Online Casinos is a great guide that provides users with ratings and reviews of the best online casino and poker operators, bonus and payout rates, etc. If you are going to bet your hard earned money, you might as well get some trusted information on whichever sites you plan to play on. After all, it's free for all!

The reviews are thorough and the ratings given are independent. Now what are you waiting for? Go check it out, take your pick and may you be lucky and win lots!

Where's my Pretty gone?

2008-01-21T00:22:00.000+08:00

A couple of months back, we had to give Pretty up to another family who had more time for her. We had our hands full with the arrival of our first baby and as a result, we couldn't give Pretty the time and attention she rightfully deserves. So when a family of dog lovers wanted to take her home, we were glad for her.

A few weeks after she left us, we turned up at her new home unannounced, giving her a surprise visit. She recognised us still and came running to greet us. She still remembered the little tricks she was taught and she seemed delighted to see us. We were very happy too to see that she was well taken care of.

But a few more weeks later, the family called up to ask if anyone else wanted to take Pretty as they couldn't cope. We didn't have anymore good candidates and thought of asking friends to see if they knew of any dog lovers in search for canine company. Before we could get around to it, the family called to say it was all settled, that they had given Pretty to a relative.

I was quite upset with that because we don't even know how Pretty will be treated. Of course they assured us that the relative is a dog lover and will take good care of Pretty but I just didn't feel comfortable. The last we heard, Pretty had been neutered. We wanted to visit but thought she might be too weak and needed rest. So we decided not to excite her too much with our presence in a time when she needs to recuperate and rest.

I still think of her often and wonder how she is. I miss her and hope to see her again soon. I hope my prayer will be answered and that Pretty has found a loving home.

Come shop with me!

2008-01-20T00:19:00.000+08:00

I've always liked to shop online. Though many people in this part of the world aren't comfortable with the idea, I find it convenient and relatively secure. I've also been toying around with the idea of starting an ecommerce business of my own selling some pet accessories.

In my research, I've done some checks around for a reliable shopping cart software and found the one provided by Ashop Commerce to be affordable, efficient and easy to use both as a shopper as well as a seller.

As a seller, I get a lot of convenience in using this ecommerce software. Firstly, it's all web-based so there is no hassle of installing a whole bunch of software. I tried the demo and found the usage of the shopping cart to be very intuitive, so it saves me time in learning to use it. It also has some additional tools to help me in marketing. With all these thrown in for my ease of use, I find the price to be very reasonable.

Now just let me get all my cat goodies together and ready to roll!

Emergency cash

2008-01-20T00:01:00.000+08:00

It's amazing how prices have crept up on just about anything! Cat food prices have been going up steadily for a while now and there aren't many alternatives I can turn to. My three little furries only like that one particular brand, so I gotta stick with it even when they have become more expensive.

I've also been sending them for boarding a lot lately due to my travels. The cost of it makes me shudder but we have no one else to help take care of them while we're away. Travelling is already an expensive affair, their boarding actually adds to the expenses!

I've heard of payday loans and thought it may be a good way to help bridge my finances. It's a fast way to get some cash and it's also very convenient and secure through the internet. I like the fact that I can apply for a small amount which is what I need, so that I am not tempted to spend all the extras!

Gifts for everyone

2008-01-15T18:26:00.000+08:00

I'm currently on vacation in Japan. Japan is full of cats! Be it the famous Hello Kitty or the Fortune Cat. I saw lots of interesting cat stuff too, cute outfits, treats and playthings. I was tempted to buy some for my furry ones until I remembered seeing some discount coupons for a whole lot of toys and treats at Only Natural Pet Store. So I'm holding off buying them here in Japan until I get my hands on these coupons!

I also have hundreds of pictures to develop from this trip and plan on using Snapfish because I spotted some pretty good deals there. There's also free delivery if I have a large order. The last I checked, there are over 200 photos taken already! Just can't wait to see the lovely pictures.

The tour guide who has been bringing us around Japan has been a lot of fun. I thought of buying something for her as a thank you gift. Some jewelry from Things Remembered would be nice for her. Other than jewelry, there are also other gift items with discounts up to 70% so I'm quite sure I'll be able to pick out a good buy there.

Hopefully I'll have enough of cash after I'm done with this trip...there's still a lot of shopping to do in the next few days!

It's hard to say goodbye

2007-11-08T16:38:00.001+08:00

Today, she left us for a better home.

It's been 11 months since we first took her home, when she was just a 2+ month old puppy. I carried her in my arms during the drive home. She was just a tiny little thing then. In the last 11 months that followed, she has grown to her full adult size.

During the time when she was with us, she has learned a few simple tricks, learned to love Prue, Piper and Phoebe and be loved in return.

Since I got pregnant, I was "banned" from taking care of all of them. So you might think there's no deep bond whatsoever. Plus the fact that I'm more a cat person than a dog person. And yet, when her new owners came to pick her up today, I couldn't control the tears.

She licked me on the face to say goodbye, but I could not utter the word "goodbye" to her. All I said was "See you, Pretty". It's a small comfort that her new owners gave us an open invitation to visit her whenever we want.

Ray tells me I shouldn't be sad because she will be loved and pampered as much as she deserves to be. I do feel better knowing that for a fact. She certainly deserves the attention and love which we couldn't provide anymore since the arrival of the baby.

This is my first time parting with a pet. It's an awful feeling. But like they say, if you love somebody, you have to set them free. Ray is right, we can't be selfish. She deserves to be happy and we will be happy for her too.

Farewell, Pretty.

Prue, Piper and Phoebe will have a sister

2006-12-05T21:57:00.000+08:00

The Charmed girls will have a baby sister. She'll be coming home with us tomorrow. As different as she is from them, I can only hope the girls won't hiss at her for long and learn to love her as they love each other.

Here's the new addition to the family. Meet Pretty.

Prue & Piper are 4 today!

2006-07-05T09:45:00.000+08:00

Today marks the 4th birthday for Prue and Piper. Look at them when they were babies 4 years ago...they were the cutest things to me! :)

Me with Piper and Prue.
Prue looking pretty with big, sweet eyes.
Piper is always the curious one.

No cute pictures, just cat-love story

2006-06-26T22:05:00.000+08:00

After a friend's advise to spend more time to enjoy and appreciate the moments with my babies, I did just that. And it's not only cute, adorable moments I see in them, it's thereupatic for me. I could spend God-knows-how-long sitting there watching them.

One day I sat there looking at them finish their meal. After they were done, they sat side by side in a row and started cleaning themselves. It seems they have a routine. First, wash face. Then clean paws. Lastly, clean body.

Prue was done cleaning first. She was sitting between Piper and Phoebe and she chose to "mother" Piper by helping her groom her harder to reach areas. It was so sweet. She loves playing the mother role. She not only grooms Phoebe and Piper, she grooms me too when I stick my hand out towards her. Of course that only happens when she feels like it.

Then last night Piper slept leaning on my thigh while I sat on the futon. She kneaded my leg as she purred and after some time, I noticed the purring stopped.When I looked closely at her, she was fast asleep. Then, it happened. I heard her snore! Do cats really snore??

She was dreaming too. Her paw twitched and her mouth began moving as if she was chewing. Maybe she was dreaming of eating her favourite meal?!

Phoebe, on the other hand, was a little more friendly towards me in the last few days. She didn't protest as much and she let me stroked her a little longer than usual. That made me happy enough.

It's a lovely feeling to love them and to have them love me back...

Love or hate relationship?

2006-05-31T15:22:00.000+08:00

It's a myth that cats and dogs can't get along and that cats are dogs' meat. Here are the prove.

No explanation is a good explanation now.

Caught in the act!

Don't they look like they belong together?

Romance in the woods: "You scratch, I scratch!"

"Honey, guess who?"

No touch is gentler and more comforting than this.

Funny cats

2006-05-24T14:27:00.000+08:00

This is cat abuse, making fun of my pretty paw! :(
Not only a chihuahua can fit into a coffee mug! I can too!
Argh!!!! I nearly conquered it all!!!
It's OK, I'm here for you...

Phoebe is 3 today

2006-04-25T09:14:00.000+08:00

It's little Phoebe's birthday today and she's turning a tender age of 3. I wished her Happy Birthday this morning but she had no idea what the fuss was about. I scooped her extra chunks of wet food, double the amount that Prue and Piper got, as a treat for her birthday.

Prue and Piper, sensing that Phoebe had extras, tried to 'steal' some of her food. I had to stand as 'guard' to make sure Phoebe got her birthday treat instead of getting bullied. I was running late for work but it had to be done and it was well worth it to watch her chomp her goodies. :)

Even a cat wants to be a dog?

2006-04-10T21:43:00.000+08:00

The tale of cat and mouse

2006-04-03T14:25:00.000+08:00

"Hey hey now, what's this?"
"Somebody wanna come see this?"
"Never mind, I'll check it out myself"
"This smells different"
"It seems to like me"
"I like it too"
"It's nice to have a snuggle-pal"

How sick can one's mind get?

2006-03-15T10:34:00.000+08:00

I got a forwarded mail from a colleague yesterday. The subject title didn’t indicate much of anything. So, unsuspectingly, I opened the first attachment. It was a photo of a woman holding a kitten. The following attachments shocked and horrified me. They were the pictures of the infamous kitten killer of Hangzhou who crushed a kitten to death using her stiletto heels.

The pictures were the most disturbing ones I’ve seen. I couldn’t stop thinking about it all day. When I got home to my three princesses, I went to hug them and watched them play for most of the night.

Till now, the gruesome pictures still play in my mind. I really hope the authority finds this woman and she gets punished for her cruel and inhumane act. A word of caution to others, if you receive the same email with these pictures, it’s not worth seeing.

Cat-aroma massage

2006-03-11T11:00:00.000+08:00

Care for a little rubbidy-rub-rub?

If you are viewing this in a feed reader then click here for a link to see the Cat-aroma massage.

5s

2006-03-01T19:42:00.000+08:00

Continuing from Purr Machine's tag, this is Prue, Piper and Phoebe's list of 5s:

5 Things You Can’t Do
We can't scratch the sofa (or get punished)
We can't roam outside the house
We can't go into her room (because we hide under the bed and not come out)
We can't catch the bird that sometimes come around our home
We can't have babies

5 Things You Can Do
We can climb sky high
We can sleep whenever we want
We can talk to our neighbour cat whenever he comes around
We can ignore her but she still comes to play with us
We can purr like motor-boats

5 Things That Scare You
We are afraid of rain
We are afraid when the gardener comes to trim grass
We are afraid when she yells at us for doing something wrong
We are afraid of people we've not seen before
We're afraid when the vet takes our temperature

5 Things You Love
We love fresh chicken meat
We love to be scratched
We love the chocolate-like snacks
We love to snuggle up to sleep
We love catching insects

5 Things You Hate
We hate taking jabs
We hate showers
We hate it when it rains
We hate going for boarding
We hate it when she ignores our meows

5 Random Facts About You
We aren't that crazy about catnip
Out vet says we're overweight
We take turns to meow our heads off to get attention
We like to knead her when she's scratching us
We're beautiful!

5 Things You Want To Do Before You Die
We want to eat more chicken
We want more of her attention
We want to see our birth mom again
We want to be licked/groomed by each other more
We want to catch that bird...

5 Others To Tag
Carrie
Diva Kitty
Gigolo Kitty
Scooby, Shaggy & Scout
Whippy Curly Tails

Hers is here.

Piper says...

2006-02-19T21:02:00.000+08:00

"No more Sudoku for you! Now scratch my chin instead."

Piper putting a stop to my Sudoku with her paw.

Happy Valentine's Day

2006-02-13T20:08:00.000+08:00

You've made a part of my life contented just by being in my life.

You've made me laugh when my days were quiet and boring.

You've given me a sense of belonging when there is no one else around me.

You could simply make my day when you decide to spend more time on my lap.

You always make me smile when you purr aloud.

I love you all...

A letter to my pets

2006-02-08T17:50:00.000+08:00

I read this post from someone who also don't know the source/author. But I'm passing this on because it's too good to pass up. Hope you enjoy this.

Dear Beloved Pets:

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed.
I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort.

Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, bark, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open.
I must exit through the same door I entered.

Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt.
I cannot stress this enough!

To return the kindness of your obedience, my dear pets, I have posted the following on our front door so visitors to our home know what the rules are here:

Rules for Non-Pet Owners Who Visit and Like to Complain About Our Pets

1. They live here. You don't.

2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)

3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.

4. To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted children who are short, hairy and walk on all fours. Although they don't speak clearly, they communicate extremely well, especially my cats.

5. Dogs and cats are better than kids. They eat less, don't ask for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come when called (this does not apply to cats), never drive your car, don't hang out with-using friends, don't smoke or drink, don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions, don't wear your clothes, and don't need a gazillion dollars for college. Also, if they get pregnant, you can sell the children!

Remember Bam Bam?

2006-01-18T17:14:00.000+08:00

Some months back, Bam Bam was introduced on Cat Addiction. Here are some updated pictures of him, courtesy of proud owner, SW. Look how he’s grown from handsome kitten to a gorgeous hunk!

Look how Christmassy he is!

"Yes, this is my bow tie..."

"Mirror Mirror on the wall, who's the more macho of us all?"

Sniffing cats

2006-01-11T13:56:00.000+08:00

A couple of days ago, I heard one of the princesses sneeze. After spending some time to observe, I found out it was Phoebe. The next day, it was Piper. She became quieter and didn't meow for attention as much as she normally does.

Yesterday it was Prue's turn. She seems to get it the worst, because the sound of her meows sounded like she's got a cold and she was even sniffing on top of the sneezes. Poor baby.

Do I just leave them be and they'll get well on their own or do they need vet attention?

BC

2006-01-05T16:27:00.000+08:00

During the week of Christmas, I managed to see BC after 6 years since we said goodbye. I was elated because I never thought we could meet again.

He's still as handsome as ever. I truly wish to believe he still remembers me after all these years. He seemed to, seeing that he didn't run away to hide at the sight of "strangers".

Here he is, at 10 years old.

A day in the life of a busy cat

2005-12-21T16:01:00.000+08:00

I'm a celebrity cat, starring in mostly action movies and TV series. Here's a typical day for me.

6.00a.m. : I start with an early morning. They say the early bird catches the worm.

6.01a.m. :The first thing I do is to groom myself for the day ahead.

8.00a.m. :I get to the set and begin shooting for the next epsiode of "Lost". And you thought only that Dog gets to star in it? I got myself a role in Season Two!

12.30p.m. : Come lunch hour, I take some time to snooze next to a good buddy.

1.45p.m. : Whenever they wake me up for the next shoot, I'm always very moody.

3.55p.p. : I'm in the midst of filming a new thriller movie.

6.30p.m. : Finally the shots are over for the day and I go for a dip to relax.

9.00p.m : I'm home reading some good books. This is my favourite quote from a cat book.

And then, I dose off...zzzzz......

Love is...

2005-12-17T16:13:00.000+08:00

This post is inspired by my interest in a sweet comic called "Love Is...".

Captured here are some precious love moments.

Enjoy...

Love is...when two hearts become one.

Love is...staying by each other's side all the time.

Love is...sharing a hot tub together.

Love is...letting the other snuggle up for warmth.

Love is...sharing the same vision of togetherness.

A cat's diary

2005-12-08T20:51:00.000+08:00

"When I was borned, I was the clear favourite to my mom"

"One day, mom saw me bored and brooding..."

"so she decided to take me shopping, in her bag"

"She bought me a dollie so that I won't be lonely"

"You see, mom knows I don't like to sleep alone"

"I would rather be with my brothers and sisters, but they sometimes run off without me..."

"...so I hang out with my friends, who are all very different from me"

"Why, even my best friend is different from me. She has a sharp nose that hurts mine but I love her anyway"

Cats do what we do too

2005-12-01T21:52:00.000+08:00

1. We like to hide under covers to keep warm. So do cats.

2. We drink from our pint glasses. Who says they can't? Except they don't do it that well.

3. We can be gardeners and cats can have green paws too.

4. Some of us are couch potatoes. What makes you think some cats aren't?

5. Guys like models in bikinis and lingerie, well there are "guy" cats too.

6. We are affectionate and show our affections with hugs and kisses. Cats are loving too.

Mysty Cat & Dog Calendar 2006

2005-11-21T13:46:00.000+08:00

Discovered another news article on an animal lover project called Mysty Cat & Mysty Dog Calendars 2006. This is another animal welfare effort to raise funds to save abandoned animals.

Gosh, suddenly it sounds like we have lots of abandoned cats and dogs in Malaysia!

Friends of Felix update

2005-11-18T11:09:00.000+08:00

Great news, the Friends of Felix program as posted previously has seen 14 of the 24 abandoned kitties being adopted so far. Some kind and generous souls also donated to help upkeep the program. God bless you all.

Big hazard to cats

2005-11-17T17:06:00.000+08:00

Self-explanatory story...

Just checking it out. Can't harm, can it?

Let's explore deeper into this thing

..............................

Instantly Involved

2005-11-16T09:40:00.000+08:00

Instantly Involved is an exhibition that aims to raise funds for SPCA. The exhibition showcases black & white photography by Debra Tan on pets and their owners. The exhibition starts on 26 Nov to 9 Dec 2005.

Some of the works by Debra Tan.

Heart warming pictures

2005-11-15T14:11:00.000+08:00

Got these from forwarded mails and would like to share with the catlovers/catbloggers out there.

"This is my best friend"

Love story between cat and mouse?

"Is this my mommy?"

"And who is this??!"

Fur mites & excessive grooming

2005-11-13T17:17:00.000+08:00

We made it to the vet and Piper was definitely not very happy with the visit. The vet ran a blood test and watched a sample of her fur under a microscope. He did a check on those patches and explained that those are her own doings in the course of cleaning herself. As it turns out, she's suffering from some sensitivity from fur mites plus the effects of excessive grooming.

She got a dose of Frontline spray all over and in another 2 to 3 weeks I've gotta do it on her again. So do Prue and Phoebe; I suspect they would have them too but not suffering as badly as Piper.

Thank God there are no major complications. Phew!!!

Thanks too for you caring cats and moms out there, Piper sends her purrs.

Friends of Felix

2005-11-11T11:06:00.000+08:00

This piece of news have been printed in several papers for a week now. Over 30 kitties are abandoned to live in debris with no one to care for and feed them. Hope the SPCA is garnering enough support from feline lovers out there to adopt them in the Friends of Felix project. The program starts on Nov 12 at SPCA.

Piper needs another vet opinion

2005-11-05T11:14:00.000+08:00

Piper's been losing fur on both sides of her hind legs, tail and even around her tummy area. It's been more than 6 months and having seen 2 different vets, they seem to agree it's a hormonal problem.

She's obsessed with grooming herself and lately there're red patches on those areas which could be self injury or insect bites.

I'm planning to bring her to another vet for a 3rd opinion. If anyone else has seen something like this, please share your experience or rather your kittie's experience.

Thanks.

Cat asthma

2005-10-20T16:52:00.000+08:00

It’s common to hear people say they are allergic to cats because of the cat hair. But here’s something new. Heard on the radio that a Scottish scientist found that humans can cause cats to suffer fatal asthma attacks! How’s that?!!

On my just washed car???

2005-10-10T11:03:00.000+08:00

Of all days, neighbour's cat decides to have a lazy afternoon rest-time on my car...just when I've sent it for washing and it's shining in all its glory!!

Oops, you caught me.

I'm just cleaning myself on your clean car.

Watch me go at it!

I'm almost done now...

Just one last spot...

Ahh...all cleaned up and now time for a nap.

Introducing Mozart

2005-10-06T15:56:00.000+08:00

Here's the biodata of this lovely blue-eyed boy as provided by his captor:

Name : Mozart

Breed : Persian (white)

Born : Melbourne, (flew him over as cargo to Malaysia with me)

Age : 10 years

Weight : Over

Criminal record : numerous conviction for stealing food

Favorite word : meow

He will be totally independent if only he can use the can opener.

Kitty joke

2005-10-05T17:53:00.000+08:00

A joke I got from an email. Here goes:

Ted is 7-year old and he's very bad in essay writing. One day the teacher asked the class to write a 500-word essay base on any title they like. Ted thought real hard and finally he started his essay:

Titled: Composition - my lost cat

One day I lost my kitty, I went out to the street and started calling:

kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty
kitty kitty...but she never comes back, that's how I lost my cat.
(510 words)

Babies' favourite food

2005-10-05T11:52:00.000+08:00

Tried various flavours and brands, but the ultimate winner of the babies' stomachs is the Friskies Kitten food! Probably the reason why they're slightly overweight.

This is where it all started

2005-10-04T11:17:00.000+08:00

I used to dislike cats. In my 2nd year at uni, I rented a room and stayed with the landlady. She had 2 huge cats. There were times when she would open my room door to let her cats in (her reason was that before I moved in, her cats used to hang out there. Crap!). Once there, they disrupted my stuff - dropped my speakers, my little crystal pieces sprawled all over the floor and slept on my bed.

My landlady even started feeding them the milk I bought for myself, and sometimes the meat I stocked up in the fridge. Yes, I was the unwilling cat provider and she didn't care that I disapproved of her "stealing" my stuff for her cats.

That changed about a year after when I moved out. I got to know DK and he has the most adorable cat. I started to get acquianted with the handsome little thing. Soon, he got as attached to me as I did with him. He was the sweetest thing ever. He kept me company in times of loneliness. That was when I fell in love in the feline world.

He's the reason I have 3 of my own now.

Here's a picture galore dedicated to the handsome fella, BC.

Ain't I handsome?

BC basking in the sunlight from my bedroom window.

A portrait of BC.

I don't get to see BC anymore but I will always remember him as the first cat-love of my life.

Drink up, or just sulk by the corner

2005-09-30T10:40:00.000+08:00

Got loudly MEOWED at last night because the drinking bottles were empty. Once I got them filled up, Piper was gulping away...

with her very own style too. It's called the "Look Ma, No Hands" style of drinking.

And now Prue joins her.

There was another bottle on the landing floor for Phoebe but that girl wasn't drinking. She preferred to sulk =(

Finally, Piper and Prue were drunk on water...

Conversation with Furballs

2005-09-29T17:08:00.000+08:00

Me: Hi babies! Meow!!!
Furballs: ........
Me: *open food container*
Furballs: Meow, meow! Meorrw!

Later...

Piper: Meowww!!! Meoww!!! Meow!!!!!!
Me: Piper, what's up?
Piper: Meow! Meow! Meow! Meow!
Me: It's only the rain, it's not gonna hurt you. Promise, OK?
Piper: *blink* *walks to Prue*

Me: Pipe, don't go smelling Prue's butt la!!
Prue: *blank look*
Piper: *sniffing*
Phoebe *looking at them*

Cats!

Introducing BamBam

2005-09-28T12:30:00.000+08:00

SW's new found love, BamBam. Handsome boy with a nice collar with a bell!

Me harrassing BamBam.

2005-09-26T16:31:00.000+08:00

The many faces of the 3 furballs.

Babies went for boarding

2005-09-26T15:13:00.000+08:00

Friday night after dinner, I had to pack them up and take them to the pet shop for boarding over the weekend 'coz I was gonna be away. Before taking them out, I actually spent the day before "talking to them" about it. Doubt they understood it. Anyway, Piper was purring and kept flopping in the voyager when we got there. That was either "Ooh I love it here with new friends that go woof and also those that hiss" or, "Please don't leave me here. Here, lemme purr for you, now take me home!"

Anyway, when I picked them up last night, they seemed OK. Still being nice to me the rest of the night and purring. How forgiving my babies are!

Chicken Soup For The Cat's Soul

2005-09-22T15:30:00.000+08:00

There's a new brand of cat food in the market. Saw it at the supermarket - "Chicken Soup For The Cat's Soul" dry food! We've got a small pack to try. The food must be quite sweetish because I found a bunch of ants at the unfinished bits of food. Sweets for the cats? The neighbour's cat seems to like it too. Hope it really is soothing to the cats' souls.

Rain scares my babies

2005-09-22T14:47:00.000+08:00

Mom sms-ed me while I'm at work now, she says the babies are meowing their little stressed out heads off because it's pouring.

Piper was especially scared and her meows are loudest. I've heard them whenever I'm home and it's raining. It breaks my heart. I hold her close and I hear her purring, but I'm not sure if she's feeling contented or nervous. Though she's purring, her eyes are wide with fear and uncertainty. So I guess they're more of purrs of nervousness.

Prue just stays cuddled up somewhere, preferable somewhere to hide under. She meows once in a while but is mostly alert and watching the surroundings. The movements of her ears sharpen with each strike of the thunder.

Phoebe, surprisingly, is the calmest of them all. She'll hide but she doesn't look as distressed as the others and she does not meow even a bit. Sometimes she goes to Prue and stays close to her. I think it's more for her own comfort than to give Prue comfort.

Anyway, as I'm thankful for the rain because of the dryness we are going through now, my poor babies are praying it'll go away.

Slumbering Piper

2005-09-14T11:50:00.000+08:00

Piper accompanied me watching TV last night. As always, when she's comfortably settled and not obssessively grooming herself, she would close her eyes and go to sleep. I was gently holding her and scratching her cheeks and chin and she went to sleep laying on my hand. I didn't have the heart to wake her so I had a numb arm for about half an hour.

My slumber baby...

Slumber baby turned over and my fingers had a break...

Completely rolled over to the other side.

Flopper cat

2005-09-13T11:01:00.000+08:00

Two nights ago Prue came up to me and meowed for attention. Sitting cross legged on the floor, I rubbed her back and tummy while she stood in front of my legs. I was watching TV and giving her a back rub at the same time. Then I felt a thud on my feet and the warmth of the soft fur. She flopped on my lap and had her legs wide apart, accompanied by loud purring. She closed her eyes and laid there while I continue to scratch her. In another corner I saw Phoebe eyeing us, also laying on her back with all 4 legs pointing at the ceiling. Piper was busy cleaning herself in the center of the room.

Last night I walked in on them while Prue and Phoebe were cuddled together and Piper fast asleep. Prue was kneading Phoebe in the stomach while Phoebe had her paw stretched out on Prue's neck, trying to create some distance I'm guessing. I've seen them do this a few times and I never get enough of it. I stood there for a long time gazing at them...feels like my eternity. :)

Food experiment: conclusion

2005-09-13T10:58:00.000+08:00

Before I could do more on the food experiment like I planned, my neighbour decided to switch brands for her cat while I maintain the brand she so claimed her cat doesn't like. True enough she went home to eat! But she still came back often to meow for food. I guess it's part brand and part where she likes it.

The gardener nightmare

2005-09-05T09:50:00.000+08:00

If there's one thing they hate more than taking baths, the furballs are terrified whenever the gardener shows up. They hate the sound of grass cutting, and the gardener himself who seems to tower over them with his equipment.

Prue and Phoebe knew something was amiss when they were brought into the house after breakfast. Prue went crazy meowing loudly all over while Phoebe immediately found her hiding spot and stayed there as quietly as possible.

Prue then went on to join her in the hiding spot, a corner behind the curtains, and they hid there for more than an hour, hardly moving. No meows, no movement. If not for the bulge in the flow of the curtain, I wouldn't be able to find them. When I went to take a peek, they remained still and I could only detect the movement of the eyes and ears. Talk about being paranoid!

Piper on the other hand, was pretty comfortable. She was trying to sleep but the noise kept her awake so she just sat and stared outside.

Food experiment: part I

2005-09-01T10:27:00.000+08:00

According to my neighbour, she buys a different brand of cat food for her cats from mine. And her reason for her cat eating at my place is that she prefers the brand I use. So for experiment sake, I bought a small pack of the brand my neighbour uses and fed her cat. She ate it all the same! But I'm not sure if my neighbour bought the normal palate ones or the pocket ones. I tested it out with palates. So my next mission is to try on her the pockets and see if she still eats them. Just trying to see if the brand is really the reason she keeps coming over. Wait up for part II to come!

Nearly a barbequed cat

2005-08-30T14:22:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-30T10:08:00.000+08:00

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!

2005-08-29T13:14:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-25T14:59:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-11T14:41:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-08T14:24:00.000+08:00

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!

I want a cat collar!!

2005-07-26T12:05:00.000+08:00

I adore seeing cats wearing a nice collar with a bell on it. It's endearing and quite cute to hear that little tinkle as the furball trods along. And so I tried putting on collars for my furballs but I was met with utter dismay and they gave me a hard time to even fix the collars to their necks.

All that head-bobbing and paw-pushing efforts were meant to tell me something. After I managed to snap on the collar, they kept going round and round trying to get at the collars and just couldn't settle comfortably in them. I was worried the poor dears would feel dizzy just going in circles. After a few minutes of watching this, I decided to remove them. It's too torturing to watch that silent protest.

Whenever I see nice coloured collars, I am still tempted. It feels like such a pity that the little furballs don't like to accessorize. It's just so pretty on them... :(

The one where they hid and hissed

2005-07-25T10:25:00.000+08:00

The day after their baths, the furballs were driven to the vet for their annual vaccination. There were meows of protests coming from Prue as she was carried into the voyager. On the way to the vet, Piper meowed all the way while the other two remained quiet and probably all cuddled up.

When we got there Piper was still meowing and the other two tried to squeeze as far back into the voyager as possible. It was quite a funny scenario. If they could make themselves smaller, I think they would, just for the sake of hiding themselves to be saved from the unpleasantness of being at the vet's. You can hardly see Phoebe as she tried to hide as much of herself as she possibly can.

The consultation with each of them started with the weighing and then taking of temperature. The furballs have put on weight since the last time they were there. Each of them weigh no less than 4kgs and according to the vet, they're slightly above average and if I keep feeding them accessive food, they will qualify as obese cats! I thought they were heavy but it never crossed my mind they were overweight. Oh well, no more suppers I guess.

After the vaccination, they haven't been eating. Lots of food left over on their dishes and they are quiet and sit with half closed eyes in their own corners. The vet says it's normal and could last for 2 days. So give them another day and they would have the energy to snub me for sending them to the vet.

The one with the baths

2005-07-25T10:12:00.000+08:00

The furballs finally got their baths. The rainy weeks didn't give me much chance to soak them even though it's warm water running through their bodies. The last weekend however was pretty warm and nice so it made perfect time for a bath.

The baths were responded with long loud meows throughout the "ordeal", especially for Phoebe. The other two meowed at times but were easily soothed with kisses on the noses and by softly talking to them.

It took an hour to finish off the baths and a couple more to let them dry out. As usual the "escape from the hairdryer" routine worked perfectly for them as they struggled and wiggled until they could feel the loosening of the grip and dashed off somewhere to hide.

For dinner that night they had steamed chicken. Needless to say, all that "ordeal" was long forgotten and we were good again. :)

The freshly steamed chicken fillets.

Pet Vaccination Month

2005-07-20T11:36:00.000+08:00

Read in this week's papers that July is the month of Pet Vaccination and they're going at a subsidized rate at selected vets nationwide. Good thing the normal vet I go to is a participating vet. Looks like it's vaccination time this weekend! I've also gotten one just yesterday...not a pet vaccine, of course!

You can check out more by going to the SPCA website here: http://www.spca.org.my/

Cat @ McDonald's

2005-07-19T14:32:00.000+08:00

During the weekend I stopped over at McDonald's after doing my cat-food shopping. After cooling off with cold Coke, I was on my way out when I saw a cat going after scraps that people must have threw at it.

So decided to give the poor kittie proper cat food, and there it went happily gobbling up. I hung around a little while to watch it eat and in the midst of eating, it meowed at us. I was wondering if that was a "thank you" meow. Could it be? Or was it a "go away and don't stare at me eat!"? :)

Before: Sniffing at the last of the scraps.

After: Yummy cat biscuits.

You know you're a cat freak when...

2005-07-15T13:32:00.000+08:00

1. Anything you see that relates to cats make you want to buy it...even if it's just a CD.

2. You think drinking out of a mug with a cat motif makes the drink better.

3. You wonder what cat biscuits taste like (but never daring to try it).

4. There is a slot on the key-hanger for a "cat key".

5. You save the 7-Up bottle to make a drinking bottle for the cats.

6. You use keyboard & mouse wrist-rests like these:

7. Your work station looks like this:

8. You read these books:

This weekend: cat in a tub

2005-07-13T14:09:00.000+08:00

It's about time the furballs get a wash. The last time they got one was when I sent them boarding while I was out of the country. That was about a month ago. Since it's gonna cost quite a bit, I shall DIY the baths this time and face up the sulking and hiding. Sigh.

The baths will take me at least half a day. Starting with the trimming of claws to safeguard unwanted deep cuts and scratches, followed by the actual washing to the short-lived hairdryer blowdrying, it'll take me about 3 to 4 hours to get back my dry and fluffy furballs. They hate the hairdryer so at any chance of an escape from my grasp, they run and hide under furniture. Giving up, I let them be and turn up the fan to at least help the blowing. It doesn't get any faster than that.

Wish me luck with the baths!

Here's that sulk coming up.

Weird tastebuds

2005-07-12T17:20:00.000+08:00

Meals for my furballs are usually cat biscuits with a spoonful of canned wet food. Twice a day, they feast on these with some changes to the flavour of their canned food. I switch between kitten biscuits and adult biscuits too. On some days when I have the time, the lucky furballs are served steamed chicken fillets. I used to make them salmon too but for some reason they enjoy the chicken better.

Each of them has their own favourite kind of food. I discovered them not by feeding them different food but merely by them coming around and smelling my finger to see what I've been eating.

The youngest loves durian, believe it or not. The other two would scramble away at the smell of it. This one however, lingers and finishes a whole seed of durian. I've also got a cheese lover who eats everybody's share of cheese if served on their dish bowls. And for once, I think the rest are quite happy for someone take food off their dishes. And then there's the curry lover who would hold out her paws to hold on to my finger so that she could lick the curry sauce off my finger.

I don't encourage much of these savoury foods for them anyway. They are already dropping enough fur so the savouries shall be kept to a minimum. Speaking of fur, I also hand out treats to help with their furball problem. Then there's the supplement for good skin and hair control but they would never eat it. I stick it between their food and they just avoid that blob and eat everything else. Crushing it and sprinkling into their food is an option but I would hate for them to have food they don't enjoy (I think that supplement may have some bitter after-taste as with all pills).

So much for a healthy diet.

When they cuddle and snuggle

2005-07-12T13:49:00.000+08:00

Nothing feels warmer than to see your furballs cuddled together in a corner and grooming each other. The paws tangled on each other, sometimes kneading each other like how they used to knead their mom as kittens, the sound of their purring, are never enough for me. If only I had a video camera and capture those moments. Photographs don't do these moments enough justice.

They have their fair share of cat fights and battles of hisses and teeth-bearing episodes too. Those are amusing to watch but I never get near. Let's face it, I don't have claws and teeth as sharp as theirs and therefore I am not a close match at all. So staying out of the way and see who emerges the winner is a better option.

One of the more amusing fights I've witnessed is of Phoebe using her "dirty" fighting style. She inches close to her "opponent" bit by bit, cautiously and all of a sudden sits on the opponent's head! Needless to say, she gets a lot of hisses and paw scramblings. If cats could smile, I swear that you would see her grinning.

Anyway, even after all those dirty tactics, hissing, chasing and paw-clobbering, I'm glad they could still find moments to hug each other and lick away the blues. As much as I would love to know how that feels like, I think my skin would give way after a few minutes of their tongues on me. So I stick to cuddling up to them (amidst questioning looks from them) and listen in on those purrs.

Cat-love or Cat-hate points?

2005-07-08T17:21:00.000+08:00

Nothing beats an hour long of grooming session for the furballs. Nice back and tummy rubs for them. In return, they make purry music for me. Win-win situation, what's so bad about that? Not only do I score more "cat love" points for me, they also look so silky afterwards!

But if the grooming includes a shower, then it's a love-hate situation. Only thing to save the relationship is to do more combing time to make up for the "cat hate" points! If the extra time on combing still doesn't do it, a nice kittie treat should be given, followed on with lots of nice stroking on the cheeks and under the chin. That ought to do it. Ta-dah!! Beautiful cat and still OK on "cat love" points. :)

Musical Dish Bowl

2005-07-08T16:19:00.000+08:00

When the breakfast/dinner dishes are handed out to my furballs, they fall into place at their own dish. I've never trained them to which dish they should go to but they somehow worked it out amongst themselves. But after about 3 minutes of eating from their own bowls, they do a version of musical chair, rotating to eat from each other's dish.

One of them purrs easily even when you don't touch her. When she's really hungry and sees breakfast/dinner coming, she's already purring. She continues to purr while eating too. Who says only some people can do more than 1 thing at a time?

The small contentment in life...the purring certainly can lull me to sleep! :)

What are they looking at?

2005-07-06T17:43:00.000+08:00

I know cats are sensitive and can see the smallest and fastest flying insects. But sometimes, there really isn't any insect flying about and you still see the quick turn of the head, big attentive eyes, perky ears, all focused on something.

That disturbs me especially when I'm home alone and they go do that. Wonder if there's something else they're looking at? Sometimes more than just staring, they go running in the direction they were looking at. I take that as them acting up and just wanna play chase or get some exercise since I often say "look, your tummy is about to touch the ground when you're standing".

Guess I'll never know what all those are about. Shrug it off and turn back to my TV, whadaya think?

If cats can talk

2005-07-06T17:11:00.000+08:00

If cats can talk, I bet the first thing they'll tell the human is "stop meowing at us, your meows don't mean a thing! We only meow because we can't form words".

I don't know how many people believe this but I'm confident to say most pet owners will share the believe that their pets can talk and understand what is being said to them. Otherwise how do you explain the rigorous training sessions of "Sit!", "Jump!", "Fetch!" and a whole string of other tricks?

You may think I'm crazy or simply trying too hard to understand my cats, but each time they meow I could almost hear a translation of those meows into words in my head. So am I just imagining it because I'm desperate to know what they're talking about? Perhaps.

Most times I talk to them out loud and they either just stare or meow back. I wonder if we're even on the same topic although I could go on and on imagining them responding to what I said. As crazy as that may sound to lots of people out there, it makes me happy. Whether it's illusional or not, hey at least I'm not reported to some mental institution!