Hari Raya Haji

Err..guests? Will they leave me alone?

WHAT? More people in my house?

Ho-hum...it's going to be a dull day inside then...

People make me tired. I'll just sleep the day away...zzz

Hari Raya Haji came with the necessary trimmings of guests. The amigos don't like guests all that much except Bujang who can do without them. I thought I would take Toro out along the corridor as I knew later that he would stay in the room as long as there are other people in the house. He just sat along the corridor looking at the plants and dozed a little.

A little later, guests came to the house and Toro scampered inside grandma's room but they went into grandma's room. The poor kitty was trapped and once the door opened , he ran into his orange house where he felt safe from everyone. because he is pretty to look at, he is a great favourite but he has managed to elude everyone all this time.

Bujang took everything in his stride and after he greeted everyone, he went to bed and is still in bed after 4 hours! He was in his snugs, then on my bed, in his snugs and on my bed. I bet he is either bored to tears or making up for lost sleep.

Megat spent his time on top of grandma's cupboard away from the fray and of course his arch enemy Ms Akira just hid herself. :))

All in all life is pretty normal here.

Saturday slumber

Peace away from Megat...

I don't care if its too small. It's safe!

I don't care. I'm too sleepy...

Wha...a..aa..t? I didn't do anything.

The amigos spent the whole afternoon sleeping. Ms Akira whined alittle. I think she was complaining about Megat :) Toro came to get his coat brushed and Bujang just wanted some reasurance. Then they all went into the room to sleep. Shaolin Megat was just minding his own business of intimidating everyone who wanted my attention. :( When all the other kitties went to nap, he had nothing to do and kept walking round and round so I got him into his cage and he fell asleep in no time. Phew!

Morning stroll

It smells funny....

I will be safer here...

On this fine Saturday I thought I would take Bujang to the park. The grass would be dry and he would be able to walk if he wanted to. He didn't want to walk on the grass at all, preferring to stalk close to the walls for the whole hour with intermittent visits to the void deck. He visited the kindergarten but it was closed :)

So I brought him to the shop as I had to buy milk for grandma and we made our way home slowly, stoping frequently along the way so he could watch the goings-on from inside his carrier. I hope to bring him downstairs more frequently next year, after the monsoon season. I also hope our alone sessions would make up for having Megat always sticking to me in the house. Megat has taken to sleeping on my stomach yesterday. :)

Zoom in Shaolin Megat

His face looks better these days. His right eye is a little runny and I have to wipe it everyday after dinner. He sometimes drools a little. I suspect its because there are gaps in his teeth. His nose has no fur yet poor kitty! But I must admit he is looking more handsome these days. Dr Su says the ear was tipped too deeply. She advised that when I bring a cat to the vet the next time for ear-tipping, I should request that the vet tips the ears at the very end as there are blood vessels in the ears. I had brought Megat to another vet for neutering though and did not think of this.

His fur looks more luxuriant and darker. It has grown quite alot and is much softer. It is also cleaner as I have to clean his fur with warm salt water after dinner everyday. He is used to this routine and would not bolt from me.

The lighter spots are where he had lost his fur before. The spots are his skin under the grown fur. The lighter flecks on his fur are lice!!! I check the other kitties for lice everyday too. Dr Su said that that the other kitties may get the lice as every time Megat scratches, it might waft in the air :( So she said since I had let him out after 3 days, I should just allow him to walk about to strengthen his muscles. I saw the louse under the microsope too. ARGHHHH!!! But then when Bujang and Toro had fur mites, I also saw them under the microscope. Double ARGHHH!! I would just have to let it run and use Revolution religiously. Dr Su says I would not get cat lice..hahaha. I think she saw I was panic-striken when I was in the office before.

Don't try to mess with me dude!

Peace at last

Ms Akira is not to be trifled with. She makes her intentions very clear and she does not suffer fools gladly, especially when the fool is a male cat who tries to wrestle her for position.

This morning, she was deeply insulted when Megat tried his Shaolin moves on her by trying to get up on her computer table. She snarled and slapped him right smack on his face several times. Megat decided that retreat was the best defence and made a run for it. Now whenever he tries to get up, she would jump down from the top of the cupboard where she usually sleeps and stares him down. Megat would then try not to stare at her as he would any other kitty, and leave.

She does not hesitate and would sleep on the place from which she had ousted Megat. I only worry about the lice but the vet assures me that as long as everyone has been treated with Revolution, all the lice would die. I need 3 other applications for everyone for the next 3 months.

She is truly a super formidable female!

New timetable

Safe and sound asleep

The old aunty came knocking on my door at about 7 pm and told me she would feed the Wild Bunch. I was quite surprised as her hands are still a little swollen but I did not protest as I had a whole day of meetings today and was very tired. I am really grateful to her. She said, "Hari banyak hujan. Lu banyak susah jalan sana-sana. Saya kasi makan semua-semua. Hari Sabtu dan tujuh lu kasi kucin bawah makan. Saya kasi kucing lain. " Translated : Its raining hard and you have to walk a distance to feed the cats. I will feed the cats tonight and for Saturday and Sunday, you feed the cat downstairs (Little Calico) and I will feed the rest.

So I spent the time cleaning out the bins and sitting with the kitties and of course catching up on my blog as I have not been able to blog some days ago because the lines are down. I hope the aunty cleans up after she feeds them.

Bujang and his Megat trials

I want more treats please...

Eversince Megat came to live with us, Bujang has been finding it quite a trial to live with a 4th cat. I think he has been quite accomodating with Akira and Toro and he quite understood how to live with them but Megat is an enigma to him. Of course Megat is not your ordinary cat having lived for 10+ years so he does not like to be trifled with apart from the fact that he is still quite nervous of them all. Bujang spends alot of his time now with me in the computer room as do Toro and Akira. I would have (like the case now) all 3 cats with me with Bujang on the cushions, Toro sleeping on his computer shelf and AKira right smack in front of my monitor. It's like a hide-out. Usually at some point before bedtime, I have to put Megat in his cage so he can rest without me (and I can work) and this also gives the rest of the household some rest time away from uncertainty.

But the upside is now Bujang would actually eat some Natural Balance which I feed Megat. The other two still would not entertain such an idea. Bujang has also taken to eating cod liver oil quite willingly. Of cos then he grooms himself and he smells of cod liver oil. Kind of yukk. So I have to wipe him out but its a small price to pay I think.

I hope to get Bujang to eat Natural Balance as I have seen what a difference it makes to Megat's coat and general health. Megat used to eat 2 cans a day but now he only eats about 3/4 of a can which is ok for his weight and size. I hope to get Bujang's weight down in this way too. :) I will work on the other 2 more slowly especially Toro Tunabelly whose idea of food is exteremly narrow.

Shaolin Megat - what are you up to?

The stalker

Shaolin Megat is a good stalker, especially because he is small and surprisingly quick for a 10 - year old. He sometimes surprises the kitties by jumping at them from under tables and beds causing a great deal of consternation among them. Once they have been scared by Shaolin Megat, they would all go find a roost to rest in to recover.

The show-off

His confidence grows each day and he has now managed to walk around the house without wanting to slink against walls nor find the first available place under which to hide out.

The baby

Grandma and Megat now have a new understanding. This is important as when I go to work, grandma takes care of all the kitties and if she has to spend her time looking for Megat, life would be difficult for the both of them. After several days of trial and error, grandma managed to make friends with Megat and even invited him to sit on her lap. I advised grandma that she has to be careful with Toro who might get jealous :) So later, grandma cuddled Toro too. :) We hope that this would lessen the panic when they have to face each other.

The first day (after the missing cat episode) they were together, he actually opened one of the kitchen cabinets and stayed inside. Grandma spent some time calling for him and when she finally opened the doors to check, she found him calmly sitting in a box. It was quite frightening as there was a bottle of detergent in it. We have since secured the kitchen cabinet doors so he would not be able to do this again.

The Sleepy-head

Today Megat actually had the courage to nap by himself away from us. Of course I was near him so he was not so afraid. This is a big step for Megat who has to live with 3 other cats. I think in his previous life in the carpark, he had no other cats to consider. Possibly only Casanova who fights with him for territory.

The old aunty

Toro telling me he doesn't like the camera

I wanted to blog about the old aunty some days ago but forgot. I saw the old aunty (the one who used to feed the Wild Bunch) after many months last Thurday. She saw me walking to feed FatBoy and waited for me. I had just come from feeding Little Calico and had cleared some biscuits someone had strewn on the floor. When I saw her, I guessed she might be the one and it turned out to be true as I also saw strewn biscuits where FatBoy was. Sigh.... I had told her many times before not to do this but I guess she had forgotten the dangers to the cats.

I fed FatBoy and spoke to her again about the dangers of feeding the cats and not cleaning up after them. She nodded her head and told me she would try to remember. Then I saw her swollen hands. Whah! They were red and must surely be painful. She told me that they were the result of standing 9 hours a day washing coffee cups in detergent. I advised her to use gloves but she told me she was not used to it.

Then I told her that I had rehomed Screaming Banshee and she didn't have to go to the carpark again to feed him. I also told her that ST told me no one was coming to get the cats and the TC would not be sending people down to catch anyone or any cat. Then to drive home the point, I told her that she must feed the cats properly or else someone might complain and the TC would have to take action. Added to this, the left over food might even attract cockroahes and rats and the cats might get sick also. I also told her it was not wrong to feed the cats. It is only wrong to litter. She has been very afraid of being caught by the TC people. I think the cleaners etc have been scaring her too.

She then brought me to see a white cat in another area. She said this cat had gven birth but she could not find the kittens. I told her that the white cat may have hidden her kittens from view. I also told her that once the kittens are weaned she would have to help me catch the white cat for spaying as the white cat is familiar with her. She agreed. It seemed that this white cat is friendly with Casanova so I guess the kittens night be Casanova's kittens too.

I told her that I would feed the Wild Bunch until her hands are better. Then we can see to the timetable as next year I would be working again and there would be days and days of meetings and may not be able to feed them everyday.

Shaolin Megat and the boys

You check Bujang, are you sure...

Wait a minute. Let me see..sniff..sniff...

I think we will be much safer here...

Ok..whatever you say. He has not come to the tunnel yet so I am safe.

The boys tread much more carefully these days, sniffing their way through the house, instead of bounding their way through it. They stop to sniff at every turn to see if Megat has been there and to be sure HE has been there. Once they have determined Megat's route/s, they would just avoid it and if they couldn't they would just sit or sleep on higher ground.

I think it affects Bujang more than the others. Bujang is very suspicious of Megat and I think a little afraid of him. So every night I would have to clean myself of all traces of Megat before going to bed because Bujang would give me the once over before he would rest for the night.

This is not an easy thing as Megat sticks to me all the time and refuses to go anywhere where I am not. Just now Toro came to ask for a scritch amd Megat immediately came in between us. So I had to scritch two cats at once. Thank goodness I have 2 hands..hahaha

AVA Poster

Yesterday when I was on my way to the bus stop, I saw this AVA poster. It was right beside the bus stop but not facing it. It would have been better if this poster was facing the bus stop and the one about Singapore partying the night away at New Year to be behind.

But whatever it is, at least some people would be reading this and be reminded that pets are not toys to be bought or sold and then put on the shelf like so many knick-knacks. I had actually voted for this series in The Straits Times.

The cat in the poster is also avery beautiful calico. I wonder if its a community cat. I also wonder if I can get this poster from the AVA.

...and to all a good night

Ms Akira's favourite spot...on a lap under the warm lamps...

Toro sleeping in the aircon under my blanket...

Bujang trying to keep awake but not all that successful...

Megat sleeping soundly away from cars and all things dangerous...

The amigos all had quite a good time this Christmas. They ate and ran about, lazed but mostly slept the day away as it was raining all day and even now, I can hear rain outside. I had a nice nap too with Toro with the air-con on. I know it was cold but I had to shut the windows against the rain and after that, the room was too stuffy for sleep. Toro was curled up so I knew he was cold and so had shared my blanket with him :)

Megat's usual sleeping position as as shown here. His fur is much better after a short diet on Natural Balance. I think after 5 days, his fur looked and felt better. The salt wipes have been useful too as I had managed to get rif of all the matted hair and clotted sand and grass that stuck to his skin. The mat was so bad that I couldn't have pulled the dried grass and sand off his skin without tearing it. He now lives an unclotted life :) He has gotten quite used to the routine at dinner of dinner + cod liver oil, clean with salt wipes, toilette, dinner, last clean with salt wipes, vitamins. He even lets me clean his stomach and the underside of his legs without protest. He sometimes makes it easy for me by showing me his tummy :)There are no more bouts of kungfu fighting anymore as the cats give each other a wide berth. But it is early days yet.

What did you get in your christmas stockings

I hope all the cats got what they wanted for Christmas :)
Toro got an extra tuna cos he has been a good boy and extremely friendly to strangers in need.
Bujang got extra nap time away from Shaolin Megat and a thin slice of cheese (diet be d****)
Ms Akira got extra attention and scritches from visitors.
Shaolin Megat got to sit on top of grandma's cupboard for a world view of the amigo house.
Everyone has got a nice Christmas collar and brillinat jewel :) [actually this is for me]
Grandma got some hot piping mee rebus.
And I found framingstation where I can have free samples. WOOHOO.

Shaolin Megat

Megat taking a break from scaring the kitties

Megat is a great velcro cat. I had heard of the expression velcro-cat before but didn't know what it feels like to have a cat who wants to stick to you all the time. It's quite a new experience for me as all of the other kitties are not exactly overly affectionate. I have put it to the fact that he is still very nervous around everyone, even grandma. When I am not at home, he would hide himself and not come out even for food when grandma calls him.

When I am home, he makes sure that he sticks to me all the time, so much so that if I have to do feed the kitties or do any kind of work, I have to put him in his cage or else he would follow me about. One thing though, he has learnt if I am in the computer room, he makes himself scarce as the other kitties might be in the same room with me or with grandma who watches TV in the computer room too.

But one thing for sure. He is very much calmer now and more confident of himself except he takes a great deal of exception when the other kitties come to see or inspect him. He has been with us for 11 days and for such a short time, he has made very good progress.

Celebration

Thanks to cat_aunty for sending this pic of a christmas ornament. I wanted to use it as a bullet but that kind of tech expertise failed me :) Anyway to celebrate Christmas, I got the amigos some Christmas collars with christmas trees and snowmen. Even Megat is looking rather festive and the green and red looks nice on his black fur. The boys minus Megat is busy chasing each other around the living room full of Christmas cheer. I hope people will drive safely this very wet Christmas Eve.

Casanova unveiled

The very male Casanova who sometimes comes to dinner

I finally got a picture of Casanova in daylight. He is quite a magnificent green-eyed full Tom with a soft voice. He seems to be quite fearful of FatBoy and would try to hide from him, without much success I must say as FB would always smell him out and then I would have quite a choir with FB singing solo. So I would have to get him to sit someplace else so I can get him something to eat. He does not have a fixed time-table with us but I see him once or twice in a week, sometimes none. I thought I would have only 3 to look after once Megat is with me but it seems now I may have 31/2 cats :)

Casanova making his way home...pass the infamous carpark

I don't really know if Casanova stays in this infamous carpark where Megat used to stay or Screaming Banshee as was. The Man told me he has seen Casanova and Screaming Banshee yelling at each other once upon a time. I do not go to this carpark nowadays as Screaming Banshee is now living with us as Shaolin Megat :))

Until the next time...

ST (the TC contact) told me that indeed there were many complaints about the 'nuisance' black cat in the carpark, from drivers to cleaners to environment officers. It seems they have been trying to catch it but they have been unsuccessful. ST also told me that if I had released SB back to the carpark, it was only a matter of time before they send the AVA as essentially there is nothing much that can be done if we cannot 'rehabilitate' a cat. The defecation complaints range from poo-ing on the floor to car bonnets. ST said he was suspicious of such reports of cats poo-ing on bonnets as am I. That can only be human mischief.

I hope Casanova would not be the next victim.

When the going gets tough

What's that noise?

Oh no! Gotta go.

Phew! Nothing can get me here...

I hope it's not.....

Shaolin Megat!!

Bujang must really be afraid of Shaolin Megat. I have never seen him hide under covers at all. That is usually Ms Akira's speciality. I think Bujang has never experienced any cat doing the Double-Foreleg move on him like Shaolin Megat did some days ago. He has not gotten over that yet. For the time being, he is just keeping a low profile.

As a matter of fact, all the kitties are keeping a low profile when it comes to Shaolin Megat. Toro actually ran off when Megat walked quite determinedly towards him this morning. I do not know if Megat had any intention to show who is boss but Toro did not give him a chance. Ms Akira gingerly walks around Megat and does not respond unless he comes very near her. Then its hissing and snarling as well as claws. Megat has not shown her any of his Shaolin moves... yet. I am just waiting for the great showdown.

I think Bujang is feeling quite low these days. He is not depressed or anything but he is taking over Toro's sleeping blanket and sits on the bed more. Usually he would just get up on the cupboard and sleep. More TLC all round then. Thank goodness I don't have to go to work until wednesday and can nurse everyone's hurt egos.

Friends

How are you ah?

Bujang was busy commiserating with Ms Akira about her fear of Shaolin Megat. He came to her as she was sitting on my fresh bedsheets and sniffed comfort - just like a big brudder. :) Ms Akira only likes Bujang. I think its because Bujang was only 8 months when we got her from the SPCA. She was 6 months then. They have quite a long history. I am getting quite nostalgic on Christmas Eve. It must be all those Christmas movies they're showing on cable :)

I hope they show the Dickens movie - A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart. I saw this one last year. I actually liked the one with Rowan Atkinson more but I don't think cable would be airing that one :)

Christmas cheer

Fanks furr the cheerrs cat_aunty

I went to the 'puter and san showeded me the pikshur of tuxedo playin' basketball. I was tryin to sniff the smell of the Crazee Shaolin Cat. The pikshur cheereded me up some. I told san to say my fanks to you cos I have to go eat breakfast befur the CSC (Crazee Shaolin Cat) eats up my breakfast too.

san did not manage to take the pikshur of me lookin at the gift this morning cos she just woke up and finished with her chores but I told her to make sure she has her camera ready. I dunno why she has a camera if she is never ready to take my pikshurs. I can't be modelling all the time. Doesn't she know that?

cheerios and may tuna fall on your plate always
Bujang

Friday surprise

This smells different...honeysuckle and the new black cat...

This evening Ms Akira had to go to the vet at Pet Safari for her annual vaccination. Dr Soh was the vet this evening and we didn't have to wait for very long, only 10 minutes. The surgery was actually empty and we could hear some dogs barking behind closed doors.

Ms Akira behaved very well througout the whole visit and she patiently went through her deworming tablet, ear, teeth and body inspection and of course vaccination. She was so good that there was no need for the assistant to be with us. Ms Akira weighed in at 4.45 kg. Thank goodness. I didn't get a lecture about putting my cat on diet.

I asked for the deworming tablet for Toro Tunabelly. The vet asked me how much he weighed and I quickly said..errr...5 kg. So now all the kitties have eaten the deworming tablet.

Ms Akira was very frisky at home and didn't have a fever. She ate and played and is now sleeping in front of the monitor after giving Megat dire warnings for daring to get near the computer.

More cleaning....

Today Megat was upset with Bujang for daring to sniff at him. He flew at Bujang with both forelegs like one of those kung-fu fights and I actually saw fur flying. Bujang got quite a shock as did all the kitties. After that, Bujang gave him a wide berth and stayed in the bedroom for the rest of the time, only coming out for dinner. Bujang stayed either on my bed or on grandma's bed, well away from Megat-Shaolin-Cat.

I played with the kitties today using their favourite toy Da Bird. I was quite surprised that Megat decided he too wanted to play and he flew at the bird enthusiastically to the utter disgust of the rest. This reminded me of the 1st few times Toro had played with Da Bird. He monopolised the toy. However, in Toro's case it was just him throwing his weight around but with Megat it would be more claws. Bujang stayed on the bed where he would be safe and Ms Akira and Toro just stayed in the background while Megat bit and sniffed at the lure.

I also noticed that Megat actually just have one canine left so his bark would be worse than his bite. Since he thinks that grandma is after his hide (after yesterday when he was stuck behind her cupboard for 6 hours) , he has taken to sticking with me always, grooming his fur. He has also decided that I needed grooming and spent a few minutes grooming my arm. :) He is taking domestication in his stride.


If there is Father Christmas, my Christmas wish would be that the other kitties would not be so afraid of him but I guess he is even more afraid of them, therefore the Shaolin moves. :)

Cantik cookies came today

Is this for me?

It must be for me.

I think its for us...smells like...err...I dunno

Can we eat it Toro?
No Megat. I fink its fur san. Better don't touch or else...we don't get tuna.

The cantik cookies came today. I am glad they came just in time for Christmas so tomorrow I would give some away to people at the office. They were wrapped nicely with various coloured ribbons on top. They even came in an IKEA bag. I was surprised to see the carrier when I went to get the cookies but as I did not bring my own, A said I could have the bag too. :) Of course I would have to return the bag when I see them next for another fundrasing for the east coast cats.

The 2 boys came to inspect the bags. Megat and Toro have become quite friendly. Apart from the one spat that they had, things are calmer now. One of the main reasons why this has happened is that Megat is not as touchy as Bujang and he allows Toro to sniff at him for endless periods. However, Toro gets a trifle nervous when Megat sniffs back :)

Bujang has been singing for longer periods now. I think he is quite displeased that Megat is in the house although he refuses to let Megat see it. Bujang has been trying to take over Toro's sleeping blanket to Toro's great disgust which has resulted in a few spats. But there is nothing that Toro can do about it and I refuse to get into the fray. Usually Bujang would then shift his great err..bulk further and Toro gets to sleep on at least 3/4 of the blanket. Bujang has not slept on his usual cupboard perch for the whole week. I guess he wants to be with everyone else :) i am gald to see he is not depressed, just a little more quiet but Bujang will take his time before coming to any conclusions. I am sure his mind is ticking away. I am quite intersted to know his verdict of Megat.