Breaking camp

A ray of sun is all I need

A soft sofa with pillows will do for me

Sitting with san on a quiet afternoon...yes I like that

I love my grandma...

Wednesday finds the amigo household peaceful and quiet, the way we all like it. I came home from camp, feeling rather sick and with a nasty cough. I was quite thankful to see everybody so predisposed to peace-making :) I must say it was a great feeling to be home with the amigos and I was not even away for so long. It just feels that way when its camp.

Watch the birdie

First there was one.

Then there was another.

Whats up eh?

How much are the birdies on the branch grandma?

A little excietmeent broke up the amigo household this afternoon. Both ms akira and Toro actually raced to the door and sat at attention. I wondered what was up and looke dout just in time to see 2 little birdies perching on grandma's plants. They are green with a hint of yellow. Both cats just stared out, transfixed but did not chatter. Toro did not dare to sit closer to the grills as Ms Akira was there first. If it was Bujang, Toro would not be so afraid to take the next step. :) He did try to make a move but Ms Akira just turned to stare at him and he changed his mind. Hahaha.

Time out

Yup. I can see everything so much better from here.

No one dares to come near me here.

ZZZzzz...better than the carpark for sure.

I just came back from an overnight camp and decided to spend some time with the amigos. When I got home, Megat was alreday out of the cage. Grandma decided to let him alone as he was sitting quietly in his green carrier in the bedroom. As long as Megat did not beat up the kitties or try to get into her kitchen cabinets, grandma is quite willing to let him roam freely.

I wanted to rest for a bit before doing anything as I had a great horrid sunburn from walking 8km to the campsite under the sun! But as soon as I rested, Shaolin megat came to sit with me and decided that sitting on me was preferable to sitting beside me. I did not have the heart to push him away and so he sat, napped, yawned and slept on me for about 1.5 hours. Finally I had to push him off and of course he sat close to me for the other 30 minutes! He finally fell asleep by himself and I was able to get something to eat from the kitchen. But of course this did not last long :)

Changing of the guard?

Oh no! He's looking at me!!

Resistence is futile!

One of these days I think there will be a changing of the guard. I do not know if I would like it but its inevitable. I do not think Bujang has the skills to cope with Megat. Megat chases him about and he runs like the wind. But he is not as stressed as before and could relax a little even when Megat is out of the cage and is not jealous when Megat sits with me. I think he knows that when Megat sits with me, Megat would not be chasing anyone :)

The other kitties know that too so they would just sit about quietly. I think the only kitty that Megat will not be able to dominate over is Ms Akira. But then she knows her business and is not afraid of a mere male cat no matter what he does. :)

Sunday snooze

Afternoon nap

Sunday afternoon saw the amigos just hanging out. ms Akira was MIA for long periods under the blankets, away from the boys. Megat was in his green carrier in the bedroom and the other 2 were outside on their own personal roosting places. We played for a while with Da Bird but I had to put Megat in the cage after 10 minutes cos he monopolised the whole game. He jumped and skidded and threw himself across the room for the lure. The other kitties just stood on the sidelines in shock. Of course sometimes Toro and Ms akira would run for the lure but Megat would always get it in th end. It was no fun for everyone and so after 10 minutes, he had to take a time-out for the rest to play.

Megat is also more manja this afternoon, insisting on sleeping on me the whole time, his claws digging in every time he felt himself slipping off. OUCH! I had to put him in his cage to sleep finally before my flesh is torn from my bones. :))

Sunday walk

Bujang in his new walking jacket

The first sniff after a long break

Toro relaxing outside

"Hmm..no black cat here...this is the way it should be..."

The kitties were all outside along the corridor this morning before 9 am because it was so cool outside. They have been cooped up for ages because of the rain and the fact that I am at work . Bujang was very eager to be outside and stood quietly while I put him in his new walking jacket. It's still the same colour as I think the red suits him best. I got him an L as he was getting more and more stocky. Actually I got him one in black too just in case he needs another one. This was a good thing as I thought Mera might do better in a walking jacket from which he could not escape as easily as from a harness. I am gald Mera did not mind a hand-me-down :))

Toro of course must always be where Bujang is and he got into his jacket and immediately walked out to bask in the morning breeze. He sat quietly watching the goings on until he heard the neighbours opening their doors. Then he simply scooted into the house while Bujang lay across the corridor, giving little thought to the fact that he is blocking the walkway. But the neighbours are used to him and he to them and so everyone got what they wanted easily and calmly. After that Toro went out again to take a nap outside until it was time to go in.

Akira did not like it so much and did not stay for very long. I did not try to put Megat in a harness although I think he would take to it very well as he is getting used to the rhythms of the house. Its just that he keeps running after everyone and scaring them into hiding. Bujang and Ms Akira give him a wide berth and Toro sometimes just ignores him.

Wild Bunch

FatBoy resting after dinner

I am glad to see that FatBoy is still is old self even after all that rain these last few weeks. I do not know where he goes in the morning or afternoon though. The old aunty tells me he goes upstairs somewhere. I think it has to be on some corridor or lift landing. I guess he does not get into mischief as he has been around for about 3 years and there are no complaints about him. The residents are fond of him and one or two of them actually feed him, but not regualrly. I guess when the spirit moves them. He is eating a lot more these days- about 500 gm of food before he is satisfied. The rain makes him hungry I guess.

Calico Mom now races to eat and just as quickly races into hiding. I do not know why this is. Usually she would stay for a bit, grooming before waddling back to the carpark. But as long as she is still racing and eating well, I do not think there is a need for worry. Little calico has come out of the carpark to eat dinner every night. She stays on the 3rd level of the carpark. This level is very clean and I do not think it is dangerous for her.

There are no more complaints about cats getting up to mischief these days. I guess the Chief of Mischief is in my house already. :))

MEOWRRROWWRRR

What did I tell you san? Are you going to listen to me now?

I want to register a complaint against the black cat in the house.
He tried to kill me tonight.

There is no way I am ever getting close to that!

It finally happened. Toro and Megat had a big face-off and fur flew in the air, mostly Toro's fur. I had let Megat out for the night so he could do his toilette and walk around a bit. I had to put him in his cage earlier as he had tried to re-arrange Toro's pretty face. But after 1.5 hours, I thought it was enough time in the cage and being ignored by all and sundry.

When I released him, he came to sit with me at the computers and then he decided to take a walk. Before long, I heard a great MEOWRRROWWRRR. I ran out just in time to see Megat pawing furiously at Toro's face. I had a horrible vision of Toro losing his pretty blue eyes. Toro just stayed put and tried to put his face down to avoid the claws (that was cut just this afternoon). So I just yelled at them to stop and Megat immediately ran under the bed.

I inspected Toro's face and saw no injuries except his pride probably but of course there was grey fur all over the place! We had a quiet chat and I gave him some scritches and hugs and he quietened down for a bit. Then after I released Toro, Shaolin Megat came to sit by me. Irrepressible Toro came to peer at him quietly and then left.

I told Megat that I had no choice but to put him back in his cage as I had work to do and could not keep an eye on all of them.

Bujang was quite horrified and I could see his big round eyes staring at us in fear! Poor thing Bujang. But after about 15 minutes when he saw that all was calm, he calmed down enough to relax and closed his eyes. Ms Akira looked at us in her usual long-suffering way before settling in te middle of the living room to rest; her point made. :)

Right now, all is calm on the cat front and Megat has fallen asleep in his cage with his toy cat Garfield :)

That smells familiar

What's that smell?

Ooooh I remember this...yum....

Megat still remembers his days of eating fish and rice and all kinds of human food :) I was having lunch at the low table. Its the usual fare of rice and vegetables and fish. In no time at all Shaolin Megat scooted under the table and stood close to me sniffing. Then he licked his lips and sniffed again. I was afraid he would jump onto the table and told him to behave himself as he had had his lunch. Megat stared at me for a minute or two and then decided he would stay put. But he didn't stop sniffing :)

I guess it did take a whale of an effort for such a kitty to stay put and it was quite admirable that he could control himself thus. Of course the penalty for climbing onto the table when people are eating is - the black cage and lesser time roaming the house. I hope he remembers these lessons but its a very long haul.

I like computers too

I like the lights...

I like the smell of the keyboard...

I like sleeping on the lap...

Wha...? Wha..? I am so sleepy...

ZZZzzzzzz

I must say Megat is taking to indoor life very well indeed. He behaves himself very well and tries to adjust to the others quickly. I do not know if he has figured out that it is best to try to live with the others or he just does not want to be caged for longer than he has to be, which is at night.

Ms Akira was very surprised to see Megat on my lap at the computers tonight. She stopped in her tracks and watched him carefully but did not try to beat him at all. When she saw that he had no intention of getting off, she left to find alternate roosting sites.

I think he may be a lap cat in his other life. He is also getting fat and eating his renal diet steadily. But he still does not like it as much as he does his Natural Balance. So I have to mix the 2 diets together. Only then will he eat what he is supposed to. He does eat it dry though but I read that it is not wise to feed old cats only dry biscuits as it may lead to urinary tract problems.

Friendship...in pictures

Toro spending the afternoon napping...

2 friends... I hope

Toro and Megat hanging out together...Toro still sleeping...

What with this guy? He's always sleeping!

Close-up of Toro- Sleepyhead and contemplative Megat...

Oh well...at least he likes me...

It looks like Toro and Megat are on the way to some kind of friendship. I hope it will develop into something nice like what Bujang and ms Akira have between them :))

Cleanliness is next to catliness

Are you serious?

Whoa! Feels like the real thing.

Whah! This is good man. I can stretch out even....

Watch out Bujang!!

On Sunday, I thought I would buy the amigos another bin. The bins in the house, especially the one in the dry bathroom is always full these days with 4 cats in the house. The one in the kitchen is usually very clean. I guess no one wants to walk all the way to the kitchen unless its after dinner when every one of them is in the kitchen anyway.

Toro decided to be the first one to test run it. He scratched the bottom of the bin and then decided to lie in it for size. :) After some time he actually wanted to jump Bujang but wisely changed his mind :)

Now we have 3 bins for four cats. This bin costs me $18.00. Its the largest one of its brand and even Bujang can use it quite comfortably. Today when I got home from work to clean the bins, I notice that they were all rather clean. I guess the amigos have decided who will use what bin and at what time :) I don't want it to come to a point that someone will decide to make a point and leave poo on my rug, or leave me poo to teach me a lesson. :)

Nostalgia on a saturday

I thought a long time ago that if I had a cat, it would make me a a less stressed- out person. I had quiet visions of a life with a cat being like ...

THIS.

A little be-ribboned bon-bon sitting quietly at a window with his/her little ball of string and meowing softly. It's not as if I had never had a cat but I guess I looked at the experience through pink-tinted glasses and saw only hazy pictures in pastels. I had lived with many cats before and I had enjoyed each and every minute of it but none of them were indoor cats, in a small apartment in the sky. There were kampong cats that came home and then went out a-roving and I suppose eating other people out of their houses and homes :) Kampong cats come in all shapes and sizes. They were like...

THIS, only more skinny.

My cats were adopted and saved from the streets, from alleyways (a tabby Megat Komeng, a ginger Bujang I and a ticked tabby Kundang) and yes..even from the University of Singapore ( Cik Siti, a siamese with bright, blue eyes with a persecution complex).

So now that I live in a flat way up in the sky, I thought having one cat would make me feel less stressed and ultimately a happer person :). So one rainy afternoon, I picked up Bujang II from a drain in a school. He was a small little thing, scratching and clawing his way with 3 very docile siblings. He was the only Tuxedo among them. His siblings were all black. I thought I should bring him home as he may not be likeable enough for anyone else to adopt. The other 3 were adopted quite quickly.

Now Bujang II looks like...

THIS. 6.45 kg of muscle.

He likes quiet and a lot of respect. He likes people but they must keep their distance. He likes lazy afternoons and rainy days where he could get a good long sleep without people coming to hug him at every turn. He eats almost anything I give him - cheese, fish crackers, anything from cattyman, brewers yeast, cod liver oil that he licks from a teaspoon, vitamins, lecithin, bran, fussiecat, Nutro, Avoderm and now Natural Balance.

He likes walking in the park, eating grass, the smell of ixora, sitting along the corridor looking at the plants, looking out the window and of course playing catching with Ms Akira and Toro.

He hates the groomer, hates having his nails clipped and hates noise.

My sister and I thought that Bujang might be bored all by himself and so after persuading grandma, I called the SPCA and got a another cat...

THIS.
Although THIS is not what Ms Akira looks like. However, THIS is Ms Akira's attitude to a T, to everyone she meets.

When I went to the SPCA, Gin, the cat specialist told me that the cats in the nursery were sneezing and she could not let me bring Akira home. Of course she was not called Akira (after my favourite Japanese director- Akira Kurosawa) then but some name that grandma could not pronounce. Gin told me it was best for me to adopt a younger female cat so there would be no fights over territory etc. So that was what I did.

But Akira was a formidable cat even when she was younger and does not tolerate fools gladly, especially when they're silly male cats :) Now she ignores the boys except Bujang whom she likes and trusts. I now call her Ms Akira because she expects it :) Sometimes we call her Kira-Kira for glitter.

After some time, I went to PL to get all manner of things for the two kitties and saw a couple negotiating the price for a British shorthair male kitten. I saw that they already had with them their very beautiful persian cat. I thought that having a beautiful cat like that must be quite a good thing but I didn't think I should be buying pets at all, although I was very tempted to do such a thing.

I spoke to M and we spoke of abandoned pets. She had asked me before if I had wanted a persian cat that someone wanted to rehome but I was not thinking of having another pet then, after having Bujang and Akira. After talking about the cats, she asked me if I would be willing to adopt another cat. I said to M jokingly "Yah, only if its like that." (meaning the persian in the couple's carrier)

In about 2 weeks, I got an emergency call and M was on the line telling me that she had rescued a persian mix and he needed a home immediately. So I told her to bring him and went down with a carrier and got...

THIS.
A male persian-mix with baby blue eyes.

He created a great deal of chaos and havoc. Namely because he was toilet-trained and I didn't know his toilet habits. Neither did M. I spent sleepless night trying to catch him at his toilet but was never successful. The next day I would always have to clean after him as he had done his business in the carrier. I had placed him in a very big and spacious carrier so I was not worried that he would be cramped for space. I failed to teach him to use the bin and had written my worries in this very blog. I am grateful that many readers came to my rescue with good tips, even to his name Totoro, which I must thank ksn for :)

He was not vaccinated, he had fur mites and ear mites and he was terrified of Bujang and Ms Akira. Of course now, he wrestles Bujang to the ground and tries to intimidate Ms Akira at every turn. It was Bujang who taught him to use the bin and Ms Akira who taught him to show respect to his elders :)

I must say Toro is my very laid-back cat who wants to be a mechanic and who likes to watch TV. He also arranges the cat fountain and has a sense of aesthetics when it comes to toys and cat stuff :) He is insatiably curious and likes to be in the know about anything and everything.

But he is lonely for a friend. So I told grandma that it would be nice if we can get Toro a good friend as Bujang and Ms Akira are pals. Grandma agreed and I was asked if I wanted to adopt a ragdoll kitten. But it was not to be as I decided to adopt ...

THIS.
A 10-year old cat with hardly any teeth and a bad attitude but a heart of gold.

Grandma named him Megat but he has since been named Shaolin Megat for his kung-fu prowess and his perchant for boxing the other kitties. After a great deal of re-education on how to be a more sociable being, Megat is now no longer as angry and aggressive as before. He minds his own business, he sits quietly and does his toilette in the bin. He grooms himself day and night every chance he gets.


I discovered he simply loves company, but only the company of grandma and myself and would sit long hours beside me while I eat, have tea, read a book, fall asleep and watch TV.

He has now learnt to play 'catching' with Toro and yesterday he even tried to persuade Bujang to play. Bujang of course was too freaked out and ran off to sit in his basket. He no longer jumps when Toro tries to sniff him and even tolerates it when Toro paws at him gently. I think Toro and Megat would make good friends as Toro has been trying to make friends with Megat eversince Megat came to live with us. I must say that Toro is the only cat who shows no fear of Megat and would sit with us at dinner quite comfortably. The two of them sometimes also sit on the bed side by side. :)

So now I am no longer like...

THIS
Aall the time...

Only some of the time when I catch Megat trying to de-fur Toro :) Then he would be put back in is cage to rest and relax. Patience is the key to many things.

So although I may desire that the amigos love and like each other like ...

THIS.


I have decided that I can live with it eventhough they are a motley group of cats like ...


THIS

With their own distinct personalities and eccentricities.

Like me...like my cats.

I love them all to bits.