^-^ Of Cats and Kucing ^-^

Instinct Of A Mother

2009-11-11T05:20:00.000-08:00

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful.

Today, I'm going to write a story about a mother cat. A pure instinct and love of a mother cat.

Below, is a picture of a mother cat named Maggi. Maggi was one of the cats at my hostel block.

When Maggi was younger, she was one very frightened cat. Dia macam takut dengan orang. Tapi mengenangkan kewujudan operasi penangkapan "tak pasal-pasal" kucing-kucing di blok-blok hostel uia ni, memang wajarlah Maggi sentiasa rasa dalam ketakutan. As a result, she didn't reveal herself that much to people. And as a result, when she gave labour to her kittens, she would give labour dalam semak samun yang ada dekat blok aku ni. And when the kittens got bigger, she would hide them dalam semak samun atau di dalam longkang yang berdekatan dengan blok aku ni juga. Gambar-gambar di bawah, mengukuhkan kata-kata aku tentang insecurity Maggi sebagai ibu.

Gambar di atas diambil waktu siang.
The two kittens are her first batch of children that we, me and my friends, saw.

The two pics above were taken at night.

Di atas ini ialah gambar longkang yang Maggi selalu menyorok dengan anak-anak dia. It's their main hiding place, especially bila tiba masa Operasi Menangkap Kucing "tak pasal-pasal' which I mentioned earlier. Sebenarnya, dekat tepi sebelah kanan ni, macam ada saluran kecil yang membolehkan Maggi dan anak-anaknya masuk ke dalam longkang besar ni.

Tengok tu, the two kittens, Bunny and Koko;p The funny part was, the two knew how to get into the big drain, tapi tak tau macam mana nak keluar:p Makanya, terjerit-jeritlah dua ekor ni, konon minta tolong dari dalam longkang besar tu bila Maggi was not around.

It was quite deep tau the big drain. Me and several other catlovers couldn't simply jump to save them. Makanya, kitorang sampai kene turunkan kerusi untuk keluarkan diorang.

Tengok, betulkan? Sangat dalam.

Some may deem Maggi's act of putting the kittens in the drain as a crazy act. Ya, mungkin pada akal manusia, kita rasa Maggi buat kerja gila. Tapi jika kita fikirkan semula, this is a living proof of the pure instinct and love of a mother cat which was trying to save her kittens from threats and danger. And perhaps, I would say more of the threats and danger from human beings and any other forms of perpetrators. Pada instinct atau naluri Maggi, only the big drains and the bushes were safe for her and the kittens.

And Maggi was definitely not a crazy mummy. She cared so much of her children. Ada waktu-waktu tertentu, Maggi akan bawa "hasil buruan" seperti cicak, burung dan binatang-binatang lain untuk diberi pada the kittens. Subhanallah, tersentuh sangat bila tengok dia gonggong 'buruan' tu ntah dari mana ntah dan bawa ke blok aku untuk bagi anak dia makan. Kalau the kittens were not around, she would call them dengan suara meow dia yang halus tu;)

And there was this one time, Bunny and Koko were hid in my room, cause it was the week of the Ops tangkap kucing. The two tak senang duduk dalam bilik ni, mengiau meronta mintak keluar. Tak sampai sejam diorang bising-bising, tiba dengar suara Maggi di luar bilik, mengiau suara halus dia tu;p She knew that her kittens were in some sort of uncomfortable surroundings, and she knew where they were. Subhanallah. Once I let Maggi into my room, Bunny and Koko cuddled next to their mummy and went to sleep, soundly. Dah tamat kekecehohan;p

Maggi and her first batch kittens relaxing at the parking lot;p

Eventually, Maggi got used to the existence of human beings around her and around her kittens coz we, the catlovers usually fed them, patted them on their backs, treated them well and cared so much about them. Maggi masih ada rasa insecure, tapi tak seperti dulu. Lama-lama, dia dah ada rasa percaya sikit pada manusia, yang sukakan kucing. Dia dah berani datang ke my room yang kat level 3 ni, minta makanan dengan suara kecil dia tu;p Comel sangat;) Dia dah makin gemuk sampai dia dah pregnant dah beranak dan pregnant semula pun kita tak perasan. Dia juga dah berani ikut kaki kita ke mana juga kita pergi, kalau dia tau, kita ni suka kucing;) All I can say about Maggi is she was one super adorable mother cat...

I said WAS one super adorable mother cat...

On Monday morning, I woke up and was walking slowly to the toilet to wash my face, when my neighbour (my jiran ni, dia tak la gilakan kucing like me and some others. so she doesn't hafal the names of the cats at our blocks like how we do), who saw me in dazed, quickly said, "Fara.. Fara tau tak ada kucing mati?". I was like "Ha? Kucing mati?! Kucing mana?". She answered "Kucing yang ada anak lima tu'. I said to myself, kucing yang ada lima ekor anak..? Kucing mana pulak ni..? She further explained "Alaa Fara..kucing yang lima ekor anak comel-comel tu.. Yang letak anak dia dalam longkang tu.." OH MY.... PLEASE... NOT MAGGI...

Then my neighbour explained that on Friday, she saw the mother cat and the kittens in the drain. They were so cute and adorable together. Then on Sunday, she went again to the drain with the hope that she could take the pics of the kittens and the mother... But, all that she could find in the drain were the carcasses of the mother and her three kittens... Lying there... Already lifeless. I thanked her for telling me all this. Went to my room and I was still in denial, wishing that it was not Maggi. Oh please not Maggi. The thing is this, semester ni I was terlalu sibuk bekerja sambil belajar. Aku tak tahu sangat kalau Maggi pregnant or dah give labour. Aku tak perasan. Aku ingat lagi, hari Khamis pagi, Maggi datang mintak makanan. I gave her some. But I didn't notice anything. And I was still in denial.

But to make myself feel satisfied and sure of which cat and what actually happened, before I went to work, aku beranikan diri dan kuatkan hati, pergi jenguk dari satu big drain to another big drain yang berdekatan dengan blok aku ni. I even went to the big drain yang gambar kat atas tu tadi. But all the big drains were empty... I didn't find any trace of a carcass.

Until I arrived at this one drain. It was not a big drain, and it was not even deep. The depth was perhaps only 2 jengkal setengah. And there she was... the dearest Maggi... there she was... the dearest lifeless Maggi... :'(

I hold my breath when looking at her lifeless yet still looking strong body, trying to control myself from crying. I looked at her carcass for several minutes without blinking my eyes, a way of trying to tell myself that, THAT carcass was indeed Maggi.. dear Maggi. I stood there for 5 minutes, trying to digest everything. My heart kept saying "Oh you poor thing...you poor, poor thing mummy.... sian mummy..." I tried to search for the carcasses of her kittens, but I couldn't find any. Now I remember, there was a very heavy rain and even storms on Saturday noon. But I was at Alpha Angle when the rain came. It was so so so heavy that there the rain even flooded the entrance of JJ a bit.

Agaknya, waktu tu lah Maggi terlemas dalam longkang ni. Mesti, dalam kelam kabut hujan tu, being a strong mother cat and having a pure instinct of a mother cat to five cute healthy kittens, she must have tried to save her kittens. That's all that she could think of as a mother to the kittens. That's all her instinct said. Dan mungkin, masa cuba nak selamatkan anak dia tulah, dia terlemas atau mungkin terjatuh dan lemas. Ya Allah..sedihnya rasa.. :'(

After five minutes, I shed a bit of tears and went to my car, called a friend who stayed in the same block and who also fond of Maggi and the kittens, broke the news to her and she was also sad. Then, I went straight to another friend's room, a catlover as well, told her the news and she was also very very shocked. After that, I went straight to work.

But still, the whole of Monday and even up till today, I just couldn't shake my head of the fact that Maggi died while trying to save her kittens. And the kittens had probably died and drifted somewhere else cause I couldn't seem to see their carcasses. Sedih sangat aku rasa. Bila aku teringatkan Maggi je, mesti mengalir air mata ni. Ish entahlah. Kesian Maggi.. Sedih sangat. Aku terfikir, mesti waktu hujan lebat tu, naluri dia tak ada lain selain nak selamatkan anak-anak dia. Mungkin, naluri dia kuat untuk selamatkan, lalu dia determine untuk redah juga hujan untuk selamatkan. Mungkin, naluri dia waktu tu, nak yang terbaik untuk selamatkan anak-anak dia. Tapi, yelah, Tuhan lebih tahu apa yang terjadi sebenarnya. Tapi, disebabkan dia dijumpai dalam longkang tu, aku rasa, kemungkinan yang agak besar, Maggi berada dengan anak-anak dia masa hujan lebat ribut kuat tu. You poor thing.. poor thing.. Ish sedih.. :'(

To those who are not fond of cats, maybe you guys can't comprehend this sadness.. And it's okay, I don't mind. But please don't criticise us for having such soft spot towards cats or even other animals. To us, catlovers or animal lovers, this is a special gift.

I told my mother about Maggi (but no, I didn't tell her that I cried, cause I rarely, very rarely cry in front of her) just told her that me and my friends are very sad of what happened to Maggi. She said that this is God's will. We have to accept it. And I thought to myself, yeah.. It's true. It's one way of God teaching me to accept His Qada' and Qadar. I might have the thought that if I was around at that time, I could perhaps save her and the kittens. tapi, biarlah apa pun yang aku fikir, ini semua dah Tuhan tentukan. And I thought, at least, Maggi died while trying to save her children from drowning; a very pure intention, pure instinct of a mother.. she died while performing what she had to do as a mother.. it is, in one perspective, an honourable death. This makes me wonder, in what ways will I die and end my life? Will it be an honourable one too..?

Who's uglier?

2009-10-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful.

This fluffy fellow is, I guess, a new member to the family of stray cats at HS cafe.

I've never seen him before the Raya break (I assumed that it's 'him') Hmm. Aku agak, ini kes orang buang kucing. Kesian. Another thing that made me believe that he is still new to HS was because, he seemed to be a bit lost there. Tercari-cari makanan. Tak sepantas kucing-kucing lain bila nak mendapatkan makanan. Kesian.

At a single glance, this mr. fluffy seems to be one very wonderfully fluffy cat. But sadly, mr fluffy is not like any other cats at HS.

Firstly, he is a one-eyed cat.

Mata sebelah kiri berselaput. Penuh berselaput. I don't think that left eye is even functioning. Buta sebelah. Kesian.

Secondly, he has a bad skin condition.

Especially the area near his head. Macam kurap. Ramai juga student yang terkejut bila ternampak dia for the first time. But when I first saw him yesterday, the first word that came out of my mouth was "Alaa...siannye die.....". He is not so ugly. To me, there are parts of him which reveal that he is actually a cute adorable cat.

Thirdly, despite the fact that mr fluffy is indeed fluffy, he is a very thin skinny cat. Perutnya kempis. Lihatlah sendiri gambar di bawah ini. You could actually count his bones and spine by just looking at him.

Yesterday, I didn't have the chance to 'sedekah' to him any food. I was in a hurry.But today, I saw him again at HS. This time, I was determined to give him something. A fish. So, I bought an ikan goreng, went to him and lured him to the 'payung-payung' part of HS cafe where it was nearer to the dust bin. He followed obediently. He seemed hungry.

Mula-mula aku koyak-koyakkan ikan tu dan letak depan dia. Then, I noticed something strange about him. He didn't directly sniff the fish. There was actually some small pieces of papers near the fish. He at first sniffed those pieces of papers. Sekarang aku tahu. Selain daripada memiliki penglihatan yang terhad, dia juga ada masalah menghidu. Kesian. Buktinya lagi, bila aku pegangkan ikan tu di depan hidung dia, dalam masa lebih kurang 10 saat, baru dia mula makan cebisan ikan tu. So, other than the three unfortunate conditions of him that I've mentioned earlier, the fourth one is, his sense of smell is also not that well functioning. Kesian sangat.

Jadi, atas rasa simpati dan perikemanusiaan, aku koyak-koyakkan ikan tu dan ambil cebisan demi cebisan ikan tu, bagi dia hidu dan hulurkan ke mulut dia. When I kept feeding him the fish, I noticed one more thing about him. He's having problem chewing the hard parts of the fish. He could only chew the soft parts of the fish. Tapi bahagian yang keras sikit, dia tak dapat nak kunyah dengan penuh tenaga. Kesiannya.

Then I continued feeding him. Waktu tu, hati aku rasa kesian sangat pada dia. Terus terfikir, kalau aku ada rumah sendiri, memang aku bawa dia balik rumah dan bela dia. Aku faham dia ada penyakit yang mungkin berbahaya pada manusia. Tapi aku bayangkan, aku cuma bawa dia dan letak di luar rumah. Bagi dia makan dan minum di luar rumah. Kurang-kurang dia ada tempat berteduh. Siapa tahu, mungkin satu hari dia mampu pulih sikit. Tapi aku tak mampu. Ish kesian.

Sedang aku berada dalam "dunia" simpati aku, TIBA-TIBA aku terdengar satu suara yang datangnya dari meja makan yang paling dekat dengan aku, berkata dengan nada sinis dan seolah memerli, "HISHH. MANJANYA KUCING NI. SIAP MAKAN NAK BERSUAP." A sister.

Aku terkejut. Tak percaya pun ada. Tak faham. Sister tu perli aku ke, perli kucing ni? What ever the case pun, ape masalah ko nak perli memerli ni?! Ko ke yang aku suruh suap kucing ni?! Tak kan??! Habis, yang ko bising pasal ape??!

Aku terus angkat muka dan jawab dengan nada baik, "Kucing ni mata dia buta sebelah. Dia sakit. Kesian dia".

Aku ingatkan suara tu berhenti. Tak juga rupanya. Dia sambung lagi bersuara sinis sambil pandangan pun menjeling. "Takdela, manja. Siap bersuap lagi".

Lahaula wala quwata illa billahil'ali'ul 'azim..... Apa masalah ko?!

Hai. Nak menyirap darah rasanya. Tapi aku masih jawab dengan nada baik cuma suara lebih kuat kali ini . "Dia ni ade penyakit. Dia tak dapat cium bau makanan. Ni yang hulurkan kat die ni. Kesian sangat."

Lepas beberapa minit, the sister and her friend pun pergi dari meja tu.

Hai sabar. Sabar.

I continued feeding mr fluffy. Baru lepas seminit dua sambung hulur makanan pada mr fluffy, tiba lalu lagi seorang sister dari row meja yang sama di belakang aku, berkata dengan nada yang memang macam memerli, "MANJANYA KUCING NI. SIAP BERSUAP".

Ya Allah! What's up with these freaks!!

Aku terus toleh ke arah sister tu. Menjeling ke arah kawan dia dan berkata sambil muka aku pandang ke arah mr fluffy tu "Apa masalah korang ni...? Korang ke yang kena bagi makan kucing ni...? Tak kan...? Habis apa masalah korang...?". Hm. Itu pun aku tak la cakap dengan nada kuat dan kasar sangat.

Entah. Aku serius tak tahu apa masalah sisters dua orang tu. Mungkin dari perspektif lain, aku tak perlu nak marah sebab, sisters tu cuma membuat kenyataan melalui observation diorang. TAPI kan, perlu ke diorang buat kenyataan dengan nada memerli?! Seriously, I don't know whether they were being sarcastic towards the cat, or me? Sebab ayat diorang, "manjanya makan bersuap". Yang makan bersuap kucing tu kan. Adoi. Nak sarcastic pada kucing tu apa hal? Bukannya the cat faham pun apa yang korang cakap. Dah tu, nak perli-perli aku ke? Apa hal korang nak perli-perli tindakan aku suap kucing tu? Aku tak suruh korang yang suap! Dan tindakan aku suap kucing tu ada mengganggu gugat kitaran atau aktiviti kehidupan korang ke?! EEEEEEeeee. Tak faham. Sabar. Sabar.

Aku terfikir. mr fluffy may be deemed as an ugly cat. But I think the two sisters' behaviors just now were waaaay "uglier".

I have several conclusions to be made based on all these happenings.

Kesimpulan pertama, mudah saja. Tak perlulah nak memerli orang yang tak dikenali, tak pasal-pasal, terutama bila orang yang tak dikenali tu sedang melakukan satu perkara yang anda tak tahu asal-usul sebab musababnya. Tolong. Tak perlu.

Kedua, aku faham yang tak semua orang suka kucing. Apatah lagi kalau kucing tu berpenyakit macam this mr fluffy. Tapi, tolonglah tanamkan sikit rasa perikemanusiaan pada setiap makhluk Tuhan yang lain. Biarpun makhluk itu mungkin tergolong di kalangan yang haram, cacat, sakit atau kotor, adalah kewajipan kita untuk cuba membantu setakat yang kita mampu, seandainya makhluk-makhluk ini memerlukan bantuan. Tak kiralah dari segi apa pun bantuan itu. Mungkin kita perlu selamatkan mereka dari kesusahan, memberikan mereka sedikit air, membelikan mereka makanan mahupun 'menyuapkan kepada mereka cebisan-cebisan ikan'. Cubalah bantu yang kita terdaya.

In the case of mr fluffy, I can understand that some of us won't even try to come near him cause he is not "healthy". Tapi, tak salahkan, kalau contohnya kucing macam mr fluffy meminta-minta makanan dari kita, misalnya ketika kita makan di restoran, kita jatuhkan sedikit (sikit pun tak apa) cebisan makanan, ayam atau ikan pada dia. Kebersihan serta kesihatan kita juga perlu dijaga. Basuh tangan setiap kali 'berurusan' dengan kucing. Dan kalau nak halau kerana geli dengan kucing-kucing ini, boleh..tapi tolong halau dengan cara baik. Tolong..janganlah tendang mereka. Apatah lagi tendang dengan kasar.

Sesungguhnya makhluk-makhluk ini juga punya perasaan. Dan wujudnya mereka juga adalah sebenarnya salah satu cara Tuhan untuk menguji sikap kita, hambaNya.

The "Cute" Cat Joker

2009-05-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

"The Joker" by Fatboy Slim

This is one very very very cute video clip:)
The part that makes me smile the most is when the cute kittens exchange catnips with money...aaawwww..kiuttt!;p

Malu-malu kucing

2009-05-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

"Malu-malu kucing" is a Malay simpulan bahasa or idiom which is often used to describe a person who pretends to be shy, coy, demure and bashful in front of other people. Or in Malay, we simply say as 'orang yang berpura-pura malu'. So, in a way, the Malay society associates the attributes of being shy, coy, demure and bashful with 'kucing' i.e cats!

However... after witnessing this:

Kajol's act of resting peacefully on the roof of my mum's Kancil car

And this:

Karpet's stretching and sleeping soundly on another family car.

And this:

Lucy's act of falling asleep on that comfortable family sofa as if she owns the thing;p

And her face that says something like "Oh, you're taking a picture of me..?
Can't you see that I'm currently asleep...?";p

Oh this as well:

Cindy's ignorance on the fact that she's sleeping at the living room, on the precious table cloth that was bought from Syria by my brother.

And oh, she was even oblivious to the fact that her picture was being captured :p

...... I am beginning to have some doubt over the idiom "malu-malu kucing";p
Watching their antics and looking at these pics make me wonder, how on earth did people actually come out with such idiom in the first place?;p

Honestly, I don't think that idiom represents my cats;p They are not that "pemalu";p Cause if they were, they wouldn't have ended up sleeping, resting and enjoying their sweet time at these forbidden places in the first place. Based on the pics, they are obviously not that shy, coy, demure and bashful either;p Oh just look at how they behaved in the pics:p

The creation of the idiom "Malu-malu kucing" may have been inspired by cats of the olden days and they probably behaved in such a shy, coy, demure and bashful way too. But I don't think people will be inspired to come out with an idiom with the same meaning when they see my cats;p Cause I know, my cats are a bunch fluffy creatures that are definitely "tak malu" ;p

Updates on Abu

2009-03-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

I finally chose not to bring him to the vet, cause when I called the vet, the person in charge mentioned something that frightened me. So, I decided to just do the treatment myself. I have no other choice but to hold Abu firmly (well, it's more like hugging him actually;) so that he will sit still and I will apply minyak gamat on the wound with my bare hands. He's a bit reluctant at first, but he tends to be more gentle lately since, I guess, he knows that he will be rewarded with the delicious cat food in the packets. The process goes like this;

1) First, I will persuade him to come to my room.

2) Then I will give him only half of the food.

3) Next, once he's about to finish eating I will hold him firmly, apply the gamat.

4) Once I have finished applying the gamat, I will give him the other half of the cat food as a reward. This is what I called as the "psychology" of cats ..they do not mind being asked to do something as long as they know that they will be rewarded;p

5) In order to avoid any feeling of itchiness and any spread of unknown harmful bacteria or ticks or germs or what ever, I have prepared a specific shirt and pants that I will change into every time I' m going to apply the medicine on him. As I mentioned to Amny and Nad, it's my "uniform";)

6) I usually do the "operation" outside my room, in front of the door.. it's easier for me, cause all the things I need, like gamat, the gamat container, cat food, the container to put the cat food, spoon, old newspaper, tissue papers and what not, are in my room..easy for me to reach for these things in case I need them.

7) Once I have finished dealing with Abu, I will clean the floor and the area where the "operation" takes place, with dettol antibac and dettol disinfectant. I will even wipe the floor and my door, every time the "operation" finishes. This means, I will clean the floor in front my room and my neighbours' next door. I do understand that some people might not feel comfortable with having a wounded cat sitting and being treated in front of their rooms. It's okay, I respect that.

8) Next, I will wash all the "apparatus" used just now with, again, dettol antibac.

9) And lastly, I will change my cloth, go straight for a clean bath and use dettol bath foam so that I will not be feeling itchy later.

10) Finally, I will pray to God and hope that Abu's wound will be better and I will not be infected with any germs or sickness. Huhu..Amin..

Now, some of my neighbours do not like cats..but some of them do understand that all I'm doing is helping Abu. Some will just pass by room and smile when ever they see me doing my "job". Thankfully enough, there's one very good neighbour, Nana, (who doesn't actually like cats) who even helped me by holding the cat food container in front of Abu's nose as to persuade him to stay still during my "strugle" to apply the minyak gamat.

Yes, some people do respect our intention, they do respect our differences and some do understand that there are times in our lives that we need to put aside our differences. Ye, ada orang-orang yang faham.

TETAPI, ADA JUGA MANUSIA-MANUSIA YANG TIDAK FAHAM APA-APA LANGSUNG! DAN SAJA NAK CARI GADUH!

Let's just not talk about these kind of people here, shall we.. It's a waste je nanti..hmm

Cuteness: Did not...Did too

2009-03-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

The one on the right reminds me of my Fifi..alaah...kiiuuttt;)

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

p/s: thanks to mr.anon=)

Again, it's about Abu

2009-03-16T18:29:00.000-07:00

That's it, I think I'm going to bring Abu to the vet.

I'm getting worried of the wound. The condition seems to be getting worse.
(Kalau la saya boleh snap gambar luka tu and letak kat sini untuk membuktikan teruknya luka dia tu. He..tapi nanti, ada yang dah tak sanggup nak bukak dah blog ni pulak:p)
And another thing is, Abu dislikes the smell of minyak gamat. As I said before, he becomes very suspicious of me. And thanks to what ever type of nasty tick, dirt or perhaps bacteria that Abu brings with him in his fur, I can't even stand or be near him.. My hands and feet will start feeling itchy..it's the allergy. So, I can't be too near to him and what more to touch him. Yes, perhaps, my skin is quite sensitive:p

So, I decide to bring him to the nearest vet. So, now, here's the dilemma.

At first, I thought of bringing him to the Klinik Jabatan Haiwan, Gombak. I know the place, used to bring one cat there during degree times. But then, will they accept stray cats like Abu? I mean, a dirty wounded stray cat like Abu?

Then, thinking of bringing him to any nearest non-government vet.
Still, I have this thought, will they accept Abu? Abu, the dirty, wounded, perasan macho, male, stray cat?:p (Oh, did I mention his other name is "Horny";p..kann..die memang perasan macho;p) And do you have any idea, which vet will accept him, or the best for him...yelah, Abu ni, kire macam kucing yang liar jugak..hmm. I have already surfed the net and listed down some vets which are quite near.. But still, indicisive of which vet to choose and to go to.

Hmm...another dilemma is, I don't have the cat cage. The cage which is usually used to bring our cats to the vet. But then, I think, this can still be solved. Susah-susah, saya ambil saja kotak kosong mana-mana dan tebuk lubang sikit dan letak Abu dalam tu dan tape kotak tu;p

Hmm.. entahlah.. But what ever it is, I am going to bring that furry creature to the vet! (though I myself is now struggling to do my assignments) :p

Err..ke sebenarnya, ada cara lain yang boleh selamatkan Abu selain dari bawa ke vet? Ish..entah lah.. I think, going to the vet is the best kot. Hishh..dasar indicisive..pasal nak bawak Abu pergi vet pun indicisive..payah;p

Attached to Abu

2009-03-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, I realize that I owe this blog and the readers (if any) an apology:( huhu..sorry..I am so sorry..

I could spend another 5 to 10 minutes apologizing and another 5-10 lines giving more and more excuses for why I delayed the updates to this blog.. but tonight, I refuse to..:p Let's just go straight to the main issue, shall we?

Now, this is Abu:

I had written about him in this blog once.
Well, he is actually a very very big male cat who is enjoying every moment of his life, ignores what other "mortal beings" think of him and doesn't care much about the ticks or scratches on his body. From what I heard, he is nearly 8 eight years old! Yes, he is one old cat indeed...but he still looks young and energetic though;p

Abu usually comes to my room, meowing as loud as he can in front of my door and beg for cat food..more and more cat food. Truthfully speaking, I will usually give him the cat food as fast as I can just so that he could stop meowing.. His meowing is awfully loud that the whole block could hear him and this makes me feel a little bit afraid. I am afraid that my neighbor might feel disturbed about it and one of them might come knocking on my door AGAIN giving me more "long speeches" about how "insane" I am for giving food to stray cats, and how they are much "humane" than I am and ah! yada yada! So oklah, kesian dan tak nak kena leter dengan jiran adalah faktor awal mengapa saya bagi Abu makanan.

But then, eventually, looking at Abu's sympathetic face and watching the adorable side of Abu makes me grew more and more attached to him. Everytime he asks me for food, he will make this one very very sympathetic-cute-adorable face that will make me definitely melt;p I will not have the heart to be mad or angry at him..even when sometimes I have to stop doing my work just so that I could attend his hunger for more and more cat food;p Dan yang paling buruk ialah minggu lepas, saya telah diserang gatal-gatal allergy selepas setiap kali saya pakai kasut-kasut canvas saya. Rupanya Abu yang comot itu suka tidur atas kasut-kasut tu. Saya terpaksa merendam kaki saya denga Dettol dan air panas dan membasuh kesemua kasut-kasut saya dengan air Dettol:p Merungut jugaklah, tapi tak lah marah sangat;p

This proves that I am getting fonder of him.
"Abu oh Abu..I am now so used to your three-times-a day-meowing in front of my door.";p

However, within these few days, I notice that his visits to my room has become lesser and lesser. And I believe, this has got to do with the injury that he's having.

He was involved in a cat fight and his sort of left lower cheek got injured. At first, there was a small hole. Then the hole got a little bit bigger and there were maggots in it (wanna hear something very sick? saya geram gile tengok maggots tu, saya cucuk-cucuk dengan kunci kereta;p wakakaka!).

p/s: Did you know that having maggots in wounds is actually nature's way of healing? Yes, it is. These maggots will eat up all the rotten parts of the wound or flesh and later the wound will be a bit "cleaner". I have heard once, that orang kampung dolu-dolu used to use such method to heal wounds. They will simply expose their wounds to maggots. Wuhhuu!:p

Okay, now back to Abu. I am starting to feel worried of him. So, I tried to apply some antiseptic i.e Dettol on his wound. Well, truthfully speaking, I didn't actually "apply" the Dettol, I "shoot" it to the wound by using a syringe (thanx to Amny:). It was hard cause Abu didn't like it at all. He has started to freak out when ever he sees me or smells the Dettol. Nevertheless, I managed to shoot it several times into his wound. With the help of the maggots;p and the Dettol, I was hoping that the wound would be better.

This evening, I saw him sleeping downstairs. And he didn't look as lively as before. He didn't come to my room, upstairs, at level 3, today. So, I went down to check on him. I brought along a minyak gamat with the hope that this time, the wound had started to dry up a bit and this time, I could really apply the minyak gamat using my own hands.

Oh BUT to my surprise, the wound is getting deeper...I mean deeper into his flesh. I mean really really deep.. And I could still saw several maggots (not as much as before) in the wounds. Oh poor Abu... I tried to put the minyak gamat, but I guess, he dislikes the smell so much that he ran away. He didn't even finish up the cat food that I gave him.. Oh poor Abu... how can I help him... I cannot bring him to the clinnic cause one, I don't have the small cage, second, he is not used to it, third, I am now very allergic to him and fourth, I am sure he won't like the idea..

Guess I have grown more attached to him...
I pray and I hope that he is going to be okay...
Oh poor Abu...

Raya Greetings

2008-10-15T11:16:00.001-07:00

Me and my cats would like to wish everybody...

"SELAMAT HARI RAYA EIDILFITRI
MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN=)"

And I do realize that I owe this blog and the readers an apology for not posting any new updates...huhu=( I'm very very sorry for that... Something came up, and I have been very very busy these past few months... Tak caye, tanye Karpet;p

But, don't worry, sem break is coming...thus, I hope I could find the time to post all the juicy, cute and adorable stories as well as pictures of cats during the three-week break;)

With that, I wish everybody a blessed and happy eidilfitri! =)

"Ugly's Beauty" - a very very touching story

2008-07-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

I took this piece of writing from The Star Online dated November 18, 2007, Sunday. It is a very touching story and it moved me to tears. Please read it...

UGLY'S BEAUTY

Scarred on the outside, he had a heart full of beautiful love for everyone, even those who hurt him.

EVERYONE in the apartment complex knew who Ugly was. Ugly was the resident tomcat that loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage, and, shall we say, love. These things, combined with a life spent outside, had their effect on Ugly.

To start with, Ugly had only one eye. And, where the other eye should have been, a gaping hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side. His left foot appeared to have been badly broken at one time, and had healed at an unnatural angle, making him look like he was always turning the corner. His tail had long ago been lost, leaving only the smallest stub, which he would constantly jerk and twitch.

Ugly would have been a dark grey tabby, striped-type, except for the sores covering his head, neck, and even his shoulders, with thick, yellowing scabs. Every time someone saw Ugly, there was the same reaction. “That’s one ugly cat!”

All the children were warned not to touch him. The adults threw rocks at him, hosed him down, squirted him when he tried to come in their homes, or shut his paws in the door when he would not leave. Ugly always had the same reaction. If you turned the hose on him, he would stand there, getting soaked until you gave up and quit. If you threw things at him, he would curl his lanky body around his feet in forgiveness.

Whenever he spied children, he would come running, meowing frantically. He would bump his head against their hands, begging for their love.

If you ever picked him up, he would immediately begin suckling on your shirt, earrings, or whatever he could reach or find.

One day, Ugly shared his love with the neighbour’s huskies. They did not respond kindly, and Ugly was badly mauled. From my apartment, I could hear his screams, and I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was lying, it was apparent Ugly’s sad life was almost at an end. Ugly lay in a wet circle, his back legs and lower back twisted grossly out of shape, a gaping tear in the white strip of fur that ran down his front.

As I picked him up and tried to carry him home, I could hear him wheezing and gasping, and could feel him struggling. It must be hurting him terribly, I thought. Then I felt a familiar tugging, sucking sensation on my ear. Ugly, in so much pain, suffering, and obviously dying, was trying to suckle my ear.

I pulled him closer to me, and he bumped the palm of my hand with his head, then he turned his one golden eye toward me, and I could hear the distinct sound of purring. Even in the greatest of pain, that ugly, battle-scarred cat was asking only for a little affection, perhaps some compassion. At that moment, I thought Ugly was the most beautiful, loving creature I had ever seen.

Never once did he try to bite or scratch me, or even try to get away from me, or struggle in any way. Ugly just looked up at me, completely trusting in me to relieve his pain. But he died in my arms before I could even get inside. I sat down and held him for a long time afterwards, thinking about how one scarred, deformed little stray could so alter my opinion about what it means to have true pureness of spirit, to love so totally and truly.

Ugly taught me more about giving and compassion than a thousand books, lectures, or talk show specials ever could, and for that, I will always be thankful.

Ugly had been scarred on the outside, but I was scarred on the inside, and it was time for me to move on and learn to love truly and deeply. To give my total to those I cared for. Many people want to be richer, more successful, well liked, and beautiful. But for me, I will always try to be “Ugly”.

This touching tale came through the e-mail. If you receive similar stories or anecdotes worth sharing, send them to starmag@thestar.com.my. Include the source or author if possible. Today’s story was sent in by TERRI CHIN.

Link: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2007/11/18/lifefocus/19274176&sec=lifefocus

Thin cats

2008-07-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

(As to answer Wati's question in the cbox...)

Hmm..saya bukanlah pakar sangat...But I will try to help out by writing what I know from what I've read and from experiences=) Mula-mula kita kena tahu punca, baru kita cari penyelesaian.

Sebelum saya teruskan menulis tentang isu ini, mula-mula saya ingin mengingatkan tentang tahap kekurusan kucing. It is reminded that there are two types of thinness, the normal one and the abnormal one. The normal one is when you can see that your cats are eating healthy food, they eat regularly, they behave normally, they still enjoy playing with you or the other cats and they don't seem to be sick, YET, they are thin. In contrast, the abnormal thinness, the ones that we should be worried about is when the cats are so thin that their ribs or waist bones can be seen protruding a bit. Hmm.

Now, as I said, based on what I've read and what I know, there are actually several common reasons of why cats become thin and remain thin, though they like to eat a lot. Sebab-sebabnya:

1- Sesetengah kucing ada kadar metabolisma yang tinggi dan sesetengah kucing tidak (macam manusia juga). Oleh itu, sesetengah kucing akan jadi gemuk bila makan banyak, tapi sesetengah akan tetap kurus walaupun makan banyak. Jadi, kalau ini adalah kes yang terjadi, tiada apa yang perlu dirisaukan=)

2- Kucing akan menjadi kurus, kalau ada cacing...eeee...;p Selalunya, kucing yang ada cacing ni, perut dia gemuk atau buncit, tapi kaki dan anggota badan yang lain kurus;p Saya dah tak tahu cara lain untuk detect diorang ada cacing ke tak, melainkan kita bawa diorang ke vet yang terdekat.

3- Kucing juga boleh menjadi kurus disebabkan penyakit-penyakit lain, tapi yang lebih serius, seperti stress, ketumbuhan dan kalau ada masalah dengan organ dalaman diorang. Harap-harapnya, kucing-kucing kita tak tergolong dalam kategori ini (harap-harap semua kucing dan manusia dijauhkan penyakit-penyakit serius macam ni). Kalau terjadi masalah seperti ini, tiada cara lain melainkan membawa mereka ke klinik berjumpa vet.

Jadi, kita haruslah periksa, kucing kita tu menghadapi kurus yang normal atau abnormal, metabolisma tinggi atau rendah, ada cacing atau tidak dan adakah diorang sedang menghadapi penyakit lain. Kalau diorang makan banyak, kelihatan sihat dan masih aktif, tetapi kurus yang 'normal', itu masih okay. So, nothing to be worried about=)

Saya tidak tahu sebarang ubat yang boleh membuatkan kucing gemuk (Haruslah diingatkan bahawa, gemuk atau kurus tidak berapa penting. Yang lebih penting ialah kucing kita sihat. Diingatkan juga, kucing tak boleh overweight...bahaya..). Tetapi saya tahu satu supplement yang boleh membantu memberikan kucing kita mineral dan vitamin yang diorang perlukan. Nama supplement tu, Nutri Plus gel. (You can google the name to know more about it). It's a good supplement for both cats and dogs.

Kucing-kucing saya di rumah mengamalkan makan vitamin ni=) Tapi, tak semua yang suka makan dan tak semua yang senang untuk diberi makan vitamin ni;p Yang betul 'fanatik' dengan vitamin ni hanyalah Karpet;) Kalau dibiarkan, satu tube tu boleh habis kat dia sorang je dalam masa sehari;p

Mujur vitamin ni tak cair, tapi likat. Jadi untuk kucing-kucing saya yang tak sefanatik Karpet, saya letakkan dalam 2 inch vitamin ni di jari, dan sapukan saja kat mulut diorang. So, diorang suka tak suka, diorang akan jilat;p Secara automatik, diorang juga telah consume the minerals and vitamins=) Nutri Plus boleh didapati di pet shops atau klinik haiwan dan harganya sekitar RM25 - RM30.

I know this entry is a bit elaborative...heh...tapi saya ni memang macam ni...suka terang panjang-panjang;p Harap-harap, ia membantu=)

My Dearest!

2008-07-02T02:12:00.000-07:00

Introducing my cats!!!;p

Well, originally, there were 11 cats in this house. But since five of them had gone forever (sob..sob..), there are only six left. Thank God these six cuties and entertainers are still here=) They just never fail to make me smile=) So, these are their pictures:

First, we have Amot (panggilan manja for Comot). She's a Siamese cat with some mix features of Persian..

Then we have Kajol..Hmm..bapak aku yg bagi nama ni..sabar jelah..=p

Next, we have Karpet...yes..it's an odd name indeed..;p

And this is Titi...My mum called her by this name cause Titi was first found playing and jumping under a 'titi' (bridge) before my mum took her to the house;p

The most mischievous of them all is this girl..Cindy! Oh she is uncontrollable! ;p

Lastly, we have this girl who is getting prettier every day...Lucy!

In spite of their naughtiness, they are indeed cute, adorable and lovable creatures... All in all I love them so much!=)

As Innocent As A Kitten

2008-06-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

Look who I caught playing and jumping cheerfully in front of my cat hater neighbour's door? Two cute, adorable and INNOCENT kittens!!

God knows how did they manage to reach level three of this block...and why, of all the rooms, they dared to choose to play in front of the cat hater's room...!! Menempah maut sungguh diorang ni;p I was so shocked myself. Worried of the cat hater's wrath towards these innocent kittens, I quickly took these curious kitten to the ground floor and let them play at the parking lot...It is definately safer there.

Hehe...kittens! You can't blame them...they are just plain curious and innocent;p

Minyak Gamat

2008-06-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Other than having a first aid kit for humans, in our house, we also have a kit for my cats;p (Al maklum lah, jumlah kucing lagi ramai daripada manusia kat rumah tu;p) There are all sorts of medicine in that kit; from a minor flu to serious fever and injuries.

Now, other than the usual medicine for cats that we got from the vet, the kit for the cats also contains a bottle of minyak gamat! Why minyak gamat and what's the use of it? Minyak gamat ini digunakan untuk merawat luka-luka pada badan kucing-kucing aku. This is the ilmu that has been practiced by my mum's family since long time ago. My mum and my Mak Long said that during the old days, it was hard to get medicine for their cats and they didn't have the money to go to the vet. The only medicine to cure their cats' injuries that they could think of was minyak gamat. So, every time any of their cats had any injuries, they would apply minyak gamat on the injuries. And this is still practiced by my family...especially when we discover that it helps and it works!=)

One more thing that makes me feel okay with applying minyak gamat to my cats is, minyak gamat is not dangerous to the cat's health in case they accidentally or deliberately lick it. Well, you know cats..they just love licking themselves;p

Hopefully, everybody and every cat could benefit from this simple tip;) Saja berkongsi tip...mana tau kalo berguna;p But remember, minyak gamat is safe to be used externally and if the injury is a serious one, it's better for you to bring your cat to the vet for a thorough check up=)

Abu and Paw

2008-06-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

This is Abu... He always comes to my room, buat muka seposen and begs for food as if he has not eaten for days.. Padahal, baru sejam lepas dia dah datang mintak makanan;p Kadang-kadang memang ada rasa macam malas nak layan si Abu ni.. But he has his way of capturing my attention and sympathy;p So, terpakse layan kan juga;p Lagipun, tengok la muke dia yang adorable tu...muke kesian...tak sampai hati nak ignore;p

Tapi, satu perangai dia yang tak larat ditanggung ialah, since he knows that he will easily get some food from me and I will definitely give him some no matter what, he likes to come to my room, begging and meowing for food, even though it's already late at night and I'm still asleep... Being me, aku bangun juga dari tidur ku, semata-mata nak bagi dia makan;p Lagipun, aku tak nak my neighbours bilik sebelah sampai terjaga dek panggilan kelaparan si Abu...

Speaking of which, some of my neighbours at my hostel, who are foreigners, do not like cats...or accurately speaking, they hate cats and do not like the idea of having someone like me, a catlover, staying on the same floor. No doubt, there are Malaysian students who do not like cats and they are staying on the same floor wth me, but, I believe we have this mutual agreement that as long as I won't disturb them with this "hobby" of mine, they won't mind. Tapi, foreigners ni, salah seorang daripada diorang siap datang lagi jumpa dan warned aku, suruh aku jangan bagi makanan kat kucing. Kalau tak, dia akan tangkap kucing tu, and letak kat tempat lain. I just cant be bothered by this cause, they are also guilty of doing the things that attract the cats to come to their rooms (Panjang ceritenya, malas nak cerite dekat sini). So, I still continue giving cat food to the cats;p

Next, let me introduce you to Paw. She used to be Abu's partner (note, I said 'used to be';p) and she used to come to my room begging for food, just like Abu;p Paw is not too pampered like Abu, she's a little bit aggressive... But I do pity her cause according to my neighbour,Sarah, who's also a catlover, dah due kali kandungan Paw gugur...Kesian die...

Then, one day, Paw's tail was injured. Her condition was quite serious. Thank God there are people like Amira, Sarah and friends who are catlovers...they helped her, brought her to the vet, gave her medicine and gave her all the attention that she needed;) Due to my neighbours' profound hatred towards cats, one of the catlovers found Paw a new place to stay. She is now adopted by a new family in Seremban and she is now in safe hands=)

At first, Abu was a bit lost without Paw. Everytime he showed up in front of my door, he would be meowing and he would look straight at my face, as if asking me, "Have you seen Paw?";p But I am not that worried about him cause I know that he will survive;) All in all, I hope Paw is happy with her new family;p

The Story of Fifi a.k.a Pepi

2008-06-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

She was one very pretty, fluffy, well-trained,well-behaved,disciplined, obedient and not to mention proud as well as lazy cat;p Yet, she was and is still my number one buah hati;p She is none other than my dearest Fifi or Pepi...;)

She had been with the family for 10 years and she had made them among the wonderful years of my life. She was given to us by my mum's friends, from Parit Buntar. With her proud and sophisticated look, no one would've guessed that she was once a kampung cat;p But still, she was such an adorable cat=)

One of the adorable things that she liked to do was, she would jump here and there excitedly every time I got back home for holidays..and every time I returned to my hostel, she would wait in front of my bedroom door, meowing and begging, as if mourning and feeling sad for my absence;p Yes, she was one very 'entertaining' and 'dramatic' cat;p

However, gradually, she turned out to be a bit 'quite'. She was not as active as before. This probably had to do with her age...well, 9 and 10 years old are considered old for cats. Later in her remaining days, she became weaker and weaker... Her most critical stage was when she couldn't even walk, eat and drink on her own anymore. And I am thankful that I was there to take good care of her..

On the 29th of May 2007, while I was giving my dearest Fifi drops of water from a syringe, I realized that something was wrong and she was struggling hard, not because she refused to have a sip of the water, but this time it was because of something else...she was struggling to endure the pain of death. I couldn't do anything except watching and praying so that it won't be very hard on her. Tears started to fill my eyes as I watched and witnessed my dearest Fifi's last dying breath...and in just a few seconds, she slipped away and died..

It's been a year now and I still remember clearly how it all happened. In fact, I don't think this sad feeling of loosing her will ever go away. To me, having Fifi around was one of the best things that ever happened to me...and the best things in life are not meant to be forgotten...

Dear Fifi, though you are no more around,you will always be my dearest buah hati;)

Of Cats and Kucing

2008-05-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim…

Alhamdulillah, I have finally gotten the chance to “officiate” this dream blog of mine=) God knows how many times I have been trying to do just that. And God knows how grateful and happy I am now that I can start blogging about CATS!!!! (Weeee!!!!) Hehe.

As you know, I am a catlover=) But wait, I’m not an ‘ordinary’ catlover…I’m a fanatic of cats!;p So, that basically explains why I came out with this blog. I will be writing about my cats, the cats that are around me, the cats that I meet, the cats that I feed and the cats that manage to “touch” my heart thus make me smile;) I will also include everything that has to with CATS in this blog. For example, I might be sharing some health tips for the care of our beloved cats or I might be helping out SPCA to ‘promote’ their cats;) However, this does not mean that I will be concentrating on cats only and abandon other forms of animals that God has created. Since I am also an animal lover, I may be writing about other animals as well; dogs, birds, ants, monitor lizards perhaps...hee…;p

In spite of my “madness” towards this fluffy creature, I have to confess that I am not a ‘zoologist’ and I’m not an animal expert. I will be writing the stories of the cats or the animals from my point of view. In case I’m wrong in giving facts or information, do correct me and share some knowledge on the matter discussed. Sharing of knowledge is never wrong and if I may put it in simpler words, sharing is caring=) All in all, hopefully this blog will have its own special benefits to everybody, not only limited to CATS!;)

*^-^* Of Cats and Kucing *^-^*