Every Day is Caturday

Sleep Like The Dead Part 2: Cleo's Interpretation

2009-10-06T21:56:00.003+08:00

Cat mummy impression.

How serene...

The swirled paisley dead.

Sleeping with eyes open is one more point in creepiness...

Showing fangs adds another point!

Baring nipples...all eight of them!

Looks like a passive Thriller dance lol!

Not exactly like the dead, but you've got to be fairly far gone to not notice your butt hanging an inch off the floor...

Sleep Like The Dead Series Part 1: Tuffie Shows Some Tongue

2009-09-28T19:56:00.004+08:00

pfft.

Pptbbbbbt!

Tppff.

Tuffie breathes new life into the term "sleep like the dead" :P My brother spotted her sleeping like this and took the pics. This is by far the silliest sleepstyle I have come across! Next up --> more silliness!!!

Little White Box

2009-09-01T19:22:00.010+08:00

When my brother found Sephy dead he called me to ask me what to do. I told him to put her in a small box for the meantime, so we can bury her when I get back. Well he found a little white box on my table (that used to hold my dad's Hash mug) and that's her tiny coffin. I wrapped the box in a pink plastic bag. Now going shopping at Hua Ho I see tons of these little boxes with cups inside and I'm reminded of her :(

The house feels a little emptier, but Tuffie is more relaxed now. She never got used to Sephy's scent, or maybe Cleo was all she could handle. Anyways Tuffie is energetic and playful today -_- which is good 'cause she is getting her chubb back.

Sephy has taught me to live more, life is short and anything can happen. She had only 4 weeks of life, but I'm glad she spent her last 2 weeks with me. I miss holding her next to my heart. I never regretted bringing her into my life, even knowing that she was too young and might not make it. She was a tenacious little kitten.

Sephy's death also reminded me that Abbie had been gone for almost a year now. Time flies. So live your life to the fullest that you can.

I'm working on a sketch for Sephy. It'll have tiny pandas crawling all over it, to reference her colour :)

Sephy Has Left US

2009-08-31T18:53:00.006+08:00

Sephy was very lethargic on Sunday, she couldn't stand much and preferred to slump on the floor. The signs were not good and I rushed her to Anicare at 12 noon. The vet had bad news, Sephy was undernourished and has worms and the flu. The main sign was when she tried to meow and no sound would come out, indicating a sore throat with ulcers. She was given a jab (the needle was huge for that tiny body!) some deworm, amoxicillin and the prognosis that she will probably not make it.

Which came as a shock as she was all chipper and was doing well with the bottle. But she was so tiny and weak that any disease that strikes would be devastating to her developing system. We brought her home and tried the best we could with medications and force-feeding her, as she was too upset to eat.

Sephy got progressively skinnier and we could feel the bones right under her skin. I didn't think she would make it through the night bit she did, and managed to get rid of a HUGE white roundworm. I was a bit more positive with this, but while at work today my brother called at 9:45am to tell me Sephy has moved on.

It was heartbreaking as I had really hoped she would beat the odds and make it, but I guess she was just too young, and the loss of a mother added another stress upon her. Plus the worm and the flu was just too much for her to handle. We buried her out back, beside the house of my landlord, who kindly dug the grave for us. R.I.P. Sephy, you were only 4 weeks old and had to endure such suffering. :(

Still so minuscule...

Side shot of the stumpy kitten.

Her expressions range from wide-eyed bewilderment to curious bewilderment. :P

She was only 4x5 tiles big!

Goggle-eyes

Closeup! I needed macro for this.

She had started to look better...

Those were a great 2 weeks, moving and warming up kitten formula the whole day, bottle feeding her, and cleaning up the mess afterwards.

I won't forget the 2 weeks when she brightened our lives with her squeaky mews and scrabbling on the side of her box to be let out. She will be missed.

All Agog

2009-08-28T07:12:00.001+08:00

Sephy was whiny, so we let her out to wander about. We found her flopped out later on the bathmat...

Awww...

AWWWW....

*Head asplode from teh cute!*

She's like a tiny mouse.

*headsplosion no.2*

Cleo decided she wanted the attention and booted Sephy...

Update on Sephy - she's doing great! She's starting to eat more and looks less like a scrawny flea (my mother's words lol). Will begin weaning her next week. Let's see how that goes...

Moving House Blues

2009-08-27T19:18:00.004+08:00

On the day that I found Sephy I was about to move house the very next day...it was quite stressful as Tuffie wasn't feeling the love (I was busy packing and cleaning) and then there was a new kitten to contend with...

In the weeks leading up to the BIG MOVE she was already leting her feelings show.

Her sunning spots have all been taken over by boxes...

I turned my room upside down and went to get a breather. When I can back there was a cat in the very center of the chaos.

'The Look'. Reserved for late meals and the human's inattentiveness to her needs.

Awww, but all she wanted was a little love and attention!

Moving day was hell. Tuffie was already unnerved by the constant changing environment, she was ready to bolt. It got so bad that she almost jumped from the balcony! :( She refused all food and was cranky. I had to lock her in her carrier in a quiet room, only then was she able to calm down and eat a bit.

Fortunately Cleo being still young thoroughly enjoyed the move. Though when we put her in the carrier to transfer her she thought we were bringing her to the vet again! Seems like the memories of being spayed were still fresh in her mind, and she started crying. That worried the Tuff and SHE started crying too -_- Oh cats...

New home! Shiny surfaces...

Tuffie got a good niche next to my bed ;)

Getting used to the new place...blobbing out.

Cleo couldn't care less about the new home, didn't affect her much :)

I had to move Tuffie and Cleo first during the evening. I then moved Sephy around 10pm. What a crazy weekend. Tuff took about a week and a bit to adjust. Even now at night she gets huffy cos there is a male cat patrolling the carpark downstairs. Cleo then gets smacked for getting in the way -_- Ooooh cats...

Cutesplosion!

2009-08-25T08:33:00.000+08:00

Sephiroth The Kitten!

2009-08-23T08:36:00.007+08:00

So the new kitten has a name...I know she's not a he but, Sephy sounds fine for a girl's name :P And also she's a major pain in the butt when it comes to feedings lol. Somehow teh cute is making me quite unable to speak proper. :D

Still belly-sliding along here.

DEATH STARE! Where's me milk?!

Those were from about 3 days ago, before I moved house. Now look at her posture:

Now we're walking here! Kitten steps! :D

She's very adventurous, loves to walk and explore.

Sephy's been practicing her lasers at a very young age.

She still goggles at everything, but now her pupils are actually dilating!

Awwww, still tiny though :P

A Kitten Appears!

2009-08-15T11:05:00.008+08:00

Just when I'm in the midst of packing and moving to a new home, I found a tiny blob of fur. I was just coming home from buying a new cat carrier for Cleo (I wanted the cats to move in together) when I heard this kitten mewing.

Out of curiosity (of course who can ignore that plaintive wail?) I hunted around for the source. At first when I saw it I doubted my eyes, because the source of that loud wail was from a tiny little scrap of fur, in the Block D carpark.
Long story short, after looking around for the mother/nest I was unable to find her so I took the kitten up. Cleo and the Tuff were not pleased. They were very huffy yesterday at this intrusion, it was a little amusing to see them get so worked up over this kitten that's basically the size of Tuffie's fat tail :P

Feeding her was quite a challenge - I've never taken in a kitten this your before. And we didn't cut the hole in the nipple big enough, so she did not eat much yesterday. :(

Very wobbly, and stubborn -_-

This morning I took her to Petlink Vet, apparently she is 3-4 weeks of age, which is pretty good for me as she can go to the toilet without assistance (in the morning she did a HUGE pee...all over the floor). Also it helps her chances of surviving...I made a bigger hole in the nipple and she suckled for a bit. Still not eating enough though.

Crazy red bugeyes :P

When I got back from the vet I brought the kitten around to look for the mom. According to the workers downstairs it was a black cat that had the kittens. Apparently she abandoned this kitten after some kids played with her :( Well I found the cat, but she wasn't interested in getting the kitten back :( So it seems like we are gonna have to try our best with this one...wish me luck!

Cleo's Development

2009-08-14T21:12:00.003+08:00

Well, it's been ages since I updated...been moving house. :/ Cleo seems to be enjoying the random configurations but Tuff was very worried - probably because of her past experience of being abandoned.

Speaking of Cleo she's doing well after her spaying, she had a lump for a while at the spay site but that went away and she's now back to her hyper kitten self :)

The lump on her belly, doesn't seem to faze her :)

Sleepdancing?

Copying Tuffie ;)

Cleo Gets Spayed

2009-07-13T22:00:00.002+08:00

Time really flies, I didn't realize Cleo had passed the 6 month mark...she's around 8 months old now. We've had her since January :)

In any case it was about time to get her spayed. We had to cage her the previous night to fast her for the operation. Poor thing...

She was only caged when she was first brought up as a kitten, and for barely a week. So to be confined was terrible for her. She shredded the mat -_- Definitely the makings of a tigress...

Her spay date was on the 11th, a Saturday. Not many appointments at the vet that day, I was able to bring her back by 2pm. She was still woozy from the anesthetic, but that was to be expected.

Poor thing...all blur. And Tuffie did not help by being all hissy and huffy.

She didn't want to eat, and worried me a bit 'cause she was dehydrated. Managed to force her to take some water by dabbing her nose.

Tuffie started eating a bit the night she got back, then again that cat is gluttony embodied. Cleo really pulled a diva by refusing food until Sunday night....freaked me right out. -_- Today she is eating normally, her tummy has started to look less concave. But she used up her fat stores from her tail - it has definitely shrunk in size :P No worries, she'll gain that(and more!) back soon. :D

Lounging in the carrier. Still lethargic.

They really shaved a huge swathe of her belly! And it's all Barney-purple.

That red splotch is a bruise...thankfully it is gone now, and everything seems to be fine :)

Whasssssuuup

2009-06-03T21:41:00.002+08:00

"What are you lookin' at?"

(looking around) Hmm we don't really feel like cute today...

...therefore it's time for a nap!

Unusually nonchalant for these 2 kitties...guess they do have their 'badass' faces :P

Butt Scratchings!!!

2009-05-26T21:16:00.004+08:00

It will always remain a mystery to me why some cats like their butts scratched/spanked... -_- Anyways here are some butt scratch faces presented by...Tuffie!

So good even the camera is slightly unfocused...

...pure bliss.

Close up of that face. :)

Cheeky Kitteh

2009-05-25T20:42:00.003+08:00

Just this morning I was looking for Cleo before going to work. It was my dad who found her later, lounging in his closet, and he snapped the following shots:

From the rubbish dump to a soft bed of t-shirts...

Never knew my dad's wardrobe was so colourful.

Time for afternoon nap attack!

I've been busy updating my portfolio site: winniecheng.net, there's a whole slew of new stuff coming up!

Cleo's Illustration!

2009-05-17T09:16:00.003+08:00

A sketch inspired by Cleo's ability to keep sleeping even though she is poked, prodded or shaken. She is one sound sleeper! :D
I then took it into Illustrator and vectorized it. Lots of fun and I'm quite liking the end result!

More about the work-in-progress can be found at Sketchy-Characters: Cleo Sketch W.I.P.

Camouflage

2009-05-09T22:39:00.001+08:00

...Cleo's doing it right ;)

Gingero

2009-05-07T19:40:00.004+08:00

Gingero was my cousin's cat. He was large of girth, but somewhat lacking in courage. My earliest memory was of him running off (surprisingly fast for a cat his size) and hiding under the bed. It did not help that he had small years set on a small head set on a large body...

Gingero had a full 18 years of life, quite an age for a cat. Even with his advanced age his fur was still a vibrant orange, and his eyes looked sharp. These photos were taken last year when I went back to Malaysia for my cousin's wedding.

The only indication of age was how stiff his joints were.

Getting belly-rubbed.

A hefty sumo cat ;)

End of belly-rub.

Lounging.

Catching sunbeams.

He had the backyard all to himself. A happily retired cat.

My uncle and his family went for 'Qin Min' and left Gingero in the care of a neighbor. The neighbor found him dead with bits of fur all around and some blood, so it was hypothesized that he'd had a heart-attack while defending his territory...

Which prompted my uncle to quip: "He lived a coward, but died a hero." R.I.P. Gingero. He was a whole lotta cat.

Tuff & Cleo: A Progress Report

2009-05-07T19:08:00.011+08:00

It has been almost 5 months since Cleo first joined us, and she has grown from a stubby little kitten to a stubborn lithe kitteh. Kitteh being the stage between wobbly kittenhood to sleek adulthood. Of course I just made that up ;P but you catch my drift.

Throughout all this Tuffie has been the patient foster-mother, enduring pranks and general kitten playfulness. These range from things such as fighting for pouf rights:

Tuffie was not eager to give up her comfortable seat.

A bit of teasing ensues, and Cleo hatches her plan.

After a flurry of chaos, Cleo claims victory. Tuffie then hatches her counter-attack...

Cleo is usually the instigator, attacking Tuffie when she is preparing to sleep, sunning herself etc.

Kitten attack!

Tuffie does not appreciate her butt being whacked and proceeds to pinch the heck out of Cleo. Cue kitten sounds of indignation. Also the perfect picture to illustrate the love/hate relationship between the two.

But of course it wasn't all bites and trying to claw each others' eyes out, there were frequent moments of tenderness, when you just wanna go "awwwwwwwww"

"awwwwwwwwwwwwww"

And also the sucklings:

"squee!"

Tuffie will clean Cleo whenever she is on the teat...

Closeup of kitten contentment.

Some attitude here - Tuffie is all like "What, want to make something of it?"

Streeetch. Look at the size of Cleo!

I just finished my stint in Shanghai, I was only gone for 10 days but it felt like forever! I missed the critters so much :) Glad to be home!

Four Sleepstyles In One Night!

2009-04-14T21:42:00.003+08:00

These are old, I have such a backlog of pics to post! Anyways here is how it starts, with a belly-down worshiping of the mattress:

Damn...doesn't she look sooooo comfortable?

Top view, kinda awkward pose.

Now it is the sideways flop, paws relaxing...

Mildly pancaked.

Ooop, there goes the limb stretch.

Then Tuffie goes for finish with an "Oh no I'm not waking" curl.

Now this is true sleep appreciation!

Cleo Bringin' The Sleepstyles

2009-04-12T19:10:00.003+08:00

So cute it deserves to be seen 4 times:

Literally I "heart" sleep. :D

Tuff Gave Us A Scare

2009-04-07T21:43:00.003+08:00

About 3 weeks ago I suddenly noticed that Tuffie had a large lump on her left side of her back. Of course there was imminent panic, and feverish searchings on google to glean the cause. In the end I sorta suspected the vaccine (she was vaccinated with Leukocell just 2 weeks before), but it was still freaky. I couldn't wait so the very next morning I took her to Dr. Wallace, who did confirm that it was a reaction to the vaccine and there's nothing to worry about.

Phew.

Now I am glad to report that the lump (originally a good 5cm in diameter) has now shrunk to less than a pea size. I'm so relieved that it wasn't a tumour... Anyways according to various sources it is not really advisable to vaccinate every year, especially with an indoor cat. Well we just picked up Cleo from the streets so I decided to get Tuff her booster. -_-

No photos this time, there will be a picspam coming sometime this weekend. I'm absolutely swamped with work. So here's a couple of links to vaccine types and reactions in cats. Enjoy:
Adverse Reactions to Vaccinations in Cats
Feline Vaccines: Benefits and Risks
Caring For Cats: Vaccination

It's A Love/Hate Relationship

2009-03-01T10:19:00.003+08:00

Awww...from the back everything looks to be all fun and love...

Waitaminute...

Chomp! Cleo goes for the neck.

Tuffie's face says it all - the long suffering look of
patient mothers everywhere.

.1 sec away from kitty pandemonium!

Sunday Sucklings!

2009-02-15T20:08:00.004+08:00

It was all quiet in the house. My mom walked past the dining table and happened to glance at the chair...

...at first she couldn't believe her eyes...

What the...is Cleo suckling?

Then Tuffie gave this look as if to say: "hell yeah" :D

These next batch of pics were taken my me a few days later:

Lick! Tuffie would clean Cleo ear to toes when she's suckling. Cleo also seems to have picked up some cleaning techniques from the Tuff. :)

The utter look of contentment.

Tuffie's gone to dreamland...Cleo's just barely hanging on...

Oh? There she goes too. Can't you just hear the collective purrs/snores?

lol, Parellel Sleepstyle

Must be nice having a warm cat udder on your forehead to lull you to sleep...

Look at that tail! Cleo's turning out to be quite the raccoon.

So yeah, guess we gotta keep the bugger now ;) They are like mother and kitten, wherever Tuff goes, Cleo follows. She's also picking up her mannerisms, guess there is truth to the term 'copycat'. Cleo's starting to sleep a lot too, and has a nice little pad of fat on her belly :P

Signals From Outer Space!

2009-02-14T17:57:00.005+08:00

Tuffie is set to receive otherworldly broadcasting
through the addition of a blue laundry-basket. Watch her eyes
glow as she tunes in to the frequency...

...blech... "I can't believe they still show that kind of shows in the other galaxy!" The Tuff is quite the TV critic.

*System Overload* Your Tuff has crashed and needs to be reloaded.

These pics are oooold. Taken with the Nikon last year. I've got a TON of backlog that I have to catch up with!!!

The Sleeping Dead

2009-02-14T17:16:00.002+08:00

It's a Saturday...what is your kitten doing?

Not channeling some vampire/zombie-esque vibes whilst dead asleep...?

Emphasis on the "dead" part...Cleo is easily posable when she's asleep. Which makes for hours of fun! :)

Meet Cleo!

2009-02-03T21:08:00.007+08:00

Cleo is a rambunctious kitten...Tuffie is certainly a very patient cat to put up with her antics - which includes body slamming, ear chomping and tail whacking. Sometimes Tuffie will huff a little; I can really see her reining in her irritation. But she never delivers a hard whack or bite back. Still has the mommy cat in her :)

Showing off her stubbular kitten physique.

Playing. This kitten is all play, eat, sleep...that means she's healthy ;)

Angry kitten blob! She thinks the little tiger toy is a rival and attacks it mercilessly.

After all that activity is a little cat-nap time.

That's quite the tummy. Snuggleable :D

When there are no toys to be terrorized or shower curtains to shred,
Cleo turns her attention to Tuffie.

Well, there you have it. Not too sure if Cleo will be staying with us long term or I'll adopt her out. I'm having a bit of allergic reaction to her, just some mild sniffy nose that I can live with. :)

Tuffie Faces Her Toughest Rival Yet!

2009-02-01T10:09:00.003+08:00

On 24/1/2009 I picked up the elusive kitten of the sick mom cat downstairs. I'd gone down to give her her medicine, but couldn't find her. As I was searching I saw a tiny pair of ears in a blob of shadow. It was raining hard and there were incidents of flooding, so after some debate, I brought her up :)

Hence Tuffie comes face to face with her toughest rival. She wasn't too keen on the idea at first, since the kitten was trumping her in several categories...

Category 1: "Being cute"

Category 2: "Hand on head"

Category 3: "Nom-ing human hand"

Category 4: "The Sleepface"

Category 5: "Crazy chomping face"

It's like having a large Tuff and a mini Tuff running around the house... not in looks, but in personality. ;)

Ushering In The New Year

2009-01-01T19:57:00.003+08:00

With a massive YAWN.

Zoom! So we can count all her crazy tiny fangses. And the big fangs too. Love how her lips are only black in front, really adds contrast to her face ;)

Pfft. After that is more sleeping scheduled for the new year. Wish I could say the same for me -_-

In Remembrance

2008-12-26T21:35:00.002+08:00

Abigail is Dead.

2008-12-20T09:07:00.009+08:00

Abigail died on 19/12/08 at 9:20am after falling 12 floors from the garbage chute. She probably fell around 6am, as I heard the garbage truck rumbling past around 5am, and I could still hear her yowling. She was in heat so it was a constant source of her presence.

When I went to feed her at 7am something seemed odd, she did not come. She was confined to the end room as she and Tuffie did not get along. I was intending to get her spayed and then see the results, and find her a permanent home if Tuffie still rejects her.

The room was small, a little cluttered, but she was nowhere to be found. I checked high and low, and it only seemed possible that she could have gone down the garbage chute. The chute is set in the wall and has a lid, but she could have pulled the handle, opened the lid, and on jumping in the lid could close immediately. This is one of the times that I hoped my hunch was wrong, but I went downstairs to check anyways. I was relieved to find the dumpsters clean, but then I went out the garbage room and on the other corner there she was.

The workers had pulled her from the room when they heard her, she was bleeding from her nose and mouth, and her hind legs were skewed in odd positions. It was such a shock, and I was shaking badly. I told them to watch her and went to get a box immediately. We then rushed her to the only vet that was open at that time - MAH Veterinary Services. Even though it was in Muara and took half an hour to get there. By that time it was 8:30am. She kept crying and moving around, and I had hoped that she could be saved.

But I guess it was hoping for too much too fast, the vet confirmed that she has no broken bones, but is suffering from massive internal injuries. She said she could give her an IV drip, and when she is stronger give her antibiotics. That's when I knew Abbie could not be saved, but as a last ditch we agreed to the drip. Before the vet could start anything though, Abbie choked to death on her own blood. She stopped breathing and that was it.

It's bad enough that I cry when I lost my Betta fish, my guinea pigs, my hamsters. To see Abbie dying so horribly was traumatizing, and it's very hard to come home, and see the empty room with her food bowl and litterbox still there. We buried her by the riverbank, near to where my bro buried the guinea pig 4 years ago. Abigail, we will miss your raucous voice, your silly antics.

Taken last month, when she was on the road to recovery following near starvation, fleas, worms, runny nose and a fungal attack. She was the dirtiest stray that I have ever taken in.

Confrontation between the Tuff and Abbie. Love how Tuffie is a blob and Abbie is a stick :)

Abbie exploring my room. Tuffie did not approve.

These photos were taken just 2 days before she died:

Sniffing my pants, I had fried chicken for lunch that day :P and both cats found my pants to be exteeeeemely interesting.

A bit washed out by the flash, but I'm amused by Tuffie's laser eyes.

She'd gained her weight back, and was happy and healthy.

Slightly cross-eyed :D

Way to creep people out, cyclops kitty.

She'd put on so much weight, and her colour darkened considerably.

Cleaning her butt on my bed. Great.

And the last 2 shots before she left.

Goodbye Abigail.

Tale of 2 Kittens: Part 4/4

2008-12-03T22:49:00.002+08:00

This photo was taken just prior to them thrashing the living room. Check out the oh-so-innocent faces to lull you into a false sense of security...

Then it's mayhem in the living room!

Babes on the sofa -

Dolce on the pouf -

Babes looking guilty...probably knocked over my moms vase for the nth time.

Dolce and the Tuff on the dining chairs. Tuffie's face says it all XD

And after all that romping around it's time for more sleep!

Nothing tires kittehs out more than fun and food. :)

Well, this is the last part of the kittens' story. Since I only intended to foster them I started to look for potential adopters. It was quite fortunate that my colleague can take the both of them in, and she and her kids have really cared well for these 2 kittens. A happy ending as good as any! ;)

An even happier continuation is that the kittens got to spend an additional 12 days with me, as my colleague went on holiday. They've really bulked up and are glossy and sleek. Still cheeky though :P See them here: "When Kittens Attack"
Also catch the first 3 installments here: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Tale of 2 Kittens: Part 3/4

2008-12-01T13:17:00.004+08:00

Dolce's day out:

First he checks out the kitchen...

...all clear here. All the food have been eaten :)

"Food? What food?" :D Babes investigates too.

After the kitchen Dolce checks out the houseplants...

...before being snagged for a photo-shoot.

Next he checks out Tuffie.

Then he nonchalantly makes his way to the bonsai...

...which was subsequently mauled by bitty kitteh claws. Here I'm trying to pull the little stinker off. But he's a stubborn one (check out the tongue!)

Up next, the final installment in Tale of 2 Kittens. Also check out Part 1 and Part 2! Update: final installment is up!

Tale of 2 Kittens: Part2/4

2008-11-29T09:58:00.004+08:00

Babes was not always known as Babes. As is the case with most cats, she has had more than 1 name over the months. At first I took to calling her Crash Bandicoot, based on her clumsy personality and perchance for crashing into the sliding door glass (ouch!). After she and Dolce (previously known as Vader) were adopted she gained the name Tinkerbell, which later evolved to Babes, somehow. ;)

Here is a day in the life of Babes aka Tinkerbell aka Crash Bandicoot...

She's quite the photogenic kitten, just look at those little paws!

After the photo-op it's fun time all over the living room...

JANGAN PANDANG BELAKANG! (lol) Love how Dolce's eyes are glowing here.

Then it's time to terrorize the yellow fluffy toy...

Babes showing off her toy bashing skillz.

Time for another close-up portrait...

And it's time to terrorize Tuffie...

Next it's flying through Carebear-filled clouds chasing glittery feathers... (no she has not had the catnip yet)

Of course after all that flying through clouds and whatnot kitties get hungry, so it's dinner time! You can hear those little chompers going overtime.

After food comes sleep, naturally. If you are a cat that is. Here Babes is using her bro' as a comfy, warm pillow. Just look at that reclining 'tude there. :)

More to come in Part 3 and Part 4. Also check out Part 1 for full coverage of their early days!

Tale of 2 Kittens: Part 1/4

2008-11-28T22:14:00.004+08:00

This is the long-overdue story of the 2 kittens - Dolce and Babes. Below is a recent shot of them playing on the sofa.
They were not always so glamorous, as is apparent in the photos below. Terribly cute though ;)

It all started when someone dumped their pregnant cat at the apartment... She birthed the kittens and kept them sheltered in a large potted fern downstairs.

In the beginning there were 4; a ginger, a tabby, a black and a black and white kitten. Quite the range of hues here. Comes from the mom's tortie/tabby looks I guess.

The ginger kitten was the most adventurous by far, and also the largest of the lot. At this point their eyes had just opened, so there was a lot of unfocused stumbling and trundling around.

And here we have Dolce, before he got upper respiratory infection that left him with crusty eyes.

Babes! Omg she's the cutest! She was the only female out of the litter, and also the tiniest kitten.

Babes chillin' with mommy.

Here Babesl is crashed out against her brother. Unfortunately, due to the ginger's adventurous nature, he was the first to cross over the drain to the parking lot, and got run over by a car :( His demise spurred me to think about fostering the remaining kittens.

Originally I intended to take all 3 kittens with me, but the tabby had been adopted by one of the workers so there was only Dolce and Babes left. One day I went down to feed them and it was raining. Mom cat was snug and dry under the roof, but the 2 kittens were out there shivering in the rain as they do not know how to cross the drain. I immediately brought them upstairs and kept them in the bathroom. Next day I went and got a cage for them.

Eventually I brought the mom cat up too, as she still had milk for them.

Kittens suckling! Later they would try to suck on my fingers too -_-

Awwww :D Getting washed by mom :)

I lost 2 rolls of toilet paper to these cheeky devils... -_-

I couldn't keep the mom cat as and Tuffie had an altercation (Tuff cat lost -_-) so in then end I had to bring her down again. :(

Anyways on to life with Babes and Dolce in Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

When Kittens Attack!!!

2008-11-27T22:27:00.002+08:00

The kittens have returned!!! My colleague who kindly took them in is away on holiday, so the kittens are back to stay for 12 days!

Breakfast time, Tuffie and the kittens chowing down.

Oops, bad picture...Tuff, where's your head??!

After breakfast the kittens are unleashed to wreak havoc in the house. Here Babes is checking out the shrubbery.

Then it's playtime with the Tuff-cat!!!

Sneaky...

Look at Babes pretending not to notice...

...the blob of cat that is condensing for an attack.

Surprise! Tuffie takes on a semi-gaseous state.

The result: staring contest over the pouf for half a minute...

Then Babes twitched and zoom! Tuffie was outta there.

Here Tuffie is chilling under the stereo speaker after that encounter. She is having so much fun with the kittens! :)

Cat-Related Birthday Presents

2008-11-26T21:53:00.001+08:00

lol, I guess the fact that I'm a cat person is pretty well known in the office, this is what I got for my birthday:

Let's see, cat plushie, cat danglie, a book on cats. Well, the camera is for capturing cats of course... :P

3 books!!! I must be in bookworm heaven! I'm gonna have to ration these so they will last till December, when I get another shipment of books! (2 horror and 1 cat stories XD)

This plushie will accompany me at the office. :D

Now I'll need to get another pendrive so this danglie can have a home...lol. I should take a photo of all the cat things I now have around the place.

I've been scouting around for new camera since last year. I finally settled on this Lumix by Panasonic, not a bad choice for $190.

Here's the shot from the Lumix camera. It has 7.2 megapixels as opposed to the old Nikon with only 3.2 megapixels.

And here's the aged Nikon, pushing 6 years of service. I believe the photo count was reset 3 times... (it resets after 9,999 shots)

All the photos in this blog up till now have been taken with this camera.

I don't think I will completely discontinue using the Nikon, my brother might take it since he has no camera. For now it will be relegated to the gadget retirement box.

And what does Tuffie have to say about the new Lumix? Tongue on nose, great. At least the box smelt good.

Abigail At Play!

2008-11-25T21:37:00.000+08:00

Here's Abbie having a bit of fun with the cat toy... at first she was like...what do I do with it...then the hunting instinct kicked in and off we go! At first she would growl when she caught the toy, but now she realised that it it just play and does fantastic leaps and bounds. It's amazing to see her transform from starving scruffy street cat to domesticated, spoiled feline.

Abbie giving some evil eyes...that toy's gonna get it!

The sparkly feather-duster was the first to go.

2 toys at once! Oh my.

As you can see for a while both Abbie and Tuffie had a collar revival. However that didn't last long. Tuffie managed to jam her front paw into her collar. Luckily I was playing with her when it happened, and was able to free her immediately. Needless to say all the collars went off that night.

Tuffie's Reaction

2008-11-25T21:33:00.005+08:00

This is a bit late, happened 2 weeks ago, lol. But I've been too busy with my website to update this blog. Anways, speaking of websites, winniecheng.net is finally up. Has all me art stuff, feedback and comments are most welcome!

Back to the topic at hand, Tuffie wasn't too pleased to see Abbie around the house. She was reclining on the bed, and when she saw Abbie she got up and veeeery slooooowly made her way to the hidey place...

Here she is pausing for a look.

Zoom! That face is bad news...

Seriously, she was mooooooving sooooo sloooowly, as if to say, nothing threatening here...just a blob of a cat slooooowly making her way to hide. I'll try to embed the video once I figure out how to do that.

And the object of Tuffie's ire is chillaxin' on the cool parquet floor...

Abigail is looooong. Much like Rover.

Catching sunbeams

2008-11-10T10:03:00.002+08:00

Before we forget who this blog is originally all about:

Tuffie glowing in the morning sun.

Zzz.

Simple pleasures are the best. :)

Up next - Tuffie's reaction to Abbie! And long overdue are the pics of the kittens!

Abigail is cured!

2008-11-08T10:25:00.002+08:00

Went for a follow-up visit to the vet today, and he was surprised by how much she's improved in one week. Her upper respiratory infection is gone, and so are the fleas. The reddish dots still in her coat are in fact dead flea bodies and eggs. So all I have to do is give her another bath tomorrow when she is less stressed. She still has a scab on her head that has not healed, so we've got some cream and antiseptic stuff to put on it.

Munch away! Her tail is quite the banner.

Top view. Her fur tends to fluff and so hides her scrawny frame well.

Front view. Face blur action.

Full tank! Then she flops.

Still wants some more food!

I guess I've been lucky so far with rescuing cats...Tuffie was no problem once her leg healed, the kittens did fine once the worms and runny noses were taken care of, and Abbie is doing well now that the fleas, worms and assorted bacteria have been eliminated. I asked the vet about her missing teeth and he suggested that it could be her baby teeth being replace by permanent ones. Lets hope they grow back. :)

Her Name is Abigail

2008-11-06T20:12:00.003+08:00

Say welcome to the newly-christened Abigail, or Ah-Bie for short. Tuffie is Ah-Fie...hope they can keep their names apart :P Status update:

Abigail sez, "2 bowls of food ain't enough, please can I have some more?"

Actually the white saucer is for her meds, mixed with some canned food. Though she is fed twice a day she gets double portions each time. You can still feel the spine and ribs, but it's not as painfully obvious as before. She now has a nice padding of soft fur :) She's even growing fuzz on her bare butt! Her nose is entirely cleared up now. We still have to do something about the remnant fleas and that scratch though. One more visit to the vet this Sat I suppose.

New Cat Alert! Found on Halloween.

2008-11-03T22:00:00.003+08:00

So me and Sophia were going for lunch in Gadong on Friday and we heard this mewing coming from the rubbish dump. This emaciated cat was crying with all its might, trying to get noticed. Well, we noticed. I didn't really think of bringing it home with me yet, but the idea just grew on me during the day, and at 5pm I decided that if I can still find the cat I will take it home with me.

Well, as luck would have it, it was still there. We confirmed it was a she and Sophia helped commandeer a box from the office to bring her back in. This was a truly miserable looking cat, she has been starving for a while and was all bones and skin. She was even skinnier than Tuffie was back then.

She was quite filthy and besides the skeletal appearance she also had a few missing teeth, sniffles with yellow-green snot (eew) as well as ear mites (double-eew) and a whole host of crawlies in her fur (eew-ack). Oh not to mention internal wormies too.

Day 2: Look at that bony leg! When we got home she just kept crying...definitely was one sick kitty. Before I brought her to the vet I gave her a dose of de-flea and a quarter of a de-worming tablet. She was as light as the kittens so I decided to go with a kitten dose. The vet suggested to dose her once every week for 3 weeks. He also prescribed 2 meds for her runny nose.

I decided to give her a bath after the visit to get rid of all the grime and crawlies on her...that was quite the experience. I've never given Tuffie a thorough bath as she was always very clean, but this was different. So I ran some lukewarm water, grabbed the flea shampoo and the cat. There was quite a bit of yowling and wriggling, and when I cracked out the hair dryer she flipped out. The sun chose that day to hide in the clouds, so there she was sitting in the shade shivering :( She had not eaten much during the day and her body temperature was a bit low while at the vet...

...but once she settled down, she managed to get the appetite for food, and I was much relieved. This pic was taken just after she got dried off. What a difference clean fur makes. :)

Day 3, Sunday: Starting to get a bit of caturday on us, eh? I guess she felt way better, as she could stretch and roll and yawn. She got rid of a huge worm and seemed much relieved by it ;)

Despite this I had to give her another bath, but the sun was out and it was nice and hot. I also made sure the water was warmer this time, as I want to really get rid of all the fleas. So ensues the second round of yowling and splashing, and the dreaded hair dryer again. But the second round was worth it, got rid of most of the fleas.

Well, here we are at day 4, still skinny, but her fur is finally fluffy and clean. :D Also eating for 3 cats apparently. She's got a lot of weight to catch up.

Caturday Gets A Facelift!

2008-09-15T20:13:00.009+08:00

It's been a while since I've been itching to redesign the look of this blog. Looking back, this is what the top banner looked like:
Not too catchy, and kinda boring. It's been up for almost a year and it was high time to get a change. I also wanted to use some of the free vectors I found at this site: www.bittbox.com
Definitely check out BittBox for loads of fantastic free brushes, textures and vectors for download. I composed the new title banner with a few decorative ornaments taken from there.

I was spoilt for choice as to which photo of the sleeping Tuff I should use, but this one was still my favourite by far, with her legs stretched out over the backpack. Utter contentment. :) Quite liked the way it turned out, so I went ahead and redid the avatars.

Old:

New:

Well, hope you guys like the new design, I had a lot of fun playing around with the decoratives, and I think definitely this is an improvement over the old look. :D

Making up For Lost Time

2008-09-06T20:35:00.002+08:00

Whoo, haven't had caturday for like, almost 4 months -_- Now that is sad. So to make up for lost time here's a whole slew of the Tuff doing what she does best:
Yep. Current desktop at home, soon to have another version for work :D Definitely brightens up my day. :) Here's a 1024 x 768px for anyone craving some caturday in their lives:
Another reason for the lack of updates is that I'm currently fostering 2 kittens...a mom cat had a litter of 4 downstairs. Unfortunately the most adventurous one, a ginger colour, was run over. The tabby one was quickly adopted, leaving 2. One day I went down to feed them and found them cowering in the rain. This won't do so I brought them up. I guess the story has to be followed up in another post, but here's a photo for the meantime:
Do not be misled by the innocent looks, I've already lost 2 rolls of toilet paper to these little buggers (they are living in my washroom). Well, more to follow next time.

Cats Are A Great Help In Times Of Need

2008-04-20T21:20:00.005+08:00

Here I am preparing for my trip to Shanghai and this cat goes and does this:

Sits on clothes - wait till I bring out the suitcase.

Attacks various articles of head covering.

Goes apeshit crazy. Distracts owners from task at hand to grab camera and take photos...

Yup. Cats totally should be present when you are trying to pack/work/do house chores. Great for extending your floor-mopping time by hours.

Rover Redux

2008-04-19T22:04:00.001+08:00

It Fell From The Ceiling

2008-03-08T09:21:00.000+08:00

*Oof* - squashed cat.

No furry feline was harmed in the making of this stunt. The only casualty was the owner who busted a gut laughing. :')

The Crystal Helmet

2008-03-03T11:12:00.000+08:00

Forced acceptance! OMG crazy face.

Utter look of reproach... :P

Breastplate! Single-nipple.

There we go, semi-accepted. Please excuse the hairy club-foot at the back (it's not mine I swear! XP)

Completed! Crystal Helmet equipped. Cat is now immune to mockery...not.

Bovine

2008-03-02T20:23:00.005+08:00

Zzz

Doesn't this remind you of a cow lying on the side? She's even got the udder in too! XD

Carebears, I Sees Them

2008-02-29T21:10:00.000+08:00

...they're everywhere!

A closer look at that crazy face (hee hee)

Someone Get An Exorcist, Quick!

2008-02-28T22:12:00.005+08:00

WTF

OMG Tuffie's gone to the dark side! Well, she's always been on the dark side, but here she's finally showing her true face, mwahaha.

Catnip Fun

2008-02-26T15:33:00.000+08:00

*bonk* New toy to catch the owner's eye! Catnip fish! :D

"Pah, I do not indulge in such a petty hobby as doping, now get that thing outta my face"

Ignore...ignore

Ignore failed. Catnip high induced. Heehee :D

Must resist...x-x crazy face!

Resist failed XD

She was like this, with her mouth partly open, for more than a few minute. Guess she's a mellow catnip cat. ;P

Bee Sting Update

2008-02-25T07:42:00.000+08:00

Ouchies...

Here's the result of that greedy night 2 weeks ago - the wound turned nasty despite the anti-inflammation shot...the scab just grew and grew :( For a while there was that awkward phase when half the scab was hanging on by a skin...eew. Anyways, it's all over now thank goodness, when the scab finally fell off there was new, pink skin underneath! Huzzah. Now Tuffie looks twice before gulping down any buzzing invertebrate :)

New Year Overindulgence

2008-02-24T21:10:00.004+08:00

This is kinda creepy looking...

Totally out.

Awwwwwwww

I'm so tired. Every time I look at this chubbulence sleeping it up...I just want to join in the fun. :(

I Shouldn't Have Eated That Moth...

2008-02-11T21:55:00.002+08:00

...and now I'm in a place where Carebears frolic and rainbows dance *hic*

Oh yeah, that's the stuff.

*buzzing sound* What's that?!! That face totally spells trouble for any bugs that are just bumping around the room, minding their insect business.

Speaking of eating bugs, there is one kind that has taught Tuffie a sharp lesson, that is the BEE. One night she got high after licking the top off a piece of chocolate cake (I was worried green over this) and she found a tasty morsel on the ground. I saw the yellow stripes but before I could stop her, the was a *crunch* and she immediately ran off. I knew she had diva tendencies, but not to the extent of getting Hollywood lips! lol. Took me a minute to grapple with the squirming, yowling cat and finally pluck the stinger from her lip. The wound looked nasty, and on Saturday I took her to the vet, she got a shot to help with the inflammation and the bee poison.

Today she was just a little more wary with bugs, but moths and beetles look ok so they are usually gone with one bite -_-

Gong Xi Fa Chai!

2008-02-07T09:23:00.001+08:00

It's red packet time! Look at her, attacking it with such gusto.

Red packet kronsch! Nyammm

Pleh. She realized the packet was empty :P But she gots some snacks after this :3

Happy New Year! It is too bad I can't go back to Malaysia and celebrate with the extended family, also very unfortunate with the situation in China too. Hopefully the year of the rat will bring more positive things despite the shaky start. :)

One Of The Pack

2008-02-02T21:24:00.000+08:00

Let's see what we've got here...cat, hippo, badger, dog, Nemo, pig, pig...

Not much difference between a stuffed animal and a breathing, stuffed cat. Purrrrr

Elongation

2008-02-01T07:35:00.001+08:00

Dis sofa is miiiiine.

Tubby

2008-01-31T07:57:00.001+08:00

The effect food can have on an animal. And it's not like I overfeed her, she doesn't get as much exercise as I would like for her. Well, like owner like pet. :P

Sleep Goof

2008-01-30T07:39:00.000+08:00

Performing Michael Jackson's Thriller in her sleep, now that's talent.

Here we have view from the human...took me 10 shots to get this right, in between the suppressed giggles and bad aiming.

I guess the term to use here is "dead to the world" or "out like a light" or...look at that smooshed ear! Aaargh

Here is the final shot with the intrusive human presence removed. She didn't even bat a paw.

Caturday Returns!!!

2008-01-29T21:03:00.000+08:00

"How could you let almost a week go by without Caturday? We have barely begun to clear the backlog and I'm already pooped."

Here is Tuffie using my gut as a pillow, as usual. Bring on the purrs!

Whew, crazyness at work is finally over (for now), and my iMac is back to it's spiffy self! Of course it is purring along with Leopard now :D Turns out Apple sent me the wrong upgrade disk. Well blah, I have my Time Machine! And BootCamp! Now gimme my Bioshock!!! :D

Accessorizin'

2008-01-23T21:45:00.000+08:00

What's dis? No Caturday for 3 days??! >:( Gah, a failed upgrade meant I wiped my machine :( Luckily I have my stuff backed up...but restoring all the programs and preferences are a pain. Not to mention I still have to get the OS upgraded at some point. Grrrr

Anyways, enough about Mac woes, here's some grade-A c-a-t:

Alright! Tuffie's got a collar now, courtesy of Sonia's mom :D I must say, the hot pink is very fetching on her! ;)

Ooooh yeah Caturday with my spanking new collarzzzZ.

I suspect she was already used to wearing a collar with a bell as she didn't make the slightest fuss, although she could have been distracted by the scent of $40+ iams food...also courtesy of Sonia's mom. She's spoiling my cat rotten! :P
*Tuffie says much thanks btw, she loves the food!*

Oh gosh, the pattern is too fitting. A puppy face. Soooo like the personality of the wearer. The owner is much amused. :)

Vectorized

2008-01-20T19:04:00.000+08:00

The original - just look at that silly face. :)

Approx 1 hours in Illustrator...I'm planning to do more of this silly cat but haven't found the time yet.

Cat In A Box

2008-01-18T22:18:00.000+08:00

What is going on here?

The aftermath of KittehRage (note shredded box side).

Now it's "Fun With Ribbons(TM)" time! Box takes +1000 damage x-x

Tuffie spends hours amusing herself with empty boxes as well as using appropriated scrunched up paper balls as paw balls - she'll bat them all over the house...and she ignores the rest of the expensive cat toys I bought for her. That's the power of marketing for you.
(-_-) = gullible hooman.

Tidbit: This box is the same box we used to bring Tuffie into our home, maybe that's why she has such an attachment to it. :) --> Go back in the day

Spoilage

2008-01-17T13:17:00.000+08:00

Utter relaxashions.

Totally, totally lovin' it. Life's goooooood for this here cat.

Kitty spoilt by Andochan :D

Fun with Macro

2008-01-16T09:30:00.000+08:00

Her nose is blingin'

Big head.

Awwww it's just Tuffie's fat head :)

Sleepsercise

2008-01-15T21:04:00.000+08:00

Step one: Streeeetch those muscles out~

Step two: Flex those paws!

Step three: Work those neck muscles!

Final step: Stomach curl

Rinse and repeat 4 times and your kitteh would have mastered sleepsercise and get toned up while they are asleep...that's 16+ hours a day!

Do Not Disturb

2008-01-11T20:40:00.000+08:00

"Wake me when it's 2009 kthxbai"

Owner's Notes: Twas a chilly day. For a tropical country that means 25 degrees Celsius/77 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrrrr, bring out the winter jacket ma!

Dainty Floppage

2008-01-10T10:01:00.000+08:00

She spazzed out for half an hour then totally went "flumph" on the sofa...battery level = 0.1%

Contemplation (Gut Fat Overlapping Hind Paws)

2008-01-09T09:03:00.000+08:00

This is the embodiment of the phrase: "made sleek by food". That spine stripe amuses me to no end, it makes her colouration look suspiciously like that of a Russian dwarf hamster. Sometimes I do think what I've got here is an oversized hamster that hoards her food at the gut instead of the cheeks.

Another Perspective Challenge

2008-01-08T21:22:00.000+08:00

This should be called the perspective-altering couch, look at that pseudo standing attitude.

Illusion broken! False perspective only lasts so long.
Now back to your regularly scheduled Caturday~

My posts might start to become more sparse this few months (hopefully will be back to normal by end of March). Work is starting to go full gear and well, that's where my priorities lie. Though I will find time to sneak a Caturday in whenever I can ;P

Screwing Wit Ur Mind

2008-01-07T07:24:00.000+08:00

"Nooooo" - slipping down an inclined slope.

"Wha? Ok lah dere is no slope, I gotta find ways to amuse myself when you guys are out ya know. Pfft boring humans."

As you can see, Tuffie is doing well after having her stitches out on Saturday. Though she did pull a partial diva routine after coming from the vet where she was wrestled by 3 humans trying to hold her still so the good doctor can cut the stitches with minimal damage...Well, we survived, and she rewarded us by scarfing down food so now she is even denser than she was before ;P

Paw Prints In The Dirt

2008-01-06T21:41:00.000+08:00

This is ridiculous...no wonder I have a healthy soil layer on my tabletop now.

And here's the culprit, chillin' innocently. -_-

Then And Now, A Pillow's Perspective

2008-01-04T20:51:00.001+08:00

This was then:
Just a little lackluster here...

Butt hanging off...all bony and pale.

And this is now:

Butt still hanging off...but look at how she's grown!

"Whadda ya mean cat loaf strikes again? Come closer so I can swat you with mai paw."

Goodbye Mr. Ginger Cat

2008-01-03T22:39:00.000+08:00

Moar!

This is Mr. Ginger Cat. He was one of the strays that I have been feeding for over 2 months now. At the beginning he was such a scrawny thing, all legs and tail. His fur was sparse and his colour was pale. I brought him to the vet to be vaccinated, de-wormed and de-fleaed. Also to make sure he wasn't harbouring an illness or something. Well, the vet said he seemed fine other than a bit undernourished, so I would feed him and 2 other strays regularly in the evenings.

One wiry cat and one wiry brother (legs).

He's extremely affectionate. Here he was rubbing snot on my jeans.

Ginger Cat face-off with the Sick Cat. Here was another stray that was in worse shape than he is - he had a perpetual bleeding nose, possibly cancerous in origin. I have yet to be able to feed him or bring him to the vet as he makes himself extremely scarce.

Last Thursday I went down to feed the cats as usual. Later I will have to make a proper introduction for the motley bunch of strays that wander about my apratment. Anyways Ginger Cat is always first in line once he smells food or hears me calling, so I was a bit weirded out when only Tortie and Cute cat appeared. Well, it was heat season, so I thought Ginger had gone off exploring and didn't think too much of it. He had begun to show improvement in that his coat was growing back and his colour was much better. He has also bulked up a bit.

Well, 2 days passed and still no sign of the Ginger cat. We didn't see him until Saturday evening; me and my brother found him in a drain drinking. But when I offered him food he did not seem interested. Then he started coughing and retching. I couldn't help him as the vets were closed until Monday, and he still looked ok despite the dry heaves...

...but come Sunday morning he was dead. :( It must have been something internal, I have no clue. It was so sudden too, as he did not seem sick, but then cats have a way of hiding their discomfort that could be detrimental to getting them swift treament. I miss this guy :(. Every morning if he sees me before I go to work he'll come and get a pet or two. I miss his boisterous presence when I go down to feed him in the evenings. I was planning to get him fixed, then find a permanent home for him (since Tuffie is adamant that she is to be the only cat in our household). I wish I could have hugged and spoilt him more, but at least he is not suffering anymore.

R.I.P. Mr. Ginger Cat.

I Slept Through 2007?!!!

2008-01-01T09:58:00.001+08:00

...what!

Ehem, and a happy 2008 to the rest of you too. ;P

Loaf Cat

2007-12-29T09:06:00.001+08:00

Impersonating loaf of bread. It's a cold Caturday.

Cat Rump.

2007-12-28T07:38:00.001+08:00

Round butt.

Eyargh, am feelin' just a little under the weather these few days... ok it's the bloody flu. Ack. My brain is all sorts of wobbly. Feels like a load of cotton wool bouncing around by skull. By the way, de bose is blocked too. Yay.

A Purrrfect Life

2007-12-27T20:58:00.000+08:00

Tuffie enjoying the scenery from 12 floors up. My mom has this Hokkien saying to describe her propitious situation: "like an earthworm burrowed into fertile soil". Too true.

A Christmas Aftermath...

2007-12-26T07:44:00.001+08:00

Whoo I got Christmas pressies! Very lucky of me considering I don't really celebrate Christmas, being a Buddhist and all. But hey tis the season to give and be merry so there's nothing wrong with that :D And of course receiving pressies means I've got to share them...

Dis bloodred heart, it has arms.

After taste and claw testing the plush heart, she went back to gnawing on her own plush belly.

Next up - cutestest beaded panda purse! Look at that intense gaze of extreme interest. Yawn :P

Aww she just fakin' :P That one got a couple of soft kronches.

3rd item is a book. Full of blank pages. Ready to be filled up with whatever creepy drawings I can muster. :D *evil cackles* Naw, it's too pretty...I'll keep it pristine, for now.

And I got a set of 4 bookmarks that did not photograph well at all. They are basedoff chinese opera masks and are of skinny shiny metal, total pain with my camera.

Happy Holidays!!!

2007-12-25T09:30:00.000+08:00

Eheheh, missed a post yesterday. Caturday came early and swept me away before I knew what was happening :P I spent Christmas Eve at my friend's place, and we had mucho giggles. And now, on to the big giggle:

She's baaaaack! No better present this holiday season than to get my precious back. She is eating, meowing, snorgling and playing now. Her belly is back to that round shape :D

Our collective silky paws.

Awwww, look at that udder - oops, I mean, gut.

Gah.

I haven't had my breakfast yet I am all jolly. Feeling the spirit of the season I suppose. Have a good one everybody!!!

The Morning After...

2007-12-23T22:28:00.001+08:00

This was yesterday, look at the size of her pupils!

She didn't have much appetite then, only ate some kibble and that's it. Man, this girl really turned on the diva today, it's all like, slow-mo' movements and lying on the balcony baking in the hot sun. But from her sleeping faces I think things are feeling better already for her.

She stank quite a bit yesterday, today I had the chance to give her an additional wipe down with a damp cloth. Now she smells like her original scent, cat spit.

All that wobbling, making me go out to buy wet food, then serve it mashed up in a porridge style so she can just lick the whole thing down and not have to chew...well, this was my reward :)

Here she has commandeered my dad's pencil case as a pillow...

Making any object, no matter how bony/awkward/hard it is seem comfortable, this is a cat's true talent. In addition to begging food and invading sleeping spaces of course. :P

Tuffie Is Gone...

2007-12-22T10:03:00.001+08:00

...to da vetz. She'll be back around 3-4pm today. It's only been what, 1 hour and I already miss her terribly :( Man, how am I ever gonna go on vacation without bringing this furball along?!

*update 4:30pm* Tuffie is Baaack! Whew, what an ordeal. She was a spitting, hissing terrified mess when I went back to pick her up. Such an aggressive cat - she gave poor Dr. Wallace some grief; scratched him while he was giving her a jab. I do feel a bit bad as I should've trimmed her nails before...but he took the liberty of cutting them down while she was out.

She's a huge-eyed wobbly thing now, but at least she's resting comfortably. I saw her fidgeting just now and gave her the litter box, boy did she really have to pee. -_- I don't blame her, now she's snoozing in her box.

That's the best shot you are gonna get today ppl! Poor dear, she must be feeling awful now. I remember how I'd felt after surgery...all sorts of dizzyness. Well, I'm sure she'll be back to her boisterous self by tomorrow, then we can get a closer look at that shaved potbelly ;P

Uugh Back To Work...

2007-12-21T23:50:00.001+08:00

It's just non-stop snoozing with this one...

Consolation is, tomorrow is Caturday (for realz). Unfortunately I am having a bit of anxiety today as tomorrow is also the date set to get Tuffie spayed. Wish her a smooth surgery and speedy recovery!

Caturday Comes Early!!!

2007-12-20T10:33:00.001+08:00

*purrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

- Princess Cat -

Whooo, I slept till 10. What a feeling. I remember a time when I used to be able to sleep till 12 or 2pm. Then there was one Summer where I totally skewed my sleep pattern...bed at 6am and conciousness at 4pm. I only had night classes then, and I do prefer being awake at night. Boy did I make myself sick.

Now I'm going on a Bleach anime binge with my bro, aye, what better way to spend an early Caturday than an all-day anime binge? We are sooooo gonna make ourselves ill!

Sunning / Courting Danger

2007-12-19T20:39:00.000+08:00

What does she think she is, a monkey??? I'm always worried that the rare eagle that flies around the place will be tempted to pluck her for a morsel...a 5kg morsel. That will be one plummeting bunch of feathers and fur...

That's the pool 12 floors below her. Shimmery water.

Last night my dad had a dream that Tuffie was sitting at the very edge and looking down with great intention, like she always does in the waking world. Sad to say this cat is even starting to affect us at the subconcious level.

Pining for Caturday...

2007-12-18T17:14:00.001+08:00

Uuugh, I'm just gonna sleep thru the week...wake me up next year, k?

Exactly my expression this morning...except I have eye bags to go with insufficient sleep. Also I'm not covered with soft fur and replete with whiskers. No I'm not.

Totally off-topic: I did have a major breakthrough today. There was a particular song that was infrequently on the radio, and for more than 1 month it has snagged my ear neither betraying the name nor the artists of the song. The accent in the song was also too heavy for me to pick out coherent lyrics. Gah the FRUSTRATION!

Well, this afternoon the song came on, and I hung on to every (word). I managed to get 3 lines and , luck of luck, I deciphered the name of the song from the Dj's garbled speech. This was followed by some frantic googling with the name "Heartbeats" and the verse "we had a promise made" and bingo! Finally. The song is "Heartbeats" by "The Knife", a Swedish brother and sis combo. Originally I had trawled for songs under Bjork's name, then Robyn (I wasn't too far off there, she's Swedish as well, and had a fair bit of electronica going on). And there you have it, the fulfillment of my shallow life.

They seem like an interesting pair, I'm gonna check out the other videos they have.
http://www.theknife.net/

Heartbeats was also covered by another dude, José Gonzales, and was subsequently used in a Sony Bravia ad:
Sony Bravia Balls Ad
I must admit I like those Bravia ads, it was all I could do not to squeal in delight at the thousands of bouncing colourful rubber balls pelting down a hill. Fun! :D Also their other ad with the paint explosion at an apartment building is a good watch. :)
The Paint Ad

Ok, that's more than enough from me, gotta go and feed the cat. so that it may grow and eclipse all life therefore attaining planethood. Seriously, we are not that far off. -_-

How Does Your Cat Sit?

2007-12-17T21:04:00.001+08:00

Rather awkwardly in this case.

But oh so contented.

She's like...a turkey shaped thing...I'm at a loss for descriptors. But isn't that pose just a little bit uncomfortable?

Rover Again

2007-12-16T09:07:00.001+08:00

Moar from Rover on this beautiful Sunday!

This is how he often spends his days, curled up on my comforter.

Rover being one of the many floor debris I had to navigate around during unpacking...Incidentally this was after Anime North, hence the anime/manga themed debris.

Silly moment over, cute moment in.

Intro: Rover

2007-12-15T09:00:00.000+08:00

In case you guys are getting sick of Tuffie :P and for variety's sake here's Rover! I first met Rover in May of 2006, fresh from finishing my Uni and waiting for graduation. I had moved off campus and he was the cat of my housemate, Christie. Christie is a very busy girl, and she is often out while I am more hermit-like, thus Rover and I spend 4 happy months together. :P He's a young cat with quite a unique history; Christie's previous housemate came from India, and brought along a cat. The details are blurry now but I think the cat was pregnant at the time and had her litter in Canada. And Rover was one of the wee kittens.

This is the first week since I'd moved in, it was still very cold and the heater has been shut off in the house. Rover tended to sleep like that, with one paw covering his nose.

Aw maaaan, those were the days. Pre-work and pre-Tuffie Caturdays aaaaaall week.

I found Rover napping in my storage box, so I added Nemo and I must say they fit perfectly!

Awwwwww. Notice the sparkle in Rover's eyes match with Nemo's! Uncanny.

In case anyone's notticed, the reason why some of the photos may have a pinkish cast is 'cause I installed one bright pink curtain in my room. Eeck. Putting up the rails were a real pain, especially for someone as short as I am. In the end the curtains ended up trailing a couple of inches on the floor... Bah, I just wanted to explain why there is always a pink filter on Rover's photos :P

Sun Bloated

2007-12-14T19:56:00.001+08:00

Soaking up rays on the balcony (and also casting prodigious shadows).

Snubbing Her Nose at Danger

2007-12-13T07:26:00.001+08:00

'nuff said, 12 floors up and so what.

Huh? You what? I might fall? Don't be silly, that ledge is more than enough for me to prance my silky paws on. We cats are masters of balance, don't worry.

Yet seeing her do that every time still gives me cold sweats. Of course she only does that to drive me crazy, she is quite the tormentor of humans.

KO-ed

2007-12-12T20:33:00.002+08:00

*is Ded*

She didn't wake, not even when I poked her nose. Such utter dedication to sleep, you gotta give her props for that.

Story of Tuffie: There's a fourth bit?

2007-12-11T07:31:00.002+08:00

Well, not exactly a forth bit. The story of Tuffie is after all, still being written. Woah, knew I shouldn't have been reading my collection of old horror stories before posting this...but I was in the mood for some archaic morbidity. Anyways enough about me, here's on to the star:

Compare her skeletal frame to the chunk of flab she is now...but it's a healthy weight!

Flipping in the sun. Kittehs have mastered the art of sun-basting long before - they know when to flip to ensure even roasting. Ever huff a freshly sun-roasted cat? They smell absolutely delicious :P

Even back then, she was already prone to sleeping in hilarious poses, to the amusement of her new family. She's starting to flesh out in this photo. However even now, her hind legs are really weak and she can't jump much. To get onto a chair, she actually pulls herself up with her front paws instead of (gracefully) levitating onto the chair.

Oh well, whatever. Tuffie knows what she's got and uses it fully - sleep perfection. That and blaring her eight nipples to the world.

Her colour is still pale here, it didn't really darken to a rich smoked brown until her body shape blobbed out. :) Her white is also pure white now, helped in way by a few feet dipping (she doesn't tolerate full baths) and scrubbing with a damp cloth. Seriously, this kitteh gets full spa treatment at bath time - nice steaming scrub, then manicure/pedicure, and finally a good ear clean-out. Wish I can get pampered like that too...without paying. You know, just for being my cute self. *-*

Zzz

2007-12-10T22:17:00.000+08:00

"The Cat-Whale has Beached itself on the Upper Section of the Sofa"

Story of Tuffie: 3rd Chapter

2007-12-09T20:51:00.001+08:00

Tuffie had finished the painkillers and continued to get better - regaining mobility, putting on weight and growing fur. It wasn't obvious at that point but now that I can compare the current Tuffie to what she was like before the were marked changes due to her undernourished state. Her colour for instance, was a lot paler then.

Colour or otherwise, it didn't stop her from enjoying plush carpeted surfaces.

Look at her then! Compare her to the chub she is now...what a difference food makes eh?

Side view. In addition to growing meat and fur, she also grew an impressive bristling set of whiskers to go with her new girth :P

She is quite a dainty cat, so much so that I mistook her for a kitten...it was only much later that the prominent nipples and massive paunch showed that she had carried a litter before. Tuffie is roughly 5 years old now.

Gosh, now that is a prosh pose. Noticed the tucked hind leg. She still has a nagging spot on her left back paw, I presume that's where the injury was sited. She would worry and chew that particular patch of fur wet during cleaning.

It was mid July when the maintenance worker came up and informed me that her previous owners have returned and they want her back. It was quite an emotionally shattering experience as I am very attached to this cat, and was also going through some tumultuous personal drama. I insisted that they come up to talk to me as I won't be giving the cat up. So I got to meet Tuffie's ex-owners, and it was from them that I found out her name - they named her Tuffie as in 'tough' for her tenacity. She was a stray kitten in Kuala Lumpur when they adopted her. They also told me her age and that the white cat which was always with her is her son.

They were staying in the apartment block next to mine, but had to move suddenly and left the cats to fend for themselves downstairs. Tuffie would have been fine if she wasn't so fussy with food (she insisted on chicken instead of the fish that is usually fed) and if she wasn't so used to domestic life already. She was very well trained as far as toilet and exhibits good behaviour like not scratching up furniture and the like.

They are a very nice couple. They had a lot of cats before but had re-homed most of them before they'd moved. Unfortunately Tuffie and her son were left behind, and they have now come to bring her to their in-laws place where she would be cared for like a queen. I didn't want to give Tuffie up, especially to people who had abandoned her before. I told them frankly that my whole family has become really attached to the cat. But I asked them if they want to see Tuffie, and a really sweet thing happened - I called for her and Tuffie ran meowing to the couple, head-butted them and proceeded to cuddle at the guy's feet. After some discussion, and as it seems she is in good hands, they consented to me keeping her and said goodbye to her. After they left this loyal thing searched around for them, and after a while she went back to the usual routine of things.

Story of Tuffie: That Second Bit

2007-12-08T20:49:00.001+08:00

This series of photos were taken just 2 days after bringing Bones (aka Tuffie) to the vet, she was still on painkillers at this point. Obviously she was feeling tons better. I gave her a little box to sleep it with an old shirt of mine. With a full belly and a 'comfy' bed, it took only mere minutes for her to launch into full Caturday.

Squished face!

The awkward middle stage, with bones sticking out at strange angles.

Formation of the Cat Lump stage.

Fourth stage: the Pretzel. Note the head angle...this is comfortable? -_-a

At this point nothing can rouse the sleeping feline except for the rustling of the food bag or call for food. This is also known as the 'Blackout'.

Next up in the Story of Tuffie: Drama - Tuffie's previous owners appear!

Story of Tuffie: The Beginning

2007-12-07T10:47:00.001+08:00

During early July, a scrawny little cat suddenly appeared at my doorstep, which is very odd as I live in an apartment 12 floors up. Of course someone could have carried the cat up or she could have used the elevator while a person was operating it...nonetheless I did recognize this cat as a new stray that has caught my eye 3 days earlier. As I didn't have any food for her and mom wasn't too keen about keeping a stray I had to bring her downstairs again. :( The cat wasn't too keen on the idea either and kept trying to get in the house. It ws then that I decided to buy cat food to feed her.

When I finally got around to buying the food it was Saturday, I went to search for her and found her hiding in a box accompanied by another blue-eyed white cat (I later learned this was her son). When I saw her a few days ago she at least had some meat on her frame, now she was very emaciated. I was quite worried as she also had difficulty walking, and would just drag her hind legs around. It looked as if her hindquarters were paralysed. She was in pain and swatted me when I tried to touch her back paws, but had a big appetite.

She was also very dehydrated and drank a great deal when I gave her the water bowl, after eating and drinking she immediately went and hid in her box. That night I discussed with my dad, and the next morning we went with a fresh box and brought her home with us :) Since the vet was closed on Sundays we had to wait for Monday to bring her for a check up and see what we should do with her back injury.

First day in the house, and already acting like a diva ;)
I gave her a small tub of water that she promptly polished off.

Skinny and dirty, but oh so contented.

We got her to the vet in on Monday, he gave her a general check up and also prescribed painkillers for her injured paw as well as a food supplement with calcium. It was likely she was trod upon or hit by a bicycle; the pain caused her to hide and she probably ate poorly or not at all. She was like a fur wrapped skeleton, I wonder how long she would have lasted if she had been left downstairs.

A rather amusing incident happened while I was pouring the litter for her toilet, a very wobbly, mewling cat ran as fast as she is able and adamantly insisted to use the litter box. It took some complicated maneuvers but she managed in the end and it was quite a long one -_- She must have been holding it in for AGES. Poor thing. Since we were totally unprepared to have a cat I appropriated my ex-hamster's cage bottom for the litter box. The sides were low so she can get in and out of it with more ease.

This is a week after the vet visit, she's finished the course of painkillers and can finally stand for short periods of time. She's still stick thin and very bloated at the gut area. But I had to restrict her feeding to 2 meals instead of giving her free run with the kibble as she does not stop eating! Understandable but uncontrolled feeding will likely make her more ill.

Cat relaxing after a hard day of sleeping, eating and more sleeping. She was given the moniker of 'Bones' at this time becasue of her skiny condition. Her back leg muscles were severely atrophied from disuse. It felt like bones in fur, no muscles or fat in between. But at least she can walk now.

To be continued tomorrow: The first instance of Caturday!

Mmmm, Thursday rotation

2007-12-06T07:43:00.002+08:00

Hajime (begin)!

*Tip of the day: Cat should be rotated every hour to ensure even pressure on all sides and maintain that blobular physique.*

Omg check out the curled hind paws on that blob...and the lack of a privacy tail; everything is bared for all to see! -_-;

It's Wednesday...

2007-12-05T22:27:00.001+08:00

...do you know what your furry feline is doing?

NOT trying on your male sibling's pair of pants...right? Ha ha, she's like, cloaked kitty or sumthing. Whatta ham. Of course this shot is 100% staged, and is in no way obtained with the consent of the subject.

I am so lame today x-x