A National Day Surprise

Grimlock and I have become accidental fosters.

On National Day, 9 Aug at around 10pm, I heard a distressed meowing sound on our floor, so I asked Grimlock to go check out the sound. 10minutes later, the doorbell rang and Grimlock was at the doorstep with a kitten. Grimlock had found her (yes, it's a she) on the floor below ours. She ran towards him when she saw him and followed him back.

I think the kitty should be around 6-8 months' old. She is very friendly and is in good physical condition. Her ear is not tipped. We gave her some kibbles which she promptly finished up. Our next-door neighbour also heard her meowing and told us she went into their house and sat on their sofa, and asked if she is ours and whether she is the offspring of one of our girls.

We didn't think it was a good idea to leave her meowing away on the corridors (lest she ends up in some nasty hands). We thought of bringing her downstairs to the ground floor but it had rained heavily earlier (wet and cold) and we often see dogs being brought out on walks in the vicinity. We decided to take her in for the night. I prepared the study while Grimlock whisked her into the toilet for a thorough bath.

Isn't she photogenic?

Busy licking herself dry after the bath...

We printed out some posters and went downstairs at 1am plus to put them up at the lift landing, at our block and at the next block. The next morning, the posters at our block were removed so I put one up again. On Monday morning when I was going off to work, the poster was gone again. The poster at the next block remained intact for three consecutive days. We concluded the removal was not the cleaner's doing, and that kitty has been dumped. We had put down an email address on the poster for the owner to contact us - to date, no one has come for her.

The kitty is pretty (I'll let the photos speak for themselves). She is of good temperament; enjoys contact with the beans and her own kind, loves chin rubs and stroking, purring machine and cooperative (she put up minimal fuss with bathing, nails clipping and cleaning of ears). And she is young. She is also litter box trained and takes well to both dry and wet food. We'd think she stands a good chance of being rehomed.

Snoozing away on one-of-a-kind "pillow", ie my hand lor!

ZZzzzzzzZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz

I fail to understand how someone can be so irresponsible... Apparently, kitty has been home-raised, she is so trusting. How is she to fend for herself outside???

We've named her Zapedii for now (not used to calling a cat with no-name). The name is originally spelt as Zapedee - I came across this name some time back in the papers and it sort of got stuck in my head.

Zapedii (Zep Zep, in short) is very keen to hang out with the gang. Initially Skoda and Mikki didn't take too well to the "intrusion". Braun is mostly nonchalant; when Zapedii gets a tad too close to her, she would hiss too, but in a gentle/mild way (this is so she). However, when I hand out treats, Braun is not so tolerant of Zapedii and would swipe her. Skoda is now more agreeable with Zapedii but would not hesitate to put up her Alpha stance should the latter get too friendly. Zapedii has been helping herself to Pinky aka Skoda's throne. Her Royal Highness has been gracious enough to allow her use. Zapedii is a good match with Mikki in terms of energy level - the two have been engaging each other in high-speed chasing and wrestling matches. It can get quite rough with Zapedii ending up sliding across the floor >_< (but rest assured, violence level is well within NC16 rating lah!). Zapedii is a smart girl - when the tension gets a little too much, she would crouch down, get down on her side, flash her belly. I must say her antics are very effective for the other party would ease off.

"Talk to the paw..."

Would the beans want to consider granting Zapedii PR status at the Cove? I must confess her charms are quite irresistible BUT we're already committed with three cats. Four would be too much to handle. I believe in quality care - as it is, I've just enough attention to give to three (not forgetting Grimlock, hee hee). With how she comes altogether (pretty + sweet + young), we won't be hoarding her for ourselves. Zapedii deserves a home where she can be No. 1 or No. 2.

This is our maiden attempt at rehoming. I must say the sense of responsibility is tremendous. Zapedii has been dumped once - thank God she emerged unscathed from the experience. We're going to take extra care and time in screening potential adopters. We'll do all that we can to help Zapedii find her special someone; one who would be committed to caring for her, is patient and accepts her for who she is (well, looks are not forever).

Zep Zep, a penny for your thoughts?