Back to Basics

I'm finally done with putting together a new addition to my travel blogs. This one titled Idyllic Lombok is about a vacation Grimlock and I went on, a month ago, in Lombok which is located in the western part of Indonesia. A local staff from Grimlock's client in Indonesia recommended the place to him and this turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. Enjoy the read, photos and video clips!

Where is the Girl? (VII)

I went around the Cove looking for Braun one day. Initially she was nowhere to be found. Guess where I found her finally? This girl was having her beauty nap in the box of Fussie Cat cans (these are for the cats at Site X). She doesn't seem to run out of creative places to snooze in.

The Chrysantaneum Throne

The girls used to have their Cosy Corner in the space behind the desktop on the study table. After we disposed of the desktop, there was quite a bit of space. The Cosy Corner was one of the girls' favourite snuggling spots so I wanted to reinstate the space.

I bought a storage box from Ikea and threw in a cushion - none of them used it. Two months ago, I was running an errand at Raffles City and saw the pets' bed on sale at the Anthropology store. They were of the fabric that I was looking for; a light nylon fabric instead of the cotton ones which can be hard to wash and a long while to sun dry. The colour is nice, the size is just right and the 30% discount was hard to resist. I bought the small-sized one (it comes with a name "GOD"). The store has some other nice stuff too for the home.

I've nicknamed the pet bed as "The Chrysantaneum Throne" (after its colour). Well, it is a throne of some sort :) which this time, has won the trio's paw of approval. The Chrysanthemum Throne is the common name given to the Imperial throne of Japan, the oldest monarchy in the world.

Anyone with a Home to Offer?

I'm putting this post up to help a colleague find an adopter for a 6-month old black kitten. This female kitten is of local breed; litter-trained; is on dry food; and has a long tail. Colleague is willing to sponsor her sterilisation. Urgent adoption because colleague can't keep her for any much longer (strong family objection). If you've a permanent home to offer this kitten, please email me at: mycatscove@gmail.com, or help me to spread the word around (thanks!).

Beauty Bloom (IV)

My Puppy found a good spot to take a respite from the hot weather, on my kitchen counter-top. I think my mom and eldest bro will faint if they ever find out my cats are allowed to get onto the kitchen counter-top. I've an open kitchen and cats are natural jumpers and they've a liking for heights. As long as I keep them off when I'm preparing food, I'm not going to split hairs over this.

My Little One, now 2.5 years old, has grown up...

Candy Candy

Found someone who has the same fond memories of Candy Candy as I. I had the honour of meeting the producer, Mr Yasuo Yamaguchi back in September 2006. I had tried in vain to get a DVD copy of this Japanese anime. Now I know where to be looking - Youtube, here I come!

(Lianhe Zaobao Fukan, 25 June 09)

"Call My Name"

When Skoda is perched on top of the fridge and we call her by her name, Skoda would respond by letting out a "meow". Note: she meows to the calling of her name only when she is perched on top of the fridge. We've tried calling her at other spots in the Cove; she would look in our direction or come to us but she doesn't let out any "meow". She also tends to "meow" more when it is Grimlock calling her, as compared to when I call her. Told you she holds the strings to his heart.

It is so delightful to hear her "meow" to her name being called that we would give her chin rubs and praise her, and she too enjoys the attention. The other two do not respond to their name, as is the case with most cats. With the camera pointing at her for the filming of this video clip, she is less responsive.



Afternote - from my desktop cat calendar:
"Meow" is rarely heard between cats; rather, cats use it to communicate with humans. They've learned that meowing brings attention, contact, food, and play from their human companions.

1,000 (Green) Origami Cranes (XVI)

I scheduled an appointment for Skoda for her Urinalysis and her first X-ray of her abdominal area yesterday, 20 June. The Urinalysis is now done once in every two months, while the X-ray will be done half-yearly.

In the morning itself, I had to coax and wait for Her Royal Highness to pass urine so that I could collect a sample for the Urinalysis. We kept the litter trays from her when we went to bed. Usually once we "release" the litter tray, she'd get in and pass urine quite quickly. This time, Skoda walked here and there, sat down and peeked under the door and repeated this routine for like 20 minutes. She sniffed at the litter box, dug a little but stopped at urinating. We had to move her to another room, we waited some more for her to pass urine but still she didn't do so.

Here I was, waiting anxiously for Skoda to pass urine. There she was, completely nonchalant...

Grimlock brought Skoda to the veterinary clinic (I couldn't make it for the morning). We didn't manage to harvest a sample of her urine so a Cystocentesis was done on her. Small black specks had been surfacing in one of her ears quite often recently so she had a ear mite test done too. We put her on a fast the day before, lest they couldn't restrain her and need to sedate her for the X-ray to be carried out. She was cooperative so they didn't need to sedate her. Grimlock brought her home after the tests were done (she was the only cat and there were four other dogs). I didn't want to miss this important review so we returned together to the clinic in the afternoon for the consultation.

Grimlock was stroking Skoda when they got home and noticed she was shredding quite a bit so he brushed her. Look at the amount of loose fur. The morning must had been an adventure for her...

The Cystocentesis yielded her best urinary results so far. There were no cystals in her urine (yay!) and most of the indicators came down (hurray!) except that her urine is still concentrated (USG>1.050). From the X-ray, her bladder (no signs of uroliths) and kidney are looking fine. A small substance showed up though in her intestines - Dr K said she probably swallowed something hard but told us she would be able to pass it out. In addition, her ear was clear of ear mites.

Dr K updated us on Skoda's weight, ie 6.5kg (she maintained her weight). He stopped short of saying she is overweight but we got the drift. They will track her weight in her future visits. I've coined a new nick for her, Sumo Skoda :)

In the past two months, we've been feeding her Waltham feline urinary S/O kibbles and Prescription Hill's C/D wet food. We didn't do anything extra or differently so her urinalysis results were a pleasant surprise. Now the challenge is to maintain/keep the indicators down, and the crystals at bay. If her next Urinalysis yield similar results, the Urinalysis frequency can be reduced to once in every four or six months. Her next Urinalysis will be in one to two months' time. Fingers crossed...

Face-Off (II)

Watch how the battam-weight Mikki (3.7kg) takes on heavyweight Skoda (6.5kg) in this video clip. In the prelude to the unevitable clash, the two long-tailed 妹妹 (girls) were frantically fanning their tails. If using body proportions as a basis, Mikki has a longer tail than Skoda. This confrontation was considered mild, ie no fur went a-flying nor were they at each other's neck.

Project S (XI)

The population at Site X has more or less stabilised. I may soon arrange to trap two cats (one white/grey girl and one old tuxedo tom) for sterilisation. I now gather there is a total of four white/grey cats. I'm undecided whether to proceed to trap and neuter the old tom, exactly because of he is old and he looks worn-out. He has a hearty appetite though. I read somewhere it is inadvisable to sterilise senior cats because they may not survive the surgery. I'll observe him further. I also reckon if all the female cats at Site X are fixed, I may not need to target him.

The scrawny tortiseshell and ginger newbie have vanished. On our last visit on 15 June, I saw the Siamese cat again after such a long time. I saw him making a dash across. He is unneutered. With the old tom and this Siamese male hanging out at Site X, I'll need to have the white/grey newbie I mentioned above, fixed soon.

Here are some of the cats that we regularly see at Site X. The white used to be very timid, she still is cautious but she is now more visible.

Joy of Toys (II)

Grimlock's latest Transformers acquisition - Grimlock
:)

"Despite his strength and prowess, Grimlock continually struggles with his pronouns."
"Grimlock was a powerful and arrogant warrior who believed he knew best."
"He chooses to talk dumb rather than be thought of as being weak."

From the beginning (left) to the end product (right)


In the process of transformation...

8 Signs Your Cat is Up to Something

Saw the page below in 8 Days (14 May issue). Quite funny, right?

Speak Mandarin Campaign

Saw this poster at a bus stop for The Chinese Challenge by the Promote Mandarin Council:

Intruder Sighted!

One early morning, Grimlock woke up to see Skoda and Braun very intrigued with an insect on the ceiling. Mikki didn't have a clue what the older two were up to. She eventually figured it out and joined Skoda and Braun in the staring match. We seldom catch all three in a common activity (except for napping).

"I Think Yours Taste More Yummy"

The girls get boiled chicken once in a while as a treat. I don't give this to them regularly because Skoda's receptivity varies from time to time. Braun used to like it quite a bit but that has changed, she didn't take much of it the last time. Mikki loves it all the time. Here is a video clip on them enjoying the boiled chicken. Mikki is one funny gal...

Romance of the Scratching Box

Whenever we get a new scratching box, you can count on Skoda to be the first one to claim territory of it. For scratching boxes, we've a slim one and a large one. Skoda will be the first one to hop onto the slim one and give it a few good scratches.

As for the large one, which suits her comfortably (she is more on the broad side, hee), this is usually what happens...



The packaging comes with a pack of catnip which is tagged to the board. I think Skoda is drawn by the remnant scent of it. If we hand out fresh catnip, Skoda will have some initial reaction to it (this also wears off after a couple of minutes), while Mikki and Braun are neutral. I read somewhere that two-thirds of cats are susceptible to catnip and the behavioural phenomenon is hereditary.

3 Cats, 2 Ice Cubes & A Water Fountain

What do the three have to do with each other? One hot afternoon, Mousie and Grimlock had the bright idea of dropping two ice cubes into one of the water fountains to help the girls cool down a little. Skoda hogged the water fountain mostly to herself (she is truly the Alpha at all times). The beans didn't see much of the girls lapping up the icy goodness. Instead, there was plenty of staring and pondering, some going-around to get a better view of the ice cubes (Skoda was at it) and a few attempts to paw the ice cubes. So much for quenching the heat...

Joy of Toys

Just take a look at our glass display cases at the Cove and you'll be able to tell Grimlock and I are kids at heart. Grimlock is a fan of transformer toys, and we both collect Bearbricks and Kubricks. Be@rbricks are released in series; 10 in a series but we only collect the Artist and Pattern in the series. Many of the Kubricks figures are licensed representations of film, comic book, or video game characters. We only get those which we've a particular liking for.

Grimlock's transformer toys take centrestage in our living room:



Frame-ups of Our Be@rbricks and Kubricks in acrylic boxes which are placed on the otherwise ugly-looking aircon pelmet:


Beannies and some other soft toys and collectibles, mostly my presents from Grimlock:



Grimlock used to collect comics books - these are lined up on a wall in the bomb shelter:

Some of the collectibles are limited editions. We've no intention to sell any of them. Over the years, we've become more discerning in our acquisitions. Now that we've run out of display/storage spaces, our buying has slowed down quite a bit too. Gratification comes from reminiscing the association that the toy brings, and getting to own a piece of that association. And toys have a lot to do with creativity and imagination.

A Sick Mousie

I'm down with flu and having a sore throat. I've been given medical leave for today. Feeling quite drugged now. Nose is leaking. Shall see if I'm fit for work tomorrow.

The weather is very hot but the girls are the least affected. They have been snoozing. So this is what they do at this time of the day. Some photos I took yesterday of their siesta Sunday...

I'm my Father's Daughter

I've some feminist streaks in my blood but I don't harbour any "feminist mentor" ambitions (wink wink). Having said so, I cringe whenever people address me as Mrs K (initial for Grimlock's last name). That is so passe (this is the 21st century). I derive no secret sense of accomplishment nor pride to be addressed as so. I'm a woman who can stand on my own two feet (so hear me roar, hee!). No need to tag me on to Grimlock's surname - thank you very much.

I wouldn't miss this article in my paper (12 March):

Grimlock is as cool as I am on such matters. My father is about the only man I would see myself being "tagged to" and so marriage wouldn't change that any bit :). It is as simple as that.