She

On April 30, this tortoiseshell 'found' her way to our doorstep.  I suspect she was delibrately left on our doorstep (someone knows we've cats at home?).  She is about 1.5-2 years old and trusting in nature.  Her coat pattern is quite exotic and she has a long straight tail.  Her ear was tipped; the fur on her belly has not grown back yet and from the stitch marking, we think she just might be recently sterilised.

We walked her to the lift and brought her to the ground floor.  It did cross our minds whether to take her in.  Well, we're not looking at adding another cat to our family.  We're not sure whether we'd be able to rehome her.  We fed her (she ate heartily) and left.  The next morning, I went downstairs to look for her, I found her and fed her.  We didn't see of her until earlier this week when Grimlock spotted her and he fed her.  We've named her Brownie.  Grimlock has posted her photos on his Facebook account in a bid to find her a home, and asked his colleagues.  I'd also like to ask here: anyone with a home to offer Brownie?

We've been sighting cats at our void deck more frequently of late; most of them are unsterilised. Urrgggghhhh...

The Makings of a Tabby

I hear the tabby classification ever so often.  What makes a tabby?  I came across these definitions on my cat calendar:

Dark stripes on a lighter background...

Triple lines along the spine...

A butterfly shape over the shoulders...

And evenly spaced dark rings on the legs and tail...

Conclusion:

Skoda and Mikki are tabbies...

Braun is a partial tabby; she has no coat markings but she has some dark rings on her front legs...

Tabby cats whose stripes have broken into spots are known as spotted tabbies. So, Mikki is a spotted tabby.

Food Therapy

Our dinner on last Sunday 2 May:

The breaded chicken with mushroom sauce was of restaurant standard.  Good job, Chef Grimlock!

豁达的女人最可爱

Lianhe Zaobao, 2 May 2010

The 'Pom Pom' Tale of Two Monsters

Here is a sequel to the "pom pom" (bathing) coverage, this time of Skoda the Alpha and Mighty Mikki.

It took Grimlock 14 minutes to bathe Skoda (uploaded clip has been condensed to 8:12 minutes), and it took him 10:03 minutes to bathe Mikki (uploaded clip has been condensed to 4:56 minutes). Braun's bath clocked about 16 minutes. Now the duration tells a lot about the girls' tolerance towards bathing - Braun is the "pom pom" darling; Skoda does not too badly (maybe she is Grimlock's favourite so he tends to spend a longer session with her). As for Mikki, it has got to be guerilla style; target to complete within the shortest time possible. Grimlock will start with Mikki, go on to Skoda and then finish with Braun - this is also telling of the difficult level (start with the most challenging one first).

Skoda's style is that she likes to pace around the toilet, hence the bean gets a good workout too. She and Mikki are on par when it comes to noise and pitch levels. Skoda strongly dislikes the shower head and the toweling-dry part. She may make a lot of noise and looks fierce but the bean at most sustains a minor scratch. As for Mikki, she too makes a lot, if not the most noise and her stamina at this is simply amazing. This girl resists all forms of restraints so she completely loathes the toweling-dry part. The bean may end up getting one of her deadly bites (you'll get to witness this in the clip).

You just might want to put on your ear plugs before watching the clips :) ...

Braun the Great Conqueror

Here was what Grimlock saw this morning:

(Grimlock took this photo with his mobile phone)

Braun on the top tier of the cat tree!  Skoda has kept to the first tier and Mikki doesn't even get close to the tree.  It was a pleasant surprise to discover this adventurous side of Braun.  And so, I'm very proud of her - applause applause!!!

One-Eye Jack

I'm on medical leave today because I've an infection in my right eye.  It started to itch yesterday night and this morning, it became swollen.  The doctor was 45minutes late and I waited another 1.5hours for my turn.   

It was very sunny earlier today, and then it started to pour at about 4pm at this part of the island, and thunders could be heard.  I checked my work emails, did the laundry, watched a movie DVD we bought a long time back (lousy show), snooped on my girls (their ever enthusiastic photographer) and now I get to update my blog (while I wait for Grimlock to come home with our dinner).  The girls had wet food for their dinner.  After applying the ointment prescribed by the doctor, the swelling has subsided slightly.

Braun did her favourite thing to me, ie pester me for treats. Here, she was dispensing her deadly stares...

I refused to yield, and Braun persisted in her deadly stares - yet from a distance...

And when that too failed to work, Braun went on to join Skoda in the study for some siesta time...

For a cat, we think Mikki sleeps very little.  She has been keeping herself busy by following me around the house.  This girl still is My Puppy.  I've lost count of the number of times I had to escort her to the kibbles bowl (and I gotta stroke her before she would eat).

And when the heavy rain came, Braun went straight for her favourite corner,

while Mikki lost no time in taking cover under the sofa.

And Skoda remained unfazed but she was attention-seeking though (it was her turn to stalk me).

Soup Therapy

Many of us grew up with homemade Chinese soups at our dinner table. We recently bought a thermal pot (Gourmet Cook brand, 5-litre) to continue enjoying such soups, the health benefits/nourishment and comfort - minus the hassle of having to watch over the fire and having to keep a look-out for the girls (we've an open kitchen). This cooking method allows for a full release of flavour by slowly cooking the ingredients while still ensuring the meats and vegetables retain their shape and texture. Due to a shorter actual heating time, less gas is used as well. And it can be quite a chore having to think of what to have for dinner on weekdays (kinda end up eating almost the same stuff), so taking soup as a main meal is a much welcomed alternative and also for weight management (a reduced intake of the last meal of the day).

We have commenced on taking Chinese soups for dinner on 2-3 weekdays. These are pre-cooked by Grimlock during the weekends using the thermal pot. He stores them away in small pots in the fridge and we heat up the soup when we want to have it. It may really be healthier because we would scrap off the hardened oil molecules before heating up the soup.

Grimlock scouts the Internet for the recipes and from his mom. He does the planning, marketing and preparations :) .

Whelk (the white slices on the left) with mushrooms, dried scallops and chicken thigh:

ABC soup with macroni:

A1 Bak kut teh (pork ribs soup) - Grimlock followed an Internet recipe and added mushrooms:

One of my all-time favourites, watercress with pork ribs soup:

Watch this space - I shall upload photos of other Chinese soups whipped up by Grimlock.

Offshore Fishing

Back in February, Grimlock and I got on our maiden offshore fishing trip with one of his friends (together with the wife and their friends).  Each person chipped in $80 for the vessel rental;  total of 6 pax.  The expedition stretched from about 8.30am to 6.30pm.

The embarkation point was somewhere in the west of Singapore.  We set off in one of these vessels.

First stop was to a kelong to buy the bait, ie fresh prawns.  This was also the first time we step foot onto a kelong.

Taking in the view around the kelong...

Done with the 'shopping' and off we go...

Sun and tranquility all abound...

Grimlock's catch (none for me)...

The all-in haul...

I had my cap and shades on.  The sun was very hot, so my face turned a lobster-red at the end of the trip.  The area around my eyes (within the shades) was my original skin tone.  And I didn't put enough sunblock on my face.  I donned this comical, two-tone look for a few days.  Fortunately, my tan didn't last :)  Recently i bought a special fishing hat; it resembles a 女侠 hat，就等派上用场！(I'm just waiting to put it to use).

Easter Joy

This free greeting made with Smilebox

Sweetie, Happy 4th Anniversary!

18 March marks Braun's anniversary with us.  We brought her for her annual review and vaccination last month which turned out to be alright.  She now weighs 3.6kg - I had thought she is in the 4kg+ range.  Mikki had her annual review and vaccination earlier this month.  She weighs the same as Braun!  This came as a surprise because I do think Mikki looks smaller in size (don't tell me my eyes are playing tricks on me - ?!?!).  btw, Skoda weighs 6.5kg :)

It has been a pleasure having Braun.  She is lovely when she is not pestering me for treats :p  We think she is one who would do fine in a single-cat household.  She is a simple girl with simple needs; food and treats mean the world to her.  At times, her mischievous side come out to the surface.  Braun had a short-lived neurotic outburst two days ago.  We're glad to see the igloo in the cat tree doing her good (she is the only one so far to put the cat tree to some use).  Dr K said some cats are "like that" (ie sensitive, jittery, "emo" behaviour).

The TV console is one of Braun's favourite hide-outs.  Sometimes, she'll stand up on her hinds and scratch away on the console door, asking to be let in (with claws retracted so no damage done to the door lah).  She loves to snuggle up tight and close to the DVD player.  It gets real comfy for her with the heat emitted from the player while we catch our Hong Kong TV serials.  Here is a slideshow on her having a good time with her dear "pal"...

    

"Your Attention, Please!"

When a cat wants your attention, and wants it now, here is what happens....

So, what do you do? 
Quit reading and stroke Her Royal Highness lor...

Where is the Girl? (X) - the S version

One should never under-estimate Skoda's contour abilities and her determination...

The Undisputed "Pom Pom" Queen

The girls get their bath by Grimlock once every month.  Braun takes to bathing very well, and it goes without say, the best of the three.  Skoda starts yowling her head off once we start cleaning her belly and she would give the shower head a good "beating".  Mikki starts staging her protests on cue when we start on the toweling-dry part.  With the amount of noise they make and the pitch levels, I often wonder if our neighbours think we're committing some kind of murder :p 

Braun is fully cooperative and altogether accomodating.  She would sit on the toilet seat cover from start to finish.  Bathing one's cat(s) can be a good form of bonding because a fair amount of confidence, trust, communication (assurance) is involved.   

Here is a video clip of Braun's recent bath, filmed just before the Chinese New Year.  The actual entire duration was about 16 minutes.  The clip has been trimmed down to slightly longer than 6 minutes.  Braun is truly worthy of her "Pom Pom" (Bathing) Queen title and she stands true to her nick, Braun Braun Sweetie Pie.

1,000 (Green) Origami Cranes (XIX)

Skoda didn't fare well in her last urinalysis for 2009; the crystals and Leukocytes levels were very high. This test was done via a self-collect sample. We brought her back on last Sat, 30 Jan - her first for the year and the urine was collected via cystocentesis (direct from the bladder). This time round, there were NO crystals and NO leukocytes in her urine. The results have gone the other way and we are just very relieved.

Prior to her last urinalysis in 2009, Skoda had also done well, and the most recent one was also ok - these samples were all collected via cystocentesis. We only need to bring her back in two-three months' time and we'll go with cystocentesis. It may cause her some stress (Dr K said she had been a good girl) but I guess we are in need of clear and accurate results so as to more effectively monitor her condition.

"Whew..."

On the First Day of 2010

On the first day of 2010, Grimlock and I went fishing with my brother, J at the Bottle Tree Park in Yishun.  The fishing pond is now managed by Fishing Paradise.  My bro is an avid fishing enthusiast.  Grimlock and I joined him at about 12.30pm.  About 1.5 hours after we settled down, I caught a catfish of about 2kg (or I should say it was my bro who caught the fish - he was the one who helped me with the casting, hee hee).   The reeling in was quite a thrill.  This fish didn't put up much of a fight.  The pond staff helped me to net it off the water.  We used bread as bait.

About 2 hours later, it was my bro's turn to land a catch; a rohu of about 3kg.  We also used bread as bait.  Catch the action here:

And then about another one hour later, my bro got his second fish, a patin of about 3kg.  The bait was a combination of bread and fish feed.

This is a 'catch and release' fishing pond so all three fish, and as with those caught by other anglers, were released back into the pond.  When we started out, the weather was sunny but in the later afternoon, it poured just for about 30mins.  We packed up at about 7.30pm and headed to our latest favourite joint for dinner.  One of these days we shall try out late-night fishing at the pond...