Kamikaze Kats

I'm beginning to wonder if my cats are actually members of a secret ninja society or something.

Molten & Mikey have been trying out flying stunts. I'm not sure what else do you call attempting to jump down from the 3rd storey onto the roof of the 1st floor trellis. Molten has already attempted this twice, and Mikey once. Both survived their stunts as if nothing was wrong. But I must say that Molten at least has some inkling that it's not something we approve of.

We heard a loud BANG at the back yard the other night and opened the back door to check, only to have Molten whizzing pass and up the stairs to hide. He had jumped from the third floor down and I'm not sure how he managed to jump from the roof of the trellis, where he landed, onto the floor.

The boys are definitely more than just a handful!

No iPhone

Well, at the end of it, I didn't get my iPhone afterall. I'll probably remove it from my Wants & Wishes list.

I did go and try to collect it 2 Fridays ago, but because my mobile phone contract still had at least a couple of months to go before I'm "allowed" to upgrade my mobile phone set, I had to pay a penalty of S$100, which I was most unwilling to do. Coupled with the fact that I would lose the Corporate Rate that I am currently paying monthly, it adds to the cost.

I decided to not get the iPhone and to wait for the hype to die down. When the other 2 mobile operators bring in the phone later this year, I'm sure the price will drop. I'm also waiting to check out the new Samsung Innov8.

Wants & Wishes

I'm on my way to fulfilling one of the items on my Wants & Wishes list.  And no, much as I would love it to be item #1, which is the Mini Cooper S Clubman, it's something less extravagant.  

I'll be collecting my new iPhone 3G next Friday!  Yeah!  

I'll post a review of it when I've given it a good run-through.

Kitten Update

After almost 3 months, I am glad to say that Mindy has accepted the fact that Mikey and Molten are now a part of the family. While she is not exactly friendly towards them, she is tolerant. Even if they are sitting right next to her, she's okay as long as a minimum distance is maintained. The boys have also tried to get her to play with them, but I think she feels that she's just too good for them. She hasn't started playing with them yet but would chase them away if they start swatting her tail.

Mikey has stopped seizing, so that's very good news. He seemed okay after his 2nd early this month. So I'm seriously hoping that he was just going through a phase. He is eating almost non-stop. Either he has no food control or he is really very hungry. I can't really tell.

Molten is definitely the sweeter of the 2. He likes to be cuddled and carried. Just last night, when I picked up Mindy, he came running to me and licked my feet and rolled on the floor, rubbing himself against me. He definitely got my attention and I put Mindy on the floor and picked him up, he promptly fell asleep in my arms. My heart definitely melted.

MIA

It's been close to 2 weeks since I last posted.

Things have been hectic at the home front as well as at work. I didn't even have a chance to do my cross-stitch! I've just been catching up on sleep as I felt very tired.

The good news is that Mikey seems to have stopped with his seizures but we'll know more when he goes for his 2nd vaccination this weekend.

M6 & M7: Day 42

Both Mikey and Molten are doing well and eating voraciously. Mikey gave me another scare when he another another seizure at 2am on 11 July.

I did some research on the internet and found that feline seizures are rare. The type of seizure that he is going through is called Grand Mal Seizure, characterized by foaming at the mouth, loss of bladder control and stiffness. Causes vary but the distemper vaccination could be a likely cause. The other possibility is that Mikey might have a growth somewhere in his body that is affecting him. It's also possible that this is a phase that he is going through. I'm hoping that it's either because of the vaccination or he's just going through a phase.

The vet advised to monitor him and if he has more than a couple of seizures a month, we might have to do further tests, including an MRI to see whether it's a neurological problem. I seriously doubt that, as he is smart and active.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he does not have another seizure this month.

Cross-Stitch Project: Chinese Wedding Scene 4

Here's another update of my project.  From the looks of it, trying to finish this in 2 months (and I said that 1 month ago) was wishful thinking.

A more realistic timeframe seems to be end of the year.  Hopefully I can finish it by then.

Bedtime Pals

Mikey & Molten get along real well with Murphy, especially when Murph is asleep.  Here's a cute picture of the 3 of them cuddled together.

M6 & M7: Day 31

Mikey and Molten went for their first vaccination this morning. Both boys were very brave and didn't cry when the vet gave them their jabs. We also weighed them today and both are above 1 kg.  Mikey is 1.1 kg and Molten weighed in at 1.2 kg.

Later in afternoon, Mikey gave me a scare when he started foaming at the mouth and wasn't able to control his bladder.  I called the vet right away (it was a good thing that they were still open) and rushed him back to the clinic.  The vet checked him over and found that he's okay.  It wasn't a reaction to the vaccination and was probably just stress from the journey to the vet earlier.  Which was likely as there were quite a few dogs there in the morning and they were hissing away.

Now both boys are sleeping and all seems well.  I'll have to monitor him for the next 24 hours, just in case.

M6 & M7: Day 29

mI'm a little impressed with the 2 boys today. I think they really know their names now.

Usually when I'm back home after work, I'll let the boys out from the confined space on the 3rd floor and let them roam around the house.  I would usually bring them down to the ground floor and let them wander around, all the time keeping an eye and making sure that they don't run out.

As I needed to get something upstairs, I called out to Molten to come up the stairs with me.  Surprisingly, he climbed up and followed me up the stairs.  Later, as Mikey prefers to play on the 2nd floor, I called Mikey down.  He understood me and came running out of my parents' room and came down the stairs.

Like I said, I'm impressed!

Murphy's Graduation

I've just received Murphy's graduation photo. Isn't she cute!

M6 & M7: Day 26

I'm getting Panda Eyes!

The boys are getting up at 4 am everyday just to play.  And they don't play quietly.  They would chase each other around the room and jump all over the place.  They also seem to ignore the fact that I'm sleeping right there and would run over and on top of me as if I'm just a bump on the road.

It's been getting so bad that Megan has refused to sleep in my room.  Even Murphy is startled awake by them during the night.  

When can I have a sound sleep??

M6 & M7: Day 20

The boys had a little encounter with Mindy yesterday.  They were finally really face-to-face with her and she was definitely NOT happy about it.

She hissed and growled at the boys, so much so that Molten became upset and started making whiny noises.  He tried to approach her and stopped at a safe distance while whining all the way.  Or should I say it sounded like a combination between a whine and a growl.  Mindy held her ground and continued her low growl with the occasional hiss.

Mikey then came from the side and pounced towards her with nary a care.  Mindy decided that she wasn't ready to confront him and bounded off to the front yard and hid under my car.

Hopefully their next close encounter would have a better ending.  

Best in Class

Today was Murphy's "exam" after 8 weeks of training.  She did really well considering that just the week before, she was ignoring me totally in class.

She managed a 188 points out of a maximum of 200.  She's in the top 3, after a poodle and a schnauzer (who both managed a 189) and both these dogs were wearing a pinch collar.  

In my books, Murphy is Best in Class and Top Dog of the Day! 

Cross-Stitch Project: Pooh & Piglet

Here's a project that I completed just before I started the Chinese Wedding Scene.

Cross-Stitch Project: Chinese Wedding Scene 3

What with work and 2 new kittens, I didn't have as much time to spend on my project. There is some progress but not as much as I hoped.

M6 & M7: Day 11

The boys have grown so much and are so agile that the cardboard box is too small to keep them in.  They can jump out of it very easily now, so for the last 2 nights they have been sleeping either in their flower bed or in the cat tree.  Megan and Murphy were okay with them outside the box and 2 nights passed without incident.

Molten seems to be the more needy of the 2.  He insisted on sleeping next to me last night whilst Mikey was happy sleeping alone in the flower bed.

The boys are really growing fast.

M6 & M7: Day 8

The boys are settling down really well.  They have also put on quite a bit of weight.  When they came last week, I could carry the both of the in one hand.  Now, I can only carry one in one hand.  They are also playing with Murphy and Megan.  Or should I say, they are not afraid anymore when Murphy runs right up to them and pokes her nose into their faces.

Mindy is still a little upset.  For some reason, she is constipated and vomited a few times last evening and today.  We brought her to the vet and the reason could be the change in canned food.  At least it's not in reaction to the boys.

M6 & M7: Day 5

The boys are now sleeping in my room together with Megan and Murphy. Murphy was insistent on sleeping with me after one night in my parents' room. She's used to sleeping on my bed and she's not about to give up that privilege. Megan joined in the 2nd night, sleeping on her own bed on the floor. The boys remain in their box during the night but have naps in their flower bed during the day. With the boys spending nights in my room, Mindy is a much happier cat.

I had a nice weekend with them taking naps on my tummy. They love to climb onto my lap and promptly falling asleep. It was nice having them snuggle in my lap while I type away at my computer.

They are already on solids (both canned and dry kibble) for a couple of days and are taking it well. Molten is definitely the greedier of the two. He literally meowed at me and smacked his paw into the bowl when I wanted to add a little warm water to it. Mikey just let me do whatever I wanted with his food bowl.

We've also tried to introduce the boys to the dogs as the vet said that they do not need to be quarantined from the dogs. They will still have to be separated from Mindy for the time-being, not that it's a problem as Mindy keeps far away from them. Magic is totally not interested, while the other 3 would observe their movements. Megan has actually given Mikey and Molten kisses, although I don't think the boys liked it too much.

All is progressing well and I'm glad.

Two is Better than One

As you all know, I originally intended to adopt only Mikey but somehow ended up adopting Molten too. Molten's high cute factor had a definite influence on that decision.

I must say that adopting 2 is better than 1. I came across this article about why having 2 kittens is better than 1. And I agree totally. It's just adorable how they use each other as pillows to sleep and how they would entertain each other. That gives me (and my parents) some time to do other stuff. A kitten alone would be calling for attention all the time, but with the 2 of them, they are content to play with each other if they don't see us. If they see us, it's another matter. They'll be meowing and fighting each other for a space on our laps.

So if anyone is thinking of adopting a kitten, why not consider adopting 2 instead of 1?

M6 & M7: Day 3

Mikey & Molten visited the vet today and were given a clean bill of health.  They have also been given their first dewormer and  will be vaccinated in about 1 months time.  The vet said that they can go fully on solids and milk can be given as a treat, which is great news.

The both of them are settling down and shows promising progress with using the litter box.  Mindy is still unhappy but because the 2 boys are now not sleeping in the same room as her, she's somewhat appeased.  The boys will be spending their nights with me now.  My girl, Megan, doesn't seem too happy with me at the moment, but she's easy to please.  I'll pacify her later.  Murphy seems a little afraid of the boys.  While she's very curious about them, she gets scared when approached by Mikey.

Molten is really showing his acrobatic skills.  He can jump rather high and has been showing off.

And because I can't resist, I bought them a pet bed shaped like a flower from Ikea today.  The boys like the tag on the bed better than the bed itself!

M6 & M7: Day 2

Mikey & Molten has spent 1 full day at home now.  My dad put them in the 3rd floor balcony (it's a shaded balcony) with some toys, away from the rest of the menagerie.  They'll need to be quarantined for about a week before they can physically touch and be introduced to the rest, although they have "met" the rest of the group.

Mindy is still grouchy.  She refused to sleep next to my dad, which is very unusual as she normally shares my dad's pillow.  She was growling at me when I approached her after having played with the boys.  I think she can smell them on me.

Murphy is still as enthusiastic as ever.  Molten is definitely the naughty one.  He could see Murphy through the sliding door of the balcony, and while Murphy was there looking at him, he deliberately walked right up to the door and hissed at her.  Making Murphy bark.

Tonight the boys will be sleeping with me.  Hopefully this will appease Mindy somewhat.  But that means that Megan & Murphy will be spending the night in my parents room instead of with me.

My dad was saying that the boys didn't want to drink the milk when he tried feeding them during the day.  When I came home, I tried feeding the boys and they gobbled up 2 bottles (100 ml).  I guess feeding really does need a woman's touch.   Men just can't feed babies!

After having spent the better part of an hour exploring my room, climbing chairs, trying to get into my handbags and urinating on Megan's bed, the boys are finally asleep.  One on top of the other. 

PS: Although my brother wasn't too enthusiastic about the boys, he has been playing with them since they came home.  Guess he's a softie at heart. ;o)

M6 & M7: Day 1

Mikey & Molten just arrived home about an hour and a half ago.  They are both asleep now after having some milk.

Megan and Murphy (especially Murphy, she's still whining and barking at me to let her play with Mikey & Molten) are both excited with the newcomers.  Mikey is very sweet, he was looking at the 2 of them without batting an eyelid.  Molten, on the other hand, was more aggressive.  He hissed at them when they came near.

Mindy has been growling non-stop since the 2 of them came.  She's now hiding in my parents' toilet and refusing to come out.  Let's hope the 2 of them win her heart soon.

Magic and Mocha doesn't seem to have too much interest in the newcomers.

And just to help everyone get the 7Ms straight.  Here's a listing of my menagerie now (in order of age):

1. Magic, Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Male, 10 years 9 months
2. Megan, Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Female, 6 years 5 months
3. Mocha, Shihtzu, Male, 5 years 6 months
4. Mindy, Persian, Female, 4 years 4 months
5. Murphy, Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Female, 3 years 10 months
6. Mikey, Domestic Short Hair, Male, 1 month
7. Molten, Domestic Short Hair, Male, 1 month

Homecoming

Mikey & Molten are confirmed coming home tonight. I'll be going to pick them up at 8.30 pm tonight.

Yeah!!

Doggy Day

I subscribe to an online pet magazine called Pet Place.  There was an article the other day that talked about a dog's ideal schedule.  It's basically full of play time and nap time.

If you ask me, I think it's the ideal schedule for me too!  I've always thought that a dog's life a good one, and if the ideal dog schedule is anything to go by, I was right! 

And anyone who says that a dog's life is a hard one for sure has not met my dogs!

Obedience Training

Today was the 7th lesson of Murphy's obedience training class. She's doing pretty well. There was a sit/stay and down/stay command that Murphy demonstrated that she is either very lazy or she's really very obedient. The rest of the dogs were fidgeting and breaking their stay command after a few minutes but Murphy stayed in position throughout. Needless to say I was bursting with pride.

Her heel work though needs a little more work. She's not walking/heeling as closely to me as she should. I take it that she's a little too tired as she's normally more responsive.

That's okay, it just means that we'll have to work a little harder this week doing her homework. I'm sure she'll be acing the class by exam time.

Delayed

Mikey and Molten is confirmed coming home on Friday.  Foster mom called to ask for a few more days as Mikey is still on meds.  And foster dad is going to be away but wants time to say goodbye before the 2Ms come home.

I said okay, so M6 & M7 will only be home on Friday.

Cross-Stitch Project: Chinese Wedding Scene 2

Here's an update of my Chinese Wedding Scene project.  

Mikey & Molten

Mikey's okay! Yeah! And I will be bringing Molten home as well. Double yeah!

Hopefully they can come come tomorrow. I'm waiting eagerly for foster mom's call to say that I can bring them home.

Kitty News

Seems like Molten is a boy?

Mikey is down with the flu and is now at the vet's. The prognosis doesn't seem too good. I really hope he pulls through.

His siblings are okay. So that's good.

The good news is that there's an 80% chance that I'll be bringing both Molten & Mikey home.

Keep your fingers crossed for Mikey. I hope he'll be okay.

Homecoming

It's confirmed. Mikey's coming home next Saturday. He's much younger than I originally thought. Turns out his birthdate is approximately 5 May. So that makes him a young tyke of only 23 days old.

For his well-being, we decided that it's better for him to spend a little bit more time with his siblings. Being the tiniest of the three, it'll be good for him to have more time to build up his strength and immunity.

Whether Molten will join him in coming home with us next week still remains to be decided.

Home Bond

It's the second day in a row that Mindy has not been successful in her escape attempts. It's not that she hasn't tried.

With the meshed-up gate, it's hard to tell that there's something there but she senses that something is not right. She has been staring at it the last 2 evenings trying to figure out what exactly is it and why does the gate look blurry to her.

To keep her entertained, I went and bought her a cat tree today. She had one in the past but that was thrown out when she had a lice problem. She's been amusing herself with the mouse that's attached to the tree for the last half an hour. Let's hope this will be enough entertainment for her to forget about the outside world.

Stoned Out?

I was very shocked and disappointed by the remarks made by actress Sharon Stone about how the earthquake in China is a karmaic result of the China/Tibet issue.

I do not see how the 2 events are linked. One is a natural disaster that left tens of thousands dead, hundreds of thousands injured and millions homeless. The other is a political even that is basically an internal affair between China and Tibet. I don't believe that it is fair for her to link the 2 events. It is like saying that Hurricane Katrina happened because of the US invasion of Iraq. Are the 2 events linked? No. So it is not fair to say that Hurricane Katrina is a karmaic result of the US invasion of Iraq. In the same manner, it is also unreasonable and ignorant to say that the Wenchuan earthquake is karma because of the China/Tibet issue.

Any individual who garners media attention (be it because of political or entertainment fame) should always bear in mind that whatever they say have an impact on the general public. Irresponsible remarks like these have no place in this world. It only serves to generate misunderstanding and hate.

Houdini Cat

Mindy tried getting out again a few times today. My mom was saying that one time she tried climbing the gate today, she basically fell flat on her back. I think all that weight makes it harder to be agile. So my dad covered more of the gate with whatever polycarbonate we have left.

In the evening, I saw her trying to climb the gate but because the polycarbonate covered part of the gate, she had problems getting past it and jumped back down. To prevent further escapes, I went to the pet shop and got a mesh. We spent about half an hour meshing up the rest of the gate.

Let me tell you, I didn't think it worked. Mindy got out again. I'm not sure how but to play it safe, my dad moved the marble table in the backyard further away from the wall.

We've ordered more polycarbonate to cover up the gate better.

I'm really in a bind as to what I can do.

Anyone has any suggestions??

Mikey & Molten

I just received the pictures of the kittens. This is Mikey. I am hoping to bring him home this weekend but that is to be confirmed later this week.

And this is Molten. She's a real sweetie-pie ain't she? It's not likely that I can bring her home. I'll leave it to my mom and dad to decide as they'll be the main caregivers.

Another Cat Scare

We had another cat scare today.  Mindy got out again!  I have absolutely no idea how she got out this time around since my dad has already blocked out her previous escape route.

My dad realized she was not around at about 8 pm.  I was playing with her at about 7.  So she got out between 7 and 8.  My dad and I walked around the neighborhood calling out her name.  She came running out from one of the neighbor's house and I scooted at her to get inside.  Luckily she listened and ran into the house.

This cat is really given me a headache.  We have to figure out how to block out other possible routes.  We think she climbed up the gate.  Meshing up the gate wouldn't work as the mesh that is sold at the pet stores basically provide her with a means to climb up.  We are going to get more polycarbonate to cover up the gate.  

Hopefully all our efforts will work now and she'll stop trying to get out to explore the world.  The only good thing about this is that we know for sure she knows her way home.  And this is also a good thing as it's showing us where we need to plug the "holes" before the kitten comes home to us.

New addition?

Today I went to 2 different fosters to have a look at some kittens.  I've been thinking of adopting another pet for a while.  I know that with 4 dogs, having another dog is a near impossibility.  So the other option is another cat.

My youngest baby, Murphy, is already 3 years 10 months old.  She still thinks of herself as a baby and is very frisky.  She loves cats too.  I'm not worried about the dogs accepting the new kitten into the family.  Usually dogs have less of an issue accepting new members as they are pack animals by nature.  If the new addition is introduced properly, they will typically accept it into the fold readily and think of the new addition (be it puppy, kitten, baby or otherwise) as part of the family pack and will protect it.

The first foster we visited had 4 3-month old kittens up for adoption.  3 ginger boys and a black/grey girl.  I was quite taken by Madhu (the sweetest of the 3 ginger boys) but my dad and brother were a little less impressed.  The plus point for Madhu is that he is used to having dogs around so he would be able to take to my 4 without a major issue.

The second foster had 3 6-week old kittens. 1 dark golden girl, 1 charcoal boy and a white boy with a racoon-like tail.  I aimed for the white boy and he basically stole my heart.  My dad was won over by the dark golden girl.  She was really a sweet little darling.  However, with so many girls in my house already, we decided we'll take the white boy.   As he's still a little young, the foster said he'll only be ready for adoption 2 weeks later.

We are going to name the boy Mikey.  My mom and dad even came up with a name for the dark golden girl, Molten.  I wish we can take both in but I think that would not be very possible.

We'll have to see how it goes.

Cat Scare

We just had a bit of a scare. My dad went around looking for Mindy and calling her name. She was nowhere to be found!

I asked my dad to check out the backyard (she likes to hang out there and our domestic helper has shut her out there a couple of times). Turns out she wasn't in the back yard but was outside the front gate! We found her desperately trying to jump over the covering that was put up to prevent her from getting out in the first place.

Luckily it was just a minor scare. She's back save and sound. We guessed that she couldn't have been outside for more than an hour. Now we'll have to figure out another way to cover up the front gate so that she can't get out. She hasn't been out for the last 4 years, so I'm still scratching my head wondering how she did her Houdini trick.

Cross-Stitch Project: Chinese Wedding Scene

Yeah! I managed to transfer the pictures from my Nikon Coolpix to my iMac.  Apologies that it's not very well taken.  I'll try to do better next time.  

Here's a picture of my work-in-progress:

And here's a picture of what it's supposed to look like when I'm done with it.

Hopefully I'll get it completed in a couple of months time.  This is not an easy project because the pattern is not very clear.  So I spend a lot of time trying to decipher what the symbols/colors are matched to.  Neither are the backstitching instructions but I'll come to that problem when I actually start to do the back-stitching.  

Great Singapore Sale 2008!

The Great Singapore Sale is now on!  For the uninitiated, the GSS is an annual event that used to start in June and end in August.  Each year, it seems to start earlier and earlier and end later and later.  

I think my first purchase would be the Nintendo Wii Fit.  Not that it's going to be on sale, but I'm getting it anyway!

Loading Pictures

Ok, seems like my problem isn't with loading pictures.  At least not yet.

After 6 months, today I realized that my iMac doesn't have a card reader!  So I had to find a USB connection for my camera to link it to my iMac.  Only I couldn't find one that fit my Nikon Coolpix.  Thank goodness my brother came to my rescue with a USB connector.

So there I was happily thinking that I can finally upload my pictures.  Ha!  I guess the iMac isn't as user-friendly as I thought.  It's not a plug-and-play kinda idiot proof system.  Turns out I had to download the camera driver.  

Right now, it's taking a couple of hours for the download to complete.  I think it'll be tomorrow before I upload any pictures.  Hopefully it'll work.  If not, I guess that means I have to upload pictures using another computer.

Cross Stitch Projects

When I went to Shanghai earlier this year, I bought a couple of cross-stitch projects from Cheng Huang Miao (城隍庙).   One is a wedding scene with the characters dressed in ancient Chinese costumes,  the other is a series of opera masks.  I started on the Chinese wedding scene a few weeks ago.

I'll post pictures of my progress once I figure out how to post pictures!

Meanwhile, as I was searching through my cross-stitch stash, I found a couple more UFOs (UnFinished Objects).  Hopefully I can get to them after I have completed the Chinese wedding scene project.

My first posting

I've been thinking about setting up a blog for some time now, but I just never got around to it. I guess I'm just a proscrastinator at heart.

It's also because I am not sure just what to share and what not to share. And do people really care what I have to say? At the end of it, it doesn't matter whether people read my blog or not, or whether they care what I have to say. It's just a way for me to document my thoughts and the happenings that I want to remember.

Perhaps this will come in handy one day when I grow old and senile. When I can't remember what had happened to me in the past, what I had done. This blog would then be a great way for me to walk down memory lane. Of course, the caveat being that I use this blog in the first place!

Here's the first step. I do hope that I will continue to document my journey in life here, if not for posterity, at least for the sake of ensuring that I don't lose my own memories.