Area1: Schwinger Central

The Snippety Happy bunch are back. They arrived shortly after 10pm this evening. All looked good, though wide-eyed from the trauma of their abduction and mojo-robbery.

Before their homecoming btmao and I went around the area, hoping to encounter the absentee kitty aka Rapunzel, who didn’t join the happy snippees on Monday. As luck, or probably the kitty deities, would have it, that kitty did appear. So V secured the lucky one before releasing the snippety bunch.

Four schwingers de-mojoed, and Rapunzel in the bag. But is it really over, for now at least? btmao say the new kitty in the hood seemed to be a different one from the schwingers rounded up.

More details, naming headaches and yes pictures to come.

Area1: Snippety Happy

We thought we had a new kitty in the hood… what do we know.

The kitty we confirmed about 2 weeks was an agouti female – she was sitting right outside our door, on the ninth floor, on a night when btmao returned home late, thus confirming herself to us. Like Isam when he first appeared, and Brenda, she seemed to trying to find her home, going up and down in tireless frenzy the blocks in the ‘hood.

Around the same time, we spotted a new silver spotted tabby male, young but with fullly ripe “grapes”.

Available adult female, add virile adult male. Bad combo. But as ever, they were scaredy-attention seeking (typical of newly abandoned pets), elusive and refused to give us their daily agenga. Talk about guerilla warfare.

This morning, we spotted the female downing some cooked rice strewn on the muddy roots of a tree. She ran off as I approached. So this evening we decided we would try to nail someone, anyone, to some sort of kitty schedule.

We got more than we ask for… different than what we hoped but definitely more.

We met a new kitty. A striped female with a stumpy tail and surprise of surprises – a tipped ear. She’s a carpark denizen and completely friendly.

Then while btmao fed her, I went round the neighbourhood. The silver spotted tabby boy was out and about, up to his usual frenetic search up and down the blocks looking for a home. But at least he was calm enough and friendly. We decided to call V to come collect him, not least because his loudmouth tendency wasn’t doing himself any fabours.

Thankfully V was available to swing by, ETA 9-ish. The silver spotted tabby boy wouldn’t know what hit him. He’s friendly, bright-eyed but definitely putting on the coy. His call even sounded like he’s wanting to show some lucky gal what a lover he was. And his advertisement was being answered. We were standing at the foot of a block. I heard someone responding to him, but it took btmao’s 6/6 vision (she went home for supplies), to spot the furry Rappunzel up on the third floor, upper body clear over the ledge and at the ready to fly down.

I went up to take a look. It was the rice-gulping agouti-female. But she was right on the ledge and let out a very scared howl. So I left her, and btmao to juggle her watch. btmao had to chaparone the loverlorn twosome as I had to go home to finish up some work. I also told her she just missed Brenda trotting by a while.

btmao just got home and gave me the surprise of week. When I went looking for the spotted tabby boy, he had climbed to the second floor of another block (he’s got the Isam’s initial run-up-and-down-every-block bug), where I had spotted 3 young cats in front of a flat (which occpuants refused to open and talk), 1 friendly ginger and 3 SCAREDY dilute gingers. The friendly I could see was a boy. That was in March. Since then I’ve not caught sight of them except for a chance encounter with one of the dilutes at the foot of our block in the compromised position of pooping. So tonight I requested Vincent to see if he can nab any of the threesome as well. Vincent took care of the spoted tabby boy. btmao met a Malay man who said he feeds nightly using styrofoam plates which he clears (he felt sorry for the many cats around and was angry at irresponsible people who dumped them, ostensibly just “downstairs”) and had just left food for some cats at the ginger’s block. He told her the flat where  where I found the ginger and dilutes loitering belonged to a macik who claimed she doesn’t own them, just fed them as they kept appearing at her door. (The macik, had annoyingly, been trying to lure the spotted tabby boy away while btmao was chaperoning him for V’s arrival) Even Brenda is a regular visitor to her kitty soup kitchen.

So btmao went to see and saw…

… the ginger, one dilute/white cat, and 2 more cats!

V grabbed the friendly ginger and was nearly lynched by the Malay man and his wife/relative on the way back to his van. V kept saying “Sterilise, sterilise” and btmao was luckily there to help defuse the situation too. Ultimately, V got 3 boys from there. The dilute/white was a girl who the Malay man said is already sterilised despite the lack of a tipped ear as he had seen the surgery scar on her. Someone besides us were sterilising kitties in the vicinity it seems (and the Malay man agrees), but who we have no idea, and why was the girl’s ear not tipped? Mysteries.

Sadly, the rice-gulper was not to be found. A minion’s work is truly never done. But now that we know a feeder, who seems responsible, we can try to harness the power for good. Entrapment is the key now.

So in total 4 boys are going to lose their mojo tomorrow. The spotted tabby boy, the ginger, a new tabby white, and a new big-headed agouti tabby tux. The Malay man and his family seemed determined to be there to receive the tom kitties when they return from the event of their lives. I too am looking forward to meeting the new kitties, the responsible feeder encik and make arrangements for the area1 kitties, females or otherwise, still at large. Photos to come too.

But for now we have the task of a lifetime – a ton of names to come up with. Anyone with suggestions for names beginning with C and I? We need about 3 for girls, and 5 for boys. F is also another alphabet we’re using for area1.

Here’s the list of names already owned by our area1 kitties:

Area 1 (135)

• Baby (3)
• Brenda (3)
• Cally (13)
• Cara (28)
• Cari (10)
• Carlie (12)
• Charlotte (2)
• Chica (3)
• Ian (9)
• Idris (2)
• Iggy (3)
• Indy (3)
• Isam (13)
• Issac (7)
• Ivan the Terrible (39)

New kitty in the hood

On this workday morning, as btmao and I were hurrying to the busstop to catch the feeder service, what should we spy but a pretty kitty sitting by a staircase at the foot of our block. It was a little before7am so the lighting wasn’t good and we couldn’t make out the colouring but pointy ears and posture gave the sitter away. We could even see a collar that looked like it had a bell around the tabby’s neck.

Small dainty triangular face with huge eyes and bat ears, just like Brina. Definitely an adult with a longish, padded if a bit thin, body. And a half tail ending in a clubby end. A she for sure. Right now we’re designating her as TabbyClubtailFemale2010 in Area1.

No pictures yet, and investigations will be underway later: whether she’s a new free-ranging home pet or abandoned, we might need to do so mojo-robbing, just to keep from having her go Brina’s way and have a litter of kittens sucking her already thin body dry. A minion‘s duty is never done, even in the most peaceable of TNRM neighbourhoods.

Sophie has found her home

Sophie, foster mum’s homeseeker, is now home-free. Yay!

Foster Mum’s homeseeker: Vicky

(Must read: Cat care refs.)

Vicky is a petite 7 month old female. She is very friendly and trusting.

She has a perfect long tail and has dainty tabby patches on a mostly white coat.

No one knows where she came from, but this placid young female appeared among a resident TNRM colony and was not able to stand her ground against smackdowns dished out by the bigger residents. To save her, she has been sent to foster-care to await a real home.

Vicky has been sterilised, litter-box trained and vaccinated.

ENQUIRIES: ADOPTION AND PROCEDURE
Please email sephycat@gmail.com with the following:

• your name
• contact
• a summary of your background and experience with cats

Serious adopters only, please. All info will be treated in confidence and forwarded to Vicky’s guardian.

Foster Mum’s homeseeker: Sophie

(Must read: Cat care refs.)
Sophie is an adult silver tabby…

… with accents of ginger in her striking stripey fur.

She also has a perfect long tail…

And the rest of her is as pretty…

as anyone could wish for in a cat…

She is active, healthy…
… playful and inquisitive

Sophie is sterilised, litter-box trained and vaccinated.

ENQUIRIES: ADOPTION AND PROCEDURE
Please email sephycat@gmail.com with the following:

• your name
• contact
• a summary of your background and experience with cats

Serious adopters only, please. All info will be treated in confidence and forwarded to Sophie’s guardian.

Pierre may lose his eye…

… but it won’t be the end of the world as NIC, left in pic with best pal Jurgen, a doubly blind old bear rescued from the cruel bear bile farms of China show. Both NIC and Jurgen are of course in the safekeeping of animalsasia

It does seem that, in a month’s time, Pierre will most likely lose his right eye:

Vet Visit on 10 April 2010

Bui Bui has been to Dr Heng this afternoon. We were happy to hear that his left eye’s water pressure is under control. Unfortunately, the eyesight from his right is not looking good. He could be blind in the right eye. Dr Heng has kept trying to test his response from his right eye, but sad to know that there is no response at all. Dr Heng has decided to give him a final chance before removing his right eye. Bui Bui has been given some eye drops for a month. His right eye will need to be removed if there is still no response at the next visit which is one month away.

A gentle reminder that Pierre (and his friends in the existing colony of 8, especially Pumpkin) needs help and would still like to have a home:

Foster Mum’s homeseeker: Cherrie

(Must read: Cat care refs.)

Pretty Cherrie is a headbutter, gentle and purry beyond words.

She is sweet and inquisitive, and always respond positively to attempts to interact with her, even in mid-groom.

Cherrie is an adult female calico with a long tail. She is litter-box trained, vaccinated and sterilised.

ENQUIRIES: ADOPTION AND PROCEDURE
Please email sephycat@gmail.com with the following:

• your name
• contact
• a summary of your background and experience with cats

Serious adopters only, please. All info will be treated in confidence and forwarded to Cherrie’s guardian.

Foster Mum’s homeseeker: Bee Hoon

(Must read: Cat care refs.)

Bee Hoon is a lovely trusting female cat with bags of affection to give.

A black beauty for the true cat lover. She is herself a connoisseur of the humble but delightful rustic dish, Bee Hoon, hence her name.

She is an adult cat with the cutest little tail.

She is kneading and purring all the time…

… even when she’s a bit shy and unsure.

Bee Hoon is litter-box trained, vaccinated and sterilised.

ENQUIRIES: ADOPTION AND PROCEDURE
Please email sephycat@gmail.com with the following:

• your name
• contact
• a summary of your background and experience with cats

Serious adopters only, please. All info will be treated in confidence and forwarded to Bee Hoon’s guardian.

Homeseeker: Josh

(Must read: Cat care refs.)

Josh is a young ginger spotted tabby white male cat with lovely amber eyes.

He is very affectionate, calm, and loving. He is not afraid of other cats but is non-aggressive. In fact will try to be friends with the cats he meets.

Of all his paws, Josh only has 1 ginger patch on his left front paw.

Eagerly waiting for his real forever home, Josh is estimated to be about 1 yrs old. He is sterilised and litter-box trained.

More pictures (click to view larger version)

Josh’s story

Josh was first sighted in Area 1 very late last year, he was probably about 8 months old at the time. Scaredy and scrawny, he would run away when approached and appeared occasionally, when we were not prepared to nab him for mojo-robbing.

It was only beginning in February that he allowed contact, but even then he was a bit wary. Finally, on 16 Mar, he came up to us, approaching us voluntarily for the first time. He was limping and his left shoulder/frontleg/paw seemed to be disabled and he could not put any weight on it.

He was brought in to the vet, and sterilised on 17 Mar while having his injured leg x-rayed. Thankfully, he merely had an inflamed wound on the shoulder as suspected. It was probably inflicted on him by one of the alphas as he scrounged for food. He was moved to Foster Mum’s after discharging on 18 Mar as he needed to be fed a 2 week course of antibiotics, and we were not confident of meeting him regularly. Josh has recovered fully.

He has also turned out to be a calm, gentle and loving cat who wants to be friends with everybody. So we’ve decided to try to rehome him instead of releasing him back to Area 1 where he may very well sustain similar injuries again.

To visit Josh
Email us at sephycat at gmail dot com, with your name, contact, and a brief intro of yourself/your family.

Genuine, serious adopters only please.

(Must read: Cat care refs.)

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Click here to see other home-seeking kitties.

Appeal: Homes needed for loving angel towing 8 little devils

From blessinghome.com:

Save 9 x 9 Lives!!

A small angelic mummy cat with 8 little devilishly cute rascals in tow need homes urgently.

Mummy cat is a ginger white lady, affectionate, trusting and angelically kissy.

Her family are 8 kittens, feisty 2 month olds with a serious case of the CUTES. She has 2 ginger boys, 2 ginger girls, two tabby girls and 2 calicos, girls of course.  The rascals, affectionately called “little devils” for their lively play and antics, are about 2 months old. The whole family are savvy with the litter box.

Homes needed for all of them, preferably in pairs or more. Genuine adopters only please.

Please contact Cynthia Loh at 81800158 or Phyllis at 97348329.

To see more of the family’s pictures and read the details of their story, click here.

HISTORY
The loving ginger mummy cat and her brood of 8 were callously abandoned in a carpark where stray dogs are known to roam and attack cats. Property management threatened to call “the authorities” if they were not removed. So the caregiver turned to blessinghome for help. The family is now safely ensconced, so mummy cat can concentrate on overseeing the constant wrestling and acrobatic antics of her 8 dearest little devils. Mummy and rascals are all awaiting their real forever homes.

Appeal for Homeless Pierre: going blind and needing a home

Remember Pierre, tec honorary clan member in Area3?

He has been in foster care since early March in a home in Area2. A, his caregiver from Area 2, is spearheading the efforts to care for him.

The sad thing for Pierre is that he is going blind and his home is being destroyed. So he needs medical help and he needs a forever home. While they are trying their best, A and her friends who are kitty caregivers in area2 are struggling to keep up with the financial cost of supporting him – they need help with his medical bills as their individual financial situations are not fantastic, and they still have the resident colony of 8 to care for.

Us minions have helped to set up and start a blog to help appeal for help and to highlight Pierre’s need for a home, and to assist with managing his blog and his online appeal. (Not much else we can do to help as we’re also strapped, what with the slackers’ lengthening string of medical bills since last year and the ongoing upkeep of our lot at Foster Mum’s.)

Please go to Pierre the Singapore homeless cat needs help, blog url: http://keepingpierresafe.blogspot.com/ to read about his story and his current status. Please do help Pierre by spreading the word on his need. Thank you very much!

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Pierre’s adoption notice submitted to the Cat Welfare Society’s adoption board on 12 Apr 10.

Pierre is the sweetest homeless cat ever! He behaves as if he’s been a homecat who has only known TLC all his life. But he is now really in need of a home as he is losing his sight. He is about 8 years old and is otherwise healthy. His caregivers are valiantly trying to give him the medical attention and love he needs, but their finances are limited and they still have a colony of 8 to care for. So they are appealing for a loving and accommodating family to adopt Pierre. Pierre’s new family will have to take over both his daily needs and his medical requirements as well. Genuine adopters willing to accommodate the special needs of sight-impaired cats who may potentially go blind only please. Please visit Pierre’s blog at http://keepingpierresafe.blogspot.com/ to read his story and know him better.

(Must read: Cat care refs.)

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Click here to see other home-seeking kitties.

Help: Save the pigeons living in Singapore

Unless you’ve been living under Singapore River, there’s no way you are unaware that living among Singaporeans in this cold home of concrete that demands we give and give and give, is another “homeless” animal who has been targetted for the Singapore brand of population and complaint management.

The letters that have seen print argue for both sides of the coin… but it seems like as soon as “potential hazard” or health concerns are trotted out, that’s the end of the argument. Is that valid? There was even a letter that tells of the letter-writer’s father brush with death due to inhalation of dried, power-form pigeon shit. While I feel sorry for the letter-writer’s father, I am concerned at the myopic nature of her call to arms as it were. Yes, pigeon shit caused the problems her father suffered, but the pigeons were just being pigeons, but the true cause? Human neglect. Yet the letter writer does not go after her neighbour for negligence leading to the “perfect storm” that hit her father.

There is too much fear-mongering, what-ifs, laziness, illogic, blame-shifting and complacency in this matter.

Sounds familiar?

Let’s extend our empathy for our homeless kitties’ fellow victims of the Singapore brand of population and complaint management.

Help the pigeons sharing our homeless kitties’ space, check out savepigeons.blogspot.com to find out how.

We’re back!

Well, stuff happened during the past months, which took away time that was meant for tec’s maintenance. Things are finally looking up and we hope to be up and running again. After all, in real life, we’re still carrying on like the dutiful minions we must be: rob kitty mojo, feline homeseekers to put up for adoption, visits to the vet… a minion’s duties are never done.

Whew! It’s been a trial!

Get your CNY goodies fix and do a good turn at the same time!

Order Chinese New Year goodies and do a meowing good turn

Make your CNY cookies order today!

Please help the kitties of Blessing Home. Click the cutey pic above or here to view the goodies on offer and ordering details!

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PS There is a Chinese belief it is bad luck (imho it’s bad form too) to go into the new year owing things. This minion has been more than behind in updates to our kitty supporters. Mea Culpa. The tumbling weeds through tec bears witness to the chaos I’m struggling with. I WILL get up to date before the month end. Please bear with me.