In memory of Tiffy

** This section is dedicated specially to dear Tiffy & the ever wonderful 5-Cat Style. 5-Cat Style, you have done your best. You've been the best foster mummy Tiffy could ever have. **

TODAY is a very very sad day.


Tiffy


You'll be dearly and sorely missed


RIP Tiffy

5-Cat Style lost lovely Tiffy.

I cried. I felt sad. I felt angry. I felt disappointed. I felt like bashing M's dad up. I felt like screaming into his face and giving him as many slaps as my hand could manage. I share 5-Cat Style's grief and sorrow. Tiffy lost her young innocent life as a result of irresponsible pet ownership. I am totally disgusted with irresponsible pet owners. It is the owner's fault if his or her pet is urinating or defecating inappropriately (in Tiffy's case). Blaming the pet for not being intelligent or not being capable of learning, in my opinion, is the lamest excuse one could ever conjure. I've said this before and I'm still preaching this - pet ownership is a lifetime of responsibility. Your pet stays with you, in wealth and in poverty, in sickness and in health. It is utterly important to consider carefully before you commit. Pet ownership is more than just playing and having fun and keeping you company when you are lonely.

Tiffy was such a sweet kitten. She could have easily found another home with her good looks. Why didn't M's dad give Tiffy a chance to find another home? Why did he send her to her death? How could something so terrible happened to her? Why did things go so wrong? So many "why" and "how" but any answers provided will now be useless - Tiffy is never going to come back.

Tiffy now joins Velvet, Tango, Cotton, Dim Sum, Fudge, Fussypot, Wei-wei and many others in a very wonderful place, a place where they would never be unwanted and abandoned, a place where they will never be injured or sick, a place filled with love and happiness - the Rainbow Bridge.

Tiffy will be dearly and sorely missed by those who loved her.

Take care 5-Cat Style. Rest in peace Tiffy.

Remember Yoyo?

Going to be 5 months old.

This is a recent pic of Yoyo who was found with a dislocated pelvis as a very young kitten in Apr 06. Look at how much she has grown under foster mummy's loving care. Besides surgery for the dislocated pelvis, Yoyo is also unfortunate to have gone through a second surgery to amputate one of her toes from an accident at home. Though she has been through so much at such tender age of 2 months, Yoyo remains cheerful, playful and optimistic. She is looking for a good forever home to go to (we sincerely hope she need not go back to the harsh streets anymore since she has already suffered so much). Foster mummy has another cat with long-term illness to care for and is unable to keep Yoyo with her. Yoyo is now healthy, litterbox-trained and is sterilised.

Brief sequence of events:-


11 Apr - Found limping badly. Very frightened and hid in an aircon compressor compartment and refuse to emerge. Her age is estimated to be around 2 months old.


12 Apr - G managed to find her lying in the middle of the street.


13 Apr - Visited the vet who informed us that Yoyo has a dislocated pelvis. Surgery required asap.


15 Apr - Surgery.


17 Apr - Discharged from the vet. Physiotherapy required daily (administered by kind foster mummy, G).

27 Apr - Follow up consultation.

7 May - Undergone 2nd surgery to amputate her injured toe from an accident. Sterilised at the same time.

Do you have a little extra room in your heart to share with Yoyo?

Yoyo has been through a harsh and painful "childhood". Can she need not go back to the streets?

True love does not despise how one looks or lacks.

Can you give Yoyo her happily ever after?

[Please write to celestelock@hotmail.com]

Yoyo's story

Maomao's typical morning

Maomao making her way to my flat.


Conducting her morning inspection.


Followed by some morning grooming.


Then she patiently awaits...

An eventful night.

Tonight is an eventful night.


Tubbs trying to clean his muddy chest caused by the rain.


Tubbs, officially sterilised. Wound looks fine.

Let me start off with Tubbs. Saw him for the first time after his sterilisation. He looks ok and is slightly more affectionate than usual. His surgery site looks fine as well. Maomao was with him. Fed him some food and left to meet G so that we could look for Macy and a new stray dog (yes, again - K sms-ed me in the evening to inform me about this new abandonee). I wonder when people would finally embrace true pet ownership.

After feeding Hazel (who was harassed by a tuxedo tom), we headed for the soccer field and were very lucky to spot Boy (the new stray) across the road. A friendly young adult (but wary of sudden movements) and will follow when called. Fed him a can of food which he ate only half. He was earlier fed two big cans by K and E. Poor boy, his ribs at both sides were readily visible. He must have been hungry for a long time. For tonight however, he felt full, almost to the point of puking.


Look at how skinny Boy is. Notice his ribs?

I called E who came (with a leash), followed by B (who came with home-cooked food) and then K. All five of us were trying to leash Boy in the next 45 mins. Met an uncle who told us Boy has been around for a couple of weeks! E played with Boy and he enjoyed the fun thoroughly. Boy gave chase to a cat who appeared all of a sudden and we all held our breath. Luckily, no hurt was done. Boy could play catch very well and knew how to "paw paw". It dawned on us that moment he belonged or used to belong to somebody. Was he lost or just heartlessly abandoned?


Boy with E.

E finally managed to leash Boy when Boy let his guard down and rested (after the vigorous play). He didn't struggle alot and was rather well-behaved. K and E had a hard time trying to contact people they know to see if a temporary foster home for Boy could be found (as we all could not foster him). Alas, there were none. In the end, K and E had no choice but to bring Boy back with them for the night. They promised to update us on any developments. B left with them. Me and G have no idea what would be the fate of Boy when the sun rises the next morning. We can only hope for the best. We didn't see Macy but I heard from my brother Macy was seen somewhere in the vicinity of Blk 802, 804, 805 and 811 in the late morning.

[Afternote: I received an sms from K on Sun 25 Jun to inform that Boy is currently safe at a shelter and will be taken care of by a volunteer in a few days' time. I will follow up and keep everyone updated on Boy.]

Made in Japan

Japanese have this talent for beautiful packaging & innovative designs. My boss just returned from his Japan trip and bought this. These are rice crackers.

Viki is a boy!

So. Viki is a boy!

This is the tell-tale sign.

THREE good news & ONE not-so-good news

FIRST good news. I saw Macy again on 21 Jun, Wed. She was lounging in the field next to the bus stop, still looking skinny. I met B, who was walking her dog P. I fed Macy her dinner. Chatted with B while waiting for Macy to finish her food. Heard from B she saw a man at the coffeeshop opposite the bus stop trying to hurt Macy by lifting a chair a few days before. I was so angry upon hearing this (I was swearing under my breath). Luckily Macy ran away in time. Didn't see her yesterday (22 Jun).

SECOND good news. G found Vera. Phew. I was so thrilled to know that Vera is safe.

THIRD good news - Tubbs has been sterilised! The not so good news - he did not spend the night at the malay family' - he was released the same day in the evening (21 Jun). Hmm.



M, the eldest daughter of the family told me they had to release Tubbs because he was banging his head against the cage non-stop in his bid for freedom. He didn't like to be confined. Worried that Tubbs may crack his head, M had to let him go. He couldn't stay indoor with them cos' if you recalled from my previous post on Tango, they have 3 extremely unfriendly cats at home. So freedom Tubbs got. Good to note though that M has been monitoring him. He is eating and drinking well. Looking alert too. I haven't seen him all of yesterday (22 Jun). Hope to see him today.

On the whole, 21 Jun was a good day.

Tubbs is at the vet

This is Tubbs with his swollen right eye. Still swollen and wet as of last night when I fed him. He is at the vet now waiting to be sterilised and will be discharged at 4.30pm this afternoon. He will spend the night at the malay family's and will be released tomorrow.

MISSING: Macy the dog & Vera the cat - Have you seen them?

I never saw Macy again after that faithful night of 14 Jun. Thoughts of her never left me. I wondered what had happened...perhaps I will never find out. I wrote an email to SPCA and AVA late afternoon yesterday to check if she has been picked up. So far, no news - is this good news? I don't know. I still look for her every night.

I couldn't find Maomao & Cinder on my way home last night - this is a very unusual situation. When G sms-ed me Vera's disappearance, I panicked. First thought that came to my mind - could they have been rounded up? I almost died panicking but fortunately for me, I managed to locate the two of them at eleven-ish o'clock the same night. I was darn relief! Not so fortunate for G though - she still couldn't locate Vera on her eleven-ish o'clock attempt. "So upset..." she sms-ed me. I could almost cry cos' that feeling was so familiar (when I lost Cotton in Nov 05).

Vera is a mute dark grey tabby sterilised female with white socks on her four paws. She loiters around the vicinity of Blk 895A Tampines Street 81. She was last seen on Sun night (18 Jun). If you are staying in that area and happened to know Vera's whereabout, please write me at celestelock@hotmail.com. Otherwise, would truly appreciate if you could help keep a lookout for a feline fitting the descriptions.


This is Casper checking me out from his bicycle basket. Casper resides near Vera - hope this little one remains safe & sound. Seeing him reminds me so much of Tango. Tango would have been around Casper's size & age if he had survived from the spinal problem.

On the other hand, Tubbs is due for his sterilisation this morning (21 Jun) at 10am. The malay family (who took care of lil' Tango) had volunteered to send him for the snip. Tubbs' recent swollen right eye made them (and me) very worried and they decided to curb his urge to fight by castrating him. Hope all goes well.

What's this...?


Macy on 14 Jun night.


Casper boy spending his night in someone's bicycle basket.


A well-fed ginger cat nearby Casper.


Venus - a new cat at my blk.


Maomao: "Good morning! What took you so long...?I've been waiting since 7am." *roll eye*


Ah...finally, my breakfast. *chomp*


A rose for you - HAPPY WEEKENDS!

Oh oh...

Oh oh... *Gulp*



The power of destruction. Guess what's this. A pen. And who did this?...

Erm...well...it's me. Sorrie mummy!

Don't be angry pleeaaseeee?

I am happy tonight. Why? Because I managed to feed Macy for the second time and also managed to take a pic of her. She seemed to vaguely recognised me and did not run away though she kept her distance and only eat when I moved away. To me, this is already an improvement. As G said, it may perhaps be good for Macy to maintain this vigilance in order not to be hurt by unkind people. However, I do hope she'll learn to trust me and understand that I'm not out to hurt her but I'm here to help her, give her a little love and feed her hungry stomach. Poor girl, look at her tail in the pic - she clearly is frightened. I pray hard that people would feed her if they are kind, if not, leave her alone and not scare or disturb her. This is all I ask for.

Look at the amount of trash on the staircase! I hope the cats are not blamed again!

Macy the dog

I met Macy the lost or abandoned dog, for the fourth time tonight while on my way to the supermarket to buy some cat food for Cinder & Co. She was curled up, sleeping soundly at the field (wet from the rain) next to the bus stop (where Cotton used to be). I poured a can of doggy food into a plastic bowl and crept softly up to her. She must be very tired as she did not sense my presence (I was only half a feet away). I called out to her gently and this shocked Macy. She woke up very suddenly, gave a loud bark and ran 15 feets away, staring at me. I got a shock too and left the bowl of food at where she was lying. Then I walked away and observed from a distance. She went back to investigate the bowl and ate the food. Macy then crossed the road to explore and returned to the field after 5 minutes. She laid down. I left as there was nothing more I could do. This is the only time I was able to get so close to her and feed her. I can only pray hard that she remains safe and sound and hunger-free. She has been loitering around my estate for the past 1 week already. I'll try to feed her if I see her again. If you happened to live around Tampines Street 81, pls do help to look out for Macy and feed her if possible.

Meet Jovi

Jovi

Meet Jovi, a new tabby cat I met last evening around my estate. Very affectionate and friendly girl, even to a complete stranger like me! Tried following me after her dinner. I had to play hide and seek in order to get home. Hope she'll stay put so I can feed her regularly and of course, eventually sterilise her.

Also, there is this dog (local breed/medium size) who appeared at my estate area for the past few days. I strongly suspect that she may have gotten lost or was abandoned. I made this deduction based on the fact that she loiters this area for a few days already. I tried to feed her last evening after Jovi but she wouldn't come near though she knew I was calling her. Not a bad thing as well, in case someone wants to hurt her. I called the groomer (a very nice lady with 10 dogs herself) at my area to help look out for this dog. I'll also try and feed her if I can. She looks lean, not skinny yet. I hate to think how hungry she must be (if she hasn't eaten for these few days)!

Hey folks! It has been a while...how's everybody doing? I've been pretty up to my neck the past month at work. Though busy, I have never in a single moment forgot about our furry friends. Quick updates:-

Maomao


Waiting at my door


Taking the lift


After a satisfied meal

This dear lady has decided to make lounging outside my door her morning ritual. She'll gave a cheerful meow upon seeing me and I must admit that started my day on a cheerful note. She'll then follow me into the lift to get her breakfast downstairs. Sometimes, she'll visit more than once a day. Just 2 weeks before on an evening, I found her with a swollen left eye and next to it, a visible scratch. Luckily, the swell sibsided after 3 days. Maomao has always been a rather tough girl so I'm not too worried about her fending for herself. Also, just 2 days ago, I spotted a kind uncle in his 50s feeding her a whiskas wet pouch but he made quite a mess on the floor. I explained that it would be better if he had the food placed on some thick magazine papers instead of the floor. I hope he digested my advice. He mentioned he has seen Maomao grow from a kitten. Whoa. Anyway, this again shows how well-loved Maomao is. If only all the strays were as fortunate!

Tubbs


See the scars?

Everytime I see this tom, he's always with new wounds though not serious ones. It's either him who has the problem or the other cats simply can't stand the sight of him. Wonder which. His head is rather decorated with scars, as well as his ears and the front of his body. It is gonna be hard work trying to trap him for neutering. He likes to stalk and harass Maomao and Hazel (who resides a few blks across the road).


Tubbs stalking Maomao


Tubbs stalking Hazel

Hazel

Hazel loves rolling all over

Eyes not as round as it ought to be due to the cam flash

Beautiful soft coat

Hazel is one of the cats I love very much. She has big round innocent eyes and a beautiful coat of pastel-coloured fur. She is also a very affectionate and loving girl. Her gentle meow never fails to melt my heart. She is under the good care of G who will visit and feed her every evening. I make it a point to visit Hazel after supermarketing in the evenings after work.

Cinder




Cinder making a funny face

Cinder is doing well. He has grown so affectionate towards me. He'll meow so loud when he sees me and sometimes, this attracts the attention of Maomao who will wallop any intruders at her territory. Usually, Maomao would emerged as winner of the fight. There was this time I got scratched by Maomao in the middle of all the hostile hissing between her and Cinder. I do hope Maomao learns to tolerate Cinder's existence, afterall she is Cinder's aunt (Cinder's mum is Maomao's sister). Not sure if it was an oversight in the past but Cinder boy walks with a strange limp on his left hind leg. He can still run very fast, looks well, alert and eating normal and most importantly, don't appear to be in any discomfort or pain (I have been monitoring for a while already). That being the case, I've decided to let him be unless the limp becomes worse (I hope not!). Next on agenda is to trap him for neutering.

Mocha, Toffee & Orange-Boy @ Robinson Green Park

Toffee

Mocha remained missing as of today. Toffee's appearance has recently become very inconsistent. It has been a while since I last saw him. Orange-Boy appears once in a while. He's able to accept me being nearer but disallow any physical contact still.

New kittens - Twinkle, Baby Ariel, Yogi & Viki

I keep running into new kittens lately. Twinkle is a tabby kitten I keep spotting (from my kitchen window) under a particular black car at a particular parking lot. By the time I rushed down, Twinkle is no where in sight. I bumped into the owner of the car once and requested that he keeps a lookout for a kitten who loves hiding under his car. After a week or so, Twinkle disappeared completely. Just yesterday, I thought I saw a young adult resembling Twinkle somewhere near my blk.


Sweet baby Ariel, tiny and fluffy

Baby Ariel was the youngest of all the kittens I met. She is also the sweetest. I bumped into her one Sunday evening after supermarketing. Seeing that she was so small, I carried her and fed her some kitten food. After finishing only a little, she climbed onto my lap and fell fast asleep for about 10 minutes. That moment was so sweet and touching. I could still remember the warmness of the furry bundle on my lap. While she's sleeping, I tried to call to find out if anyone could foster her temporary but could find none. I have no choice but to try and locate her mother. I scouted for a while before spotting an adult with similar body markings at a nearby power station. I gently put Baby Ariel down, left some adult cat food and hid at a corner to observe. The adult cat (I named her April) sniffed at Ariel and just sat next to her, no hissing. Ariel did not run away. Since there was no hostility, I thought I will leave her there for the night and checked on her again the following morning. Sadly, I never found Baby Ariel again. I pray hard that someone kind brought her home. As for April, I can still sometimes find her at the power station.

Yogi is named so because he looked so much like Yoyo. I found him at my blk three evenings after I found Ariel, fed him some food and then left for the supermarket. By the time I returned, Yogi was nowhere to be found. I never saw him again. Sigh.

Casper (not the ghost!) is another ginger and white kitten I befriended through G (who is the kind soul currently fostering Yoyo). G feeds Casper every night, so does another kind malay uncle. Very active and adorable little boy with a very nice looking tail! I hope Casper grows up safe and sound.


Casper. A pity he couldn't show off his pretty tail in this pic.

Viki is my latest find. I saw this older kitten crossing the road to my blk when I was feeding Maomao one night about two and a half weeks ago. At first, Viki refused to come to me but did so after a while. I can still find Viki once in a while at my blk. The last time I fed her, she has a small balding patch on herside of her body, hope it's nothing serious.

Viki

Viki snoozing

Pixie

Pixie is doing very well in her home with mummy Esther and sister Oreo. She now has another brother and sister, Puma &Tiger. Amazing how her family grew! I heard baby Puma likes to play with Pixie’s tail so I’m trying to help Esther look out for any tail-look-alike toy.

Pixie

Oreo

Pixie & Oreo's fave snooze area

Yoyo

Yoyo has now grown twice her size (compared to when we first found her). Credit must be given to G who has looked after Yoyo so well and lovingly. Yoyo has been sterilised and has recovered from her injured paw (being so hyper, she lost a toe in an accident at home). Still very active despite all that has happened to this young girl. She is still seeking a good permanent home to call her own, a home where she'll live out her life in peace, comfort and love. Please help spread words. On behalf of Yoyo, G and I would like to thank from the bottom of our hearts the following kind sponsors who assisted Yoyo in her road to recovery from her dislocated pelvis:-

Calsifer ($20.00)
Hema Shivram ($30.00)
Joanne Chua ($200.00)
Julian Ng ($150.00)
Juliana Tan ($104.20)
Marion Ng ($50.00)
TC ($150.00)
Vegancat ($50.00)

Total bill: $754.20

Total sponsorship: $754.20

Yoyo's vet bills can be viewed here