The Digital Awakening » Fei Por

New Ginger Kitten In The House

Peter Tan — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:55:29 +0000

Last week, Wuan went to the market and came back with more than groceries and breakfast. She brought a stinky and dirty ginger-coloured kitten back as well. She gave him a thorough bath after which he looked adorable with his fur clean and smelling nice. The intention was to clean him up, feed him and put him up for adoption.

After being with us for one week, we decided to keep him instead. Three felines is about as many as we can manage at the moment. Fei Por had not taken a liking to him. They both would hiss and take swipes at each other whenever Wuan brought them close together. That was the least of our concern. Fei Por stays outside. We did not want him running around outside anyway and would be keeping him indoors.

Ginger kitten that Wuan rescued from Pandan Perdana bus stop near the wet market.
Photo by Wuan.

The real test was whether Cheeky would accept him. They both would have to share the same room and same space indoors. I was skeptical. Cheeky was aggressive whenever other cats came into the compound. He would look out from the grille door and growl. The fur on his tail would become puffed. Wuan and I would not want to anywhere close to him during those times.

There were a few anxious moments after Wuan let the kitten into the house. Cheeky approached him cautiously and both stood frozen in close proximity, sizing each other up. True to his fashion, the kitten took a swipe at Cheeky. My heart skipped a beat. I was sure Cheeky would retaliate. It was not a pretty sight the last time Cheeky jumped on me and sank his fangs into my elbow.

Cute ginger kitten.
Photo by Wuan.

Cheeky took a few steps back and scooted off. What happened next surprised us. The kitten crouched behind a stack of old newspaper. Cheeky hid behind the coffee table. They then approached stealthily, pounced on each other and then ran away helter skelter in the opposite direction. This they repeated countless times. They were having fun! We finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing them warming up to each other so playfully.

We have yet to give him a name. That responsibility falls on Wuan again as she was the one who rescued the kitten. As for me, he has been keeping me occupied. He likes to climb onto my lap. I could not do much with him clambering all over and had to keep pushing him off. He would jump right back on again. I hope he outgrows this antic soon. My thights are now full of fine scars from him clawing his way up.

Cheeky In The Garden

Peter Tan — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 04:10:53 +0000

Cheeky checking out something from his new cage in the garden.

Cheeky has a free run inside the house but the farthest he has ever ventured outside was the garden. Even then, Wuan kept a close eye on him. We did not want him to go beyond the compound and traipse all over the neighbourhood and get injured, or worse, get hit by a car. This fear stemmed from our previous experience with Fei Por’s three kittens.

Cheeky posing for the camera in his new cage.

When he was younger, Wuan would put him in a harness and leash, and let him explore the garden. He would sniff and move cautiously among the grass, chew on a few blades at a time and was generally fascinated by the new sights, scents and sounds outside. As he grew bigger, he refused to let Wuan wear the harness on him. He has not gone out since.

Cheeky and Fei Por chewing grass.

Cheeky has not shown any urge to go out either. But we want him to get some sunshine and eat some grass every now and then. With that in mind, we got him a cage last week. It is only for confining him when he is in the garden. He seemed to enjoy being out again and happily chewed grass that poked up from under the cage.

Abandoned Kitten From Pandan Perdana Market

Peter Tan — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:24:53 +0000

Kitten cuddling up next to Fei Por.
Photo by Wuan.

Wuan rescued a kitten from the Pandan Perdana market last Sunday. It was mewing incessantly near a garbage bin. It was scrawny, scruffy and looked so fragile. As we had to go out, we left her with Fei Por in the compound. Unfortunately, Fei Por was not interested in mothering over the kitten as she did with Cheeky. When we came back in the evening, the kitten was nowhere in sight. We searched around the neighbourhood for a couple of hours without success.

Close up shot of kitten.
Photo by Wuan.

This morning, Wuan found the kitten a few houses away. It had a dislocated shoulder. Its front right leg was dangling limply to the body. I do not know how Wuan did it but she managed to pop the shoulder back into the socket. She left for work after that. The kitten was confined alone in Cheeky’s room for the whole day. We converted one bathroom for Cheeky to live in. We were not too sure how Cheeky would take to it as he can be rather aggresive at times. We though it was better to keep the two apart first.

Kitten sound asleep.
Photo by Wuan.

It was walking normally when we checked on him just now. It was as if nothing happened. It could even climb up the one step from Cheeky’s room to the hallway. We are glad it is fine now. We still cannot make out its gender. We would love to adopt it ourselves but we cannot possibly look after another cat. We are going to take him to the vet this weekend to have it put up for adoption. Hopefully he will get a good home.

Fei Por To Go On A Slimming Diet

Peter Tan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:30:46 +0000

Fei Por showing her tummy.
Photo by Wuan.

I went through more of the photos that Wuan took of Fei Por recently. The one above is incriminating. Fei Por needs to go on a slimming diet immediately. I do not want her to die of heart attack before her time. She should be around five years old (36 in cats years) now and has many more years ahead. I am going to get Wuan to cut down on her meal portions. It is for her own good. Putting her on a diet is one thing but how do you get a lazy cat to exercise?

Should We Rename Her Pork Chop?

Peter Tan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:46:42 +0000

Fei Por aka Pork Chop.
Photo by Wuan.

When Fei Por first came and made our home hers three years ago, she was already rotund, hence the name. Her idea of exercise was to walk from the basket where she slept and napped to her feeding bowl a mere meter away, and going out of the compound to do her business. In the three years that she has been with us, she had at least three litters of kittens but none survived. That was when we decided to spay her.

Occasionally, she would chase away female cats that dared to stray into her territory; male cats she allowed to come into the garden. That was how she got fleas on her and consequently the sore from licking the spot where the fleas made their home on her. That was also about all she did. Wuan even had to get a mouse trap to catch the rats that have been terrorising the garden. Fei Por just could not be bothered with the rodents scampering all over the place.

We have kept her in the house the past month because she is wearing a cone collar. We do not want her to get caught at the gate while squeezing through the grilles. The sore on her buttocks has healed. We will let her out after the scabs have fallen off, which is any time soon. Hopefully, she will not get anymore flea infestations after this.

She has balloned up even more since staying inside. She still gets the same amount of food. We attribute the obesity to her extremely sedentary lifestyle. She eats and sleeps only. The toys that get Cheeky excited do not work on her. She would just look at them nonchalantly. She would not move to allow me to pass even when she was blocking my way. That is how lazy she is.

If she continues putting on weight like this, she is going to resemble Totoro soon. We are not sure if she can go out through the grilles or not now. She already had problems going through the last few months. She definitely has to go on a diet after we let her out. It would be a tragedy the day we have to cut the grilles to release her should her belly gets stuck in between.