Cheeky In The Garden

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

Cheeky The Cat

Cheeky the cat
Our pet cat Cheeky.

Cheeky is 24 years old already, in cat years that is. He has been with us for two years and has grown up to be a handsome feline. His fur is generally white except for a small patch on his tail that looked more like a smudge than part of him. Other than that, he is pink all over – his ears, his paw pads and everything else not covered by his white fur. His nose gets even pinkier when he is excited.

Although he is neutered, he can be aggresive at times. The multiple scars on Wuan’s hands and legs are testament to that. He has been very gentle to me, though. Whenever I took noon naps, he would hop onto the bed, purr loudly into my ear to get me to extend my hand for him to rub his face against. If I ignored him, he would put his front paws on my belly and gently knead until I extended my hand for him.

On the other hand, he only responds to our calls as and when he wishes. The times that he responded, he would amble from wherever he was at, usually from the back of the house, and nonchalantly walk pass us. He would then lie down, keeping slightly more than arm’s length distance from us so that we would not be able to touch him. Those times, we wished we had adopted a puppy instead.

Year Of The Cat At 1 Utama 2010

The theme for Chinese New Year at 1 Utama Shopping Centre is cats, not just any cat but the famous Maneki Neko from Japan. Wait a minute! There is no cat in the Chinese zodiac. There is a tiger but are they the same? Nevermind that. Being cat persons and being collectors of the Maneki Neko figurines, Wuan and I had fun taking photographs of these giant feline sculptures at the Oval of 1 Utama.

One of the Maneki Neko greeting shoppers at 1 Utama
One of the Maneki Neko greeting shoppers at 1 Utama.

Close up of the Maneki Neko trio at 1 Utama
Close up of the Maneki Neko trio at 1 Utama.

View of the Maneki Neko from the ground floor at Oval 1 Utama
View of the Maneki Neko from the ground floor at Oval 1 Utama.

Peter Tan posing in front of the Maneki Neko at ground floor facing the Oval 1 Utama
Peter Tan posing in front of the Maneki Neko at ground floor facing the Oval 1 Utama.
Photo by Wuan.