坏女人 vs Film Goddess

Much has been said about the Palin woman, such as her infamous gaffes that she'd committed when she was interviewed about her knowledge on foreign policy (her answer goes along the line of "Alaska is near to Russian and Canada"), but lots have been said about her being an animal- and environmental activists nightmare. Her list of misdemeanor to animals and possible environmental damage is just too long to mention - just do a search for "Sarah Palin and animals" on YouTube and you'll get an idea.

Read : Brigitte Bardot slams Sarah Palin as a 'disgrace to women'


(Chinese translator: 坏女人 means "bad woman")

Eye Drops

Antibiotic eye drops for Shiny



Eye drops for the beans




They are the same!

Almost 2 weeks have passed since we'd stopped applying eye drops on Shiny, and miraculously, her eyes have healed almost totally on their own, save for a little bit of the 3rd eyelids showing. It's a vast improvement from almost a month ago.


(Shiny, 28 Sep 08)


(Shiny, 17 Sep 08)

However, despite our feeding her twice a day (unless she's full from other's feeding) to try to maintain her weight, she seems to be still losing weight. L, the lady I've met has tried to take Shiny to the vet with the help of Damy (professional pet taxi), but both times, they failed to catch Shiny, who somehow managed to scoot away. And I can still remember how she struggled, bashed herself and became the screaming banshee the last time I tried to take her to the vet. Either she's really fearful of confined space or she doesn't want to go to the vet.

The person who put the blue collar on Shiny calls her JJ. Last week, that person left some dry food out for Shiny, which ended up being a mess that attracted thousands of ants - and this was just outside some residents' home. Once, I found 2 ant-infested piles (on Shiny's box and on the floor), which I had to clear and in the process, inadvertently killed some ants. :(

That kind of started my exchange of "love notes" with this person for a while. I first scribbled a note, which I left for him/her, hoping that he/she would stop littering.



When I got home, I prepared a more water-proof note.



Then stuck the note at Shiny's box the next morning. Haha! :P


That person even left a pack of open dry food (dunno is it for cat or dog?) in between the 2 flower pots...as if Shiny will know how to take food from the packet and feed herself? >_<"

Luckily, the house-owners (a Buddhist family) did not destroy my note. That person got my message and left an note in return for me. He/she had stopped leaving out leftover food, and I'd left my email for this person to contact me, on yet another note. All notes were left intact for several days and over the weekend, until I removed them today. :)

I must have been too free

Car decal by CWS



An old ad campaign by CWS years' ago


I still see it on the roads occasionally

Cute "smiling" car


Made in China


Also made in China...as I was recently informed (after news of the tainted milk scandal broke). And no, I didn't ask.

Buy 2 cans get 1 free woh...works out to be 80 cents per can. I'd tried some on HRH Coco, who seems to like it...think she's getting tired of Fussiecat. It must be too much of a good thing...

Feeding the fussy HRH

A pretty bowl, in a good large size...


...which I didn't buy it for HRH... Heh! I've been using microwaveable plastic bowls, or the discards from my old pottery class.

I was short of canned food one evening, and on the way home, went to buy this to feed Shiny, and gave the (clean) leftovers to try on Coco.


To my surprise, Coco took to it, and on the next night too.


But it costs more than Fussiecat. >_<"



Coco really knows how to pick and choose!


These (below) are cheaper, but all kena-ed rejected by HRH's QC, including the "kitten tuna pouch" from the same brand.


Rejected by HRH (Note: the actual food looks nothing like the picture)


Another reject! *Grrr...!!*

I must remember not to try these brand on HRH again. Sigh...

The Roundest Moon

The roundest moon of the year did not fall on the 15th night of the eighth lunar month (the day of the mooncake festival), but on the 16th (i.e. 15 Aug 2008), according to met. reports from overseas.


This was also the night that one could see the rare natural sight of the sun, earth and moon forming a straight line, if you're lucky.


At home...we saw a moon, a sun and the earth...we must be quite lucky. We even got to eat them!


They didn't quite form a straight line, but I guess that could be arranged, except that we've run out of earth...the yummiest flavour. Only half of earth is left, due to the effects of tummy warming and human mass destruction. >_<"

Four Digits

No, I'm not talking about 4D.

Pardon the blur photo, but  Coco's  hind paw...only has 4 digits???


Like that one meh?  
Not 5 digits meh?  *scratch head*

Catty Bom Bom

The cunning cat tail door stopper



A new kopi stall at Bedok interchange



The old stall which made very nice teh-c and kopi-c served in the traditional kopitiam cups was no longer there, and in its place is this Kopi Meow stall. The chatty owner told us he didn't want yet another "Ah Seng" or "Ah Heng" name for his stall, so he came up with something different and even took some pains to get the logo designed to his satisfaction. He took the name from the "cat poop coffee" aka Luwak coffee which comes from the excrement of civet cats and touted to be one of the bestest coffee!

I asked the owner: "So, do you like cats?"
He said he is kind to all animals, which I gathered means he is probably neutral. :)

BTW, the kopi-c is not bad for $1, or less. It was fragrant and does not leave a bitter aftertaste, but the teh-c can be improved.

Kitty Paraphernalia

Since the night Coco threw up onto her cat bed, I had no choice but to wash the cat bed, which won't do if I throw it into the washing machine. So boh pian, I had to wash it by hand and then figure out a way to hang it for faster drying.


Fortunately, uncle S always have strange paraphernalia around the house.

There are teeth marks and tears on the cat bed, caused by an itchy-mouthed Coco when she was younger.


When dry, the bed had a mild detergent smell, which was enough to deter (pun intended) Coco from sleeping in it. It took about 3 days before Coco finally accepted her bed. This is after all, her favourite cat bed out of the 2 cat beds.

The litter bin was also washed and scrubbed, usually once a month, or whenever I replace all the cat litter.


I think it got the stamp of approval from the bin inspector, the smell of detergent notwithstanding .


I tried something different and surprisingly, Coco does take to this canned food, at least initially.



The salmon cat treats with the kitty packaging, which ran out the other time. The contents are the same as the one with doggy packaging.



More cat grass for HRH.


I'll cut up the older, dried-up grass and pour them (& soil) over the pomergranate soil as fertliser.
Reuse & Recycle!


This is a cute plastic tote bag that I'd bought about 2 years' ago. It's cheap and even comes with a zipper. My mom likes it too, so I'd given it to her. I tried to buy it again, but it wasn't available anymore - the manufacturer seemed to have run out of this particular shade of kitty fabric!

Haiya!

Chinese translation of my blog - by Google :P

I found the Chinese version of this blog by accident, and because it was translated by some robot, the translation is not always accurate. :P

Just read the text on the right-hand column, e.g. those on Coco for Adoption and you'll get an idea. You may even have a good laugh like I did. Hahaha!

This para was translated into the Chinese para below:
Coco is a brown-orange tabby-tortiseshell, aged around 22 months (as at April 2008). She's vocal, has a cute, unique purrsonality and loves to snuggle with foster mom when sleeping. Just try not to carry her for too long.

Please leave a comment if you're interested in adopting Coco. :)

The Chinese translation by Google:
椰子是一種棕橙平紋- tortiseshell ，年齡約在22個月內（截至2008年4月） 。 她的聲樂，有一個可愛的，獨特的purrsonality和愛snuggle寄養媽媽時，睡覺。 只是盡量不要進行她的太久。

請留下評論如果您有興趣在通過可可。 ： ）

:PP

Anyhow call "cat town" report

Kitty debate divides residents in 'cat town'
CARS ALONG JALAN PEMIMPIN SWERVE DANGEROUSLY TO DODGE CATS
By Ho Lian-yi
July 21, 2008

Pizza despatch rider Syed Faizal Mohsen, 25, would like to know, after getting into a crash because of one.

The Ngee Ann Polytechnic student, who works part-time, was riding a company-issued motorcycleon 6 Jul near Bishan, at Jalan Pemimpin, an area he said is 'notorious for cats'.

He was delivering pizza at around 8.50pm when he saw from the corner of his eye a stray white cat dash across the road.

He braked heavily and was thrown off his vehicle.

Mr Syed Faizal, who had cuts and bruises from the accident, said: 'I'm a cat lover so I didn't want to hit the cat.'

Two security guards who work nearby called an ambulance and he was sent to hospital for outpatient treatment.

The two guards told The New Paper on Sunday that Mr Syed Faizal was not the only person who had had mishaps because of the stray cats.

One of the guards, Mr Affendi Ismail, 37, said he had witnessed some of these accidents.

He said: 'The cats, they just cross the road, it's very dangerous. Sometimes, the cars try to avoid the cat and they will swerve. It's dangerous for pedestrians like me.'

His colleague, known only as Das, said: 'Every week, one or two cats will surely be hit by a car.'

Just a day before the pizza despatch rider accident, Mr Affendi said that he saw a car hitting a cat and injuring it.

And the day before that, a cat was killed in another road accident in the area, he added.

Mr Affendi said that there were many cats in the area because someone had been feeding them.

He claimed that one of the feeders, who arrived after Mr Syed Faizal was sent to hospital, had made sure the cat was sent to a vet.

But when told about the despatch rider who was also hurt, she seemed 'expressionless'.

MISSING

On 8 Jul, The New Paper on Sunday met the feeder, an executive secretary in her 40s who wanted to be known only as Ms Ong.

She was petite, bespectacled, and was hefting a backpack.

Ms Ong said that what Mr Affendi said was 'prejudiced'. She claimed that she had told him she was 'concerned for both parties'.

She said she knows that the rider was receiving treatment, but what about the poor cat?

'It is also a life,' she said.

As for the cat population boom cited by the security guard, she said that the number of cats there have actually dwindled by more than half since she first started her nightly feeding at least eight years ago.

'Many have gone missing,' she said.

Perhaps pythons have been eating them or residents have been trapping them, she suggested.

Ms Ong admitted that she has had some run-ins with unhappy residents, and said that she has sterilised the cats. She believes that she must have neutered more than 100 cats at the vet in the last eight years.

She agreed to let The New Paper on Sunday follow her on her daily feeding.

Her boyfriend, who lives in the east of Singapore, also joined her.

Pointing to one group of cats, she said: 'There used to be 20 cats here.

'Now only five.'

As for the cats being a traffic hazard, she said that it works both ways. In the last six months, more than 20 cats have disappeared or died, some possibly to vehicle accidents, she said.

'People don't think of cats, they only think of people, and their cars,' she said.

While some people who visited and worked in the area said that the cats did not inconvenience them or pose a traffic hazard, others, such as Madam Ng, 68, a housewife, called them a disturbance.

She said cats sometimes invade her kitchen to get at the food and leave their droppings in her garden.

However, another resident, a pharmaceutical salesperson in her 40s who wanted to be known only as Judy, said that she was surprised that there were complaints, especially about the cats causing traffic accidents.

'You hardly see them,' she said, adding that they appeared only when a feeder was around.
________________________________________________________________

Stray cat problem: Does neutering work?

1. The total number of cats being impounded by Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) over the last three years has been falling:
# 2005: 5,518

# 2006: 5,134

# 2007: 3,777

2. Does a trap, neuter and return policy work?

Sterilising a cat helps to prevent procreation. However, sterilised cats can pose other problems, such as when they go into houses and defecate or take food from the premises. It would depend on the community of the estate if they are willing accept a trap, neuter and return scheme.

3. What is AVA's policy when it comes to people who feed cats?

People should not indiscriminately feed cats and litter the area. They should, as far as possible, find homes for the cats, have the cats sterilised, or surrender unwanted cats to the authorities.

4. What can you do if there is a stray-cat problem in the area?

AVA provides loan of cat traps to residents troubled by stray cats. It is a free service. Residents may contact AVA's Centre for Animal Welfare and Control, 75 Pasir Panjang Road, to arrange for a loan of traps. (Tel:1800-4761600)

- Information from Mr Madhavan Kannan, Head of AVA's Centre for Animal Welfare and Control
________________________________________________________________

SHOULD THE FEEDING OF STRAY CATS BE BANNED?

SOME residents at affected housing estates are in favour of making the feeding of stray cats in housing estates an offence because it could cause the population to increase further.

While some people have been fined for feeding wild monkeys, there is no rule against the feeding of stray cats.

Experts have said that feeding monkeys changes their dietary habits and makes them aggressive when they are denied food.

Be they cats or monkeys, Mr Wong Tuan Wah, National Parks Board's (NParks) director of conservation, said: 'We do not allow feeding of stray animals in our parks.' *

Under the Parks and Trees Act, monkey feeders can be fined up to $50,000 and/or jailed up to six months. NParks also increased the composition fine from $250 to $500 in February.

While it is not an offence to feed cats in housing estates, those who do so can be booked for littering if they dirty the surroundings.

Mr Chong Gid Chuan, 38, a manager, said he found the feeding of cats 'very dirty'.

Madam Hau, 55, an assistant general manager, said that she would be fully supportive of a ban. She claimed that one cat that was 'maintained' by a feeder loved to go into her lawn and leave droppings behind, and it was 'very smelly'.

But others were against the idea of a ban. Ms Deirdre Moss, executive officer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), said: 'The SPCA objects strongly to the suggestion of banning the feeding of stray cats. It is an extremely shortsighted suggestion, and not humane.'

SPCA has a voucher programme for the sterilisation of strays, which enables members of the public to take a stray animal to a participating veterinary clinic for sterilisation. SPCA pays the cost.

Mr Marcus Loo, 28, a businessman selling pet products, said that as long as feeding was done discreetly and cleaning up was done afterwards, he had no problem with it.

He said: 'If you really take out the majority of cats in the area, in a month's time, other cats will just take over the territory.'

Video editor Farah Iqbal, 26, said that cat-feeding is not comparable to monkey-feeding, since cats do not become aggressive.

A resident in the Jalan Pemimpin area, who wanted to be known only as Judy, said: 'Some cat-feeders are responsible people who sterilise the cats. If the population of cats is under control now, why can't we feed the cats?'

(Source: http://www.tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,171225,00.html)

* I laughed out loud when I read this part... :P

Procreation : Humans & Animals

I agree with gist of the letter. Like animals, some humans need to be neutered too.

ST Forum, 25 July 2008

IMPROVING BIRTH RATES
Procreation has everything to do with affordability

I REFER to last Saturday's letter by five mothers, each with many children, 'Extend benefits to fifth and subsequent children'.

While the Government should do more to arrest the falling birth rate, I absolutely disagree on extending benefits to bigger families. Contrary to what the five mothers said, procreation has everything to do with affordability. If you ask the Government to contribute, sad to say, you are already in way over your head.

We live in Singapore, a small island with no natural resources, so we can survive only by being pragmatic. How many times have we seen couples struggle to raise a big family reported in the newspapers?

There was a security guard who fed his family of four children with just a packet of rice for lunch - that's one packet of rice shared by six. Then there was a family of criminals whose offences ranged from theft to drug trafficking. The list goes on and on.

When your family grows too big, there are many constraints. First, the attention parents can give to each child becomes limited. Second, each child's development is hindered by its parents' limited financial resources.

I am not saying having many children is bad. It's bad only when you know it's not economically viable. No matter how much you love children, it should not be an excuse to have as many as you like.

This is the difference between humans and animals. We exercise constraint and use our judgment. That's why we can have family planning but animals cannot.

I agree with the Government: Those who can should have more, but those who cannot should exercise restraint. What is the point of having more children, when you cannot raise them properly? Eventually, the innocent children are the ones who suffer.

Chua Boon Hou

"The Sidewalk Beauty - Stray Cats of Singapore" Exhibition

This photographic exhibition that celebrates the beauty of our own Singaporean "longkang" cats (aka drain cats) is happening on the 25 and 26 July 2008.

Click on the images for bigger view.

Donch forget we are Singapore citizens also, you know!

My scanning sux, and there's supposed to be a website address below, which says "www.straycatsofsingapore.com.sg". I tried and found that it should be www.straycatsofsingapore.com and even then the website will be officially launched only on 25 July.

Anyhow, it might be worth a visit and to buy the photo book if part of the proceeds goes to charity.

Natonal Day Parade '08 fireworks preview

I think this must be the NDP 2008 rehearsal's fireworks tonight... managed to catch the last bit of it.

Readers' love stories

On the "Your Voice" page of this bi-monthly publication by the Central Singapore CDC (which stands for Community Development Council), the two most touching love stories were published, and which won their writers a $20 book voucher each.


The surprising thing (or unless it's because there were few letters?!?) was that both love stories are not about human relationships, but about the writers' cats!


The first story is about a cat called Lucky (click photo to read).


The 2nd one is about a cat called Snowy, who incidentally looks like Simbal (with his crossed eyes!) from Metta Cattery. :P

(click photo to read)

What does it mean when the grassroots authorities publish stories about pet cats like these?

Hahaha! :)

Beautiful story

I'm not a sports fan (though I don't mind ogling at sportsmen/sportswomen with Ooh-la-la~! physiques :P), but I love this beautiful story, which perhaps reflects the true spirit of the Olympics.

ST 11 July 2008
A continuing series on memorable Olympic stories. Tomorrow: Persistence

Sportsmanship: Jesse Owens & Lutz Long
'Hitler must have gone crazy watching us embrace'
By Rohit Brijnath

A GREAT long jumper is struggling to qualify for an Olympic final. A rival steps in to help him. It seems at best a nice gesture, an old-fashioned extending of a hand of decency, nothing more than that.

But it is much more than that, which is why for 72 years people continue to resurrect this story as an example of Olympic man at his best.

Jesse Owens, the jumper who was struggling, was an athletic genius. He was also black. It should not have mattered but of course it did.

It mattered in America, where he often ate breakfast in the car because he was not allowed into many restaurants.

And it mattered in Germany in 1936, when Adolf Hitler was propagating his despicable theories of the superiority of the Aryan race, and when in some newspapers, pictures of an ape appeared alongside Owens.






24-CARAT FRIENDSHIP: German Lutz Long's (left) generous gesture towards American Jesse Owens was a moment of beauty in a time of ugliness at the 1936 Olympic Games. -- PHOTO: AFP


On the day of the long jump, Owens ambled down the runway in practice and casually ran into the pit - only to be horrified when the judges considered it a qualifying jump and raised the red flag for a foul.

Suddenly, only two qualifying jumps remained.

Owens again overstepped the take-off board. Foul.

One jump remained.

Lutz Long, a gifted German long jumper, was blond, blue-eyed and the archetypal Aryan. Owens was his opponent and the better jumper. Still, in an act of startling generosity, the German approached the American and pointed out that the qualifying mark was so easy that if Owens took off from behind the board he would still make the final.

Owens listened, took off from a foot behind the take-off board, and qualified.

Then the two men duelled in the final. Owens led. Long equalled him. Hitler applauded. But Owens was too good eventually, and when he broke the Olympic record with his last leap, Long was the first to embrace him.

Owens understood immediately the enormity of the German's gesture, a moment of beauty in a time of ugliness.

'It took a lot of courage for him to befriend me in front of Hitler,' the American said later.

'You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Lutz Long at that moment. Hitler must have gone crazy watching us embrace.'

Long died in the war, but the story had one remarkable postscript recounted in Donald McRae's brilliant book, In Black And White.

In 1951, Owens returned to Berlin and to the Olympic Stadium, and in the dressing room later, a young boy asked him to autograph a scrapbook.

As Owens scrawled his name, he noticed a familiar picture. He took the scrapbook and said: 'That's Lutz Long.'

And the boy, Karl, looked at him and said: 'My father, sir.'

No Singaporean should have to beg: MCYS

Straits Times Forum, 2 July 2008
No S'porean should have to beg: MCYS

I REFER to last Thursday's letter by Mr Tan Say Joon, in which he said he had been approached by Singaporeans begging in order to eke out a living. He urged the authorities to do more for individuals who cannot look after themselves and their families, no matter how hard they try.

Singaporeans in financial distress do not have to beg. Help is available to them, including with their medical bills. Needy Singaporeans can approach their community development council, family service centre or grassroots leaders. If they do not know where to go, they can call the ComCare Call Service on 1800-222-000, which will link them up with the right agencies.

Members of the public can call the ComCare Call Service to report cases of begging so the ministry can assess and help those in genuine financial distress apply to appropriate agencies for financial, employment and other assistance. This is the best way to help these needy people.

We wish to thank Mr Tay for his feedback.

Jason Wong
Director
Rehabilitation, Protection and Residential Services
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I would really like to believe what this person from MCYS says each time I see those old folks digging their arms into rubbish bins to hunt for an empty drink can, or selling tissues in the streets, which so many are doing.

Even if the poor does get help, how much will they really get? Would it really be enough? What are the conditions and the red tape involved?

As it is, getting the $300 "free money" of growth dividends from the CPF is so hard for the old folks already (see letter below), what more having to prove one's needy circumstances to the authorities?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Straits Times Forum, 3 July 2008
Why make it so hard?

MY GRANDMOTHER, Madam Lim Hong, received a letter dated April 29 from the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board which contained a cheque for growth dividends in the amount of $300.

The validity of the cheque is 90 days for encashment with any OCBC branch office. The last day is stated as July 28, both on the cheque and the payment advice.

My grandmother is now 99 years old, bedridden and staying in a nursing home. I have two affidavits from the management that she has appointed me to handle her private matters. Armed with the cheque, the two affidavits and her IC, I went to one of the OCBC branch offices.

The officer told me that the bank was willing to encash the cheque but could not do so after checking with the CPF Board.

They made the phone call from their back office while I was waiting at the counter.

It seems that I had to visit the CPF office personally to get an authorisation from them in order that the cheque could be encashed.

I had already spent two hours on this matter. If I were to visit the CPF office and then OCBC again, I would have to spend at least another three hours on such a trivial matter.

With much regret, I am returning the original cheque with copies of the two affidavits and a copy of my grandmother's IC.

While I appreciate the kind gesture from the CPF Board on rewarding our senior citizens who have indeed built up this country, I cannot help feeling disappointed at the way the board is handling the administration of this matter.

On behalf of my grandmother, I thank the board for recognising the generation of solid citizens who have played a vital role in making Singapore what it is today.

Juliet Hasselblad (Ms)

Pet Chime

Oh look! It's the doorbell for pets!

According to comforthouse.com, it is possible to use the Pet Chime both indoors and outdoors, so that the pets can inform their owners when they would like to be inside or out.

Eh... we definitely don't need this in our home if we still want to have some sort of peace and quiet!

:P

Pets are like our kids

I have been thinking about them throughout the day.

Our thoughts are with Xin Xin, daddy's gal at the KXBCY household, who is now at the vet hospital, battling kidney failure.

Our thoughts are also with Pebbles, a community cat cared for by Veganmeowies. Pebbles has cancer. It's the first time I see Pebbles' photo, and I just love that picture of her and her calm demeanor.

I went home and told my furkid (ya, the bratty one who disturbs my sleep every night) : please stay healthy, ok?

That's all I ask of her, at least for now.

Toys for all

I saw these pictures on the web by chance. They are meant to be home accessories for the beans, but I thought they will make perfect furniture or toys for the kitties too.

Special curvy, kidney-shaped contraption ...for the beans to put drinks? Snacks?? I wonder...

Colourful bird kitchen magnet

Community Cats Special *

What is so special about these photos of community cats?


Tortie Mimi


Tiger


Tabby2


* Spud - the only non-community cat in this post


Shiny - taken when he had eye infection


Sugar, our super cuddly community cat


Miu Miu - the very smart cat from my old estate; she still comes when I call her


Tortie Mimi, repeat "victim"


Tortie Mimi, again...


Affectionate Kiddy


Ginger from another estate


Pedigree from another estate, good-looking and very tame, quite likely abandoned

:)