Cats who teach me to fly…

Finally, after trapping Xiaofu(小福), I closed the feeding at Sembawang.

I started feeding her shortly after I moved to Sembawang. She has three other siblings, her mummy and we suspected one to be her uncle. We named her uncle Koufu(口福), He had an accident and the rest went missing.

I estimate Xiaofu to be 10 years old. After staying in Sembawang for three years, I moved to Bendemeer. Before I moved there, we rented a place in Hougang for roughly a year to house all our rescues. For at least seven years, I had been going back to Sembawang on every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday to feed her. I had a feeder to help me on other days. I didn’t really have an evening to myself on weekends and last evening I felt so “stress-free”. Stress-free in the sense that I no longer have to think what food to bring for the cats, as each of them like different types of food and I had to prepare for them.

Xiaofu was trapped last Friday evening. I wasn’t expecting her to go into the trap. After a quick dinner, I came back and found her in the trap. I was so happy and quickly drove to the school and took her.

I felt leaps of joy and still find it hard to believe that I finally closed the feeding at Sembawang and coupled with a little sadness because Sparkie, Twinkle and Xiaomao whom I had been feeding, were still there. The reason why I continued to go back to feed them was because Xiaofu only recognises me and would only come and eat food from me. She was always hiding in the school which we have no access.

Now that Xiaofu has come home, I’ve to also stop going back because there is nothing left for me to do anymore. Sparkie, Twinkle and Xiaomao have two feeders feeding them every day and the feeders wanted to continue feeding them and there is nothing for me to worry about them anymore. The feeders and I will be keeping in touch.

I’ll use the time I used to spend going to Sembawang to read and understand the Buddha’s teachings, the suttas. Except for Saturdays, when I may want to take a break to play squash, watch a movie, have dinner, etc…

For now, I would like to see the cats at Sembawang at least once or twice a week. It’s unlikely that the number of days visiting them would increase, instead, it would more likely to gradually decrease…

We gave Xiaofu a carton box just in case she needed to hide on her first day. The next morning, I found the carton box torn apart, and at the same time she seemed more at ease and has begun to knead all the time when I call out her name. When I was feeding her at Sembawang, I would call out her name loudly. I’m doing the same thing now, to remind her that she’s safe.

Gradually I hope she’ll be less fearful and come out of the cage and join the other cats.