Cats who teach me to fly…

Today is the second day of the three-day retreat at KMSPKS. I only sit in the afternoon, as my mornings are always busy when my home looks like a cat shelter.

I may not sit to meditate the way I used to, however, I try my best to attend the meditation sessions held at KMSPKS at least twice a week.

What does Dhamma exhaustion look like? The Buddha allowed four types of feelings and they are loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. Out of nowhere, these qualities came to mind yesterday while I was in the bathroom, and I started to examine myself. Surprisingly, they are still there. My desires remain strong, desires that do not cause harm to others and that is enough. I need to live!

My fingers are too exhausted to flip the pages of the Nikaya texts. I don’t read right now, but I remember the teachings. I have always been intrigued by Sarakani’s alcohol habit.

Last week, I was having tea at the “Real Food” vegan restaurant and ordered a glass of fermented sparkling lemonade. Strangely, it tasted like alcohol and I got tipsy. At that exact moment, I thought of Sarakani. I have always wondered what was on his mind when he was drinking. When the tipsiness kicked in, my mind went blank, zero content. Was that what was in Sarakani’s mind when he drank?

I’m definitely not done with this experiment, and when the time is right… it won’t be kombucha.

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We found a heavily pregnant stray calico near the chalet at Changi more than eight years ago. We didn’t want to abort her kittens and decided to let her have her kittens. 

I left mommy calico in my vacant flat at Sembawang and provided her with what she needed. She had a room all by herself and some of my rescues occupied the other room. I had CCTV cameras monitoring them. Calico delivered four wonderful kittens – three boys and a girl and Lohei was the only girl. 

Since I only visited them once a day, I provided them, hopefully, more than they need. I bought cat trees, comfortable beds and not forgetting carton boxes for them. 

Lohei behaved like a lady. She didn’t allow me to touch and was quick tempered. The four kittens were vocals while mommy was soft. 

Since Lohei was a black kitten, finding her a home was difficult. Mommy calico was adopted. As the kittens grew older, I moved them with me and they are eight-years-old now. 

Lohei had abnormal nostrils discharge. We sent her to Dr Wendy for checkup. X-rays and blood tests were done and Dr Wendy even flushed the discharge from her nostrils. She was sent home with some medication. 

We continued seeing discharge from her and it stopped after she completed the antibiotics. Shortly, the discharge returned again. We believe there may be growth somewhere along her nasal which cannot be found or seen by x-ray. 

It didn’t take long for Lohei to live till her final days. Yes, I felt the familiar heaviness again. We never get used to watching them go, don’t we? I turned away, disgusted by the feeling. 

I cleaned her and made sure she was comfortable. She called me and I petted her, assuring my love for her and not forgetting to thank her.

May the merits accumulated be dedicated to her favourable rebirth. 

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I’ve been feeding Huabao for about six years. Huabao had been drooling unusually for the past year and because she was still eating well, we didn’t want to touch or move her.

More than two months ago, out of nothing, the Town Council started to throw away everything that kind feeders left for the community cats, including water. I wrote to the officer at Jalan Basah Town Council to request to allow water to be placed at a corner and no matter how I begged them, they wouldn’t agree. I even took time to go to the rubbish chute to ask the cleaners to show mercy on the old cats as Singapore weather is always hot. They not only ignored me but also yelled at me.

In the end, we decided to bring Huabao home as we suspected that she may have kidney issues. I was struggling as to whether I should bring Curtain home as well, as both of them have been together for many years. I’ve also asked other feeders about what they think about bringing Curtain home with Huabao. They said he should be okay being alone on the ground.

I arranged a date for Huabao’s vet consultation as well as dental appointment. Everything went smoothly. Huabao does have kidney disease and she is on subcutaneous fluid on every other day. Dr Wendy extracted all her decayed teeth and now she is eating comfortably. She is totally comfortable at home.

After bringing Huabao home for a few days, two feeders came looking for me when I was feeding Curtain. I explained to them about Huabao’s conditions and one of them was expecting me to release her back to the community. I told her I can’t as she requires subcutaneous fluid. Another feeder who had been feeding her since she was a kitten came and from her, I got to know that Huabao is already 14-years-old.

I still go back to feed Curtain every night and leave a bowl of water like I always did. It is okay only for it to be thrown away by the cleaner the next morning. At least he gets water throughout night.

Every time after feeding the community cats at night, I would dedicate the merits for the cats’ safety. To me, what matters is always the intention.

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Monishu was hit by a taxi about two months ago. A local feeder witnessed the entire accident and called me immediately. Even though it was past midnight, we rushed him to VES. At the time, we were told he was fine and had only suffered abrasions on his backside and both front paws.

I brought him home after the consultation, and he was prescribed painkillers. However, we found it strange that Monishu wasn’t eating well and required force-feeding. Deciding to seek a second opinion, we took him to Dr. Anu. Her blood tests revealed that his liver values were high, so she prescribed liver supplements. Within three days of starting the supplements, Monishu’s appetite finally improved.

At home, Monishu is a perfect gentleman. He is gentle and demure, a stark contrast to his days as a community cat when he was known for chasing and fighting others. The nurse who suggested I rehome him when I originally took him in for sterilization must have seen the gentle of Monishu.

With his fierce expression and stripes, he looks just like Monnie, but he has a figure similar to Cashie. Because the way he walks and jumps also reminds us of Cashie, we decided to name him “Monishu”, a tribute to both Monnie and Cashie.

Every time I see him, I’m tempted to hug and kiss him, and he patiently sits there and let me show him as much affection as I want. Since he is tested positive for FIV, we decided it was best not to release him back outside. I truly believe he is living his best life at home now.

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