I needed a retreat and I signed up. The retreat was held at KMSPKS, organised by Buddha Dhamma Foundation.
The retreat wasn’t an easy one. With at least 4 hours of meditation every day, it really trained me well and I benefited so much. It was a break through for me. Ajahn Karuniko exhibited a calm and impartial mind which I wish to emulate.
I’ve never heard about Ajahn Karuniko but I would like to know his teachings more:).
It was an unexpected experiences. It completely replaced the unpleasant retreat I had at Jhana Grove last year. I have learnt that we need to learn something whenever we attend a retreat. The retreat must be beneficial. Otherwise, we’ll be wasting our time and money.
A complete group photo! This is what Jhana Grove didn’t give me. The photo was cropped from where I was standing. That was petty. Not admirable. Unpleasant.
According to the organiser, another 2 similar retreats will be held within this year. I look forward to attend and I will make the retreat worthwhile and will practise diligently!
I received a text from someone who saw him and this boy looks like my community cat, Tigger. I rushed quickly to the scene. I still thought that it was Tigger, Mel knew he wasn’t. Because I thought he was hit by a car and his mouth was bleeding, the impact from the vehicle may cause his face to look different! Ha!
When we arrived at the vet clinic, I realised that he was wearing a collar. I was confused at that moment and I texted to Xiumin and check with her if Tigger was at the feeding ground. YES! He was spotted there! There was a name and contact number on Ayob’s collar. We tried to contact Ayob’s owner, however, the number didn’t seem to be working anymore. Shortly his owner called me.
Because Ayob has an owner, we couldn’t release him to his owner if we were to go ahead with the treatment so I told his owner that I couldn’t return her. His owner made a big hoo-haa and her speech wasn’t pleasant to hear. After checking with the authorities on the rights of a rescuer, we decided to return Ayob to his owner.
At first his owner was happy but shortly Ayob’s owner called me, apologised and decided to give up Ayob because they have no time to take care of him after the surgery. So Mel and I created a contract that they agreed to transfer the cat’s ownership to me. When we were about to meet up and sign the contract, Ayob’s owner tried to negotiate with us. So we came off with another contract that they’ll settle the vet bills through a instalment payment. Not until all payment is paid up will we transfer the cat’s ownership to them.
Ayob has a broken cleft palate and two broken bones on his front left leg.
It cost more than 7k for two operations to fix everything. He fell from high floor. All Mel and I hope is that his owner would keep their word and settle the bill.
All surgeries went smoothly. The cleft palate surgery and bone surgery were done on a different day. A pin and plate were inserted into his broken bones to keep it intact. He’ll need at least two months to heal. I guess I’ll have to keep him a little while…
So far Ayob has been doing well and began to be playful. This coming Thursday, I’d have to send him to the clinic to clean his wound on his neck as a tube was inserted for feeding purposes and the following Wednesday for removing the feeding tube and stitches for his leg!
At first we thought he had ear infection. Then his condition got worse. We sent him for acupuncture and was told that he had a stroke. So we decided to send him for a second opinion. The vet deduced that Tigger probably has a growth in his brain. He still could sense and feel but his right eye wasn’t blinking anymore. He had lost his right eyesight and he was getting weaker and weaker.
Mel and I took turns to feed him and he ate very little. He had to be on palliative care.
I didnt expect brain tumor would strike a cat at this young age. Tigger was only four and a half-years-old. I saw him running for his life when he was barely three to four months old. He was hungry. In order to survive, he quickly had his bites of food and ran away as fast as he could before the feral cats caught him. I have no idea where such a young kitten came from. SJI is a school, who in the world would abandon a kitten in a school where the school management had already planned to trap all cats!
I approached him and took him home. He was all quiet in the car. Not struggling or hissing. A friendly boy.
Tigger when he was a young boy and still very young now…
I wish I could do more for him… If miracle is not going to happen, I hope his suffering would end with a mind and body at ease soon. Whatever merits accumulated would be dedicated to his smooth and peaceful journey.
They called her Fox. The cat who was abandoned at the void deck of Sembawang. At first, she didn’t know how to hide herself from rain. She simply sat under a small plant and let the heavy rain poured on her. We had to give up our umbrellas to shelter her from rain. I put a big carton box on top of the plants above her. As time passed by, she was forced to learn to survive as a stray. Sadly, she disappeared for a few days. I put up a notice at the lift and someone told me she was found dead early in the morning. It’s always hard not to be sad… but it was not unexpected.
I wish I had a better photo of her. If only our authority is strict on the law on pets abandonment. Otherwise, cats like Fox would continue to suffer.
Hearty is a long life cat. I hope he felt safe and happy from the day I took him home. He was a big eater, I served him at least 2 different types of dishes everyday because I really love to see him eat.
What we knew is his owner moved and left him at their corridor and he was taken care by another owner who lived on the same floor and later the owner shifted as well and left him on the ground floor. That was how I noticed him and began feeding him. One day, he was so weak on his hind leg and I decided to give him a home where he could rest and not worried about humans, rain, food and water.
According to the residents there, Hearty was around 15-years-old.
Like any old beings, Hearty wasn’t easy to take care. He was definitely a good boy, but it wasn’t easy to do subcutaneous fluid on him. However, giving him supplements on a daily basis was an easy task. Thanks Hearty!
Ever since Hearty left, there is plenty of leftover food in his room. Like Benjo, there was never one day I had to worry if he had eaten or was eating.
Be it be Benjo, Nagar, Futian, Fox or Hearty, may we meet again and practise the Dhamma together one day.
We all know that pigeons are often being culled by our authorities although our authorities often ensure us that humane measures would be taken when managing pigeons population. However, about 30 pigeons were culled at Yishun last month.
Poisoning of pigeons is still a practice in Singapore today. The kind human beings fight to save and the unkind ones think it’s the right thing to do. This group of people probably enjoy watching the process of a dying pigeon. Pigeons that were poisoned died a slow death. I remember a few years back while waiting for Acres to arrive at the pigeons’ poisoning ground, I took a few videos of them lying on the floor with their body twitching. I need not have to feel them in order to recognise their pain, I knew these birds were suffering and dying slowly.
Two days ago, while heading to Mel’s place, I saw a pigeon sitting in the rain and how long had it been raining? I think two hours. The pigeon’s eyes were covered with pus (I thought so at that point of time). She was drenched. I moved her aside and being not satisfied with only putting her aside, I decided to contact Acres. Everytime when I contact Acres, I had to beg them to pick the bird, if not I would volunteer to send the unhealthy pigeons to Acres. This time round, Acres completely refused to pick up and accept the bird even I’ve volunteered to send it over.
There was nothing I can do so I posted the pigeon on Facebook and seek for help. I didn’t know that there is another wildlife rescue team. They are called JK wildlife. I was glad that they were willing to pick the pigeon. I waited patiently for their arrival. The man who came picked her examined her. He said both of the pigeon’s eyes were infected and he opened her mouth and told me the pigeon has canker. He said there is no cure for canker and euthanasia was the best solution. Being hard-headed, I threw lots of questions to him. Before handing the pigeon to him, I did a quick search about canker etc… He tried very hard to persuade me to euthanize the pigeon. There were evidences that birds with canker were cured. Yes, it’s a virus. Covid19 is a virus too… Yes, there is no medication for viruses… but there is always a genuine quality in every true rescuer, that is we don’t give up until we try! I rejected his offer and keep the pigeon. Meantime, someone responded to my Facebook post and willing to pay for the pigeon’s vet bill and to foster her. We arranged to meet at vet clinic the next day.
The two kind ladies brought a nice carrier for the pigeon while I carried the pigeon with a carton box:). We were there at 3pm but the clinic was closed and opened at 5pm, so we came back again after 2 hours. It was a long consultation. The two ladies were new in rescuing birds but so far they are doing a good job and still learning. Me, being enthusiastic listen attentively to what the vet said. We threw lots of questions and I’ve learnt so much!
What was in the pigeon’s eyes were not pus, they were debris. The vet used 2 cotton buds to squeeze it out and finally I saw the pigeon’s eyes. No, the pigeon did not have canker. She was all skinny and lack of nutrients. Just like cats, blood testing, x-ray, culture test etc… can be done to the birds as well. The vet explained what food to give, how to take care, the ideal environment for her recovery etc… Oh, the bird is a fledgling, a new word I learned that day! Vet prescribed two types of antibiotics for her and told us that the chances for the pigeon to survive is 50/50. Yay! There’s a 50% chance of surviving.
I didn’t allow the fosterer to pay the bill. I was actually glad for they are willing to take care of her. They showed me videos of how they feed the pigeon and I can see the pigeon’s eyes are bright, just like BG!
At the fosterer’s place.
Mel was on a holiday for five days and I had to go to her place to cat sit twice a day and do all the feedings by myself. In the midst of a tight schedule, I’m happy that I’m still able to patiently help an animal in need.
In this final stage of my life, I’ve decided to dive into Avian medicine. There aren’t many people who care about pigeons, pigeons are merely nuisance. There is hardly anyone who would take the initiative to help them. We can’t feed them. I didn’t know they are actually bony and lacking of everything. Thank you animals for helping me to grow and thank you to those who support and help me to grow and also those who have helped and still helping with my rescues. Always appreciating!
Due to the debris in the pigeon’s eyes, she was not able to see and I am glad this happened at that point of time. According to the vet, sick bird should be kept in a quiet dark room for recovery. With this picture we now know why curiosity kills a cat!
“Bhikkhus, dwell with yourselves as an island, with yourselves as a refuge, with no other refuge; with the Dhamma as an island, with the Dhamma as a refuge, with no other refuge. ~ SN 22.43
“Enough, Vakkali! Why do you want to see this foul body? One who sees the Dhamma sees me; one who sees me sees the Dhamma. For in seeing the Dhamma,Vakkali, one sees me; and in seeing me, one sees the Dhamma.” ~ SN 22.87
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I highly recommend reading the sutta translated by Piya Tan. His "Laymen Saints" has been an inspiration to many lay people.
Cats who teach me to fly... 