I had been calling Taylor for 2 days for durian but she didn’t come to me. It was unlike her but I didn’t think anything serious could happen to her. Perhaps, she just didn’t want to eat.
On the third day after I got up from meditation session, I saw her trying to eat in the kitchen, she looked so horrible with her tongue sticking out and immediately I knew something was terribly wrong with her.
I got Mel to send her to the vet immediately on that evening. We ran a comprehensive blood test on her and the results didn’t look good. Our regular vets weren’t on duty and it was the first time we visited the clinic. The vet said she had jaundice, whereas I couldn’t find a single yellow spot on Taylor.
Taylor’s blood test result.
When Taylor came home after the check up, I told myself I will take care of her just like I had taken care of Burry.
Like Burry, Taylor didn’t want to eat. I had to feed her 1ml by 1ml. Gave her both chinese supplements and western medication. Fed her 4 times a day. 1ml after another. Finally on the third day she looked better.
This was how she looks like on the third day and she is so much better today although she is still not eating by herself or she simply wants me to feed her. Taylor knows I adore her. Naughty girl!
After Taylor completes her antibiotics, we are sending her for another blood test. I hope everything would go back to normal. Alright, its time to feed her again!
“Anyone home? HDB!” I always froze when I hear someone knocking on my door. Damn it! Must it be this way? No, I didn’t open the door and I never like to open the door. “Just leave my items inside my shoe rack and stop knocking on my door!”
Yes, I froze and started to find solutions again for my rescues… “What housing should I rent? That would cost a lot and there will still be complaints. Who can I approach for help? Is there really no way out for us? Do we always have to move around? What should I prepare next?” It all came into my mind again and again and it was really beating me up!
No… I will face them. I will face what’s coming. They will come knocking on my door again. They want me to remove all of them. And of course I won’t do it! I will stick with them. If I remove them, I will be charged for abandonment. I can neither keep or remove them. So this is how the policies work!
Rescuers would be busy finding a place to rent when HDB or AVS approach. A letter will be sent to us to ask us remove our rescues. We had to move from one place to another just to keep our rescues safe. Little do we know that we are never safe. We are always looking for a safe haven for our cats. As long as there are humans around, we will never be safe!
There is no difference renting a landed property, private condominium or living in a HDB flats, there will always be complaints and we had to move again and again. And these had happened to other rescuers. They keep moving from one landed property to another, from condominium to HDB, from HDB to HDB, to and forth… with just one complaint from the resident.
Transporting our rescues is like dealing with drugs or human trafficking. We have to move them in the wee hours. Best if no one sees or hear or know about it! Every move and every step, we have to be caution not to get caught and no one sees.
And we became sinful rescuers. Always in the mercies of others. We are the law breakers.
I probably wouldn’t open the door again. But I will expect their calls. I am ready for AVS to come. There is no way for me to run. Since there is nothing I can control, there is nothing I should be worried about.
With a calm mind, I believe I am able to handle anything that comes unexpectedly.
Snowy was rescued on the same day when Awesome was knocked down by a vehicle. I didn’t really notice her until the black cat walked towards her. What I saw was a big lump of unmovable white cotton. So big that I had to get a closer look. Gosh! Another abandoned kitten. So badly neglected by her owner. Without hesitation, I picked her up and went straight to the car. I put her on my chest and she just stared at me as if she had been waiting for me for a very long time.
Look at her paws and face. She has lost so much fur. Melanie is fostering her until she gets back to her health then we will start with the rehoming.
She has been eating well so far. Pee and poop ok. Active as well but Melanie didn’t feel safe at all and wanted to send her to the vet. I am completely fine with it as it eases my mind as well.
I wonder how she would look like in the next three months. Will she be like Pearlie who looks
Who took Awesome away from his comfort zone and caused his death?
Awesome was found about 150m away from his comfort zone. Hit by a vehicle and died on the spot.
I have never seen him even stepping onto the carpark. A smart cat who avoided danger zones. He was always, yes, always sitting comfortably around the “bushes”, especially when his stomach was more than 100% full. No matter how I called him for meal, he would look at me with his half-opened eyes and not moving a muscle. He was filled up. So filled up that only his eye lid moves! I would then shake my head and walk away and pass by him again, look at his lazy eyes, shoke my head and walked away again, until I had done with all my feedings then I would go lure him out just to pet him.
Awesome, a beautiful Siamese cross who was abandoned with his brother by a Malay family 7 years ago. Blessed, his brother was not that lucky. He too was hit by a car shortly after he was left on the street. They didn’t know the danger. They weren’t familiar. A life gone from a mistake made by foolish owner.
Someone took Awesome away, probably carried him without a carrier, crossed the main road hurriedly while Awesome was struggling. I believed he did manage to cross the road successfully but failed to grip Awesome safely. Awesome freed himself but at the wrong time and place, dashed back to the road where the traffic was still considered high at that time. Too fast that the driver did not notice him and Awesome wasn’t aware and understood the danger. He got through the first lane, perhaps just narrowly escaping from the on-coming vehicle but not the other.
According to the Malay uncle who fed him in the evening, a circle of blood was on the floor. A kind soul took Awesome away from the road and left him aside.
Awesome was such a fortunate boy that many were helping him. He was then brought back to his usual area by a Chinese couple and his regular feeder, Malik, as well. Malik was too scared to look at him and got the children to help bury.
Since Malik wasn’t sure if it was Awesome, I had to dug him out to confirm if it was him, otherwise, I would never be at peace. It was indeed Awesome, I closely examined him. The injuries on his body, blood stains etc… Based on all the informations I had and visualising the reality, I came to a conclusion.
Was Awesome’s life supposed to be destined in such a way? I would probably say yes. Even though I don’t like the way it ended.
However, Awesome has a feeder he loved. The feeder filled him more than 100% full. Grown fat, happy and lazy! 9 years of feeding in Whampoa, there is not one feeder that I met who could satisfy them with the food they want. With so many people helping Awesome, the prayers, chanting and the blessings, what else was there for me to feel dissatisfactory. Sadness is inevitable, however, underneath sadness lies joy.
May the merits that I have accumulated in the past, present and future be dedicated to Awesome’s favourable rebirth!
I remember he was so thin as if he was suffering from cancer. I didn’t want to bring him home at that point of time but to monitor his condition. I also intentionally fed him every morning, just to make sure he put on weight. I noticed he had watery stools whenever he pooped. Finally, I decided to send to the vet.
He was diagnosed with cancer in his abdomen. Well, he lived for another 5 years, the diagnosis was wrong and luckily we didn’t give up on him. Big Foot was FeLV positive.
This photo was taken when Po and Sunshine were still around.
Big Foot was an independent boy. He didn’t give us trouble. Didn’t find others trouble. He was very easy to take care. He loved food so much.
“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... 