Cats who teach me to fly…

BB was a kitten when we fed him at Malcom Road in a school compound. The school’s rubbish chute was where he lived. Every night, BB would wait for his meal. He was cute, black and looked so much like Vara. A handsome boy! He was scared of humans. No one could go near him. I had to leave his food and keep a distance so that he could eat comfortably.

One day, the school security guard hurriedly ran towards me and told me that the school was trapping all the cats and they tried on BB. The trap door hit BB’s leg hard as he was escaping. BB left with a leaping leg.

Nothing good comes from trapping cats. Before things got worse, I approached the school management and volunteered to take in all the cats.

BB was still a scaredy cat when we first took him. It took me quite a while to gain his trust. We could feel that the cats rescued from Malcom Road often showed their appreciation to us. It made me realize that community cats living in the ‘forest’ had a hard life.

BB loved food. He often took a little of everything and also got the food that he wanted. He was a chronic sniffer. We took him to a few vets but nothing could be done. We gave him antibiotics and all kinds of supplements including Chinese herbs but nothing seemed to help.

Beside chronic flu, he also had kidney disease. Despite all these conditions, BB still ate well and lived happily. Just like all the other cats, I never failed to receive his love.

When I no longer see him at the same spot where he used to wait for his food or watch the way he, I’ll smile. Their deep paw prints remain in my heart. I will always cherish and appreciate having them with me. Always!

May the merits accumulated be dedicated to BB’s favourable rebirth. May the conditions that he had, lead him to the true Dhamma.

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Kangkang would always rub her body against my leg when I was angry and I couldn’t bring myself to ignore her. I would pet her head in response. She was a happy, active and a positive girl and she loved to follow me around.

Someone found her at the carpark when she was barely a few weeks old. I took her and instead of rehoming her, I made her the last cat i would keep.

She still had blue eyes. We named her Kangkang (康康), which means ‘healthy,’ because we wished for her to grow up strong and healthy.

And she grew up just a little. She was quick in slipping in and out of the room and most of the time I didn’t even notice.

She was small in build and loved jumping around.

When she was ill, Tedted, the same lovely boy who groomed and slept with Mr Tom also groomed and slept beside Kangkang.

Of all the places , they chose to rest on the small foldable table. Tedted is a special boy. He often gives comfort to the sick.

Kangkang loved to rest at the door and most of the time, I would open the door and let her sleep in front of the gate. I also let her walked along the corridor, hoping to fulfil her wishes. Even after midnight, I kept the door opened just for her and she seemed to sleep comfortably and at ease. It was as if she was telling me that there is nothing to fear even the door is open late at night. We slept with the door half opened.

We don’t know what is infesting her lungs. Both her lungs were covered with what looked like tissues and her lymph node on her neck was enlarged. I was sad and kept hoping a miracle could happen…

Mel thought the photo was Flow(the movie). Nope, that was Kangkang!

May the merits accumulated be dedicated to Kangkang’s favourable rebirth.

Every cat is special. With Kangkang, night is merely the absence of sunlight!

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Someone came to us and asked for help while we were feeding the community cats. There was urgency in her voice and she said that the cat needed to be removed from the sofa outside her house. Mel went with her to her place and the lady told Mel that no matter how they sprayed the cat with water, it never moved a muscle.

Bluey was abandoned at the corridor, hiding at someone’s place. The family was so scared of cats and found them unwelcoming. We took Bluey home.

Bluey had a beautiful pair of blue eyes and a coarse voice. She was skinny then. No matter how we trained Bluey to use the litter box, she wouldn’t use it. Even when we kept her in the cage with the litter box for two days, she still refused to use it. We had no choice but to let her pee and poop in the toilet.

We found her a family but she was returned back to us. When potential adopters visited her, she scratched their handbag and was unfriendly. We knew Bluey didn’t want to go to new home. We didn’t want to force her and decided to keep her.

Bluey was aloof. She didn’t allow any cats to go near her and if they insisted, she would simply walk away. She hardly initiated a fight but only to hiss at them. Throughout the years living with us, Bluey only had flu once. She spent her days eating, sleeping and entertaining herself. She often slept on top of my head when I was sleeping on the arm chair and I would lean my head against her and hug her.

With everything looking normal, we don’t understand how Bluey hurt her abdomen. In the evening, out of sudden she was grasping for air. We rushed her to VES immediately. The vet stabilised her with sedation and oxygen. Sadly nothing worked. The vet resuscitated her and we managed to say goodbye to her before taking her home.

The vet did an ultrasound and told us that there was fluid in her abdomen. When Bluey collapsed, the vet drew the fluid and found blood. I suspected that it may be a rapture in her stomach.

Everything happened so fast. We cremated her the next day. Bluey had been with us for 11 years and she was already an adult when we took her in. As pet parents, we always hope they can live a little longer with us. I often saw her sitting behind me at the gate when I was in the meditation room. I turned around again and she was no longer there, it’s okay. Our connection is a cause for us to meet again.

May the merits accumulated be dedicated to her favourable rebirth. May the conditions she had this lifetime be the cause for her to meet the Dhamma.

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A few days ago, while I was at the carpark preparing to feed the community cats, I heard loud chirping nearby. It was already 11 p.m. I guessed it must have been a lost bird, so I tried to follow the sound. I couldn’t find the bird on my first attempt, so I went back to get the food ready for the cats at the carpark.

I heard the chirping again and went to look for it. The bird perched on a car window. I tried to coax it to fly onto my hands, but I failed. The bird then flew to a nearby tree. I remembered seeing a notice at the lift lobby about a lost bird, and I thought it might be hers. I left the bird and rushed to the lift lobby to check the notice. It had already been taken down. I remember that I had taken a photo of it. When I returned to the carpark, I realized the bird was actually following me. It landed on the ground. Socks, the community cat, noticed it. Instinctively, as cats do, she tried to catch it. I thought I might need Socks’s help. She scooped at the bird twice, and I immediately took the bird from her.

I showed the bird to Mel and then placed it in the carrier in my car. Mel helped check if it was the missing bird from the notice at the lift lobby, but it wasn’t the same one. Mel googled and found out it was a lovebird. It was very cute and lovely, and I loved its peach-colored face.

Mel fostered the bird temporarily. The next day, Mel prepared a lost bird notice. I printed it out and put it up around the area where the bird was found. Mel also posted it online.

Someone online contacted Mel and insisted that the lovebird belonged to him. Since Mel and I are both inexperienced in birds, I seek for Geri’s help. However, the photos the person provided looked different. Still, he kept insisting that we send the bird to him. I told Mel that we couldn’t do that and what if the real owner contacted us?

The following day, someone contacted us and showed us a few photos. Yes, the bird did look like the lost one. We arranged to return the lovebird to its owner.

When we arrived at the owner’s place, the bird opened the cage door and went inside! The owner was extremely happy and promised not to make the same careless mistake again. We were happy too!

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People are so afraid of the truth because denying it makes them right.

I wanted to say the past two weeks had been challenging, however, everything seems cool. I can’t be like everyone who talks about their life on Facebook. I tried to but it was meaningless. I only posted three times and that’s the end of it! As a vegan myself, I do share posts on animal cruelty in a slaughterhouse. The animals are treated with extreme cruelty. Those who enjoy meat, which is no different from our own flesh, should know and witness the killing. Sadly, through forums, I’ve seen butchers said that they are doing a good deed for God. They feel no remorse and fear. With this it explains cycle. As long as humans find joy in killing, torturing and exploiting other sentient beings, the cycle would not stop. Vegans can only try their best to advocate. 

As a cat rescuer, I have to be truthful with what I do. In fact, no matter who we are, we need to be truthful to ourselves. When we are truthful to ourselves, we are also truthful to others. The reason others could not find fault in me is because I’m mindful not to lie. They tried very hard and they could not find anything. We all know people who speak the truth are always hated. I can’t fit into their view and that’s okay!

Greed, hatred and delusion. The more things happen around me, the more I see how they have fallen into place and I don’t seem to find anything that is good or bad and this allows me to see things as they are. I always love and enjoy living in solitude, therefore, I don’t feel anything missing. Not my pride, wealth or reputation. However, when I’m  accused, I do want people to know what others say about me is not true and it’s up to the rest to decide what to believe. That’s all! 

What makes me feel lighter is having fewer people around me! 

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