New fan of StarWar

DD is the new fan of starwar. She staring at the computer scree--- wonder what is inside her little kitty mind. She esp love the computer mouse moving and i think she may have mistaken the computer mouse for the field mouse.

Sweetie cum pork chop rice

Recently, sweetie has a new name, we have been calling her "zhubafan" (pork chop rice). Sweetie is getting fatter and fatter.. when she first arrived in our house, she weighted a mere 2.5kg and now she is 5kg.

While i am here using the computer, she is in the kitchen yelling for attention. She normally do not wish to sleep when I am at home, sticking to me and craving for my attention like a superglue.

Mum said sweetie normally sleep like a log when i am not at home. But when i am at home, she will not sleep at all in the early morning.

In the morning, when sweetie wake up, she will sit quietly and patiently and looked outside the window till i have wake up. She will never meow or pop her head into my face to try to wake me up.

At night, when i pet her little pillow and said it is time for sleep, she will obediently come to me and lie down to settle for sleep. I give her a little pillow and she sleep beside me like a little baby. I like the feeling of waking up in the middle of the night and pet her soft fur. Normally, sweetie sleep with all four paws high up in the air. Sister said sweetie sleep just like me..hee..i guess we are all alike or sweetie is a copycat.

DD's sister going to be a stray unless...

Looking at camera-DD(at around one month), brown and black cat -mixmix & black cat-xiaohei..DD is allowing her siblings to suck her nipples

Last sunday, we finally managed to see DD's brother and sister at Ada's house. Actuall we do not know ada nor which unit she is staying. We just know she live in that ground floor block, one of the units there-there are around five units on the ground floor. We just kapo and then we saw small mix mix sitting at the door.

We introduced ourselves to ada and had a small chat.

To those whom do not know the story of how DD and her siblings come to us...
I picked DD and her siblings from my block void deck when their mummy died suddenly. The black kitten is the biggest of the lot ( a male), DD is the middle and little mixmix is the smallest and most 'notty'. I adopted DD while ada adopted the black cat and mixmix. At first, no one wanted DD or mixmix..but i am thinking how nice to adopt a kitten and watch her grow bigger and bigger so i decide to tell mum that i wish to adopt DD. For mixmix, ada just said she will raise her till she is sterilized and then release her. We had the three kittens playing together for three weeks before they were seperated. DD used to play mummy to her siblings by allowing them to suck her nipples..the photo u all see was when DD was young and her siblings .

Yesterday, Auntie linda visited us again to see DD. DD is sterilized last wed and she is limping. Somehow, the vet had done something to her leg when she caught her out of the cage. poor DD...i am cursing the vet too for causing so much pain to little DD. Well..auntie linda said something like even if DD is limp for life, it is ok..

i felt a bit funny abt this comment considering that auntie linda also loves cat and had been feeding community cats for years--that included taking all of them for sterilization. So this comment came out strange from a cat lover..i think linda is trying to say that at least DD is in good hand with our care-at least not a stray.

Linda said that little mixmix (DD's sister) may be abandoned as ada complained that mixmix pee everything. Mum had said that ada do not had the intention to have mixmix as since ada lives in ground floor unit, she can let mixmix pee outside the grass. anyway, mixmix is never meant to be ada's choice of cat..ada only like xiaohei, that is pure black. mix mix has mix of white face and light brown fur with mostly black fur. Linda then asked if we wanted to adopt mixmix..

sister and i told mum and mum said CANNOT take home another cat--mum then said if cats sick, must waste a lot of money on treatment like pong pong..Actually it is not that mum do not allow us to take sick pet to the vet, she just felt that the more cats we have, the more we need to spent on treatment if they fall sick. The last time she scolded us for wasting money on xiaofei, our terrapin and yet xiaofei still died. That time we spent close to $200 on xiaofei. Mum is a 4-D queen, she is buying pong pong's total vet cost that is $184 and she bought 1840 for her lucky number. But so far, Cai Shen Ye has not visited us.

I felt sad that mixmix will be another stray soon. mixmix is sterilized today. I think there is a 95% chance that she will be abandoned.

Anyone want to adopt mixmix? most probably no..that last time we tried asking ppl to adopt DD and mixmix, no one wishes to adopt them.. There is a guy that linda introduced to us, he took lot of DD and mixmix photos but of course, it is just for memory as there is no response from him either. Luckily mum allowed us to adopt DD..it is sad to be stray and pitiful to be abandone when a cat once has a home.

Mum's orchids

This is mum's orchids that we picked from the rubbish area that someone had discarded. It is quite enjoying to see how the flowers grow into full size. The inner flower will blossomed into purple flower and slowly it will extend to the outer area till all the flowers are fully open. It took quite a while for the flowers to appear....at least half a year.


I know little abt orchids really. To me, all orchids look the same to me. They can have different colours but i do not really know what is their real name. To me, every orchid is call 'orchids'. If you really want to mess up your brains recalling what certain orchid's name are called, read this site:http://retirees.uwaterloo.ca/~jerry/orchids/names.html

Headache..there are like dozens of orchids name, qutie is born nature while others are cross breed.

Even for singapore national flower that has a beautiful name, to me, that beautiful name is also called 'orchid'. I am really lousy in remembering what is the full name of our national flower. I did a research on the name of singapore national flower: Vanda Miss Joaquim. Quite a nice name but it is still an orchid to me. I think i remembered the chinese pronouncation better though it does not leave a impression too. but when someone mentioned the chinese pronouncation, it ring a bell.

history of Vanda miss joaquim:
Vanda Miss Joaquim was chosen as Singapore's national flower in 1981. The designation of a national flower was part of an overall effort to foster national pride and identity. Singapore has the unique distinction of being the only nation to have a hybrid as its national flower.

The choice of an orchid as Singapore's national flower is most appropriate because orchids have long been identified with Singapore. And no orchid is more worthy of being Singapore's national flower than Vanda Miss Joaquim as it is the first registered plant hybrid from Singapore.

source:
http://www.nparks.gov.sg/plants/van/pla-van-van.shtml

info on venda orchids:
Vandas are fascinating orchids that may be grown with relative ease. Vandas are monopodial. Growth arises from the crown of the plant. Flowers are available in superbly rich colors, including blue, red, orange and yellow. The flower spikes, which usually carry 8 to 10 blooms, arise from the base of the leaves and last for several weeks. The goal of good orchid culture is to promote robust, disease-free plants with good quality flowers.

source:

http://www.orchids.com/support/supportCareTips_Vanda.html

DD big yawn Zzzzzz... and sweetie in night safari

It is tiring to keep smiling at the camera.

DD give her best yawn on camera while there is something 'wrong' with sweetie's eyes that made her look like her bigger cat friends in night safari.

Best of friends

This is DD with her fav sister cum foster mummy, sweetie. See how close they are together.

pong pong in memory - in our house on 3 feb to 12 feb 3.55 pm

pong pong had been our cat on 3 feb to 12 feb. Brother and sister took her to the vet for stay on sun, around 3.55 pm. Pong first appeared a few day before CNY. That time, pong went to the ten floor and kept meowing. Then she appeared down the malay family whom is living in the ground floor unit. Sister took pong home on the fifth day of CNY, that was 3 feb.

Usually when a beloved pet died, ppl have regret,me too.. i am thinking of the :what if" questions to myself..

1) what if we did not send pong to the sterilization, will she be still alive today?
my answer: it not possible not to send her, she already in heat and was meowing extremely loud in the middle of the night at 3 am.

2) what if we delay the survery till she is off heat?
my answer: same as q1, we are afraid that residents will complain since her meows is quite loud..(noted how i still used present tense, i like to remember her as alive)

3) what if we took her to the vet rec by auntie linda in mt pleasant in serangoon north?
my answer: i think dr au from pet clinic has try his best, it is not really the problem with the vet but pong pong's own health.. even if we bring her to mt pleasant, she may ended up in the same fate.

4) What if i see pong yesterday?
my answer: i really had regret for this... but as sister mentioned yesterday, it will be sad to see pong and not able to bring her home with us.

5) what if i allow pong to sleep beside me on my bed?
my answer: pong used to sleep with mum but mum complained that she is too notty, keep jumpin up and down so we locked her in dd's basket and allow DD to roam my bedroom. we had not much choice as Pong is quite "hyperactive". Actually today before i knew abt her death, i am thinking of allowing her to sleep beside me and lock sweetie in mum's room...mum even suggested that pong can sleep at my feet...sadly this can never happened..(OMG, i am crying again)

6) What if we never pick pong to our house?
my answer: she can be taken away by pest control, bully by the malay family's black cat or taken away by evil resident. It a rumour told by auntie linda that cats are taken away from our area and dumped elsewhere so that we cat feeders cannot find our community cats. So our final 'verdict' is pong is best left at our house. I know that we cannot pick every strays that we found back home but pong is really pitiful. She used to be a house cat but was abandoned. And the malay family down our ground floor unit do not really let pong into the house.

7) What if pong had any virus that can be passed to DD or sweetie?
my answer: obviously, pong may have unknown virus but she may also died because of the sterilization. Auntie linda said that the vet may had not done the survery properly..i think this is not the reason as vegancat has also send lots of cats from bedok to Serangoon garden to be sterilized. I believe virus like FIV may be the main cause of sudden death. i am really worried abt sweetie and DD..i will take them for injection against FIV soon..DD going for sterilization tml, i hope she will be fine..most probably YES since DD is in our house since she is one month old.

finally as so much of my "what if" qns, you will find that i do not regret having pong in our house.. i will always remember her...at least she is leavin this world to a better afterlife..that is what i think when my fav terrapin xiaofei died also in march on 2003.

Pong Pong to the Rainbow bridge-farewell pong pong

Pong Pong had died..This is shocking...on 4 mar (two sat ago), we bought her for sterilization. She was ok and was even fighting with DD after her survery. On sun, she suddendly vomitted..she vomitted for around 6 to 7 times and we rushed her to the vet at serangoon garden. The vet said pong had high fever, he gave her a jet and some antibodies. Pong did not recover. She even vomit the pure water we force feed her. On sun, brother and sister took pong to the vet. The vet told them to leave pong in the clinic for two days where she is suppose to be discharge today. Pong was put on drips and antibodies. Pong was fine yesterday but died today -sudden death

Sadly, she died today morning. I remembered a werid dream i had abt pong today, i was eating pong and cutting her into small piece to eat. it a freaky dream and pong died. Is that pong's spirt telling me that she is going to leave our family.

We only had pong for around one month and a half.(she came to find us on new year eve, 30 jan 2006) yet she bring joy to all of us. When the clinic assistant called me to say pong had died and i told the news to mum, she cried immediately. sister and i were also crying openly. Mum said pong had such a sad life - abandoned, in heat and need to be sterilized, and now sudden death. We had try to save her little life.

In her one and a half month with us, we love her musical meow, how she respond to us, how she gobbles her food up very fast, how she climb the window like a monkey, how she used to pant with her tongue out like a tiny dog, how she play 'war of the world' with DD, sadly she even had the chance to be friend with sweetie.

The vet suspected her sudden death to be FIV where the virus came out because of the stress from her sterilization. He asked if we wanted to find out how pong pong died but we rejected him. Why cut pong again when she is already died.

I will always miss her. We had cover her in plastic bag and put her in the rubbish bin. It is sad. Mum reminded me that we should have visited pong pong yesterday in the clinic but it will be sad to see pong pong looking at us and asking why we put her in the vet. She must have been afraid of the place and yet she died alone. I really regreted now not visiting pong yesterday..at least see her lovely face for one last time.

We had took a video of her before she was sterilized. and on sun, sister took many fotos of pong pong because she said pong pong has too few fotos. It is our last memory of pong pong in our house. We will really miss her.

To pongpong, we wish you has a good life not as a cat but as a good human in your after life. farewell pong pong, cross the rainbow bridge with tango (http://celestelock.blogspot.com/). He is another of the poor stray that was abandoned like you. Cross the bridge hand in hand. farewell, pong pong and tango.

'Pongster' clone and her kittens

Jennifer say:


this is quite a cute video of a cat that look like pongpong with her two kittens...Brother has decided to call pong pong "pongster" like hamster or friendster or catster... so many STERsss.

http://www.zippyvideos.com/6158302331492126/bbcat02/

The Moscow Cats Theater

Jennifer say:


I was watching the 'Channel New Asia' when i saw how a guy train his cats to do various tricks:
1) A cat that can roll ball with his hind leg
2) A cat pushing a dog in the pram
3) walking on a rope across the air
4) Jumping on human back(over four ppl)

This is their offical webstie: http://www.moscowcatstheatre.com/

I am reading dawn's blog when i came across this similar cat theater.I esp like the last quoto:
"You're a better person when you love animals" from Yuri Kuklachev.

here the link:
http://reuters.myway.com/article/20060301/2006-03-01T130949Z_01_N24367158_RTRIDST_0_ODD-LIFE-CATS-DC.html

What the article say:


By Claudia Parsons
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Russian clown Yuri Kuklachev has a troupe of cats who do handstands, crawl along high wires and balance on balls and he says the secret to training them is realizing that you can't force cats to do anything.

"The Moscow Cats Theater" came to New York in September and did so well at a small theater in the Tribeca neighborhood that it recently moved uptown to a bigger venue near Times Square, where it is close to Broadway giants such as "The Lion King," although not the musical "Cats," which closed in 2000.


Kuklachev started working with cats more than 30 years ago after adopting a stray kitten he named Koutchka. He now has 120 cats in Moscow and has brought 26 of them to New York.

"If the cat likes to sit you can't force her to do anything else," he said, adding that several of the cats in the New York show simply sit and watch the others.

"Each cat likes to do her own trick," said Kuklachev, whose show has not been the target of animal rights protesters. "Maruska is the only one who does the handstand. I find the cat and see what they like to do and use that in the show."

Kuklachev's cats apparently like to be swung precariously around his head balanced on hoops, to be shut up in a cooking pot and to walk on their hind legs pushing a child's stroller.

"I have a cat now that loves to be in the water," he said.

Kuklachev said the breed of cat made no difference to their abilities, although Persians tended to be lazy. He adopts cats from shelters and trains the offspring of the cats he has.

BOOK IN THE WORKS

Sharing his secrets over caviar and blintzes in Brighton Beach, a New York neighborhood known as Little Russia, Kuklachev said he plans to write a book about how to train cats since so many people are asking him.

Kuklachev, 56, said his cat-training method also can be applied to children.

"Parents need to watch their children to see what he or she likes to do and encourage this," he said, adding that it worked for his three children.

One child joined Kuklachev at the cat theater, one is a dancer and one is a painter who paints cats.
"If you do the same thing with your child as you do with your cat, he may not become a genius but he'll do whatever he enjoys doing," Kuklachev said.

He has had about 300 cats in his life and says every one had a different personality. Only one did not want to go on stage because she was already an adult when he got her.

Kuklachev says the show, which also includes his wife Yelena, is a hit because people everywhere love their pets. He chuckles as he recalls a friend who bought a hamster for $10 and spent $300 on surgery when it got sick.

You're a better person when you love animals," he said.

Are We sisters because our eyes look alike?

Mum was watching 'art central' on TV regarding prey and predator when she commented that DD look like The Philippine Tarsier, one of the world smallest monkey.

Really, DD's eyes look like tarsier...yellow and big and round...like cat and tarsier are relatives in the past....

Cute cat forum that i had just joined

Jennifer say:


My sister had found this cat forum from the web.
http://www.catster.com

I had set an account where i display sweetie, DD and Pong pong's cute photographs.

Here is the main site for sweetie:

http://www.catster.com/pet_page.php?j=t&i=263892

Under the family of sweetie, you can see DD and Pong Pong's face where you can link to their sites too.. my special pet websites esp for cats. Someone awarded 5 paws to sweetie, she must have look cute.

I even saw sanju from vegancat's blog too..
http://www.catster.com/pet_page.php?i=240465
I just read yesterday that sanju has found a new owner..lucky cat...
His foster mum's blog also show interesting life story of sanju:
http://fostercat.blogspot.com/

I like visiting the sites of singaporeans to find out why they have this cat and read the bio of the cat.For my cats, i actually have poems for all three of them but unfortunately, the site do not allow me to seperate the lines so everything is joined as one whole sentences.

I set a topic under the forum page for DD:
Topic regarding:
"How do get me to enjoy a bath"
topic link:
http://www.catster.com/forums/index.php?t=294320

I think the reason why i find catster's site cute is because we can put our cat talking, this make it interesting to look at.

Pong Pong visit to the vet

Jennifer say:


Today, sister and I took Pong Pong to the vet. Sister put her inside the cat carrier before taking the bus to SN to meet me. Pong Pong seems fearless, she did not meow and was very curious of the outside world.

Now the reason why we send pong to the vet is because yesterday, pong had bloody stools - real bloody and the worst thing was she shit at my study table and messed up my bag. Sister forgot to let pong into the bathroom to poo and locked her inside our room so pong poo on my table. This was the second time she poo on the table messing up my bags both times.

Anyway, i am glad today's vet treatment turned out to be fine. We arrived for our appointmet at Mt Pleasant Animal Clinic (North) at SN at 3pm. While waiting for our turn, we chatted with two nice malay aunties. The malay auntie said she send her cat for op for a fee of $800 as her cat got something in the bowel that need to be taken out. She is quite nice, we chat abt our cats..she had 4 cats in hougang, today, she visiting the sick cat that need to be in the clinic for observation.

Our turn came....my sister gave the vet pong's feces from this morning...YES, sister took pong's shit and travelled by bus( luckily only one bus stop from our house) to the clinic. The vet( a young lady called doc tan) seem afraid to touch the feces , we also gave her the digital camera to look at yesterday's shit. The vet listened to pong's heartbeat and proclaimed that everything is fine with her heartbeat. Then the vet said she need to get some fecus by inserting a tube to pong's bottom. So she took pong to the lab. We waited and pong came out. Again waiting time...we continued our chat with malay auntie. After a short while, we were called inside. The vet said pong did not have any worms or any serious condition, she had bloody stools because her lungs has infection from the food she eat - senitive stomach. We spent $69 on the treatment that included mediation.

Then both of us carried pong back home where we walked all the way back home. Both of us supported pong's carrier, she is very heavy.

Pong is so clever. She did not meow till she reached our doorstep..it seem like she know she was now home..home sweet home...

War of the World

Pong Pong and DD are becoming good friends..Good friends, still a long way to becoming best friends but at least, there are some progress between them - less hissing and more play. It is quite fun to watch them play. Both will jump in the air, box each other and once DD boxed pong pong's head while pong was eating before DD ran away to hide.

Sweetie is still very angry with Pong Pong whenever pong tries to approach her. When i feed sweetie, pong also try to come to eat but is scared to move closer because of sweetie's hissing. Sweetie will take at least two weeks to 1 month to accept pong pong.

Yesterday, sweetie bite DD's neck for no reason till DD meowed in protest. I think sweetie was just playing. Normally, both sweetie and DD will groom each other's head and ears.

Progress of Pong Pong:
So far, I have locked pong inside DD's old basket when i was out. She protested loudly but i needed to lock her in case she get into trouble. Today, she climbed out the window and we almost had a heart attack.
If pong poo or pee, she will meow for us to help her.
For food, she eat everything that i offered her - chicken meat, rice, biscuits...
She has a musical meow..very soft and gentle.
She will response if you call her name.

Poor SN cats - so am i allow to feed community cats?

Jennifer say:


Actually, i do know the answer to my topic question - YES but when ppl complain in my SN neighbourhood, the community cats run a risk of being caught.

Today as usual, my sister and I were in SN 543 feeding mimi, ginger and ringring. Suddenly a guy that i recognised was a RC member told us outright. I can still remmeber what he said:
RC member: halo, did u feed these cats?
me: yes
RC member: did you see the posters? You cannot feed these cats.
Me: But i clear up everything when i feed them
RC member: Ya, but ppl had complained, i do not really mind but i am shifting and cannot help you.
Me: (staring at him a bit stunned)
RC member: if you want to feed, feed in an less obvious area

That what happened today.
Actually i felt pissed that ppl complained when i doubted there are really 'a lot of ppl feeding cats at 8 plus'. Linda had told me that ppl complained that at 8 plus, there were lot of ppl feeding the cats. Also there will be ppl catching cats this week. And somemore, i am feeding at 9 plus and the cats still come running to me to eat my food. If the cats are feed, why are they still coming to find me? Tml, i am going to the park near my place to spot whom the feeders or are there any one feeding the cats?

Linda called me when i SMS her regarding this matter. She told me that to feed the cats later. Problem still not solved. Sister emailed vegancat too of this matter and vegancat had emailed dawn whom vegan said is a expert in this area.

I am changing my place where i feed them tml..behind the water pipe again...

YuanXiao Jie

Jennifer say:


Today, dad, mum and i went to cheng huang temple to pray for hongbao. Mum asked for two hongbao and was refused to be granted one, so she asked me to ask on her behalf. I was rejected too. It was then i learnt how cheng huang god is really divine. The temple staff told mum that we should only pray for one hongbao. So mum try again, this time, the god agreed to let her have an hongbao. You will need to drop the cup to see if the god agreed. The hongbao is to bless us for good fortune and health in the Year of Dog..Next year in the Year of pig, we will need to return double the amount in the hongbao to the cheng huang god. I had placed the hongbao in the pouch that carried my EZ-link card.

After our praying, dad took us to Hong San temple in Defu Lane. This is my first time visiting the temple. As usual, we offer incenses to all the gods in the temple. There were stalls cooking food, i though they are selling the food. Later, the temple staff told us that on every yuanxiao jie, the temple offered free food where you can eat in a table of 10 to eat your food. The only thing is you must have patience. We can only start eating after 7.30. There are lot to eat - fried noodles, rojak, laksa, h0kkein mee, desserts, red bean soup, satay and even free beer to drink. We ate fried noodles and dad waited half a hour for the rojak to be prepared. It is actually quite fun to eat together.

And yesterday, for the 'first' time, i watched firework again. The last time i watched was when i was in primary school..like more than 10 years ago. Mum and I took bus 130 at AMK interchange at around 8.30pm to get to 'River Hongbao'. I thought we would be late for the firework. surprisedly, we managed to arrive there at 9.25pm. After a quick walk around, we heard the announcement that firework would be in the air after 3 min. It was amazing to watch the beautiful firework. I did not bring my digital camera and i did not really got a good spot to watch the firework properly but at least, i can still see the firework so high up in the sky. Then we walked around for a short while before taking bus 167 back home.

CNY is over at last, mum had said that she is busy for two weeks, now she must prepared for QingMing festival that is coming soon. It is also the month of the Rain, i hated rainy days.

Caught in the act

This is Pong Pong yesterday evening. See how naught is her face.

Caught in the act 2

This is Pong Pong on top of my mum's room aircon. She is rather naught yesterday.

Caught in the act

This is Pong Pong caught in the cat by my brother. See how naughty she is. This is the main reason why we need to lock her in the basket. If left alone, she can be quite 'destructive'.

Best of Friends

This is sweetie and DD sleeping together at my bed yesterday afternoon. This is the first time we allowed DD to sleep outside her usual basket where we locked her. We had use her basket to lock Pong Pong that is extremely 'notty' and almost lead mum to madness.

DD really enjoyed to sleep on my bed, she even jumped beside me to sleep yesterday night.

Discovery of some cute cats video-sharing websites

Jennifer say:


On sunday, the Sunday plus featured an article on viewing of free-hosting of video websites. Today, i viewed the website. Of course, i am thinking of making videos of sweetie, DD and pong pong. I am really slow in knowing these sites but thanks to straits times, there is always chances for IT-idiot like me to learn more.

Anyway, i has joined as a member in www.you-tube.com so i will be hosting some vidoes files later too.

Other websites mentioned in the article included:
http://www.sharkle.com/
http://www.clipshack.com/

I did a seach on you-tube on cats, the videos i find are really funny except for this japanese reality show of a cat that i think is cruel as the person stick tape on the cat's fur. Imagine how painful it is for the cat when you pull off the tape:
here is the 'cruel' video:( it's strange that i cannot put a direct playback in blogger itself and yet the site said that i can place the code in blogger, so i need to place the website link instead)
http://www.youtube.com/w/cat?v=wtTCTwPnllg&search=cats
But not all videos are filmed by cat lovers, you will know when u viewed the videos itself and the comments that is beside the files usually mention what is the video about so ignore those that said things like 'stupid' cats or 'cat bumping into wall'. Overall, it is super cute to watch those cats of real cat lovers.

Here the more funnier videos:
http://www.youtube.com/?v=huSBDJ1EdJw
http://www.youtube.com/?v=PCp7XnKOOJs

This one Sister must sure see, it look like the time when Sweetie make nana angry and nana wanted to bite her.
http://www.youtube.com/?v=ppsTJWnQwKE

There are still dozens of videos files that i do not managed to watch..just use the search engine to search for 'Cats'.

Pong Pong as our third cat

Pong pong has been living with us since the fifth day of CNY. I think i am adopting her as she is an extremely sweet cat.

She love to rub her head against you when u lie on the bed to watch TV. and she sleep beside anyone. She is also toilet trained.

Unfortunately, she has a bad case of ear mites where my sister has treated her using ear lotion. For her fur mites, i had spray her with frontline spray that kills mites effectively within five days. Last time, i also used it on sweetie whom got her mites from the grass. She got rather soft stools. Today, mum said her stools is normal but smelly.

Mum has been asking if i want to keep Pong Pong in the house, i do not really mind as she actually quite obedient except for this:
1) jumpin on the kitchen counter when i prepared her breakfast
2) jumpin on mum's plates that dropped to the floor, luckily no broken plates
3) meowing at us to let her out (we need to keep her in mum's room as she's not on good terms with sweetie and DD yet)
4) hiss like a snake at Sweetie and DD whom hiss back too
5) putting her paws inside the rubbish bin for extra food..yucks

Other than this, she is quite ok. Tonight, we let her out to hiss with sweetie but this war of the world is ok. No major incident happen like cat fight or bitting. So i guess sweetie slowly accepting pong pong now.

More on the history of Taiwanese Opera in Singapore

Jennifer say:


I was trying to get more information of the zhangzhou opera troupe that is currently performing in Lorong Koo Chye Sheng Hong temple when i came across this article published in 1999. I still remembered mum telling me how in the 1970s, taiwanese opera were very famous then. Every year, Lorong koo Chye Sheng Hong temple will have opera performance in the March to May by Singapore troupe. In July, there are many singapore opera performance in housing estates like AMK, Bedok or SN, mostly near temples.

The ones that i watched (singapore) were performed in SN and sheng hong temple. I watched singapore troupe a few times, not that impressive as compared to taiwan or china troupe that have many opera schools. Singapore opera troupe lacked the money to make customs nor hired more ppl to sing. Of course, if ppl do not appreciate the culture, how to make ppl to actually enter the industry to sing. Mum said in the past, only the poor entered the opera and had to endure hardship inside. And i think most ppl do not actually listen to chinese opera anymore..so it in fact a dying culture in Singapore unlike taiwan or china. In fact, the original performer of 'gaizaixi' come from China. It is quite a eye opening to watch China performance these few days. I had just watched it yesterday and on the second day of NY.

Anyway, here some background on singapore gaizaixi:
From this source:
http://th.gio.gov.tw/show.cfm?news_id=4223

Published:September 1, 1999Source:Sinorama
Believe it or not, Singapore is currently the world's busiest spot for ko-tzai-his (Taiwanese folk opera). In an age where traditional drama can barely compete with newer entertainment media like film and television, the Lorong Koo Chye Sheng Hong [city god] Temple in Singapore is still able to stage over 100 days of Taiwanese opera every year.

The world capital of folk opera
The 28th day of the fifth month in the lunar calendar is the birthday of Lorong Koo Chye, a guardian deity venerated as the city god. The icon was brought to Singapore eighty years ago from Anxi in Fujian province, at the request of local followers-ethnic Chinese from southern Fujian, Chaozhou and Guangdong-who remain devoted to the god for his remarkable efficacy. What originally began as two days of thanksgiving opera gradually extended to 50 days, 70 days, and now in the 1990s over 100 days of performances. "There are 101 days of opera this year, running from the 31st day of the third lunar month to the 28th day of the sixth month, but it's still not enough," says Tan Thiam Lye, honorary secretary of the Sheng Hong Temple Association. "Many of those who hoped to sponsor performances have had to wait until next year!"

Because the season is so long, every Fujianese opera group in the city gets invited to perform, along with ko-tzai-his troupes from Taiwan and Xiang opera troupes from mainland China. As Singapore audiences know well, for good opera, the city god temple is the place to go. One regular, a lady in her sixties, says that her husband drives her to the temple every day, half an hour by car, to see the shows. So far this year she has seen nearly two months' worth of operas.
Assistant curator at the Singapore History Museum Ken Cheong, who has written a thesis on Fujianese opera in Singapore, describes the annual performances at the city god temple as a "theatrical jamboree, and a big incentive for opera troupes who usually play for tiny audiences." The three-way support between temple, believers and opera groups makes this a vibrant, living theatre which doesn't need to rely on government support.
The three flowers of Taiwanese opera

Ko-tzai-his is a product of Minnan (southern Fujianese) culture, for which various forms of local opera from the Zhangzhou area of Fujian were merged in Taiwan to create a new operatic form. When this was in turn transmitted back to the Fujian region it was named "Xiang" opera, and because of the migrations of the Minnan people and touring performances by troupes from Taiwan, Xiang caught on in Southeast Asia, becoming known in Singapore as "Taiwanese opera." At the time of WWII, when the Japanese occupied Singapore and Malaysia while holding Taiwan as a colony, ko-tzai-his was renamed "Fujianese" or "Min" opera.

Go South policy
Before 1930, when Singaporeans were still in the dark about ko-tzai-his, what was popular was gaojia opera, based on traditional Nankuan music. Then an opera group from Taiwan, the Phoenix Troupe, visited Singapore and Malaysia after giving some shows in Xiamen, and became an instant sell-out hit. The Phoenix Troupe continued working in Singapore for several years before returning to Taiwan in triumph.
The box-office success of the Phoenix Troupe inspired other ko-tzai-his companies to try their hand in Southeast Asia, and in addition to performing at established venues they began carving up the market for temple shows in Singapore. Unable to resist the ko-tzai-his onslaught, local gaojia troupes either folded or simply converted themselves. The Xin Sai Feng Fujianese Opera Troupe, one of the most prominent in Singapore today, turned to ko-tzai-his in 1936. "It was a matter of survival," says the troupe's third-generation leader Wei Mufa, recalling his father's decision at the time. "Since Fujianese opera was taking over it made sense for us to follow the trend."

Cashing in
The post-war period of the 1950s and early sixties was a boom time for Fujianese opera in Singapore. Opera companies and impresarios from Taiwan recruited the best performers they could get hold of and one after another came south to cash in on the craze. The enthusiasm of opera fans in Southeast Asia made it an unforgettable time for the performers. Liao Chiung-chih, a winner of the National Culture and Arts Award, spent a year and a half in the region during that period, performing with the Peony-Cassia Troupe. Actors' fees for touring overseas were little different from what was paid in Taiwan, but there were big earnings to be had in tips from fans. A wealthy businessman from Brunei once stuffed a red envelope containing 1,500 ringgit-equivalent to over NT$20,000-into Liao's handbag. "That night," she recalls, "I hid under my quilt counting the money, and was so happy that I couldn't sleep a wink. I've never made so much money in my life." Aside from red envelopes there were all sorts of other gifts. One fan used to bring her a baked chicken every day, and another took her to get dentures made and to buy clothes for her son. One lady, a godmother of Liao's, had a gold medallion made for her, which together with its chain came to seven taels in weight.

Coarseness vs. refinement
Good times don't last forever, and traditional opera was soon facing stiff competition from movies and television, while the glory days of the old venues faded out. Meanwhile the younger generation was becoming more westernized, and as multilingualism spread Fujianese opera could no longer rely on a captive audience of Minnan-only speakers.
The times moved on, and with the launch in 1977 of the Singapore government's Mandarin campaign, which included a ban on television programs in other Chinese dialects, the audience for Fujianese opera melted away. Matters weren't helped by the uneven quality of the troupes and the widespread perception that Fujianese opera, with its aging casts, its sometimes slapdash performances and its nonsensical plots, was simply crass. In the stories, a down-on-his-luck aristocrat might continue to appear dressed in sequined finery, or in a scene where the protagonist was in a state of anguish, the supporting actors would just stand around blankly.
"Some Fujianese opera really is very crude," says Frankie Hu, a keen photographer who often comes to watch the operas. "They don't walk or talk properly, they sing pop songs all day long and the leading ladies are fat."
This is an idea that many have considered, given the contrast between the crudity of street opera, with its improvised performances, and the sophistication of the carefully scripted and rehearsed productions that can be seen in the theater. Even the actors themselves feel that if it's not in a theater, then it ain't art.

TV opera saves the day
It was during the 1970s and 80s, when ko-tzai-his was on the way out in Singapore, that opera groups from Taiwanese TV stations began performing in Southeast Asia, so initiating a second springtime for Fujianese opera in the region.
The most popular such group at the time was the TTV Joint Opera, which was invited to do a series of shows at the People's Theatre in Singapore. The 40-plus members of the group, including stars Yang Li-hua, Wang Chin-ying, Hsu Hsiu-nien and Li Ju-lin, turned out in force to effect the transition from television back to stage. By introducing the softer style of make-up used in television opera and adding a few new ballads, they created a fusion of the best in stage and television opera, and filled the 2000-seat auditorium to capacity night after night. Demand for tickets was so great that after a month they had to extend the run by another two weeks. Singapore had become a second home for ko-tzai-his.

What exactly is the appeal of Taiwan's televised operas? "In a word: beauty!" says Sim Siew Tin, executive secretary of the Fujianese Association's Xiang Opera Troupe. "Beautiful actors, beautiful costumes, beautiful sets and beautiful locations." At the peak of televised ko-tzai-his's popularity, TV opera films from Taiwan were the hottest and most expensive item in Singapore's video rental stores.

Promo flyers for live opera at the time highlighted the fact that opera companies were staging new productions using scripts expressed over from Taiwan. Borrowing from the appeal of televised opera in this way proved to be highly effective, and audiences once again began emerging from their front rooms to enjoy the spectacle of outdoor opera. "Seeing that time was right, many performers broke away to form their own groups," says Ken Cheong. The fever has waned since those days, but there are still 13 groups performing in Singapore today, the more prominent of which present up to 200 performances during the course of a year.

This is live theater!
In the suburbs of Singapore, dominated by the high-rises of the government housing projects, redevelopment of old communities has resulted in temples being torn down and merged into newly constructed "joint temples." It may be this god's birthday on one day and that god's birthday on the next day, which means plenty of occasions for setting up opera stages in open areas around the nearby apartment blocks.

The matinee performance attracts only a handful of onlookers, and is a chance for juniors in the company to try out their skills playing servant girls, young soldiers and eunuchs. After the show is over some of the cast play mahjong on the stage, while others go off on errands. Mostly the troupe works from an established repertoire, and it is frequently the case that come 6 p.m. the actors still haven't been told what they'll be performing in two hours time. All they get before the show starts is a brief outline to remind everyone who enters and exits in each scene. For a new production the cast gathers at around five in the afternoon to hear the director explain the story and assign roles, and to run through some action moves. "We do whatever story we think of on the day," says Cai Jianfu. "It's not all fixed in advance."

As to how the performers choose what to sing, it depends on how tragic or comic the plot is, and also sometimes on how they feel on a given day. "Today my voice is OK so I can do a few soprano numbers," says Qiu Meiqi of the Shuang Ming Feng Troupe, "but if I haven't got the voice for it then I stick to songs that don't go so high. So it goes." Qiu's attitude neatly sums up the flexibility of Fujianese street opera.

"A lot of people look down on the street opera troupes, but I think that this type of improvisational performance, in which so much depends on context, is actually art of the very highest kind," says Yung Sai-shing, professor in Chinese Studies at the National University of Singapore. Whether it's high art or low art, traditional drama does after all exist in its own traditional settings and have its own characteristics. And it would be wrong to criticize outdoor theater by imposing on it the viewpoints of Western or modern professional theatre, or of pure art.

Theater of life
Yung Sai-shing says: "Traditional opera is a medium through which an ethnic group forms an identity and provides support for its members. Like the upsurge of interest in Cantonese opera in Hong Kong recently, I think it's all part of a longing for home that surfaces when people feel a crisis of identity."

As demonstrated by the stages that are built outside temples, religious thanksgiving provides the main role for Fujianese street opera. Such operas preserve the original form of traditional opera and constitute an important element in the art and the community-building of an immigrant society. In all such immigrant societies, townsfolk associations, temples and opera troupes are bound in a tight triangle of connections. And when opera like this is transplanted into the professional theater, the domain of pure artistic expression, it loses all semblance of what it originally was.

Close encounter of the first kind
"When we were children a lot of people went to watch the operas, and we had to bring a straw mat and four nails along to 'stake out' a good spot in front of the temple. There were so many people that it was hard just squeezing your way out to go for a pee," recalls Chua Soo Pong.
"The adults watched the opera while we kids checked out the stalls and munched snacks. All the traditional novels I read when I was a child were bought during those operas," says Koh Eng Soon, a freelance writer who collects historical material about opera.

"Why play immortals? Who is the God of literature? For many people Fujianese street operas, free and open to all-comers, provided a first encounter with Chinese cul-ture, and that was especially so for me," says Ken Cheong. A number of Singapore University students have recently been doing field research into traditional opera because the Fujianese opera troupes, with their close involvement in religious culture, provide the best window onto traditional culture.

'The Kidnap' of Pong pong

Today, sister asked the malay family if she can bring pong pong back to our house to play play and she agreed. Poor pong pong, i think she has ear mites as her ears are very dirty. Just now, we had clean her ears using ear lotion. This ear lotion really worked. The last time DD has ear mites and ear infection, we do use the same lotion for 1 month and now she has recovered. We feed her rice and she seem very hungry. The malay auntie said that she only fed her dry food. I will either return her later at 9 or tml early morning.

Happy New Year, DD

DD is very excited abt the new year plant(tao hua) that dad bought.

Pong Pong house visit

Yesterday, new year eve, pong pong visited us again. This time, we allowed her to stay at our house for one night. Pong Pong found sweetie's favourite sofa to sleep. We released pong pong back to the malay family this morning.

Madness at sheng siong supermarket

Look at the number of cars outside SS supermarket on new year eve, day 28. It is amazing (pluzzing) why ppl drive cars and refuse to park their car properly. Poor bus 159 driver, he was unable to park the bus at the bus stop. I had a good time looking at drivers running to their cars when traffic police arrived from my house. I think two cars get fined the other day when the same situation happened. It is really not worth to buy 'cheap' stuff and get fines.

Fugui miao

Mum made sweetie a 'gold chain'. How sweet she look. But in the end, we had to remove it as for some reason, sweetie alway bite at the chain till her mouth is sucked with the chain.

Watching Hokkein Opera: Lee San Niang at cheng huang temple

Jennifer say:


Today is the first day of new year. We as usual did not go anywhere but mum suggested going to sheng hong temple (cheng huang temple or lorong koo chye sheng hong temple) at arumugam road to watch hokkein opera. This is not the first time i watched hokkein opera at CNY. Last year, i watched three opera (gaizaixi) performed by taiwan opera troupe. This year, the performance is performed by china troop.

I am influenced to watch chinese opera by mum. My first encounter is the very famous taiwanese singer, yang li hua. I actually do not speak hokkein well but i can understand the dialect.What i love about gaizaixi is the music and how the ppl sing - maybe it is because i love ancient show of all kinds very much.

Back to today performance, it is really good.

To the 'boring' story:
(Lee san niang)

Lee san niang was married to a guy named, liu ziyuan. The couple loved each other deeply. Unfortunately, San niang's stepmum hated san and her husband very much. One day, bad new arrived. San's father was drowned in the sea. The evil stepmother then took control of the Lee's fortune and give san naing only a old knitting machine. However, san and her husband lived a very happy and simple life where san knit cloth to sell while her husband, liu chop woods to sell.

The evil stepmum was not happy to see the two of them still in the same household. One day, words came from the officers that man from every household must be recruit to become soldier for the coming war. Every household must have one man to be recruited. If there are two men, one will be selected. If there are three man, two will be selected. The evil stepmum took liu name to be recruited as a soldier. Poor san and liu are forced to seperate. At that time, liu is pregnant with their first child. They parted sadly.

Times flies..San is forced to work in the miling room. When the time for her baby to arrive come, she gave birth alone. San's brother whom was with her had rushed to tell his mum. (the evil stepmum, san's brother was the stepmum real son) Despite the fact that her evil stepmum know of the birth, she refused to help san. In the end, san had to bite the umbilical cord herself. San named her new born son, jiaoji (meaning bitting the cord). When the baby is one month old, the evil mum forced san to marry a wealthy trader. Before the day of the marriage, san left the house with her baby and the house caretaker whom is a nice man. San decided to go to look for her husband. In the journey, san fell ill. Just then, her brother arrived at the village. San begged her brother to take her son to her husband.

Meanwhile, her husband was promoted as he saved the general's life. Liu send men to find san but the evil stepmum lied that san had remarried. During a attack by the enemy, liu saved san's brother whom had finally found liu. Unfortunately, san's brother died after handing the baby son to liu without telling liu about san's whereabout. The old general also died from a deady wound and liu is made to promise to take care of the general's daugher, lanyu.

16 years later, jiaoji is now 16 and in the army as well. One day, he shoot a rabbit and chased it. He arried at a well and saw a woman holding his arrow. The woman is actually san, his real mother. San told jiaoji that she is her mum but ji did not believed her. Ji told his father whom realised that san was stil alive. Liu arrived in the village with yulan and ji. San was angry with liu for marrying but liu told san that yulan had took care of their son for 16 years. Yulan was actually a nice hearted lady. San finally reunited with her son and husband. Just then, a begger came to beg for food. San recognised the begger as her stepmum. The caretaker told the evil mum to jump in the well to die but san stopped her. San said that although the mum was evil, she was still her mum. The show then ended.

Chinatown Cats - without fotos

Jennifer say:


I went to Chinatown with mum and sister yesterday. It was really maddness in there..Crowds and crowds of ppl and maybe pickpockers. I was holding my large shopping bag tightly by my side. Mum bought some cookies for 3 for $10, not really cheap.

Next, we went to the mkt to find the bag uncle. We had know the uncle for 6 to 7 years. The uncle used to own a cat named kaka but she had died of kidney illness 2 years ago. It is sad to know kaka died as we also know kaka that is very friendly. Now, the uncle has a pair of siblings that around one year. The last time we visited the uncle that was in Nov or dec, the female cat was pregnant. Yesterday, we found out from the uncle that the four kittens were given to a lady living in AMK. The lady already got five adults cats in her house but decided to adopt two more kittens. The uncle was reluctant to seperate the four kittens so the lady was asked to adotp all four kittens, making her had 9 cats in her 3-room flat. Wow, i think the lady may ask someone to adopt the other two kittens that she initally do not want.The uncle said the mummy cat searched for her four kittens for two weeks and cried for them too.. so sad...but at least, the four kittens are in good hands.

It is nice petting the uncle's cat that is extremely tame. The two cat came to find uncle when uncle started feeding them. Now if u go to Chinatown mkt, near the place selling CDs, you will find the uncle selling bag and his two cat sleeping on the suitcase or the floor. Uncle said that he will be sending the cats for sterilization next month.

The mkt will be ungoing upgrading very soon so i think the uncle will take both cats to his new area or maybe adopt the two cats.

Pong Pong Cat House visit

Yesterday, pong pong (we named her this name) came to our corridor and meow very loudly. Pong pong was someone's cat on the 10th and the malay family down my block had 'adopt' her.

Cats had came to our corridor many times-
1) sweetie: 4 times
2) nana: 3 times
3) an unknown kitten:1 time
4) and lastly pong pong: 1 time

She is extremely sweet, not scared of anyone including DD. Poor DD, her fur is all standing on one end when she saw pong pong. We need to put sweetie inside my room as she will bark like a dog, almost a protesting scream if she ever see any 'intruder' in our house. See how possessive she is. Last time when we take mini and baby home, she screamed at them. That time, we planned to give mini a bath as his fur was very dirty..but mini hissed at us and we need to release him without his bath.

Pong pong is so curious of everything, we feed her rice with fish. Then after eating, she walked all over the house to view our apartment. She does not want me to carry her so i picked her by her neck and support her bottom.

After a meal and 'inspection' of our house, we bought pong pong downstair to find her owner. Strangly, the daughter-in-law of the malay family said Pong pong do not belong to her. Last time, her mother-in-law said otherwise.So we just release pong pong outside their house.Later when sister and I went to see if pong pong is all right, we saw another malay girl (also living in the same row as the other malay family) with pong pong whom had just taken a bath. It seems that pong pong may has a new home after all, hopefully, pong pong will not run away again.

Nana is gone..MIA

Jennifer say:




After 3 false alert from dad, mum and linda, nana is still not found..i think she has moved to somewhere else since we called the authority -AVA, SPCA, AMK Town council with no news of any nana.

False alert from mum: dad said he saw a fat cat near SN553 and said it was nana. Mum then went to see the fat cat and called sister and i to see "nana". Mum even said nana look thinner. We happily went to find "nana". Upon seeing "nana", i though she/he do not look like nana. Sister and mum insisted he/she was nana. Then i saw the back of the cat, it was a male cat..The real nana is a female. The "fake" nana got nana colour and tiny tail..exactly like a clone of nana except he is a male and his eyes is triangle.

False alert from Dad: After we came up from the false alert mum gave us, dad called to say he spotted nana at SN553. I informed dad that we just got back from there and that was a nana clone.

False alert from Linda: i sms linda on the 6 day that nana was missing but got no response from linda. The next day, she called me to tell me of other matters. It turned out that she had changed her HP. but the funny thing is she called me just when i wonder why she did not reply to my SMS. I told her nana was missing. The next day, she called to say her friend living at my block 10 floor saw "nana" and had taken her to the void deck. I called my sister to find "nana".
Of course, there is no nana. The new cat is a black kitten that someone abandoned on the 10 floor. I think its owner lived in the 10th floor.

Yesterday, for the first time, sister, mum and I asked the malay neighbour living on the ground floor if they spotted nana. This is the first time we spoken to them. They said maybe nana moved to other places. I also get to see their cats. The new kitten that was abandoned was so lucky, she went to find the malay neighbour and they decide to keep her.
The malay auntie was speaking in malay so i do not understand at all..while mum understand a bit of malay. Sister also understand a little (not as much as mum).

The malay family male black bob tail cat is so sweet, he keep staying close to me.Altogether, this malay family has 6 cats. wow, so many cats..they usually let their white cat, black bob tail out in the street. Both are sterilised recently. Before that, white cat used to terrorise other cats.Once poor ginger was corned by that white cat up the tree till we came to find ginger and chased the white cat away. Poor ginger, wonder how long he was up the tree.

All the cats that the malay family own have beautiful colour.
here their colours:
1) A white cat with beautiful blue eyes
2) An extremely friendly black bob tail(my favourite)
3) The new comer kitten (from someone whom living at the 10th floor), lucky girl
4) A lovely grey cat and
5) a light brown cat (both the grey and the light brown cat live in the kitchen where they are trained to use the loo)
6) another cat that i once saw in leash(yesterday, i did not see him)

Sister is saying how 'ugly' sweetie and DD look. Hee..of course, sweetie and DD are sweet in their own ways. All cats are sweet in their own ways.