A Kind Deed That Went Wrong

This was brought to my attention by Blissful-Feline in MSN Singapore Cat Forum.

2 ladies found a dog in the drain yesterday. With good intention, they picked the dog up. The dog struggled free & dashed across a busy road. The next thing they heard was a loud cry. The dog was knocked down. Being a heavy traffic road (Eunos Crescent), the poor dog was run over & over by the oncoming cars.

By the time Blissful-Feline got to the scene, the poor dog was crushed beyond recognition. She can only say a silent a prayer for the poor soul. The 2 ladies confirmed the dog had an owner as it wore a collar.

I can only hope the dog died instantaneously when the first car knocked him down.

The story of this poor dog we will never know. It would have been terribly sad if this dog was abandoned before its tragic death.

Why those cars didn't pull over or slow down to change lane to avoid the carcass, is something I cannot understand. Yes, it is a busy road, still ... If that had been a man, will those cars be running over & over him? Just because a dog is an animal does not make its life less valuable than ours.

Where's the Respect Now?

In the ancient times of the Pharoahs, animals especially cats were an integral part of the daily life of the Egyptians.

A cat or miu (means to see), was a sacred & respected animal. Statues of cats were placed outside the house to protect the inhabitants & to ward off evil spirits.

The most famous cat goddess in the world, first revered by the ancient Egyptians was Bastet. Bastet was the goddess of fertility, protector of children & all cats. She was so popular that she became a household goddess. Then there was Sekhmet. She was the goddess of war & pestilence. Together, they represented the balance of the forces of nature in Egypt.

Cats in ancient Egypt were taken care of until they passed away. Their bodies were then mummified and given as offerings to Bastet. When a cat died their former owners would go into deep mourning and shaved their eyebrows as a sign of grief.

But the cats in Egypt were also protected by the law. Under the ancient Egyptian law, if a human killed a cat, intentionally or not, that human was sentenced to death. Laws were also set to forbid smuggling of cats to the neighbouring countries.

But today in Egypt, cats are no longer revered. In fact, feral cats are everywhere, making them vulnerable to diseases, starvation, abuse & accidents.

But the cats are lucky to have a human friend in Gloria Lauris. Lauris is the founder of the Egyptian Mau Rescue Organisation (EMRO). Through EMRO, the Egyptian street cats that were once the Pharoanic house cats have found homes in Europe & the USA.

Now if only our feral Singapuras get the same respect as the ancient Egyptian cats, wouldn't that be great?

If only Singaporeans are not so obsessed with the pedigree breed, our feral Singapuras would have been more widely accepted instead of being viewed with distaste as the 'longkang' (drain) cats.

If only animals, not just cats, are really protected by the law, then irresponsible pet owners & sickos like Hooi would think twice before abandoning, torturing or killing an animal.

If only, if only ...

Did You Also Know ...

Cats are allergic to chocolates, raisins & aspirins.

Cats can learn to do tricks, if they feel like it.

A cat's nosepad is unique, like a fingerprint.

Cats purr about 26 cycles per second, the same frequency as an idling diesel engine.

Cats walk on their toes. Their soles barely touch the ground when they walk.

Cats can see 120 feet away.

White cats are prone to sunburn.

A polecat is a nocturnal European weasel, not a cat.

Kittens are born both blind and deaf. The vibration of the mama cat's purring acts as a homing device, signaling when the kittens should nurse.

Cats and humans have identical regions in the brain which is responsible for emotion.

An adult cat has 32 teeth.

Calico cats are almost always female. If male, that cat is sterile.

A mouse flavored cat food was tested and discarded. Cats didn't like it.

Cats have a sensitivity to the earth's magnetic field, which supports their homing instinct (ability to return home from a great distance).

Cats have over 100 vocalization sounds, 10x more than a dog.

Winston Churchill was an ailurophile (lover of cats). He called his cat, Nelson, his "Rear Admiral".

The first formal cat show was held in London, England in 1871. The first cat show in America was held in New York City in 1881.

Cats can have freckles.

Cats respond more favorably to the female voice because it has a higher pitch.

Cats can get "age spots".

New Relationship

Is this the beginning of an affair?

Be careful Alex, don't want to upset Dim Sum now, do we?

Alex likes her, not with the same degree of ga-ga as he has with Dim Sum but it is obvious that he's fond of her. So Carma now has a friend in the house.

Wish I could say the same for her relationship with Junior which unfortunately is still strained. Never a day will go by without at least one fight. And yes, Junior still pees everytime he fights Carma & to make things worse, he now screams like a girl when they fight which usually send the rest of Chaos into hiding & I dropping whatever I was doing at that time to mediate. But individually, they get along great with the rest.

Hopefully this feud will end soon. I'm running out of vinegar.

Be a Responsible Pet Owner

Alright I admit. Terry's story still irks me. I know purrsNswipe has talked about pet ownership but here's my 2 cents worth to anyone who is considering to adopt or buy a pet & then regret it & decides to abandon it or dump it with the SPCA.

Think First
1) Recognise the commitment. Pet ownership is not something to be taken lightly. Owning a pet is a life-time emotional and financial commitment.

2) Evaluate your lifestyle. When you get a pet, it will become a part of your life. You need to make sure the pet is suitable for your lifestyle. If you are a busy person, work long hours, likes to go back to a quiet home, then DON'T GET A DOG! Get a cat instead. Every aspect of you & your family's life - schedules, hobbies, personalities, should be taken into account first.

3) Take your time to pick your pet, consider your options carefully. Ask the breeder/shelter questions about the pet you are considering - its health, temperament, behaviour, history etc - no more flimsy excuses like - "I didn't know I need to brush the persian everyday" or "I didn't expect the JRT to be so active".

Get Ready
1) Pet proof your home. Make sure electrical cables are safely tucked away. Create a comfortable area for your pet - bedding, food & water bowls, if it is cat - litter bin. And if you are bringing home a cat, MESH YOUR WINDOWS. Keep your cats indoor at all times.

2) When the pet comes home with you, give it time to adjust. It is probably frightened in a new environment, so it could be hostile, shy, not behaving its usual self. If it is cat, make introductions carefully. In doubt, please refer purrsNswipe's blog. Excellent reference materials there. Remember, it takes time for the pet to get used to you, your family and the rest of the pets at home. If you expect the new pet to integrate right away, you are delusional.

Keep Your Pet Happy
1) Schedule annual check ups for your pet & sterilise your pet. A sterilised pet lives a longer & healthier life.

2) Feed a good diet. What is good for us is not necessarily good for your pet. Always provide fresh, clean water.

3) Exercise. Your pet need regular execise to ensure continuing good health.

4) Be alert to your pet's changing needs. As it ages, its needs will change. It may require a different diet, need more sleep & become less active. Do what you can to keep it comfortable. Your pet may not be as fun as before, but it is still the same pet you loved as when it was a puppy/kitten. You should do everything you can to pamper it in its final years.

Be a Friend
1) Play. Cats & dogs love to play. Set aside time each day for play sessions. Play is also a form of exercise for the pet.

2) Talk to you pet. No kidding. Your pet may not understand your words but it will enjoy the sound of your voice (although Beauty will beg to differ here - she finds me too much of a nag! that is a cAt with attitude to boot).

3) Give your pet your time. You are the centre of your pet's world. You may be tired after a day's work but your pet just spent a day on its own waiting for anxiously for you to come home. The least you can do is to reward it with your time.

Last of all, your pet loves you no matter what. So love your pet back!

And after all these & you still treat your pet badly, neglect it or abandon it, I gonna come round your place & smack you.

Being Gracious

For once, I’m not going to talk about cats but something else I witnessed this evening. Its us aka humans aka homo sapiens. To the point its us being gracious, a gracious society. 3 incidents in Raffles City foodcourt prompted to write this post.

Incident 1 – I was sitting at a table behind 2 ladies who occupied a 8-seater table. An old man came along with a tray of food, hoped to share the table with the 2 ladies. One of them quickly told the man that the table is taken, he should look elsewhere. He ended sharing my table. That’s fine. But what is not fine is those 2 were actually ‘choping’ the table for just another friend. Its only 3 of them. But they just don’t want to share the table. That really pissed me off. It would have ok with me if it is not a peak period. Lunch & dinnertime are usually the busiest in any foodcourt & empty seats are hard to come by. By being selfish & with an old man, is simply inconsiderate, rude & not to mention, ungracious.

Incident 2 – a young guy sitting at the next table finished his food, stood up, clear his table, handed the tray to an elderly cleaning lady. I thought he was the foodcourt's staff but he wasn’t. He picked up his bag & left the foodcourt. That is not just a gentlemanly gesture, but a kind gesture. I was very impressed & at the same time, I was ashamed. As I’ve always taken the cleaners for granted. Yes it is their job to clear and clean the tables. But what is wrong with helping them? Especially the elderly ones. They take up such jobs for different reasons, be it to pass their time or to earn a living. The fact remains that they are our elders & respect should be accorded to them. This, I believe, is part of gracious living.

Incident 3 – a Caucasian tourist family. Husband queuing to buy dinner, wife nowhere in sight, 1 preteen daughter & toddler in a pram standing right in the middle of foodcourt traffic. Instead of pushing the pram aside or closer to her dad, the daughter was shouting to converse with him. Everyone had to walk around them.

Later, I ran into them again at the taxi stand. The father rudely & condescendingly ask the guy in front of me “THIS. TAXI. STAND.???” The guy obviously offended, just nodded his head. The father turned to the family & said “This is stupid, standing in the queue. Let’s go to the main road & get the taxi there.”

So, its not just Singaporeans who are ungracious. The westerners who are 'supposedly' better than we are, are sometimes not any better or worse sometimes. This family is a disgrace to their country. Ungraciousness knows no boundaries, country, race or religion.

Many of us animal lovers believe that we need to gracious to animals in order to become a gracious society. It is true. But before that, I think we first need to be gracious ourselves, to each other. If we can’t shake that I, me, myself attitude, how can we possibly be gracious to another being? And if we can’t be gracious as a human being, then how on earth can we be gracious to animals, how can we become a gracious society?

The Makings of Future Hoois

Thought this would be a quiet Sunday. Thought I could shut myself from all the bad news in the world for just 1 day. And I had to surf the net & checked MSN Cat Forum. The first headline I saw is Abused kitten at MacDonald in Sengkang.

A group of sick kids decided to experiment if a kitten is capable of feeling pain & therefore splashed a cup of hot coffee at it. Although the boys ran off, the principal was duly informed & hopefully he does something about it.

Thankfully this kitten remains unscarthed & is now up for adoption.
I don't care about the fate of these kids come tomorrow in school. But I do care about what they are capable of becoming when they grow up.

In psychology, there are three major personality traits (MacDonald Triad) in children that are said to be warning signs for the tendency to become a serial killer.

1. Fire starting, invariably just for the thrill of destroying things.

2. Cruelty to animals (related to "zoosadism"). Most children can be cruel to animals, such as pulling the legs off of spiders, but future serial killers often kill larger animals, like dogs and cats, and frequently for their solitary enjoyment rather than to impress peers.

3. Bedwetting beyond the age when children normally grow out of such behavior.

However I should add that the Triad has been called into question by researchers. They argue that children and teenagers set fires or harm animals for many reasons (boredom, imitation of adult punishment of household pets, exploration of a "tough guy" identity, or even feelings of frustration). Therefore it is difficult to assess if these variables are in fact relevant to serial murder etiology and, if so, how precisely they matter.

Say what you want, in my books when a child tortures or kills an animal, he/she did not just do something wrong, but he/she is sick in the head. That child needs help. Period.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Finally Sunday! A day of rest.

Had a hectic week, working long hours both out of the office & home with little time for self. Alex, who's big on attention, hugs & kisses, was obviously the most unhappy of all Chaos. On Thursday night, he made his feelings known:

Point taken Alex.

Back to today. Wet afternoon. The Chaos are keeping to themselves. This is too good to be true. So far so good. All quiet on this eastern front.

Beauty doing her rounds.

Meanwhile, Junior's in a mood for some wrestling.

Junior versus The Pooh

Junior & Pooh move to the sofa

Ditch The Pooh cos here's The Arm

The Arm in defeat

Pause to reflect

Beauty continues to pace the house

Zzzzzzzs

While Carma entertains herself

Zzzzzzs

Carma finally succumbs to zzzzzs

Dim Sum remains zen throughout