Alexander Howie Benchwarmers

Alexander, another hero in the family was adopted from PAWS on 18th August 2006. We were on our weekly voluntarily visit to PAWS to spend time with the cats when Ayah saw Alexander, a cute, adorable looking male kitten (somehow he looks like a female but appearance can be deceiving).

I know why Ayah fell in love with this kitten of 4 months - he has Gabby's resemblance and is a long haired too. We decided to take Alexander home but did not bring a carrier with us. We paid RM50 for him and RM10 for a cardboard carrier (ah ha! We'll have a carrier always ready in our car trunk after this, so bringing home a new cat wouldn't be a problem anymore). Finally! After weeks of visiting and spending time at PAWS, we have a cat that we finally really would love to bring home.

We observe that the adoption procedure at PAWS is much organised (cheaper, and the hand over is proper - proper handing over of vaccination, deworming and frontlining documentation and proper briefing of adoption procedures and what nots) We were also advised to buy a packet of Eagle cat food from them so that it would be easy for Alenxander to switch to Iams.

Alexander's first day was a very adventurous day - We brought him back to the office until 6 and we went on another car ride to uncle Roy's house to visit Sunday, Totti and Maniche but before that Alexander went to Pets Wonderland Subang Jaya with us. After about 2 hours stuck in the traffic jam along Federal Highway, restless Alexander who sat on Abah's lap along the way arrived at Gombak.

Alexander was really confused as I guess he thought Roy's house was his. He was sniffing around and looking for a spot to sleep. Alexander was then brought for another car ride at about 10pm back home. At home he met curious Hercules and Troy. The two brothers were happy to see yet another sibling brought in but Alexander was really afraid. He was hissing all night and ended up sleeping under the sofa where both Hercules and Troy couldn't reach him.

On his second day at home, Alexander spent the night in Abah's room - I was trying to help him familiarize with the room first before letting him venture the whole house and make friends with the other 4 children of ours. It turned out good as the third day Alexander had begun to adapt himself with the new home and new siblings.

What caught my attention most was on his first two days where, like Howie in the Benchwarmers, Alexander ran as though somebody was chasing him each time he wanted to use the litter pan or feed himself. he litterally ran like Howie eventhough the other cats were not on his tail.

Now Alexander and Hercules are best buddies. Quite surprising Hercules could turn out to be a responsible borther like Troy has been with him. Thank you boys for accepting your new brother. To Alexander, we hope you love your new home. Welcome son!

Love,
Abah & Ayah

More photos of Alxander HERE.

Alexander: The New Member in the Family

Wow.. So long since i last wrote. Hehehe.. Kinda have nothing much to say though.. A lot happened.. I lost my favorite cat.. Got more cats.. Hehehe.. Kinda attached to having lots of cats in the house.. Seing them running around.. Playing with each other.. It makes me happy..

So, where should i start.. Hmm.. Well, the biggest thing is that Sidney left us for good. I still felt his presence until today. Everytime I think about him, feel like crying. But can't stop it from happening. I did cried once when looking at his photos. R.I.P Sidney. I miss you..

So, now I have 5 cats in the house. Gabrielle, Isabelle, Troy, Hercules and the latest addition, Alexander. Adopted last friday from PAWS, at first he was a little scared. Maybe because of the change of environment. Took him home and as expected, Troy and Hercules comes barging in to meet the new kid. Alexander spent the first night under the sofa. Maybe he's scared. Troy is a bit harsh on him. However, Hercules shows signs of a good brother. He and Alexander get along well. They even run around and play together. I guess it runs in the family. When Hercules came, Troy acted the same way.

Gabrielle got a new nickname. 'Gabbeyonce'.. Why? Well, abah thinks that her butt is so big like Beyonce Knowles. Hahahaha.. Kinda true though.. Well, got some photos of them here. Only lately they spent most of the time sleeping. Resting during the day and running around the house at night. Isabelle as usual, will spend her day sleeping on the bed and eat whenever she's hungry. Not seen her running around the house with the others though. But, maybe she's like that. Anti-social. Hehehehe.. All of them are the greatest. They're the joy of my life...

Gab'Beyonce', Troy doing his 'thingy' & Super-shy Isabelle

Hercules napping & The new guy: Alexander

Well, my daily routine will be work, work, work. But looking forward to be home early to be with the kids.. Every friday, it's PAWS visiting time. And on saturday, if time allows, we will go to Plaza Damas at Sri Hartamas to look at the IPR activity where they give away cats for adoption. One thing I can say, I'm hooked on cats..

By: Ayah from his blog

Journal of the Palm Garden Babies

The Palm Garden Kitties Journal – First Rescue Attempt

Day 1 - August 14, 2006
Today we were assigned and tested (by GOD) to take the ultimate challenge in raising and nurturing kittens using our bare, human hands.

Three kittens were rescued from Palm Garden Apartments in Bandar Baru Klang. Our colleague Azhari informed us about three abandoned, thus orphaned kittens found nearby the staircase of the apartments.

Observation 2:00pm - The kittens are 2 days old – the umbilical cord were detached by Azhari – thank you. The noisy kittens were placed in our office waiting to be taken home. Amir and I are seriously thinking on how to make sure the kittens survive. The kittens had their first car ride from Palm Gardens to our office in the same town, Bandar Baru Klang.

Observation 5:24pm – Two kittens (black white) and (greenish white) are noisy and active while the black one is a little quiet and inactive.

Observation 6:30pm – The kittens are on their second car ride on the same day. Now, only the greenish white is noisy while the other two slept along the way.

Cleaning 8:00pm – The kittens were cleaned using cotton wet with warm water. They were also simulated to wee wee – these have to be done manually because of the absence of the mother. They were fed with cat’s milk and fell asleep soon after that. We were hoping for Gabby to take part in nurturing the kittens but she seemed not ready to welcome the kittens. She was curious but hissed when near them.

Feeding 11:30pm – Only one (again the greenish white) was awake and making so much noise. We fed her and she dozed off right after. The greenish white kitten started to wake at 12:30am onwards at an interval of 30 minutes, each time wanted to be fed. Surprisingly Troy was the one who first gave attention to the kittens. He licked and played with the kids. In the end Troy’s sleep too were disturbed.


Day 2 – August 15, 2006
A massive headache struck Abah today for not sleeping well. The greenish white kitty demanded attention every 30 minutes last night making so much noise. I bet our neighbors didn’t sleep well too. Troy had been helpful with calming the green white kitty in the early of the morning. At one point he was ‘looking after’ the babies!

Ayah woke up early to prepare today’s meal and fed the kitties. They were again simulated to wee wee by rubbing their genitals with warm wet cotton.

To work 9:15am – Another car ride for the poor kittens. We have to bring them along to the office at least for a month as they need to be fed every 3 – 4 hours and it is not safe to leave them unattended at home.

Feeding 11:00am – The kittens were fed and they dozed off to sleep right after. The carrier was placed under Ayah’s table to avoid direct blow of the air cond.

Feeding 3:30pm – The kittens were fed and they dozed off to sleep again. They were very active and crawled all over Abah.

Feeding 6:30pm – Before starting the journey home, Abah fed the kittens so they won’t be hungry in the journey. Another car ride babies! We left right after feeding them and arrived home just giving enough time for us to run some chores; feeding the rest of the cats and cooking dinner.

Feeding 11:00pm – Again the kittens were simulated to wee wee before feeding them again. It’s a tedious job taking care of new born kittens – risky too since they were so small in size. Sometimes I felt clumsy holding them. Once fed, they were put to sleep and today they have to sleep in the hall with the rest of the cats because these kitties made too much noise the night before. See you guys at 3:00 am!


Day 3 – 16 August 2006

Feeding 3:00am – Abah woke up feeling groggy. Started to wonder how in the world could mothers (human mothers) keep doing this (waking up in the middle of the night, babies crying all the time) for months or maybe a year or more! Whatever it is it is my intention to help these kids, and they will have the best attention a human could give.

Feeding 7:00am – Woke up feeling feverish. Decided to take the day off and spend time with my kids and the kitties. Ayah too decided to stay home. Fed the kitties and helped them wee wee again. Saw stool in the carrier where they slept – a bit dark – nothing the colour of mustard like the Internet described them to be.

Feeding 11:00am – We planned to go grocery shopping later on but the babies are our priorities – fed them first before we left. Getting a fresh pack of kitten milk replacer for the kids.

Feeding 4:00pm – We came back from grocery shopping a little late than planned. Straightaway fed the kids. All kittens were as active as ever but since yesterday they would doze off right after feeding them. Part of the routine is to burp them – just like a human baby had to be burped after a meal. (well, read somewhere on the Internet that this is compulsory – although felt foolish burping a little tiny kitten – ended up stroking their back instead)

Feeding & observation 8:00pm till late – I realize that the kitties would consume a bottle full of milk in a day – that’s a satisfying progress, I guess. Always think that I’m doing and trying my best to give the best to these guys. The kittens slept in the hall with the rest of the children again tonight.


Day 4 – 17 August 2006

Feeding 3:00am - Ayah woke up to watch football at 3 so he fed the kittens.

Feeding 7:00am – One of the kittens (the black and white one) looked rather weak. Ayah said all of them were ok when fed at 3:00 this morning. The other two were feeding well and very active. Felt a bit worried because the black and white one really looked weak.

Observation 10:00am – Checked on the babies before going into the office and the black and white kitten wasn’t progressing any better. He was still weak and breathing rather slowly. Oh no! Please don’t die on me.

Feeding 12:00pm – The black and white kitten was gone. By the time I checked on them to feed them, he was out cold. I felt really sad. I prayed that the other two would survive but the white and green (the noisiest on the first nite at home) was now as weak as the black and white was. My God, what have I done – I know that without the first few milks from the mother, without Colostum, as I read on the Internet, these babies would not survive. But only yesterday they were strong. Don’t give up on me kids…

Observation 2:00pm – The white and green kitten was getting weaker and weaker. At 11:00am feeding he did not drink much. The black one looked strong, I hoped for him to survive as he was my favourite. He reminded me of the late Sidney. I whispered into his ears to stay strong and healthy. If I could’t have all three, one would make me very happy. At least when I look at him later on, I will be reminded of this great experience with the Palm Garden Babies.

Feeding: 4:30pm – The white and green kitten was gone too. I felt really sad. It was somehow like I’ve gone through one great failure in life. Now there was only one more kitten left for me to feed. Fed him and really hoped this black one would survive.

Observation 6:00pm – I checked on the black one but unfortunately he had become weak too. My hopes shattered and I didn’t know what else to do. I stayed at the office while Ayah went for his game of futsal. I wrapped him up in cotton to help keep him warm. Still putting a little hope for his survivial.

Feeding 8:00pm – The black one refuse to be fed. He looked really weak. We had to leave to fetch Ayah from the futsal arena.

Home 10:00pm – My favourite black kitten left us forever. I’m really sorry the three of you couldn’t stay long in this world. I am sorry I couldn’t be the one to take care of you like I am taking care of Gabby, Isabelle, Troy and Hercules. I am sorry that you haven’t had the chance even to open your eyes and see the world. I am sorry little Palm Garden Babies. I hope you’re resting well in heaven and like Ayah’s words of comfort – they’re with Sid. I hope Sid takes care of you up there… I really hope so…

Love,
Abah & Ayah

Pictures of the Palm Garden Babies HERE.

Isabelle: The ARISTOCAT!

Remember in my previous entry I mentioned that Sherrina of IPR wanted to give us her sister’s orange cat named Tigger? In the midst of deciding whether it would be ethical to take someone’s cat away even though the owner was willing, we met Isabelle. So we decided not to adopt Tigger. We could imagine how it would be if someone were to take one of our kids away.

Isabelle was one of the cats for giveaways organized by the IPR at Plaza Damas last Saturday. She was adopted on the same day we adopted Hercules. At first it was quite a task identifying whether Isabelle was a male or female cat. Many times we spent checking Isabelle’s wee wee machine – it was a perplexing time for both Ayah and me trying to locate her balls – what seems to look like balls was actually a fluffy part of her pubic area… ekekekek. We even had a name ready IF Isabelle was really a boy – Alexander!

Isabelle likes to be touched most of the time. She would come for us to touch her and if ever we stop – beware of what’s coming – she would hold out her hand and touch us back (perhaps to remind us that she’s still there and waiting).

What’s always making me laugh is that Isabelle reminds us of the Chinese lucky waving cat – the one they put in their business premises to attract customers. Isabelle has this serious look on her face and likes to stare – the brown fur under her chin makes her face curvy – exactly like the Chinese lucky cat. Moreover Isabelle could sit at a spot for the longest time you could imagine, and not move an inch.

There's something about Isabelle that says she is not the common female - she has the flair, the charisma of an aristrocrat. She never really mixes around - rather independent and could live, eat, sleep and play (never really saw her play before) on her own. That's why we call her an ARISTOCAT!

Whatever it is we hope both Hercules and Isabelle like their new home and enjoy the company of Gabby and Troy. Too bad Sidney isn’t here to be with them.

Love,
Abah & Ayah

Hercules: A Dream Comes True

Remember Troy @ PAWS? Well, this is not only about adopting and helping to re-home a kitten but also about a dream coming true. Ever since Troy Snr, we had never really overcome the longing to become daddies to a big black cat. Let’s say this is the first step to making the dream a reality.

Hercules, formerly named ‘Tina’ by the IPRs is the 3rd addition to the family. A very young kitten approximately 2 months old, Hercules, a hero to Abah and Ayah proves an awaited brother for Troy Junior. Hercules is independent and as playful as Troy is. They would run around the house, chasing each other, jumping on each other – just playful and adorable.

I wonder why the IPRs named Hercules ‘Tina’? That’s a girl’s name. Perhaps it’s the cute little feminine look he has. Hercules, I think is a confirmed mix Persian. He has quite long black hair and unlike Troy Snr who has a pair of yellow eyes, Hercules is proud of a pair of sky blue eyes.

Gabby welcomed Hercules and lets him nibble on her nipple. She sometimes is seen licking Hercules like she does with Troy. Hercules is rather noisy, I wonder how he will turn out when he’s older– hope he won’t be making too much noise and annoys the neighbors. For sure, the young lad will grow to become strong and macho like his name suggests, and hopefully as huge as Troy Snr too!

Love,
Abah & Ayah

Two More??!!!

We're pretty sure some people would say "Two More??!!!" to this news.

Yes, two more instant children in our household. Ahahahah it all started when Ayah saw a kitten called 'Tina' in the IPRs blog. After asking Sherrina she confirmed that 'Tina' was still available and asked us to visit Plaza Damas on Saturday July 1st. (See Tina in the picture)

Earlier in the week Sherrina had offered us 'Tigger', her sister's orange cat whom I had seriously enquired about when adopting Troy. Somehow I couldn't bear thinking that I would be seperating the cat from Sherrina's sister. I surely wouldn't want to be seperated from my kids.

And yes, I said TWO MORE but the second one isn't Tigger. Hehehehe.

At the IPR giveaway in Plaza Damas we met Kokila, Karen of IPR and got to meet new friends, Uncle Hanafi and Ilya of the Pets People, a pet shop there. Thank you guys for the discount. We first saw 'Graphite' - she was maginificently pretty, a rare grey coloured female (See Graphite in the picture). Unfortunately she was a bit fierce so we worried about taking her home. Suddenly Ayah saw another cat and fell in love with...

I will introduce the two kids in my next post. But again, thank you Sherrina for the two lovely cats you fostered.

So now the total is FOUR. Hehehehe...

Love,
Abah & Ayah

Troy: Our Celebrity Son

Troy was adopted from the independent Pet Rescuers or Animals Are Our Angels (see rescue2rehome.blogspot.com for more information). Thank you to Sherrina for fostering Troy.

Troy is a 3 - 4 month old male cat, high possibility of being a mix persion because of his extra furry body, but we'll see. He was adopted on June 16, 2206. A healthy brat, Troy is very playful. If the name sounds familiar, yes Troy is named after the big black cat Abah met and wanted to adopt at PAWS but couldn't - hopefully my Troy will grow to be as healthy and as strong.

Troy is indeed very playful. He will wake Abah and Ayah up at 7 every morning (just like Sid but a little earlier). Troy has also grown attached to Gabby to the extend of tearing if he doesn't see Gabby around. Perhaps Gabby's motherly instinct has brought the two very closely knit.

Troy will appear in 3R, a local documentary-like production in 2 weeks time. Yes, he's a celebrity whether I like it or not (of course I'm happy for him.. eheheh jeles nih!) the shooting was done yesterday June 22nd somewhere in USJ. The episode will feature Troy as one of the pets rescued by the IPRs named Karen Bahrain. The episode will also show Abah adopting Troy from Karen and taking him home.

To Troy, welcome and we hope you're happy at your new home; OUR home.

Love
Abah & Ayah

P/s - If you're interested to own a pet (cat or dog) please contact me or visit the IPR blog for further information. We're not rescuers but doing the little bit we can to lend a helping hand.

More pictures of TROY here.

I Like, I Want but I Can't II...

Last week Ayah came across an advertisement for animal adoption in the newspaper. It turns out the organisation is Animals are our Angels. Made a couple of new friends when enquiring about their adoption procedure. What attracted us was in the papers it mentioned that adoption is free. We were directed to a blogspot address Rescue2Rehome and saw a picture of these two kittens.

Once more, our hearts stopped seeing these two. After a few phone calls, we found out that the pair (siblings, thrown out a car window near Bangsar by their previous owner) had been adopted just two days too late.

Just look at their eyes. So cute! I understand from their foster, these two kittens were under her care fore two months before being adopted. Whatever it is, we're glad they found a home, just too bad, the home wasn't ours.

To Sherrina, Marina and gang from Animals are our Angels may god bless all you for rescuing the strays. May this be a start of a long and meaningful friendship.

I Like, I Want but I Can't...

We have been a regular at PAWS Subang since a couple of weeks ago. Not really as volunteers but just to spend time with the cats (wish we could do the same with the dogs). On our first visit there we fell in love with a short-haired mix persian black cat size of a puppy. This cat we named Troy, was adorable. He was friendly and very tame. We guess Troy came from a good home before this.

Since the adoption fee at PAWS is really reasonable, we decided to adopt him during that visit but was told he was on medication for flu and cannot yet be adopted. We even asked if we could put some deposit for him and collect him when he'd recovered but was told that there was no such thing as booking a cat at PAWS. Too bad...so we planned to visit PAWS again the following week hoping he'd still be there and had fully recovered.

Last week on Tuesday, we made sure we gave the cats another visit. There we saw Troy in the common cage for adult cats. He looked fine, no more runny nose and without further delay called the staff at PAWS but the moment she saw Troy we were told Troy was already adopted by one of the volunteers. Hell we thought there wasn't a booking policy here...

We never give up. We promised ourselves that we'd come for Troy again later that week, hoping that somehow someone would release the cat. Later last week we went to PAWS again and true enough Troy was there. The plan failed as i was told by another staff that the volunteer who adopted Troy was coming on Sunday to pick him up. When we asked her how come the volunteer could book a cat - we were told, simply because she's a regular volunteer there... How unfair!

We managed to snap some pictures of Troy becuase we wouldn't want to forget him and the short time we have spent with him. Since the first time we met him, Troy has always been in our hearts. We just hope he'll end up in a good home and will feel happy there. God's willing, we'll meet again. We love you Troy!

Want to see more pictures of Troy? CLICK HERE.

Gabrielle: The Maiden from Heaven

Gabrielle named after Gabrielle Solis in Desperate Housewives is as pretty and as stylish. Blessed with smooth fur, Gabby as she is called is a mix persion, white, with sprinkles of peach and brown. Like Sid, Gabby was also adopted from SPCA on May 28, 2006. Gabby is slightly older than Sid (about 1 year old).

The reason for Gabby's adoption was to actually give Sid a companion - a sister, or if he likes it, a girlfriend. It came to our attention that being left alone at home when Sid's two daddies go to work could be pretty lonely.

We brought Sid to SPCA to sort of 'choose' his mate. Gabby's beauty caught our attention and true enough when the two met, they kissed. Unfortunately after that long kiss Sid hissed at Gabby. Ah ha but too bad boy, you daddies are already hooked with the girl! Auntie Tata (SId's godmother) was also at SPCA to choose a mate for Sid.

After signing the adoption papers, we brought Gabby home and that's the beginning of our lives with a second kid, this time a girl. Sid, Abah hopes you like the new gurl... Heheheheh.

Love,
Abah & Ayah

Want to see more pictures of Gabby? CLICK HERE.

Sidney : Our Temple of Happiness

Abah's baby Sid or full named Sidney was adopted from SPCA mid April 2006. Now Sid is about 8 months old. Sid is named based on Ice Age charachter because he has a similar pair of very round eyes and is as playful and jovial.

Sid would wait at the door for his abah and ayah to come home and play with him. Already toilet trained when we got him and always at his best behaviour, Sid is a blessing to our already happy home.

The first time we saw Sid in the SPCA cage, he beamed with love and had a promising look in his eyes that we'll have a jolly good time with him around. We straightaway went to Pets World to get a cat's neccessities (we bought a cage, a carrier, food, a collar, litter sand, litter box and of course a bowl) for our little boy. We returned to SPCA and adopted Sid the same evening.

To Sid, you have made our lives meaningful. We love you. Thank you for the good times. We promise to take good care of you and to give you a caring and loving home in return for the happiness you give us.

Love,
Abah and Ayah.

Want to see more pictures of Sid? CLICK HERE.

Welcome to the Family, Gabrielle

Well, since one is never enough.. And since Sid is left alone in the house while we're working.. We've decided to adopt another cat. So, last sunday (28th May, 2006), we went to SPCA to just take a look at the cats. Well, we brought Sid along to meet him with his caretaker. So, as we were looking around.. Then there was this cat that caught my attention. A mix persian cat at the corner cage. So cute and so pretty, she was called Manja. After some really tough decison-making moments, we've adopted Manja from SPCA. On the way back, we decided to give her a new name. So, that is when Gabrielle pops up! Or, in short form, Gabby. Welcome to the family, Gabby!

Do cats take time to mingle around and get to know each other? Hmmm.. Sid and Gabby do have some hissing (or what u call it these days, but i think it's more into hissing) between them but didn't fight. That's a relief. At least they will need more time to get to know each other. Anyway, I love both Sid and Gabby! Hehehehe..

By: Ayah from his blog

New Member in the Family

Hello there..

Last week was the greatest of all. Adopted a cat from SPCA, called Sid (name taken from the character in Ice Age and Ice Age 2). Six months old Sid joined the family. He's damn cute. Kinda makes me feel happy everytime with him. The best thing is, Sid will stay at home while we went to work. At first, I thought that it's dangerous to leave your pet unattended at home. He doesn't like to be kept in the cage. But when I got back, everything is ok. He will be there to wait for my return. He's the greatest. Sooo manja la.. Hehehhe..

Anyway, got a few photos of Sid. Just can't stop looking at him. It's a great relief to just look at his cute face and all my problems fade away.. You might never know that cats can really help release your stress. I love cats! Hehehe.. And I love u very much 'SAYANG'.... Muahs! Muahs! Muahs! Muahs!

By: Ayah from his blog