Happy Tail

This stray was happy to see our human and was companion for two consecutive morning walks.

Just look at that happy tail and trot! Our human used the cellphone to capture the moment with a slow jog to keep up. The image resulted with a slight blurr on the sides like it was edited for effect.

Warm thoughts and best wishes for a Happy New Year. May Peace, Love, and Prosperity follow you all always.

PS: We could not blog at times due to thunderstorms that resulted in house power trip. It is better to be safe.

Hello, Good Bye, Mr WhiteBeard

One beautiful early morning on 4th June 2019, (yes, it was that long ago; the date was noted down) our human walked out to the porch and in front of the gate was this scrawny cat!

It kept looking at our human with such loving eyes; you know how cats slow-blink or narrow their eyes to say, "I love you".

Immediately the name "Mr WhiteBeard" struck and stuck on our human's mind. He was such a distinguished-looking and handsome man with his white moustache, beard and tuxedo coat, and our human kept imagining him in his healthy handsome youth!

Our human loved to but dared not touch as he had numerous bald patches for fear that its infection could possibly be transferred and passed on to the house kitties.

That cat sat on the same spot the next few mornings and our human would talk briefly and exchanged eye-blinks.

A week later, our human needed to run some errands, drove out in the old car and right in front in the middle of the road (dead-end road where only residents of ten houses use) was Mr WhiteBeard sauntering ever so slowly. Naturally our human inched the car forward following Mr WhiteBeard much to the amusement of construction workers who were in the midst of house renovations a few doors away. All stopped working and with huge grins on their faces, they kept looking back and forth between our human and Mr WhiteBeard.

Well, it did take a bit of time till Mr WhiteBeard slowly entered through the gate of the first house.

Then a week later, one morning after the previous night's heavy downpour our human saw a black and white cat lying in the middle of the road in front of the first house and guessed it was Mr WhiteBeard. Our human did not want to go out to check. 

Mr WhiteBeard never visited since then; our human still think of him.

So Happy to Meet Again!

It is heart-rending to see young puppies possibly abandoned all alone and hungry fending for itself in this big unforgiving world.

Seeing this puppy foraging for food, our human took out and gave it a sachet of wet food. (Our human always carry dog treats and a sachet of wet food for just in case like this.)

Last week our human met this puppy who accompanied a nice chap on his morning walk. Our human recognised the puppy who now has grown a bit and asked the gentleman whether it was his pet. Reply was, "No, it's a stray!"

That puppy remembered our human and wagged its tail so hard that its little body kept bouncing while licking our human's hand.

Our human had mixed emotions which is hard to describe; happy to see the puppy, sad for its difficult life, angry and upset at life's cruelty!

PS: Our human's shoe here is for size comparison.

Give some Love and Happiness

Not sure about her past, this extremely timid neutered stray earlier had a number of wounds at her rump. 

Guessed she was attacked by another group of strays. The shallow wounds healed but a couple of deep ones did not.

The next day our human brought along a bottle of antiseptic lotion from home to drip on the deep wounds and managed to distract her so she would not lick it off. Those wounds started to heal.

She then became more trusting of our human and absolutely love stomach rubs. Our human blurred her markings here to prevent some not-so-animal-loving humans from recognising and reporting her to authorities to catch for possible euthanization.

Cicada Shell

Our human was happy to see this cicada shell that seemed to glow with the morning sun on the tree trunk.

It is not often seen as we get sudden heavy downpours accompanied with lightning and thunder that happens daily in our tropical climate. 

The heavy rain usually wash whatever is on leaves and tree trunks.

Bug in Pink?

It was just after the dawn brief drizzle, perfect for a morning walk with air so fresh and cool.

From the corner of the eye, our human was aware of some unusually bright colour on a leaf and went closer for a better look.

It was such a lovely bright pink in contrast to the healthy green leaf!

Googled it at home, it was pink stink bug!

Pleasant Surprise!

Last week on one morning walk our human stopped for a short rest, a small group of dogs came by. One of them trotted to greet our human.
Tripod!
Our human thought that meeting with Tripod would never happen as Tripod was not allowed for morning walks for its own safety. Guess Tripod must have had escaped.
Of course, our human gave him dog treats when the other dogs left to continue their walks.

Look at how his tail curled, body and facial muscles, ears included adjusted to compensate for his missing leg from standing to resting position.
He is so cute and such a good boy!

Legless Encounter!

During one of the morning walks recently, our human saw and stopped immediately.

The morning was bright without strong sun, air was fresh and cool.

Awed by its beauty, our human waited patiently for it to cross the path taking its time.

It was a juvenile reticulated python.

Then some hikers came, being impatient, it was flicked to some nearby bushes.

Morning Walk Buddy!

Last week one morning, this stray was at the entrance.

He, yes, it is a male with notched ears, funded from hikers' donations, on seeing jumped happily on our human.

Being a big dog probably a Labrador mix, our human was prepared and stood firmly so as not to fall down.

He was our human's walking buddy that morning!

It is sad that he prefers table scraps to dog kibbles or treats; and there are some hikers who are not kind to animals at all.

Our human enjoyed his company more than those 'unkind' hikers!

Well Camouflaged!

Early morning air was fresh and cool. 

Walking in such environment makes our human happy and very aware of the surroundings in the forest with all senses on high alert as you do not know what you may encounter. Our human felt being stared at, looked around and saw this.

It was very well camouflaged!

Other hikers walked by, completely unaware of this observant iquana, and exchanged pleasantries with our human.

Our human waited till all hikers were out of view before snapping this photo.

I Have Food, Thank You!

Our human was at the nearby minimart few days ago.

On exiting that stray was in front of the kibble-filled bowl and it meowed loudly as soon as it saw our human.

It seemed to say, "I have food. Thank you!"

Hello 'Tripod'

Daily early morning walks really help to fill the gap of missing Winnie.

During walks you get to see insects, flowers; animals, pets as well as wild ones and people. At times our human venture deeper into the forest reserve.

There are many stray dogs and our human made friends with them.

If hikers bring their pet dogs along, our human will always stop to have a brief chat about their pet.

Our human has met this dog a few times before with its three quadruped brothers. They follow its owner's hiking friend walking.

Needless to say, our human could not help but gave it a nickname 'Tripod'!

Moving on three legs on difficult terrain, Tripod was often left way behind.

Here, Tripod waited as he could not catch up running up the hill.

Our human took the opportunity to keep Tripod company as well as rewarded him with dog treats; dentastix and three meat jerkies. Made our human's day!

Last heard was its owner refused Tripod to hike for its own safety.

PS: all four dogs were neutered and friendly.

Hi, You are Hungry?

Running terribly short of fresh milk, our human walked to the minimart nearby one afternoon more than two weeks ago.

After having paid and on exiting, a stray cat approached, kept circling our human's legs, mewing loud and looked with such sad eyes that you just could not help but ask, "Are you hungry? You want to eat?"

That cat kept mewing and would not leave.

Our human went back in to the shop and asked the cashier whether the staff fed that cat for the day. Reply received was she wasn't sure.

Then our human walked straight to the back of the shop where kitty food was placed, picked up a sachet of wet kitty food and paid.

As our human walked out of the door, that stray walked in, headed straight for the nearest lowest shelf where bread was placed and started smelling.

Our human quickly called, ripped open the kitty food sachet, went back in and let the stray smell.

That stray followed, all this while being watched attentively by the cashier at the counter.

Kitty food was poured on to an empty plastic plate outside the shop.

The cashier came out with smile on her face and watched that stray eat.

Life must be hard as you can see wounds and bald patches.

Few days ago our human saw that kitty again, bought and gave it a sachet of wet food. Bald patches were smaller.

PS: We had some internet issues and is resolved now.

Memories and Thanks for Kind Thoughts

Our human received from brother some photos of a visiting baby racoon at the backyard.

It had an inquisitive look that reminded our human of late Winnie.

To be honest, our human still could not clear Winnie's things or clear both MeowRoom and MeowYard, and left them as is. Perhaps more time is needed.

But our human is trying the very best to fill that emptiness by making new friends and will certainly let you all know about them.

Terry of brianshomeblog.com emailed the picture of a lovely memorial graphic of Winnie made by Ann from Zoolatry. 

Thank you both so very much.

And thank you all for your kind thoughts.

Manumitted

The slave's heart sank when peeping through the window at Winnie and saw this.

It cut such a poignant and forlorn picture.

Winnie breathed her last on Friday afternoon and was sent for cremation the next day.
Now the house seems so very quiet; the slave still check the MeowRoom and MeowYard out of habit.
'The Chair'/EJ will take a short break before continuing blogging as there are still many untold stories.
Future tales will be posted under suitable blog hops.
'The Chair'/EJ is touched and grateful for all the warm prayers, kind thoughts and concern.

Three Dishes and a Bowl of Water

Winnie is eating less now. She is losing weight.
The slave tried to entice her by giving as many variety possible, chicken, tuna, tuna broth and water.

She prefers to drink only water.
Today the slave resorted to syringe-feed her tuna water followed by a wipe down.

Winnie's Retaliation and Comb Changed

The slave removed her soiled bed to change to a clean fresh pet pad.

Winnie retaliated by resting on spilled food and this was just after her total body wipe-down!

Slave was thinking that patience should have been practised and waited till Winnie fell asleep before the complete clean-up. Sigh!

It was felt that the usual fine-tooth metal comb used seems a bit harsh on Winnie's thin body so the slave used this rubber pet comb which should be more gentle on her.

Full Body Wipe

Winnie do not clean herself; her slave does it for her with a small damp soft microfibre cloth.

On normal hot afternoons, the cloth will be dampened with tap water but at night warm water will be used and then combed.

Done several times a day especially after food and toilet, it kept the slave extremely busy.

A plastic sheet was used to catch Winnie's spilled food but her paws kept slipping and so it is back to pet pad. The slave has to constantly clean up so Winnie would not step on the spills and drools.

This is after a full body wipe down and before combing in a hot afternoon.

For Winnie's Eating Pleasure

As she kept spilling food while eating, a pet pad was used as temporary make-shift feeding mat.

Since Winnie could not see well, she pawed her wet food before eating.

Her slave plans to purchase a proper pet feeding mat to catch those spills.

To ease her eating position, a ceramic plate is now used and propped a little higher (not shown here) than the previous upturned plastic container.

Photo Fail

On seeing Winnie's amusing position in her afternoon siesta, the slave quickly went back in the main house to retrieve the cellphone to capture that moment.

Upon return, the slave was greeted by this look!

Mmmm, is this a look of disapproval?

FoodBits on Face

She just ate.

The slave was just about to clean Winnie and was mildly amused greeted by this sight below. Of course the slave could not help but snap a photo.

She's a Drool Queen

She drools a lot even in sleep, now seldom wash clean herself, her slave does it for her several times a day with damp cottonwool and then comb.

Winnie do try to clean but leaves bits of food all over when she does.

Now 19, geriatric girl is slowing down...a lot!

PS: Could not blog last week due to thunderstorm with non-stop lightnings that caused electricity trips.

Reason to Drool

Our human finally reasoned out why she, Winnie, drools.

Her selfie below having an afternoon siesta clearly shows it.

Being geriatric, she has lost a fang, some teeth and so with less teeth to block, her tongue sticks out.

Deep in slumber with her relaxed face pressed hard against her scratchboard pillow, she continually drools making her face looks like it is warped.

The Slave Panicked

There were times when the slave do not walk in to the MeowYard to check on Winnie but peep through the bedroom window that overlooks the MeowYard.

It was a hot afternoon and Winnie seemed to be slumped over her scratchboard cum pillow.

Thinking the worse, the slave hurriedly went to check on her and was relieved to find that she was just relaxing; just like us humans on a hot day when we just let our limbs hang loose to air them to cool down.

Visually Impaired

She kept facing her slave and continued to meow even after eating her wet food.

It is an indication that there is more work for her slave.

Checked her three toilet trays; absolutely clean. Yes, Winnie has three toilet trays; actually five with two propped up against the wall as she could not squat as low now and kept spraying on to the wall.

Only one thing left; some snuggles and scritches.

Winnie was then carried and placed on her slave's knee for some scritches.

It can be seen here that Winnie is visually impaired; her pupils are of different sizes and large in the brightly lit Meowyard.

PS: We had power outage last Sunday.

Occasional Dementia?

Winnie meows for her three basic needs -- hungry need food; finished my toilet duty so clean it; clean me and make me beautiful!

Winnie called, the dutiful slave doled out new wet food for her. She ate. She called again. Her slave thought Winnie wanted to be combed and gave a lengthy full-bodied comb.

The slave thought then duties were over and proceeded to sit down for a break.

But Winnie called (look at her sexy stance meowing demands).

Slave was perplexed at what Winnie needed and decided to finger tap her food filled stainless steel bowl. She ate!

It was then it dawned on our human that Winnie do have occasional dementia!

Clipped Claws

Being an indoor cat, Winnie regularly has her claws clipped to prevent ingrown claws.

Her slave got a sneaky way prior to claw clipping by placing Winnie on her human's knees; stroking under Winnie's chin, one or two claws will be quickly clipped. Her upturned stomach will be stroked next then another few claws clipped.

This is how Winnie looks after the claw clipping is finished.

Wonder what Winnie is thinking!

Clasped Paws

Our human walked in the MeowYard and found sleeping Winnie in a rather unusual manner.

With eyes slightly opened, her right front paw was firmly clasped over her left on top of her right hind leg.

Since she was resting in the shadows, flash had to be used and that caused the blue reflection in her eye. More photos could not be taken; Winnie woke up and moved.

Anger Stare turned Love!

It is the norm for our human to tiptoe in to the MeowYard to check on sleeping Winnie a few times daily.

Most times Winnie, being hard of hearing, sleeps on even during thunderstorms.

This time she woke up with a start. Luckily our human had the handphone in the pocket and managed to snap Winnie's angry stare of annoyance.

Upon realising it was only her hardworking slave, Winnie started the 'drool of love'!

Dry Bathing

She calls loud for her slave when she is hungry, needs cleaning and after toilet; slave has to drop whatever (with the exception when midway in the bathroom) to attend to Winnie's needs.

To help clean, our human use a damp cut-out cotton wool from a big roll to wipe clean Winnie's body and then comb to settle her fur. See the heavily stained with dirt cotton wool she is inspecting.

Winnie always drool towards the end of the session (see arrow) and had to be wiped off with a tissue.

My Personal Guide?

Our human loves going for morning walks regularly in the nearby nature reserve and is familiar with the routes.

Turning a corner, our human's heart skipped a beat as there was a silhouette of an unfamiliar still object at the side of the path and the cautious alertness kicked in. Our human had previous encounters with wild animals, insects, worms included.

Then that object moved...

...and kept staring at our human as if saying,'follow me'.

Our human followed, purposedly walked slower; it stopped and waited for our human to catch up.

It was the first time seeing such an animal in this place and wondered how it got here.

That animal was never seen again since then.

Sleep Silhouette

Weather was nice this afternoon with cloudy skies.

Winnie had her afternoon siesta and slept at her usual spot using her scratchboard as pillow.

Having a Ball Resting?

Winnie usually rests stretched out due to the warm atmosphere as we live just a little north of the equator. It is not often that Winnie sleeps like this. The heavy rain lowered the temperature a bit.

Not wanting to move, Winnie stared blankly at our human snapping her selfie.

Our human has been following Winnie's style...procrastinating often.

Procrastinating in Style?

Winnie was caught resting in style.

And our human followed suit procrastinating to start the new year without blogging for two weeks.

May the year 2023 bring you all good health, peace, joy, and happiness.