Christmas Decoration

This year our human decided to put up Christmas decoration which was never done for many years.

It is a simple one.

Compare it to the elaborate one of our human brother's home.

Christmas Decoration Help?

Tanya had been using one of the dining table legs as her scratching post.

Too lazy to put up Christmas tree this year and to deter Tanya from scratching the table leg, EJ took out a tinsel to wrap it round that leg.

It served its purpose perfectly until Kenggy came along and checked it out.

On realising that she was being watched, rotund Kenggy tried to hide behind the slender table leg...

...and attacked when she thought EJ was not looking.

Here she is sharpening her potent invisible claws!

Have you ever had a cat with invisible claws use your legs as a scratching post? EJ had...several times. It's very ticklish!

This was the result after the attack!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone.

For more cat stories, please visit http://gattinamycats.blogspot.com

Curtain Calls

EJ never bothered with curtains till the new neighbour did major renovations to the house from front to back and top to bottom. 

With all foreign workers working and staying in, EJ felt a little insecure and decided that it was time to put up curtains on the two front windows.

Lugging this borrowed old drill that weighed like 16 tons to EJ up the low ladder on creaky knees wasn't easy. Holding the heavy drill above eye level, drilling was not exactly accurate. EJ took many tea breaks. Frequent climbing up and down lugging that ancient drill was tiring. It was a vicious cycle.

Putting up these curtains up probably take a couple of hours for professionals; EJ took days. 

Soon the weight of the curtains and the rod took its toll on that amateurish drilled part. The whole curtain threatened to fall.

Down came the curtain and the rod and up went EJ again on the ladder. This time EJ took the easy way out. All EJ did was stuff white cement at where the screw was and hope it would hold after the cement dried.

So far so good and hope it stays that way.

Personal Meow Toilet

Continued from Little Meow Place (Part II)
Oops! The kitties' toilet slipped EJ's mind. 

Those beautiful tiles were put up here too. This toilet was specially constructed with a water seal just like the toilets for human and it drains to the sewage not a drain. 

With a tap installed just above, it is easy to clean and flush whatever waste away.

The best part is the kitties use it.

Here, Tortie checking it out just after completion but before the walls were painted.

And Tommy demonstrating the proper way on how to use it.

Little Meow Place (Part II) — The Mouse Hole

Continued from the previous post on Tuesday

EJ felt the renovations was well worth it despite the many incoveniences, missed lunches and constant cleaning. 

The cats had to be caged up for at least eight hours for the making of the 'mouse hole'. 

It was hard work drilling through the wall.

By the time the cement at and around the 'mouse hole' dried, it was evening. When the workers finished for the day and left, the cats were let out. These were their responses.

See how Kenggy's body reacted looking through the 'mouse hole'. Note the floor tiles are of different sizes and colours. In the background are the beautiful hand-drawn tiles. The trays near the wall are the cats' extra toilet for just in case a few of them need to go.

Kenggy testing out the 'mouse hole'...

...and here is her certified approval!

Perhaps the 'mouse hole' should be renamed as 'Meow Hole'! What do you think?

PS:  EJ would like to thank Linda (EJ's classmate since primary days) for those lovely tiles; Susan Chan (EJ's mom's neighbour) for the tiles; EJ's mom for the tiles; Tony and Sally for the work well done. The kitties meowed their thanks.


The meow toilet continues here.

Little Meow Place (Part I)

On retirement, EJ decided to buy a small house to share with the increasing number of cats.

This small house has a small backyard. Actually it is more of a side yard. It was a jungle!

Basic renovations were done before shifting in. The side yard was cleared and cemented. To prevent the cats from running out, a back door was fixed. Chain link fencing was also fixed above to prevent the cats from climbing up and out. 

The cats' room got wet whenever it rained as the yard was not covered. EJ bought plastic sheets normally used by the night market stall owners to cover the open netted yard. The plastic sheets gave some shade from the sun and the cats lined up to enjoy their afternoon siesta. Rain, however, still came in.

EJ knew the yard had to be covered permanently and more renovations had to be done. EJ was lucky to get a full-time job then. After saving for two years, EJ had enough for further renovations. EJ's mother and neighbour as well as classmate gave EJ their leftover tiles. These tiles though old were good tiles, some made in Italy with hand-drawn pictures.

By this time Kenggy had joined the gang. Moving between the yard and the room is through the window. Due to Kenggy's special condition, it was laborious for her as she do not have both front paws to land properly. It pained EJ to see little red spots on her nose which meant that that little nose got bumped constantly. EJ then decided to make a special 'mouse hole' for Kenggy where she could just waddle through to move to and fro the yard and room.

The bench on the left was made from discarded tropical hard wood, Chengal. EJ's brother called that bench the olympic podium.

To continue on Friday on how the 'mouse hole' fared with the cats. Click here for the continuation.

Slow Drive

The cats love their vet. When their vet left the clinic he worked in to start his own, EJ had no choice but to follow though it is almost 30 kilometres from home.

EJ was not always lucky to get a parking spot in front or near the clinic. There were times when the only available spot was some distance away. EJ then had to struggle with the cage containing two fat cats of seven kilogrammes each, looking a ridiculously pathetic sight.

The vets advised EJ that on future visits to notify them of estimated arrival time, double park momentarily outside the clinic and they would help carry the cats in.

Fearing to inconvenience and thus intimidate some impatient motorists in double parking though for a short while, EJ decided to make an explanatory onboard sign.

This sign, however, gave EJ many nervous moments on the road. Keeping to the slow lane, EJ did not speed on highways but prefer to move at a constant speed without sudden stops or starts to prevent the cats' noses being constantly hitting the sides of the cage.

All cars, big and small, economical and luxury including vans and big lorries follow EJ. And they all tailgate EJ very closely in the slow lane.

It was quite a while before EJ realised what the drivers were up to. They were all trying to read the smaller print of the sign. The minute they managed to figure out the small print, they immediately zoomed past at incredible high speed leaving EJ chugging behind.

On reaching the clinic, all three vets came out and helped carry the cats. Even the owner of the furniture shop next door helped look and reserved a parking lot nearby. EJ did not immediately plonk down on the bench at the clinic anymore.

Though not as eye-catching or colourful as those sold, EJ loves this plain self-made explanatory onboard sign.

Do you?

CataClaus and Friends

This year, EJ did not put up this mini Christmas tree like in the past two years.

The blinking lights initially intrigued the cats and they kept staring at it. After an hour or so, they all lost interest and go about their own ways.

The actual reason why EJ feels that it is not necessary to put up the Christmas tree is because EJ feels that one housemate has a slight resemblance to Santa Claus.

Here is CataClaus on behalf of all her roommates (and EJ) wishing everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Make your Bathroom Smell Good

When EJ's favourite mug chipped which would make drinking out of it dangerous as it could cut your lips, EJ did not want to throw the mug away and decided to think of ways to make use of it.

The chipped mug was placed on top of the cistern tank as a decoration as well as container for pandan leaves.

EJ used to hang the pandan leaves collected from the garden to make the bathroom smell good. In this picture, the pandan leaves have been split to allow the release of more pleasant smell.

Pandan or screwpine is widely used in Asian countries. It is used to flavour rice, puddings, cakes and even ice-cream. It is a repellant for pests such as cockroaches and ants though EJ has not tried it.

Home in a Home

A stopcock on white wall is not a pretty sight.

To hide it, EJ bought a shell-shaped pot and grew (what the locals call) money plant in it.

As this particular pot has no drainage hole, EJ had to use a chair to climb up to see how much water was needed on a daily basis. Soon EJ found it too much of a bother and decided to replace it with the plastic version that needed zero care.

The plastic version looks real. So real that even a potter wasp got fooled and build her nest on one of the stalk.

The nest was really a lovely work of art. EJ wished it could be kept but had to snip off that plastic stalk as a precautionary measure.

PS: Money plant is also known as the Pothos, Silver Vine, Centiped Tongavine, Devil's Ivy and Solomon Islands' Ivy. Its scientific name is Epipremnum Aureum.

Animals lovers, please do take care as this plant is listed as toxic to cats and dogs due to the presence of calcium oxalates.

Scratch me, I am Priceless!

The following conversation actually took place recently between EJ and brother who resides in Canada and was back for a visit. Both found it hilarious as an afterthought.

EJ feels the conversation was too funny to pass up and decided to share.

(Psst, they were talking about me!) This was what transpired.


BRO: I do remember this chair/stool which mom bought from the wet market in Yulek (now known as Taman Cheras). It was among the first piece of furniture we owned when we moved house in October 1974.

We could not afford any furniture then for the living hall and did not have enough chairs in the dining area for all of us. That was the very reason why mom bought it. It was handmade from a piece of raw lumber and not stained nor painted in any way.

Over the years, we got better dining furniture and most of the better-looking chairs/stools found their way into bedrooms while this one stayed in the kitchen beside the door to the backyard.

We had about nine cats those days and somehow, one of the senior cat, Yao-Yao or Chien-Chien but definitely not Su-Su, started using it as their scratching post. Other junior cats followed suit. None of us mind as we knew then that cats have to scratch to keep their claws in shape. We constantly had to rotate the chair so that the scratched-out parts of the legs were consistent.

This chair/stool has a lot of good, bad, happy and sad stories to tell, especially when it is located in a prominent place, the kitchen, where every member of the family visited daily, numerous times a day and gathered around for family meals, where family battles had been fought and settled. It has seen three or probably four generations of the family living there and withstood the constant mauling from the generation of kitties, too.

EJ: Yes, mom did buy from Yulek market but not this particular and especially hardy one. This immensely popular chair/stool was bought in the even earlier days during the sixties when we were at Jalan Pasar.

BRO: Really? This chair/stool is older than I thought then... almost a semi-antique now. I have to approach the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) on how much they may want to pay for this piece of antique/art!

EJ: Good idea! And would certainly worth a lot more after one of the cats had the honour of getting the shock of the last scratch with the chair/stool standing on three legs! And worth even more if standing on two legs!

BRO: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
IT WOULD WORTH MILLIONS IF IT IS STANDING ON ITS OWN...ON ONE LEG. IT WOULD WORTH BILLIONS IF IT IS FLOATING ON IT'S OWN...WITHOUT LEGS.

GET THE KITTIES WORKING!

EJ: Agree absolutely. Certainly priceless if it stands on one leg but will be worshipped if it floats without legs with the kitties on top!

Believe me, the kitties are working on it...very hard!

I Love my Letter Box

During our grandparents' time, news were mostly conveyed through radios and hand-written letters were delivered by post.

Nowadays with advanced technology, news were sent efficiently and quickly. But each house still has a letter box for the postman to deliver mail.

EJ believes that everyone still look forward to the postman delivering letters as there is a feeling of warmth and a special touch of happiness in opening a friend's handwritten letter or postcard.

Unless houses were constructed with the letter boxes concealed in gate pillars like in many modern housing estates; most people would prefer to buy their own choice of letter box. Letter boxes are sold in a basic box shape but with slight variations.

When EJ's brilliant red plastic letter box dropped and smashed to a million pieces (suspected due to unseen forces) coupled with a busy schedule at that time, EJ decided to put up a temporary letter box.

After finishing the last biscuit, EJ stared at the empty biscuit tin and thought, "Why not?"

EJ took out the hammer, a nail, a coil of wires and started work on the biscuit tin. Holes were made at the back of the tin for the wires to go through to tie the box to the gate. Holes were also made at the bottom to drain out whatever rain that may collect. EJ was extremely pleased with the result.

Visiting friends find this unusual letter box very amusing and would walk in with big grins on their faces.

With the biscuits finishing soon, EJ feels it is time to change the letter box as rust has filled the whole bottom of the existing one.

Useful Junk

When EJ's mother was a young lady, plastics did not exist. Whatever food and things that were exported and imported were not transported by aeroplane then but by ship. To safeguard its contents, foodstuffs and things were packed in wooden boxes.

It was not known how EJ's mother got hold of these two boxes - the box with lid that contained the Lactogen milk powder for infants from Denmark and the box without lid that contained fruits from California, USA. The guess was her grocery friend probably gave her these two boxes.

To make good use of these two boxes, it became EJ's and siblings' 'wardrobe'. Those days, clothes were usually folded and not hung on clothes hangers.

It was also not known or remembered how EJ inherited these two 'wardrobe' boxes which by now would be termed and viewed as 'junk'. Since it held such happy childhood memories, EJ decided to convert it to something useful - a coffee table!

The box with the lid would be on top.

The box without lid would at the bottom. Castors were screwed at each corner at the bottom of the box so that it could be easily move about.

Two fastener clips were purchased and one on each side was screwed on. The clips can be unfastened to gain access to things stored in the bottom box. When the clips are fastened, the top box will not slide off or move from the bottom box.

A thorough wood polish completed it.

Well, the two boxes did not exactly fit but the difference in size created a useful gap for easy retrieval for magazines and other reading materials.

At times, it is also a laptop table.

To EJ, this useful 'junk' is a beautiful conversation piece.