Done with the Hibernation Period

As Lucky gains more and more strength, she has become very active this past week. She'd run to the garden, exploring and chasing weird animals. She'd want to play with us, though often when we did play with her, she'd run to the garden again hoping that we'd run after her and do the hide-and-seek game. She'd love to do the camouflage spy game, thanks to her black fur, and attack animals (or us) when least expected. She'd climb the stairs and jump onto the top of the bathroom wall, peeking at us when we took a shower.

Lucky, on top of the water heater compartment,
not able to come down on her own.

This weekend will be the first weekend she won't be spending time with us. Vincent and I are off to Lembongan for a relaxing anniversary weekend (we've been JUST together for 4 years this week). My sister is going to housesit my place, and she'll be bringing her puppy along. It'd be interesting to see how Lucky reacts to other animals, but unfortunately we won't be there to see that. I hope everything goes well.

In the mean time, check out the newest video of my favourite cat channel on YouTube.

First Bath and First Kill

Lucky jumped from the stairs on to my computer desk, then onto my laps this morning, like she always does. As I petted her I saw that her fur was getting worse and worse everyday. It was like it'd just undergone some bad hair curling treatment or something. Then I started examining each string and found that there were flea eggs in every single hair! No wonder she scratched herself so often and suffered from the itch!

I knew that the vet told me not to bathe her because she was too small and weak. But I thought if it wasn't the worms inside her stomach that were eating her food consumption (and trust me, she ate so much but never got any heavier since the time we adopted her), it must have been the fleas. I googled what made it dangerous for little kittens to be bathed before certain age. It seemed to be the tendency of getting hypothermia after the bath.

I gave it more thought and then decided to bathe her anyway with warm water. As I rubbed the flea shampoo for kittens on her fur, the knocked-out fleas got stuck on my hands and I've never ever seen so many fleas in my life! Some of the survivors ran to her face, which obviously I wouldn't wash, but the eggs were easily washed away. Lucky was fine at first, but her fear built up as I let the shampoo stayed on her fur for 5 minutes (as the instruction said). So the bad kitty bit me.

Anyhoo, when I finished bathing her, I made sure she was dried up properly. I roughly dried her with a towel, then used a hair dryer (in quite some distance, like 20 cms far) to warm her up and dry her fur. Then I let her sunbathe in the garden. She actually seemed like she loved it when I used the hair dryer. She almost fell asleep as I groomed her. :P

After that, I left to my belly dance class. Guess what I found when I came back 2 hours later.

Lucky, sitting on a long snake! She was meowing to me and proudly showing me her first hunting achievement. But I was too shocked to be proud!

My little skinny black kitten and a dead snake!!! Did the snake bite her?!?! 

I called my boyfriend and asked him if it was an emergency case. Then I called the vet asking if it was an emergency case. Both told me to see how she was doing in a few hours. If she showed any weird sign, I should get her to the clinic immediately.

Luckily, Lucky was lucky. She didn't act anything weird, except hating me and refusing to be near me for the whole day for taking the headless snake away.

YES, HEADLESS!

Apparently she already ate its head.

Oh, well, I guess I had to be proud of her. Awesome cat!!!

Lucky's First Visit to the Vet

I took Lucky to the vet this morning to see what her overall condition was. I saw last month that that the best veterinary clinic in Bali - Listriyani and associates - just had another branch open 5 minutes from my place. It was just a good timing for Lucky's first visit to the vet.

When I met Listriyani, I hugged her. I thanked her for what she had done for Mouche during her FIV sickness, and I told her that I meant to visit her sooner but my heart broke if I had to go to that clinic again. I was almost choked in tears when I said that. In reply she said, "Oh, it's okay. I understand. It was a hard time for you. I'm so very happy to see you now, moving on." She must have seen little Lucky on the examination table.

Another vet checked on Lucky. From her observation, she found:

• Lucky was experiencing a slight hypothermia, though not bad either.
• Lucky's gum was so pale when it was supposed to be pink when healthy.
• Her nose was not as bad as other stray cats, which meant it would be easier to get her back to the healthy state.

Yay!

She gave me two pieces of super small pills to treat the worms in her stomach and a vitamin to give every day. She approximated that Lucky was about 2 months old, though not exactly looking like one due to the malnutrition. In about a month, the kitten is expected to gain much more weight and strength, thus is ready for her first vaccination.

Lucky was so well-behaved at the vet clinic. I put her in the green Carrefour bag, lining the bottom with Mouche's baby cushion, and she just stayed calm there. The only time she expressed a dislike was when the vet inserted the thermometer inside her anus. But other than that, she was such a good girl!

If she is a girl. Can't determine a cat's gender at her age yet. But I have a feeling she's a girl.

Lucky, the Black Baby Cat

I was at Seminyak Square having some coffee with my sister that evening when an SMS from Eleonore, Vincent's friend, came in. She told me that she just took a very skinny little black kitten from a street near her office. She asked if I wanted to adopt the cat. I told her I'd talk with Vincent first about it.

When Vincent came back from his poker tournament, we talked. I was pessimistic about having another cat, since after Geisha and Mouche (then Zizou who filled our life shortly before he went missing), I was almost convinced we were not meant to have a cat pet. Even though all the incidents that took the cats' lives away were not our fault, it just seemed weird that the ones with us never had a long life.

However, we decided to go to Eleonore's to see the kitten.

She was telling the truth. The black kitten was super skinny and weak. It'd die if she didn't find it and take it. You could go through his spine and ribs, you'd feel nothing but bones. Lovely long, thick fur, though. Ele was half-pushing us to take the cat because her cat and dog hated the kitten and she couldn't keep it herself.

It didn't take us very long to decide that we were adopting the baby cat. We couldn't just leave it like that. So we took the kitty home.

Eleonore's is just a few blocks away from our place. But other cats would struggle if we took them on a motorbike. This cat didn't. It immediately got comfy inside the shopping bag and fell asleep there. As Vincent was driving away from Eleonore's, he said,

"I already know what name we should give to the kitty. Lucky. Because it is."

"I agree. She also needs to be lucky to be with us, too."

So Lucky it is. Meet Lucky, the newest member of our family.

Remembering Mouche

It's been a long, long while since I blogged about Mouche. I was too busy with projects, friends, family, guests, other things that I could list on and on and on but neither has any importance as a real excuse right now. But I'm not going to start blaming myself on that. No, I won't. Because it's over now. She's gone.

Yes, you read it right. She's gone. To the heaven of little cats. She's gone.

It's been only 20 days since she breathed her last breath, and though I've run to the Borneo jungles and to the arms of my mother, my soul doesn't rest yet. Not quite. So I'm hoping this could be some sort of closure for me. Not to forget her, but to remember her and her good days with us.

This was Mouche in Vincent's wrap just a few weeks before she died.

The Return of Mouche

The vet called early in the morning asking if he could bring Mouche back at 10. I thought that was super quick, but I said yes. I told Vincent and he delayed going to the office to welcome Mouche back.

When she was finally here, she couldn't wait to get out of the cage. She dashed out as quickly as she could and she tried to climb up the stairs.

But she couldn't. She fell down showing how weak her limbs were.

The vet said that she was still drunk due to the anaesthesia. Vincent took Mouche back so that the vet could explain to us more clearly about the operation. We saw a rectangle shaved part of Mouche's stomach, on the side, and there was a bandage covering the wound. He said basically the drug is going to go away after a day and she'll be fully recovered in a week when we can peel off the bandage.

We actually wanted her to be vaccinated as well, but the vet gave a better option: he can go here again next week to check on the week and at the same time have her vaccinated.

Mouche was so needy the whole day. She could barely open her eyes but she knew when I was moving from one room to another. She followed me everywhere, I think based on the sounds I made, and she kept stumbling down the stairs. I put her food bowl upstairs so she didn't have to do all the work going up and down the stairs when she was so drunk like that. It was almost hard to leave the house for the ad print meeting.

Anyway, it was weird to see the so very loud Mouche the night before and the so very quiet and helpless Mouche now. Yes, she's normally pretty quiet, but not this quiet. I'm worried but Vincent says she's gonna be okay soon.

Desexing Mouche

Mouche has been very difficult these past 2 days. The normally quiet kitty has become crazily so loud. Vincent suspected that she was coming to puberty age and perhaps was having her first period. There have also been two other cats that were checking out our house and meowing loudly. They're probably thinking, "Oh, there's a girl there!"

We felt alarmed as we didn't want Mouche to continuously have babies. So I called a vet yesterday and asked him to check her out. Mouche knew that a vet was coming so she was hiding under the couch. Vincent had to lift up the couch so I could reach her. The vet then did a short check on her and he confirmed that she was ready to mate - proven by her excitement as you touched her bottom. We agreed that he could take her so that he could perform the operation.

If yesterday I couldn't sleep because the teenage cat kept meowing, last night I couldn't sleep because I was worried. Mouche was never happy with the existence of other people but me and Vincent. And now she's away from us in Sanur and with nobody she knows. She must have been terrified.

However, I'll see about it today. The vet promised to return her today as he would be performing a new desexing method - cutting the side of the stomach instead of the one under. He said this method was much safer and wouldn't hurt the kitty as much as if the incision was made under the stomach. Because then there would be no gravity effect to hurt the wound more.

"He'd better be good," Vincent said about the vet. Obviously we didn't want anything to happen with Mouche.

Her Mom is Dead

When arriving home yesterday evening, Vincent was saying to Mouche,

"Poor Kitty; your mommy is dead."

I got out of the office and asked him to explain more. Vincent said that he heard from his colleague that Mouche's mother fought with a dog and she lost.

Poor Mom.

I hugged Mouche and told her, "Don't worry. I'm your mommy now."

And to think that last year I didn't even like cats....

Not As Greedy

Mouche is starting to be not as greedy as she was before. She also behaves when we eat. She would sit by our feet, but she wouldn't meow to beg for food. Good girl!

Sleepy Head

Yeah, she is not exactly feminine when sleeping...

Foot Lover

As in foot biter.

She can't see a moving foot and she'll just catch it and bite it.

Under the Chair

Mouche likes to be under the chair where I sit on when working. Sometimes she rubs her body against my feet, expecting my toes to react and tickle her a bit.

Patient Hunter

Once she tried it, she could never stop.

Ever since Mouche caught and ate the bird, she consistently sat here by the window of the living room, looking at the dense bamboo tree where she could hear so many birds chirping noisily in the morning. Her face alert and occasionally she would stretched her neck outside to get a better view where the birds might be.

Patiently waiting for another bird to come close to the house

She could be there for hours. Once she fell asleep from waiting. She looked so cute though at the same time her intention was not that cute. :P

Falling asleep after waiting too long

The Little Hunter

Compared to Geisha, Mouche is a more clingy kitten. She makes sounds as if she was sad or hungry or lonely almost all the time. She gives you that sad "I'm dying" look if you ever let her food bowl empty. She's afraid of new voices and new people and she will always hide under the sofa if she senses danger coming from other people but me and Vincent. It makes us think she is a weak kitty.

BUT IT'S ALL A DISGUISE!!!

She's a mean, senseless, cold-blooded, bird-killer kitty!!!

One day I was working early in the morning in the living room. As usual I opened the window so that the nice morning breeze can get in. Mouche was sleeping under a chair far away from that window.

Then I heard something and Mouche was already flying in the air by the window then she landed on her four feet on the chair next to the window.

I was like, "What? What happened?"

Then I heard something chirped from her mouth. I thought it was a mouse at first. But there are never mice in our house, thanks to the so many snakes here (yes, that's an irony). And why would it be in the air? I watched her closely and asked her what it was in her mouth.

She said, "Grmmmeeeehhhhrrrr," which meant, "Shut up, it's mine!"

Then I saw it.

It was a bird!!!

The bird was still alive and it struggled to get away from her teeth grab.

I was SO freaked out.

I told Mouche sternly to let the bird go away. But she hid under the chair.
When I tried to get the bird, she ran downstairs.

After a short while, I didn't hear the bird's sound anymore. I concluded that it was already dead.
There was no way I would want to go downstairs and find the bird's dead body somewhere there. So I waited until Vincent woke up and told him all about it. Then I also told him to get rid of the bird's body so I wouldn't have to see it when I went downstairs.

He looked at me in amazement, "Bibou, Mouche is a cat. There won't be any bird anymore."

I screamed. She couldn't have possibly eaten the bird, could she???? She was just a little spoiled, weak kitty!!!

But she did. As Vincent went downstairs, there was only the head of the bird and Mouche was playing with it.

I hated Mouche for two days.

Spoiled Mouche

Hi-Tech Kitty

Who likes to sit on the laptop after a fresh bath?
Who likes to sit on the laptop just for the sake of intruding me working?

Yes, Mouche.

Mouche after bath

Like any other cats, Mouche hates to be bathed. But she doesn't normally struggle a lot. She just makes sounds as if she was dying for touching the water. Anyway... as long as she's smelly and maybe still infected by fleas, she has to be bathed. This is how she looks like on typically Saturday morning.

Playtime

Mouche finishes her hybernation period of only eating, sleeping, pooping, eating, sleeping and pooping. She has been with us for almost a month now and has started to enjoy playing.

When I gave her Geisha's toys 3 weeks ago, she was not the slightest interested. Now you threw her a little ball, and she would go after it. A few days ago I was just wiggling my toe and she snapped at it. I also wagged my finger in front of her face and one of her front feet snapped at it back. It was really like playing the hom pim pah game.

So yes, it is fun to see her interact with us. But one morning I went to my laundry room and saw such a mess on the floor with my nursery pots going upside down and the potting soil all over the place. It seemed that Mouche found it also interesting to climb to the windowsill and drop the pots down!

Urgh....

Mouche's first video

Mouche and Vincent

Vincent thought Mouche was afraid of him. But the fact is Mouche is afraid of anybody who is new or any sudden movement. She is such a delicate little kitty who jumps at everything and hides under the sofa or bookcase or table when she sees someone new or senses aggressive movement.

But after one week, she gets comfortable with Vincent. She sleeps on his lap and more often than not, she approaches him as he eats. She doesn't even bother to get near me as we eat because I tend not to give pets food when I eat. I think it is a bad education. Pets can have the food AFTER we finish eating or before. Normally I feed her before we eat in the hope that she won't beg for food when we finally eat. But of course, being a cat, no matter how full her stomach is, she will always meow under our table. Before Vincent arrived here, in her first week in our house, Mouche tried to climb the table where the food was. I slapped her feet lightly and she never did it again when we eat.

I guess one thing that I like about Mouche is that she listens. She knows when we teach her that something is bad, and she never repeats it again.

However when there is a bad police (me), there should be a good police (Vincent). So he's spoiling Mouche as he always spoils all cats. It's fine with me. He is only here in the evenings and during weekends anyway. Not enough spoiled moments to make Mouche a spoiled cat. :)