March 8, 2013

  • Cha Cha

    I've never talked about my "first daughter" before, not a posting on this blog nor have I posted pictures on Facebook. Now she's gone .. but it's not too late to finally honour her existence. 

     

    First glance at a hostile Mummy Cat.. which turned friendly after I offered her food.

    The kittens just days old

    Cha Cha with a proud Mummy Cat

    Cha Cha come to us under extraordinary circumstance. In June 2012, my mom heard faint kitten mewing sounds in her bathroom towards the ceiling. Curious, I took a ladder and went up and true enough, there was an adult sized cat near a small ray of light coming from my parent's bathroom. The cat, obviously a mother, was VERY hostile and hissed every time I poked my head up the ceiling. But a cat is a cat.  After I poured some cat food (Royal Canine) into a small transparent takeaway bowl.. true enough, the hostile mommy cat turned into a gentle kitty cat, mewing and begging for food. When I got a good look at her body, I was struck by her beauty.. the pattern.. the bushy tail.. and most of all (for the purpose of this tale) her very soft fur. She had three kittens in that small ceiling compartment. We cut a hole from the bathroom for direct access and feeding. So we gave Mummy Cat food and water everyday and she in turn would give nourishment to the kittens. Yes, I had to clean up her crap too. 

     

    Left: Just a month old and early signs of bonding with daddy. Right: Lunch time with.from mom. 

    From the beginning, among the 3 kittens, I've noticed the gentle white one with a long tail and decided if we were to keep any of them, it will be that one. We struggled to come up with a name for her at first, but while raising all of them until an age we can give them away, we named the brother (whom we also decided to keep) Bo Bo, after its short bowtie like tail, hence, naming the sister Cha Cha (Bobo Chacha, get it?). Reason for keeping them was because our first Son, Elphar, had just passed away and we felt that Remy needed company. However, after a month or two, Mummy Cat's heat/noise was too much for us to bear and we decided to give her and Tan Tan (the 3rd sibling which was not that nice to look at) away to SPCA for adoption.. under the most regrettable circumstances as I was very fond of her. She also didn't get along at all with Remy which was another reason for us deciding that two adult cats in the same hous simply can't get along. 

    Bo Bo had a charming personality and was a people person.. and quite a licker. He would be licking Cha Cha for up to an hour.. quite sick.. but that's how he showed his affection. He would also lick my fingers and on one occasion, licked my face which I immensely enjoyed! Unfortunately on 9th September 2012, Bo Bo was left unsupervised, strayed out of the house and into the jaws of my neighbours dog. It was a very saddening thing to have happened. 

     

     

    So we were left with Cha Cha. She was not a very socialable cat.. and by that I mean she's not the type that will go up to your leg rubbing it, nor is she the type that mews for food. The only thing she does respond too in the cutest way was when you walked up to her and called her name in her face .. "Cha Cha~", she will respond in a "mew" which almost sounded guilty but so cute it melts hearts. She was VERY adventurous and it seemed like nothing is too high nor too narrow nor too dangerous for her to take on. We thought Remy was very daredevil, but she was WAY more. But it was a point of concern for me as I didn't want her to get killed like her brother. She has a long tail, quite like Remy's which was gingerish with a tab of black. The rest of her body was as white as snow, except the head with had a small patch of ginger. Her fur, just like her mother's was as soft as wool.. quite different from all the cats we have.. she probably was double coated. Truly comfortable to lie ones head on. Compared to Remy, she was much smaller.. in fact the three kittens we took on a month and a half later caught up to her in size. She was miniature to say the least. Comparing pictures, she didn't grow very much beyond 4 months old. Most kittens respond to strokes, but she prefers a still, motionless hand. So just putting your hand parallel on her soft body is enough to make her purr.. and she oddly stops purring when the stroking takes place. Hence, she wasn't a very physical or touchy cat with humans. But she did inherit something from her lick-crazy-brother.. often seeking out Remy and giving him a nice love bite below his neck. Her body was long and I liked putting my leg on her (in a non-abusive way of course) which at times she seemed to enjoy. Like Remy, she doesn't really like me carrying her (what a shame), so when I do.. she'll let out a cute-faint squeal.. but otherwise held a very cool, confident and care free personality. I'd sometimes call her Kitten-Cat, cause that's what she really is.. too small to be a cat, but too big to be a kitten. My Kitten Cat. 

       

    The adventurous Cha Cha. After Bo Bo strayed off and got killed, we were more cautious with her and tied her on leash and allowed her to roam the garden. You will find her anywhere, no matter how narrow or high. A very curious cat, which eventually got her killed. 

    We moved to this new house on 31st January 2013. This new residence is surrounded by forest and featured too many dangers, from a pack of a dozen wild dogs, to eagles, owls, poisonous snakes and the list goes on. I didn't want any of my cats roaming around freely due to these dangers hence locked them indoors. My new place featured a tree and opening in the middle - something which bothered me as I was sure Cha Cha would climb that as she climbs the tree in my former house's garden. But this proved not to be the case and I rested easy over time. Still, the cats got frustrated and clearly wanted out. We constructed a netted enclosure on one side of the house so that the cats get at least get a feel of the outdoors and nature.

    The most affected cat would be Remy. Cha Cha was his favourite friend. Saddens me to think that he has lost yet another best buddy. Prior to that Bobo was his favourite and before that Elphar. 

    Despite our efforts, on 8th March 2013, Cha Cha somehow managed to escape out of the house three times, suspected through an opening in a window. I spotted her at noon out in the forest, so happened to be looking in that direction when a flash of white moved around the bushes. I dashed out and managed to bring her home safely then. Little did I know the words I murmured to her will bear so much meaning now.. things like "I love you cat".. "Can't let anything happen to you".. "you're daddy's pretty girl".. and just admiring how soft her fur was as I threw her over my shoulder, the only cat in my household which allows me too like a rag. I enjoy carrying her on her back, facing upwards. She tolerates it for a minute and then goes into what I call a "rolling fish" motion. Just part of our love-hate thing.

    I went out to work right after that and met my parents in Monash as they came to pay fees around 3.30pm. They told me Cha Cha ran out of the house again around 2.00pm. Initially, I wasn't too concerned, knowing she would come back. But came 10.20pm when I got home from my night classes, I found out she still wasn't home. It was then when I got really worried. We tried searching for her till past midnight, forgoing my dinner. But it was dark and we were surrounded by forest. It was truly like finding a needle in a haystack.. worse yet, she doesn't respond to us.. so calling her name was of no use. My mom was speculating that she's gone. Killed by something in the forest as it was not possible for her to be out for so long. I went to sleep at 1.30am, worried sick but knew there was nothing more I could do about it. 

    At 8.30am plus, I was woken up by my frantic mom informing me that she found Cha Cha. Initially I was relieved, but later found out that she was dead. She was found along the fence, just 5 meters away from where my bed would be.. but at the other side of the room wall. My mom suspects that she came back 2-3 hours ago as the body was still soft (though her legs were stiff). Her body was wet, cold, had mud at parts and some leafs were in her mouth. The only wound I found on her was a puncture on her sides followed by a hairline cut. It's unclear what killed her as we can't tell if her bones were fractured, but it was clear something killed her.. possibly bitten by a poisonous snake just a few hours before finding her. Sigh, stupid cat... I don't know why she had to stubbornly get out of the house all the time....

    I was devastated, despite accepting her fate before hitting the sack. Not sure if I'm glad finding her body, which at least give us closure.. or if I preferred living with the fact if we didn't find her that she could still be alive somewhere out. Not like anything will change. We undid her collar, removed her tag and cat-flap magnet key, dug an unmarked grave behind the house and layed her to rest. 

    Last picture of Cha Cha alive.. not very glam

    I will miss her prettiness and soft fur forever. 

    Cha Cha's collar she had since birth. Unlike the other cats, she was able to keep her collar until she died. The red went well with her snowy white body. It's buried together with her now, though I removed the tag which has my number on it and the cat-flap magnet. 

     

Comments (2)

  • Oh my goodness! Incredible article dude! Thank you so much, However I am experiencing difficulties with your RSS.
    I don't understand why I am unable to join it.
    Is there anyone else getting the same RSS issues?
    Anybody who knows the solution can you kindly respond?

    Thanks!!

    • Dear Spammer. This is an OBITUARY of a beloved family pet. As such, your excitement and tone is highly inappropriate. "Oh my goodness" indeed.

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