New Addition to the Family....

Before you let your mind run wild with imagination, read on....

The new addition is not that of a two legged kind, but that with four legs and fur.

One day, Esmond was out doing some gardening and I brought him some chips and water. Then I saw a ball of orange fur, sunning himself at the neighbour's. I held out a piece of chip and the rest is history....

We weren't sure if he'd stay for the long run, so put him up in a box (lined with David's old fleece sweater and some T-shirts) for a few days...














We keep expecting not to see him when we came back from work... but he hung on... In the first few days, we fed him what we ate. So he'd share our pasta bolognaise, rice etc...















As time goes by, we started buying cat stuff, bit by bit.

First off, cat food. We got him Whiskas dry cat food... and he loves it. We bought him cat food from other brands and he didn't like any of them. We also got him some wet food (which we give as a weekly treat on Sundays and special days like Christmas / New Year etc). Even wet food he favours Whiskas... he's a loyal Whiskas supporter!!!

Maybe he fell for their commercials!!!
- Hip Hop Dancing Mouse
- Bagpipe Playing Mouse

I must admit that their commercials are quite funny...

The only thing that our cat doesn't like about Whiskas dry food are the Denta bits... the ones that are in the shape of a cross... he'll pick the others to eat and the last few bits that he leaves behind (if he's had enough) will be the crosses!














Next, we need to think of a name for the cat... There were a few, including Sargeant - because of the pattern on his head... Finally, we settled on Tiger because of the stripes on his body. However, he doesn't respond to the name Tiger, so in the end, his name is Mao Mao... (as in the chinese character & pronunciation of cat...) I know it's not original, but it's the only name that the cat responds to, so no choice loh... he chose the name what...

And how do we know it's a he? Well, a few days after he stayed with us, we noticed that it wasn't it usual self and was always tired and didn't have appetite for his food. So we made an appointment to bring him to the vet the next day. On the day that we were to bring him to the vet, he was well already! We still decided to bring him for a check just in case as well as to check if he's been tagged. The vet checked for microchips and tattoos but there were none so we couldn't trace it back to its original owner. The vet also told us that he was definitely owned by someone else because there was no sign of fleas on the cat (which is pretty impossible for a stray), its a "HE" and he looks healthy and well maintained, and he's been spayed (i.e. he's a eunuch!!)... So thanks to the previous owner, we have a spayed male cat.

So since April 08, we've had the cat (it's coming to a year now!!!)...

He's turning more manja by the day and has started to demand some attention when we come back from work in the evening.

So now, we have someone to greet us when we come back to work!

And how does he repay us?...... (Hint: Studio Ghibli's The Cat Returns)

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Yes, that's a rat... a baby one... I had to wrestle it away from him and 'buy' it off him with some food...

Apart from rats, he had come back with lizards and grasshoppers.... We saw him "fighting" with a praying mantis the other day too... One day, he left a bird for Esmond on floor next to the car, right at the driver's side...

Thanks for all your repayments Mao, but we prefer cash or gold bullion!