Tuesday, December 13, 2005

ADA APA PADA KUCING?

I am borrowing Anedra's topic of a recent entry: ADA APA PADA LELAKI BOTAK? Since I have no affinity towards these apparently sexy testosterone-laden beings , I have chosen cats instead, as I perceive that many people can't fathom why some people like me adore these feline creatures so much. Just like Anedra, who goes ga-ga over bald men, my heart just melts each time I see a cat, whatever its pedigree, colour or size. I can't really explain but a cat's presence just lures my attention, be it just for a few seconds. It's as though I have a connection with them and the feeling of empathy for them is so great!

My love for cats began since I was young. I'd feed stray cats at the back of my house, giving them whatever left-overs we had from lunch or dinner. Mak would nag me off, fearing the cats would make our house their permanent abode. Not wanting to defy mak, I didn't pursue this 'love' intensely, only doing my good samaritan act when mak was not around to grumble her dislike.

My interest in cats rekindled back after I got married as my late MIL was also an avid cat lover and had at one time took care about 7-8 cats of long-haired species. One of them was a family legend named Kitty, which had many percularities in traits and behavior. But of course, Boogey and iKelah are the better experts on Kitty's colorful past thus I shall not dwell on her further.

For many years when iFos and Aliah were small, they would pester us to adopt cats (Sarah initially had qualms being around cats but look at her now!) However due to many reasons of health and sanitation, we adamantly refused. Till one day, when a stray cat came and we hadn't the heart to turn her away. She came as a kitten and lived with us till she produced 2 litters of kittens. One day she simply disappeared and never came back. We were not that cat-savvy then and we didn't make an effort to give her a name. We just called her 'Mak Kucing' as she was the mother to all the kittens. All her kittens didn't survive except one which grew into a big chubby one. We called him/her 'Debab' .We weren't sure of her/his sex as she/he showed contradicting characteristics. It had genitalia of a male but we were shocked when it breastfed its own siblings when 'Mak Kucing' disappeared! Blimey!


Mayo and Pooty frolicking

Later, after Debab died of mysterious circumstances, we were cat-free for quite sometime till iKelah saw a cute and playful orangey semi-persian kitten for sale in a pet-shop (actually it was a kedai jual ikan-aquarium). That marked the day 'Mayo' came into our lives. From a very playful, cheeky lovable long-haired kitten, Mayo grew into a beautiful orangey semi-persian with a not-so-peeky face. In fact, Mayo does resemble Garfield in several aspects, her indifference especially :). When she was at her peak, she had a beautiful 'mane' around her neck, which according to the vet is a trait belonging to the Maine-coons (another cat species). So we concluded that Mayo is actually a cross-breed of Persian and Maine-coon. Being Persian, explains her indifference. She never establish eye-contact with us, no matter how hard we tried. She always put on a face that says " don't mind me".

Being half Maine-coon means that she also inherits some of its traits. One of it is being a dare-devil with careless attitude, fearless of heights and sitting on precarious spots. She loves climbing out of the bedroom window (risking fall) and laze on the air-con compressor, watching with great interest at the birds flying above but with no urge whatsoever to attack them!



Later we bought Pooty, an all-white Turkish Angora. Whilst Mayo displays an extremely indifference attitude, Pooty is a very loving cat that exudes warmth and friendliness. It is a true lap-cat. It loved being cradled on our laps and would purr with sheer contentment. Pooty would look into our eyes knowingly and I could swear that he could read our minds. At our old house, due to space constraint and fear of them getting astrayed, we caged them up, only setting them free into the house at intervals. Stray cats would come to woo Mayo and poor Pooty would observe with great distaste (literally!). He would 'jeling' and turn his face just to show his detest. Once my maid shoo-ed a wooing stray and Pooty let out an almost sniggering giggle! Fancy that!

Pooty is such a clumsy lad and would always dirty his pure white coat, leaving stubborn black stains, making it impossible for us to clean even with vigorous scrubbing. Mayo is the complete opposite and would lick herself clean all over with repetitive nodding movements (its amazing that she's never tired of doing this). So one day, on the vet's advice, we had him clean-shaved leaving just a small tuft at the end of his tail (just to let him know that it's his tail and not to bite it!) Anedra would have drooled looking at this bald sphinx-like cat! Sadly it was only few weeks later that he disappeared never to come back.

One night, a stormy one, unknown to us, Pooty left the house for good. We searched for him all over the village, on foot and by car. We left notices with pictures of him all over. But to no avail. According to the people here, in this village, no long-haired cats should be let loose lest it'll be nabbed. Now it has been 7 months since he was probably stolen and we still miss him sorely. Our hearts wrench each time his image comes to mind and questions like: are you eating well Pooty? Have your coat grown back as beautiful as before? Are you still alive? would play in our minds. We will forever miss you Pooty!

My children have inherited my empathy for cats and have, in fact, outdone me! iFos and Aliah would cry each time our cats die. They would show their dislike if someone mistreats any cats. Once we stopped at an R & R for prayers. After exiting the toilet I saw Aliah, red in the face with tears, at the surau entrance. Apparently a cat was splashed with cold water for wanting to enter the surau as it smelled food from within. Aliah was furiously guarding the cat, delaying her prayers, preventing it from entering again lest it'll get a second dose of shower!

Mayo has given birth twice and now she's pregnant again. And one of her offspring has also given birth to 4 kittens. I have lost track on their numbers! My plan: to make Mayo pregnant one last time with Nikko (another Maine-coon, a male stud, belonging to the vet) and then tie her tubes! At least insyallah this time, she'll give birth to long-haired offsprings like her, unlike those before, as she had gone for illegal mating all this while! Since the kucing kampung here, almost all, have kinked tails, so her offsprings' tails so far are not beautiful as hers! (kontot and patah!)

So that is the story of my feline friends who are almost human and very dear to my heart. Ada apa pada kucing? Lots, I daresay! Miaow!

33 comments:

Queen Of The House said...

Meow!!!
Could it be that Debab was a pondan cat??? Ada ke???
I don't have a real affinity for cats, tak larat nak layan. Geli, esp the small ones that like to 'terkam' at your legs and chase after you. Tak tahan the cat poo .... dulu masa kecik I liked cats, but over the years ... entahlah. Dah la tu, I developed an allergy to cats that gave me the sniffles, made my eyes water and caused itchy bumps all over my face. Hahaha teringat once I slept with my aunt & her cat, which pooed on our blankets, masyaallah!

Anonymous said...

i admit that cat is such a lovable creature,but i just cannot touch it(dunno why:(- my body will feel geli all over and i will run man,i tell you!!!used to be the laughing stock of my brothers who,apparently,juz love cats so muuch...sigh...hem,but to hurt them is always a big no-no for me

Anonymous said...

I love cats. I love hugging them, stroking them, or even just making faces at them. Unfortunately for me, recently I have developed sneezing fits and itchy eyes whenever I come in contact with any cat, be it filthy or clean. Sigh.

Your cats are gorgeous.

nadya.s said...

doc,
head over heels sama itu 'debab' and 'pooty'. too cute to be true...

dith said...

QOTH- That's what we thought, a pondan cat! But a very loving one! Wah, nampaknya ramai yg allergic dgn cats :(

Anon- my girls were initially like you but they overcame it!

Kenakelayan- Oh you are the better cat lover! Having come from a feline inclined family (not mention goats and cows, hahha) But so sad dah allergic pulak! Love your SOx too!

Nadya- Debab is not in the picture, that's Mayo

anedra said...

Doc, I would love to love cats, but my moms "geli-ness" with them sort of menurun on me! (Queen: One more similarity!!) But I have resolved to overcome this by getting the boys a cat S.o.m.e.d.a.y i dont know when, so that they learn to become animal lovers unlike the mama! My my, MAYO is so cute!!! And which cat is that in the last photo?

Anonymous said...

I dont like cats.My kids do. They can stroke and play with cats for hours and not feeling bored. I think cats has feelings too, same like human.

There was a stray cat at my home last time.They wanted it to be their pet.My kids will always feed her with leftover.Until one day there was nothing left as it was during ramadhan.That night the cat goes with an empty stomach.The next morning when I went into the wet kitchen there were poop all over the floor!(My wet kitchen is totally separated from dry kitchen)My maid was grumbling and I was angry.Maybe the cat was trying to tell me..
"nah ambil engkau..kedekut.."

Em said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Em said...

Dr Dr

Your cats so lawa.. I like cats but since my last cat Tom Tom Somalia died(he was a cross breed persian)I refuse to luv another cat..It was too painful to bear..

So the only cat I like now is Hello Kitty...

Anonymous said...

In Bangkok, they actually sell dog meat satay by the roadside. My tour guide reminded us not to buy any satay here. I wonder whether they sell 'satay kucing' too.
Sorry to disappoint you drroza...but have not tried fried grasshopper just yet.

Anonymous said...

the last picture, the smallest kitty, is that a kucing hutan? looks like an exotic one.

psssttt....suruh dia beranak banyak banyak, nanti makcik nurul nak buat anak angkat!!!

anggerik merah said...

Those cats are so cutee and lovely...

dith said...

Anedra- cats are therapy to the heart just like dogs are. Maybe if your son is not allergic, cats can help him too? Yg bawah tu Bengal Anedra, campur kucing hutan

Easylady- yes, I too believe cats have feelings and instincts. So what happen to that cat?

Em-yes, it can be painful when they die. Tom Tom Somalia! What a unique name!

Pycno!- enjoying ur vacation I see! No guts (pardon the pun) to try the fried grasshoppers yet? Try them fried with chillies. Savor the crunchiness, ngap ngap, and feel the legs, feelers and wings go down ur throat, hehe

NB= Bengal tu- kawin nye! Pssstt- insyallah bila dah beranak pinak , kome simpan untuk deme satu!

Anggerik- Alrighty then!

HCI said...

Roza, lawa2nya kucing you, he he macam tuan dia kot. Yang putih tuh, macam Tobby I yang dah mati. Bila dia mati, I kena EL nak gi temankan hubby yang dok meraung kesedihan. Kuburnya siap di tanam kemboja.

He he but could you love the creature that I've just got with me, yang muka runcing brownish in color dekat saya punya blog. Hai dia meracau sekarang I pening, kalau tak dukong dia dia mengiyau merimaskan perasaan. Kalau I dah tak tahan, nanti i export ke rumah you nak?

Anonymous said...

He..he..he..you are truly a doctor,not satisfied with unfinished matter.Insyaallah I tak kejam sampai pukul kucingtu..my daughters will be screaming at me if I do that.Kucing tu lari on the way I nak hantar dia kat SPCA center.

Nusayba said...

i like looking at cats. my father has an afinity for kucing kurang upaya, hehe, my mum and sisters all love cats. my brother would gomol cats. but we've never had a cat after my last cat died (freak accident tido bawah kereta...). im the odd one out, because...im secretly scared of grown cats. i dont know why. feline-o-phobia. (kittens are ok though)

Boogey said...

Will there ever be a legendary cat like Kitty again? If I come across one then I`ll start bela kuching again.

Dr O2 said...

Thats what I don like abt cats. They sometimes leave for good while dogs won't leave even if U force them to!!

Mayo is a good lookin cat & well it is persian which makes it dear to me ;-)

dr Roza if U sometimes visit Iran & specially Tehran you'll find NUMEROUS cats loose in the city of fine stature living for themselves!! & no one really cares for them!!

There is this yellow-white-black cat that always raises her kittens in our garage! each & every year she comes back for her delivery!! I have somewhat become a vet ;-)

Bergen said...

You know cats. No doubt about it.

dith said...

Has- bila you kata hubby u meraung bila Tobby mati , teringat I kat Pakteh. Bila kucing dia mati dalam perigi, dia tak makan seminggu! DIa bela kucing macam bela anak. Sebelum masuk rumah basuh kaki kucing. Lepa kucing BO dia basuh punngung kucing!

Easylady- mana ada tuduh you pukul kucing tu. heheh. Cuma curious..Jokontan pon tak suka kucing ke?

23- cakap pasal kucing mati bawah kereta. Teringat sekali, I was reversing kereta, tak sedar anak kucing bawah...tetiba rasa tayar went 'gedegup' and bunyi shreik kucing 'yeeiikkk'....masyallah!

Boogey- buatlah satu entry pasal kitty

Dr O2- So your garage has turned into a perenial maternity home eh? hehhe. So in Iran, these cats that cost hundreds RM in Malaysia is roaming freely huh and nobody bothers...what a contrast! Maybe we can start a cat business?

Bergen- Do you have cats on the rig? hehe. Good luck in Sg Bakap!

Kak Teh said...

apa ada dengan kucing??? aaah - loads! yes, they are almost human..sometimes even better. i have six and just adore them...

Anonymous said...

Dr Roza,

Shhhh...):

Count Byron said...

Dr... I love your Mayo and Pooty.. put them together... sure will make lovely sound...

Lovely cats you have there

dith said...

Kakteh- Dont we just love them!

Easylady- oops!

Count- you sleep late huh? Having insomnia or what? hehe

Foulla- But Pure Persians are not friendly. Maine-coons, Turkish Angora, Norweigian Forest make lovable pets.

ifos said...

Mak, I never pestered you guys to adopt cats laa.. I was downright scared or them, remember?? a few months after bela mak kucing baru I developed my affinity towards those creatures.

Mayo beranak lagi?? tak bgtau pn!!

dith said...

BELOM BERANAK LAA...PREGNANT! PREGNANT! READ MY LIPS!P.R.E.G.N.A.N.T.! HEHHE

ENTAHLA SIAPA YG PESTER DULU...TOYOL KOOT....

Anonymous said...

my bro mmg giler kucing sedari kecik sampey la skrg nih. dulu kitorang dok serumah. bila i takde kat rmh, kucing sume masuk. bila i masuk rmh, my bro pun cakap kat kucing2 dia "ok, cL dah balik." maka kucing2 dia pun bertempiaran lari keluar dr rumah.

hahhahaaa.......

dith said...

CL- apa la yang you naya kat kucing tu sampai dengar nama you pon tempiaran lari!

Anonymous said...

Assalamualaikum...

Your cats are just so beautiful! I love them, but unfortunately, I am also allergic to cats :(

Anonymous said...

tu yg moskel tuu. kucing2 tu ader 6th sense kut...hehehehe..

i hate kucing!!!!!

p/s : saya beli sekor arawana ujung tawon lepas. namanya Pengiran Anak Sarah Nurwany Al-Muktadhee Billah. dia membesar bagai johan. ujung bulan lepas....dia kembali ke rahmatullah. skrg akuarium kosong. tgh dok pk ni mao bela jaws ka bela ikan paus....

HCI said...

bila i tengok pooty you, baru i tahu, tobby i dulu pun baka sama, maknanya bukan persian mixed kot. bulu tobby tu panjang, ekor panjang dan kembang, putih melepak, hidung pink dan mancung. lepas tu cerdik satu macam, ada character, dia tak suka i duduk sama hubby, dia nak control, and the cat could almost talk, kalau dia pecahkan barang2 dalam rumah, dia kata "tak eh", tapi yang paling ajaib, malam2 dia picit i, masa dok memicit, muka serius satu macam, kalau tegor dia marah. tu yang sukar di cari ganti tu, hubby meraung, tapi 2 bulan air mata dok bergenang...

Anonymous said...

Looking and stroking cats are fine with me (love their cuteness!), though i can never bring myself to carry them wround; the underneath is just feels too geli for me! my sister can't even go near a cat (the easiest way to torture her).

my family never a had until a abt a year ago, when my two youngest siblings secretly began keeping a black cat, feeding it with anchovies, prawns, milk.. whatever they could. they got kantoi-ed by my parents eventually. both of them didn't take it too well at first.

now Aswad is just like another child to them. and i must admit, it feels really good to have a cat in the house :)

ibnu_umar said...

assalamualaikum..

i'm one of those ppl who suffers pantherophobia (satu term yg dicipta sendiri, eheh) iaitu takut kucing.. back in my days in skolah sains i always stay up late at nite in the study room, and when i was on my way back to my dormitory, there was always a black cat following me.. and one nite i saw that cat flyin from the 4th floor of the aspura and since then i never study late again.. not anymore..


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