Mother Cat & Single Kitten

They used to stay at the basement car park of the apartment block which I am staying. The place was safe – safe from all kind of unexpected disturbances. The zinc roof was their favourite spot for resting or napping.

I must admit that the Mother Cat taught her baby well. There is no way I can go near him. He would hiss at me and run to hide under the walk way or the small drain each time I tried to. The mother would keep an eye on me. I have been feeding the Mother Cat and kitten for months now. Unfortunately, I can only observe them eating from a distant.

During one of my feeding rounds, at the lower ground car park, I caught Sweetie Pie being protective over her babies, hissed and growled and chased after the Mother Cat which only wanted biscuits from me. Being mild natured, the Mother Cat didn’t fight back. Instead, she scampered away.

After that particular incident, which I believe was not the first; the Mother Cat decided to move away from the basement car park. I didn’t see them for almost a week, and was anxious about their whereabouts, until I spotted them at the small rubbish dump. That stinking rubbish dump is their new home. My heart sank.

As days go by, I noticed that the Mother Cat is drawing herself away from the kitten. As suspected, the Mother Cat is pregnant. Thank goodness, she is not hostile to her baby. She merely doesn’t allow him to eat or cuddle up next to her anymore. I have no choice but to feed them separately.

The picture, taken on the evening of 9 April 2009 shows the kitten having his meal inside the rubbish dump. Whereas, the picture of The Mother Cat having her biscuits not too far from the rubbish dump was taken at 1:30am on 17 April 2009.

The kitten is very attached to his mother. I often caught him snuggled up to her when they were staying at the car park’s basement. Now that he has been neglected, and in the brink of being abandoned by the Mother Cat, this timid kitten is left alone not only without his mother’s love and care but to fend for himself. How is he going to find additional food when he dares not venture too far from the rubbish dump?

Before

Presence

He has been suffering from eye infection for the past couple of weeks. What worst could happen to the poor kitten? He has mange all over his ears, face and paws now. It cuts my heart so deep to look at his once adorable face being ‘disfigured’ by these diseases.

What can I do? I wish I have the financial ability to send him to the vet for medication. I can only continue to feed him and pray to God for his speedy recovery.

The Siblings - Sweetie, Snowie & Greyie

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These are the surviving babies of Sweetie Pie. Since the day the mother abandoned them, they have been begging for food either from the Thai Muslim restaurant’s patrons or the restaurant workers when I have not make my round feeding cats. They are currently living in the staircase of an unoccupied commercial unit below the apartment which I am staying.

Sweetie

Sweetie is very energetic, friendly and playful. To Sweetie, his meal time is the most important part of his life. None of his siblings and almost nothing would be able to stir him away from his biscuits. He would dip his head on the container full of biscuits and eat to his heart’s content.

Once he is done eating, he would groom himself, and play with his siblings jumping about the staircase and open space. At times, if I were sitting on the stairs he would go behind trying to provoke me to play with him, or he would grab my feet pretending to bite them. If I were to show him my hands, he would ‘kiss’ my fingers joyfully. He is indeed a kitten full of zest.

Snowie

Snowie is very shy and timid, sweet and mild natured. Once I gained her trust she becomes very friendly and allows me to pat her head as well as her body. She even turns her belly up for me to stroke. Sometimes, she would grab my fingers, lick and ‘kiss’ them, and using her hind legs she would kick my hands provoking me to play with her. Other times, she would sit quietly in between my feet.

Snowie takes her own sweet time to enjoy her biscuits. She would stop in between meal to groom herself. She is truly a very sweet kitten.

Greyie

Among the siblings, Greyie is most friendly and playful. He loves to lick my fingers, ‘kiss’ my hands, and meows for me to pat his head and caress his body while he purrs away contentedly. Most of the time, he will look straight into my eyes and meow pleasantly, then jump slightly up trying to grab my hand indicating he wants to play.

He is not the type of cat that dashes for his food at first sight. Instead, he will only eat his biscuits if he is allowed to rub his head against my feet. After his meal, he will groom himself thoroughly prior to continue to rubbing his head against my feet or sit very intimately next to me. What a charming kitten!

(Note : Names are given to these kittens for easy reference purposes only).

Sweetie Pie & Her Surviving Babies

I named her Sweetie Pie. She is one of the cats which i feed on a regular basis. I may say that she is one of the earliest batches of cats found wandering about the streets when I first moved in to the apartment which I am currently staying.

She was pregnant when I took this picture on 3 Dec 2008. She finished all the biscuits I gave her. Contented, she took a rest at the pavement outside the elevator's lobby of the apartment.

When I met Sweetie Pie one afternoon, she had given birth. I had no idea where she hid her babies. She looked very thin and frail. She meowed and ran toward me when she saw me. She knew I would feed her.

About a month ago, on 10 March 2009, I caught her with her kittens resting and playing at the apartment's lower ground cark park. For the safety of her babies, she has been moving her family about until she found a place which she thought was safe for her and her kittens, and settled there for good. However, the security guard who was so used to seeing me feeding the cats told me that one of her kittens was killed by a car. I was rather upset by the news.

Anyway, look at how they enjoyed the biscuits. And how happy the mother 'breast-feeded' her babies. And how contented they were, resting on the steps of the staircase after their meal. One happy family indeed!

Unfortunately, Sweetie Pie is pregnant again. Her pregnancy has caused her to be very hostile to her existing kittens. She would hiss and run away from them. She would not allow them to get close to her at all. This leaves me no choice but to feed the mother and kittens separately.

Finally, she abandoned the poor kittens. These adorable kittens began to treat me as their 'mother' ever since then. They would come running to me, knowing I have their meals prepared. They know I would stay and wait until they finish eating. They would rub themselves against my feet and 'kiss' my hands. Without fail, I would play with them for a while before I leave them all by themselves.

The Least I Could Do...

They do not have a shelter over their heads which we called home. They do not have an owner who provides them with care and food daily. They do not receive the simplest act of love – a pat on the head, which our pets receive so abundantly.

I have often asked myself, ‘I have at least three meals per day. Is it too much for a cat to eat a decent meal a day?’ The answer is NO. Nobody likes to live with an empty stomach. I don’t! And, I believe cats do not like it either.

Therefore, ‘l will feed the cats,’ I told myself. ‘Let me begin by giving those cats wandering about on the streets where I live a decent meal a day.’

But, I want to do more for these cats. If possible, I want to send them for neutering when my financial ability allows me to do just so. I will not be able to give them proper care and a home now. However, I can provide them food. This is the least I could do for them, for the moment.

The Cats

These are the cats I feed on a regular basis. I didn't manage to take pictures of some of the cats for they are very cautious of my presence and camera-shy; some of them have 'migrated' to another place and never show up again.