Post dated - October pressie!

Warning - product endorsement!



I got myself a pressie! :D

I thought it's about time I look for a vacuum cleaner that does its job in half the time so that I can spend more time doing what I like - eg snoozing with the kitties, reading, catching up on my sleep ...

So I bit the bullet and bought the Miele S4562 Cat & Dog vacuum cleaner! (Quite a misnomer, the name of the model. It sucks up fur, not cats and dogs, duh! :P)

We've used it for a month, it's a godsend! The couch is fur-free in less than a minute, the powerful turbo suction head lives up to its name!

The vacuum cleaner is a bit on the expensive side, I got mine at about S$800+, inclusive of extra dust bags, HEPA filter etc. But I think it's a good investment!

Begone, fur!

Home improvement

For the safety of the kitties and for our sanity, we have changed the window grilles to a cat-proof one: the width between the grilles is two and a half inches, no way these fatsos are going to squeeze through!

So now we can enjoy more breeze and safer bird-watching :)

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How are u feeling today? :)

Love this page on the Marks & Sparks calendar.

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Take it easy

I think we should learn from the slackers and take life easy.

The recent episode of the fall and hospitalization has reminded me that no one is indispensable and life goes on, no matter what.

So don't kill yourself at work. Set aside time to do the things that matter to you most, take care of your health and love the people (and kitties) around you.

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On the way to recovery

I am making good progress in recovery, am now able to get in and out of bed without assistance. Also can walk in a normal posture now, albeit rather slowly.

Kootoo and Muffy tend to get in my way, and sometimes I just have to stand still and let them rub my legs :)

Mama cat kept me company when I took an afternoon nap yesterday :)

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Out of action

Sorry for the long silence. Have been out of action - was hospitalised for eight days after a bad fall at home last Wednesday.

Got home yesterday - missed the kitties much, but unfortunately they were spooked by me. I was shuffling around the house with difficulty like an old woman. But they've seen gotten used to me.

Here's a pix of Kootoo in the fruit basket which the company sent me.

Ta~

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My desk

Colleagues find the wallpaper on my PC desktop scary.

Scary meh?

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Wakey wakey!

From the desk of Mama Piggy:

Yes, I have been jolted out of my long slumber!

I wish! Have been so busy on the work front that I have ignored this blog for NEARLY TWO MONTHS?!?

And no, Calsifer, Milo is no van Winkle! :)



Am blogging now because I am still wide-eyed after doing the night shift. And since I am on forced day-off tomorrow, I guess I could stay up for a while more ...

Things are a-okay with the KMMM. Kootoo and Muffy are still chasing poor Mama around the house, and Milo and his Ma are not chummy ... yet. I am ever an optimist!



Work is keeping me very busy. At the rate I am going I will get burnt out very soon but the break is no where in sight!!

Miffed

From the desk of Mama Piggy:


Kootoo Monster demonstrating the art of sulking.

Yes, am miffed :( You would be too, if you were me.

I had nearly finished a video clip of Mama cat when Windows Movie Maker decided to go nuts. The video sequence is now corrupted, and I HAVE TO EDIT FROM SCRATCH!!! MEOOWWWRRR!!

Think of those who are worse off ...

From the desk of Mama Piggy:

The chapter on my mother's cats is not closed yet, at least not for me.

Thanks to all for your comments/emails, of course I am not taking it lying down ;) I have earlier written to the Minister, but I think he must be very busy now with the issue of foreign workers' housing ... So I shall wait patiently for his reply.

I related the cat woes to a friend, and his comment was chilling but true - if they don't even care for human beings, do you think they would even bother with animals (unless it hurts them where it matters, ie electoral votes)?

I try not to let the current state of things bother me as much. It helps to think of those who are worse off than our kitties.

I made a visit to the Metta Cattery on Sunday, it has been 6 long years since my last trip there. It was good to catch up with Siew Ying, who, despite all the challenges and difficulties, maintained an optimistic and cheerful outlook.

Some of the cats there are down with cat flu due to the wet weather, but otherwise they look happy and contented. And safe from human harm.


Look at my sexy eyes ... mesmerising, no?



Quiet but sweet charmer.



Friendly girl who shakes visitors' hand. Honorary mascot of the cattery :)



Sweet dreams, no doubt, Mr Drooler :P



He's larger than a toy dog!



Dreamer snoozing away despite other kitties stepping all over him/her.


Please help the Metta Cattery if you can - every effort counts. They need pet food, medication, scratching posts, old towels .... Of course, if you're like me (ie "lazy") you can donate money to help fund the running of the cattery.

Trying times

From the desk of Mama Piggy:



Yes it's been a bad patch for me - at work and at home.

Had my nose kept to the grindstone at work, the stress and time pressure can kill.

It doesn't help that on the home front, the kitties at my mom's place faced an eviction order from the HDB.

I shall not dignify HDB by posting their run-of-the-mill reply to my appeal for a rational approach to resolve the issue.

The long and short of it is, the cats had to go.

So I called up the head of the HDB branch office and asked him what exactly was the "nuisance" that was stated in the complaint. He was dumbfounded. He couldn't tell me specifically what "nuisance" the cats had created. But we know why he had no answer for me. Because there was simply NO nuisance! He could only go as far as telling me that people saw the cats IN THE HOUSE and that they don't like it! (At this point my blood was boiling at the stupidity and ignorance of mankind. Even typing this now makes me angry!!!)

There is no point arguing with HDB officials who "just follow law", so I cut the exasperating conversation short.

Shortly after, HDB made an appointment with my mother to conduct a check on the house to make sure that we have removed the cats as per HDB's instructions. Gosh, if only other government officials can learn to be as "efficient" as HDB staff!

I couldn't take leave from work to entertain the HDB officials as they made the important visit to my mother's place. Well luckily I wasn't there, otherwise I could have gone blind from rolling my eyes excessively.

THREE officials from HDB came to inspect the house. I thought my mom had kept tigers and other exotic animals instead to warrant the presence of THREE public service officers (of course it is not a waste of taxpayers' monies, they're doing investigative work!) in her humble 4-room flat.

But I digress ... :P

So, they came, they saw, they took photos and they left.

No kitties in sight, save for our old Persian, who would be too traumatised if we move him to a strange place.

Our kitties are safe in another place, we had to protect them from PEOPLE. So dear readers, you tell me, who is more dangerous? Cats or People?

Just chill

From the desk of Mama Piggy:



I've been back in the newsroom for two weeks now. The feeling is strange - familiar yet new.

The 12-hour work days are gruelling, not to mention stressful.

Thank goodness I have two continuous rest days to chill ...

Buying time ...

From the desk of Mama Piggy:

My sister has just met the MP for Aljunied GRC, and explained to him that there is no basis for the anonymous complaint. He will write to the HDB to first ask for an extension of deadline, and in the meantime, he will mull over the issue and think of a way out for us ...

Where there's a will, there's a way. May compassion and rationality prevail.

In the meantime, we will continue to count our blessings and treasure everyday we have with our kitties ... even when they attempt to chew your freshly cut roses to bits =_=

The kitties surrounded the vase of roses like a pack of hyena.




Milo wondering if he could make a bandung drink out of the rose petals ...

Hopes and plans

From the desk of Mama Piggy:

I have sent an email to the "power that be", and am hoping for the best. I am not asking for a change in the policy, that would take too long to happen. All I am asking is for HDB to assess the matter on a case-by-case basis, and not punish responsible pet owners like my mum with a blanket ruling. Removing the cats is a quick-fix approach that tantamounts to abandonment, and sending the kitties to SPCA is a sure-death "solution".

While waiting to hear from the HDB again, we have made some short-term and long-term plans.

Phyllis has kindly offered her help upon hearing my mother's plight, I am very touched by her kindness.

We will do everything we can for the kitties. Their fate lies in our hands.

Cappy, Nov 2007

A pet is for life, remember? :)

SOS!

From the desk of Mama Piggy:

* Clarification - it was the HDB that issued the letter and not the Town Council, my bad. The Town Council had redirected the complaint to the HDB. As KXBC pointed out in the comments section, it is the jurisdiction of the Housing Board.*

The HDB has just issued a letter to my mom - she has to remove all the kitties in the house by 12 August because someone had complained that she is keeping too many cats and that they smell.

My sister called up the HDB chap and asked him where does he want her to remove the cats to. His reply: SPCA. Hullo???

She asked him what were the exact reasons for not allowing cats in HDB flats. The chap gave the usual spiel - that cats ROAM and that they poop everywhere. Ha! All HDB officers should be schooled in Cat Behaviour 101.

My sister told him that her kitties are not allowed out of the house, so how would they ROAM? They certainly do not do their business everywhere! My sister even invited the HDB officer over to the flat to inspect and smell it for himself :)

The chap said he will get his supervisor to call my sister tomorrow. My sister told him she will go to the MP for help too. We will see how things work out.

Now, dear HDB officer (or any HDB / town council officer for that matter), I hope you realise that we are actually helping to keep cats off the streets. We sterilise the kitties, bring them for yearly immunisation jabs, and keep them strictly indoors. Pray tell how are they a nuisance and why must they be removed from under a responsible owner's care just because ONE single person complained about them?!

More importantly, why let the kitties be the innocent victims of a disagreement between neighbours?

Mama Piggy has come full circle

From the desk of Mama Piggy:



The cat is out of the bag, or box, whatever...

Yes, I have decided to return to Caldecott Hill. (No, Mama Piggy is not a celebrity lah, in case anyone is wondering! ^_^)

I left the newsroom in 2002, and have been a spin doctor since. It was quite a natural progression for most media professionals to cross over to the dark side of Public Relations, so to speak. But deep down, I know my heart is still with journalism. And six years of handling the media only served to stoke the fire in the belly.

So, come end July, it's goodbye Shenton Way, and hello Caldecott Hill!

My friends think that I am out of my mind to forsake the current job which has decent pay, relatively sane and regular hours and good prospects.

Well, I don't care. The heart won the battle this time round :)

Slacker

From the desk of Mama Piggy:


Muffin: Whaddya mean I have been slacking?!


Kootoo: Slacker? Definitely not meeezzzzzz ...
Milo: Me neitherzzzzzz ...

Okay okay, I am the slacker, really. Apologies for the lack of postings. Not much happening lately, although changes are afoot :) That, I shall leave it for another posting.

Feeling the blues?

From the desk of Mama Piggy:


I was away from home last night, staying over at Sentosa for a company event.

Papa Porky woke up this morning to find that Kootoo Monster had shredded a whole box of tissue papers. This hasn't happened for a long, long time.

Was Kootoo feeling stressed that I wasn't home to mollycoddle him?

House of kitties

From the desk of Mama Piggy:

We enjoyed ourselves very much at my mom's place during Chinese New Year "nua-ing" and cosying up to the kitties.

There are officially more four-leggeds than two-leggeds in her household, but we're not complaining ;)

Any brave reader out there who would like to guess the names of the kitties below? Erm, the prize for the most number of correct entries -- a 10-minute face-to-face session with Muffin Terror :P

PS. To my nieces, NO you are not allowed to take part in this.

Spring-cleaning Sunday

From the desk of Mama Piggy:

So many things to do, so little time!


Muffy: Am comatosed ... Snzzz ...

If only the kitties could help!!