IT, where are you?

They say - You need a dog to adore you, and a CAT to ignore you!

We're actually dog people, but a friend begged us take in his cat as he was going back to Sydney. Pom pom (black & white cat) was a gentle, patient cat who was constantly ill as a kitten. When he came to stay with us, he also had to spend time at the vet but he never complained when he had injections & even a catherer - the vet's model patient. It was another sad time when he finally succumbed to his illness.

But we remember him through his numerous photos. He had a penchant for paper bags & baskets - jumping into them & playing hide & seek with us. He also loved to be wheelled around in a trolley. He loved tissue paper & would ripped them to shreds at every chance. But he was the quiet one.

IT, on the other hand can carry on a conversation with us & make his presence known. Each time he comes back from his outing, he will try & tell us about his adventure. If I answer him, he will continue his story. I will say, "Yes, ah - where did you go?" Then he will answer in cat language. I'd ask, "Did anyone chase you?", again he will answer... and it goes on...

Mom found him on the sidewalk & took him in to be a companion for Pom pom. He was under nourished. His head was much bigger than his whole body. I nicknamed him "The Brain", after a cartoon where every night the protagonist plans to take over the world.

IT is intelligent, and capable of critical thinking. When we won't let him into my brother's room, he will circle the place & go to the adjacent wall in our room & try to find another way in. A creature of habit, he will wake us up at 7am & insist mom goes through her morning routine. If mom does not stir, he will go to her ear & bawl, or he will kiss her on the nose.

One day mom forgot to take out the washing from the machine. He made noise. Mom had to play 100 questions with him. You want your food? You want go out? You want water? You want 'cheh cheh' (me) to go out (go to work)? I must vacate my bed by 10am, as it is his turn to nap there. Usually, he would point his head at the direction of what he wanted. Food on the left,

door on the right. But that day he continued making noise & kept going to the kitchen. That's where he normally gets his treat - prawn sashimi (raw prawns)! But we had to stop this addiction as he would throw up each time he ate too much. But i digress. Luckily, mom remembered the clothes & took out the laundry from the machine in the kitchen to hang. Then he was satisfied & duly went to my bed for his morning nap!

He will also stop my mom from doing too much sewing (her hobby). If mom has been sewing for too long, he will jump up & sit at the sewing machine, refusing to budge.

Around midnight, he would sit on the coffee table, facing my mom & close his eyes, gesturing us to go to bed. If mom is half asleep in her chair, he would climb onto her chest & lightly brush my mom's cheek with his paw to wake her up. If I am busy talking to my mom, & he wants something, he will butt in by lightly 'scatching' my mom's arm with his paw (& claw). We tried to teaching him to pull in his claw but to no avail. Pom pom can do it. If i play with him with my fingers, he will reciprocate with claws extended but if I clench my fist & pretend to box with him, he will retract his claws......

(excerpt from an email to a friend)

On Valentine's Day eve, my cat, IT went out and we have not seen him since :(