Different Breeds = Different Personalities

(My cat : Tinkie)

Well, in the last post, I introduced my cat, Tinkie, explaining about my passion for cats. In this week's post, I would like to introduce to you 4 new kitties, Amber, Ruby, Bella and Topaz. They are my lovely school compound pets who have made their home in my Secondary school, the Singapore Sports School.

(My Secondary School)

I am into running and specifically into hurdling, but my key passion for cats never faltered. After washing up from a training session, my friends and I went for our dinner. On our way there, I heard unmistakable meows a kitten. I looked around asking if anyone could hear the meowing. It was then when I got the first glimpse of the four baby kittens in our compound. I couldn't believe it! How could this 4 kittens have gotten here without their mum? She was nowhere to be seen! The 4 kittens had hidden at the sight of us, and I began to worry for them.

(Amber,Ruby and Topaz @ the same plate)

(Bella when he was young)

(Curious little kittens ; Amber and Bella)

After dinner, we have a self study session for 2 hours. I was worried for the little kitten's safety, wondering if they had food to eat and water to drink. After that, we would have a break with snacks and Milo. It so happened that that day, we had tuna sandwich as snacks. I found the 4 little kittens huddled near the bushes under the stairs so i took a few sandwiches and went to them. They were afraid of me and they had the right to be. Their mum had gone missing, leaving them alone and unsure of who to trust.

(Ms. Ong and I @ Graduation)

They ate the tuna filling so fast that I had to take more. I was reluctant to leave them but had to go back to my room. I informed my literature teacher, Ms Ong, who was also a cat owner as well as a cat feeder in her area she stays around. She was such a good person to go to as she had food to supply to the kittens. The next day, she came with food that could last the kittens a whole month!

(Amber)

(Ruby)

Amber, was the Alpha male in the pack. He was strong, friendly and playful. Amber was an orange tabby with a slightly long fur coat. He would always be the first to come to us when it was feeding time and he Loves to play with us. He would chases strings when we brought them, pounce on our backpacks and play hide and seek with Ruby.

(Playful Amber and Ruby)

(My backpack became a victim in a double attack!)

He was always accompanied by Ruby, the Alpha female. She was the only female in the pack but she always followed Amber anywhere he went. In a way, she always took care of her three brothers. She took the role of the mum, by grooming Amber, Bella and Topaz. Her favourite brother was always Amber. Ruby was also an orange tabby but with a short fur coat.

(Bella The Boy)

(Topaz)

Bella, is a male cat who was so shy and "pretty" that one of our exchange students wanted to name him "Bella". We usually explain that the Bella is not just Bella, but Bella The Boy. He always sticks together with Topaz who is equally as nervous and as shy as Bella. They are always the last two to come out for meals and they usually stay behind to watch Amber and Ruby play. Bella is a Himalayan mixed cat so he has the inherited one of his parent's genes of the white and black color but with a short coat. Topaz also an orange tabby, but he has thicker, longer fur, unlike his brother and sister, Amber and Ruby.

Ever since the first day I saw the kittens, they have grown so much. From the time where they all hid in the bushes until they came out to play with us. There were tragedies and joys taking care of them...

(My Beloved Amber)

Amber, has passed on after a vicious pack of dogs came into the school on a rampage that went on for a few weeks. He had been chased down and flung around until he hit the railing which ended his life quickly. We were so distraught, me and my fellow "cat-feeders". Amber's ashes went back to the soil in the school where he made it his home.

Ruby and her brothers were still unsafe and they had many different hiding places in such a huge school. For weeks we hunted for them and we uncovered with camera surveillance that the dogs came in from the gates with larger openings. The school principle, Mrs Deborah Tan, was also distraught and wanted to fix this problem. She found that it was a good thing to have the cats there so that the children of the school can learn about responsibility and the joys of caring for animals. She wanted to make it a safe place for the remaining kittens so she made sure that the gates were changed and the fences made stable.

(Bella and Topaz keeping close to each other)

After that was done we saw Bella and Topaz regularly again whereas Ruby was placed in a student's home with a lot of love after her favourite brother had passed on. Bella and Topaz have had some adventures of their own after that, with Bella disappearing for 2 days before returning home with a scratch on his ear. The remaining kittens have now been sterillized and are doing well. Ruby has been getting increasingly bigger and happier, although I still think she misses her brother sometimes...

(thinking of Amber)

(Ruby in her new home)

As of now, only Bella and Topaz are in the compound and they are being looked after by students appointed by Ms. Ong after my friend and I left the school. I will post up their recent photos if I can get them. Anyway, hope you get to understand more about cats with this post. They suffer hardship and loss too. They have emotions, and dreams just like we do. So remember to give a little love to the cats you meet, as they may have faced hardships in life, none of us can understand.

Here is a cat quote to think about for the meantime :

"Confront a child, a puppy, and a kitten with sudden danger; the child will turn instinctively for assistance, the puppy will grovel in abject submission, the kitten will brace its tiny body for a frantic resistance."
- Saki


Check out more cat quotes on http://www.catquotes.com and with that, I end today's post. Hope you enjoyed it!

*Special thanks to Habibah for Ruby's recent photos and *

Xoxo,
Noreen.