A Simple Celebration

I have my most important persons, Rossi gal & Daddy, and the new addition to our family, Rubie (aka fat cat), celebrating my birthday with me this year.

It was a simple & heart-warming celebration...with the people I love, a pretty cake & a short lovely message. How sweet. Nothing beats having the ones you love and who love you by your side.

Both gals are attracted to the glowing candle, in different ways. Rossi gal is watching the bright flame with a mixture of fascination & curiosity, while Rubie is staring down at it like it's some evil thing. ;p

There have been some nagging issues that I have been struggling with. Among them, there is a particular one that worries and frustrates me so much that my whole mind is totally overwhelmed by it, to the extent that I cannot concentrate & I get paranoid very easily. Luckily, I have Daddy going through it with me.

The celebration does help in distracting me for a while from it all. I needed this.

The maliciousness surrounding me is of no significance. I have no time or energy for petty stuff. There are important matters I need to focus on.

My only hope is for this particular issue to be resolved very soon. That's it.

Daddy's Little Girl

Since Rossi gal is a baby, she loves to nibble. Till now, she still nibbles. And she only loves to nibble on Daddy.

She did nibble me on a couple of (rare) occasions for just that few precious moments, and that's about it. She didn't like nibbling on me. She will look for her Daddy Dearest to nibble on instead.

She loves to nibble on Daddy's thigh against his shorts. When he's not around, she will nibble on his shorts. Dunno why. =_=

Everyday without fail, she nibbles Daddy at every chance she gets...when he watches TV, eats his meals, surfs the net and lies on the bed. She also nibbles him till he sleeps every night.

Regardless of what anyone has to say about nibbling...To Daddy, it is their own 'special' way of bonding. He loves and welcomes it. I must say, I do feel kinda 'jealous' over this.
 

But what to do, She is Daddy's little girl.

Daddy simply laughed & said, "I get the nibbles & now you get the kneads. Fair and square." :D

We had a good laugh. Whatever. Life's too short to waste on insignificant stuff.  

Video of Rossi gal nibbling on Daddy.
 


My darling looks so cute with her nibbling. I love her focused expression as she nibbles. She really concentrates on her task at hand. Oh, love those pearlies too. ;p 

What a Lovely Sight!

On a recent morning walk with Rossi gal, we saw a beautiful rainbow.

The rainbow stretches from one end & gently arches down to the other end over the fluffy clouds. We stood, mesmerised by the lovely sight before us. Its captivating beauty simply took my breath away.

It feels so surreal, to witness the magnificent work of nature spread out in all its splendour before my very eyes. The pictures do not do the rainbow justice. Nothing compares to admiring it there & then.

I feel so touched. This is my first time seeing a complete rainbow. It is very rare that I get to see a rainbow, much less a complete one. On those few occasions whereby I'm lucky enough to see it, I only get to see a partial one, never a complete one, until now.

A snapshot taken of my sweet darling with the rainbow as the backdrop. 
Notice there is a second rainbow appearing on top of the first one. :) Love this shot.

Seeing this beautiful rainbow lifted my spirits. It gives me hope. There had been some frustrating times, but they seemed to fade off somehow with the sighting of the rainbow. Perhaps Nature has its own unique way of soothing one's mood.

It also impresses upon me to be more open & see the bigger picture, instead of viewing things in a narrow or one-dimensional way.

What a beautiful & insightful morning.

Rubie Eating Her Raw Quail Bone

For weeks, I have been feeding Rubie the chicken wing tip for her bone content. I give her 1 tip each week and it seems sufficient for her. I observed that bone requirement is quite low. She poops on an average of 3-4 days. Her poo is nice and solid so far too. I have also begun feeding her liver, but I didn't increase her bone intake. Despite this, her poo routine and texture remain unaffected.

As she is still quite new to bones, I will bash up the wing tip with a meat hammer each time before feeding her. Bashing it up helps her to eat it more easily. I wanna give her more time to get used to eating raw bones.

In fact, I'm already thankful that Rubie is willing to eat raw and able to take bones.

As Rossi gal is having whole quail today, I decided cut out a part of the quail to let Rubie try. I took out the drum portion for her. I fed it as it is, without bashing this time. I wanna let her try eating it as it is.

After weeks of bashing, this is the first time, I'm feeding Rubie bones without bashing. Besides, quail bones are quite soft (softer than chicken bones). I believe Rubie can handle it.

I offered the quail drum to her this morning. Instead of the soft, pulped wing tip tat she is so used to, now she gets a solid raw bone wrapped with meat.

Initially, she sniffed & licked at it, probably wondering how to tackle it. I tried to help her by holding the drum to her mouth and encouraging her to chew on it.

After more licks and sniffs, she finally went into action. She took the quail drum into her mouth and began working on it.

Video of Rubie munching her quail bone.
Link to video: Rubie eating her quail bone

Well done, Rubie! :)

Happy Moments

Our first family outing to Pasir Ris Park...

 

Together at Gardens by the Bay, Bay East...

 

My favorite shot of them...

Celebrating Daddy's Birthday & Rubie's first celebration with us...

 

Rubie's expression when she sees her cat condo for the first time, priceless...

Hoping for more happy moments to come in our journey of life together.

Rubie, My Personal Massuer

After being with us for nearly 1 & a half month, Rubie did something very interesting yet so sweet, to me.

On Monday night, Rubie jumped onto my lap and massaged me. She also massaged me yesterday morning & night, as well as this morning. A total of 4 times. :)

It is a completely new experience to me. But I do like the feeling of being massaged. She does the massage so well. It feels so nice & comforting. ^_^ 

And she does it only on me. LOL! Daddy was feeling kinda 'jealous' about it. ;D 

Her act of massaging is known as 'kneading' or 'making biscuits'.

Daddy and I have seen Rubie kneading the towel on her beds several times, but we didn't expect that she would actually knead me too. :)

Why Do Cats Knead?
Why Do Cats Knead on People?

The above links list some reasons for their kneading behaviour.

For me, Rubie's kneading on me is an expression of love & contentment. I feel special & loved too, with every up-down motion of her paws.  

Video of the very first time Rubie kneaded me. (Monday, 27 May)
Link to video: Rubie's Kneading 1

Another video of Rubie kneading me. (Tuesday, 28 May)
Link to video: Rubie's Kneading 2

In the first video, she started off her first kneading on my thigh. 

In the second video, she moved on to knead my belly. I love how she gazed at me as she did her kneading here.

After kneading, she rested herself on my lap and dozed off shortly. She was on my lap for quite some while. I'm glad she feels comfortable with me.

 

I hope Daddy & I can give her the love & attention that she was so lacking in the first 9 years of her life.

Rubie's Cat Condo

I have been sourcing for a cat condo (or cat tree) for Rubie. 

Daddy wanted one with a hammock and stairs for her. He thought it would be nice to have a hammock for her to rest in 'mid-air' and as for the stairs, it is with her age in mind. He didn't want her jumping up and down too much, so he asked me to look for one with stairs to help her move up & down more easily. 

After some sourcing, I found the cat condo that fits Daddy's requirements. Therefore, I ordered it in. It arrived unassembled.

After assembling, here it is, Rubie's very own cat condo. :) I feel that every cat should have one of these to play, scratch and nestle on.

When Rubie saw the cat condo, Daddy and I caught her smiling. She looks really happy with it. :D

She thinks her cat condo is interesting. ;)

She sleeps in it too. ;p

 

And she looks so contented. ^_^

Rubie has brought smiles n laughs to us with her funny antics & strange habits. I have never expected her to make us smile or laugh, but she did, in her own way. She seems to understand when I talk to her. She seems to know when I'm telling her about unhappy things. She just sits near me n listens quietly. I ask her to give in to Rossi gal, she understands & I can see from her behavior & actions that she is doing so. Rubie is a very sweet girl. She is the sweetest cat I have ever met. It's her ex-owner's loss for abandoning her.

Rubie Enjoying Raw

Rubie loves her raw meals and looks forward to them daily. :) 

She is still on 2 meals and I intend to continue her on the routine at least for the time being. But if I find she does better on 2 meals, I will just continue with it. I have read somewhere that unlike dogs, cats do better on more meals per day. But anyway, I just go with her progress. Watever works for her.

Click video=> Rubie Enjoying her Raw Meal

From my observations, Rubie's favorite meat is chicken. She likes kangaroo and venison too. She always finishes her meal very fast when I give her chicken. When she sees kangie or venny on her plate, she will attack it first. *If chicken happens to be on the same plate with the kangie/venny, she will go for the chicken followed by the kangie/venny.

She is ok with beef, lamb & veal. But she really dislikes pork. Whenever pork is on her plate, she would always leave it untouched. I would ve to nag at her, cut the pork into super tiny pieces and put the plate right in front of her face before she will finish up. And she takes ages to finish up. Well, I decided, since she doesn't like pork, it's off her menu. She can have other red meats instead. LOL.

Unlike my darling, who gobbles up everything I feed her.

I find that cats do have an attitude. Cattitude. LOL.

New Air Sterilizer

During the month of April, I blogged about new additions to our new home. One of the new additions is an Air Ionizer, for air purification and sterilisation. I also blogged how the improved air quality made a difference to Rossi gal, me and Daddy & benefitted us.

The air ionizer's coverage is just nice for our bedroom, but we find that it doesn't provide the amount of coverage we wanted for the living room area. Thus, we decided to invest in a new air machine with a wider coverage. 

After looking around, we set our eyes on this Air Sterilizer.

We will use the air ionizer in our bedroom and the new air sterilizer will be used for the living room.

It's another good investment & wonderful addition to our new home! :)

Life Together

A question I get asked quite often ever since Rubie joined our family:

"Can they (Rossi & Rubie) get along?"

A picture is worth a thousand words. I will share some pictures of them. 

 

 

One is a dog & the other is a cat. Many people seem to have the idea that dogs and cats are enemies & cannot get along. One is like water, the other is like fire & these two cannot blend in with each other. (A chinese saying) Even cartoons on TV suggest dogs and cats to be enemies. 

Rubie's first outing with us at Pasir Ris Park.

 Rubie has her own set of harness & leash,
but she simply refused to walk.

I used to think the same too, but I realised how wrong I am. Dogs and cats are not enemies & they can definitely get along. Even if they are not best of friends, they can still live in harmony with one another. I had known of those with both dogs & cats and they get along very well.

If you go into youtube and do a search, you will actually find many videos of dogs and cats playing together. They are really cute together.

Rossi & Rubie are not exactly friends, yet. But they are able to live with each other under the same roof in harmony. They can be in the same space comfortably. 

In fact, Rossi gal loves to watch Rubie play. She would sit on my lap quietly and watch Daddy play with Rubie using the lazer pointer & the fishing toys. She can watch for as long as Rubie plays. She smiles & wags her tail gently as she watches. When she gets excited by Rubie's playing, she would stand on her feet & wag her tail vigorously.

When we played with her sister, Cookie, Rossi gal would get so jealous & upset. She would bark furiously at Cookie, if either of us played with her. But with Rubie, it's so different. Rossi gal seems to like cats so much better than dogs.


They play the 'Staring Game' too. 
Who wins?
My Rossi gal won! The cat looked away & jumped off the chair. LOL.

She's Loving Raw!

Today marks Rubie's Day 10 on Raw. I'm happy to say she is loving raw & doing well on it. :)  She eased into raw much better than I anticipated too.

Every morning & night at meal times, she would automatically stroll to the kitchen & wait near me like this in the kitchen, as I prepare her food. She will meow & meow at me & go merry-go-round at my feet if she finds that I'm taking too long to do up her meal. LOL.

Even if she has finished her meal, she still likes to follow me to the kitchen & hang around, as I go about my chores.

She also likes to roll her back on the floor & look up at me, like she wants my attention. She looks so adorable with her rolling, that I couldn't help, but to stop my work from time to time to look at her. This gal is so cute!

Her Day 7 Dinner

There is a significant difference in Rubie after she is switched to raw. She seems to have this new burst of energy in her that is not present before.

Before this, she was always lying around, not really interested in playing or scratching the cat post. She just wanted to lie on the floor or bed. We have to prompt her for some time, before she was willing to play. After a short while of playing, she would pant hard & stop to rest.

Now she finishes her meals pretty fast,
but she still doesn't like big pieces of meat.

After going raw, we see her starting to play with the toys on her own, without us engaging her in play. Then when she sees us, she would also try to engage us in play! We can even hear her playing on her own in the middle of the night, as her collar bell clinks with every move she makes. She can play for quite a long while & not get easily tired like she used to.

Initially, she didn't touch the scatch post we got for her at all too. We thought she didn't like to scatch. It was untouched for over a month during the time she was in the care of her boarder. We visited her every week & he told us that she didn't scatch it at all. Then back to our home, she began to scratch the post after a few days. Now she scratches the post every now and then. I bought a new scratch board & ordered in another new scratch post for her too.

From a "lazy" kitty, she has flourished to become an energetic kitty. I attribute this amazing change in her to Raw. It is without a doubt, the work of Raw. I believe alot in diet. The appropriate diet will really bring about positive changes and benefits to our furkids.

She had her first taste of raw bone on Saturday. I bashed a wing tip up with a meat tenderiser/hammer to help her along. Initally, she didn't wanna touch it. I held it to her mouth, she sniffed at it & refused to eat it. Then I decided to leave her with the wing tip and let her figure it out on her own. One thing about her is, she doesn't really like to be watched as she eats. 

Dozing off on top of her scratch board after food & play.

I went off to do some work around the house. After a while, I went back to check on her progress. Her plate was empty! She had finished up the wing tip! That's the way to do it, Rubie. Keep it up! I wanted to take shots & the video of her eating her first bone, but was unable to do so this time round. Will try to do it next time. ;p

An Update on Rossi & Rubie

Being nearly a decade old hasn't slowed our Rubie down one bit. Rubie is still young at heart & loves to play.

Rubie & the Laser Pointer 

 

  Rubie & the Fishing Toy

Hopefully, one day, Rossi & Rubie can play together too.

Now I'm just glad that the two gals can accept each other's presence in the house, though they are still not having any physical contact. They would just gaze at each other at a 'safe' distance.

The 'safe' distance between them is gradually getting closer. :)

Rubie loves to explore around the house too. She would walk around the house, careful not to cross Rossi gal's path. Rossi gal would walk outside of Rubie's path. Both gals would just do their own thing & mind each other's business.

From our observations, Rossi gal can tolerate Rubie's presence in the house so much better than when her own sister, Cookie, was at our house. It could be attributed to the similarites in their characters. Both gals are quiet & shy in nature.

We have never intended to get another dog, much less a kitty. But Rubie has been placed directly in our path and this makes her an exception. We also thought long and hard before making the decision. Daddy was saying, Rossi cannot get along with dogs, but with a kitty, it might be different.

Besides feeling sorry for Rubie's plight & Daddy's affinity with her, their characters' similarity is also another deciding factor in adopting Rubie. We know Rossi gal cannot tolerate hyper-active & bossy characters. Even we ourselves cannot too.

We believe the character aspect is an important consideration. If we see that the possibility of Rossi gal tolerating or accepting Rubie is Nil, it would not be possible & practical for us to take Rubie in. We do not like the idea of 'forcing' Rossi gal to tolerate or accept a furkid with a personality that we know she doesn't like. That's just us.

Perhaps some might not agree on this, but that's ok. Rossi gal being our foremost priority, we have to & will take her feelings into consideration.
 
I guess they just need more time to get to know each other. Well, they got all the time to do so. :)

Also, Rubie is getting faster in finishing up her raw meats. From more than an hour or even longer, now she finishes up her food in less than 15 minutes. She is loving raw. :D 

RAWRRRR...

She is on 2 meals daily now and would sit at my feet at the kitchen when I prepare her food. She would also start meowing at me softly, like she is asking me to speed up and feed her the food. ;p

I'm hoping to transit her to 1 meal like Rossi gal eventually, if possible.

Like Rossi gal, Rubie loves dehydrated treats too. She gets excited when she sees me holding treats in my hand. Previously, it's just Rossi gal asking for treats, now Rubie asks for treats too! Rubie would walk to the fridge area and wait there. She knows where her food is located. LOL.

Introducing Rubie, Our Raw-Fed Kitty

In February, I blogged about an unforgettable kitty that daddy and I met.

Fate led us to this special kitty. Now she is officially the new member of our family. :) Her name is Rubie. She is 9 years young and of course, raw-fed.

Rubie was on kibbles and canned food all her life. Now that she has joined our family, she will be on raw. No furkid of mine eats processed or cooked food. Raw is the only diet my furkids will be on.

Daddy wanted her name to start with 'R' like our darling Rossi gal. We then started to think of a name for her. Well, her ex-owner did not give her a proper name too. 

Eventually, I thought of "Ruby". Ruby is my lucky gemstone, starts with an "R" & also easy to pronounce, so I decided to call her "Rubie".

Rubie's Story:

We got to know Rubie's ex-owner during the time we were doing house-viewing to find our ideal new home. The first time we saw her, she was outside at the corridor.

Every now and then, she would wander over to the outside of the house to watch us, but she never stepped in. The ex-owner (an auntie) told us, she was not allowed into the house and she knows it.

For a while, she stayed in the house, but ever since the grand kids came along, the auntie was afraid that her furs would cause them allergies. Thus, she was made to live at the corridor.

The auntie asked if we would be willing to take her in, as they didn't want to take her along when they move away. Initially, I turned down, cos I was concerned about Rossi not being able to accept another furkid in the house. Her question also caught me off-guard at that point in time.  

I told Daddy about it. It set him thinking, cos he felt an affinity with Rubie from the first time he met her. It's strange. He does not like cats, but he likes Rubie.

We went back to visit Rubie for a few more times and began to feel concerned that auntie would abandon her to the SPCA or out on the streets if no one takes her. Auntie did mentioned to me that the thought of sending her to the SPCA did cross her mind, if no one takes her.

Daddy then expressed his wish to take her in. We had a long discussion about it. Based on our observations, Rubie is a very tame & quiet kitty. Her character is similar to Rossi gal too. Rossi dun get along with dogs, but things might be different for cats. Besides, we can always separate them if they really can't get along.

Thus, the decision was made. Rubie will join us.

On the day we went over to fetch her, Rubie seemed to know auntie didn't want her anymore and that she would be leaving with us. Daddy opened the door of the crate and was about to carry her into it. To our surprise, Rubie simply walked into the crate herself. Auntie was shocked too.

Auntie said a quick good-bye to Rubie, never thought of touching her even for the last time. When we got into the lift, Rubie started moaning tearfully. The moaning was heart wrenching.

She moaned and moaned all the way to our car and throughout the car journey. She looked so so sad. I cried together with her. Daddy and I kept reminding her she has a home with us. Auntie dun want her, but we want her.

That's Rubie's story.

Rossi gal is very curious about Rubie and kept looking into the room where she was. But Rubie is not used to Rossi yet. Neither is Rossi for her. They still need time to get to know each other. But they are not hostile towards each other and are okay with watching each other, just not comfy being placed too close together. Guess they just need time to know each other. In time to come, we hope they can be friends.

I gave her straight raw on her very first meal. In fact, I bought a couple of canned food, just in case I needed it to transit her to raw. At first, she hesitated at the raw chicken & lamb in her bowl, but eventually, she took a few bites of the chicken.

Then for the rest of the day and next, I continued offering her small servings of different raw meats, chicken, pork, beef and lamb.

We realized that she likes chicken. She would always finish the chicken first. Initially, she would only eat the chicken and leave the rest behind. But I continued offering the other meats that she didn't touch (pork, lamb and beef) along with the chicken.  

Then today, finally, she finished up all the meats I fed her. But she took a long time to finish up though. Also, she doesn't like her meats in big chunks. I gota cut up into small pieces for her. Probably tat's a cat thingy. LOL.

We are happy she can be switched to raw, cold turkey, without the use of canned food. Today is her 3rd day on raw. :)

Never in my wildest imagination that I would have a cat in my house. It's really so unexpected and feels so unreal. LOL.

Rubie is a sweet kitty, undemanding and gentle. I like her calmness. Daddy and I also think she looks pretty good for her age. :)

With us, it is the beginning of a new life for her. Henceforth, daddy, me, Rossi gal and Rubie will walk on together in our journey of life.

New Home, New Things

We have moved again, to our new home. The earlier place was actually a temporary one. This new home will be our permanent residence for a long time to come. I'm very glad that we have finally moved to our new home. :)

These are some essentials I have added to our new home;

The water ionizer is something I have wanted to get for a long time for Rossi gal. At last, I got it. This particular machine caught our eyes. Daddy likes its sleek design, while I like both the design & the PH selectable function.

 

As shown on the label, there are 7 levels to choose from, with 4 levels of Alkaline water, 2 levels of Acidic water & 1 level is Purified water. The consumption of Alkaline water brings about various health benefits, while the usage of Acidic water benefits the skin & is good for cleaning/sterilizing things like kitchenware and table surfaces.  

 

 

Daddy wants to get the air ionizer, for he believes that air quality also plays an essential role for better health. It is for the benefit of Rossi gal too.

 

 

Honestly, the thought to get the air ionizer did not cross my mind. But I'm very glad that Daddy has the intention to get it. I must say, the quality of air does make a significant difference. I have sensitive nose & I often feel discomfort. At times, I feel blockage in my nose and find it uncomfortable to breathe.

 

Ever since we got the air ionizer, my nose feels so much better. I can breathe & sleep much better. We also notice the difference in Rossi gal. She seems to scratch much lesser & also sleeps more soundly during the day & night too. Daddy feels it too. He finds that he sleeps well and he dun get so easily tired during his day at work like he usually does.

 

The intention for the water & air ionizer is for Rossi gal's benefit. But we also gain benefits ourselves. Tats so amazing. ^_^

 

 

The above citronella oil is highly recommended by a friend for mopping the floor or spraying to eliminate peskies like ants, roaches, etc. She is a big fan of this oil, as she has used it personally & witnessed its effectiveness.

 

I have mopped the floor with it, dripping a few drops into a pail of water. The floor feels clean and clear. The smell isn't overpowering too.

 

Thanks Jouni for sharing about it with me. :)

 

Now I would like to share a few of my favorite areas in my new home. ;p

 

The coziest place in the whole house.
My number 1 favorite.



I love this basin, it's so unique. 
I love how it contrasts against the design & color of the wall & table top too.

This is the balcony. It's daddy's idea to make a platform here.
Rossi can view the sights outside, as she munches on her meaty bone.

The evening view as seen from the balcony.
Love the orangey skies.