Nonya kuehs from Maxwell Food Centre

When I think of Maxwell Market, I will think of the yummy nonya kuehs (sweet desserts coated with coconut flakes) I tried a few weeks ago. One is made of tapioca

and the other from gula melaka.

Angel's tongue

I took this photo of Angel a few weeks ago and I think he looks funny :)

Goodbye, Pebble

Pebble, our pet female Syrian hamster passed away yesterday. She could have been 3 years old or older. We knew her days were numbered when she was losing most of her fur, had soft stools, turned blind and in her last few days, she didn't eat much. Her 2 brothers, Peanut and Poofy are still as active as ever.

Being used/hardened to the passing of more than 30 pet hamsters over the past 16 years, I was still a bit teary-eyed when I held Pebble's hardened cold body in my hands as Mom and I wrapped her in tissue paper and said our goodbyes.

Shopping for cat stuff

For the past few weeks I realise I enjoy shopping for food, treats and toys for the cats.

Recently I got Angel and Bob some toys from this pet shop called Sundreams at Far East Shopping Centre. The lady there is friendly. I have also bought a scratching board for Bob, wet food imported from Japan for him and Angel. The wet food will be a weekly/fortnightly treats for them. I also bought this pet grass to see if I can grow them for the 2 of them and the community cats to eat.

Making a difficult decision

On Sat morning, we decided to let Bob and Angel meet without barrier as it has been quite some time. It was not successful. Both were growling at each other and it was clear that Angel couldn't hold his position as he was slowly retreating. At the same time, we tried to prepare the canned tuna as a treat for them but they were not interested at all. The moment Angel looked away, Bob pounced on him. Both wrestled with Bob on top and Angel managed to break free and dashed for the living room and scrambled to the top of the rack. We managed to hold back Bob by spraying water at him but that didn't really deter him. The moment he stood still, eyeballing Angel, I quickly grabbed him by his scuff and put him back into my bedroom.

Angel was shaken up quite badly and kept hissing at us too. We left him to calm down. I sprayed some Feliway, hoping to calm both cats. Angel stopped hissing at us almost an hour later and seemed to be back to his normal self. However, yesterday morning, he didn't rub himself against my legs or lay down on his side to let my foot stroke him when I woke up and came out of my bedroom. He just lay at one corner of the hall or under the dining table throughout the day. Luckily last night, he seemed to more like his usual self.

Today, he seems normal but he is still not covering his poo (like the past few days) and Mom observed that if he sniffed scent of Bob, he would look around to see if Bob is around. Otherwise, I could entice him with his food, play with him and stroke him when he was laying on the kitchen while I was having my dinner.

All of us in the family saw what happened on Sat and we felt quite affected by it. Sis said she feels heartache to see Angel being attacked. For me and Mom, it seems that Angel is unlikely to be comfortable with Bob around as we found him alone without his mother or siblings and he has no other experience with other cats. He has only seen cats I brought home in carriers, trapped for sterilisation. He had paw fights and hissing sessions with Charcoal/Salem during that brief period. When we were fostering Pearl, Pearl would also chase Angel who of course didn't enjoy it.

Over the weekend, I thought I would have to put Bob up for adoption as Bob is miserable being cooped up in my room most of the time. Angel is clearly affected by the encounter with Bob at the moment. From what I read, I have to do complete separation and reintroduction all over again. It will only work if Angel can be conditioned but if he is a cat who can only be a one-cat family, whatever we do will probably not help the situation.

I love Angel, my first pet cat. I have also grown to love Bob who has been sharing my bed every night since a week after Mar 20 (the day we brought him home). I don't mind sniffing his poo when he does his big business while I'm sleeping. Most of the time when I don't feel lazy I will wake up to scoop out and throw away his poo and clean his backside before I go back to sleep. I play with him or groom his fur for a short while before sleeping, to relieve his boredom of not able to go out of my bedroom. I'm still undecided at the moment whether to put Bob up for adoption. Dad and Sis were alright for us to keep Bob if he and Angel get along. But Sat's episode has made all of us feel upset/sad.

Right now, my mind feels cluttered. I need to get it cleared first before I can think about the best way forward and discuss with my family. I want both Angel and Bob to be happy.