Disgusting

There is always something or someone who can spoil our day if we let them.

Mom and I were almost done in feeding the community cats. We were giving Noisy some water and food at one corner of the void deck. Usually the old folks or youngsters are alright with us feeding Noisy and/or Baby. But this particular Indian girl (a sec sch student) had previously told my mom last year that feeding stray cats is illegal. Mom had shown her the Cat Welfare Society Feeding Responsibly brochure and she became more polite to my mom and didn't say anything more. But we know she doesn't like cats from her stares.

This girl came to the void deck area with some other kids to get some drinks from a new vending machine and said clearly "It's disgusting that people are feeding cats". I heard her and turned around and she was just a metre away from me. She looked at me and I looked at her and went back to face mom and noisy. Mom heard it too. Then the girl said again "It's even more disgusting that they are feeding stray cats." I wanted to retort but I couldn't think of anything. So I kept quiet. I know whatever we said won't change her perception of the cats and us feeding her. I'm just glad she's a student and her words can hurt us but not the cats, as long as she doesn't try to abuse them.

It's kind of sad to hear the words from her as I'm sure she's not the only resident to think so. When I called the TC officer in charge of my area on Jun 22 (Mom's birthday), he told me that during the RC meetings, the RC chairman/vice-chairman will mention about irresponsible feeding at our block and other blocks, as well as the presence of many stray cats. I told the TC officer that we feed the cats using plates and we clear the leftovers. I asked him whether he thinks there are many cats in the area. He said there is. I doubt he bother to check and he probably just listen to the RC. Initially I was hopeful as the TC officer said he would ask the RC whether he could bring me in to the RC meetings and I could brief them about my work with the cats. However, he didn't contact me. During the recent call, he said the RC chairman said she had a meeting with me before. This is not true as I only visited her in her office last year and she told me she didn't have any problem with the cats and she doesn't want to interfere in the cat issues. Through some verbal checks with a few residents, we managed to find out that the RC vice-chairman was the one who approached my mom last year, telling her that he knows she's being nice but she shouldn't feed the cats. Of course, mom did tell her about us sterilising the cats, etc but that probably fell on deaf ears.

My parents and I just have to be extra careful when we feed. We feed in the park and no one complains. It's the void deck area that we have to be vigilant as we are more visible, even feeding at a corner, away from human traffic. We see litter at the void deck, kids peeing at pavements, people making a mess at the seating area and it seems these behaviours are acceptable. On the other hand, we can feed the cats responsibly and manage the cat population and still be seen as an eyesore. It's really ridiculous. A friend suggested I could join the RC to change them and improve the system. I don't want to waste my precious time volunteering in the RC. I know I can't count on our MP if I ever approach him for help.

I could only hope that the TC won't take any action to cull the cats and the RC won't ask TC to do so. The TC officer said he will do so if the cats pose a problem. I told him to let me know so that I can help. I'm not hopeful but every time I see them, I just cherish the moment of watching them eat, drink and relax.

The gardener who doesn't like our community cats

This is what he did to the stone covers - he used wires and string to reduce the holes to the drain - doorway to hiding place for Shadow and Bush at times.



Bush still likes to hover around the drain hole with the blue string, so that he can just squeeze through it if any stranger walks past.


This gardener is an old man. He has confronted my mom before about why we are feeding cats, who gave us permission. He would use the big shears to make noises to invoke fear in cats. We are not sure if he has done anything to scare the cats. I have feedback to the town council whether they have instructed the gardener to cut off the flowers and overtrim the bushes. It seems like they have engaged the garden to come regularly.

I took these photos of the wire and string as evidence in case I need to use them in future. Maybe the TC would tell me that it's the job of the gardener to mend the holes of the drain covers too.

I just don't understand why the old man can't stand the cats. They don't disturb him. Instead they will flee at the sight of him. He has complained about cat shit but it must the dog poo left by irresponsible dog owners as the cats bury their poo. At his old age (about 60ish or 70ish), why hasn't he reached enlightenment and practised compassion towards animals?

Learning from the good and bad

The past few weeks have been unusual - mixture of good and bad. The good comes from my interaction and bonding with my family, Angel, the community cats and friends. The bad comes from the interaction with a stranger and at work.

My life can't be all merry without some incidents to remind me that I shouldn't take certain things from granted. I didn't suffer much and learn from my experience and was able to share with my family and friends about it. It makes me a stronger person too and gives me a glimpse to the dark nature of some people. In process, I also receive support and encouragement from my family and friends and I'm glad to have them :)

I hate cockroaches!

I can't stand them! Mosquitoes too as they love to bite me.

If a cockroach flies into the house or my room and my parents are around, sis and I would quickly ask them to catch the insect. Not too long ago, I had to face the creep alone as everyone was asleep. I don't dare to use parents' method of just using a small plastic bag as a glove to catch the creep and tie up the bag and throw the bag and creep down the rubbish chute. So I had to use a roll up newspaper and hit the creep until it stopped moving. The worst part was having to dispose the body.

While feeding Noisy at the void deck, mum and I saw corpses of cockroaches as our area was fumigated yesterday. Disgusting!

Eyesore :(

I don't understand why people can't keep their surroundings and the park clean. If they can walk from their house to this pavilion in the park, why can't they walk the short distance to the rubbish bin, instead of just dumping the unwanted stuff on the ground?

*Shake head* This morning, I found rubbish where I was feeding the cats. Everytime we feed the cats, we will see rubbish (empty beer bottles, plastic bags, sweet wrappers, etc). Mum and I always remove the uneaten food from the ground. It's really disheartening to see how some people treat their environment.