The tale of Spicy

People say, you don't actually choose your pet; they choose you.

That's certainly the case with Tuah. I was walking to my car and he was just sitting there. At that time I had about 15 cats already with me and certainly did not need one more. I found that when there are too many, I tended to neglect some of them so I've always liked to keep them below a certain number. Though, God willing, one day I hope to be able to bring home as many as I liked.

Without even thinking about it, I scooped him up - he was scruffy and thin and nowhere near 'cute' - but he had sad sad eyes which looked up at me and my heart melted.



When the vet said he needed an operation, I knew what I had to do. It didn't matter how much it cost - we (Abg and I) have always thought that our cats brought us Allah's blessings in their own way. We just wanted Tuah to be well.


Tuah in the first few days after the operation

Now, Tuah is healthy and playful and I hope, happy. He has the softest fur and the most cheeky personality. Come feeding time, when we'd put kibbles in their food bowl, Tuah would paw individual kibbles OUT of the bowl onto the floor before eating it. It makes for very slow eating and also some degree of wastefulness as some of it will fall through the rubber mat - but he can be interesting to watch.



I met Spicy one Friday morning on the way to breakfast. We had gone to pick up Fizzy from the vet - he had been having an upper respiratory infection and had been sneezing blood - and wanted to eat first while waiting for the vet to open. She was sitting there, her right front leg bent at an awkward angle, the bone protruding from the wound.

She looked up at me mewing softly and I said to her, if you are still here after I've had my breakfast, I will bring you home and she was. Dr Palani was amused but understanding and named her Spicy, after the mamak stall where he had found her.

Three weeks on, Spicy is now home. Her front right leg had been amputated near the shoulder to prevent her from getting chronic ulcers on her stump. Her fur is dirty and she barely has teeth to chew her food with and is always coughing. One wonders what her life was like before we took her.



But Spicy has the sweetest manner - all she wants you to do is stroke her head and scratch her chin. If we're eating, no matter how delicious it might have smelled to her, she would wait patiently by the table, pleading with her sad eyes. She may have only three legs but boy, can those legs hop when she thinks we're going to feed her. Sometimes she looks like a kangaroo more than a cat.

I think Spicy will be just fine.