Wordless Wednesday: Babysitter Reaps Reward

Male Bonding: Magnum Moment with Dad

Brad loooooves Magnum (the ice cream, not the four-digit game of chance) and his generosity knows no boundary. He's even tutoring Sebastian on the finer points of enjoying it - served on Dad's palm....

Angelina's note: We applaud Brad's generosity. However, Sebastian is not into it (yet!). He's more content eating Brad's leftover breakfast. purrr....meow!

Kitty 's First Mani-Pedi

Sebastian is making very good progress. His legs seem to be stronger now. Today, he had his first taste of kitty manicure-pedicure.....!!!

Is he really a cat? He didn't struggle at all.

One happy customer...Sebastian fell asleep during mani-pedi.

In full tuxie glory...(he snores!)

Angelina's note: It's been ten days since the day we found Sebastian.  purrr...meow!

Wordless Wednesday: Ikea's Poster Girl

BEFORE....how boring...

AFTER....looks better now...

Hallo Ikea!!!! Hallo! Hallo!

Tuxie (and Tabby) on Tuesday

Hie Kitties! Been a while since I've updated. Well, three days seem like forever and ever, eh? Anyway, the pawpawrazzi seem to have focused all lens on the little thingamajik called Sebastian Vettel. Yeay! No flashy box on me (for the time being, at least).

Must say that I'm really proud of my Aussie sibling Brad (hey...that's a rare thing for me to do, OK?). He's been helping Mama with the baby chores and even babysit the kitty. Mama's been trying hard to teach Sebastian to walk and do feline stuff like scratching and stretching. And Brad has been a good assistant. In fact, we may even enroll him in Abang Epi's physio class. These photos will be added in his resume when he applies for enrollment.

Brad: Come on Sebastian, scratch and climb. You can do it.
Sebastian: Can I, really, brofur? I'll try.

Brad: See, you can if you try. Try to reach for that dangling mousie, not my tail.
Sebastian: Urgh...urgh...this is hard work. My legs are not strong enough...help....

Brad: Hang on there, brofur. 
Sebastian: I think that's enough for today. I'm bushed!!!!

Angelina's note: Sebastian is making good progress. His front legs seem to be stronger but his left back leg doesn't seem to function and he's always dragging it when he walks. Still has the tendency to just roll and all four paws in the air as he tries to explore the world around him. More purrrrayers for him purrrrlease.... purrr....meow!

Chronology: Sebastian Vettel Jolie-Pitt

Gotcha Day: Nov 16, 2011

Unnamed tuxie kitty being fed mashed up softened kibble...on Mama's bosom...

Unnamed tuxie kitty sleeping on a bedding of towels....on Mama's bed.

Clinic Day: Nov 17, 2011

The morning after...notice that kitty has been sleeping (or awake) in the same position. May have internal injuries that render it unable to move about or change position.

All comfy in the PTU. That's the PTU I travelled in that fateful journey between Sydney and Kuala Lumpur...it's OK for kitty to borrow it. Just for a while....

PTU shut, food and water supply included, off to the vet's for kitty.

Vet's Report:
1. Kitty is male.
2. Kitty's age: about three months old.
3. Kitty's weight: 400 gram - about 14oz.
4. Kitty's limbs are unable to move due to, most probably, abuse or injury that didn't heal properly. Only one hind leg seems to move as kitty was scratching his ears with it. Nerve system may have been damaged as a result of injury too. (oh boy! toilet training is a no-no at present, then)
5. Kitty is mite and worm farmer (eeeuuwwww!!!) and so was given a dose of anti-worm and wipes of Frontline for mites.
6. Kitty is undernourished.
7. Kitty to be brought to vet's again in a fortnight.

Mama took kitty shopping at PLC, got him some milk and kitten food, and then to the office as it was nearer, so that he can be fed. Uncle Abid was there to assist Mama with kitten feeding. He (and wife) has 13 cats of their own, mostly strays that they rescue from all over. His wife had even appeared on TV talking about strays and rescue work.

Kitty gets really special attention from Mama. None of us, I repeat, none of us ever got to drink milk from a bottle!

Close up photo of kitty. Look at his whiskers - they've been snipped off by some irresponsible #@$&%!!!! OK....I shouldn't swear but seven million curses on the cretins responsible. Y'all know how important whiskers are to any feline.

Angelina's note: Kitty is now officially adopted by the family and has been named Sebastian Vettel Jolie-Pitt. We chose that name as the name sake is the current Formula 1 champion....and so we want kitty to grow up and be a champion too. He has fighting spirit, we reckon. Other than having a very healthy appetite and loud demanding voice too. Still, purrrlease purrray that his nerves will buck up and he'll be able to move his legs...we shudder the thought of kitty not being able to do the bathing or cleaning up after poo poo and pee pee. Let's not even talk about toilet training for now. purrr....meow!  

Addendum: Read all about cats' whiskers here. A great website, I must say.

Project Kitty Galore

And then there were six....and in just a matter of...err....seconds...there are seven now. Has Angelina lost her mind? Why is she talking in riddles now?

Announcing the arrival of our foster brofur/sisfur (we are unsure of the gender as of now....). He/she doesn't have a name yet. We'll do a naming ceremoby once we've established the gender and all health issues addressed.

You see, earlier in the evening, Mama heard a loud meowing sound at the car park. The sound got louder as she approached our block. As soon as she stepped onto the entrance at ground floor, she saw a kitten lying on the floor, in her/his own pee. It was wet and shivering, with a big bite mark on the neck. Without a second thought, Mama put kitty on her shoulder and took her/him home.

Mama cleaned her up, fed her softened and mashed up kibbles and she's now snoring on Mama's bed. I heard her talking to Aunty E on the phone, must be consulting her on how to take care of stray kittens...especially when all the vet clinics and pet supply shops were already closed. Mama has been ooohhinh and aaahhing over other meowmy's kittens and she has an instant one now. Me and my big mouth, she must have said.

Anyway, Mama plans to take unnamed kitty to the vet tomorrow morning for a thorough check up. She seems to have a hard time moving...plus the wounds etc. And oh, upon closer inspection, we noticed that only one whisker is long, the rest look like they have been snipped off. No wonder kitty had a hard time moving.



As of writing time, we have no definite plans for kitty. Let's purrray that it will survive the night first....In case you all are wondering, kitty is a tuxie...purrr...meow!

Wordless Wednesday: Quality Time with Daddy

Life's A Peach

Last weekend, the pawrents aka pawpawrazzi left us to attend to some business Down Under aka the land where I was born. Anyway, I gave them a looooong list of stuff to get, to make it easier for them, stuffs they can easily get at Coles or Woolies. Wasn't I considerate? Among others, they bought me some fruits like Aussie mangoes and peaches....you see, getting things out of Australia is easy. To cut the story short, I think, due to the very hot and humid Malaysian weather, the peaches wither faster than they should. So, something has to be done. Thus, we came up with this solution - Peach Cobbler. An easy recipe we copied from www.mealsmatter.org...it's yummy to bits.

Peach Cobbler

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fresh peaches, pitted and sliced (option: same amount of canned peaches)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups water

Preheat oven to 190 degree Celcius. Lightly butter a 9" x 9" glass baking pan.
In a large bowl, cream butter and 1/2 cup sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Spread mixture evenly into baking dish.
If using canned peaches, drain thoroughly, reserving the juices. Spoon fruit over batter.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar. Pour fruit juice or water over the top.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes. During baking, the fruits and juice go to the bottom of the pan while the batter rises.

Gather all ingredients - we used fresh Australian white-fleshed and yellow-fleshed peaches and substituted white sugar with brown. The cinnamon duster sugar is also from Down Under.

How the cobbler looked like before baking.

Fresh out of the oven. Serve it warm (just scoop the messy concoction) with ice cream, preferably Bulla. Aussie peaches paired with Aussie ice cream, OK?

Angelina's note: Someone at the office said the texture is somewhat like bread and butter pudding but overloaded with peaches. Oh well....we also eat bread and butter pudding with ice cream. Wouldn't you? purrrr.....meow!

Mama's Garden...sort of....

Well, there's been too many hiccups in Mama's gardening project that it's been shelved indefinitely. No thanks to Michael and Nikki who have been sabotaging the effort...they chew everything that's been sown and grown. So, in the meantime, she gardens here.

Angelina's note: Mama says this is better than balcony gardening as she can have sheep and cows and chickens too. Oh dear....no more sweet grass for me? purrr....meow!

Ditch the Galaxy, Play with Me

Angelina's note: Hmmm....everyone's been spending too much time on their tablets lately. Come on, Mama and Dad. Pay attention to me instead. purrr....meow!

It's Tough Being a Blogger Feline......sometimes....

Angelina: Mama, why is the page blank?

Mama: Because you didn't switch it on.

Angelina: So...it's my fault now that the blog wasn't updated for ages?

Mama: Did I say that? I don't think so...

Angelina: Come on, Mama....let's update. My readers miss me....

Mama: Your readers, eh? OK....sorry my darling....you know that I've been here, there and everywhere...

Angelina: Phew! At least the pictures have been uploaded to iPhoto. It's hard keeping the "servant" in control sometimes....Hope it's smooth sailing from now on.

Mama: I heard that Angelina...

Angelina: I wasn't talking bad about you Mama....but that lappy screen needs thorough cleaning, non? purrr...meow!

EID MUBARAK

First things first. Wishing everyone Eid-ul-Adha, regardless of faith, race or gender.

Anyway, by the time you read this, my hoomans would have flown halfway to Queensland as the slaughter of animals at the abattoir will only take place on Monday. They are going to Gympie, somewhere in the hinterland of Queensland to perform the ritual. Unfortunately, my siblings and I had to stay at home due to border issues....

Sunday morning saw us at a shelter for orphans, poor kids and single mothers in Olak Lempit, almost an hour drive from home. Mama's office had arranged for a TV station to cover a qurban (sacrifice) ritual at the shelter. There were some cows and goats to be slaughtered. It's for a reality show called Ustazah Pilihan (chosen female teacher??? - not sure if I have translated correctly) and this particular episode will appear this Thursday. If you're a subscriber of Astro, tune in to Astro Oasis Channel 106, Thursday 9pm. I'm not really sure if they have web streaming as this is a paid channel, not free to air.

I won't show the gory pictures of the slaughter. Just some general shots, OK?

All the information you need about the event.

Our staff and volunteers on duty. Notice the sharp knives??

One of the contestants being filmed.

The current line-up. They are down to the last six now.

"You know who" and the Principal of the reality show.

Most of the meat were packed and distributed to the needy in the area. (Ignore the exposed meat on the left.)

Angelina's note: As it is quite difficult to get free wifi/broadband service in Australia, blogging activity may slow down considerably. Should be back in action after Thursday. purrrr...meow!

New Perch for Nikki

Among my family members, Nikki seems to be the one with the most crazypants moments....you'll see her dashing off here and there, climbing and scratching anything...even chased her own tail. So, when Mama brought home a new cat tree, as expected, she was the first to sniff, climbed and staked the thingy as hers. Other kitties would have to take a number, I'm afraid. This particular blue-eyed bombshell is not gentle at all.

Look at that face. Doesn't it say: "This is mine. All mine."

Oh yeah...how long will that mousie last, I wonder.

Angelina's note: Believe it or not, even I haven't had play time with this new tree. And I so resent that. No respect for the princess, eh? purrr....meow!

JOY AND PEACE TO THE WORLD!!!!

That Time of The Year

You all must have been wondering about the advertisement we placed under the header that says "Qurban for Life." If you had clicked on it, you would be taken to a website dedicated to the cause. From there, you can get more information and proceed to donate for the cause. Or you can click here. The website is written entirely in Malay but there's google translator.

You see, every year, Mama's office organise the slaughter of either sheep or cow and then distribute them to the poor. Usually, slaughter will take place in an abattoir in Australia, the meat is then shipped to Malaysia for canning, and then the canned meat is sent to the recipient countries. The beneficiaries vary from year to year, depending on where food aid is needed most. This year, the plan is to send them to Somalia. In the past years, containers had gone to countries like Iraq, Palestine, Bosnia, Jordan, Yemen, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.  

Qurban means sacrifice in Arabic, following the Abrahamic tradition of slaughtering an animal in the saeson of pilgrimage. The meat from the slaughtered animal is then distributed among the poor. In modern days, sometimes there are no poor people in areas where people make these sacrifices, thus advisable to distribute them away. By canning the meat, like what Mama's organisation is doing, distribution can even be done in countries or even continents that are thousands of miles away. Mama's organisation is one of the pioneers in performing Qurban this way, having done so for the past 20 years.  In Malaysia, this method was introduced in 2003 and so that makes it the eighth year that Malaysians have been able to participate.  Of course, donations from overseas are also accepted, online donations are possible via the website.

For the past eight years, Mama has been doing the annual abattoir duty that has also taken her to exotic locales in Australia such as Crainbourne (Victoria), Dubbo (New South Wales), Albany (Western Australia) and Gympie (Queensland). Not exactly on the beaten tourist paths but these places are interesting and in fact we've written about some of them, Dubbo and Gympie to be exact. Please use the search button on the right if you want to read the concerned write ups.

Okay, here's the plug. For just RM380 (USD120.50/AUD117.35/CAD122.55/GBP75.55), you get a sheep or 1/7th of a cow that can feed a family of four for about a month. The beauty of giving canned meat is its long shelf life of three years compared to fresh meat that would have to be refrigerated or frozen.

The finished product - corned beef. Sometimes we produced corned mutton, depending on available livestock.

"You know who" at the cattle holding pen - before the slaughter. I'm not going to show the slaughter process here, it's gory and might offend some kitties and hoomans.

The meat is then put in boxes and kept in the freezer before shipping to cannery.

"You know who" inspecting the refrigerated container where the meat is kept.

Distribution in recipient country - this was done in Lebanon, for Palestinian refugees.

Angelina's note: Donations are accepted until Monday Nov 7th. So, hurry up. purrr....meow!