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Tuesday, June 30, 2009 COT Midnight cat   I woke up at 2.37AM this morning with no idea what had woken me up. But the second I looked at the clock, Target opened an eye and decided it was the perfect time to snizzle. He was lying curled up against me so it was the work of a moment to snuggle up to my chin and give me fuzzy headbutts. He purred so loudly that Tom woke up too. Target promptly climbed over me so he could talk to both of us at the same time. He was in heaven, we were trying to pet him AND stay asleep. Drifting off again, we were woken up again at about 6AM by Au. As he ran out of roast chicken yesterday afternoon, our senior fuzz was not in a good mood. He said hello rather grumpily and made Tom get up to give him some cat food. This is him looking grumpy on the left. But Au's mood improved when I got up and went out. He knows a wet market run when he sees it. Now there is a piece of chicken roasting in the oven and Au is sitting in front of it, making sure he's on the scene the second it's ready. Hopefully it will put him in a better mood! For more Cats on Tuesday, visit Gattina. By the way, Cathy says that as Katz Tales is only out once a month now, and Dog Talk is out once a month only too, I should blog more often. I'll write posts on the next few Fridays. If there's enough traffic/interest, I'll continue. Also, Katz Tales is out in the print version of The Star, the Malaysian national daily, Weekend section this Saturday. Buy it please and don't forget to write in for the picture contest! Details of how to enter are posted here. Labels: Au, Cats On Tuesday, snizzles, target posted by katztales @ 9:56 AM (15) comments links to this post | 15 comments Tuesday, June 09, 2009 COT Cat Chat   English is a great language but it is short a few expressions. So here are a few definitions from our cat vocab:Snizzle circle: a hair band. The origin of this term lies in Target's baby name, Mr Snizzles, as well as in the fact that these soft stretchy hair bands are his favourite toys. Squizzle: to pet a cat, usually by bunching your fingers and running them under the chin or at the bit where the tail and backbone meet. (Note: Tom says, "scrizzle" so this word already has UK and US variations!) Fuzzle: a friendly nickname for any cat but also a verb that describes those times when you're lying flat somewhere with a kitty on top of you who is absolutely boneless with bliss because you are squizzling him. Kitty collapso: when a cat is so relaxed when sleeping that you check his breathing to make sure he's OK. So this is how you get, "Target was playing with his snizzle circle until Au asked for squizzles. Then Target got all jealous so we fuzzled for a bit and now he's completely kitty collapso." Happy Cats On Tuesday! If you want to see more fuzzies, check out Gattina's blog or the links in the box in the sidebar. Labels: Au, Cats On Tuesday, snizzles, target posted by katztales @ 2:15 AM (17) comments links to this post | 17 comments Tuesday, December 02, 2008 COT: We've Been Memed!  Kitikata-San tagged us for a meme! Can you believe it?Here are the meme Rules: 1. Each player starts with 8 random fact/habits about themselves. 2. Tagged players write their own blog about their 8 things and post these rules. 3. A the end of your blogpost, choose 8 people to be tagged and list their names. 4. Leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog. Well, here goes, here are 8 random facts about Au:  1. I was born in Malacca, Malaysia in The year of the Tiger. 2. I have a big white tummy. 3. My favourite treat is ham. 4. I waken my slaves at dawn because I like to eat early. 5. I love to hunt rats and mice. 6. I love wrestling with Target. See me in the picture looking all blurry cos I'm going so fast. 7. I can't decide if my favourite spot is my box, the sofa or the garden wall. 8. My tail is very short and has a kink in it, proving I'm a true Malaysian cat! And here are 8 random facts about Target: 1. I was born in Subang Jaya, Malaysia in The year of the Pig. 2. I was named after the creamy circles on my sides. 3. My favourite treat is boiled chicken liver. 4. I have my own two pillows in bed. 5. I love my snizzle circles, my pingpong ball, and my string. 6. I love wrestling with my big brother Au. That's me in the picture putting on my fight face. 7. I have a very small meow but I'm using it very effectively! 8. My tail is long and looks straight but if you look closely, it has two kinks, proving I'm a true Malaysian cat! We tag these cool cats to participate in this meme: Luzie and Olli in Germany who hold tails, Maia in Holland who got locked in the desk last week, Poppy who is ill and his friend MeowMeow Any one of Miilo's Dearest because they are new friends and we'd like to learn more, Abel who is now living with the Spice cats, and Copito, the hamster who likes to visit cats! For more Cats On Tuesday visit Gattina. Labels: Au, Cats On Tuesday, meme, snizzles, target posted by katztales @ 1:17 AM (12) comments links to this post | 12 comments Tuesday, September 16, 2008 COT: Nicknames  Dragonheart and Merlin posted a list of their nicknames last Thursday and it got me thinking about the other names we call Au and Target. It reveals a bit of character - theirs and mine - and our relationship too.See what I mean by looking at their "other" names. Au's nicknames are followed by an A, Target's by a T, and ones that apply to both with an A and a T.  Fuzz face (A, T) Squeezlebug (A,T) Cat-Kur-Squizzle (A, T) Squeezle-bug-fluff (A,T) Cat fluff (A, T) Mr Kitty (A) Big kitty on the block (A) You little bugger! (A) Fuzzily wuzzily (T only because A objects!) Mr Snizzles (T) Little tail (T) Au is a big man cat who's not much into hugs but he tolerates me quite well and let's me hug him every day - not too much though in case I am spoiled. And guess what I call him when he demands a treat to show his power over us and walks away without eating it! Target is a very soft kitty who adores cuddles and baby talk. He's not at all worried about being called fuzzily wuzzily little tail snizzles sweetie... Mind you, it's early days and when he's older he may be put a limit on that sort of stuff. Thanks for the great idea Dragonheart and Merlin! Happy Tuesday :-) and be sure to visit Gattina the home of Cats On Tuesday. Labels: Au, Cats On Tuesday, snizzles, target posted by katztales @ 1:12 AM (11) comments links to this post | 11 comments Tuesday, July 29, 2008 COT Cats At Play   Au was so sad when his friend Scoop passed away last September that we were very worried about him. But thanks to Target, Au is now back to his old self. And he's getting tonnes of exercise too!The two cats wrestle several times a day, run like mad things through the house, and play wild games with whatever toy of the moment catches their fancy. Their best fun at present is a piece of string with a Snizzles circle tied to the end. Au tugs one end and "fishes" for Target. Then they run around, each pulling one end in a game of tug-of-war. Au likes this string so much, he took it to his box when he went for his afternoon nap yesterday. It reminds me of watching old Arthur get back a bit of his kittenhood when Rosie moved in. For that tale and more, check out Gattina's blog. See you Thursday for a Pet's Joke? Labels: Au, Cats On Tuesday, scoop, snizzles, target posted by katztales @ 8:39 AM (6) comments links to this post | 6 comments Tuesday, April 08, 2008 COT Tagged!  The Spice Cats tagged Target who just had the snip and Au who is a good big brother to Target for the "tell us 3 new things about yourself" meme.So here goes! Au: 1. Is finding this senior cat AKA big brother thing great when it comes to wrestling on the carpet and hunting stray leaves with his new pal, and... 2. Au isn't lonely anymore from missing his best pal Scoop, but.... 3. Au says it's not so much fun when he gets pushed away from the biscuit bowl by a starving kitten! Target: 1. Is finding everything new. There's leaves, snizzle circles, walks with Au across the street, interesting piles of newspapers, shoe laces... and endless list of new and fascinating things to see EVERY DAY! 2. Has discovered chocolate brownies. He's not allowed more than a crumb because chocolate isn't good for cats, but he's developing longterm plans to get into a bakery, somehow, somewhere. 3. Best of all is that Target has new hair growing back under his tail!  And we're tagging: Janice from Criz Cat Sanctuary who is 3 months old, Merlin who is Dragonheart's new friend, and Frieda who has lovely toes and whose mum blogs in German and English. Happy COT! PS the doggy shown below has been returned to his owner, and the kitten that fell into the drain is still alive and well! Labels: Au, Cats On Tuesday, scoop, snizzles, target posted by katztales @ 7:22 AM (20) comments links to this post | 20 comments Friday, March 28, 2008 Mr Snizzles Has The Snip It's been done. Target went to the vet and had the snip. He's now a retired gentleman cat. Target is perfectly fine, jumping up and down all over the place - including on top of poor Au! I know I'll get a lot of flack about this from Malaysian readers, but I believe that neutering is the way to go. For one thing, 5 out of 8 kittens at the back have died. It' s touch and go for the other 3. The last litter died off completely. I hate all this pointless suffering! So for those of you who read Katz Tales in The Star Weekend section who have faith issues, I'll quote Dr. Ayoub M. Banderker, a Muslim vet and international animal rights worker whose articles concerning Animals and Islam at www.islamicconcerns.com are read by thousands: “I cannot overemphasize the need to have one’s cats or dogs sterilized.” "Animals do not have freedom of choice, only man and jinn do. Hence, animals act upon their instincts. Likewise, they do not have sexual intercourse for pleasure, but only based on instinct, when a female comes on heat/oestrus. Therefore, animals do not rape or murder or steal with ill intention, all their actions are based on instinct and what they are trained to do.” “For this reason, sterilization of animals will remove the instinct to procreate only, thus controlling the population in an environment where there are no natural predators and help curb disease between man and animals and vice versa, that could be spread by over-population of animals.” “Killing of animals in an inhumane way for no valid reason is unIslamic. So population control, through sterilization, benefits both man and animal by helping to prevent the spread of disease between species and prevent the suffering of unwanted pets and the unIslamic practice of abandoning domestic animals."
posted by katztales @ 9:18 AM (3) comments links to this post | 3 comments Friday, January 18, 2008 Whale of a Time  Katz Tales is out tomorrow in the print version of the Malaysian national daily, The Star.We've been out of the blog loop for a week or so because work is getting to be rather overwhelming. But while the humans are suffering from insomnia interspersed with weird dreams about deadlines and forgotten plot bits from romance novels they're sculpting (any romance literary agent looking for a finished 60,000 MS of intrigue novel please email me ew AT lepak.com!) the cats are having a whale of a time. Au is lying curled up in front of his box, paws and ears grimy with dirt because he's been rolling in the garden. He's also spending lots of time in the neighbour's house across the street, admiring their basin filled with guppies. Target has built up a formidable collection of hair bands, now called Snizzles Circles in our home, and is spending every spare minute in the office, knocking everything off my desk and pushing the Office Assistant button with his tail. And speaking of having a whale of a time, please visit Whale's Revenge and sign the petition that aims to gather 1 million signatures from people around the world demanding we stop the killing of whales. This is very timely as Japanese whalers plan to kill about 900 minke whales and 50 fin whales by mid-April this year. I'm signatory 861932 - see if you can make the 1,000,000 mark. posted by katztales @ 7:11 PM (4) comments links to this post | 4 comments Sunday, November 25, 2007 Hunter It's great fun watching the kitten, Mr Snizzles (who now rejoices in his grown up name, Target)playing wild games around the house. He is practicing his hunter skills and is systematically intimidating the downstairs rug, the pingpongs we gave him, and all teh hairbands he can find. What''s particularly chocolate-box-kitten-cute is the way he drags his toys around with him. Here he is, carrying his hairband around, and putting it right next to his dish for safekeeping. Presumably he's worried that Au will steal it!   posted by katztales @ 8:40 AM (4) comments links to this post | 4 comments Tuesday, November 20, 2007 COT: War! Yesterday afternoon I heard a cry for help. Mr Snizzles was lying outside the garden gate, teetering on the edge of the storm drain, yelling in panic. Yow Yow, the big brute street cat who beat up our Au two weeks ago, was standing over him, tail fluffed up, growling nastily. Yow Yow has never had anything but kindness and cat biscuits from me, so he didn't take any notice when I walked up behind him. When I smacked his arse with the flat of my hand, however, he jumped three feet in the air and shouted, "YOWRL!" You should have seen his face: sheer shock and horror. I told him to beat it to the back lane, threatening another smack if he should come back to the front of the house and terrorise my cats again. Yow Yow hightailed it down the street, and disappeared into the back lane where the stray cats hang out. Mr Snizzles was terribly relieved at the rescue. His backside had slipped into the drain and were covered in muck but he was uninjured. I cuddled him, took him into the house and we rinsed off his back paws and tail. As a first bath experience, it sucked. I let him clutch onto my t-shirt and just quickly rinsed his hindquarters under the tap. He was still traumatised by Yow Yow's attack so he didn't even squeak. Afterwards we rubbed him dry with a towel, and fussed over him a little bit. Yow Yow turned up this morning at the back door as usual, looking for biscuits. Being a cat he didn't even show a trace of shame. I read him a lecture telling him he can have his biscuits twice a day like the other strays in the back lane, but if he comes to attack my fuzzies in their own front garden again, he'll feel the flat of my hand. I know he understood every word I said. Let's hope he remembers it! Here's Yow Yow and one of his kittens eating breakfast.  By the way, I'm updating my links section. Any catty or other bloggers wanting to exchange links, please leave me a note with your blog name and URL in the comments section or via email at katztales AT lepak.com.Happy Cats On Tuesday! Labels: Au, Cats On Tuesday, snizzles, target, yow yow posted by katztales @ 11:00 AM (13) comments links to this post | 13 comments Saturday, November 17, 2007 Paws OK Au is a lot better now thanks to some nifty tablets from the vet. He's walking about as usual but we're still careful with him to make sure there isn't another relapse. The kitten is rushing about, having a really good time. He's playing in the garden, stuffing his face with food and trying to get the big cat to play with him. Mr Snizzles really admires the Big Cat - and Au enjoys the adulation! Peggy asked a question saying she and her mum want to bathe their cats, but "however, since we never bath them since they were born(they're merely one year old), what is the best way to start their bathing session?" I'd say... Bath time is tough! Suggest you put warm water in a sink, put a container of lukewarm rinsing water next to it, and keep soap (formulated for cats as people soap is bad for kitties) and towel handy. Put your kitty gently into the sink, tail first. Don't bother too much about sticking out paws.  Carefully rub water all over fur, starting with the tummy and working higher up the cat. Rub a little shampoo into your hands and soap your cat thoroughly. You can rub his ears with your soapy hands but don't touch the rest of his face. Then use the container of rinsing water to rinse your cat clean. I find I need two kettles of rinsing water for Au. Afterwards, pat your cat dry with the towel. Then apologise profusely and offer lots and lots of treats. Expect to be treated as Enemy Number One for a few hours! Here's a picture of our old cat Scoop having a bath. He was a master at "the octopus spread"! PS Dog Talk is out in the print version of The Star, Weekend section in Malaysia today. Labels: Au, scoop, snizzles, target posted by katztales @ 7:43 AM (6) comments links to this post | 6 comments Tuesday, November 13, 2007 COT: Sore Paw Poor Au has a sore paw. The bruises he sustained after being attacked by Yow-Yow two weeks ago slowly disappeared. Two days ago we were playing like normal but suddenly the paw was sore again - we think he did it jumping off a wall. So Au is on tablets from the vet and the kitten has been told to leave the big cat alone for a little while, something Mr Snizzles is not keen to do because he admires his older brother very much!  Here they are, with Au looking down his nose at the kitten who's so desperate to play a game of tag. Happy Cats on Tuesday! Labels: Au, Cats On Tuesday, snizzles, target posted by katztales @ 7:05 AM (12) comments links to this post | 12 comments Tuesday, November 06, 2007 COT Hari Singh Au still has a sore front right paw - but we've noticed he limps more when he sees me watching him! Obviously he learned how to fake an illness from Scoop. But as he's had a rough time, we're indulging him with cuddles and extra ham. Mr Snizzles, the new arrival, is settling in very nicely. He's growing quickly and running around the house, purring constantly. He has to go for his inoculations today or tomorrow - will keep you posted on how that goes! Now for a Cry For Help: Here's a boy who needs a home. His name is Hari Singh and he lives in Damansara Utama near the Damansara Specialist Hospital.  As his foster family say, "About 4 weeks ago, a stray cat walked into our home and I did not have the heart to chase him away. We have been feeding him and named him Hari Singh. He has put on weight and looks better now. In fact he looks a bit like Au with orange coloured fur and his eyes are of an unusual colour. He is very loving and wants to be hugged, patted and he loves rubbing himself against us. He is not allowed to enter our house as my babies have refused to accept him. I hope to find someone to adopt him as he deserves a loving family as he himself is very loving." Hari has not yet been neutered or vaccinated. If you have a garden, and want to adopt a kitty, please contact Labels: Au, scoop, snizzles, target posted by katztales @ 9:29 AM (13) comments links to this post | 13 comments Friday, November 02, 2007 BFF Cat Style  It took less than a week for Au to make friends with Mr Snizzles (His kitten name while we think of a suitable grown up cat name).They're now playing peek a boo in the garden, running race and chase games up and down the stairs, and exploring cupboards together. Au is also trying out new flavours of cat food. He's been stuck on his own favourites for ages, and has refused to even sniff new types of food, but now he sees the kitten tucking in, our fuzzy has decided he's up for a change too!  We still miss Scoop but getting a friend for Au was the right thing to do. Au is much happier with company. Obviously his sense of time is different than ours. Other news is that utterly unspeakable Yow-Yow broke in the other day and beat the hell out of our poor Au. He's stiff with bruises - but no cuts or anything thank goodness! We're spoiling him with extra cuddles and ham, and Snizzles is keeping his spirits up with cute games.  Our sister column Dog Talk is out in the print version of The Star Weekend section tomorrow - all about Girl, the "miniature Dalmatian" who lives down the road from us. Labels: Au, scoop, snizzles, target posted by katztales @ 2:51 PM (4) comments links to this post | 4 comments Tuesday, October 30, 2007 COT: Kitty in the Box The kitten is running wild, bouncing all over the house, and shouting shrill yips of delight when he sees us. Au is curled up in a new box that arrived with a new fan. He's enjoying a quiet morning snooze and groom session. Au and the kitten, called Mr Snizzles while we think of something more manly and appropriate, are getting along fine.They started playing race and chase on Saturday, with one cat touching the other lightly (counting coup, American Indian style) and then rushing off at high speed. Mr Snizzles usually starts it by pouncing on Au, then Au chases the kitten through the living room and garden, there's a turnaround and then the kitten chases Au back into the house.  I think they're enjoying themselves and they'll soon be firm friends. Here's Snizzles, checking out the camera. Labels: Au, Cats On Tuesday, snizzles, target posted by katztales @ 7:58 AM (9) comments links to this post | 9 comments |