‘Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day.’.– American journalist and non-fiction writer, John Grogan.
I used to have two dogs — an old male and a much younger female — until early this week.
Now, I also have a young male cat, thanks to my nephew, Ah Lai. Knowing that I needed a cat to keep the rats away, he had gone looking for one.
He found it in a friend’s factory; it was one of the three resident felines there.
“I like this one. It’s gentler,” he said to me as he handed over the white and orange cat plus a huge cage, two bags of cat litter and a bag of cat food to me early Wednesday morning.
He left soon after setting up the cage in the car porch and putting the cat in it.
While these were going on, I had locked my old male dog, Cookie, and younger female dog, Bailey in the house.
Because its gentle behaviour and coat reminded me of a former female feline that died a few years ago of old age, I named it Mimi.
Can a cat co-exist happily with a dog? Yes, I believe but it takes time.
My former cat, Mimi, used to live happily with my dog, Cookie and other dogs. If I sat on the sofa, Mimi would be sitting next to me while Cookie would be at my feet.
When Mimi died after a short illness, Cookie was broken –hearted and refused to eat for a few days. I had to hunt around for a puppy to replace Mimi. I was lucky another nephew, Ah Kiong, found one at his mechanic friend’s garage. I named the puppy Bailey.
Meanwhile, last Wednesday morning, the minute I opened the door of my house, both Cookie and Bailey rushed to the cage where the new cat, Mimi was kept, and barked loudly at the hissing cat.
All the while, I said to Cookie, “ Friend, friend. This is your new friend, Mimi.”
Cookie stopped barking, looked at me and ignored Mimi.
But young Bailey remained focused on Mimi and kept on barking.
In the end, I had no choice but to drag the big cage indoor. I did not want to hear complaints about my barking dogs later on from my neighbours.
Inside the house, Bailey continued to bark at the cat . It stopped for a while when I took out a long stick and threatened to hit it if it continued to bark.
It stopped for a while and then started to bark again. But at least, inside the house, the noises were not that loud to the neighbours’ ears.
Each time, it barked, I hit Bailey lightly with the stick. This happened over and over again, like a replay of a drama.
Ah Lai came slightly around 1 am on Wednesday. After all the commotion with the dogs and cat, I went to bed and surprisingly, slept well. Bailey stopped barking the moment I switched off the lights in the living and dining rooms.
Next morning, I woke to the sound of Bailey barking and Mimi meowing. The cat was hungry. So I fed it rice with canned fish.
I guess it will take months for Bailey to get used to Mimi. Because it is young, it has never seen a cat so near it before. It is also not accustomed to the idea of a cat joining the family. Even now, Bailey and Mimi are still checking each other. The barking and hissing continue.
Currently, I am confining Mimi to the cage and house until it gets used to the new surroundings.
My nephew, Ah Lai, said the cat could catch rats. A good rat catcher. That’s what I need.
Do you know that not all cats can catch rats? My old Mimi was one such cat. My friends also say they have cats that cannot catch rats, too.
I’ve learnt one valuable lesson – dogs are good as companions and for guarding the house. Some dogs can catch rats, too, but not my big, fat and old Cookie. Maybe Bailey can because it can run fast. I think it caught a baby rat once.
Cats can also make good companions and keep the rats away, too.
Until recently, I was terrorised by a big rat that only came out at night. It ran into my bedroom and every night, I could not sleep because I could hear it gnawing on things. One day, after numerous attempts, I managed to catch it with the help of a glue board. I slept very well after that.
I told Ah Lai about the rat and that was why he began to look for a cat for me.
I am thankful he found me the new Mimi. I hope Mimi and Bailey will be real friends some day, sleeping and even napping together.
