Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Rest in peace, Meow Meow

http://www.facebook.com/notes/yingzhi-lin/rest-in-peace-meow-meow/207215685972812

by Yingzhi Lin on Monday, 04 April 2011 at 12:45

This sweet little cat passed away recently from a car accident. She left 5 beautiful kittens behind, which are all less than 2 week old when she left the world. But they are in the good hands of an experienced fosterer, thanks to her very kind caregivers and their equally kind friends. The kittens will be up for adoption once they can eat solid food.

I started on the sterilization project at my workplace a few months back, with the help of Guardian of Pets. Meow Meow was already pregnant then, so I planned to bring her for sterilization after helping to rehome her kittens. She was very shy initially, but slowly, she allowed me to befriend her. She was such a beautiful cat, her coat was soft and lustrous and she looked absolutely healthy. I suspected she must have been very well taken care of by some others in the area. I found out that indeed, along with the security personnel, some of the people from the ground floor companies have been feeding her good food regularly. One of the companies, Vividthree, even built her nice little abode, hoping she will have a little roof over her head, and perhaps the heads of her little ones when they are born. Meow Meow was the name that the good folks of Vividthree had given her.

Meow Meow delighted all of us, when she did give birth to her litter of 5 in the box-home. All seemed to be going well. I was just hoping and hoping that the 5 will grow up safely in this dangerous industrial area before rehoming them, and then bring Meow Meow for snip-snip. Her mother (white cat with ginger patches in the pics) was already sterilized and released, and her next-gen sister (calico kitten in the pics) is at Guardian of Pets now, up for adoption too.

But the lives of strays are never easy. No matter how much you are loved and cared for. The roads are dangerous, and while there are kind souls around who feed and care for them, there is always the risk of unkind beasts who may inflict abuse on these poor strays, or callous people who will just call AVA, TC or SPCA to complain, leading the strays to certain death (Once they are caught by AVA or SPCA, if unclaimed, death awaits them). The best that caregivers who are unable to adopt them can do is to sterilize them, feed them well and look out for them as much as we can as they roam the streets which they call home. So really, no matter how much a stray is loved and cared for, they remain as strays on the run and their fates are extremely fragile. I've always known this, but it hit me acutely again on the fateful day Meow Meow left the world. Even though the driver rushed her to the vet afterwards, she couldn't make it. Still, kudos to the driver for doing what so many others will not do. He made a last-ditch effort to save her life.

As I look through the pics of Meow Meow, the pangs hit me hard. And my heart aches for the strays I care for under my block. Lives of strays are so fragile and unpredictable...

I would like to remember Meow Meow in her best moments, so this is a tribute to her. Meow Meow, who gave many people much joy in her straying wandering short life.There are moments of her playing, of her nom-nom sessions with her mommy and sister, of her loving her few-day-old babies, and of her just being her gorgeous sweet little self.

Rest in peace, Meow Meow. Your babies are in good hands. Watch over your little ones and let them go to good and loving homes.


Always a vocal sweetie once you gained her trust.
A very preggie Meow Meow with her Mommy at the back. (I call her Peaches)
Once she trusted you, she became super affectionate...
One of my fav shot of her...
Chow-time with mommy (Peaches) and calico baby-sis (彩虹 Rainbow). These 3 are the gentlest cats. Mommy Peaches was still very friendly towards Meow Meow and kinda looks out for her (she will let Meow Meow eat her share if Meow Meow insists!) when she was nursing Rainbow, and Meow Meow didn't attack Rainbow either even tho 2 of them are from different litters.
The nice crib that Vividthree folks built for Meow Meow, also named endearingly VividCAT by them.
Loving her babies in her mini-cattery...

Meow Meow's baby:
Tigger Tuff
Meow Meow's baby: Peanut Puff
Meow Meow's baby: Smokey Soot
Meow Meow's baby:
Copper Fizz
Meow Meow's baby:
Snowball Angel

Meow Meow's babies..