Tag: cats

A Heartwarming And Heartbreaking Moment

As I was at Sup Hussin the other day,and while waiting for the breaking of fast, I saw something heartwarming. I saw a mamak (Indian Muslim) employee or maybe the boss himself feeding homeless cats with kibbles from a biscuit tin.

It can be more than altruism though. Hungry, homeless cats might beg by nudging the feet of customers and irritate or scare some people.

It was heartening and heartbreaking at the same time, for me. The scene triggered some sadness for me. I used to feed some random stray street cats from a biscuit tin previously too. I can no longer feed them because buying of pet food is so expensive and I have 5 other hungry cats at home to feed too.

I can’t work after my discharge from hospital and my revenue is down to a trickle. I worry about the nameless, faceless and homeless cats everyday.

I can look for them and continue feeding again if someone kind or generous can donate some kibbles or a little money by PayPal to tvsmith@gmail.com

Thank you in advance. Thank you, mamak for feeding the hungry strays, not with scraps but with real pet food. I will proudly patronize your shop more whenever I can.

#suphusin #cats #cat #homelesscats #straycars #animalwelfare #mamak #soup #hussinsup #animallover

A Sweet Love Story

The joys of street photography is not just in capturing people with your camera. It is about meeting, engaging strangers, to listen to their life stories, if they are willing to share. Inter racial marriages seem to be more common in small towns and I was happy to hear a new perspective. A sweet love story.

Meet The Family.

Puan Saudah’s husband Ameer and daughter Ramizah came to join the conversation. Looking at my pics on the iPad, the man noted he knows one of the guys I photographed. It was Gurcharan Singh from the Sikh Temple in Kalumpang.

I looked up at Ameer’s face again and did a double take. Our conversation went from Malay to English at this point:

Me: Don’t tell me you are Punjabi?

Ameer: Yes (with a grin). I am Ameer Abdullah, formerly Balbir Singh the Sikh.

Me: How long ago was it when you married Saudah and how did your community take it in those days?

Ameer: Some 30 years ago. I fell in love, converted to Islam, discarded my turban and married the girl of my dreams.

Me: That’s so sweet.

Ameer: I became an outcast for leaving my religion, was shunned by my own community and treated as traitor.

Me: I understand. I had a Punjabi classmate who hated singer DJ Dave just as much for the same reasons.

Ameer: Not surprised. Hey. I know Dave and he is from Tanjung Malim (further up on Federal Route 1).

Me: I think things have changed and people from the Sikh community are now more tolerant of inter-racial marriages?

Ameer: Yes. And time heals everything. I am accepted as a friend again.

Me: How do you know?

Ameer: When fellow Punjabis in town call me by my childhood nickname.

Ameer, a civil servant, is happily married, deeply religious and have four grown-up children now. Ramizah is 22 and is a teacher at a Islamic religious school in KKB.

Am honoured to meet such a warm, honest and animal-loving family.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f5, 1/80 sec.

#documentaryphotography #sikh #muslim #kkb #kualakububharu #smalltown

Opium For Nga Nga

Elizabeth Chong being the nice person and cat (and dog) lover she is, brought a calling gift to my house. She told my mom it is Meow’s Ah Phian in Hokkien; meaning cat’s opium. Haha.

In Chinese it is known as cat mint or catnip in English. It is really addictive like a drug to cats, it seems. When I was out, my cat Nga Nga raided the pouch, tore it and ate half of it. But then, he is a compulsive glue sniffer all along and has always been attracted to any glue smells such as adhesives on envelope flaps and stamps. He even licked a jar of Tiger Balm once.

Catnip is a plant, organic and herbal. I read that it can trigger hallucinations and cause cats to be high. Let’s see if Nga Nga makes drunk calls (drunk dialing) to his ex girlfriends at 3 am tonight as many of us intoxicated guys have done, at one time or another. 🙂

What do cat owners with experience think?

#catnip #catfood #cats #cat #catmint #nganga

Seaside Cats

Morib Beach is sort of bizarre. I saw wild monkeys and stray cats on the same day. The sunset was dull and cool at the esplanade on that day but I saw something heart warming. Hard to see in this pic but some of the of the human visitors were sharing their snacks with a couple of appreciative homeless cats.

The A7R camera’s resolution is so massive I can crop in (on another shot), recover from the shadows and show the close up as an inset.

Sometimes, seeing a sunset can cheer you up, sometimes seeing a simple act of kindness can too.

Sony Alpha A7R, ISO 2000, f10, 1/60 sec.

#morib #cats #strays #beach ##sea #homeless #sunset #silhouette

Introducing Nga Nga

Nga Nga is our lonely and bored indoor cat. He holds a special place in our hearts. Eight or nine years ago, my mom saw a tiny kitten trapped and crying in a water logged and deep monsoon drain that he must have fallen into.

Mom summoned me and I jumped in without thinking. The drain was so deep I could not climb back up. Had to walk a mile before finding a way to climb out, with the wet, dirtied and frightened kitten in hand. Nga Nga means baby in Cantonese. Was the name registered at the vet when he was sent for check up and vaccinations.

Nga Nga is seen here wearing a collar that came with one of the bags of cat food donated by Lewyee Ng through Tesco’s online purchase and delivery.

The cats still need food donations. See my recent post entitled “There Is Hope” (http://www.tvsmith.my/eclectic/there-hope) (or PM me for the Tesco link) and info on how you can help Nga Nga and my other cats. Thank you.

Pictures with Asus Zenfone3