Toilet training for cats

Right now we are living in a house with a big garden in a rural area. So the question of cat litter boxes never arose. But we may move into town one day, and what happens then? Litter boxes in the toilet, no choice. Really? Watch this!

Cat tails on the menu?

At least once a week we hear these questions: "Why do the cats here in Malaysia have short tails, or no tails at all? Is it true that people cut them off? Do they eat them?" No, nobody cuts their tails, there are no restaurants that specialize in the preparation of cat tails! The cats are born like that. One litter can surprise you with a whole range of different tails (as well as colours): perfect long tail, long tail but twisted or a bit curled at the end ..... almost no tail at all. I know for sure, because Pedro and Lucy were born in my wardrobe, and both of them have short tails, from the very first day!


















Lucy has one more special feature: 6 toes on each paw!



Mutations. Inbreeding: Suara, Pedro's and Lucy's mother, was "given" to us by a neighbour, so chances that the father of her kittens was her own father, or a brother or another male relative are quite high! Whatever the reason: the variety of colors, sizes, tail length, tail form, paws, ears, eyes of the house (stray...) cats here is enormous! Go for a walk in any Malaysian town and look around, it's amazing!

Or just have a look at Suara, she's got a bit of all of them!

Expat Cats

When we decided to move to Malaysia almost 11 years ago, we had two cats: Blacky and Michi.

We were not sure what to do, find a new home for them in Switzerland? Or take them with us? Both of them had been with us for several years and there were bonds.

And the feeling that we had a responsibility for them. So we talked to our vet. She had all the information we needed. We were a bit worried that the climate here would be to hot for the two of them. But she said that cats like it hot - and she was right. We had decided to live in the countryside, so she thought that the cats would be very happy (and lucky) not to have to spend their lives in an apartment. And again, she was right.

You will find a few more pros and cons in this link to expatkl.com. About the quarantine: It was not to bad, quite clean, nice staff, and the two of them could stay together. Only thing, when we brought them there from the airport, the vet straight away gave them a rabies jab - and they had had one just a few days before we left Switzerland - I thought it was a bit much, but they were okay.

It was expensive (the airfare for the cats), it was a bit troublesome for us (about 5 hours from Mersing to KL, where they were in quarantine), it was a big change for them (temperature, light, food - no Whiskas in Mersing back in 1996!) - but I would do it again.

List of historical cats by Wikipedia

Something you might want to check out on a rainy Sunday afternoon....

The cat in China

History repeats itself, different continent, different culture, but basically the same story (see The Great Cat, one post earlier). Click the title to learn more. And read the comments at the end of the article, some of them are quite interesting too.

The Great Cat

"Thou art the Great Cat, the avenger of the gods, and the judge of words, and the president of the sovereign chiefs and the governor of the holy Circle; thou art indeed... the Great Cat"

Now where does that come from? History. If you want to know more, click the title of this post. I hope you'll enjoy the read as much as I did.

Felis catus

Felis catus? What's that?

Well, I could try to answer, but why bother if National Geographic has done it so well. Only that much: If you always wanted to know where your favourite pet originated from, they have the answer. Just click the title of this page.

TechnoratiCats

TechnoratiCats

It's a cat's life...

This is Queen Leo. Why Leo if it's a female? Well, when somebody threw the kitten in our garden here in Malaysia at a very tender age we all thought it was a male - sometimes you really can't tell. And because he (she) looked like a little lion, we right away gave him (her) the name Leo. When we noticed our mistake, the name stuck. And it fit's, never mind the gender...


Blacky, the Alpha Cat... Blacky is 14 1/2 years old now. We got him from a cat home in Switzerland when he was about 8 months old. He was and still is an extremely loving cat. Right, we brought him over to Malaysia with us. What, crazy? He is happier here where he can roam around the kampung (Malay for village) than he ever was in our appartment back in Switzerland. Look!