RIP Flora

Those dark blue eyes drew me closer to her as I bent to take a look. Ohh…she was such a beauty. But what alarmed me most was her tiny boned body. She was tired, probably too weak to figure out what had happened to her. She made loud cries, an indication that she was scared, I think. But, she had me at hello, that was for sure. And with that, I had finally soften my NO PETS AT HOME ruling.

Flora - day 1

Those blue eyes belonged to Flora, an abandoned cat which was brought home by Farah. She had found the little kitty left in a box by the garbage dump on her way back from tuition class. Initially I thought it was Nissa who had taken in the kitty. Bibik later clarified that two days back, Kakak Farah came home, panting and panicking, carrying this big box in her hand.

Ohh…how could someone be so cruel to have done that?? To just leave the little kitten all by herself, a new born separated from its Mommy. Kalau iyer pun tak mau, give it away properly, send it to PAWS… Ohh…I don’t know, do something but don’t just abandon it.

Cats….ummppp…how shall I start?? To say that I don’t like cats, well, that’s not quite correct. I like them, as long as they don’t roam in my home. As long as they don’t suddenly jump at me and as long as they don’t gesel-gesel at my feet, I’m OK with them. But, apa nama nya nak bela cats if I don’t even dare stroke them. I think all my life I have never carried a cat (mintak maaf banyak-banyak to all the cat lovers here). I can’t imagine having to feel its spine, its limbs, all so warm underneath those thick fur. To sum it up, I am DEAD PENAKUT of cats!!!

I don’t really know what made me feel this way. Perhaps I had bad experiences with cats earlier on in my life, I don’t know and I can’t quite recall.

Anyway, two days back when I saw Flora, I said to myself, “OK, let’s give this little one a try.” Plus at that time ABE was feeding it with milk with a syringe. Memang tak sampai hati sangat-sangat nak say NO. Both Nissa and Farah were crowding the little one and Bibik was going like, “Kak Nissa, tengok tu, dia minum.”

Ok, ok….even though Nissa never actually asked me if she could keep the little kitty, I knew I couldn’t possibly say NO, couldn’t break her heart. And with that, Flora became a member of the family. After all she had me at hello, didn’t she?

Feeding time

Nissa was not well yesterday. ABE , who was still on Raya leave (punyer la lama choti Raya daaa) took her to see the doctor and she was given some antibiotics for her tonsillitis. However, she was more than happy to be home coz there was Flora to care for. When I came back from work last night, Bibik said both Nissa and Bapak had been tendering and nursing the kitty together. Before Nissa went off to bed, I told her she could keep Flora, provided Flora doesn’t come into the house. She renegotiated with me and said Flora has to stay out when I’m in the house. “Ok lah…ok lah,” I told her and that made her so happy.

I wouldn’t say I was not excited about Flora. Being new at this feline thingy, I text both Muni and Jupe enquiring tips on how to care for an abandoned kitty. Both of them are pros at cats, unlike me, a meek rookie. A to-do list was already in my mind, well, you know like to go check out the nearest pet shop, the kind of food for kitties etc, etc. The weekend would have been good to get things done, I thought to myself, plus Nissa could come along.

But ini lah yang dikatakan, kita hanya merancang, ALLAH yang menentukan. When I woke up this morning, Bibik with shivers in her voice, passed this message to me. “Ibuk, Flora tu, Flora udah meninggal.”

My immediate response was, “Nissa sudah tau?”

Bibik said, “Udah, itu lagi menangis di atas.”

Ohh..dear, Nissa must have been so broken hearted!! I then went to see her in her room and all I could see was this sad face. She told me her eyes were watery and she didn’t know why. She said, “Masuk dust kot mata Nissa ni.”

I told her it’s OK to cry. It’s OK to feel sad. Flora is gone now, but at least she was with us, not mati kelaparan ker by the rubbish dump. At least Flora was loved before she left. I saw her take out her diary and I left her to be on her own.

Bye, bye Flora

I stayed on to accompany Nissa burry Flora (yess…I was late to work againnnn!!!). Bibik dug a whole by the fence under the mango tree. OK lah I thought, kinda serene gak that place. Flora will be at ease for she’d be in her own heaven.

Still mourning

Masam, bakal jadi pengganti

I know Nissa will be mourning the passing of Flora. Luckily, there is still Manis, the visiting cat. And there is also Masam, the other visiting, randy male. By the end of today, I know Manis will be upgraded to the resident cat, no longer holding the visitor status. I don’t know where Masam is, but he’ll come back when it’s meal time, for sure.

Manis, the expecting one

Incidently, Manis is also pregnant. So diharapkan apa yang hilang akan berganti. I am so very keeping my fingers crossed that Manis will have a good delivery and she’d tender to her kitties. At least till they are slightly stronger, thus making their survival rate better.

Nissa & Manis

I guess I will proceed with my preparation on receiving the new felines. Setidak-tidak nya Nissa’s sadness akan terubat and for me, I’d have just a little more time to work on my inhibitions.

Rest in Peace, Flora. You were very much loved by all of us. You had me at hello, you had me at hello.