Musings

While John's stuck in reservist doing his part for our country, I'm sitting here in the midst of some researching, musing about how we came to know of the American Curl breed. (Warning, long post ahead!)

John and I are currently on a hunt for a decent digital camera. For a long time now we have been relying on my "old faithful" Canon Digital Ixus V. Yes that's right, Ixus V. Not 800 IS, 750, 700, 65 nor even 60. Its 2.1 megapixel capable sturdy little metal body has served us for 5 years. Even our mobilephone cameras are 2 megapixels. So we decided, it's time to get a new camera.

My list now includes a few different Ixus models, a few Powershots (also Canon) and one Nikon Coolpix model. I'm pro-Canon (for digital) because I've seen photos taken with other cameras, and somehow I still prefer the colour balance and saturation of my Canon Ixus. Panasonic Lumix can turn out a little purplish. John doesn't want Sony. Looks like we're going to stick with Canon. Any other recommendations, anyone?

I was flipping through the new Buying Guide (aka Yellow Pages) looking for petshop locations. We are hoping that our new little kitten, Blinker, will be able to come home sometime next weekend. Which means that we'll have to go shopping for kitty things very soon. There are actually numerous petshops in Singapore - some bigger, better stocked and cheaper than others. Hopefully tomorrow we'll get the opportunity to visit a few and pick up what we need. One of my personal favourites is Greedy Pet Bakery just because the name, concept and mascot is so cute. Go ahead and visit their website, you'll see what I mean. Best of all, it's near our place. (edit: Oh no! I just realised that they will be moving away! It won't be near our place any longer... sniff sniff)

I've been asking my sis and bro-in-law a lot for a lot of advice and recommendations on pet care and living with a pet. John and I are very excited of course, but we also know that having someone who's fully dependent on you will change your lifestyle and your perception to a pretty extensive degree. I really don't know how I will cope with it, although a cat isn't quite as demanding as a dog. And pets are definately not as demanding as having a kid. At the very least, it is going to be an interesting experience.

John and I have also been visiting the lovely owners of Emmanuel Curls and their family of cats and a dog. It's always a joy to visit their home and to see their cats at play. American Curls are truly sweet cats and a great breed.

John and I discovered them quite by accident - the couple at Emmanuel Curls happened to be showing two of their lovely Curl ladies next to my sis and bro-in-law at a cat show earlier this year. At that time we were still deciding what type of a pet we wanted. As I watched the two ladies in their cage, they quietly stole my heart away even before I knew it.

Some time later, we visited Emmanuel Curls for the first time. The Joyous kittens were already born, but they were still very young. We had a great time interacting with the cats and I was especially fond of one of the cats - Mishka (who is the kittens' daddy). With his purring, friendliness, and "don't you love me?" face, I was sold. He is the most manja cat I've ever met in my life. Hee hee.

Our next visit we got to see the kittens again. They were at least a month old then, and each had their own distinct look. The kittens were very playful. They were well socialised with the other older cats and even with their doggy "surrogate mummy". By then, I had my heart set on one of them, but it was still a little early to tell and we wanted to keep our options open.

Just last weekend, we all went to visit Emmanuel Curls yet again. We watched the kittens play and also interacted with the other cats and doggy. Christin and Alex were very patient and answered all our questions. We got to play with sweet Samantha (who is now an aunty), Blue Ocean (the mummy), Mishka (the daddy), Pufik and Gin. We got to see Ruth and Samuel too. Little Buddy and Balleris were around, playing. Little Blue Star and Blinker were the closest to us and we watched the two of them. All along, something deep down told me to pick Blinker. My mum and sister agreed as she seemed to have a very sweet personality. Somehow, the first instinct or gut instinct was right, and John and I were very happy to finally make a decision. I think what ultimately clinched it for me was how she leaned down and groomed the sleeping kittens from the younger litter. My heart just melted when I witnessed her so hard at work. And so, we picked Little Blinker. :)

If you'd like to see pictures of the cats and kittens of Emmanuel Curls, do visit their website. If you'd like to find out more about the American Curl breed, click here.

Hopefully we'll be going kitty shopping tomorrow. I'll update again soon with more adventures.