:+:curl in a box:+:

One Sleepy Afternoon...

2007-02-17T07:43:00.000+08:00

One afternoon we were home watching tv and our two pretty girls decided to get comfortable...

Blinker & mummy's legs

Blinker getting comfy

Samantha: "Hello!"

Samantha gets comfy

Blinker: "Eeks mummy's feet are getting cold.."

Blinker: "Hmm let's try daddy instead!"

Blinker gets comfy again

Blinker: "Zzzzzzz....."

"Free massage while-you-sleep"

Samantha: "*cough* I think I have *hack* a hairball *wheez*..."

Ahh this is the life!

Happy 2007!

2007-01-04T17:10:00.000+08:00

Finally updating again after a long hiatus.

Sam and Blinker are both well - Samantha is a cool kitty who does her own thing and loves getting pats. She is a very "manja" girl with a very sweet nature. Blinker is a little ball of energy (ok, not so little anymore!) who wants to be a part of everything that goes on at home. Whether it is putting the laundry to wash, or preparing a hot mug of milo, or emptying the trash, or playing some music on our hi-fi - she wants to see, touch and smell it all. We're both enjoying their company very much and their contrasting characters are acutally very complimentary.

Here are some photos of their adventures with us:

16th October 2006

Relaxing after a hard day's work

Give me a pat now!

Ahh this is the life...

I want! GIMME! (John about to give them their favourite salmon treat)

Yummy yummy!

Blinker: "Yummy!" Sam: "That's it??"

I don't want the ball, I want the yummy!

Sam: "Oooh I like this toy!"

It's mine! MINE!

I'm tired... time to rest!

More photos to come soon!

Blinker and Samantha

2006-10-01T21:36:00.000+08:00

Hi all, sorry for the long overdue update. Since term started again we've both been pretty busy and I haven't really had much energy to write.

We now have a 2nd kitty with us - Emmanuel Curls wished to rehome one of their girls. Samantha was born in the States on 27th July 2005 and brought to Singapore by Emmanuel Curls. She came over to stay with us on 16th Sept 2006, and we had one week to see how she would adapt to staying with us, and how Blinker would adapt to her.

Samantha is an extremely sweet girl, who loves to come to you for attention. She'd nudge your hand for a pat and a rub. She is also the first kitty I've encountered who actually loves having her tummy rubbed. She will roll over onto her back, and when you pat and rub her tummy she purrs and her paws will curl inwards with delight.

She's a quiet, obedient, loving and affectionate girl with a special, quiet meow. She loves attention and loves getting pats from everyone. At first, Blinker would hiss and swat her. But Samantha took it patiently and only hissed when Blinker went too far. As our first week together passed it seemed as if they get along well, and Samantha seems a good influence on Blinker. It is almost as if Blinker has a "jiejie" to learn from. In return, Samantha would watch Blinker play with her toys and join in at times, almost as if she is keeping some of her kitten behaviour.

The two of them are opposites by nature but they form quite a complimentary pair. Blinker is active, hyper, daring and extremely curious. Samantha on the other hand is patient, gentle, curious (while knowing her limits) and very sweet.

At the end of the one week "trial", we knew for sure that we would like Samantha to live with us permanently. While she doesn't play with Blinker the way another kitten would, they both seem to have grown fond of each other. After eating they would lick and groom each other, and at times I have seen them rubbing heads and noses. And so, Blinker and Samantha are now both permanent residents. :)

Last Sunday (Sam's 1st week with us and Blinker's 3rd week with us) we bathed the two kitties and it went more smoothly than we expected. Samantha tried to escape the shower stall a few times but was quite calm about the whole thing. She was quite scared of the hair dryer at first but after a while I think she realised that it was harmless and the warm air was actually quite comfy. Blinker didn't struggle as much as during her first ever bath (just before coming home with us). She wasn't quite as afraid of the dryer but didn't like staying still for so long. But we didn't want them to catch a cold, so we held them and made them wait until they were fully dry. We also cleaned their ears - Samantha hates it and jerks her head whenever she feels the cottonbud in her ear, and clipped their nails - Blinker dislikes this and meows as pitifully as she can, but we cut her nails anyway.

They are both doing fine - Blinker is growing steadily, and Samantha has a great appetite. They both have their own special favourite places for sleeping. Samantha likes to sleep on the 2nd level of the scratch post and on the sofa. Blinker likes to sleep on the top level of the scratch post and on the TV console. Perhaps it's because the glass is cool on warm days.

I will update again soon. For now, here are some photos from Samantha's first day at her new home (16th Sept 2006). Enjoy!

Blinker and Samantha - First Impressions

Samantha posing for the camera

Exploring the sofa

Getting comfy as Blinker approaches

Who are you looking at?

Who are YOU looking at?

Nevermind! Let's play!

Sam says, "That's all for now! See you next time!"

Blinker's 4th Day - Part 2

2006-09-05T21:47:00.000+08:00

My mum came over in the afternoon to spend a few days with me and help me look after Blinker. I feel more at ease and less stressed with someone else around in the house. :) Yay mummy!

Today has been an interesting day. I learnt a few new things about Blinker.

She is able to jump up onto the tv console - my mum and I were eating biscuits and she, being greedy, wanted some too. But we didn't give her any, and I placed the biscuits on the tv console because I thought she couldn't reach it there. But the biscuits were too enticing - she actually managed to jump up giving my mum and I a big surprise.

She has also managed to jump onto the dining table via the dining chairs. And in the process she's put at least a few scratches and holes into the seat of all the chairs. I hadn't even unwrapped the seats yet (the seats are cream coloured fake leather, and the holes are pretty obvious as bits have fallen out). Sigh. Naughty Blinker! I've moved the chairs away so she won't be able to get onto the dining table anymore. So this is now the safe spot for me to place things like her treats, my digicam and mobile phone (she likes to chew on the strap!), and other things she's not allowed to play with.

In the afternoon my mum and I also heard her coo for the first time ever. So cute! It was a real coo, very much the same way that her mummy, BlueOcean, coos. So cute!

After my mum arrived, we played with Blinker and I fed her some treats. So far she really loves her Angel Salmon Sashimi treat (it actually smells quite nice too!), and her Cattyman Crab Slice treat. When I take the packet of treat she will come running and basically try to get her paws on the packet. Hehe. After giving her some of both treats, she was pretty much better behaved for the rest of the afternoon. She was actually quite sleepy the whole afternoon, but she went round and round us on the sofa and didn't try to bite much. She let us stroke and pet her without biting and was purring the whole time. She is such a sweetie pie when she behaves well. :) Maybe the angel treat really works - like the wrapper says, it turns your little devil into an angel. Hehe.

Dinner was 1/3 a normal sized can of Natural Balance Ocean Fish. This seems the normal portion for her, although on Sunday morning she ate almost half the can. She's eating well, and during the day if we go to the kitchen she'd follow us and meow for more food. She still isn't eating her dry kibbles, I think I'll try softening it in warm water, and see if she'll eat it. I guess that dry food isn't as tasty and yummy as canned food too, so she's still a little spoilt at the moment. :P

I will carry on trying to teach her to behave better. I hope that with time and when she gets a little older, she'll get more used to interacting with humans and learn that toys are toys, while humans are friends. It helps so much to have someone else around. When it's just me I start to feel a bit stressed because she's quite 'sticky'. I don't mind her being sticky, except when all her energy and enthusiasm, expressed through her teeth and claws, are directed at me and not at her toys, because it starts to hurt! And I am also a little worried about her being sticky, because next week the school term starts again. I leave for school quite early, and John leaves for work at a more normal time. I have some short days which means I'll be home in the afternoon. But I don't know yet how well she'll adapt to this. Maybe having a kitty companion would be best for her, and also the biting and clawing won't be directed to the humans anymore if she had a playmate especially since this is normal kitten behaviour. I also read that through playing with another kitten she will learn to regulate the strength of her bites, as her companion will either meow/hiss to tell her that she's biting too hard, or just bite right back. :P

The owners of Emmanuel Curls is coming to visit tomorrow evening, so we'll see how it goes and assess the situation. I'll update again soon. I'm hoping that her good behaviour will carry on, and maybe I'll get to hear her coo again sometime soon. :)

Blinker's 4th Day

2006-09-05T10:08:00.000+08:00

Today is Blinker's 4th day at home. She is eating well, and she is basically very active until she gets too tired to play anymore.

John got part of the day off yesterday and got to play with Blinker for a while.

After I fed her this morning I sat to watch some tv as I played with her a little bit. She would still jump up onto my lap and try to attack my fingers and arms, and if I stand up to walk she'd try to bite my feet/ankles. I've already tried squirting her, shouting "no", shouting "ow", hissing at her, clapping my hands once really loudly and telling her "no".... nothing seems to work. She could be teething, or maybe she's just so used to being able to bite her playmates that even though she knows I'm displeased, she can't help but try because that is how she would play with her siblings/other cats.

Every time I'm out in the living area I'm on the defensive. At first it started out as nibbling, but now it's starting to hurt, because it wouldn't be just her teeth, she'd come at me with claws too.

Running out of ideas here, the best solution is probably to get another kitten for her to play with.

I mean I like how she's active and playful, but I really don't like the biting and clawing.

ARGH!! Why does John have to go away now??

Blinker's First Day (with photos!)

2006-09-03T11:44:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was Blinker's first day at home. My mum came over to stay for the weekend and so she had one more person to play with. :)

I fed her canned food in the morning and in the evening. I left dry kibbles out for her too but she didn't seem to eat any.

She alternated between hyperactiveness and sleepyheadedness. She is a very playful, active, curious and daring kitty. She'd jump up onto the sofa, climb all over whoever is sitting there and run from one end of the sofa to the other.

In the morning she was still very dependent on me, she'd follow me everwhere and when I went into the study to use the computer, she'd sit outside the door and meow for me.

My mum arrived after lunch - I'd fallen asleep and didn't hear her come in. But Blinker was friendly and sociable. She introduced herself to my mum and followed her around like a new best friend, even without me around. :) She napped in the afternoon, falling asleep next to my mum on the sofa.

At night after we came back home from dinner, I fed Blinker her dinner and we both played with her whilst watching tv. When we both went to sleep and left her on her own outside in the living area, she didn't meow very much, and I could hear her playing with her toys.

Here are some pictures from her first day at home:

Blinker eating breakfast

Blinker relaxing on the sofa with my mum

Sleepy Blinker

Somewhere in dreamland...

Later that evening....

Watching tv

Still watching tv...

Huh? What are they talking about?

Don't want to watch anymore...

Zzzz...

Chasing butterflies in dreamland

Goodnight!

Blinker's First Night

2006-09-02T09:46:00.000+08:00

We brought Blinker home last night. What an adventure! (Will upload pics soon!)

When we left Emmanuel Curls and had gotten to the car, we realised there was a flat tyre. Off all the years I've been with John and he's driven us around, we've never had a flat. What timing! Luckily we managed to change the tyre quite easily and finally set off for home. Blinker mewed a little bit but on the way back she fell asleep, and slept till we carried her out of the car.

John and I had actually enclosed an area where her food, water, scratching post, litterbox and toys were to be. But within 5 minutes of taking her out of the crate, she'd done a flying jump onto the playpen fence and climbed over. What a little acrobat! I'd laid out some kibbles for her but she wasn't very interested. I showed her where the litter box is and she used it. Good girl!

John had to go back to camp, so I sat and played with her for some time. She seemed to like all her new toys, but would sometimes bat the balls under the sofa. She is such a bundle of energy, she was running all over the place, and when I sat to wach tv for a while, she jumped up onto the sofa and climbed all over me. She seems fond of walking along the top of the back cushions and climbing onto my shoulder and playing with my hair.

However I did notice that she likes to try and bite my fingers or my feet/toes. I'd pull her away, tell her no and try to distract her. But after a while she'll do it again. I have a spray bottle, and after a few times i used it to squirt her lightly. She'd look surprised, stop, stare (she might have seen me holding it though!), then start playing again.

Maybe I'm currently the only other living thing in the house, so when I walk, she chases after me and tries to go for my toes. :( I try not to wave my fingers about in front of her but I hope that her biting doesn't become a habit. She doesn't bite very hard. Maybe it's because I'm currently her mummy, playmate and moving toy all at once.

She seemed alright though, she was purring non-stop whilst I was with her. When I went to bed I left her out in the living room (enough space for her to run about and play). She mewed for a few minutes, but when she realised that I wasn't going to come out and play again, she stopped. So I went to sleep.

This morning after I woke up, I listened to see if I could hear her. She wasn't making any sound but I could hear her playing with her toys (she was chasing a ball that has a bell inside). When I went out she mewed and mewed happily. Time for breakfast! I gave her about 1/4 a can (the can is the same size as a tin of tuna fish for humans). She sniffed at it a few times, went round the dish a few times, and finally started eating. She has a funny way of eating. She purred all the time through her breakfast. She'd take a few bites, then stop, mew and start "digging" at the ground. Then she'd start eating again. I don't know why she does this. Anyhow, she finished all her food and I gave her a bit more. So finished 1/3 of the can, which seems an okay amount.

I played with her, but afterawhile she started chasing my feet again. When she bit me I picked her up and told her "No!".

I think I'll either have to try squirting her, or maybe putting some coins in a tin to shake when she bites. And get more toys to distract her with.

The Damage So Far....

2006-08-28T19:31:00.000+08:00

John got to book out for the weekend (stupid reservist!) and we went kitty shopping! Here's what we've gotten so far:

1. Food dish (durable metal one with non-slip rubber base)
2. Self dispensing water dish
3. Scratching post (3-tiers! with hammock!)
4. Pet carrier
5. Comb
6. Nail clippers (Cattyman)
7. Shampoo + conditioner (#1 All Systems)
8. Ear Cleaner (alcohol and oil free)
9. Food (Natural Balance dry, Natural Balance canned, Solid Gold canned)
10. Treats (Angel salmon sashimi, Cattyman crab slice)
11. Bed big enough for 2 cats
12. Playpen fence
13. Toys (various balls, wands, soft squishy ones with squeakers, soft squishy ones with string attached and one toy that Blinker definately likes)

I still need to pick up a litter scoop (forgot to get it from Parkway this afternoon...doh!), some towels, acrylic sheets/netting for the front gate, a big tupperware to store the kibbles (dry food) and a couple of small ones to store the canned food (she won't be able to finish a whole can at one go).

Not bad, for one weekend of shopping. :P John and I are just hoping that Blinker will settle in well. Also I'll be having my 1 week school vacation so I'll be around to keep an eye on her. Hopefully with a human around, she won't feel lonely.

We couldn't find some of the camera models we liked, so that'll be on hold for a while. I will just use my trusty 2 megapixel Canon for the time being. Apart from the resolution being low, I still like the way the photos turn out so it's okay. :)

More to come soon!

Musings

2006-08-25T14:29:00.000+08:00

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.

In the beginning....

2006-08-24T22:48:00.000+08:00

Hello!

Curl in a box is my new blog which tracks the journey that John and I undertake as new home and pet owners. We've had small pets previously. This will be the first time ever that we'll become "parents" of something bigger than a hamster. :)

Why curl in a box? John and I will soon become parents to an adorable little American Curl kitten. We are also first time home owners of a flat - our 'box' - near the sea. Also, a jack-in-the-box is usually associated with the element of surprise. As we grow as home owners and as mummy and daddy to our new little kitten, there are bound to be many little surprises along the way. Curl in a box will help record and present these little events.

Please feel free to drop by and visit. We'll try to update as regularly as possible. :)