Goodbye 2010, Welcome 2011

Happy New Year, everyone! May 2011 bring you every good thing under the sky. May each of you be blessed with excellent health, joy, peace and....wealth. Can't leave the last bit out, since I'm a Malaysian of Chinese descent and must stick to the traditional greetings.  :)

2010 has been a great year for me, but it's time to say goodbye. To celebrate, I'm planning a quiet new year eve dinner at home........no one is allowed to talk......first one to speak does the dishes. My cats are exempted from this ruling, of course. 

Buried (2010): A Movie Review

A movie aficionado, I thought I've seen it all. Well, not all the movies that were ever made, that would not have been possible, but all the different genres with the various scripts, plots and twists. Nothing really surprises me anymore, but when they do, I felt like I've struck gold.


And, Buried surprised me. I can't say I loved it - neither did I dislike it, I'm just ambivalent - but it was certainly out of the ordinary. There aren't that many movies I can count on one hand that has only one actor from the beginning to the end of the movie. ONE actor in ONE situation. How many film directors are bold enough to film a 1 hour 35 min movie with a single actor stuck inside a box for the whole duration, with no other supporting cast? 


Rodrigo Cortes is one such bold film director. The story is about an American truck driver in Iraq who woke up to find himself buried alive inside a coffin. He knew he had to get out of the coffin before he runs out of oxygen, and with only a lighter and a mobile phone belonging to his Iraqi captor, he raced to get help from the outside world.


For anyone who has not seen it, and has 95 mins to spare, it is worth a view. After all, it is not everyday a film director made a hugely successful movie with very minimal expense. It was in the Top Ten  box-office charts when it opened in September or October this year. Throughout the movie, I kept telling hubby that if he could bring me a big box and put it in our living room, I could lie down in it with a camcorder and make a film, too. Who knows, I might also hit pay-dirt!  :)

Merry Christmas!!

Turkey:   Oh no!! It's that time of the year! Eat beeeeefffff!!!

Me:   Merry Christmas and Happy Turkey Gobbling, everyone! 

Bunny, The Self-Appointed Guide Cat!

We've heard of dogs being trained to be guide-dogs for the blind. But who helps a blind dog? Dr Chan Kah Yein reveals in her blog how her 4-and-a-half-year-old cat, Bunny, appoints himself as the dog's guide-cat. The story is truly heart-warming. Read more about it in Dr Chan Kah Yein's blog, AnimalCare.

Bunny tries to take a nap, too, when Bobby is sleeping. 

Bunny strikes a chord within my heart, not only because of his big, caring heart for the dog but also because he is a special cat to me.....he is FIV+ve, and I am so reminded of the poor kitty whose owner abandoned her because she is FIV+ve.

Cruel, Heartless People

Cruelty does not necessarily have to be a conscious act of abuse. It could take the passive form of neglect, or even abandonment.


A friend is leaving tomorrow morning to celebrate the Christmas and New Year holidays with his family in UK, and I accompanied him to Villa Sri Kuching at Taman Melawati to board his pets for three weeks.


While I was there, I saw a rather poor condition cat in one of the boarding rooms. It is a very pretty cat with a sad face and poor coat condition. The poor condition the cat is in struck me, and I asked O.L., who helps run the boarding service with her mum and sister, about it. 


It was a sad tale. The poor kitty was abandoned by her owner when the vet diagnosed her as possibly Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) positive. It seems that the owner isn't interested to ask the vet to do a second test to confirm it (read note below). He just simply abandoned her without another thought. 


It was initially shy, but after spending some time with it, it got over its shyness and its sweet nature was revealed. But it still has the characteristics of a traumatised cat.....

The still-traumatised kitty

I am so angry and sad. I'm angry at the owner, and I'd happily throttle him if I see him or her. I feel so, so sorry for the kitty. Even if she is indeed FIV positive, it does not mean a death sentence. With proper diet and veterinary management, FIV cats can survive for many years. 


It is so heart-breaking to be thrown out just because you have an illness. It is so incredibly selfish and cruel to throw this kitty out to live its last few years feeling abandoned and unloved. There should be a law to punish this type of people.   :`(


Note: Cats that have been vaccinated for FIV will test positive for FIV even though they're not infected. You may read more about FIV in the articles below:
1) What is FIV?
2) FIV in Cats

Cats Play PattyCake?!

Time flies when you're busy. And I've been real busy. So busy that I haven't had time to read my friends' blogs or surf the net. But from tomorrow onwards, my schedule should be back to normal, and then....it's time to catch up!


And what better way to 'celebrate' my return to a routine life than to share this video which my friend Lupie shared in her Facebook and blog. 


If you love animals, you really must watch this. These cats know how to play that PattyCake, or as it's also called, Pat-a-cake, nursery rhyme game!! 


I can't help but chant along....
PattyCake, PattyCake, baker's man. 
Bake me a cake as fast as you can. 
Pat it, prick it and mark it with B, 
Put it in the oven for Baby and me. 


PattyCake, PattyCake, baker's man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Roll it up, roll it up,
And throw it in a pan!
PattyCake, PattyCake, baker's man.