Sunday, August 06, 2006

The first night home

I still remember vividly the night when Taigi came home for the first time. My husband came back from work that night carrying an unusual looking bag on his shoulder. This bag was black with a little mesh window on the side. I looked at the bag and through the mesh window, a pair of black eyes looked right back at me. Although I couldn't tell what was in the bag, I knew it was something very special. "What is it, what is it?", I asked my husband excitedly. As he lay the bag down on the floor, he said, "you'll see". As soon as he unzipped the black bag, a tiny cat looked up from inside the bag. It was so tiny and so helpless looking, but it certainly looked extremely cute. He's got such big eyes compared to his tiny body. My husband said, "His name is Taigi". I kept calling to him, "Taigi, Taigi..." while I tried to carry him. But he appeared shy and didn't really want to be carried. So I let him explore around our flat. Taigi moved around with a curious yet cautious look on his face.
I had read in some articles that when a new cat is brought back to the house, it should be kept in a small room at first until he has gotten more comfortable and accustomed to the new place. We have a guest room in our flat, so that's where Taigi was going to settle in for the first few days. When it was time for bed, I took Taigi into the guest room, a tiny room with a twin size bed and a tall closet. We had set up the litter box, water container and food in that room already. I gently put Taigi down on the bed and I lay down on the bed myself. He carefully examined me as I lay there being as still as I could. He walked around next to my body and smelled me too. When he got close to my face, I was a bit nervous, not knowing what he would do. Afterall, it was our first time ever owning a cat. But Taigi was so gentle, he continued to smell my face and eventually he lay himself down next to me and started to fall alseep. As we both lay there, I began to hear a strange noise, grrr, grrrr, grrrr. I was puzzled. And then I realized the noise came from Taigi. For a moment there, I didn't know why he was making that noise. Was he upset? Then I recalled from another article saying that when cats are happy, they make funny sounds, better known as purring. Then I realized Taigi was purring. It was so sweet to hear him purr for the very first time because of me. I knew he felt comfortable , he felt safe with me and it was such a warm feeling inside. It was later that I realize hearing his purrs gave me the most satisfaction. As much as I didn't want to leave Taigi, I had to return to my room to sleep. But right before I left him, I took one more look at my new friend and I will always remember that sight, a cuddly tiny little cat who fell alseep on the rather huge bed. That night, I went to sleep dreaming about Taigi.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Taigi & Marmalade



This blog is dedicated to 2 lovely cats by the name of Taigi and Marmalade. Although they are not biological brothers, these 2 cats have grown to co-exist peacefully in the same home and they often show love towards one and other just like real brothers. Taigi, the older brother was born on Feburary 12th, 2004 in Australia. He was then shipped over to a pet shop in Hong Kong. He is named Taigi (chinese for little prince) because he was the best looking and most expensive kitty at that time. Also, the pet shop where he was sold is located in the "Taigi" district (Prince Edward) of Kowloon in H.K.. One look at Taigi and we fell in love with him and since that night, he became part of our family. He was very shy, and meowed all the way home during the taxi ride. Taigi is a silver tabby exotic kitty. He's very timid, yet craves for attention. The biggest fear for Taigi is when people try to lift him up or carry him. We were told by the pet shop that he was once dropped to the ground when he was a couple months old. Now, Taigi is a full grown 2 year-old cat. But he remain just as cute as the first day he arrived home.

Marmalade came to our home about 6 months after we had Taigi. Marmalade is about 3 months younger than Taigi, being born on June 18, 2004. Marmalade is an exotic short hair just like his brother, although he has a significant fuller coat. He's a red tabby with a white patch around his mouth, and the tip of his tail. He looks totally innocent and adorable. In the beginning, Taigi is very jealous of Marmalade, thus he belittles him whenever possible. But Marmalade grew quickly, and he is now the same size/weight as Taigi. People often say cats are not as smart as dogs. It is just not true. In fact, both Taigi and Marmalade have been trained to sit and give paws. They were able to learn these commands rather quickly. Also, cats are so special in that although they can have a similar looking face, yet their personalities are so unique.