Jan Leow's Press Blog


Calico Cats

Guess who came a calling? Not any cat but a calico cats variety. It was strange cat behaviour but I believe this calico cat must have been previously owned by someone. It was walking around my house backyard and making loud meowing. If I didn’t know better, it was looking for a home and shelter. Unfortunately I simply just cannot take in any cats due to my wife having very sensitive skin and would result in terrible skin rashes that are very difficult to heal.


Calico Cat
Calico Cat




The first night I left the calico cat alone, perhaps it might just be passing through. On the second night, it was still around the backyard and I decided to open my back door to have a look see. Whadaya know, she was really friendly. Not unlike most strays that would just bolt away when I came along. She hurried to my side and starting rubbing her neck on my leg.

Fortunately I still have some left over cat food. It was a sad reminder of the two ginger cats that was lost previously, one hyperactive bi-colour ginger cat that was named Casper, and another a “part-time” orange ginger cat named Cika who would drop by from my next door neighbour for a good massage before having a meal (this one really knows how to enjoy life!). Each of these cats with their own eccentric cat behaviour. Both of them disappeared while they were pretty much unwell thus the root cause of their disappearance could be due to their passing away from some sickness.

Anyway, the calico cat that came along seemed rather famished from lack of food so I poured a few spoonful of cat food. This she gobbled up really quickly. After a second helping and she was a little satisfied. She decided to give her thanks and started sauntering about my kitchen yard and rubbing her scent on my old mountain bike. She was really affectionate and would come over to rub her scent on me too.

Giving this calico cat a pat on the head and a nice little rub on the nose; I could see she enjoyed it. Most cats that are used to people would have no problem being around people and having nice pat from humans. It seems petting reminds them of their childhood where the mother cat licked on the head giving them a feeling of security. And cats are pretty much a social animal especially domesticated ones, they just love to be around people. And so was this calico cat. She has no problem getting a nice pet on the head, and stroking her fur from head to tail, she just simply enjoyed it all.

One thing for sure, her temperament is very mild. Not at all hyperactive, very gentle and perhaps somewhat affectionate. She has a slight curiosity and walk around my kitchen yard and explore the corners. She even wanted to jump up to my kitchen stove, perhaps there was leftover smell of splattered oil or gravy on the wall. Hmm… I thought the wall was cleaned well, but cats do have very sensitive nose. But I had to prevent her from jumping up as that would have been rather unhygienic since she was an outdoor cat; who knows what germs she might be carrying, and of course definitely there would be ticks and fleas in her fur coat. A couple of “no” and she seem to get the idea. Quite smart too for a calico cat.

Next she wanted to go deeper into my house. I guess my house was rather homely, and I felt that this calico cat could have belonged to someone. How she ended up here is a mystery. She could have been thrown out, the owner abandoned her, or perhaps from neglect she decided to look for a new home. Whatever her background was, she seemed rather comfortable around my house. Unfortunately I could not let her in as my wife’s skin is rather sensitive and would break out in rashes. In fact I could not keep this calico cat in the house. If I were to keep her, she would have to be an outdoor cat.

Anyway she had her fill of food for the night, and I have to shoo her out from my kitchen.

The next day, my wife found out about the calico cat. At first she didn’t like her, but after a second look at those beautiful round eyes, she said it was ok, but only to feed her and not let her enter the house. That’s fine by me. Not too bad a trade off, a calico cat for me to play with, and not a full time domesticated cat so I don’t have to deal with cleaning up the cat litter, but I might consider giving this calico cat a bath though just to reduce the amount of ticks and fleas. I will consider about that later when I have the time. For an outdoor cat, she seemed rather clean in comparison with my two previous cats. Perhaps she doesn’t climb into the drains could be one of the reason. Her fur coat is not very dusty or sandy. Quite clean for an outdoor cat I should say.

So another cat for me. Lena said I have been pestering to her to keep a cat somewhere and somehow God must have answered my wish. In some ways I believe so, because I was thinking of having cat that should not stay in the house because an outdoor cat would bring in germs, ticks and fleas; just keeping them outside was what I had in mind. And to have an adult calico cat, meant I don’t have to keep a vulnerable kitten in the house first for nurturing them till they were adult cats.

So now I have a calico cat as a pet, well an outdoor one, nevertheless and quite a beautiful looking one too!

My Calico Cat
To my faithful companion, Madam Calico Cat.
Goodbye my dear friend

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