upper boon keng block 15 update

Tonight we went to Block 15 Upper Boon Keng to do a sterilisation run for the stray cats there. Our kind sponsor Eveline's donation for Upper Boon Keng allowed us to trap for neutering about 8 cats.

There are still about 30 cats there that need to be sterilised. If we can raise the funds we will go again in April to do another round of sterilisation (the rest of our March schedule we have planned for Joo Chiat Terrace and Ubi Zone 2). CWS reimbursement will also be applied for this round of sterilisation so at the very least we can do another round in half a year's time when the reimbursement comes in.

If you are interested in contributing to this cause, you can also contact Damy directly to trap for neutering on your own schedule and budget. Damy informed us that there have been some kind folks who are doing the cats along the pavement next to the CC, a population slightly smaller than the one at Block 15. Do feel free to visit the site yourself and arrange for sterilisation if you prefer to plan the trapping yourself.

You can also do what Eveline has done by transferring your financial sponsorship to us; we will then plan the trapping for sterilisation with Damy and like tonight go to the site to help with the trapping itself. If you are keen on contributing financially to this cause, do let us know that your donation is going towards the Upper Boon Keng cats' sterilisation by emailing us at ubikuchingproject @ gmail.com or contacting me at 90880675. Damy's transport and trapping service starts at $75 per trip, each male cat is $25, females at least $50 or more each, which means we will need to have at least $100 in donations for Upper Boon Keng to make a trip down there again. Do also spread the word to help provide relief for the cats, every effort counts.

I also had an email sent by a reader that included a letter from Jalan Besar Town Council stating that they do not cull sterilised cats -


which means that our work towards sterilising the cats in this area will save lives, really and truly. (If only we got a letter like that from Marine Parade Town Council for Ubi cats!) Thank you reader Katy for sending us this email. We communicated this to the residents we met there tonight so that they will (1) sterilise their own pet cats knowing that pest control will cull unsterilised cats, (2) not complain about the stray cats knowing that there are volunteers like us stepping in to raise funds to sterilise the cats in their neighbourhood.

We have also informed the cat feeder there (an auntie that kept scolding us on our previous feeding and rescue excursions there) that Damy will be returning the cats to the block on Saturday morning. She has not been able to sterilise cats there for many years because of lack of capital and her old age, so much relief is needed there.

We will not be going there again for feeding and rescue excursions in the meantime - most of the kittens have been rescued, and our hands are full with the current lot of rescued kittens - Mish and Mike, Biscuit and Donut, Jackie, and Beauty - all still available for adoption, and yes, all from Upper Boon Keng. If you are keen on adopting, please visit Angels Pet Shop at Blk 302 Ubi Ave 1 #01-49 to visit them. See right side-bar on more information about adopting from us.

music pets love

We are hoping to sell a pet music CD - Music Cats Love: While You Are Gone - to raise funds for our work at Ubi Kuching Project.
Music helps interest your pet, provide companionship, helps your pet cope with stress, and eases a pet into a new home.

They will be available for sale at Angels Pet Shop, as well as from our volunteers once we have confirmed our order, which will be sold to us at a wholesale-for-charity rate. We will release the retail price of this CD once we have confirmed the shipping rates.

Do support us when the CD is available for sale!

investing in revolution

We are hoping to have Revolution Pink on hand to medicate the kittens we rescue that are 6 weeks and older. Revolution cures a host of many problems often found in disadvantaged stray kittens, which is the bulk of the population we have in our custody. Apart from fleas and ticks, it also treats 2 out of 4 kinds of intestinal worms (roundworm and hookworm), scabies, heartworm, and ear mites. Ear mites, ticks and fleas are the most common problems in rescued stray kittens.

Unfortunately, Angels Pet Shop does not currently sell Revolution products, and is currently undercapitalised to invest in this product range. One vial of Revolution cat costs ~$18. Angels is planning to budget for investing in this product range in the future so adopters and Aswat's customers, as well as Ubi Kuching Project can have it available for purchase at the shop, but for now, Angels does not yet carry it.

For now, we are hoping to help the kittens in our custody by purchasing some Revolution Pink for the animals we rescue and for those that are already in our custody. We currently treat the kittens for worms with deworming solution and/or tablets, fleas with flea shampoo and spray and manual removal, ear mites with baby oil and topical ear treatments.

Our current budget does not allow Ubi Kuching Project to invest in this veterinary expense yet, as the funds we have now are supporting the boarding for the animals as well as for the sterilisation of Upper Boon Keng and Ubi Zone 2 cats which we have planned this month. We do not plan on increasing our adoption fees to include this extra treatment for kittens 6 weeks and older. Which means we will need to raise funds for the specific purpose of purchasing Revolution for Ubi Kuching Project's rescued kittens if we would like to improve our quality of care for the animals going forward.

If you are keen on supporting our investment, you can donate cash directly to Ubi Kuching Project specifying that you are supporting this Revolution investment, or give donations-in-kind in the form of Revolution Pink, available in vets and pet stores. In the meantime, we will continue with our current level of care till we can afford even better care. With Revolution, we can better treat 6 weeks and older kittens. Kittens younger than 6 weeks will still be dewormed via syrup/tablets and go through the current level of topical treatments for fleas and ear mites. Older kittens already have a harder time getting humans to love them, let's work hard to give them an even better level of care with Revolution Pink.

If you are keen on donating other kinds of veterinary supplies, see here.

ways to calm your cat down

For those of you who have a new animal in the family, having a change in schedule that might upset your pets, or want to calm a usually over-excited pet down, here are the ways:

• Music. This can be the radio turned on low when you are not around. You can also use pet music, scientifically proven to reach out to pets. Click on this link and leave the music on whenever you are not around or want to calm your pets down.
  
• Aromatherapy. Typically, lavender is used in a diffuser, or mixed with carrier oils and sprayed on your pet's body. Works well for dogs especially. Chamomile also works, but is more expensive.
  
• Pheromones. This is especially for cats, that feel safe when they are in a territory that has been rubbed and stropped by them enough for them to feel like it is really their home. This means they enjoy being surrounded by stuff that is theirs. You can also get a pheromone diffuser.
• Herbal remedies. One example is Pet Calm. Herbal remedies can be topical or oral. Apart from ingredients such as Valerian root, St. John's wort also features in other similar products.
  
• You. If you are stressed, your animals are stressed too. Especially so for cats, that usually mimic your emotions. Apart from you taking care of yourself, also remember that your pet loves you a lot, so leave a piece of your clothing or blanket or pillow or even a bag, accessible for your pet when you are away or sending them away for boarding.
• Quiet corners. Cats feel safe on higher ground, dogs usually like to hide in holes and corners when they are scared. This means you need to have a place your cat or dog can retreat to when they need to be safe and alone. For cats, a safe window perch, a chair, a cat condo. For dogs, a bed in a cosy corner. My previous dog enjoyed a hole she dug, which was in the corner of the entire garden. Phoebe is now sleeping in a basket under a chair, she enjoys it. Sayang is on her 'window perch' which is the table edge that is near a closed window. Scooter is on our computer chair, the cats' favourite chair. Slinky is on a kitchen chair. They are all now super relaxed (also because the music link abovementioned is turned on right now), all in places they feel safe in - higher grounds and corners.

Hope this helps your pets ease through any transitions, recoveries or emotional stresses.

muffin's siblings

Remember Orange-gal? She is now named Muffin, and on Tuesday two other Muffin lookalikes came to our shop, so we think they might be Muffin's brothers. So we named them Biscuit and Donut.

Biscuit

Donut

Biscuit and Donut are like Muffin - red and white in colour. Both of them have long tails, and are about the same age, currently about 12 weeks old.

Both of them are from the same place as Muffin - Upper Boon Keng, specifically, the pavement flanking the CC. One of the cat feeders there rescued Biscuit and Donut because they had flu'. She brought them to the vet, and rehabilitated them in her home for a month. Both are now recovered. But Donut is blind in one eye-

Biscuit is healthy, but Donut will need daily eye-drops for now to help clean out his eye. Both of them also need socialisation to get used to human contact, so we have been taking time to groom them, hold them and spend time with them, so that they will eventually be like how Orange-Muffin was. If you do visit us, take some time to play with these orange brothers, so that they can get used to human affection.

Both cats are available for adoption, and a special kind-hearted owner will be needed for Donut. If you are keen on adopting any of these rescued kittens, do visit us at Angels Pet Shop Ubi Ave 1 Blk 302 #01-49.

mike and mish

This is Mike and Mish, two white with lilac kittens that are about 4 weeks old. Both of them have the same lilac spots and tails - long ones. They remind us of Misha and Jag-Ollie in their looks.

They were borne of a stray cat mother in Upper Boon Keng. A cat rescuer there took the mother and her kittens in, and now that the kittens have been weaned have sent the mother cat for sterilisation and replaced her back at her territory. Two of the kittens had died earlier on, Mike and his sister Mish are the survivors.


Both Mike and Mish are healthy. They have been dewormed and groomed and are available for adoption. They might have had a spot of runny nose before they came to us because they sport some discharge-abrasions around their noses but both are now flu'-free and after grooming them their eyes and noses remain clean.

Mike is a quiet boy who prefers to lounge around, is more of a cuddly lap-cat, Mish is an active and playful girl who loves running around and exploring. Both siblings get along well with each other. They are currently on canned and kitten food. If you are keen on adopting these siblings, please visit Angels Pet Shop @ Ubi Ave 1, Block 302, #01-49 either in the afternoons or evenings before 9pm.

from our hearts

Dear readers, adopters and supporters,

We apologise if we haven't been phone- and email-available for all of you. To be honest, Aswat and myself are extremely exhausted from our work. To the point where we are mentally and physically drained by our passion for the animals we help. Aswat with the daily care, medication, grooming of the animals in our custody and with liaising with many kind folks who have stepped forward looking to adopt. I am exhausted from the after-care support we give our adopters, with growing pains of talking to folks who donate and volunteer, with writing and updating our animal stories on this blog. All this is good work but heavy work for us now that we are growing.

So do bear with us if we are slow to reply when you call us or email us. Last month alone we re-homed about 20 cats, a record-breaker so while we are making ripples in animal welfare work we are also very stretched.

We are touched by the kindness of so many of you, grateful for your readership, donations, and for opening your hearts for adopting disadvantaged animals we rescue. We still love our work, but have to take it down a notch sometimes to recharge, regroup and go on doing the best we can for the animals we reach.

To alleviate our current crazy workloads, we would like for you to help us in the following:

• If you are keen on viewing and adopting, please go directly to Angels Pet Shop at Blk 302 Ubi Avenue 1 #01-49 in the afternoons or evenings. Please do not text Aswat at his cell because he may not be able to attend to every SMS he receives. If you need to call regarding adoption, please call Angels Pet Shop at 67489810; but it be best if you visit directly for now.
  
• If you have questions regarding after-care of your adoption from us, please bear with me if I take a while to reply your emails and SMSes as I might not be able to attend to everyone at the same time.
  
• If you have intentions to visit, bring donations-in-kind or to volunteer, please visit us at Angels Pet Shop so we can meet you, we will be there every night. You do not need to contact us beforehand, we always welcome visitors.
  

This blip in our service is temporary, we will be back to our passionate energetic selves soon and all communication lines will reopen again. I do enjoy writing and meeting people for the cause of Ubi Kuching Project, and likewise Aswat really loves animals and caring for them. We just need a bit of respite for these few days. I will keep our Twitter updated, and Andy will still update Facebook.

Thank you all for your support, Ubi Kuching Project would not have touched so many lives, animal and human alike, without you.

slinky spends most of her time sleeping

As you know, Slinky is my first cat, 6 years old this year. Here she is sleeping on our kitchen chair basking in the morning sunlight. Couldn't resist getting a picture of her.

fostering phoebe

While Phoebe is in our home she has her cute moments. She doesn't jump on our bed as if she thinks it is not allowed, but will thoroughly enjoy it when we carry her into bed with us to cuddle -She also climbs into our laps when she can, very much like a manja cat.

For the strangest reasons our cats are totally at ease with her, even when she sometimes snaps at them if they bug her. No one gets injured during these snaps but I have been training her not to do that. She can't be spanked because it would undo all the re-training we have been doing to make her a docile dog like she is now. So I scold her instead, and turn to withholding affection from her when she throws a mini-tantrum. She now knows it's wrong to get upset when our cats get close to her or to us. And the best part is that our cats are friendly towards her and have accepted her, more so than any other dog we have fostered before!

She is much more comfortable in a home setting than in a pen at the shop, and her behaviour only gets better by the day. It is a far cry from the girl we first met, the one who gnarled and bit us when we tried to go near her, the one that always seemed sad and frightened.

As we get to know this girl we also find out her likes and dislikes. Her favourite treats are Jerhigh. She likes Cosi pet milk. She enjoys playing fetch. She doesn't mind playing dress-up. She likes to be carried. She enjoys walking on grass. She barks softly when she thinks there are intruders. She is scared of very loud noises (which makes it easy to scold her when she does something she shouldn't!). She doesn't climb furniture but enjoys trotting around the house. She gets along well with cats more than she does with dogs. She is protective. She is loyal.

If you are a cat-lover who has been looking to adopt a dog that your cat will accept, Phoebe really is the one. Phoebe is still available for adoption as we have not yet found a suitable adopter for her. Do contact Aswat at 93378211 or myself at 90880675 to visit Phoebe if you are keen on adopting her.

doggyfriend delivered today

Our cats can happily tuck into dinners tonight containing Taste of the Wild! They were so excited over it and unlike other premium brands we tried before this one really drives them 'wild' as before. They are now stuffing their faces in turn at the food bowl.

Doggyfriend's delivery was as scheduled, with a call from the delivery uncle a short while before he arrives at your doorstep. I still like Pets Gourmet's personal touch - chatting about animals, redressing product issues, knowing them by name; and these personal touches really are their unique selling point - but there actually is no complaint about Doggyfriend's service either, especially since the order-to-delivery turnaround time was short because of the coincidence delivery schedules for the east side. They also have some sort of rewards system which is a one-up from Pets Gourmet.

Despite this, personally I reckon I will stick to Pets Gourmet for the next order of premium pet stuff, simply because of the charisma factor of Pets Gourmet. I like buying pet stuff from folks who like animals; anyone can be an order-taker, but not everyone is a compassionate animal-lover. I reckon the two service providers are not an apple-to-apple comparison because they have different unique service angles, albeit their product ranges and prices are similar; one is about customer relationships, one is about freebies via purchase points. Different strokes for different folks! Well, without trying either service out there wouldn't be reviews to share, so now you have it.