Chim Chim - Part 2

So, Chim Chim is now happy with a family that has four children and a big house! But he still comes to visit from time to time when his new family are on vacation, which is fantastic as I get to see him! He's still fantastic and is maturing nicely.

Anyway, the first time he came to visit, the cats were freaked. They were not ready for a visit and so it ended up with three accidents on the sofa and one or two on my housemate's bed. Not fun. So, this time he came to visit I dedicated the dining room and living room as his area, and everything behind the hall door as the cats area. Life was good! But I had to take these pics of my lovely cats trying to figure out what was on the other side of the door! They could smell him but they couldn't see him. So, they camped out by the door. These pics were taken at 2am and so the quality isn't great as I had to modify them. I just thought they were too funny!

If you look carefully, you can see Chim Chim's sillouette through the door!

I'll post some pics of Chim Chim grown up soon! He's a darling!

Pictures for Maggy and Zoey

Yay! We got funky pictures made by Maggy and Zoey over at Zoolatry! I hope you all like them as much as we do! We think they are wonderful! Thank you, Maggy and Zoey!

Starbuck

Torrey

Chim Chim - Part 1

Before getting my wonderful bengal kittens, I had decided to get a dog instead as a companion for Sebastian. I did my research and finally decided on a long haired chihuahua (spelling?). You may think strange choice, but for an apartment in Hong Kong - perfect! And they get along well with other animals and, if trained properly, do not make lots of noice. I didn't actually know if any of this was true, but, for Chinese New Year, I got a tiny, black and white chihuahua named 'Sooty'. He was beautiful! A ball of fuzz! And he didn't make a noise! Yay! I had searched all of Hong Kong for him and he was perfect!

(Doesn't he look just like a toy! He loved being on his back!)

Little did I know, that I am NOT, in any way, a dog person. Growing up in Hong Kong I had pets, but all small enough to fit into a cage or a tank i.e. hamsters, fish, turtles and rabbits. Even getting Sebastian had been an experiment to see whether or not I was cut out for having pets (and I never, in a million years, expected to keep Sebastian and bring him all the way from the UK to Hong Kong!).


Anyway, I'm rambling. I got Sooty home and set up his area in my toilet until a vet could check him over - especially as I had bought him from a pet store (TERRIBLE!!! I will never do this again! Only, Hong Kong's pet industry is pet store oriented and not breeder oriented and I didn't know better!). To cut a long story short, I thought he was beautiful and perfect and lovely, but I just knew I couldn't live with him. I thought life had come to an end!


Thankfully, it was one of my student's birthdays coming up and a puppy was a perfect gift! So, my student is now Sooty a.k.a. Chim Chim's mum and he is doing great! He is still tiny and over a year old! And he is still as beautiful and as perfect as when he was a puppy! Ok..... To be continued in another post!

Sebastian on the right. Chim Chim on the left. Hmm... aren't the dogs supposed to be bigger than the cats in this world?

Fast asleep in his bed.

Torrey Close Ups

Trying to get close up pics of Torrey can be challenging as he doesn't like cameras! Usually pictures are from afar and then cropped and zoomed to get closer!





But on this day, Torrey was more interested in playing with his mouse than avoiding the camera! So, I got a few pics - awful background (my boxes of teaching resources which I store in the dining room!), but at least I got some Torrey pics without having to do the hold zoom and crop!




I still haven't mastered light and so you can't see any of his contrast or glitter. If you get up really close, he has rosettes and what looks black is actually three colours - black lined with shimmery brown and then light brown. I'll try to get some close ups so everyone can see it more clearly.

A Big HELLO!!!

A big hello to everyone in the Philippines! My dad let me know that you'd be dropping by my blog and so I thought I would say a big hello! I'll have to come and visit you all soon!

Tagged Again! Not TMI Meme...

I've been tagged again, by the black and white beauty, Willie. Yay!

Ok, here goes... random, weird and fun facts...

1. During my first meal in Hong Kong, I made the weirdest noises like a wild animal! I don't make those noises anymore, but it sure did make everyone stop and watch... wondering if everything was ok!


2. I play with water. Love it! Especially the water fountain! My favourite is dunking toys in the water and leaving them there for later!


3. I growl... a lot! Especially when carrying feather toys... It has woken everyone up wondering what the noise was! A little scary!


4. I am scared of NOTHING!!! (except the vacuum and hairdryers!!)

5. My favourite food is pork floss (from Thailand). This weekend I grabbed a bag and clawed my way into it! (very worrying as it is so dry it can easily make him choke!)

6. I follow my people around like a dog!

7. I was born in Australia and came to Hong Kong with my brother and sister when I was 12 weeks old. My sister now lives with another family in Hong Kong!

Ok, that's all I can think of for now! Hope you enjoyed the random facts about Starbuck!

I'm tagging Sylvester a.k.a. Sly, Honey P. Sunshine and Latte the Meezer.


The guidelines for this tag:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules
2. Write some facts about yourself: some random, some weird, some just plain fun.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them)
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.
Keep it interesting without making us think “Um, too much information…”

How they got their names!

I got tagged by Sylvester a.k.a. Sly for this meme about how my cats got their names. Here are the three stories:

Torrey

My breeder named him! I hadn't anticipated getting two bengals and so hadn't put any thought into 2 names. When the breeder told me she had already sent in his papers with the name Torrey, I didn't change it because I wanted him to be called the same name as on his papers. I have considered changing it to China, Echo etc., but never have. So, until I decide any different, it will stay Torrey.

Starbuck

Starbuck's name was given lots and lots of thought (as you can see, I get again ignored solid Internet advice and named him a 2 syllable name with an 'S' sound!). In the end it was Starbuck off Battleship Gallactica and my love for Starbuck's, combined with my love for Moby Dick that did it.

Sebastian

I had thought and thought about what to name him and simply couldn't decide. I don't even remember what the choices were! Anyway, I went to pic him up and at the time wasn't even thinking of a name - I just couldn't get over how this "kitten" was so BIG! Maine Coons are big! You never really get a kitten stage with them - they come out big!

Anyway, I walked into my home (I was living in Swansea, Wales at the time on a one year sabbatical from my job in Hong Kong) and put the carrier down and said something to him about being home and instinctively called him "Sebastian". I couldn't believe the words had come out of my mouth! It wasn't even a name I had considered (read online and you'll find out you are 'advised' to use something one syllable, not beginning in an 'S' sound!!!). Anyway, that was it. He was Sebastian - and he learnt his name very quickly, although I do tend to call him Sib for short.

They all know their names, although "Sib Sib" is now almost a generic term for "Food's Coming"!!!

I am going to tag three cats. They will have to tell the story of how they got their names, and then tag three other cats. You should announce which cats you are tagging in your blog, and then let them know by commenting in their blogs.

1. Perfectly Parker
2. Mr. Chen and Ollie
3. Noa and Ash

More On Top of Doors!!! (Mancat Monday)

Starbuck is obsessed with doors: climbing them, jumping up onto them, scratching at the top of them and generally being as high as he can get! These photos were taken of Starbuck as he first walked past me on the dining room cupboards towards the door.


He then anticipates his next move while checking out the kitchen door incase it opens and he gets to run in illegally!


One more quick look to his left and then he jumps and lands on top of the dining room door.


"Yay! I'm up! Now I can really see what's going on below me! Especially the kitchen door!!!"


After a little exploring to find a comfy place to settle...


He changes his mind and gets ready to jump down! (his left ear looks really weird... who knows why!)

"Ah... that was boring! On to more exciting things!"



I think that Starbuck's spots will look strange in photos because of the flash: I guess it reflects off the spots giving them more light and not the dark contrast that they are in reality! I'll keep trying to hone my photography skills to get some better shots of him soon!

Spotty Sunday

Only one of my boys is spotty... but I do love his spots!

Just outside the shoe room

Just as you walk into my house, there is a shoe room on the left where, guess what, all the shoes are kept! The kittens LOVE this room because it is filled with shelves that they can jump on. While I would love for them to play, the shelves have lots of holes and the boys have gotten their paws trapped a few times and so it is now and off-limit area of the house! This doesn't stop them from trying, very patiently, to get in! This is what they look like while waiting...








Ok, I just noticed that these are of Starbuck outside the kitchen door and not the shoe room door. Same procedure applies: wait patiently until someone opens door and then sneak in quick while no one is watching!

Playing Around

I was playing around with a picture of Starbuck and me and came up with this. I think it's pretty funky!

Starbuck's Spots

Here are a couple of pics of Starbuck I like.

For some reason Starbuck's spots always look less vibrant in pics than they really are (and you can never see Torrey's wonderful glitter in pics!). In reality they are dark black with edges of golden brown. On his right side they are arrow heads, but on his left side they are circular spots. All of them seem to have started to rosette, which is something I didn't expect to happen so late (he is over a year old). However, if you look at his dad, you can see where he gets them from. Fingers crossed they'll become more defined.

More of Natalie and Natia

Here are some more of Natalie and Natia's "Cat Visit". They had lots of fun! I really appreciated the cat toy they brought (it had feathers on it and was one of the boys' favourite!). Usually the boys are pretty suspicious of visitors, but they had a blast with the girls - they were a little over excited!

They even managed to hold Starbuck for a few seconds, which is amazing considering his personality!

Starbuck and Torrey both eyeing their favourite toy... "Da Bird".

I hope you enjoyed yourselves, girls! Sebastian, Starbuck and Torrey enjoyed having you round for a visit!

P.S. NaTia, not NaDia... right? =)