ASH - a short but great company

On a Saturday morning of 14th Apr 2007, I was woken up by a continuous mewing from my bedside window. It sounded like a distressed kitten. I peered down but I can't seem to see any cat in sight. I called Chup who was playing tennis to check it out.

That was the day I found Ash. I called her that because her colour is like the colour of mosquito coil ash. Not white, not gray, but ash.

Ash when we first found her

She was probably 3 weeks old when we found her. Very very fierce she was. She lived in a crack between some concrete steps and the grass patch. She refused to come out of the hole and would snarl and hiss when we put our finger near the hole. She must have been traumatized, abandoned by her mother at such tender age. We brought her back to the house and kept her at the balcony. She looked very scared and hid herself in the gap of the balcony cupboard. We thought she could be hungry. We fed her again. But that didn't pacify her. She continued to mew the whole night. At 3 am, Chup placed Ash back into the hole downstairs.

Every night after work, Chup and I would visit Ash at the hole and feed her. She wouldn't leave the hole to eat the food unless we were a safe distance away. No matter how we persuaded, she would never leave the hole with us around. All I could do was to say Hi to Ash from my balcony, 3 storeys away.

Chup said she was a born wildcat. I told him to give Ash a chance and try to win her trust patiently. So we did that. We continued to feed Ash day after day. Slowly she would come out of the hole to eat. But the moment any of us moved a finger, she would scramble back into the hole in a zip of a second.

One night, on 7th May 2007, exactly 24 days after we found Ash, I was watching Chup feeding Ash from the balcony. To my surprise, Ash actually jumped all over Chup lovingly!!! I couldn't believe my eyes. I rushed downstairs to welcome this reversed trend. We finally won her trust!

So we continued to feed Ash. We spent much longer time at the hole from then on. Equipped with mossie coil, we would play with her and talk to her. Ash kept chasing us when we were leaving. And every night when she saw us coming, she would run to us to welcome us. It was such a happy sight.

On 18th May (Friday night), that was my 2nd night in Bali, visiting my parents who were also there for Dad's Hash (Marathon) event. I received an sms, "Dear bad news, Ash is missing".

Chup kept searching and searching. Still not a hint of Ash. He even found a rock at the entrance of Ash's hole. Told Chup to keep feeding and remove the rock. If food is gone, means Ash is fine. But no, food remained there and rock was replaced at the hole!!

The moment I returned from Bali, we searched for Ash again. Still nothing... I was quite convinced that Ash must have been dead :(

Saturday and Sunday passed without Ash.

Monday (21 May) came and Chup called the Estate Manager if he knew anything about missing Ash. And finally the awaited news...

Ash has been adopted by a Filipino maid a few units away! She found her wet and scared in the drain on Friday night. The night Ash went missing. She must have jumped down into the drain and couldn't jump back up. I was so relieved to know that Ash had been in good hands for the past 3 nights.

The maid said she won't be able to keep Ash any longer. One, her employer doesn't allow. Two, there is a huge German Shepherd in the house!

So we took Ash back to our balcony that night. It has been 1 month and 3 weeks since she was last here at the balcony. But it was completely different this time. She felt completely at home and was much happier.

Wow, wow, she was quite a rascal at home!! She peed on my fresh laundry. And if that wasn't enough, she peed on our comforter!!! U scolded her bad and locked her out. It was just as well since I was studying for my M6 exam. But Ash is a really smart kitten. She learnt toilet training in just 1 day. Soon she only peed and poo-ed in the sand tray that Chup has prepared for her. A really smart cat she is.

After that, we let Ash into the house more. Lots of fur though. We could feel our noses itchy all the time. But that's the price for keeping cat or dog, isn't it? Next morning when Chup woke up, he found Ash in a shoe box. So lovely!!!

We continued to keep Ash for 4 days. We have formed an inseparable bond by now. Chup read in the "Caring for a Kitten" book that the kitten would think the world of the owner. I think that's exactly how Ash think of us now.

On Friday, we left for KL and we brought Ash back with us. With us out of home all the time, KL will definitely be a better home for Ash.

Now Ash is just a sweet memory for us...

Ash and squash ball


Ash and string


Ash and a fly

... the one who has been missing Ash so much. Ash, like Pei said, do be a good Malaysian ya. Hope your new owner would love you more than we do.