I have always thought of myself as a dog person (No, not to eat, obviously). When I was about ten, my father brought home a stray puppy. My younger brother and I were ecstatic – but knowing we could never keep him since we lived in a tiny apartment. (Come to think of it, when did keeping dogs in flats become a fad in Singapore?) In the end, we had to smuggle the puppy onto a bus to transport him to a shelter. It was then I decided that when I grow up, I will have a dog, in a house with a fenced yard (and lots of money, a great job, and lots of friends).
That, obviously never happened (well, most of that anyway). As fate would have it, when Jorming and Mindy decided to move back to Singapore, I became the de facto cat caretaker for them. I jokingly re-named them Lunch and Dinner (from Snowy and Luna), and slowly adjusted to living with 2 felines (I think there is a crude sophomoric joke I can make here…). They started to get used to my idiosyncrasies (e.g., chasing them with my vacuum cleaner, hoisting or tossing them onto the bed to see if they always land on their feet [actually, not always, and the cats run away after a few tries. This means you have to chase them around to continue the experiment]). Slowly, they invaded my bed, slept on my chest, and occupied 0.75 of my sleeping area. I started to worry about leaving them alone on extended trips, and had to ask friends to check on them. Cat toys started appearing all over my floor, along with premium canned cat food. In return, spiders and other insects disappeared from my apartment. And everything was covered in a fine layer of cat hair. Friend allergic to cat dandruff began to avoid me, and I was (mostly) okay with that.
Sadly, all good things come to an end. With this upcoming trip, I have to find a solution for the cats (no, not The “Final Solution”). I looked into boarding, asked friends to cat sit for a short 6 months, even consider shipping them to Singapore, calling airlines and looking into quarantine. I feared that Dinner (aka Snowy) won’t make it in cargo, or that they would find Singapore too hot. It was then I realized the cats had become “mine”, and I need to make sure they stay together and have a good home.
Luckily, with 1 week to spare, I finally found a couple willing to take them in (hmm, I better send my neighbor who referred them to me a gift). They renamed Dinner (aka Snowy) to Bo. Lunch (aka Luna) remained as Luna. From the emails I have received so far, they are slowly adjusting to the new house and owners.
Not having the cats in my apartment made me realized: I am really leaving for 6 months. At the same time, while I still dream of having a dog in a fenced yard someday, I will never forget these 2 felines were my first pets. Change is never easy, but I will forever remember my time with Lunch and Dinner (aka Snowy&Luna, aka Luna&Bo). I guess in the end, memories is all we have (But certainly, lots of money would be great too).
(See how I refrained from making the most obvious sophomoric joke? I never used the word pussies. Well, except now…)
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