Tuah - An Introduction

 In one of my earlier postings  entitled "Cats", I related how I developed a liking for cats. I used to be rather wary of cats and would shun away for fear that they bite or scratch. Now all that is history. Cats are very much a part of my life now. Kitty gave birth to 5 kittens on the 12 February 1997. Four of the five kittens were still born. Only one survived and the survivor was named Tuah.(Luck in Bahasa Malaysia). From that day, Kitty and Tuah were to become part of the family. When my mother looked at the newborn Tuah, she told me   "You can keep him". I was immensely overjoyed because at that point in time, my mother had not developed a liking for cats yet, merely starting to show some compassion for the starving ones.

Tuah and his mother Kitty were initially kept outside the house but when Kitty started to date again and left  ten-day old Tuah to fend for himself, I just could not bare to leave him alone outside the house at night, so I brought him inside the house. I gave him a comfortable corner partially hidden under a chair. He seemed to like it there and each time I peered to see him, he would let out a shrilling meow thinking that his mother, Kitty had come to suckle him. Kitty would come home only once a day during the mating season so Tuah had to be bottle-fed.

Tuah was a boisterous and inquisitive kitten. I had a tough time trying to keep him under control. He would "disappear" for a few hours and then when I had given up all hopes of finding him, he would noncholantly parade back into sight as if nothing had happened!

When Tuah was about 6 months old, I took him to the vet to be neutered. I had to make this decision because Tuah was starting to show interest in the opposite sex. I was told that he would travel "far and wide" to pursue his interest and I might lose him forever, so I had no choice but to neuter him.

I thought he would sober up after the operation. Fat hopes. Before the operation, he would chase all male cats on sight. After the operation, he chased both male AND female!!! It was a nightmare for me. All cats were enemies except for his mother, Kitty and my cousin's female cat, Kentoi. Kentoi was living next door then, so both of them were the greatest of pals. Kentoi being a few months older than Tuah, taught Tuah a lot  of daredevil stunts from climbing out of the upstairs window to crawling on the rooftop and then bungee jumping down to the balcony! Kentoi would always emerge safely back on the ground  panting triumphantly leaving poor Tuah stranded on the balcony not knowing how to retrace his way back through the upstairs window. Now, it was my turn to do the acrobatics to bring him back to safety!!

One year old Tuah

Tuah and his mummy, Kitty, enjoying their afternoon siesta

Kitty reprimanding Tuah for misbehaving

Tuah all set for a spin-off in a washing machine

Two year old Tuah squeezing under the  same chair  he took shelter as a 10-day old kitten 

Life was full of fun for Tuah until we decided to move to Jitra in 2000. Both Kitty and Tuah moved to Jitra  with me and Kentoi moved to his new place in Bayu Lake Resort, my cousin's new home. Tuah and Kitty had only seen Kentoi once since the tearful separation. You can see Kentoi in my cousin's blog "Forever Ikhlas" entitled "Jellical Cats"  dated December 2009. Click the link here to see Kentoi.

Look out for more stories on Tuah and his mother, Kitty in my future postings.