Goodbye Manis
This evening, we had to say goodbye to Manis. She was very ill for a while. Stopped eating for more than two weeks. Serious organ failure. The vet said the prognosis was not good for a full recovery. I thought it best to let her go with dignity and before she is in serious pain.
Fifteen years ago, she came into our hearts (Kah Meng's and mine) as a little ball of fur. Eyes still blue, not yet 4 weeks old.
She grew up into a beautiful cat with a kinked tail. And an equally kinky personality.
Mostly gentle and sweet, she could become a ferocious beast when provoked. She used to taunt the neighbourhood dogs into coming close enough to the gate so she could slash their noses.
Unlike the other cats, she was always dignified and sure of herself. All WildFilms crew at Base Camp had to make way for her when she wanted to sleep THERE. Usually in the middle of the most comfy bed, on people's pillows or tucked up into the equipment bags. Leaving white fur in the most inconvenient of places.
She loved to get into all kinds of places where she wasn't supposed to.
Oops, guys...looks like our laundry basket is 15 years old too!
I will miss you dear Manis.
The crew, however, are not rid of pesky cats. Base Camp remains infested with them.
Lucifur the Prince of Darkness (whom we call Luci so as not to alarm people) is still drooling over everything and everyone. Especially reference books and video equipment. And sometimes our lunch.
Poor Luci is FIP positive and has a long-term gum problem. This causes him to drool constantly, in long stringy gobs. Sometimes a gob would hang 4-5 inches from his mouth. He would sit there oblivious and still try to look cute. When the end of the gob eventually drops off, the string of slime would recoil around his face. So cute right? Well, although the rest of the crew go ga-ga over slimy slugs; they don't seem to have the same reaction to slimy cats.
Perhaps it is another of Luci's little foibles that doesn't endear him to their hearts. Part of Luci's treatment is regular jabs of steroids. This makes him feel very manly, whereupon he will mark his territory, especially on new objects. Such as crew belongings (backpacks, sandals, clothes, towels), video equipment (especially new ones). Btw, the steroids have resulted in severe hair loss so he's not as handsome as he used to be. (As an aside, this adds credence to claims that balding men are more manly than furry men).
And of course there is Ginger. Who strictly rations the canned drinks at Base Camp.
Old grandma of 16 years, Ginger remains the healthiest of the lot, sprightly and quick. She is still the best hunter of them all and recently presented the crew at Base Camp with a fresh kill of zebra dove. Not sure why it was not appreciated. Perhaps the loose feathers and blood didn't help.
Cats.
What will we do with them.
What will we do without them.
Fifteen years ago, she came into our hearts (Kah Meng's and mine) as a little ball of fur. Eyes still blue, not yet 4 weeks old.
She grew up into a beautiful cat with a kinked tail. And an equally kinky personality.
Mostly gentle and sweet, she could become a ferocious beast when provoked. She used to taunt the neighbourhood dogs into coming close enough to the gate so she could slash their noses.
Unlike the other cats, she was always dignified and sure of herself. All WildFilms crew at Base Camp had to make way for her when she wanted to sleep THERE. Usually in the middle of the most comfy bed, on people's pillows or tucked up into the equipment bags. Leaving white fur in the most inconvenient of places.
She loved to get into all kinds of places where she wasn't supposed to.
Oops, guys...looks like our laundry basket is 15 years old too!
I will miss you dear Manis.
The crew, however, are not rid of pesky cats. Base Camp remains infested with them.
Lucifur the Prince of Darkness (whom we call Luci so as not to alarm people) is still drooling over everything and everyone. Especially reference books and video equipment. And sometimes our lunch.
Poor Luci is FIP positive and has a long-term gum problem. This causes him to drool constantly, in long stringy gobs. Sometimes a gob would hang 4-5 inches from his mouth. He would sit there oblivious and still try to look cute. When the end of the gob eventually drops off, the string of slime would recoil around his face. So cute right? Well, although the rest of the crew go ga-ga over slimy slugs; they don't seem to have the same reaction to slimy cats.
Perhaps it is another of Luci's little foibles that doesn't endear him to their hearts. Part of Luci's treatment is regular jabs of steroids. This makes him feel very manly, whereupon he will mark his territory, especially on new objects. Such as crew belongings (backpacks, sandals, clothes, towels), video equipment (especially new ones). Btw, the steroids have resulted in severe hair loss so he's not as handsome as he used to be. (As an aside, this adds credence to claims that balding men are more manly than furry men).
And of course there is Ginger. Who strictly rations the canned drinks at Base Camp.
Old grandma of 16 years, Ginger remains the healthiest of the lot, sprightly and quick. She is still the best hunter of them all and recently presented the crew at Base Camp with a fresh kill of zebra dove. Not sure why it was not appreciated. Perhaps the loose feathers and blood didn't help.
Cats.
What will we do with them.
What will we do without them.
2 Comments:
So sorry about Manis.
Understand the can't live with them, can't live without them bit. Used to be like 'headache' when my cat scratched all the furniture, but after he went to cat heaven, I'd go and sayang-sayang all the scratch marks like it was something really special.
Oh dear... my condolences. :(
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