Friesia's Tuck Shop Part II

Well, actually it's a cat activity centre made out of reused items. I couldn't help calling this post a tuck shop because Friesia's got her "Can I help you, prrr?" cat sales rep expression. Also the box makes her look like she's in a little tuck shop booth.

In retrospect, I probably wouldn't build a cat activity centre out of old mineral water boxes again in the future. The cardboard is too thin, and would only safely hold Friesia's weight - if she's careful. No chance for Oatey - last time he tried jumping onto the box, the flaps peeved in and Oatey slipped into the box. Needless to say, Oatey was put off by the experience and wouldn't risk climbing the box even to chase a string.

I suppose thicker cardboard boxes would make a cat activity centre more sturdy. Not sure whether there are places in KL / Klang Valley that sell them at discount prices. I managed to get a sturdy cardboard box from a hardware store but I doubt the owners would let me walk away with 10 boxes just like that.

Friesia's Tuck Shop

Yesterday, Friesia discovered another hiding place when I left the kitchen cabinet doors open, and was determined to set up a tuck shop ;-) I coaxed her to come out but she ignored me, and seemed unpeturbed even when I closed the cabinet doors for a few minutes.

Pic 1: Friesia in her tuck shop
Pic 2: "Can I tempt you with a can of Malay Tea cat whiskers ... or rrrrroselle, purrrr?"
Pic 3: Friesia leaps out...
Pic 4: ... onto the 1st floor
Pic 5: "We also have BIRD's custard - don't worry, no real birds used - it's meant for humans"
Pic 6: "Something salty and snacky...? Ah yes, here are the crrrrisps!"

Found what I wanted - not bad for a cat sales rep!

Free home grown cat grass

Cat grass is good for digestion, and helps make it easier for a cat to eliminate fur balls.

In the west, cat grass is typically grass grown from wheat, oat, barley, or rye seeds.

In the east, my friend taught me that you can find the Malaysian version of cat grass around the bushes.

I found mine growing at the roots of trees in a playground. A friendly neighbour's cat was chewing on it.

I scooped some of the grass into my pot, brought it back home, and put it on the balcony banister away from prying eyes. It didn't work because one of my cats is a bit of gymnast. Friesia spotted it, and eagerly leapt onto the banister to chew the cat grass. I kept pushing her down and told her "No" and bobbed her nose. She knows what I mean but she ignored my command and leapt up onto the banister again. That's it, balcony's out of bounds for Friesia, until she learns not to jump on the banister!

Free-range DQ clean chicken at Jusco Setiawangsa

DQ clean chicken is organic in every sense - the chickens are free-range, grass-fed, antibiotic free (owner Mr Wong, prefers to call it "beyond organic"). From my experience, it's difficult enough to find antibiotic free chicken, so finding organic chicken is even more so. BTW, before you list various places to find kampung chicken, let me clarify that kampung chicken is actually a breed name, and does not imply free range.

Food Safari's blog lists only 5 places to find free-range DQ clean chicken, so I was well-pleased to find the 6th place: the new Jusco Setiawangsa (RM23.99 each). Not only that, Jusco Setiawangsa stocks frozen Australian turkey leg and fresh local Boer goat meat, which make nice alternative to raw chicken for my cats :) And for us health-conscious herbivores, and omnivores, Jusco Setiawangsa also has a generous selection of organic veg, pulses, and snacks.

Happy Bird-Day!

It was my husband's parents' birthdays recently, so my husband decided to make an e-card because he couldn't find any interesting cards in the shop.

The photo shoot took two hours because our models couldn't stay still. When they eventually rested after a few rounds of string chasing, my husband picked them up for the nth time to sit together. The dangling wrist strap on my camera phone caught the cats' attention, and made them look up with their adorable large round eyes. Perfect moment. Snap, snap, snap!

After that, my husband got even more creative. He added an oil-painting effect onto the photo except on the Happy Bird-Day cards that I drew, which helps smooth out the grains on the cats' fur without blurring out the text. As a finishing touch, he converted the photo into a video, complete with fade in/fade out effects, cheesy music, and a rolling birthday message :)

ORIGINAL

OIL-PAINT EFFECT

DIY scratch board made of cardboard remnants

Cardboard scratch boards like the ones in the photos typically sell for around RM30 each in Ikea and Pet Lovers Center in Ikano Power Centre.

I made these large scratch boards for less than RM10 each out of old cardboard boxes and non-toxic wood glue.

473ml of Titebond original wood glue costs around RM30 from Ace Hardware. Looking back, I could have saved some money and glued them with homemade tapioca glue (tapioca flour boiled in water).

How did I manage to cut the cardboard so neatly without blistering my fingers? Well, I sent it to a professional paper cutter in a back lane workshop off Jalan Tun Sambathan in Brickfields. It's walking distance from KL Monorail station, and I remember passing by a shop selling meat as I entered the back lane.

There are several paper cutting workshops on the back lane but the first two or three workshops refused to cut cutboard in case it damaged their machines (their paper cutting machines were mostly for cutting up wedding cards and flyers).

Eventually, I found a workshop willing to do the job. There were two customers who were there before me. I watched the man cut up flyers for a local temple ceremony, and a few large pieces of coloured plain manila card with his large industrial paper cutter. My brain started estimating the cost of my job, as he collected RM10 for the few pieces of manila card he'd cut up. Hmm... RM30? RM50? I have enough cardboard to make 4 large scratch boards!

When it was my turn, the man asked me how I'd like the boxes cut. I explained that I'd like triangles and strips of rectangle to make scratch boards for my cats. The man smiled, and asked about my cats. While we chatted, I helped him collect the cardboard pieces that he'd cut from the machine. I even helped remove the huge staples from the box, so it wouldn't damage the machine. If the box size was different to the one he had previously cut, he would confirm the shapes again with me. It took about half an hour to cut all the boxes up.

My brain was thinking.... RM50 for all the effort. So I was pleasantly surprised when the man said "kira cincai... RM10"! I thanked him several times for his kindness, and said that my cats will enjoy scratching them very much :)

Refurbished scratch post with sisal from Ace Hardware

The sisal rope on the cats' scratch post had worn out towards the top, so it was time to replace ... or refurbish the post.

I was very tempted to get a much taller scratch post, as our cats are now grown up. But the local pet shops didn't seem to stock 1m scratch post poles (or close to that). The tall 1m+ scratch post I found was actually a few short scratch poles stacked on top of each other and stabilised with wide plywood bases at each level. That's not long enough for my grown-up cats to perform vertical full-body stretch and scratch. Anyway, I have no intention of turning our living room into an expensive cat gym. An American fragrant cedar cat tree would have made a fine replacement but at USD390, I'm sure there are cheaper local versions... if I can find the wood and carpenter.

For now, I decided on a temporary solution - to get more sisal to replace the worn out sisal on the scratch post. Seriously, it wasn't easy finding more sisal in KL. I had enquired at several local hardware stores but they didn't seem to know what sisal is! After weeks of hunting, I finally found 1/4" (0.63cm) diameter sisal rope at Ace Hardware, Mid Valley Megamall selling for 50 sen per foot. It's in the ropes and wires section, stored in rows and rows of large reels. It's not clearly marked, so I searched for labels or handwritten notes on the side of the reels to make sure that I didn't mistaken manila rope for sisal. I've read that manila rope tends to be heavily oiled and stinks.

I was surprised to discover that, even without glue, the new sisal grips quite well onto the scratch post's old sisal. So I started wrapping the scratch post from the top while making sure that the top end of the new sisal is secured by tightly winding the rest of the sisal rope over it. To secure the bottom end of the rope, I tied several knots towards the last few rows of the windings. Of course, skipping the glue meant that my scratch post didn't look neat for long but it will do for a few weeks.

All in all 10 metres of 1/4" sisal rope covers about 2/3 of the 50cm tall by 8cm diameter scratch post.

Dirt basket for indoor cats

Is your indoor cat experiencing the following symptoms?

1. Rolls over fresh sandy cat litter
2. Walks over plants
3. Rubs back on balcony patio floor as if it's laced with catnip.
   

My cats definitely were. My friend says it's because they miss being in the wild.

To bring my cats closer to nature, I took my friend's suggestion to make a dirt basket. A dirt basket is basically a container with some soil, or sand. Of course, the container needs to be large enough to fit at least one cat. In the photo, I used an old Ikea litter tray (with curved sides for better dirt containment), filled it with soil, and placed it on the balcony patio floor.

Within a minute, the dirt basket received paws of approval from Friesia. A few moments later, Oatey shoved off Friesia to give his roll of approval in the dirt basket and curled up to sleep in it for the afternoon. The cats love it!

Oatey harvests catnip

A few months a go, my friend gave me some catnip plants to grow for my cats. They grew for a while but then one by one shrivelled and died. For sometime, I didn't have catnip until about a month or so ago, a few sprouted out. I was waiting for one of them to grow until the spores fully bloomed before uprooting them for my cats to chew on.

My cats didn't seem to realise the catnip was there until today. The pot of grass was bare from overgrazing. Oatey was looking for a mid-morning snack to chew on. That was when he sniffed upon the pot of catnip!

As you can see from the pictures, Oatey really enjoyed chewing on his harvest that he wants to keep every bit for himself. Luckily I managed to salvage some spores and sprinkle over a few pots. Let's hope the catnip grows again ;-)

Cat ping pong

This game is adapted from Vicky Halls' Cat Confidential.

The pyramid is made of toilet rolls supported by two kitchen rolls at the bottom. The rolls are stuck together with UHU glue.

I meant to chop the kitchen roll into two but couldn't be bothered, so I stuck them at the base. It turns out to be a good design decision, as the extra gap on the base allows missed ping pong balls to roll back to my side. Also the kitchen roll gives my cats a chance to practise their smash ;-)

P/S: This pyramid also doubles as a kibble hideout for when we want the cats to forage for food.

Ceramic tile cleaner for cats who eat off the floors

Ceramic tile cleaner
Mix 1/4 cup (60ml) white vinegar into a gallon (3.8 litres) of warm water. Apply with sponge.
Recipe from Dr Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, p142.

My cats are messy eaters. When they eat, they tend to displace their food off their bowls, and lick the food off the floor.

This habit worries me because when my cats lick food off the floor, they are also ingesting some of the no rinse commercial tile cleaner that I use to mop the floor. The commercial tile cleaner has a long list of chemicals, which I don't understand but I've read that it may be toxic if ingested.

So when I discovered this recipe, I started using it to clean the kitchen floors (where I feed my cats) instead of a commercial tile cleaner. I find the sponge a little warm to hold, so I usually grip the sponge using a pair metal tongs. My husband says that the floor smells a bit like the vinegar in fish and chips but don't worry, this smell disappears once floor dries. Now I can be confident that my cats won't get sick from licking the floor.

Where to fly a kite in KL

Kepong Metropolitan Park. I accidentally discovered this gem on the way to The Malay Teahouse in FRIM Kepong. It was windy that day, so there were many people, young and old, flying kites of different shapes and sizes. If you haven't got a kite, don't worry, because you can buy one from one of the kite stalls in the park.

That's just the way I discover interesting places in KL - by chance. Personally, I prefer to discover places through google rather than burn petrol in my quest for such places. I found out later that other people EXCEPT KL city council (DBKL) have written about this "famous park": KL city guide, Malaysia vacation guide, allmalaysia.info. The lack of online info from the authorities is very Malaysian. Even the Tokyo city council has a drab page describing their famous Tsukiji fish market in English! That's one of the reasons why I started this blog - to fill in the information gap on things to do in KL apart from shopping.

Last weekend I tried flying my kite at the park but only managed to get it in the air for 2 mins at most. So after about half an hour trying, my husband and I packed up and left.

Wouldn't it be nice if there is a wind sensor at the park, which sends daily information of wind speeds at the park? That would save a lot of time and petrol for kite enthusiasts. As usual, I googled to find out.

The best I could find is a weather forecast for KL/Subang from timeanddate (not a Malaysian website). Funny that foreigners seem to know more about our weather than our national weather forecasting agency.

Using gloves to remove cat hair from sofa

Removing cat hair from the sofa is the most arduous task of my vacuum cleaning activities. It could easily take me 30mins to remove 1 week's worth of cat hair from the sofa using a vacuum with rotating brush.

Occasionally, I'm too lazy to lug the vacuum cleaner, and resort to the expensive sticky 3M roller for pet hair (RM20 for refill, RM30 sticky roll with roller). I find that the 3M roller picks up more cat hair compared to the RM10 roller from Ikea.

I wondered whether there are more efficient ways to remove pet hair and found suggestions such as using packing tape, brush with bristles, rubber brush, and rubber gloves.

I tried the brush with bristles and gloves suggestions. Between the two, I prefer gloves because it seems less abrasive than a brush with bristles. It feels more natural to me to to just run my hands over the sofa to collect the fur. As you can see from the pic, the gloves do a good job collecting fur. On another sofa covered with a new rug, the gloves even picked up lint from the rug!

I'd still supplement the work with vacuuming to pick up fine dust. But at least I won't have to spend so much time vacuuming the sofa!

World's Best (Edible?) All Natural Corn Litter

I like to keep a good stock of cat food and litter in case I'm too busy to get replenishments when they run out. So when one of my favourite pet shops, Pet Epicure, had a special 1-day 10% discount, I took the opportunity to load up on supplies.

However, they didn't stock clay cat litter, so I decided to try another similar product - corn cat litter! I suppose that means it's a little less harmful than clay if the cat ingests it, right? After all, don't many manufacturers use corn in cat food?

Keyword: Food. I didn't think about that. Needless to say, I was surprised when my cats actually took turns to sniff and... nibbled on the cat litter! I was a bit worried that my cats would get confused and pee elsewhere but they eventually figured it out. But when my husband cleaned and topped up the litter, they started nibbling the litter again...

Oh dear. I think we'll revert to clay litter. At least the cats don't try to eat it and it's better at controlling odour.