Rose is well-loved and pampered by her family. Photo: Shamsun Hamid
Do you have an interesting story about your living pet that you would like to share with readers? We’d love to hear from you. Tell us in 600-900 words, with 3-4 photos (in JPEG format, file size about 1MB, captioned). There is no payment for stories, and we reserve the right to edit all submissions. Send your story to: lifestyle@thestar.com.my with the subject "My Pet Story".
The name’s Rose Batricia, but the children pronounce it "Bat-ree-siah" when teasing the little one.
She just looks away, stays motionless, and then starts grooming herself.
In early 2021, during the lockdown, a long-tailed ginger cat with snow-white belly and paws started visiting us occasionally before permanently settling in.
The moment she pops her head through the fence and gently glides down, the children give a loud chorus of “Ro-o-o-o-se!!", drop their badminton racquets and go over to stroke her silky long fur.
She enjoys being the centre of attention, as her long bushy tail gently sweeps back and forth. She exudes an aura of a mysterious Cleopatra, with the turn of her head and a gentle gaze.
We had no pets before her.
When cat food is lovingly served, she's up on her feet immediately. Then she gently hunkers down and assumes the most polite position – with all paws tucked in. She enjoys her meal with eyes closed and much appreciation. It never ceases to amaze us how she displays thankfulness for everything.
After she has finished her meal, she starts cleaning her mouth, face and paws.
The children would go into a long discussion about her next meal (salmon or tuna), the toys to buy to keep her entertained (feathers or furry mouse toy) and the possibility of giving her a good bath.
Bath? We were totally clueless about bathing a cat; we didn’t even know which cat shampoo to choose.
During the eased lockdown, when residents were allowed to venture no more than 10km in radius from their homes, the kids and their uncle’s cycling adventures brought them to a cat-spa not far from our home. Finally, the lovely Rose was about to go through some transformation ala Cinderella.
Another discussion followed, as the children and their uncle wanted to make an appointment with the cat-spa. They called to enquire about the prices of spa packages.
“She will get the best treatment for more than RM100? I never got anything for that much from dad!” my nephew joked.
They later came back with a cardboard box – previously used to pack cans of condensed milk – for transporting the cat from our home to the cat-spa. It was a lidless box, with plastic for a covering.
“Poor Rose, she might get frightened and jump out immediately!” one of the kids lamented.
That’s exactly what happened. The moment Rose was lowered into the box, she panicked, looked around our car and leaped onto the top of the back seat. When my daughter tried to get into the car to calm her down, Rose quickly made an exit and wriggled her way underneath another car.
The groomer took down some details, but the highlight were questions about the cat herself.
“Which breed?” That drew blank stares all around.
“Well, then can you describe her tail?”
“It’s long and bushy,” said one of them.
“So, it’s a domestic long hair.”
“Her name?”
“Rose.”
“Ah, Rose, sweet name,” she replied, tapping on her keyboard.
After a quick inspection, she explained that Rose was about eight months old and active at night.
The kids listened eagerly, happy to note that she’s still a "baby" and understood why she was peacefully asleep most of the day.
“OK, you can pick her up at 3pm today.”
Everyone was so happy and drove home excitedly.
When the much-awaited call came and we could pick her up, everyone packed themselves into the car and drove off. So eager were the kids that not even the heavy downpour dampened their spirits.
She bumped against the glass, stopped and looked bewildered.
Without delay, the children ushered her into the carrier again, and decided to quickly bring her to familiar territory.
Back at home, the entourage huddled around just moments before the door of the carrier was opened.
Again, instead of a pageant-worthy cat-walk, Rose sprinted away and hid under a car. It was a little too overwhelming perhaps, and the poor little one just wanted a moment's peace and quiet after all she had gone through.
We couldn’t understand her silence, but later in the evening, she did sit down for her meal again. Only this time, she looked lovelier, and a whiff of fresh pleasant smell lingered around when we stroked her fur.
She looked up at us, as if saying that this bath was enough to last her a lifetime, and that she’ll forgive us all, her newfound family in her chosen forever home.
Ah, Rose, what can we say, but “You’re most welcome, the gentle queen of our home and hearts!”
