Mui Mui the dog is gentle with Jing the cat. Photo: Cheah Siew Yenn
Cats and dogs are often portrayed as enemies. Tom and Jerry would not be half as much fun without Spike making his macho appearances and terrorising Tom.
In real life, the story is more complex. Dogs and cats are predators that will chase smaller animals. So, a dog may chase a cat, and if it’s a big dog or has a big bite, it may be fatal for a slow-moving kitty.
However, when the dog is small or slow, and the cat fierce, a dog may find itself badly clawed. There are plenty of dogs who learn to fear cats.
As both dogs and cats are popular companion animals, there are also many dogs who grow up together and who live in harmony. Some cats and dogs are best fur-friends who share beds, bowls, and who will hunt mice and other small game together.
Given that there are no rules, when you have a dog and you want to adopt a cat, figuring out what will happen can be a challenge.
Cheah Siew Yenn runs FurrenzPets, a cage-free boarding facility in Selangor, and is also a part-time rescuer. Visiting her place involves putting on old clothes because there are usually a dozen to 20 furries there, all keen to say hello, give you a sniff, deposit a sprinkling of fur, and to invite you to pat and play.
A sensible person would not even think of taking a cat there. However, at Christmas, this is exactly what Cheah did.
“I was at my bakery supply store when this orange cat came up,” she says. “He had long fur and lots of skin issues. The bakery staff told me the cat had appeared and that nobody was caring for it.”
The poor thing was in a mess. Long-haired cats are often bought as kittens because they’re cute – and then dumped when people realise that long fur needs daily tending. Knowing this, Cheah looked, considered the options, and decided she had to help.
“I had a quick look under the tail and when I didn’t see balls, I thought 'female',” Cheah giggles.
So Cheah named the cat Jing, meaning orange in Malay, and took her girl cat straight to the vet.
“Poor Jing was in a sorry state,” Cheah shares. “The vet dewormed her and prescribed meds that cured the mange. We also did checks for feline leukaemia and other (conditions). Plus, as she had some cuts, she also needed a course of antibiotics.”
The cat needed TLC and so Cheah and the vet did what they could and put off all the other details such as desexing until the cat was healthy and strong again.
Having rescued a cat, Cheah wondered what would come next.
“I was so worried the dogs would attack the cat,” she shares. “Some of the dogs are mellow but I suspected others were not. And then there are those who have never met a cat.”
Cheah started off by confining the cat to a bedroom that was out of bounds to the dogs. She let the cat settle in and heal a little. When the cat had settled in and relaxed, she got a cage, put Jing into it and selected dogs that she trusted to be mellow and gentle.
“Jing was shy but not scared,” she says. “The two dogs sniffed and it went well.”
Cheah took the dogs out, let Jing out, and left it a day. Then she repeated the experiment.
“The second time, Jing was less scared. I opened the cage and stood by. Thankfully, everyone was gentle and polite.”
However, just as Cheah relaxed, the dogs tried to steal Jing’s kibbles. “Jing slapped them!” Cheah laughs. “The dogs screamed and ran off.”
Ever since, Jing has lived in the bedroom, looking outside through the door grill. “Jing won’t go out – cats aren’t stupid,” Cheah points out. “Most of the dogs don’t have entry although there are the gentle ones who have some supervised visits.”
One of the dogs who is a regular visitor is Cheah’s own dog, Mui Mui. This little lady is a 13-year-old rescue, half-blind but very sweet. Jing doesn’t just tolerate her but is happy to sit close by her.
When Jing healed, though, Cheah was in for a surprise.
“Desexing is expensive so when Edward from Paws offered to help spay 'her', I jumped at it,” she giggles. “We got there but when the vet did a pre-op check, we realised Jing is a neutered male.
“The initial vet was very young, and the cat was in a state too, so we missed it. But it proves that Jing had a home at some point and was abandoned.”
Jing had his second vaccination and went home with Cheah.
“Jing is quite settled, and he doesn't mind the dogs as long as they don't disturb him,” Cheah says. “But he will fight back if they try anything funny. Quite a few of the dogs have had a slap from him for stealing.”
However, the cage-free dog-boarding centre isn’t a suitable forever home for a kitty.
“Jing needs a nice home where he can be himself,” Cheah points out. “He’s not a stray by nature; he needs a family. He really loves people.”
So what kind of home would suit an orange boy who is brave enough to slap a cheeky dog?
“He doesn’t like to roam. Every day, I open the grille and he says no,” Cheah reflects. “He would like to be an apartment cat, I think.
“He loves to eat, he’s a Garfield, and he loves going for car rides. When we go somewhere, he breaks out of the crate and looks out of the window.”
Also, although Jing’s hair is not super long, he is not a short-haired cat. He will need brushing and, even then, there will be loose fur on carpets, chairs, and the bed.
While Cheah searches for an appropriate home for Jing, the cat is teaching her all about felines. Cheah has been boarding, fostering, rescuing and adopting out dogs for at least 15 years, so to have a cat around is different.
“Jing is really good-natured,” she muses. “He lets you trim long claws, and he takes his medication when he needs it, without a problem. You can tell he doesn’t love it but he tolerates it politely.
“What’s super cute about Jing is that he eats using his paws. It’s really sweet to watch.”
Jing has been lucky once in being picked up; hopefully, he can now be lucky again and find a forever home.
Adopt Me
Photo: Cheah Siew Yenn
Jing is neutered, vaccinated, and healthy. Cheerful, happy and a people-lover, Jing wants to be an indoor cat. He does not like going outside but he loves to go on car rides.
Jing does eat a lot. And as he has long fur, he needs to be brushed.
Interested adopters, please contact Siew Yenn in Petaling Jaya (012-938 5968).
