Wednesday, March 01, 2006

The Reunion of the 'Longkang' Cats

Last Sunday was a very special day for me and ten others. It was the day we reunited the longkang cats. (Longkang means "drain" in Malay and it was in one that they were found crying.)

I had long wanted to bring my five cats together again, but thought it would never happen. That was until Melvin suggested it. And when all the other adopters supported the idea, my heart sang. My babies were going to be in the same room with me once more.

So it was arranged for The Reunion to take place on the last Sunday of February at 6pm. Melissa and her family very kindly opened their lovely house to us for the event. Her mother even made dinner for all of us.

I arrived half an hour early that evening. I presented Melissa's mother with a small bouquet of flowers to thank her for welcoming us into her home and making dinner too.

Then I fussed over Gucci.

He was looking very good indeed. He had grown a great deal and his coat is even more beautiful than I remembered.

Melissa's family chirped happily about Gucci and showed me his favourite napping spots and the naughty things he had been up to, like crying like a baby when he doesn't get enough attention and tearing apart the furniture.

Melvin and Stephanie showed up soon after with Bombay and Bangles in their carriers, followed by Dennis and Jessie with Cloey and Jackie.

Okay... let me introduce to you the longkang cats and their adopters.

Here is Gucci with Melissa and Kenny.

This is Bombay with Stephanie and Melvin.

And here are Jessie and Dennis. Cloey and Jackie aren't in this photo with them because the two kitties are so good-natured with other humans and felines that they were quite busy making friends with everything and everyone in sight.

Gucci retains his title as largest of the litter.

Cloey is still the smallest, even though she has grown a fair bit. And while her body has filled out, her face still looks very kittenish.

Jackie is still the thinnest of the group. And her scratched eye still looks dopey. But I was very pleased to see that she remains a very energetic and affectionate kitty.

Bombay and Bangles are... well, what can I say? I've been seeing them regularly and so have all of you blog readers.

You know, all of us had this great vision of a very romantic reunion for the cats, where they would mew lovingly to each other and groom one another fondly. The entire would be filled with loud contented purring.

Alas... it was not to be.

Instead of purring, there was hissing. Instead of mewing, there was spitting. Instead of licking and grooming, there were frantic scramblings all around the room to get away from each other.
Sadly, the cats have clean forgotten each other. Sigh...

Gucci was the most hostile. When he was about 3 months old, I noticed that he was beginning to separate himself from the group. And now that he has been the only cat in the house for 5 whole months, he certainly wasn't about to start tolerating any other.

He would crouch low whenever any of his siblings approached. He would snarl and hiss at them.

And then he would run away at lightning speed into the next room and hide under the table.

Or he would crouch under the chairs, while Melissa and her family tried their best to calm him down.

What moved me most was watching Melissa's father stroke Gucci tenderly and talk to him in a soothing voice. Her father was the one I was most concerned about initially because he had objected to Gucci's adoption due to his colour. He felt that black was inauspicious.
Just look at them now. You wouldn't have guessed their rough start together.

Cloey was the exact opposite of Gucci. While he was all snarly and hissy, she was perfectly at ease with all the other cats. At one point, she was chasing Bombay down, trying desperately to give her brother a friendly sniff and maybe invite him to play. But Bombay kept running away and would only turn around to give her a loud hiss to warn her to stay away. Poor Cloey would wear this terribly disappointed and sad look on her face and walk away.

After being rejected by all her brothers, Cloey turned her attention on a ball and amused us with a game of solo soccer.

Jackie, like her sister Cloey, was very comfortable with the other cats too. That's because both girls live with both cats and dogs back home. So unlike their brothers, they were quite cheery.
Bombay was somewhere in between Gucci and Cloey. He wasn't hostile, but he wasn't friendly either. He was uninterested perhaps.

Bangles was the other cat who took to the reunion badly. He ducked for cover under the sofa in the hall and never moved from that spot the entire night. And that'll explain my lack of photos of him.

In the photo below, that's Gucci lying on top of the couch and hiding below would be poor Bangles.

But while the reunion for the cats was not going smoothly, their adopters were enjoying each other's company.

They exchanged funny stories about their cats, listened to the problems each were facing and offered advice when they could.













Even though there wasn't much love among the cats, I was very happy to observe the deep love shared by the adopters and their pets.



























As I sat there watching everyone, I could not deny that all the good things I had hoped for each cat had come true.

I want to thank Jessie and Dennis, Melissa and Kenny, Melvin and Stephanie, and their families for taking in the longkang cats... for loving them and caring for them in the best way that they can.

~5-Cat Style

16 comments:

singaporegrrl said...

Very cool that you had a reunion for the longkang cats, even if they didn't really care to be reunited! I'm sure their people were happy. And it's nice to hear the happily ever after story of these cats.

cat_aunty said...

That was lovely. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely reunion! :) The cats really don't remember their relatives (both felines and humans), huh? Perhaps there are exceptions...one of my MIL's cats gave a very sudden, loud and long "Meow!" when she saw the woman who had fed her when she was a stray kitten.

What if the "cat guests" need to use the toilet? Use Gucci's litter box? :P

C. said...

Aww what a sweet reunion... U know, I have a young cat at my estate who looked just like Gucci. Her name's Cinder. Do you know of anyone else who would like to adopt an all-black cat? = )

Victor Tabbycat said...

Poor Gucci, all those unexpected invaders in HIS domain! Interesting how each reacted differently, according to his or her purrsonality. Cloey does look forelorn.

KXBC said...

Cats are usually not social animals, especially in another cat's territory, even if they are siblings but have been separated for some time. Very few cats like strange cats in their territory. My cats totally dislike strangers, humans or otherwise. Whenever friends come over, they get very stressed up and hide which pains our hearts alot.

Dawn said...

How lovely! Thanks for sharing all the lovely photos!

Yes cats really don't get along well - it's territorial among other things. People often say that they don't want to split up siblings, but even if they're related (and live together) it does not mean they'll get along at all.

Anonymous said...

Like the way Cloey sat :D but my heart went out for the poor lass..

husky9 said...

all the kitties look so cute....i am so touched by the adopters...well done everyone...keep up teh good job

meemsnyc said...

The kitties are all so cute!
http://ilovecatnip.blogspot.com

animalfamily said...

very very cool.

CatDonna & Cats said...

A pity the kitty playgroup didn't work out. That would have been awesome.

5Cats said...

What a lovely gathering! :)

Sharyn Ekbergh said...

Great photos. You've got some wonderful Fergus look a likes in Singapore. Wish I could hop over and find myself one.

Carolina Cats said...

Thank you *so* much for sharing these wonderful happy endings with us! They are all beautiful - cats and people.

We're glad that Melissa and her family have learned what American cat-lovers believe - black cats are extra-lucky!

Congratulations to all on finding their forever homes and to you for doing such a great job.

Finny, Buddy & mom

Oscar the Wonder Cat said...

ohhh you made me cry! It is so lovely so see my fellow kitties all given a chance they may not have had before - and look what wonderful families they have been adopted by. They have all grown to be beautiful teens.

Congratulations to you, and a big Well Done! You made a difference!