After battling with heart and kidney problems for the past 18 months, Sophie left us for the rainbow bridge yesterday at a ripe old age of 20, outliving many many of her other feline comrades. The humans always tell me Sophie is one of the best cats they've ever known because she's full of character and is always ready to dish out affection. Her health deteriorated greatly over the past 2 years but S never ever gave up on her and tried her best to give Sophie a quality life, however long she could enjoy it.

All of us at home are devastated, especially S, who loved Sophie to death. But i also know how heartbreaking it was for her to watch her beloved pet fading away slowly with time. I guess Sophie's passing puts an end to all her mundane suffering so in a way, we should feel glad that she no longer has to go through all that pain anymore. Easier said than done though. :(

Whatever it is, Sophie has been a great friend to me and a greater companion to S, especially during her time in Australia. She's probably frolicking with Cocoa (another of my feline sibling who also passed away a few years back) at the moment and someday, though i don't know how soon, i know i'll be reunited with them at the rainbow bridge again.

Rest in peace, dear Sophie. May you have trees to climb, rats to chase and lots and lots of shredded chicken to eat all day long. You will be dearly missed.

I know a lot of friends have been concerned about my feline sibling Sophie and i reaaaalllly appreciate all your well wishes. 

The good news is Sophie has gotten much better since her last check and with the help of the new drugs and lots of tender loving care from us, her condition has improved significantly. S told me that Sophie's blood pressure is now normal for a kitty cat and we all hope that it stays this way for a long time. Sophie's kidney issue is also well under control according to her blood test results so we'll just have to keep up with her special diet and subcutaneous fluids and hopefully, her condition remains stable.

If you've been chronically ill or have chronically ill doggy or kitty siblings, you'll know how tough it is for the family. Sophie gets multiple pills a day and i don't even wanna go near her when she's getting her daily doses from S because this old girl can really get cranky! But who can blame her  - i mean, who would like having bitter pills stuffed down their throats twice daily? Or having needles stuck into them? Or eating sucky prescription diet (ok, maybe it's not that bad cos i've tried her k/d before!)?

However hard it is for us to cope with Sophie's illness, i think it's doubly hard for Sophie being the ill one. And because i'm both family and a friend to her, i'll never ever give up on her and i know the rest of us will hang in there for her, and with her till it's time for her to head for the rainbow bridge. 

Sophie, you know you can always count on me and the rest of the family because for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, you know we'll always be there for you. 

p.s. I'll always be there for you, sniffing your lovely butt.

S just told me a sad piece of news a couple of days ago - Sophie (my 19-year-old feline sibling) is ill and the rest of the family is absolutely prohibited from stressing her out or causing her to have any misadventures.

I've always loved Sophie even though i've got a bad reputation of being slightly neurotic and obnoxious with other dogs. I have always been gentle with her and let her have her way around my food and toys, which is something i probably wouldn't tolerate with other strange dogs. As much as others may deem me a bad boy, i do have a softer side and it's not hard to witness that side of me if you've ever seen me around with cats.

That's me saying a tender hello to Sophie. I'll never tower over her and will never in my wildest dream intimidate her. That's my mattress she's sitting on but i'm happy just letting her have it. 

S spends alot ot time at night with Sophie, giving the old girl her daily dose of medication and feeding her supper. As much as warm shredded chicken or salmon appeals to me, i'll never steal her food while she's at it. Oh well, sometimes she's had enough so i help myself with the leftovers but other than that, i'm a total gentleman with her and i give her the due respect an old girl like her deserves.

I'm happy just keeping her company at night and i think she appreciates my company in return because she always seems so at ease in my presence. We don't engage in play-fights or anything rough of course (i don't want to send her blood pressure shooting through the roof) but i'm just there to assure her that there's always a big furry body near her if she ever needs some extra warmth. 

When it's my time to face my sunset years, if ever i become ill and frail, i hope S and the rest of my family will still take care of me and give me the same kind of love and support we're trying to give Sophie now.

p.s. Sorry for the jaundiced looking pictures....no one's really in the mood to take proper pictures. :(

And so I have been sulking for the past week because S cruelly "abandoned" me and left on a jet plane to the US. I have been sitting at the door every night waiting for her return but to no avail! She did call and tried to talk to me 2 days ago but i was too upset to speak to her. How could she?!?! I'm now bored silly because rightfully, i should be at my agility training now having some solid frisbee fun. ARGH!!

I don't think i'm the only one at home feeling listless because S is not around. The cats aren't too happy as well and things have been really quiet in the household. All of us have been pretty much sleeping our days away, wishing time will pass quickly so that S (and her TLC!) will be back with us again!

Here's Tutti spending a quiet moment alone missing S and the daily face rubs with her. I suspect she's also meditating on fried ikan bilis and toy mice too......

Hmmm. And here's old Sophie taking care of S's hamster on her behalf. Well hopefully when S returns, the cage will not be empty!!!!!

Whatever it is, we all miss S! Mummy, please come home soon!!!!! *wailssss*

My grand-daddy (S's daddy) has been a little upset lately. You see, he's a nice man who loves decorating the house with his own handicrafts but recently, the grasshoppers that he made out of green ribbon (that stood on places like the tv top and various other locations) started disappearing mysteriously!!

Who kidnapped the grasshopper?!

Being "the nose" in the household, i decided to play sleuth and roped in Sophie (the 18-year-old grandmama Burmese) to be my sidekick. Actually, we already have a suspect in mind but because we lacked evidence, we didn't think it was a good idea to go around accusing others. 

One fine day, while everyone was enjoying their siesta, i heard some rustling in the living room and was very sure that the grasshopper-napper was up to her tricks again. Sophie and I acted as fast as we could and finally caught the culprit in the act!!!

Here's the evidence on film:

Sophie, a cat of few words, simply sat in front of Tutti and gave her a disapproving look as if to say, "Grow up, kid!" 

That's me, Inspector Chester, with the "grashopper-napper". (Actually i don't really give a damn what she kidnaps, as long as it's not my bone or toys!) 

That's me and my sidekick Sophie, finally closing in on the grasshopper-napper, Tutti!!!! GOTCHA TUTTI!

As you can see, Sophie's stare CAN kill. See the shell-shocked expression on Tutti's face, to the extent that she even released the grasshopper without us having to use any force! Let me say this again: Sophie's stare CAN KILL, so don't you dare stare at her if you come over to my place.

Oh, and because of Sophie's killer-stare, it wasn't necessary for me to flash any of my doggy weapons. So there, i went back to doing what i do best - butt sniffing!!! Hee hee!

Anyway, we freed the grasshopper and S returned it to its rightful position (on top of the tv). Of course, Tutti got a earful from S for holding the grasshopper hostage and inflicting serious injuries on it  - the grasshopper has since lost his feelers and suffers from a fractured left leg!!!! What an eventful afternoon!!

Before i forget, anyone interested in dating me out for a drink? Oh well, if you wanna score a date with either the man or the woman human, i can lend them to you  IF and only IF i don't need them around! It's for a good cause anyway and part of the proceeds go towards SPCA. Call me, babe!!

For the uninitiated, this is Chester (better known as "大的") and Sophie (better known as "老的"). For the record, Tutti is known as "小的". Sophie is 18 this year, Chester turns 3 in July and Tutti is around a year old. Go figure.

I snapped this picture just before Sophie got up and came to me for some good, affectionate sayang-ing. Chester was too preoccupied with panting, as you can see from his super-long, lolling tongue.

People often ask me the million dollar question - " they won't fight meh?!" 

Here's the picture to prove it all! Chester probably loves Sophie more than she appreciates him, but as with all relationships, there's always a giver and a taker. It's the opposite for Chester and Tutti. Tuts enjoys allorubbing Chester but i guess she never fails to rub him the wrong way and that's when he'll run away or give her a (or sometimes, TEN) threatening snaps. 

Whatever it is, they're my babies and i love them all the same (don't have a pet among the pets!). Okay okay okay, i probably love Chester a teeeeeeny weeeeeeny bit more. :)