Puppy - kitten - kitten

Felix the puppy now has a nice new home with a group of teachers. And he's a she and now called Jingjing. She's grown into a much loved confident dog - still small enough to fit inside my shoes.

Shortly after Felix the puppy left the comfort of the House of Princess Freya and Beautiful Stephanie, the Shanghai animal aid organisation called and asked if we would foster a 6 month old kitten...called Felix. They didn't just call out of the blue - that would be a little weird even for my life - I had registered with them when I arrived in Shanghai as a potential home for homeless kitties.

Felix II arrived and it wasn't long before Steph and I were in love with him. I'm not sure I've ever met a more affectionate moggy. He even wanted cuddles after I'd taken him to be neutered. At the vet's surgery I asked if I needed to bring him back in to have stitches taken out. The nurse laughed and said "No stitches, two cuts, twist" and moved her hands like she were turning two taps off quickly. Poor little Felix!

The time came to find an adoptive home for him - he now lives with a nice lady called Gracie. I'm sure they are making each other very happy.

That brings us to kitty number 2. Not called Felix! My friend Michelle visited me in　Shangers at the start of the month. We had two very fun weeks together. One night shortly before she left, we found a small kitten in a hole outside the metro station near our house. The kitty was very vocal, but wouldn't come anywhere near people so we couldn't get it out. A few nights later, it started. The reoccurring dream about being trapped in a hole. About finding rooms full of dead kittens. About being able to help, choosing not to and then dealing with dire consequences. My conscience knows me very well - the way to get a Freya to act is to interrupt her sleep. She can't stand that for long and will have to do something.

The night Michelle left, I took the bus home from the airport after the obligatory goodbye cry in Pudong airport loos. It was pouring with rain. My thoughts turned to kitty. I walked to the metro station and could hear it calling from the other side of the street.

I got closer and peered into the hole, it was filling with rain water and kitty was half covered - its paws and head twisted into a crack to stay dry. I put my umbrella over the hole and tried to reach down - kitty wasn't having any of it and took advantage of her rescuer/assaulter's short arms. An hour later I was soaking wet, tired and frustrated. How was I going to get the cat out? I needed some sort of fishing net. Or a longer arm. Or a way to get kitty to relax and levitate out of her pool.

In the end, help arrived in the form of a steetside BBQ cart - the ideal late night snack in China. I bought a large fish on a stick which I lowered into the hole. Kitty was wary but hungry enough to take a bite, I pulled the fish and luckily kitty put up a fight. She clamped her jaws down and so I could life the fish-on-a-stick out of the hole with kitty attached! I then bundled her into my cardigan and took her  home to a rather unimpressed Stephanie!

On arrival, kitty decided that all this open space was terrifying and spent the next 20 minutes going mental. I was rather alarmed as I haven't seen a cat behave that way before. It became clear that our human presence was making it worse, so we headed to bed.

In the morning, kitty was gone. I searched and searched but couldn't find her - nor her fish on a stick. More than 48hrs later, the telltale smell of cat pee led me to my suitcase. She had made a nest inside - similar, I suppose to her hole home. I had contacted the animal aid organisation and for kitty to be included in their program, she needed to be happy, healthy and sociable - not hissing, scratching and hiding in a suitcase. They offered me 7 days to make kitty friendly, or they would put her down.

Amazing what a deadline (quite a literal one) can do. Flipyn is now quite a cuddly cat. She's still shy and wary, but I remain hopeful that I can turn her into a lapcat and we can find a safe and happy adoptive home for her soon.