I have never been a cat person, in fact I have had a little phobia of cats since young as a mother cat once tried to attack my puppy pug while my sister and I were taking him out for a walk. The mother cat was trying to protect her kittens.

Last Wednesday, I encountered a white cat in the park on my way home. It clearly looked like it did not belong there. I spoke to it and asked ‘what are you doing here?’. It walked towards me. Being afraid of cats, I told it to stop and it sat down. It was skinny and not walking normally but I could sense that it wanted to connect with people (or ask for food).

I couldn’t stop thinking about the cat and felt bad for not petting it to give it some comfort. I went back to the park and gave it some food. It was starving and dehydrated.

While I was sitting by the cat, a lady (let’s call her C) came up to me and asked me what’s up with the cat. Then she told me she has been rescuing and feeding cats in the neighborhood. She took out some dried cat food from her bag. I was surprised that she had it so readily.

C said, ‘Why don’t you keep it, I think you like it very much’ while we sat by the cat. I thought it was impossible for me to ever keep a cat. Logically it would be too much of a commitment, but looking at the frail cat, we both couldn’t bear leaving it in the park. It wouldn’t survive for long. After chatting in the park for about an hour or so, one of her friends who is also a cat lover came by with a cat carrier. She is really experienced with rescuing cats and started checking the cat’s teeth and touched its neck to see if there were any lumps. We also found out that it was a girl. After spending about 2 hours or more in the park with the new friends I have made, something in my heart told me to take the cat in and give it shelter.

The next thing I know, we were at C’s house showering the cat with fleas shampoo and cutting her nails! They even offered me a starter kit for putting up the cat at my place.

They brought everything to my place and quickly helped to set up a corner for the cat in my home office. I was very impressed that the cat walked to the litter box to pee immediately. How clever! Everything happened so quickly and smoothly with the help of these ladies. I would never know how to start rescuing a cat even if I had wanted to. I was so touched by the kindness and generosity of these ladies. It was an amazing night for all of us.

The next morning, C helped to set up a visit to the vet and even offered to pay for the first round of check up. The cat has cat flu, ear infection, mites on skin, gum infection and is possibly blind. The vet gave us a list of medical conditions that she thinks the cat has.

The vet gave the cat a 2 week course of antibiotics to be taken daily. She has been eating, drinking and going to the bathroom regularly. She also sleeps a lot.

She likes to be left alone most of the time but is starting to open up to us.

Day 5

The cat got up in the morning to greet us and started purring. We hope that is a good sign. Her coat is getting fuller and she is awake more often. She found herself a new corner with a pillow.

Day 6

She is not as skinny as when we first found her. She comes out to the living room to join us more often. She still turns her back at us when she has enough of petting though.

What I learned from this encounter is how kind and generous people can be. And you don’t necessarily need to have a lot to be able to give. In fact people who have a lot might sometimes find it harder to give without a good reason. Giving without expecting anything in return is something that we have lost touch with. Not because we are mean or selfish, but because our society doesn’t require that of us anymore to function. It was nice getting to know these ladies in the neighborhood and seeing a side of my country, a community, that I have not been connected with since I have been away.

Instagram is back and running again. One day without instagram has got me thinking about today’s modern businesses. When instagram is down, we turn to social media platforms, or our blog and website to reach out to our customers and vice versa. What happens when the internet is down? How do we get connected or reach out? I am motivated to explore ways to make my connection more tangible. Perhaps we need to go back to the basics and learn from traditional businesses. Also in adopting this new perspective, I start to see my business in a different light. If we didn’t have internet, we will probably spend more time focusing on offering services/products to the community closest in proximity to us. How would that change the way I run my business? Is having an actual address where people can go to as important if not more important than an URL? Things to ponder about for awhile!

Sharing some pictures of our new work space located in a very charming old house in Little India, Singapore. A longtime friend has generously offered to convert a portion of his home studio into a sanctuary for our workshops. An artist himself, he also has a private gallery in the front room to showcase his works. I feel very fortunate to be able to create my ceramic works and conduct workshops in such a beautiful space. Thank you so much B!

Above is a picture from our first Animal Planter workshop. It was so nice meeting everyone and spending a Saturday afternoon together. The workshop dates for February and March 2018 are now up on our site. Come join us for a creative retreat!
https://welcome.polkaros.com/collections/polkaros-craft-club-presents.