Me and My Family (Moi et ma famille)

Bonjour à tous! Je m'appelle Mickey. Mon nom complet est Prince Mickey Benjamin. La publication d'aujourd'hui porte sur moi et ma famille. Jái dix ans. J'habite á  BSS Port Klang avec mes seours et notre humain bien-aimé, Wan Nyah. Mes seours, elles appellent Tam et Adik Comot. Elles ont trois ans. 

Hi everyone! Today this post is all about me and my family. My name is Mickey. Well, my full name is Prince Mickey Benjamin. Benjamin is the surname for all cats belonging to Wan Nyah who is our human. It was the name of her late feline which she loved very very much. So me and my two adopted sisters have Benjamin as our family name. I have the Prince at the beginning because Wan Nyah said I have a bit of a temper at times and I have that "haughty" air about me. Also because of my orange colouring which makes me look a bit princely according to her. Sometimes Wan Nyah teasingly addresses me as "Your Highness" or "Your Majesty". I don't really mind. I believe there should be some hierarchy in a household with more than one cat. I definitely expect some degree of respect from my two younger siblings, as well as from all those rude and unruly cats passing about my territory around our home in BSS.

Relaxing and sleeping are my
two favourite pastimes
Relaxer et dormir sont mes deux passe-temps préférés

Me, presently, the portly gentleman. My latest images.
Moi, maintenant! Je ne suis pas gros, je suis simplement mignon!

I am about ten. I was dumped in front of Wan Nyah's home in late 2010.  About a month after feeding me but keeping me outside on the porch, Wan Nyah decided to adopt me. When she took me to the vet for the necessary vaccination, the vet told her that I was around three at that time.

I was a skinny cat when Wan Nyah first adopted me in late 2010.
Moi, a la fin de 2010.

A few months after being adopted, I looked much better.
J'étais beaucoup mieux, quelques mois après avoir 
été adopté

So, Wan Nyah became my human and I became Wan Nyah's pet in late 2010. I believe the Lord brought me to Wan Nyah in order for me to have a change of fate, to have a much more decent life with a generously loving owner, after being carelessly dumped by some inconsiderate human. On the other hand, I was meant to heal and lift Wan Nyah's spirit. She was very heart-broken after losing Benjamin in middle 2010 that she vowed never to have another cat. The pain and trauma of having to euthanize Benjamin was too much for her. However, I worked very hard at winning her heart, using all my charming, graceful and persuasive personality. Honestly, it was a matter of survival for me as I have to figure out where my next cat meal is coming from. Deep in my heart I just knew that Wan Nyah is a gentle, loving and caring soul where animals are concerned. Truth of the matter is, if she has the means, she would have adopted all the stray cats and dogs around the housing area where we live.

Wan Nyah is besotted with all her cats, especially me.
Wan Nyah aime beaucoup tous ses chats, surtout moi.

For the first four years of my life with Wan Nyah, I was an only cat. At the end of 2013, Wan Nyah underwent Total Knee Replacement (TKR) surgery on her right knee, because of her worsening osteoarthritis. I was left at the boarding facility for ten days. Very stressful period for me. Usually I would be boarded for 4 or 5 days only, when Wan Nyah travels with her friends or family.  Stressful for Wan Nyah too, as she knew I hate to be caged, but, it was really something unavoidable. Wan Nyah made a promise that if the surgery goes smoothly and she recovers quickly, she would adopt another stray cat to be my companion. It would have to be a female. Wan Nyah feels that female stray cats have very hard lives indeed. They are forever having kittens, litter after litter of them and they have to struggle to scrape a living providing for themselves as well as their kittens.

My first introduction to the tuxedo kitten.
Le chouchou irritant de smoking que Wan Nyah a 
ramené en janvier 2014.

So in the middle of January 2014 Tam Benjamin became my adopted sister. At that time Tam was about 4 months old, a black-and-white tuxedo kitten. Wan Nyah took pains to slowly introduce us and she tried her best to make the transition, to a household with more than one cat, as comfortable as possible for me. I was very curious about Tam at the very beginning, but, she turned out to be a pleasant adopted sister after all. Tam was a good kitten, playful, a bit cheeky but very respectful of me. Always laying down low, always backing away every time I reprimanded her. She just understood the hierarchy in our household, which means I am the boss. That was 4 years ago. This coming October Tam will be four.

These images were shot may be 3 or 4 years ago
before Wan Nyah's retirement. I have slimmed
down a tiny bit because Wan Nyah controls how
much kibbles I eat.

About 5 months after Tam was adopted, a tiny female calico kitten was found wandering alone at the back of our house. Her mum was nowhere to be seen. She was very skinny, tired and very hungry and Wan Nyah didn't have the heart to shoo her away. Wan Nyah decided to foster her until she was strong enough and can be spayed and a home would be found for her. That was how Adik Comot Benjamin became my second adopted sister. What happened was, despite repeated attempts of trying to find a home for her on FB, nobody responded. That despite the fact that Adik Comot was already vaccinated and spayed, ready for adoption. It is indeed not easy to find a home for rescued animals. After a few months Wan Nyah decided to adopt Adik Comot too because Wan Nyah loves her very much and she worries that maybe Comot's potential owner might not be kind to her. Wan Nyah is definitely not rich but she loves her pets very much and takes very good care of them, as best as she can afford. Adik Comot is named such because of her smudgy colouring and because she is the youngest among us three. She is actually about 4 months younger than Tam.

Me and my adopted sisters
Moi et mes seours adoptées

Where I am concerned, I find Adik Comot a little irritating at times. She is really budak tak reti basa. She likes to relax at certain spots in the house, which I have long ago designated as mine. She refuses to bulge even when I have voiced out my displeasure about her conduct. Sometimes I smack her a little, when Wan Nyah is not looking that is, just to teach her a lesson. Sometimes I bite her tail or her legs because she disturbs me when I am about to eat. Of course Wan Nyah reprimands me afterwards. Whatever.

Wan Nyah, our beloved human
Wan Nyah, notre humain bien-aimé. En passant, Wan
Nyah signifie Tante

So, this is the little story about me, my sisters and Wan Nyah. We live in a small house in this housing estate at the mouth of a river and very near the ocean. We live very modestly as Wan Nyah is only a civil service retiree. Wan Nyah is a spinster and therefore there are only the four of us in this house, 3 cats and 1 human. Whatever we lack in material things is being generously compensated with love, affection and tender loving care from Wan Nyah to us and vice versa. Well, that's all for this time. I will continue my story in some other posts as I worry this post will be too long-winded if I continue.