Update on Poppy

Poppy has been with us for about 5 months now.....and she's settling in nicely, I believe.  She's about a year old now (the vet put her unofficial birth date as September 2024)...and has grown into a pampered little young princess.

She has been keeping up with her visits to the vet to get her vaccinations as well as the groomers to have her bath, ears cleaned, hair brushed and nails clipped.  She's a princess after all! :D

Seeing that there are many cat-nappers in my neighbourhood, I've made the conscious decision that she'll be a 100% indoor cat although I wish I didn't have to do that.  I wish I could let her roam free outside but the danger outweighs good intentions (based on what happened to my previous two part-time cats).  Since she's expected to spend a considerable amount of time in her cage (she'll be in the house in the earlier part of the day and retire to her condo in the evenings), I decided to invest in a bigger cage (big enough to house 3-4 cats actually) to accord her a higher comfort level.

She has since moved into her multi-storey condo from her previous single-storey apartment...hah..hah!  It's equipped with a scratching post and toy ball besides a cooling mat on the ground floor for hot days and cotton cushion mats on the 1st & 2nd floors for cooler days.  The top floor is pretty much for gazing and (perhaps) bird/people-watching (lol)....if we draw the sitting room curtains, she can actually look in. 

She has progressively put on weight since the day she came (as a skinny little kitten above)....though I wouldn't call her a fatty bom-bom yet.  She eats quite a lot...3 meals a day for now as she's still a young cat.  She gets wet food in the mornings and kibbles for the afternoon and night meals.

She eats grain-free Cindy's Recipe Wet Cat Food Pouch (70g) @ RM2.70/pkt for breakfast...and she licks the plate clean.  This is the meal she looks forward to the most as wet food is every cat's favourite.

For lunch, it's kibbles and I give her Egocat Salmon @ RM16 (1kg repack)....and for dinner, it's Egocat Weight+ (original pack) @ RM21/kg.  This was what Cookie used to eat too.  I actually switched back to this brand when I realised she didn't like the Snappy Tom kibbles (which is what I give the cats that strayed into my home) coz she would never finish her kibbles.  With Egocat, she finishes her food.

With the amount she eats (and she usually finishes all 3 meals), I'm surprised that she hasn't put on more weight.  That was when I decided to introduce the Freeze Dried Pet Food which is touted as a Booster Gemuk (fattening booster) that helps increase appetite...and she loves it! ;)  You can choose either freeze dried chicken cubes, liver cubes or chicken egg yolk or a combo mixture of all three (which I chose at first, the 3 in 1 Booster @ RM18/200g).  There are also other flavours like duck, beef & salmon.  You just have to put a few cubes over his kibbles to enhance appetite.  At first, he would eat all 3 types of freeze dried cubes but then started to avoid the egg yolk (and carefully leave them on the plate uneaten).  It was a way of her telling me she doesn't like the chicken egg yolk. >_<

So, now I just buy the flavours separately....the chicken cubes to be exact.  But I'm also trying out other flavours like liver & salmon coz the chicken cubes are always the first to be sold out in most stores.  Since starting her on this freeze-dried food, she has clearly put on more weight (even the groomer said she now has a tummy).

Seeing how much my dearly departed Cookie once loved chicken, I also tried giving her more protein-based food like Masti Steamed Chicken Breast @ RM1/pkt but she didn't tuck into it with gusto.  She's clearly not into fresh chicken (though she loved the freeze-dried chicken)...so I won't feel so guilty about not making fresh chicken breast for her (like I did for my late Cookie).  Poppy is a fish lover...I've given her freshly fried kembong fish before and she loved it (finally, a cat who loves fish!).  Since having a taste of human food, she now circles around me when I'm eating, waiting for a handout and hoping that fish is on the menu...lol! ;D

I also supplement her feeds with Ishtar Creamy Cat Treats @ RM0.20/stick which she took to immediately and was very excited each time I take out that treat.  Unfortunately, that initial excitement has waned and she now rejects it completely.  I now have leftovers Snappy Tom kibbles and this (don't know what to do with them as the strays also don't come now that I've a resident cat).

I've since introduced a new snack, Sheba Melty Creamy Cat Treats @ RM1.50/stick (which my sister-in-law first bought for her...notice the price difference!).  This atas princess of mine knows the good stuff...I guess there's no going back to the cheap stuff now! O_o

So, that's typically what Poppy eats in a day....living like a princess...and eating like one too! ^_~  Pretty much similar to what my late prince used to eat (except with the additional freeze-dried food and creamy treats).  It's not cheap to upkeep a cat...let alone one with an atas taste! ;D

I love this girl to bits.....and I hope she's happy in her forever home! ;)