2. The lady who cared for the green-eyed cat

"Be careful," the slim tanned woman warned. "This is a stray cat will claw and escape. She roams the street and will go up the apartment block to get fed by a family. I had great difficulty catching her and caging her."

The abnormally large dew claw on the left fore paw of this green-eyed cat grew and grew, digging deep into her flesh. This woman looked as if she was in a hurry too, in my view of her body language.

"Put the cage on the table," I said as she tried to coax the cat out of the cage put on the floor. "It is hard to get her out and if she escapes, it will be harder to get her."

My assistant managed to get the cat out by gripping her scruff of the neck. He held her hind paws. She looked frightened and did not fight back yet. I could just snip off the ingrown nail. However, her ears were all black with dirt and possibly ear mites.

"Are you in a hurry?" I asked as her restless body language and looking out of the surgery indicated a woman in a hurry.

"Yes," she said. "I rented a car."

"Why would you be in a hurry? The car has been rented for the day." I forgot that cars can be rented by the hour nowadays.

"I rent the car by the hour. It is $9.00 per hour."

Probably more than 30 minutes had passed while she waited her turn and while we tried to catch the cat.

"Your niece does have a some resemblance to you," I referred to an animal activist I met and whom we had a common grounds for conversation.

"She ought to," the lady said. "She is my brother's daughter."



I changed the subject.

"You know, I can't locate the Brazilian monkey reserve in the internet you spoke about during the dinner," I reminded her. She had said that her friend's son loved staying in a visitor's facility in Brazil and even picked up monkey poo, at a dinner where she and her animal-activist niece and others were present.

"Oh, it is in Bolivia," she said. "Check the internet."

She had many ideas for her niece as to revenue generation to sustain the operation to take care of stray dogs and cats. Giving back to the community was important to her. Vets ought to provide free service for all the street dogs and cats too as part of the giving back to the community. She told me of her ideas for her animal-activist niece.

"Do you really know the challenges of animal welfare work faced by your niece? Your ideas may not be acceptable or practical. Do you really know the details of her work?"

She did not reply.

"Why don't you put your ideas to work by starting your own (animal welfare)project?. I can help out whenever possible."

"Singapore has no land," she said.

"Well," I said. "If you really want to give back to the animal community, you will find a way."

She had a brainwave as she told me about a prospective benefactor and location. If this brainwave works, it will be good. As for her cat, she was kind enough to pay for the cat to be treated.

As she was in a hurry, I kept the cat for a day as I needed time to clean the ears and bathe the cat. I hope she would make it in time to return the rental car before the hour is up and be successful in the execution of her ideas. The success of any project is in the execution.