Wii’s double-adoption story

Some of you may be wondering why I have not been talking about Wii, Vixey’s brother.  Well, if you remember, after Vixey passed away, Wii exiled himself out to the back alley. 


It did not help that Cow and Bunny (the two alphas) started bullying him till no end because he was so, so timid. 


They would stalk him, chase him out of the house, and do the meanest things to him. 


Tiger was his only friend. 


It came to a point where Wii did not dare to come home anymore except for his meals, which was about 4-5 times a day, or whenever I was in the kitchen.  Even when he did come back to the kitchen, he could not eat in peace.  He was so nervous, he would be literally looking over his shoulders every few seconds to see if the two big bullies were around.  The moment he caught a glimpse of them, he would scurry off. 

It was feline territorial politics, and tried as I did, I could not intervene or change things.  I even barricaded Cow and Bunny in the kitchen so that I could accompany Wii as he ate in the backyard, but the moment he saw Cow or Bunny staring at him from the window, he would flee. 

So, Wii lived in the back alley, and I suspect he also sought shelter at a few of the neighbour’s houses as I did see him in one of their houses sometimes.  My only consolation is that Wii never got wet even in the heaviest rain.  I knew he was quite safe in the alley and he preferred to stay there.  He would come back, eat, and run off into the alley again. 


All was okay (not ideal, but just ok) until….


The back neighbour started shouting obscenities at Wii.


It was also partly Wii’s “fault” (poor thing) as he had gone into the back neighbour’s house a few times.  It did not help that this neighbour’s house was lower than mine and hence, his kitchen windows was in line with the alley.  His house was also extended right to the back, leaving no backyard so that made it very convenient for Wii to just step into his kitchen.  I tried to stop Wii, but tell me….how do you stop a cat from doing what he wants? 


Soon, I was hearing the back neighbour shouting obscenities every single day, and I was at a loss as to what to do.


I did not want to keep Wii in a cage all his life.  What kind of a life would that be?  So I knew rehoming Wii would be the only option. 


So, with a very heavy heart, I asked Julie and Roselin if any of them would be able to adopt Wii.  I explained my predicament and how worried I was that the back neighbour might resort to harming Wii one day. 


Bless their kind hearts, they both said sure, they would take Wii.  I must have done something good in my youth or childhood to deserve such helpful and understanding friends.


Still, I pondered over it as I wasn’t sure if this would be the best thing for Wii.  After all, he was already coming to 3 years old and he seemed happy in the alley.  


I did not want to make a rash decision and create unnecessary stress for Wii.  I decided to wait a bit and hope things would improve. 


But things finally came to a head when the back neighbour went into a mad frenzy and started throwing things at Wii.  One afternoon, I heard furniture being slammed all over his house and he was shouting at the top of his voice.  No, I wouldn’t want to repeat what he said. 


Ok, that’s it.  Wii would have to be rehomed for his own safety. 


I talked to Wii that night and explained everything to him.  I doubt if he understood, but it helped me cope better, having explained it all to him.


It was so, so hard for me….I prayed I was doing the right thing for Wii. 


The next morning, I mustered all the courage I had, carried Wii, put him inside the carrier and drove him over to Roselin’s house.  I figured Roselin had more space and it might be better for Wii.  And I’ve seen many of Roselin’s cats – they were all so friendly.  Wii would have friends.  Julie was already up to her brim managing so many cats in her back alley. 


I spent almost an hour helping Wii adjust at Roselin’s house.  Roselin explained how she had had it all planned out, where Wii would be in the morning, afternoon and at night.  She had different “zones” in her house for all her cats.  Roselin had already explained all these to me in our email exchanges. 


I knew Wii would be in very, very safe hands.  Roselin definitely has higher standards than me when it came to caring for animals.


The next few hours and few days was sheer torture for me.  It’s not that I didn’t trust Roselin, of course I did.  But I missed Wii and I wondered if he was ok.  How was he feeling?  Did he understand why I had to do this? 


I sent many text messages to Roselin and she assured me Wii was getting along just fine.  Every moment, I was thinking about Wii and how he was coping. 


The very next day after Wii went to Roselin’s, Tiger waited for Wii at the backyard.  That really, really broke my heart.  Tiger’s habit was to wait for Wii every morning and have breakfast together with him.  The two alphas also “waited” for Wii but for a different reason – to chase him. 


I had to pacify Tiger for the next few days.  Soon, Tiger was ok again. 


Roselin said I could visit anytime, but I didn’t want to impose.  I also wanted Wii to forget me and adjust quickly so that he would regard Roselin’s house as his home. 


Wii was given a special place in Roselin’s father’s TV room and became his TV companion.


I visited just once after Hari Raya and Wii was fine.  I think he remembered me, too. 


That was August 2010.


Over the next few months, Wii had several ups and downs.  But whatever it was, Roselin went out of her way to look after Wii and ensured his safety and for that, I can never thank her enough. 


To my surprise, Wii started misbehaving as well.  From the extremely timid cat that he was in my house, Wii became a big bully at Roselin’s house!


He bullied Roselin’s cats and refused to make friends with them.  He was anti-social. 


I was at my wit’s end.  What caused such a change in behaviour?


On hindsight, perhaps Wii had had enough for being bullied by Cow and Bunny and since Roselin’s cats were all docile, he decided he would bully them instead.  Because of his hostility, Roselin had to impose some sort of curfew on Wii – he would get time out and sometimes, he would be in the cage.  That was fair enough, of course.  Wii even pee-ed on Roselin’s modem once, poo-ed in the TV room and bit Roselin’s husband.  Wii was misbehaving. 


I felt so bad, but Roselin assured me everything would be alright. 


Bless her….she’s so, so kind and understanding.  An epitome of patience.  Truly…


It made me realise that I had not understood Wii in the first place.  I thought he was timid, but perhaps he just wanted his own space and did not want to socialise with other cats (hence, his exile to the back alley).  I never knew this. 


Finally, at Roselin’s, thanks to her untiring efforts, Wii made friends with a mother-cat and her two kittens, MJ and Whisper.  Alas, Wii had a family and all was well.  But he was still unfriendly to Roselin’s other cats. 


One day before Chinese New Year this year, as I was doing last minute shopping at the mall, Roselin sent me a text message.


Apparently, Roselin’s brother’s friend (a lady) saw Wii’s photo and screamed!!  She thought Wii was so beautiful and asked if she could adopt Wii.  Roselin assured me she felt this lady would make a very good pet-owner. 


I knew I could trust Roselin’s judgment so I said ok.  After all, Wii was not exactly very friendly with the rest of Roselin’s cats. 


So there I went again, worrying till no end if everything would be alright.  Roselin assured me the lady would return Wii to her if things did not work out. 


Long story fast forwarded….


Now, Wii is having a time of his life!!


He is the only pet in this lady’s house and is master of all he surveys.


He gets to wear cat clothes, sleep on her bed and gets showers every week.  She loves him to bits!


Wii even gets to travel back to the kampung with her for holidays. 


All is well, Roselin assures me and we are both so happy for Wii.


So, sometimes, we try our best, but if we cannot provide better for our animals, it may not be such a bad thing to get them adopted.  Things may work out right (or much better!), after all.