meow2

a little introduction to the kitties:

silly girl she climbed up a little tree-like shrub and had trouble coming down

Royal as he looks, he has a fur so smooth like a prince!

Shes young, was unsure of her surroundings when she first came, and was initially bullied by other cats. I remember playing with her; throwing the crushed paper ball and letting her chase it about lol! She has since grown tho!

he was wary of me at first, but after awhile came meowing hesitantly towards me and from then onwards we're friends :)

total socialite! this girl loves attention and being petted. And she isn't afraid of dogs too!

this male scratched me once when he didn't like a certain petting position. But otherwise he can be a dear. i still call him naughty cat though haha

Meow Meow, Nong Rui, she has been around since i was in secondary school. The 'mascot' of Blk 1, passerbys sometimes pet her on their way home. She loves attention too and would sometimes bat my legs if i were to walk off! Oh she gently nips me too, sweet!

meow

After the rush and stress of typing, editing, proof-reading the UROPS report, I've finally completed it!

Looking back on my UROPS journey, it has certainly been a very challenging, yet fulfilling one. When I first started off, with ideas on how to go about doing it, it was the hardest part. Almost everyone, including those close to me, was either skeptical, critical, and for some, perhaps wondering why on earth would i want to study the scratchy screechy creatures of the night.

Someone told me 'you're going to create the idea yourself? Oh no, this may be bad unless you have a prof guidance. Do you know the scientific method very well?'

Someone told me 'why is there a need for this project when it has been well-studied in other countries? I'm just telling you that it might be okay for a UROPS but it might be feasible for an honours fyp.'

Some people screwed up their faces upon hearing that I was studying cats.

It did reach a breaking point, but i still went ahead anyway. Perhaps it was my dream to want to do something for the unprivileged strays, or that I have already made the first step, made me not give up. Well all my efforts have borne fruits so far.

I'm gonna continue to study cats (if a feasible idea forms) under the guidance of my supervisor who has been great, although tough at times, and has shared with me much knowledge on cats.

It was a scary, enriching, pleasant, fun experience doing this project. Scary because I first learnt how to deal with not so nice people; enriching because I learned more about myself and life; pleasant because well I made more catty friends; and fun because being a cat spy can be embarrassing yet funny at the same time.

I learnt that:

1. Nothing is impossible, if you dare to take the first step.

2. No matter what others tell you, the end result may not be like what they warned.

Social, Asocial, Antisocial

Cat Definitions

Social:
A social species is one whose members form “stable relationships”.
Only in recent years did scientists discover that the domestic cat (whether feral or house cat) had an established social hierarchy.

" Though its ancestors may have led asocial lives, the domestic cat has evolved into a far more sociable animal both in a feral and a household setting. "


Asocial:
Asocial animals live mostly solitary lives, but come together in groups for two reasons: breeding and raising their young. Domestic cats are considered to be asocial (Pets.ca)

Antisocial:
Antisocial animals are solitary, aggressive when mating, and spend a very short period of time in raising their young (Pets.ca)



Misc Notes:
Level of sociality can also depend on the personality of the cat
Natoli (1994) categorises cats in terms of their dependence on humans for tropic resources.