Subject: Ashy
Age: Unknown (at least 6 years old)
Breed: Tabby
8am – Rise and Shine (and Sleep again)!
Source: Hung Ling Jing
I sleep most of the day for a very good excuse- that’s what I’m wired to do! When most of you are just waking up, or rushing for that 8am tutorial, I am starting the day with a snooze. You might pass me by on the way to the UTown bus stop, at the steps outside UTR. You can probably approach me quietly for a little pat and rub, but please don’t poke me awake – I need my catnaps.
Right now, I’m in a light sleep, or what you humans call a doze. This kind of sleep lasts me from 15 minutes to an hour, where I’m actually poised to take off any second should anything happen. Luckily, my home is the University, where the worst that might happen is dropping scalding hot coffee on me…
9am – a cycle of ZZZs
Source: Dorcas Gan
Now, I’ve dropped off into a deep sleep. I have rapid brain movement too, similar to humans’ rapid eye movement (REM) but only for around five minutes!
Sometimes humans wish they were cats, but cats like Garfield and I would love to have the ability to get an intense rest for more than just a couple minutes at a time. In any case, this deep / light sleep cycle goes on until I feel like it is time to wake up again.
Oh and, if it’s raining, it’s been proven that we cats tend to sleep more. Are we really so different, after all?
6pm – Feeding time, my favourite part of the day!
Source: Mirna Livianisa
Usually, members of the NUS Cat Cafe will come down to feed me and the other cats like Plum, or Toothless. The kind volunteers will shake cat food and walk around campus so that we know when to run/sprint over, and get our fill of the day. We could be anywhere, so the volunteers could have to walk from the bus stop all the way to RC4 sometimes, just to look for us. But even if they can’t find us, we’re hunters by nature, so we won’t starve.
Plus, I’ve been known to strategically prowl the legs of Starbucks patrons, who may slip me some food if they are feeling generous.
10pm – I will not go quietly into that good night.
Source: Mirna Livianisa
Now is the time I come alive. When night falls, UTown becomes quiet and still. There is a plethora of green spaces I may go to run around, chase animals and insects, and hunt if need be. Perhaps that’s why it’s so hospitable to the cat community here.
I’m known to be pretty territorial (or so people say), so I might be called upon to defend it. You’ll know when this happens, because I sometimes get into fights, and appear the next day with mysterious scratches. But a cat’s gotta do what a cat’s gotta do, right?
Source: Hung Ling Jing
This post was made in collaboration with NUS Cat Café.
NUS Cat Cafe is a nonprofit volunteer student organization housed under NUS PEACE (People Ending Animal Cruelty and Exploitation). It is dedicated to caring for the community cats in NUS.
NUS CatCafe has ongoing volunteer feeding of campus cats in two sites: UTown and Engineering. The society engages the student body in cat welfare activities, such as volunteer activities at BFF Cat Shelter – an independent shelter located at Animal Lovers League. The volunteering activites aim to increase awareness of the stray cat situation and population in Singapore.
There is an upcoming cat vet talk on 1st November 2019, which will educate students about cat healthcare, pain management; and the cat rescue or community cat movement. cat ecology and the management of cats in the environment.
Look out for sign-ups for the talk and more updates at @nus_catcafe on Instagram or on their website.
Want us to feature more NUS cats? Let us ‘meow’.
