Aimi swears her snobbish cat prides herself on being “atas”, a term Malays use when referring to those who perceive themselves superior to the other mere mortals around them.
“A foundling that thinks she is ‘atas’, she literally sits on a higher plane than the other cats in the house,” Aimi tells FMT.
“I named her Flower Tail because she sports a deformed tail which she is very sensitive about – you cannot touch it without her getting angry,” Aimi reveals of the unusual name she gave her cat.
Flower Tail certainly does strut around the house as if it’s her castle and insists on only the most expensive diet to satisfy her refined palate.
“She only eats certain expensive cat food and cat treats, and turns her nose up at others that she considers junk. Of late, she has decided that she will only eat freshly cooked fish,” Aimi says, explaining that her favourites are kembong, sardines, selar or tongkol.
“Every morning she follows me to the kitchen, jumping up on the counter where the microwave oven sits, expecting cooked fish to come out. She will make inquiring sounds – she obviously thinks the microwave oven produces her favourite food and all I have to do is to open the door!”
Despite her notions of nobility, Flower Tail has been a faithful and loving companion to Aimi, especially during those long and lonely days of the movement control order early this year.
“She liked sitting next to my laptop; almost like she was keeping me company or perhaps eavesdropping on all my Zoom or Team conversations,” Aimi says.
Ultimately however, Flower Tail is a loner and cherishes her “me time”.
According to Aimi, her cat has taken to jumping into the ceiling space of her house, to grab some solitary moments, far away from the madding crowd.
“At first I imagined the worst. That she would come across a snake sleeping up there and be eaten alive; or get into a horrific fight with a civet cat. Or be electrocuted or lose her way…
“But to my relief she always jumps back down,” Aimi says, adding that she’s even provided a pillow right below the space so Flower Tail can make a soft landing.
When she isn’t hiding in the upper regions of the house, Flower Tail prefers to while her time away in the comfort and warmth of Aimi’s bedroom.
“I will let you in on a secret! She is a bedroom cat and prefers to stay in an enclosed area all day long. I keep the balcony door open so that she can climb down to wander outside.
“But when I’m home from work and open my bedroom door, she’s right there to greet me most of the time and will accompany me while I take a rest. I look forward to being greeted by her every day.
A bit of a spy, Flower Tail has a habit of sitting at the window and watching the world go by outside. “I suspect she may be watching the dog across the road or looking at birds on the mango tree in front of the house.”
While she may be devising evil plans to either scare off the dog for good or pounce on the birds outside, no one will ever know but the beautiful Flower Tail.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET: FMT Lifestyle readers are invited to send in pictures (landscape format) and a short video (if any) of their furry, scaly or feathery friends to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include details like your pet’s name, age, breed and a short story about them.