When Liyana’s adopted cat Patches gave birth to three kittens – Shrek, Lady and Smoky – she never knew just how drastically her life would be altered.
Of the litter, the beautiful greyish-white Smoky appointed herself as Liyana’s personal bodyguard, protecting her from marauding strangers who wander into the house unannounced.
Currently six years old, faithful Smoky has been with Liyana through thick and thin.
Liyana recalls a particularly unfortunate incident in December 2016 when Smoky dashed out the door and was not seen for a whole week.
“I searched everywhere in the neighbourhood for her. I even asked my neighbours if they had seen her but to no avail. I spent that entire week in tears,” recalls Liyana sadly.
But miracles do happen. One day, a downcast Liyana heard a faint crying outside her house. She rushed out to discover Smoky at the door!
“She managed to find her way back to me but she appeared very lost and disorientated. She could barely find the door and looked very scrawny.”
Liyana nursed her baby back to health and ever since, has never let Smoky out of her sight.
Unlike the rest of her cats who happily chomp on chicken, Smoky has more refined taste buds and prefers indulging in fish, specifically salmon.
“If I feed her salmon kibbles, you can see her practically bingeing on it. Within a week, she would have fattened up to look like a turkey! She also goes nuts for wet canned food, especially tuna. It stinks to high heaven but Smoky loves it.”
Smoky is also a rather outspoken kitty, so you can find her walking around the house meowing, perhaps demanding that Liyana up her intake of tuna and salmon.
If there’s one thing this mischievous cat loves as much as salmon, it’s paper bags. Liyana says that no paper bag in her house is ever safe from the curious Smoky who loves crawling into them and hiding away from the world.
According to Liyana, this wide-eyed kitty has a rather aggressive personality and is very possessive of her.
She recalls the few occasions when Smoky gingerly crawled onto her body as she lay sleeping and actually pee-ed on her. “I woke up with a start and I felt her peeing on me!” squealed Liyana.
When she isn’t marking her territory, Smoky shows her softer side and does all in her power to protect her loving mistress.
This cuddly bodyguard is known to literally run circles around Liyana when guests come over to the house.
“First, she’ll check them out by sniffing at them. Then she will walk in circles around me like she’s protecting me from them and always keeping me within sight.”
“She can be a real devil but she’s my baby. An ex-boyfriend would often tease me, by saying Smoky was the cat version of me. I took it as a compliment of course,” laughs Liyana.
All Liyana’s cats are adopted, and it’s her hope that more Malaysians adopt rather than buy their pets, especially since there are so many adorable cats and dogs at shelters waiting for a forever home.
She also hopes that more Malaysians would neuter or spay their cats to control their population and prevent innocent kittens from being mercilessly dumped at markets.