It was a regular workday in July. Suzianah Nhazzla Ismail was driving to Kuala Lumpur via the Batu 3 Shah Alam Highway when an unexpected and harrowing incident occurred: before her eyes, a kitten fell from the rear of a fast-moving vehicle!
“We were in the middle lane, and the little one tried to crawl to the left lane. I managed to pull into the emergency lane and saw that several cars had also slowed down,” Suzianah recalled.
She found the poor kitten by the tyre of one of the slow-moving vehicles and grabbed it to safety, much to the astonishment of those in the car. Suzianah wrapped the baby in her jacket until she reached her workplace in Bukit Kiara, whereupon she carried it to her office.
“My colleagues immediately grabbed a small box and a blanket. The kitten was shaking – as I, too, had been earlier – but the moment we wrapped him in the blanket, he fell asleep.”
She named the kitten Bee Boo.
“From that day, I had to take Bee Boo to the office as he needed extra attention, especially during feeding time,” Suzianah told FMT, explaining that a kitten that young – Bee Boo was only around four to five weeks old – would have been better off with its siblings and nourishment from its mother.
At the office, her colleagues would take turns to watch after the fortunate feline whenever Suzianah had to attend meetings or fulfill commitments that required her to be out of the office. “Everyone at work adores Bee Boo,” she said warmly.
Over the weeks, Bee Boo began to recover from his ordeal and gained his strength, and his personality began to show. It has been over two months since the terrifying rescue, and Bee Boo now lives at home with Suzianah and her other rescue pets.
“I only bring him to the office when his foster mums, especially my colleague Rosie, misses him. He spends most of his time with Rosie and really loves her.”
Bee Boo has become a super active, super playful, and healthy cat. “He eats a lot and poops a lot too, but he is well trained – he only gets into his litter box when it is clean, so you can tell he is a kitten who prioritises hygiene!”
Bee Boo runs fast “like a racecar, but without the brakes”, Suzianah said, laughing. “He either runs into things unexpectedly or body-drifts across the floor.”
The cheeky cat enjoys playing with his toys, and also likes being in the company of people. “He does not like to be left alone – otherwise he will meow as long and loud as he can until someone comes and cuddles him.” Aiyoh, kesian!
He also loves to annoy Suzianah’s two elderly cats, 17-year-old Boo Boo and 12-year-old Deeba, by jumping on them and playing with their tails.
“Boo Boo puts on a face as if to say ‘you better stop what you’re doing or I will smack you’, but Bee Boo does not seem to care. He is having the time of his life,” Suzianah added.
An avid animal lover, Suzianah has been rescuing strays all her life and currently has some 20 rescue cats at home!
She still thinks of that fateful day every time she drives along the Batu 3 highway, and offers these words of advice to motorists: “Please make sure there is no kitten curled up in your engine.
“Sometimes they get into car engines for warmth or when the weather is bad. It is not uncommon for veterinarians to see cats being brought in with extensive burns, degloved tails, or worse.
“This monsoon season, take precautions by doing a quick check of your car – under the chassis or on top of your tyres. A rap on the bonnet or a beep of the horn might be enough to scare any tiny hitchhikers away.”
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.