This is not a food related post. It’s going to be a long-winded one. Skip this if you’re not interested.
As I’ve mentioned, my darling hamsters are part of the reasons why I set up this blog, although it’s mainly a food blog. Till now, I really, really regret to only share pictures and stories of them when they were gone. This post no doubt is to commemorate my beloved Kimchi, who left me 2 days before Chinese New Year.
I love the rest of them no less, but Kimchi shares a very special bond with me. You can say it’s a love and hate relationship. We had tissue tug-of-war, massage sessions, hide-and-seek, etc. The countless things destroyed by her multiple chewing, escaping from her tank to see the world out there. Visiting Mikosan for a good fight twice, leaving an undesirable wound on her face, which healed completely later.
Being the most active of them all, a trait inherited from their mother Butterscotch(also Mikisan’s mother), Kimchi is always ready to come out for some fun. Whether she’s sleeping or running on her wheel, once my hand goes in, she will eagerly hop onto my hand. She even clings on to my hands even though I am not bringing her out. She’s affectionate, as well as kaypoh(a word which means inquisitive). She allows me to stroke her even when she’s sleeping, but she will wake up and acknowledge my presence by affectionately rubbing her head against my hands. I sometimes call her the kaypoh queen, because she’s always so curious and determined to find out what my pair of hands are doing, be it holding on to something, or clearing her potty. When I call the others, she will think that I’m calling her.
Kimchi trying to get up my pants
Kimchi chasing after a stick. What a messy desk, how embarrassing….
When it comes to food, she’s adventurous. She’s always the one who readily eats whatever new food I introduced. And did I tell you, she loves durian? It’s an acquired taste. The other hamsters ran away upon sniffing the durian, pushing my hands away (just like how some tourists react when they were offered durians when they come to Singapore).
Why the special bond? She made me feel special on the day she died. I got a friend to board her for almost 2 weeks as I was going away for a short trip. She was getting old, not as active and was skinnier. The day I passed her to my friend, I can sense that she was restless. The night I was back in Singapore, I received the bad news that she might not be able to make it. I rushed down to fetch her home. Her condition got worse the day I left Singapore. She couldn’t eat any solid food anymore. Friends prayed hard that she hanged on till I get back. They told her to wait for me. And she did.
I brought her back to spend her last moments with me. I could hardly sleep that night. She could still respond to me calling her name. She was weak but was still aware of what’s going on around her. There was a moment when she climbed up my hand, indicating that she wants to come out. I held on to her. She struggled. She wanted to walk about on the ground, like she always do. I put her back to a small carrier but she tried so hard to come out of the tank. I let her out onto the ground, she scampered around for a while.
Just before she was gone, she called out so loud. I had never heard any of my hamster does that before. It’s not a squeaking sound they usually made. I don’t know if she was in pain or she was calling out to me. I rushed to her, stroking her, hoping to ease her discomfort, asking her what was wrong. She quietened down. I continued stroking her. I told her, “Kimchi, it’s ok. Just let go.” She was gone a few minutes later.
Up till her last moments, I can feel her love for me. Tears still welds up when I recalled these moments. It’s a bond that can never be replaced. It’s amazing how these litter critters can make you feel. Their innocent expressions and funny ethics, they never fail to cheer me up. Kimchi, you will be greatly missed.
This is the year of the Rat. Many people are buying golden hamsters for good luck. Please DO NOT buy them on impulse. Be responsible, and do not abandon them when you get tired of them. At least, find them a good home. Every year, there are so many abandoned hamsters. You’ll be shocked how heartless and irresponsible some humans are, leaving the hamsters to fend for themselves. Parents, please do educate your children to be responsible for their pets. A pet is for life. Please be kind to them.
What a lengthy post, I apologized if I’ve bored you.
Friday the 13th. The day MikoSan left me. Yes, the lovely girl in the previous sumo post.
She was panting hard again. I started the rescue remedy all over again which happened once 2 weeks ago. 2 weeks before she was gone, I noticed she didn’t eat any fresh food I gave her the night before. That was when I saw her restless and panting hard. So I rushed off to get some fresh thyme, crushed them and wave it around her as I suspect her condition was due to some respiratory problems. And since she was not eating, I fed her with some semi-liquid formula. Despite being weaker, she found the presence of the thyme in the tank intrusive and even attempted to attack the thyme. B suggested infusing some eucalyptus oil to help relieve her breathing problems. She seemed calmer after that and even climbed onto my hand, wanting to come out.
After 2 days of worrying and ‘rescuing’, she was back to normal and gained back her energy. When she started to eat her food, I was really relieved. Even more relieved when she had the energy to even escape when I went out of the house. I reckon she would be weak to come out, thus didn’t cover her tank. What a pleasant surprise when I found her tank empty when I got home and found her chewing on the mattress happily.
It was 2 weeks later when the symptoms are back again, I tried the previous methods but it didn’t work well this time. And then she was gone. Just like that. I hope she didn’t suffer much.
MikoSan was 5 weeks old when I brought her home. She has got a round, pretty face and some fat genes. Different mum from MikiSan and Kimchi, she’s not as active but still pretty energetic. She didn’t give me any problems only till she left. Other than 2 incidents when she fought with Kimchi and got a pretty nasty bite on her face, she was a lovely girl. Her wound healed and she was still as pretty.
Below are some of the photos I took of her.
This was the picture I used where I added the sumo suit on her.
This blog started partly cos I want to share some stories and pictures of my hamsters. But it’s sad that till date I get to blogged about their demises only.
I cherished the extra 2 weeks I had with MikoSan. Miss you lots, MikoSan.
Recalling a post I did a couple of months back about Porkie Pie’s demise, along with a picture of her in an amateur photoshoot setup. The other 2 girls, Kimchi and MikoSan had a fair share of their photoshoot experience as well. Kimchi being the most active one couldn’t stay still even when I offered her some raisins as treats. The same goes for Porkie. They probably think running away would be a better bet. ESCAPE and get FREEDOM. Haha..
It’s pretty difficult to get a still shot of them especially when they are not succumbed to the treats I’ve offered. Worse, they stuffed them into their cheek pouch fast and dash off exploring. Armed with a non-dslr camera and without flash, slower focus and speed, most photos came out blurred.
However, MikoSan was nice enough to let me take a few shots. She looks huge in that photo and thus I added some ‘effects’ on her. I was thinking if I can print that into a postcard. Haha..
After Porkie’s demise, I can’t wait for MikiSan to give birth, which happened shortly a few days after that. I was pretty anxious as it will be the first time I can experienced how hamsters give birth and raise their pups. All the cute little pinkies wriggling around the tank, suckling on hamster mummy’s milk. It will be a wonderful experience.
On the day she gave birth, I had to cautiously check if she has gave birth as I didn’t want to stress her out. I found 1 pup which didn’t look normal. My heart sank but I couldn’t confirm. Another pup came to sight, a normal looking one, but was not moving. I hope my eyes were playing tricks on me. Miki was grooming them, but they weren’t moving at all. I waited till the afternoon and there was no miracle. She ate both of them. My heart sank further. I felt extremely sad that the pups didn’t make it. I didn’t know if there were actually more pups. Told myself, it’s not meant to be.
The delivery exhausted her totally and she slept for the whole day, even too tired to eat. Glad that she gained her energy back at night and was her usual active self.
Miki came to me when she was around 8 weeks old. She’s the smallest and lightest of all her siblings then. There was no intention for any more hamsters as Kimchi is supposed to be the last I can have. But I am glad I got her. Miki and Kimchi shares the same mum, Butterscotch(see if you can spot Butterscotch), whose very active as well. These 2 girls sure takes after their mum. Thus it’s hard to get nice shots of her.
I love the way they snuggle when they sleep. There are tonnes of their sleeping pics sitting in my hard disk. Results are always so much better because they are not moving. LOL
Dearest Porkie Pie left me 2 days ago. She was still eating and walking around as usual till the day she left. Even before she left, she was walking around, seems to be finding a perfect spot to go. I was checking on her the whole afternoon and she didn’t seems to be able to sleep. I knew she might just go that day. Rest in peace, Porkie.
Porkie Pie came to me when she was 6 months old. She was more active compared to Mikosan, her niece. Always ready to come out and play. She’s an expert in escaping, see how she did it below. She loves roaming around the room, chewing my yoga mat and even climbed up my mat which was placed vertically against the wall. Although active, Porkie posed for my camera. Really love her blur innocent look. However, she was kind of timid too. In an environment she’s not familiar with, she will panic and go into hiding. Oh boy, she loves to get my attention by shifting her furniture, toppling the wheel to escape, overturning her toilet and food dish. She loves getting a good massage from me, especially like it behind her ears.
Then she started bleeding a few months ago, brought her to the vet. There were a few possibilities, bladder infection, or female problem. As she was close to 1½ year old, I decided not to let her go for surgery. The bleeding goes on for about a month but she was still actively running and eating.
I hope she had left without suffering.
On a happier note, MikiSan is pregnant. Looking forward to her delivery.
