Tiger was my most prized being and the hardest decision I ever made was to leave her behind in Lebanon. It was not fair on her for me to drag her to Australia because she would have been quarantined for 6-12 months. She was a stunning cat, not just physically, but in her nature. She gave me so much joy.
This blog post is not intended to talk about her because I do not feel like bursting into tears right now.
This is going to be a brief reflection on the dynamics of Tiger and Jigalo. Tiger used to rule the roost in our house. She had no hardships. Whenever she demanded anything, we gave in to her needs. She was simply pampered to the maximum. She was so chilled out to be living the life. The photo below speaks for itself.
Fortunately, before I took off to Australia 8 years ago, my brother got Jigalo at 8 weeks of age as a birthday gift. Well I thought it was fortunate because Tiger would have a new companion that would keep her mind off me.
Jigalo was so energetic and being a kitten, kept hounding and tailing Tiger.
He would even occasionally drum up the confidence to pounce on her. :-). He grew up to be a very stunning cat inside out. He was just breathtaking to look at and was so smoochey and cuddly.
To my utter dismay, this is how Tiger initially felt about the whole Jigalo situation.
When I left to Australia, both cats were obviously lacking in attention. They did not have me fussing all over them and waiting on them 24/7. My brother was too busy with university while my parents were travelling often. Hence, these poor two were stuck with each other. They hit a crossroads. You can see both of them reflecting hard on their situation and thinking about their future.
I was ecstatic to see them together when I came to visit during my study break. Never did I think ‘Tiger’ would come around to ‘Jigalo’. The amount of swipes he had to endure and hissing fits she blew out of proportion could not possibly succumb to them being together. Tiger had a history of beating up my neighbor’s cats. She was quite vicious and territorial.
Not all cats can get along. You simply can’t force them to bond.
They either click or don’t. More recently, veterinary behaviourists have discovered methods of introducing new cats/kittens to the household. These methods help smoothen the introduction and allow for a possible succesful interaction between the new and old cat. In this case, these gorgeous things had reached a mutual agreement the hard way. They were not given any other choice. They simply realised that some company was better than no company. I almost cried when I came and saw them grooming each other and sleeping together on the couch! Tiger even looked like she felt like she was busted!!!
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- Meet Tiger, my inspiration (rayyathevet.com)
Dr Rayya's Online Veterinary Journal 
August 3, 2011 at 1:25 pm
lol! The pics really do speak for themselves! I miss tiger’s snobbishness, seriously that cat had alot of attitude!
August 4, 2011 at 2:49 pm
Mayoush :-).
Do you recall when Tiger was rubbing herself all over you. You felt so happy because she had acknowledged you for the first time ever over a period of 3 years. I had to break the sad news to you and say: ‘She is in season and thinks you can help her out!’. So funny. We booked her in for desexing soon after that 🙂
August 3, 2011 at 1:33 pm
I am planning on a trip to Canada soon Rayya. If I decided to live there permanantly I could not put Cindy through the whole quarantine thing.
Cindy gets fretful even being alone without me for a few hours. She would never cope with quarantine.
I love your blog! I am enjoying reading the posts.
xo
Susannah
August 4, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Dear Susannah.
You should research the quarantine requirement between the countries you are travelling between. I was moving from Lebanon to Australia and that is why the quarantine was so strict. Between the USA and Australia, they will only quarantine your pet from 2-4 weeks.
If Cindy frets that much, she would be worse off without you in the long run. She would easily endure one month or so just to be reunited with you. I definitely recommend utilising feliway pheromone to help settle her down in the process if you chose to go down that path.
Goodluck!
August 3, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Stunning photos! Just love tigers look in the last photo – I miss my cat 😦
August 4, 2011 at 2:56 pm
I totally understand how you are feeling. I miss tiger so much too. The hardest thing for me is I do not know if she is still alive or not. To cut a long story short, my parents had to escape the country because there was an impending war and so they let Tiger & Jigalo free in our country town to fend for themselves. Jigalo was adopted by our neighbors but I never got to see Tiger again. There is nothing worse than losing a pet.
August 3, 2011 at 7:46 pm
We are glad to hear the cats are doing well
August 4, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Hey Jimmie.
Thanks for that. They were doing well in those pictures 🙂
August 3, 2011 at 9:30 pm
You can rest easy now you know Tiger is managing without you, although it couldn’t have been easy leaving her. The pictures speak a thousand words; they are both beautiful cats.
August 4, 2011 at 2:59 pm
Hey Barb,
Unfortunately why I said I did not want to talk about tiger is because it is a very tender and sore spot in my heart until today!
I actually do not know if she is still alive or not. I last saw Jigalo a few years ago at our neighbor’s house.
They were treated like ‘They are just cats’ during difficult circumstances without me being consulted and it breaks my heart to this day that I don’t know what ever happened to my beautiful tiger.
August 3, 2011 at 10:21 pm
what beautiful cats
August 4, 2011 at 3:00 pm
🙂
August 3, 2011 at 10:26 pm
The cats are gorgeous, I’m sorry you had to leave them behind.
August 4, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Thanks Jodi. It was definitely one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make leaving my Tiger behind.
August 4, 2011 at 10:29 am
Beautiful cats. Too bad you had to leave Tiger behind. It is nice that Tiger and Jigalo decided to be friends. You are right that some cats never become friends. We had two cats growing up and although they both lived well into their 20’s they never really got along and spent their lives avoiding one another.
August 4, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Cats sure are very entertaining creatures. Wow, your cats sure hit a major record in managing to avoid each other for 20 years!!!hehehe…Ya I think Tiger was all talk and how could she resist Jigalo’s stunning eyes 🙂
August 5, 2011 at 4:31 am
Tiger looks a lot like my girl Billie! http://bit.ly/nzDb9a 🙂
August 5, 2011 at 8:53 am
Tiger sure does look like Billie 🙂
August 5, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Thankyou for your advice Dr Rayya.
I have since found out that Cindy will not have to be in quarantine in Canada as she is coming from Australia which is a rabies free country. She will just need a vet check and certificate before departure.
Now it is just the cost that may be hard to cover. I was quoted something like $2700.
If I end up living in Canada, my boyfriend and I will try to find a way to bring Cindy over.
Cindy is like the baby I do not have, if that makes sense. I love her so much
xo
August 5, 2011 at 1:45 pm
dear susannah. you are most welcome…quarantine and travel fees sure do cost a fortune…i dread the day i may possibly move because i have too many pets and will have to fork up fortune to do so….hope cindy does not fret too much in the process…goodluck
September 2, 2011 at 5:36 am
Both are gorgeous! It’s so nice that they’re such good friends.
Best wishes, Jo
July 20, 2015 at 11:56 pm
Such a great website! Has heart and soul wrapped around superbly articulated medical info – plus the greatest pics ever to illustrate each point. The photos of happily recovered animals looking up at the photographer are heartwarming.
Feel like running off to Australia and volunteering my services for life. God bless both you and your partner and all your furry friends and patients!
Ellen and Timmy the Cat
July 21, 2015 at 10:53 pm
Hello Ellen and Timmy,
Thanks heaps for your very heart-warming feedback. We really appreciate it :-).
Cheers, Rayya and Wally, Olivia, Shepo, Punchkin and Lewi