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– What the hell is that!
– Saffy, you remember Drogon, don’t you? He used to live outside? He’s going to live with us now.
– (Saffy growls like a wild animal.)
– You’re being rude. Drogon is very nice and well-behaved. Look, he likes the toys that you don’t play with.
– Get it away from me! (Hides behind a shelf.)

– Stop being a mean girl. Drogon is staying and that’s that.
– I’m going on hunger strike! Look, I’m ignoring the food dish.
– Fine, let’s see how long you can hold out.
– I’m going to pee on stuff!
– You can’t scare us, we’re used to wiping up your pee. Here’s Drogon, he wants to play.
– I hate you! (Hisses and flees)

3am. Saffy curls up on our pillow.
– Why are you on the pillow, you said you hated us.
– Be quiet. I am sleepy.

6am. Sounds of munching at the kibble dish. Saffy is eating when she thinks we aren’t looking.

The vet emailed us that Drogon had been neutered and bathed and we could pick him up. We had planned on watching three Sineng Pambansa entries yesterday, so we asked the clinic to keep him another day. And then we decided to pick him up anyway, because he’s been at Pendragon for a week and we don’t want him to feel that we’ve left him. We’ll watch the three movies today.

Unlike our cats Koosi, Saffy and Mat, who turn their backs on the vet, refuse to come out of their carriers, and shriek “How dare you!” when anyone tries to touch them, Drogon was very friendly with the clinic staff. It takes three people to administer Saffy’s shots; Drogon bore his treatment with great forbearance.

When Koosi, Saffy and Mat have to ride in cars, they carry on like they’ve been abducted by Bolsheviks. On the way home, Drogon sat quietly on our lap and watched the traffic through the window. What a lovely cat he is. What a terrible parent we are. If we had human spawn they’d probably be articulate but constantly suspected of demon possession.

When Drogon arrived at our house he nose-kissed Mat and Saffy. Mat didn’t mind, but Saffy ran away and hid in the bathroom. Koosi woke up from her nap, looked at Drogon, and went back to sleep.

Drogon required no toilet training—he knew immediately what the litter box is for. At first he thought he was going to go back outside and hang with the strays under the parked cars, but he soon figured out that he is living indoors now. He took a long nap with Mat, and then stretched out on our table with Koosi.

His full name: Drogon Lockheed Pendragon Z. Targaryen-Targaryen.

We didn’t fix the red-eye in his photos. Makes him look more like a dragon.

Sleepyheads edition. Mat is the white cat, Saffy the black-white-orange.

* Drogon. Drogon the white cat has recovered fully from his respiratory infection. He will be home Tuesday, after he gets neutered. Our cats are looking forward to his return with great excitement…okay, they’re bored as usual, but with the new arrival there should be some interesting chase scenes. They could use the exercise.

* FLIP. The magazines with Joel Torre on the cover have been delivered to JT’s Manukan for JT to sign. Joel is in Zambales, but will autograph them when he gets back midweek. Your reserved copies should be in Manukan branches by Saturday. Call your branch to check.

* The writing workshop. We have already alerted the participants to our first writing workshop. The workshop dates will be announced as soon as we get confirmation from our sponsor. We’re getting a sponsor to defray the costs so we don’t have to charge the participants. Processing will take a bit longer. In the meantime, we have room for four more participants. Send the requirements to saffron.safin@gmail.com until 15 September.

Drogon (white) with Merry (orange ears)

Drogon, the white cat who lives in our building and runs into our house when we open the door, didn’t turn up for mealtimes for three days. On Sunday we spotted him lying under a car downstairs, looking listless. He stood up with some difficulty so we carried him up the stairs for his feeding. (Drogon must’ve lived with humans because unlike the other strays, he allows himself to be petted. Merry hisses and shows her fangs when we get too close.)

Monday he was still not his perky self, and he didn’t touch his kibble. Tuesday we let him into the kitchen and offered him canned cat food. He not only refused, but he went out, slunk downstairs and lay under the car, as if he were suicidal. We resolved to take him to the vet.

Pendragon Animal Health Group, Kalayaan Ave near Quezon City Hall, Diliman QC

Our cats Koosi, Saffy, and Mat have always gone to Pendragon veterinary clinic, which is owned by our sister’s friend. The clinic used to take up one unit on the second floor, then it expanded across the hall. Last Tuesday we discovered that it had taken over the entire ground floor. Hey, our vet is doing well.

The vet’s waiting room

Unlike Koosi, Saffy, and Mat, who yowl and act like they’re being kidnapped when they go to the vet, Drogon was very well-behaved and cooperative. (Speaking of kidnapping, our friends do not think much of the Vincent-kidnapped-and-taken-to-boot-camp angle on MHL. It’s veering towards Fefita Fofongay territory, or if you’re too young, Praybet Benjamin.)

Cinnabone snack bar serves snacks for humans and other animals.

Dr. Mae took Drogon’s temperature and said he had a fever. The diagnosis was a respiratory infection, treatable with antibiotics. We weren’t sure we could give him all his meds on schedule—he lives outdoors, we might not find him—and we can’t invite him to move in because our resident cats will freak out and/or torment him. So we decided to have him confined at Pendragon.

Pendragon also carries pet supplies such as food and toys.

As long as Drogon is staying at the pet clinic, we’re having him dewormed, deloused, and bathed. We’re not sure if he’s completely white because he’s so dirty, but we’ve read that all-white cats with blue eyes are deaf. The vet will give him a hearing test.

Pendragon has a roving mobile clinic. Go to www.pendragonvet.com, visit facebook.com/pendragonvet, or text 0922-VETHELP to find out when they will be in your neighborhood.

When Drogon is discharged, he will need a home. If he’s deaf, he won’t be safe in a neighborhood with so much vehicular traffic. We’re hoping our sister will adopt him for her daughter Daenerys (Since every Daenerys needs a Drogon), but if she doesn’t, do you know any humans looking to adopt a cat?

Drogon in his hospital room.

Then again, we’ve always wanted a well-behaved cat we can take to the mall.

Pendragon Veterinary Clinic will have its grand opening on Sunday, 8 September. Drop by with your pets—they’re offering free deworming and rabies vaccines then.

Starring Sqeeky (white) and Pouncer (black-white-orange)
Directed by Squeeky and Pouncer
Cinematography by their serf, Ren

Pouncer after the shoot. Making movies is exhausting.

Saffy’s review: Cats have no thumbs, so I give it two claws up!

Saffy’s human’s favorite Hitchcock movies. Perfect for long weekends and sudden non-working days. (Note: It took us decades to seek out and watch all these movies, and you can view them all in a day, lucky you.)

10. Frenzy. Someone is strangling women to death with neckties in 60s London, and the bad-tempered protagonist is the suspect.

9. Psycho. Dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun don’t go in the shower!!!

8. Rear Window. Wheelchair-bound photojournalist is so busy watching the neighbors through a telescope he doesn’t notice his beautiful girlfriend.

7. Strangers on a Train. Creepy guy offers to kill a tennis player’s horrible wife if the tennis player will kill the creepy guy’s father. Set at the US Open.

6. The 39 Steps. See Holden’s summary in The Catcher in the Rye.

5. Shadow of A Doubt. Charley’s favorite uncle may be the Merry Widow killer.

4. Vertigo. Acrophobic detective falls in love with his client’s wife, fails to save her, then meets someone who looks exactly like her…

3. North by Northwest. Advertising executive is mistaken for a spy, goes on the run and gets picked up by a cool blonde.

2. Notorious. Nazi’s daughter is in love with her American case officer, but he sends her off to spy on her father’s colleagues.

1. The Lady Vanishes. The feisty heroine reports that an old lady has been kidnapped on the train, and everyone but the annoying musicologist insists that there was no old lady.