Aftermath

The boys rested in the room for hours after the fiasco of the locked room...

Megat had to rest in his own quarters for 20 minutes as he decided to aggravate Toro and Bujang by slapping and intimidating them.

These days Megat is becoming more bossy and would frequently go up to Toro or Bujang and intimidate them for real and imagined trespasses. The two boys would sometimes fight back but more often than not, they would run off. Bujang would then find a good time to fight back by menacing Megat with his size, teeth and growls and would sometimes follow him about threateningly. Megat has been swiped several times by both boys who would often lay in wait for him outside the bathroom or they would sit on tables and swipe at him when he passes them by.

This Megat is becoming a gangsta kitty!

Locked in!

The locksmith choosing the right tools for the operation

After the whole incident Ms akira was very frazzled and tried to find some comfort

She finally found somewhere safe, away from the noisy locksmith and everything else...

But the experience and the noise was too much for her sensitive self :)

I got a frantic call from Sister N about akira gettting locked inside the computer room. It seemed that Sister S, who is down from KL, had accidentally locked her in. Grandma could not get her out and so became very anxious when she heard Ms Akira yelling from inside the room. The kitties would all go about yelling if they are separated or could not see any beans in the house and grandma forgot this as she tried to open the door. So I came home from work quickly and called the locksmith. It took him 5 minutes to open the door. It cost us $40.00!!

Note: The pics that were here yesterday had disappeared. I had used Picasa to blog. Its very strange.

Just Because Tuesday on Wednesday

Rocket Tanaka: Toosday was quite lively in our house because offur the white kitty Akira. She gotted locked inside the puter room by hurself. She was furry scared and yelled and yelled. Gramma tried to open the door but she cannot so she called san and san came home to help hur. But we boys are not afraid of nuffing! These pikshurs show that.

Ms Akira

sitting elegantly on HER chair...

After the hoohah yesterday with Fatboy and Toro, I appreciated how calm Ms Akira was sitting on her chair. This used to be my chair but as she is the primary occupant of the computer room, she decided that it would be hers instead. So we had tried to make her as comfortable as we can.

Of cos this calmness belie her crazed yells and seemingly harpy-like tendencies when the boys so much as look in her direction :)

Dental Care

There is nuffing wrong wif ma teef...

The tooth gel and toothbrush

Finally the vet was able to give me the tooth gel for Toro. I don't need to use the toothbrush, only my clean fingers or some gauze to make sure that all of his gums get the treatment. He has one back tooth on his right that is giving him problems and his gums were also a little swollen at that site. I bought that small toothbrush from a store that sells baby products. I had tried to use it on his other teeth and he took that well. I think he likes the gel and didn't mind tooth brushing. I clean his teeth everyday and am not not so anxious about his plaque problems.

I should be less enthusiastic when rubbing the gel on that side of his mouth as yesterday we had a little accident and there was blood. So today I would be gentler.

He takes the whole operation quite well and does not struggle when either grandma or Cousin R holds him while I put the gel on his gums. Rather he licks at the gel quite enthusiastically. Grandma asked me whether it tasted sweet and yes it did as I decided to taste the gel myself yesterday.

We also have a spray for the water bowls so all the amigos would benefit from clean teeth.

FatBoy's 4th visit to the vet

FatBoy chatting with a little girl, probably telling her his experiences...

A lot of people came to see him when we brought him back from his SubQ...

FatBoy and the auntie...

FatBoy got his 3rd SubQ with no problems. Yesterday the nurse did the SubQ and she placed him on the table. He sat quietly and looked about. The nurse was initially a little nervous when she saw how big he was and asked me if he was fierce. But he has a mild temperament and so she placed him on the examining table. She wanted to do the SubQ by herself, helped by P, the assistant and so I waited for him outside. I could hear P calling his name several times and then when he came out, P said he was a good boy and did not 'trouble' them.

We also saw a dog that was very sick. He could not move a muscle and the owner said he had kidney problems too. I then thought about what I would do when FatBoy or even Megat get _that_sick. I hope I would be able to do the right thing for them. There were two other cats there, one was there for a general checkup and another was there because it suddenly refused to eat and lost weight. But generally the vet was quiet at that hour of the evening.

When we got home, there were quite a few people at FatBoy's void deck and they were all glad to see him. He got out of the carrier and said hello to each one but he was rather hungry and wanted to follow me home :) Then the auntie gave him some food which he ate readily. The auntie asked me if he was okay and I had to explain to the auntie again that there is no cure for his kidney failure and all that we could do was to manage it. She was quite comforted however that we would not be euthanising him but we would try to explore other options. She said that eventhough she would move house, she would continue to see him when she can. I had to remind her that if all else fails, we would have to do the right thing for Fatboy.

The auntie and Cousin R said that they noticed he did not worry his mouth so much these last few days after his SubQ and his meds. I was also glad to see him yesterday and this morning for breakfast. He ate his kidney kibble quite readily although he was less vocal when he saw me allowing Minah to complain first.

This Friday, we would have a consult with Dr Lim and I think we would get a review of his condition then.

Good news and bad news

An old pic of Minah Void Deck

I read from Dawn's blog that the number of cats culled last year was 6000, down from 10 000. The 10 000 was a improvement from 13 000. I can't help but agree that the Tnrm is working. Although it is a pity that we still have cats culled in Singapore, it is also heartening that many are sterilised.

This reminds me that I still have to catch the very noisy new abandonee for neutering!

Easy Peasy Sunday

was not so easy peasy. The amigos had a pretty relaxing morning until our neighbour's party began. It was some kind of baby party and there were a lot of babies crying and yelling. They kept running into the bedroom every time some baby cried and this was for the whole afternoon until about 5 pm. Poor amigos!

FatBoy and decision

FatBoy looking at the world. This is what FatBoy looks like now.

I brought FatBoy to a*** last Friday for his SubQ. I decided that it would be wiser, after the advice by many, that i first take him to the vet to get him used to the procedure. I told the vet Dr Lim about my experiences in MP and showed her the test scores. She asked me some more questions and asked me to request for the report to be faxed to the clinic. Then she spoke to him and did the SubQ very quickly. She said FatBoy was a nice kitty and was pretty confident that even I can do the SubQ later :)

We brought him home 30 minutes later and the auntie was still waiting for us at the void deck. then some other resident came down to chat with FatBoy (who was lazing about at this time). She said FatBoy liked the man and he would sit to watch the man wash his car like some guardian angel :) She was still teary and continued to wipe her tears quietly as she told me that FatBoy was abandoned by his family a long time ago and how she wished he would have a happy life to the end. I gave her some renal formula for him and told her that the only dry kibble that he should get is this. Of course he has many people who would feed him and I would have no power to stop everyone from feeding him all manner of things and as a community cat, he must be able to find his own food.

I decided to take him back again to a*** as it is closer to my home and if I am going to try ferry him to and fro to the vet, it would be better to go to T than to the EC. I know the practice and I am comfortable with the vets. I think they have a no-euthanasia policy (although I am not 100% sure). I know I may have to put FatBoy to sleep some time in the future if his condition worsens but I will think of that when I am there.

I have decided to try to do the SubQ for him whether by myself or bring him to the vet. I think he is much too lively and friendly to be put to sleep right now and he is still at a good weight and temperament. The vet said we could try to attend to the kidney problems first with meds and SubQ sessions and when it was at a more acceptable level, we would see to the tooth decay problems. I think it is his teeth that is giving him more immediate problems and as his other organs were functioning well, I think we would see if we can manage his kidney problems too.

I had already made up my mind to try to help Fatboy even before I spoke to the auntie last Friday until I was certain that nothing else could be done for him. He comes to dinner without fail so I don't think I would have trouble giving him the meds. I know he really hates the carrier and yelled very loudly when I had to put him into it. He has wised up tremendously and so I think I would have some trouble getting him into the carrier tomorrow for his SubQ and review at the vet. The vet is going to help him get used to the carrier by giving him food after the SubQ so he would not be so angry as he knows there will be a reward so I would bring him some renal kibble tomorrow too.

Meds for FatBoy

FatBoy has been eating his meds two days in a row. This part is easy as he comes to dinner everyday without fail and so there is always a way to get him to eat his meds. I will try to give him his SubQ fluids this evening. Only Cousin R and I would be there as we have not been able to contact the auntie. The auntie got her keys to her new house and has been cleaning it up I presume.

I gave him some renal kibble (which Megat eats and the rest of the amigos love) this morning when I saw him walking in the void deck. He could eat the kibble quite comfortably but I was not able to stay with him to see if he had eaten all of it.

Update on FatBoy

Update
Thanks for all the comments made for FatBoy. He ate his meds quite willingly last night as we had crushed both into powder. The vet said we could give them both in his food. We did not want him to miss them so we had given it with a little of his usual canned food with only a little water. He finished them off with a little difficulty because of the pain his teeth were giving him I'm sure.

I am going to try to do the SubQ with Cousin R's and the auntie's help as I think having to catch him 2X a week in a carrier may be difficult as I do not want him to run off at the sight of the carrier as I have to bring him to the vet's in one week for a review. But if I cannot do it, then he has to go to the vet or I would have to consider that this may not be wise in the long term.

I have not seen the auntie yet so have not made any decisions still. I hope we can amke the right one. I know the auntie is not sentimental from our experience with Cal, our community cat who died of ataxia. She thinks about the cat first and everyone or everything later. Another difficult thing is that the auntie would be moving to B at the end of the month and then there would be no one who would keep an eye on him every night.

I of course am not brave about these things. When I brought Cal to B, I should have made the right decision and not have her suffer through a whole week of indecision only to die at the end still. Ataxia is irreversible and because I saw that she was in real pain, I should have made a decision right there. The thing with FatBoy is that he appears happy, he is walking about although his territory is getting smaller, he greets his people when he sees them and he still enjoys his food. The vet said a cat can suffer a lot of pain and still appear all right.

However, Cousin R said that he has taken to just sitting around instead of investigating his territory and he appears quieter than usual. I have also seen him only a few times in the morning while before he would wait for breakfast just outside the lift, every morning with Minah.