Akira 01 Acupuncture Protocol (4)

Today I went to the needle doctor. He said he has never seen a kitty who was so quiet and still when he puts in the needles. I was quite pleased to hear him saying that about me. San was pleased as well.

 This morning she had extra needles on her head. She allowed the doctor to put in the 4 needles but didn't want the 5 th one. 

                 She also had additional electrodes- 2 more than before. 

             She sat quite still as usual 

                    Napping at home. 

We are coming back on Saturday for her treatment. She is getting used to being outside the whole day which means I have to keep a close eye on Tanaka. He was outside with her and I saw him sitting quietly but before I knew it he was creeping up on her. It was a good thing she was vigilant and meowed. He knew then that the game was up and wanted to hide out but I told him it was time-out time. 

I am encouraged that she had decided that outside is a good place that is safe as well. I feel that if she is inside the room she will be away from people and the goings-on in the house and it might make her depressed later. Poppy gives her a wide berth and she does not interfere with whatever Poppy decides to do as well. So the one kitty that I have still to convince or re-train is just Tanaka. It will be a long time still I think before Tanaka gets over his obsession with Akira though. 

Tuesday Thots

I thought it would be nice to hear what the kitties  said to Fern last Sunday. They have Rriki sessions every Sunday and they speak to her after that. 

"Bujang was calm and peaceful. He said "Of course I know what to do. It's my duty." He gave me a lot of confidence that he could handle things around the house. But he asked when you would recover completely. "

I have not been well with the flu and bouts of cough. He had not asked to go out during this time and had decided to sleep close to me instead of at my feet. I told Fern that I noticed this and wanted to thank him. 

After the acupuncture sessions, Ms Akira asked to go out of her room a lot more and she was more affectionate towards me. I have not noticed any discernible improvement in her hair growth or her bouts of fur licking though but yesterday she walked about the house and climbed onto the cat seat to look out the window. This I feel is the improvement which is as good. I have been trying to get her to be outside more ever since Poppy came to live with us. She had told Fern that she preferred to be in her room as it was a safe place. But these few days she has gone out and is much more relaxed with Poppy, who is also outside at the same time as her. 

"Akira is very cute. She is proud with the praises about bravely going through the needles and the medicines. She said thank you. "

I have been trying to get Tanaka with Fern's help to leave Akira alone. I wanted him to know that if he could leave Poppy alone, it should be simple with Akira as well. I wanted him to know that a good brother will help out. 

"For Tanaka, he gave me a feeling that Akira is his favourite to disturb and to pay attention to. I said he did very good job with Poppy, he said she is different. Then I told him what you said, being a good brother. He realized it and said ok, ok I try. He said that Akira should not be too uptight about him being around"

This morning Poppy decided she would play in our red cube (thanks to the katses from Katnip Lounge who gave us theirs). She played twisted and turned and played with the ribbons in it. I think she felt more free to play as well as Tanaka was in the room as Akira was outside. This was a new thing for her.  Akira was quite unconcerned and watched her playing. 

"Poppy was really cute. I praised her and asked her about the new box. She said she knew that you bought the new one. She said I play with the old one first till it's broken, then I play with the new one."

Of course Tanaka has taken over the new box already. He likes sleeping in it and I put him here when he is outside with Akira as he can look at her and then nap. But what is important is that when he is here, he doesn't get down to disturb Akira at all. 

Tanaka resting and watching Akira at the same time in Poppy's new box. 

Akira outside this morning resting on top of her cage.

Monday Mood

We had asked Putih if she would like a new name since she is home. She said she would like a more feminine one. Cat-Aunty suggested Pudding. This is a good cheery round name. I had thought of Poppy as I thought it's feminine as well as round like her (although she always looks like an Ah Lian (wild girl) on steroids). I asked grandma to pronounce both names aloud and she could say Poppy much easier than pudding. So there we have it. 

Please meet our kitty Poppy. She loves the ESS and just hanging out by the door for the breeze. 

Akira 0.1 Acupuncture Protocol (3)

This morning we arrived at our appointment at 8.40 am and the doctor allowed us into the room to just rest. Akira was suspicious and stayed in her carrier to wait for the doctor. 

                         

            She stayed in here for a full 10 minutes and turned around only once. 

            

I think she was a little nervous as she knew what was to come. There was another cat in the next room and it did not sound happy although it was not complaining. 

This morning she was wired to some electrodes to stimulate her points. She was very quiet and the doctor said again that she was a nice and friendly cat and not a complaining one. I guess he does not know her when she wants something. Then she would whine at length :). This process took only 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, the machine played a soft Chinese song. I thought it was to calm her but the doc said that it merely signaled that the procedure with the electrodes was over. :)

                                A close-up with the electrodes on her needles

           

This morning she stayed close to me but she was relaxed throughout the whole procedure. She meowed only once. Otherwise she kept still while I sang her a lullaby. I think I should just put the lullaby on tape and play it to her when we're there. 

                     

She was eager to leave once she has eaten her TCM mixture. The doc managed to give her quite a lot of it in 3 small doses. I would do the same later. I told the doc that we would give her the TCM in the evening as well and from tomorrow, we would try to give her the meds twice a day as stipulated. The doc took some more pictures of her as well. 

He asked me if there was any improvement. I told him that I had not discerned much in terms of her overgrooming as she stayed in her room much of the time. But I noticed that she was much more affectionate to me and instead of just sitting on my lap at night for our nightly ritual, she would sit close to my chest. He seemed to think this was good progress but I think it's time I look closely at her bald spots. The doc did say that it would take some time and change would come gradually. I think this is as it should be and I told Akira that we would take it slow and easy. We have another appointment in 3 days. 

In other news, it's time for EASY PEASY SUNDAY pictures. 

I thought this 4 would best sum up our week. It had been a very hectic week for us as Tanaka and Akira had their annual checkups and we are changing Tanaka's diet to a renal one although we still give him the usual canned food. Akira had 3 appointments with Dr Oh and we had to figure out the best way to give her the TCM. Bujang and Putih will go for their check ups when our vet comes back from vacation. Putih has been playing a little more and she has a favourite routine on the ESS although we have not had the chance to take any pictures of her rolling her ball about the house. All the kitties have had their treatments with Craig and he had helped them out with their emotional difficulties as well.  But mostly we spend our days just hanging out with family. We give thanks that apart from the usual December checkups and little hiccups, we are all in fine shape. 

    

Akira 0.1 Acupuncture Protocol (1&2)

Ok. I know I look a little silly with needles on my head but san made me so it.
She told Fern that "It's not too bad".

We went to the vet last Tuesday for her annual checkup. She behaved well and the vet took blood very quickly. She had the CBC and we were glad to see that she had excellent results. Her teeth needed cleaning but the vet said I could schedule her for next year. As usual we discussed her over grooming issues and the vet said there was nothing else that they could do for her as she had gone through the clomicalm as well as the ovarid route to very little effect. I was advised to put her in a collar just so she can't lick and bite her lower limbs. I know at the back of my mind that I may have to do this but I thought maybe I could try one more route - Acupuncture. So the vet made the appointment for us on that same day.

This is Akira undergoing a 30-minute acupuncture procedure on Friday 5 Dec. She was relaxed under the lights. She sat quite still the whole time, better than the first time we had tried it last Tuesday. I had asked Dr O for permission to use the pictures and he gave us the ok. I told him that I would like to document such a process as it would allow me to think about it and I thought others who may chance on our blog can see if acupuncture is something their own companion animals may benefit from. At this point I need to say that I do not know if this will work for Akira at all but I am willing to try.

A very short video of the 1st 3 needles. She had about 25 needles on her body. You can also see it here

Dr Oh's very calm and mild manners relaxed us both the first time we saw him. He saw her blood test results and asked the usual questions about diet and behaviour. Then he put her on the floor so he could see her walk about and take pictures of her bald parts without disturbing her at all. Then he said for me to put her on the table and proceeded to do the acupuncture. He explained what he was doing and then he left us for 25 minutes or so. On Tuesday she was rather nervous and came very close to me but yestetrday she took everything in her stride. The following pictures are from yesterday's session, which was her second one.

 Here she was just relaxing. The light was warm and quite comforting. She liked it a lot more yesterday.

 Akira undergoing the procedure in the quiet of the very simple room. On Tuesday she had only one lamp but yesterday she had 2. 

 Close-up of her needles

Akira looking at her personal chart. 0.1 means 'female'

Dr Oh explained the 5 elements and started to explain that all the organs affect each other in turn and it was crucial for all of them to be balanced. In Akira's case, her fears and stresses affect her liver, which in turn affects her spleen. An overactive spleen will affect the kidneys, the kidneys affect the heart and the heart affects the lungs. She is also 4.8 kg, which is not the optimum weight and this may be caused by a slow metrabolism as she eats very little.  The numbers at the bottom of the page correspond to where the doctor would place the needles.

Dr Oh was very optimistic that she would be able to overcome her overgrooming problems. He said she was a 'very good cat' and 'very easy'. But when it comes to the TCM herbs she was very difficult. She has to take a full spoonful twice a day but I have only managed to give her once a day and not even a spoonful as she would swallow a little, spit out a lot and some of it would go onto her fur, It is powder and I have to give it to her in a syringe. Dr Oh said this was ok and yesterday we experimented on the right consistency of water to powder themixture  needs to be in order for her to swallow more. 

We have to see Dr Oh twice a week and tomorrow is her 3rd appointment.

Fat Feet

                                     Watch it san! Who you calling Fat Feet?

Just Because

 

                                                          ...zzz....

This is the first time we have put her up close up. She was asleep so she didn't give us her dagger eyes. We had to give her a new collar that is a little more hardy as she kept pulling her girly collar off. She would have to go to the vet again for vaccinations and micro-chipping but for now, we thought it best she just sleeps the Wednesday away on top of the dryer. 

Monday Mood

Let's Play

This morning I saw Putih playing all by herself in my room. I was glad to see her enjoying herself. If you can't see the video, the link is here. I have also asked Fern to ask her if she would like a change of name although I do not know if she knows that her name is Putih. She does not look at us when we call her by this name though. I think she is just used to the sounds of jingling keys.

Easy Peasy Sunday Thoughts

The woman was not feeling well this week and so there were fewer pictures to choose from. She did not manage to post regularly as well as she spent much time  resting. She decided to just post 2 pictures for each of us. Of course since this is my first post, I have 3 pictures. I am still finding my way but I am not doing too badly. 

This scared little girl continues to hide herself. I was thinking that if she does not find the courage to fight, she will always be running away. But I have promised not to chase  her and to leave her alone. I do not know how this would help her but the woman told me that I should not try to help her to be brave so rashly. Maybe she is right. I know she is always working on it just like she is still working on how to make it easier for everyone to have me here. I know she also wants me to do well. 

 I like this cat. His name is Bujang. He is calm and steady and eats with me in the kitchen. He is the only one who is not afraid of me and he wants to be friends. That is why he eats with me. He also leaves alone to be myself. He told the woman that she should 'give me another chance' to find my way and I am glad for that. 

This orange kitty is a great puzzle but he has learnt to leave me be. I think he knows he cannot chase me or frighten me as I am a fighter kitty and will chase him. Here he is looking a little worried as he saw me sleeping in the small room yesterday. He has also not been well and has had fever for a few days. But I am glad that now he will sit closer to me and I do not feel afraid. He is also quite relaxed now with me. 

I must say that I began with much uncertainty and fear when I first came here. I decided that this was the place that I can call my home as the woman loves the kitties here and feed them all well. They have shiny coats and bright eyes. They are all very obedient. I had many lessons from Fern who explained to me how to be a house cat. The woman talks to Fern a lot about me and so I know she is concerned. I have learnt to compromise and not scare the boys. I learnt that if I want them to accept me, I must also respect them as well. These are hard lessons for me but now I am confident that I will do well. I have used all the scratching posts and drank from the common water bowls. They allowed me to do that so I know that they have accepted my stay and I am learning to be more confident and calm. 

*I thought  it's time Putih has a post. All the stuff here are from her conversations with Fern in the 3 months that she has been with us. She is becoming a more confident cat and the boys are used to seeing her walking about and using their stuff. Akira is the only cat who has very little contact with her as Akira stays in her room much of the day. She says she prefers her room and Akira is not a cat who likes other cats. She only loves Bujang. 

Boys Downstairs

Today we went down early, before 9 am but it was very humid evenso. Bujang walked about slowly enjoying the morning air. 

        Just hanging out with san. 

Tanaka was a little nervous as usual and waited some minutes to finally decide to walk out. He walked up and down these steps but did not even look at the grass. 

I finally put him on the grass but he very quickly made his way back to the concrete. But I am glad he decided to walk out as he would have so many more things to see. 

His favourite position

The outside can be a little intimidating even for Tanaka. 

Updates from the osteopath

                    

Tanaka looking at Akira in her carrier. He was more outgoing and preferred to walk about. 

                    

He told Fern that his right shoulder was okay but Adrian found that it was a little stiff. He sat quite docilely and allowed Adrian to massage the kinks out. More surprising was that they 2 kitties did not growl at each other at all during their treatments and they were seated next to each other. 

                   

Akira's diagnosis was not as easy. Her muscles were tense and she was under some stress. Adrian also pointed out that her face was pinched and long. I agree as these days her face more often than not would look like this. 

                 

 It is full of worry and stress and of course the emotional stress would translate to muscle stress as well. So she would have to go again next month so he could help her relax her muscles and alleviate some of the stress. We hope this would translate to her overgrooming which is becoming more serious as it has extended to her feet as well. 

                

Bujang results were also not so rosy but not so grim. He has stiffness in his lower back and he was not pleased to have Adrian massage him there at all. He was restless and tried to bite him unlike before where he would allow Adrian to help. He still loves to run about with Tanaka and is still able to climb up the shelves.  But he has to go back next month as well for further massages. 

               

        Hmmm you must be glad that I am ok san. I am glad as well.