Too Fat?

Possibly. Everyone has commented on the fact that Megat has put on a lot of weight. I worry that this would contribute to his asthma, not to mention worsen his kidneys. However Dr L was not worried about it even when I mentioned this the last tme we saw him in March. He is more of a handful now that he can use his weight to his advantage whenn it comes to catching him for his meds.

FatBoy Update

Hmmm...Will life never be the same again?

FatBoy is doing well and is taking his meds regularly. We tried to give him some Flax but he just sniffed at his food suspiciously and ran off so we have abandoned that idea. We were thinking that apart from the meds and SubQ, we should try to give him some supplements to strengthen his system but have yet to come up with anything that he would eat. He also refused to eat some cat vitamins yesterday.

I am glad to see that he has come four days in a row for his morning breakfast of Waltham's renal. I just bought a new pack of this formula and discovered that the kibble is darker and smaller. They are also a little softer to the crunch. Therefore even with his very bad teeth, Fatboy can eat this quite easily.

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.

All is not well for FatBoy

FatBoy looked anxious at the doctor's office although his temper was even. He gave the assistants some trouble when they had to take his blood.

His Fortekor, which is long term and his Vibravet which is for a whole week...

The results for his blood test were very poor and the vet Dr EL said that he had kidney failure and because of that, she would not put him under any anesthesia for his dental problems. His teeth and gums, although terrible, were not the worst that she had seen in a stray. I could see the bloody roots of his teeth and understood then what kind of pain he was in when he eats or had to chomp on anything.

She also said that he needed long term care and for a stray that would be very difficult. So she also suggested putting him to sleep as he was indeed suffering from kidney failure and she said that would be the primary reason why he was losing all his weight. The catch was as he had kidney failure, she could not even help him to remove the pain he was in with his teeth. So he was in pain all round. She said it might be the better solution as we would not want him to live in a lot of pain as he was in now.

The only thing we could do was to make sure he had twice weekly SubQ, coupled with his long-term meds Fortekor. I do not know if I would be able to do the SubQ for him but will try this Friday as he has to have the SubQ every two days at 250 ml. It is more the fluids that would be able to help him I think.

I was grateful that one of the residents, a taxi drver, who lived in the same block as FatBoy saw me carrying FatBoy in a carrier and so we were able to get a cab very quickly. He waited for us until 8.30 pm ( nearli 1.5 hrs) and so we did not have to wait for another cab. This place was not the easiest place to get cabs at all.

He said that FatBoy would be 8 years old and everyone loves him. Ultimately we would have to think of FatBoy's best interest and not ours when making any decision. I would also have to ask the auntie who has been with him for 8 years, his whole life almost.

I really do not know what to do about it and we would have to make some kind of decision for him by next week. It should be more than anything about the quality of life that has or will have.

His indicators are:

Cre 8.4 mg/dL (normal 0.8-2.4)
Alt 53 U/L (12-130)
Alkp 52 U/L (14-111)
GLU 120 mg/dL (71-159)
USG: 1.1012 (urine)

The vet said his Cre coupled with his urine indicators showed that his kidneys had been failing him for a long time although the rest of his indicators were ok. I noticed that his bones near his hind legs were showing quite prominently too. However when we went to the vet at a***, he weighed in at 5.35 kg.

Vet Appointment

I wonder what will happen to me tomorrow...

Tomorrow we are going to MP at Katong. It is a friendly practice and the place is big and airy. FatBoy would be in very good hands.

Rain

It rained very heavily this evening but we were glad that Bujang got in a short walk first. The amigos of course spent the evening...

sleeping...

comforting a scared toy kitty...

watching the weather rain on his parade...

showing off his newly brushed fur...
Life went on as usual...thankfully...

Monday Mystery

Totoro: Where have you been Bujang?
Bujang: Leave me alone or I will smack you once I get outta here!

Goodnight Sunday

zzz...

A new plan for FatBoy

Megat's set of teeth after his teeth got extracted. I wonder if FatBoy's teeth would look like this afterwards.

FatBoy: I am not helping you as I do not want to go to the v_e_t!

After discussing the pros and cons with grandma about putting FatBoy outside , I decided to send him to another practice that has boarding facilities. The first practice is the one all the amigos go to and there is no problem. If we want boarding, we would have to go to the hospital at B. B is very far away from home and there would be much stress for everyone. Since I cannot have FatBoy at home and the auntie cannot have him in her home, I decided that I would have to ferry him to and fro. This would be better as he would be boarded at the clinic itself when it comes to his surgery.

However since he is going to another practice, he would have to be re-examined and I think he would have to take some antibiotics for a week. This is ok as he is an amiable kitty and we can put the pills in his food.

So next Tuesday, we have an evening appt for him to see his new vet and then we take it from there. Grandma was pleased as she was afraid he would make alot of noise outside and disturb the neighbours. She was also afraid someone would release him when he was outside the house.

Of cos, on afterthought (aiyah san, sometimes you are furry silly!), I could have put him in a shelter for the night but then it would be very inconvenient to get him early for the surgery as the shelter is also far from my house :)

So that is that. We only have to wait for next Tuesday.

Sunday Walkies

Bujang rested after he threw up all the grass that he ate...

Minah made her appearances as usual. She was hungry so I gave her some kibble. Then she took a nap :)

We saw a pretty yellow bird too :)

Esy Peasy Sunday

Totoro is feeling much better this morning after his vaccination. We are all pleased with his progress...

Sunday begins with a little cuddle for Tanaka...

Where? What does Sunday look like?

Goodnight Saturday

I am just glad I was not involved in anything to do with the vet although I know san would bring me to see Dr BL as soon as possible because of my coughs this April.

Anyway GOODNIGHT SATURDAY :)

Toro and the vet

Grandma told Toro that he had to go to the vet as its time for his vaccination...

Dr BL said his bladder was not swollen but that was not to say that nothing 'bad' was happening. I admitted that this was true but he just had a urine test in March and I did not want him to undergo any more prodding and tests. I told Dr BL that he is urinating as usual and is not in any discomfort. He is drinking as usual too.

After his vaccination, Dr BL took a look at his teeth as he had plaque the last time. After some scrutiny, he was diagnosed with one tooth that needed scaling and a little swollen gum where the tooth was. Dr BL did not feel that he needed any major scaling and I thought we would have to try other means as scaling means anesthesia. So we went home with some tooth gel that I have to smoothen over his gums, especially the swollen side and something that I can put in his drinking water. We will try this first.

Toro was a little unwell in the evening but managed some canned food for dinner, a request for some scritching and a small bout of investigation over the carrier that we had used to put FatBoy. I had to disinfect and clean it for Bujang. He is now asleep in the middle of the living-room.

FatBoy at the vet

After the vet visit.
The assistant was very taken with fatBoy and thought he was very pretty. So she asked Cousin R if it was possible to open the cage so she could pet him. FatBoy was very amiable and allowed her to do so :)

The auntie did not manage to catch Fatboy this morning. She said she just managed to put half of his body in the carrier but he got wise and ran off. So I came down and tried to entice him into it. He was hiding under a car but came out when he heard me call him. I pretended to give him some food (he had already eaten) then asked Cousin R to quickly bring over the carrier. I pushed him into it quickly. DONE!

We had to bring him to the vet as he has been losing weight these past 2 months. Many people have been asking the auntie why he had lost a lot of his weight. I was afraid he was sick but he eats his food and does not drool. His temper is also as calm as ever.

But he yelled so loudly in the cab. I have never heard such an unhappy cat. He yelled in the cab, yelled on the way to the vet, yelled at the vet and grumbled when he saw the vet.

But once he was on the table, he suddenly transformed into the very friendly kitty that everyone loves.

FatBoy: How can you say those things about me? I am very friendly and I love everyone!

He weighed at 5.53 kg and had a mouthful of very bad teeth. The vet , Dr BL said he would have to pull some blackened ones out and do some major scaling! So he has another appointment on Tuesday. I really don't know where to keep him before that as the auntie is not strong enough and she is afraid he would yell her house down. So Cousin R said we could catch him on Monday night and put him in a cage outside of my house. This seems the only way out. I would have to put a blanket on the cage and write a note to everyone not to let him out. Then on Tuesday morning, Cousin R would bring him to the vet as he needs to be there about 9 am and I would be at work by then.

I hope this plan works.