Bujang

Bujang asking me to go for a walk

This pic was quite a surprise for me as well as he looked so healthy and well. He is already all of 16 this year and he was losing weight. He was down with some respiratory problems - constant sneezing and sometimes wheezing as well. He went for his checkup in June and there was nothing in his tests that suggested he was sick. His creatinine levels were good and the xray of his back showed that he was not suffering any additional stresses on his spine. However his sneezing continued to alarm me and the antibiotics the vet gave him was not helping. 

A good friend of ours, Nisa, helped us with this as she also had a cat with the same problems and her vet had recommended that she used a nebuliser with 10 cc of sodium chloride solution. The steam was supposed to dislodge the dried up mucus in his nose and clear his chest.  I am glad to report that he has been on the nebuliser for about a month and I've reduced the frequency of use from twice a day to once a day. We also have the air purifier with the HEPA filter as well. He is doing so much better and has been getting quality sleep as well. 

He also gets one cooked egg white for protein in his breakfast and dinner. He eats that with his canned food as he does not eat raw at all and does not like freeze dried food as well. So he gets 1/2 of a 85g can plus the cooked egg white, his cosequin  (for his arthritis) and his Kidney herbal supplements. He eats them all without fuss. Of cos these days he gets food 3 times a day as well. He has bulked up a little and is a happier kitty overall. 

These days I do not bring him out on his stroller for a walk as we have been having a long spell of hot weather plus the haze. Not the best weather for walking for anyone. 

Wednesday Whisperz

San, I need to tell you something. Can we negotiate the TCM thing? Surely I do not have to eat it everyday. Are you sure Dr Oh said every single day eh?

Saturday Easy

Bujang prefers eating the long grass at the open space than the one in the pot. It is always a joy to see him so happy munching grass. 

  

Bujang hanging out with my niece's daughter taking their wefie. 

    

Popps wasn't so sure that it was a good idea. 

On a more anxious note , we managed to give Bujang his SubQ only twice. After that he decided he was not going to stay in the carrier at all and was certainly not going to stay around for the needle. We are waiting for a contraption that we saw on Tanya's CRF site - the EZ SubQ belt. Once it's here we will see if we can give him the SubQ at all. Instead these week we gave him some steamed mackerel with the fish fluids as well. There was not much fluid , certainly not 250 ml! But we are trying to include more and more fluids with the steamed fish. The vet said if we can put fluids in his food it would also be better than nothing. 

This is the original amount of fluids from one steamed mackerel. 

However to his credit he takes the new TCM very well. We mix it with some honey and then we walk with him while giving him the meds. Of course he gets treats afterwards which makes it worthwhile. 

We will post about the mysterious package soon. The amigos decided to take matters into their own hands by trying to bite through the box!

Monday Mood

           Bleaaaachhhackack!

I don't really need the TCM. I can heal myself San... really.....

I have to give the TCM to Popps by hand, just like we give it to Tanaka and Akira. I tried putting it in her raw chicken but she refused to eat food. She takes to the medicine quite readily after the few initial misadventures. Of cos she is also very strong and would suddenly try to make a break for it. All in all I am still surprised she would even sit still long enough to take the meds but grateful that she is. 

TGIF and other things

    Fank Goodness my kidneys are better

Tanaka's values for his kidneys had gone down a lot in the last 3 months that he had acupuncture and TCM. His CRE is 2.2 from 2.6. I am greatly relieved. He has some gingivitis still on his back teeth but the vet said it was  not yet a cause for concern. 

    Popps at acupuncture yesterday 

Popps was surprisingly calm at acupuncture yesterday. She took to the needles like a trooper and after the initial curiosity and flight reaction, she settled down very well. Her liver values have gone down considerably from 364 to 142 but her kidney  values have gone up 1 from 2.4 to 2.5. I decided that it was time to send her to acupuncture as well. 

So Dr Oh is giving her 2 separate meds so she will not taste the nastiness of a combined formula since I have to put it in her raw minced chicken breast. She ate both easily.

So my hope is by the end of the year all of them would have better kidneys and liver functions. YAAY!!!

Wednesday Whisperz

shhhhh...playing hide and seek

These days both Tanaka and I play hide and seek with san, especially after dinner. We know that after dinner is the time for TCM, warm sea salt baths and sometimes cutting nails and cleaning ears. These are not fun times for any of us - myself, Tanaka and Popps. san leaves Bujang alone as he has claws and teeth that he is not afraid to use. So almost always we try to run and hide.

I do not think I need to eat meds effuryday. So once I hid myself in the litter bin. It was amusing to hear san call my name. Then I hid in grandma's cupboard and once I hid under the grey stool in the living room, right under san's nose. I am beginning to like playing hide and seek. 

I usually pretend to be asleep in grandma's room. San would always allow me to sleep undisturbed. But now, there is no escape as I need to clean my ears only once in a week. I don't mind that too much these days. I quite like the attention unless it's time for nail clipping!

Tanaka on Thursday

I did not want to go to see the needle doctor on Tuesday and tried to look furry sad. But as you can see later it did not work furry well this time. 

This was me at the needle doc. I had many needles for my spleen, gall bladder and kidney. The special kidney needles were nearer my left hind foot but I managed to dislodge it. Hurrah fur me!

I was furry nervous and upset at first. I didn't like the smell offur the office nor the feel offur the needles. I told the doctor that I would only have 2 needles on my head. He tried twice to poke 3 needles in but I shook my head and told him NO!

After about 10 minutes I felt much better and wanted to see what else was going on in the office. It was not too bad as san was with me and I had my own woofie all the time. This woofie used to belong to my rainbow bruffer Megat but now its mine.

Later that night san gave me the TCM to eat for my kidneys. It was so horrible that I tried to spit out most of it and I salivated a lot. I tried to sneeze it out as well. San had to give me a warm salt bath afterwards and she also has to take a bath herself. REVENGE is sweet. But I was too tired by then and fell asleep on my favorite blanket. 

Easy Peasy Sunday Thanks

San thought I should blog for today since I am so much better in my body and mind. San said I have stopped gnawing at my skin until it breaks all the time and THIS is a cause for celebration. Last week I only had a tiny one and we put some antibiotic cream on it. We both feel that it was an achievement for the both of us. I know san feel thankful for this. I can't help smiling under my pillow case. 

Here I was waiting for Adrian, my osteopath yesterday. I was so relaxed that gradually fell asleep on my tiger. I have never done that before. 

Here I was falling asleep. Adrian told san that my body was much better and I was a very relaxed kitty. He was quite amazed at how well I was doing. I was also not so stressed in my head. He checked my bones and said they were all in alignment. THAT is good news as well. 

My sister Popps was also in a good place. She had started to play with her lion and sometimes she throws him out of her bed as he was taking too much space. 

Here she was giving him a lesson about playtime. She carries him about as well. 

My brothers Bujang and that orange one Tanaka are also doing well. Huh? What do you mean I need to talk about them separately? Oh well, if you insist. 

Bujang is also doing well. He has taken his TCM medicine without much fuss although he still needs to be persuaded to take the calming medicine. He is also much more playful and would run about with Tanaka more. San thought his back was better but Adrian said it was still a problem. The thankful part was that it was now stable and has not become worse. Adrian suspected that Bujang has chronic back pain. San said that was not good news. But Bujang seemed to be able to do the usual things okay so maybe it was not very painful now. Bujang told Fern that he 'could manage' the pain himself. But san will try to tell the needle doctor about the chronic pain next week. San thinks Bujang should still go eventhough he hates the needles. 

Ya. My orange kitty brother is always napping. San says maybe he is a little bored as san has gone back to work. But at least now he is eating his wet food more times than not, although not as much as before. He does not irritate me as much as I am much more fierce and will tell him off. I know he is getting the probiotics and now he has his own tray of grass as well. Although I don't like him much, I hope he gets over his nausea  and eats his wet food as enthusiastically as his dry food soon. 

Akira 0.1 (10) and Bujang 1.0 (5) Acupuncture Protocol

This is now what our sessions are like if these 2 are together. Akira is always concerned about Bujang and would try to stay as close to him as possible. Even when he yells loudly and turns about wildly in his carrier, she remains cool and calm. As she thinks the sessions 'are not too bad' for herself, I hope she can convince Bujang that it will be the same for him in the long run. 

Bujang continues to be upset at the acupuncture sessions. Dr O and I thought it wiser if he uses the towel to prevent Bujang from lunging at him during the needle-in session. It has worked somewhat, but the doctor must always be aware of where Bujang's head is as, like  a snake, he can lunge out from under the towel to take a bite. But this has not happened yet and yesterday Dr O thought he was a 'good boy' as eventhough he was turning about and growling the doc managed to put in all the necessary needles. 

He has about 7 needles (only 6 shown here) and these are for his back and kidney. He told Fern that he 'could tolerate' his back pain and didn't like being disturbed. But he is already 12 years old and I don't think I like the idea of him even having to tolerate back pain if I can make it less painful or even help him get rid of it. It's a good thing Dr O is used to cats and knows how to avoid getting bitten and he allows Bujang time to rest and relax in between the needles. Bujang likes the heat and would move about to get as much heat as possible on his back. It's just the beginning and the ending that is fraught with danger. 

At home I see him running about with Tanaka but he no longer jumps up on things as much as before. It may be his back pain is affecting him and he cannot jump up as much but at least he is running about although for shorter periods of time. 

Akira continues to do well and there is new fur slowly growing on the outside of her limbs and even at the back of her ears. Dr O noticed that she had very little fur on the back of her ears on the first day we started these treatments. I think it's because she scratches them really hard. She has however bitten through her skin once or twice again. Nevertheless her fur has grown much softer. The doc said its the effects TCM and acupuncture. He said sometimes the colour of the animal would also get brighter. That seems like a good thing but I am content if she stops biting through her skin. The fur is still very short and fragile though and I hope she doesn't lick them off any time soon. 

                                       A: I will try san but I don't promise. 

We will end out post for the last day of 2014 with wishes of light and joy to everyone for 2015. Happy New Year. 

Checkups and Acupuncture for Bujang (long post)

When san told me it was my turn to go to the vet I thought she was kidding. But when she didn't give me any food for a long long long time, I knew she was serious. When we went out to the vet's it was raining. San told me that the rain should not stop us from going. Hmmmm there would only be bad things from here on. 

The vet looked at my teeth, stole my blood and actually bundled me in a towel. I told them loudly 'NO WAY YOU TERRIBLE PEOPLE ARE TAKING MY NAILS!' But they did anyway. I fought and yelled and tried to scratch everyone. San said this was the worse I had ever been where my nails were concerned! Then san said that I had been having back pain and that may also be the reason I had yelled so much as the vet helper had to put me in a towel as I was a big kitty and could hurt them (I would not hurt them as I am gentle but I was in pain). So the vet touched my back to check and at one point I hissed at him and warned him to stop it. San did not want any painkillers for me as I would not take it ( and I know she is afraid of my teeth). Since I was also going to the osteopath, she said she would get Adrian to help me as well as he has been very good at helping my back pain before. 

The blood test was not as good as before. The vet told san quietly that I had kidney problems (CRE 2.4 but BUN was not so bad at 21) I was glad when san just told the vet that she would take care of that and it would be ok. 

But as I said before I thought there would be dark clouds and so there were. It rained very heavily and we couldn't find a taxi to take us home. San and I were stranded. But san thought that since we were stranded, she could send me for acupuncture for the pain in my back. WHAT!!!! I DON'T WANT NEEDLES LIKE AKIRA!! But she did it anyway!

She told Dr O that I had pain in my back and showed him where the pain was worse. Dr O saw  my blood test and discussed some stuff with san about my kidneys. I knew something was up and I didn't like it. He made me walk about and said that the pain was worse on my left and I walked with my back lower than the rest of my body. He said back pain was easier to take care of than kidneys. San as usual said we would be there to see it through. (Notice that she didn't ask me for my opinion). Dr O did say that he thought I had very beautiful eyes which were round and very bright. I was glad he noticed that at least. 

He poked the needles in my back very quickly. I was not too concerned until he put one right on the spot and I hissed at him to leave me alone. Dr O told san that one of the points for the back would also take care of the kidneys. I knew that I should not bite him (yet) but it was over very quickly. I didn't have those electrodes like Akira but only the warm light. I liked that a lot. I was there for half an hour. 

Here I was just sitting with san with the light on my back. It was over very quickly. 

Dr O then gave san some TCM for my kidneys and advised her to put it in my food. She had to warm the food first and mix a little of the powder in it. I am glad to say that as of this morning I had eaten all my food with the powder in it. 

That was what had happened yesterday. In the afternoon my sister Akira had her acupuncture session as well and we went home together in a van that san had called as no taxi would take our call. It was the Pet Mobile. We were able to be home safe and sound and very dry. 

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.