Run Free Minah

Minah the BOSS ...now for sure SUPERBOSS...
Minah loved the sunshine and would roll about on the cool cement floor under it...
She loved her food as well and would cry loudly when we're late with it!
This was her favourite pose- the better to see Bujang and let Bujang see her :)

She was always curious about our carrier and would investigate and sniff it whenever she could...

Run free Minah. Today is the beginning of long days of running and laying under the sun :)

Minah on Sunday

An old picture of Minah under the morning sun :)

I brought Minah to the hospital today so she can get round the clock care and with 24-hr IV and meds. She was quiet the whole morning at home and ate some food, just a teaspoonful of Whiskas as she doesn't want to have anything else, especially not renal wetfood! She drank her water and went back for a nap. I thought if we could get her crea numbers to fall a little, we would have a chance.

She allowed me to clean her up with little fuss, only wanting to sit close. The cat ward was quiet. They put her on the drip and she went back to sleep.Of course when she was at the clinic, she had peed on the vet for daring to fix s catheter on her and giving her laudrabolin. I was very proud of her for fighting back  :)

She has one week at the hospital and I we are taking it slowly. The amigos seemed to know that she was not in the kitchen and came out as usual. They were a lot more relaxed, even Tanaka who had refused to come out all of yesterday. They are now all asleep and I am grateful for each one who is safe tonight.

Bad News Friday

 This is practically one of the last pictures I took of Minah when she was well and fat...

3 weeks ago, she seemed thinner and wanted to eat at strange places. Then last week, we had to look for her to give her dinner quite late at night and she would eat only a few mouthfuls. I was very worried when we saw this week that she would drink a little water and merely lick at her food. She had lost a lot fo weight in a space of one month and so we brought her to the vet. Indeed Minah has acute renal failure and Dr T said her indicators were extremely bad. Although her prognosis was very poor I decided that I should try to save this used to be very feisty kitty. She is as old as Bujang- 8 years old this year. Community cats do not have an easy life and she is well-beloved by everyone. The residents in this block knows her by name. So I am trying sub q fluids which would be the most likely factor that would help her, the azodyl, the alutab and the apo-k. I have to bring her to the vet every day so that they can administer the tablets and the sub q as I am not at all confident that I can do this for Minah as yet.

She is staying with us for 2 weeks (with grandma's blessing). She has been very quiet after the tablets and the sub q. I had given her some water but she didn't drink any. I hope its because of the sub q. She didn't want to eat any kibble either. The vet said her teeth are not in good condition but her gums are ok. Now of course with the renal issues she would not be able to get any work on her teeth at all.

I called M&M to see if they would board her but she needs a vaccination. That would take me all of 6 weeks and I do not know if Minah would survive so long but I would get the vet to vaccinate her anyway as I may not be able to keep her here very long. 

The amigos are very curious but not unduly stressed out so that is good. I do not know what I would do this time round. I think I tried too hard with FatBoy, willing him to live when his system could not take it any longer. But the  of course I do not know if I can do any better with Minah. 

She is asleep and although I allowed her out to walk about in the kitchen, she made a choice of going back into the cage after a few minutes to rest. I had cleaned her up a bit with warm water and salt and so she is comfortable and quite clean.

Her indicators are horrendous and I can feel her spine quite clearly through her skin. But she has a little of her muscle mass. I think I have to do enough to help her. We will be doing a comprehensive blood test after 2 weeks of the regime and then I would have to make some decisions- and I really do not want to make any of it!

 She is severely dehydrated. the vet said her high numbers could be because of her dehydration so her sodium chloride would do her some good, if so.

The BUN and creatinine are off the charts!

A little rant

Putih at dinner yesterday is looking thin and a trifle wan, not her usual rotund self. But as she is not unwell nor does she have fever, we decided to leave her alone and allow her some time to recuperate by herself. I suppose we are very lucky here as there are 3 caregivers for this small area although the place where Putih is has become rather crowded. People have been abandoning their cats and these cats go about marauding, like pirates! I do not blame the cats as they really have to fend for themselves and there is only so much space to go around. I really do not know how anyone can look at their cats and then in the next heartbeat, throw them out! Really!

Okay I was wrong. It was really some internal error on Blogger :))

Lost Community Cat_now found

We could not find Putih for 4 days already. At first we were not worried as she had sometimes gone missing for 2 days on end and not appeared for dinner but this time she has gone missing for 4 days! Some children told us there was a newly abandoned and very fierce kitty in the school (her homeground) and so she may have left because of this. Cousin R and I and 2 other cat caregivers had gone round the estate looking for her to no avail. But just like our previously 'lost' cat Grey, she may come back later. At least this is what we hope for. Cats sometimes travel to other places for safety although she must have been stressed out to have gone away from her usual haunts and miss dinner unless some other caregiver is looking after her now. All our other cats are not 'lost' and so we don't think its the AVA or TC or pest control especially after the increased interst in animal welfare (Chong Pang) after the GE.

I have placed a notice in the CWS site using these two pics just now now and so I hope someone would have news of her.

PostNote
We are glad to report that after 4 long days, Putih showed up this morning. We got the news from M, one of the caregivers who feed her. M said she was not eating much and when Cousin R fed her at dinner, she had very little appetite for food, just nibbling. Cousin R said Putih was not sick, just a little thin and rather dirty but she ran off into the school right after her few bites of food (So she could not have been too scared of the new cat). We will know more tomorrow. We now suspect that she may have been relocated by someone in mischief. This had happened before to one of our cats (from news that we gathered from the neighbours). This is because it is unthinkable that a cat like Putih would disappear for many days and she knows the territory. She must have travelled far to get back! We are just glad she is home.

Wild Bunch Sunday

This evening was rather warm. The weather people warned us about heavy showers but we only saw a slight drizzle yesterday. So this evening Her Royal Highness Minah found herself a cool spot among the lilies :)

But her appetite is still good I am glad to say. However, she is looking a little thin.

Putih LOVES the Tuna and Crab meat combo for Aristo Hu (I think of it as Aristo Cat and sometimes I ask for it that way to the confusion of the Pet Store people). So I have decided to give her this as if not she would eat very little. This way, I know she would always appear for dinner.

Aristo Hu Tuna and Crab Meat. Minah and Tiger love this too and so do Bujang and Totoro. Totoro is a surprise as he hates new food. Tanaka likes this but not too much. Tanaka likes a varied diet.

An empty dinner plate is a joy to see :)

A few people have been asking Cousin R why we feed the community cats Aristo Hu and sometimes Fussie Cat canned food and not just buy the cat food from the 7-11. They said that Aristo Hu or even Fussie Cat may be too expensive to buy for community cats. For one thing, I thought if I gave them the same brand, it would be easier for me and so I do not have so many brands in the store room. I think I should give the kitties the same food as I give the amigos as I am confident they won't get sick on it. Of cos Aristo Hu is not a premium brand but the amigos hate those brands and like this. (I also remember the great fiasco with Nutro and I can't help but wonder if that was why Toro has those calcium deposits in his kidneys)

Ms Akira would eat Fussie Cat or Aristo Hu and then she would throw up on them. The only canned food she could eat safely is BURP Salmon and Gravy. Period!

Since the amigos also have kibble to eat for the most part, I do not worry about them. But I think the community cats should eat enough to tide them for the night and if they have something they like and it is not too bad for them (and I can afford to buy it) then I should.

Note
Thanks Nicole for alerting me to the brand. [Pls also see my addition about how my cats Akira fares on the them before you give them to your cats.]


I also buy them Fussie Cat and Putih likes Salmon and Tuna. The amigos only eat Salmon and Tuna also and won't eat anything else. I tried to give them something new, with the pic of a puma on it. But they won't eat it. I tried Fancy Feast. Bujang used to love them but now he doesn't like anything from fancy Feast and none of the other kitties eat Fancy Feast. The amigos eat Natural Balance on occasion and they are all on the Urinary Diet for their kibble.

Well Done Kitties.

We are thankful that on the last day of 2010, our Wild Bunch and JeffryBiy are ok. We hope all kitties are ok at leats for today, the last day of 2010.

What Now?

Hmmm...I wonder what he wants now? He sounds suspicious san...furry...

After many years of not having to talk to TheMan (see here for episode one , two , and many more I could not relocate), it seems I might be in for more of the same trouble. Since I have not seen him for some time (almost 3 years), I decided that I should tell him about FB and that was how we got to talking. This was because he seemed fond of FB, though not so fnd of the 'dirty' cat Screaming Banshee aka Megat. (when Megat was still living in the carpark)

Then he asked me for my email and no, which I gave as I had asked him to watch out for Minah as one of the old men in the estate had tried to scare me with "Don't feed. Wait the police catch you!" It would seem churlish to not give him my email address nor my number after that :(

Then he asked if he could help me with the cats. I told him I now have only 2 of 4 and so didn't need any help but his over-friendliness is making me uneasy. I remembered once he told me that he had followed me about when I was feeding the Wild Bunch in the evening to see that I was safe. I do not know what he would have done if I was 'not' safe though as he is no spring chicken!

I merely said that instead of helping me, he could help CWS and I would help him get in touch with our rep.

Wild and Wilder Bunch on the Weekend

We now give Minah a more watery diet as well as some water whe she has dinner. Because of our new cleaner, our water bowls keep disappearing. We understand that he has to throw the water out to prevent the aedes from breeding and it is no good we telling him that we change the water and wash the container everyday. We do not want to jeopadise his job. But Minah has a hard time drinking water in this way but we think training is the key, even here...we hope.

Putih does NOT like a watery dinner...
But as the canned food has 80% water, we feel that she would be okay as we had to trash the idea of keeping her water bowl too.

The Wilder Bunch came to dinner on both days this weekend. Yesterday they were all very hungry so I do not know if their caregiver had fed them. Blackie (left) is looking as shiny and fat as ever. TK, top right, is bigger and stronger and less noisy. The one on the bottom right is Grey Lady. She disappeared from her home for a about a month after she was hurt in a fight with newly abandoned cats. It seemed she was hurt very badly and limped about but she was too diffuclt to trap, her caregiver M said. That was about 3 months ago and now she is back and looking very well indeed.

Wild Bunch

We now have only 2 cats in our original 4. Minah is looking strong although a little thinner these days. This could only mean good things as she was too fat before :)

Putih is looking well and fit. He face has lost all the scabs and marks and now she looks just as good as before. I am glad her good looks were not marred by her experience.

This is not part of the Wild Bunch. She live sin one of the blcoks near the SACH, where grandma is in presently. She is very healthy with a good coat.

This kitty lives at my workplace. She is quite and moves around quietly. She also hides when there is a lot of people traffic. This is a clever kitty.

All Better

We are glad to report that our pretty kitty is now on the mend. The scabs have fallen off and she looks just as good as before except for the little spot on her nose. I am glad that she no more hangs out at the dumpster and spends her time near her feeding space. People would usually juts give her a liitle pat on her head when they pass by. She tolerates this show of affection quite well.

What now Putih?

Putih's face show her minor injuries...

Putih cleaning her face from the cleaning solution...

The wound on her face was superficial and we cleaned it up with some cleaning solution. It didn't hurt her. She then decided to rest and lie about on the pavement, with nary a care...

We had quite a big scare last Wednesday. Cousin R smsed me in the evening to tell me that M had rescued Putih from the rubbish dump. It seemed that there was blood on her face but M didn't get a chance to clean her up nor take care of the wound. I immediately called the vet to make an appointment, fearing the worst. But when she came to dinner, we saw that she had a minor wound which was nt deep, only on one spot on her face and she was just a little grubby. We cleaned her up and she didn't protest too much. Once we released her, she went into carefully cleaning her face and lay about on the pavement so we knew she was not hurt.

We suspect that she might have entered the dump when the cleaner opened it up. She was locked in accidentally in an adjoining room where the cleaner kept used furniture and the container for hell money. The cleaner informed M and they both immediately went to rescue her. We think she was locked in for a whole night as she didn't come to dinner on Tuesday. Thank goodness the cleaner knows M and he was kind enough to rescue Putih. She could have really hurt herself there too as it seems there was alot of furniture and other paraphenalia that could have fallen on her and hurt her!

But she was none the worse for the experience and I hope she has learnt from this lesson not to enter anymore dumpsters!

Its all a matter of faith

http://thingsweforget.blogspot.com/2010/08/564_24.html

I realised that through all my trials and joys with FatBoy, this is essentially my mantra. Thanks to the blogger who owns this site. It has nothing to do with religion but rather a belief that I have - if I do whatever I can, then things would get better or at least improve. I have fears of course and they sometimes nag at me fiercely but I go on anyway.

I would like to thank all of you who had gone through this experience with me and given me advice and help. I really especially like to thank our cat sitter R, who gave him all his meds and took care of him every day when we could not. For the last short month of his life, he was safe, did not have to suffer through rain and hazards of a carpark life.

The vet assistant P was also very sad about his passing and the staff at our vet practice were all very kind and allowed me some time with FatBoy. The vet Dr L talked to me about the life of community cats and sat with us for a bit. I did not have to fill in numerous forms at the counter(like I had to do the last time for Callie) and for that I was very grateful.

Cousin R told the auntie about his passing and she was of course very sad. It was like a whole part of her history gone in a wisp. She had taken care of him eversince he was abandoned and felt his passing keenly. My only regret was that she was not able to see him even when we visited him at R's as she has trouble walking.

Thanks again to everyone. I really do not know what I would do when our next commuity cat gets renal failure. But I hope I would be able to do the same things, only better.

a note of interest:

Sister S told me last Saturday that she thought she saw FatBoy at the void deck but I told her that FatBoy was with R. She said the cat looked just like FatBoy, complete to his tail. She went to look at him and spoke to him and saw that the cat looked a little unwell. Then yesterday, one of the auntie's friends asked me if I had released Fatboy at the void deck and I had to tell her the sad news. She said she thought he looked very much like FatBoy. Of course I could not find this mysterious cat and I think maybe it belongs to someone in the block. Or as now we have a vacuum, another kitty had decided to take his place. But its weird just the same.

RIP FatBoy

FatBoy died today at the vet at about 1130. I was with him when he died. I was just talking to DR L yesterday about the possibility of vaccinating him as I had found him a place at one of the shelters and vaccination was compulsory to admitting him there.

But this morning we had to bring him to the vet as he was very noisy, which was very strange behaviour. He said goodbye to me and then I brought him in to the vet when he died.

Good rest FatBoy! Hang out with your buddies and get fat in greener pastures.

Community Cat Sunday: Putih

Putih ran to dinner when she heard the key rings. I was very impressed as she did not limp at all.

Her leg has healed quite well. The fur is already growing back!

Putih: Must you really take _another_picture?
san: Yes! I am so glad to see you well.

FatBoy

It is really difficult to find a permanent place for FatBoy. I had called a few people, Mettacats included, but they were not able to take him in. I worry because August is almost up and R may not be able to extend his stay as she found it very difficult to cope with his medication. I totally understand her but that does not help FatBoy's situation. They have boarded up our carpark quite extensively and so that is no good for us.

Poor FatBoy may have nowhere to go but back to the carpark.

Take Care Putih

Taking a rest...

We released Putih yesterday. She has been with us for 7 days. We were supposed to release her last Sunday but I thought she could do with one more day where she didn't have to face the gangster cats that gave her the bites. However it threatened to rain and so we had no choice but to release her yesterday.

She was all ready to leave and was quiet when she saw the playground. Once released from the carrier, she sniffed the air a little and inspected her trees. Then with lightning speed, she jumped about and scratched her nails on her favourite tree and gambolled about.

She was really pleased to be out in her own territory again and we were pleased that she was well enough to be there. Cousn R called M, the caregiver at Putih's block to tell her of the release and to ask her to keep an eye out for the Little Miss :)

Hope Springs Eternal

FatBoy's latest numbers.

We were very surprised at the numbers that we saw from his blood test. There were very drastic. When I saw him last, I thought that there was nothing more that I could do for him and eventhough he may not feel any pain (but I do not know this to be true), he was still looking very sickly and he drooled a little. I thought it would be very selfish of me to want him to get well, when he was past getting well and I should do what was best for him.

FatBoy decided he would rather drink water from a cup than from a bowl. When he was at the catsitter, she gave him his water in a container much like this one.

Cousin R and I decided that we should give him a new collar and we cleaned him up a bit with warm water and salt solution. He protested but not to violently.

FatBoy waiting for R to pick him up again...He is 3.5 kg.

I want to thank everyone who had left their comments and advice for FatBoy. As his tests were good, the doc and I decided we should continue with the present arrangement for medication and subq. This test was taken 3 weeks rom his last one. So now he is back at R's with a bottle of Azodyl. Next week we should be able to get his Eprex since his PCV is 27% and the vet worries about his anemia.

He has 2 more weeks with R before I need to find him alternative accommodations. I asked R if she would consider looking after him for another month as I think it should improve his conditions somewhat or at least make sure his indicators are healthier. R said she would have to think about it first as it is a lot of hard work. THAT is true and I wouldn't blame her if she decides it s too much for her as she needs to make sure he gets subq and medication everyday. She did say that she would have to reconsider her fees. I told her that I expect no less and I would be willing to pay her whatever amount she thinks fit to take care of him for another month.

If not, I would have to see if there is another facility that would take him in plus give him medication. I do not know exactly where that would be.

This evening when I was feeding Minah, I saw that they had boarded up a part fo the carpark to remodel something. This means I would not be able to release him in the carpark as I would never be able to entice him to get out from under the cars to eat for even to do the subq.

But I still have hope that R would consider taking care of him for another month. Hope springs eternal in the human breast, says Alexander Pope, never mind the rest of the quote...

All's Well

Sitting pretty

Investigations...hmmmmm...

Time for a bit of groomin...

The leg area where she got bitten. There were several puncture wounds around this bit if her leg. It was swollen so the vet lanced it to see if there was pus. There weren't any.

Her blood test. The doc said there was no need for a blood test but I decided it would be good to know if I have another renal kitty in the Wild Bunch. All of us sighed a collective sigh of relief at these numbers. Today the doc said the last day for antibiotics would be tomorrow and we could release her then. Her leg has stopped swelling and she is as right as rain.She is generally quiet in the house so grandma was willing to allow her to stay for a few days. The amigos were also not very curious about her. They can hear her sometimes when she asks to be let out but they have never seen her. They are actually quite mellow considering that she is a total stranger with strange smells unless she smells of the clinic and meds from surgery, just like Toro :) However, we decide that she would not be let out tomorrow but Monday. Its just that one more day in a quiet place would be nice..for anyone but really good for a community cat who has to  face the newly abandoned kits in the neighbourhood.