Animal Tales

Q3 update

2008-09-23T00:02:00.003+08:00

We've had, to our surprise, a few successes lately. Other than the semi-success of re-homing Latte, there was Blossom, whom I befriended whilst on evening walks with baby; Barley, another cream-and-white kitten which we found one morning when Gravitas paid a visit to our regular GP for yet another bout of 'flu (although we lost his sibling, Curly who was quite sick by the time we picked him up), and Turnip, Pumkin's friend from mumsie's back lane. Blossom, Barley and Turnip were found new families by the ever helpful vets from Klinik Wawasan who saw to it that they were/will be neutered and vaccinated.

Pumkin, the white and marmalade with pneumonia which mumsie rescued from a litter in her backlane, is currently residing in her backyard. He's been neutered, dewormed and vaccinated and looks to be our first TNR because the vets couldn't find him a new family. Only he's rather tamer than your usual TNR, despite starting out pretty wild. When mumsie opens the backdoor, he runs into the kitchen and rubs up against her legs. Or the legs of anyone who happens to be there. The backalley cats bullied him initially, stealing his food and such but he seems to have found his place for now. Its not ideal, having him live in the mosquito-infested backyard, but I suppose it's a compromise between going sick and hungry in the streets and an uncertain future at an animal shelter.

Gravitas has been feeding a feral whom he calls Ring Tail at a commercial area nearby for nearly two months. She is Barley and Curly's mother. She had two other kittens who have recently disappeared. We had hoped to rescue them but they wouldn't let Gravitas touch them right up to the time they disappeared. Instead, a black and grey tabby sauntered up to him a couple of weeks back. Cottontail is currently residing in our bathroom whilst we try to decide what to do with him.

By the way, the Spice Meow count has risen to eight. Cumin, whom the vets call The Golden Phanter (his face does bear a resemblance to the pink one) was found pan handling at our stairs one day. He was so tame he let Gravitas carry him with one hand back to our place. Only he's not really tame - he's really rambunctious and casualties so far include a kitchen roll (means he got up on the kitchen counter, grrr), our brand new screen door and very nearly some heirloom china on display. He also enjoys tormenting the existing cats. We don't have as much time to rehabilitate cats as we used to so we're wondering whether to banish him to mumsie's backyard.

We're reluctant to resort to that but it is getting very crowded in here; and mumsie seems to think that Pumkin has the best of both world - regular feedings, medical attention and a home as well as the freedom to roam.

Success (of sorts) at Last.

2008-06-24T10:26:00.003+08:00

Remember Latte the Valentine kitten? He was being fostered by mumsie. Having grown into a handsome fella with blue eyes and himlayan markings, a neighbour took a fancy to him. Neighbour's kid really took a fancy to him. Mumsie was more than pleased to have neighbour have him. Only problem: kid's mum wasn't crazy about having a kitten clamber all about her immaculate house. Result: Latte got given away to cat-crazy friend. Only problem: Latte got given away before we could neuter him... Grrr. I just hope cat-crazy friend will know the right thing to do.

Then there was Blossom. She is the sweetest kitty in the world. I came across her when taking baby for a walk around the complex. She was meowing for her nominal owner to come feed her. There were empty plastic containers about. For the next few days we saw her on and off and when she was around, she'd come greet us. I noted also that nominal owner left out offal which another cat was trying to eat. Except that piece of stuff was about twice the length of cat. And the stuff was raw. Then one day, Blossom didn't have any food and owner didn't seem to be in and plastic containers had been put away. So we took her to the good vet. A client of theirs came by, and took to Blossom immediately. We don't blame him. She is SO pretty and sweet. Bye-bye, Blossom, We hope your new owner will love you and care for you properly. I'm just sorry we couldn't keep her.

P.s. Vets neutered Blossom before releasing her to new owner.

Some Updates

2008-03-10T13:04:00.004+08:00

Pepa is back to normal like she never fell down. She's as naughty as ever, if not more and has emerged as the matriach of the Spice Meow troop.

As expected, there have been no takers for Damon and he has joined the Spice Meow troop if only as an outcast and together with Tammy occupy the supposed laundry area.

Nutmeg is big, fat and cuddly, now outsizing Cory and even Ginger the former title holder of "Big Fat Orange". Cory's still with us, sweet, slim, meowy, sneezy and watery-eyed. It turns out he's our favourite cat and we hope he lives a long, long time, FIV notwithstanding.

Saffron's still slightly bigger than Nutmeg, despite his under-privileged kittenhood. He's more confident now but Damon picks on him and Ginger comes to his rescue.

Tammy is plump and affectionate but Ginger and Nutmeg enjoy teasing her so she just stays at the laundry area or on top of a bookcase.

Subang Jaya has a new ADUN (representative to the the state legislative assembly). And Selangor has a new Government. Let's hope there's a better future for the strays too.

Like Summer Sky the tiny white kitten I found on Valentine's day. He weighed almost nothing when I picked him up and spent a week with the vets. When I brought him to PAWS, I was asked to foster him cos he was too young to be vaccinated. If they didn't vaccinate him, he'd probably catch something in the crowded shelter and have to be put down. So grandma is fostering him right now, and he has no fear of grandma's two dogs.

So many pathetic stray animals, so little hope for them. Sigh.

Hermit Crabs

2007-10-25T11:50:00.000+08:00

Now, we've learnt in elementary science lessons that hermit crabs appropriate the discarded shells of mollusks to be their homes, and once they out-grow one, they will look for another. Well, Pepa seemed to have out-grown her cardboard box and wandering about, she came across this unattended to paper bag:

Pepa Gets Better

2007-10-25T11:42:00.000+08:00

This feisty girl gets stronger everyday. She can almost walk normally now and her hind legs can now support her weight when she stands up on them. I just took this picture. She stood on her hind legs and climbed onto the chair. Although I haven't seen her jumping yet, I don't mind if she never does that again. That's what got her into so much trouble in the first place. But looking at her progress so far, I won't be surprised if she does that again soon..

Damon's Dim Prospects

2007-10-14T10:56:00.000+08:00

Things are not working out for Damon.

First off, he's not getting along with the other toms. When the other cats were new, they seemed to know the protocol of dealing with prima donnas (the existing cats) in their established territories. Nutmeg, eventhought just a kitten, knew to lay low passively and let the others sniff and growl at him until they finally accepted him. Cory knew not to retaliate when smacked by Saffron. Tammy knew to stay out of everybody else's way until they got used to her. But not Damon. He's been giving as good as he got and for the past week or so he's been confined to a cage for everybody's safety (including mine, because I'd sustained some bites and scratches from breaking up fights). He gets along with the females, though. He plays with Tammy and Pepa just gives him a wide berth so there have been no altercations between them.

Secondly, he's been diagnosed with a tape work infestation. Eventhough he'd been dewormed as part of the standard procedure during his first visit to the vet, tape worms (ugh!!!) are unusually stubborn and he needs three doses of deworming tablets over three days back to back to dislodge them. He also has to be quarantined and eventhough we used to let him out of the cage a few times a day previously (after having taken the precaution of locking up the other toms), we have to stop doing that until he finishes his course of meds. But our bigger problem is actually getting him to swallow the medicine. We've tried dissolving and crushing the tablets to mix with tuna and other smelly foods that he ordinarily goes crazy over but nothing doing. He's too smart for that. It's futile trying to feed him the tablets manually either. He absolutely refuses to allow it and bites and claws at us when we try to administer them.

Which brings us to the third problem. Although he is a sweet cat, I guess he's been wild for too long, and it will take rather longer to tame him and get him to trust humans. After all he's been the recipient of bullying at the hands (and feet) of people and animals (I've seen both species at work with my own eyes) for, probably as long as he can remember. Although we'd want to give him the chance, we are short on resources. Baby's due in two months, and whatever progress we've made with him has probably been erased by his incarceration. He doens't fancy being caged up all day and all night (who would!) and if I were him I'd be wondering what I got myself into trusting these humans in the first place. Unfortunately we don't have the space to dedicate an entire room to him and the cage, although it is a pretty big one, it's no place for a cat used to roaming wild and free (and hungry and wounded and diseased).

And so, confronted with all that, it is with heavy hearts that we have to consider sending Damon to PAWS. Furry Farms, although with a no-kill policy, does not yet have a cattery, and the Independent Pet Rescuers never replied any of our emails. We hope and pray someone with a big heart (and house) will adopt him and love him, because really, he deserves a break after all he's been through. It's a rotten world, and things like this just makes me yearn for the new heaven and new earth.

Pepa Can Walk!

2007-10-11T11:45:00.000+08:00

Halleluia! She didn't even have to attend a healing rally, but yesterday morning, she just got up (and althought she did not have crutches to throw away), and WALKED! Ok, so maybe she just stumbled to the toilet but hey, it's a big improvement from not even being able to stand up.

Pepa's been a really good girl. Notwithstanding getting better at spitting out her meds, she has placidly accepted her incarceration in the backyard ("yard" being used loosely here, since the area aforementioned measures some 5'x4') which she used to protest vociferously and vehemently against during her more mobile days.

Last night when she rolled over, there was a moment when she suddenly hollered in pain. I repositioned her, figuring that she must have rolled onto a sensitive spot. This morning she asked to be let out of the backyard. Walking unsteadily, and occassionally slipping and falling, she came out to revisit old haunts around the apartment, going from room to room and checking out her favourite places.

She walks in a crooked, twisty way, her right hip jutting out and her spine not quite straight, light years away from her old scampery self. She can't stand up on her hind legs yet (although she tried and failed) and we wonder if she'll ever walk properly again. But we love her anyway, and we're just happy she's still around to show us how unflappable and gutsy she is.

Picture above shows Pepa doing her impression of a hermit crab the first day we put her in the backyard. She wouldn't come out from inside the box except to visit the toilet. When it came to food, she stuck out her paw and pulled the food bowl towards her and scooped the food out with her paw to eat.

Pepa the Brave

2007-10-08T10:37:00.000+08:00

It's been pretty hectic since Pepa came home last Wednesday evening. We have to give her her meds (antibiotics and multivits) twice a day and she isn't being cooperative about them. Otherwise, she has been an examplary patient, hardly complaining about her confinement to a cage. I guess she understands that it is for her own good.

Although she refused food that night and the whole of Thursday (she hadn't eaten since her fall except for bits that were force-fed to her), she nibbled at the food we left for her early Friday morning and moved her bowels for the first time in a week later that same morning. That was a relief because it indicated that her bowels were not obstructed and her stool not impacted (which would have required further surgery!) and also that we won't have to feed her laxatives.

She has gradually regained her appetite since then except she now seems to be having a runny bottom. We've had to clean her up yesterday and this morning since its quite difficult for her to avoid her poo with her limited mobility in a small cage. She is still basically a paraplegic cat. She can't properly squat to poo-poo and it must be frustrating and embarassing for her because cats are basically tidy creatures, and Pepa more so than some other cats.

There may have been some damage to the nerves to her toes as well because she doesn't seem to be in full control of them such that when we put her down, they are curled up instead of splayed in preparation to assume a standing position. She now moves around basically by crawling on her tummy, propelling herself with her front paws, with limited help from her knees. Scrabbling like this, she struggles to revisit her favourite nooks and crannies whenever we allow her out of her cage. It's heartbreaking to see her like this, and to remember a spirited and lively cat, bouncing from one piece of furniture to another.

But we are constantly reminded that she herself hasn't given up on life, and her spirit is still the same feisty Pepa as before, wilful and stubborn and never the one to back down from a fight. We hope and pray for her recovery, at least up to the stage where she can walk, even if her gait is lopsided and stiff.

In the meantime, Saffron and Cory have ganged up on poor Damon, and even Nutmeg slapped him yesterday. Things don't seem to be working out and we really need to find a good home for Damon soon because we're starting to feel overwhelmed.

p.s. in the picture above, the incision can be seen near the top of her hip in the shaven area. This cat looks like she has a rat's tail. A tuft of fur is left unshaven at the tip of the tail because some cats apparently have problems recognising their own completely shaven tails and will attack them!

Sorry Menagerie

2007-10-03T09:54:00.000+08:00

The good vet called last evening to update us on Pepa's status. Her post surgery x-rays show her bones to now be aligned and she seems to be in less pain and in high spirits. Although she still refuses to eat, she is now quite vocal, probably complaining about her incarceration (she's being confined to a cage for her own good), moving about a good bit (by scrabbling with her front paws - although she tried a few times, she still can't stand up) and flexing her once immobile hind quarters.

When Gravitas dropped in to see her after work last evening, she gave him her usual warbly greeting and tried to manoeuvre closer to the cage's bars to nose him. Apparently she was quite a sight, half-shorn and still on a drip.

We can't wait to have her home again, to complete our sorry menagerie of cats with handicaps, missing teeth, torn ears and cats with chronic ailments. I'm sure Ginger'll be glad to have her back too. He's been missing her this past week.

We're so glad Pepa's going to live. We just hope we won't drop dead when we see the bill.

Pepper's Status

2007-10-02T07:46:00.000+08:00

Peper underwent surgery last evening. When the vet opened her up, he found the damage more and less extensive than his initial assessment based on the x-rays. The bone fragment that he thought was twisted turned out to be one of three free-floating fragments that had to be removed because they were too small to re-attach. He re-attached the bigger fragments as best he could but warned us not to expect her to make a full recovery. Her gait may never be normal again, but we'll be glad just to have her back.

We're thankful that she didn't seem to have suffered any internal injuries and was stable throughout the surgery (which is something considering it was a pretty long one and she wasn't on a respirator or hooked up to monitors of any kind which a human patient will have. Animal surgery in Malaysia is still pretty primitive). Pepper will be x-rayed again today. It's the usual procedure following orthopaedic surgery to see how her bones look after being patched up (or something). Ginger misses her very much and so do we. We can't wait till she's home again.

Pepper's Big Misadventure

2007-09-29T07:58:00.000+08:00

Do you know the nursery rhyme about Humpty-Dumpty sitting on a wall and having a great fall? Well Pepa-Wepa sat on the window sill and had her own great fall, down all three and a half floors to the concrete below :( :( :(

It happened on Thursday night and we didn't even notice until it was time for the bedtime roll call. We looked for her at her usual hidey-holes and she wasn't there. Something made me look downstairs but the first time I did so expecting to see a cat splayed on the ground below, I saw nothing in the darkness. I then went looking at her hidey-holes a second time but I knew something was wrong because she'd usually answer when we called for her. From our balcony, I scanned the grounds below a second time and that was when I saw a pair of pointy ears and eyes looking back at me from inside the drain than runs along the concrete perimeter of our apartment block.

We dashed downstairs and when Gravitas tried to lift her out from the drain, she hollered in pain. I tried calling the good vet but he didn't pick up, so I had to be contented with leaving a voice mail and a sms. It was nearly eleven at night. He later called back. He hadn't heard his phone as he was out and advised us to take Pepa to a 24-hour vet for x-rays and an assessment. (He doesn't have x-ray facilities at his own clinic.) By this time, we had Pepa as comfortable as we could make her in a carrier in our room. She didn't holler unless she moved or when we tried to move her.

Dr Tan tried to make a preliminary assessement of Pepa through the phone but we were of limited help. I thought of bringing Pepa to his clinic first thing in the morning but he insisted we try the 24-hour clinic in Cheras. We had tried calling that clinic but nobody answered, so we looked up the address in the internet. By the time we were ready to make the trip, it was past midnight.

We finally made it to the Cheras clinic and rang the doorbell and called the emergency hotline number displayed on an illuminated signboard. The kennel assistant let us in and we waited for him to contact the vet on call. After what seemed like a really long wait, the on-call vet arrived. How Pepa howled whenever they moved her! And when it was especially bad, she foamed at the mouth too. It was heart-wrenching, especially when they took her into the x-ray room where we couldn't follow but could hear her cries through the walls.

When they were ready, on-call vet showed us the x-rays. Although Pepa's internal organs seemed to be intact (their rupture being the primary concern), she had sustained multiple fractures to her pelvic girdle, the bone that connects her legs to her spine. On the right side, the bone had broken in three places and had come out of alignment. On the left side, there was a hairline fracture. Poor Pepa! No wonder she could move her legs but couldn't stand, and hollered so when they tried to make her!

On-call vet said that we had two choices - either let her heal on her own in which case the fusion of the broken-off bits of bone is left to chance with attendant potential complications, or surgery to attach the broken bits back together.

We wanted to wait untill Pepa is assessed by her regular vet before making a decision. On-call vet administered an analgesic and we went home, getting back at about 3 a.m.

Pepa was pretty much quiet throughout the night, although I can't say for sure whether she slept or not.

When Dr Tan finally assessed Pepa, he concluded that surgery will be necessary. "It looks bad" were his exact words. A broken-off segment of bone had twisted, and will not heal properly on its own. Orthopaedic surgery is a delicate matter in cats because of their tiny bones, and especially the pelvic girdle because it is thinner and more difficult to access than the average limb.

Having said that, Dr Tan said that he would like to observe Pepa for a few days first, to make sure that she is not bleeding internally because internal bleeding sometimes doesn't show until a few days later. Since her surgery will be a long and complicated one, taking 3 - 4 hours, he was concerned that she may not be able to take the anaesthetic load for such an operation if she does indeed have internal injuries. Further complicating the fact is that the x-ray seems to show a hairline fracture on the left side of the pelvic bone where it attatches to her spine..

We are heartbroken. Poor, poor Pepa.

The Bookshelf Cats

2007-09-17T11:10:00.000+08:00

Res ipsa locquitor

From top to bottom: Pepper, Nutmeg, Ginger, Coriander, Saffron.

Damon Pictures

2007-09-17T11:02:00.001+08:00

Damon being manja

Damon with his sad green eyes

hello and goodbye poppy

2007-09-17T10:22:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday on our way for a bite after our monthly visit to the gynae, we passed by the Shell station in SS15. We noticed a little silver tabby meowing, presumably looking for its mother. We drove past it to make a pit stop at the recycling centre and when we circled back, it was still at the same place - the concrete culvert by the moonsoon drain outside the Shell station. We could see that it was panting and hyperventilating in the mid morning sun. Gravitas stopped at a side lane, went out and grabbed the little fella. Breakfast will have to wait.

So off to the vet we went to give Poppy (named for its silver and black stripes) the once over. Dr. Wong gave Poppy a clean bill of health except for some worms and estimated that he (Poppy turned out to be a boy kitten) is two months old and has been weaned.

Poppy is so cute and even-tempered. But we already have two new cats in our increasingly crowded little apartment that need to be socialised. It was a difficult decision (Sigh!) but we drove straight to PAWS from the vet's office. In the car on the drive over, we continued the debate on what to do with the Poppy but I am in no condition to housebreak a new kitten in my current condition..

So with heavy hearts, we signed the surrender form as the PAWS lady explained that we will have to accept the possibility (if not the probability) that Poppy may eventually be put down if he turns out to be sickly or otherwise unadoptable.

We felt angry and powerless. I don't understand why people have all sorts of prejudices against cats and those who don't don't bother to take proper care of their pets by at the very least neutering them before allowing them to roam free and thus produce countless unwanted kittens. The same applies to dog owners. And I don't understand why Malaysians are such snobs when it comes to pets.

Before we collected Damon from the vets' I'd asked Dr Tan how he was. Dr Tan said that Damon is a nice cat and very affectionate. I then asked him if anybody would be interested to adopt such a sweet cat. He remembered somebody who was asking about a cat for adoption but after some clarification, we found out that said potential adoptor was only interested in long-haired cats (ie pedigree-looking types).

So Damon's currently residing with us. He's still rather skinny and bedraggled having lived a hard life on the streets and also nervous after being bullied by other cats and humans but he IS a sweetie. Seven cats is rather too much for our little place like ours. So we've got to find him a home fast. In the meantime, he had his first proper bath (it must have come as a culture shock for him) and we're trying to fatten him up help build up his confidence in the hope that he'd be as cuddly as Ginger one day.

Futile Pleas

2007-09-12T17:02:00.000+08:00

On merdeka Friday, as we were out looking for Damon, we came across a new cat crouching under a parked Waja car. It was rather shy so we left some food out for it and resumed our search for Damon.

Then on Sunday morning, Gravitas went looking for Damon again. Finding him under a parked car, Gravitas lured him to a (relatively) safer place across the monsoon drain for his breakfast and sat next to him as he ate. As I watched from our balcony, the new cat crept out from beneath another parked car and approached Gravitas. It stopped a couple of feet away across the drain and sat down to observe Gravitas. Seeming to have made up its mind about something moments later, it leapt across the drain, and down to a ledge and began rubbing up against Gravitas' legs. So Gravitas poured out some food for this new fella which she ate whilst continuing to be manja with Gravitas.

Before long, Damon noticed her and tried to mount her. Yikes! We don't need anymore unwanted kittens! But whilst allowing Damon to approach, she rebuffed him with a few well-timed slaps. Gravitas phoned me. We had a decision to make.

So I drove over with our two carriers and Gravitas grabbed hold of the newcomer and tried to stuff her into a carrier. She struggled for a bit, scratched Gravitas and got loose. But instead of making a run for it like a cat out of h*ll, she crouched under a nearby car. I went back for a leash which I hadn't thought of bringing along but when I came back with it, she was already in the carrier. Apparently, she decided to come out again, approach Gravitas and meekly allowed herself to be stuffed inside the carrier.

Damon was next and he didn't make much of a protest either, although we clumsily tried to lassoo him with the leash. He patiently waited as we failed miserably with the lassoo and allowed himself to be somehow stuffed inside the second carrier.

Covered with towels liberally doused with catnip, they waited in the car as we waited for the good vet to commence business for the day.

We decided to name the little lady 'Tammy' which is short for Tamarind for her ears, socks and tail which are the colour of bitter chocolate and tamarind pods. She has ice-blue eyes and the rest of her is cream/chocolate but her claim to pure-bred Siamese cat-dom would be defeated by the patches of white fur on her face and the cutest, most amusing white toecaps on her feet.

Tammy is quite little, only 2.8 kgs and the good vet found her to have gingivitis, tonsilitis and fleas. She also has at least one missing tooth out of her permanent set. She seemed quite tame, and the vet opined that she probably got lost or ran away only recently. We don't see any 'missing' posters in the neighbourhood and her purported owners don't seem to have taken very good care of her. We're not sure what to do with her but she is currently residing in what was supposed to be our wet kitchen/laundry room.

As for Damon, the wound on his hip with pus had dried up and the good vet pointed out that it is actually a deep bite wound with two round puncture marks. Poor fella! I wonder if it was Cinnamon who bit him? Anyway, he's still at the vet and doing well. The vet says that he's a nice cat and very affectionate especially at meal times. We had initially planned to release him after he is neutered but it is a shame that such a nice cat should have to fight for food or starve, seek meagre shelter under parked cars, get cold and wet in the rain and fall prey to disease, unkind people, traffic and other animals. I know we can't save every stray cat out there but would anybody find it in their heart to give Damon a good home? I know he'd make a terrific pet..

Sigh, sigh, sigh! I'm not anticipating a positive outcome in all this.

p.s. this is Tammy.

Cardamon & Cinnamon

2007-08-29T16:39:00.000+08:00

Cardamon (Damon for short) and Cinnamon are two marmalade toms who have now taken to roaming Cory's old territory outside our apartment. They are distinguished thus: Cinnamon is a classic tabby with gorgeous swirls on his sides like a cinnamon roll. He first made his appearance a few months back as a big, handsome cat but has since deteriorated and become scrawny. We suspect that he used to belong to somebody and was either abandoned or got lost. Damon is much smaller (we reckon that he's only about Nutmeg's size) and has markings like Ricky and similar vocal characteristics i.e. meowy. We suspect that Damon and Ricky are siblings.

We've been feeding Damon for a couple of weeks or so, but have yet to establish a routine with him. We've only managed to feed Cinnamon once since he's quite elusive and very wary of humans.

Since they both roam the same stretch of road, they are rivals for food, territory and I suppose, females. The thing is that Damon always looses out in their confrontation due to his smaller and scrawnier size. Damon also has wounds, and plenty of them; some healed, some dried and healing, some fresh and oozing.

Just last Thursday, it was raining and I heard cat-fight sounds and looked out my balcony to see Cinnamon chasing Damon. Damon ran and hid in a culvert too small for Cinnamon to follow suit. I went downstairs with some food. Cinnamon ran away on seeing me although I tried to be as non-threatening as possible. On recognising me, Damon crawled out from the culvert to under a dripping car parked nearby. He was wet, dirty, cut and shivering. I felt so sorry for him, but all I could do was feed him. I tried drying him but he was too spooked for me to touch him.

We've since progressed to Damon responding to his name when I call. He would follow me part of the way when I walk away after feeding him but has yet to trust me enough to follow me all the way to the apartment, like Cory did.

We've been debating what to do with Damon. We could grab him and send him to the good vet to be fixed up, but then what? We don't think it'd be right to keep him, not in our current situation, and it's virtually impossible to find people willing to adopt grown cats. The good vet says that sometimes, we can only neuter and release these strays. And feed them too, it goes without saying, but it pains me to think that one day they'll disappear, and when I find them, they'd be flattened on the road, or dead in a gutter from pneumonia or other diseases that menace homeless cats. *big sigh*

p.s. Ricky came back the next day. Gravitas told MIL we'll take him away as soon as we can make some room for him. But I don't know..

Ricky Runs Away

2007-08-07T21:13:00.000+08:00

Apparently "somebody" left the front door open at MIL's when everybody went out and when MIL came home for lunch, Ricky was missing. We are speechless. Well actually, I have a lot to say about it, most of which is unprintable. So we shall leave it at that.

Cory Comes Around, and Nutmeg Gets Greedy

2007-07-27T12:36:00.000+08:00

Cory used to be afraid of Nutmeg. Not anymore. They now wrestle each other and surprise, surprise - Cory will groom him. Not that Nutmeg always appreciates it. He will swish his tail and put up with it for a while but if it goes on longer than he has patience for, he will complain, push Cory away and run off.

Nutmeg is such cutie pie. He loves to be stroked and cuddled and especially after basking for a bit, will come to me and meow his small hoarse meow asking to be picked up. He did this this morning as I was sitting in my chair and so I obliged, put him on my lap and stoked him. He responded by purring loudly. He purred and purred and at last with a final heave of a purr (sort of like an outboard motor sputtering to a stop), laid down his head for a snooze. He changed positions a few times, still on my lap, and adjusted himself for maximum comfort. Before long, Cory, who was snoozing on the next chair, sauntered over, settled himself on my now crowded lap, and started licking Nutmeg behind the ears. Nutmeg licked him back a few times. I was nearly overwhelmed by the aroma of fish.

Notwithstanding being awaken from his nap, Nutmeg seemed to enjoy the bath at first but Cory went on and on and pretty soon Nutmeg was squaking in protest and swishing his tail. But Cory would not be thwarted and continued to pin Nutmeg down and lick him all over his head and shoulders, chest and paws. This went on for quite a while until Cory finally padded off. By this time, Nutmeg was feeling like he really needed to chill out so he jumped off my lap to be left alone.

But not for long. He was soon back asking for food. Honestly, the little fella eats like a pig. He'll also try to steal adult cat food too although he's not quite ready for it for it gives him a runny bottom. He's gotten heavier, furrier, and his limp is less noticeable already. He runs and jumps and plays with the other cats (except Pepa who wouldn't give him the time of day either), his toys, and stuff he finds here and there, dried leaves from the garden being his favourite. Which all goes to show what a little TLC can do for a mangy little wretch.

+ Nutmeg = 5

2007-07-12T08:13:00.000+08:00

I guess Nutmeg's here to stay. We can't help it. Other than his mange, he's started coughing, sneezing and wheezing. It's hard to see his tiny body racked by the wheezes. I wonder how it must be for him. We've also noticed that he has a slight limp. He also has some missing front teeth. Fortunately these are his milk teeth so he should hopefully have a full set later on, unlike poor Cory. And he has the biggest, saddest eyes I've ever seen on a kitten, and the teeniest, tiniest meow. Sometimes he opens his mouth and no sound escapes.

For all that, he is a very affectionate little fella. (I suspect that was what swung the case in his favour where Gravitas is concerned.) He will lie on our laps and purr loudly when we stroke him. He plays enthusiastically, not looking anything like a kitty on its last legs. Although he is supposed to be quarantined till the end of this week, we've started letting him out of his quarantine room (the bathroom) for some fresh air. His mange doesn't seem to be recurring so I think we've made the right decision.

Saffron has welcomed him enthusiastically, making friendly noises and overtures from the very begining but the others are still into hissing and avoiding him. It's amusing to see the Scary Spice Meow, Cory, who terrorises the others mercilessly freeze in his tracks when he encounters Nutmeg,who is perhaps one-fifth his size, then hiss and run away. He, along with Ginger and Pepa, have since progressed to sniffing or touching noses with Nutmeg before hissing and running away. We've observed the same process in the introduction of Saffron and Cory and this should eventually to acceptance (or at least tolerance) of the new fella, and is far better than pouncing on and attacking.

I suppose Saffron is glad to have a friend of his very own at last, someone to play and wrestle with (I don't know how the little fella tolerates being rolled on by a fat black and white sausage but he goes back for more) who doesn't disdain him (Pepa), or only responds half-heartedly when in one of his rare moods (Ginger), or plays rough and sends him scuttling for cover (Cory).

For those who wonder how we cope with five cats in a little apartment, we have no answer for you. Perhaps Nutmeg is still small, perhaps the baby is not here yet. There are those who think that cats and babies don't mix. Mumsie thinks the fur will interfere with baby's developemnt, MIL thinks the cats will jump into the cot and frighten baby. I suppose there are others who will have a thing or two to say about cat germs. No matter. We are not getting rid of them (partly because there isn't anyone who can or will take them in) and are in the (slow, slow) process of converting the last room into kitty land. With high rise limitations of course. Cory's present room is the proposed nursery..

Ricky Balboa

2007-07-05T10:52:00.000+08:00

Did I mention Mocha, SIL's orange and white adolescent tom who has been itching for a rumble with Ricky the rescued stray? Well, he apparently got his wish at 4 a.m. recently (notwithstanding that the both of them are supposed to be individually quarantined for their 'flu but why they were allowed to wander about in the house at night is a question only MIL and/or SIL can answer). Well, what can an upstart expect when he picks a fight with an experienced street brawler? To end up at the vet's, that's where, and that was exactly where Mocha ended up. Muahahah! Serves him right.

Although I understand that Mocha's not too badly off I hope that he'd have learnt his lesson, and MIL and/or SIL along with him! So where does that leave poor Ricky? He's an outcast where SIL's concerned; I suspect that she never welcomed his presence in the first place, finding him a competitor with Mocha for MIL's grant of a PR status in her house, and the feeling's mutual where Ricky's concerned - he bit her that first night he was sent to MIL's although he's never demonstrated anything but affection towards Gravitas and I. So we're bracing ourselves for the phonecall demanding that we take him away and hoping that it will never come..

Spice Meows Updates

2007-07-01T17:02:00.000+08:00

RICKY

Ricky's currently being fostered by MIL. It was supposed to be a month-long affair whilst we looked for a new home for him. Well, said month has expired and since MIL hasn't said anything about it, we're keeping mum too. In the meantime, Mocha, SIL's newly adopted cat (an orange and white tom) has been trying to pick fights with Ricky. When Gravitas finally managed to find the time to ship both of them off to the vet, Mocha for neutering and Ricky to be vaccinated, they were both diagnosed with cat 'flu. Apparently, Mocha had been allowed to wander out of the house (before vaccination!!) and picked up the 'flu which he then passed on to poor Ricky. So they're both sneezing and having runny noses and eyes and can't receive their respective treatments until their 'flu clears up, hopefully by next week. In the meantime, both have to be content residing in their isolation cages for fear of infecting Frosty, MIL's resident cream senior tom. Ricky's put on a healthy amount of weight, and we're still waiting for MIL to definitely fall in love with him.

CORY

Cory has turned out to be the ultimate charmer, FIV+ or not. Sometimes he just likes to sit on the bookshelf in his room and look out the window. At other times, he wants to be near us, lying down at our feet like everybody's pet dog. He purrs loudly whenever we stroke or brush him, and when we give him his meals. The vet thinks sometimes strays are grateful for being rescued. Very unusually for a cat, he never fails to answer when we call his name and will come when called. Pepa and Ginger, in contrast, will only sometimes deign to look at us and perhaps meow in acknowledgement when we call them. Coming when called is reserved for when they think they'll be getting something they want, e.g. food.

He isn't getting along very well with the other Spice Meows though, as although he wants to play with them, they unfortunately got off on the wrong foot and the others are wary of him. In addition, he tends to play rough and nokitty wants to play with him. Pepa will growl, flatten her ears and run away. Saffron, if Cory so much as saunters within paw swipe distance will do just that before running away to hide. Ginger lately has started to challenge him. Once or twice, they have fallen into tumble-from-sofa-and-roll-on-the-floor wrestling matches. I suspect that old Gingy has gotten bolder lately because we would break up the skirmishes and send Cory to his room. Clapping our hands and saying sternly, "Cory, go to your room!" will send him scuttling back to his quarters. Having seen enough of that, Gingy probably thinks that we'll be on his side every time!

Other than that, We think Cory's getting better, sneezing less, becoming less watery-eyed and snivelly, putting on weight and getting more confident and contented.

SAFFRON

We've discovered that Saffron, far from being your average stray cat with a constitution of iron, has rather delicate digestion. Supermarket cat food gives him tummy upsets and he can only abide premium brand cat food... Since then, our cat food bills have doubled, because in addition to food allergies, he's also very greedy and will polish off any of the other cats' leftovers. Since both Pepa and Ginger are snackers, nibbling a little, wandering off and coming back later for nibbles, Saffron, whose palate is far less discerning than his gastro-intestinal tract, will end up with tummy aches again if we continue to give the others supermarket cat food. So in order to avoid that, everybody eats premium, although taste tests show that all of them prefer supermarket..

Saffron is also often responsive to his name, giving his trademark "wau" and skeetering over because he's also keen to be stroked, and purring when we do. He has grown somewhat since we rescued him, and has gotten more handsome (somehow I think a bowtie will suit his looks) and has acquired a paunch indicative of middle-aged prosperity although he has yet to reach adulthood. I suspect it has everything to do with his greedy and sedentary habits. Although he's also keen to play with the other cats bar Cory, Pepa will not give him the time of day and he doesn't get Ginger's attention very much more often than we do. Poor fella.

PEPA

Pepa's gotten standoffish of late. I suspect she's sulking because she isn't allowed into our bedroom to take afternoon naps with me on the bed anymore since our room was designated the cat-exclusion zone. But she'll still warble in greeting if I'm trying to locate her in one of her hidey-holes or when she wants me to hoist her up to get at choice bamboo leaves. She'll also come running, warbling, and as fast as her little legs will take her when she hears me remove the top from a cup of yogurt because that means she gets to lick the said top. She alone amongst the Spice Meows loves fruit yogurt. But she is less obliging than she used to be, and although she is the only cat who'd allow us to rub her tummy, she only does so under verbal protest and tries to wriggle free from our arms as soon as she can.

GINGER

His royal orange-ness has been in a prolonged period of sulking. It started when Saffron and Cory were rescued and hasn't ended eventhough both of them have been grudgingly accepted. He has lost some weight (he refuses to eat sometimes) and has gotten more manja, even to the extent of snuggling next to me in the armchair and taking a nap with his head on my lap. This is a totally new experience for me as he's never quite liked being handled, even as a kitten.

NUTMEG

We collected Nutmeg from the vet today, after three weeks of treatment. Although the worst of the cat mange is over, he still needs to be kept separate from other cats for a couple of weeks just in case he is still contagious. We were supposed to send him to an animal shelter but err, Gravitas has kinda.. well, Nutmeg is now in a cage in our bathroom.

The above is a picture of Nutmeg after three weeks of treatment. Below is the before picture. Note that in both photos, his mouth is open. The vets said that he is a very meowy kitty.

Nutmeg the Second

2007-06-12T11:41:00.000+08:00

We found this wretched creature last Thurdsay night, the 7th of June. We were on our way home when Gravitas noticed a tiny bundle of fur walking to the edge of the road and then sitting down, amost waiting to be picked up. It was a little orange and white kitten, about two months old, and looking very sorry. It was a busy period for me but we stopped the car, put on the hazard lights and debated what to do. In the meantime, the little creature sat patiently at the curb next to our car. The answer seemed clear. I took over the wheel and Gravitas went out to pick the little fella up.

The Spice Meows having been locked up, we brought the little creature home and installed it in a cage in the bathroom. It hungrily ate up the food we offered. Now being able to get a look at it in proper lighting, we saw that it was covered in scabs and bald patches, such that when it rubbed itsef against the bars of the cage, bits of scab fell off. We wondered if it had been abused.

Ginger, catching the scent of a new cat in the premises, sulked and hissed at Pepa. Cory took up position outside the closed bathroom door and chased away the other meows who came to sniff under the door. Don't ask me why. Cory is a perplexing cat.

The next morning, I brought Nutmeg (as we'd named the little fella) to the vet. The vet diagnosed cat mange. Nutmeg will need 4 weeks of treatment comprising injections and regular baths before he can be cured (and become presentable enough to be adopted). Four weeks! That's 28 days of boarding fees! I didn't think I could cope with nursing Nutmeg back to health, with four other Meows in our little apartment and a baby on the way. Besides, as always with a new stray, there is the danger of toxoplasmosis and other communicable diseases that we'd have to look out for, especially with Cory being FIV+. So it was decided that Nutmeg should be boarded and treated by the vet for a week (for a start).

Now with cat mange being highly contagious, everything poor Nutmeg came into contact with had to be disinfected, and we'll have to watch out for symptoms of infection in the other Meows! Sometimes we wonder if it is all worth it, money, time, health risks are all involved. But we couldn't just leave Nutmeg to suffer by the roadside. We hope he'll get better (and presentable) cos we'll have to bring him to PAWS for him to have a chance to be adopted. We have been wholly unsuccessful at rehoming the cats we've rescued except to keep them ourselves (full house already) or getting relatives to foster with hopes and prayers that fosterer will fall in love with the cat (as in the case of Ricky who is being fostered by Gravitas's mum). Sigh!!

Ricky Needs a Good Home

2007-05-18T11:15:00.000+08:00

This is Ricky (short for Tumeric). He's a stray who makes his home in the compound of our apartment. We've been feeding him for a few weeks now but as you can see, he's still kinda skinny. I suspect that's because he's not always around when we leave food out for him and sometimes other cats get to his food first.

Ricky is a sweetie. When we feed him, he'd rub his cheeks on our feet and end up rolling over on his back for us to scratch his chest. He also likes to have his head scratched. Sometimes he'd wait for us around the time we usually feed him and meows in greeting. He often sleeps under cars and collects streaks of motor oil on his ears, body and paws. We try to wipe these streaks off when we can because if he swallows the oil when grooming himself, he will end up getting poisoned.

Ricky sleeps rough: under cars in the midday heat, and goodness know where when it rains. We're planning to grab him this weekend and bundle him off to the vet. We'd love to adopt him but we've already four cats in our 850 square foot apartment and there simply isn't enough space, especially since Cory needs his own room.

We think Ricky will make an excellent companion animal for anybody who's willing to offer him a Good Home. Is anybody willing to give him the chance?

Cats and Eats

2007-05-17T11:35:00.000+08:00

Every animal has to discover its own totem name (or have its owner discover it for them). Based on this picture, what do you think Saffron's totem name is? (Hint: he assumes this position and asks for "more!")

That's right - his totem name is Saffron Oliver Twisty Cat. (Just in case you're wondering, Twisty Cat is a proper noun, of sorts.)

And what do you think the normal diet of cats consist of? Other than the usual fish, chicken and other meats, they eat bamboo leaves too. Here's the photographic evidence of it:

A Rasta Rescue

2007-05-03T13:07:00.000+08:00

A few years back, mumsie's handbag got pinched right in front of our house. After the police report etc were made, I took a walk around the neighbourhood, looking into drains and around bushes hoping to find what the thief, who'd only be interested in cash and things easily converted into cash, would have discarded. I didn't find any of mumsie's stuff. Instead, I saw something astonishing in the backyard of a house two rows away from ours.

What at first appeared to be a very dirty mop barked at me. On closer inspection, the dirty mop turned out to be a filthy bedraggled little dog. Its home, the back yard, was small and exposed to the elements, and the only shelter little dog had was an old folding table that had been folded up. Near it was plastic takeaway container with watery mush in it which must have been little dog's food.

I made my way home quickly, and brought mumsie and my camera to the scene. Both of us clucked in sympathy and wondered what we should do. A neighbour came out and told us that the little dog had been in that state for some time. We walked home with heavy hearts. At home, we pondered further on what we should do. Report the matter to the SPCA? Dad thought that we shouldn't mind other people's business. Mumsie couldn't sleep that night for thinking about the little fella. I decided to ask the owner for the dog.

We began staking out the house. We walked past it several times each evening waiting for the owner's car to be in. Finally it was, and we walked up, leash in hand and asked the man of the house for the dog. He wanted to ask his wife about it first and his wife, who was standing behind the door, seemed glad to be rid of the creature. So we went round to the back where man-of-the-house unlocked the gate for us. I looped the leash around the little fella and off he went with us without a backward look. I asked man-of-the-house for little dog's name and after a short hesitation, he said, "Puppy." What kind of name is that? But "Puppy" didn't respond to his name at all

In front of our house, we paused before getting into my car. (We'd earlier made an appointment with the vet.) "Puppy" squatted the way dogs do when they poo and after a moment, he straightened but there was nothing on the floor. As I looked on in amazement and horror, he shook (like a wet dog would) and the poop fell out.. Gross.

When we got to the vet's, he remarked, "what is that?!" We told him the story of the Rasta Rescue and he got to work trimming the matted fur, wearing a plastic apron. The vet admitted later he couldn't tell which end was which at first and took over an hour to remove the disgusting, malodourous felt-pelt. Puppy's ears and tail were immobilised due to the excessive matting. The felt-pelt had miraculously kept him free of ticks and fleas (the vet figured that nothing aerobic could survive under it) although he had a fungal infection and had lost a few teeth.

The sequence of pictures below, is "Puppy" before, during and after being attended to by the vet.

We renamed the little dog 'Ziggy' for his rasta previous life and this is him after-after:

Mumsie later found out that the previous owner got tired of paying for grooming sessions and when Ziggy got rather too messy, he was banished to the backyard. Apparently, the lady-of-the-house didn't like dogs but surprise, surprise! They have since acquired two new dogs! One is a shih tzu acquired at some expense and kept indoors, and the other is a spitz-like white dog which is often caged or chained up in the front porch. I wonder if that constitutes neglect but make no mistake, I shall be watching that house like a hawk for any signs of obviouse neglect and abuse. But honestly, some people should receive lifetime bans on pet ownership.

A Kitty Misadventure

2007-04-27T10:55:00.000+08:00

When we got home at nearly evelen last night, we were greeted outside our apartment block by Ricky (short for Tumeric) a resident marmalade stray with whom we've managed to establish a feeding relationship. We placed some kibbles at the usual place but he wouldn't touch it and seemed to be rather freaked out by some incessant caterwauling coming from some way off to which he was responding with loud meows of his own. I'd thought it was coming from another stray cat somewhere in the next block but Gravitas thought it might be one of the Spice Meows whom we've taken to locking up in the kitty apartments when we go out (except for Cory who is still being sequestrated) due to Pepa's insistence on jumping up on the forbidden zone that is the kitchen countertop. Still downstairs, I looked up to where the kitty apartment window is and to my horror, I saw that the yowling was coming from Pepa who was perched on the window overhang of our downstairs neighbour.

Now, Pepa is something of a dare devil and although she knows she's not supposed to do it, will often perch on the balustrade of our balcony and on window sills (see picture above). Last night, she managed to squeeze through the gap in the window of the kitty apartment which we'd left ajar for air circulation and landed, whether accidentally or by design, but i'm sure very noisily, on the awning of the downstairs neighbour. She then went over to the adjacent window overhang (probably because the awning, rather aged, creaked and rumbled with every step she took) and that was where we found her.

The window overhang on which Pepa was perched corresponded with our kitchen window which has a ledge of the same width and length, and although we opened our kitchen window wide, she couldn't jump up as it did not afford her an adequate angle to aim her leap. So I coaxed her back to the creaky awning, which I though would enable her to jump back onto the sill of the kitty apartment window. However, she was too frightened to budge and instead just kept up her yowling, earning a sush from said downstairs neighbour.

We considered our rather limited options. Letting down a long towel? (can't expect her to cling on with her claws as we haul her up.) Call the fire department? (errr, perhaps not.) That's when I hit on the idea of lowering the cat carrier down to the awning. Now, this trick will never work with the other cats who'd run the opposite direction at the sight of the carrier. I don't blame them. Each time they went into it, they're magically transported to the animal torture chamber called the vet's office. But Pepa is somehow fascinated with the cat carrier, vet experiences not withstanding, and would sometimes just go lie down in it, apparently for fun.

So Gravitas removed the carrier's wire mesh door and I attached some raffia string (we didn't have any proper rope at hand) to its handle. Gravitas then lowered the carrier down to the creaky awning, and Pepa gingerly stepped inside. Gravitas then even more gingerly began raising the carrier by the raffia string, praying that the plastic clasps that held the top and bottom halves of the carrier together wouldn't give way since Pepa's kinda fat. On my part, I was amazed that Pepa stayed still in the carrier sans door. Cats dislike unstable surfaces and if you carried a cat on say, a tray, the cat will more likely than not jump off.

But Pepa didn't move a whisker and after what seemed a very long and tense period of time, Gravitas carried the carrier over the window sill and into the safety of our kitchen. Pepa emerged from the carrier like some hero, seeming none the worse for wear, and was back to her naughty self in no time. I can only shake my head and roll my eyes. Now the sliding window of the kitty apartment is wedged shut with a longer stick and the gap is only about an inch wide. Too bad if they can't get adequate fresh air. They have Pepa to thank for that.

Home Safe and Sound

2007-04-17T14:13:00.000+08:00

Cory's home from the vet at last, sans bebola and looking a little the worse for wear. He's also lost some weight. He didn't eat yesterday because of the pre-surgery fast and although he tried to eat post surgery, he apparently hadn't fully recovered from the anaesthesia and it came back up again. He refused his breakfast of kibbles this morning.

When I brought Cory back to his old quarantine room, he made a tour, sniffing and I believe inspecting the familiar objects before settling down to have a hearty snack. Cats won't eat when they're feeling distressed so that was a good sign. He then stretched out for a prolonged brushing session, even rolling over for me to brush his tummy. After that was a trip to the loo and he's now curled up for his siesta in a sunny spot.

The only damper is that now Saffron needs to be at the vet. He's been very naughty lately, ambushing Pepa and I saw him trying to bite her on her shoulder. That means his snip-snip probably shouldn't wait anymore. He needs to be kept for observation for a while first because his runny bottom's started up again and we can't determine the source of the problem.

We also have new neighbours. They started renovating their apartment today and the sound of the jackhammer the contractor is employing is reveberating through our unit, causing Ginger and Pepa some distress. Cory, being a street cat, or possibly exhausted, is sleeping through it.

It's great to have Cory back :)) The next aim is to have the four Spice Meows under one roof again.

Kitty Trials and Tribulations

2007-04-16T18:09:00.000+08:00

Still no word on Cory. The vet said that they'll call once the deed is done. Why did they retain him for so many days before performing the surgery? He'd be homesick and frightened at the unfamiliar smells and surroundings. Cats are such homebodies. Usually surgery is performed on the same day if fasting has been observed or the next day if there isn't time enough to do it after an 8-hour vet-imposed fast (for the animal, not the vet).

*big sigh*

Hope all's going well. I suspect Dr. Wong will be performing the surgery again since Dr. Tan is in Ipoh. She did a superb job on Pepa when she was spayed. We were told to confine her and restrict her movements (no jumping) for at least a week so the stitches can heal properly. This was what happened:

Day One: Went to retrieve her from the vet. Crouching in pain, she nevertheless managed to crawl into the cat carrier I brought without needing any persuasion. When we got home, I shut her in a cage and she curled up in a padded cat basket liner (the whole basket is too big to go into the cage) and slept the whole day.

Day Two: She meowed to be allowed out of cage. Then jumping up to her favourite chair, she snubbed all Ginger's invitations to play and crouched there most of the day, looking like she was in pain.

Day Three: Pepa started following me from room to room. She'd crouch on some comfortable spot (e.g. the bed) and observe me from her vantage point. Ginger's advances were still being rebuffed.

Day Four: Pepa was back to wrestling with Ginger.

She is one tough cookie. Hopefully Cory is one too. Although his surgery is considered a minor one compared to Pepa's ovario-hysterectomy, his FIV+ status makes his recovery (both from anaesthesia and the wound) more complicated. We miss him very much and can't wait for him to be home.

Stop press! The vet just called. Cory's waking up from his anaesthesia. Surgery was successfully completed on a half-dose of anaesthesia. He conked out in five minutes where other cats usually require ten. We've been advised to collect him tomorrow. PTL!

Cory is FIV+

2007-04-14T21:11:00.000+08:00

Cory has tested positive for the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, the kitty version of HIV. Last Saturday we took Cory to the vet yet again because he'd had another relapse, starting to sneeze, sniffle and tear again after he'd stopped doing so for a few days. The vet suspected something amiss after five weeks of antibiotics, nourishing food and a safe and comfortable environment failed to cure him of his respiratory disease which the textbooks say will spontaneously resolve after 2-3 weeks. The good vet suggested testing Cory for the diseases that will delay his recovery that is, FIV and FeLV (which is feline leukemia). The vet didn't have the tests in stock and so we brought Cory to the vet again this evening (despite his mournful howls of protest) to be tested.

We were relieved when Cory tested negative for FeLV but a second line began to appear in the window of the FIV test kit, indicating the positive presence of antibodies. We'd half expected it, after the good vet emotionally and mentally prepared us for the possibility of it last week, and after having googled it myself. But being mentally prepared for bad news isn't even half the equation, is it?

The good vet assured us that Cory can still have quality of life, and the Internet did say that it is not a death sentence, but veterinary standards here have some way to go yet, and the average lifespan after diagnosis is 3-5 years. On top of that, Cory can't be left unsupervised with the other Spice Meows, in case of a transmission of the disease from an exchange of bodily fluids between them whether from bites, the sharing of food and water bowls or even mutual grooming. Good thing then that cats are solitary creatures. We'll have to prepare a room all for Cory, to keep him mostly separate from the other Spice Meows. We hope he can make the transition from being a free-range cat to a mostly cooped-up one.

To minimize the risks further, Cory will have to be neutered to curb both his wanderlust and sexual aggression. This is suppose to reduce the likelihood of his transmitting the disease to other cats and also to protect him from picking up other diseases his immune system is ill-equipped to fight. Although all surgeries carry risks, especially for a FIV+ cat who will take longer than normal to recover both from the surgery itself and the anaesthesia, surgery is yet the lesser of the two evils, and a risk we'll have to take.

Cory very likely picked up the virus in a territorial fight when he was a stray. That probably means that the virus is rampant in our neighbourhood and all those owners who let their cats roam outdoors better watch out and not be surprised when their kitties suddenly collapse from multiple-organ failure, the usual cause of death in FIV+ cats.

Cory is spending the night at the vet's, and will only come back when the vet deems him fit enough to do so, unlike Ginger who came home the next day after his surgery. We hope and pray that he makes it, and are willing to make the sacrifices for him to be able to come home, and one day die with dignity.

We've grown very attached to the wa-wau cat. For a former stray, he's very affectionate, and the only lap cat we have. He'd jump onto our laps, either on his own volition or when we pat our laps in invitation, and would nuzzle against my chest. He's such a sweetie. We miss him already, and hope he comes home soon.

I think the good vet felt bad for us, because he inundated us with free animal calendars and gave us a discount.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart form the will of your Father" Matt 10:29

Afternoon Thunderstorm

2007-04-04T07:30:00.000+08:00

Soon after the arrival of the two new meows, Pepa started acting bulimic. She'd gobble up her food and then vomit it back out. The internet says that it's a sign of stress as her territory is being invaded by newcomers. In order to make up for it, the internet says, we are supposed to pay special attention to her and fuss over her more than usual. So, I've been bringing her into the (supposedly) Cat Exclusion Zone (our bedroom) for some Quality Time during the prolonged kitty siesta. She'd snuggle with me on the bed and sleep between my legs or in the crook of my knees (cats like to do that, somehow) and has been calmer lately.

Yesterday afternoon, I brought her into the CEZ as usual, and she had her siesta as I read a book. A thunderstorm started. After a while, I heard an "aaau, aaau" outside the bedroom door. I opened the door, and in walked Ginger. I settled down again to continue my book. Before long, I heard a "wau, wau, wau." I opened the door again and in hopped Saffron. I suppose the expression 'copy cats' is not wholly without merit..

Ordeal by Ear Drops - The Verdict

2007-04-03T09:56:00.000+08:00

Would you believe that cats can squeeze their ears shut? Fortunately since the ears are only skin and cartilage they can't clamp it as tightly as their mouths (and they can clamp their mouths pretty tight as anyone who's ever tried feeding an uncooperative cat a pill can attest).

Pepa's the most obliging cat, the sweetie. She just allows us to squeeze in the ear drops and massage her ear canals without any protest. Ginger tries to shut his ear but has learnt that resistance is futile. Saffron meows in protest and tries to squeeze his ears flaps as tightly shut as possible and then keeps them shut as he shakes his head to get rid of the damp feeling of the ear drops. Cory, as usual, is the most challenging. Not only does he squeeze shut his ears, he also shakes his head vigourously as soon as the drops touch down and we hope they'll still be effective!

Caterwauling Cory

2007-04-03T09:37:00.000+08:00

Cory has been very noisy lately. He meows and meows and meows and we're not sure what he wants. He has his basic needs - food, water, toilet, toys. And yet he meows and meows and meows, alternating between "rrrreow" and "wa-wau, wa-wau, wa-wau" in varying decibles. Perhaps he wants human company because when we're in the quarantine room, he pretty much shuts up, bar the occasional muted episode. Will you believe that he can go "wa-wau" with his mouth closed and end up sounding like "mm-mmm"? Strange cat.

Perhaps he's uncomfortably constipating. After all he is into his fifth week of antibiotics and these meds can wreck havoc on one's digestion system. The vet's recommended cooking oil as a 'natural' help because we were reluctant to add another variety of pharmaceutics to his repertoire. Well, I don't blame him for rejecting his dry cat foot doused with canola oil. It seems pretty disgusting to me too so I'm giving him yogurt. He ate some sprinkled with his favourite Friskies (our cats have base tastes in food, thank goodness) yesterday. And I've hit on the idea of mixing in the cooking oil with wet cat food. We hope the combined effects will help ease his bowels..

Ordeal by Ear Drops

2007-04-01T17:39:00.000+08:00

Made it to the vet and back! Saffron was finally able to receive his first vaccination. As I type, we're still waiting for him to get feverish and stop asking for food (greedy cat, that.) It seems that he can be snip-snipped (our euphemism for getting neutered) in a couple of weeks, when his reaction to the vaccine ripens and his production of antibodies reaches its peak. Since Saffron's a (former) stray, he'd only need 2 shots a month apart instead of the usual three required by kittens. I'd thought he would need to receive his complete course of vaccinations first before going for The Big Snip.

As for Cory, he has not fully recovered from his respiratory diseases so he needs meds for another two weeks. Rats. We'd hope to have him snipped soon. Especially after the altercation with Ginger, we were nervous about him starting to display male-aggression behaviours like fighting, spraying (marking with urine) and trying to escape to get at females in heat.

We also told the vet that Cory's been scratching his ears a lot. We had tried cleaning them previously but only got at the outside pointy parts, bearing in mind all those lessons we were taught when young(-er) about the dangers of inserting objects into ears. The vet had a peek in his ears, extracted some very yucky stuff (wax etc.) and diagnosed him with ear mites. Apparently you can probe around feline and canine ears without fear of perforating an eardrum since their ear canals are L-shaped.

So now we're to clean his ears regularly and administer ear drops twice daily. And since ear mites are highly contagious, all the other Spice Meows need to have the same treatment. If we survive the ordeal, we'll write about it. Or not.

All this makes me wonder about the conditions of strays. It's heart-breaking to think of the discomfort, if not the suffering they must daily endure, and to have to scavenge for food and avoid danger (from both animal competitors and uncaring humans) on top of all that. How wretched their lives must be!

Speaking of which, last evening, we managed to feed a marmalade tom we've spotted around our apartment. He's skinny and dirty and looks like he might have a slight limp. We've seen him sleeping under cars and facing off with sleek well-fed toms (which their owners nevertheless allow to roam unneutered, shame on them whoever they are). We hope to befriend this skinny marmalade, cos he's next on our list!

I can understand why most people choose to shut their eyes and hearts to the suffering all around us. Giving a damn can be expensive and exhausting, and frankly, there is no end to it (whether helping animals or people) whilst we still live in this fallen world. Whenever I'm asked during a bible study session why I think God allows suffering in this world, I always reply that it is so we'll look forward to the next world where pain and sadness will be no more. I suspect that people don't generally like that answer.

Anyway, on our way back from the vet's we stopped by a pet shop, and notwithstanding having spent RM77 (not including toll and petrol charges), purchased two more Safe Cat collars. A turquoise one for Pepa, and a lavender one for Cory. The lavender one was supposed to be Saffron's but lavender doesn't seem to become him so we've decided to wait for a saffron-coloured one to be available. (I think they like their new collars.)

Fratenizing Felines Part 3 - Pandemonium

2007-03-31T10:08:00.000+08:00

Cory really wanted to come out again last night. When I went into the quarantine room to give him his supper, he dashed out and resumed his inspection of the area near the balcony.

Earlier in the evening, there had been rounds of mutual inspection. I had let Cory out and whilst Ginger looked on like a proud (or was it wary?) houseowner, he'd inspected the kitty apartments thus:

Cory then reciprocated by looking on as Ginger and Pepa inspected his quarantine room:

Everything seemed hunky-dory, and remembering what the experts said, I tried to keep the encounters short and sweet. Then they were fed their dinners and Cory was shut in the quarantine room. (Although I suspect that he would have preferred to stay out.)

At supper time, he dashed out and after inspecting aforementioned area, he decided to seat himself behind the curtains. Now, Ginger has been following him around, settling himself nearby when Cory was inspecting someting and waiting paitiently. You see, Ginger thought he'd found himself a new playmate. After Cory had been behind the curtain for sometime, we decided to usher him out. We were going to retire for the day and wanted to be sure that the Meows are safely in their quarters before we do so.

As Cory was being ushered out, he encountered Ginger who had assumed his Invitation-to-Play pose, that is, on his back, paws stretched out to bat. As Cory passed by, Ginger batted at him (this is how he plays with Pepa) and I suppose Cory mistook the gesture because before we knew it, there was yowling and marmalade lightning streaking through the living room to the safety of the kitty apartments with another blurr of orange fur in hot pursuit. It was pandemonium with everybody and everyfurry (Pepa and Saffron somehow ended up as collateral damage) in a panic.

I grabbed my aluminium can rattle and shook it, sending Cory running back to the familiar security of his quarantine room. Good grief. Back to the drawing board. Fortunately no physical injuries seem to have been inflicted although the participants seem rather shaken. We offered each of them a toy (two, in Cory's case) heavily doused with catnip and confined them to their respective quarters. An inspection a little while later revealed that the cats were in Lalaland.

Fratenizing Felines Part 2

2007-03-30T12:19:00.000+08:00

This morning Cory was caterwauling to be let out again, the episode with the stomping neighbours apparently forgotten. Locking up the others (Saffron in the backyard which has been converted into kitty apartments, Pep and Ging on the balcony), I let Cory out. A little more confident this time, he made his way towards the balcony, the extent of his previous day's exploration, still making his small high-pitched "eow? eow?"s. Pep was crouching at her favourite spot, the threshold where the sliding door opened whilst Ging was basking and dozing in his usual spot at the other end of the threshold.

When Cory came face to face with Pepa through the balcony's glass sliding door, they regarded each other with curiosity. Pepa then gave him her greeting chirrup and tried to keep pace with him as he walked up and down the length of the glass sliding door. Until she stepped on and upset a flower pot, that is.

Recalling what I'd read about integrating cats, I scooped out two portions of wet cat food and placed each on either side of the glass sliding door. It is supposed to help them associate each other's presence with a positive experience.

After the food was gone, I slid open the glass door. Pepa stepped gingerly in (Ging was still inspecting the now empty food bowl). She and Cory regarded each other and touched noses in kitty greeting. "Oooh, this is going better than expected," I thought. Just then, Pepa pinned back her ears and hissed at Cory. Rats. What do I do now? Remembering the experts' advice to keep preliminary encounters short and sweet, I ushered Cory back to the quarantine room.

Before long, the caterwauling started again. Apparently, Outside with its hissing cats and stomping neighbouts is preferrable to Inside. Exasperated, I let Cory out again, this time with the other three cats lounging around. He first inspected Saffron who had a start, growled and hobbled to hide under the kitchen cabinets pursued by Cory who wanted to sniff at him throughly.

Deciding that the situation warranted catnip, I sprayed four toys liberally and offered one to each. It worked for a spell and I was able to snap the following photo. But then the hissing and started up again and back to the quarantine room Cory went. This time around, he settled down for his siesta and allowed me to type this post. Gosh, I shall be glad when they can finally coexist peacefully.

Fratenizing Felines

2007-03-30T10:36:00.000+08:00

Cory's been getting better. He has started to become more active and now the quarantine room is too small for him and he caterwauls to be let out. I left the window open to air the room the other day and stepped out for a while. When I returned, Cory poked his head in from where he'd gone to rest on the external window ledge (!!!) and greeted me with his characteristic "rrrrrreow" before jumping in.

I'll digress a little and write a bit on the characteristic 'voices' of the Spice Meows. Saffron has a staccato "wau, wau, wau" which he uses liberally, Pepa's sounds like "I waaa(nt), I waaa(nt)" especially when she wants a door to be opened and Ginger used to go "wah-au!" when we grabbed him for a cuddle.

Anyway, it's getting harder to contain Cory but we are reluctant to integrate him with the others because he hasn't finished his antibiotics or been vaccinated or given the all-clear by the vet. We were also concerned that meeting the others will trigger male-aggression behaviour in him since he's an intact (that is, unneutered) tom. He cannot be neutered until he complete his vaccinations which are on hold until he's cured of his respiratory diseases. All in all, it may take another two months before he can be safely introduced to the others.

But Cory's running out of patience. He's been quarantined for nearly four weeks (albeit with an Illicit Weekend Escapade). For a cat who's used to roaming the streets, jumping in and out of drains and running across roads, a ten-metre square room can hardly be adequate, especially when he's feeling frisky. So last evening when his howls approximated those of an indignant baby, I decided to bite the bullet and let him out of the quarantine room.

I felt confident enough to let him out because we'd Taken Precautions in the preceding weeks. When Gravitas first formulated the idea to rescue Cory, he'd brought home pieces of tissue paper with his scent on it for Ging and Pep to inspect. They had sniffed the tissues with interest and showed no aggression towards Cory's scent. Cory's a cat's cat, I thought.

Before Cory was brought into our apartment for the first time, we locked up the other cats and took him straight to the quarantine room. We then stuffed a rug under the door to the quarantine room so there wouldn't be a free-flow of his scent from the quarantine room. After Cory's re-rescue, we did away with the rug under the door as the others had already made a sights-and-smells inspection of the quarantine room during his Illicit Weekend Escapade.

During the succeeding week or so, the meows passing outside the quarantine room would either sniff under the door or ignore it. Saffron would sometimes stick his forepaws under the door (he probably learnt this from Ging and Pep as this is how they'd sometimes play with each other) but when Cory responded, he'd hiss and run away. Very undecided sometimes, cats.

So last evening when Cory caterwauled such that I was afraid the neighbours would come banging on our door, I let him out (after Taking the Precaution of locking up the others, naturally). When I opened the door of the quarantine room wide, Cory immediately stopped caterwauling and instead wore this look of astonishment on his face, if indeed cats can look astonished.

He stepped out cautiously and made a tour of the apartment in his cautious, crouching walk (head down, ears pricked, body and tail lowered) making soft little "eow? eow?"s the whole time. When he'd almost reached where the other cats were sequestered, the upstairs neighbours made their usual noisy evening ascend up the stairs just outside our main door and scared the bejabers out of Cory. He scuttled back to the security of the quarantine room and following behind him, I closed the door, and that was that for the day.

Wanton Acts of Cruelty

2007-03-20T16:06:00.000+08:00

I was at the laundromat the other day and saw a calico cat saunter through the premises. I asked the lady custodian of the premises if the cat was hers. She replied that it used to belong to some people in the row of shops opposite but they've since moved away and she now feeds the calico. I indicated a large patch of scarring on the calico's side and ask if it was incurred in a fight. Lady custodian told me that someone in a shop nearby had thrown boiling water over the calico and scalded her.

The behaviour of some people leave me speechless with disgust. Although I understand their annoyance at animals that steal their food and foul their premises, it is we, human beings, who have committed the greater wrong. We've domesticated cats and dogs and invited them to share our homes to be our pets and companions but the moment they become "inconvenient," we thoughtlessly toss them out into the urban lanscape where they have no means of survival other than by stealing and scavenging. And when they are doing merely that which they need to do to survive, we label them nuisances and try to justify all sorts of unspeakable acts committed against them in the name of "pest control". If we don't want to incur the responsibility of looking after animals, we shouldn't have domesticated/bought/adopted them in the first place.

But domesticated/bought/adopted them we have, and if only animals had legal rights, it will be said that we have violated our social contract with them. They are merely mitigating their loss by scavenging and stealing for a living and animal rights violaters would then be treated the same way that human rights violaters are treated. If only animals had legal rights. I look forward to the day they will (although I won't be holding my breath waiting for it).

Coriander Once More

2007-03-20T15:23:00.000+08:00

Cory's back! Haleluia! Not without a struggle but I suspect that in the end, his stomach save the day/week/year. Last night, as Gravitas drove past the Usual Place on his way home from work Cory poked his head out from under a car parked nearby (as usual). After Gravitas parked his car and walked back to the Usual Place with some food, Cory was ready and waiting for his dinner. He allowed Gravitas to touch him and sensing a golden opportunity, Gravitas phoned to ask me to get the Implements (carrier, leash, catnip) ready.

After he finished his dinner, Cory meowed for seconds. So Gravitas walked to his car to fetch seconds, and Cory tagged along. When I got to the Usual Place with the Implments, Cory was munching his way through his seconds. Slipping a lasso improvised from a leash around his neck (like they do on Animal Planet), he was as good as ours, although it was a little ugly getting him into the cat carrier. He put up a sprited struggle but the lasso held true. Cory howled indignantly in the carrier and following the advice we'd read in last Saturday's newspaper, we left him for a while in the carrier, covered in towel to help calm him down. We threw in his toy turtle liberally doused with catnip for good measure.

His face and paws were dirty, his coat no longer gleamed, he smelt of cockroaches, he paced his quarantine room restlessly and meowed irritably, but we were overjoyed. We had heard plenty of caterwauling the day before and Gravitas thought that he saw (from our balcony) Cory challenging the neighbourhood's pack of dominant stray (or nominally-owned) cats. Obviously he was sent fleeing with a flea in his ear from the food source and choice resting spots had to resort to sleeping in drains and petitioning us for handouts.

We didn't kill the fattened calf on his return but nevertheless, we went out for a celebratory doctor's visit because Gravitas had incurred extra scratches in implementing The Rescue, and the bites inflicted in The Escape last Saturday had caused his arm to swell up. Right now, Cory is snoozing on the bookshelf under the window, and for this brief moment in time, all seems right with the world.

Cory Tamed Me

2007-03-19T16:46:00.000+08:00

Cory wasn't there last evening. This morning as Gravitas and I stood at the Usual Place, discussing who might have eaten the food we'd left out, Cory emerged from under a car parked nearby and meowed at us. I was momentarily overjoyed. But as I extended my arm to offer the food we'd brought to him, he drew back, and as I continued to call his name, he ran across the street. I followed him across the street, and he jumped into the drain. I decided not to pursue him since it was quite obvious he didn't want to be touched. The food remained untouched each time I checked on it this morning.

Then this afternoon, on my way home from an outing with mumsie, we stopped by the Usual Place so I could see if the food had been eaten. It wasn't there anymore and the plate we'd left it on was upside down. I tried looking around to see whether the food had been eaten or if someone had merely kicked the plate. Before I knew it, Cory was there. "Cory!" I called. "Meow," he replied. But as I approached him, again he ran across the street.

When he saw that I was following him, he again jumped into the drain. I followed him along the drain and each time I called his name, he replied with a meow. When I stopped following him, he too stopped walking and sat down. He would meow when I spoke to him, but he wouldn't come to me.

I though maybe he was afraid that if he came back to us, we'd bundle him off to the vet to be poked and prodded.

Gravitas suggested that he'd reverted to a feral state.

Mumsie offered that he wants to be free.

Free to do what? To roam? To go hungry, to catch diseases, to get injured in fights, to steal food, to get cold and wet and dirty and become anaemic from flea bites?

But who can fully understand cats? That, apparently, is part of their appeal. The other three meows are happy to live in our little apartment. But Cory, I suppose, is different. He'd been free too long.

Eric pronounced that the moral of this story is to not take in any more strays. I replied, perhaps a little self-righteously, that it is my mission in life to take in strays.

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

Everything has a price. Not every story has a happy ending. Joy and sorrow, love and loss is part of the package deal of living in a fallen world.

And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

It's like that chapter in Antoine de Saint-Exupery's "The Little Prince" where the fox pleads with the little prince to tame him. The little prince tames the fox and when the hour of his departure drew near -

"Ah," said the fox, "I shall cry."
"It is your own fault," said the little prince. "I never wished you any sort of harm; but you wanted me to tame you..."
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"But now you are going to cry!" said the little prince.
"Yes, that is so," said the fox.
"Then it had done you no good at all!"
"It has done me good," said the fox, "because of the colour of the wheat fields." And then he added: "... say good bye to me, and I will make you a present of a secret."
...
"Goodbye," he said.
"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

-----
On a sunnier postscript, Saffron seems to be gaining (or is it regaining?) some use of his paralysed paw. He can stretch his toes a little now, and when he scratches with that leg, he sometimes hits the target. The vet said that it is sometimes possible for (he emphasised) Very Young kittens to regenerate nerves that have been damaged. We hope Saffron makes a full recovery - an extra fully-functioning paw should come in very handy indeed!

p.p.s. The bits in purple are from Khalil Gibran's "The Prophet"

Nominally-Owned Animals

2007-03-18T18:24:00.000+08:00

Last evening, in my pursuit of Cory, I entered the compound of a huge house having a huge wing being added. The Indon workers occupying the incomplete wing pointed out the way Cory went (into the neighbour's compound). The occupants of the old wing peeked out and granted me permission to pursue Cory (for which, make no mistake, I am grateful).

On my way in, I saw three (or was it four?) cats lounging on the patio. The cats were scrawny. On my way out, I encountered another cat which hissed at me. Cats hiss with their mouths open and I could see that this one did not have very many teeth. Did Cory catch his feline respiratory disease from this colony? Do the occupants of the house nominally own Cory? What do they feed their cats anyway? Table scraps and nothing more? That would explain the sorry state of their coats and health. Why do people do these things? Although I am trying very hard not to judge, I also cannot understand why some people spend gazillions on their cars and houses and can't be bothered to give their animals proper veterinary care or nutrition. Perhaps they think it is sufficient to give them table scraps and a waste of funds to vaccinate and neuter them. It all boils down to a question of priorities, I suppose. *big sigh*

Come Back, Cory!

2007-03-18T17:44:00.000+08:00

Cory's run away. And left a Cory-shaped hole in the universe, to borrow from Arundhati Roy. He got spooked by the car ride and visit to the vet yesterday and whilst being transferred from car to apartment, somehow managed to kicked open the cat carrier door (not properly latched? expired warranty?) and make an escape. Gravitas tried to grab hold of him and got bitten and scratched for his troubles.

Is Cory still a feral cat at heart?
Despite jumping onto our laps for cuddles?
Despite snuggling with us and falling asleep on my lap?

We thought we'd tamed him. The first day we had him, we were scratched when we tried to adminster his medicine. By the end of last week, he allowed me to single-handedly feed him his antibiotics. Goes to show how much we know.

And he hadn't completed his course of medication either. Because of the weight he'd gained in the past two weeks, from 1.8 to 3.2 kgs, the meds to body weight ratio wasn't sufficient midway through the weight gain. We didn't realise he'd gained so much weight since he still felt and look skinny to us. So he's been prescribed stronger antibiotics for the next two weeks. Antibiotics that is sitting on our kitchen shelf.

And because he was tamer already yesterday, the vet was able to inspect him more closely and he was diagnosed with the triple whammy of feline rhinotracheitis, feline calicivirus (FCV) and Chlamydia. He allowed the vet to peek inside his mouth and she saw that his tongue was ulcerated. Apparently FCV causes ulcers to develop in a cat's mouth, affecting even the gums and causing teeth to fall out. Perhaps that then, is the reason for Cory's missing teeth.

We tried to follow Cory, but he ran away from Gravitas. When I called his name, he paused to look at me, but continued his escape. Aided by our apartment's friendly security guard, I pursued him to some of the houses opposite our apartment. I rang doorbells and asked to be let into people's gardens. In pursuit, I went into a house being renovated and saw a colony of cats there (nominally owned by the people livig there? But more on that later) but each time Cory eluded me. By twilight, shattered and mosquito-bitten, I conceded defeat.

That evening, we left food out for him at the old spot. When we went by later to check on it, the food was untouched. When we checked on it again this morning, it was gone. There was no telling who ate it. So we left out some more food, but no Cory. Only a Cory-shaped hole in our universe, a Cory-sized hole in our hearts.

A little later, I looked out on our balcony and saw him crossing the road. We went downstairs and saw that he was walking towards the spot where we left the food. I called out his name, and he answered with a meow. I notice that his olive green Safe Cat(R) collar (RM16 a pop) was missing. I came nearer and he started walking away. I walked behind him but he did not run away and slowed down. I called his name again and again, he meowed in reply. I climbed down into the drain he was in, and he sat down. Calling his name, I reached out to touch him. He allowed me to stroke him, and then take him into my arms. But when I carried him out of the drain, he struggled, scratched me and ran away again. Drat. I guess he's just not used to being carried around.

The whole of today, we've been looking out our balcony, looking for Cory. We've caught occasional glimpses of him. We're waiting for the Usual Time to leave food for his evening meal. Perhaps he'll follow us home again. Hopefully. Maybe. Please, God, let it be.

Cathartic, Catalytic Catnip

2007-03-15T16:25:00.000+08:00

Catnip is Prozac for cats. It sends them off to lala land. That is my conclusion after coming home with a spray can of the stuff. First off, I sprayed it on Cory's toy turtle and offered to him. He frooze for a moment and started licking it. Then grabbing it with his forepaws, he rolled onto his back and started playing with it. All this during the prolonged kitty siesta time. (Pictures above show Cory pre and post catnip.)

Next up, the Original Spice Meows. I sprayed some on their brush and approached Ginger. After sniffing at it, he sat trance-like, and allowed me to brush him for as long as I wished. Normally, brushing time is at His choosing and he will walk away when he decides he's had enough. Today, he just sat and sat, so I brushed and brushed. I then tried brushing Pepa. She's never liked being brushed and will bite the brush or run away. But today, after sniffing the brush, she started rubbing her cheek against it. She also allowed me to brush her to my satisfaction, even rolling onto her back to let me brush her tummy. That stuff is magic.

Finally, it was Saffron's turn. The claim on the spray can was that it will make my cat happy and relaxed. How will it affect Saffron? I've read that catnip doesn't have an effect on all cats. Since it has worked on all the other cats, will Saffron be the odd cat out? I sprayed some on his toy fish and offered it to him. He didn't show any interest at all and continued crouching behind the commode. (He's been sequestered in the bathroom ever since he started manifesting his bizzarre behaviour.) Aisey. He's the one needing Prozac the most. So I left him alone.

A little while later, I heard his bell jingling - we'd put a collar with a bell on him after having difficulty locating his hidey holes. When I went into the bathroom to pet him, he stood up on his hind legs to be petted, although he was still behind the commode. He then scampered to his water bowl for a prolonged drink. (Before this, he had refused to leave his crouch behind the commode even to go to his food and water bowl, located at an opposite corner of our tiny bathroom.) He even allowed me to brush him, something he has never done before. At one point, he even stretched out on his side, something he hasn't done in days! I tell you, that stuff is magic! Although I was initially sceptical and reluctant to part with the equivalent of the price of three large McValue meals for it, I can vouch that it's worth every sen!

Left: Saffron before catnip - crouching, fearful. Right: Saffron after catnip - stretched out, relaxed.

Saffron, Suddenly Sullen

2007-03-14T16:04:00.000+08:00

Something's wrong with Saffron the special needs cat. He's acting weird, refusing his diarrhoea diet (boiled chicken breast), crouching in dark corners and refusing to respond to his name. He has also stopped meowing for food and sayang. All this after he was starting to get along with the Original Spice Meows, save for the occasional hissing and staring competition with Pepa.

Saffron (the Jellicle) with the original Spice Meows during happier times

We've been trying to figure out what it was that spooked him. Was it his first encounter with the vacuum cleaner? The anti-diarrhoea medicine we've only recently started feeding him? The leg bath we gave him after he stepped on his poo? We're baffled. Then this morning Gravitas discovered that whilst he refused to eat boiled chicken breast, he greedily gobbled up dry kitty kibbles. We'd been advised to hold off on those and feed him only boiled chicken breast with bread or rice until the diarrhoea cleared. Oh well, at least he's eating. But he's still hiding in dark corners.

Cory Dreaming

2007-03-13T15:27:00.000+08:00

Cory is fast asleep under the ironing board as I type this. His head is resting on his paws and his jaw is moving. Animals get REM sleep too. Sometimes they also twitch and whimper. What is Cory dreaming about, I wonder? Perhaps he is dreaming of his former family, which either lost or abandoned him. We suspect that Cory is not a feral, that is a cat that has never known human companionship. Feral cats sometimes never learn to trust humans enough to even allow themselves to be touched.

On the contrary, Cory, although he would start at passers-by and run to hide under a nearby car, albeit skittishly allowed us to pet him even before we took him into our home. After having been with us for less than a week, he jumped onto my lap for some sayang as I sat at the PC. Pepa has never done that and Ginger has done it only once (although both will sneak into the bedroom to have a snooze next to me on the bed). All which made us conclude that Cory previously had a human family. Who were they? Did they move away and leave Cory behind? Did he run away? How long ago did this happen? Cory was skinny as anything when we first saw him. His bones jutted out from under his fur. The first time I brushed him after we brought him home, tufts of fur attached to pieces of dried skin or scab came off, along with a colony of dead fleas. His front incisor teeth are missing, save for one each on the top and bottom mandibles when cats are supposed to have a set of six each. Poor baby! I wonder how he lost them?

The vet diagnosed Cory with cat flu. The infection had reached his lungs and he is on antibiotics, mucolyctic and eye drops. He has gotten better, and although his eyes and nose are still runny, he has started to play pounce, bat and chase with his toy turtle. He is also now able to find his food. Where before we had to rattle his bowl with kibbles inside to direct him to it, he now knows immediately when wet food is going to be served. We hope and pray he'll be well soon, and will be able to get along with the other Spice Meows.

Toffee's Home At Last

2007-03-13T15:17:00.000+08:00

Great news! Toffee's been adopted. A big thank you to all of you who helped, not just those who actually found Toffee a home but also those of you who put in the leg or finger work to spread the word around.

Toffee's new home is with a couple referred by a trio of siblings who rescue dogs. I hope to have more details when I finally speak to Dr. Wong, the vet who arranged the adoption. She had called me on Friday to tell me that someone was interested. I said that my conditions for the adoption were that Toffee's new owners must vaccinate, neuter, and properly cared for her.

All of us who have cared for Toffee before this also hope that her new owners will love her. We'll miss her but hope that she'll be very happy in her new home :)

Introducing the Original Spice Meows

2007-03-08T16:00:00.000+08:00

Gingerella (Ginger for short) and Peppery Veronica (Pepa for short) are our original spice meows. We found Ginger as a starving kitten, lying on Ronald McDonald's fibreglass lap a few days before Christmas 2005. We were going on a day trip and had stopped by McD's for breakfast. We saw him on our way in and clucked to ourselves about the poor skinny kitten. We saw him again on our way out. As we stood there contemplating him, Gravitas commented that he won't survive very long on his own. I was contented with life, and our little apartment and the minimal housekeeping involved in maintaining it.

But the little marmalade kitten on Ronald McD's lap started playing with its scruffy tail. I thought that the little guy deserved better than a life of starvation and disease. So Gravitas picked kitty up, we cancelled our day trip and made straight for the vet's. Today, Ginger is fat, lazy and contented. He's hoity-toity and only wants to be cuddled on his own terms. This is a picture of Ginger on his first day home with us.

We found Pepa outside Baskin Robbins in USJ Taipan on the anniversary of D-Day last year. I was having an icecream craving but on our way into BR, we saw a tiny, scrawny and filthy brown and black kitten scampering along the five-foot way. Icecream was forgotten, kitten snatched, and home we went since it was too late to go to the vet. Pepa gobbled up the food we offered her and her first poop smelt of the very same kitten food. It may have been that her gut was completely empty. The Pepa of today is also fat. But she is a huntress of bugs, flies, lizards and other vermin. And she's good at it too - that paw of hers can move with lightning speed notwithstanding her body having the proportions of a cow.

This is Pepa soon after we got her.

Ginger took to her immediately and they've been buddies ever since.

Cory, mainly

2007-03-07T13:13:00.000+08:00

And then there’s Cory (short for Coriander), the former trap-neuter-release (TNR) candidate. We noticed that there are scrawny cats outside our apartment complex. We thought that the least we could do was to gain their trust, grab them and have them neutered before returning them to where we found them. The rationale for this is that the learnt adaptive behaviour of feral cats make them unlikely candidates for adoption. They have learnt to be afraid of humans and often never get over this fear, not allowing themselves to be touched and hence make poor pets (or “companion animals”, if you prefer the PC term). Also, feral cats help to keep the population of rats and other vermin down in their territories and so perform a public service.

For the past three weeks or so, Gravitas has been leaving cat food out as he gets home from work in the evenings. After about a week, he noticed that a cat had started to wait for him for the handouts. This cat would meow loudly upon seeing him and would follow him to the usual spot where the food is placed. Where previously the cat would eat the food only after Gravitas had left, it soon started eating whilst he was still around and Gravitas noticed that it had bloody discharge from its eyes. After a few days the cat allowed Gravitas to touch it. We named him Cory. Then Cory started following us home. That probably sealed the deal where Gravitas was concerned. Cory was to be our cat too.

So last Saturday morning (by then Gravitas had started feedng Cory twice a day), after meeting at the usual place and time, Gravitas grabbed Cory and stuffed him into a cat carrier and away we went to the vet. Cory howled indignantly the whole way, showing me a mouth with some teeth missing. The vet diagnosed him with cat influenza. He has to be isolated from the other cats whilst he recovers. Its been a challenge giving him his meds (eye drops, antibiotics, phelgm solvent) and we’ve got the scratches to prove it.

When Cory and Saffron recover from their respective ailments we’ll be bringing then back to the vet for their vaccine shots. When they complete their course of shots, it’ll be the big snip-snip for them for these are the cardinal rules of responsible pet ownership - neutering your pet, and vaccinating them against preventable diseases.

We know we can’t take in all the stray cats and dogs in the neighbourhood (nor do we intend to try) and animal sanctuaries (whether with or without a no-kill policy) can only take in so many animals themselves, due to limitations in resources. This is where you, gentle reader, come in. Please neuter your pets to prevent unwanted strays. You may think that your pet is a male, and unwanted strays are not your problem but strays are our whole society’s problem. It costs public money to round up and dispose of strays, strays carry diseases, and we occasionally hear of stray dogs attacking passers-by. All of us have to play our part. A male animal only needs a single encounter with a female in heat (and males are prone to escaping from their owners’ homes during the mating season) to produce a whole litter of unwated babies. I’ve also heard of female, supposedly house-bound pets who surprise their owners with litters.

Secondly, adopt a rescued animal. They may not have the snob appeal of pedigrees but they do make excellent pets, and you’ll help by being a part of the solution.

Saffron

2007-03-06T11:00:00.000+08:00

We first noticed Saffron crouching on a ramp near some garbage bags when we went to use the ATM at a bank in SS19. He looked at me as I walked back to our parked car and I thought there was something unusual about his posture but thought nothing more of it. The next day, we had to revisit the bank, due to the difficulties we had encountered with another bank, which we call the Retch and Heave Blood Bank. On our way in, I again noticed Saffron, crouching with his back to me near some garbage bags, this time right outside the glass doors of the bank. He turned to look at me. I’m not imagining that he was ‘pleading silently’ to be rescued. Stray cats have to be wary just to survive. On our way out, he had moved over to the other side of the garbage bags and was attempting to eat some buns in plastic bags that had been thrown out by the bakery next door. With his body facing me, I could see that his fore paws were twisted and deformed. There was no way he would survive long on the streets. He can’t run, hunt or fight off attackers.

We knew that we had to rescue him there and then. We went to retrieve our cat carrier (which had recently housed Toffee), made a few phone calls to find someone to foster him until our existing Meows could be prepared and when we returned, he was resting on the verge of the drain near where the plastic bags that lately contained the buns now lay empty. He did not protest when Gravitas picked him up and stuffed him into the cat carrier. We rushed over to our neighbourhood hypermarket, grateful that it stayed open til 10.30pm, bought a cage, kitty litter, litter box and scoop, a food bowl and a bag of Fiskies (ocean fish flavour - our existing Meows’ favourite). The sister of a friend had kindly agreed to foster Saffron at her parents’ house. Unfortunately the house was also home to three noisy and nosy dogs and Saffron must have been traumatised because when we arrived the next day to take him to the vet, he hissed and spat at us. That was when I noticed that one of his hind foot was paralysed.

The first vet (whose clinic has x-ray facilities) we took Saffron to was of the opinion that his twisted forelegs and deformed paws (he has a digit or three missing) are the result of a birth defect and that he suffered nerve damage resulting in the paralysis of his hind paw. The vet assessed Saffron to be an under-nourished kitten of 6 months and said that since he has learnt to get around despite his handicap, all he needed was to go to a good home where he will be taken care of. If that home has existing cats, they will have to accept him as he is and not try to bully him.

I googled cat deformities when I got home and what Saffron has looks like Radial Hypoplasia, a genetic defect sometimes observed in inbred feral cats. The Second vet (our regular) said that RH is very rare and that Saffron many have suffered fractures that did not set properly. I suppose a definitive diagnosis will only available if and when x-rays are taken. Saffron currently resides in our bathroom as he undergoes his flea treatments, is administered meds for his diarrhoea, eats a special diet of boiled chicken breast and as we try to get our existing Meows to accept him. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with cat intergration, be informed that it is a long-drawn out process as cats are very territorial.

Poor Saffron has only one good paw. He gets around by hobbling, his front elbows knocking and scraping on the floor his paws dangling uselessly. He can only scratch the side of him with the good hind paw. We wondered how he survived the months after his mother turned him out to start her next litter. We thought we were doing him a kindness by taking him in. Instead, he has given us more. He has taught us about peseverance, about keeping at it eventhough the odds are against you, about not giving up eventhough you’ve got about as much chance as a snowball in hell. He has also taught me not to be afraid of those who are different because underneath, we’re more alike than we’re different and all of us want the same things - to be loved and to have a chance at life. Saffron is a sweet cat. He already responds to his name, eats with gusto (anyone would, I suppose, if they’ve been starving) and purrs loudly when we stroke him and even stands up on his hind legs, his tail helping with the balance, for his sayang.

We were hoping to be put in contact with special people who take in special needs cats (yes, there are quite a few of them around). But Saffron has grown on us, and provided he and the existing Spice Meows Ginger and Pepa can get along, I suspect he’ll be living out his lives with us.

Will Toffee Ever Find A Good Home?

2007-03-05T13:16:00.000+08:00

It’s been a hectic fortnight. On the second day of the Chinese New Year, we rescued a stray puppy in USJ8. Last Tuesday, we rescued a ’special needs’ cat from SS19. The day before yesterday, we decided that a stray cat we’ve been feeding with the view to TNR* it will instead, be coming home with us for good.

It’s been an expensive fortnight too, what with the purchase of food, equipment, supplies and vetenarian fees. But we are not complaining. Eating out and our indulgence in books don’t stack up against the opportunity to give such animals as we are able to rescue a chance at life. After all, God has commanded us to be stewards of His creation and we don’t fulfill that command if we fail to care for animals. My mother, who fostered Toffee (as the puppy has been named) for two weeks pointed out that there are too many strays for us to save. Gravitas is of the view that we do what we can, and just aim to save one (or three) animals at a time.

Caring for rescued animals can be tiring, physically, mentally and emotionally. We were distraught when Nutmeg, a scrawny silver tabby kitten we picked up outside Taylor’s College died on Boxing Day last year from what the vet suspected to be a parasitic blood infection. Nutmeg was not the only animal we lost. There was also Barley the kitten whom we found abandoned by its mother in a gutter during the rain, and Soldier the mongrel whom we couldn’t find a home for and finally had to be surrendered to PAWS.

And now there’s Toffee. After nearly two weeks of unsuccesfully trying to find her a permanent home, we were on the verge of giving up. Gravitas called the SPCA to ask if they would take Toffee in. He was told that yes, the SPCA would take Toffee in but if she isn’t adopted within “a few days” she would be put down. On the one hand, we were appalled, but on the other hand, we’ve read that they are often overwhelmed, especially during the festive season where uncaring people dump their pets because the animals inconvenience their holiday plans. Well, these people shouldn’t complain when they’re old and cramp their children’s style and end up getting dumped at welfare homes..

We’re still hopeful that a home can be found for Toffee. She’s pretty, spirited, friendly and sharp as a pin. Only 2 months old, she already responds to her name and understands the commands “come”, “sit” and “fetch”. She also knows to ask to be let outdoors when she needs to do her toileting. She’s currently being boarded at the vet’s and being treated for mange and intestinal parasities. Don’t worry if that sounds yucky. She’s being properly cared for and should be as healthy as anything in no time. We hope somebody will find it in their heart to give Toffee a good home soon.

So if you, or somebody you know, are looking for a canine companion, or want to give Toffee a chance, please leave us a comment with your email address and we’ll get back to you.