Been a while

The lack of blogging about my cats have been due to an incident. Tolgrie has found another victim this time in Jummy. The wound is so bad I gag when I look at it. It was too upsetting for me to blog about anything. I spent everyday for about 3 weeks diligently cleaning Jummy's wound twice a day. Looking at her suffer broke my heart. They have been kept in separate rooms ever since. Now that Jummy is on the mend ( her wound has patched naturally and her fur is growing back) I am in the mood to blog again! Yay!

That the irritating thing about being a cat parent: You get so angry and fed up you wonder if you will ever want to keep another cat but then the incident pass and you are filled with love again. They give you that look, a look only a pet parent will understand, and you are hooked again. Willingly! Oh well. The joys of them. I shall be posting Jummy's gag worthy journey soon. Till then. Out.

Where did all the money go?

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The cost of having a cat or a few can really add up. Here is a list of things that I spend on and you might end up spending on as well.

 


1.  The most obvious: CAT FOOD.

 I may scrimp on many things but food and healthcare are not one   of them. I will be absolutely guilt ridden if I don’t provide my cats the best nutrition I can get for them. The commercial pet food industry still has a long way to go. Though there are better commercial cat food  out there, they are expensive. For example, a 2.6kg pack of Wellness core dry cat food is S$60+ at my local store. 



2. -->  Kitties do not know how to use a toilet bowl.  At least not mine, so they need LITTER.

Funny litter commercial

A pack of good clumping sand is about S$10 and will probably last a cat about 2 weeks before you need to change the whole thing. I live with 4 cats and one pack of clamping litter last less than a week! Then, there is a whole host of litter box accessories: litter box, litter scoop, bleach and spray bottle to keep box clean in between changes, litter box liners (optional) etc etc.



3. --> TOYS. 

While this may not seem absolutely necessary, I believe that it is necessary for all living things to have some sort of stimulation through play. Also, those things are so darn cute! Each on their own is pretty affordable but boy do they add up. So far I’ve bought cat trees, cat cusions, made my own cat cusion project, various toys, pet outfits, stretching posts and load of other things I can’t even remember buying.



4. --> Every cat needs a VET at some point of time.

As a new pet, a cat needs check up and vaccination which will be S$100+. After become an adult, sterrilisatoin which cost between S$40 + to S$ 90+ depending on sex. Also keep in mind regular check ups and booster shots.  And pets do fall ill. They may not be able to speak but if you have been a consistent pet parent you will notice any abnormal behaiviour. These can be really expensive. Case in point: Shernie’s lastest episode cost me nearly a thousand bucks!



5.  I love holidays and also travel for work, so this is a frequent necessity for me. PET BOARDING and PET SITTING.  IF you have family and friends that can help you look after you cat while you are not around, yay for you.

They can't camp out at the park while you are gone.

6. --> ACCESSORIES like cat carriers, collars, harnesses, food containers and bowls cost money too.
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                                                                  Finally
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                        Something many pet-owners-to-be fail to anticipate.
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7. -->Cost from DEMAGE.

It is not a gurantee that your new pet will not have elimination issues or scratching habits. I have lost furniture, breakable photo frames, ornaments, bowls, landscaping, my favourite clothes etc etc. One of my cats has an elimination problem and while living with my parents her habit badly demaged the wooden lamination flooring. It now looks cracked and bloated. I feel really bad for my parents but I can't afford to change their wooden flooring for them. Do not bet on trainings and sprays, they may not work. Count your possible demage first and see if you can take the pinch.

Doesn't she look like an angel when she's not shredding stuff?

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So before you go buy that cute fur ball at the pet shop, consider if you can really afford to have one. Having to give up your cat because you can no longer afford it sucks; for both you and your cat! On the other hand, if you know that the expenses are within your budget and you are prepared to spend all these or more, having a cat as a pet can be one of the most satisfying things in the world. While we are on this topic, may I suggest a shelter cat if you do intend to get one?

What's up, Tolgrie?

Happy Kitties and a Skratch

Shernie is back home! Yay. Total bill is around $1000 but the worries did not end at the vet. Nothing conclusive come out of it and Shernie was allowed to discharge because she started to eat and the vet was able to press pee out of her bladder. I have been told to monitor her at home to ensure she eats, pees and poos. My only choice was to separate her in another room. How else will I tell if she is peeing and pooing? Shernie was not happy. She was so excited to be finally home and I did not let her play with friends. 36 hours after coming home, Shernie finally pooed and was set free upon her friends. She's now back to her playful, greedy self.

Ultrasound and drip left Shernie with a pretty bad fur cut though

 

 

 

 

While we are at it, we might as well give Shernie a lion cut. It'll cool her down and she can cut down on three quarters of the cleaning time. She will probably look like this --->

This is not Shernie but a random cat with a lion cut

 Taffy has also recovered with her blue eyes back to their full glory. Oh happy day!

I now leave you with a skratch I did.

Self fulfilling prophecy fail

Sketch by Sarah Sakowski

The title says it all. Either this method of willing Shernie back home doesn't work or my ability to perform it sucked! Shernie is still at the hospital this very moment.

The vet called late morning to say Shernie is still not eating/peeing/pooing. With her drip, the bladder is obviously very full so the next step of the investigation was ultrasound. That revealed only more questions than answers. There were snowflake looking particle floating all over in Shernie's bladder. When allowed to settle a few lumps of about 3mm (big for a kitty bladder) were seen. However, whether they are bladder stones is inconclusive as the 3mm lumps could just be smaller sediments clamping together when settled. They also noticed possible fluid filled cysts on her pancreas. They are undecided if it could be pancreatitis. But the treatment for pancreatitis is fluid therapy which Shernie is already undergoing right now so there will be no further investigation along this route for now.

Conclusion: Shernie has to stay ANOTHER night at the hospital to undergo fluid therapy by drip and to monitor if she pees. Her bladder is very full now and if she hasn't peed by tomorrow they might open her up. ( What if Shernie is not peeing cos it's not her litter in the hospital?; she is my most littered trained kitty)


Agrr.. Shernie's current bill is now S$500, add that too the previous S$260 and the continued hospitalisation tonight. OMG! Crazy crazy bill awaits me. As if the heartache of seeing my dear Shernie sick is not enough.

At times like these morbid thoughts enter my mind. Perhaps all in life is equilibrium and for the awesome joy and happiness you receive, you will have to pay back in the same intensity of sorrow. Crappy day!

Counting Sheeps, Seeing Shernies

Trying very hard to sleep but too much on my mind. Mostly my thoughts keep going back to Shernie. I've been trying to do work to keep my mind off her and it's not working. Obviously the reason for my blogging at this hour. Writing, drawing, painting, creating etc. have always been therapeutic to me, calming down the tempest in my mind. Writing is usually the fastest as it is fuss-free and require the least set up and planning. Just switch on laptop and type type away...

Well, since Shernie is already occupying my mind, I shall do a self fulfilling prophecy by thinking of my relief when the vet calls me later to tell me Shernie is fine and I can bring her home with mild medication and monitoring. Now that will be a happy day!

Who says cold blooded means cold hearted?

Bit Bit my terrapin is missing my dad so much that he has been sulking!

He didn't eat for 2 days and hasn't really been playing. Poor boy! Who says that terrapins do not offer much bonding to their owner? My dad and Bit Bit took to each other from the get go and every time my dad goes on holiday, little boy gets a little sad. Well, 2 days seems to be the limit for Bit Bit cos last night he finally ate and swam around a little. My dad will be so heartened to hear he's been missed.

Peak-a-boo from Bit Bit who was smaller than his toy friend when I first got him

My Cat's Mysterious Third Eyelid

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A few days ago, I took Taffy (my cream coloured Siamese/Burmese mix cat) to the vet. Her third eyelids were covering three quarters of her beautiful blue eyes. From my rather limited knowledge of cat biology, third eyelids could mean anything from eye infection to immune deficiency problems. Whatever it is, it is definitely bad news! 

 

Taffy with visible third eyelids

The paranoid cat parent in me took immediate action and arranged for an appointment with her vet.  Taffy is more than 8 years old and has chronic bladder issues so I tend to be very jumpy about her health. I was not always this paranoid but that is a story for another day. 

 

Taffy with her beautiful blue eyes

As I did not have the car with me, I had to take a cab. Not all cab driver are accepting to cats in Singapore but my driver agreed to bring us to the vet, grudgingly. He has a scroll on his face the whole way and kept turning his around to eye the kitty carrier Taffy was in suspiciously. Oh well, I’m just grateful he was willing to take us.

Taffy was not happy! She knows that if I have to stuff her into her carrier and take her anywhere by CAB, it can’t mean anything good.  Taffy is used to taking trips in the car roaming between the front and back seats. She got the usual pokes and prods at the vet like getting her temperature taken (Rectal! Poor girl) and the nasty test which make her eyes neon green.

To my immense relief (for the time being), Taffy was diagnosed with nothing bigger than a probable eye infection. With almost a spring in my step, I collected Taffy’s eye drops and exited the clinic.  At the bottom step, I caught sight of 2 grown man hugging and sobbing into each other.  They must have just said their last goodbyes to a dear friend.  They cried a good 5 minutes and then left hand in hand with their heads bowed in resignation.

I recognized myself in them. I lost Stoppy here more than a year ago and cried at that same spot. I wanted to go over to offer my comfort but I was at a loss of what to say. After all, the sorrow  of losing Stoppy is still the same. I ended up sobbing my way home that day. 

My Stoppy boy that I mourn for till this day