CRIZ CATS SANCTUARY

GREAT TO BE HOME FOR MUMMY’S BIRTHDAY

2013-03-22T13:44:00.003+08:00

Finally, Jayson get to come home after four days at the vet’s clinic. Though he almost has his full energy back, the swollen in his mouth still need some time to recover with strict medications. Boy… Am I glad that he could eat like a horse now, having the appetite to savor 4 cats’ share of food in one go. Welcome home Jayson~ Best of health always~ :)

By the way, Mama Jessica celebrated her 6th Birthday on 21 March 2013, the day I brought Jayson home. She had a blast with lots of food and affections from everyone in the family, inclusive her Daddy Jr. whom also celebrated his birthday on the same day. However, there was a gate crasher, the new brat in the family, persistently wanted to get a bite on the cake before Mama Jess could dig in. Haha!

Just in case some of you might not be aware of, the little new brat in the J Family Kitties named Jordan L. was rescued from a high trafficked back alley on 14 January 2013. He was about 5 weeks old then, thus giving him a new birth date on 8 December 2012.

This young boy has grown quite handsomely to what he is today~ Chubby, Photogenic, Adorable, Affectionate & a bit too playful now… LOL!

AN ORDEAL ALL OVER AGAIN FOR JAYSON

2013-03-18T21:48:00.000+08:00

Jayson had to go back to his most dreaded place again – The Vet. After nursing him back to great health and chubby look, he had to get himself all wounded up again to be sent back to the vet. After all, he’s the main man in the J Family Kitties to protect the others from external harm from intruders. But things got worst. He was in a bad shape with all wounds and a serious mouth infection that stopped him from taking anything. Thus, I had to rush him for emergency treatments on a Sunday where most vets were closed for business. How unfortunate all my kitties always chose a weird time to get sick. Even my regular vet was off due to the unavailability of electricity due to road works. Compared to when Jayson was hard hit by FLUTD 5 months back, his condition was even worst with serious dehydration. He was beyond recognition as a house cat!

The worst scenario was I was without a car since my near death experience in an unpredicted car accident on 20.12.2012 last year. I had to rely on my friend to take me for vet hunting. Fortunately, we found one new clinic that was open on a Sunday. I thought Jayson was in good hands but I now regretted my actions. My conscience was to admit him so that he could get well even it was a totally new place for him and me. However, somehow I felt some weird uneasiness being there. Walking into the vet was like walking into a chiller filled with dead meat. The whole environment was cold, even the vet was cold. This is the first time I walked into any animal clinic that I could not feel the warmth, compassion, commitment and responsibility from the people down there. At least, I felt more at peace at a graveyard than being there. I was not wrong. Things turned out all wrong.

If I were to be at my family vet’s clinic, the first thing I would have gotten would be the sharp screams from my vet, “Where’s my Frontline? I need to get rid of those pesky fleas before they infect all my animals here!” Here at this new clinic (Peng Aun, Jalan Gottlieb Branch, Penang), I had no responses at all. The first thing the vet did was to shave off the fur on Jayson’s hand and without any alcohol and disinfectants, he straightaway poked the needle into his hand to put him on drip. Gosh! What was in the mind of the vet while doing this as he could have injected germs into Jayson? That could be quite fatal since Jayson was all so weak. Moreover, before I could ask more questions, he was already handling another client. So unprofessional!

How could I have peace in mind when I get this type of question from a so called qualified vet when I admitted Jayson?

Vet: What's his name?

Me: Jayson

Vet: How long has he been in this condition?

Me: 2-3 days

Vet: Is he a male or a female?

Me: @_@'''''

***thinking in my head*** "Can't you see his two big balls?"

However, even with the lack of confidence, I had to leave Jayson there for the night as it would be the best thing to do since he was so dehydrated and so weak without any solid food in his tummy. I went back to visit Jayson early this afternoon on a motorcycle since I was not feeling all too well to wake up too early in the morning.

Me: How's my cat doing today?

Vet: Who?

Me: Jayson... The one with dehydration and swollen mouth. Is his mouth any better?

***Come on, only 3 cats in the boarding room and you can’t recognize me?***

Vet: Oh! He's off the drip but he's not eating. What should I do?

Me: Huh?

***thinking in my head*** "What the hell I came here for with such an expensive boarding and treatment charges and you ask me what I should do? Isn't that the job of a vet? Hummph~"

That statement tickled my anger but I stopped myself from showing any anger and gave him a false smile saying that I would be back later. I had to wait for my god-bro to be home so that I could borrow his car. Without thinking any further, I drove straight to the clinic and discharged Jayson. Again I felt the chillness in the clinic. Could you imagine that I have to service myself to go into the boarding room to get Jayson out? Jayson was so happy and straight hopped into his carrier. The bill was shocking! 24 hours without any food, one V-Buster collar, one bottle of drip, one injection for his swollen mouth and boarding could be equivalent to the price of a reasonable good quality hotel room. WTFish~ :( Just look at the condition of Jayson. He was even in worst condition than when I brought him in. I thought cleaning up a pet was also part of their job?

Even with the lack of funds, I had to find ways to admit him into my family vet’s clinic. Upon visiting my vet, the first remark was, “WTFish! I’ve never seen any pet loving vet so ignorant to leave masking tapes on an animal’s hand after detaching the needle for the drip? Why was the blue raffia string so long? Jayson could have gotten restless and hanged himself.” My family vet has always been very professional in handling all my pets. She would run a blood test to find out more on Jayson’s condition as she would like to make sure that Jayson would not be suffering from any other ailments on top of what appeared to be a serious case of gingivitis. Now I can have a good rest, knowing that Jayson would be under the care of perfect hands. Let’s pray that things would work out better for me and Jayson.

I HAVE A WEAK BLADDER

2012-10-22T20:44:00.000+08:00

Jayson went back to the vet again for more medications today. His leakage was still there though it had reduced quite a bit. Not sterilizing the house every hour seemed quite impossible for me daily. His leaks are still scattering everywhere he had parked himself. Well, according to the vets, it will take some time for the bladder to strengthen itself. More supplements, antibiotics and bladder inflammation pills had been given to him this time. It's indeed more stressful time for me to have to force feed him with all the pills. However, the vet's two super sized cats, Samson and Simba, did put a smile on my face. Gosh! I think that was exactly what they were talking through their actions. Their expressions were so real~ :)

IT GONNA BE ANOTHER HECTIC WEEK

2012-10-17T03:01:00.001+08:00

Jayson has not stopped dripping all over the place and nothing I could do to make things better as the vet had said that it was due to his medications. One of the medications given was to relax his bladder to enable it to function better in the future. Well, it's real tough for me to clean up practically any hour of the day when he's awake and walking all over the house. In fact, it was also a frequent change of "bed sheets" for him as he alone would sleep on 4 different beds and having him soak in his urine was not a good idea either. Sweat~ I hope today would be better as yesterday was his last course on that medication. Less cleaning for me... I hope. His condition had improved a lot as his consumption of food and water now were super crazy. He's now the scavenger of the J Family Kitties, salvaging all the leftovers from the bowls of others. In no time, he'll be the next "Garfield" in the family.

Anyway, I'll be lying low for some time due to some personal family matters. I hope to be able to update on Jayson's conditions in due course. My Mum suddenly came down with UTI issues yesterday. Argh! I really hate that UTI. Luckily, an urgent SOS medication helped her soothe the discomfort. On the other hand my Dad is scheduled for an eye operation later today. It's going to be a hectic week for me, shuttling from house to house, taking care of the kitties, especially Jayson's remaining medications, getting ready with all the meals needed as well as getting all my work backlogs done. Phew! All the best Criz~ Sweat~

MY PIPE IS STILL DRIPPING

2012-10-14T22:48:00.000+08:00

When I thought having Jayson home earlier, he would be in great hands without worrying more about outside threats. Well, he's for sure at peace, recuperating himself all along indoor. However, I'm the one still having that stress. Wherever Jayson would sit, there would surely be a pool of urine. He's still dripping beyond his control. I felt pity to cage him up as he should be free from that bad "caged" experiences. Unfortunately, I have to wipe clean my floor, mop and sanitize the whole house for the 12th time today. Since today is Sunday, he'll be sent back to the vet's tomorrow for another check up. Not only was his "pipe" oozing out urine regularly, both his hands were swollen from the IV tube insertions. Poor boy~ He's not going to like it at all.

HOME IN MY WARM BED AT LAST

2012-10-13T16:57:00.000+08:00

Jayson finally got "kicked out" from the vet's about 2 hours ago. It was the worst cat case experiences in their service years. Sweat~ Well, to make matters worse, 2 out of 3 persons who tried to handle him during medication time today were injured. One with a deep scratch on the thumb and another with a deep bite on the finger. I guess we should send them some healing purrs for a speedy recovery although their treatments might have been added into the high medical bill. Hmmm... I wonder. What amazed me was how tame he was to let me bathe his super stinky body without even screaming for help. He just stood there quietly to let me scrub his whole body without any fuss... while giving me that cosmic eyes of gratitude. It was a touching sight.

Eventually after the warm bath, he immediately dried himself off and straight went into his clean warm basket for a nice rest. His trauma was over at last and now he can sleep soundly without any disturbances from the barking dogs in the darkness.

It was a horrifying experience for Jayson during these 5 days at the vet's. Now he can just laze himself anywhere he wanted without worrying about being "tortured". It was hell indeed for him (so were the vets) but he was given the second chance to live on. Let's hope he'll make the best out of his life by being the wonderful cat I have in the family.

Thank you everyone for your support, well wishes and prayers during my stressful period. It helps... Jayson is now healthily alive. :)

JAYSON IS NOT MAKING OUR LIVES EASIER

2012-10-12T15:36:00.004+08:00

Another day at the vet's showed havoc. Jayson desperately wanted to go home. This was the second time in a row that he diligently opened his wire cage to try to escape from the vet's place. Luckily the vets were not idiots either. They left his cage in a bigger aluminum cage house. However, he added another item in my vet bill today... a badly punctured IV tube to free himself. Yesterday, he pulled out the inserted catheter and needed to go through the whole operation procedure again to insert it back and today this new addition. What else is he planning to add in the bill next? Grrr... I just wonder how I could calm him down to finish off the treatment so that he could come home faster. Anyway, after a good wash up today, he managed to get some food into his stomach. Phew~ at least he was willing to eat some of the food i brought in yesterday. If everything would go well later without more havoc from him biting anything else, the vets would allow me to bring him home after he finishes a new bag of drip tomorrow. They said that his stress won't help him much over there and I would also think so.

THE VIOLENCE NEVER ENDS

2012-10-11T16:36:00.001+08:00

Another visit to the vet this morning was not a pleasant one too. I brought Jayson's favorite food along to try to convince him to eat was not fruitful. All he did was to have a sniff. That's all! Haiz~ His temper was up to the max. He got violent even with me around to calm him down. I just don't understand how could a quiet and violent-free boy of mine could have ended up this way. I guessed it could be the trauma he had for being so seriously sick and admitted at the vet's for the first time. Whoever got near him has to be real careful of having their hands too near him.

What I hated most was his swiftness. Before I could warn the vets that there was a danger of him biting off the catheter, he pulled the whole 6" tube out from his "ahem" within second! Gosh! Let's hope he would not require that in him again or there would be a second operation charges for sedating him and inserting back the tube. Bad Jayson! He's not helping me here at all with a tight budget. Moreover, I just gave the vet a call and he's still not eating anything yet. :( It could also be due to some signs of inflammation in his mouth. Luckily all his medications are done by injections. If not I would have expected more scars on the vets and helpers. I do hope to hear more news from the vets this evening.

I'm actually in a very solemn mood now as I just found out this evening that my jointly adopted and handicapped cat, Panther, had gone over the rainbow bridge barely 12 hours after Jimmy's sudden death. After numerous visits to a few vets for second opinions, he died in the arms of my very supportive friend after being hard hit by a seizure from the old nerves related complications. I guessed my friend, even in sorrow, had to keep this news from me for putting me into more emotional stresses. I'm going to miss that chubby furry ball now. Rest in peace Panther... we gonna miss that cuteness in your face now.

I WILL BITE YOU IF YOU COME NEAR ME

2012-10-10T21:12:00.000+08:00

A visit to the vet today shocked me! I can't recognize Jayson much as he was in a totally worn out and dirty stage. He got rather agitated with the vets and they almost got themselves wounded. He refused to be touched. He refused to be cleaned up and worst of all, he refused to eat. Even I could not convince him to put something into his empty stomach. Luckily, he was on drip or he won't have withstood the hunger for so many days. I just don't understand what could gone wrong with his temper. It was as if he were another cat in the wild. He wasn't that wild in actions before. Moreover, he smelled like someone bathe him in a sewage tank! Gosh! Let's hope he calm down and get cleaned up as he would be hospitalized for another 5 days or more. Ka-ching~ Ka-ching~ Sweat~

At least, his kidneys and bladder are performing better now with the visible endless streams of urine. I really hated seeing this familiar catheter procedure in him. I can see the pain he had in his eyes. Haiz~ What a suffering! :(

Janice also paid a visit to see how his brother was getting on. Well, she sure don't like the smell at the vet's. However, Jayson indeed felt a bit more at ease now having his sister around. His mood did switch to a brighter side but that did not make him want to eat too. I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow for better news.

I DO NOT WANT TO BE PLUGGED

2012-10-09T14:41:00.000+08:00

Another confirmed case of FLUTD~ Grrrr~ Luckily I spotted the problem fast or I would be hard hit by another heartache moment. These bad luck streaks are beginning to get into my nerves. Even planning to take him to the vet at the earliest possible time was tough as my car had decided to "die" on me this morning. Jayson's visit to the vet was delayed by 2 hours after the mechanic came to fix the problem. He only got to visit the vet at 10.30am. At least now Jayson is safely in the hands of the caring vets. By now, he would have gone through the operation procedures of inserting a catheter into his "ahem". Let's hope the vets are successful in draining out all the toxic in his bladder and get him back in top shape. I also hope he would get something into that hungry tummy of his as he has not been eating since dinner last night. I'm still waiting for the call from the vets now with good news that he has passed the critical level. I'll be praying real hard these few days for his speedy recovery. I can't afford to lose another cat as these 2 weeks has been real stressful to me...

UPDATE 6.15pm: The vets managed to flush out Jayson's urine from his bladder. The test results on the urine was not really good but at a safe level. Lucky I got him there fast. He has some crystal build-ups as well as traces of blood in it. Moreover, both his kidneys had swollen up. He's now on drip with the necessary antibiotics to speed up his recovery, some pain killers and some B Complex to boost his appetite. I hope I can see him the first thing in the morning looking better... Still praying that he won't have to suffer so much pain~

NOT THE LAST MALE IN MY J FAMILY KITTIES PLEASE

2012-10-08T21:33:00.000+08:00

It has been a devastating few weeks with Johann stolen and Jimmy's passing away and now this? Why has God been so harsh on me again? Is He trying to wipe out the last male in my loving furry family? When I thought Jayson was behaving weird screaming nightly since the night of Jimmy's wake but I might be wrong. The scary "F" word was slowly lurking into the lives of the J Family Kitties again. The familiar "standing" pose was back! Can't the veterinary world find a solution to these FLUTD issues once and for all? It hurts me a lot having to see Jayson going through this process again. I need peace... I need help... I need lots of prayers to release me from this insanity that had hard hit me recently...

TOUCHING MOMENTS AT THE WAKE

2012-10-03T23:47:00.000+08:00

It has been a week since Jimmy had gone away from my life and it still hurt a lot. Tonight right on the dot at 11.01pm, I had a wake where he took his last breath. It was a touching moment seeing all the J Family Kitties, namely Mama Jessica, Janice and Jayson, bowing down in respect for the last time. My tears almost wet my shirt. Of course, I had to make his favorite chicken dishes, Chicken Pie and Fried Chicken Wings. I'm beginning to miss his cries, "Daddy, please give me more chicken please." It's something that I have to endure in silence for years to come. Although the trio got restless after the wake with nonstop of cries, the house got super quiet now.

I missed that pair of eyes now...

Though he has gone, I can still feel his presence yet so near…

He was everything that assembled how I feel, I see and I hear…

Now that his spirit is free from any suffering on any physical part…

It would now be the best for him to remain alive forever in my heart…

A LAST PAT... A LAST MEAL...

2012-09-26T23:55:00.003+08:00

Speechless... Jimmy is gone!! One idiot banged him dead less than an hour ago while I was out!! My brother is suffering from shock now after watching him die helplessly within a few minutes~ :(

I GOT OWNED BY JOHANN

2012-05-11T12:27:00.000+08:00

Oh no~ Not again! This time I got owned by the latest addition to the J Family Kitties. He’s around 8 months old. He’s Johann which carries the meaning of “God's gracious gift”. He’s a gem indeed with an obedient characteristic just like my deceased Jeremy.

Ever since the passing away of Jerry, the “capnapped” of Jose and the relocation of Jiro from the former adoptions of the SP Kitties, I have decided to stop adopting anymore. The recent two cases of Jimmy’s critical emergencies had already strained my budget to the max. Another kitten in the household would have caused more injuries. If not for the pleas from a poor Indian family due to his safety in a neighborhood full of temperamental stray dogs, I would not have taken him in. Poor fella~ Did I get hypnotized by his charisma? I won’t know for sure~ LOL!

At first glance, Johann looks real clean and fluffy but little did the Indian family know that he has traumatic bad scars due to some dog bites. The sight of his injuries hurt me. I really need to get him to the vet for immediate attention as there were many deep wounds on his tummy. It could turn septic any moment now.

Now I’m Johann’s new slave~ Haha~ He can be real demanding you know? But I love him! Friendly, adorable, cute, attentive, polite, etc are some words I can describe on him after just a few hours of our relationship. :)

He really felt the comfort and safety in my home now. Within less than 2 hours, he was already claiming my lazy chair. Now where can I get a little siesta when I’m still not fully recovered from my flu? Sweat~

His one action made me very happy. I don’t have to toilet train him as he found the sand box all by himself and did all his “businesses” there. He’s real smart right? I won’t mind pampering him more but there’s one condition. Let’s hope he won’t act as if he owned me always~ LOL!

GLAD TO BE HEALTHY AGAIN

2012-04-02T11:00:00.003+08:00

Jimmy finally get to be home again with a clean bill of health after being stuck at the vet for 10 days. Drips after drips, injections after injections. That was how it went day to day. At least he was closely monitored by the experts to ensure that he got the best treatment to be alive still. Well, it would be some time before I can stay scratch free as there are these huge vitamins feeding time again~ Argh!! Luckily, his appetite got boosted up and he's on a eating spree now. I'm so glad that I could secretly put some of his vitamins into his food now instead of force feeding him as before. He lost 500gms before and now he gained back even more. Now I'm having a fluffy and fat cat again~ :)

JIMMY HAS TO BE ADMITTED AGAIN

2012-03-21T11:16:00.002+08:00

I gave up! Jimmy has to be sent back to the vet for close monitoring. Here I’m trying to get him back to better health and there he is not cooperating at all. He did take in a small amount of food on his own this morning but medication time was hell for me. Even with my brother holding on to him tightly, he threw out EVERYTHING! He made as if those medications were poison to him, oozing out endless streams of foam. How could he get well when I could not get much medication into him?

This is the result of his stubbornness. His urine color is still as bad as ever. I better put him back at the vet to ensure that everything would be under control again.

By the way, Mama Jessica is celebrating her 5th Birthday today~ Frankly speaking, I’m not in much mood to celebrate with Jimmy’s condition but I guessed I would get her a proper treat later when I get back from the vet. That chocolate truffle is actually my brother, Johnny’s cake as he’s also celebrating his birthday today with Mama Jessica. I’m totally aware that cats or even dogs are not suppose to take in chocolate as it contains high amounts of fat and caffeine-like stimulants known as methylxanthines. If ingested in significant amounts, chocolate can potentially produce clinical effects in cats ranging from vomiting and diarrhea to panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death in severe cases.

HIDING IN THE DARK

2012-03-20T13:45:00.001+08:00

Jimmy has been hiding at all the dark corners of the house ever since he came back from the vet. At times, he would face the corner of the wall as if I forced him to wear a “dunce” hat just because he has been sick. I don’t like all his recent acquired behaviors. It got me in a more panicky state. His “angel” twin, Joey, behaved exactly the same way and she was gone 3 days later. I sure won’t let Jimmy be taken by the same fame as his sister. I have been closely monitoring his moves for the last 36 hours. Luckily, he was practically sleeping all the time doing nothing except getting stained with his acriflavine yellow colored urine.

My worst dilemma now is to get him to consume something on his own. Since his liver problem issue, he has not been eating anything at all. Upon getting the vet’s green light, I managed to force feed him with some fresh milk last night. This morning, I managed to blend in some ocean fish in jelly with fresh milk and syringe fed him without much hassles. The problem came when I tried to feed him with his medications and vitamins. He spitted all out! I even tried grinding those pills into powder form and secretly mixed into his food and syringe fed him. He vomited all out! How could he recover if I could not get much medication into him? The vet advised me to try again later tonight. If I still could not handle his reluctance to have his medications, he would have to be admitted first thing in the morning and put on drips. That would be my last alternative since I have no way to get him back to health. I love Jimmy a lot but his wild ways when facing something he disliked into his mouth (even when wrapped in a warm towel as advised by some friends) is something I just could not handle well. I guessed I should not hold back some cost on this urgent medical need anymore.

I DO NOT LIKE THE COLORS OF THINGS HERE

2012-03-19T09:53:00.003+08:00

The weather has been very humid with sudden downpours almost daily. The sick bug is definitely in the air. Mama Jessica has been down with viral infection for a few days now. She has been resting on my working table for the last 3 days without stepping out of the house much. Another load of her vomit was there again this morning. At least, she’s still fine. What worries me most was Jimmy. After being treated for FLUTD 3 weeks ago, he too was having almost the same symptoms now… sleeping whole day, barely ate, tiredness all day long. Luckily, he did consume water against dehydration. This is how sick he looks now.

Another few minutes, I have to bring him back to the vet. I don’t like the color of his urine… Deep Orange???? That’s not supposed to happen, especially when he has been put on a strict Hill’s c/d prescription diet. Let’s see what would be the vet’s diagnosis this time. I pray that it won’t be anything major as I’m still having that acute piercing pain on my back. It’s rather stressful here~ :(

UPDATED AFTER VET'S VISIT:

This is something I do not want to hear… Jimmy is having a very bad liver problem that may lead to jaundice, another scary illness that might caused death if left unmonitored. His urine test was really bad with his bilirubin level rocket high! Now, I’m super stressed out as he’s refusing to take his medications and food. I have to find ways to force feed him or he would be forced to be hospitalized within the next 2-3 days.

IS JIMMY FEELING BETTER NOW?

2012-03-09T11:21:00.001+08:00

Finally, I managed to settle most of my backlogs after being sick for awhile. Shoo Mr. Flu Bug! Don’t ever come back again! Everybody thought that being a food writer is an easy job. Well, no. Other than the invited reviews, there would be the hours of photo editing, stretching your brain juice to the maximum and trying not to be over critic in writing a post. The worst moment would be when you are sick and your brain would just go blank.

Anyway, Jimmy has put on quite a lot of weight after being discharged for more than a week ago. A few days after his discharge, I did get some surprising “rewards” on my floor. Lines and lines of earthly colored artwork were all over my floor tiles. He had diarrhea! He was again at the vet. Luckily, it was the side effect of having a totally changed diet of wet fish basket and c/d prescription diet. More medications were given to him. Poor guy! Just two days ago, I noticed that he has been licking his genital part even more than ever. He has been giving me some weird cries nightly too. I was wondering if that inserted catheter had caused him to become a sex maniac. It sounded almost like a mating call. Let’s hope it’s not. He has been eating healthily and behaved as actively as a 4 year old kit would be but what were those constant rollovers for? Love making signals? Gosh! I have been monitoring his actions since then. Peeing was consistent and at ease but in a very small amount. I called up the vet to inquire on his behavior yesterday. You know what was her response? “Please monitor Jimmy for another day or two. There could be a recurrence. Once a cat gets FLUTD, there’s a tendency for them to get it again. If you want to make sure that it’s clear, bring him to the vet on Saturday” What? He was discharged for barely 10 days and it might have it again? Now this news is scaring me again. I would pray that this won’t become a reality. I would let the vet check on his bladder this weekend.

I must admit that I’m at fault at times for the J Family Kitties’ health. When I thought I could just give Mama Jessica some treats for being such a great mama. I landed her at the vet too. That can of wet fish basket with a variety of ocean fish plus some chopped vegetables which I had given to Jimmy landed her with a diarrhea too! Damn! Now she’s on medications with a cream to rub on the blisters on her anus due to too much of purging. I better don’t try to act too smart next time and try to stick to their regular food.

Surprisingly, Jayson had no side effect at all. That asthmatic boy of mine had a long history of bad medical health and could not put on much weight. Although he has the appetite of two cats, he’s just as thin as ever. I was glad that I managed to put him back to better health after he almost died of a viral infection causing dehydration in late January 2012.

Janice on the other hand was a fussy fat lady. She refused to touch any unidentified food other than her faithful bowl of daily cat food. But I did catch her stealing Jimmy’s c/d prescription diet occasionally. What a brat! Her hobbies remained the same – Eat, Sleep, Poo, Pee and Play! LOL! She’s always the one that made me laugh with all her weird sleeping positions. :P

JIMMY CAME HOME BUT WEIRD THINGS HAPPENED

2012-02-28T16:05:00.002+08:00

Jimmy was discharged! I’m glad he can be home to be with the rest of his siblings but it was not the same as before. Mama Jessica, Janice and Jayson thought they had seen a ghost cat! Everyone was avoiding getting too near to him after his 6 days of disappearance from the house. Jimmy a ghost? LOL! I guessed it could be due to the strong smell from the vet and the J family Kitties all had some bad experiences at the vet before. Unfortunately, I was advised not to bathe him for another week or so to avoid being brutally scratched as he could still be having some abdominal and stomach pain due to the plugged catheter earlier. Anyway, some antibiotics and pain killer pills were to be given to him for the next few days. Those medications might be the cause of him sleeping most of the time.

Jimmy is doing fine now. He has been recuperating quietly ever since he came back. The only problem I have now is on how to slow down his “tap”. LOL! Well, it was great to see him peeing at ease now but the frequencies were once too many times. I think he would need to take time to adjust to his normal peeing schedules. As for appetite, he has been gobbling down his food as if there would not be another tomorrow. Luckily, I did stock up lots of the wet food he took at the vet and also the Hill’s prescription diet pack. If not, he would not eat anything at all, not even his regular food. That would have given me a hard time mixing in his medication in the food. The other issue I have to settle now would be on the rest of the kitties. Was it the scent of the special food given to Jimmy having such a great influence that they refused to eat their own now or was it the stress of seeing a “ghostly” Jimmy? All of them are not consuming as much food as they should. Even the vet could not give me an answer to this issue. I’ll have to wait a few more days to monitor their appetite.

One very obvious habit that Jimmy had acquired during his stay at the vet’s was his sleeping habit. He won’t sleep next to my working table or fight over my sofa now. Surprisingly, he would rather sleep in a cage? Huh? What a weird behavior change compared to his previous fear for being caged. Anyway, I did not lock the door and would surely not stop him from roaming around the house freely.

It has been a long week of running around. I’m totally worn out. It’s time for a long rest to recuperate my own tired body. I truly need all the strength to support the pet community here. Thanks again for everything that you have done for the J Family Kitties.

Lastly, I would like to seek your help on something that would be beneficial for the pet community here. It would only take a minute or two of your time to help the Australian couple residing in Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia to make their dreams come true. They are currently running the foundation with little to no outside assistance. They will only need your ONE VOTE to support them in winning the AUD$5,000 grant contest to set up LASSie (Langkawi Animal Shelter & Sanctuary Foundation). Deadline is less than 24 hours! That would be a whole load of money to help out those abandoned animal on the island. I’m not doing this for myself but for the animals that deserved the best in life.

Please vote at http://sunsuperdreams.com.au/dream/view/help-care-for-abandoned-dogs-and-cats-in-langkawi and do check your email to confirm the vote or it won’t be counted as a vote. I appreciate your help on this matter. Thanks~ :)

UNPLUGGED BUT STRANDED

2012-02-26T13:56:00.002+08:00

Finally, Jimmy has the catheter unplugged but he was not allowed to go home yet. He has to go through another one or two days of close monitoring before he could be released with a clean bill of health. After two hours from the unplugging, he was still not peeing as he should. That got me worried. By right he should have urinate naturally but there was no sign of any urine at all. I hope he would do that fast as I would love to bring him back and give him a thorough bath. He smelled badly of antiseptic lotion.

As for appetite, I'm going to be slapped with a huge bill for extra cat food. Even the vet and her assistants were surprised with the amount of intake for this 3.8kg boy of mine. Jimmy has been gobbling down a whole big can of wet food 4-5 times a day and he was still asking for more. I can even hear the Ka-ching Ka-ching sound from the cash register right now. LOL! Anyway, I'm so happy that things are looking at a brighter side now. My only hope is to see him pee naturally so that I can bring him home. I missed that curly ball sleeping next to me nightly. Thank God for giving him another chance to live on...

THINGS ARE LOOKING BETTER FOR JIMMY EACH DAY

2012-02-25T02:23:00.001+08:00

I’m sorry if this is going to be a short post as I’m still recovering from the exhaustion from my last dengue fever attack. It has been months and the post effect made me get tired easily. Running to and fro trying to coax Jimmy to eat and drink has never been an easy task. I guessed the change of environment and painful experience would have some influences over his usually big appetite. I could not believe how thin he looked now. Just 2 days plus at the vet by refusing to eat alone has caused him so much of weight loss. Is this my fluffy looking Jimmy now? Gosh! Big head small body~ Haiz~

He constantly needed a short rest after roaming a short distance at the vet’s. I think he’s still tired from all the bladder cleansing processes.

Well, he was still leaking. At least I did not see any blood in the urine this time. Thank goodness!

The good news was that he stated eating, not with the prescription diet at this moment but with some wet food. That was a good start. Let’s hope he would gather more energy for a speedy recovery.

His next action was a good sign too. He started drinking some water. I guessed he stopped worrying about leaking endless and got his butt washed frequently. Jimmy actually hated being washed. I could still remember vividly how he clung onto my chest once during his bathing session. Well, that would be part and parcel of owning sharp clawed kitties~ LOL!

Anyway, thanks everyone for the concern, care, assistance, wishes and prayers during these few days. I appreciate it a lot. Although still weak from the trauma, he’s getting better each day. Let’s hope he can be discharged real soon. I don’t think Jimmy would want to stay in a cage all the time when he can roam about within the house freely and in comfort. The rest of the J Family Kitties are missing him a lot too. His best time so far was having some freedom out of the cage in my presence.

JIMMY WANTS TO COME HOME BUT I WOULD NOT ALLOW HIM TO DO SO

2012-02-23T23:01:00.003+08:00

Seriously, I won’t want him to be at home for the moment… It’s not that I don’t love him at all but surely not with the catheter still stuck at his penis. Moreover, it would be hard to stop the other J Family Kitties from not giving him any stress at all. Hospitalization and the daily miscellaneous add on medical fees would not be cheap but at least he’s in great hands to monitor his condition well. Anyway, Jimmy looked better than the day he got admitted but he has lost some weight and appeared to be not in his usual fluffy self.

No matter how he begged me by showing his deep affection towards me or giving out lots of purring with his pair of pathetic looking eyes, the answer was still a NO. The reason was HE LEAKS every few minutes!

Can you imagine him in this position every 10-15 minutes? At least, leaking is better than not able to urinate at all, resulting in toxic being accumulated within the body, thus shutting down the rest of his internal organs. In short... Bye Bye!

I don’t think any pet owner would be in a right state of mind to allow their pet to go home this way. I won’t mind cleaning up the mess he would leave behind but blood stained urine is not something I would want to handle. The experts would be a better party to mend him up. I would want him to stay back to recuperate well with the right medical attention.

Actually, I thought of not showing this photo. The sight of the catheter stuck there gave me a chill that drove pain right into my spines. The thought of having something pumped into his bladder and draining it out again sounded real scary. I can feel his pain right now.

Another major problem was that he has not been eating anything at all since being admitted. That got me worried when I called up the vet earlier. I had to convince him this evening that the new prescription diet would be the best for his diet from now onwards. He did nibble some but it was not enough for him. He was a big eater at home, forever asking for more food at odd hours of the day. If this were to go on, the vet has to put him on drip for another few days to make sure he won’t be weak. Another problem was detected and it could be the cause of him not eating at all. He has gingivitis, the inflammation of the gum tissues. That pondered me as he had no problem at all biting into the dry food pellets and some cooked meat all the time. Well, the vet should know what would be the best for him anyway. Just 2 days at the vet and more and more issues which required immediate medical attention and treatment have been added onto the bill. When I thought I had controlled the flea problem for all my cats and that was one of the other issue detected. Gosh! Let’s hope I won’t be slapped with a huge bill later with Jimmy having to stay on for another 5 days or more~ Haiz~

THE WORST CASE OF FLUTD IN THE HISTORY OF THE J FAMILY KITTIES

2012-02-22T16:13:00.007+08:00

Latest update:
Emergency surgery successful. He's still under the influence of sedation.

I have a phobia on the “F” word until I feel like crying out loud now. FLUTD (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease) is the word and it struck Jimmy real badly this time. The J Family Kitties are sure having a big bout of bad luck for the last 1.5 years. Firstly, it was Jeremy who had gone over the rainbow bridge due to a late detection. Then, it was Mama Jessica who was lucky being a female with a wider urethra to survive the bloody and painful ordeal. Jerry went across the fastest with the fatal FLUTD blow due to a cheap brand of dry cat food fed by his former owner. His brother, Jiro, suspected having it but luckily it was just a minor bacterial infection. The worst case affected Jimmy, exactly 3 years 9 months old today, who never had any bad medical record since birth. At a human age of 31 years old, it’s not such great news too.

It has been a tiring and stressful night for me since Jimmy suddenly went into a fit at 1.00am in the morning. His actions had all the symptoms of being down with FLUTD. Surprisingly, he was still playing with his sister, Janice, at midnight while not showing any pain at all. I have not been resting ever since. Wiping and sanitizing almost every single tile in my living room can be a huge task for an unhealthy person like me. Unlike Jerry who could not make it on time to my personal vet due to a later operation hours, I rushed Jimmy to the earliest vet available. He was admitted immediately.

Jimmy is now undergoing an emergency bladder dialysis to save his threatened life. I could not stand the thought of having an irrigating bladder dethrombulator being used to flush out the calcium crystal in his bladder. Can you imagine having a catheter or sometimes known as a conduit inserted through the penis hole right into the bladder in the process for the next few days? It would be real painful experience for him but it a must to unblock his narrow urethra for survival. Luckily, they will be putting him under sedative with pain killer injections to soothe the pain.

5 days or more is something that Jimmy had not done before away from me. He had to be admitted at the vet for 5 days or more (plus under observation in case of any complications) for bladder dialysis and with a micro tube hanging out of his penis for the next few days? Argh! I’m not going to like this sight. I won’t like the figures on the bills at a later stage too for the hospitalization, food, vitamins, injections and God knows what else they would add in it. Moreover, he has to be put under a strict pH balance c/d prescription diet, which is 5 times the cost of his present food, for the rest of his life. Gosh!

SPECIAL ATTENTION: Some of my friends had suggested that I put all the cats on wet diet (canned or home cooked without oil) and get rid of all the commercial dry cat foods labeled as being formulated for urinary tract health. Chances are these might be too acidic for your cat. Some even suggested a no fish flavored dry food which is believed to be one of the causes other than being too stressed for getting FLUTD. I spoke to this new vet of mine who’s an expert in pet diet. THERE IS NO STAND OR PROOF ON THESE ACCUSATIONS. The best solution to avoid FLUTD is a regular visit to check up on the alkaline or acid level in your pet’s urine to determine what prescription diet suits your pet best. These diets may be rather costly but it would save your pet’s life in a long run.

A YEAR HAD PASSED BUT YOU STILL LEFT ME WITH A BROKEN HEART

2011-12-16T00:01:00.002+08:00

If he were to be here still, he would have been 4 years old today. No matter how hard I tried to forget that Jeremy was no longer by my side, the more the sweet memories of him kept coming back into my mind. It was the closest bond which we had through all his growing up years that caught me in tears occasionally… even now. It still hurts quite badly whenever Christmas approaches. Jeremy has been one such golden boy that had touched the lives of many people out there… not only mine. He had brought peace to those with troubled minds. He had brought smiles to the faces of many in sorrow. Nevertheless, he had brought so much happiness into my life that nothing else in the world matters anymore. Boy… How I wished I could cuddle you to sleep once again. I missed the warmth… I missed your unique expressions… I missed just having you next to me always… Happy Birthday my dear Jeremy~ I’ll never forget you!

Although Jerry was adopted for barely for a few months, this Christmas boy did not even have the fate to celebrate his second birthday this Christmas. I missed him too. Nobody would have known that the severe blow of FLUTD could have taken him away just like that. He was such a handsome and macho buddy I came to know very well.

I guessed Christmas would not be the same anymore without my two December boys but life have to go on. The rest of the J Familiy Kitties would still need my affection and commitment to keep them happy always. Let the spirits of Christmas bring more joy and happiness in the lives of everyone out there. Have a great Christmas and holidays ahead~

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

With Love,
Criz Lai & the J Family Kitties (Mama Jessica, Janice, Jayson, Jimmy & Jiro)