Cerebellar Hypoplasia

A cat with a condition known as cerebellar hypoplasia can live a normal life. Let's hope the vets here know about that!

Watch the video of cute Charley on Singapore Community Cats' blog.

Kitty Paraphernalia

Since the night Coco threw up onto her cat bed, I had no choice but to wash the cat bed, which won't do if I throw it into the washing machine. So boh pian, I had to wash it by hand and then figure out a way to hang it for faster drying.


Fortunately, uncle S always have strange paraphernalia around the house.

There are teeth marks and tears on the cat bed, caused by an itchy-mouthed Coco when she was younger.


When dry, the bed had a mild detergent smell, which was enough to deter (pun intended) Coco from sleeping in it. It took about 3 days before Coco finally accepted her bed. This is after all, her favourite cat bed out of the 2 cat beds.

The litter bin was also washed and scrubbed, usually once a month, or whenever I replace all the cat litter.


I think it got the stamp of approval from the bin inspector, the smell of detergent notwithstanding .


I tried something different and surprisingly, Coco does take to this canned food, at least initially.



The salmon cat treats with the kitty packaging, which ran out the other time. The contents are the same as the one with doggy packaging.



More cat grass for HRH.


I'll cut up the older, dried-up grass and pour them (& soil) over the pomergranate soil as fertliser.
Reuse & Recycle!


This is a cute plastic tote bag that I'd bought about 2 years' ago. It's cheap and even comes with a zipper. My mom likes it too, so I'd given it to her. I tried to buy it again, but it wasn't available anymore - the manufacturer seemed to have run out of this particular shade of kitty fabric!

Haiya!

Choosing dry or wet food for cats

On this Biology Blog link is an interesting article on the perpetual debate - whether dry or wet food is better for cats.

Quote from article:
Even though society is accustomed to seeing Garfield-sized cats, obese, middle-aged cats can have a variety of problems including diabetes mellitus, which can be fatal. The causes of diabetes mellitus in cats remain unknown eventhough there has been a strong debate about whether a dry food diet puts cats at greater risk for diabetes. A new study from a University of Missouri-Columbia veterinarian suggests that weight gain, not the type of diet, is more important when trying to prevent diabetes in cats.

Read more : Dry or wet food for cats?


Next thing I would like to know is - how do cats get cancer?
MIL's first cat too, was afflicted by cancer and had to be put to sleep many years' ago.

Does your cat feel pain?

I chanced upon this article, written by a cat vet, no less. Though she doesn't post often, her blog is quite interesting and include some of the medical procedures she'd done on cats in her work, although some may find the description and pictures frightening.

If so, don't go there, ok? ;-)

But this article should be safe for most people - Does your cat feel pain?

And this one too - The Costs of Healthcare for your Cat
- There is actually such a thing as pet insurance? *shocked* Do we have it here?


This post about a meeting with Lyle Lovett's dog is hilarious. :-)

Not a great new year so far

Lately, several cats that we know from the regular blogs seem to be ill or having urinary tract-related problems - Spencer from cat aunty's blog, Toro, one of San's amigoes, and Skoda, one of Mighty Mouse's 3 cats. Braun, another one of hers injured her paw over the new year, which added further stress and medical expense to her parents' pocket.

Let's all wish the kitties a speedy recovery under the tender, loving care of their mommies, daddies and caregivers. Hope the kitties will be guai enough to take their medication, drink more water and keep to their prescribed diet until they get well.

I would also like to remember Jiji from the KSN household, who recently passed on from an accident. I'm really sorry for their loss, and Jiji will be dearly missed by the two- and four-leggeds in the family.

On the home front, to encourage Coco to drink more, I've placed another water bowl in the cat room, in addition to the one at the kitchen (which is next to her dry food bowl). I'm glad Coco does drink from it, and sometimes in the middle of the night, I can hear slurping noises as she takes a drink.

On a personal note, I am dreading the coming month or two, when the shops will be flushed with red, and our ears will be bombarded with incessant CNY songs. Busy days are right ahead!

Coco and the chirping twirler

I was on leave (still am) and went to the pet shop to have a look. Found this toy which my colleague had bought for her pet cats. It came in several variations (with fuzzy mouse, or bird feathers) and I bought this plain stripey one to play with Coco.

Coco checking out the new toy



*Yawnsss* ...maybe not so interesting



Lazy Coco: Hmmm ?



Let's get Coco to wake up a bit



In the video, I did not "turn on" the chirping noise which will come on when the stick is twirled or shaken (the noise came from real birds).

Later on, I realise the chirping noise had no effect on Coco...she would play even without the chirping noise, which means any old string will do lah, actually. Haha!

GST increase!

Today is the first day of the GST increase (from 5% to 7%) and of all days, I had to choose this day to spend over $400 at a department store at one shot. >_<" Good make-up brushes are exobitantly expensive...let's hope they can really last me for ten years. I feel a bit guilty because it's not as though I wear lots of make up as I'm not quite willing to wake up earlier everyday just to put on war paint. As it is, I'm already waking up half-an-hour earlier to feed the cats and clean the litter box.

Speaking of cat litter, my neighbour S (Spud's owner) went to JB yesterday and bought an additional bag of Ketty Love cat litter to give to us (plus her home-baked chocolate cake). From cat-sitting Spud, I found this KL cat litter to be very fine and forms a very firm clump when wet, so the clump is easy to remove and that helps to keep the litter box clean. It does have a faint "detergent" smell though. S said this brand used to be called Happy Cat, which incidently is available at Aquapet Thomson. I didn't order HP coz I ordered the FussieCat litter which comes in a more economical 10 litre pack.

Last night, while feeding Timmy, I finally met Ms A again, after a long stretch of silence. She'd thought I had moved away! :p I haven't met her, simply because whenever I have foster cats at home (especially 2 cats), I tend to pay less attention to the (poor) community cats, hence less chance of bumping into her. I really need to rehome at least one foster cat so that I can reserve more energy for the community cats.

What are you cat-sitting arrangement?

When you have to go away on trips, both long and short, who takes care of your cats?
Do you have the sitter come to your home? Or do you board your cats with the sitter?

I am just wondering about the options available. Any recommendation?


As Coco the small eater needs to be fed about 4 times a day (can't leave food out all day for Coco or Snowy will eat Coco's share in a jiffy), I wonder if boarding the cat sisters with the sitter would be a better option.

(Pic: Stuffed animals by Natasha Fadeeva)

Salad for your cats

There was some interesting exchange regarding the feeding of cat grass and wheatgrass in an earlier post. I gathered that it's possible to feed the cats cat grass, wheatgrass as well as the normal wild grass that grows by the roadside, provided you pick the younger, less coarse ones.

I wonder: do the cats throw up after eating the grass? Or will they enjoy eating the grass as part of their usual diet, like chomping on a salad?

(ASAP grass, 2nd day after sprouting)

Meanwhile, the ASAP grass have grown to about 8cm tall now, and are still growing. I fed a small strand of the grass to the cats, and Coco, who had eaten bits of lettuce before, seems to like it, but Snowy didn't take to it.

Cat mystery

Cat mystery

Maybe the cat sisters were trying to tell me something.


All the signs were there.

First, it was the chewed up newspapers. Both cats sometimes do this when we're not at home.

Then it was a chewed up old towel which I'd placed on the floor for the cats to lie on in the spare bedroom.

Snowy has no qualms about chewing on the towel right in front of my eyes. Even if I'd told her to stop, she would freeze and look sheepish, and even allow me to hold her in my lap for a bout of lecturing. Once the lecture is over, she would go back to chewing on the towel again, right in front of me (totally not scared of me). The strange thing was - I could not find the remains of the chewed up towel...not one bit. So where did the bits of chewed up towel go?

When the towel was available, the newspaper chewing stopped. Aha! So now we know who the chief culprit is! I had to remove the towel before anything serious happens. No more towel, so it's back to chewing newpapers, and even my bank statements!


Maybe the cats were trying to tell me that they need more fibre! Or perhaps they just have itchy mouths, so let's give them something nice to chew on, such as healthy grass.

The box says ASAP (as soon as possible) Fresh Vegetable (Tangle Removing Grass) - by Catty Man.

Hahaha...what a weird name!

Good for 2 batches of grass. Plastic container, blocks of soil, seeds and mini plastic spatula provided.


I planted the seeds last Thursday night, and by Saturday night, all I could see was a container of damp soil, but on Sunday morning, the seeds sprouted (overnight)!


And the grass grew taller overnight. This photo was taken this (Monday) morning. No wonder they're called ASAP grass. :)


In about a week or so, the grass would be ready for the cats to munch on. I shall try some on MIL's cats too. :)

Are they still growing?

Despite controlling their quantity of food intake about a month ago, the cat sisters continue to put on weight, which makes me wonder are they still growing, and will they continue to grow and put on more weight?

Both cats are about a year old now, and for the record, these were their weight (when they first arrived and now):
Coco - was a skinny 2.9 kg, now 3.4 - 3.5 kg
Snowy - was 3.3 kg, now 4.0 kg

(Snowy was 3.9 kg in March, after putting on weight at an alarming rate of 100 g per week after she was spayed!?!).

Coco looks like she's at a nice, healthy weight now, neither thin nor fat. Snowy is not fat, but just look so bak bak and muscular, and she's getting quite bulky to carry.

Think I can maintain the current food intake, which is roughly 45-50 g of dry food, plus 20-25 g of wet food daily, spread over 4 feedings:
Evening, after work - dry food, followed by wet food separately
Supper - dry food
Early morning (between 2-4am, if I wake up) - dry food
Breakfast - dry food

Coco is still a small eater and I noticed she eats a lot more in the evenings, and will ask for more food (instead of taking her usual post-dinner nap) until she is satisfied. Snowy, as usual, will ask for food at ALL times of the day, and will even try to ask for human food when we're eating. Snowy does eat bits of bread, and Coco eats bits of salad, but we rarely pander to Snowy's begging. We also noticed their coat of fur has improved, becoming plusher and very smooth, which also mean more cat hair around house for us to clear!

Incidentally, I gave a piece of the Pet Hair Removing Sponge to my colleague who was "adopted" by 6 cats. He was so pleased with the sponge that he kept raving "It's amazing, amazing! So much hidden cat hair in the sofa!".


From a princess to a ...

Cat showing affection

From cats.about.com.

Q1. Why does my cat lick me?
Being a first time cat owner, I have a question: Why does my cat lick me? Is it for salt or whatever taste is on my hands or is a sign of affection or all of the above?

A. Yes, your cat licking you can be "all of the above" but most often it really is a sign of affection. Another way of showing affection is gently biting on your nose or your face. Also, looking at you and slowly blinking her eyes is a way of saying "I love you." You can respond in the same way, if you want. I do it with my cats all the time.


Snowy did the blinking thing at me last night, when she jumped onto the sofa (albeit clumsily) to sit with me. I called her name repeatedly and she responded by blinking several times. I've applied Frontline on her yesterday morning, just before going to work. Everything was fine when we came back, except that a small stretch on her backside is turning almost bald. Snowy must have been over-licking. Will observe and hope the Frontline will do the trick.

I have the flu, so went to sleep in the spare bedroom last night. Instead of sleeping in the master bedroom (which they usually do), both cats came to join me on my super-single bed. Haiz...it looks like I'm not going to get much leg room on the bed anytime soon.

Pet food recall alert

Thanks to ksn for the alert on the recall of some pet food which were found to contribute to pets' kidney failure. The suspected cause of the problem seemed to be gluten supplied from a certain source.

The brands of pet food recalled includes Eukanuba, Iams, Nutro as well as some varieties produced by Nestle Purina PetCare Co. and Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc.

The full article can be found here.
The list of pet food recalled are found here: http://www.menufoods.com/recall/

Fortunately in my household, we only have Royal Canin, Solid Gold, Avoderm dry cat food, and Fussie Cat & Friskies canned food - all of which were not listed.

I think San feeds her cats Nutro and these two Nutro products were listed under the recalled products (click to view the batches recalled):
Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
Nutro Natural Choice

That same old question on feeding

Aiya...once again, I'm in dilemma over the question of free-choice feeding vs timed feedings again! Free-choice feeding is out at this point, as Snowy seems to have become the "gobbler" and "leftover cleaner" when it comes to food. Coco is a small eater, and whatever food left over in the bowl will be gobbled up by Snowy in no time. Maybe the cause of overeating is due to Solid Gold (?) which is what I'm feeding the community cats now, so I've got a big bag of it.

Went to look at this old thread again. Maybe I should change to Avoderm, as Cat had recommended. I haven't fed this brand to the cats yet because I vaguely remember it contains some meat by-product, but everyone seems to recommend it?

If there's a brand that will prevent greedy cats from gobbling up their kibbles immediately, I would like to try it, so that I can still have free-choice feeding, and yet make sure both cats are eating enough, instead of having Snowy eating up Coco's share of dry food as well as her own share.

Any recommendations?

One of my favourite cats - an old photo of MIL's calico cat who is now plumper and fluffier, but not overweight

Post-sterilisation update

As luck would have it, it had to rain in the morning when I took the cats to the vet, and it had to suddenly rain again when we took the cats back yesterday evening!

At the clinic, the cats were left to sleep (on the incontinence sheet) in the carrier which is then placed in the cage...!?! Could they not have left the cat in the cage (without the carrier), or are they trying to keep their cage clean? The cats must have pee-ed while in their deep, groggy sleep and their underneath smelled of pee and chemicals. The vet and assistant were quite attentive and did a nice, small ear-tip on both cats.

At home, once I open the pet carriers, Coco immediately stepped out of the carrier and walk or rather, wobbled right into the litter bin to pee. She wanted to bury the sand too, but I scooped her up and did the job for her. Snowy just wobbled out and wanted to jump up to the sideboard by the window. Coco had already jumped onto the bed to lay down in the cat bed.

I could not help laughing at their wobbling, although it was also painful to watch the poor darlings struggling in their groggy state. Finally, I set up the cage for them, as it was the only way to stop them from jumping to their favourite perch.

I went to check on the cats at 6am, and found both cats more sober. There was less of the pee and chemical smell on them - they'd cleaned themselves well, and Snowy had also pee-ed in the litter bin. I let them out of the cage and Coco started eating the dry food. While I wasn't looking, Snowy tried to jump up to the sideboard....and did not make it. *Ouch !* She then sat on the scratch mat with her head down and eyes closed. I think she was stunned speechless, probably at the pain she must have felt, and at her failed jump. *heart pain* I put back the step-stool next to the sideboard to facilitate her climb.

Later in the morning, Snowy tried to eat one kibble this morning, but had trouble swallowing. By the afternoon, both have started eating and drinking a bit more, although Snowy is not doing as well as Coco. Both purred when I sayang them. I shall steam some chicken which I hope will whet their appetite.

Pre- & post-sterilisation

In preparation for their sterilisation tomorrow, I shall have to fast the cat sisters tonight. I wonder if they will be so starved and thirsty that they will cry for food during the night? I noticed that they do most of their eating when we're sleeping, and I can hear the loud kibble-crunching sounds in the still of the night.

Also, what happens after the operation?

MIL who has brought many stray cats for sterilisations said that they will become lethargic and will sleep through the day.

My concerns are:
a) Will it be ok to bring back both cats in one single carrier? Will it be painful for them to be put together in a slightly cramped carrier?
(There is enough space if they're properly spaced out).

b) Will they be able to walk on their own immediately, or jump or climb up onto the bed to rest, or will I have to put them on the bed myself?
(It is not good to put them on the floor as our place does get drafty at night. I can leave the step-stool for them to climb up onto the bed, if that will help).

c) Will they start to eat, drink or use the litter bin soon after the operation, or will they be too tired or weak to be bothered?

d) Do the cats need to have their stitches removed by the vet later?

We've not had a cat recuperating from sterilisation at home before, so I wonder.

Do cats get sore throats and lose their voice?

This morning, we finally saw Shiny, after an unusually long absence of 2-3 weeks. She was waiting outside the feeder's house and called us when we approached. And she had recovered from her sore throat and got her loud voice back again!

It's strange but Shiny is the first cat that I've come across having the husky, sore-throat voice. The second was Jumbala who also had this sore-throat voice when we saw her a couple of weeks' ago.

Do cats get sore throats and lose their voice temporarily? I wonder.

Jon Jon should be called Diffy (for difficult)

This evening, I met Ms A who helped me to buy a pack of Hills Prescriptive Diet K/D dry food when she visited the vet today. The K/D was of course, meant for Jon Jon, the community cat with kidney problems.

By the way, Ms A confirmed that Jon Jon (JJ) is a boy, so I'm glad that that gender issue was finally cleared up! I've been confused about JJ's gender because some folks called him JJ, while Ms A calls him An An, which is a gal's name. Furthermore, JJ does not have the alpha male look at all, but have facial features similar to those of a gentle female cat, plus, his ding-dongs seemed to have shrunk so much that it would be too easy to mistake him for a gal!

(Photos from early Dec '06; JJ looks cleaner nowadays)

I asked Ms A whether JJ has chronic or acute kidney failure, but she didn't understand those English terms, and could only tell me that JJ is in the middle stage of the disease, which was what the vet had told her. It didn't help that my spoken Mandarin, though passable, does not extend to more complex medical terms! My question sounded totally out of the blue to Ms A, so I suspect that the vet had not mentioned this point to Ms A. Ms A mentioned that the vet seemed so busy that she didn't even have a chance to talk to him much (Well, that's one reason why I never like to go to that particular animal hospital, if I can help it).

JJ didn't like K/D wet food, so Ms A had been cooking fresh fish for the fussy eater. Apparently, his royal highness the fussy eater would eat the fish if it was freshly cooked, but not if it had been cooked hours before. Poor Ms A had to coax him to eat the home-cooked fish as well as the antibiotics twice a day. Looking at her, one really has to admire her patience and dedication to care for such a difficult cat - one that cannot be touched too much, cannot be held for flea medication to be applied or for oral medicine to be administered.

What can I say about JJ, except that he is such a diva! Although they are buddies, JJ and Sugar are so very different in terms of "catsonalities" - one is difficult while the other is easy to care for. One is generally boh chap, while the other simply loves cat-friendly humans.

I've informed Ms A about the information which was kindly provided by Moglee and Calsifer such as adding cod liver oil and vitamin B to home-cooked fish, chicken, salmon, etc. which would be suitable for JJ. So, we'll have to see how things go, in view that JJ's diet is easily jeopardised by other cat-friendly passerbys who tend to feed them cats with junk food.

Hills Prescriptive Diet k/d

Ms A took Jon Jon to the vet, who confirmed that JJ has kidney problems. The vet prescribed Hills Prescriptive Diet k/d which may help to prolong JJ's life by a year. :-(

I have no experience with cat's kidney problems....is this how it is? Is there anything else JJ can eat?

Ever since I started giving her Solid Gold, JJ has been running to me with enthusiasm everytime she sees me, but now it looks like I can't give her her current favourite food.

How to treat a difficult cat?

What can one do for a cat that doesn't like to be held, is very sensitive to even tiny drops of medicine being applied to its body, and yet badly needs to be treated for its itchy skin?

Jon Jon keeps scratching herself (sometimes I get confused about her/his gender) every two or three steps she takes. I think the itch troubles her so much that she's not able to eat properly. She's lost quite a bit of weight, and I wonder if I dare to try another round of Frontline on her.

In the past, I had been warned by Ms A of the difficulty of applying the liquid treatment on her as she would jump and run away once she sensed the slightest drop of the medicine. Nevertheless, the SO and I did treat her twice (with the medication given by Ms A), but not after lots of struggling and a few scratches from her. After all that trauma, Jon Jon ran away whenever she saw the both of us!

She's forgotten about those bad memories and sometimes purrs quite contentedly when I stroked her. A few days ago, I tried to "test water" and held her gently with both hands. Immediately, she jumped away and refused to be held. We can definitely forget about bathing her.

I'm still pondering how best to treat her. Any ideas?