Read on to learn about how Bob was rescued, his rehabilitation from a nerve disorder, and what his personality is like!
Bob's Rescue:
Bob was a stray kitten who lived on the streets in town. He was being cared for by the caregiver of stray cats in that area. One day, the caregiver commented to Ami who worked in that area and knew the cats too, that Bob had gone missing for a few days. After a joint search, they found Bob cowering in a drain, unable to move, and being very overly aggressive.
Ami brought him to the vet - Mount Pleasant Stevens Road - and he was diagnosed with a nerve disorder. He was put on antibiotics (Clindamycin) and Vitamin B12 supplements. Ami then placed him at a cat boarder for about a month. He rehabilitated and became docile again after that. He became more able to move.
Thereafter, Ami and Wally brought Bob to our foster home. Bob had by then completed his antibiotics, needed further rehabilitation and eventually a permanent family to live with when he got better.
Bob's Rehabilitation:
When we first met Bob, he wasn't able to walk much, doing the leopard crawl mostly, and couldn't climb anything or go anywhere very far. He had to be placed in a pen where his food and water were easily accessible to him, and with a shallow litter tray nearby for him.
We took him for a re-consultation at The Animal Clinic and thereafter began his long rehabilitation.
There were two causes to Bob's nerve disorder. The first, as Dr Hsu opined, was a genetic abnormality in Bob's brain that meant he would never completely heal. Pharmaceutical medication would not help him further.
So we had to consider alternative therapies for Bob, since no regular medication would help him get any better. We put him on nutraceutical supplements of magnesium and vitamin B, as well as herbal remedies of skullcap and St John's wort. We also started him on aromatherapy massages daily using baby oil added with essential oils of frankincense, lavender and geranium. We started to see a lot of improvement in Bob's mobility.
We then set about getting a vet who could do acupuncture for him. Dr Poon became his next vet. She reviewed Bob's case and suggested that Bob's nerve damage may not necessarily be genetic but due to a toxoplasmosis infection when he was young. However, we had to prepare that if it were genetic as well, Bob will not be like normal kitties living the average cat lifespan of 14-17 years; it could be shorter. She suggested acupuncture to see if it would help, and an additional herbal remedy of epimedium be added to Bob's herbal supplement regime. After Bob's first acupuncture session, Bob's ability to move and balance improved much further! It worked! By the next acupuncture session, his muscles were no longer stiff like they were the first time, and Dr Poon noted his increased ability to balance and move. Afterwards, we discussed with Dr Poon and decided that Bob didn't need any more mandatory acupuncture sessions.
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| Bob at his first acupuncture session with Dr Poon |
By this time, we stopped Bob's daily massages, gradually weaned Bob off his supplements, to see how he would fare. The first time we stopped his herbal supplements, he dipped into a low level depression - nerve disorders are related to the central nervous system which affects moods (hence his initial aggression when first rescued). But by the second time we tried weaning him off his supplements, he behaved as normal and was in fact doing very well without them. Good for everyone because he was getting phobic of syringes, droppers and pill-poppers!
He eventually became a fully free-roaming foster kitten. The first time we tried that, we found that he wasn't able to climb our cats' litter box, nor did he want to use the covered litter box in the foster lounge, or our cats' other one in our bathroom (he doesn't like to get his feet wet), so we had to pen him again - he was withholding peeing and pooing because he couldn't get used to the litter boxes outside. By the time we tried again later on, we observed him and noticed that he was so much better and could climb in and out of our cats' rather high-walled litter box.
We observed his gait and mobility even further. While he cannot leap to great heights, he has no problem going up lower heights. He can climb on the sofa. He can climb to our bed. He can even climb on our table (the only table cats are allowed on in the house). But one thing remains - he cannot always land on his feet like normal cats. At first he didn't realise that, but now he knows his disability, and lowers himself off our bed by using the surrounding ducting as stairs or off the table by stepping on a chair first.
We also planned for Bob's kitten booster vaccinations and sterilisation. Ami had Bob tested for FIV/FELV when he was first rescued - he is negative. But he would still need to be vaccinated before adoption, and he was going to mature soon so we would need to plan his sterilisation.
Dr Poon and Dr Chong both agreed that Bob would need only half a dose of the usual booster. We brought Bob to see Dr Chong for his booster jab in February (1st vaccination was sponsored by Sarah) and his second booster on 23 March, where he got vet checks at the same time. Dr Chong noted that his gait and motor control keeps on improving - we were so happy that Bob kept on getting so much better!
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| Bob at clinic after first booster and another vet-check |
Bob's Kitty-Bio and Personality:
Bob is a white and tabby cat with a bobtail, hence his name. He is a very affectionate kitty who purrs non-stop when given attention, loves to sleep next to us, rub us up (and his good friend, our youngest cat Sealy) and absolutely loves hugs and cuddles. He is also vocal and loves to talk to us, in a sing-song chirruppy meow. He enjoys kitty play but prefers most of all to lounge around and sit by us. He is currently 6 months old.
Here are some latest pictures of Bob, taken by Furry Photos.
Bob is currently eating Taste of the Wild, and is able to drink water on his own. He has been dewormed and is currently on Revolution Pink. He is litter-trained - but does not like covered litter boxes or litter boxes placed on wet bathroom floors. He does not need to be carried to the litter box and can access it on his own.
How different does he behave compared to a normal kitty? He is like a normal kitten except for the fact that he does not know how to land on his feet extremely well. He also doesn't do much jumping, though he can climb low heights Other than that, he is totally like a normal cat.
He does not need further mandatory acupuncture, massages or supplements for his nerve condition and has received both kitten booster vaccinations for the year. He needs to be sterilised at a later date than other kittens. His sterilisation operation by attending vet Dr Dawn Chong at The Animal Clinic Katong is currently booked on 4 May 2011.
To adopt Bob, read here: we will need to know more about you via our adopters' questionnaire, and for you to read our adoption contract and fees. When you share with us your answers to our questionnaire you can also feel free to ask us any questions regarding Bob, his current needs or his history. Thereafter we can arrange for you and your family to visit Bob at our foster home!
