We've moved our blog here! This page will be kept online as an archive for our decade of blog posts.
Met a stray cat that needs rescue? Go to our website to submit a Rescue Request
Want to adopt a cat from us? Here are the cats that are up for adoption!
Come volunteer to clean the foster space and play with kitties!
Wish to give to Love Kuching Project? Deposit to our DBS Current Account 027-907655-0 or find out other ways to give here


Saturday, May 23, 2015

The Full Story: Miya from Hougang with heart disease

| Miya |
Miya from Hougang is a stray cat found very bloated and skinny by two sisters who live in the vicinity. They brought her to the vet and the initial suspicion was a liver issue. A blood test showed an elevated ALT liver enzyme, and there was a notable enlargement of the liver.

Miya has ascites - bloating of the abdomen with fluid - and the first vet that the rescuers went to did an ultrasound of the liver to no conclusion, but recommended a daily diuretic to drain the fluid.

Fur loss is from the ultrasound
The rescuers had no idea how to proceed from there and asked us for help, for they knew Miya needed daily foster care as she had to be on regular medication. They fed her outside their house until Miya could come to us. For foster care and further veterinary investigation by our doctors.

When our vet Dr Chong did Miya's first physical examination, there was an unusual galloping rhythm of her heart, which would indicate heart disease, and that would also explain the ascites and the liver symptoms. We recorded the heartbeat and we asked Dr Chong's colleague for a second opinion; indeed there was an abnormal heart rhythm.

We concluded that Miya's heart disease was what was causing her thinness and her bloating and proceeded to put Miya on heart medication and to continue her diuretic at the lowest dose possible. She has also been put on heart and liver supplements.

Miya is much better now and eating well.

Miya feeling much better, eating well





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Friday, May 15, 2015

The Full Story In Black And White: Mr Cow from Pasir Ris

Mr Cow is one of the stray cats from Pasir Ris Park area. Because he is one of the remaining cats in that colony yet to be neutered, he gets into scuffles with the other cats, and roams a wider distance than his "frenemies" do, often slinking into nearby construction work and the roads.

One day, he was discovered to be missing. His feeders searched for him. He was found days later hiding in a drain. His mouth was bleeding, his forepaws were caked in blood. He hadn't eaten for days, and was dehydrated.

A not-so-graphic photo of his swollen mouth
Despite the pain he must have been feeling, he consented to getting rescued, and we were called in for help; Mr Cow came to us to stay. We then brought him to the vet the next day.

At the vet
At first we thought the bleeding from his mouth was due to the usual problem many stray cats have, gum disease. Upon closer inspection, it turned out his gums were not inflamed. It looked to us he actually lost some teeth, so it could be an injury instead.

Upon examination by our vet, we learned that Mr Cow had a fracture in his jaw. It was likely due to an accident. We had to further investigate if Mr Cow would need surgery for his jaw or if it could heal on its own while we managed the pain and made sure he started eating again.

(In the meantime we gave him a bath to get all the caked blood away.)


Mr Cow after getting cleaned up
We gave Mr Cow some liquid food via a syringe through the side of his mouth. But it turned out, he could lap up the liquid food on his own! At first it wasn't much, and it had to be watered down. But as he started to feel less pain, his appetite increased. 

He then got an orthopedic consultation by another of our clinic's vets. He inspected Mr Cow's jaw more closely. Mr Cow was so obedient he allowed the vet to touch his mouth, inspect his teeth and gums, manipulate his lower jaw to see the extent and area of the fracture.

The fracture of his jaw had caused his mouth to be unable to close properly - the alignment was off. One of his lower canines was digging into his upper gum, causing him discomfort. The surgery proposal was to insert a wire in his jaw area to get the bones to fuse such that the alignment would be corrected. Then the wire would be surgically removed. Based on the clinical signs that Mr Cow's pain level was low, and that he was eating well, we opted not to have the surgery. If Mr Cow's pain was much more severe and the alignment of his mouth was causing him to be unable to eat, then the surgery would be justified. As it is, he is doing fine and in fact better every day.

Fracture is along the centre of his lower jaw
He doesn't seem to mind it though...
The timeline we were given to see how well the jaw had healed was 3 weeks. By then, the fracture should have fused. We could then get him neutered and return him to Pasir Ris Park.

How has he been coping?

He can now eat food without it being watered down, and we have seen his appetite improve. We are giving him supplements to manage pain and inflammation and to encourage his body to heal. Due to his few days not eating and drinking while he was hiding in the drain, he did have some constipation. We gave him some pumpkin, an enema and subcutaneous fluids, and he got better and pooped. He is also getting livelier every day. He is super affectionate and enjoys getting our attention with his constant meowing.

Follow Mr Cow's healing journey with us on social media! He is an absolute charm to Instagram!



Donate to our cause by making a deposit to our Love Kuching Project DBS Current Account 027-905975-3 or via Credit CardDonate us food or litter at charity rates with free delivery via Pawfection      

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Thursday, May 14, 2015

Ginger from NTU - his rescue story

Ginger is one of the resident stray cats on NTU campus grounds, and earlier this year he was found with a flesh wound on his lower abdomen. The cat management team at NTU brought him to the vet to get him treated.


Where his flesh wounds are located


However, he was found to have a resistant staph infection on his wounds, so he ended up staying at the vet for a long time. He has since come over to our cattery so we can continue his wound care till it heals up and he can go back to NTU.

Ginger recuperating at LKP now
Our vet has seen him too, and recommends keeping his wound clean with saline, and applying silver sulfudiazine cream.

Close up of one of his wounds
Ginger is not an easy cat to do clinical care for. He kicks violently when he's being handled for cleaning, and cannot be let out of his cat suite for any walkabouts because he fights with everyone. He is also very angsty and needs a cardboard box he can tear away at constantly.

But this face is very deceiving...

"I am so poor thing. Love me."


Follow his healing adventures with us on social media! (Links to follow us are below).




Donate to our cause by making a deposit to our Love Kuching Project DBS Current Account 027-905975-3 or via Credit CardDonate us food or litter at charity rates with free delivery via Pawfection        

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Friday, May 8, 2015

Volunteer Recruitment: Foster Care Volunteers

Exciting news! We are growing our Foster Care team, and are looking for humans to join our LKP family.

Our Foster Care team takes care of all our foster cats. They clean up after them, feed them, and interact with them. The team operates on a rota basis where each day's team comes weekly on the same day. They are highly committed, eager to learn, are initiated and have a deep level of empathy.

Foster Care vollies have to do a wide variety of tasks for the cats every week. These include:
  • Clearing cat litter / washing cat litter boxes
  • Cleaning the cattery
  • Preparing supplements and food
  • Clinical care tasks, such as injections and wound care
You don't need to be a cat expert to join us. What we are looking for are humans that have a teachable attitude. Training will be provided.

Availability is also a necessary trait; you will be volunteering every week, at night for Mondays to Saturdays and afternoons for Sundays. This is a high commitment, long-term portfolio.

Many of our Foster Care Volunteers joined us with absolutely no knowledge at all, but were able to come in week after week, showed initiative, learned eagerly and put their training to use. It is time-consuming, but they often say they have no regrets taking on this role in order to be in the front line of helping the neediest stray cats that Love Kuching cares for.

Interested? Drop Elaine an email at elaine@lovekuchingproject.org. 




Donate to our cause by making a deposit to our Love Kuching Project DBS Current Account 027-905975-3 or via Credit CardDonate us food or litter at charity rates with free delivery via Pawfection        

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram