Pony, abandoned kitten

Pony is about 3 months old, found abandoned at Guillemard 2 days ago. The caregiver there, Liyin, discovered him abandoned and brought him to us. We ascertained that Pony was indeed an ex house cat because he gets along well with everyone, is very tame, and seems to know his way around an indoor environment. Hence we decided to take him in as he would not have likely grown up on the streets and thus be less street-wise.

Pony's breed is Oriental Longhair, meaning he is cross-Persian. He has a short tail that because of his long fur makes it look like a pony-tail, hence his name. He has Oriental bone structure, with single coated long fur most prominent on his back and tail. He has copper eyes.

He is extremely sweet-natured, has the personality of a longhaired cat indeed - ragdoll-like, quiet, can be cuddled any which way. I woke up to find him sleeping next to me, which was so sweet.

He will be dewormed today. He is healthy and can be rehomed immediately, hence he is now available for adoption. If you are keen on visiting and adopting Pony, here's how.

My Paper - "Animal lovers get perks to adopt pets" by Rachel Chan

A new initiative - the Companion Care Card that we at Love Kuching are in favour of, will help to promote pet adoption in our country.

Final round of neutering at Blk 15 Upper Boon Keng!

Out of the 10 cats that had remained after the 17 we have neutered last month and 8 in March, we managed to trap 9 cats successfully. The number 10 guy that eluded us -

This wily boy is really sneaky! He kept eating the minuscule bits of food just outside the traps, never entering to apply pressure that would have closed the trap doors. When we wanted to net him, he decided to take a walk in the bushes nearby. So he remains the only one in this area not neutered save for the kittens.

We had a few tries at rescuing Sealy's siblings but they eluded us too. So the feeder Lia will let us know if she can get them to come out from behind the fence tomorrow night - there is 1 calico and 2 tabbies, all Oriental breed description wise. They are the only young kittens that remain in the vicinity that are under 2 months old. Kittens above 2 months of age will no longer need rescue as much.

We were at first worried the rain would dampen our plans tonight, but there were cats out in the drizzle, waiting for their feeder, and eating food scraps on the floor possibly thrown as killer litter off the block.

We had to gather the cats to the sheltered area in the void deck to feed those already sterilised and to set up traps for those not sporting a tipped ear. Like this handsome guy here -

Thankfully the cats were familiar with the void deck and were keen on being sheltered from the rain too. So we weren't entirely drenched in the process.

Here are the mug shots of the 9 cats. 7 of them are black and 2 of them tabby. Black cats rule! Although they all looked almost alike to us save for distinguishing features like their tail lengths and kinks.

The cats will be going for their sterilisation operations Monday and be released back Tuesday. Hurray for 34 out of 35 cats neutered in this colony! Thank you all for the support!

TNRM receipts for October

For the 17 cats we neutered at Block 15 Upper Boon Keng last month here are the receipts.

Transport, trapping and boarding costs for the 2 rounds of sterilisation as billed by Acodia (Damy)

Sterilisation receipts as issued by the vet

The veterinary receipts shown above issued by Clinic for Pets are being mailed out to Cat Welfare Society for sterilisation reimbursement. The amount reimbursed will go back to our Sterilisation Fund so we can neuter more stray cats.

Helga passed away on 5 November 2010 at 5:55pm.

It started with respiratory distress. I found her having difficulty breathing in the afternoon. But when I listened to her lungs, her airways were clear of fluid and there was no wheezing. Yet her heart rate and breathing rate escalated beyond the normal range.

Vets being closed for the public holiday, I called the doctor's hotline and spoke to Dr Hsu. He said that she was probably having difficulty breathing because she was trying to expel the excess urea and creatinine in her system. We placed Helga in the recovery position with her head elevated and covered her with a blanket (2 of the things to do when a cat is having difficulty breathing). One of Helga's major financial supporters, Catherine, contacted Mount Pleasant's after hours clinic and we brought her there. When we left home Helga was already losing body temperature and I transported her carrier with a hot water bottle to the Mount Pleasant clinic.

There they placed her on oxygen. However, the prognosis was no good. Helga was showing signs of leaving us very soon. Low body temperature, continued difficulty breathing. We reported Helga's urea and creatinine levels to the vet. At best if we opted to put her on IV and oxygen therapy and hospitalise her she would live for a few more hours. But it meant that Helga would die alone in the clinic. Also, it wasn't an economical route to take as Catherine has already sponsored far too much of Helga's care, where the financial resources can be triaged to better rescue efforts. Helga was already in suffering. Her kidneys had officially failed. So, we took the vet's advice and let her go via euthanasia.

It wasn't as hard to see her die as it was with the other cats that have died in our custody before her. Simply because it was painless and Helga knew it was time for her to go. She left with much dignity and in no pain. Witnessing a cat's struggle to live and eventually die in your arms in distress is a far more traumatic experience for both us and the cats. If we had been able to euthanise every cat that was on the brink of death to save them the final hours and minutes of gasping for air or heart failure etc. we would have.

[Video of Helga's passing via euthanasia was recorded but Youtube has yet to upload it successfully. Will update this blog post with the video when it is up.]

Despite the process being painless for both us and her, we feel her absence immensely. Having gone through abandonment, braving muscle loss, sub-cutaneous injections and medicating with her strongest front, being a purring manja cuddly bundle of fur, being at ease with all the other cats and foster kittens in the house, loving visitors - all that of Helga is no longer with us.

She leaves behind renal dietary food, medication, and sub-cutaneous injection sets. We will be trying to sell these items to folks having a CRF cat to try and reclaim some of the donated funds that were used to purchase these items for Helga.

Helga's remains will be sent for cremation tomorrow.

Caring for a Senior Cat

We will love our cats till the day they die, so there will come a time your cat reaches its senior years. Here are some things you should look out for when your cat becomes old.

Veterinary check-ups: These should now be scheduled 6-monthly instead of annually when your cat gets older. Apart from checking for onset of feline diseases by doing blood tests, also get your vet to check its teeth, and for growths. This is important because early detection of feline illnesses is important to ensure quality treatment and the prolonging of your cat's good life with you.

Grooming: When cats get older they will groom themselves less. This may mean more showers are necessary. However, older cats tend to have drier skin. So you need to select a shampoo that is more moisturising, or use conditioner. Also, blow-dry your senior cat after showers, because they may not have the energy or dexterity to lick themselves dry. This is to prevent fungal growth from moisture collecting in their fur. You may need to brush your cat more often as well. Also pay attention to their ears and clean them from wax buildup to prevent fungal growth.

Claws: Cats are less prone to stropping to keep their claws in check when they are older. They are also less able to retract their claws when scratching themselves, and may end up getting claw wounds which will need first aid attention to prevent inflammation. You will need to check your senior cat's claws more often and help them to trim their claws to prevent claw wounds as well as ingrown nails that overgrow.

Diet: Do not feed your cat less. A protein level of 30-40% is still ideal for senior cats unless your vet advises otherwise. Also they will need the vitamins and minerals from their diet. Consider adding supplements to your senior cat's diet. Calcium is one important mineral. Also, probiotics, essential for cats every age, may become more important in their senior years due to a weaker digestive system. You can also consider supplements good for cardiac health such as the omegas (fish oil, flaxseed oil, olive oil) and CoQ10.

Incontinence: Your senior cat may be less able to control its urination and bowels and may need more litter boxes, especially closer to where they like to hang out around the house. Stock up on paper towels and toilet paper because there might be more 'accidents' outside the box. Likewise because of this your senior cat definitely will need more conditioning showers and grooming to keep themselves clean from peeing and pooing on themselves.

Fur loss: Your cat may begin to show signs of fur loss, be it when you stroke her and find your hand full of her fur, or simply bald patches appearing on her body. Her fur will also grow less slowly than before. 

Safety and solitude: Your cat may now prefer quiet activities such as suntanning and snoozing more than other things. Ensure that there are quiet corners your cat can spend its days in, especially if you have a multi-cat or noisy household. You can consider igloo beds or cat baskets specially for your senior cat.

Exercise: Because your senior cat will not be really into playing on its own anymore, you will need to ensure it gets enough exercise. You may find that your cat only responds to some toys only, and no longer others. Pay more attention to which toys she prefers and play with her using them more often to ensure her mind and body are engaged.

Planning for the inevitable: When your cat eventually goes over the rainbow bridge, allow some time for the rest of the family members to grieve, even the pets. It is normal for the other pets to wonder where their older brother or sister has gone. Eventually they will accept that nature is as such and continue in their daily life - this is one thing animals can teach us about resilience and of the natural order in life. You may also have to make the difficult decision of euthanising your cat if she is in suffering, or to let her live out her live naturally. Either choice is a difficult one to make. Also note that it is illegal to bury pets in public areas. Cremation rates start at $80 for a cat, including pick up. To enquire more on pet cremation rates, call Alvin of Mobile Pet Cremation Services at 94556355 from 8am to 5pm daily.  

Be prepared: Your senior cat may develop a chronic feline condition that will need routine care. You will have to be mentally prepared that he or she will need daily medication, regular visits to the vet, injections and such. Just as we need to be prepared to take care of our senior parents, we need to be prepared for our senior cats. 

This article is inspired by the senior foster cats that have come into our lives: Helga and Manja.

Latest update on Helga

Being on sub-cutaneous saline injections for her CRF, one thing we need to monitor Helga on is fluid-overload. Fluid-overload is the retention of fluid in the body due to too large a dose of sub-cutaneous injections; in Helga it is manifested by water retention in her foreleg.

Helga initially started on 150ml S-C injections 2-3 times weekly and did very well on it. She is now on 50ml once daily. I have tried her on 75ml and 100ml and she fluid-overloads. The administration of S-C saline is 25-30ml per kg of body weight, as advised by our vet; Helga is now 1.8kg so 50ml is right for her size.

Unfortunately 50ml daily doesn't seem to increase her appetite like the larger doses did in past. She hasn't eaten today nor yesterday. We know that it is only alarming if she doesn't eat for 4 or more days. So we will need to keep her on 50ml S-C a day, and monitor her appetite. I fear she may need to be syringe-fed like Manja before she left.

The thing is that while she may eat more on larger doses of S-C, fluid overload is dangerous, so we will just have to bear with the fact that S-C is no longer increasing her appetite like before and syringe-feed her if it gets bad, else hospitalise her once again.

Do note that if S-Cs cause fluid overload even though it is the right dose for the animal's body weight, it could mean a concurrent cardiac condition, another thing we worried about when we noticed Helga's fluid overloads. Thankfully, it is more likely because she is losing muscle mass due to her CRF and therefore weight.  

In other updates: Helga's loss of body mass means she can no longer walk or climb as well, but she still does, through sheer will power. Because of her weak hind legs I have reinstated a blanket covered with peepads for her in her pen even though she will pee on it and sit in her pee. Daily. So we make up for that by grooming her with grooming powder daily and more showers (with lots of oatmeal conditioner, a must for senior cats because of their drier skin). Just so she can rest more comfortably (the floor of her pen is lined with tiles, not as comfy as blanket).

The growth on her tail is still prone to scabbing and needs cleaning every day. Thankfully she doesn't groom herself any longer and it doesn't get inflamed - fur merely gets stuck to it and cleaning her growth is just one more thing we need to do for her daily. No picture of it, because it is quite disgusting to regular folks.

Did you know that Persian cats are prone to a shorter life span? Because Persians carry a lot of genetic disorders such as CRF among others in their lineage, they live shorter lives and are more prone to falling gravely ill towards their senior years. In any case, all our cats will grow old one day, and learning to care for senior cats is one valuable lesson that Helga (and in fact, Manja too during her short stay) has been teaching us to prepare us for when our own cats enter their twilight years.

@CatWelfareSG documentary screening and discussion panel

Andy and I were privileged to attend the event Dogs Cats and Humans on Saturday, invited by the Cat Welfare Society folks. We learned a lot and we would like to share with you our thoughts and insights garnered from the event.

Dogs Cats and Humans documentary
One of the leading themes behind the topic is on euthanasia in shelters, both government and private. We believe in euthanasia in the human concept where it is no longer a viable option to prolong a person's pain and suffering. But euthanasia in shelters is due to lack of space, where they prioritise who lives and who dies. Some of the methods employed are more humane - quick and painless, others are long drawn-out processes. The priorities as to who lives and who dies are set differently by each shelter. Many of the animals surrendered to these shelters shown in the documentary are borne out of unsterilised pets at home. As in a hospice or nursing home for humans, every surrendered pet that comes in, borne out of an unsterilised pet at home, is a competition for space in the shelter. Someone has to die or be adopted for that space.

Another topic that was brought up is the concept of 'no-kill' shelters. Currently very popular in the UK and US, these no-kill shelters do not practise euthanasia on surrendered pets. This is an extremely good concept. However, like Marxism is good on paper but fails terribly when practised by Communists, the no-kill concept is not viable in practice, and euthanasia can only be minimised but not eradicated. Why this is so - the insight on this was shared by SPCA advocate Jaipal Gill. Basically, if you have a no-kill shelter, and are full, you are simply forcing the animals needing rescue to other organisations, effectively pushing the burden of euthanasia on to others. Likewise, and this is our own insight, if you decide to let a cat become stray because you can no longer care for it, you may eventually be pushing the burden of euthanasia to animal control by AVA and pest control companies. Euthanasia for lack of space can only be minimised but not eradicated. When we eventually become a full-fledged cattery at Love Kuching, we aim to be 'no-kill' unless the vet makes the call to euthanise a rescue due to severe injury. And we believe still very much in euthanasia when a rescue has an illness that cannot be treated and is in obvious pain and suffering. Depending on resources available, euthanising these rescues may very well be a better way to channel resources to rescues that can be saved and eventually re-homed. This will apply for sick cats we care for like Helga. When funds no longer come in for her treatment, her special diet, or when she exhibits suffering and pain, we will definitely be putting her to sleep. We would also have sent Manja to the vet for euthanasia but her deterioration and death was firstly too quick for us to evaluate the decision as to when to euthanise her, and secondly it occurred in the middle of the night and therefore it was not possible for us to get a vet at the time to put her to sleep.

The last topic that was deeply covered in the documentary is the overall issue of animal welfare. A seasoned veteran veterinarian said to the filmmaker, that, "Animal welfare will only improve when the welfare of humans is on the uprise." This much we agree with. In countries where there is economic stability, of course there are resources to advocate for animal welfare. In the UK, the pet shops do not sell cats and dogs at all, only grooming services and pet supplies. It was impossible to find one selling live pets, save for small animals. The concept of adoption is so prevalent it has become ingrained in pet owners potential and current. Considering that in Singapore we are in peacetime and not in an economic slump mirroring that of war - the example of the Japanese war during WW2 was used in the film - we ought to be much more change-making in the realm of animal welfare. Promoting adoption, fighting the ban of sale of cats and dogs in pet shops which are bred from farms in extremely inhumane conditions. We are still fighting for that paradigm shift in Singapore and we will not relent till the paradigm is ingrained in the hearts of Singaporean society.

What we glean from this is that the only long-term solution to the problem is in education. You, the public, needs to stop contributing to overcrowding shelters. Shelters will always have the overcrowding issue, because in economics, resources will always be scarce. The 3 things you need to change in, and in fact inspire others around you to do the same:

1. Never buy a pet cat or dog or kitten or puppy from a pet shop. 
2. Always neuter your pet and not even allow it to have one litter or to impregnate others.
3. A pet is a lifetime companion - there is no excuse for pet abandonment.

These 3 facets of an important message cannot be propagated by shelters and organisations alone. It has to come from you, telling others and setting the example for those in your circle of influence to follow.


Discussion panel with SPCA, AVA, CWS, HRSS, Zeus (an independent rescue group like us)
(ASD Ricky Yeo was a no show, so there was no response on the dog advocacy front by the only registered charity for dog welfare. Obviously, it only means not much is being done on the dog welfare front.)

Many misconceptions were clarified both during the discussion panel and the networking session afterward. Firstly, AVA and SPCA are not the enemies. Regardless of how many times we at the community level have slammed them, they are not the enemies. Let me proceed to clarifiy some of the misconceptions about these organisations.

AVA started the Animal Welfare department to monitor, audit and check the breeding conditions of licensed pet shops and farms in Singapore for humane standards. However, this department is new. It only has 3 people. These 3 people cannot possibly be as stringent as say, MAS in auditing banks for their compliance to the law simply because there are only 3 of them.

AVA does not ban home breeders. This means that if you are a breed fancier, and you know jolly well not to buy a pedigree cat or dog from a pet shop or farm, you have to rely on home breeders. AVA does not regulate home breeders unless there is a cruelty issue apparent, with evidence to back up in order for them to raid and prosecute the abusive breeder.

If you are a breed fancier and not an animal lover, please do your own audit of the breeder you are purchasing a (usually at the time unborn) pedigree kitten or dog from. Ask for medical records of the parents. Ask how many litters are produced each year. Ask for sonograms of the pregnancy. Inspect the home of the breeder to make sure it is comfortable for the mother and father and subsequent leader. If you do not do this before you decide to purchase from a breeder, you are basically leaving the entire backyard breeding industry to police itself which means you are an enabler of animal cruelty. AVA cannot regulate the pedigree home breeders as 'other countries do not do the same either'. Hence, if you want some sort of regulation body to certify your pedigree breeder you have to turn to Singapore Kennel Club or Feline Fanciers Society of Singapore to accredit home pedigree breeders.

As for penalising animal cruelty and mistreatment cases, there are many cases of abuse, neglect and abandonment reported, but often a lack of witnesses and material evidence sufficient to render the accused guilty. This can only mean one thing. You the public have to be the witness, to be the evidence gatherer, the vigilante investigator of suspected animal cruelty around you. AVA or the police cannot prosecute without witnesses to testify or material evidence to prove guilt.

SPCA does more than rescue dogs, cats and small animals like hamsters and rabbits. They also investigate cruelty to other species of animals such as birds and rats. When stray cats are brought to them with a treatable illness that is not contagious they will treat the animal, neuter it and return it to its territory. A lot the the work that SPCA does in preventing animal cruelty is subtle and they are only endeavouring harder every year on year to raise the bar on its mission to Prevent Cruelty to Animals.

SPCA does shelter kittens require bottle feeding that are 3-4 weeks of age and above (unless they have cat flu' in which case they are euthanised to prevent an epidemic), seconding volunteers and staff to take home the kittens to bottle feed through the nights. Younger kittens of newborn to 2 weeks of age die easily so they will not be bottle fed and rehabilitated and are usually euthanised. So it is not true that SPCA does not at all have the resources to bottle feed kittens that need milk. While limited, they do have volunteers and staff that stay up through the night like we do to feed rescued kittens.

One of the issues that was brought home during the discussion is that the stray cats and dogs problem is a community problem - because we the community live with the strays in our neighbourhood. We can definitely vouch that Cat Welfare Society is promoting this mindset repeatedly, through encouraging independent rescue groups like us, through subsidising independent volunteers who conduct TNRM in their area. Until that night, we thought no one cared for neutering stray dogs much except for Project Just Kindness. But Zeus Communications who was also represented at the discussion panel also advocates sterilisation and return of stray dogs to help with the long term agenda of dog welfare. So while official dog welfare advocacy is missing in Singapore, there are independent groups that pick up the slack in sterilisation of stray dogs.

So, before you call us, the independent rescue groups, or the welfare organisations like SPCA and Cat Welfare, think how much you as part of the community can do first. It is your problem too. Let's solve it together and advocate on all levels for better animal welfare in this country.

Kirin got adopted!

By Siti and family who also live in Ubi. Siti and her hubby have 2 little girls, so we recommended them the more confident kittens who would bond well with children. Kirin was the most comfortable with the little girls, enjoying playing with them lots! Sapporo was a bit shy but eventually warmed up, and Siti is considering adopting Sapporo if Kirin gets lonely in his new home. For now, Kirin already at his new home as we speak! Look at him nose-kissing his new sister in this pic! -

We are so happy that Kirin now has a forever family!

Helga's visit to the vet this month

Helga is an abandoned Persian cat diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure. She requires a vet visit every two months and will be fostered by us until she passes on. 

She had her kidney function test done (pre-op test) and it turns out it is still on the decline.

Her urea levels went to 99 (up from 77) and creatinine 3.8 (up from 2.9). Unfortunately, CRF can either be a steady decline or it may spike, so it is hard to estimate how long Helga has to live left. An optimistic estimate is a year if she doesn't spike.

Helga is also losing more and more muscle mass due to the CRF, so she was given another steroidal injection today. Her weak hind legs are caused by this muscle loss, causing her to drag her hind legs when she walks.

I also asked Dr Hsu about the growth on Helga's tail. Upon inspection, it is a cosmetic growth and she will not require or actually even survive surgery to remove it. It is not an abscess and can't be lanced, but is a solid growth around which it bleeds and needs daily cleaning with peroxide and Baneocin antiseptic powder daily. It seemed to have grown in size merely because of the scabbing. Helga now has a permanently bald spot on her tail with a horribly bleeding growth.

Her sub-cutaneous injections are now reduced to only 50ml per load, as she has lost weight - 1.8kg now. But because the amount is so small (tried higher load of 75ml, still fluid overload) it will have to be done daily from now on instead of a few times a week.Good thing she is now so used to it.

Topped up her supply of Royal Canin Renal pouch food for her today as well as her Azodyl kidney-specific probiotics. Our Veterinary Fund is now in deficit. If you would like to help share in our veterinary expenses, please see how to donate here.

The good thing is that Helga is not in any pain. Her now-daily sub-cutaneous injections will help her eat more so we are looking forward to more emptied bowls of hers. She is still on a herbal remedy as well.