Emma has been adopted!

Emma the little princess kitty is now a Tiong Bahru resident, new kitty daughter of Sofin and Rafi!

Happy parents and Emma's typical haughty face

Emma is Sofin and Rafi's first cat together as a married couple. Sofin grew up with cats but not Rafi, so we counseled him to make sure he becomes a good kitty Daddy! Emma let him hold her and we told Rafi that he should take over litter box duties when Sofin gets pregnant, just as a precaution. We also made sure both parents were aware of Emma's food and litter needs, as well as veterinary information.

Yay for Emma and her new parents!

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Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme
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Orphan kitties, no shelter space, Twitter, and a foster parent emerges

Last week we received a call from Gerald and Nicole about a few 2 week old kittens they found orphaned at East Coast Park. They called us to ask if we could shelter and rehabilitate them but we couldn't - Lenny was having the flu' (his siblings have passed away, Gerri had severe flu' before she died). Lenny's pen, the ICU with a heated pad, is the pen we use to keep baby kittens in, and getting the rescues to share the pen with Lenny and Bailey, would either kill the rescues or jeopardise Lenny and Bailey's health.

So we had to give our standard response to the couple who found them, explaining we couldn't shelter them, that their best bet was to go through Cat Welfare Society's Special Appeals for fosterers - which has a very high response rate (kudos to the cat angels).

I then also shared the situation on my own personal account on Twitter, and one of our Twitter followers Aishah who also follows me on my account, said she didn't mind fostering the babies, although she couldn't keep them and will be rehoming them. Immediately I linked up Gerald with Aishah so he could have another alternative to solving the rescues' fostering situation.

Turns out, cat-loving passers by had offered to take in one each of the kittens and only one little boy was left. Aishah took over the fostering of the little boy the next day.

He kept mewing when he first arrived

Tabby kitten with white socks

Was quite frail when he first arrived

Aishah tweeted that the little boy was refusing milk at first and also didn't poop or pee for nearly 2 days until after his foster mommy kept up with stimulating him to eliminate. He also has fleas which they are using a flea comb to help get out. Have told Aishah also that if she needed any foster care supplies she can come around get some of ours. So far she has been doing an amazing job!

We are glad this story turned out well. It is noble of Aishah to respond to my tweet about a case we couldn't take on, and offered herself as a foster parent instead. And wow Twitter followers - you guys are really hardcore and make a huge difference!

Eventually, when this little boy can be weaned off milk, do contact Aishah over Twitter if you are interested to adopt. He will also be posted on CWS adoption site when he is ready. (Unless Aishah's parents fall in love with the little kitty and allows him to become a part of the family. It happens!)

Hope this inspiring story makes you want to be a foster parent too!

Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7
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More about Feliway and why your cats need it

If you have visited our foster home you might not have noticed this little gadget called the Feliway diffuser in our foster lounge unless we point it out to you and tell you what it does. Well, here's more. Because we often get questions on how to solve cats' behavioural issues, stress issues that lead to illnesses, or how to integrate a new cat into the home. So here is how Feliway works - and believe us, it makes a whole lot of difference. 

What the Feliway diffuser does is that it diffuses feline pheromones that mimicks the cats' own scent. Cats mark their territories by leaving their scent around, through activities like scratching objects or rubbing themselves against them. Their litter box activities also leave their scent. For us, because we often have new cats coming in, we need the Feliway diffuser for two important purposes. Firstly, to make new kitties feel safe in our foster home, and secondly, to minimise stress (that might lead to illness) on the existing cats, and/or aggressive behaviour.

How it will work for your cats will depend on what scenario your household is facing. We will list out as many as we can:

• You are going to be undergoing a change in schedule, leaving for a work trip or are having major stresses at work or even in your human relationships. Your cats will feel your stress or absence. Having Feliway increases your cats' sense of security and minimises any symptoms of stress such as constipation, refusing to eat, depression, inappropriate urination. 
• You are going to bring a new (adopted!) cat home regardless of whether you have no cats or many cats at home already. Having Feliway plugged in makes your new kitty feel at home, and not hide under the sofa, exhibit stress or aggression issues, or withhold eating, drinking and going to the litterbox. If you have other cats, Feliway would also minimise their stress at having a new kitty share their territory with them. Without Feliway, your other cats may also exhibit stress and aggression issues even if you do a step-by-step integration of the new cat.
• The ideal ratio of litterboxes per cat is one per cat plus one more. So if you have 4 cats (like we do) you need 5 litterboxes. Our cats have 1 and a 'half' which they share with the free-roaming foster kittens, usually 2-5 of them, that also have 1 and a 'half'. We obviously don't have the space right now to pile on more litterboxes around the house. Cats are finicky about clean toilets, so how do we not have inappropriate elimination around the house all the time? Feliway is the answer. Because the cats don't feel the need to spread their individual scents around with Feliway diffused throughout the foster home.
• Angsty kitty? Sometimes, especially when you only have one cat or have cats that aren't very companionable towards each other i.e. they don't play together, there is a build-up of excess energy in your cat. Cats, as predators, exhaust their energy through hunting and suchlike activities, and when they don't have this outlet, especially if you don't have the time to devote daily play time with your cat, your cat may manifest this excessive energy by being destructive. Perhaps he may run across tables and knock all manner of things over, or he may even decide to attack you when you want to pet him. The best solution would include getting a suitable playmate for him - one that matches his energy level - or devoting more time to playing with him every day. If neither is possible in the immediate term, you need Feliway to calm him down so his destructive and aggressive behaviour can be calmed down in the meantime.
• Inappropriate stropping - "Kitty, why be you not scratch on scratching post but on the sofa instead?!" Sounds familiar? Cats strop not only to keep their claws from overgrowing, but also to leave their scent behind on the item they strop on. If your cat persistently scratches on the furniture, Feliway can help minimise kitty's need to strop on every single inviting surface in the house. You then also need to recondition kitty's behaviour with a loud 'No!' when she strops on the furniture, and carry her to the scratching post. When she strops on the post, tell her she is a good cat. Diffuse the Feliway in the room where the stropping on wrong surfaces occurs the most.

So if you are experiencing any of the above, you know you definitely need a Feliway diffuser in the home. Personally we also recommend it to help relax your kitty in general. Cats tend to fall ill when they are stressed or unhappy. Having Feliway diffused around the house helps keep kitty healthy as well.

There is also the Feliway spray. We find this less of an essential than the diffuser but there is a targeted use for the spray as well. However, we recommend that the Feliway spray be used in tandem, not in exclusion of, the Feliway diffuser. This is even if you have only one cat.

The Feliway spray is used for inappropriate elimination: peeing or pooing or both, outside the litter box. To make sure kitty does not do it again, you need to disinfect AND deodourise the area which kitty eliminated on. Use bleach, baking soda, white vinegar, enzyme cleaners, etc. After making sure there should be completely no more smell on that area, spray the Feliway spray on it. Make sure you cover the surface entirely, every square inch of it. We say this because, without covering the area completely, your cat is going to play hopscotch and find an area to pee or poo on that is not covered with the Feliway spray. Combine this strategy with the Feliway diffuser in the room that kitty always does it outside the box - we suggest this because we have had feedback that the spray alone doesn't always work even when there is only 1 cat. If this room does not have a litter box, place one there, preferably on or as close to the area where he did it wrongly. Use training techniques - 'Good boy' when he does it in the box, 'No' or 'Bad kitty!' immediately after or during the act of improper elimination itself. Also consider changing the kind of litter that he is using, particular if the current one is scented with artificial smells.

(Do note that besides the above measures, first and foremost you need to verify your cat is not having a urinary tract related disorder).

There are other methods and products that you can apply to ease your kitty's stress but Feliway is always the first item we recommend. If you would like other ideas after trying these out, let us know, we will blog it all out, or email Elaine at elaine@lovekuchingproject.org.

Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7  
Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme
Give food at charity rates through our corporate sponsor The Water Dish 

Adopt: Emma

Emma is ready for a forever home!

Emma and her long tail

Emma, one of the Whiteys rescued from Woodlands and rehabilitated from sicknesses, is now ready for adoption!

Emma has lost that few strands of grey fur, and is now a white cat. She has a long white tail with no kink.

Her personality is really interesting. She likes humans and will talk to us and even lick or kiss us, a bit like her sister Ellis (adopted), just quieter a tad. She likes to cuddle with humans or the other kittens and especially likes younger kittens, but does not really get along all that well with older cats: she doesn't like to lose in play-fights at all, and makes a lot of noise when she gets wrestled and loses. Yet at the same time, she shows no hard feelings after the hissy fits she throws at other cats like our Sealy or at Winky (who loves to initiate play-fights). She gets along most well with Echo -

Emma squeezes in with a sleepy Echo

Here are some more pictures of Emma -

Portrait

Sometimes-haughty expression!

Her cute swishy straight tail

Emma is litter-trained, able to eat both wet and dry food, vaccinated, dewormed, vet-checked, healthy.

To adopt Emma, see right side bar under 'How to adopt' or click here.

Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7  
Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme  
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Lenny, Kerri, Tattoo and Gerri

3wk old kittens abandoned at Lengkong Tiga

Our Sterilisation Volunteer @wisheswithwings's cousin found 4 kittens in a box in a playground at Lengkong Tiga where she lives. Upon investigation, they found out that the kittens, originally 5 of them, were dumped there away from the coffeeshop nearby, where there is a resident whose cat is the mother of the kittens. The caregiver of the area who first spotted the kittens, has been unable to get this mother cat sterilised like the others in the estate already are. The rescuers brought the kittens home and started looking for fosterers as they is unable to foster and there was parental disapproval.

4 out of 5 siblings that had remained in the box

The kittens were having slight flu' symptoms, weren't very adept at eating and needed to be bottle-fed - especially the weakest one, Tattoo - named so because he has a heart-shaped mark -

Tattoo's heart-shaped tattoo

We penned the 4 siblings with Bailey in the ICU pen - Bailey is stronger now immunity-wise, after pumping her with supplements, so we can take the risk of penning them together safely.

Clockwise from bottom: Kerri, Tattoo, Lenny, Gerri

They are now on a supplement regimen with both wet food and milk, and kept warm by the heating pad. Bailey has been playing with them. More updates on them when they get better!

Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7  
Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme
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Love Kuching's Spay Day participation

Cat Welfare Society held Spay Day 2011 on October 28 and Love Kuching was invited to take part by Veron, their vice-president. So we went into a trapping frenzy the nights before!

Went trapping at midnight

We went to a previous TNRM project site to trap the cats that we missed out on and the kittens that have finally matured - Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 1, where we conducted 3 rounds of TNRM. The cats that we wanted to trap for Spay Day were mainly at the micro-site we covered during our 3rd round there.

We trapped a total of 6 cats, including the roving tomcat that eluded us during the 3rd round!

Here are some pictures of the trapping process -

Andy and Damy setting the traps

Waiting for the cats to approach the traps

Bingo! Cat appears and eventually was trapped.

Trapping a cat hiding behind this dustbin

After trapping the 6 cats from this micro-site, Martine the caregiver went to look for the cats we missed out during our previous round 1 and round 2. But they were nowhere to be found. So we called it and settled for 6 cats even though we had more Love Kuching slots for Spay Day.

Here are the 6 cats sent for Spay Day -

Tabby

White/tabby - alpha tomcat

White/tabby

White/tabby

Tabby

White/tabby

And Cat Welfare Society's Spay Day was a success! We are glad we were a part of it this year.

Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7  
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Adoptions that ended off October!

Princess, Aryan and Ellis got adopted!

Eva with Princess, and Shah

Princess got adopted by Shah and Eva on the 19th! Both of them cat-proofed their house even before they came to see Princess and really fell in love with her - the connection was tangible. Eva is actually allergic to cats but loves Princess very much. She manages her allergies by controlling the length of her interaction with Princess at home. Shah also mentioned they are considering upgrading Princess to Wellness CORE food - which is a superb food upgrade! Looks like Princess is really getting the princess treatment at her forever home!

Hwa and Issac with Aryan

Aryan was adopted by Issac and Hwa on the 20th! This couple looks familiar, aye - that's because they are Bob's adopters! They were deciding on a younger sibling for Bob and we felt that either Winky or Aryan would be suitable; Echo is very hyper and Bob being a little physically challenged might not be able to keep up. Winky is playful too but she is small in size, thus manageable for Bob, and likes to initiate play with other kittens. Aryan is very easy going with other kittens and while naughty too, also likes to take care of other kitties. In the end, we left Winky and Aryan in the room with Issac and Hwa, and Aryan went to bond with them while Winky ignored them and walked around the foster lounge instead! And that's how Bob now has a younger brother!

Jahan with Ellis and hubby Din

Ellis was adopted on the 22nd by Jahan and Din! Jahan said she loves cats that talk and follow you around so Ellis is literally perfect for this new kitty mom! Ellis was a bit scared when she went to her new home, but eventually warmed up and started waking her new mom and dad up by her usual style - climbing on top of you and meowing at you (sometimes licking too)! Din himself is a first time cat owner so we did advise him to take an active role in Ellis's care and in learning about cat care. This is important as sometimes in couples adopting, when one is not available, the other needs to step up to ensure the cat is being cared for. So far Ellis has been doing well in her new home and we are happy for all three of them!

Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7  
Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme  
Give food at charity rates through our corporate sponsor The Water Dish 

Message from our co-founder Elaine

To all our cat lovers, adopters, donors and supporters -

You may or may not have heard recently that I attempted suicide. If you haven't, now you know. We promised all of you an official press release on this matter that indicates Love Kuching's stand on the matter; but because I would be the one writing the press release (I handle all the media aspects of our little organisation) I decided a heartfelt message, an informal 'press release' on what transpired and how it affects Love Kuching, would be far better.

I suffer from moderate to severe clinical depression, severe meaning hospitalisation, which I have been before. Technically I have suffered from depression since childhood, but I only started seeing a psychiatrist for treatment in my late twenties (I am now 32). Since I have been on medication I got gradually better, though as in all depression patients, 'getting better' sometimes has a lot of 'getting worse' in between.

Before Love Kuching started, I had already been into doing volunteer work, going overseas to teach English in Indonesia. Being in the charity industry is my passion and dream. Then in 2009, we started the then called Ubi Kuching Project. It was small at first, but gradually we got to doing more, and by the time we rebranded as Love Kuching I was technically managing our entire group. We have grown a lot since then, if you have followed us from the start.

So, technically, I am capable of managing Love Kuching. Not because I have management experience, experience working in an NGO, studied management for my degree. These things don't matter if I am not undergoing treatment for my depression. But I am, so here I have been for the past 2 years, doing what is necessary for cat welfare as a rescue group.

In that case, why did I deteriorate so badly in my condition that I turned suicidal? It isn't because of 'compassion fatigue' that many animal rescue workers suffer from. It had nothing to do with my work in Love Kuching. As I mentioned above, many times depression gets worse and then gets better (and the cycle repeats). I simply had gotten worse. I had been feeling suicidal for the past few months, which I controlled with medication. That Tuesday I went to take my life, I had run out of medication, I had no money to buy new ones, I didn't want to go get warded because it was Spay Day week and I didn't want the agony of seeing my volunteers do the work without me, while I was lying in hospital, being weak.

In the end, I did end up in hospital because my suicide attempt was thwarted. The hospital doctors didn't want to discharge me early because they said I was classified as at 'severe suicide risk' for my attempt was very serious. But I did not want to stay in hospital and I got discharged against physicians' advice and went to see my psychiatrist at Paragon the next day. I went for Spay Day trapping (news on that in the next post!) and I slowly resumed my duties at Love Kuching. I was put on a higher dose of some of my medication and it has helped. Although, you must know this - it takes a lot more effort for a depressive to do a task than normal people. Regardless, I am still carrying on.

If I had died, what would have happened to Love Kuching? I covered the instructions on what to do to shut down Love Kuching in my suicide note, about one page of bullet points. For this fact, I am sorry. I am sorry that I wanted to shut down the work that Love Kuching does because I wanted to die to kill my own pain. But I didn't die, and so here we are, continuing, and for that matter, we will only get better and better in our work. This is my word to you.

Yes, I will continue to work for Love Kuching despite my illness, which I have been doing from the start. Depressives can work, just less than normal people (if your condition is as serious as mine) and it takes more effort, plus we fall sick from psychosomatic illnesses more often. But cognitively we are sound, and depression is not schizophrenia - we can differentiate reality from illusions. When we work, we are just tired and sad sometimes. If we love our work - like how I love working for Love Kuching - work becomes like therapy. In fact, if I were to list my hobbies, working for Love Kuching is one of them. And it forces me to get better. It is like 'occupational therapy'.

And there is more than just me in Love Kuching. We have our other co-founder Andy, who is also committed to and working for this cause (even when I was hospitalised). We now have a volunteer pool, who are superb people that inspire me.

So, will you continue to support us, a cat rescue group managed by a person suffering from a mental illness? I have hid this fact for very long, because I felt it was unprofessional to reveal personal traits, beliefs and suchlike in a corporate setting. But now that many of you know be it through the media or through this letter of mine - you will see us in a new light. I sincerely hope it is a better light because we still need you, for without you, there would be no Love Kuching either. I need you to love the cats in our lives and neighbourhoods together with us - for the long haul.

Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7  
Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme  
Give food at charity rates through our corporate sponsor The Water Dish 

Product review: Taste of the Wild Canyon River

We received a gift of 3 sample packs from our corporate sponsor The Water Dish of this wonderful new formula of Taste of the Wild last month. So we put it to the taste test and saw how the cats reacted to it!

The difference between the new Canyon River formula and the usual Taste of the Wild we feed our cats (and the free-roaming foster kittens who share our cats' food) is that instead of venison and smoked salmon, they are using trout and smoked salmon. There is still a chicken base protein source in both of them, but the Canyon River formula is likely to appeal to cats who like fish more than venison. (Yes, cats can be picky over the two).

As usual when it comes to food we look at our pickiest eater, Sayang. She decides the food choice in the house for the four of our cats. Sayang took to Canyon River in a wow-ee way! She went for second helpings even though she usually eats very little in the first place. Slinky, who eats everything, was fed this when she was having her gum problem, and she couldn't resist it and ate it despite her healing gums.

The foster kittens like all kinds of food - we train them not to be too picky, so they take to it as per normal food. Which means it isn't yucky - some foods we try sampling on foster kittens, even how well trained they are, they don't eat it. 

So - taste test - picky cats and greedy cats alike, like this Canyon River formula!

It is already available on The Water Dish website so try out a small pack, or ask for a sample pack with your next order to test it out. We usually try testing new foods out as treats, before putting it in a bowl to see if they eat it. Taste of the Wild tends to give big sample packs, one pack fills a good sized cat bowl.

We also reckon that it can be alternated between the regular formula as well, for variety, without causing much stomach upset as food changes usually do because the other base ingredients are the same. Still, if alternating food, always change it slowly.

Have fun trying out the new Canyon River!

(The humans? Good cat food tastes bland to us because there is no salt and sugar added. So what do we know? Let the cats decide!)

Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7  
Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme
Give food at charity rates through our corporate sponsor The Water Dish 

Orphan kitties found at Lengkong Empat

This is the story of Sal and Bailey, 2 orphan kittens found in a box on Monday, by a dog owner walking her dogs at Lengkong Empat.

Rescuer initially brought them home but found that she couldn't handle taking care of them - at age of discovery they were about just over 3 weeks old - and sent them to SPCA. Bailey has flu' and SPCA's protocol is to euthanise all cats with flu' to prevent outbreak.

Thankfully the rescuer is a friend of our volunteers, who called SPCA just before the vet made his rounds, and they went to collect Sal and Bailey from SPCA to bring them to ours. Hence their names - Sal for salvation, Bailey for being bailed out.

They are now in our ICU pen, reserved for emergency orphan kittens. Doing very well too! Bailey's flu' is getting better, they have learned to eat wet food, and with the ICU heating pad they seem to rest well and recuperate nicely.

When they arrived on Tuesday based on their teeth growth we aged them to be 3 and a half weeks old, so they should be about 4 weeks old now. However, they are very small in size for 4 weeks of age even though they are eating well.

Here are photos of Sal and Bailey, taken on Wednesday. (Bailey's eye has improved since then already!)

Sal, the boy

Eyes still blue, about 4 weeks old now...

,,, but very small and skinny for their age, especially Sal

Size relative to hand at 25 days old

Still has kitten fuzz!

Sal says enough of the photos!!!

 Next up is Bailey -

Bailey had conjunctivis in one eye

Third eyelid showing

Very chubby regardless!

Also still has her kitten fuzz

Enjoying herself in the warm ICU pen

Bailey is getting better with her flu' and the two siblings are progressing in their weaning - able to eat moistened kibbles already. If their recovery and weaning keeps up they should be available for adoption soon!

Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7  
Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme  
Give food at charity rates through our corporate sponsor The Water Dish