Happy Anniversary !!!

This month, December 2023, will mark the 18th year that Zacky has joined my family.

Time really flies, from the day that ChekWee was kind enough to entrust him to me, it is quite amazing that he has managed to tolerate all of us for so long without trying to escape. He did ran out the door many times but each time, I managed to catch him as he couldn’t figure out which direction he should run. He never put up resistance when I ran out to arrest him during this getaway.

From 2 years ago when he was diagnosed with kidney disease, he seems to have have recovered but clearly, we are all cognizant that he is no spring chicken. As much as it is reasonably possible, we will try to do what we can, to keep him healthy. His food cost, because it is a prescription diet, has skyrocketed and having inflation, don’t really help. Whenever there is a bulk purchase discount, I just buy a bit more to try to save some money. Importantly, he eats well and seems to like the food. He is now eating 2x the recommended dosage for his weight. He is putting on some weight but not noticeably much, so I suppose it is ok for now. He is now checked annually due to his age which helped to discover his kidney disease early.

So how has the experience been, you might ask? Well besides the never-ending stream of free furballs in the house, drops of his cat litter, infrequent vomit patches and now regular screaming (10:30pm, 2:30am, 4:30am, 5:45am), I suppose I would say everything else is going great ? Sort of. kind of ?

But what about the benefits ? Never-ending surprise of the antics he is up to, just quiet companionship which is non-judging (till he walks away when he had too much of you / got what he wanted), cute sleeping postures and strange places which he will be found in, I would say the joy greatly exceeds the inconveniences. It is very hard to put in words the joy of having him around – just indescribable. Also, his behavior of teaching us to be patient, being contented and problem solving attitude has much to teach many humans, me included.

I hope he will choose to be around us for as long as he wants to be till he cannot. In the meantime for those contemplating adopting a community cat, I would suggest research what is required, think careful and then do it – you will experience joy that words cannot describe. Do not listen to the ignorant who tell you that cats are solitary, ungrateful, destructive and cannot be taught – mostly true but you win some, and lose some.

It has been a joyous and fun journey thus far and I hope there will be many more years to come – he willing and us trying.

2023 – Medical Report

Last year, Zacky was diagnosed with kidney disease and the doctor recommended a change in diet.

He has been on canned food formulated for kidney disease and he seems to like it and no longer willing to eat kibbles, which is creates new operational overheads. Of course, the other aspect is cost as such prescription diet is quite expensive.

Plus, the supply chain issues in 2022 also frequently caused supply shortage. So now, I always order with 3 months of food supply to counter the supply shortage risk.

In April 2023, he went for his annual checkup and thank goodness, the key metrics seem to have recovered a lot. The metrics could be better but I suppose, for someone his age, it is a good outcome. The doctor was also shocked he is that old.

Hopefully, his health continues to hold up – fingers crossed. Here is the report:

Zacky – Sleeping, what else did you expect?

This is one of his many favourite beds – daytime only.

The bottom has sort of flattened over the years, so had to buy him a pillow to cushion the flat bottom. He seems not to mind it despite his fussiness.

https://imgur.com/ZbT6uWs

Goodbye – Bluebell

On 31 December 2022 at 11:40pm, vet called and said Bluebell had passed away in her sleep. She had chronic kidney disease and we had her admitted to the vet on 29 December 2022. The vet did warned us that she was cold and struggled with her temperature and intervention via heat was needed to keep her warm. Other vitals improved after IV intervention but her temperature didn’t really increase without the intervention.

She joined us in July 2007 after being abandoned at a terrace house withe her sister. We only managed to save Bluebell as her sister disappeared when the cat catching service tried to looked for her. For the people who abandoned them in 2007 at Margate Road, I hope you had a good life since them because both of them suffered being abandoned there. The next door and the opposite house owner (old lady) was very aggressive and threatening when we tried to feed Bluebell and sister. Even threatened to call the police. I told her I will wait for the Police to come but she went into house and the Police didn’t come. Or at least not when both cats finished the food which then, we left. Her first words were ” I owned the next door house and the house opposite!”. I was like “so???????”. Is having more money entitles you to have a nastier heart? I not rich, cannot appreciate.

Although it is always easy to say you prepare for this to happens, it is sure like being hit by a ton of bricks when it happened. Oddly, that same night, I was coughing really badly without reason around 10pm and didn’t really recovered till about 11pm.

Against the vet’s advice, we informed the vet that we will do whatever it takes for 1 week to give Bluebell a chance to come around. The vet did advised us that typically in such cases, it is better to let go after 2 days of intervention since the probability of significant improvement is low. Bluebell had breast cancer and was cured in April this year. She recovered the next day and was meowing to be fed and the vet suggested taking her back since she seems well. She was supposed to stay with vet for 2 days. Of course, she was not the same as before, being less vocal and responsive, but still come when called and her usual ask to be stroked. When I carried her to look out the window, she will be vigorously swaggering her tail and seems happy with spying on the neighbourhood.

Of course, I would rather not let her go but I prefer for her to suffer less pain and having a good quality and importantly, a dignified life. In the last month, she was having trouble walking and had trouble controlling her bladder. As much as she tried, she peed in the walkway to her room/bed. It was just heart wrenching watching her to do beside the weight loss as she was not eating much. She also fell when walking back to her bed/drink water. It is beyond words to explain how we felt.

I told Bluebell when she was at the vet:

“If you choose to fight, we will help you all the way. If you choose to go, we will respect it. As long as you are going to somewhere happier and less painful, we will be sad to see you go but we would rather you go to somewhere happier. But if you choose to come back to us, we will be waiting for you – just let us know it is you.”

After 2 days of intervention at the vet, her bloodwork did improved, but she cannot keep a normal temperature. When we visited her on the day of her passing, she actually tried to stand up (of course couldn’t) and wanted to be stroked which we complied. Then we left the clinic and was informed via Whatsapp later in the night that she has passed. My spouse informed me in next morning and we visited her one last time in the afternoon. What a way to spend the first day of the new year. 2022 sucks, in many ways, but losing Bluebell was the worst.

Well, the rest, like people say, is history.

I hope to think we gave her a good 15years and she was happy with us. She has always been a sweet girl offering free licking without asking. That licking of course, is only for those at home – just to be clear. Those with cats will understand and those who choose not to learn, well no point explaining further.

Here is her picture when she was in her better days. The pictures from last few days are too heart wrenching to display and don’t reflect the beautiful, sweet and vocal gal she was.

Have a happier and joyous next life, Bluebell. We will miss you and if you choose to return to us, we will always welcome you.

Zacky – Enjoying A Massage

What is better than having your current favorite toy (which changes depending on your mood) and getting a on-demand massage?  Especially if you are getting the massage?

If only we can all have all the time to ourselves, have our favorite things, demand services we enjoy, well fed, safe place to live, enough to eat?  We should all be contented, don’t you think?