花花世界 (The World Out There) (II)

We've been taking our time to prepare Skoda, with the hope of bringing her out for a walk someday. Or at least to be able to leave her outside the gate in a safe manner while she checks out the surroundings (on a jacket with a leash tied to the gate). Alas, we are aborting this "mission" after an incident earlier this week.

We had put on the jacket on Skoda as usual. Shortly after, she tried to get the jacket off and in the struggle, she got into a tangle (and let out a cry that sent chills down our spine). We got into a panic. Thank God she managed to squirm out of the jacket before the situation got out of hand. While trying to calm her down, we gave her our word that we won't press on with the training (don't have the heart to anymore). Well, her interests must come first.

This video was taken the day before her outburst. We should have known that her tail swishing from side to side and her meows were indications that she was irritated.

Fly, Fly, Fly! (II)

The bird fly has got to be Braun's favourite toy. She doesn't seem to get tire of it. Everyday without fail, she would pester me to bring it out of the cupboard. She gets a kick from bringing the "bird" down and then chewing it up. One of the feathers had fallen off. Looks like we'll have to get a refill soon.

How Cats See Their Home

Grimlock showed me a cartoon in Reader's Digest (March 2008 edition):

Sweetie, Happy 2nd Anniversary!

This month, Braun takes centre-stage on the masthead. Today marks her second anniversary at the Cove. Last year, I forgot to write an anniversary post in her honour :p - this is "not the norm" considering my memory for special dates (and my habit of journaling them) and the extend I so love her (goose pimples? hahaha…).

Braun almost didn’t make it to the Cove. To be honest, when ST sent over her photo (prior to the adoption trial), Grimlock wasn’t too keen (he and his 'X' factor). As for me, a match in temperament between Skoda and her to-be companion would be the main consideration. I contemplated asking V (Skoda’s former foster) for Suede’s “hand”. Suede and Skoda are sisters and I’d love to have a ginger. Grimlock said Suede seemed to have settled down well in the animal family and so we shouldn’t break up the bond. V might not agree anyway. (So, here are two confessions I’ve made ;p )

Our first glimpse of Braun

I recounted our first meeting with Braun when I started this blog and how her relationship with Skoda progressed. Shortly after her arrival, I went on a break so I could spend time assimilating her into the Cove and also got to know her better.

I’m just so glad to have Braun with us. She is even-tempered and can be stroked for an extended duration. By the latter attribute, I’ve had kneaded away many-a-nerves with the “therapy sessions” – she allowing it and seeing how much she enjoys the contact. The gratification is beyond words. I’m certain it is the same for Grimlock. Braun is unbeatable when it comes to nail-clipping and taking baths – except for a few mild “protests”, we’ve had her full cooperation. Her nick is Braun Braun Sweetie Pie, not for no apparent reasons.

Braun knows she has her way with me. She just needs to look up at me and “yowl” and her human slave shall do her bidding. And she is so persistent (dispenses her ‘killer’ head bumps and “yowls” some more). She does this when she needs an escort to the food bowl (I’ve asked her time and again what happens I’m not around but I’ve yet to get an answer); when she wants her treats (she knows where it is kept); and when she wants the fly toy (yup, she has got the cupboard marked down too). She only does the summoning to me (100% hit rate!) Ok, ok…I “asked for it” ;)

Braun used to be paranoid about being carried and towards certain acts of affection. Over time, we’ve earned her trust so now we can cuddle her for a while (there is a technique). I also now may kiss her on her forehead and when the mood is right, she’ll exchange a kiss on the lips with me – note: at most one kiss hor! When she needs a manicure, she would only do it on the scratching boxes/mat/pole. Braun is an avid climber (swift, accurate and goes by “the sky is the limit”) and has a penchant for the most unlikely hide-outs/"parking spaces". She gets jittery at sudden, loud noises (visitors included) and is very afraid of thunders (would go into hiding mode upon a change of weather – beats me how she picks up the “vibes”).

There’s also her chewing track record. To date, she has chewed through the wires of four mobile phone chargers and four headsets (all Grimlock's) and one computer mouse. We’ve stopped leaving such “temptations” around.

I forgot to add this earlier: Braun's chest fur is white (very white in fact, if there is such a description), smooth and thick. At times when she is completely at ease, she'll lie on her back and I'll gently run my fingers through her chest. "Shiok", solid!

Braun and Skoda have cruised into a comfortable relationship. While they may not be lovey-dovey, they give and respect each other’s space. From time to time, I see Braun licking Skoda’s forehead (aaawww…) and Skoda accepts this act of affiliation. The opposite is not true – Braun doesn’t want to be licked on her forehead (a very cautious girl?). Mikki can forget about attempting such close proximity on Skoda. Braun keeps Mikki at an arm’s distance (Mikki thinks she has better luck in intimidating Braun). Both of them can drift into snooze mode in an upright position. While Braun is generally peace-loving, should Skoda or Mikki push their luck too far, Braun has no qualms in putting her feet down.

Well, I cannot help it that this anniversary post of Braun’s is sooooo long :) I started writing this out over the weekend so that no stone is left unturned, hee hee. This time round, I'm exceptionally early in uploading Braun's anniversary post, just five minutes into 18 March. When I get back home from work later today, the girls will get a special treat.

FINALLY...

bbSp, thank you for putting into perspective what a relationship with a cat might be (and for letting us have it good!). May you be happy and healthy always!

Saturday Nite Fever

"Nope, we didn't paint the town red.

We didn't boogie all nite long.

We were at our favourite past-time. That was good enough for us!"

花花世界 (The World Out There)

We've been taking it slow and steady in our leash "training" mission of Skoda. We left the walking jacket lying around for the last couple of days so as to familiarise her with it. Earlier today we thought Skoda might be ready to go on to the next step so we put her on the dining table and went on to secure the jacket straps under her girth and around her neck. Then, we held our breath.

Skoda didn't exhibit any of the possible abnormal behaviours mentioned on the website. She didn't howl/whine and took the "progress" in good stead. We left the jacket on her for five minues and then took it off. Will be repeating "this several times a day for a week to 10 days". She tried to bite the collar piece though - will have to tighten the collar fasteners a little.



Skoda, 好样叻！ (We're so proud of you!)

That & More!

This article (The Straits Times, 12 March) might come as a old read for some of you; nonetheless, it provides interesting information for all:

"A lower risk of dying from heart attacks" - that and more other ways our cats so enrich our lives! :)

btw, the cat in the article resembles Mikki...

1,000 (Green) Origami Cranes (V)

Skoda's urine culture test result is out! Guess what...there isn't any bacteria in her urine!! This is most puzzling because her earlier Urinalysis, three in total (done on 15 Dec 07, 12 Jan 08 and 1 Mar 08), indicated there is bacteria in her urine. Two of these were done on self-collect samples. I asked Dr K how it could be so and he said the urine for the culture test was extracted in a sterile manner (direct from her bladder with a syringe).

On one hand, I felt huge relief there isn't bacteria in her urine (which means she doesn't have to go on antibiotics) BUT on the other hand, the results are inconsistent (the urine for her first Urinalysis was also extracted from her bladder). Dr K said a prescription diet is the way to go to manage her urinary tract infection (there are still blood and crystals in her urine). Besides Prescription Hill's C/D formula, there is the W/D formula (this is second line diet for urinary conditions and for weight control), IAMS (definitely out!) and one other brand (same manufacturer as RC). Will do some research on this other brand. Giving a mix of dry and wet food could also help to increase her fluid intake.

I'm seriously considering to bring Skoda to another clinic and repeat the Urinalysis to confirm there is no bacteria in her urine. To think she "suffered" an allergic reaction to Clavamox for nothing, and twice! I wouldn't want to see blood again in the litter tray, then to realise things have gotten serious. She is young so if she requires treatment, I believe her recovery chances are good.

Should I, Should I Not...

1,000 (Green) Origami Cranes (IV)

Brought Skoda to the vet clinic for her urine culture test on Fri, 7 March. The results will be known in 3-5 days. Dr K also performed an Urinalysis - this time, there was a slight dip in the indicators; less blood in her urine and back to the alkaline side again. This is most puzzling because the same test was only done last Sat, 2 Mar. Could there be some contamination in the self-collect sample? Skoda also had her annual vaccination shots done. She was completely unfazed at the vet's. We didn't have to coax her out of the pet carrier and once out of it, she ventured all over his desk and didn't want to go back into the carrier when Dr K was done with her. Dr K and the vet technician, R commented she had put on weight :o (and we hadn't noticed it ourselves).

(7 Mar 08)

Fly, Fly, Fly!

The girls are having great fun with their new fly toy. We're especially surprised to see Braun taking a keen interest in it because she has a phobia of whip/rod-looking toys. We keep the toy away in a cupboard and Braun has got that marked down. She kept rubbing her head and body against the cupboard door and howled away and when the door was slightly ajar, we saw her trying to get her paw in.



With the other two hot on the heels of the "fly", it was hard for Skoda to get her share of playtime so we had to keep the other two away in the room. Anyway, this girl kept the work-out to her upper body with her butt "glued" to the floor.



Forgot to add: We wonder if the Da Bird toy is similar. We saw it while in Hokkaido and almost bought it if not for we weren't sure whether the price was comparative (vs buying online from US) and the fear it might not fit into our luggage (the rod's length). The Da Bird toy seems to be well-received too.

Finally Arrived!

After a one-month wait, our order finally arrived at the Cove! Chief Inspector aka Skoda exercised her due dlligence and administered strict customs clearance of the parcel before she'd let it through:

(Viola! I just figured out how to make a photo collage - thanks to Picasa web album. This would come in very useful because I often take consecutive shots. Picasa doesn't seem stable though.)

For some time, Grimlock and I have entertained the thoughts of bringing Skoda out for walks. She is "kaypo" (ie curious) enough to want to, at times, venture out of the gate to "look see, look see" (and bolt right back at any sound or sight over at our neighbour's). Such attempts of hers never fail to get our adrenalin pumping. When we've visitors, she doesn't go into hiding and will check them out at a safe distance (she used to more forthcoming when she was younger). Of the three, she is the most "gung-ho" and she could do with more exercise. Our apartment is a corner unit and there is a park near our block.

Those collars and harnesses sold at the local pet supplies shop are unsuitable and unsafe for cats so the sourcing would have to be done overseas. We recently got a supplier contact through San (an experienced "cat walking" trainer :) ) and aunty P and pooled our order of cat walking jackets with the latter.

"Oh, is this for me? What's this? What can I do with it?"

Some years back, I saw a man with a cat on leash below my block - the cat stayed put despite of the man's coaxing (the cat was very calm). It was quite a comical sight and I was amused that he actually tried to walk a cat (I then thought only dogs would go on walks).

We've now placed the jacket next to Pinky so as to let Skoda get used to it. And we'd also familiarise ourselves with the leash training tips posted on the supplier's website. Will need to get an identification tag and a leash. Watch this space for updates on how our leash "training" mission of Skoda goes (it is too preliminary to speculate on whether roles might be switched?) :)

Skoda snoozing away with the cat jacket on her.

(9 March 2008)

Besides the cat jacket, we also bought a fly toy from the same supplier. The girls are having great fun with it, one of our "better" acquisitions to date.

Gender Equality

Came across this article in Lianhe Zaobao late last year. Today is International Women's Day so guess this sharing is opportune?

The four nothern Europe countries once again topped a report by the World Economic Forum on "equal opportunities between men and women". New Zealand came in 5th position, while the US dropped to no. 31st position.

A gender gap index, released by this think-tank organisation revealed that though gender equality has not been fully established in the four countries, namely, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland, these countries scored highly in the areas of salary, educational opportunities, level of political representation and health standards.

The index showed that these four countries, which were ranked the top four in 2006, achieved better results in the economic indicators. This was due to employment and salary for men and women being more on par.

New Zealand moved up two notches to its 5th position, while the Philippines retained 6th position for two consecutive years. Women's political representation went up in both countries. Germany dropped from 5th to 7th position.

In this ranking involving 128 countries, the US dropped from 23rd to 31st position, mainly because of less employment opportunities for women arising from the poor economy performance. The gender gap index used the score of '1' to indicate men-women equality. The US scored 0.70. The total population of the 128 countries is about 93 percent of the world population.

Besides Sri Lanka which was placed at 15th position, most of the Asian countries had low scores, at below 0.67. Singapore's score increased from 0.65 to 0.66 (pathetic!) and its position dropped from 65th to 77th position. The other two Asian countries, China and India were ranked 73rd and 114th position respectively.

A spokesperson said that the scores for women's health and education indicators went up in most of the countries. On the contrary, changes in economic and political representation were varied. She also said that only 25 out of last year's 115 countries slipped from their original ranking, which goes to show women's status has generally improved.

Afternote: Can there ever be equality between the two sexes? For me, it is a 'No'. Well, more opportunities are within my reach then as compared to my mother's time (and the generations before) BUT the scales remain tipped on one side. It's too demanding to be a woman - so many hats to wear; first, as herself, then having to juggle motherhood, as well as earn her own keep (the cost of living has gone up too much to be depending on a single household income). Some of my girlfriends have had their career being put on the back-burner almost as soon as they attain 'mummy-hood'. And to side-track a little: there are women employers who make the worst "discriminators", ie they are not necessarily more supportive of the need of work-family balance.

1,000 (Green) Origami Cranes (III)

I brought Skoda's urine sample to the vet clinic yesterday for a review. All the indicators went up. There is blood in her urine. The only improvement: her urine is now on the acidic side (ph6.2 as compared to ph7.10 previously).

Yesterday's review:

The last review:

For the past 3-4 weeks, Skoda has been taking a combination of RC Indoor and Nutro Adult Maintenance formula kibbles. We're drawn by the latter's claim that it is formulated to help manage Feline Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD). She is not keen with Prescription Hill's C/D kibbles (we aren't neither).

After going through the Urinalysis report with Dr K, I understand there are two options, namely, do a urine culture and sensitivity test or/and an ultrasound investigation. There is bacteria present in her urine so the culture and sensitivity test will show what type of bacteria is present and allow the vet to treat it with specific antibiotics. An ultrasound will present the condition of the cat's kidneys (whether normal or shrunken) and whether there is any cysts in the kidneys. To perform the procedure, shaving will be done to Skoda's belly fur and if she is uncooperative, she may need to be sedated. The vet clinic is not equipped to do ultrasound testing so we'll have to bring her to another facility (and "by default", this would be Mount Pleasant Animal Hospital because Dr K is with its subsidiary clinic).

Dr K recommended that we go for the culture test first and then take it from there whether an ultrasound scan is needed. Will have to bring Skoda in to the clinic on one of the mornings and have to ensure she has a full bladder (meaning keep the litter trays away from her the night before). Sourcing a suitable antibiotic to treat the infection would be tricky because there are limited choices. And if the number and size of the cysts are significant, she'll require surgery.

While looking at the Urinalysis report printout, I was reminded that Skoda is just 2.5 years old. Hopefully her young age puts her in good stead for a complete and speedy recovery. This girl should be drinking more water but she isn't (I keep seeing though the other two lapping away at the drinking fountain). She seems to be more 'noisy' nowadays (is she trying to tell us something?). Skoda, Skoda...