Year 2009 is Nigh

In a few hours, the year 2008 will be behind us. A new year will soon dawn upon us.

Right at this point, I've been nursing a bad flu since Mon, 29 Dec. I lost my voice yesterday, 30 Dec and went to see the doctor for a second time. This time, he prescribed antibiotics and another medication to clear up the phlegm. I'm glad to be hearing my own voice again. Still quite a bit of mucous and the chest is slightly congested. Well, this is not the way I'd like to end the year on BUT I remain light in spirit. After spending a year that has been hectic on the work front, the sickness has brought me to slow down and take time to rest, reflect and recharge.

At the very least, I'm having a good time chilling out with my girls at home. Yesterday afternoon, I was very drugged and had a good nap with Skoda snuggled up close to me. This sweet girl... At one point, she was looking at me - altogether doe-eyed, aawwww. I reciprocated by sending love signals to her (blinked my eyes slowly). Time came to a standstill during those tender moments :)

Yesterday night, it was Braun's turn to snuggle up to us. She was all stretched out and looking so relaxed. I had slept too much in the day so I couldn't sleep at night. I ended up stroking her gently. The touch of her soft, smooth and thick chest fur was sheer delight :) It made my sleepless night more bearable.

In the earlier part of this month on the work front, I wasn't too happy with an occurrence, and burdened by another. In addition, my mom went for a surgery two months ago. All I can say is that this kind of thing brings family ties to the surface. My mom will be discharged this Sat, 3 Jan. Hopefully things will be back to its normal routine in another one to two weeks' time. I do what I ought to as a daughter.

On the home front, I'm blessed with Grimlock and my three lovelies. They are my constant source of support, joy and comfort. Grimlock and I extended our love for cats by fostering Miu Miu (aka Zapedii) back in Aug - this darling has found a home of her own. Just three days ago, I embarked on controlling a growing colony of cats at Site X through sterilisation with V's help. The place is quite secluded so I don't see myself being able to feed them on a frequent basis. I plan to visit them regularly during one of the weekends.

Whether the ups or the downs, I count it more important to have learnt something. Through them all, I say it again God is good. I've no idea what lies ahead in 2009 but I do know His grace, wisdom and strength are sufficient for me.

I was listening to this song by Andrea Bocelli earlier today, titled Bellissime Stelle. No idea what the lyrics (in Italian) mean - I googled and tried out an English translation but it doesn't look right. I love the tempo and the superb voice, how the whole piece comes together. It is on the same gusto/intense feel that I like to end my last post of the year on (I sure hope the lyrics aren't anything sad, ha ha). And on the same note, warmest wishes from all at the Cove for a fruitful 2009, and cheers to good health!

1 Oct 2008 - Andrea Bocelli - Live in Tuscany - Bellissime Stelle

Project S (V)

It was raining in the early morning of Mon, 29 Dec. Thank God the rain stopped by mid morning. I came down with a sore throat the day before. V called me to postpone the trapping to an hour later because he had an urgent case to attend to. I kept my fingers crossed that the trapping would go smoothly.

I reached Site X earlier than V and spotted three cats. When V joined me, we did a recee of the site and I pointed out the cats' favourite hanging out spot to him. He also asked me about their temperament, whether they are friendly to people - this would determine whether he can nab them with his bare hands or to use a trap, or even a net.

The first target was a very manja brown cat. She was hanging around an Indian family of three. The boy commented that her stomach was quite round and asked me if she was pregnant. V went to get the carriers and asked me to keep an eye on her. While waiting for V to return, I had a good time stroking the cat and giving her chin scritches. She was very vocal. V got back and he started to get friendly with the cat. In the blink of an eye, he lifted her by the scuff of her neck and put her into the carrier. When we were about to start out, he had put on a pressure bandage around his lower arm. I then understood why he needed that. The lifting can cause injury if done on a prolonged basis and some of these cats are not light.

We went to the cats' favourite hanging-out spot. There were three cats - one white/grey and the two whites. V laid down some tuna wet food and nabbed the white/grey one by the scuff of his/her neck but he/she managed to get away. The two whites ran away when they saw what V did.

We decided to check out the rest of site X to see if there were other cats. There were none so we returned back to the favourite spot. V retrieved a trap from his van. He prepared the trap for the whites. To my surprise, I saw the kittens who had gone missing for some time. There were 4-5 of them, very scrawny. I was glad to see them alive.

Two 'kaypohs' (busybodies) came along to ask what we were doing. V explained to them and touched a little on sterilisation. They actually hanged around for some time and at one point, I wondered if they would ever get on with their own business.

A brown cat came along to check out the food in the trap and was captured. Out of nowhere, two brown cats came along to check out the food in the trap and we also got these two. One of them is still quite small so we released him/her. V transferred the other one into a carrier. He relaid the trap and this time, the two whites (ie cat no. 6 and cat no. 7 in my last post) came for the food in the trap. We found cat no. 6 to be slightly small in size and agreed to bring to the vet for sterilisation if it is a female. If a male is neutered prematurely, his growth would be stunted. It is indeed a female. I asked V to check with the vet first if it would be ok to spay her.

In total, five were trapped. I didn't take any photos nor video clip of the process because I was too engrossed with the trapping and I didn't want to cause any unnecessary distractions. We took about 1hour 15mins in all. I wouldn't have been able to do this on my own (or even with Grimlock). Thank God for the pair of experienced hands. No cats suffered unnecessarily in the process. This is definitely hard work.

V sent them to the veterinary clinic yesterday, 30 Dec - all five were sterilised. The first brown cat was pregnant so she underwent an abortion. I reckon there isn't any other way in controlling the population at site X, especially when the cats already don't have enough to eat (food source is limited) and the living conditions are quite tough. The remaining are two females and two males. V said they can be released back at site X tomorrow. Grimlock has generously offered to sponsor half of the cost :)

I'm left with cat no. 5 (the white/orange one), the tom cat, two white/grey cats and the brown one whom we let off, I think. Hopefully these are all the remaining grown-ups. Will have to wait for another 1-2 months to get the kittens fixed.

And if you're interested, here are some links on:
Why Sterilisation?
Benefits of Spaying.

Update - 1st Jan 09: I realised there was an error in my earlier posting. Three browns and two whites were trapped for sterilisation, as follows. They were released back at Site X earlier this evening. Some of the cats look identical so these photos will serve as useful records (my memory fails me at times). Of course, these now all each sport a tipped ear.

Project S (IV)

We went to site X on Christmas Day and we sighted the largest number of cats on this trip; six grown up cats and one kitten.

I'm keeping a record of how many cats there are at site X. This orange-white cat would be Cat #5. He/she was taking a nap, very sleepy and so wasn't too bothered with us.

The last time we saw the kittens was back on 8 November. Glad to see him/her again - quite a skinny fella so I think sterilisation for him/her will have to wait. When we were walking off, he/she came after us. I wonder where the other kittens have gone to...

We saw the three darker cats in the photo on our last visit. The white cat (#6) has a light brown patch on the forehead - he/she is actually quite good-looking. Quite a sacredly cat too. We had to stand some distance away before he/she would eat the kibbles. Good for him/her not to get too friendly with people but will he/she be difficult to trap?

Familiar faces...

The white cat is not the same one in the photo above. This one (#7) has a black patch on the forehead and a greyish black tail.

Round 1 of Project S will be taking off on Mon, 29 Dec :) I'll be roping in V for the trapping. We can go for at most five cats per trip (this is the maximum number the veterinary clinic will take in). V will send in the cats to the clinic on Tues, 30 Dec. I'll be boarding the cats at his place after the surgery. He'll then release the cats back at site X two to three days later. Fingers crossed for good weather and a fruitful trapping on 29 Dec and smooth surgery and speedy recovery for the kitties.

1,000 (Green) Origami Cranes (XIII)

Brought Skoda's urine sample for her regular review on Sat, 6 Dec. Results as follows:

Compared to her last Urinalysis (8 Nov), the protein, Leuko, RBC and bacteria indicators had come down. No traces of blood too. The urine is still concentrated (>1.050), so is the struvite level. Bacteria is still present in the urine so Dr K said there might be contamination with my present collection method, and the PeeWee litter might have affected the struvite level. He asked that we bring Skoda in to the clinic in a week's time and for a Urinalysis to be done with urine collected directly from her bladder, as well as conduct a urine culture and sensitivity test.

Looking at the overall results, Grimlock's neck was spared :)

We also informed him of Skoda's scooting habit - she drags her anal area across the floor, sofa and floor mat. This habit of hers has been ongoing for some time - I had asked Dr K about it some time back but didn't pursue the matter because Skoda's UTI has been the bigger problem. He prescribed a Gentrisone skin ointment, to be applied twice daily. If her scooting habit persists, he recommended a faecal check when we bring her in the following week.

On Skoda's return visit on 13 Dec, Dr K found her bladder to be small and hence had to put her on a drip (subcutaneous fluids). Subsequently, he extracted one urine sample each for the Urinalysis, and the urine culture test. We had to leave her at the clinic for half-a-day. Skoda was still scooting so a fecalysis was also done for her. Dogs have a greater tendency to scoot, as compared to cats.

On the way to the vet... I condensed the original clip to those parts where Skoda could be heard meowing away. Her meowing got more frequent and louder...

Urinalysis results as follows:

The urine was still concentrated. The PH, Leuko, protein and RBC indicators had all gone up. The collection method was eliminated from affecting the struvite level. The fecalysis didn't show up any worms, so the clinic went on to express the anal glands. We are to continue with the Gentrisone ointment and observe if she continues to scoot.

We had to wait till Wed, 17 Dec for the urine culture test results. There isn't any bacteria in the urine, which means Skoda doesn't have to go on antibiotics. To manage the struvite, she'll need to go on 100% Waltham. Dr K didn't think it was a good idea for her to be taking commercial wet food for dinner (though she takes only like 2-3 tablespoons).

We're now as strict as possible on Skoda taking only Waltham kibbles. The other two girls are continuing with their wet food dinners - we give Skoda a little mixed with quite a bit of water. She still scoots but after a week of applying the Gentrisone ointment, we stopped. It is a steroid cream so we're not keen on a prolonged use. Will probably have to bring Skoda back to the clinic to express her anal glands. She is due for her next review in a month's time.

The Reason for the Season

I finally found time to jot down some thoughts about this time of the year. I deliberately stayed away from shopping for presents this year, again. I've managed to do this for two consecutive years. I love and celebrate Christmas for what it is about and the last I want to do is to be caught up with more busyness. I already have had enough of the latter, for some time.

I gave two staff from my department a lunch treat on Mon, 22nd Dec. That I enjoyed very much because we seldom take lunch together. It was to celebrate the birthday of one of them in advance, and I wanted to thank them for their support. I got to know them a little better. I hope to do this more often.

I felt quite 'paiseh' though that some of my colleagues brought me gifts. I'll make it up to them in the course of the year.

On Christmas Eve, Grimlock was busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen for dinner. Last year, he made a yummy lasagne from a recipe that he downloaded from the Internet. Usually he doesn't do any cooking (maybe make an omelette now and then). This year, he laid these down on our dining table. The cooking is of restaurant standard :)

Other than the garlic bread, the rest are all home-cooked...

The girls too had a taste of the festivity, ie Fancy Feast Turkey. Mikki loved it, while the other two were lukewarm.

Just before going to sleep, I went "Ho, ho, ho" when I saw what Grimlock got me for Christmas. These are some things I've been eyeing. The Dumbo soft toy and Coach bag are not on my list though. And I didn't think he wanted to go watch 'Cats'. This gesture of his more than made up for something I wasn't too happy with recently.

Thank you, Grimlock for everything. 一生知己，夫复何求？

There is nothing more I can ask for at Christmas. A time spent reflecting over the reason for the season and giving thanks for God's sacrificial act of love (John 3:16), and with my loved ones.

Well, all of us @ the Cove hope you had a Merry Christmas too. May God fill your heart and home with His abundant joy, love, peace and hope.

My Favourite Boy

There is this boy in the cat blogosphere, whom I've set my eyes on for some time...

The pleasure is mine to introduce Totoro (Toro in short). You can read about Toro and his amigos and San here. He is slightly more than four years old. I also stalked him out here :p hee hee.

Look at this photo of Toro and it's not too hard to understand why I'm so charmed by him (btw, I call him the Handsome One).

Killer eyes...

Photo courtesy of Cat Tales