My furry friends

It' been a long time since I talked about my beloved furry friends here. Well I must say I've terribly neglected them for the longest time and I do feel very sorry about that. But somehow I just have to put my little boy as first priority and the fact that they may cause him more harm than fun, I have no choice but to keep them away so that he will be protected in his early years.

Nevertheless, they have been pretty well fed and of late I noticed that one of them does have a slightly bigger tummy :) She doesn't complain, of course. Though the feline species do want to look as good as humans do, they don't really bother much with the best diet supplements they can get. They really wouldn't mind more food if they can get more!

Anyway, speaking of my feline friends, this year will mark the 2nd year of Piper leaving me already. I still miss her a lot. My little one tends to have a soft spot for her too although he's never met her. He watches videos and photos of her and I can sense that he likes her a lot.

I hope very soon I can do more for my 2 furry friends. I think they really deserve to be treated better.

Piper has a heart disease

It is with great sadness that I have to deal with Piper's irreversible condition. The vet has diagnosed her to be suffering from a heart disease called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Basically, this leads to a heart failure because her heart muscle is thickening and that causes complications in the pumping of blood to her body.

I've been trying to read up on it to know what to expect. The vet is trying his best to take her through this difficult period. I asked him if she feels any pain, he can't be sure. She just feels unwell, according to him.

I read that some cats can live happily for years under medication to control the disease. This gives me a little hope. But there were also some cases where some affected cats suddenly dropped dead. Some advise from websites are to keep the cat as stress-free as possible, and to discourage too much physical activities.

I'm willing to do anything so that Piper will have better quality of life in the time that she has left. This disease is like a time-bomb, I just don't know when it'll explode on me. I'm scared...I'm so very scared of losing Piper. As much as I tell myself that it is okay, that God loves her more than anyone of us and that God will lead her some place better in the future, I can't help but feel so much pain.

What's going on with my cats?

It all started when Prue had a high fever of 40 degrees and was so limp and sickly. Piper and Phoebe then caught on with the fever and I brought all of them to the vet for him to observe and look after their condition because I couldn't get them to take their medication.

Next thing I know, the vet informed me that Prue's condition was improving but Phoebe had problems that hinted at the possibility of the fatal FIP. My heart sank and ached at the thought of losing her, the youngest of the three of them. However, a day later tests have shown that she's clear of FIP and was responding to some medication. I was relieved and things seemed rosy and well again. I decided to continue leaving the girls at the vet's so that Phoebe could fully recover before they are brought home.

Then yesterday, the vet called and for a moment I was happy because I thought he'd tell me they can all come home. But it was yet another bad news. This time, it's Piper.

Sigh, I don't know what is wrong, one by one of my cats seem to have problems and each is more serious than the other. Piper seems to have a heart condition *cries* The vet says that through an X-ray, he could see that the size of her heart is abnormal, it is much bigger and it is a problem. He is suspecting two possibilities, one of which is curable and the other, well, if that's what Piper is suffering from, then all we can do is to give her medication to prolong her lifespan.

Tomorrow the vet will do an ultrasound and whatever tests necessary to determine what it is. Once again, I'm steeling myself up for the worst. I don't know how strong I can be, second time around to face the fact that my beloved cat may not make it. It's really painful. Though I managed to be strong the first time with Phoebe's case, it's hard to contain it now. I feel that I'm losing my courage to be able to let go when the time comes.

This is so painful...please God, please...let my cats live. It may be a selfish request, but I'm not ready. Not yet. But if there are better plans and places for them to be, I accept it but please let me be strong enough to take this.

FIP - the silent killer

A week ago all 3 of my cats were down with fever and viral infection. I couldn't get them to take their medication because I can't open up their jaws and pop the pill in. They would keep their jaws firmly shut. So I tried mixing the smashed pill into their food. It didn't work too because they had no appetite. After 2 days, I realised I had to send them back to the vet because they weren't eating and drinking. Prue and Phoebe appeared weak while Piper was still a little active and managed to eat some too.

When we got to the vet, Prue was so limp and lifeless. I was worried sick about her. I wanted to leave them at the vet's for a few days so that he could monitor their progress and most importantly, he is able to get them to swallow the pills. The vet promised to keep me updated of their condition and I left feeling quite satisfied now that I know they're in better hands than mine.

The next day, the vet called and said Phoebe was not looking good. She had laboured breathing and refused food. She was lying down all the time too. Prue, on the other hand appeared better. He asked for permission to do an X-Ray on Phoebe and I immediately consented to it. True enough, something was wrong. The vet found that part of her lung was filled with water, and so is her abdomen. This, he said, could be two possibilities - pneumonia or FIP (feline infectious peritonitis). He said the proten level in the fluid found in her abdomen showed high levels of protein, which then made him suspect that she's suffering from FIP.

I froze when I heard that. FIP is deadly and it kills quickly. My Phoebe is only 4 years old, turning 5 in a month. All sorts of things raced in my mind - how, when, what, WHY???

The vet told me that he'll run another test the following day to test the protein level to confirm it. There was nothing else to do but agree. I asked if FIP is contagious and to my dismay, he said yes. If Phoebe has it, most likely Piper and Prue would have it, too.

The whole night, I was in a state of shock. What if, what if....I know I can't handle the death of any of my cats. Especially if it has to happen when they're so young. But fearing the worst, I had to prepare myself for it and to be strong.

I believe in karma and rebirth. The only consolation I was able to give myself was that if Phoebe is diagnosed with FIP, it's beause God has got plans for her. Perhaps she only needs to serve a few short years in this lifetime as a cat and gets to rebirth into a better place, better realm. With this theory, I was surprisingly calm and ready to let go without feeling too much pain.

Today I popped over to the vet's to see what the results are. I had to wait for a long time as the vet was in the midst of performing surgery. While I waited, I was actually surprise that I felt no nervousness. It will be ok when he tells me the bad news. I was all ready for it. I only wanted to know what I can do next, to help ease Phoebe's pain and how much time we have.

Finally it was time to meet him. What he said still rings in my ears...and these were his words: "I measured the protein level and it has maintained, without climbing up. She is also responding to one of the antibiotics I'm giving her. A FIP positive cat does not respond to antibiotics. So we can rule out FIP at this moment."

No one will ever understand the kind of relieve and happiness I felt in my heart! It felt so unreal...but it felt so good! Then he took Phoebe into the room and really, I've never felt happier at seeing her! She was more active, meowing away and wanting to run away from the vet's grip. It was all good signs, because it means she's active again! In my heart, as I watched her, I thanked God again and again.

There is a vaccination against FIP and I was pretty sure I gave it to he girls. Certainly, you would never know if they can still contract it. But for peace of mind, I urge all pet lovers to give your loved ones any kind of vaccination that's recommended against fatal viruses. It's really not pleasant having to go through what I went through. Never take the presence of your pets for granted. They seem to be there for you all the time but when they get snatched away from you suddenly, it really hurts.

I'm lucky that Phoebe is alright. I don't ever want to go through this again. Which is why the vet wants me to give them their AIDS vaccination. After this frightening episode, I don't think I will say no to this.

The ginger-coloured one is Phoebe, the white is Piper and Prue is the brown/black one.

It's hard to say goodbye

Today, she left us for a better home.

It's been 11 months since we first took her home, when she was just a 2+ month old puppy. I carried her in my arms during the drive home. She was just a tiny little thing then. In the last 11 months that followed, she has grown to her full adult size.

During the time when she was with us, she has learned a few simple tricks, learned to love Prue, Piper and Phoebe and be loved in return.

Since I got pregnant, I was "banned" from taking care of all of them. So you might think there's no deep bond whatsoever. Plus the fact that I'm more a cat person than a dog person. And yet, when her new owners came to pick her up today, I couldn't control the tears.

She licked me on the face to say goodbye, but I could not utter the word "goodbye" to her. All I said was "See you, Pretty". It's a small comfort that her new owners gave us an open invitation to visit her whenever we want.

Ray tells me I shouldn't be sad because she will be loved and pampered as much as she deserves to be. I do feel better knowing that for a fact. She certainly deserves the attention and love which we couldn't provide anymore since the arrival of the baby.

This is my first time parting with a pet. It's an awful feeling. But like they say, if you love somebody, you have to set them free. Ray is right, we can't be selfish. She deserves to be happy and we will be happy for her too.

Farewell, Pretty.

All-in-one update

I haven't updated this blog for a while. All the weeks gone by, so many things I've thought to write about, but didn't have the time and sometimes the mood to blog. Many a time, I would begin a few lines and then I'd just delete the post way before I could finish. I'm not sure why. I wonder if this post would see the Publish button.

Here's what life has been like so far.

The dog
Pretty has been with us for two weeks now. I can't say she's on her best behaviour. After all she's still a puppy. By next week she'll be exactly three months old. She's kept Ray very busy in the last couple of weeks. She doesn't have routine times to do her business so he has to endlessly clean up after her. We can't even detect when she's gonna let go because she doesn't sniff around before she does her job!

Pretty craves for lots and lots of attention. She barks, whimpers and cries when left alone too long while we're at work. For many mornings, she's been waking us around 6am. Ray has to sleep on the couch to keep her quiet while the rest of us get some more sleep before our alarm clocks are set to go off.

She's so playful and full of energy. She walks over me like I'm a piece of furniture. She climbs on me and thinks my fingers and toes are chewable toys. She doesn't do this to Ray though, because he's her Trainer with the rolled-up newspaper as a training tool. When I let the cats in, she wants to play with them by dashing towards them the way she does to us. Obviously the cats hate it and end up running away. They hiss at her. On the one hand, I pity the cats because they're frightened by this girl's energy at chasing them. On the other hand, I also pity Pretty because she must be wondering why the other four-leggeds don't want to play with her.

In just a span of 2 weeks I've seen her grow. She's much taller now. Though taking care of her is not easy, we still adore her and her funny antiques.

Pretty in training to poo and pee on newspapers in her barricade.

The cats
The girls have felt somewhat neglected last week because we couldn't let them in when Pretty was indoors because she had just taken her vaccination. I'm slowly trying to make it up to them and hope they will get used to having Pretty around. Prue and Phoebe lie low hiding behind curtains or in corners. Piper is a little more daring and walks about. But she feels safest being on top of some stacked boxes that Ray brought home. Look how comforted she is knowing that Pretty could never jump that high!

Piper takes the "high road" and Prue is behind that curtain while Phoebe is nowhere to be seen.

Yesterday I found them to be part of the 365 Cats 2007 Calendar Girls when I browsed through a copy. I submitted their photos early this year, hopeful for them to get selected to be in print and I was delighted to find them each gracing a day of the calendar.

If you want to help out in this independent pet rescue effort, get a copy of the calendar for yourself or as gifts for cat and dog lovers. :)

Christmas time
Christmas is just a week away. We've been busy doing shopping for christmas presents. It's never easy thinking of gifts but once you get into motion and ideas start to come to mind, it gets you motivated and excited. Of course, in the expense of the purse. I would say we've worked very hard, walking about for majority of our weekend time finding all the gifts. Some of the gifts are all nicely wrapped up while some are still pending boxes that I don't know where to find from.

Some of our Christmas gifts for loved ones.

Right now Pretty is barking like crazy. I can't write anymore. Till next time when my days are not as boring and revolving around only the 4-leggeds, I'll post some more.

We're gonna have a baby!

We're gonna have a baby, and it's gonna be a baby girl! We haven't thought of a name for her and we haven't got much time to think of one because she'll be with us sooner than we think.

Here's a shot of her. Isn't she just adorable?



Ray with our 8-week old baby girl.
Ray found her from a breeder and tonight we had an appointment to see her. When Ray first showed me her photo, I thought she's cute. But when I saw the real her tonight, she's so much more than cute. I fell in love with her. She's a shy puppy, mild temperament from what we saw and so pretty.

She'll come live with us, together with the feline sisters Prue, Piper and Phoebe in 2 days' time. Will this new addition to our family be named Paige to form the complete Charmed sisters?