Our Little Boy is Recovering

Our little boy is recovering.

The growth on the side of his lips has grown smaller this morning. I would presume that the ulcers/sores in his mouth are also recovering. The injection works very well for him. And he is enjoying his breakfast and dinner now since he is getting his favorite wet food twice a day (and laced with a capsule of anti-biotics).

Chang Chang is sore and I am very pissed

Chang Chang has had a sore near his lips for the past 3 weeks. For the first 2 weeks, it seemed manageable. It just looked as if he had a bald patch at his lips. His appetite was never affected and he continued to bully the gang as always. But by week 3, it started to spread. We decided to bring him to the vet today even though he seemed fine on the outside.

The prognosis was not good. He had a few ulcers/sores in his mouth and his teeth do not look that good. The vet suspected feline aids as he was a stray before (I believe only for a few hours). Fur near his throat was shaven and blood was drawn for feline aids test. Luckily for us, the test is negative.

The vet thought that perhaps it could be stress related, which could also coincide with his incessant licking. We were not too sure of that since he has been the top cat since he was 2 years old but given that his licking problem started the time we shifted house, we also did not discount the possibility.

An anti-inflammatory injection and antibiotics were given and he would be seeing the vet again this Sat for a follow-up. He would also be going for teeth scaling later on.

For his stress "problem", the vet suggested Feliway. San had bought the diffuser and refill at Pet Lovers ("PLC") and I thought I would give it a try. The Centrepoint outlet did not have it and pointed us to the Holland V outlet. It was not really a problem for us though it was a little out of the way. Chang Chang's health is worth it.

But my shopping experience at the Holland V outlet made my blood boil. If you do not already know, the Pet Lovers Centre membership card entitles the cardholder to a 5% discount if purchases are above $15 and if the item is not on offer. These are stated clearly on the discount card.

So to my surprise, no discount was given for the Feliway diffuser + one refill which cost approximately $61. The illogical reason given was that their computer system did not pick up the discount. I pointed out the fact that this item qualifies for the discount as it was priced above $15 and neither was it promotional item. They refused to honour the discount even though it was clearly a human error which led to to the mistake. The store supervisor, though in the outlet itself, refused to speak to me in person and just spoke to me over the phone. He mentioned that perhaps it was because the profit margin was low and therefore a discount did not apply. I nearly laughed at his face if I had not been so pissed. I told him straight I do not care if the markup is insufficient because they could have easily sold it at a higher price. This kind of frail reasoning is simply crap.

Now, I do not really care for the $3 discount but what really irks me are the attitude of the store staff and their inflexibility to do a manual adjustment for an error which was clearly caused by them. So simply put, they will never earn my money from this point on unless absolutely necessary.

Firstly, their prices are really not competitive. I managed to get my regular pet store to bring in the same product and at a more competitive pricing. So San, if you are reading this post and will require Feliway refill in the near future, drop me a note and I will pass you their contact. Besides the Feliway, the brands of litter and cat food I use for the gang are costlier in PLC (even after the pathetic 5% discount) than at my regular pet shop.

Secondly, I did not enjoy my shopping experience with them. The Feliway episode just simply show how inflexible they can be over their own shop error. Mrs kxbc says that the way they had operated seems to be more like a cheat. I agree to that. I believe there would be customers who would forgo the discount even though they are entitled to it simply because they had no other choice or if they do not know of other shops which sell the same product. However, I would rather not let them earn my money because I know if I search hard enough, I will find it sold at another outlet.

Chang Chang will have to do without the Feliway for today. My regular pet store told me I could pick it up tomorrow after work. Now that is what I call service even though I did not expect them to be able to get hold of a set so quickly. I was more than willing to wait for a week. I know Chang Chang will understand.

Climbing apparatus

The old cat tree is starting to show its age. The sisal rope is frayed and the top layer is a little wobbly as Chang Chang insisted on laying there for naps despite his heavy body being a strain.

We have been looking around for a good, value-for-money cat tree/gym/condo but the variety in Pet Lovers Centre is not that appealing. Some US sites have pretty good cat trees and the prices are reasonable too. However, shipping is going to cost a bomb at $9/kg and these trees can be as heavy as 50kg when packed.

There are some China companies which manufacture such trees but you need to have a minimum order of 100.

We are looking for sturdy cat trees at least 1.5m in height, with layers of platforms for play, hiding, and sleeping. Will travel around Singapore to assess and purchase. Does anyone have any good recommendation?