Our little boy, Chang Chang

Fight on!

While everyone was celebrating the turn of a new year with hopes that 2021 will be the year when everything will return to normal, our little boy was spending the last days of 2020 fighting for his life. Admitted to hospital for pancreatitis and liver test results which were out of scale, he was critically in need of IV drip and medical care. This would be the second time Chang Chang had to be hospitalised and sadly his last. Having given us a glimpse of hope on 27 December,  he deteriorated in the days after. He was getting annoyed and stressed out at the vet so we decided to bring him home on 30 December.  I was full of anxiety the night before and couldn't wait to bring him back. Told myself I need to sleep so tomorrow would come and we could have him home.

Chang Chang seemed happy to be back home. Protesting gently (probably because he was weak) when we syringe fed him and gave him his medication,  he also had to deal with blocked nasal passage from sinusitis caught during his stay at the vet. Seeing him struggling with his every breath broke our hearts.

Despite all these, our little boy remembered he should always go to the litter box 10m away to do his business. He didn't like the box we placed next to his bed. Every step he took was a mammoth effort and he had to take a few breaks before reaching the box. He also had to muster enough strength just to sit up to pee.

But it was all too much for him and he lost his fight. On 2 January 2021, Chang Chang took his last breath at home with his beloved daddy and mummy by his side. He was 16 years 9 months and 1 day old.

Our little boy

Chang Chang was named for his long tail.  I found him and his sister as neonatal kittens on 1 April 2004 at the top of a book shelf outside my office. Abandoned. Some heartless person had left them there to die. Chang Chang and his sister were mewing loudly which caught my attention.  Their eyes were shut tight and their umbilical cords still attached.  They were probably born on 31 March or wee hours of 1 April. 

We were greenhorns at hand raising kittens. There was little information on the internet since this was in 2004. We did what we thought was best but unfortunately, Duan Duan (named for her short tail) passed away after 10 days. 

We tripled our efforts to keep Chang Chang alive. H and I took turns to feed him - H taking the 3am and lunchtime while I, the breakfast,  dinner and midnight feed.  We started a log to track his food intake, bowel movements, weight and overall condition.  He had fits in the middle of the nights,  requiring desperate calls to the vet for advice.

He was so tiny he fitted into a small paper bag, with room to spare, which I would use to bring him to the vet. As he got stronger, he tried peeking out of the bag on our bus ride to the vet, meowing and causing bus passengers to look around suspiciously for a cat.

Our efforts paid off and the last record on his log was 16 May 2004. Chang Chang was well enough to eat on his own, use the litter box and had gained substantial weight. He was now too big and strong for the plastic box and graduated to the pet carrier.

Do you remember in your schooling days where you might have a classmate whom everyone avoids? He turns up late in class a little scruffy and smelly, his school uniform a little unkempt? He is a loner in school, avoiding everyone. And everyone avoiding him because he might occasionally have a tantrum and probably smack you in the head for starring at him.

That's our Chang Chang. Our little boy.

Late Nov 2020, lounging with Mei Mei

He would lounge and sleep all day. He would drool when he slept (probably because his mouth couldn't close tight after using oversized nipples when he was bottled fed as a kitten). He would play a little before he quickly got disinterested in the games. He would break into a run only when chasing the other cats. He was fast and strong in his fights, only second to Kim Kim. He would remind us of the male lion in a pride who gets fed by the lioness and walks majestically only to survey his territory.

But he was never any trouble. He was our little boy.

Chang Chang loved us. He saw us as his parents. Demanding for naps on our chests almost daily, he was the only cat who would look straight and deep into our eyes for minutes as if telling us he loves us. Staring back into those big black eyes is enough reward for us for the trouble we had to deal with his itchy skin, ear polyps and anal sac ruptures. The heat from his body warmed our hearts.  His purrs resonated in our chests. His complete trust in us and his love for us continued till his last breath.

Chang Chang will always remain our best little boy in the world.

2nd anniversary - Bon Bon

Our dearest Bon Bon,

Today marks the day you have left us for 2 years.

The pain is still there but it has diminished much.

But we still miss you lots.

Grandma Kim Kim has got much older this past year. She has diabetes and CRF but she is coping well like a grand old lady. She'll be 18 soon, you know. 

Your Xin Xin big sister is going strong. She's still mad you know. I think she misses you running after her when she goes crazy daily. Mei Mei does not do as good a job as you.

Your little nephew Chang Chang has got rid of his itchy skin problem. Yay!

Yuan Yuan also has mild diabetes since Jul 17. She has lost some weight and muscle but overall, she is good. Do you know she is now a lot friendlier and receptive to us stroking her? Did you whisper this to her? I think you did. Thank you, BB.

And your little sidekick Mei Mei has slimmed down a bit this last 12 months. She's doing well on her new diet. She remains your little spunky niece.

We miss you. Come back from time to time to visit, ok? We are having your favorite KFC tonight. We'll leave some for you.

2016 reflections

2016 has not been kind to us.

Bon Bon and Mei Mei

We started 2016 with Bon Bon diagnosed with oral cancer on 27 Dec 2015. We fought the disease valiantly together with her for 2½ months, hoping for a miracle. It was not meant to be and we had to ease her pain and let her go in mid Mar.

In that same quarter, we noticed the Mei Mei had some blood in her pee. The vet found a bladder stone and had to operate to remove the stone. Luckily for us, a combination of early detection, Mei Mei’s relatively young age and the skill of the vet meant that she bounced back to health within 2 weeks.

We grieved the passing of Bon Bon in the next few months as the remaining 5 of them re-positioned their ranking within the family. Some routines changed. Mei Mei replaced Bon Bon and started to shadow Xin Xin around the house. Yuan Yuan became slightly more vocal. And every night when we reach home from work, we will find the 3 of them right at the door, welcoming us without Bon Bon tagging behind Xin Xin.

Kim Kim, Xin Xin and Chang Chang

In the middle of the year, we sent Kim Kim, Xin Xin and Chang Chang for teeth scaling procedures. With them being more advanced in age, especially Kim Kim, we were worried, not knowing how they will react to the anesthesia given. This was especially so for Xin Xin since she has a known heart and kidney issue and has a higher risk of not waking up from the anesthesia. Luckily for us, all 3 of them came through unscathed.

Chang Chang

Right when we thought things were smooth sailing again, Chang Chang ruptured his anal sac during the night in Nov. In just 6 hours while we slept, he aggravated the injury through aggressive licking of the wound area, creating a massive 2cm wide by 1cm deep wound right beside his anus. We were horrified when we saw his wound in the morning. It was so raw and bloody. We could not imagine the pain he was experiencing.

The vet could only clean the wound area and let the body heal on its own. There was no sufficient skin and flesh to stitch the wound. So in the next 5 weeks, we had to disinfect and clean his wound twice a day. He would sometimes yowled in pain when the disinfectant stunk the wound. With an E-collar though those weeks, he was miserable as it made eating and drinking difficult and grooming impossible. Gradually, the wound did indeed healed on its own, filling up the deep hole with extra tissue growth. It would be difficult to spot the wound area on him today.

Kim Kim

Kim Kim celebrated her 16^th birthday in Apr and is our oldest cat. In human years, she is already close to 80 years old.

We have been keeping a close watch on her health for many months. Her movement have slowed down much and she rests a bit more compared to a year or two ago. Recently, we noticed that she has been drinking and also peeing a lot more. Fearing that she might have contracted kidney issues, we brought her for a blood test in early Dec. Her SDMA test showed her kidneys were still alright though the results were at the high end of the normal range. However, her glucose levels were high. She was diagnosed with a diabetic condition.

But because she was not eating well due to her herpes flare up, we had to get her to eat regularly first before we can have her hospitalized to determine how much insulin to give her. We syringe fed her twice daily. The medicine given did not seem to improve her condition. She was lethargic and spent most of the time under the sofa. As she continued to pee a lot, she became dehydrated and we had to give her daily sub-cuts.

Her condition got worse just before Christmas. She became weaker and was unable to crawl into the litter box. Uncharacteristically of her, she peed outside the box for days in a row. The vet ran another blood test on her on Boxing Day. Her ALT levels were 10X the normal level – it was within the normal range mid Dec. Her liver was not functioning properly and was immediately hospitalized.

Fortunately, she responded well to the aggressive treatment over the next few days and was finally able to eat on her own on 29 Dec. When we brought her back home yesterday, we were delighted that though not as strong as before, she still had the strength to walk around the house. Her appetite returned though we still have to coax her to eat.

Today marks the date we will have to add Kim Kim’s insulin injection to our daily routine of pilling Xin Xin. As I type this entry, she is resting in her bed next to me, grooming after her evening feed.

Our family ends 2016 on an even note, with no more highs and lows. I hope 2017 will be a better year for all 5 of them.

My cats are aging

I was watching TV lounging on the sofa last night when Kim Kim climbed up to sit with me. She gave me a silent meow again as she demanded me to pat her. 

I cannot remember for how long this has been happening on a daily basis. It seems like a long time. She will meow. I will pat her, then maybe stop a while and she will meow louder again as she thinks that it is not long enough. Once she has enough, she will sit with her hind legs in front while she suckles her tummy for a few minutes. And then she will fall asleep on the sofa beside me. Occasionally, she might wake up and give another silent meow before she drifts off to sleep again.

She will be 16 and a half this coming Sep. In this past year, we have noticed that her mobility has slowed down and she is sleeping more. Her aging process has accelerated a little more though she remains bright and alert. 

With Bon Bon's death in Mar, we have become more aware that the rest of the gang are also getting on in years. Kim Kim and Xin Xin  are more than 15 years old which is the average age of a house cat. If all goes smoothly, they might have at most another 5 years with us. By then, Chang Chang and Yuan Yuan would also be around 15 to 16 years old. 

My wife and I have talked about their death candidly on many occasions. We have always known this will happen, that we will mourn each of them when they leave us. But we just cannot estimate the impact it will have on us. 

Bon Bon's passing hit us really hard. We continued on with our daily lives but there is so often this huge hole in our hearts. Time heals but it is such a long process.

I can't imagine them leaving us one by one in the next few years. The house will be so empty then, perhaps only left with May May who is 7 this year.

Till then, we will all follow our daily routines. They will bugger us for food and for pats. We'll continue to love them and care for them. If only this continues indefinitely.

Furry Chang Chang

In the end, I did not apply anything on Chang Chang to keep off the mites. Miraculously, he has stopped his constant licking and his fur has started to grow back since 2 weeks back. And the wax in his ears are starting to slowly clear up too.

I am not sure what we did right but these are the 3 things we changed in the household in the past month or so:

1. We gave him a bath with flea and tick shampoo every 3 weeks since the beginning of Nov.
2. We changed our regular washing detergent (Attack from Kao) to Breeze powder.
3. He started rejecting his regular Wellness wet food and so we had no choice but to feed him Science Diet wet food. The ingredient list of Science Diet does not look as good as the Wellness list but he seems to be doing okay on it. And when we feed him Wellness occasionally, he seems to itch a little more. Or is it just our imagination?

Well, if the 3 things above seem to work for him, I think we will stick with it until it falls apart again.

I am currently contemplating giving the gang a raw diet (beef, chicken, pork, innards mix) in the evenings but I don't think it will succeed. I tried feeding them steamed chicken and pork before and everyone rejected it except for Chang Chang who gobbled up everything. Two cat owners I know had started their cats on a raw diet and it is doing well for all 4 cats.

Well, if I don't try, I will never know.

How? How? How?

I was doing my usual stretching and warm down exercises at my void deck after my run when I heard a very loud wail.

I thought it sounded like a cat. But there was no other void deck cat except for Fluffy who is not very vocal and she was sleeping about 10m from me. Maybe it was a little kid wailing. We know how little kids sometimes sound like cats yowling.

And then it appeared. A skinny scruffy looking little cat. Trotting towards me. I thought it looked like Chang Chang. What was it doing downstairs? I thought I had made sure all of them were home when I closed the door an hour before.

I looked again. It was indeed a CC look-alike but a much smaller version.

It ran towards me and curled around my legs, circling me. Mini-CC from top of the head to tip of the tail but it has white socks and a bit of white chest hair.

She was yowling non-stop. She is young, approximately 7 to 8 months old. Her coat is fairly clean. She likes humans. Either she has run off from home or she is abandoned. And then I saw her teats. They were swollen. But she is not pregnant. So the only other logical explanation is that she had just given birth. No tipped ear. Worst fears come through. It is highly likely she is abandoned.

I stroked her. She liked it but kept yowling non stop. She started pacing and led me to another part of the void deck. Good. I was hoping she would lead me to her kittens. But no. There were no kittens around.

I rushed up and scoped up some food. She ate all hastily and stopped her yowling after that. She must be famished. After that, she took me onto a wild goose chase from void deck to the 2nd and 3rd floor. I thought she was going home. But no, she was just another curious kitten.

I kept her company before I finally left her at the void deck when she finally settled down. I know the uncle who comes around later will feed her again.

I was in a dilemma. I had so wanted to bring her home, give her a good bath and settle her in. She can be CC's little sister!

But I needed to seek the Wife's consent and she will not be home till tomorrow morning. She had said no to another cat many times already. I know her reasons and I agree with her too on those points. But little CC tugged at my heartstrings. She is so friendly. Not the prettiest cat in the world but I don't really care because I have looked past that many many years already (though not for the female human species yet. Haha...).

How now?

Just when they thought they could relax a little...

Chang Chang:

They say I had been very 倒蛋 because just when Xin Xin's condition had stabilised, I had to present them with another set of problem.

For the whole of last week, I had been rejecting their offer of wet food mixed with crushed dry kibbles. So they had no choice but to just feed me wet food every meal. Hahaha......

Then I got pickier and rejected my usual Natural Balance Ducky wet food and they had no choice but to feed me Fancy Feast Tender Liver. But I deliberately ate less than 2 small cans a day until I started losing weight. And because I had not been seen drinking, I got a little dehydrated.

On top of that, I slept more often though I am still racing around the house every 2 nights.

They became worried as I had just been given my 2nd steroid injection late Jul for my itchy skin, constant licking and a sore on my lips. The 1st injection in late May managed to reduce the sore and reduced my itchiness but it wore off after 1.5 months before the sore erupted again.

Suspecting that there was something wrong with me after the bad experience with Xin Xin, they packed me up and sent me to the vet last night. My 4th visit in 3 months!

The vet stuck something up my butt, looked at my mouth, pressed my tummy, checked my heartbeat but could not find anything wrong. Then he drew some blood from me and ran tests for thyroid, diabetes and renal failure. He told them that at my young age of 4 1/2 years, the chances of contracting these diseases should be low. And he was right. There was nothing wrong with my blood tests at all. Daddy was happy with the test results but the vet was disappointed though. He kept using the phrase "unfortunately, we do not find abnormalies in the test results so we can't be sure what he has contracted and therefore cannot administer the right treatment."

And then he said he wanted my 大便 and 小便. I don't know what he sprayed near my rear region but my 小弟弟 went numb. OMG! Really scared me! And he tried to push something into my bladder to try extracting 小便 but of course I put up a good fight and he gave up after 5 min. Now Daddy and Mummy would have to collect those at home. :)

Before we left, they even injected some fluid under my skin to reduce my dehydration. I had seen them doing it to Xin Xin before but I never expected that I would be on the receiving end one day.

I was a good boy at home and immediately gave Mummy my 大便 sample. The fecal float test was negative. There was no parasite in me. Now it seems that only the 小便 test can confirm if there is anything medically wrong with me.

I have had this itchy skin condition since I was 1 year old. The condition only got worse in the last 3 months. Over the past 3 years, Daddy and Mummy had tested me for fleas and mites, changed my regular food to low allergen formulas, changed my shampoo to a mild hypoallergenic one, washed all my beddings weekly, experimented with different types of litter, experimented with various household detergents thinking those could be the culprit but none worked. The only thing which briefly worked for 6 months or so was the wheatgerm/evening primrose oil they fed me daily. It sped up my fur molding period but after some time, it stopped working again.

Do you have any suggestions how I can actually heal so that I won't cause them anymore worries? They suspect that my skin condition is the main cause of all my problems and if they can find out that main cause, I will never be itchy again. And when I am not itchy, I will have more appetite and therefore gain weight.

I only got itchy after the ginger furball Yuan Yuan joined the gang in Mar/Apr 05. Maybe it's her? Maybe I am allergic to her. Is that even possible?

Ouch! My tail!

As our attention was all focused on Xin Xin this past week, we did not really pay a lot of attention to the rest of the gang.

On Thur night, I had noted that Chang Chang was sitting funny. His butt would hang in the air when he should have placed it down on the floor. I thought it was some crazy stunt from him again as his behavior has changed a little ever since Xin Xin was hospitalised.

It was only last night we understand why he was sitting funny. We were serving wet food and as usual, he ran into the kitchen begging for it. However, his long tail was not fully straight up like previously. Instead, it was hanging a little listlessly downwards. And when we touched the base of his tail, he growled in pain and refused to let us touch it.

The vet told us it could be a broken tail (unlikely as he can still move the end of his tail) or a very bad bruise/sprain caused eith er by trauma (eg a door slammed into his tail which is impossible since all doors were closed and locked), kids pulling it too hard (no kids at home) or through a fight where he was bitten hard on the tail.

We thought the last option could be a reason as ever since we introduced Feliway latel last month, Kim Kim had actually regained some of her aggression when she was younger. When Chang Chang had turned adult, he had been gradually nipping away her power base. But in these 2 weeks, Kim Kim has actually turned more aggressive in asserting her position in the household by hissing at Chang Chang very so often when their paths crossed. She had taken over some of his favourite sleeping spots too.

Although clinical studies have shown that Feliway will either have no effect or a positive impact on making cats less stressful, it seems the opposite has happened on Kim Kim. Perhaps it is not Feliway at all as the vet had mentioned but something else which we have not put our finger on.

Either way, it seems that Kim Kim could have bitten on chang Chang's tail very hard during a fight. The vet could take an X-ray now but even if it reveals a fracture, there would be nothing he could do except let it mend on its own. And therefore he had advised us to monitor for another few weeks. If it is a bad bruise, it would probably take a couple of weeks to heal on its own.

I don't understand why all the bad things are happening at the same time.

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.

What the hell, I am still brown!!!! Angry angry...

Chang Chang:


You know, I was really trying to change my coat colour but Daddy and Mummy had somehow put a stop to it.

For some reason, ever since I was on the new bag of Science Diet z/d, I have had soft stools and they are really stinky. Yucks!

Out of desperation, Mummy bought this ducky formula from Natural Balance and cautiously tried it on me.

Luckily for them but not me, I stopped itching and plucking out my fur. Together with the oil supplement, my fur is growing back and therefore I am starting to look brown again. Arghh.....I want to be a black/white cat!!! I don't wanna be a brown cat!!!

I want a new coat colour

Chang Chang:

I think for the year of the Rat, I want a new coat colour. I don't want to be a brown cat anymore. I think either white or black will suit me better.

That's why since 3 weeks ago, I have been meticulously plucking out fur from my right flank everyday. Now it's almost botak. And now my new coat can now grow full and plush.

But I think Daddy and Mummy are not too happy with my decision to change my coat colour. They still think brown suits me best. They also keep lamenting that their 3 months of effort feeding me "fur growth" oil has gone down the drain.

How? Should I continue to change my coat colour?

Melly Christmas!

Chang Chang:

Melly Christmas!!

No more world record :(

Chang Chang:

Every morning and night, Daddy has been pouring some engine lubricant into my ears and now, my hardworking wax machine does not work very well anymore. How? What can I do? What if another cat take over "The waxiest ears in the world" title from me? How? How?

I am very sad...........

Yay! World record!

Chang Chang:

The V.E.T said I have the waxiest ears in the world! Yay! The waxiest ears in the world! Can you believe it? I may be entered in the Guiness World of Records for having the waxiest ears in the world. So waxy the V.E.T cannot even see my eardrums since my ear wax covered everything up. And that was after my ears were cleaned just 1 day ago. Man, I have a hardworking waxing machine in my ear!

The waxiest ears in the world! Can you believe it? I'm so excited I don't think I can sleep tonight.

I think I am safe now

Chang Chang:

I think I am safe now. I have turned on my "invisible" mode. Haha, no one can find me now.

Zzzzzz...

Chang Chang:

Imagine me sleeping on Mummy. It's something like this (though I am not as hairy).

We are all inter-connected

This food recall incident showed how interconnected we all are, didn't it?

Rice grown in China (presumably) and further processed by removing the starch, gives rice protein. Somehow, this was tainted with melamine, either intentionally or otherwise, and sold to US pet food contract manufacturers. And the US factories used these ingredients to make the cat food and sold them via agents all over the world. And of course some packs landed on the shores of Singapore and caused more than a little panic to me and other pet owners.

Thus far, at least I understand from NB via e-mail that the latest pack of NB Venison & Green Pea (expiry date Nov 07) I had fed the kxbc gang is probably not tainted as it was probably produced way before the tainted rice protein made its way into the manufacturing process. NB has been responding to my mails even though I am sure they must have their hands full right now. It's good they recalled their products so quickly (they received calls from concerned pet owners on 12 Apr and started recalling on 16 Apr based on their reply to me) even though it was a big gamble for their reputation.

On the other hand, as of now, our AVA still has not responded to my 2 e-mails to 2 different AVA e-mail addresses (ava_email@ava.gov.sg and ava_importexport_animals@ava.gov.sg) I had sent on 18 and 19 Apr regarding this incident. And to think that I have even left my HP number in my mail so that they can clarify with me if necessary. And neither have they issued any press statement (just checked their website) about this in either their website or The Straits Times. No wonder my vet was so puzzled why I had brought XX and CC for the blood test on Thur evening. Totally hopeless organisation. I wonder if they read their mails at all. If they don't, perhaps they should not list their e-mail addresses in their contact list. To make a note for myself in the future: Do not work for govt service. I don't want to end up like them.

Back to the topic:
RC has also begun to recall some of their products but luckily, Indoor 27 is not on the list. KK, XX and YY are now solely on RC after the NB scare.

SD has also issued a statement that all their SD dry cat food and z/d prescription diet are also not affected. Rice protein is used in the manufacturing of z/d but it is not sourced from China. BB is eating SD Hairball Control and itchy CC is trying out z/d on a 2-month trial period.

NB has also in their 2nd mail to me, mentioned that besides lamb and venison which are to be sourced from New Zealand, all other ingredients were supposed to be sourced from the US. But their supplier sourced the tainted China ingredient instead. I reproduce below NB's reply to me (edited somewhat to remove boring press releases and my name :) ).

[quote]Dear kxbc,

Yes this is worldwide [recall of affected NB products].

Please find the following update regarding this recall. Further, please know that NO other Natural Balance products are affected. [April 17, 2007 press release here]

All of our ingredients are intended to be from the US except the Lamb and Venison (New Zealand). We purchase our raw ingredients from US suppliers who are contracted and paid to provide us with domestic products. We are investigating to find out how this chinese rice protein concentrate made its way into our supply, as our suppliers know we only want US domestic ingredients. We are also looking into changes in our purchasing methods to safeguard against any future errant shipments. We were let down by our supplier, which in turn caused us to let down our customers.

As to the testing procedures, our products are tested at various points from ingredients to completed diets. Because melamine has not in the past been a concern in the US ingredients, it has not been a regular part of the testing procedure. Due to this recall, and the fact that one of our suppliers has let us down, melamine testing is being incorporated into the regular testing.

Once we began looking into the illness reported last week, all of our foods were sent off for additional testing. This testing was performed at UC Davis. All of our products, recalled products aside, have been proven safe and with no contaminants.

Again, thank you for your email. I hope this eases your mind somewhat. This has been a horrible event for pet owners, the pet industry, and for us at Natural Balance.

SIncerely,Cherie Meyers

> >Subject: RE: Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food recall
> >Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 15:49:21 +0800
> >Thread-Topic: Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food recall
> >Priority: Urgent
> >From: "kxbc" kxbc@kxbc.com
> >To: info@naturalbalanceinc.com

Hi

I would like to understand if your food recall for the contaminated food affects only the US or is it a worldwide recall?

My local agent in Singapore mentioned that the Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea dry food formula sold in Singapore is not affected but I am not sure of his statement. I assume all Natural Balance to be either produced in the US using the same contaminated ingredient or in different factories around the world but still using the same contaminated ingredient due to bulk sourcing arrangements by Natural Balance HQ.

Appreciate if you can kindly clarify via e-mail or a press release urgently. Thank you.

Regards, kxbc
Singapore [unquote]

They bothered to reply to my mail even though they are swarmed with work and PR disaster recovery. And what did we get from our AVA? Nothing. Zilch. Zero. Gon-not. I wonder why they got a pay increase lately.

Journey to the vet

Office to home: Hardly any conversation as both of us were lost in our own thoughts. I just wanted to get home quick to scoop the both of them to the vet asap. I had butterflies in my stomach, similar to times when I had to send them in for surgery. I think Mrs kxbc had similar feelings.

Home to vet: Reached home, got them into the carriers and off we go. And silence on the way there again. CC and XX were a little anxious, especially XX as she was just at the vet on Sunday for her annual vaccination and checkup.
At the vet: The Dr was not aware of any food contamination issue as there was no word from AVA. I explained the whole thing all over to him again. Blood drawn from the both of them to test for acute renal kidney failure. A negative test result will be good but that does not mean they do not have chronic kidney failure. Only a test on their urine sample can confirm if they do have chronic kidney failure.

Waited around 20 min for the test results at the waiting room. No conversation as well. Both of us were just too anxious for the results, especially that of CC. He is the most likely to contract kidney failure, if at all, as he has been wholly on NB since Dec 06.

A cute "jia you jian gou", aka the bull terrier (I think), was at the vet too. Nosy little thing which was sniffing out all corners of the clinic.

The vet came out bearing CC's results.

NEGATIVE.

Both of us heaved a sigh of relief. We were noticeably feeling better now as we smiled to each other again. We started talking. We were quite sure that if CC is negative, XX should be too.

Another 10 min and the vet was out with XX's result.

NEGATIVE too.

We felt much better now. We will monitor them for chronic kidney failure symptons eg drinking excessively, loss of weight and appetite etc. I will need to read up on this topic this weekend.

The bill came. $241!! Wah piang eh! But it was money well spent. It lifted a heavy load off our minds. I asked Mrs kxbc what would we have done if we know that we could not afford the bill. "We'll have to wait and save cash and at the same time monitor their health. But if we know we can't afford it, we probably would not have the 5 of them. Too many for finances already." I'm glad we still do not have problem supporting the 5 of them today.

Back home: The other 3 welcomed them back home. After their dinner, it was as if nothing had ever happened in the last 2 hours. It's good to have them safe and sound at home.

Update on NB Contamination

The Wife is frantic about CC who eats NB Venison & Green Pea solely, as he has had diarrhoea/soft stools for the past few days and diarrhoea is one of the symptons of kidney failure. XX has had soft stools too but her latest "release" this morning seems normal and she is still active. But whatever the case, we are bringing them in to the vet for a blood test this evening. I am worried too but I need to keep a clear head to deal with this incident.

Although the other 3 also consumes NB Venison & Green Pea as part of their diet which also includes RC and SD, they are behaving normally and are active. Depending on the diagnosis of CC and XX, we will decide whether there is a need to test KK, BB and YY as well.

Through speaking with the pet shop (and the agent indirectly) and our regular vet, it seems that no one knows of this food contamination issue as AVA has not released any press statement. I have dropped AVA a mail earlier and hopefully we will have some news soon.

Just to let you understand that the NB incident is a contamination of rice protein concentrate and is not related to last month's Menu Foods food recall which was a contamination of wheat gluten used to thicken the gravy in wet food. So if your pet shop tells you that AVA has already issued a statement saying that the food imported into Singapore is okay, tell them it relates to the Menu Foods recall. There is no word from the AVA yet on the NB incident. And from NB's website, NB uses only 2 contract manufacturers for the manufacturing of their food and so the chance that contaminated food are shipped to Singapore are high.

The contaminant for both incidents is similar: melamine. And melamine is used in fertilizers in Asia. I am not sure which food product to trust now. We know how the world is becoming more globalised and with strong competition, every company needs to source for cheaper sources of ingredients to stay competitive. And cheaper ingredients are probably found in Asia where labour costs are generally lower. If you had not realised already, most things are made in China nowadays. Like the US armed forces beret issue which happened a couple of years back. And also the souveniers you had purchased while holidaying in Europe. Turn the souvenier and you would probably see a "Made in China" label. I am not saying all food produce in China is no good but we do have news about Chinese manufacturers taking short cuts in their manufacturing processes eg milk powder incident.

Please tell your friends who have pets to stop feeding the contaminated NB products now before it's too late.

I am keeping my fingers crossed about today's vet visit.