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.

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.

The tooth fairy came again!

Kim Kim says:

The tooth fairy came on Mon and took away 2 of my teeth. It's all the V.E.T's fault!!! He said that I have a loose tooth during my annual examination. And now instead of just one, the tooth fairy took away 2 as there was a fairly bad chipped tooth. Now I am a "bo gay" cat like Xin Xin.

Maybe it was my age (I am coming to 7 years old in Apr 07) or maybe it was just me but I was not really feeling myself even after the tooth fairy left. I just lay on my rug for one day and did not have much appetite, nor did I pester Mummy and Daddy for suckles on their laps. I did not want to open my mouth because it was just too painful to swallow food or meow.

Mummy said Xin Xin set a bad example as she was her normal self immediately after the tooth fairy left and even worse, Yuan Yuan was jumping around straight after her spaying operation. Maybe I am just a normal cat and do not recover as quickly as XX and YY.

But I became my usual self a day later and Mummy and Daddy were pretty please to see me eating and meowing for attention again. But Daddy now says I meow too much already. I am a persistent cat. I will meow until they relent and let me suckle on their laps.

We speak different languages

Kim Kim says:

Daddy has some overseas friends who are coming over to our place to stay this week. And these friends are thinking maybe their kitties can come along too. Wowwee, the 5 of us + Daddy & Mummy were so excited we were going to have visitors. So Daddy & Mummy cleaned the house, bought lots of food (but none for us *sulks*) and even planted a few pots of cat grass for our kitty friends. And they even bought new litter boxes and extra scratching posts for them. I made Xin Xin, Bon Bon, Chang Chang and Yuan Yuan clean our old toys so that we can show our kitty friends a good time.

But just last week, Daddy's friends said that their kitties do not like to use litter boxes even though they know that litter boxes should be the place our shit should be buried. They even asked if their kitties could use our new sofa as a scratching post.

Hey, we are not even allowed to scratch the sofa! And of course you kitties can't! Rules are rules. It applies to us and all visitor kitties. Daddy and Mummy made it clear to us and them that they had bought the scratching posts for us so that we can sharpen our claws and the sofa is for sitting and lounging, not for scratching. There was a couple of time XX and CC scratched the sofa and Daddy gave them solitary confinement in the cage for half an hour. Now everyone knows the scratching post is where we scratch. We don't want the sofa spoiled too as we know Daddy & Mummy worked very hard and saved a few years before they could afford this new sofa. Plus, I like to lounge on the sofa during the day and YY & BB like to play on it every night.

And about shitting all over the house???? What is wrong with these kitties? There are litter boxes in the bedroom and in the living room and they want to shit all over the house? Isn't it very unhygenic? We want our place clean so that we can roll around all over the floor, playing chase when we feel like it. Imagine stepping into a pile of shit when I am chasing XX. I don't know what these kitties and Daddy's friends are thinking. Do they shit all over their own homes?

Daddy's friends are complaining about these ridiculous rules. But I like what Daddy told them. We welcome you into our house and we will be gracious hosts but don't push your luck on our house rules. We have them so that the 5 of us + Daddy & Mummy can have a good life.

Who did it?

Kim Kim:
Daddy's cacti placed outside the corridor have been slowly dying these couple of months though they have been thriving very well for the past 8 years. He thought it was dying because of some plant viruses.

Then Mummy found soil all over the floor this morning and being the super detective she was, she dug around and found cat shit buried in the pot. *gulp* Ok, I can tell you it is not any of us 5 kitties. We are good kids and do our business in the litter box, except for Xin Xin the naughty girl who does it just outside the litter box. Anyway, we are not allowed outdoors at all.

So who can it be? I did not hear anything at all when I was guarding the house. Is it the black one-eye kitty 4 doors away? I don't think so. She's an indoor kitty too. And I have never seen, hear or smell any other kitty on our floor. It cannot be a void deck kitty too. Ever since Patches, our block's void deck kitty, disappeared last year, no one has come to conquer our block.

Daddy & Mummy are scratching their heads over this question too. I think I will get the kxbc gang to do sentry duty tonight. We need to catch this rogue kitty and tell her/him that the litter box is the way to go.

General Yuan Yuan, you take the first shift tonight. Bon Bon, you take second shift. Chang Chang, 3rd shift. Xin Xin, 4th shift till dawn. I'll take my beauty sleep first. Don't disturb me, understand?

Superman...Supercat

Kim Kim:

This photo was taken many many moons ago when I was a 2 year old.

I still sleep like this nowadays, just that I am a bit rounder everywhere. Daddy says I look like Superman flying in this pose. I think I look more like Hercules flexing his big big muscles while he posed for the girls. What do you think? *care to rub my tummy?*

And then I saw this (2nd pic). She (?) sleeps exactly like me. She even looks like me somewhat. Don't we look alike? Is she my long lost sister LuLu? Waaaahhh...I want to see my sister again.

The Cookie Monster

Kim Kim says:

Apparently I am not the first cat to enter Mummy and Daddy’s life *sulks*.

Before I was brought home, they had actually adopted one cat before from the SPCA. They called him “Cookie”.

His photo is still pasted on the wall and he looks a little bit like me with a white chest and thick black classic tabby swirls on brown fur. The only difference is that he has a pinky nose like Xin Xin. I have to admit he looks damn cute.

Mummy & Daddy still have not forgotten him as he is technically their “first” cat/child. However, he proved a little too much to handle especially when they were still greenhorns then. Cookie was returned to SPCA a week later. Mummy lost 2 kg in that week from stress handling him.

They decided to give having a cat as a pet 2 months later and I was adopted because I reminded them so much of Cookie. But I was a much better behaved kitty and that’s how Mummy & Daddy got back the confidence to handle more kitties who are even naughtier. And so they ended up with 5 of us. Haha…

They sneaked a visit back to the SPCA a few months after I was adopted (I know because I could smell him on them *sulks again*) to see if Cookie was still around. He had already grown into a strapping majestic tom cat (but already eunuch hehehe). Mummy said he looked like the top cat in the cattery. But they could not bring him back again as they know we will never be able to get along well. They know I won’t give up my queen seat to him easily. They are so right. Mummy & Daddy are mine. All mine.

But I hope he has already been adopted into a nice family who will give him all the love and care he needs. Mummy & Daddy would very happy if that happens. I think they still blame themselves for returning him.

Best wishes Cookie gor gor. The kxbc gang wishes you a happy life even though you are not part of our family.

Once upon a time…

I am on the left and my sister Lu Lu is on the right

...when I was still a young kitten with my ex-owner. I am the one on the left of the pic. I was a serious kitten. I am still a serious cat now that I am going into the senior stage. I was slim once. How I wish I can be like that again.

Mummy says I have big ears for a cat. Do I really have BIG ears?

My virgin post

Kim Kim:

This is me.

My virgin post, but I am not a virgin ok!!! I have given birth before to 3 lovely babies before but they are no longer with me. *sob sob* My ex-owner told me 2 of my babies have been adopted by beautiful families but there is no news about my last baby. And the cruel fact is that I have been neutered. What!!! Does that mean I cannot pass on my good lovely genes anymore!!!!!!!

Ok ok, enough of the sob story. I will tell you another time.

I am QUEEN, the TOP CAT in the household, served by 2 humans whom I adore very much. They are always at my beck and call. Kekeke. I am so cute and adorable. How can they resist me!!!!!

My bio data for my soon-to-be adoring readers. Kekekeke….
Name: Kim Kim (does it sound Korean or what? You want my paw print?)
Birthday: Early Apr 2000 and for those numerically challenged people, I am going to be 6 years old soon
Breed: I think I am an American short hair X breed with a nice brown coat and thick black circular swirls. But the tupid V.E.T says I am a DSH and my humans says I look like a water melon when I sit down. How insulting. Hmmp
Weight: 5.5kg and growing. Everyone says I am pregnant. I am not PREGNANT ok!!! I have been fixed. I am just...errr...chubby. But I am very cute ok!!!
Rank: Numero Uno, Top Cat, No. 1

Next time I will tell you a bit more how I ended up in this household and ruling these slaves of mine and how the household exploded from just me to a total of 5 cats.