Our little ginger furball, our little pocket torpedo

Yuan Yuan

November 2004 to 10 October 2019

14 years & 11 months old

We read stories about people who had been inseparable all their lives and when one party dies, the surviving one gets so heartbroken he/she will also soon move on.

We never thought this would happen to us.

Our Yuan Yuan moved on last week, 8 months after her beloved adopted mummy, Xin Xin, left us.

Yuan Yuan had always been a cat-cat, only close to Xin Xin. Ever since we picked her off the street as a 3- month old kitten, she had stuck close to Xin Xin, following her mummy around whenever she can.

Xin Xin never showed much maternal actions towards Yuan Yuan but deep down, we think she really cared for her adopted daughter. Whenever Yuan Yuan hollered during her bath time, Xin Xin would be pacing and meowing outside the bathroom to make sure Yuan Yuan is okay.

Since Xin Xin left us, Yuan Yuan could not find a new emotional support to lean on. She left heartbroken and depressed, her tiny body further wrecked by failing kidneys.

Our little pocket torpedo

Yuan Yuan was our little pocket torpedo. She had never liked to be held or cuddled and would find the earliest opportunity to struggle out from our embrace.

Just 3 weeks earlier, she would still meow out loud her protests when we grab her for her daily sub-cut. If she find that we were taking too long with the sub-cut, she would burst away from our grasps violently, sometimes taking the whole drip along with her. Sometimes, she might even turn back and give us a little hiss, telling us how much she disliked it.

Yuan Yuan was the only one in the household who would never come voluntarily to us for a scratch or a pet. We always had to approach her, sitting silently beside her and gently touching her. She would tolerate it for a minute or two before she walked away.

No matter what, we had always loved her, an important member of our family.

Catching the breeze

Yuan Yuan liked the outdoors. Below the row of plants, she would rest in the balcony where she would catch the breeze. This was her sanctuary where she would rest, sleep and lounge.

When she was younger, she would seek the rays of sunlight which shone on parts of the balcony, sometimes moving together with the rays as the sun raced across the sky. She would roll on her back happily, sleeping with her belly exposed.

Whenever she could, she would spend her whole day there, coming in only when the sun set.

Xin Xin, her adopted mummy

When we found Yuan Yuan as a 3-month old, she was alone in a Simei estate void deck. We walked past a small drain and she was hiding in there. We would not have noticed her if she had not hissed at us for allegedly encroaching into her space.

Over the next few days, we would seek her out as often as we could. She was always alone though there were several other older community cats living in the same void deck. But she was a loner and would never come to us like other kittens.

Her playmate was this domesticated young male cat from a household in the same block. We remembered her play-chasing after him, sprinting across grass patches. As she hurdled over the shrubs, her 4 short legs would spread wide open like a flying squirrel.

Her antics, cute face and short kinked tail won us over and we took her home one of those nights.

We named her 圆圆 to pay homage to her rotund figure.

For some magical reasons, she latched onto Xin Xin as her adopted mummy even though Xin Xin never paid her much attention. She would follow her mummy around the house, sometimes trying to get her attention by meowing loudly. If she was lucky, Xin Xin might groom her a little and I think Yuan Yuan must have been so happy with that.

It was very much a one-sided love affair most of the time. And it had a devastating impact on Yuan Yuan after Xin Xin left us unexpectedly earlier this year. She became moodier and spent more time alone. She tried seeking another mummy figure in Kim Kim, calling out to her whenever she walked past but Kim Kim is old and did not respond.

Her last stretch

We detected she had diabetes mid 2017 and chronic renal failure mid 2018. We managed to sustain her condition for many months with daily insulin injections and sub-cut. She continued to be fairly active with a healthy appetite till she started to deteriorate quickly beginning of Oct.

We decided that she should not suffer anymore and with a heavy heart, we let her go.

Goodbye our little pocket torpedo. We hope that you had a good life with us though we had never asked if you would like to be part of our household. We are glad you had Xin Xin as your mummy.

Go find Xin Xin and Bon Bon at the Rainbow Bridge. You had brought us so many happy moments. When we look at the balcony, we will forever find you there. You will always be in our hearts.

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.

Run free, Tunabelly! Run pain free!

A good blog friend just left us.

The speed of his leaving shocked me. His recent photos and activity level description seem to be of a cat on the road to recovery. To hear that fluid filled his lungs so rapidly and took him away from his loving family is so sad and heart wrenching.

Run free Tunabelly! Run pain free!

3rd Year Anniversary Today

Today is our 3rd year anniversary. XX is still doing well. Running, eating and playing well. Hopefully no more scares from now on.

Expensive precription medication

Xin Xin had been on Fortekor daily since she was diagnosed with kidney failure and HCM in Jul 08. As of now, we can afford the medication but the price has been increasing this couple of years.

Lately, I found a UK online site which sells this prescribed medication at a cheaper price and because of the huge depreciation of the British pound against the SGD, it is almost 50% cheaper than when I purchase it from the vet.

The purchase process is a little complicated though. As it is a prescription medication, I needed my vet to fill out the site's prescription form and have it mailed to them in the UK. They do not ship overseas at the moment (vs what is mentioned on their site FAQ) so the only way is to either use VPost or some other similar sites. Or you can have it sent to a friend who lives in the UK who can then bring it over when he/she visits or vice versa.

And your vet must be licensed to practise in the UK. From what I can gather from the web, if your vet has the BVSc (bachelor degree for vetinerary medicine taught in the UK and some other countries) and MRCVS (accreditation to practise in the UK) titles after his/her name, it should be no problem.

I bought 8 months worth of medication. Hopefully, I will have the fortune to buy another few batches of this which means Xin Xin will still be with us for the next few years.

Day 13 to 18 (13 to 18 Jul 10) - All is well? Fingers crossed

12 Jul 10 (Mon) was the last time we sub-Qed her. For the rest of the days this week, she remained well hydrated. However, I had still stocked up 10 packs of sub-Q supplies just in case. Anytime she gets dehydrated and unwell, I will sub-Q her until we can get her to the vet.

She was alert and bright the whole week. She had started eating her Waltham's renal dry food again although we still make sure she is syringe-fed her Science Diet k/d wet food at least twice a day until her hydration levels stays at a good manageable level.

Slowly, we are letting her spend more time with the rest of the gang. And for some reason, she had actually stopped hissing and chasing MM after the hospitalization. She had used to harass MM at least once or twice a day before her relapse. I am not sure of the reason at all since XX looks and behaves as if she has fully recovered. Let's hope that this will continue.

I am not sure if this is the end of the relapse episode. Hopefully it is and there will be no further relapse for the next few years.

Day 11 & 12 (11 & 12 Jul 10) - First sub-Q after 2 years

Day 11 (11 Jul 10)
She remained very hydrated throughout the whole day after yesterday's sub-Q at the vet. She was bright and alert and was very co-operative when we syringe-fed her. Even though she was well hydrated, she drank quite a lot on her own and we offered her fresh water a few times a day to tempt her to drink more.

By evening, she was approximately 1% dehydrated. After 2 long years of no sub-Q at home, I finally did my home sub-Q treatment again. And in went 200ml smoothly while my wild pumping heart slowed down to the normal rate. My "first" time went well. Lucky me.

Day 12 ( 12 Jul 10)
Her condition is similar to yesterday. Alert and bright though she spent a lot of time resting in her carrier. She even ate some dry food on her own.

Although she is well hydrated even by 10pm, we decided to sub-Q her 100ml, just in case she gets dehydrated tomorrow when we are not around.

The Wife fell sick last night, vomiting violently into the toilet bowl. She was diagnosed to be suffering the after effects of the tremendous stress built up since the start of the month. The only good thing to come out of it is that she had 1 day MC and was able to spend the day monitoring XX's condition.

Day 9 & 10 (9 & 10 Jul 10) - Another re-learning experience

Day 9 (9 Jul 10)
She looked alright and alert in the morning with no sign of dehydration. Although she was breathing fast while resting, it was regular and not ragged.

We still had to syringe feed her and from today onwards, we had split her 2 meals to 4 smaller meals. It worked. She did not vomit anymore.

Day 10 (10 Jul 10)
She did not look well in the morning. She was about 2% dehydrated. After her early morning feed, she looked slightly better but appeared lethargic again by mid morning. She looked worse than when she was discharged 4 days ago.



We scheduled another visit to the vet in the afternoon. One thing we knew for sure was that she requires a sub-Q for her dehydration. We also wanted to make sure that the vet checked her to rule out other issues. When we checked our sub-Q supplies, we realized those we had bought in Jul 08 had all expired.

We saw another vet at the practice as XX's regular vet was not in. He injected 200ml of solution into her. XX looked refresh almost immediately after the sub-Q. When we syringe her again half an hour at home, she even had the strength to struggle. And soon after that, she was walking around the house again while before that, she was so tired that she was just hiding in a dark corner.

I had to re-learn the whole sub-Q process again as I had forgotten the procedures I had learned 2 years ago. I really don't look forward to that as I remember how stressful it was for XX and me at the precise moment the needle breaks the skin. I can almost hear her meowing softly in pain.

What is my lesson re-learned? Hydration is very important for a kidney patient cat. It must always be well hydrated to function normally. Whether I like it or not, I will always have to be ready to give her a sub-Q even before she becomes dehydrated.

Day 7 & 8 (7 & 8 Jul 10): Re-learning experience

Day 7 (7 Jul 10)
It was generally an ok day for both XX and us. She ate dry food on her own and walked around the house when she was not resting.

Day 8 (8 Jul 10)
We syringe fed her almost half a can of blended Sc Diet k/d before we left for work as she only had a handful of dry Renal food. When I came back to check up on her during lunch, she had vomited all the food, including the morning's medication. Luckily, she was not dehydrated. She looked tired and rested after eating some dry food.

She spent the whole afternoon resting until I gave her some favorite non-kidney food which she devoured in less than 1 min. That showed that she was hungry, but was not willing to eat her kidney food.

We syringed fed her twice during the night, small portions both times. The Wife had reminded me that XX did vomit for almost 1 week when she first came home from hospitalisation 2 years ago. We checked out her old health and food records and indeed she was right. I had forgotten about it totally.

This is a lesson I had to totally re-learn. To feed XX in small portions throughout the day until she is well enough to eat 3 biggers meals.

2nd Year Anniversay

14 Jun 2010 came and passed. It was Xin Xin's 2nd year anniversary since she was diagnosed with CRF and HCM in 2008. We were very glad she passed that milestone as the vet had mentioned that cats with such conditions rarely live past another 2 years. Various literature on the web had also mentioned the same 2 year milestone.

Last Thur (1 Jul), I had noticed there was vomit when I reached home. I did not think anything of it as Chang Chang has a rather weak stomach and often vomits his food. All 6 f them were eating, playing and behaving normally. We thought nothing of it.

When we reached home on Fri (2 Jul), we noted that Xin Xin did not greet us at the door. We became worried immediately as she will always be the first one to squeeze her head past the opening door to greet us. We found vomit again and this time we found undigested medicine. The vomit could only be hers as she is the only one on daily medication.

Xin Xin was hiding in the cat tree situated in their room. This was highly unusual as she had seldom been seen in that area. When we tried to scoop her out, she ran out to the kitchen, her stomach almost touching the ground.

And from that point, her condition deteriorated throughout the whole night. She went from being fully hydrated to dehydrated. We kept her in our room with us so that we could monitor her. We awoke several times during the night as she called out in agony, cries so untypical of her.

3 Jul 10, Sat
We sent her to the vet first thing in the morning. The blood test confirmed our worst fear. She had suffered a relapse. Her creatinine and BUN levels shot through the roof.

1. BUN (10 - 30 normal): Off the chart (Sat 14 Jun 08); 180 (Wed 18 Jun 08); 70 (Mon 23 Jun 08); 25 (Sun 6 Jul 08). It was 13.8 on Sat, 3 Jul 10. According to a website, we need to bring it down to 60 - 80 for a kidney patient.
2. Creatinine (0.3 - 2.0 normal): 19 (Sat 14 Jun 08); 10.9 (Wed 18 Jun 08); 3.3 (Mon 23 Jun 08); 2.2 (Sun 6 Jul 08). It was 149 on Sat, 3 Jul 10.
3. Phosporous (3.4 - 8.5 normal): 8.7 (Wed 18 Jun 08); 6.1 (Mon 23 Jun 08); 5.9 (Sun 6 Jul 08). It was 6.2 on Sat, 3 Jul 10.
   
4. Calcium (8.0 - 11.8 normal): 12.0 (Wed 18 Jun 08); 11.9 (Mon 23 Jun 08); 11.5 (Sun 6 Jul 08). It was 8.8 on Sat, 3 Jul 10.

She was hospitalized immediately and put on a drip with Ringer solution. The vet told us she had suffered an acute kidney failure again, is slightly dehydrated and has a heartbeat of 240 (compared to her normal vet visits which were in the region of between 180 to 210). Her weight had dropped to 3.95kg from the normal 4.2kg.

Our hearts went down to the pits. Although her numbers were better than that in Jun 08, she was on medication now and somehow, the medication does not seem to be supporting her organs from failing. When we visited her in the evening, she looked slightly better though she was still not eating. Her breathing had become less ragged.


4 Jul 10, Sun
We visited her in the afternoon. This time, she looked much better. She ate some 20 kibbles from our hands willingly and was able to pace around the vet's table unaided. Her breathing had also improved.

Our hopes went up a little.

5 Jul 10, Mon
We visited her in the evening. She looked alert and bright. She walked around the vet table, stretched and groomed, all with the drip stuck to her front leg. Her breathing had improved a little. She ate 20 another kibbles from our hands willingly though we still syringe fed her half a can of k/d wet food as we knew she may not have eaten much on her own. Although the vet assistants tried, we knew that they were not very successful in syringe feeding her as well. Xin Xin has always been a stubborn little girl and will only yield in our hands.

Our hopes went up a little again.


6 Jul 10, Tue
As I was blending the k/d wet food at home to bring to the vet, Dr Miles called. He said he had good news. A miracle he said. He conducted a blood test on Xin Xin in the afternoon and all the critical indicators were within the normal healthy range. He wanted us to bring her back home that same evening as he felt that she would be less stressed than at the vet.

BUN (10 - 30 normal):

• Off the chart (Sat 14 Jun 08);
• 180 (Wed 18 Jun 08);
  
• 70 (Mon 23 Jun 08);
• 25 (Sun 6 Jul 08);
• 149 (Sat, 3 Jul 10);
  
• 18 (Tue, 6 Jul 10)
• According to a website, we need to bring it down to 60 - 80 for a kidney patient.

Creatinine (0.3 - 2.0 normal):

• 19 (Sat 14 Jun 08);
  
• 10.9 (Wed 18 Jun 08);
  
• 3.3 (Mon 23 Jun 08);
• 2.2 (Sun 6 Jul 08);
• 13.9 (Sat, 3 Jul 10);
• 1.9 (Tue, 6 Jul 10)
  

Phosporous (3.4 - 8.5 normal):

• 8.7 (Wed 18 Jun 08);
• 6.1 (Mon 23 Jun 08);
• 5.9 (Sun 6 Jul 08).
• 6.2 (Sat, 3 Jul 10);
• 5.8 (Tue, 6 Jul 10)
  

Calcium (8.0 - 11.8 normal):

• 12.0 (Wed 18 Jun 08);
  
• 11.9 (Mon 23 Jun 08);
• 11.5 (Sun 6 Jul 08);
  
• 8.8 (Sat, 3 Jul 10);
• 11.6 (Tue, 6 Jul 10)
  

She's home again finally. She is now weighing 3.9kg, losing 50g in those few days. Her eyes look bright and alert. Her breathing is now back to that of her pre-hospitalization days.

She went around the whole house, sniffing and rubbing scent. She has a very confident stance. Her strides look strong and purposeful. She could even jump up to the bed though we do not want her to.

The gang was a little hesitant as she smells so much different. However, they are slowly accepting her back.


The vet was not able to confirm what triggered her relapse, if you can even call it a relapse. There was no poisoning from the results of the blood test. He said the only logical explanation may be that it is accumulated stress etc which made the heart pump less efficiently, thereby depriving the kidneys of the much required blood which in turn caused the kidneys not to function normally in processing the urine in her.

We are not sure of the exact cause either. It could be added stress since she is not really fond of May May which joined us this Apr. She views MM as direct competition for our affection and time. XX can be a very jealous girl.

The only other change was that we introduced a new wet food to XX last Wed night. She liked it and ate everything given. We are not sure if it could be that new food which induced the vomiting which in turn made her throw up her undigested medicine which made her kidneys work so much harder. The vet does not think that missing one or two medication is the cause. We are not too sure ourselves but whatever it is, that wet food will no longer be fed to the whole gang.

They say cats have 9 lives. I think XX is now well into her 3rd life. Hopefully, she will still have another 6 to go. Fingers crossed.