Rest in Peace, dear Feline Friend

Two days before Raya, I had to make a very hard and painful decision. It was a decision I hope I will never have to make again.

One of our kittens, Jill, had contracted a disease known as sporotrichosis, and we were told that it is a disease which is not curable, but controllable.

I googled it to understand better what it is and here is an abstract from the PetMd website...

“Sporothrix schenckii is a fungus that has the potential to infect the skin, respiratory system, bones and sometimes the brain, causing a diseased state called sporotrichosis. Infection is caused by the virtually ubiquitous dimorphic (mold and yeast) fungus, S. schenckii, which typically infects via direct inoculation - that is, through abrasions of the skin or by inhalation. The origin of the fungus is environmental; it is naturally found in soil, plants and sphagnum moss, but it can be communicated zoonotically between different animal species, and between animals and humans.

Cats tend to experience a severe form of cutaneous sporotrichosis, making them an even greater risk for transmitting the infection to other animals and people. In cats, intact male cats that roam outdoors and fight are predisposed to puncture wounds, which then offer an advantageous route for S. schenckii to enter the body. The infection may also be spread by other cats, often through scratches to the skin.”

We were told by our vet that because it can be transmitted to humans, it can sometimes be fatal. The Vet had asked us to make a decision whether to keep on giving her medication but to be extra careful when administering the medication so as to avoid any transmission of the disease to us or to put her down.

She will eventually die when the disease is at an advanced stage. I have already seen two stray cats that had come to our backyard looking for food covered with lesions and open wounds with blood trailing, but had thought that they had gotten into a fight.

There is another stray cat that is also starting to show signs of having the same thing, and again, I had thought that she had gotten into a fight. Now I know that all 3 had contracted sporotrichosis.

As far as I can remember, we had never come in direct contact with any of them. Even when we did, we would wash our hands thoroughly.

My only worry is my son who is not as fastidious as his dad when it comes to personal hygiene, but I pray to Allah that he will be safe from the disease, insyaAllah.

We have cared for Jill since birth and it breaks my heart to have to put her down, but letting her live might not necessarily be a responsible decision as not only could her disease be transmitted any other cats that she comes in contact with, but to humans as well.

We have 2 more cats to take care of. Sacrifice one for the sake of the other 2 and many other cats and humans or keep her and end up losing all 3 cats and the risk of the disease being transmitted to us.

For 2 days, I was in turmoil, not knowing what was the best decision to make.

Hubby suggested that I seek advice from Idah, his cousin who is also a cat lover.

When I posted my dilemma on Facebook, Shanny came to share her experience of having to put down her dog too many moons ago and Diane offered some advice by quoting a phrase on Star Trek that said that the good of the many outweighs the good of the one.

Both advice from Shanny and Diane gave me strength that I needed to make a decision. Idah, in agreeing with Shanny and Diane, added on to say that Jill is suffering and furthermore, since there is a possible danger to the other cats as well as humans, there should be no hesitation in making the decision to put her down.

My sister posted that it is better to send Jill to a better place right now.

My hubby and I, together with Aiman, sat down to discuss what was the best thing to do. When we finally decided that putting her down would be the best decision for everyone, I prayed to Allah to give me strength.

I cried as I looked at her as she calmly sits waiting for what's next as the other cats looked at me with curiosity.

I slept little the night before, thinking of Jill.

That morning, before we were to put her down, I sat in front of her again and looked at her, wondering if she knows.

There she was, just sitting quietly, staring at me while her siblings meowed away in another cage, and my heart breaks.

It was painful looking at her, and my tears would not stop flowing again...

I thought that we had made the right decision, yet it felt so wrong. I prayed to Allah to help us go through this.

Idah was right. Once we have decided, we shouldn’t delay because it gets more difficult with time. Even at the vet, my tears would not stop flowing.....

Jill is now in a better place. Rest in Peace, dear feline friend.

Missing Abang

Err...since when did I have an abang, a brother? LOL! *grin*

WE had an Abang when this cute orange cat called our house his home some 3 months ago when our back neighbour left him and his 4 siblings who were hardly a few weeks old to go off for their Chinese New Year holiday. They came over to our house looking for food.

Ever since then, Abang and his sisters have been my son’s and our companion each evening when we come home from work and my son from his Atok’s house.

Even my hubby would spend time just looking at them play and he said many times that we can sometimes learn from the animals when we saw how caring Abang is towards his sisters who still crave for attention when their mum left them when the sisters were still very much ‘infants’.

Seen here is my hubby giving the kittens their bath. Such are our attachments to the kitties.

My son rushes home to see then, and I wake up on the weekends hearing them meowing in the kitchen asking for food. They are such a joy to watch although I do sometimes get annoyed when they start doing their business in my vegetable garden! LOL!

But, about 3 weeks ago, the mother delivered two more kittens in our back kitchen. We didn’t even get to see the little ones before she took them away when the kitties were just about a week old.

During that first week after she had the kitties, she was hostile towards her other kittens but not Abang. Abang was the caring one, and I think, because of that, when she took the little kitties away, Abang must have followed her to where ever to take care of them like he did when the mother left her 4 earlier kittens at our house in the care of Abang some 3 months ago while she went gallivanting to God knows where.

Now Abang is nowhere to be seen. The 4 kittens still come daily for their food, and the mum would pop in from time to time, but without the two new little kitties and Abang.

My heart yearns for Abang. I cannot help but wonder where he is and if he is okay.

I just hope that where ever he is, with or without his new siblings, he is okay and whoever has him will take good care of him. I miss him, and I hope that someday he will come home to Mummy.

A pet in training

Aiman has been wanting a cat for a pet for a very long time. But, since he is asthmatic and has a bad case of eczema, we have been advised by doctors and many others not to have one in the house. But, Aiman has never stopped asking for one.

Recently, our back door neighbour’s cat gave birth to 4 kittens in our wet kitchen. While she was nursing her 4 new kittens, who should come around to play in our wet kitchen so as to be able to stay close to his mummy, but the big brother of the 4 little kittens!

We found him one day waiting by the back door, meowing in hunger as our neighbour had left for the long Chinese New Year Holidays.

Aiman took one look at his adoring eyes and was immediately smitten by the cute little kitten (seen in the above photo with his mum), whom he later affectionately calls `Abang’, as the little kitten was the big brother to the 4 little kittens just born.

Ever since that day, Aiman has found himself a pet in Abang and would wake up early every morning to feed him. Before this, it can sometimes takes us close to 10 minutes to try to get him to get up every morning, but with Abang meowing outside waiting for his food, Aiman practically jumps up every morning to feed Abang. LOL! Now that’s what I call a good influence! *grin*

Aiman is getting very attached to Abang and would get all sad if he can’t get to say goodnight to Abang before he goes to bed each night. He rushes to the back kitchen each time we come home from anywhere to look for Abang. He would stay at the back kitchen for as long as possible to play with Abang and would not want to go anywhere in case Abang might come and wants to play with him.

Having Abang has also made him do his chores faster as it becomes a motivation for him as we tell him that he can only play with Abang when he is done with all his homework and chores.

Tonight, Aiman was upset that when Abang came to play with him, but he wasn’t done yet with his chores, and as he rushed to finish off his chores, Abang had left. He wanted to play with Abang first before he went to bed, and he must have felt that all his efforts, rushing to finish off his chores quickly, did not pay off, as by the time he was done, Abang had already left and it was also almost his bedtime.

I hope something good will come from Aiman’s attachment to Abang, as seen so far in that he is more motivated to do his chores . I only hope that when it is time for Abang to go back to the neighbour, Aiman wil not feel too sad.

I have promised Aiman that if he really wants Abang as a pet and if he can prove to us that he can take care of a pet cat, I will ask permission from our back neighbour to let us have Abang. I told him that for now, he is in training and his duty is to make sure that Abang’s bowl is always filled up with food and water everyday. So far, during this long CNY holidays since Abang’s arrival, he has pretty much fulfilled his duties.

Tomorrow it’s back to school for Aiman. I am waiting to see if he remembers his duties with regards to taking care of Abang, and at the same time, nor forgetting to do his daily chores.