By chankahyein, on Friday, December 2nd, 2022 7:27 pm
Yay!!
Late afternoon, I went up to spend some time with Riley. I was able to put her on my lap and pat her. She nibbled at my arm and rubbed herself on me too. All good.
She wasn’t scared of me anymore.
Before going out this evening, I left a bowl of Monge canned food for Riley.
When we came back…
More than half of it was eaten!!!!!! I’d say this is even more than 3/4s of the can.
Riley was settled on the mat I had placed in the tunnel. I think maybe the tunnel reminds her of the drain.
Every time we see her coming out of the drain to meet me whenever I come out to the porch. Then later, she migrated to under my car. So maybe she lived in the drain before this.
The tunnel has a “roof” of sorts so perhaps it reminds her of the drain.
Then it rained heavily all of a sudden and Riley was afraid and went behind the TV. The thunderstorm was really bad, but only lasted for a few minutes.
Now, Riley, isn’t being indoors better than sitting in the drain?
Ginger: Actually I like sitting in the drain. Can I just stay in the drain and I’ll only come back to eat?
That’s Ginger, our Longkang Cat. Ever since we made the security doors, Ginger has not escaped….yet.
Now, the next thing is for Riley to defecate. Maybe she will, tonight? I have placed a litter box and a basin with soil for her. She can choose whichever she likes.
By chankahyein, on Friday, December 2nd, 2022 4:20 pm
So Riley was still hiding behind the toilet bowl upstairs. Sigh…
I went up and force-fed her lunch. Managed to feed about 3/4s of a can, give and take. Still not up to her normal routine of downing 2 cans in one seating. She had a voracious appetite before we kept her indoors (for the purpose of protecting her from the unneutered tomcats outside and to get her neutered in 2 weeks when she is a little bigger in size).
Today is Day 2 of being “captured” and it’s challenging.
As far as eating is concerned, at least I could force-feed her, but as for urinating and defecating, I cannot do much.
I already prepared a basin of soil for her since that’s what she is used to. But she won’t use it.
Seeing how lonely she might be upstairs (but I go up to sit with her every 1-2 hours), we brought her downstairs, just for a change of scenery.
Her safe spot downstairs is under that little bluish grey stool. Maybe she thinks this security door leads to the outdoors and she can zoom out if we open it. Tabs came and they touched noses. Aww….
Wouldn’t you like to be friend with Tabs, Riley?
Then she started mewing and scratching at the door. I suspected that she might want to urinate or something. But I could not let her out to the catio. There are five “monsters” there (Minnie and her boys). They might not bully her, knowing them, but I couldn’t risk it.
So I carried her to the living room and patted her for awhile. Then, decided to take her back upstairs where she felt safe. On the way up, I must have squeezed her a bit (and she also felt bloated), suddenly, urine started leaking out. Then she just let go and I think it must have lasted a few minutes!
She urinated on me and there was a huge pool of urine on the floor.
Poor thing…she was keeping in the urine. But at least it’s out now. What a relief for her and for me too.
Next, the poop has to come out too. But I hear that cats MUST urinate each day (I don’t know how many times, though). My previous senior vet told me that if a cat does not urinate in a day, it’s REALLY bad. So a quick check on the internet says 2-4 times per day. Now, I think Tabs only urinates 2 times a day, and she is fine. Bunny urinates many, many times per day (but he is a kidney patient).
So, anyway, that was a huge gigantic pool of urine. It smelled…like urine (so that’s good). I’ve never seen any cat urinate this much in one “session” so she must have been keeping it in.
I hope Riley’s protest will end soon.
Maybe I’ll palpate and massage her later on, for defecation. I do it for Bunny every once in a while when the need arises.
By chankahyein, on Friday, December 2nd, 2022 12:41 pm
Riley did not eat this morning. She must be still stressed from the major change in her life, taken from the street to a room in our house. She also has not urinated or defecated since yesterday afternoon. I was worried and I consulted the vet but she says to let her be and give her some time.
But the good thing is that Riley is warming up to me. She allows me to carry her and even force-feed her. I was worried so I resorted to force-feeding even though I know that’s not right. But she was willing to eat when being force-fed. I stared by rubbing some gravy onto her mouth and she licked it up, so I gave her Cindy’s pureed food (I call it baby food), and she ate that too, but wasn’t too interested in it.
Riley: I’m not a baby, okay? Didn’t the vet already tell you I’m a 5-6 month-old cat?
From there, I progressed to her favourite tuna with sea bream. I could even open her mouth to feed her and she ate willingly. But by force-feeding I could not feed much.
I think the mogok lapar is just a protest. The vet says if she was willing to eat when force-fed, it means she is okay. Actually, she was more than willing too. She let me open her mouth. Being only the second day today, I think that’s progress.
But…
You see this stick here? It’s those extendable sticks you use as curtain rails (the length can be altered) and we used this to block the movement of this glass window so that it can remain open for ventilation in the room. There’s the mosquito netting to prevent escape and it is stainless steel. The stick is very tightly and securely fixed, as tightly as we can. And yet, Riley removed it. But after removing this stick, Riley would still have to slide open TWO glass window panels before exposing an escape route. Sliding two heavy glass panels…hmm, not so easy. But to play it safe, we have moved to stick lower down, to touch the sill so that it’s not so easy to remove it now.
Even Minnie and her boys could not remove this stick when they were quarantined upstairs in both rooms for two weeks. Riley removed it! Wow, she’s even smarter (and stronger?) than Minnie. Granted, she wants to escape. She has lived her life as a street kitten/cat and she wants back that life.
If only the world was a safer and more accepting place, then she can live her life as Nature intended her to. But not when there are humans in it. Humans make the world unsafe for animals.
Riley found a new place to hide in.
And Tabs is keeping vigil outside the room. I have a feeling that Tabs won’t mind being friends with Riley and sharing her space with her. But the question is: Will Riley want to stay indoors? I’ve known cats who have lived their lives outdoors and they are absolutely unhappy being indoors.
Let’s see now…Cow, Bunny, Pole, Cleo, Indy and Tiger were all CNRM-cats in our old neighbourhood, but they adjusted to living indoors after we moved here. Joanie (the one rescued with obstructed labour and saved) escaped from our house and refused to be indoors. Wolf, although born in our house, finally ran away from home and was never seen again. Both in our old neighbourhood.
Over here where we now live, Daffodil, Rosie, Ginger, Heidi, Vincent, Mr Zurik, Bosco, Timmy were all initially CNRM-cats until the neighbours complained too much and I had to confine them indoors. But Timmy ran away from home too (he did not like Mr Zurik) and was only sighted once a few months later. Raven came as a kitten and confidently entered Bunny’s Place on her own. She was even smaller than Riley now. Yet, she wanted to be indoors (Raven was adopted by a friend).
So, what does Riley prefer? I don’t know. Will it be safe to let her be a CNRM-cat if she is not happy being indoors? I have neighbours who have announced that (1) they do not like animals roaming freely outside and (2) she simply does not like animals.
But Riley is a small-sized cat. Will she be able to defend herself if there are fights? But being small also has its plus points, she can hide easily.
Daffodil was a very small-sized cat too. The previous feeder in this neighbourhood told me that another neighbour called the council and the council came, caught Daffodil’s mum and all her children. Only Daffodil escaped. This was before we moved in.
In our neighbourhood chat, I’m the lone voice speaking up for the animals. Whenever someone threatens to call the council, I’m the only one appealing to them not to. This has been happening for 11 years now. I’m pleasantly surprised that recently, the one person who actually had called the council before said neutering-and-returning was a “paradigm shift” and that he did not object to it. Hmm…a good sign, I hope? Before this, I had actually told him off before, in the chatgroup for all to read.
Nowadays, I know what to write. My two friends educated me on this. They said, you cannot talk about compassion and kindness because some people actually have none of it. You must talk in their language, about how it benefits them. That was a good lesson for me. Some people only listen when they know there’s something in it for them. WIIFM – What’s in it for me? If they have something to gain, they might listen. If not, they will tell you to go fly a kite.
Three types of food for you, Ms Riley.
Riley: Semua tak mahu!!
I want to go out!!
Progress!
Since Riley has not used the litter box, I left a basin of soil/dirt for her in the bathroom.
This is taken from the same flowerpot where I scooped her faeces that day. So, hopefully, she will be attracted by her own scent.
By chankahyein, on Friday, December 2nd, 2022 10:53 am
Poo spots!!
Yes, Rey has snatched poo spots from the Super Seniors.
First, he took Cleo’s poo spot on the sandpit. The sandpit is so long, why must he take Cleo’s spot? Remember Rey has been antagonising Cleo? Maybe this is part of his project to antagonise her further? So she took Cleo’s spot, and Cleo had to find another spot. Cleo took one of Bunny’s many spots. That is why I had been finding small stools at Bunny’s spot which I know for sure isn’t Bunny’s based on the diameter.
And as you know, I have to monitor Bunny’s stools daily, so this complicated things for me.
After Cleo took one of Bunny’s spot, Bunny had to find a new spot, so he went for Cow’s spot. Oh dear…again, I had to be very discerning by looking for the diameter of the faeces to know which is Bunny’s.
Next, what did Rey do? He took Indy’s poo spot!
Why, oh why?
So suddenly I found big stools (Rey’s stools are really big, can be mistaken for Bunny’s but now I’m sort of a poo analyst…I can tell the difference from the size and texture!) at Indy’s spot. Hmm…Indy does not produce big poop, I know.
So mischievous Rey stole Indy’s poo spot!
Now, I have to go hunting for Bunny’s new poo spots. But I found it today and there was a really nice long poo from Bunny Bun Buns!!
Rey eating Ginger’s food.
Cow Mau
Cleo
Indy
Bunny Bun Buns
The Minnie and her boys coming over daily to eat grass. In the foreground is Minnie and way at the back is Smurfy.
By chankahyein, on Friday, December 2nd, 2022 9:23 am
According to Mr Lu, the vet only did half the surgery yesterday as the “growth” was way too big and not all could be removed. Kinta Dog is recuperated at the vet’s now and the next surgery will be done next week to remove all of it.
I’m sorry if the information above is not 100% factually accurate, but that’s what I gather from what Mr Lu said, using Google Translate.
By chankahyein, on Thursday, December 1st, 2022 8:18 pm
Riley did not eat all afternoon. But by evening, I took down her un-eaten food and replaced it with fresh canned food (Back2Nature) and when I went up to check – it was finished!!! That’s three-quarters of a can.
Then I replenished it with another whole can.
Riley has come out of the carrier and is hiding behind the mirror. She finished the whole bowl here and I’ve just replenished it.
She later moved here.
And here, into the tunnel. Lots of hiding places to explore for Riley!
Riley allows me to touch her with my whole hand now. No more shying away or hissing. Or biting!
In fact, this afternoon, she was blinking at me. That’s a sign of affection. So I blinked back.
By chankahyein, on Thursday, December 1st, 2022 5:16 pm
For those who are new to the blog, a young lady from Ipoh sought our help to rescue a female dog with visible TVT. We enlisted the help of friends who contacted Persatuan Pencinta Haiwan Kinta Perak. This group did the rescue over 3 days and the dog is under their care now. We have named the dog, for easy reference, Kinta Dog. We also immediately raised funds on the day of the successful capture and transferred RM600 to the group to help with the surgery and treatment of the dog.
Today, the person in charge of the rescue, Mr Lu, updated me on Kinta Dog. They took Kinta Dog to the vet and it is not TVT but a prolapsed uterus. Surgery will be done today and of course, Kinta Dog will be neutered.
Mr Lu says the plan would be to return Kinta Dog to her colony, which is the marketplace where she is fed by a stall owner. Kinta Dog will be ear-notched, micro-chipped and also given the red collar which is what Ipoh groups do. We recently read that there have been grave concerns about this red collar: https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2022/11/09/collars-for-neutered-and-released-strays-spark-debate-in-ipoh. Some dogs with the red collar have been found in dire straits, being choked the death or entangled. The choking to death is because the dog grows in size. We are really very concerned about this.
I asked what was the purpose of the red collar if the ear is already notched for identification. Mr Lu explained that in Ipoh, if a red-collared dog is caught by the council, the people in charge of the dog can claim the dog back from the council. I truly wonder why the red collar is needed if the dog is already ear-notched.
So I discussed with Mr Lu. Mr Lu says for their own TNR-dogs, they can approach the dogs easily and can therefore adjust the red collar accordingly. Choking will not occur. They also feed their TNR-dogs daily and they monitor the dogs.
Mr Lu said that Kinta Dog was very fierce and defensive on the first day she was caught. But by today, she has mellowed a little. He is not sure if Kinta Dog’s feeder can approach her, but he knows the feeder feeds her. I suggested that perhaps Kinta Dog does not need the red collar. After all, even with the red collar, the dog will still be caught. Can’t the council identify neutered dogs from the ear notch? Collars are a hazard, especially for free-roaming dogs.
But let’s get her procedure done first. If the procedure costs more than RM600, we will fundraise for her.
I updated the young lady who shouted for help for the dog on the day of the rescue but have not heard from her since.
By chankahyein, on Thursday, December 1st, 2022 4:48 pm
The vet’s is fully booked until next Tuesday for surgeries. So I made an appointment for a check-up and if Riley is not old enough to be neutered, perhaps we could deworm and vaccinate her first.
Getting Riley into the carrier was quite a challenge. She was quite happy hiding under the side table beside the patio door. From the time we “captured” her, she refused to eat. I offered all kinds of food, but I think she only ate some canned food (not sure), but the kibbles were untouched. She normally has a fantastic appetite and can down two cans of food at one seating.
Here.
She ran off from here to another side table, but I managed to scruff her (wearing gloves this time!) and put her into the carrier. She struggled in the carrier from the house to the car. I was quite worried if she would still struggle when we reached the vet’s as I sometimes have to park quite far away. Thankfully, I got a nearby parking bay. Throughout the car trip, Riley did not make a sound.
I carried the carrier out from the car to the clinic without any issues.
At the examination room, pandemonium broke out. Riley rushed out of the carrier and went berserk inside the room for a good 10-15 minutes. She went totally crazy. Poor thing. There’s just too much excitement and anxiety for the day, I know, but I also have some time constraint so I needed to get this done when I could. Husband was home looking after Jayden (who happened to be ill and we had just taken him to the paediatrician’s this morning).
From Riley’s size, the vet thought she was only 3 months old, but if there is an urgency, she can be neutered. I asked if there were any risks and dangers, neutering at this young age, and the vet said there were none except maybe in the suturing (which may be a bit difficult). So I said if there was even the slightest risk, I would want to wait until she is older. We can keep her in the house; we have space (but will she be happy, I don’t know).
The senior vet passed by and peeped in to see. One look at Riley and she said Riley can definitely be neutered. The vet would still have to check her teeth to determine her age. It was very challenging catching Riley and holding her down as she was in panic mode in the examination room. Finally, the vet managed to catch her with a towel and she held her to calm her down.
Upon checking her teeth, Riley already has her adult canines (80% out) so Riley is actually already MORE than 5 months old!! From her size, this is totally and completely unexpected. The vet said Riley is a small-sized cat…but incredibly cute. She is also definitely feral, very alert and smart. The alert and smart part – I totally concur.
The vet said I could board Riley at the clinic and if they have a slot, they would slot her in for neutering. Or I could get Riley vaccinated first, wait 1-2 weeks (preferably 2 weeks) before getting her neutered.
I decided to get Riley dewormed and vaccinated first. Since she is so small in size, it might be better for her to grow a bit bigger in 2 weeks for the procedure. I also wanted Riley tested for FIV/FeLV. Riley weighed 1.8kg today.
So Riley was dewormed, vaccinated and the vet also gave her Gabapentin to calm her nerves. Blood was taken for the test and I requested for a PCV check as well. The vet also managed to give her Advocate spot-on for defleaing.
The check-up took almost an hour because so much time was spent trying to catch her in the room and calming her down. We went home after that (no issue in the car) and the vet later texted over the results.
Riley is FIV/FeLV negative. Yay! Her blood PCV is 39%, which is good enough, especially for a street kitten. An ear-prick blood test at the clinic also showed that her white blood cells are really good, platelets are good, everything was good. Her heart and lungs are all good as well.
So the plan now is to rehabilitate Riley for 2 weeks before the neutering procedure. I’ve already checked the upstairs room thoroughly and there are no escape routes. It should be fool-proof because Minnie and her boys were quarantined in both rooms when they first came back.
Jayden trying to get Riley out of the carrier in the upstairs room.
She refused to come out of the carrier and is refusing to eat too. Her last meal was at 7am this morning. Maybe she ate some canned food after that too.
Her favourite Cindy’s tuna with seabream. Tak mahu jugak. Mogok lapar.
I hope she will settle in soon. Another option is to bring in Ginger’s cage (his sick bay) into the living room and put Riley in it. We shall play it by ear.
Tabs keeping vigil outside the room. Aww… I hope Riley and Tabs can be best friends. After all, Tabs has no friends.
Fact: The vet told me that cats can mate at as young as 3.5 months! Wow…
Fact: Cats are recommended to take the FIV/FeLV test at 6 months and again at 1 year. Some can test negative at 6 months but positive at 1 year even though the cat is not exposed to any other FIV/FeLV cats. Younger cats have more receptors for the virus and are more susceptible to it. Older cats are not as easily infected.
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