Mallow's babies

Last end September, Mallows went missing. We looked all over but could not find her. Then after 2 days she came home with bite marks on her nape. Sure enough, she showed signs of pregnancy after a few weeks. Last October 2, she gave birth to 4 kittens. Her water broke a few days before. She started giving birth in the early morning hours. My brother and I were there to see to her comfort, sooth her and cut the cords, remove them from the birth sacs and keep the kittens warm. It seemed that she was new to this birthing business. The last kitten was breech but after a few tries and persuasion she was able to push him out.
We named them Mochi, Uni, Jelly Bean and Chili. They are nearly 1kg each now but still run to Mommy Mallows when they want to nurse. She is such a good Mom to them. Some afternoons, I would see them playing with their Mom or Mallows cleaning them. And Mallows was never aggressive with us nor with the other cats. Good work Mallows!

The Ones Who Started It All

These are my two "senior citizens", Bitty and Peanut Butter. Bitty's 9 years old and Peanut is turning 8 this December. I remember the days I first saw them vividly. Just like humans, we have to be extra conscious of their needs. As it is, they have special needs at present that we attend to.

Bitty was born without sight, his eyes are like two black buttons, which make him look like a teddy bear. He has also been diagnosed to have the beginnings of arthritis, although, thankfully, he has not shown any indication that it is bothering him. I try to encourage him to exercise as his activity consists mainly of sleeping. I have scratch marks and bite marks on my hand from our play yesterday. It's a treat to watch him play. We watch his diet and he weighs around 3.5kg which his veterinarian said is okay for him.



Peanut Butter is very sensitive to certain types of food and food brands. He develops skin rashes when he ingests these, he has sores which looks to be very itchy and uncomfortable. His favorite activity is also sleeping and he is a whopping 5.5kg.

From these two lovely boys, they are now 15 in total. And we have learned from these two on how to care for them and the differences in their behaviors and characteristics. And we are still learning now on how to properly care for them in these prime years. As I am writing this, I am stranded in the office while they are home with my family. It is raining hard and flood waters have entered our house. I miss them and pray that everyone and everything will be alright.

Mallows needs to get shaved again

I'll be bringing Mallows to the vet this afternoon. I felt bumps on her back and underarms when we were playing the other day. It's difficult to clean these spots with Betadine because of all the fur. I've asked her vet to shave her and so Mallows has an appointment this afternoon.

When I bring her out of the cage, she runs after me, she looks so funny because of the collar. When the car is in the garage I usually bump my back or head on the side mirror when she chases me, ouch!

Update on Mallows

I'm happy to say that Mallows is doing well and her mange has disappeared. She is a beautiful cat, her fur is so soft and her pretty face has emerged. She is so sweet and good natured. Last week I found a wound on her left cheek from her scratching. Then other wounds started showing up and paranoid as I am, I thought the mange had returned. After her check up, it appears she has fungus. They had to shave the affected areas and put medication. She just sat there for around 30 minutes as she was being shaved, good girl that she is. At least, it's not as bad as mange. I put Betadine on the shaved areas everyday and the wounds have dried up. She's also wearing a collar, we got a pink one for her so that she won't scratch and open the wounds again. Medication time is also playtime so she gets to roll around and be a norml cat. She's still segregated until she's completely healed. Then she'll get her shots and I can finally bring her in with the others. When she goes out of her cage, she crawls around first, I just bet she'd like to take off the collar. I hope to place pictures of her next time. The first doctor who saw her didn't recognize her anymore.

Coming home

It's true that pets help relieve stress. After a long day at work, especially if I'm really tired or upset, I just see my cats and I feel so much better. They would race each other to the door to get attention. I would hug them tight and leave my worries out the door.

Milkshake

Milkshake was left at the back of a pickup under the noon sun. Good thing she had strong lungs as I heard her several cars away as soon as I got down from mine. I kept looking for where the sound came from. I couldn't believe anyone would have left her there. I was about to have lunch and couldn't bring her inside the establishment. I couldn't eat, all I could think about was that she was in a parking lot. When I came out, she came running to me. Good thing too that I have a lot of shoe boxes in the car. I placed a lot of holes on one and placed her inside.

Milkshake is the type of cat you don't scold, she tends to hold it against you. She's also one of my kitties who sleeps in my room. Milky loves to play but she doesn't like strangers.

She's in my room right now with Bitty and Dumpling. When I checked on them earlier, they were all sleeping on top of the bed. Thank goodness for double beds.

One big happy family

This is Oatmeal, who I call O.T. for short. She used to be so aloof but when we moved to a bigger house she seemed to be more comfortable and came out of her shell. She follows me wherever I go and seeks constant attention.

Her mother's name is Rainbow, she's a feral cat who came around the house every mealtime. She was very wary of humans. After some time, she began to trust us. We could pat her head and touch her. She became pregnant and gave birth somewhere only she knew. One night she came to the house carrying a little black and white kitten. She laid the little furball on our doorstep. So I said Oookay, I'll take care of your baby. I brought her kitten to the vet to check her overall condition. When we got back, there was another kitten by the door. A few hours later, there was another one. When morning came there were four of them. Since they were so small, we put them in a big cage so they wouldn't go to the garage. At this time, we were sharing a common garage and it was not safe for them. Rainbow would come by the house during mealtimes, she would eat and then she would go to the opening of the cage prompting us to open it and she would go in to nurse her babies. After some time, she would meow to be let out. This became our routine. The neighbors later told us that they saw her climbing the gate carrying a kitten at a time. Up to now it still amazes me how trusting she was.

I was planning to have her spayed but since she was still nursing, I waited for awhile. I was too late, she became pregnant again. This time she gave birth at our doorstep. I was doing my reports and going outside to check her progress. She gave birth to 5 kittens. This time, we helped her nurse. I would feed her babies with a syringe. She would also ask for some milk and then she would climb up my lap and nurse her babies there. I had her second batch of kittens adopted except for one. After that she was spayed. When we moved to a different house, though still near the former one, I couldn't find her. She must have been spooked with all the moving of the furniture. I never found her. Sometimes I would drive by our old house but still no sign of her.

5 of her kittens are now my babies, they are Munchkin, Kahlua, Creampuff, Maki and of course Oatmeal. Oatmeal reminds me so much of her, she looks so much like her mom.

Mallows

Finally, after 2 weeks, we've decided on the name Mallows for the cat who has mange. We went to our regular vet last Saturday for her second shot of the Iver medication. She's improved a lot, not too much encrustation on her ears and face anymore. I've also learned something new, our vet recommended virgin coconut oil for her skin as it suffocates the mites. She's been on it for 3 days now.

She is so sweet, she didn't make a fuss the whole time we were at the clinic. Gummy Bear, my 2 month old kitten, on the other hand is another story...

Snickers

It was Snickers' birthday last February 14. He was supposed to be 2 years old. He was a brown tabby, very fat before he got sick. He looked like Garfield. I still miss him....

Mangy Cat

I remember watching cartoons and hearing the villain mutter that his sidekick pet is a mangy mutt. I didn't understand what he meant then. And I never thought how serious a condition this can be until now.

We had a visitor last week, it's a female cat, not exactly a kitten but still very young. She was very hungry and stayed in the garage, she would only leave when she needed to poop and pee. At first glance, her poor condition was very noticeable. Her face and especially her ears were crusted and her eyes were barely open. She was still sweet, though. I didn't touch her face because I didn't know if the skin condition was contagious. Last Saturday I brought her to the vet. She looked so uncomfortable. I would see my cats, all healthy and happy and then I would see her outside, so miserable.

As soon as the vet saw her, she knew it was mange. It's a skin condition caused by mites burrowing in the skin. It's also very contagious. The vet didn't even want to touch her. She also told me a lot of things about stray cats, which were negative. I know she meant well but still...
Anyway, my cat was given an injection of Ivermectin. She has to take these shots once a week for several weeks until she's mange free. She was also prescribed antibiotics and ear drops. I also need to put iodine on her affected areas everyday. After her treatment of mange, we'll see if she has any other ailments that need to be treated.

I keep her separated outside. Last Sunday I got gloves, disinfectants, alcohol and Betadine. It's a lot of work. After putting her medication in the morning and at night I scrub myself to make sure we don't get it. I've been getting paranoid, when I feel itchy I start suspecting that it might be mange. I've been reading a lot about the condition and I found somewhere that if left untreated it could be fatal.

It's been only a week but we can see the improvement in her skin. She's also very active now and eats regularly. Her eyes look better too. And even if I keep putting medication and eardrops on her, she has not hissed or scratched or tried to bite me. We're still thinking of a name which would suit her. Tomorrow I'm bringing her to our regular vet. I have to come up with a name by then, her records say her name's still to be determined.

Bitty

I have to admit, of all my cats, I spoil Bitty the most. A friend told me that they had a blind stray kitten. When I saw him, I felt so sorry for him, he was a scrawny, tiny thing who couldn't keep up with his mother. That was more than 8 years ago.

I didn't know much about caring for cats then, let alone one with a disability. I didn't even know what ear mites were. We had to get a litter box, pooper scooper, the right type of litter. I also got him a cat bed but he likes my bed better. Then there was the right type of food, the shots he had to take, the vitamins.... I was also scared to leave him alone because he might fall or hurt himself.

But he was able to adjust quickly. Funny thing about Bitty is that he only seems to favor me. He doesn't like other family members to carry or touch him. He sleeps only in my room and seems to like only me. We have a ritual in the morning. After he eats (his food is brought to our room), I bring him downstairs to use the litter box. When I talk to him, he answers back and at night he doesn't like me making any noise when he's sleeping. That's Bitty for you, my spoiled little brat.

Allow me to introduce....

Cats fascinate me. No matter, the shape, size, color and temperament - I find them all amazing.

Since I was a child, I have always been drawn to them, but when Bitty came into my life, my life changed as well. You see, he is the first cat I am fully responsible for. Now, I am taking care of 14 cats, and a dog (who thinks she's a cat as well!). I have also lost some beloved felines who have succumbed to illness. I have always carried them in my heart to keep their memories alive.

I will introduce you to all the kitties and dog, of course, who have made stressful days bearable, who are funny companions, and who just make life more interesting.