Bitty Hurt His Eye

I got quite a scare a few nights ago. I was out having coffee with friends and my siblings when my Mom called to say that Bitty's eye was bleeding. Bitty is our 9 year old blind cat. We hurried home and looked at Bitty, his left eye which is protruding looked like it was deflated and there was blood. We brought him to the hospital which was, thankfully, open 24 hours. The doctor gave him antibiotics and pain relievers. He also administered topical antibiotics and medication which was deproteinized calf's blood extract to heal the wound. Bitty was so quiet throughout the whole procedure and kept on going to my side to hug me. I felt like something was squeezing my chest to look at my little boy. He may have scratched his eye. He didn't act like he was wary of the other cats.

After the hospital, we then proceeded to look for a 24 hour drugstore to buy his medication. I'm applying his topical medication twice a day. We have to wait at least 5 minutes after placing the antibiotic before applying the wound medicine so that the antibiotics will have enough time to seep into the eye. He was also prescribed a pain reliever to be taken every 12 hours.

It's a good thing we've been on holiday. Bitty has been by my side constantly and he has me all to himself.

It Must Have Been Fate, Cupcake

Last March 26, I was driving home, when I turned on a street and saw that there was heavy traffic on the usual route I took. I decided to go to the grocery first, in the hopes that traffic would have eased up by the time I went home. Sure enough the street was clear except for this familiar silhouette in the middle of the road. I drove slowly and this kitten looked up but refused to budge from where he was standing.
It looked like he was lost and was looking for something. There were creeks on both sides of the road. I took it to the side where there was a gate, thinking that he may have gone out and got scared. It went under the gate but kept crying. I went back to the car but I didn't go far and was trying to see what the kitten would do next. It ran from under the gate, onto the street to the other side to stand on a low wall where it could plunge onto the creek. Ok, enough was enough, I went out and tried to get the kitten who then decided that he wanted to play catch first. After causing a scene, I was able to get him only to realize I didn't have a carrier or box.

I kept the kitten on my lap to calm him down but he kept trying to escape and was still crying. I sang to him like I do with my babies when they are agitated - and it worked. Its head was slowly getting heavier until I could feel its even breathing. Maybe I bored the poor kitty to sleep, but it worked! We were able to get home safely. 

The kitten turned out to be a she - her name is now Cupcake. She had her first vet visit last Sunday. I was thinking of putting her up for adoption, but we'll see. One thing I am sure though, she will never live in the streets again.

The Benefits of Neutering

Gummy Bear is not the type of kitty who likes to be held. He plays rough and he bites for real. We have accepted this as his natural behavior. But when he reached about 6 months and was old enough to look for a mate, his behavior turned aggressive. We had to wait because one of his testicles had not descended.  He would pick fights with all the other cats and he sprayed everywhere. When it looked like his condition was not going to change, his vet decided to go ahead and do the operation.                                               

He has stopped spraying since then and though we still can't hug him, his behavior has mellowed. He still picks fights but he has chosen only one other cat, Dumpling, to growl and hiss at. He likes playing with the kittens and has become friendlier with his humans. When I would be petting and playing with the kitties, I would see him looking at me. Seems like he is only waiting for an invitation, because when I call him, he would come near me and wait to be petted. 

Neutering of cats also decreases the urge in males to go out and look for females. This will make them less susceptible to fights and getting run over by cars. And as responsible pet owners, we should also try not to add to the population of homeless cats if we are not willing to take care of the kittens they sire.

I Need My Therapy!

 

There are days when you wish you could divide your body or have as many arms as an octopus, there's just so much to do. Today was such a day. I found it hard to unwind even when I reached home. I just felt high strung and couldn't relax. That was until I sat on the couch to watch Animal Planet and one by one my cats Chester, Kahlua, Munchkin, Milkshake, Taffy, Chili and Honey sat beside me to watch television as well and rub their faces to be petted. They took turns on my lap and cuddled. I started to feel like my normal self again. When I went to my room after dinner, my kitten Uni raced me to the door and Bitty welcomed me inside. We rested for awhile with Uni rubbing her face on mine and made noises like a bird. 

In animal language, rubbing of faces is a sign of affection and I just wallowed in theirs. I read in an article that petting a cat is like taking valium. They sense how their humans feel and could detect if anything's different or wrong. So with 18 cats, that would mean that I don't need to go to the drugstore for a long time to come :-)

A Sign of Trust

I have read that an animal's most vulnerable area is its belly. If an animal would get on its back and show you his tummy, he shows you that he trusts you.

I find them especially cute in this position, they look like little children. I also find it very flattering that they would show an enormous amount of trust in their humans.

I encountered one of my kitties, Raffles, in the middle of a busy intersection, when she was a tiny kitten. She was causing so much traffic because the cars were trying to miss running over her. When I got her, we were both shaking, she was panting and all I could see were the whites of her eyes. She was able to relax when we got home, and started showing signs of hostility. Whenever we would greet her, she would hiss and try to escape. This went on for awhile, and slowly she was able to lower her guard and let us touch her. She's now a fat kitty who runs to us when the other cats would pick a fight with her.

A little patience and a lot of TLC really works wonders.

Our Dog Who Thinks She's A Cat

Our dog Honey, like the rest of our brood was also taken from the streets. At first, we thought we saw a rat, then we thought it was a cat. Much to our surprise, it turned out to be a dog.

Honey grew up among cats. She lives up to her name. I have never seen her growl nor has she bitten or attacked any of the cats even when they pester her. She doesn't even bark that much. She has seen several of the kitties grow up. When Mallows had her kittens, Honey would at times watch after the babies when the Mommy cat would be sleeping. She would call the attention of any human near the vicinity when any of the kittens would be too near the edge of the sofa. We found this to be quite amazing.

She's of mixed breed so we didn't know how big she would grow. She now weighs 48 lbs. She would see the cats jumping from one chair to another and one human lap to the next and she would try to imitate them. Just imagine how it feels to have a 30 lb dog coming out of nowhere and jumping up your lap.

I remember the first time I took her for a walk after she came from the hospital. I was so excited to use her new leash and collar (which took hours deciding what color would suite her and her toy bone which had to be the perfect shape and color). I saw the people on the streets whispering and then look at us. They were the same people who would kick her when she was scavenging for food. I immediately carried her and took her back inside as they might insist she was theirs because now she was looking so much better. I was not giving her up without a fight. We even looked for witnesses who saw that she was maltreated.

That was 4 years ago. Honey is now the official biggest, if not oldest, big sister to my cat family. Good thing she didn't take to using the litter box :-)

Are blind cats really more sensitive?

 

It's quite amazing that cats seem to know what day it is and expect you to do your usual routine together. My cat Bitty knows when it's time for me to go home and if I'm not there on time, he makes a loud fuss. By the time I get home, he would usually treat me like I'm not there. Sundays are our favorite time together. We wake up together, usually late in the morning. If I don't have breakfast, he won't have breakfast. But on regular days, he would wake up early and wait for his meal. And he expects me to be there with him the whole day. He follows me from room to room and when it's time for our nap, he would lead the way upstairs. But on Sundays when I have to do errands, he really gets upset. He knows when it's a workday and when it's a weekend.

Bitty is a blind kitty, maybe that's why he's a little more sensitive than our other cats. When I have to pack for a business trip, he's the first one to get in the luggage. I have to be quick because he's going to pee, naughty kitty that he is :-). Packing is a tiring business, I have to put all the clothes in and get all the cats out. When I get back, he gives me the silent treatment. But he's back to his sweet self when we retire for the night. It's hard to get up in the mornings because he would be wrapped around my arm, sleeping soundly.