Trust betrayed

I went to town for a free student haircut with a fellow caregiver today… to relax and be pampered for 2 hours…or so I thought. Ended up spending the whole time on the phone…my friend had to give the instructions on what to do with my hair because I was more concerned about getting a cat back from AVA.

A few days ago another caregiver IK had messaged me that the town council said there were complaints about caterwauling and too many cats at the bin center of this area: http://meowies.multiply.com/journal/item/299/A_bad_estate

She checked the area and agreed to sterilise the cats after one of the feeders (the owner of the hairdressing salon) offered to pay for the vet fees. She sent an email to inform TC.

Today IK smsed that the pest control came this morning. Luckily the hairdresser had noticed and managed to get the cat released. The caregiver called her property officer, who denied having called in the pest control ! Saying that they are only trying to trap one black cat which defecates on the common corridor.

AVA confirmed that they had an unsterilised cat from that area. The cat was caught by the TC’s Pest Control service yesterday.

I advised IK to go down to AVA… I had learned my lesson on betrayal the hard way. Penny also went down to assist and support… while I spoke to the property manager, who first told me the same story about trying to trap only that particular black cat until I confronted him with the fact that the trapped non-black cat is at AVA right now. Then he said there was a complaint and he had to be fair. Okay, so the complainant (who sent some emails without even giving his address to tc) is promptly served. The caregiver, also a resident of that area, is not even told the truth that the cats are being trapped.. Is that a way to treat people who spent much time and money to control the cat population in a humane way. When I requested for a letter to be sent to AVA the TC manager even suggested “to let this one go”. I said ” No Way!” IK said the same thing when I told her.

In the end the cat was micro-chipped at AVA because of miscomunication between Penny and myself… I had assumed she would request for TC letter. IK had to pay $80 before the cat was handed over to her. She will get him sterilised tomorrow with the help of SPCA voucher from Penny and then release him in a safer area. She will still make arrangements to get the remaining cats sterilised.

Fern

Fern had vomited out what I syringed this morning… maybe I gave her too much. She is still dehydrated. I will have to bring her to the vet if there is no improvement soon. Had also started her on antibiotics.

Named her Fern

Will she be able to survive like this little fern on the wall?

If only the people who had done this to her could see her suffering feel her fear…

Fern has become very thin. How may times I have walked all the corridors in search for her… but still couldn’t find her… days without food.

Now she seems to have settled in one place, hiding behind flowerpots …. just too frightened to stay downstairs.

Fern still refuses to eat but she lets me syringe-feed her.

New Abandonees

The calico went again up to the 7th floor. This time she went into the flat and hid under the bed… she came out when I called her. Brought her back downstairs to the same corner and she ate some dry food… refused to eat the Fussy Cat tuna. She looks thin…

Also saw the other two abandonees again and fed them. One is a Russian Blue type probably a male as he has some scars, his eyes are watery… maybe flu. The other one is a young cat or older kitten, very pretty, large circular patterns and white paws… but malnourished. There is also a new Persian-x around… must be a home cat as he is never hungry… will be difficult to trap him for sterilisation.

Saw a tame female on my way to area 2. when I felt her tummy to see if she is pregnant or nursing kittens, I felt a broken rib… must be an old injury as there was no pain.

I have no more vouchers for this month as Penny needed my last two for two pregnant cats from an area with no caregiver, one of them suspected to be a home cat.

This Body is not me

This body is Not me

This body is not me.

I am not limited by this body.

I am life without boundaries.

I have never been born and I have never died.

Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars,

manifestations from my wondrous true mind.

Since before time, I have been free.

Birth and death are only doors through which we pass,

Sacred thresholds on our journey.

Say good-bye, to meet again soon.

We meet today.

We will meet again tomorrow.

Birth and death are a game of hide- and seek.

So laugh with me,

hold my hand,

let us say good-bye,

We will meet at the source every moment.

We meet each other in all forms of life.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Chanting and Recitations from Plum Village. Page 188.

Irresponsible owner… and more abandonings

I had arranged with the son of the Chinese family staying on the second floor to wire mesh the window facing the corridor, the mother had approved. When I came with the mesh today the father refused and threatened to throw the kitten if it causes so much trouble. In the end he allowed me to fix the mesh to the kitchen window instead.

Saw two more new abandonees …they came out to finish the left-overs after the community cats had their fill. I left some food behind for them…both are very shy.

Now listening to the Heart Sutra my mind is at peace and I breathe easily…

Champ and Charles

Trapped the two remaining kittens today, Champ seems already very comfortable while Charles is still a little nervous.

New Abandonee

Dumped at *23 Area 1. She is too scared to move and did not touch the wet food and ate only a few pieces of kibble.

She has been very recently sterilised, tipped and tattooed. Her saggy tummy and the length of the stitches suggest that she was pregnant. She also has a skin problem….

I called Penny… Yes, the pregnant cat that she brought for sterilization for the Malay family was white and with some patches and had a long tail. See here

We will pay a visit later.

Beauty unable to eat…

my first thought was ‘fish bone”. I went home to get a carrier.

Brought her to the vet this morning and 4 fish bones were removed from her throat. How much pain she must have suffered… all because of such irresponsible lazy feeders who will throw fish with bones for the cats to eat. I have put up notices at the area.

I made a mistake by letting her out on the balcony as she is usually quite friendly. Luckily Mohan was in the area and could help me get her back into the carrier this morning.

Measured one of the bones…it was 2.5cm long.

I will probably release her back tomorrow, because she does not like to be confined. The vet gave long-lasting antibiotic injections.

Injured Siamese kitten

Yesterday, night while returning home to get a carrier for Beauty, I met a Chinese lady staying at blk *22 Area 1.

She was searching for an injured kitten (limping and eye injury), which her son saw earlier at blk *21. We couldn’t’t find it.

Then today I received sms from R that she saw a sick kitten at blk *22. R mentioned that the kitten also has flu symptoms. I quickly called the Chinese lady and also went there with a carrier. She was very relieved to have finally found the kitten and will bring it to the vet.

She is also thinking of keeping it.

More pics of Chester

More pictures in Chester’s photo album

Novena Kittens

This is one of the 3 Novena Kittens, named him Chester. Lilly helped me catch this one today. I will come back for his 2 brothers on Tuesday. They have nice temperament and are pretty, all with long straight tails. This one is ginger, and there is one more ginger boy but with more stripes and the other one is black-and-white.

This little boy is still a bit scared. I lured him out of the bushes and up a tree trunk using the feather toy, then Lilly grabbed him. He put up some struggle but Lilly didn’t let go… then the travelling by bus followed by a short bicycle ride during heavy thunderstorm.

He has already used the litter-box… no training needed 🙂

I will take some better photos and then try to get them adopted.

Dawn in the basket

Dawn in her favourite place… the kitchen sink!

Orange Boy sharpening his claws.

Upgrading?

Once a beautiful little green oasis

of grass and palm trees

Now replaced by cement!

Is it “right” to kill these “stray” dogs?

http://groups.msn.com/SingaporeCats/sporenews.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=15430

Hope the Bishan cat-caregivers can take some positive action before the dogs are killed by AVA.

A few nights of shooting Supersoakers and clanging pots and pans will probably stop the killing of the cats and the dogs.

After Momo was killed I went down several nights to look for the pack of stray dogs… but I never saw them. They must have moved on.

Look for non-kill solutions. Is the live of “our” cats more precious because we have spend time and money on them? Furthermore calling for “removal” of the dogs can backfire…

Photos of Novena cats

These two cats, a young male and a young female, were sterilised on Friday.

Embrace Reality

When you deny the reality of life,

you appreciate it less.

Meditate on the Buddha’s

Five Remembrances and

rediscover the magic of life

just as it is.

Embrace Reality

I am of the nature to grow old.
There is no way to escape growing old.

I am of the nature to have ill health.
There is no way to escape ill health.

I am of the nature to die.
There is no way to escape death.

All that is dear to me and everyone I love
are of the nature to change.

There is no way to escape
being separated from them.

My actions are my only true belongings.
I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.

My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

From The Plum Village Chanting, by Thich Nhat Hanh

Cat dies one week after vaccination plus de-worming

The young and healthy cat couldn’t eat and developed weakness in the legs after the vaccination plus de-worming.

Now the other cat shows similar symptoms. This second cat “Marcus” was adopted from Penny. She and the adopter are now on the way to the vet. I was wondering if it could be poisoning, perhaps some household chemicals, but the two cats are from different, though related, families. They were vaccinated at the same clinic.

The Truth Within

The Truth Within

Truth lies within ourselves.

It takes no rise from outward things

whatever you may believe.

There is an inmost center in us all

where truth abides in fullness and

to know rather consists in opening out a way

whence the imprisoned splendor may escape

than in effecting entry for light

supposed to be without.

~ Robert Browning

Enlightenment is within ourselves, everyone has it…

Part two of Novena trapping

Today I saw only the unsterilised female, the sterilised mother cat and one of her kittens.

I managed to get the female into the carrier and then waited a while but no sight of any of the other cats. One of the guards said that he saw them yesterday, and that they will come out in the evening. I also asked about the older injured male… he seems to be better.

After some time, the young ginger-white male finally appeared and I trapped him and called Damy. Both cats will be sterilised under SPCA vouchers, boarded and returned on Tuesday.

Photos of Judy and Whitie

Mother Judy (right) and daughter Whitie Girl from Area 1 Blk *30 bin center.

Loss of a loved one

From an anonymous writer

shared by MaryDrolma

You can shed tears that he is gone or

You can smile that he has lived.

You can close your eyes and pray that he comes back or

You can open your eyes and see all that he’s left

Your heart can be empty because you can’t see him or

You can be full of the love you shared

You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday or

You can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday

You can remember him and only that’s he gone or

You can cherish his memory and let it live on

You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back or

You can do what he’d want; smile, open your eyes, love and move on.

Injured cat, unsterilised home cats and another complaint to MP

Went searching for the injured cat but unsuccessfully. Feeders and cleaners in the area have been informed. It’s been many days now and the cat has still not been found.

Yesterday night the cleaner told me that his friend saw the injured cat at the playground in front of blk 220 the day before.

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/viewContent.jsp?id=17590

After the search, already close to midnight, I met with Penny to see a Malay family supposed to have 20 cats. They planned to abandon them all because of the new grandchild. We talked to them about getting the cats sterilised and Penny will help to bring the pregnant female to the vet on Monday.

The lady counted the cats while we were there and then said that she had only 8 cats. Strange that she didn’t know how many cats… we suspect that some have already been abandoned.

There was a tiny kitten with signs of flu or could it be eye irritation due to fleas? All I had with me was the antibiotic powder, so we put some on the skin sores. The kitten’s mother and some of the other cats also have skin problems… fleas and probably mites too. We told her to get the flea spray but she says she can’t afford the $30.-. She is also too busy to bring the cats for sterilization…

We were very tired and frustrated when we left… We have to do everything for her and in the end she may still throw the cats downstairs. There is no caregiver in that area so pest control will round them up..sterilised or not.

To top it off, someone complained to the MP about cats climbing on top of cars at the multi-storey car park next to the CC. The complainant was not identified !!!

Plight of abandoned & unsterilised cats

The Electric New Paper : Educate Cat Owners

9 April 2008 By Dr Tan Chek Wee

On Friday morning as I was walking towards the clinic where I work, I spotted a tiny black kitten,

small enough to sit in the palm of my hand.

It was skinny, hungry and so thirsty that it was lapping up water that flowed out from the washing of

a rubbish chute. I noticed the kitten’s inflamed backside. It was trusting enough to let me pick it up

so that I could examine its anal region.

To my horror, the anus was almost completely covered with tiny maggots!

The few cats seen regularly in the vicinity of the clinic are all sterilised, as indicated by a small surgical

cut on the tip of the left ear. This meant the kitten was almost certainly abandoned by an irresponsible

cat owner.

It would have been slowly eaten alive by the maggots, if I had not seen it then.

The kitten was subsequently handed over to a friend, who is taking it to the vet & seeing to its re-homing.

Abandoned cats and kittens often suffer terribly. I strongly appeal to all cat owners to sterilise their cats.

I suggest that the Town Councils and the Housing Development Board work with organisations such as the

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Cat Welfare Society to formulate effective grassroots

methods to bring the message of sterilisation to owners of cats.

These methods can include posters, offer of subsidised sterilisation to poor families and organisation of

‘cat parties’ to inform and educate cat owners.

Novena cats

The two sterilised female cats were returned today.

Photos courtesy of Damy

The older male who was already limping now has another injured leg…abused? I didn’t see him.today…according to the feeder he only comes out in the evening.

The other bad news is that one of the residents, a Swedish lady, complained about the cats and the guard is supposed to call AVA in 2 week times to remove the cats.. She says that she will try to get the 3 kittens adopted by her friends… she will also ask the complainant to call me. Hope I can explain to her what we are doing…and that she will retract her complaint.

Photos of Cinder

Decided to name the new cat Cinder instead of Daisy 2. She is very affectionate and has a pretty colour (light and dark grey) and long straight tail.

One of my new improved Litter Trays

Ugly human

I had boarded the MRT train at Jurong East and the train had already left the station. All seats were occupied and a few people were standing. Then I noticed that one of the corner seats was occupied by two shopping bags! The man in the seat next to it was reading the newspaper. I went up to the man and said “Excuse me!” His reply left me staring at him in disbelieve… “My wife is coming in” Then…me still standing there… he reluctantly removed his bags saying “Never mind, my wife is only coming in at Tanjong Pagar”

I have seen children rushing in and choping several seats for the whole family… but this one surely takes the cake!

Shopping for the cats at Daiso

Toys for the cats

wooden snake

The best catnip in town

Trays for the litter-boxes

Also bought “Don’t Cat” to prevent Ashley from peeing into the flowerpot

Cutting down on litter expenses

I have tried it and it works well! Now I am going to use this method for all 7 litter trays.

Here is the method:

Get 2 rectangular trays with small holes (those used for draining dishes or vegetables) and stack them up. Choose a size that fits into your litter tray. Check that there is at least a gap of about 1 cm between the bottoms of the 2 trays. Place newspaper in your litter-tray and put the 2 trays on top of it. Fill top tray with a thin layer of recycled paper pellets. The pee will flow through the gap onto the newspaper. The cats’ paws and most of the pellets will stay dry.

Will try to take photos tomorrow.

Cinder sterilised

Cinder is a new cat from Area 3 Blk *74. She has an unusual colour, a kind of greyish tortoiseshell.

Saw a new Siamese kitten at Area 1 yesterday, looks about 3 to 4 months old. Gave food and water and will look for him/her again later.

Also saw a white kitten of about the same age at Holland Close yesterday. It was eating wet-food and there was also a bowl of water. Didn’t see it today. The shopkeeper said that there were many cats…

Kidney-failure cat

Rest in Peace

He scraped the skin of his nose while in the cage…the mouth ulcers are not healing and he vomited twice today. Penny just brought him to the vet again. She has already spent over $300.- on the medical bills.

Update from Penny: Did some tests… kidney and liver okay but dehydrated, need drip.

Penny has 2 more kittens for adoption

Rest in peace Cinders

http://shellylives.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/eulogy-for-a-kitty/

http://shellylives.wordpress.com/2008/03/28/final-goodbye/

This is the sad part of being a cat-sitter… all I can do is advise and make sure windows are closed while I am there.

Dangerous Plastic Mesh

This is the kind of mesh

Rocky chased little Bumboo across the car park yesterday night and she ran right into the orange plastic mesh that was put up because of some construction work.

Bumboo disappeared screaming and trashing under a car. I pulled the mesh with the entangled cat out from under the car…and luckily she managed to free herself.

The rectangular holes in the mesh are big enough to allow the head of a smallish cat or kitten to get caught and the mesh is made of very tough plastic material.