Cats who teach me to fly…

Rescuing work is just like an addiction. It’s hard to give up because it involves lives and a compassionate heart. When your heart is deeply rooted with compassion, it’s hard to walk away from those who really are in need of help. And why should we stop? It makes no sense to me. I always tell Mel, not to worry about us not being able to stop rescuing. We definitely would one day when our body give way. So why the worry! 

We have spent more this year on both our home cats and the community cats. Miracle’s nose was bleeding and we had to send her for CT scan and it cost us more than 3k. There is nothing cancerous on her nose. Everyone thought it was… we are still looking for ways to help her.

I think Miracle is cute! Her temperament has improved a lot. She is so much friendlier now.

Next Bluz! He had an urinary tract infection. We sent him to Pets Avenue clinic and the vet suggested that we cut his penis. We had to send him to Dr Thatm for a second opinion. Dr Tharm removed the stones from his bladder and all is fine with him now.

It happened in May this year and at the same time, we brought a community cat we named him, Big Foot, with Bluz to Pet Avenue clinic too. Big Foot was a newly abandoned cat and he was all so skinny and we really had to see what’s wrong with him. 

Big Foot. Photo taken on May this year.

Above photo taken yesterday. 

I remember we brought him home during Hari Raya. Vet at Pets Avenue clinic said that he has early stage of lymphoma and he will have only a few months to live. So I decided to bring him home and give him his final months and now he booms! Into a fat cat! 

Snowy, our community cat at Whampoa went missing for three days and returned with a broken arm. We had her arm fixed with a pin in it and a few days after the surgery, out of nowhere Snowy’s red blood count dropped and was diagnosed with IMHA. However, she pull through. Her surgery was done on 31 July.  Dr Tharm did the surgery. And this was when the vet and client relationship started to strained I guess. 

I visited Snowy at the clinic everyday. I was so eager to return her life back. In my mind, it was like…. if only I did not fix her arm, all these wouldn’t have bappened…. She is home with us now and she is very fierce! She had a good amount of boiled fish in the evening. 

After Snowy, Miracle was next to be admitted to Island Vet. Guess the ‘relationship” strained further and it got worsen when i sent Citta to Dr Tharm…

Citta… my little Buddha Boy, like Miemi, I wouldn’t want to forget. If only just one vet would ask and understand why I think and feel Citta can survive and have a good long life, perhaps, Citta would have been still alive. Because no vet bother to listen and ask but only choose to believe in themselves, in their dead science, in what they see, there was absolutely no vet, not even Dr Tharm I can bring Citta to when he was feeling unwell… 

A total of 1166 candles were lighted up for him… and still lighting..

Citta had a little gathering with Cashie, Monnie and Dhalia.

Xinfu was our last rescued in 2017. It happened two weeks ago. He was trapped in a public storeroom for three weeks without food and water.

He was blind and had three seizures when we brought him to Island Vet. He got better with drips and medication and we found him a good fosterer. He is well taken care of.

The happiest thing that happened in 2017 was we got eight kittens adopted to good homes. That include Citta’s siblings.

And Bunny from Sembawang.

Ruby and Crystal.

Beside the cats. Mel and i met an accident and i had to scrap the vehicle as it was too expensive to repair. Luckily no cats was involved in the accident, I doubt the cats will survive. 

We consider ourselves lucky to survive. It’s a turning point for me in my career. I am all looking forward to the change I am going to make in 2018. First thing first is to meditate and practise the dharma everyday cos I am preparing myself to the pure land for the benefit of others…. For Miemi, for Citta…for the people in my feeding area…for all sentient beings…and for myself!

“Have I not taught you aforetime, Ananda, that it is the nature of all things near and dear to us that we must suffer separation from them, and be severed from them? Of that which is born, come to being, put together, and so is subject to dissolution, how should it be said that it should not depart? That, indeed, is not possible….”

(Buddha’s teaching when Shariputra or our loved one passes away)