Day after day, no matter how I begged her feeders to bring her home, no one wanted to.
According to the residents, Huabao was at least 15 years old. She kept getting thinner and thinner, and this told me that her days were numbered. I tried so hard to persuade the feeders to let her retire at home.
Every day after feeding the cats past midnight, I often saw Huabao sleeping at the roundabout where drivers would stop to pick up or drop off passengers. Huabao was not easily spotted because the lights were dim, and she was a tortoiseshell. I had to go to her and shoo her away to a safer place to sleep. Despite informing the feeders, no one wanted to take her in.
Based on Huabao’s condition, it was too dangerous for her to live on the streets. Quietly, I took her home without telling anyone. Nobody cared about her anyway.
The reason I took her home was to give her a roof over her head. She no longer had to wait for her meals or sleep on the cold, hard floor. She had clean filtered water to drink every day, free flow of kibbles, and three servings of wet food a day. Probiotics were often added to her gravy dish. I hoped she could pass on comfortably.
She was skinny when I took her home, and I was prepared for the fact that she could go at any time. She ate and slept well, and she would get angry when other cats came near her, which often made me laugh. Since the cats knew her habits, they avoided going near her. Sometimes, Huabao would relax in the center of the room. I placed a soft carpet for her to sleep on and set up a water fountain and food nearby so she didn’t have to walk far. She was old, and her legs were weak.
On the 1st of October, I saw her lying on the floor gasping for air. I took her to VES and she was diagnosed with heart disease. Her heart was three times larger than a normal heart.
Her lungs were filled with fluid, and the vet could hardly feel any pulse in her hind legs. Her blood pressure was low. Even when she was stabilized, her breathing was deep and labored. She rested in an oxygen chamber. Her prognosis was poor.
We were forced to make a decision, either to put her to sleep or bring her home. I knew that if I brought her home, she would be gasping for air again. I discussed it with Mel, and she took a half-day leave to visit her. We hated having to make such a decision, but if we didn’t, Huabao would have continued to suffer. If the residents were right about her age, she should have been 16 years old by now. I really didn’t want to see her struggling for breath.
We sent her for cremation the next day.
Someone made offerings to their ancestors, one day and Huabao took advantage of it. I liked watching the way she ate.
At first, I didn’t want anyone to know, but today I learned about another sick and old cat, also cared for by the same feeders, who refused to give him a home. They preferred the cat to keep roaming. This reassured me that I had done the right thing by bringing Huabao home. No one cared for her anyway.
This group of feeders has no experience in caring for cats. They didn’t know that a cat with kidney disease requires subcutaneous fluids. They didn’t know that chronic kidney disease can cause vomiting and even a low red blood count. Worse still, they didn’t even know that an aged cat may have lost its reflexes, have poor eyesight, and weak bones. They can’t defend themselves!”
If they don’t see me as a good rescuer, I hope they can find someone who is experienced and patient, someone who will not give up easily. I hope the cat will not have to hide in the drain and die.
I am glad that Huabao didn’t have to go through that. I am proud to have been her caregiver!
Thank you, Melanie, for supporting Huabao in every way!
May the merits accumulated be dedicated to Huabao’s favourable rebirth.
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