After the passing of Elma last month, the house became very quiet and different. There’s no pet to welcome me home when I get off work, there’s no cat to lie on my feet as I nap on the couch, there’s no cat mewing as early as 7am to wake me up in the mornings….
But all things change 3 weeks ago, first week September, a neighbour, Janet decided to drop off two sick orphaned kittens at our house. Both the kittens were sickly and having flu, we took some time but after a while decided to keep them.
The kittens were probably only 2-3 weeks old, so they were a bit too young to be separated from the mother, but apparently the mother had abandoned them since they were sick. Butter was an old white kitten with tinge of orange. For 2 weeks, Butter depended on KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement) and won’t eat anything else. Eventually, Butter became too sick and passed away at the vet. It happened too fast, one moment she was able to run around and play, one moment her body just gave way. Butter was buried on 20 Sept near to Elma’s grave.
Then there is Cocoa, who’s alive and healthy today. It took efforts to keep it alive. From provinding it specific kinds of foods to getting a cat litter box for odor control, we had done it all. Before Butter’s demise, Cocoa also visited the vet, got herself dewormed and is now taking flu medicine and antibiotics. Her eyes which was infected had completely healed. Cocoa is an extremely active and playful kitten and constantly keeps fidgeting with the small aquariums for fish which I got a couple of weeks ago….nothing and no one can keep up with her. Right now, she is 80% independent and we let her run around the house freely day and night. She’s potty trained, she knows how to wait for us to come back in order to go to the toilet in the garden…her toilet that is…She has not messed up the house so far.
Cocoa still thinks of human hands as toys and tend to scratch and bite, this is something I’m still training her with in order she won’t bite people when she’s big with sharp teeth!
aiyo… so sad to hear about butter. just when we thought they’ll do well with someone taking care of them.
on another note, i’ve heard that cat furs can cause babies to get asthma. i’m not sure how true this is so maybe you could confirm it before baby comes out and take some measures for precaution?
dun worry girl..cat furs causing asthma in babies is a myth to some extent. .. asthma is more caused by allergies, those already with it and allergic to cats, not the fur but the protein from the fur, may seem to have asthmatic symptoms when exposed.
however, other environmental factors that trigger allergic reactions in humans already with asthma includes smoking, dust mites(the primary allergen), animal dander (pets), mold, coakroaches, pollen, food allergies, and fossil fuels. Studies say: Cats harbor significant allergens, which can even be carried on clothing; dogs usually cause fewer problems. People with asthma who already have pets and are not allergic to them probably have a low risk for developing such allergies later on. When children are exposed to more than one dog or cat during their first year, they have a much lower risk for allergies and asthma.
http://www.tulsa-animalshelter.org/tips/cats%20and%20infants.htm