Preparing for Indy's homecoming

It is almost 12 midnight now. I've just cleared out most of the tshirt boxes from my room to make way for the cage for Indy tomorrow, should he be discharged from hospital.

All my packing has been put on hold because of Indy. Luckily we are not in a hurry to move.



 

Tiger blesses it first...

Tabs is curious.

Cow likes it, too.

My vet has strongly suggested that when I move, I should buy a cage and get the cats used to being inside a cage sometimes, so that if need be, they wouldn't mind being confined in a cage.  And my husband wants a cage as well, for the purpose of punishing those who misbehave! I think it would serve better as an alternative abode for them, so that they would not view it negatively. Why, they might enjoy having their private space and think of the cage as a luxury instead of being a "jailhouse".

I hope Indy can come home tomorrow. At least he would be in familiar surroundings and would be more comfortable, I hope. I can take him out to the garden for some sun as well. And his vet is just 5 minutes away, should he need anything.

While I do have confidence in western medicine and know Indy would need the help of antibiotics and other medication, I am really banking on acupuncture to bring Indy to a state of better wellbeing. I believe in holistic healing, the existence of the qi (energy) and that it is necessary for the organs to work in harmony to support each other. And of course I believe in good nutrition as well.

Dr Susanna had explained that the kidneys function as the "fire" (fuel), the spleen as the cooking pot that cooks the nutrients and this in turn produces the steam which is the qi and this steam (energy) is every being's lifeforce. If the qi is weak, the body is weak.  Currently, Indy's qi is weak and that is why he is down.

Today, I met the mother of the family with the paralysed cat (who needs to come in every month for 7 days for the catheter insertion to help with urination). She said when her cat was knocked down, the blood test showed that the cat was as good as dead, but the cat was clinically very much alive and kicking. Even the vets were completely baffled. To this, she said, though simplistically, yet profound, "It's God's will. When it is time to go, we will go. If it's not time yet, no matter what happens, we will not go."

I do agree with what she said about there being a time for everything. That is why you find sometimes, animals (or even humans) in dire states, yet they survive and pull through, and some die, almost without reason, or even when the most advanced treatment is administered, they still die. It's not up to us. My late Chief Reverend told us that lifespan is determined the moment every being is born. It's just that no one knows what it is - not the palmist, not the soothsayer, not the fortune-teller. That is why we cannot "play God" to decide who lives or who dies. We can only do our best to help the being attain a better state of wellbeing and health. We can help give every being a better quality of life every moment, but not quantity. Quantity is decided by the laws of nature or God, depending on our beliefs.

And it is due to this belief that there is a time for everything that this family (above) provides everything necessary for their cat, even if for 7 days a month, they would have to bring the cat in for the catheter insertion and at home, and the mother has to closely monitor the cat's urination and cope with his paralysis. "We have to provide whatever is necessary", she said, without even a hint of regret or complaint. "This is what we have to do and we shall do it", she said with very strong conviction.

And two rooms away from Indy, I met another lady who had come in with her German Shepherd. Her dog is only 5 years old but has lymphoma (a cancer). It was discovered one-and-a-half years ago, and she has been doing everything possible for the dog ever since, including bringing him in for chemotherapy, researching on and sourcing for the necessary supplements for him (getting them from overseas), forcefeeding him three times a day with good nutrition, etc. Again, there is absolute conviction and no hint of complaint at all from her. From all that she tells me, "giving up" is not in her vocabulary at all. It is the same, ie. "This is what we have to do and we shall do it."

It takes all kinds to make the world. While we sometimes encounter humans who are outright evil to animals, those who couldn't cared less, those who give up too easily, there is also, at the other end of the spectrum, those who would go all out to provide for the animals under their care.