Baggy's home with me now

I went to the clinic to meet up with Mr Teh and Baggy.

 Baggy!!

 Hi Baggy!

Of course she couldn't remember me, it's been 5-6 months now and she was just a baby then.

It was our turn at the vet's.

 I had brought Pole along because she had been coughing a bit. Baggy was scared of Pole, so the vet put Pole in the far corner, and Baggy was calmer.

The vet took a very detailed history of what had happened to Baloo. Unfortunately, the post mortem was not done, so we will never know what was the cause of death. I had suggested it to Andy twice, and yesterday, our vet also offered to do it. The purpose is to safeguard Baggy, just in case it was due to something infectious.

We took a long time giving as many details as we (Mr Teh and I) knew about Baloo's case so that the vet could do as accurate as possible a differential diagnosis. Again, this is all for Baggy's sake.

The possibilities of what could have happened with Baloo are endless because we do not have the information from the post mortem. Baloo's remains have already been cremated.

However, there were a few possibilities that Baloo's vet might not have mentioned (or rather, whatever I knew was based on whatever Andy told me because I was not there at Baloo's vet's clinic).

The vet had found blood in Baloo's lungs, and if it is so, the closest possibility would be an injury. However, poisoning can also cause bleeding. And this may be ingesting any form of rat poison or chemical, including aspirin. Mr Teh says they do not use any rat poison but there is termite control in the office, but not in the Blueys' room.

Bleeding due to an injury normally stops (heals itself) within 24-48 hours, so the fact that Baloo's did not remains very mysterious.

Baloo also had fever, which indicates the presence of an infection.

The blood may not have been blood per se, but bloody pus. Sometimes bloody pus could be mistaken for blood. If it was indeed pus, it could have been an infection. We would not know what infection it was.

A possibility is there could have been an abscess which burst, and this caused the infection and bleeding.

The possibilities are endless. We will never know.

However, the probability of an infectious disease is not very high.

The vet then examined Baggy and her colour is nice and pink, which is good. However, her temperature was 39.8 degrees, which is a low grade fever.

Based on the presence of the fever, the vet did not rule out FIP.

Baggy's breathing while at the vet's was very erratic as well. But this could be due to stress and being tensed. After all, the poor girl has been through so much - from missing her sister, to the journey and being in a strange clinic, etc. It is just too much for a cat.

What I need to do would be:

1. To monitor her breathing pattern and to count her heartbeat.

2. To take her temperature and monitor her fever.

There is no medication now except Vetri DMG.

Tests could be done, but these are not necessary yet. It is best to let her settle down and monitor her condition for the next few days.

The vet said ideally the quarantine period of any new animal in a household is 30 days. That seems so long! Well, 14 days then, at least.

 It was Pole's turn now, but not before we chloroxed our arms and the examination table.

Pole's problem could be hairball, so a hairball paste should do the trick.

I drove home with Pole, and Mr Teh drove Baggy over to my house.

 I understand this is all too much for her now, but we don't really have a choice.

 Bobby came to "see". Baggy did not hiss at him. I don't know if she remembers Uncle Bobby.

 



 

 Mr Teh brought along her favourite fishpad. That's from me, when they were adopted. And also a blanket which had gone with them when they were adopted.

 



 

 My vet said it is actually alright to put her in a cage in Bunny's Place, as long as she is confined in a cage, but I thought I'd better wheel the cage out to the dining room for now.

 She preferred to stay inside her carrier. It's something familiar. We'll let her be.

She didn't want to eat wetfood or the dryfood that Mr Teh had brought along.

It's going to take time. This is a new environment for her.

 The cats were curious.

 Tabs sneaked out but we had to put her back.

Not yet, Tabs.

It's been an hour now and Baggy is still sitting inside the carrier. If she feels more comfortable there, we'll let her be there, but we'll probably take her upstairs with us tonight.

I bathed and chloroxed myself before going in to feed the cats.

I know all this is too much to take in for a little cat, especially when you cannot explain to her why there are suddenly so many changes in her life. But Andy does not think the office is a suitable place for Baggy; she would be alone at night without a companion. Andy and Emily are going away for a month and Mr Teh is joining them later. Baggy has a fever now and she needs to be monitored.

I hope and pray Baggy is fine and there is no infectious disease.

Please keep Baggy in your prayers too.

Thank you.