Friday, October 11, 2013

Tabs, on the road to recovery

It's been quite a journey for Tabs this time. It was totally unexpected, though. How could an indoor pet suddenly get so, so sick? Fully vaccinated, as-good-as-it-can-get nutrition, protected, and yet our best guess now is that she contracted a viral and bacterial infection (one or both, we don't know for sure) from somewhere and had little resistance to it.

The only thing I can conclude is that she had been too well-protected. But those were her circumstances as she walked into our lives as an abandoned or lost pet (with a collar) when we were about to move house. To leave her in the old neighbourhood would have meant she would live as a stray, so we brought her along. Over here in the new house, everyone had to be confined since it was a new place and I would afraid they would run back to the old house as cats are prone to do.

In any case, Tabs is on the road to recovery now and I am truly thankful.

Her appetite has returned (though not completely, and she is not as "greedy" for food as before) and she is actively escaping from the grille again (back to her old tricks). However, she started sneezing yesterday, and I mentioned it to the vet who said she ought to be alright as she is still covered by antibiotics. This must be another secondary infection.

The vet did say Tabs is fat (as seen from the X-Ray, so there's no denying that, we saw the fat deposits) and needs to lose weight after this. Her ideal weight is 4kg and she was 4.45kg just before she got sick. Then, she went down to 4.3kg after having not eaten, went up to 4.7kg (after days of force-feeding and being on drips) and is now, about 4.5kg (as of yesterday).

We're getting there....slowly. Obesity kills, so please, please...chubby may not be good. Bunny & Tiger's weight are both down now. I'm working on Cow and Timmy. But alas....Timmy!! Timmy is a very challenging case.

Meanwhile, I have been fortifying Bunny, Tiger and Indy with Vetri DMG, just in case. Why not the rest? The rest cannot be force-fed anything without the risk of me getting scratched, bitten, going for another tetanus jab or even getting a finger amputated (that would be Cow, Pole and Cleo). I might put the liquid Vetri DMG into their food and pray they won't smell it out. They just might.

By the way, Vetri DMG can be purchased online here: www.entirelypets.com. Take a look at their prices. I have just ordered. But please find out about the company's track record before you make any purchase.

After having gone through the antibiotics (tomorrow being the last day of her injections), it's time to replenish Tabs with prebiotics and probiotics.

The vet had prescribed Gentle Digest and I'm adding this...Nutri+Gen Probiotics. I've asked and was told Korean products are reliable as they do extensive research.

But as always, our disclaimer holds. Please consult your vet before you give any supplements to your pets.

mini-PA100160

It is all natural; GMO/fat/chemical free.


Tabs loves the taste.


mini-PA100161It can serve as a multi-vitamin as well. I was interested more because it is all natural and not chemical.


mini-PA110160


She has claimed this spot and the chair as well.


The good thing is that ever since Tabs came back, no one has bullied her, not even Bunny. I guess they know when to draw the line.


mini-PA110161I'm watching out for Tabs.


Good boy, "Mandela" Tiger!


7 comments:

pooi ling said...

Dr chan, jst wondering what do you use to weight your cats? Normal weighing scale or something specifically for pets? Fyi, my dog has lost 1kg in 3 weeks by controlling his diet and supplementing him with nutrigen chitosan.

Joyce said...

Dr Chan,

Good to know that Tabs is well and he looks adorable! It could be something that he picked up when he was a stray. My cat (Snowbell) was not feeling well last month and we took her to the vet and found out that she has parasite malaria. According to the vet, she must have picked up the parasite when she was a stray. She came to us as a stray when she was only 3 months old. She is currently on antibiotics(3 weeks) and still has one more week to go. Unfortunately the parasite will stay dormant in her cells and can flare up when she is under the weather. So I am thinking of boosting her immune system, what is Vetri DMG? Also I guess I should give her some pre and probiotics once she is done with the antibiotics, where do you get the Nutri gen from?

Thanks
Joyce

kelly said...

One of my cat is quite good at detecting "pil/liquid" in her food. However, glad that the Vetri-DMG in "tablet form" has no smell and i mix it with food and she ate it. I have also purchase DMG "liquid form" but not yet use so im wondering whether liquid one does has any flavor / smell ..wawawa. Yup , thanks to a lady i met in a Subang pet shop , she also recommended website entirelypet.com.

chankahyein said...

Hi Pooi Ling, I use the clinic weighing scale, but I'm sourcing for a good home weighing scale. Anyone knows where I can buy one? Wow...good for your dog!! Congratulations on the weight loss. Bunny & Tiger lost too much in too short a time (using Chitosan); I suspect it is because they are FIV+, so I quickly stopped using it and they are now on diet control only (Hara Hachi Bu).

chankahyein said...

Hi Joyce, Tabs is a girl. Vetri DMG is an immune booster, you can get it from any vet. I got my Nutri+Gen from Subang Pet Products in SS18/6, but other shops sell it too. You can source for other probiotics for pets as well. Hope Snowball recovers soon.

chankahyein said...

Liquid Vetri has no taste, but my super-titans are super-sensitive, so it's still tricky.

Yen Ling said...

Good to know all is well now. One thing at a time, all in good time.