Camping out with Baggy last night

I decided not to move Baggy upstairs, but to camp out with her last night.

 So I laid out my yoga mat, which would serve as my bed for the night.

 Baggy preferred her carrier so I left her inside with the door open.

 It must have been almost 2am by the time I slept.

 Half hour check - Baggy was missing from the carrier. Caused a bit of a panic, but found her on the dining chair.

 Another half-hour check, on another dining chair.

 Next check - still there.

Then, Bobby started making a racket in Bunny's Place. I had left him there as I was just sleeping outside the grille, but he started howling because he wanted to be near me. So rather than let him wake all the neighbours up, I had to let him out.

That's when Baggy's peace was disrupted.

Bobby has this habit of doing this "clockwork" routine (it's like winding up a clockwork toy) - he loves to walk and he would walk, and walk and walk in one direction, going nowhere in particular, but just walk.

So, Bobby's clockwork mechanism got wound up last night, and he started walking all around the perimeter of the house. This disturbed Baggy's peace and she could not sleep.

 I tried to make Bobby stay by me, but he just wanted to walk.

 I finally had to put Baggy into the cage. This was about 4am. It would be safer for her because she was very disturbed by Bobby going round and round the house. That's the thing when you have so many animals under your care. You have to take care of all their needs, as best you can. Bobby loves to walk, and you'll just have to let him walk.

 Baggy watched the clockwork dog doing his rounds from her safe perch in the cage.

After a night of almost no-sleep, I got up only at 7.30am this morning.

I thought I'd give Baggy the new batch of food I had cooked last night. So I sliced out a few pieces of chicken before I blended the food.

 I mixed this with Cindy's recipe, some of her kibbles, but she wasn't interested at all. She just wanted to explore the house (after I let her out).

We had closed all the downstairs windows last night and as for upstairs, the family hall windows were closed and all the room doors were closed. I know it is only natural for Baggy to try to escape, so all these precautions had been taken.

Suddenly, as I was blending the food in the kitchen, my husband came down and said Baggy was no where to be found. He looked everywhere downstairs and there was no sign of Baggy at all.

He then went upstairs and found my son's door open and one window was open. I rushed up, looked out of the window, no cat in sight. We were going to climb out to the roof to look for her.

I rushed downstairs to check another round and to my relief, Baggy was hiding inside the TV rack!

She peeped out when I called her name.

Phew!!!

Yes, that would be the nearest I ever got to a heart-attack.

That's when I decided I would have to wheel her cage into Bunny's Place where it's proven to be Pole-proofed and Indy-proofed. No escape even if anyone forgot to close her cage door.

The vet did say it's alright to quarantine her in Bunny's Place provided I put her in a cage.

So I put her back into her carrier, and wheeled the cage to Bunny's Place (at the pantry).

 Baggy wasn't very happy going into Bunny's place. She hissed at everyone and tried to kick off from my arms.

 All the cats were alright except Bunny.

Bunny let out his war-cries and I pacified him. Bunny's okay, he's just stamping his mark as "Boss".
He's not the insecure type.

 

 I covered the front portion of the cage as well, to let Baggy settle in.

Sooner or later, this has to be done, it might as well be now. I have to go to work, and my mind won't be at ease leaving Baggy outside of Bunny's Place where escape is still possible. At least this place is secure.

 The Big Boss and Indy.

 Gently does it...
(The acid test is always....INDY)

Baggy still hasn't eaten for this morning. She didn't seem hungry. She also has not pee-ed or poo-ed as the litter-tray is dry, but I'm not sure if she pee-ed last night when she was roaming the house. There were a few sticky spots on the floor - not sure if it's hers or Bobby's.

I have a home interview with a Chinese magazine this morning so I'll attend to Baggy after that. Wonder why before any major interview, I always have "something" big to deal with. The day before the Star interview, the Sunnies came, and I barely slept all night, camping out with Honeybear because he was having seizures. That is why I looked ten years older in the photo in that Star article!  And today, again?

Baggy seems to be settling down now. Bunny has stopped his war-cries. The old guy is just telling the world he is boss.

Mr G (or should we call him Mr J, by his proper name) is here as usual, trying to get in. By the way, Ginrella aka Ten was found the next day, on my roof. Not a scratch on him. He just wanted to camp out at my gutters. The owner got two Indon workers to climb onto my roof to get him back. All is well.

Indy is making a bit of a fuss, though. He is hissing at Tabs and checking out all of Baggy's things (her Cindy's Recipe box, her kibble box, etc.).

Why is he hissing at poor little Tabs?

Ah...each time a new cat enters a colony, it causes a big change to the hierarchy. That's cat's politics. It's quite beyond us. They have to settle it.

I think I also need to correct a misconception regarding Andy's email where he said he thought it better to rehome Baggy. I believe it was a "reaction" (for want of a better word) from the shock of Baloo's sudden death. Until now, we do not know the cause of her death and the possibilities are endless. This morning, Andy said he may consider building a glass house in his residence (not his office) for Baggy and his dog. They may also adopt another kitten to keep Baggy company.

So, it looks like I'm just fostering Baggy and not adopting her. The one month period will be a good time for things to settle down and as I've told Andy, as long as we put Baggy's wellbeing, safety and happiness as the only consideration, the right decision will be made.

One day at a time now.

Baggy eats! Tabs and Tiger want to be friends.

Finally, Baggy was hungry enough and she ate. I'm relieved!

 I cooked some stir-fried chicken for her, just the way she and Baloo liked it last time. She licked some of the gravy, but decided not to eat it. She didn't want the kibble that Emily had sent through Mr Teh either.

 Finally, I opened a can of Cindy's recipe, and she ate!!

 Mr Teh's own house brand of catfood.  He had brought 24 cans for Baggy.

 I refilled and Baggy ate half a can, along with the kibbles and also some chicken.

 Cow is watching.

 One paw out...

 Two paws out...

 Baggy is out!

 

 She's curious and extremely alert and that's a very good sign.

 She tries to go upstairs.

 She's trying to find an escape route. It's a natural instinct when cats are in a new environment.

 Tiger is very curious.

Earlier on, Pole came to the grille and started mewing. Maybe Pole, who used to be quite aloof, is also concerned. Pole is the first from the colony to meet Baggy (at the clinic).

 Baggy decided it's still safer inside her carrier.

 The Queen is oblivious to the arrival of our guest.

I put Baggy into the cage, but she wasn't happy, so I let her go back into the carrier.

 Tabs and Tiger, from Tabby Inc. watches closely. I think they want to be friends. Tabs and Tiger are my most good-natured and non-cranky cats.

 Cleo wakes up and notices something...

She watches, but from afar.

Tabs, you'll be Baggy's new sister, okay? You're the best!

Andy wrote to me and explained why the post mortem wasn't done. Apparently their vet does not do post mortems; she said it could only be done in UPM. Hence, it wasn't done.

Andy also said they did not mean to trouble me with Baggy. I understand that, and I offered to help out on my own because I was worried about Baggy being in the office when Andy and Emily (and later, Mr Teh) were away overseas. She would also be alone without any cat-companion. The office staff may not be able to monitor Baggy's condition, just in case there was any infectious disease or Baggy falls ill.

One day at a time now.

Baggy is top priority.

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.