Bunny's updates...and Tabs' too

So how is Bunny so far?

He seems okay though I had not taken his temperature again. I'll do it tomorrow. So far, he has been eating very well so that 's a good sign.

 Bunny in his famous Jabba-the-Hut pose.

 Poor Cow, he must be feeling quite sorry for what he had done because he kept coming to me with this pitiful face and rubbing himself on my arm.

 Tabs had a good rest in the afternoon.

 And so did Brave Sister.

This evening I was out for a public talk, and by the time I got back, everyone asked for supper. I know it's a bad habit and I'm still trying to break it, but for now, they get kibbles as a snack.

 Everyone came except Tabs.

The poor girl was hiding behind the condo. I gave her some kibbles, but she didn't even dare eat.

 I'm scared...

Poor little Tabs. We've been carrying her quite a lot today to help her regain her confidence. The cat politics will have to settle on its own (to a peaceful state) but we humans can help make it happen sooner...hopefully.

A huge fight...and Bunny lands up at the vet's

In the past few days, Bunny had been taking it out on poor Tabs. Don't know why...but he had been picking on the poor girl very often until we had to intervene to stop the bullying. Each time, Tiger would be nearby to protect her. But Tiger's mode of protection is just to be nearby; he never fights with anyone. If Tiger is also attacked, he just closes his eyes. Our Gandhi-cat lives up to his name. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. 

This morning, after breakfast, everyone adjourned to the Clubhouse to lounge. But suddenly, when I was cleaning up their bowls, a huge (and very loud) fight broke out. It was between Cow and Bunny. I don't know who started it, but it was very loud and Bunny's "yowls" were deafening. Pole tried to intervene to stop her two brothers (brave Pole!) by standing in between her two cantankerous brothers. Luckily, she wasn't hurt or dragged into the fight.

By the time I rushed to get the water hose (which was seconds after the fight started), one chair had already been toppled over. The water spray broke up the fight. Through it all, Indy remained at the scene of the activity, unaffected. He was lying on the table but seemed quite nonchalant about it all. Pole stood in between the two warring brothers until the fight ended. She deserves a medal of bravery for this. Previously, Bobby was the one who would break up all the fights, but now that Bobby is no longer here, maybe Pole, being the oldest, has taken over that responsibility?

Of course there was no time to grab the camera, so there are no photos of the big fight, just the aftermath.

 The suspected "villain" in this episode, after being sprayed with water.

 I'm not involved at all, so no photos, please. 

 The vanquished.
(Notice the fuzzy fur due to being sprayed with water.)

 The brave and wise sister grooming herself after her act of courage and valour.

 I was scared...

 I was even more scared. Luckily Bunny didn't pick on me today. Do you know, he had been picking on me for so many days. What did I do to deserve it? I'm a good girl minding my own business and I don't fight with anyone. Poor me...don't you pity poor me? I'm so scared, my tail fluffed up like a feather duster. Poor me, right? Sobs...poor me. 

 I've been protecting Tabs. But I'm scared too. I just close my eyes real tight until everything is over. If I cannot see them, maybe they cannot see me too.

After settling the fight, I went off to work.

When I got back, Bunny was lying on the sofa exactly the way I had left him in the morning. I didn't suspect anything was wrong until I fed everyone. Everybody ate except Bunny. He didn't budge from where he was.

Now, that's NOT normal for Bunny. He would never pass up a chance to eat.

So I brought a bowl of food in for him and placed it right in front of his nose.

He didn't want to eat.

Oh dear, and Bunny was feeling unusually warm. Took his temperature and it was....40.2 degrees.

Gosh...that's very high.

It's off to the vet's.

My friend, Cathy, offered to drive us to her vet. This really helped a lot especially when it was peak hour jam on a Friday.

At the vet's, Bunny's weight was taken. It was 6.8 kg, which is normal for him. The vet took his temperature and would you believe it, despite all the meowing in the car, it was down to 38.9 degrees!

Gosh, what a relief....!!

An ear-prick blood test was done and there was nothing abnormal in his white blood cells. The vet was just a bit concern about Bunny's unusual gait, especially that of his back legs. I was advised to monitor his temperature once daily and check for abscesses, if any. Meanwhile, Bunny was given a shot of antibiotics for today, and I am to continue with 4 more days of Clavomox, twice daily, just to cover any possible infection in case he was bitten. The vet said if the abscess has not appeared yet, the antibiotics might address the problem and prevent it from occurring, which is really good. However, if the abscess has already formed, the antibiotics cannot do much and lancing would have to be done. Tell me about it, I know. Bunny has gone through it once and Cow too.  You wouldn't want that happening as they would have to be sedated and with each sedation, there are risks.

Please wish me luck in giving him the antibiotics. Bunny is the "easiest" to pill in the Cow family. Cow is a nightmare, and Pole and Cleo are virtually impossible to pill. Indy, Tabs and Tiger are okay.

 After we reached home, Bunny ate two helpings of wetfood. Now, that's a relief.

 The (hopefully) repentant brother sits close by.

Here's something Cathy sent me on redirected aggression: http://consciouscat.net/2012/03/12/redirected-aggression-when-good-cats-attack/

Who is "Doris Day" in our home?

Once in a while, Pole gets into a goofy mode and starts dashing around in straight lines, in a zigzag manner. The first time I took it seriously and carted her down to PJ for an emergency was when she darted from one litter-box to the next trying to urinate but could not do so. I thought her bladder was blocked, so I rushed her down to the PJ clinic. It was found that there was no blocked bladder but to play it safe, the vet prescribed antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory, both of which I never succeeded giving her since she'd rather die before being fed with any medication. And by that evening, she was already urinating like any normal cat!

The next round, after a few weeks, she did that litter-box act again, dashing from litter-box to litter-box and getting into the squat position but there was no urine. This round, I resisted getting into panic mode. So I observed her and found that she was actually able to urinate much later, after all her dashing around ended.

Nowadays, we've learned that Pole gets into these episodes every once in a while. When she does, she behaves in a really goofy manner, dashing around in panic mode, hiding under the sheets, going from one litter-box to another. It's almost like she is running around because some imaginary figure is chasing her. Sometimes she would hide from "someone", but there is nobody going after her.

It reminds us of the character Dory in Finding Nemo, so we call her "Doris Day" when she goes goofy like this. Er, no offence to the legendary actress, of course.

Pole got into her Doris Day mode this evening and I took some photos:

 Gone into hiding.

 Watcha doin', Pole?

 Oh, oh....mom's gone all Dory....again!

 Shh...I'm hiding...shh, don't tell anyone where I am.

Dash into litter-box, dash out, go to next litter-box, repeat.

 A quick groom, and it's back to the show.

 Here's a secret...it's all part of my Pole Show act...shh.
They love it, and my ratings go up! 

Excuse me now, I got to dash around again.

Bobby's ashes are back home now

Pet Memorial Services brought Bobby's ashes back to us this morning.



Scattering the ashes at sea is the normal practice, but for Bobby, we think we 'd prefer to bury his ashes scattered in our back garden. Bobby has always been so close to us and the cats. By interring his ashes in our back garden, at least he will still be home, in a symbolic way. He would still be near us and be with his cat friends.

  So, we will inter his ashes here.

Whenever the cats lounged at the Clubhouse, sometimes Bobby would join them too, but being blind, he would weave in the out of the flower beds, and end up settling down on the rocks. The cats enjoyed looking at Bobby walk on the rocks.

It will really take time to heal from missing Bobby. 16 years is a very long time. I will always remember how he would sit at the marble slab waiting for me to come home from work every day, being the first to greet me at the door, waiting for me outside the bathroom door and following me everywhere in the house because his duty was to protect me.

Much later, the kittens came one by one, and Bobby had the extra duty of protecting them as well.

One incident always brings a smile to my face. It was when Bunny was very small. Bobby was playing with Bunny while I was in the kitchen. Maybe Bunny didn't want to play anymore, so he decided to play dead. Bobby got so worried, he started barking in a strange way to catch my attention. I quickly went out to see what was happening, and I saw Bunny lying "dead" on the floor and Bobby looking extremely worried and trying to wake Bunny up. The moment I called Bunny's name, the naughty one stood up and walked away. Bobby was so relieved!

16 years, and so many of such heartwarming episodes to recall, remember and rejoice in.

When death happens to a loved one, somehow you'll garner all your strength to do the needful, which is often the last rites. After that only will you come to terms with the loss, you begin to miss your loved one and that's when you recall the memories of all the good times you've spent together. Then, you smile, and go on.

Tiger misses Bobby

All evening, Tiger was mewing for Bobby. It was not his usual mewing sound. This was different and we understood.

Tiger was looking for Bobby.

Flashback:

 Tiger usually spent the evenings with Bobby.

 The big cats (Cow, Bunny & Tiger) always accompanied Bobby.

But this evening, Tiger could not find Bobby....

So he mewed at the grille and he would not stop until we came into the room to talk to him.

 Bobby is not here anymore, Tiger.

 Bobby has gone to a better place and he is not coming back.

 Why don't you play with Tabs?

And one would think cats would not understand?

But somehow, they do...

 



 

 It happened twice this evening, and Tiger started playing with Tabs.

I hope Tabs will invite Tiger to play with her more so that Tiger won't miss Bobby so much. I guess animals are very used to routine and they would need time to adjust to change, as we humans do too.

Bobby's last rites and send-off

The living has to continue living. Responsibilities have to be carried out. I still had to go to work today or 36 students would have come to college for nothing.

Luckily my husband could stay back until 10.30am before leaving for work and my mother could come over so Bobby would not have to be left alone.

I had arranged with James Kho (or Pet Memorial Services) to do the last rites for Bobby. James did Vixey's and Mac's some years ago. He is an extremely compassionate and kind-hearted person.

After work, I drove to the florist to buy some flowers for Bobby. No whites - we are celebrating Bobby's wonderful life and giving him a send-off. Pink would be nice; the colour of fresh, young, new life. Bobby is in a better and happier realm now, and we must wish him well on his new journey in his new life and be happy for him.

I came back home and my husband had just left for work. My mother was there with Bobby.

Here are some touching photos of Tiger, Indy and Bobby, taken by my husband while I was at work.

 Indy accompanied Bobby for hours.

 In sickness or in health or even in death, Tiger will always be ever grateful to Bobby.

It comes as no surprise that the cats love Bobby so much. Bobby is always giving and always forgiving. At times when the cats bullied him, he would never retaliate. He had never ever hurt any of the cats, not even unintentionally despite being blind. Once in a while, when he bumped into some of them and they are not in a good mood, they would scratch him, but Bobby would just move away. He never retaliated.

 Saying goodbye to his nanny, protector and best friend.

 Indy kept vigil.

 

 Tiger comes again.

 

 Indy stayed by Bobby's side throughout.

 My mother arrived and she brought a yellow covering from the Tibetan tradition for Bobby.

 Jasmines and yellow chrysanthemums for Bobby.

Indy still did not want to leave Bobby.

 My mother did her prayers for Bobby.

 Whatever cultural traditions we come from, last rites are very comforting for the living.

 It seems like Tiger wants to say his goodbyes, as much as he can.

 I came home and placed the pink flowers for Bobby.

In a way, Bobby had kept himself really "clean" for his departure. Over the weekend, I gave him his bath. He ate breakfast yesterday, then he defecated. He did not want dinner anymore and even vomited some digested food (maybe his stomach did not have any need for the bit of food anymore). He even allowed me to trim off all the stained fur from his snout and paws. Yes, Bobby wanted to go off really "clean" and neat.

My mother said when someone refuses food towards the end, it means he wants to leave the food behind for his loved ones because he cares for them. So, my mother said Bobby wanted to leave something valuable behind for all of us (symbolised by food). You'll see how culture has a way of giving meaningful and compassionate interpretations to certain actions. It's comforting for the living.

Bobby certainly left something very valuable behind for us - how he had lived his life, giving unconditional love to everyone who had ever crossed his path.

 Tiger stayed with me while my mother chanted. In between we also talked about all the good things Bobby had done, especially for the cats.

 Cow finally came to say goodbye too.

 I know, Cow. You're sad too.

James Kho arrived at around 1pm.

It was time for Bobby's final journey.

I remind myself that Bobby's spirit and consciousness have been reborn in a higher form now and he is happy in his new life. Funerals and last rites are for the purpose of paying respect to what he had left behind. They also give closure which comforts the living.

Keeping it as simple as possible, James said we would wrap Bobby in the yellow covering with the flowers and place Bobby in the icebox that he had brought.

 

 Goodbye, my dearest Bobby.
You are going to be a great person, doing great things, in a happier realm.

You can shed tears that he is gone,
or you can smile because he has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that he'll come back,
or you can open your eyes and see all he's left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see him,
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember him only that he is gone,
or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back.
Or you can do what he'd want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

David Harkin

My family and I would like to thank everyone who has sent kind wishes, emails, comments, facebook messages and smses to comfort us in our hour of grief. Thank you very, very much for your kindness. We are deeply touched that so many of you share our loss and love Bobby so much. We are deeply grateful.