Monday, February 27, 2012
Family visit to the vet
I couldn't go to bed without letting everyone know that we have an appointment at http://www.theanimaldoctors.com.sg/page001.html tomorrow morning. The Pet Clinic and the SPCA would not let me bring the kittens and Mama cat in because they feared the infection would spread. The Animal Doctors website says they have "Dedicated isolation rooms and cages for animals with infectious diseases and are in need of quarantine. They are separated from other in hospital patients." It was also on this site that a description of Cat Flu made me realize that Dr. Jo-Ann Chan had guessed it. "Signs of cat flu can include: conjunctivitis - ranging from mild (eyes slightly red with watery discharge) to severe (very red eyes with large amount of pus production), nasal discharge and sneezing as well as oral ulcers." The extra good news is that someone has already responded to the posting on The Cat Welfare Society website http://catwelfare.org/node/6071?post=6&age=0 So as soon as Mama, Black & White, Small, Medium and Large are well and vaccinated, they will have a home :-)
And Mama makes five
I cannot put the ointment in the kittens eyes so I headed out to walk the kilometre to the nearest animal clinic at lunch. It was closed but reopens at 5 p.m. On the way back I heard a cat calling. I followed her voice and found the mother of Small, Medium, Large and Black & White. She was so relieved to have found her babies that I couldn't even interest her in a little food. Now all five cats are in the hall outside of the office. I have sent two emails and left one voice message with the SPCA but have had no response. Sigh!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Kitten Update
Good morning Animal Lovers,
All four kittens survived the night and I have fed them and given them their dose of deworming medicine. When the vet gave it to them last night, they acted like she was putting poo in their mouths. I said to her, "why can't they (the veterinarian pharmaceutical company) make it taste like tuna?" She told me that I could add it to the food and so that is what I did this morning. I was really, really hoping that I would have heard from Monica or her vet because I don't think I can put the ointment in their eyes.
Everyone was alert and anxious for their breakfast. I consider this a very good sign. If there are any vet wannabe's out there who would like to 'treat' Small, Medium, Large and Black & White, please let me know :-)
Thank you to David and Spencer for following this blog and to everyone who has read it.
All four kittens survived the night and I have fed them and given them their dose of deworming medicine. When the vet gave it to them last night, they acted like she was putting poo in their mouths. I said to her, "why can't they (the veterinarian pharmaceutical company) make it taste like tuna?" She told me that I could add it to the food and so that is what I did this morning. I was really, really hoping that I would have heard from Monica or her vet because I don't think I can put the ointment in their eyes.
Everyone was alert and anxious for their breakfast. I consider this a very good sign. If there are any vet wannabe's out there who would like to 'treat' Small, Medium, Large and Black & White, please let me know :-)
Thank you to David and Spencer for following this blog and to everyone who has read it.
Animal Lovers I Need Your Help!!
This is not a back issue of The AFB. This is a plea for assistance. This afternoon (Sunday, 26 Feb 2012) I was heading back from the office where I had been to feed, water and change litter for the three office cats when I saw the unthinkable. A car swerved to avoid a tiny kitten in the street. I am not suggesting that it is unthinkable to avoid running over a cat. I am saying that it is unthinkable that a tiny kitten should be in the middle of the street! I do not remember the exact words I used but they were something like, "NO, NO, NO, kittens aren't allowed on the street!" As I shooed the kitten from the middle of the street, I saw two others who were obviously siblings. I carry dry cat food with me because Monica, my cousin, carries cat food with her and in her absence, I am the assistant cat feeder. So, I fed the three kittens and the two adult cats with them who did not appear to be related but I was really hoping they were guardians. As I was feeding them I heard the plaintive cry of a fourth kitten. This one looked a bit different from the others with black patches and the worst eye infection I have ever seen. That is when I realized that all of the kittens had eye infections.
I stood there for the longest time trying to decide what to do. I eventually walked away saying to myself that nature looks after its own blah, blah, blah. I got two blocks away and knew I could never leave the fate of those kittens up to nature. They had been put in my path and now were my responsiblility. So I went to the supermarket, bought packets of soft kitten food and returned in time to see someone else removing one of the kittens from the middle of the street. I thanked them and gave the cats some of the kitten food and went to the office to get the cat carrier. I still did not have a plan but I had texted Monica while I was standing in line at the supermarket to ask for contact information for her veterinarian and I was praying for a response. One thing was abundantly clear to me, those kittens could not stay where they were and survive.
I put some of the kitten food in the carrier and the adult cats happily went in. I was able to pick the kittens up and put them in the carrier. The fact that I was able to handle the kittens suggested one of two things- these kittens were already accustomed to human beings and had been abandoned at this location because of their illness (this would also explain why I had never seen them before) or they were so young and/or sick that they didn't know any better (which would explain the wandering into the middle of the street). The adult cats were happy to leave the carrier once I started carrying it and I headed to put the kittens in the hall outside of the office. I passed a man who was 'grooming' his taxi and he asked about the cats. I still did not have a plan.
I added a bowl of water and left the kittens in the hall thinking I would change the newspaper on the bottom of the carrier and feed them some more tomorrow when I went in to work. It wasn't ideal but it was better than 'nature looks after its own'. In the carrier, in the hall, they wouldn't be run over by cars, eaten by stray dogs, starve or die of thirst. As I passed the taxi driver he asked if I needed a taxi. I answered no and kept walking for a few meters when it dawned on me that if the kittens were placed in my path then why not the taxi driver too? I went back and asked if he knew of an emergency veterinarian clinic. He did and was willing to wait while I went back up to retrieve the kittens.
Now I had something like a plan. It would involve me spending lots of money but someone else saving the kittens. The taxi driver took me to the Mount Pleasant Referral and After Hours Clinic. Rodel, the veterinarian technician, contacted the vet on call and proceeded to start cleaning up the kittens. He was so gentle and sweet using olive oil to remove the crusted on gunk from their swollen, red eyes. He was just starting kitten number 3 when Jo-Ann Chan, the vet, arrived. She was a little horrified but what she saw and I cannot blame her. I have known many cats and quite a few of them were strays but I have never seen kittens in this condition before. While Rodel continued to clean the eyes of the remaining kittens, Jo-Ann checked the heart rate and temperature of 'black and white'. She decided that in addition to an eye ointment they required deworming. The dose for this medicine is determined by the weight of the 'patient' and so the kittens had to be weighed and identified. Because three of the four are almost identical except for size, we decided to call them small, medium and large. It wasn't until weighing 'medium' that we noticed he has a black nose. Vets are really very special people. I was given a discount without having to ask for it because the kittens were strays.
'Small' who I have nicknamed 'scrawny butt' weighs only 430 grams and how that kitten is still alive is a mystery. 'Medium' a.k.a. 'Black Nose' weighs 610 grams and the hefty sibling 'Large' weighs 800 grams, almost double the weight of 'Small'. 'Black and White' weighs 685 grams. Aside from bulk and markings, the kittens have different personalities. Large likes sleeping, and Black Nose likes eating. Black and White is the bravest and Small likes being cuddled. As I write this, all four are in the cat carrier, in the hall outside of our apartment. I cannot bring them in because there are four other cats who live here. Jo-Ann said I should wash my hands and change my clothes between handling the kittens and,then,the other cats. Tomorrow, if I haven't found someone to take them, I will bring the kittens to work where they will stay in the carrier outside of our office.
This is where the plea for assistance comes in. If you do not have cats and you have an enormous heart, these four babies need you. I don't know how long they will live but I am hopeful that they will grow into wonderful pets.
I stood there for the longest time trying to decide what to do. I eventually walked away saying to myself that nature looks after its own blah, blah, blah. I got two blocks away and knew I could never leave the fate of those kittens up to nature. They had been put in my path and now were my responsiblility. So I went to the supermarket, bought packets of soft kitten food and returned in time to see someone else removing one of the kittens from the middle of the street. I thanked them and gave the cats some of the kitten food and went to the office to get the cat carrier. I still did not have a plan but I had texted Monica while I was standing in line at the supermarket to ask for contact information for her veterinarian and I was praying for a response. One thing was abundantly clear to me, those kittens could not stay where they were and survive.
I put some of the kitten food in the carrier and the adult cats happily went in. I was able to pick the kittens up and put them in the carrier. The fact that I was able to handle the kittens suggested one of two things- these kittens were already accustomed to human beings and had been abandoned at this location because of their illness (this would also explain why I had never seen them before) or they were so young and/or sick that they didn't know any better (which would explain the wandering into the middle of the street). The adult cats were happy to leave the carrier once I started carrying it and I headed to put the kittens in the hall outside of the office. I passed a man who was 'grooming' his taxi and he asked about the cats. I still did not have a plan.
I added a bowl of water and left the kittens in the hall thinking I would change the newspaper on the bottom of the carrier and feed them some more tomorrow when I went in to work. It wasn't ideal but it was better than 'nature looks after its own'. In the carrier, in the hall, they wouldn't be run over by cars, eaten by stray dogs, starve or die of thirst. As I passed the taxi driver he asked if I needed a taxi. I answered no and kept walking for a few meters when it dawned on me that if the kittens were placed in my path then why not the taxi driver too? I went back and asked if he knew of an emergency veterinarian clinic. He did and was willing to wait while I went back up to retrieve the kittens.
Now I had something like a plan. It would involve me spending lots of money but someone else saving the kittens. The taxi driver took me to the Mount Pleasant Referral and After Hours Clinic. Rodel, the veterinarian technician, contacted the vet on call and proceeded to start cleaning up the kittens. He was so gentle and sweet using olive oil to remove the crusted on gunk from their swollen, red eyes. He was just starting kitten number 3 when Jo-Ann Chan, the vet, arrived. She was a little horrified but what she saw and I cannot blame her. I have known many cats and quite a few of them were strays but I have never seen kittens in this condition before. While Rodel continued to clean the eyes of the remaining kittens, Jo-Ann checked the heart rate and temperature of 'black and white'. She decided that in addition to an eye ointment they required deworming. The dose for this medicine is determined by the weight of the 'patient' and so the kittens had to be weighed and identified. Because three of the four are almost identical except for size, we decided to call them small, medium and large. It wasn't until weighing 'medium' that we noticed he has a black nose. Vets are really very special people. I was given a discount without having to ask for it because the kittens were strays.
'Small' who I have nicknamed 'scrawny butt' weighs only 430 grams and how that kitten is still alive is a mystery. 'Medium' a.k.a. 'Black Nose' weighs 610 grams and the hefty sibling 'Large' weighs 800 grams, almost double the weight of 'Small'. 'Black and White' weighs 685 grams. Aside from bulk and markings, the kittens have different personalities. Large likes sleeping, and Black Nose likes eating. Black and White is the bravest and Small likes being cuddled. As I write this, all four are in the cat carrier, in the hall outside of our apartment. I cannot bring them in because there are four other cats who live here. Jo-Ann said I should wash my hands and change my clothes between handling the kittens and,then,the other cats. Tomorrow, if I haven't found someone to take them, I will bring the kittens to work where they will stay in the carrier outside of our office.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Issue #2
04 September 2010
This past month, my first in Singapore, has been very eventful because Hungry Ghost Month and Ramadan coincided this year.
The Hungry Ghost Festival is celebrated during the seventh Lunar month and during this month, the gates of hell are opened up and ghosts are free to roam the earth seeking food and entertainment. These ghosts are believed to be the ancestors of those who forgot to pay tribute to them after they died, or those who were never given a proper ritual send-off. Family members pray to their deceased relatives, offer food and drink, and burn hell money and other forms of joss paper. Joss paper items are believed to have value in the afterlife. People burn paper houses, cars, servants and televisions to please the ghosts. Families also pay tribute to other unknown wandering ghosts so that these homeless souls do not intrude on their lives and bring misfortune. The Ghost Festival in Singapore is modernized by 'concert-like' live performances. The live shows are performed by groups of singers, dancers and entertainers on temporary stages setup within residential districts. The festivals are funded by the residents of each individual residential district. My cousin's friend Sam invited us to watch one in his neighbourhood of Upper Serangoon. Singapore is unique in that the rituals which the immigrants to Singapore brought to this small island nation are still practiced, and unlike some other countries, the hungry-ghost month still thrives. The film, A Month of Hungry Ghosts, captures these rituals and performances throughout an entire seventh lunar month in Singapore.
The Hungry Ghost Festival is celebrated during the seventh Lunar month and during this month, the gates of hell are opened up and ghosts are free to roam the earth seeking food and entertainment. These ghosts are believed to be the ancestors of those who forgot to pay tribute to them after they died, or those who were never given a proper ritual send-off. Family members pray to their deceased relatives, offer food and drink, and burn hell money and other forms of joss paper. Joss paper items are believed to have value in the afterlife. People burn paper houses, cars, servants and televisions to please the ghosts. Families also pay tribute to other unknown wandering ghosts so that these homeless souls do not intrude on their lives and bring misfortune. The Ghost Festival in Singapore is modernized by 'concert-like' live performances. The live shows are performed by groups of singers, dancers and entertainers on temporary stages setup within residential districts. The festivals are funded by the residents of each individual residential district. My cousin's friend Sam invited us to watch one in his neighbourhood of Upper Serangoon. Singapore is unique in that the rituals which the immigrants to Singapore brought to this small island nation are still practiced, and unlike some other countries, the hungry-ghost month still thrives. The film, A Month of Hungry Ghosts, captures these rituals and performances throughout an entire seventh lunar month in Singapore.
Hari Raya Puasa, literally “Celebration Day of Fasting”, is the Malay term for the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr. It is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of “Puasa” (fasting). The holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. Muslims in Singapore celebrate Eid like other Muslims throughout the world. A few days before Ramadan, lights are strung from the trees and stalls are erected in Geylang Serai, a part of our neighbourhood. The Hari Raya Market here is known for its impressive decorations and street bazaar selling famous Hari Raya Malay food such as ketupat (rice cakes wrapped in coconut or palm leaves), lemang (glutinous rice in bamboo stem), lontong (rice wrapped in banana stem) and rendang (traditional spicy meat cuisine prepared with beef, mutton, lamb or chicken, that is usually served with rice) and Malay cakes and cookies which include kek kukus (steamed fruit cakes), kuih lapis (layered cake) and kuih tat (pineapple tarts). You can also buy clothing, furniture, rugs and much, much more.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Issue #1
15 August 2010
Hello from Singapore,
The name of my current newsletter makes reference to a comment I heard the first time I was in Singapore 9 years ago. The Yamagata Monthly (the newsletter I wrote when I lived in Japan) for October 2001 said:
Hello from Singapore,
The name of my current newsletter makes reference to a comment I heard the first time I was in Singapore 9 years ago. The Yamagata Monthly (the newsletter I wrote when I lived in Japan) for October 2001 said:
Dear Readers
I apologize for not having written since August but
as you know, a terrible thing happened in September
which shook the foundations of my faith. It has taken
me this long to recover an 'even keel' so to speak.
This YM is coming to you from SINGAPORE! I have been
here as the guest of my cousin Monica since Wednesday
of last week. One of the expatriates I met here told
me that Singapore is often referred to as AFB - Asia
For Beginners, due to the ease with which one can
manage here. I have certainly been enjoying myself
and can recommend it as a relaxing and safe vacation
destination. Singapore gets top points for being an
example of how all people can live together regardless
of colour or religion. This amazing city-state gets
thumbs down from me for NOT having a recycling program!
I apologize for not having written since August but
as you know, a terrible thing happened in September
which shook the foundations of my faith. It has taken
me this long to recover an 'even keel' so to speak.
This YM is coming to you from SINGAPORE! I have been
here as the guest of my cousin Monica since Wednesday
of last week. One of the expatriates I met here told
me that Singapore is often referred to as AFB - Asia
For Beginners, due to the ease with which one can
manage here. I have certainly been enjoying myself
and can recommend it as a relaxing and safe vacation
destination. Singapore gets top points for being an
example of how all people can live together regardless
of colour or religion. This amazing city-state gets
thumbs down from me for NOT having a recycling program!
Things have changed which is not surprising in a modern, dynamic country like this. There is a recycling program in place now and I noticed that there are a lot more people riding bicycles than when I was here before. Chris, who is Malaysian, has lived here for more than twenty years and she told me that bicycles went out of fashion for a while but are coming back now. She said the biggest changes in her mind are the cleanliness of the city and the improved transit.
The question I get asked most so far is "How do you like the food?" and I must admit that the abundance of tropical fruit is wonderful. There are some menu items, like frog porridge and fish head curry, that I am not quite ready to try even though I do pride myself on being an adventurous eater.
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