Thursday, October 7, 2010
Mandela, the rescued cat
An elderly cat was rescued in July 2010, and brought to Roselin for fostering. The cat was brought to the vet and apparently, it was quite emaciated. The vet said it probably had not eaten for a month.
Roselin named him Mandela. Throughout these months, Mandela was doing quite well, but something appeared to be "not quite right". A few days ago, Roselin found out what was wrong.
Below is Roselin's account of Mandela. We'd like to thank Roselin for sharing her story. It would help very much if you too can share your experience in handling cats like Mandela (please post constructive comments). We need to support each other and keep each other going, especially when faced with a challenge like this.
Roselin writes:
I now know the reason why Mandela - if we ever thought he was domesticated - was abandoned in the housing area.
Since he was with us end July, his appetite was excellent, he walked steadily and he could even run and climb a tree.
Having said that, this pattern was erratic.
Some days, he would eat little but drank and pee a lot.
He was strong as he could attacked Doraemon and even chased & attacked 3 other cats in the garden.
Is it any wonder that we had to either put him in cage (very short periods) or on a leash.
Last Sunday, I took him for his usual walk in the garden and he was slow & listless.
On Monday morning, when I was about to take him for his usual walk, his hind legs were shaking...he was struggling to stand!
So off we went to the vet who discovered that his kidneys had shrunk significantly and immediately gave him saline fluid injected on both sides of his frail body.
Apparently, his kidney was damaged a lot time ago and sadly, the vet who warded him earlier never mentioned this when he was under their care!
By the afternoon, I had to admit him to the hospital vet in Serdang.
He was there for 5 days and was treated for his chronic kidney disease.
Sadly, after a battery of test, he is also diagnosed with FIV positive (feline aids) and is Anaemic.
He is over 6 years old but he looks much older due to his health condition and the loss of his lower teeth. Poor baby.
There is no cure for the advanced kidney disease and the possible complications is that his condition may deteriorate and it's life threathening. The only thing to do now is to buy time.
I got him discharged on Friday, 1st October as I was afraid the bill would escalate.
Mandela is home and while I don't have the nerve to inject the saline solution with a needle (both sides of his body and twice/day) that is expected, I can at least give him his cod liver oil and complete his antibiotics, ensuring a strict diet of restricted protein & phosphorous (i.e NO cat biscuits/food but just rice with boiled chicken...and if affordable, special "K/D" food).
So until he suffers from depression, not eating well, vomit (ulcer, gastric blood), produce abnormal urine, poor bowel movements (diarrhea, bloody), breathing problem, then he has a chance to live a few more weeks/months.
Should he exhibit any or all of the above symptoms, then I am told to go back to the vet and decide what to do then.
Such a daunting prospect.
Still. I'm determined to give his usual TLC and he will be surrounded by other feline company in the garage.
Thanks for reading this. I need a support group right now.
Here are photos of Mandela:
Roselin named him Mandela. Throughout these months, Mandela was doing quite well, but something appeared to be "not quite right". A few days ago, Roselin found out what was wrong.
Below is Roselin's account of Mandela. We'd like to thank Roselin for sharing her story. It would help very much if you too can share your experience in handling cats like Mandela (please post constructive comments). We need to support each other and keep each other going, especially when faced with a challenge like this.
Roselin writes:
I now know the reason why Mandela - if we ever thought he was domesticated - was abandoned in the housing area.
Since he was with us end July, his appetite was excellent, he walked steadily and he could even run and climb a tree.
Having said that, this pattern was erratic.
Some days, he would eat little but drank and pee a lot.
He was strong as he could attacked Doraemon and even chased & attacked 3 other cats in the garden.
Is it any wonder that we had to either put him in cage (very short periods) or on a leash.
Last Sunday, I took him for his usual walk in the garden and he was slow & listless.
On Monday morning, when I was about to take him for his usual walk, his hind legs were shaking...he was struggling to stand!
So off we went to the vet who discovered that his kidneys had shrunk significantly and immediately gave him saline fluid injected on both sides of his frail body.
Apparently, his kidney was damaged a lot time ago and sadly, the vet who warded him earlier never mentioned this when he was under their care!
By the afternoon, I had to admit him to the hospital vet in Serdang.
He was there for 5 days and was treated for his chronic kidney disease.
Sadly, after a battery of test, he is also diagnosed with FIV positive (feline aids) and is Anaemic.
He is over 6 years old but he looks much older due to his health condition and the loss of his lower teeth. Poor baby.
There is no cure for the advanced kidney disease and the possible complications is that his condition may deteriorate and it's life threathening. The only thing to do now is to buy time.
I got him discharged on Friday, 1st October as I was afraid the bill would escalate.
Mandela is home and while I don't have the nerve to inject the saline solution with a needle (both sides of his body and twice/day) that is expected, I can at least give him his cod liver oil and complete his antibiotics, ensuring a strict diet of restricted protein & phosphorous (i.e NO cat biscuits/food but just rice with boiled chicken...and if affordable, special "K/D" food).
So until he suffers from depression, not eating well, vomit (ulcer, gastric blood), produce abnormal urine, poor bowel movements (diarrhea, bloody), breathing problem, then he has a chance to live a few more weeks/months.
Should he exhibit any or all of the above symptoms, then I am told to go back to the vet and decide what to do then.
Such a daunting prospect.
Still. I'm determined to give his usual TLC and he will be surrounded by other feline company in the garage.
Thanks for reading this. I need a support group right now.
Here are photos of Mandela:
Hang in there, Mandela.
Be brave and strong.
My only personal experience with a cat with degenerative kidneys was with Vixey. Vixey was a pygmy cat (physically retarded), rescued at 1 month old. I was told her organs would degenerate faster than a normal cat's and that she would have a much shorter lifespan.
Vixey lived a full life for two years, helping me foster other newborn kittens. She commanded great respect from my other cats and none of them dared to bully her despite her small (pygmy) size.
In the last few months of Vixey's life, she developed chronic constipation and required regular enemas and was on a special diet (KD).
When blood tests showed her kidney readings deteriorating, I put her on a kidney supplement from France. She showed improvement only for a few days. One morning, she suddenly became ataxic (could not walk straight anymore). She was put on drips to flush out the toxins, and improved within days. The vet said she could be discharged, and I was going to learn how to give her the subcutaneous fluids (diuresis), but Vixey passed away the next day.
Leggy (fostered by Chen) also passed away of degenerative kidney disease. He too was put on drips, but chose to go on his own that very night itself.
I think (though I may be wrong), that animals, to a certain extent, can decide when they wish to go. When conditions are no longer favourable, they will choose "freedom" and go on their own. For some animals, they even experience a "sudden revival", where they would appear to recover and be well again (is it so that we can see them healthy for the last time?) before they finally take their leave.
The best we can do is to give them all the help and love that we have.
And that's exactly what Roselin is giving Mandela now.
We're all behind you, Roselin and Mandela!
