'nuff bout cats?

Okie, this blog needs to see more than furries' stories.

Ginger's second vet opinion suggested he is in the early stages of approaching sequestrum, and no surgery required at this point, but going for 2 medicinal eye drops, and review again in a month's time. Dr Robin Stanley really put my mind at ease, his gentle approach to examine Ginger, his encouraging words, his wise vast knowledge. That is one great vet. I know I'm not alone, pet owners out there, you know you'll cringe when the vet your baby is seeing is obviously not an animal lover.

But if Ginger does need a CCT surgery (less obvious scarring with no visual impairment), it'll be about 6 months later, if he doesnt show signs of improvement in his eyes..

On a lighter note, Pitch's blood test results came back, and she is officially healthy and suitable for donating blood. She's now on the emergency donor list for feline type A blood! Ahh! So major. Lol. This little heroine!

Fen's on a casual job now, still sending resumes till he gets something stable. I'm considering studying a year at VIT, but have not done any reading up on it yet. Staying home all day is enjoyable. Yoga and Tabata daily, yays~

I didnt have the mood to blog about this before, but our neighbour's cat has been coming to our door. Twice daily. I've started feeding him, because I feel sorry for him. His name is Ginger (OMG), so to avoid confusion, he's called Outdoor Ginger. He is BIG. The last 2 days, he finally warmed up enough to snuggle up to me purring. I cant quite figure him out, he appears rather feral (he has track records of killing birds, not that I mind at all - I hate birds - but Fen had to bury one after it crawled to our bush to die a slow painful death), and doesnt seem to be allowed into his owner's house (?), but wants to get into our house (?!) which I cant allow that, because it's driving Ginger nuts. Ginger is annoyed; he peed out of his tray to make it crystal clear. He has a collar, which is probably why no RSPCA took him away. Have yet to feel for his microchip, but his collar states a number which must mean he is registered. Underneath his fluff, he's actually not that big/fat. He's beautiful. All cats are, by the way.

That fluffy round face!

How to ignore him like that?

Times like this, I start to critic myself again. I'm holding my furries prisoners. They could be free outside, happy and carefree. Just like Outdoor Ginger. Argh.

Hills and Valleys

Father You give and take away
Every joy and every pain

Ginger has corneal sequestrum, and the eye specialist we saw was pushing for surgery. If you do a quick search on feline sequestrum, you'll find that surgery is always the last resort. I could not believe my ears when the vet coldly suggested surgery right after examining his eyes, and also (rightly) pointed out Ginger's eyes will be permanently scarred.

It's only been a month since I noticed that stain in his eyes. To have it escalated to a point where surgery and grafting is required, where his eyes will never be back normal again, seems punishing. Punishing me, for bringing my furries with me. Across oceans and seas. When they were fine, happy, enjoying their simple lives in SG.

Punishing them, going through so much ordeal, so much fear and anxiety.

I brought the furries over with so much hope. Hope that they have equally awesome if not even better lives with us. Hope that they receive fantastic vet care, seeing that Oz is renowned for graduating vets. In just one month, before we touched down, before we could even get them their pet insurance, in my absence, Ginger has been diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, and right after, sequestrum. Why are the conditions only appearing when we are at our most vulnerable? In a foreign country, with no income, no friends and family, away from furries' regular vet.

Called Ginger's regular vet in SG, and Dr Nicholas recommended another vet for Ginger to get a second opinion. Just made the earliest appointment next week. Fingers, as usual, crossed.

On the mountains I will bow my life 

In the valley I will lift my eyes 

And I will choose to say Blessed be Your name 

And I am not alone

Crippled

Okay, who has been an idiot for not finding out how to recharge her prepaid mobile data?
Just remembered to recharge our sim cards last night, and thought of switching providers. So smart. On the night when your plan expired. Well done.
My only solace is the wifi at home. Less than happy because I've a number of important calls to make to the bank, and stuff. And Fen is at work today! Hurhur~ Wait, I mean zzz, he cant be contacted since his plan expired together with mine. Blah.
And also, did the recharging online. Not sure what happens next. Cant call the service provider because NO MOBILE DATA. I cant find a more sarcastic way to scold myself. I cant even.

Ramblings

The weather has turned warmer, so no more cowering in the cold, until the next season, which I was told would be end March.

Week 4,

1. Finally ran yesterday morning, since touch down. Felt similar to running on treadmill in the air conditioned gym back in Singapore. Breathing cool air into your lungs, perspiration evaporating as soon as it forms. I'm aching now, though. Need. To. Up. Finesse!
2. Ginger puking probably once every 2-3 days, weaning him off his medication, seeing him eating so much more and so much better and so much more active. Pitch acclimatising so well to the new place and weather, running (galloping) so hard around the house and getting along with Ginger again. All is well. O, I'm gonna send Pitch for feline blood donation this week, getting her blood and temperament tested. It's for a good cause, but I'm not very happy she's gonna be shaved. I dont like my babies patchy if I can help it. But it might make the now patchy Ginger happier =/
   

   

   Ginger's o-tube wound 3 days after he yanked the tube out

   

   Ginger's wound healing beautifully 1 week later!

3. Ginger will have his next appointment with the eye specialist on the pigment in his eyes. Just the consultation alone costs $220. Will appreciate all your prayers..
4. Had a scare yesterday morning in the wee hours, when a few kids (?) were climbing on our roof, and entered our pergola, that's right outside our dining area and our bedroom. Fen heard footsteps and shuffling at 0200, and thought it was his imagination. Until our neighbour came over the next day to confirm his suspicion. The kids (?) were on his roof too, and he called the police. They were long gone when the police arrived, but he still came to warn us. Such nice neighbours. Needless to say, we were shaken, and both of us were on high alert last night jumping at every noise we heard.
   Today, I tried climbing to the roof myself. It is so damn easy. And after intensive reading up on house burglaries, we headed to Bunnings to get some burglary deterrent, and also got ourselves more torchlights. The main power switch is outside the house, and can be switched off by ANYONE. I really dont like the dark very much!
   We're now looking into security alarms, motion sensors, contents insurance, and weapons of choice for attack. Also acquainting with neighbours and wondering if we should start an informal neighbourhood watch.. Appreciate any advice.
5. Cleaned the grotesquely dirty oven in the house. Finally mustered courage to face it. Couldnt keep using the cooktop, because who doesnt like easy cooking with oven. Project Cleaning Oven took 3 days, and still isnt entirely over. I'm also not sure when I will feel safe eating food cooked by the oven, given the amount of toxic chemicals I put in for cleaning up the gunk and grime.. The dishwasher was nowhere better. Fen did the cleaning for that, it works perfect now, and we have so much fun using it. The only problem is we dont have enough dirty dishes to fill it up.
6. Thought I should mention that the sun here is different than Singapore. It's the same sun (or star), but it looks different. Feels different. The way it colours the sky, the way it sets, the way it burns! Fen and I slap ourselves with at least 50 spf sunblock before we even step out the house. It's intense.

That's all for now. Ending off with a photo of what's typically going on in our lives~ ^^

Of trials and tribulations 2

Week 3 since touch down. Let's run week by week.

Right before we flew, we left our very very important MacBooks and iPad on the Grab car. Found out only 2 hours later when we are entering the departure gate. So much panic and frantic and worry. People who came to see us off were so kind, reassuring and helping to contact the airport's lost and found, and Grab company to trace down driver. Eventually we flew without our potential work gadget and boarded with a heavy heart. We retrieved it one week later, when Fen's cousin got them back from the driver and flew here to pass us during his work trip. We are beyond blessed.

1st week flew by so fast, and yet so much drama. And so much was done! In order (which worked out favourably for us because some documents were pre-requisites):

• Got a prepaid mobile SIM
• Rented car for 5 days
• Bought furries' necessities (litter tray, sand, food bowls, food)
• Applied Tax File Number (TFN)
• Applied/Activated bank accounts
• Applied Medicare
• Subscribed to internet, gas and electricity providers
• Bought a 2nd hand car
• Started tenancy period
• Converted driver's licenses at VicRoads
• Bought car insurance
• Bought a new mattress
• Collected car and returned rental car
• Bought washing machine and refrigerator

In between the above, we had to make time to visit Ginger at the hospital daily, and still try to be home as early as possible for Pitch. Basically the day was worked around Ginger's visit, which was pretty challenging. Applying TFN, subscribing to service providers and buying car insurance were done online, but needed some reading up and careful filling in. Didnt take super long. Took 2 weeks to get the official card for TFN and Medicare, and at least 3 days for the subscriptions to be activated. Gas took 1 full week! Because complications with outstanding bills from previous tenant. And for 1 week we had icy cold water from the tap and had icy cold showers which I found out were absolute excruciating torture. Landlord was kind and took pity on us, asked us over to have showers.

The drama: Left my wallet at Medicare centre, a public place with many migrants. All our critical identification was inside that wallet. I left it on a telephone booth halfway filling up the medicare application form. Because I was caught on the phone call with Ginger's vet. And everything else didnt matter. Fen also didnt watch out because our names were then called to the counter. And for the next 10 minutes we were sitting at the counter, until Fen asked "where's your wallet?". And my heart froze. I stood up and walked stiffly back to where we last sat. Wallet was not there. I went stiffer. The security guy at the door saw my white face and asked if we needed anything. I could only blurt out "my wallet..". Security guy quickly led us to a guy who was walking around, HOLDING MY WALLET. The guy was trying to contact the owner of the wallet (me). He was tracing the computer to find if our info is with the system. When he turned around to face me, he immediately asked for my name and the contents in the wallet, the country of the identity cards. OMG this guy knows his shit. I'm so glad he was the one in possession of my wallet. GOD BLESS HIM. A false alarm but a terrible scare. We were really out of sorts and not in our game the first week. Very jumpy and constantly worried.

We got our 2nd hand car within 2 days of car shopping. 

Car shopping in a sea of cars

Our rental car, upgraded to Toyota Kluger 3.5L. I actually enjoyed this gigantic white beauty!

A crappy but only photo we took of the car, because the 1st few days were really moodless about fun.

Subaru 2009 Forester
O yea, this is our car, casually taken in the wilderness~

Not too bad, and the car is in an otherwise decent condition despite 300+k freeway mileage. My only criteria is that it works. Fen loved it and has bonded with it immediately. Cant jazz it up in the meantime, but will be a work in progress.

Most things above were done fuss-free, and it definitely helped we did our homework/research and made prior appointments and had documents ready for proof of identification. Blessings everywhere as we had kind landlords and kind-hearted souls who gave advice and offered help along the way. Thankful for all the help rendered. Thankful for God.

Week 2 was more settling. Did more shopping for essentials and had stuff delivered. Bed, fridge, washing machine, dining table (we got a 2nd hand 7-piece solid wood set for $200, woot!) helped make the house more habitable, when we can finally sleep better, keep and cook food, do our laundry, and sit at a table. With the gas activated, we can also use the cooktop, turn on the heater, and have hot water for showers. The nights have been cold, down to 6℃. So cold we needed 2 quilts. Our landlords also brought us around the area, to know where to get good deals and go for road trips. Things we found out here:

• Grocery prices are like the stock market. Case in point - broccoli can easily go for between 99cents/kg to $6.50/kg.
• By default, people enter your house with shoes on. I havent tried asking them to remove before entering, but it's my house and I mop my ass off to keep the floors clean, so I can exercise that right.
• Driving on the road is less courteous than before. We've been to Oz  since 2014, and the road ethics have definitely changed, possibly because of more migrants? But I must say, if you signal, 95% of the time the car will slow down and let you go ahead to change lane. Still beautiful people~ Singaporeans have much to learn about graciousness.
• I've heard stories about the gazillion unique creepy crawlers that are only found here in Oz. So the house has been pretty much shut tight from Day 1 of moving in. Even with windows open, there will always be a mesh (to prevent big slow flies during summer). Still, I keep finding one bug after another in the house. Freaks me out every time.
• Speaking of big slow flies, they are really ridiculously easy to swap and kill! I killed 3 in 2 minutes on first attempt. 
• When the people say something is clean, it is NOT. Zzz standards can be quite low here.
• Cheaper than SG stuff include Lush products, storage containers, (good) coffeebeans, fresher fruits (kiwi and blueberries!!!) and vege (kale and broccoli!) etc. Sorry the stuff I buy are boring. O yes! Cars, lol.

In short, I dont feel much is different. It's almost like we never left Singapore.

We're ending Week 3 soon. All is good. Weather is turning warmer. I do look forward to days where I can just wear a t-shirt, and wear thongs (slippers/slip-ons/flip flops. Forgive me I'm getting aussified). These days I'm furiously buying thermals and warmer jackets (because I left my beautiful awesome fashionable jackets back in SG, kicking myself alot), and watching my pocket burn.

Every night, furries crawl under the sheets to steal our warmth (and our hearts), and I really love spending quality time with them as they acclimatise and adjust to their new home.

Of trials and tribulations 1

There has been a short hiatus between my last entry and this new one. In between, heaven and earth shook in my simple little life. And also, we just got internet at our place.

Furries flew to Melbourne 10 days before us, and as unsettling as that was, I had to let it happen if I wanted to continue having them in our lives. It sounds selfish at times to me, that I'm making decisions for them without their consent or that may not be in their best interests. In my (poor) defense, I've done everything I could to ensure they were safe and healthy enough for travel.

It wasnt good enough. I didnt convince the furries to trust me enough that I would come for them. I did not do enough homework to know I could secure insurance coverage for them. I wish the pet agent had offered me this option which was available but she didnt mention this at all. Because. Against all odds, Ginger fell ill on Day 8 of the 10-day quarantine. It. Was. Devastating. My heart sank. I was literally crushed. I just cried everyday since. I couldnt see him, wasnt entirely sure what was going on. All I had were email correspondences informing me he stopped eating, started vomitting, asking me for permission to send in private vet, to send him to emergency vet hospital ICU, to provide his last blood test from Singapore, to take ultrasounds, to run more tests.. I called in from Singapore to the hospital twice daily to get the latest updates. I could only call back to Dr Nicholas, Ginger's vet in Singapore, to get some light or any possibility on Ginger's well-being over the years I've had him. Dr Nicholas assured me that Ginger had been sent to the best vet hospital in Melbourne, and was receiving the best care and support any animal would in Melbourne.

Finally,  on the 3rd day of his hospitalisation, the vets eventually diagnosed acute pancreatitis. Amidst the panic, we still had lots of packing to do at home. I eventually called in Mum for SOS. On the night of our flight, Fen and I left our most important possession (ok maybe passport was most important possession) - MacBooks and his iPad - on the Grab car. We didnt even notice it missing until 2 hours later, when we're waving goodbyes and about to go through the gate. It was MADNESS. Frantic calling Grab to contact driver, making lost baggage report to Changi Airport, thanking friends for coming to send us off.. And a big part of my brain was just hoping to reunite with Ginger and Pitch. That complex surge of mixed emotions, dont know to cry or worry or panic or just sleep the troubles away.

Fen and I touched down on the 4th day of Ginger's hospitalisation. After clearing customs, we headed to collect car from rental and flew straight to the quarantine facility to collect Pitch. That immense relief when I saw Pitch. She looked so cautious and unsure, and didnt eat/drink that entire day. Once we collected her, we went straight to U-Vet at Werribee. When I finally got to see Ginger, he was stoned from the medication and was just scooting everywhere, confusion and daze in his eyes.

Since he hasnt been eating for so many days, the vets put a feeding tube (oesophageal tube) from his neck through to his stomach, so that he can get nutrients. According to them, the only way to treat pancreatitis is supportive care. Ginger will get anti sickness pills (for his poor appetite), pain relief (for his pancreas inflammation that basically causes pain to neighbouring organs like gut and liver), and antibiotics for his o-tube opening (to prevent infection).

 Baby so badly clipped and front legs were both poked with needles..

After finally reuniting with furries, my mind was more put to ease, and the crying eventually stopped. The days after were planned around visiting Ginger at U-Vet and getting our local documents ready and settling down. After 8 days of visiting him daily at the hospital ICU, he finally transferred to normal ward last Friday, with his drip taken off. And the next day afternoon, he was discharged!!

In the 9 days Ginger was in hospital, and since we touched down, Fen and I and Pitch have been staying at Airbnb, where the room was cramped and dirty. Pitch was very very restless and ate/drink very little. We were constantly out to settle our administrative documents, and only came home after dark, where she was pining for us and would only then nibble some food. When Ginger was discharged, we moved straight to our rental accommodation (without electricity, gas, internet), and again, another change of environment for her. This time, with an unwell Ginger who smelt funny due to the hospitalisation and the drugs he was on. I have to say, Pitch has been through just as much. Both my furries are such champions, and we really have been hard on them.

Ginger has been back with us for a week now. I've been tube feeding him every 6-8 hours, together with 5 other medication he's on. 3 days ago, he started eating a little on his own. I was overjoyed.

Ginger looking sad in his new snuggly bed.

He's making good recovery, and I was tube feeding him only 2-3 times a day. And then. Yesterday. We came home to find he had yanked his o-tube out. Faint. His drama never ends. Another frantic call to the hospital, and was reassured that as long as he continues to eat and doesnt show signs of pain of nausea, he's fine at home. Since I cant tube-feed anymore, Ginger needs to be eating enough on his own. Argh.

 

The marked length was inside his body! Literally delivering food straight to his stomach =O

Next thing that's bugging me. There's spot pigmentation on Ginger's eyes. Yes, both eyes. I raised this to the vet during his review appointment on Wednesday, and she brought him to see the GP for a quick check. She called me just now to address the matter, and said that it could be sequestrum. Nothing to be alarmed, although early detection and treatment is advised. Now I have to make an appointment with the eye specialist, and consultation can easily be a couple hundred dollars. Ginger.. I know you're a fighter, why doesnt God give you peace.. =(

Let's look at the cost of bringing furries over now. It cost me about S$8k to bring both furries over. Ginger's hospital bills at U-Vet is currently at A$6.5k and counting. His eye specialist visit will also be contributing to the cost. I'll be lying if I said all's good. I'm not concerned about money as much as I'm concerned about furries and their well-being. Having just landed in a foreign land with no income, it is definitely unnerving, untimely, and unforeseen. There is currently so much stress and worry. Just praying every day that furries will be back to normal soon and stay healthy and happy for as long as possible.

To summarise, it takes commitment to bring your pets overseas. It takes dedication to own pets. If you're not up for this, dont even keep pets. Pets are for life. They're family, and deserve no less.