Tom Angus Tulliver - Oh yay! Just fungus.. That's ok right? WRONG!

First, Tom has a new middle-name and its Angus. Chosen by my cousin JY :) I finally managed to bring Tom to the vet today. We didn't make it yesterday because there was a huge storm in the evening and it took me agesssss to get home from work. Bloody KL traffic. It was past the clinic's closing time by the time I got home to pick him up so he had to go on itching and scratching for another day. At least that didn't seem to have any effect on his appetite. He's got a voracious one and has been scarfing down more kibble than I thought possible. I fill his bowl, he wolfs it down, I fill his bowl, he wolfs it down again... Impressive. I think he's going to gain weight fast which is super! Maybe if he's not so skinny and his body's nice and round, that will distract potential adopters from his bald head. Wishful thinking? oh well.. I can hope right?

When I got home I immediately stuffed him into a carrier and dashed back to my car. He meowed pitifully and loudly the entire time which is just freaking fabulous because I live in a building that doesn't allow pets. Grrrr. He continued to be a pain the whole time we were at the vet's, squirming as his temperature was taken 'thermometer in bum' style so squirming really only makes it more uncomfortable I bet. Then he squirmed as Dr L collected a little skin scraping sample to look at under the microscope. He squirmed as he was fed dewormer etc... The good news is that he's actually in pretty decent shape. His only problem is a terrible fungal infestation. That's why his head and neck are bald and patches of fungus have spread throughout the rest of his body as well. Super.

So... a little skin problem doesn't seem too bad compared to other rescue kitty ailments like diarrhea, flu, eye infection, and vomiting yeah? HAH! That's where you're wrong! Out of all the non-serious ailments, i hate fungus the most!!!!!! Why? It's a high-maintenance problem that's why! And as contagious and annoying as bieber bloody fever. If the little dude had diarrhea it really wouldn't be such a pain to look after him. Grown cats and older kittens are going to use the litter box whether they've got the curry shits or not. It hardly makes a difference. Squirts or no squirts they poop, I scoop. Mission accomplished. (Not that I WANT the poor babies to have diarrhea. I'd rather they were all as healthy as Bill Gates' bank account.)

Fungal infections are so annoying because they take so long to clear. 1 to 2 months and during this period Tom has to take oral anti-fungal medicine everyday and he also needs to be bathed with anti-fungal shampoo twice a week. The shampoo needs to be worked into a thick lather and left to work its magic for at least 10 minutes. Have you ever tried to keep a wet and angry foam-covered cat calm for 10 minutes? It feels like 10 hours. Also, poor Tom can't play with the other animals in the house. He has to stay isolated. Fungus is contagious. The last thing I need is another fungus infested creature in my apartment. He can even give it to me and I will not be a happy camper. I've been washing my hands like mad. Have I mentioned money yet? The fudging oral anti-fungal medication costs 5 ringgit per 1ml. I shit you not. 5 bucks for each teeny tiny ml. Dr L warned me it would be expensive, but still... Ouch! And the anti-fungal shampoo is going to cost 42 ringgit. I haven't bought that yet. Ran out of cash today. Will go back and get the shampoo tomorrow! Total cost today is 147 ringgit. Geez.

I told Tom that I was thinking of leaving his fungus untreated so his entire body would be bald and I'd pass him off as one of those expensive hairless breeds and sell him. Devon Rex? Cornish Rex? Sphynx? Sphinx? Whatever.. Dr Evil's cat. Anyway Tom didn't seem to believe me. He knows I'm such a bleeding heart. Boy am I glad my upstairs neighbor donated a big bag of premium kitten kibble! At least I don't have to worry about feeding Tom and I know he's getting good quality nutrition.

I hope Tom loves me! He better! His road to recovery is going to be a little longer than most but all will be worth it when his head is fuzzy, his fur lustrous, and he goes to a permanent home. :)