From Paws Mission - Can you help Caramel?

Hi everyone! Remember my foster kitten Tom Angus Tulliver? Well, Tom's rescuer, his Aunty WS is a rescuer and volunteer with Paws Mission, a Malaysian dog welfare advocacy and rescue group. They have a major case on their hands right now and funds are very very low for Caramel who is horribly injured. Please read the post I have taken from their blog and see if you can contribute to her medical fees. Thank you so much for your compassion.

Taken from http://www.pawsmission.com/2011/07/can-you-help-caramel_16.html

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Can You Help Caramel?

We thought we have seen the worst with Sammy boy’s wound, but this one certainly far surpassed that - the most disgusting & yucky wound we have ever encountered!

Caramel was found lying motionless one morning with severe injuries, and was rushed to Dr Goh’s clinic for emergency treatment.

The tough cookie is currently on 4 types of antibiotics to fight her infections and also on IV drips.

The skin attaching her tail appeared to have almost detached completely, but she somehow still managed to wag her tail happily when she saw us.

Dr Goh suggested to dock her tail at a later stage as it was pretty badly severed.

Debridement - Dr Goh had to cut off all the dead skin on both her hind legs. She had to undergo two sessions of anesthesia for this surgery. You can clearly imagine her sufferings, just by the mere sight of these heartbreaking pictures.

We had to hold back our tears when we saw her severe wound, extending from one hind leg to the other, with the tail's skin nearly falling off. We could not begin to fathom the tremendous pain she has endured. Fortunately, she is under pain control medication now.

So what actually happened to Caramel?

According to Dr Goh, her wound was caused by a dog fight.??? This girl was probably attacked by a pack of dogs and she suffered at least 40 puncture wounds around her thighs. We actually lost count of the number of wounds on her back, ears, and front legs.

She nearly died of shock the next day as we sent her to the vet. But this tough cookie survived - a real fighter indeed!

How You Can Help?

Caramel's condition truly broke our hearts, and we have vowed to never give up on her even though the medical bill will be costly. We strongly believe that her determined spirit of survival will carry her through this tough time, and we will support her in this tough battle with as much love and care as we can offer.

We sincerely Appeal to the Public to lend a helping hand to Caramel by contributing some much-needed funds for her medical treatment. Every little donation counts, and your support will be significant in helping her pull through this.

This medical bill is estimated to cost approximately RM2000 – RM3000. Her daily medication for antibiotics ALONE would cost RM50+, exclusive of boarding, IV drips, and skin grafting at later stages. She has to constantly fight against infections till her skin fully recovers, which might take up to 10 months. The skin normally grows at a rate of 1~2cm weekly for healthy dogs.

Don’t you agree that Sweet Caramel deserves a second chance in life?

If you would like to chip in / sponsor Caramel’s medical expenses, please find the details as follows:

Cash Donations can be banked into the following account:
MBB Account No. : 112857033831 (YEOH SAIK KIM & LIONG AI WEE)

Kindly drop a note to our email address (info@pawsmission.com) / SMS: 012-919 2263 (Kim) / 012-2900215 (Sam) so that we can acknowledge receipt of your donations and allocate the funds for Caramel.

Posted by Paws Mission at 7/16/2011 02:53:00 AM

New foster kittens - Sneakers & Tabatha

Hola gente!
Tom Angus was adopted a couple of weeks ago! His new mother also adopted a 3 month old rescued kitten from my cousin's friend. I am so happy that he will have company in his new home. I miss him and his noise and clinginess. I wonder how he became the world's most affectionate kitty :)

I have two new foster kittens... They're from a group of 8 that were dumped in a box by the roadside and found by my friend NT's friend while he was jogging. They've now been divided up amongst a few fosterers. The two I have aren't siblings but they might as well be. They have been inseparable since arriving at my home and are often found curled up together sleeping peacefully. Sneakers is the younger of the pair at about 2 months. He's black with white toes on 3 of his paws, a little white chest patch, and a little white tummy patch. He's got about half a tail and white whiskers. He is so freaking cute and not afraid of anything. His big foster sister Tabatha is a calico, about 3 and a half to 4 months old. They're both very vocal and very affectionate.

They went for a checkup last Saturday and since then have been dewormed twice. They both have really nasty, greenish-yellow, slimy, oozey, diarrhea. This is no ordinary diarrhea. It smells SO bad I have to hold my breath everytime I clean up after them or visit them in their area. One teeny tiny puddle of their horrendous poop is enough to make my entire apartment (and probably me) smell like a landfill. Their little tummies are infested with the Coccidia parasite. Dr L has prescribed 2 types of antibiotics for this. Naturally Sneakers and Tabs have both decided to be even grosser and stop using their litter box. They also constantly spit out their medication when forced to swallow it, foam at their little mouths dramatically. Dr L did warn me that the meds are very bitter. Still, I didn't expect the kittens' extreme reaction. Drama-rama. The nasty icky Coccidia monster parasites should be totally eliminated in a couple of weeks.

Photos coming soon!

Foster Twerp Update - Tom Angus Tulliver - New Photos :)

Hello Animal Welfare Peeps!
Tom's rescuer, his Aunty WS, came over last night to visit him. It's been a couple of months since she last saw him and he has changed lots since then. From a scrawny, bald, teary-eyed, miserable little thing, he has blossomed into a very handsome and athletic ginger kitten. He's still quite long and lean and when he's running around he does resemble some sort of mini jungle cat.

Aunty WS kindly donated a large bag of Natural Balance kibble and canned food, as well as some dietary supplements, and a catnip toy for Tom. He couldn't really remember Aunty WS and was a little shy at first but after some coaxing he quickly warmed up to her and they had a good time playing with his new toy.

I haven't taken new photos of Tom lately (ok i've been lazy) and his Aunty WS took some new ones so we could update his petfinder.my profile. You can see how different he is now from just a few weeks ago. He was dressed for the shoot and will also be dressed at this weekend's Pet Expo at Midvalley Megamall where we hope he will find his forever home. He doesn't mind his little tanktop/dress given to him by his Uncle K and he looks so darn cute in it.

Updates! Tom Angus Tulliver & Tamago

Hola mis amigos!

Thanks soooo much for all the kind words and support :) Little Tamago is doing so much better. Her appetite is good, she eats two square meals a day. She wags her tail, comes when I call her (most of the time :P) , and best of all she is happy and excited to see me when I wake up and whenever I come home. She has impeccable bathroom habits and is extremely well-behaved. She is totally not destructive, very calm and quiet, and she knows how to tell me that she needs to do her 'business'. She never has accidents. If we are together in my room and the door is closed, she will get up run to the door and paw it a few times, then sit down, and look at me as if to say "Hey! Let me out! I gotta pee!". When I open the door she immediately runs out to the guest bathroom where I have newspapers laid out for her to go on. When she's done she comes back.

Tamago is also pretty independent. She actually seems to enjoy alone time. I've been home all day and night with her before and she is not constantly by my side. Sometimes she will wander off to another room by herself for hours. Sometimes she asks be let out of my bedroom in the middle of the night and does not return until the next morning. She is not upset when I leave for work everyday. She still doesn't know how to play with toys but she seems alright just hanging out and watching the cats. The only thing that really bothers her is thunder. Poor thing. She is shit scared of thunder. She gets tense when a storm is on the way.. She knows when they're coming. She trembles really badly her eyes opened wide with terror. She breathes so hard and so fast she drools everywhere. She climbs up onto my lap and stands on her hind legs and wraps her front paws around me like a child asking for a hug. I just hold her. Is there anything else I can do?

Tom the kitten is doing great. He's gained weight but he's still lanky and gangly.. I guess he's almost a teenager now.. About 5 months old. His fur looks much better. He's still very affectionate, vocal, and playful. He and uncle sparks are getting along like a house on fire. They play constantly. Pretty wild wrestling and tumbling, very entertaining to watch. Tom's a greedy little thing and loves to run from bowl to bowl eating everyone's food. When he's done doing that, he runs to Tamago's bowl and pokes his head in beside hers to steal her food. He's such a twerp. He tries to steal food from me too.

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. :)

New Foster Kitten - Tom Tulliver

I've got a new foster kitty! My friend and fellow rescuer WS found this little dude today outside her office and brought him to my place after work. He's about 4 months old, scrawny with bald patches all over his face, head, and neck. His eyes are very watery and the rims of the lids suspiciously pink. I'm thinking this guy needs some medical attention. He's a little timid but not hissy at all and once over his shyness he is gently affectionate. He nudges my hand with the gentlest of little head-butts. I don't think he's feeling well and this is probably why he is so subdued. Will bring him to the vet tomorrow!

I think I'll call him Tom Tulliver because I'm reading "The Mill on the Floss" by George Eliot. My mother's favorite childhood book.




He's got absolutely enormous ears. He's obviously not well but doesn't he look like a sweetie? Let's hope for the best shall we :)