0909Singapore Cat jaundice, recumbent, feline infectious peritonitis veterinary education stories published by asiahomes.com internet classifieds, apartments,rental properties, Singapore real estate, rental houses, condos

0917Singapore Cat Jaundice, feline infectious peritonitis, recumbent, pet health and welfare educational for animal lovers, excerpts from The Glamorous Vets, Singapore, sponsored by AsiaHomes Internet.

The boy who loves his cat to death.

"It will cost $250," Mrs Foo said. That was the quotation from Groomer Ken who provided cremation services and urn with a photo for the cat that would be euthanased. It had yellow eye whites and could not stand up. Just two months ago, it had a huge abdomen which was diagnosed as ascites or fluid inside the tummy due to a failure of the liver or kidney. The swelling disappeared after treatment but the cat had become emaciated. I palpated the abdomen and discovered an abnormally enlarged spleen with lots of lumps. The liver and kidneys had shrunk and the cat was in the final journey of life.

I guessed Mrs Foo was the practical baby-boomer generation. Why waste money on a cat to be euthanased by lethal injection?

But she was talking to a fourteen-year-old boy who had a broken heart. His elder brother was sad with tears in his eyes as he understood that death by lethal injection was imminent but did not say anything. His eight-year-old sister stroked the recumbent cat on the examination table and did not seem to be aware of the concept of death.

"We could bury the cat in the garden at home." Mrs Foo suggested. It would be free. It would be messy unless somebody did it and that would cost money.

The fourteen-year-old boy's tears flooded his face as the mother discussed the details of death. The cat could hear him but could not get up anymore. It was wagging its tail as if it was feeling the sadness of the boy who loved it very much but was powerless to reverse the failure of the organs. A ten-year-old cat was equivalent to seventy years for a person and this cat had a good quality of life.

Children less than nine years do not know about the concept of death and the euthanasia of the cat as a humane way to prevent further suffering. But now, his sister started to feel the sadness now and cried.

Mrs Foo had to decide fast. "He had been close to the cat since it was a kitten," Mrs Foo explained to me as her second son was so much traumatised by the concept of euthanasia which he knew was the right thing to do. He was one of the few pre-teen boys in Singapore who loved his cat so deeply. I would say most of his generation would be more into computer games and other activities rather than losing sleep over a sick family cat.

It must be difficult being a mother of 3 children and one cat. Should she authorise a cremation or just a mass incineration which would not cost much? Or a burial in the home garden? Was the decision hers at all? Would she give in to the boy who loves his cat to death? He had wanted cremation rather than burial. Would the mother do this final favour for the cat?

Mrs Foo was a stoical person. Singapore was in another recession and I was sure her business must have had been affected badly. I did not know what business she was in. $250 was a large amount of money in a time of recession. It could feed a family for a week in Singapore.

"The cat could last another two days with fluid therapy," I said. "But it would be kinder not to prolong its suffering." The tri-coloured cat was suffering if you could say that the wagging of its tail was a sign of unhappiness in a cat, unlike the dog.

Mrs Foo phoned Groomer Ken again to discuss the rates. "I must get a kitten for my son. Why do you find a kitten?" she asked me. I wanted to suggest the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals but that would take some time and the office must be closed now that it was 7 p.m.

Groomer Ken could provide the kittens immediately saying he had beautiful kittens. Ken was the person who could be contacted any time as he earns a living by the mobile phone and advertisements. He sleeps with his phones switched on. That will be the way to succeed in this dog eat dog world of a fast paced expensive city like Singapore.

"Do you sell the kittens?" Mrs Foo asked Groomer Ken. I presumed he did although I did not ask. The kittens would be available for immediate viewing. This was one procedure cat shelters would not permit after office hours.

Mrs Foo hesitated no more and decided on cremation. She must love her second son very much, a special type of boy who will be kind to all animals and to people, I am sure.

Note:

If you want your cat to live longer, do not permit it to roam out of the house to meet stray cats or get poisoned, wounded and infected or beaten up.

This cat most likely had been infected by the Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) virus. This is a coronavirus of cats causing vomiting and diarrhoea and most cats do recover. However, it also attacks the immune system and causes FIP.

When the cat is infected with FIP, there are two presentation. The "wet" form of FIP will be a swollen abdomen (tummy) which is filled with fluid. The "dry" form will be neurological signs like being unable to stand or walk properly (ataxia) anaemia and jaundice. There is no treatment and most infected cats will die.

There is a blood test for the coronavirus. For catteries and breeders, this blood test may be useful to remove the kittens from the mother with coronaviral infection. The kittens should be removed before six weeks of age to prevent infection by the mother. The kittens will have maternal antibodies before six weeks old and will be protected.

There is no vaccine for FIP. Infection is usually from saliva or faeces. A roaming cat may be infected by meeting infected cats.