All Numb from Napping

I woke up from my nap and couldn't feel my legs at all, but it was only because Princess and Shishi have been leaning heavily and sleeping on it respectively. I decided then to nap a little longer - no heart to wake them up you see. :P

Maggie is going gaga over his new feather toy. He spent a long time today tossing it into the air, giving chase, catching it with his paws and carrying it everywhere. I fell asleep watching him play and was woken up in a shock when silly Maggie, in the midst of having so much fun, somehow jumped up onto the bed and landed hard on my cheek. I sat up cursing and Maggie promptly disappeared. Poor boy, I must have frightened him.

Becksie is Obese

Becks on the left, with an obvious disregard for need to be slim.

The doctor said that the guys are generally okay healthwise, except that Becksie is strongly encouraged to go on a diet as she is currently an 8 or 9 on the Cat Body Condition Chart (the alternative five point system can be seen here).

Well, the guys used to be fed twice a day when they were little and somewhere along the years, I switched to free feeding. With much guilt, my convenience was one of the reasons why I made the switch - I simply had to put down 3 bowls of dry food at various corners of the room and then I was off to work. I did consider the possibility that the greedier of the lot might put on some weight then, but a friend of mine has been free feeding her cats for more than a decade and none of her cats were fat. Guess I underestimated Becksie's gluttony and the consequences of my complacency.

So now, the kids have gone back to their twice-a-day feeding routine. I have yet to decrease the amount of food nor change the type of food that they get in a day, but at least now I can be sure that Becksie does not devour Shishi's share. I'll gather get more information from the internet and friends before deciding how to go about helping Becks shed some pounds, hmmm, make that ounces.

A few reads regarding fat cats:

Feline Obesity
Little Big Cat - Feline Obesity
ThePetCenter.com - Obesity in Cats and How to Get a Cat to Lose Weight...
Catnutrition.org - Obesity
Catnutrition.org - The 'CatKins' Diet

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After giving some thoughts on the issue of giving annual vaccinations, I've more or less decided that the kids will not be going for their boosters the next year, or at least the next year. The decision has been made based on the doctor's and fellow cat owner's advice and the kids' current level of exposure to potential illnesses.

Well, they do not go outside, I am always able to wash up properly before I touch the kids after I come back from the animal sanctuary and quite frankly, the kids were at huger risks a few years ago when I used to do a great deal more stray-cat work than I do now. And not forgetting the amount of stress they suffer whenever we make a trip to the vet's.

However, I might just change my mind about it again when the time comes for us to move in with Patch and dad. Patch goes romping on the grass, sniffs other dog's peepee (and getting quite a bit on her nose I'm sure) and attempts to make friends with the neighbourhood cats whenever she is out. The catkids have been indoors since they were three days old so I really worry that their immunity is not strong enough to withstand whatever bugs Patch might just bring back from her daily walks.

We will just see how.

Vaccination Morning Mess-Up

Vaccination day started off in a flurry as their dad decided that he was free to take us in the last minute. I thought we would just walk-in, knowing that appointments needed to be made at least a week in advance for that clinic. When their dad gave me the evil eye for (i) not making an appointment and (ii) insisting that we travel all the way to Bt. Timah to their usual vet, I assured him that there wouldn't be a long queue since it was a weekday.

I called the clinic when all of us were settled, nervously for the catkids, in the car. Then it was my turn to panic when the receptionist told us that they were so full that it was imposible to fit anyone in, not even walk-in customers. That was the only day that we would get to use the car so I decided that I had to get it done, begging or threatening. Eventually, after much asking-nicely (oh alright, and some pleading), she gave in and asked for my pet's name. When I told her there were five of them, a 2 seconds silence ensued and she proceeded to tell me politely that it couldn't be done and that she could help me make an appointment on another day. I told her that I really couldn't make it any other date (which is quite true) and if that was the case, I would have to take them somewhere else. Expectantly, my lousy attempt at threatening was futile. Oh well, I forgot their vaccination cards anyhow. But I do understand that they are usually very busy and the recep was nice and polite throughout the call so it would really not be fair for me to blame them for anything despite my immense frustrations.

Admist the incessant mewing, I stole a look at their silently brooding dad, considered a few other places that we could go and finally decided on ARC across the road. Luck behold, the doc was free to attend to us. As I heaved an audible sigh of relief and animatedly congratulated ourselves on our good luck, I thought their dad looked decidedly a whole lot less pissed.