Mochi to the Sitter

We would be away for 2 weeks to Japan (yes!) at the end of December and needed to look for a sitter/ boarding home for Mochi. 

The original intention was one of the cat hotels, then the possibility of a staycation at Auntie M's (aggro skating friend) house opened up. She has a cat too and we were about to make arrangement to see if Mochi would make friend (or foe) with her Coco. She and her family would also be away and the plan was for the helper to take care of the 2 cats. 

Then, she came back to say that her helper isn't keen to help. T.T We started looking for cat hotels, to realise that many of them are fully booked for end December. 

Interestingly, there are a couple of websites in Singapore to connect pet sitters and owners. I put up a request on PetBacker to either have a sitter come to our place 2x a day or to board Mochi for 2 weeks. The cost of a sitter is much expensive, taking into consideration 2x a day traveling time. While Mochi would be in a familiar environment, the idea of a stranger entering our home while we are not in Singapore isn't the most comfortable. Plus the sitter would visit only 2x a day, what if something happens to Mochi in between? 

We eventually decide on a boarding home for Mochi and made arrangement to visit 2 homes who responded to my request. 

Mochi isn't very happy to be in the carrier, maybe bcos each time he goes to the carrier, he found himself at the vet. Lol. 

The 1st home (in Yishun) said that she would at most board 4 to 5 cats at one time. What she didn't tell us is that she owns and fosters many other cats. I think there were at least 20 cats in her place. She has a simple computer table in the living room and a big bed in her bedroom and then most of the cats roam freely. A few of the cats were in cages, depending on the cat/ owner's preference, while the rest roam freely. The cats were literally everywhere but it doesn't smell.

Other than the times that Mochi was in SPCA,  he has never come into contact with other cats. We were not sure how he would react. We let him out of his carrier and he was obviously very cautious. He didn't quite like interacting with other cats but was happy to sit in one corner and observe. While Mochi had the chance to figure out what was happening to his life, we got the chance to interact with the other cats. We were like in a cat cafe, just without the drinks. Lol. Zaky ended up with stuffy nose when we left the home. 

We had to load a reluctant Mochi into the carrier. I don't think is was bcos he wanted to stay in the house; he simply hated the carrier. 

The 2nd home was in Woodlands. The sitter warned us not to be alarmed as she was boarding several dogs but to head directly to the "cat boarding room". This 2nd home now felt like a dog cafe. Lol. There were at least 10 dogs. It was not only noisy but a little stinky, like how most dog cafes are. 

The cat's room was quiet and smells clean. In fact, it looked like the boarder's kids' room. There is a double bunk bed, wardrobe and shelving. There were 2 other cats. While the sitter must obviously an animal lover (to tolerate all these animals), it does feel like this is more of a job for her that genuinely loving the pets. She said that she would be even busier next month. 

We visited 2 homes at each extreme spectrum. What an experience. We eventually decided on the cat cafe bcos we didn't want to traumatise Mochi anymore for more home visits. Let's hope all good and finger crossed!

Mummy Lim

Monthly Gathering but Only 2

Life is busy and when it comes to the year end, everybody is busier with travel plans. The aunties are still gathering on monthly basis but there is no pressure when other priorities take place. 

That was what happened - 5 of us were to meet, then 1 traveled, 1 is busy shifting house, the other went for training. In the end, I met only Auntie S for brunch and kopi with the boys. 

The boys were happy to have each other for companion too. They ran off and spent over an hour in the arcade. I duno what else they talked about but they looked like they had fun. T even suggested to come to our place after that. Auntie S' face turned green. Lol. 

As for us, whether is it 2, 3 or 8, there is always things to chat and catch up. 

Looking forward to the Christmas gathering!

Mummy Lim

Last Dose of Antibiotics

Finally! Two full weeks of antibiotics! For the 4 days that I was away, Daddy Lim singlehandedly fed Mochi his antibiotics. There are some misses of course, doses forgotten or the antibiotics ended up on the hand, table, floor, fur, spat out.. whatever but I think we are good and so done. 

This morning was the last dose. Daddy Lim accurately squirted the dose into Mochi's mouth. Bullseye! We celebrated by throwing away the remaining antibiotics and a little dance. 

Our celebration was short-lived; we laughed too early. Just when we were leaving the house, we discovered that Mochi has vomited in his cage, on the litter mat. Zzzzz.. 

We duno why Mochi vomited. Was it bcos the antibiotics was too bitter? Did he eat too fast? The hairball? Or maybe he just wanted to have the last laugh. 

The mess was too gross to clean up and we decided to throw away the mat. Mochi looked fine after that. He seemed to continue with his bfast when we were leaving the house. Mochi 1, we lost.. totally. 

Mummy Lim

Final Business Trip 2023

This should be it - my final business trip for 2023. Woohoo! I am so done!

I had contemplated going to the airport slightly later than usual but I still kiasi and arrived 2 full hours before the flight. This is the 1st business trip where I didn't buy anything from DFS. I spent my time looking for Garett popcorn. My Indo colleagues love that and there is no franchise in Indo. Idea! 

I was departing from the newly re-opened T2. While I didn't do DFS shopping, there were plenty of others to see. Many stalls selling yummy food too.

I decided to head to the gates earlier and that decision allowed me to meet my uni hall/ club mate. We used to run a freshmen orientation camp together and he will be flying my flight! I asked him to fly properly. 

The most enjoyable of the flight. 

My friend didn't fly the plane extremely well bcos it was bumpy. Lol. 

My work trip started with checking in to the hotel 1st. The hotel reception said that they have upgraded me to a suite, probably bcos I stayed at the hotel too regularly. I can't really tell the difference of this upgraded suite vs the normal room but Midplaze Ayana has always been a comfortable stay. 

That kickstarted my busy work week. 

I visited the gym every morning. The hotel has a great gym and they added on new machines! 

I only tried the stairs master for fun. Climbing stairs as a workout isn't really fun. Hoho. Most of the hotel guests were like me, sticking to the boring treadmill. We all probably didn't want to embarrass ourselves. 

The bfast spread has always been so good. 

My dinner for one of the nights. 

I worked hard and am glad to finally 熬到 Friday and it was time to go home. The flight was at 6pm and I duno why I was so chilled to listen to my Indo colleagues and only leave the office at 3pm. Then I started panicking in the traffic jam to Airport. 

There are definitely many good lady drivers but the one who drove me seems a bit chill. I had to rush her a little towards the end of the journey. I arrived at 4.20pm. While checking in and immigration were a breeze, the security check was not. I queued at a lane where a luggage got stuck in the x-ray machine and had to change a line. My next choice (of line) saw a family of 3 with an adult daughter, who were obviously very chill for their travel and took so much time to unload and reload. Angry. 

I arrived home safe and sound. The dinner was good and I am super happy to be home. I am also super happy to finally finished my suduku book. Hohoho.

This has 200 puzzles and I have already threw away majority of the book. This has also accompanied me to so of my trips. Achievement unlocked. 

Yay, to no more business travel for 2023!

Mummy Lim

Mochi is Much Better - Hooray!

We found a much better and easier way to feed Mochi his pills. Hohoho. 

Bcos it is very small, only a quarter of a small pill, we were hoping that we could hide it in his snacks. It works! But only bcos he is now better and hungry and greedy for snacks. 

Aunty J showed me Marsh's snacks. 

One is good for the heart and the other one is some antioxidant. Mochi's snacks must be nonsense in comparison bcos they are not only cheap but tasty (to Mochi) and as the theory goes, anything that is healthy usually doesn't taste good. Hoho. Daddy Lim once bought Mochi an expensive snacks and 被 Mochi 嫌弃. 

Mochi was already much better since 2 nights ago. How do I know? He chose to lose his freedom for snacks. 

The next morning, he was playful. 

Poor fish. 

He is definitely eating better. 

His little nose seems to have recovered fully. I think we can drop his pills. I didn't mind giving him the pills now that it is so much easier to hide in the snacks and feed him. He also tolerated the antibiotics betetr. Feeding him is still a struggle but not sure why, less foaming and therefore less messy. 

Thank you for recovering!

Mummy Lim

Mochi is Sick Part 2

It is confirmed. I am definitely more stress when Mochi is down with a flu than when the kids do. The kids can tell me what's wrong, be persuaded to eat and they take medicine themselves. Mochi does none of these. Zzzzz.

After we came back from the clinic, Mochi spent the night in our room. He was still lethargic and was sleeping in our bed before bedtime. I thought his breathing sounded much better and was very pleased.

I fell asleep while tucking Zaky to bed and Mochi has taken my space in my bed when I went back at 1+am. By then, his breathing was bad again. He was nice enough to give me back my space; I let him out of the room. I ended up following him with a bowl of steaming hot water, hoping that it would ease his blocked nose. I think I did little help. It took me a long while before I fell back to sleep. Mochi stole my sleep. 

Daddy Lim woke me up early the next morning bcos medicine feeding is not an individual feat. 

The tame Mochi that we saw at the clinic disappeared. He struggled while I held him down and Daddy Lim pryed his mouth opened to pop in the quarter pill. We did it! But the struggled left Mochi breathless and he ended up grasping for air. Not at all a pretty sight or sound to hear. After he was able to breath better, we had to hold him down for round 2 and the antibiotics left plenty of mess. 

We left out his water and bfast. He was totally not interested. He wasn't even interested in his snacks. 

He eyed me with contempt when I tried running after him with his food and water bowl. We also tried hand feeding him. He must be fed up with me that he actually used his paw to push away my hand. Lol. 

Later in the morning, I had to get the kids' help to coax Mochi to eat. I was prepared to bring him back to the vet if he still refuses to eat by the following day. Thankfully, Nana said that he appeared to eat some. 

I even compared the before and after photo to be sure. Ya, I think he ate a little. Aunty J had been a great support over the last few days and said that every little food intake is worth a celebration. I couldn't agree more. Give me the pom pom.

Nana said that Mochi sneezed like over 20x and sprayed his saliva everywhere. 

Ok, I hope that means that the medicine is working to loosen his congestion and he is expelling it. 

When home, I found him curled up in our bed. 

I had to wait for Daddy Lim to be home to feed Mochi medicine. Every single medicine feeding is a struggle. He was still not interested in his food. 

I never thought that I would be so obsessed with my cat eating food. Zzzzzz... 

I saw him approached the food bowl a few times but he merely smelled it (with whatever little sense of smell he is left with) and walked away. Popo hand fed him some snacks before bed. Hooray! Even snacks eating is a celebratory act. 

Interestingly, he "asked" to sleep in his cage. Popo gave him more snacks, which he took. Oh yes, for once, he can have all the snacks that he wanted. 

This morning, Daddy Lim woke me up early for the 3rd round of medicine feeding. Despite being the 3rd time, we still struggle. Zzzzzz... the pills are to be taken until his nose is unblocked, I think we have a few more times to go. We have dosage for up to 8 days. The antibiotics have to be taken for 2 full weeks and we are only on day 2. Zzzzzz.. 

This morning, we heard Mochi meowed. That was so sweet bcos it had been a while. The flu has stolen his meow. Speedy recovery, pls. Why did I agree to a pet? Hmmm....

Mummy Lim

Mochi is Sick Part 1

I forgot that having a pet is like another child who doesn't grow up. I also forgot that pets do get sick. Zzzzz. 

About 3 days back, Mochi was incessantly licking his nose and then making this weird noise. I was worried that he was wheezing or having an asthma attack. I googled but it didn't quite seem like it. Later that same evening, he would occasionally spray his saliva while in one of the weird noise episodes. 

Yday, his breathing was noisy and he sneezed a couple of times. I also caught him 流鼻涕. I think he is down with a flu. While he is still eating and drinking, peeing and pooing as normal, I did find him more lethargic too. He wasn't doing his usual dashing around or any of his crazy climb onto this cage act. He was lazing around more. Nevertheless, he is a cat, unlike a kid, I can't tell from his face/ look, if he is indeed lethargic. 

This morning, before I left the house, he was still breathing noisy. 

On the way to work, I googled and read that cat flu takes 7 to 10 days to recover. By the way, cat flu is not the same virus that caused human flu. However, similar upper respiratory symptoms. Wiping his nose with a wet cloth may help. Bcos Zaky was the only one home, he had the honor to do so and said that Mochi was still breathing noisy. 

I also texted Aunty J; she must have more experience than us. Lucky Marsh hasn't gotten a flu before. Aunty J gave a bright suggestion - to call the clinic that gave him his vaccination jab. I called and the staff said that the vaccination contains cat flu and while it is not common to get a flu 2 weeks after the jab, it is also not unheard of. We were given an appointment on Wednesday evening to see the vet if his condition doesn't improve. 

I decided to come home to work and spent the remaining half day working from home and watch out for Mochi. He was legarthic and it took me a while to drag him out of the cage after what appeared to be a frenzy sneezing (wheezing?) episode. Then he spent a long time sleeping on our bed. Each time I checked on him, he was lethargic and breathing noisy. 

I finally couldn't take it by his dinner time. He wasn't meowing away to be fed but was curled up and sleeping on my bed. He looked so bad and I started calling clinics and thankfully got a slot at 6pm at one of the clinics in JE. 

Fortunately, Nana was with me. She is the level headed one. I think I would have freaked out if I had to manage Mochi on my own. Each time I hear his noisy breathing, I died a little. We Tada-ed to the clinc. Mochi was anxious and fidgety in his little carrier. 

He looked so sad. 

We arrived right on time and there was some waiting. I was again anxious each time he fidgets or what sounded like wheezing. At least there were vets around if anything happened. 

Dr Lam (another Dr Lam) looked at Mochi. She said that his breathing indeed sounded bad and his breathing looks laborious too. He also has some nose discharge. To ensure all are OK, she suggested an Xray. Of course. 

The xray took less than 10 mins and the good news is that his lungs are very clear. The vet prescribed him with 2 types of medicine - a tablet form and an antibiotics to be fed with a syringe. The nurse was nice and showed us how the medicine feeding is to be done. Dr Lam said that it is indeed cat flu but unlikely to be from the vaccination. Mochi has no contact with other cats/ animals (except for Puffy), so we are not sure how he has gotten the flu. From the clinic when he went for his jab? 

Mochi needs to be fed 1/4 of the pill, 2x a day for 5 to 7 days. Then 0.23mil of the antibiotics for 14 days. He needs to finish the course of antibiotics, just like human. We were told that the antibiotics is very bitter and it is normal for him to foam at the mouth after fed, to try to expell the bitterness. He demo like a pro, foaming and all. Zzzzz. 

This medicine feeding definitely need at least 2 people. The doctor said that hopefully a few doses of the medicine will make him feel better. If he continues to feel poorly, feed and drink poorly, we also need to bring him back in about 2 to 3 days time. Zzzzzzz..

Mochi was happy to be home. He roamed a little when let out of the carrier. We tried giving him water and his dinner but he wasn't keen. We then went to feed the humans. When we were home, he was hiding behind the curtains, one of his favorite spots at home.

I thinking he is saying, "mummy, don't disturb me". 

Mummy Lim