The Chis are still Alive

It had been 2 over months since we got Lychi. Only 2 months? It felt like he has been part of the family for a long time. 

Lychi is still very cute, and very food motivated. He seems to be constantly hungry, despite the tummy pouch that he had developed.

Mochi is very well too.

This is Nana squishing Mochi’s face. I duno why. Poor Mochi.

They are still play fighting a lot and Mochi very much entertained Lychi. Mochi usually have the upper hand given that he is bigger in size. Lychi is not bullied, he sometimes chases or pounces on Mochi. 

Recently, Nana sent us a video. Lychi was grooming Mochi! I have never seen that before. Nana is so privileged to experience it 1st hand. 

Google says grooming could indicate Social Bonding: Licking shows affection, friendship, and acceptance within their shared space. While Mochi didn’t look like he enjoyed it in my screenshot, he probably did. Hoho.

We have been careful with closing toilet doors (to open windows) and metal gate. We changed out our kitchen rubbish bin to one with a lid after Lychi overturned it a couple of times in attempts to eat leftover human food. We threw out our door mat as well after he chewed out little bits and we were worried that he would ingest them. 

On Monday, I made bfast for Daddy Lim and the kids. I left for gym before they left for work and school. Then Daddy Lim and Nana forgot their bfast. Zaky left for school later and took 2 out of the 3 prepped bfast, leaving the last one idling on the dining table. It was a toasted wrap with duck. The duck was from NTUC and roasted in spices. I saw the messages after my gym class in Chinatown and I was already super near to office, about to head for office. 

I panicked. Duck is probably fine but I wasn’t sure about the pepper and spices. I decided to head home to WFH and save the Chis. I am glad for my work flexibility and was anxious the whole way home. 

I have never been more glad to see a wrap! 

Dear family, pls do not try to kill the cats.

Mummy Lim
 

Vaccinations

There is an annual vaccination for cats. There are 2 schools of thought for indoor cats - yearly vaccination or skip as needed bcos they are indoor and limited exposure afterall. 

Mochi has been with us for 3ish year. We skipped one year bcos it is very stressful for him to go to the vet. He did his vaccination last year after his previous sitter advised us, having exposed him to her cats earlier and some of them fell sick to some deadly cat virus months later. We actually thought to skip this year but we had Yochi and then Lychi and the vet at Gaia advised that we should when she was giving Lychi his 1st dose. 

Thus, Mochi and Lychi have a double vet date! Mochi would be given his yearly jab while Lychi would take his 2nd jab to complete the vaccination. 

Lychi was still very clueless when we took out the carrier. 

Mochi already went into hiding, regardless of whether the carrier was for him. We bought a new carrier. I had thought that they could comfort each other if we put them in the same one but I read online that the cats should be separated. Even for bonded pair, the stress and new smell (of the clinic and other animals) might cause aggression. 

Off we go! Mochi was very quiet throughout. Lychi meowed so pitifully.

All good. Lychi is 4.6kg while Mochi is 5kg. The vet said that they are ideal weight. 

After the vaccination, the cats may be more tired than usual or lose their appetite. None of that happened. I gave them treats when we got home and they gobbled those up. They were just happily play fighting this morning. 

I hope that they stay healthy. This vet visit is so stressful for the Chis and me too. 

Mummy Lim

The Chis are Officially Ours!

Lychi has been with us for 5 weeks and he continues to be so super cute and active. He is still happily play fighting with Mochi. 

He had an unfulfillable appetite and makes us wonder if we are starving him. We now have to separate them during feeding bcos Lychi will have a bite of his own food, then rushed to Mochi’s bowl. Mochi simply walks away and comes back later to an empty bowl. We are more worried about Mochi not eating enough. 

Lychi has started to want to eat human food. Mochi was never interested. Lychi will now patrol on the dining table when we are having meals and had stolen a chicken drumstick previously. We yanked it back before he ate it. Yday, he ate Nana’s leftover rice, which she has thrown into the bin. We need a new bin with lid. 

Mochi is never upset about food but Daddy Lim got this picture. So funny. “Don’t eat my food ah!”

I checked with the family and we all agreed that Lychi has integrated well; we want to keep him forvever. 

I messaged JJ and she was happy for Lychi. Meanwhile, she was eager to ask again for Hazel, who is Lychi’s sister, though not closely bonded. She is so pretty too.

Unfortunately, I don’t think we are ready for a 3rd cat. It took us 3 years to decided that we are ready for a 2nd cat and the last integration was so traumatising. For a while, I asked myself if we would ever try for a 2nd cat but Lychi just pawed his way into our hearts. There is also the cat fur to worry about. Zaky’s allergies seem to act up more frequently recently. His door is now permanently closed and I have stepped up on the vacuuming.

There isn’t an adoption fee per se but JJ incurred some medical fee for Lychi weeks back, when he was having a diarrhoea and visited the vet. Of course! We transferred her extras; she is on a fund raise for a vaccination project for her current 20ish cats. 

There is a new law to licence all pets by 31 Aug 26. I made Daddy Lim do it. There is a video to watch prior to registration but easily scrolled through. The registration for licence is not difficult, answering a few questions and adding a few photos. The Chis are officially ours! Yay! 

Mummy Lim

Yochi is Upset; Mummy is Busy

Just when I last updated that Yochi has stopped vomiting and things were on the upturn, Yochi had to show me who is boss. 

On Sunday, I returned from my gym class to clean his puke. This time, it was half digested food. Then he started acting and meowing funny. He started peeing on 2 random spots in the house and was the usual aggressive to Mochi. I don’t know why Yochi was acting that way. I thought we solved the peeing issue, why did it come back after 11 weeks?

This peeing thing is really my irk. Cats’ pee stunk and worse if you can smell it but you can’t find it. Then, there is of course the cleaning up. Arrrrrrgggghhh.. 

I had been considering 2 things - to do the cat reintroduction (that means separating them again) and to bring Yochi to a vet. I was triggered. Coincidentally, a colleague knows of a vet who does house visits. Yochi was once again confined to the service yard and I made an appointment with Dr Tay. 

It was a long agony wait for the vet’s appointment on Wednesday morning. Until then, the Chis had been totally separated and we had busy separating the 2, even during meals. Mochi gets to roam the house most of the time; he is afterall the resident cat. When Yochi gets his “free” time, Mochi will be confined to my room or the balcony. Mochi loves the balcony anyway. Chill, chill. 

Bcos of the peeing issues, Nana was warned not to sleep with Yochi. We also didn’t dare to allow him into the rooms. Meanwhile, Mochi benefitted from not worrying about being attacked when walking around in the house. So sad to think about it. 

Each morning when I wake up and after work every evening for the past 4 days, I found pee outside of Yochi’s litter box and the entire service yard would be pee stained bcos he would have stepped on his own pee and walked everywhere. I have to clean the service yard 2x (at least) per day. I want to cry. It is not only about wiping up the pee, I also have to wipe clean the entire service yard with wet wipe. 

I think our house smelled quite bad. Sob. The last time we confined him (in the initial days), the peeing issue almost stopped immediately. This time, it didn’t. His vomiting issue did seem better and the fur on the 3rd bald spot is also growing back and so far, no new spot appeared. 

Thankfully, the cleaning auntie was here also on Wednesday morning. I had already cleaned the service yard in the morning but auntie could give the house a good wipe/ mop. Bcos I was working from home and Yochi could hear my voice, he meowed persistently to be let out of the service yard. In the very end, I confined Mochi instead. He looked at me with his sad eyes and meowed very gently, which I heartlessly ignored and worked. 

As if to show who is boss, Yochi almost immediately peed outside the litter box. Zzzzz..

Dr Tay finally came and assessed Yochi. The good thing is that Yochi didn’t at all escape or hide. Dr Tay doesn’t think that it is UTI; Yochi looks too healthy and too active to be having UTI. The bald spots are probably yanked out (by Mochi? No way) or dropped when he rubbed himself against hard objects, since they are in areas that he can’t reached by licking or scratching. His skin looks healthy and thus unlikely to he fleas or ringworms. The vomiting is probably fur balls or him eating too quickly. In other words, unlikely to be medical condition. 

It is so strange for his sudden change in behavior after 11 weeks. Dr Tay was puzzled too. His guess is that Yochi has been asserting his dominance and the Chis have been trying to establish that balance in co-existing. Mochi has started to fight back, mainly hissing, tried to paw a little but mostly running away and hiding after Yochi attacks him. Then one bad day (Sunday), Yochi decided that this is not good enough; he wanted to be the real boss. So the peeing outside of the litter box is to tell me that he is not happy. Why tell me? Sob. Dr Tay said that if he pees on the bed, he is telling us that he is really angry. He did that already in the beginning, but probably no chance now since he isn’t allowed into the rooms. 

He gave me several options:

1. To put Yochi on Clomipramine, which is an antidepressant and used to treat anxiety in cats. 

2. To cage Yochi and allow Mochi to show Yochi who is boss, which probably wouldn’t work with Mochi.

3. To cage Mochi and force him into submission - sob!

4. To give up on one of the cats. T.T

I opted for the 1st option for now. 

The medicine is supposed to make Yochi calm, drowsy and thus less aggressive. We are to give him 0.5ml every day. As to when the peeing would be resolved? Nobody knows. How long do we need to keep him on this? Nobody knows too. It is a wait and see thing. Dr Tay said that we can actually let the 2 cats interact after we started on Clomipramine. Yochi would be milder and hopefully Mochi would have “better chance” to show his dominance. 

Dr Tay wanted to check on Mochi too, to see if he is doing ok after these 3 months. Mochi was so scared, that he squeezed and hid behind the washing machine. Zzzzz. Speaking of which, Mochi was probably so busy running away in the last 3 months that the bald spots issue disappeared. In the last few days, he was overgrooming again. Wah, how ah?

I updated the family and JJ - Yochi’s fosterer before we got him. This was meant to be a long trial period and she did mention that if it doesn’t work out eventually, we can “return” him. Though I always see on her FB post on how she guilt trapped potential adopters who return the cats. Sob. I feel guilty already. I told her that we would try out for another 2 weeks; I  really at my wits end. I can’t cope with this service years cleaning 2x a day and we can’t confine Yochi forever in the service yard. She appeared apologetic but I think not. I should also prepped myself if she really did guilt trap me.

The 1st dose of medicine was mixed into Yochi’s snack. He is food motivated but didn’t finish his snack this time bcos of the medicine. He was meowing so much when I confined him and he knew that I was home. I eventually escaped to the office. Ya, I ran away from home, from my pets. 

I had dinner plans and in the late afternoon, Zaky said that Yochi still didn’t finish the snack. He rather not eat it with the medicine. He also didn’t pee on the floor. My hopes were up. I didn’t check on him when I came home. 

This morning, I still had to clean the service yard but there was just a little pee on the floor but pee stains everywhere. He also vomited. Haiz, when will this end? 

I thought Yochi would be hungry enough and eat his bfast even if I mixed the medicine into the wet food. I gave him only his wet food. Again, he showed me who is boss. Eventually, with Nana’s help, we force him the medicine. 

He slept after that. 

I thought maybe it is the medicine. Then, Mochi was sleeping too. Maybe not. Haha. 

Let’s wait and see. I still think Mochi wants a friend but Yochi doesn’t love him. 

Mummy Lim

We Thought We Lost Mochi and We Really Lost Puffy

Yday, there was no WWF ride bcos RIBA took place this morning. I cannot make myself go for another RIBA after my 1st and probably last one last year. It was a test of my patience and endurance. The RIBA was long, slow and the sun unbearable. 

Instead, I tagged along to the JLG where Daddy Lim and Zaky had their skating lesson. I went rollerblading in the once familiar park, enjoying myself and happily skating to my Spotify. 

There had been multiple times while I skated, I accidentally went over twigs and little stones. These, while insignificant looking are usually great hazards to the skaters. Most of the times, I stumbled but found my balance shortly. It had been a while that I fell while skating,

Yday was a different story. At one quiet stretch (luckily), I had no idea what I went over, lost my balance and literally flew into the bushes. The impact knocked my cap off. Nobody came to my rescue and I had to climb out of the bushes, then hunt for my cap. Lol. The only silver lining was that the bushes broke the fall and the grass provided a soft landing. 

There, right there. Poor bushes. I hope I didn’t kill any. I think that hollow was created by me. Lol.

I had a couple of small scratches but otherwise felt all right and was able to continue with the skating. Only in the later part of the day, I had this blue black pain on my right hip bone and this muscle ache on my neck. I probably pulled a muscle or something. #oldbones

Some time later, ah yee texted that they lost Mochi again! We had the aircon technicians come look at the aircon and the gate was left opened. Ah yee and Nana ended up spending the next hour combing the block in search of Mochi. Every single text in that hour was bad news - Mochi was nowhere to be found.

Nana said that she saw Mochi Dupe but no sight of Mochi. I eventually decided to grab home to help with the search. While in the grab car, I was already searching on what to do when one loses a pet - call AVA and SPCA, put up posters. Upon reaching, I was starting to call out to Mochi, scanning the drain and corners, hoping to spot Mochi. 

Right before I reached the house, Nana texted that they found Mochi! Where was he? Right in the house! Lol. Nana had already given up on the search and when the aircon technicians left, Ah Yee and Nana saw Mochi strolled out from the kitchen. lol. They sweared that they had checked the kitchen multiple times, including that space beside the fridge where he always hide. 

Ah Yee and Nana were so upset with Mochi. Nana said that she almost carried Mochi Dupe home in desperation as a replacement. At least they both had a good morning workout. As an act of shaming, we made Mochi wear his collar and Starbucks shirt. 

I think I need to get him an AirTag. This frequent loss is too stressful. Mochi didn’t like his shirt but after a while, didn’t seem affected. He slept very well in one of his favourite corners, shirt or not.

On a sad note, Puffy has finally left us. We got him in August 2022 and he had lived a long life (in hamster’s term) of 2 years. We lost Cookie after 1 year 8 months. 

We knew that his time was near bcos he had been losing weight and fur. He was also eating and drinking a lot lesser. He was so skinny in the recent weeks. Puffy’s departure didn’t tug at our hearts as much as Cookie bcos he bit us so much that none of us really dare hold/ play with him. Ah Yee and Athena found him motionless in his food bowl this morning. What a way to move on, totally hamster swag style.

RIP Puffy! I hope you had a good life. You had bitten enough fingers and eaten enough snacks and worms. Thank you for the joy that you brought to us. 

Meanwhile, the kids reminded me not to bring home another hamster. Mochi alone has given us enough work, entertainment and “excitement”. 

Mummy Lim

Cat Adoption Plan Re-starting

Early this year, I was ready for the kids to adopt a cat. We visited SPCA 2x and was about to adopt one when we decided to get Zaky test for cat allergy. The plan was shelved bcos he indeed is moderately allergic to cats and we cannot afford for his allergies to stand in the way for PSLE. 

We promised the kids that we would adopt after Zaky's PSLE. He can sneeze all he needs and tries to slowly overcome his allergy then. Time flew by and PSLE is literally around the corner. The kids didn't forget about the adoption plan and had been talking about it so frequently. 

Plans are underway. I have reconnected with the cat netting vendor and am trying to get the cat netting done in the balcony before our holidays. Every now and then, we would be browsing SPCA website, checking out the cats available for adoption. 

Yday, I saw a free spot for visitation at SPCA. It is very difficult to get a slot during the weekend and I grabbed it. Everybody is excited about the visit and worked their schedule around for the visit, even Nana, who is usually super busy during the weekend. 

We are familiar with the drill. The cat, whom we wanted to adopt months back is no longer in SPCA. We hope that she has gone to a great home. 

We spent the next hour looking, touching, playing with the kids. 

There were a couple of special breed cats but we were told that these cats usually didn't like to be disturbed. I like actually. Hahahaha. We have to stay away from the longer fur cats. Not only do we need to comb their fur every day, Zaky's nose probably wouldn't withstand the shedding. I don't want a cat that look just like those strays downstairs. I told Daddy Lim that we probably wouldn't be able to recognise and find it if it goes missing bcos it will look like any of the strays downstairs. Haha. 

We saw an affectionate cat with tiger-strips lookalike and rubs against our legs. So sweet. There is another ginger cat who is so tamed and just lets us carry him. We were told that he is easy for nail cutting and bathing too. Sounds good. 

Zaky wanted a kitten bcos kittens are active and playful. I am not keen on kittens bcos once the novelty wears off, the taking care only goes to yours truly. Let's just get a lazy cat. Hohoho. 

We left in less than an hour. Zaky was complaining of starving and his eyes and nose have started acting up. Apparently, his allergy didn't go away. 

There are plenty to be done before the adoption. We have to mesh up the window too, on top of the balcony. I totally forgot about that and am thinking of DIY-ing that with 3M tape and cable tie. Then, the cat will need to be confined in the initial weeks. How ah? We also need to buy the basic necessities for the cat and an air purifier for Zaky's room. That sneezing and teary eyes are no joke, really. 

The cat will come after our Melbourne holidays. By then, most of the cats that we have seen today would probably gone to a good home. We will see who touches our heart then.

Mummy Lim

Achievement Unlocked with Puffy

We bought a new hamster, Cheesepuff Lim Youtiao. I asked to get him bcos I was feeling so empty whenever I looked at that empty space that Cookie used to occupy

Puffy is a yellow blue pudding hamster. While I wanted to get a hamster, Daddy Lim chose him, selecting the smallest hamster of the lot. I was actually eyeing the other big fat lazy one. Hoho. 

I haven't blogged about Puffy bcos we haven't had much bonding with him. One of our worries was that he wouldn't match up to Cooks and unfortunately it is the case. Cooks was so loving and so willing to be carried while Puffy is totally jumpy and he bites, so much and so hard. We should have gotten the fat lazy one lah.

We had been trying to overcome his biting issue. How ah? Google says to give him time,  not scare him, let him get familiar with us and trust us. This is attempted via multiple bites and some of them are so hard that Daddy Lim and Nana saw blood. Only the 2 of them are brave enough to try over and over again. Nana got so upset one time after a hard bite that she declares that she hates Puffy. Sob. Then she went back trying a few days later. So brave. I think we are not more scare of him than him of us. 

After many, many attempts, Nana recently says that Puffy seems to not bite her when she puts her hand in his cage. Then soon after, she manages to hold him!! 

After Nana tried, Zaky and I did too but were quickly giving him back to Nana in case Puffy changes his mind. 

He did. Soon after, he bit Nana that she dropped him. Then when placing him back into his cage, he bit Nana so hard that he was hanging from her finger while Nana when "ouch, ouch, ouch". Heng not me. Haha

 

Nana is so brave.

Mummy Lim

Goodbye Cooks

Today, we bid goodbye to our 1st real pet - Cookie Lim Daogei.

I unfortunately do not have a handsome photo of him in my phone currently. 

In his short lifespan of 1 year, 8 months, he had brought us a lot of joy. We found him utterly affectionate and always hungry for snacks. 

Daddy Lim woke me up at 6am this morning to tell me that Cookie didn't look right. He was lying in his sand box and not moving much. I woke the kids, wanting them to say their last goodbye before they headed for school. In that half an hour, we saw him panting as we held him dearly. We said our goodbyes and prayed for him; for God to take him to a better place soon if he was suffering. Daddy Lim then took over while the kids went to prep for school. In that few moments, Cookie moved on. 

The kids and I cried loads. It wasn't easy to say goodbye to our 1st real pet. 

Popo subsequently told me that Cooks was already behaving funny last night. He wasn't running his wheel as usual but was lying motionlessly in the sandbox when she was heading for bed. I like to think that Cookie, being as dear as he is, had waited for us to say our last goodbyes. I hope we have given as much love and joy as he had given us. 

Did he show signs? I don't know. There were times that we thought he lost weight, then he looked normal. There were times that I thought he had lost appetite but he was greedy thereafter. I am actually glad that he didn't. I thought that it is easier for all of us this way. 

We love you Cooks! Go run your wheel and eat your mealworm in heaven. We will see you again one day. 

Mummy Lim

Cooks!

I always know that I am courting my own death if I ever agree to the kids' plead for a pet. I thought they had became more 懂事 and responsible after seeing how Zaky look after the pet fishes. 骗人的 and I got 骗... 

We got Cookie in early November 2020. There was so much excitement then. The excitement died down as quickly as it come. Zzzzz. Soon, it turned out that I got the honorary weekly cleaning duties. Not fair!

This is how the routine goes. Somebody, usually not me, will feed Cookie in the morning. I already got the cleaning duty and refused to take on the feeding duty. His cage gets wash once a week on Sunday morning. Most of the time, everybody chipped in to help. Everybody also volunteered to look after Cookie as a way of helping when his cage gets cleaned. Zzzzzzz. So clever. 

His cage would be clean and freshen up with new sand and bedding while his tunnels are left out to dry. I will then fix his tunnels, which he absolutely adores, usually on Tuesday. This had been going on for months. 

He rarely gets to run outside of his cage bcos it is so difficult to watch over a little, fast thing and make sure that it is not running to where he shouldn't. Occasionally, somebody will take him out of his cage for some affectionate time. Fortunately, Cooks loves his cage and even refuses to come out sometimes. 

Y'day morning, he had the rare occasion to run around under my watchful eye. 

He is so cute. Hohoho. He looks like one of those cocktail sausages. 

Mummy Lim

Home Improvement Project: Cookie

The kids have their 1st ever 4-legged pet in November 2020. It had been 3 months and Cookie is still very much alive. 

He gets fed once a day, usually in the morning and feeding is not my job. Daddy Lim or the kids will feed him. Unfortunately, I didn't get scot-free -- I am the cleaning auntie. Sob. 

Cookie's cage gets clean once a week, during the weekend. I do most of the washing and whether I get help or not is dependent on how loud I yell at people. Then again, I have become so efficient at this cage cleaning business that it didn't take me too long. Daddy Lim and the kids usually helped to man Cookie while I wash his cage and tunnel and they helped to fix up his cage when the washing is done. His tunnels get put out to dry and I usually fix up his tunnels a few days later, depending on when I remember to do so. Hoho. 

Cookie loves his tunnels. I think it gives him extra space to squirm and explore and that sometimes reduces his cage biting that usually takes place in the morning. Maybe he bites in the night as well while the humans are all in lala land. 

I am now super familiar with the fixing up of the tunnels but realized that in recent days, Cookie no longer access a certain part of the tunnel. Why? He is too fat le. Hohoho. 

He has definitely grew in the 3 months that we had him. 

See, he is a ball now! Hohoho. Takes after Zaky for sure and Cookie continues to love his food, certain food. He is sure one picky hamster. 

In certain parts of his tunnel, we have these skinny tubes.

When we 1st got him, he was so small and could u-turn in those tubes. Now, I caught him peddle with his little feet desperately trying to squirm through those tubes. No wonder he no longer go to the parts of the tunnel where he had to pass through those skinny tubes. I was also half wondering if he would one day get stuck and would need us to help "poke" him through. Hoho. 

This morning, I have "upgraded" his tunnel, replacing the skinny ones. 

The "new" upgraded tunnel is more complicated and atas. From 2 bedroom unit to 3 bedroom. Hoho. Yours truly now have more pieces of that tunnel to wash. Zzzzz. 

Mummy Lim

 

New, New, New

The kids didn't mind that the cage and accessories are 2nd hand. The hamster didn't look like he minds as well and instead looks very comfortable. One thing that Zaky did bug for are tunnels to expand the new home. I am glad that we anyhow anyhow but managed to buy a habitatrail cage bcos that brand also carries a whole series of tunnels. They aren't cheap, the pet shop sells like $5+ a piece and we will need many, many pieces to do a proper tunnel. I found some cheaper versions online but aren't sure if they fit. 

That was when one of the carousel sellers whom we approached earlier responded. He has a whole lot of tunnels to let go and we got them for $35. Daddy Lim picked them up in the evening and the kids busied with the cleaning and attempted some tunnel. This is only half of what we bought.

We did build something for the hamster and lured him with a treat into the tunnel. Hoho. Cheap thrill. 

Did you see? Did you see? There were certain parts of the tunnel that was super narrow and we were worried that he would be stuck but he actually managed to u-turn in that narrow space. We then lured him out with another treat and removed the tunnel in case of whatever accident that could happen in the night. 

This morning, Daddy Lim and the kids were eager to give him cuddles before they headed off to work and school. Faint. We were also advised that he had a bad name and he is now Cookie Lim Daogeh! Ya lah, Cookie is like so easy; we also had so many other Cookies in the past for the many black and white fishes. We prayed for it and that the Lord bless Cookie and our Home. Amen!

Mummy Lim