*Story Compiled by: Celestine
This is the story of the struggle of Tommy the lovable Siamese cat. Li Ying (the rescuer), notified us that Tommy was in poor condition and true enough, he was found with his fur matted and was not eating. Promptly, we brought him to the vet and Tommy was diagnosed with having Ascites, which is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. On that day itself, the vet drained off 400ml of bloody fluid from Tommy’s abdomen.
Furthermore, Tommy was tested positive for FIV, which means Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. This makes him an unsuitable candidate for surgery.
This probably wasn’t always the case though. According to Li Ying, who asked around the neighbourhood, Tommy used to have an owner who had unfortunately passed away, leaving Tommy behind. Tommy then ended up on the streets.
COMPLICATIONS
We sent Tommy for an Ultrasound scan and apart from fluid build-up in the abdomen, more bad news awaited us. His liver and spleen are enlarged, gall bladder, intestines, bladder are inflamed and has chronic pancreatitis though luckily his kidneys are alright. He has a mass of 2.5cm x 3.5cm in his abdomen. One of the only options left for Tommy was to remove the mass in his abdomen but that was risky because he is FIV positive.
After Tommy was discharged, we brought him back to the fosterer’s place with medications and continued to monitor him.
APRIL 2018
Due to the Ascites problem, Tommy had not been eating for 1-2 days at the fosterer’s house. We sent him to the vet to get Abdominocentesis which is a process whereby fluid is removed from the abdominal cavity by puncturing it with a hollow needle to relief him of the discomfort. We were relieved to see him eat again after going back to the fosterer’s house.
Tommy had been losing weight since the day he was rescued, and he currently needed to be brought back to the vet every 10 days to perform Abdominocentesis which costs $105.92 per visit. These issues are of great concern to us and we really hoped that Tommy could eat well and put on some weight.
Tommy’s medical bills were also of concern to us because his medical bill stood at $1287.80 + $227.37 + $105.92 = $1621.09
Our appeal drew kind donations from the community and we would like to thank the following donors for contributing to Tommy’s medical fee:
Athenia Phua - $50
Teo Chee Koon - $100
Magdeline Heng - $200
Anita Koh - $50
After deducting the above donations, our bill stood at $1221.09 which continually snowballed with each additional visit to drain off his excess fluid.
Tommy had been a good cat at the fosterer’s house and it was truly pitiful for us to see him suffering. He had shown great strength and we had hoped that he will recover soon.
THE PAINFUL DECISION
Tommy’s condition worsened further in May. He vomited frequently, had no appetite at all and had a bloated belly. His bony appearance and fragility terrified the fosterer. Worried, she brought him to the vet, thinking it was his excess fluid needing to be drained out that caused the problem. However, this was not the case. This was not Tommy’s usual bloating problem but for some reason, he was failing.
Tommy was hospitalized for 2 days and was put on drips. Steroid was being administered to him to reduce inflammation, but he did not respond to the treatment. Instead, he vomited in the clinic as well. One possible reason for this may be that the cancer in his abdomen had spread to the other organ systems in his body and was deteriorating him completely.
To top that off, Tommy’s poor dental state was frustrating him, causing him to occasionally let out an angry meow. How much more could this poor cat endure?
It was a devastating option, but we made the tough decision to put him down. It is alright to suffer for a while, but Tommy had suffered for too long and too much. We therefore, decided to cut him free from his bonds of pain and let him run free. Mobile Pet came by to pick him up and kindly put Holy Paper for him upon our request.
We would like to thank you Li Ying for notifying us of Tommy at the beginning, as it helped us rescue him so that he did not have to suffer on the streets with no one to care for. The good part in all of these was that he was very much loved towards the end of his life and received lots of pampering treatment at the fosterer’s place.
We would also like to thank the following donors for coming forward to chip inTommy’s medical fee:
Athenia Phua - $50
Teo Chee Koon - $100
Magdeline Heng - $200
Anita Goh - $50
Maggie - $100
Belinda Pang- $500
Total Received: $1,000
The medical bill stands at $1,621.03 + some outstanding bills at the clinic.
The balance of the medical fees is $621.03 + some outstanding bills at the clinic.
Thank you very much for your donations and kindness towards the homeless stray animals.
We are Purely Adoptions, signing off with a heavy heart.