I want to dedicate the main highlight of this post to my favourite cat, Ah Boy. I have a number of pets since young but none was as special to me as Ah Boy. He was the first pet I could call my own as I picked him up and saw him through his entire lifespan (less 1 year at Julin’s). Ah Boy was a playful cat, but he did not cause much problems like eating our food or jumping on restricted areas or breaking fragile items. Other than toppling down the Christmas tree a few times and disturbing Xiaowa, there was no other incidents that I have to chid him. He was generally healthy although he had 2 episodes of UTI in his early years. I love how he hated people touching his tail yet he would just retaliate with a paw hit or a ‘toothless’ bite. He always let Xiaowa eats first like a gentleman and would just stand behind to wait for her to finish instead of squeezing between spaces.
He would sometimes wait for you to come home or see you off at the door. He did not like cuddles yet he would respond and walk up to you when you called him. He loved playing hide-and-seek too. Ah Boy wasn’t a fussy eater and he could ate whole kuning fish including the head. He earned his keep by getting rid of cockroaches in the house.
I think I had neglected him since Asher was borned. I think he deserved more attention and Julin was ablet give him that. However, he hated confinement and loved to linger out and sleep on different spots. There wasn’t much space to roam and Julin’s place and they were supposed to stay in the room a night.
I’m not sure if a change in environment had detrimental effects to his health and being away from me after 12 years had contributed to his kidney failure? Or was the cheap diet that I gave him a contributing factor?
He was diagnosed with Kidney failure while at Julin’s and I was shocked and heartbroken. I wanted to reunite with them after settling down at my new house. I bought Ah Boy home in advance as he had to be on drip everyday and on meds. Ah Boy took just a day or 2 to get used to the new place and he even accompanied Mr Loo at the sofa on late nights. His health was on and off but he was still coping. In May, we noted that his body is exuding bad odour and he had to be hospitalised. He looked depressed and we thought he may not pull through. When he was discharged, he actually looked brighter at home. He lasted another 7 months.
On 11 Dec, we noticed that Ah Boy had refused his favouite treat, and he was hiding under the lash bed. He started having swollen limbs and couldn't move much. His pupils were permanently dilated and he could not see well. We took him to the vet and he was given an injection for his limbs. The vet asked if I wanted to do any screening, but I knew that nothing much could be done. I just wanted him to be comfortable, hence I asked for pain killers.
On the 12 Dec, he was peeing outside his litterbox and he was walking by the wall. He could not see Xiaowa in front of him and he walked through her. At night, he was no longer hiding beneath the bed and I could see him out. I thought it was an unusual behavior. Mr Loo and I took the chance to spend some time with him. I knew that his sense are all shut down as he even stopped sniffing he treat we put infront nose. His eyes no longer winced to stimuli. I knew that he was suffering already. I moved close to him and stroked him and whispered, “ If you are in pain, go comfortably. Don’t suffer too long.” I was prepared to put him own the following week if his condition did not improve. Furthermore, we were traveling on the following Sunday. I do not want to be worried if he passed on when I wasn’t around.
On the 13 Dec Friday morning, I received a call from Mr. Loo that Ah Boy had passed on. And he was disovered by Asher accidentally. I was shocked. He left too quickly. But he heard me and spared me the torture of putting him down myself. He was a good boy all the way till the end. We cried. As Mr. Loo was on afternoon shift, we arranged the cremation on the following day. I grieved for a week (I turned out to be more upset than expected). Xiaowa behaved a little abnormally with her frequent meowing. She also walked over to sit by my side on the day of Ah Boy’s passing. Ah Boy’s ashes was sent back to me and is now sitting on the shelf. He will always be remembered.
On the same night, Ah Boy’s came back to visit us in the form of the moth, a beautiful green moth.
Work
I was offered to stay on in MOH for another 2 years to set up a volunteer force. Do I like what I am doing No. Am I happy there, no. I don’t feel the culture suits me and I felt a little out of place. I think I wasn’t living up to my bosses’ expectations either. Other than the pay an the new pretty office lounge, there is really nothing that attracts me. I joined the team in July together with my fellow Colleague, Clara. But she couldn’t get used to the pace and culture, hence she was told to go. I took over her team, and one of the gals, S, was pretty upset my her departure. She couldn’t fit well into the culture even though she could deliver, she was quite negative about everything. It affected others, who took on her negative vibes as well. In the end, both of them decided not to continue. To me, it was a good thing, because they were not supporting me well. They were replaced by 2 other staff, till date, seems to be ok. I hope things would get better with this new team, they might probably be the only thing that makes me wanna not wanna leave.
Leisure
Just got back from my second visit to Dubai. It took my mind off Ah Boy’s death, and the multiple stress over work and the desire to earn money. It was a good getaway but Dec flew too fast for me to really wind down. I shall end with an iconic Dubai photo.
No comments:
Post a Comment