Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Ginger's Tail

About 4 months ago, I rescued a stray cat that lives on my street. She had a bad case of mange and had crust all caked up on her ears, and it looks icky and painful. I reached out to Dr Chan from Animal Care for help, because personally I do not own a pet myself, and asked for advice. She borrowed me her old carrier for the cat and when I threw a fish head into the carrier, the cat just dashed in! How hungry was she?!?

Her first visit to the vet to treat the mange, she had it bad on her legs and tail too. Ginger (I named her after the first vet visit) was emaciated as well, all skin and bones and only weighted 2kg. (4.4lbs) She was estimated to be about 11-14 years old judging from her missing teeth; she only had molars left.

Initially, I thought her tail was broken, maybe from some accident or something. The fur was just sooooo badly matted and the mange was so bad, the vet had to shave the whole thing! Turned out the broken tail was just an illusion caused by the matting!

Ginger and her shaven tail! I know she kind of looked terrible in this picture, like a wet rat or something lol. But she was still recovering from mange at this point. This picture was taken right after her 3rd jab.

And now, Ginger after having recovered from mange 3 months later. :) Look how furry the tail had grown! She had also become a lot fluffier for some reason, I initially thought she had medium-long hair, but it looks more like long-hair right now. She currently weights 2.75kg (6lbs) and my mom commented that she physically looks 'rounder in overall', haha. She had also been diagnosed with kidney failure and is on a special diet, plus she needs meds everyday. The diet seems to be doing wonders for Ginger as her weight gain only really started when she started on the diet. Just look at her now! :)

Right now, she is strictly an outdoor/yard cat, as my mom hates the idea of cat hair stuck everywhere in the house. (and Ginger sheds a LOT) So that's why she looks a little dirty/ragged still. She's a really obedient and smart cat though! She knows that she's not supposed to come into the house and won't go further than the welcoming mat. :)

3 comments:

Shenny said...

She's so beautiful! I'm so glad you helped her through that rough part. And it might sound stupid, but it actually made me feel happier to know that someone, somewhere, sometimes, shows those little cuties such a huge love. Give her a hug from me, please! :)

jc said...

What a transformation, congratulations on a job jolly well done! Ginger is so blessed to have found you, Malaysians Boleh!

Alex Kam said...

I did Shenny! I gave her a hug! :D Unfortunately Ginger does not like being picked up and she jumped right off hahaha. So I brushed her after that instead since she loves pats and brushes. :)

Thank you for the compliments JC!

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