My Favorite Cats on Etsy (Photographs)

Sleeping Cat Feline Photo - oohprettyshiny // Kitten Photograph, Nursery Decor - AmyTylerPhotography
White Cat Shelter Charity Photograph - FelinesCanines // Cat Sitted on Old Stairs - TheCatsWhisperer
The Prettiest Flower Cat Photograph - InmostLight // Peekaboo Cat in Bathtub - ficklesparrow

Just some of my favorite cat photographs on Etsy. :) Since I shared some photos of Patches last week I've been looking at cat photos on Etsy hahahaha! It's addictive.

New Photos of Patches!

I figured out a new way of taking kitty photos on my own - by holding a feather stick toy in my hand with the camera so she'll look up instead of at me. :D Featured in the photos is Patches, the paralyzed kitty I rescued last year! She is doing very well! A friend of mine gave me these really cute bow tie collars during Christmas last year, and it looks cute on her. The photo above was actually accidental, she ducked down to pounce up at the feather stick with her two front legs.

Her back legs are still paralyzed, and I don't think she'll ever walk again on all fours. But she seems fine with it, though at times I also think she's jealous of my other cat who jumps around a lot. Her front legs are strong and muscular like none other, and she's super playful and rough when she's playing.

Slowly Coming Back

Damn, that hiatus lasted longer than expected. I was so overwhelmed with orders, the duty to care for Patches - the paralyzed cat I rescued back in late June, among other things. That's why I decided to take a break from the blog for a while to get things straighten out and my work in order.

I've learned so much about kitty caring in my long journey in caring for Patches, if you're interested to read about her progress, I have a public photo album on my Facebook that you can read through chronologically. :)

From now on, I think I'll try to update the blog as frequently as I can, and not try to update it everyday like I did for the first half of this year. It was really a taxing endeavor since this is a free blog. At this moment I'm trying to get some things in order, and prepare for the holiday season.

But for now... you can look forward to something. ;)

Patches, the Semi Paralyzed Kitty

THIS, was the reason why my blog updates are so scarce lately. Introducing Patches, the semi paralyzed kitty! She has pretty golden eyes with just a hint of green. :)

Last Sunday midnight (June 25th) I saw a SOS post from an animal rescue group on Facebook. The cat was just about 10 minutes drive from my place, and I know I would feel terrible if I didn't help. And that was how I ended up with Patches. She was suspected to be hit by a car or motorcycle (I suspect the latter) and was not able to move with her hind legs. She was just dragging herself around with her two very strong front legs.

An X-ray of Patch's spine. Her L1 and L2 vertebrae had been crushed together, and the vet said that this was actually an old injury too, at least two weeks and above. Which means she had been dragging herself around like that for at least 2 weeks! Unfortunately that also means it is too late for surgery. Sure, she can perform one, but the bone had started to heal itself so surgery is super risky! The best chances for success for the surgery is actually within the first 8 hours after the injury. So we opted for the conservative way and try alternative treatments.

Patches doesn't really have no feelings in her hind legs. In fact, she still have some reflexes in it, so I am hopeful that she will recover in time.

Patches is currently put on Neurobion, and I have enlisted the help of a super nice animal physiotherapist - Lydia, to help. Unfortunately, Lydia says Patches is a little too early for physical therapy right now, the ideal time is 8 weeks after the injury when the bone had completely healed (over each other) and is more steady. So Lydia just taught me how to massage Patch's muscles to help with the atrophy, and also how to help express Patch's bladder properly.

I had also been looking into alternative treatments, like acupuncture. But I'll touch on that at a later date. :) To be continued!

Introducing Silver!

I don't believe I have introduced my new cat to ya'all yet. Here is Silver, my new 1 year old tabby! (Silver says hi too!)

I didn't found Silver, she found me! Three days after Ginger's passing I saw a grey tabby with the most beautiful mint green eyes sleeping on my porch. This never happens because the porch was Ginger's territory, and she was a very territorial cat. It took me a week before I get acquainted (ie: feed) this young tabby, as she was very timid and keep running away every time I come out of the house. I had to catch her when she was still half asleep.

Long story short, Silver is now my new porch cat! She loves to grovel at my feet, (I suspect she has a foot fetish) she absolutely loves to roll around on her back, she loves greenies, playing with feathers, going out hunting (she brought back two big rats before) and she loves to sleep against the wall.

Silver has a kinked tail, the ends curled up into a tight curl much like a spring, which caused this stubby look.

Her pretty mint green eyes. :)

In Memory of Ginger

Mid April last year, I rescued an orange kitty in dire need of medical attention, she had a bad case of mange. At first I was just a fosterer, but as time passed I grew close to her and decided to adopt her, much to my parent's chagrin. (eventually they relent anyway, hehe) She was diagnosed with kidney disease a short time after that, and was estimated to be 11-14 years old at the time based on the condition of her teeth. Most of them were already gone, only molars left. Ginger needed to be on a special diet specially for her kidney disease, and she need to take meds everyday.

This morning she was found dead and her body was already stiff under my neighbor's car. It was a shock for me, she seemed fine the day before! There was no apparent injury. We suspect she already knew she was about to die because yesterday night at 11pm+ my mom saw her sitting outside, staring intently in the direction where we found her dead body. She never looks in that direction. My mom called her but she did not budge, normally she would at least look back even if she didn't want to come into the house compound. At 12am+ I came down to check on her, she was sleeping right beside the door, I accidentally woke her up when I was opening the door and I said 'goodbye' to her, urged her to continue sleeping and waved. I normally do this when I am going away from her for a few hours.

She is now buried under a flowering plant nearby, with cement blocks and bricks as tombstone and grave marker. I will be able to see her everyday because I drive by that spot every time I come home. RIP Ginger. T_T

If you want to read more about her tale, just click here.

Pusheen the Cat

The truth about new year's resolutions. Lol!
If you don't know about Pusheen the cat, you're missing out! Check out all the cuteness here!

The Lone Guardian

Ginger, my long haired orange cat, is very territorial! Once a young kitten walked pass my front gates and she chased the poor thing away, clawing and biting. One back alley cat came into my yard once too, probably looking for food. She hissed and scratched and scared the poor thing away as well.

Despite all those, I still love her! She keeps all the mice at bay. :)

But she's so shy though! I can't seem to get a photo of her where she is looking into the lens!

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 Reasons Why There Wasn't Updates Last Week

REASON 1

I was preparing for Crafty Art Market 3!! This is my 4th craft market and 2nd time at Crafty. I must admit that I still feel a little unprepared for craft shows, mainly because my inventory is always low, and that what I sell on Etsy won't ever sell locally (especially the bracelets) so... that limits my inventory even further. However, I do have a bunch of pendant necklaces accumulated that I only sell during craft shows. I don't sell them online yet, but if you saw a design and wanted to get now, shoot me an e-mail and we can work things out. :)

My booth display for Crafty Art Market, my bestest yet I feel. :D The 2 tables were huuuuge! (2x1 meters together) And with past experience... I decided to bring a bunch of display props to make my display more interesting. Everything in and on that 3-tier shelf (which I abducted from my room) was not for sale, lol.

REASON 2

Ginger the cat...

Ginger, looking up at me and wondering what the f*ck is that big black thing in front of my face.

Since her last mange shot last Saturday, she had been suffering from a series of difficulties. Including but not limited to... ataxia, drowsiness, fever, flu, tongue ulcer and lack of appetite. I concluded that ataxia was the only side effect from the Ivermectin shot for her mange treatment, everything else is probably just her and her weaken immune system from her malnourishment.

But she is doing much better now after her visit to the vet again in the middle of the week. :) She is active, loves scratches and doesn't sleep as much anymore. But at the moment she is no longer sleeping in the cat carrier because she got traumatized earlier today when an empty trash can that my dad perched up high fell over it. The carrier door that I perpetually kept open closed during the impact. I think she is not hurt, as she looked normal. If my mom didn't tell me I wouldn't had known that such a thing happened. Ginger is now sleeping under my dad's car on the floor. T.T

REASON 3

I completed a large custom order for 6 sets of bracelet and earrings for a bride-to-be. :)

Earrings for her bridesmaids.

My cluster style bracelets and earrings actually take quite some time to do, and wouldn't be easily completed in a day or two since I have a day job too. So it was quite challenging to ship this out on time. @_@ But I crunched my time in between of kitty care and craft market preparations, and shipped this out on Friday evening, phew~

Hopefully this week will be more relaxed. Because I still feel really exhausted from the Craft Market yesterday. But alas, I have another custom order to rush! However, having business and being is better than none. :) I'll try to stay on track with blog updates this week, wish me luck!

Ginger's Second Jab

Has Anyone Seen Ginger Fine Art Print by janeheller

Before the update, I can't help but find the need to share this. Stacey from CreaShines found this adorable print on Etsy, and I couldn't help but fave it right on the spot! This is so cute, I bet Ginger looked like this when she's a wee kitten. ;u;

Yesterday I took Ginger to the vet for her second mange jab. It was a busy day for the clinic yesterday, lots of sick doggies. >.< I had to wait over an hour for her jab due to a dog's urgent surgery. But all is good, I hang a bit, adored people's pets and learned some new things from the lady behind the counter. :)

Ginger in her carrier waiting for her turn. At one point she actually fallen asleep in there, lol. It was raining a lot recently so please excuse her messy look, she got a bit wet yesterday.

Despite the long wait, her jab only took a couple minutes and she was done! She cooperated with minimal struggles and obediently went back into the carrier after. :) However, the vet did expressed his concern that Ginger did not gain any weight despite abundance of feeding, (she is only 2kg!!) I guess I'll give it another week to see if there will be improvement next week. If there aren't, I'm going to ask him to check for other issues. :(

The crusts on her ears and face had pretty much fallen off now.

She has a better appetite, her eyes are looking bigger and brighter, and she just generally look healthier. :) Before this her eyes were always cloudy and she couldn't open them all the way due to the crusts on her face. She is very affectionate too, and likes to rub the top of her head against my legs when I'm preparing her food.

However, this morning when I went out to feed her, I noticed that she seems a little unbalanced. Although active, she almost fell over like she was drunk or something, a few times too. It looked like her back legs weren't very strong. Then later in the afternoon she looked ill and didn't want to eat. (although in the end she did when I added some fresh canned food) I hope this is just a side effect of the Ivermectin jab the vet gave her yesterday. :( She also has flu, keep sneezing, probably from being in the rain the other day. My porch is very prone to floods, and during a heavy rain a couple days ago, about an inch of water went into the carrier. My mom lifted - cat and carrier, up onto a shoe rack. But the cloth inside was wet, and for some reason Ginger stayed stubbornly inside. Now the carrier is settled on top of a few large bricks to elevate it a little.

Ginger the Stray Cat

Wow, a lot had happened today. @_@ The prospect of buying a new house AND taking care of a stray cat for the first time. :) This orange cat had been living on my street for a few years, it always hung around my neighbor's place because they always fed it. Then lately, I realized her ears were crusty.

I have never had a cat before, so I have zero knowledge on what in the world this is. But it looks rather painful and I just had this sudden urge to help it. So I did some researching and asking online, and found out this is mange.

Huey from Nottypooch, who is a great friend of mine and also passionate about helping animals, recommended me to Dr Chan's My Animal Care blog to seek for help. She is such a nice lady, and agreed to sponsor the cat's medical bill and help me care for the cat as best as she can. So after borrowing Dr Chan's cat carrier in the morning, I managed to catch the cat later in the afternoon. Then it is to the vet she goes~

The cat at the vet, preparing for the mange shot. Poor thing is all skin and bones, very malnourished.

She is a very friendly cat, and the vet said that she might have been an abandoned pet since she isn't behaving like a stray. Poor thing. :(

The cat's face. She isn't the cutest I know.

I named the cat Ginger, and am only temporarily fostering her until she completely heals and finds a good owner. Ginger seems to had taken a liking to the cat carrier, so I put some old t-shirts in there to make it comfier for her. My mom hates cats, and she doesn't allow Ginger to enter our house, so she will have to live in my porch for now. This is also the reason why I can't or had never had a cat, even if I wanted to. :(