Ball Ball - a little human in fur coat
18 years ago, we picked Ball Ball up from our flat’s void deck. She was just a tiny kitten, about one month old. Before Ball Ball came along, we already had 2 older male cats. The 3 of them got on well and things were rather uneventful. When Ball Ball was young, she was a rather ordinary cat....there was really nothing peculiar about her.
Her maternal instincts kicked in when we were fostering 3 kittens - she groomed and licked them to stimulate them to pee and poo as if she were their mother.
Subsequently, we lost the 2 male cats to kidney failure, both within a year of diagnosis. Along the way, we adopted another 2 female cats, Kuning and Chipmunk.
About 4 years ago, Ball Ball was diagnosed with kidney failure. This time, we decided to bring her to see Dr Ly, whom we heard so much about. Thanks to Dr Ly, Ball Ball’s kidney condition has somewhat stabilized.
Due to Ball Ball’s age, these 4 years has been an emotional roller coaster ride for us. Besides kidney failure, whatever geriatric conditions senior cats may have, Ball Ball had/has that at some point. She has battled hyperthyroidism, seizure, bile duct blockage, constipation and stomatitis. Every time, Dr Ly manages to relieve the symptoms and gives her a new lease of life.
And strangely, for some reason, that’s also when Ball Ball’s character starts to shine. She became fearless. We go ARC every month for review. As Ball Ball does not like to be caged, we put her on a harness and leash. And she will walk around the clinic like she owns it, oblivious to the dogs bigger than her. Or maybe she thinks she’s a dog.
Although Ball Ball does not enjoy going ARC, she enjoys the car ride. She loves looking out the car window.
As she gets older, Ball Ball becomes very smart too. When we prepare her medication in the kitchen, she will go into hiding. But we are fortunate that she has been rather cooperative in taking her medication/supplements and sub-cutaneous fluid. Ball Ball also becomes loud, annoying , assertive and demanding. If she doesn’t get what she wants, she will make sure we know it.
Truth be told, if Ball had been a human, we would have disliked her, a lot. She decides when we go to bed and when we wake up. The moment she’s in bed, she expects everyone else to be in bed. She does not care whether you want to do some surfing on the phone or you need to catch up on the newspapers. She will whine until everyone puts down the devices and go to sleep. And she loves sleeping on our bodies. Ball Ball and Kuning share the bed with us. Kuning is only triggered by alarm. Ball, however, is triggered by day light or any hour when she feels like it. If she pees or poos in the middle of the night, she will scream to make sure we wake up to clear the litter box.
After the stem cell therapy to treat her stomatitis, she will wake up at odd hours of the night to demand for food.
It has been an incredible 4-year journey. It’s been tough for us but it’s all worthwhile seeing Ball Ball all healthy and enjoying her life once again. We count our blessings to be able to see Ball Ball each day we return home from work. And we must thank Dr Ly for making this possible.
We hope to have many more good years with Ball Ball.
regards
Eric & Evelyn
owner of Ball Ball