Vaccination subsidy for 3 kittens, Bailey, Kiki and Teddy (Aida bt Mustaffa’s)

We have subsidised RM75 for the 1st vaccinations of Bailey, Kiki and Teddy.

From: aida mustaffa
Date: Thu, Apr 10, 2014 at 12:01 AM
Subject: RE: Resending : Re: Requesting Medical Subsidy for Ash’s Surgery
To: Chan Kah Yein <chankahyein@gmail.com>

Dear Dr Chan,

Hope this email finds you well.

Anyway, I’m writing now to request for vaccination subsidy for Ash’s siblings – Bailey, Teddy and Kiki.

Some updates — Ash and her siblings (turns out they are all female!) are now just over 3 months old. Ash has also fully recovered from her surgery and is doing really well. Very smart, active, playful and brave. But VERY cheeky! Attached are the pics of Bailey, Teddy and Kiki. I’ve also sent a pic of Ash for you to see.

Meredith Grey, their mommy, has sadly passed. The kittens were about 6 weeks old when I found her one night across the street from our house. I let her out of the cage the night before to “do her business”/stretch her legs like I always did, but she did not return. It was strange but I didn’t think much of it at the time. I thought she wanted extra time, so the kittens spent their first night ever alone. I only found Meredith the following night when I went looking for her after I got home from work. She had been dead for at least 12 hours because her body was stone cold, stiff and bloated. I was devastated because she was such a wonderful mother to her kittens. I suspect she might have been in an accident and went to lie across the road near the bushes to rest. I can only hope she did not suffer too much at the end. The kittens were orphans from that night that she went out of the cage. :(((

I took them all into the house and they have become fully domesticated. They are all very healthy and happy. I’ve recently put Bailey, Teddy and Kiki up for adoption on Petfinder.my (http://www.petfinder.my/pets/55429/). I may quite likely adopt Ash myself since she has been in my care from week 2 (although my mum isn’t too crazy about keeping another cat in the house — hence the word “may”). Oh, I also managed to find sponsors via a few kind friends for her amputation surgery in the end. They felt sorry for her condition and wanted to help the three-legged kitty 🙂

Last week, I sent all four kittens for their first vaccination. If it’s OK, I would like to claim vaccination subsidy for Bailey, Teddy and Kiki. I understand from MAC’s subsidy page that pet owners cannot claim for their pets….I’m not sure if Ash qualifies as my pet yet, but I assume she is for now. Attached are photos of the vaccination schedules. I was wondering if I can also claim for their second vaccination (due early May)?

I hope you would consider my request.

Thank you.

Kind regards,

Aida

 Ash

Aida first wrote to us to request a medical subsidy for Ash’s surgery, but that was in January 2014 and during that time, we had already closed our medical treatment fund. We could not help Aida with Ash’s surgery claims, but we offered to help with the neutering and vaccinations of all the other cats.

Here’s Ash’s story:

From: aida mustaffa
Date: Mon, Jan 20, 2014 at 4:54 AM
Subject: Requesting Medical Subsidy for Ash’s Surgery
To: “chankahyein@gmail.com” <chankahyein@gmail.com>

Dear Dr. Chan,

I’m writing to apply for the subsidy for my foster kitten, Ash. You may (or may not) have seen his pics on FB before, but I would like to introduce him to you:

Ash is one of the four kittens born to my resident stray cat, Meredith Grey (I have three resident strays that I feed on a daily basis). The kittens were born on Dec 30, 2013 and Ash is the runt of the litter. I’ve confined Meredith and her babies to safe-guard them, but unfortunately for Ash, he suffered from a suspected bug bite.

About a week after the kittens were born, I came home one day to find Ash’s right front leg very swollen and immediately took him to a nearby vet, who told me it could be a bug bite since he could not feel any fracture aside from the “liquid retention” (or something to that effect). He was sent home with a bottle of antibiotic and painkiller. I gave him the care and attention he needed, but the swelling got dramatically worse a couple of days after. On Jan 11, I rushed Ash to the vet again because the skin was punctured and there was pus all over the cage floor. The vet believed that Meredith, in her good intention, tried to clean his wound; hence the puncture — but even worse still, she licked his leg too hard that the lower bone got detached from the humerus. I decided to rush him to Gasing Veterinary Hospital right after we left the clinic.

There, I was told that Ash would have no choice but to undergo an amputation. At 13 days old, surgery was not advisable as it would be very dangerous to put him under sedation. He had very little chance of survival, but it was the only chance he had to live; lest risk further infection which could well lead to a slow and painful death. Ash was scheduled to have the amputation the very next day on Jan 12, 2014. Under the excellent skills and careful hands of Dr. Goh (possibly also Ash’s strong will to live…or perhaps even his lucky stars!!), Ash survived the surgery! At exactly two weeks old, Ash became a tripod kitty.

The bill came up to RM435 for the whole surgery; or RM485 including the antibiotics and painkiller he got from the first vet. I managed to borrow some money to pay the bills off first, but it’s a heavy amount for me to bear. I would have written sooner, but the last one week had been a harrowing experience because Ash was so stressed out and frustrated with his condition, not to mention he suffered a bout of flu (likely stress-induced) and we had to battle with hypoglycemia and dehydration during the earlier days post-surgery. Adjustments had to be made and I am now practically hand-rearing him…at least until he is healed and strong enough to be with his mum and siblings again. Avoderm, milk replacers, ointments for the wound, post-op follow-ups, etc. cost a bit, but I’m more than willing to foot those bills. However, I would be so grateful if MAC could help by providing medical subsidy for his surgery+meds.

Also, if it is not too much to ask, perhaps a subsidy for vaccination for Ash and his three siblings when the time comes later on. Ash (mink) and his siblings — Bailey (ginger), Teddy (dark fur), Kiki (calico) — are my first foster kitties. I intend to give them up for adoption once they are ready, and Meredith will be sent for spaying along with my other two resident strays. Spaying costs are covered, so no subsidies necessary for the adult cats. Just for the kittens’ vaccination, if possible. I’ll manage the deworming costs for all four babies.

I’m attaching some pics of Ash+family. Hope MAC would consider helping us out.

Thank you so much for reading this. Sorry if it’s a bit too long-winded! :/

Kind regards,

Aida Mustaffa