My Kitty, Codiang: A Case of Eye Crusting in Kittens

My Siamese cat, Kooky, gave birth to six kittens last September 1. I was very confident that they'd grow as healthy and strong as Kooky's first litter. However, something went wrong -- very wrong.

The kittens started to develop crusting in their eyes.

No matter how diligent I was in wiping off the gunk from their eyes, the crusting just got worse. Soon enough, the kittens were dying one by one.

After the fifth kit passed on, I was desperate for a cure. I had to save the last one. The only problem was that I didn't have the time nor the money to bring the kit to a vet.

And thus, I went online for a fast and effective remedy.

I came upon this long thread dedicated to answering the same question I had about a low-cost cure for crusting in kittens' eyes.

The first answers were quite credible, although the very first one (apparently an answer from a veterinarian) was very insistent that whether the kitten owner likes it or not, the affected kittens should be brought to the vet because crusting could be an indication of complications, yadah, yadah, yadah...

The next answers were promising. One suggested tea cleansing (I didn't know tea had topical uses!), and apparently several of those in the thread swore by it. The procedure involves brewing a tea bag's worth of tea, then using a soft cloth to dunk into the tea and after which, to use for wiping the affected kitten's eyes.

The tea cleansing ritual seemed interesting, but I needed something more -- guaranteed.

There were also recommendations for salt cleansing, but I surmise that the pain it could cause would just be as much as rubbing salt onto a wound. Ouch, poor kitty.

And there were the more painful remedies like rubbing garlic into the kitten's eyes (Seriously?!), or using baby shampoo.

Finally, I made the ultimate choice.

Instead of experimenting with stuff to put in the kit's eyes and risk its health even more, I just went to
the nearest drugstore and purchased Terramycin Eye Ointment*.

Bought the small tube at a hefty price of P600.

Come to think of it, P600 is still cheap. If I went to a vet, the professional fee would have been pegged at around P300. Then the vet would be prescribing a barrage of medicines which, I'm sure, will amount to more than P300.

Besides, It's not just this kitten who will be benefiting from this wonder medicine. All other kittens who may develop eye crusting in the future will now have a medicine to keep the infection at bay.

That evening after purchasing the tube, I immediately used it on Codiang (our kitten).

The next morning, I woke up and the first thing I did was to look for Codiang and see if she wasn't bumping around because she couldn't see where she was going.

Miracle of miracles, Codiang's eyes were devoid of any crusting or yellow gunk!

I still proceeded to put an itsy-bitsy amount of the ointment into Codiang's eyes for several days more to make sure whatever bacteria invaded her system dies once and for all.

If before, she wasn't eating much and preferred sleeping  to playing (That's strange for a kitten of more than two months), Codiang now has a very healthy appetite and is playing with her elder siblings from Kooky's first litter. Lately, Codiang has learned to play with us humans, too. She has finally learned the bliss of belly rubs and back scratches.

Codiang's rehabilitation is still ongoing. If you notice her picture here, she's not yet at the peak of health. However, she is definitely on the road to recovery.

My only regret was that I wasn't able to get to her siblings soon enough.

Oh well, at least that's still one life saved.


*This is not meant to be a product endorsement.

New Blog Look and What to Expect in the Relaunch

I'm starting my relaunch with a new look for my blog to make it look more edgy and more appropriate for the content I'll be posting in the next few days.

For content, expect to see a lot of reviews of products, restaurants, food, places, and even some movie critiques. (Sorry, not much of a movie watcher.)

There will also be a generous serving of opinions based on the news and events of the day. Of course, these opinions are mine and mine alone, and I take full responsibility for whatever I will write. However, reactions to whatever I say will be something I will not (and cannot) control, If the reader is offended, then just don't say I didn't warn you. I already gave a caveat.

Of course, I still won't be able to resist myself from writing about and/or posting pictures of my cats, so probably that should be another caveat, teeheehee.

What I certainly can promise the reader is a lot of saucy fun. Well....a bit of -- no, a lot of -- sarcasm too, but sarcasm has so far not killed anyone, right?

Hoping for everyone's support in this!

The Laude Case: Getting too Loud?

I wrote about this on Facebook already, but to juice up this new blog, I'd like to share my own thoughts on the Jennifer Laude case.

For those not familiar with this, it''s all about a crime committed on local shores. The people involved -- an American soldier who was stationed in the Philippines as part of military exercises under the controversial Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and a Filipina "entertainer" who happens to be a transsexual.

Based on initial investigations, the American went out for a night of fun and encountered the Filipina. Both checked in a motel in Olongapo City (located northwest of Manila) but several hours later, the American checked out alone.

The Filipina transgender -- Jennifer Laude -- was eventually discovered half-naked and lifeless in the motel room's bathroom, her head leaning by the toilet bowl.

Laude was found to have died from asphyxia due to drowning. Her head was apparently forcibly dunked in the toilet bowl until she stopped struggling.

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Now for such a simple crime, so much noise has muddled this case.

First, there are the activists who have used this killing to add to their rants against the VFA.

As stated earlier, the Visiting Forces Agreement has always been a controversial issue due to the perceived lopsided components of the said agreement between the Philippines and the United States. Add to that the fact that every time there is increased American military presence in the Philippines, there also is an increase in chances of these visitors committing abuses against our locals.

It already happened before with that case involving the rape of a Filipina by another American serviceman. The case ended with the serviceman being spirited away by the US Embassy back to the native land, allegedly with the help of Philippine government.

Now, this.

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Another source of noise is the one coming from the LGBT community.

Some are speculating that what happened here was a hate crime -- that the American serviceman here, Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, allegedly killed Laude because of his discovery that the latter was not a complete woman.

And thus, the cry for justice for a fallen comrade of the LGBT community.

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And then there's the third and most annoying source of noise -- that of quasi-moral ignoramuses who choose to blame Laude for getting herself killed.

"Malandi kasi (She's slutty)," or "Me boyfriend na nga, sumama pa sa ibang lalaki (Even with a boyfriend, she still went out with another man)."

"Buti nga (Serves her right)."

To these Bible-thumping moralists, I say, let thee who hath no sin cast the first stone.

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There is actually a fourth source of noise in this case, and it comes from Laude's own stable -- her family and her German boyfriend.

It's bad enough that so many sectors are trying to derail the public from the real issue of the case, but her family just had to add to the melee.

First, they were asking for "help" from the President himself. Apparently the help they were asking for was not much the speedy resolution of the case but was more for financial remuneration.

Then came the German boyfie's arrival and press con of sorts.

Then came the dramatic "over-the-bakod (fence)" incident at Camp Aguinaldo by the Laude family and the boyfie, with the intent to confront Pemberton who was detained in the said facility.

Just from these circus acts, we could easily deduce why Laude went for a life of peddling her body and risking her life in the streets of Olongapo.

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Can we just simplify everything, go beyond all of this gunk, and get to the heart of it all?

A human being was killed. Justice must be served.

Will the murder be less of an offense because of the victim's sexual orientation and profession?

I don't think so!

Does the suspect become less guilty because he's a high and mighty American serviceman who decided to kill because he was "tricked" into thinking that his lover for the night had his same genitalia?

I don't think so!

For the meantime, this circus spawned by the Laude case will plod on. To where?

Heck, we all know where this is going.

Under the perennial rug.

*Photos c/o Google Images

Big Relaunch Soon!

I got plans for this blog.

Big plans.

I just need to purchase something before I make the big launch.

Just a week more to go before I get that something.

So excited!

* Photo from Google Images