Hello to all our kind supporters,

Today has been a whirlwind of emotions. We would first like to emphasize that Scruffy is currently at home, napping and safe.

Scruffy fell asleep with us last night, on our bed. He was gently snoring and purring, with little twitches in his sleep. He didn't pee on our bed or the floor! He's almost fully litter trained, so close to being a complete indoor cat. We're definitely going to increase his unsupervised roaming privileges.

We woke up to find his kibble bowl empty, and fed him his wet food, before letting him enjoy his morning prior to medication.

His appetite has also been returning in full force, as he immediately ate away everything on the plate. We were really proud and were cheering for him. Every small setback and success is so important for us and Scruffy's journey.

He was also lapping away on his bowl of fresh clean water. We do have a pet camera, and we monitor him through it when we're away. Every time the camera detects a motion, we pop on the phone app to find Scruffy drinking away. He drinks water aggressively and with gusto.

I mention this information as while the day progressed, we began to notice a pattern in Scruffy's behavior. He would alternate between his litterbox, his pee pad, our bed, and the front door. Each time he goes to that spot, he would sit upright in his peeing position, and we would watch his tail twitching. Afterwards, he'd dig at the spot before walking away.

Each time he did so, we note that there was barely any indicators of pee. There would be a small coin sized dribble of pee at most. We began discussing about this behavior, before noting that he also displayed difficulty and straining while peeing yesterday. We went through his litterbox, also noting that there was barely any litter clumps. His pee pad had several droplets of blood.

That's where we began to panic and began making plans for an emergency trip to the vet. It was an extremely anxious moment for the two of us, while scruffy was on the bed napping.

We called Oasis Vet, which was fully booked for today. We called a nearby vet, which was not answering calls. We called Mount Pleasant, who said that they were also booked but accepted walk ins, before calling Pet Avenue, who listened to our ramblings, consulted with the vets, and agreed to book us in at 4pm.

We will admit, tears were shed on our way to the appointment. We were terrified, and had to brace ourselves.

Per our previous vet visit, scruffy's main concern is the inflammation in the kidney and bladder, along with bladder stones. This inflammation may be caused by an array of issues. It could be an infection in the urinary tract, it could be due to cancer. We couldn't get a more in depth review as any further investigation would require physically handling Scruffy. What we do know is that his bladder stone and kidney/bladder inflammation are seperate issues. Solving one will not get rid of the other. The bladder stone he has is about 1cm, and is lodged right below where his urethra would be. It is not obstructing, but is currently below it.

I know that there is a lot to take in, so please bear with me.

From the above, we know these three things:

1) The bladder stone is not blocking his pee

2) Inflammation may be due to infection

3) His kidney and bladder inflammation are not related to the stone

Our vet, Dr Sandhya from Oasis vet came up with a medical treatment. We will put him on antibiotics, supplements for his bladder and potassium levels, and painkillers.

What we hoped is that through a 2 weeks medication period, any infection will resolve and he would stop peeing blood. If during the vet checkup we find out that the antibiotics did work and was the cause of his bloody pee, then that would be one issue checked off for scruffy. This method would allow investigation of Scruffys condition, without any surgery or hospitalization.

As we went to the vet initially with concern over his bloody pee and general wellbeing, this would mean that our goal would have been achieved. The bladder stone which currently sits away from a urethra would not require removal, just constant supervision.

Which brings us to today. He showed the following symptoms

- Frequent attempts to urinate

- Very frequent drinking

- Straining to pee

- Droplets of pee

- Blood in pee

These were all signs of a possible stone blockage. UTI was also a possibility, but given as he was already on antibiotics, it would be unusual for his pee to become worse than it was before medication.

Throughout the whole fiasco, we were holding hands with Scruffy tightly secured in our arms. He was honestly the calmest between the two of us.

When we entered Pet Avenue, there were some rowdy and noisy dogs but the receptionistt/nurses guided us to a consultation room where we could sit and wait peacefully with our old Scruffy.

We had Oasis Vet emailed Scruffy's medical history so that the vets will be up to date with his progress.

Their findings were the following:

1) Scruffy's bladder was only half full and was not bloated.

2) Droplets of pee and wetness of his exterior indicates that it was not blocked, as pee could still come out despite the struggle he may have faced.

Given as everyone was incredibly aware of his age and bladder stone, they suspect that he was currently facing irritation caused by the position of the bladder stone. The physical irritation of his bladder stone may have caused the urethra to swell up and bleed, resulting in difficulty peeing.

It truly was a right call to go for an emergency appointment. However this is also a reality that we have to face for as long as we stick with the non-surgical path. The bladder stone will sometimes cause irritation, the urethra will sometimes swell and bleed. Scruffy will hurt, but he can find relief in his medication. As opposed to an immediately life threatening surgical procedure.

It was heartbreaking listening to the vet, but it was nothing compared to the grief and terror we felt moments prior the vet consultation.

Right now, scruffy is acting as scruffy. He is on the bed sprawled out next to us, snoring or purring as he sleeps. His long fluffy tail is politely tucked in, he is at peace. During brief moments like this, he is simply a cat being a cat. He sleeps well, rolls and sprawls, occasionally wakes up as though to seek comfort, and goes right back to sleep once you give him an assuring pat.

Thank you for reading through today's update.

Thank you for all the support, for showing care and worry for Scruffy.

We are constantly fighting for scruffy.

It has been a huge emotional and mental drain, but we do this because Scruffy is worth it.

We want his remaining time to be filled with good memories. For him to no longer deal with the fear and struggle of being an old, half-blind street cat. For him to enjoy his soft comfy beds, back massages, daily grooming, and love.

Please share his story around and support us in any possible way.

Here is the invoice for our visit to the vet today.

Thank you so much, and thank you to our offline donors:

minghui - $50