Is it just me?

Or is my brother growing horns?

It's International Box Day Today!

Bronzy: Hey Slash, I found us two boxes that we can play with. I'll take this one and you can take that.

Slash: How come I have to take the one with the girly design and a hole at the side?

Bronzy: All that is not important. What's important is getting inside the box and letting your imagination take over.

Bronzy: You can be anything you want to be. Right now, I am an F1 racer seconds away from winning the Grand Prix!

Slash: I'm not feeling it.

Bronzy: And now I am a scary skeleton in a pirate's chest waiting to scare my next victim!

Bronzy: Oh, wait! I am no longer a skeleton. I am a... TURTLE!

Slash: That's really dumb.

Bronzy: Now I am a popsicle and my tail is the stick!

Bronzy: OMG! I better stay in this trunk because there's a zombie squad out there looking for me!


Slash: You're out of your mind and I'm out of here.

A Birthday Re-Celebration with Bronzy & Slash

Bronzy: Slash!!! Why is Mommy's present on the floor?!
Slash: Uh-oh...

Bronzy: I hope nothing is broken. I better check it.

Bronzy: Hmm... The wrapping is still good.

Bronzy: And the paw-written message is not smudged.

Bronzy: Slash, can you show me how you wrapped Mommy's present in this twisty style? It's nice!

Slash: Sure! It is very easy. First you grab on to one end of the wrapper.

Slash: Then you lie down on the floor with the wrapper in your paw.

Slash: Holding on tightly to the wrapper, roll over quickly.

Slash: And repeat it many times.

Slash: Then ta-dah! You get a twisty wrapper.

Bronzy: Hey, that is really clever.

Bronzy: I hear Mommy coming. Quick! Twist the ends some more.

Slash & Bronzy: Happy Birthday, Mommy!!! This is from us!
Mommy: Thank you, my darlings!

Bronzy: I'm sorry I missed your birthday, Mommy. But I will recover fast and make sure that I'll never miss another.
Mommy: Thank you, sweetheart. That really will be the best birthday present of all.

Bronzy returned home last night

Her belly is looking a little better. The external stitches have been removed and the fur is growing back quickly. However, the swelling is still there. Although it isn't as large as it was before, it is still big and very hard.

The vet said that Bronzy was responding well to the fluid drainage till a couple of days ago when the swelling rose and hardened again. He thinks that this is a continued reaction to the internal stitches and so in a week, when they are dissolved, the reactions should stop. If they continue, the vet said that he would like to perform an exploratory surgery to find out what is wrong.

I am not about to let him open Bronzy for a third time just to have another poke around. So I will wait a week to see if the swelling subsides after the stitches have dissolved. If the swelling remains or rises after that, I will take her to the cat specialist clinic that fellow blogger Kaz has recommeded to me. But I'm hoping Bronzy will recover before it gets to that point.

At the moment, I am doing my best to keep Bronzy relaxed because any jumping or running will worsen the swelling.

So out came the cage that was purchased when I first moved into this house.

Yes, I know it is quite large for a cat. It was actually built to hold dogs the size of German Shepherds. Since I wanted something that I could confine my cats in without it being too confining, I thought that this cage was perfect.

So here is Bronzy lying on an enormous pillow that was actually Slash's bed when I first got him (but the emperor has shown a clear preference for my own bed since).

On one side is a water bowl to help Bronzy stay hydrated. There is also a make-shift litterbox that is actually the lid of a small filing box. This is to help prevent any "accidents" that may occur in the middle of the night. In the day, she is let out every few hours to stretch her legs and remind Slash that she isn't just a funny-looking stranger.

I think Bronzy likes the cage well enough. She seems to be quite comfortable in there.

I check on her every half hour to make sure that she is resting well and to see if she may need anything else. I do mostly french maid duties like fluffing Bronzy's pillow, sweeping away stray litter crystals and giving her a good scratch behind the ears and around the neck.

Of course, there isn't much I can do about the view.

So Bronzy yawns big and often to let me know how visually boring all this is.

All this won't be for much longer, baby girl. Just rest well so that you'll recover sooner and reclaim your authority as Queen of the house.

And the roller-coaster ride continues

Bronzy was supposed to come home today. But upon arriving at the clinic, the no-go was given.

Although she was responding well to the fluid drainage last week, her swelling increased significantly today. It could be due to the removal of the stitches which was performed in the morning. But, at the moment, no one can confirm anything.

Before my exam tomorrow, I will call the clinic to find out if Bronzy is showing any improvement. If she isn't, I think a second-opinion is in order.

Happy Birthday, Mommy!!!

Today is Mommy's birthday.

I gave her a present that Bronzy and I had picked out together.

I also sang Mommy a birthday song which made her laugh.

Mommy was very happy and touched, but also sad that Bronzy isn't here to celebrate with us as a family. So Mommy said that she would wait till Bronzy came home to open her present.

I think that that is a good idea.

Then Mommy hugged me and said thank you for making her birthday wonderful.

This was what the vet said...

They had to re-open Bronzy. The internal stitching is intact and there is no abscess. But there is a lot of fluid building up around the surgical site and that's causing the swelling. They think that she is having a reaction to the stitches.

This isn't life-threatening, but they want to keep her at the clinic because the fluid will require continuous drainage over the next few days. Only after the reactions have stopped and there is no more built-up of fluid will she be able to come home.

I am relieved that the problem seems to be manageable. I really hope that they are taking care of my baby girl and that she will not have to endure too much discomfort from the needles.

PS. I wanted to get this out earlier, but I had an exam this morning that required mad preparation yesterday.