Imagine having to do these everyday. Wondering if someone will feed you today? To think where your home will be tonight? Will it be comfy and warm or cold and hard? If you will go to bed on a half empty stomach? Or praying that it will not rain that day or the night will feel so much longer? Cheddar spends her days at a HDB void deck probably having these thoughts every single day.
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| Lil' Cheddar |
On good nights she will be able to seek warmth among the towels and baskets thrown away by residents. Yen Yen, a kind resident will build her a cardboard home at night, but come morning, her home is often ‘demolished’ by the cleaners.
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| Cheddar having her dinner |
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| Cheddar's makeshift bunk |
At eight or ten years old, Cheddar has hardly any teeth left in her mouth, and wheezes heavily. She has lots of fluid in her lungs, coughs and sneezes constantly.
Yet, Cheddar, the colour of burnt orange, is still super sweet and loving despite feeling rather unwell. She even gets along with dogs, and will walk alongside Yen Yen when she takes her dog for her walk.
Sadly, when we took her for a health check-up as she had mucus coming out of her nose, the vet diagnosed Cheddar with FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus), which is like ‘AIDS’ in cats.
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| Going to the vet |
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| At the Vet |
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| From Cheddar's nose |
This means her immune system is weakened and infections can cause severe illness and even death. Imagine having a fever or that irritating blocked nose that would take you 2 months, or maybe more, to recover from. It is what Cheddar is going through right now.
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| Spot Lil' Cheddar |
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| A different home every night |
There is no cure for Feline FIV, so all we can do now is try to make her happy and comfortable. With the love that we give her, hopefully it will make her slightly happier and live her days with something more to look forward to. Of course, a small tin of canned food probably isn’t what Cheddar wants but unfortunately, that’s the best we can offer. She should not be going through this all by herself without the basic physiological, safety and belonging needs so this is the least that we can do.
Currently, Yen Yen feeds Cheddar twice daily with food and medication, and we are happy that Cheddar has put on some weight although her stomach seems bloated in the past few days and seems to have some breathing difficulty.
However Cheddar continues living her life as a vagrant, seeking shelter where she can against the cold night air. On days when Yen Yen is unable to feed her, she will be spending the night with an empty stomach out there battling the cold.
She needs a place where she will be safe and warm every night and a home will be a perfect place. Are you able to give her one? We hope she can find a home that will give her pats and love. Cheddar is already sterilized, loves belly rubs and is docile. She even gets on with dogs!
She is old, sick and doesn’t have long to live, can someone give her happiness in her final passage? Even if it means just a few weeks in your home, it would mean the world to Cheddar. Can YOU give her that happiness?
Help Cheddar now. Please e-mail fiona@hopedogrescue.org or share this with your family and friends.
Help Cheddar, give her a home.
Contributed by A.W and Joceline Loo
