"Why do you come all the way from Woodlands?" I asked as most Singaporean pet owners prefer proximity. "There are clinics nearer to your home."
"I want to come here to neuter my cat," she replied. After the usual examination, I said she could come back in one hour to take the cat home as I would operate immediately.
"One hour?" the little boy with bright big eyes said aloud. He was most attentive unlike other small boys. I thought he would be 4 years old based on his height.
"Yes," I said. "Do you know what is the meaning of 'one hour'?" I asked him.
He did not reply. Mum laughed and both of them left. Two hours later, the mum came with him for the cat. "There is some bleeding from the operation site," the mum observed blood stains on the towel, originating from the horizontal scrotal wound. In cats, the scrotal wound is not stitched up, unlike in dogs.
"Disgusting," the little boy added. I was surprised that he uttered this word and wondered whether he knew what it meant. "How old is he?" I asked the mother.
"He is 6 years old,"
his mother said.
"He is bright and
would do well in
life if he studies
hard." His
attentiveness to
adult conversations,
his power of
observations and his
English vocabulary
is unusual for
little boys of his
age and that is why
I assess this little
boy as intelligent.
Most little boys
tend to be playful
and not
communicative at the
veterinary surgery,
in my observations.
The cat was left in
the surgery till 5
pm when another
adult came with 3
more children. Lots
of joy and laughter
with these young
cousins around.
"I am the 5th
sister," the mum
said to me. "This is
my 3rd sister." The
third sister was
slimmer and more
serious when
compared to the 5th
sister. She drove a
blue Toyota Alixo
car similarly to the
one I had rented as
my own car had
broken down, with
the radiator and the
piping ruptured. It
cost me $85/day to
rent this model and
my car was in the
workshop for 3 days.
The blue car
reminded me of the
blue eyes of this
handsome male cat.
The cat was no
longer bleeding now.
Could the bleeding
be due to the
possibility that I
did not ligate the
spermatic cord and
the blood vessels
properly? No, as I
usually knot 5
times. The reason
was that I made a
horizontal cut
transversing and
incising the two
testicles. Blood
would have
accumulated inside
the scrotal sac.
Sometimes, I make a
vertical incision
and incise one
testicle at a time
and there would
possibly be less
bleeding as one
testicle is incised
and ligated at one
time.
The family took the
cat home and in the
past 14 days, I had
not heard from the
owner and this meant
that the cat had
recovered fully. .
As to why this
2-year-old cat was
sent for neutering,
it was because he
was caterwauling.
"A stray pregnant
female cat waits for
him outside the
door," 5th sister
said. "He is on heat
and wants to go out.
That is why I want
you to neuter him"
"Male cats do not
stop meowing noisily
immediately after
neutering," I said.
"It takes time for
his male hormones to
disappear.
"This male cat
sprayed his urine
and (anal sac) oil
onto the neighbour's
walls and they are
so angry! That is
why I want to neuter
him!".
"In any case, why
don't you get the
pregnant female cat
spayed?"
"She is my
neighbour's cat,"
5th sister replied.
"When she heard it
cost me $195," she
did not want to do
it.
"The cost of neuter
is much less," I
said to her. "You
wanted the e-collar,
the vaccination and
the de-fleaing
spot-on. This added
up. The actual cost
is around $125 with
antibiotics and
painkillers and
surgery and
anaesthesia." The
least cost for
neuter is the basic
surgery, anaesthesia
and an injection of
pain-killers and
antibiotics. This
would cost $125.
In the earlier years
of practice which
has now spanned
nearly 40 years, I
did not give
pain-killers and
antibiotics as this
would be possible
with aseptic
surgery. I believe
in less antibiotics
to reduce the
incidence of
bacterial resistance
to antibiotics. The
cost would be $75
and there were no
post-op infections
or problems.
However, Singapore
cat owners are more
caring. One owner
was most unhappy and
she complained as to
why I did not
prescribe post-op
antibiotics unlike
other vets. So,
nowadays, to
give owners peace of
mind, medication
post-operation is
routinely given. So
the cost is higher.