The Winner of the April Raffle Is...

First off, we would like to say thank you to everyone who participated in April's raffle. We would also like to thank everyone who sent their well wishes for Mini Munch's safe return. As most of you know by now, Mini Munch returned home safely, six days after she originally went missing...

As for momma bean, she has gotten a little behind in just about everything, including helping Moki to select a raffle winner, updating Moki's blog and sending out thank you's. She had three midterms this last week, and has another two coming up this week, (one on Monday and one on Tuesday.) To give you a better idea of her work load, the following is a picture of the remaining textbooks, she now has a month and a half left to get through. (This for the most part is not counting the ones she has already read. She is on a quarter system.)

In other news momma bean did finally set aside the time this afternoon to help Moki both select a raffle winner...Moki was having a little difficulty selecting a winner so momma bean had to help out, as is evident in the below video...

After shooting the video several times, finally with momma beans help, Moki was able to select his winner...and the winner is Liz at http://lizzieslogic.blogspot.com/! Congratulations Liz!!! Your package will be mailed out to you next week!

We are still a little shy of the total needed to get Moki his thoracic inlet x-ray, so once momma bean gets through the remaining of her mid-terms this week, she will try to put another raffle together for Moki and any other kitties out there who may be in need.

In the meantime, Moki is doing well. He has lost a little weight recently, but his coughing seems to be under control. He remains happy, and joyful as always...

Thats all for now!

------------------------------------------

In responce to Ratmammy and Anonymous:

There are conditions present in animals such as cerebellar hypoplasia, cerebellar abiotrophy, and so forth, which affect an animal’s ability to coordinate their movements. For the most part these types of conditions are the result of the animal’s cerebellum being under developed. These types of conditions can occur either in utero or several months after birth. While these types of conditions do affect an animal’s ability to control their movements, for the most part they are not known to cause any physical pain. An animal may walk funny, or have a harder time getting around, but they are mentally intact. They know what they want to do, they know how to do it, they just need to figure out new and different ways to accommodate their disability.

The point here is that Moki is not in any pain. He is not half dead, and while euthanasia may exist, it should not be used as a means for putting down an animal simply because they are different or need accommodation. Yes, Moki has some sort of a virus which makes him sick from time to time, and yes he sometimes looses weight, or develops symptoms of a URI, but each of those things passes, just like a human cold passes. We can’t control them, but they don’t amount to putting him to sleep either…

On a day to day basis, Moki is a happy cat. He does many of the things regular cats do, including eating on his own, and playing and curling up with his siblings. He purrs, playfully bites, and loves sitting by the window watching the birds, just as all normal indoor cats do. So ya, he may have a little more trouble getting around, but he doesn’t let that stop him...and he doesn’t let his disability interfere with his enjoyment of life!

(Here is a video we shot today of Moki walking. It shows Moki getting up from a laying down position and walking towards a food dish which has been placed at a height which makes it easier for him to eat off of...yes he has a disability and he walks differently than a normal cat, however the fact remains that he does walk on his own, knows what he wants and goes for it, be it food, or simply a cat toy. He often walks across the room, be it to sit by the window and watch the birds, or simply to explore like most curious cats do.)

A disability should never = death or discrimination in either an animal or a person, and I am a firm believer in this. I am sorry if my opinion differs from yours, but the fact of the matter is, I have spent a lot of time researching the issue of disabilities and illness, in both animals and people. I work part time, 10 hours a week, in a moderate to severe, educational psychology department, have two aunts, both of whom I am very close to, which both have multiple master degrees in moderate to severe disabilities, have taken and completed with A’s veterinary assisting classes, and have consulted with multiple doctors and specialists on Moki’s medical case, and none of them feel that Moki’s current state warrants putting him down…neither do I.

It is easy for someone to look at an animal like Moki and say oh you should put the poor cat down, but it is much harder, and takes a much stronger person to see a animal like Moki, and to fight for them. Is keeping Moki alive selfish? No, because Moki is not in any pain. It is refusing to discriminate against him simply because he is different. It both amazes and frightens me how quickly people can jump to the conclusion that Moki should be put down, while knowing and understanding so little about his condition or his current state…

Please in the future take the time to educate yourself before making, or recommending such life and death decisions… you are after all talking about taking a life while knowing so little. Life is a precious gift, and it is beyond upsetting to see that there are people out there that would so quickly take it away, without bothering to do the research, or giving it so much as a second thought…! Compassion is not ending a life simply because you feel sorry for an animal and dont want to look at it or deal with it. Compassion is being sympathetic to an animal's condition, and helping them to find the ways and means to accommodate and fight it...

-----------------------------------------
Anonymous,

First off let me start by saying, no one other than Moki himself can know exactly how Moki feels. What we can know, and what we do know, is how Moki acted and responded to things prior to getting sick and being left in his current state, how he acts and responds to things now, and what his medical record shows. When we combine all three of the above, we can come to a pretty reasonable conclusion about how Moki feels. A mother cannot know exactly how her infant feels, prior to them being able to talk and express their feelings for themselves, however that doesn’t mean that a mother cannot reasonably judge and come to a conclusion about how the infant may feel. Using this logic it is not unreasonable to assume that we can determine and or interpret how Moki feels…

Now as for Jodi, please re-read what I was saying and this time read it carefully. I did not make any judgment calls about Jodi. For starters this is not about Jodi. I did not know Jodi, nor do I know all of the details surrounding Jodi’s case. Please do not twist what I was saying. I did not “reckon [it] was wrong having [Jodi] put down,” nor did I make any statement to that affect. I did not judge you one way or the other, because Jodi was not my cat. I only pointed out how quick you where to judge me, and to reach the conclusion that MOKI should be put down, without knowing, or understanding all the details of MOKI’S case…

If the videos of Moki are upsetting to people, then they should ask questions about Moki and his condition, not just assume or recommend that he be put to sleep. Unfortunately animals with conditions even less severe than Moki’s are put to sleep everyday because people don’t bother to take the time to ask questions or education themselves about the kinds of conditions plaguing these animals. As you may imagine, the consequences of these actions are devastating not only to the animals whose lives are being taken, but also to the human population in general. So little is currently known about neurological conditions and their effects on both the animal and human population. If no one ever fought to keep animals like Moki alive, then medical science would have even less to go on, when trying to battle these types of conditions. It is therefore important on a number of levels to help keep animals like Moki alive who display such symptoms, but appear to be in no pain, so that we can learn from them, and help others in the future, which is exactly why we work with UC Davis, The Shriner’s Children’s Hospital, and many others. Of course all of this has already been recorded on our blog in prior posts…

I am sure Jodi was a wonderful cat, that you loved him very much, and that you did what you believed was best for him. I am also very sorry to hear of your loss. In closing, after reading this, I hope in the future, when you see some thing that upsets you, that you will take the time to ask questions, and understand what you are seeing, before leaving comments and recommending that an animal be put to sleep. To that effect, I welcome any questions you may have about Moki’s condition.

Ratmammy,

Where should I even begin…I suppose the best place to start is in acknowledging your pain, as it is evident, that your comment was written from the perspective of someone who is both suffering and angry…FUS, FEV, FLEV, AIDS, cancer, arthritis, thyroid issues, diabetes, brain tumors, and dementia are all very nasty things to have to deal with. Nobody should ever have to go through them and I am very sorry to hear that you have had to deal with them. Unfortunately, your comparison of Moki to your cats is illogical, and I can only conclude, that such a comparison steams from the pain of your loss…

For starters, as I am sure you are well aware, and as your vet(s) most likely advised you, many of the conditions you mention are fatal. There are no known cures, and only supportive care can be offered to animals inflicted with such conditions, until such a point, that supportive care is no longer a viable option. Animals inflicted with many (although by no means all) of the conditions you mentioned will inevitably deteriorate, with no hope of recovery, until such a time that a cure is found to treat these fatal conditions. The key here is that until such a time that a cure is found, these animals will certainly die from their diseases, it may take a week, a month, or it may be years before they will die, but in the end, the disease without a treatment leading to a cure, will eventually kill them, it’s just a matter of time.

With that said, I am sure you are very familiar with what it is like to lose an animal to a known fatal disease and I never made any claims to the contrary. However, the comparison of Moki’s illness to a fatal disease is not a logical one. Moki has never been diagnosed with a fatal condition. After recovering from his initial illness, the doctors have never made any claims that Moki’s illness will certainly result in his death. They cannot make a claim one way or the other, because they simply do not know what they are dealing with. Further every diagnostic test ran on Moki, after his initial illness has come back normal, making him appear in spite of his obvious illness a perfectly healthy cat, which is exactly why the doctors are baffled.

Now in regards to incontinence, if you had taken my advice and educated yourself about Moki and his condition, by reviewing his blog and reading the many postings on it, you would be well aware of the fact that Moki is perfectly capable of going to the bathroom on his own. Yes he needs assistance to be held up in the litter box, but no, he does not use the house as his litter box, as your cat obvious did. Moki knows exactly where the litter box is, and when helped into it, will go to the bathroom without fail. If no one is around to assist him however, which is extremely rare, he will not just got to the bathroom anywhere, but will instead walk over to his litter box, and go to the bathroom right next to his litter box. This is not the behavior of a cat suffering from incontinence it is the behavior of a cat living with a physical disability. (With that said, I should note, that these kinds of accidents, if you can call them that, are far and few between, with maybe a total of three happening in the last year.) So again to compare Moki to a cat living with and suffering from arthritis, thyroid issues, diabetes, dementia and brain tumors, as was your second cat, is neither a fair nor logical comparison. On the one hand you have a cat who knows what they are suppose to do, makes an attempt to do it, but needs assistance because of a physical disability, on the other, you have cat with a series of medical issues, getting from the sounds of it, increasingly worse, who is no longer even attempting to use a litter box because they are suffering so much. We are talking about apples and oranges here…

I know you have been through a lot, but please do not project onto Moki, or myself for that matter, the issues of you or your cats. Please take a step back from the situation and work out your feelings about your animals. From your own comments, you obviously prolonged a cat’s life who you knew was going to die, and then prolonged Alice’s life (another cat) when you knew that she was suffering…Moki is neither suffering, nor has he been diagnosed with a fatal condition.

If you where familiar with Moki, his condition and his circumstances you would have already know everything I have pointed out so far, in addition, you would have been well aware of the fact that Moki does indeed eat on his own. You would also have known not to bother pointing out or suggesting an animal wheelchair or cart, since I am obviously well aware of them (see the postings about Bella and her wheelchair,) and you would have already have known that both Moki’s physical therapist and orthopedic surgeon did not and still do not feel that Moki would benefit from a wheelchair/cart at this time. As for Moki’s back legs, he can most certainly move them, which is exactly why neither the physical therapist nor orthopedic surgeon want Moki in a cart and have instead recommended that Moki does hydrotherapy, when he feels up to it, as older blog postings show…

In the future, please take the time to get ALL OF THE FACTS and to get them straight before you go around making accusations. It is obvious you still feel a great deal of pain over losing your cats. It is also obvious that you know absolutely nothing about Moki or his condition. I am sorry to be so abrupt, but this is not the first time you have left such comments on Moki’s blog. I overlooked it the first time way back when, but you obviously have learned nothing about Moki since then…

If you are not here to educate yourself, and you do not support what I am trying to do, then the only reason left for you to be here is to instigate...I really hope that that is not your intent, so I am extending you the opportunity to learn about Moki and to EDUCATE yourself about his condition by asking questions and familiarizing yourself with all that we have done and all that Moki has been through…