WARNING: MAY INCLUDE UNCOMFORTABLE AND UNPALATABLE TOPICS
Babycakes is a special needs cat who has previously suffered from megacolon. Megacolon is an abnormal dilation of the colon which is often accompanied by a paralysis of peristaltic movements of the bowel. The faecal impaction of his colon caused Babycakes to suffer from a loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort, pain while straining to defecate, chronic constipation, and an overall diminishing quality of life.
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5-month-old Babycakes after his bath.
At four months old, Babycakes had to be put under general anaesthesia and undergo a manual evacuation (i.e. removal of impacted faecal matter by hand) at a veterinarian. He weighed a mere 500 grams (approximately the size of a five to six-week-old kitten) at the time. After his visit at the veterinarian, he continued to suffer from constipation, and had to be administered with high amounts of laxatives to function. While other kittens spent their days napping and playing, he spent many painful days struggling to defecate. He finally managed to pass out the hard faecal matter that was disproportionately larger to his puny body after struggling for an entire week, but not without experiencing rectal prolapse, a condition where his rectum protruded out of his anus and had to be manually inserted back in. As if life wasn’t hard enough for him!
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8-month-old Babycakes on his stained rug
Subsequently, he developed difficulty in controlling his bowel movement, and spent days in pain staining rugs and floors, tormenting humans who had to clean and wash up after him. At nine months old, he remained the size of a three-month-old kitten. Humans thought he would be an accidental teacup cat till his death (which was on the cards during that dark period of time), as he did not seem to be able to grow any bigger.
From his birth, he was put on a whole range of commercial diets, and fed concoctions of laxatives. Different diets were explored for him, in the hopes of improving his bowel movement and general quality of life. None of the diets — even the expensive prescription diets — provided any relief.
Eventually, Babycakes embarked on a raw diet, which completely turned his life around. He doubled in size within a month, and has grown into a handsome, muscular boy today. You’d never guess that he had survived such an ordeal earlier in life, or that he was born with only one kidney and testicle. Today, he is a happy and loving cat who produces healthy stools, and spends his days tolerating the shenanigans of our founder. They thoroughly enjoy each other’s company and give each other the courage to try new things, whether it is venturing into the living room more often (him) or starting a new company (her) that she hopes will positively impact the lives of many dogs and cats and their human caretakers, just like it did for her and Babycakes.
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