3R Workshop and Kitty Vaccination

I had applied for half a day’s leave on 9th July, as I had promised to conduct an after-hours 3R workshop at a shipping and construction multinational in conjunction with the company’s World Environment Month.

As the company was not far from the SPCA, I took the opportunity to make an appointment with the SPCA to have Keisha and her kittens vaccinated on the same day. The kittens are about 2 ½ months old now, and all as active and loveable as can be. One of the kittens (Shasta), however, trembled and wobbled a lot, long after his siblings had developed a steadier gait, which led me to suspect that he had Cerebellar Hypoplasia . Dr. Lim confirmed my diagnosis and advised me to put him to sleep. I refused to agree to it, and rightfully so, because apart from a slightly awkward gait and a twitch, Shasta is perfectly fine. Cerebellar Hypoplasia is not an infectious or degenerative condition. Shasta’s condition is unlikely to get worse, and he does not need medication. More importantly, he is NOT in pain and is NOT suffering. You do not execute a human being with a facial tic, so why should a cat’s life be terminated if his quality of life is otherwise relatively high?

I vow to find him a good home and failing that, I will care for him myself. I had Keisha and her kittens vaccinated and returned to their carrier, paid for their vaccination at the shelter office, and made my way to the auditorium where I was to deliver my presentation.



I started with the screening of The Story of Stuff , followed by a discussion of Reduce, Reuse and Recycling in the waste hierarchy, plus interactive activities and checklists. It went well, and I was pleased that the video ran smoothly. I have given the same speeches on green living, the 3Rs, energy conservation and getting started in activism so many times now that I could probably render them in my sleep.

For my efforts, the Malaysian Nature Society’s Green Living group will receive a cheque for a pre-agreed sum of money, which I will utilize for our future conservation and education activities. I brought the cats home in the evening, gave them a treat of fish with cod liver oil and Liv 5.2., cleaned the Bachelor Officers’ Quarters and got started on reviewing the Environmental Quality Act.