AnimalCare

Two nights ago, Bunny was found to be hyperventilating. He was panting with his tongue out and that lasted for quite sometime. If it had gone on longer than an hour, I would have carted him to clinic under emergency already. I read that while dogs pant, cats should not.

We put on a tshirt for him, and later, even the Thundershirt, but it did not help. There was also a bit of thunder that night, but normally, Bunny had never ever been disturbed by thunder or lightning, so we didn’t know why he was panting. It was quite worrying, actually.

Luckily he was still able to eat, but he did hiss and struggled when we tried to hold him.

We were completely baffled as to what could have caused Bunny to hyperventilate that night…until the next morning.

I was in the room and heard a huge cat fight going on in the garden. Rushed out and saw Cow and Bunny in a locked-body fight. I grabbed the water hose and sprayed on Cow until he let go of Bunny. This was close range spraying too.

Cow ran off hissing and Bunny also ran off, very frightened.

Don’t know what happened between these two brothers, but our guess is, Bunny, being blind, must have accidentally bumped into Cow and that made Cow fly into a rage.

Cow has anger management problems. Always had and still has.

Cow was clearly on a warpath and he was all out to get Bunny, so we had no choice but to put Bunny out in the patio. Bunny was hyperventilating again, very badly.

Poor Bunny.

Pupils dilated too. Clearly in shock.

It took some time, but he soon settled down and the panting stopped entirely.

Then, Bunny started looking around….Bunny bullies Heidi (and while Heidi isn’t afraid of “anything”, she is terrified of Bunny). Bunny has a vendetta on Heidi. Reason: Unknown.

Bunny bullies Ginger too. But luckily, Bunny didn’t detect Ginger’s presence.

Nor Vincent’s.

Tabs and Heidi were both safe inside the house.

We had to go out, so we left Bunny, Ginger and Vincent in the patio and closed the patio door so that Bunny could not come into the house and start spraying or attacking Heidi.

When we came home, Bunny was okay, but he was about to attack Ginger and he also detected Vincent’s presence and was about to launch an attack on Vincent (who was crouching and keeping as still as he could, hoping Bunny wouldn’t see him).

Well, that’s the Cow family for you. Cow Mau, Bunny, Pole and Cleo – they are all eccentric and of very strong personalities. Cow, Pole and Cleo would bully Bunny (own flesh and blood, right?). Indy is the only one who is compassionate enough not to harm Bunny in any way even Bunny walks right into him or rams into him. We have seen it so many times.

If poor Bunny (being blind) walks into Pole or Cleo, he would get smacked. If he walks into Cow (heaven forbids!!), Cow would beat him up good and proper. Sometimes, Pole and Cleo would just pass by and smack Bunny for no reason too. It’s just plain bullying.

We were thinking of putting Bunny permanently in the patio, but Bunny bullies Ginger, Vincent and Heidi….sigh.

Difficult, right?

And we only have ten of them!

But Indy’s still the best of them all.

You’re the best, Indy!

You’re a bit crazy at times, but you are THE BEST!

Cow needs anger management therapy, but he can also be very sweet at times. If Bunny stays out too long at the patio, Cow worries too and would start looking for Bunny.

Cats!!

It looks like some sumptuous North Indian cuisine, but it isn’t!

That’s Primal, Gold-D and Coco&Joe’s.

And if you think that’s a lot of choices for one meal, what till you see what Vincent is offered on a daily basis! Yes, up to 7 types, sometimes.

Yesterday morning, he didn’t want any of his favourite Cindy’s Tender Chicken (and help!…I had laced it with Azodyl already), so I took a chance and pour in some RC renal kibble and guess what…he walloped it all (yes, with the Azodyl powder too).

I consulted another vet two days ago, just to seek an opinion. He says since Vincent refuses to take the Azodyl capsule, rather than waste it (it costs a bomb), I should just open up the capsule and mix the powder with honey (to coat it) and give it to Vincent. I haven’t attempted with the honey yet, though. It’s easier to just put it in his food.

I also learnt that based on latest research, the new protocol for fluids is to give 100ml to 120ml per time per day. This is indeed news to me. So, based on this research, the 250ml I have been giving Vincent is way over the limit, but he seems to be doing well on it…. I was advised to check this out: http://www.iris-kidney.com/guidelines/

But I also consulted Vincent’s vet and she says the 100-120ml fluids is for CKD cats in stage 1 or stage 2 (there are 4 stages).  Vincent is already in stage 4 now, so it is very likely that the dehydration is bad (as his kidneys are already “leaking”) so Vincent would need daily subcut of about 200ml, at least. The vet says I could try to reduce from the current 220-250ml to 200ml and monitor Vincent’s hydration by using the pinch test.

That’s the thing with cats. They are so resilient that they don’t show any symptoms or signs that they are ill…until it’s critical.

That’s just the way they are.

Feeding Vincent still requires “mental skill” (amounting to mind-reading) and a lot of patience.  This morning, I got it wrong. He didn’t want what I offered first. So he walked over the the canned food boxes and nudged at one of the boxes (can cats smell through the tin cans?). I mean, I have three brands there – Monge (two flavours), Gold-D (two flavours) and Cindy’s (three flavours). Yes, Vincent told me what he wanted and it was correct.

Amazing, right?

But it doesn’t happen all the time. Most of the time, I have to rely on my own “reading” as well as what had been eaten in the previous meal. Is he on a craze of a certain food, or it is time to change yet?

So yes, getting the right food for Vincent is a daily challenge.

Ginger still bullies Vincent, but occasionally I see Vincent “fighting” back. Ginger smacks him, he smacks Ginger back. All is good. No more “offering the other cheek” – definitely not.

He does like to sit out in the patio garden too. Getting some sun.