A breakfast story – the rest of the brood

Note: This is a long post. I am de-stressing and writing is very therapeutic for me.

I haven’t been writing much about the rest of the brood, being so engrossed with Rosie’s case, but I have been spending time with the Inside Cats daily so that they won’t feel neglected.

However, the equilibrium outside has changed considerably since Rosie took ill. Daffodil and Ginger don’t recognise Rosie anymore, so Daffodil decided to move out (because Rosie occupies the whole house).

Such it is, with cats. It is quite beyond our control.

Despite us bringing Daffodil inside, she insists on going out.  Previously, Daffodil was totally indoors. In fact, she lives on our bed and only comes down for food and to do her business. Now, with Rosie occupying our room (before we got the stainless steel netting done for the living room), Daffodil doesn’t have a room anymore.

But thankfully, we still see Daffodil three times a day for meals. And at other times, we see her on our shoe rack in the porch so that’s not so bad – at least she is safe. But she just doesn’t want to come into the house anymore.

Ginger stays at the patio and also doesn’t want to come in anymore too. Previously, his favourite place would be the orange basket next to Bunny’s Grille, but now, he prefers the patio.

Only Daffodil and Ginger have been so affected by Rosie’s illness.

So yes, you try for years to domesticate the community cats and you succeed (they are willing to live in the house now where they are safe), but now, because of one change, everything changes again. Such is life. Impermanence.

Heidi still occupies the kitchen – she’s totally okay about everything. Vincent still stands guard at the porch, from the top of the car. Loyal soldier.

Zurik? Well, Zurik is affected because he is no longer allowed into the house as his lifetime mission is to bully Rosie. As a result of this, our chairs are very clean now. Zurik is the one dirtying all the chairs in the house. But Zurik still tries very hard to come in. He did come in that day, and tried to scale the stainless steel netting. He climbed right to the top but didn’t damage it, luckily.

The other day, we came home from one of Rosie’s trips to the vets and found blood stains all over the floor. It was Cow’s pawprints. He must have got into a fight with someone. But Cow being Cow, he recovered very fast with just one hibiscrub and iodine wash. He also lost a claw. I cannot remember how many claws Cow has lost….

We couldn’t figure out who Cow fought with, though. Nobody else seemed to be injured. It would have to be either Indy or Cleo… Bunny cannot fight anymore, he’s almost blind.

After the experience with Rosie, I am no longer so strict with restricting their meals now. You know the Chinese have a saying that goes like this: Being able to eat is prosperity. All my life, I’ve scoffed at this saying because I mistakenly thought it contributes to the gluttony I see too often – people just eat too much. But that’s not what the saying means: It says that BEING ABLE TO EAT, is prosperity.  And not “eating is prosperity”.

I realise the wisdom of this saying now. And I recall the many times I’ve been depressed (I have a biologically-induced depression that happens once a year, coinciding with the rotation of the earth), during which time I feel absolutely miserable and I simply cannot eat at all.  I would have to stuff food into my mouth, force myself to chew and swallow and I’ve decided to look at it as a once-a-year weight regulation process. After all, there is nothing I can do about it. It just happens.

So yes, being able to eat is a blessing, indeed. Nowadays, the cats get food three times a day. Breakfast and lunch is fairly big and there is a kibble snack for supper. I had painstakingly reduced it to twice a day previously but the vet told me, cats aren’t like dogs. They are not disciplined to eat twice a day. That’s just not the way they are. He believes in leaving some food around for the cats to nibble on. He said, cats would eat a little, then run off to groom themselves, then come back to look for food again. Eat a little, then run off again.

Ever since we got the stainless steel netting fixed, Tabs gets to spend more time outside of Bunny’s Place. It’s safer for her too because the Cow Family isn’t exactly your regular cats. In a word, they are quite crazy.

Ginger has issues with Vincent. If it’s just Ginger and Vincent at the patio, Ginger refuses to eat. He would have to eat inside while Vincent eats outside. That’s just the way it is.

Zurik is dying to get in.

As I’ve written earlier, Daffodil moved out, so I have to call her back every morning. She would be at the playground, but the moment she hears me, she comes running back.

I think constructing another Stargate at the patio would solve this problem. Then, I can keep all of them inside and they would have the patio and the vegetable patch – would that be enough space for them? I’m also concerned with what they eat at the playground.

Ginger’s rule is that if Daffodil is around, he would eat at the patio with Vincent around.

Tabs just wants to be friends with everyone. She is not involved in any feline politics at all.

She has been touching noses with Rosie, but Rosie hisses at her. Poor Tabs.

Tiger lives in the rest of the house too, but I put him back inside for a few hours so that he can use the sandpit. “The rest of the house” means “not Bunny’s Place”. Our house just consists of “Bunny’s Place” and “the rest of the house”.

With Rosie in the patio cage for a bit of sun this morning, Zurik came in.

Look…he is intimidating Tiger.

He is only afraid of my husband.

Rosie is not afraid when she is in the cage – thank goodness.

Even when we were at the vet’s the other day, Rosie was in the carrier and she hissed at a huge Husky who lunged at her carrier. Brave girl, Rosie!

Tiger IS afraid of Zurik.

I couldn’t get him out, so I’m monitoring him here.

On another note, I’m actually not stressed because of Rosie’s condition. I am worried, but not stressed, because there is something I can do about it and I am doing all I can for her.  I am stressed due to the dishonest applicants AND professionals who condone such behaviour and allow it to go on. Perhaps I am more disappointed than stressed.

I think the root of the downfall of any civilisation is dishonesty. And in running AnimalCare, we ask for goodwill, trust, honesty and total disclosure. Greed is an evil root and it drives ignorant people to condone and abet dishonesty. That is sad and shameful, especially if the ones doing the condoning and abetting are so-called “highly educated”.