An All-New Reunion Portrait (!!) And Pole’s “gingivitis”(?)

Gong Xi, Gong Xi, everyone!

Since yesterday, I had been trying to get the Cow Clan (with associate member, Indy) to pose for a reunion photo.

You know how anti-social the whole clan is, right? The girls eat on the counter, and usually Pole eats in her condo.

So, the best I could get was this:

Pole was eating in her condo and Cleo refused to come any nearer to the boys.

Also, and this is a bit of a longer news. Pole had been pawing at her mouth for a few days now, but I thought this was due to the texture of Coco&Joe’s. Only Pole and Cow eat Coco&Joe’s lately (it’s a sudden craze for Pole as she grew tired of Cubgrub about 3-4 weeks ago). Because she is hyperthyroid, I cannot do the “eat or starve” tough love on her, so I had to pander to her whims and fancies. Tried Coco&Joe’s and she loved it! Maybe she just needed some variety. So, all was well for 3-4 weeks until a few days ago when she started pawing at her mouth. Since Cow also does it all the time, I thought it was the texture of the food or some of the harder bits getting stuck in her teeth.

It did not occur to me until yesterday evening (CNY eve – all the vets were already closed) that it could be a recurrence of her “gingivitis” of Sept 2018. This, is another long story (which I shall try to cut short). I took her to see the nearby vet after noticing that she was not only pawing at her mouth but also grinding her teeth and she had stopped grooming herself. She also refused food (red alert, red alert!). The vet examined her and said she had a rotten tooth which had rotted to the root and it had to be extracted, but she had to go on steroids to bring down the inflammation and antibiotics (Baytril) for 2 weeks, then do a blood test to determine if the dental extraction could be done.  After a few days on this treatment, I consulted another vet (by text) who agreed that there should be no delay to the extraction. Why wait for 2 weeks? So I took Pole to our senior vet in the same clinic who then examined Pole. He used his finger to dig out some tartar from her teeth. This vet said nothing needed to be done anymore. There was no rotten tooth – it was just tartar, but since Pole had started on the Baytril, she must finish the course of 16 days. So, all was well after that.

That is the short version.

So once I realised it could be the gingivitis again….I was in a semi-panic mode last night. It’s Chinese New Year – all the vets are closed. We would have to wait until at least Tuesday and that’s 4 days away.

What am I going to do for these 4 days now?  Pole HAS to eat. She is hyperthyroid.

So, last night, I search my medicine storage and found transdermal Tramadol (painkiller – it might help) and Nutriplus gel (why not?). Applying the transdermal Tramadol was not a problem. And surprise, surprise, Pole LOVED the Nutriplus gel (this is a total bonus as the two girls are highly suspicious cats who do not trust even me – they are both very “feral”). I remember that Nutriplus gel can be given for cats who do not want to eat. So, I gave that to Pole and even used it to entice her to eat some Cubgrub.

Cubgrub has a softer texture and I’ve since given Pole Cubgrub again, which she WANTS to eat, but halfway through eating, she would start pawing at her mouth. Then, she runs away and won’t continue eating anymore.

Poor Pole…..

That’s what happened to Vincent last time too. That’s how it all started – this sudden jerking away while eating halfway. It’s gingivitis (or stomatitis, the more serious version of it).

So, this morning, Pole was very excited about food. She is obviously hungry as she is quite a big eater (yes, I do not weigh her food, I just give her as much as she wants since she is hyperthyroid and grossly underweight).

I gave her Cubgrub with some Nutriplus gel on top. She was happily eating until suddenly, she started pawing violently at her mouth and ran away.

Sigh….

I know now….her pawing and Cow’s pawing are totally different. Cow’s was to get rid of the bits stuck in his teeth. Pole’s is clearly gingivitis.  Sigh………HOW did I not see the difference a few days ago???

I did not.

And the vets are closed. Unless I take her to a 24-hour hospital, but does it warrant that? I would prefer to see our vets, unless it is an emergency. I do not want her to go through surgery unnecessarily (which almost happened in Sept 2018). Pole will be 14 years old come May this year. During her check-ups, our vet said her teeth were in good condition and no scaling was needed. So, hopefully, this is not due to any rotten teeth.

Now, what else did I have that can help tide through the 4 days?

GREENIES!!

I ordered 6 packs of Greenies when Ginger was doing his escapes! It was to lure him back.

So, let’s try Greenies! Our vet said Cow had to go on Greenies for his tartar problem too, but I hesitated because it has corn.

Well, never mind, drastic times calls for drastic measures.

It would be their CNY treat! A bit of junk food once in a while won’t hurt, I hope.

So, everyone got really excited when they heard the familiar sound of “kibble”. Why, they have not eaten kibble since Sept 2019 when we started 100% raw.

Then, it occurred to me – Hey, reunion photo!! Quick, grab the phone, take a photo!!

Re-position Cow!!

YAY! Good enough….!!

This photo will grace next year’s Chinese New Year reunion card!!

I hope I have enough tricks up my sleeves to tide through 4 days with Pole…until the vets reopen after the holidays. As long as I can get her to eat…. Maybe I will just need to feed her more frequently. Just give her enough time to “forget” the pain in the mouth, then feed her again.

Hang in there, Pole….we will get through this.

Source: https://myanimalcare.org/2020/01/25/an-all-new-reunion-portr..

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AnimalCare is a registered society that promotes caregiving to street animals and helps in their neutering and medical needs. AnimalCare has a Medical Fund, Food Fund and Education Fund.

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