The Boycott Of The Year

I thought Ginger was the expert at hunger strikes.

But I think this takes the cake….

I don’t know exactly what precipitated this situation today, but it could be one of six things:

(1) me changing the schedule of giving Pole and Cleo Pronefra (from night time to this morning)
(2) me feeding Bunny Cubgrub’s Quail (which so far, only Ginger and Bunny eats – the rest say it’s not food)
(3) Pole suddenly realising that the Cubgrub now has slightly bigger pieces (it’s a long story)
(4) I did not put the additional fish oil into Pole’s food
(5) I added a bit too much Mercola’s Probiotics into Pole’s food
(6) Pole is unwell – oh no, please….no

So, the morning started with me giving Pole and Cleo their Pronefra. And by the way, they both don’t lick the Pronefra by themselves anymore (yes, they only did for two days, then they decided they didn’t like it anymore) but I am able to wipe the liquid on their mouths and they willingly lick it all up with minimal protest. Both Pole and Cleo have phosphate levels in the upper half of the higher end of the normal range. The vet prefers to bring it down a little. Pronefra is a phosphate binder.

Then, I served breakfast in the kitchen to the threesome and Ginger had Quail. He must have eaten almost twice his share because Ginger still prefers his exotics, so whenever exotics is served, he eats more. When it’s “just” Chicken, he eats a smaller amount. The smell of Quail may have penetrated into Bunny’s Room (remember that a cat’s sense of smell is 40 times stronger than ours).

By the time I served breakfast in Bunny’s Room, Pole was already hiding under the bench and she refused to come out. So I served the rest of them and placed a bowl of Chicken under the bench for Pole. Bunny had Quail while the rest had Chicken. Pole (who was still under the bench) refused to eat.

For that matter, even Cleo refused to eat and she walked away, but she finally relented and came back to lick a bit of food.

My first suspicion: Oh no, you both smelled Quail and that spoiled our appetite? I remember a friend telling me that cats either love or hate Quail – there is no in-between. And some cats hate it so much that they will launch a massive protest at the very smell of Quail by doing a hunger strike

But this hadn’t happened to our cats before. I had given Quail to Bunny before while the rest had Chicken. There was no massive protest by anyone.

Or did I put too much probiotics into the food today? Or was it because I did not put the fish oil into the food? I’ve decided to give everyone additional fish oil as Omega-3 is highly recommended for kidney issues. Since Pole and Cleo cannot be pilled, I cut open the Coatex Fish Oil capsule and squeeze the oil into their food. Pole had no issues with this, but it was Cleo who protested and refused to eat even though it was just a tiny drop of fish oil. It wasn’t Pole. Pole actually liked the fish oil.

Anyway, I left Pole alone but she still refused to eat (despite topping it with Primal sprinkles which she loves), so I took away her food and kept it in the fridge.

After half an hour, I decided to try again….

I put some Cubgrub Chicken into her bowl and offered it. Pole refused to eat. Then, I topped it with some Primal sprinkles and she began to eat. I held my breath….

But then Cleo buat kacau and sometimes, all it takes is this close proximity or the infamous feline “stare”….Pole stopped eating.

Cleo: Why are YOU getting special food? 

So, I had to do something fast so that Pole would not lose her momentum of eating – I had to give Cleo the the same.

I know, they all LOVE Primal.

And what about us then? 

We obediently ate your food earlier, but Pole did not, and now Pole gets rewarded?? Hello…injustice in the making??!!  We protest!

That’s like your government rewarding the B40 and taking perks away from the tax-paying hardworking citizens….that’s not fair. 

You know what, our cats have a good point there. They are right.

Yes, you are right. It isn’t fair. You are so right. Treats should be given to all. So, the boys got a Primal treat too. Oh, they LOVE Primal!

Pole only ate a bit, actually. But at least she ate.

And she decided she is still not happy, hence the “backside” pose. This is exactly what Daffodil (also another “queenly” feline) used to do whenever she was unhappy – she gives you the “backside” pose.

That’s all you are giving us???

Are you sure Pole didn’t get more than us? Remember….we are the obedient ones. Shouldn’t we actually get MORE?

Talk to my bum.

So, what caused Pole not to eat this morning? It could be one of the six possibilities above. Or was it because of subcut last night? But then again, Pole gets three subcut sessions per week and there has been no problems so far.

I suspect it was the smell of Quail….

If it is, then, by golly, this takes the cake – this would be the boycott of the year!!

Pole also has this “Dory-ness” (referring to the Disney cartoon character Dory, in Finding Nemo). It takes her “sometime” to realise something new. For example, when she gave birth to her first-born, Wolf, she left Wolf downstairs and then went upstairs into Ming-Yi’s wardrobe to give birth to Cleo and Pans. We then brought Wolf upstairs to her and she nursed all three in the wardrobe. After many hours, she “suddenly” realised that she had forgotten about Wolf (but Wolf was right there with her in the wardrobe), so she rushed downstairs to look for Wolf where she had left him. Then, she got all frantic because she could not find Wolf. We had a tough time explaining to her that Wolf was already with Cleo and Pans whom she was already nursing in the wardrobe. Pole had always been like this. She is a bit forgetful and she takes a longer time to realise something new.

Now, how does this come into play? Well, Cubgrub recently replaced the grinding plates of her grinder and this new plates have slightly bigger holes, so the pieces are slightly bigger by 1.5mm. Lin Li did not intentionally change the size of the holes; she ordered the same type, but the US company sent these with the bigger holes. Yes, it’s just 1.5mm bigger but to a cat, it would mean a whole WORLD of difference. Lin Li was very, very concerned about this (she takes a very personal interest in each one of her feline clients, bless her for this!) and so I had been updating her every day on whether my cats were willing to eat the “bigger” pieces or not. So far, so good. It was only Cow and Pole who “noticed” something different with the food the first time I served it, but they ate it too. Maybe, just maybe, Pole suddenly realised (yes, only today), “Hey…why are the food pieces bigger?” and hence, refused to eat this morning? But truly, I prefer the bigger pieces for the cats as bigger pieces means less loss of nutrients in the food (grinding destroys some nutrients). Also, bigger pieces also means the cats get to chew a little, which is good for their teeth.

On a more serious note, Pole is hyperthyroid, but it’s been brought under control now with twice-daily Methimazole transdermal cream. We didn’t know she was hyperthyroid until we brought her for a check-up and our very observant vet suspected it. Then, the TT4 test was done and that confirmed it. Hyperthyroidism, if left undetected, can cause organ failure (Pole already has Stage 2 kidney degeneration now), blindness, a sudden heart attack and even sudden death. Pole’s kidney and liver readings were high too, but after the Methimazole, the liver readings normalized beautifully. But the kidney readings did not and that is to be expected because there is no return for kidney degeneration (the liver can repair itself but not the kidneys). Once kidney degeneration starts, it will progress and the only thing we can do now is to, hopefully, delay the progression of the degeneration. Pole had almost never been sick all her life and hence, she was never brought to the vet except for a recent UTI (and of course, for spaying and her baby vaccinations). We never knew she was hyperthyroid and thought her “jumpiness” and “Dory-ness” was just in her character. It took a very observant vet to suspect hyperthyroidism. Cleo was tested too and she is not hyperthyroid.

I hope this is just a hunger strike and Pole is not sick.

From PetMD:

There is no known genetic predisposition for hyperthyroidism, but it is quite common in cats. In fact, hyperthyroidism is the most common hormonal (endocrine) disease in the cat population, often seen in late middle-aged and older cats.

Source: https://myanimalcare.org/2019/12/22/the-boycott-of-the-year/

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