Meadow

We are once again joining the Kitties Blue at Cat On My Head for the Sunday Selfies today. Please visit the other blogs joining in on the fun, after this one, of course.

No, she doesn't want her photo taken

I’ve noticed a shift in the personalities of several of my cats since my “experience.” Glitter (19), normally calm and unflappable, has gotten noticeably nervous and panicky when visitors are present. She is blind so in her panic she forgets where she is and runs into things trying to get away from the sound of strangers in her house. Gooseberry (12) and B.W. Huckleberry (12) have gotten braver and braver about coming down to visit the strangers. B.W. even let one health care worker pet him!

She decided to hide her face

The most surprising and perhaps the most radical change I’ve noticed has been in Miss Misty Meadow (20). Meadow was born a feral kitten. I watched her grow up and have a litter of feral kittens, one of whom was Glitter. Even after I caught her and brought her inside, she maintained a feral streak, allowing me to pet her and treat her when necessary but not allowing much more.

Okay, so now she'll look up for only a second

Gradually she became more comfortable with visitors. She never did hide, choosing to stay in her cat bed in the living room. But now she is underfoot when anyone comes and even sneaks outside with them. She has also, in the last couple of days, decided that it is all right to be a lap cat! Tonight, she jumped on my lap and allowed me to cover her with a blanket as I watched the news. She even fell asleep in this position. Meadow has chosen a life of domestication in her elder years.

Time to get back to her nap

So, I guess something good has become of this whole ordeal. Now I have help in my recovery from a surprising front.

Emergencies and Change

I hadn’t yet fallen nor had I injured my hip in an accident. Even so, there I was with a broken hip and falling slowly to my office floor. Just like that, the world changed for my cats. Strangers were coming into the house leaving food and water and I was gone for three days. When I returned, I brought with me strange equipment and stranger smells.

Looking back, I see now that Two-y was suffering from kidney disease for some time before my hospitalization. His appetite had decreased, I thought he was being finicky, so I kept trying different foods. He was drinking a lot of water and urinating a lot. And he’d lost a little weight. But it wasn’t until I got back from the hospital that it hit me – he was sick. It made me sick. Had he even eaten while I was gone? Now you know, he’s gone, and I feel so guilty and lost.

As for the other cats, they tend to hide upstairs when anyone else visits. Except for Meadow. She’s tough and the downstairs is her territory. Four cats are supposed to be on special diets for various conditions but that didn’t, and couldn’t, happen for three days.

Finally, I returned and had to deal with the aftermath of my surgery and get things back to normal for the cats. I cleared away any leftover food and the feeders and started them back to their regular schedule within an hour. Not everyone showed up right away but eventually I had accounted for all of them. The rest of the cats were, thankfully, doing okay and adjusted to my equipment (crutches).

Now, I just have to get used to an absence so glaring. I have many very good, caring friends helping me through my days. I haven’t even had time to grieve, but it will come. In time. For now, I still see Two-y sleeping in his cubby hole or on the dog bed. Or I expect him to be sitting in the middle of the living room and me making my special hand gesture to let him know everything is okay. He was very insecure but when I made that gesture he relaxed and started purring. I miss that purr. That very loud, loving purr. I miss my feral boy.

We're joining The Cat On My Head for Sunday Selfies today. Please visit the following sites and join in the jump.

Two-y

My very first picture of Two-y

I'm taking this midweek moment to announce that Two-y is gone. He became ill while I was in the hospital and really went down hill these last couple of days. His kidneys failed and he was fighting a severe infection.

I can only hang onto the knowledge that at least his last year was spent indoors, not outside fighting the elements, other cats and other creatures. He was probably 17 years old but we'll never know for sure.

I'm going to miss you buddy. Hope you are running free now. Whatever is left of my heart has broken into tiny little pieces. I love you Two-y.

My last photo of Two-y

Gooseberry

I’ve been in the hospital this week so I don’t have an article for you. Instead, here’s Gooseberry’s selfie for the week

 

He's been pretty upset by my absence and the presence of strangers in his house but he's better now that I'm home. Hopefully we'll be back to normal soon. 

We're joining the Cat On My Head for Sunday Selfies today.

Feline Infectious Peritonitis

It has been seven years since I lost my 16-year old, Cutie-Q (Question) to feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), so I thought it was a good time to write about FIP once again. Researchers have learned so much about the disease in the last seven years, enough to believe that soon it may not be a death sentence anymore.

It all starts with the feline enteric coronavirus (FECV). Hold your hats folks, I’m going to throw around a bunch of acronyms. A lot of cats have the FECV, maybe 40% or more, and rarely show any symptoms. They may, at first, have a little diarrhea but most otherwise healthy cats/kittens don’t have any other signs. FECV is easily spread between cats through communal grooming and shared litter boxes. Then, something causes the FECV to mutate into the feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV). Thus, the name is a misnomer for FIPV doesn’t seem to be very infectious. It could be stress of some sort, like that found in some multicat households, or an illness, or a change in their lives that causes the mutation.

In any case, FIPV develops quickly into the disease, FIP. However, there are two types of FIP, the wet form and the dry form. Most cats that develop FIPV get the wet, or effusive form. It leads to fluid accumulation in various body cavities such as the abdomen or chest cavity. The dry or non-effusive form involves severe inflammation in one or more organs. Once either form of the disease develops, the cat deteriorates quickly.

The real difficulty lies in the fact that it is hard to diagnose FIP in a living cat. There are no specific tests to run for a diagnosis. Your veterinarian would have to rely on symptoms to diagnose the disease. Likewise, there are no curative treatments for FIP. Some drugs may slow the disease, and some may provide relief from the symptoms but so far there is no cure.

Q, one day, decided to stop eating. That was a shock to me because he’d always had a good appetite and tried to steal food from the other cats. I thought nothing of it the first day but when it continued, I took him to the veterinarian. We ran the usual bloodwork but nothing obvious came of it. Every day he grew more despondent and his belly grew. Strange, considering he wasn’t eating. Soon, way too soon, he was no longer the Q I remembered and loved. I wasn’t admitting to myself, but I knew in my heart, that he had the wet form of FIP and was dying. It all happened in a matter of days and my Cutie-Q was gone.

Ongoing research is promising though. Researchers have discovered a specific antiviral that has worked in controlled studies but that antiviral may also work against Ebola. Because of this it may not be available for animal use. Someday we will have a cure for FIP, and cats will no longer suffer as Question did. Until that day, I pray that the researchers continue to have success with their studies.

We're joining The Cat On My Head for Sunday Selfies though we are only using old photos of Question rather than any of my present cats.

Have you had any cats with FIP? How old were they? Were you able to try any treatments? I’d like to hear what your experience(s) were.

BW on Cold Weather

B.W. Huckleberry decided to contribute a selfie this week along with the Kitties Blue at The Cat On My Head for Sunday Selfies. He and his housemates love covering all of my registers in the winter. You’d think it was cold in here. . . it is too!

At least we are out of those frigid temps we had earlier this month. It looks like we’ll be having normal temps for the foreseeable future. And the snow has stopped after three straight days of it.

Yay! I’m thankful that Two-y is no longer outside.

I should give you a couple of updates. First, Two-y went in for his one-year check-up last week and passed muster. He was even a very good boy for his rabies vaccination. His veterinarian commented on his teeth. Because he’s still getting used to being a housecat I haven’t been brushing his teeth and they are very dirty. Guess it’s time to do that now.

Second, I’ve been delinquent in telling you all how Mulberry Spot has been doing. Well, I’m happy to report that he is doing very well. He’s been on the budesonide for quite some time now and has only had one incident of diarrhea. He’s eating very well and not vomiting. I even caught him eating some of Two-y’s food one day and spent the day waiting for him to vomit. But he never did! He’s still on his Ultamino though. I hate the thought of going back to his daily vomiting sessions.

Well, Happy Sunday Selfies!

Second Gotcha Day

Of course we are joining The Cat On My Head for Sunday Selfies. The highlight today is on Two-y, my newest, and yet not new, family member.

Today is the first anniversary of Two-y’s second gotcha day! Last year at this time he broke my heart standing out in the frigid cold shivering and alternating holding up one paw at a time. I just had to bring him inside. But let’s go back a few years so I can tell you how it all started.

I may have told this story before so I apologize if you’ve heard it but here goes: Two-y showed up one day with three other cats. Two were obviously female because they were a calico and a tortoiseshell. The other two had male characteristics but were black and white tuxies. I could tell right away they were feral because they were extremely wary of me but also very hungry.

I started feeding them on my front porch. As a group they were my third colony. After a couple of weeks, with winter winding down, I decided I should take responsibility for them and get them all neutered. I began the TNR procedures.

I caught them all in a matter of a few days. The females were both full-term in their pregnancies so I set up two very large cages for them to deliver in. They settled in and within a week of each other delivered nine kittens between them. I took the males in to have them neutered and vaccinated. The cat, who would be Two-y, was labeled as Stray number two. After an overnight recovery in my home I released them but continued to feed them regularly.

Stray number one disappeared after a time but Two-y stuck around. There were times when he didn’t show up for food and that always worried me but he eventually returned. Finally, after 11 years, Two-y began to warm up to me. It started when he would touch his nose to my finger before I fed him. Then I started holding my hand over him without him running away. Soon I was able to pet him but I still had the feeling that he wouldn’t appreciate any more.

Then came the frigid temperatures we had last year and I just couldn’t take it anymore. He came up one day shivering violently and constantly picking up one foot after another. That had to be the day. I brought a carrier out and set it beside him with the door open. He didn’t budge so I went ahead and stroked his fur. He still didn’t budge. Something told me that it would be okay to scoot him in so I did it. I put my hand beneath him and moved him gently into the carrier and shut the door.

So once again I set up one of the cages and placed the carrier inside it. He’d already been through enough so I just removed the top of the carrier and placed a towel in the bottom. He eventually moved onto the towel and made himself at home.

We went through my routine for introducing new cats into my family. I took him in for vaccinations, FeLV/FIV testing and fecal check (for intestinal worms) then kept him isolated in the cage for 60 days. Before releasing him into the household I rechecked him for worms and FeLV/FIV. He was clear of both and I moved him into another cage in the living room. Only one of my other cats complained about him but after 60 days of smelling him the rest of them didn’t even seem to notice him.

He spent some time in that cage before I opened the door and he made his way out in his own time. We’re still working out the feeding location and Gooseberry is still not happy but otherwise Two-y is part of the family. Every day he takes another step toward being a normal domestic cat.

Australian fires

It is difficult to happily blog about my cats or feline health issues you all need to know when Australia is suffering the worst fires in history. Instead I’m just posting the following places where you can donate to to help in the fight against the many losses to the fires.

Go to fundraise.redcross.org.au/ to donate to Australian Red Cross' Disaster Relief and Recovery.

Go to wires.org.au to donate to WIRES, an organization committed to helping the wildlife in Australia.
And from the Late Show with Stephen Colbert:
Australia Red Cross

Country Women's Association of New South Wales

New South Wales State Emergency Service

New Rural Fire Service

WIRES Wildlife Rescue

World Wildlife Fund

And I’m thankful that the U.S. has sent some companies of firefighters and wildlife experts to help in the efforts. Even U.S. zoo veterinarians have volunteered to go if they are needed. The last I heard they have not been called up yet but they are ready to go.

Just to keep up with everyone else let’s join The Kitties Blue at Cat On My Head with a selfie. Miss Misty Meadow, or Meadow for short, believes in really close selfies.

CATS the movie musical

I'm participating in the Sunday Selfies hosted by the Kitties Blue at Cat On My Head. The selfie is at the bottom of this post.

(WARNING for those of you who haven’t seen the movie yet SPOILERS AHEAD!)

I’ve seen a lot of negative reviews about CATS the movie but I will tell you right up front that I enjoyed it – a lot. I’ll get a couple of negatives out of the way right now. I didn’t like the Mungojerry and Rumpleteaser bit. They hardly sang during the entire piece and when they did they weren’t on key. While I appreciate the changes they made in the movie, it helped those people who didn’t know there was a story to the whole thing, I think there was entirely too much talking though, as opposed to singing.

One of the changes they made is probably the major change from the Broadway play. When CATS was on the stage the cats actually interacted with the audience in various ways. They’d walk down the aisles and in some instances (at least I heard this) the cats might actually sit in the lap of audience members. The cats even addressed the audience as they went through the story of the cats who want to go to the Heavyside layer.

The movie is a little different in that they can’t interact in that way. Instead they’ve introduced a new character, Victoria. She is a kitten who, throughout the show, is learning the ways of cat society. The main cat, Munkustrap, introduces her to several cats such as Jennyanydots, Skimbleshanks, Asparagus, Bustophur Jones and Macavity, the villain of the show. This kitten even tries to make friends with Grizabella while other cats shun her. This is when Victoria sings the newest song, Beautiful Ghosts. I love this song. It is a wonderful addition to the show.

I also loved the SkimbleShanks number that included a lot of tap dancing and a jaunt on the railroad tracks. Really any dance number makes me happy. I was a little worried about Jennifer Hudson’s portrayal of Grizabella because I’m not a fan of her usual performances but she pulled this off perfectly. She brought out the emotion behind Grizabella’s plight nicely, even making me cry.

I’d never heard Ian McKellen sing before (has he ever had a singing role?) so I was waiting to see how he did. Gus was the perfect role for him. He sang and spoke interchangeably about his life in the theater. Rum Tum Tugger wasn’t quite the same as in the play but still a sexy tomcat performance.

Deuteronomy is normally played as a male cat but in the movie Dame Judi Dench plays “her.” It came off better than I thought. I once knew a cat I named Deuteronomy (long story) so this is probably my favorite character except maybe Munkustrap. Then there’s Mr. Mistoffelees. In the play this character is played as confident and magical. In the movie he’s not so confident, and he has a crush on Victoria.

Even with all the changes CATS the movie is worth a ticket. It was fun and mysterious and magical and depressing and uplifting all in the same movie. I hope you have the chance to enjoy it.

Mulberry Spot is our model today. He was too struck by the sunbeam to sit upright.

Merry Christmas!

Today’s post is short and I hope sweet. I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I also want to say Happy Birthday to me (on Wednesday)! That’s not too self-absorbed is it? Nah, I think it’s okay.

Joining me in this post is Gooseberry. He’s always nearby so easy to catch with a photo. I’m afraid my camera is too big for him to work so I had to take this picture for him. We’re joining Kitties Blue at Cat on myHead (thanks for the Christmas card!) for Sunday Selfies, though it really isn’t a selfie. We’ll just pretend, okay?

Obesity

We all know by now that obesity is a real problem in the world. But did you know that it’s a problem nearing epidemic proportions (I may be exaggerating) for our pets? It’s not only an aesthetic problem, who wants a tubby pet? It can mean health troubles too.

B.W. Huckleberry is definitely NOT obese though he would like to be

Chubby pets are more prone to diabetes, arthritis, liver disease and pancreatitis. It can be a self-motivating factor as well. The fatter your pet, the more weight he needs to lose, the harder it is to get him to move and thus lose weight.

But wait a minute! Losing weight too quickly can be a bad thing too. Always work with your veterinarian to begin a weight loss program. Incorporate a decrease in food intake, increase in activity and frequent (weekly) weighing sessions for a successful program. But your veterinarian can help you decide what type of food you should be using and how much you should be giving. He/she will also help design a proper exercise regimen. By weighing frequently you will see how much loss (or gain) is happening and if it is too much you can adjust right away.

With dogs it is easy to plan a walking schedule and route in order to get in enough exercise. You can also include play sessions to make it more fun. On bad weather days I used to throw my dog’s toys up the stairs and he get exercise running up and down the stairs. He also had a cadre of tricks we’d go through all the time to keep his mind busy. That’s another side effect of exercise!

For cats you might say, I can’t make my cat exercise! Ah, but you can. Many cats love to play fetch with their favorite toys. That’s one possibility but you might also try using a wand toy. They prefer it when you are involved in some way. Other times you can bring out another favorite toy that they haven’t seen in awhile. I guarantee they’ll be intrigued by it. (Always keep some of their toys hidden in a closet or some other place they can’t get to so the toys seem new when you bring them out.)

Timing is important too. One play session we have is right before their last meal before bedtime. I use a wand toy, moving it up and down the stairs and they all partake in stair running. Then they eat and go to bed. I don’t have much trouble with my cats getting me up in the middle of the night because I tire them out and feed them before bedtime.

As for the variety of diets that purport to be for weight loss, I’ll leave that up to your veterinarian and you to decide. Some are high in fiber, some are low protein and some are even formulated to help your pet metabolize it better. I’m not a nutritionist so I wouldn’t even try to tell you about all of those.

Now, I’m again joining Kitties Blue from The Cat on my Head for Sunday Selfies so here’s the selfie for this week. It is Two-y behaving like a domestic cat instead of a feral. He is starting to fit in more and more every day.

Two-y on the dog's bed. He's B.W.'s father

Black and White

Every once in awhile I get to looking at some photos and wonder what they'd look like in black and white. I switched the following photos from color to black and white and really like the looks.

This one is of Gooseberry back when he was known as Trucker, his temporary name, until I decided to keep him. He was such a cutey and quite lovable. Still is.

This photo is of Gooseberry again a few years later with the late Lady Butterfly in one of their closer times. They didn't always get along. But when they did it was adorable.

Again this week we're joining The Cat on my Head for Sunday Selfies. Hope these older photos fit in.

Cat Life, a book review

I’ve just finished a book that you’ll surely love if you are a cat lover. Cat Life: Celebrating the History, Culture & Love of the Cat by Amy Shojai is not only a comprehensive resource of all things “cat,” it is also a pleasure to read. It is a beautiful book as befitting its subject. The information is well organized and easily navigated.

In Chapter one “Evolutionary Cat” we learn how the cat, as we know it, evolved from the time of dinosaurs to present day. We are shown here how our precious little cats are related to the big cats and other wild cats. This chapter also takes us on a trip through the history of domestic cats.

Chapter two “Cultured Cat” reveals how cats were regarded in the culture of many different times in history. We read about times when cats earned their keep, times when they were revered, and times when they were not so lucky. Myths and legends have been both kind and hard on our cats. And Shojai shows us that they have been recognized in art and literature.

The “Physical Cat” presents the physical and psychological side of cats. Anything from the claw, tail or ear to the spine, organs or physiology is presented in this chapter. It is a book’s worth of knowledge about your cat an operation manual of sorts.

And finally, in Chapter four “Gallery of Breeds” we are treated to an introduction to several of the existing breeds in the cat fancy. Author Amy Shojai shows us wonderful photos of many breeds and explains what sets them apart from other breeds. She even includes some of the relatively newer breeds such as the Lykoi and the Toyger.

As if that weren’t enough she includes beautiful photos all through the book as well as various quotations that illustrate our favorite species and all her foibles. And at the end of the book she also lists more of her books that you can to read for more complete information.

I definitely recommend Cat Life to anyone who loves cats and wants more information. You may purchase it starting today on Amazon.

I received an advanced copy, ebook version, at no cost but my stated opinions herein are my own. I was not compensated for my review.

As for selfies we are again joining The Cat On My Head this week. We're going back in time for no other reason than I was just thinking about this particular cat. Mouse was a feral cat I took in and she helped to introduce another group of kittens into my household. Here she is photobombing my Scheffllera.

Holiday Fun and Danger

Meadow showing her "feral" ear

We are, of course, joining The Cat on My Head in a blog hop.

This week is the gateway to much eating (gorging) and frivolity (alcohol). That means it’s a good time to remind everyone how to keep your pets safe and healthy during this season.

First remember that to your pet all the fun and activity is a change in their environment and could stress them out. When having friends or family over, try to confine your pet in a room away from the noise. Provide him with familiar blankets and toys to make him feel more comfortable. Another reason to keep him confined is to prevent accidental escapes. Your pet may become frightened and/or excited and slip out the door. Before you know it he’s out and roaming the neighborhood.

Second, don’t share human food with your pets. While some foods may seem to be okay to share, they may contain spices or other ingredients that are not. Pets may normally like plain pumpkin puree but pumpkin pie contains spices that might upset your pet’s digestive system. Likewise with meat that is treated with spices, alcohol, etc. just leave your pet out of meals. Provide him with small amounts of pet treats instead.

Also think about your decorations. Tinsel can rip intestines to shreds or become balled up causing blockages. Spray snow on the windows can be toxic if swallowed. If glass ornaments are knocked to the floor (maybe by playful paws) they may break causing damage to innocent paws, or be ingested. If you use a real tree the water can be toxic to pets. Find someway to block their access to the water. Candles, when lit, are a fire hazard and can easily be knocked over by pets or set fire to passing tails.

This is by no means a complete list of hazards. While making plans for your festivities remember to include plans for your pets’ safety. Think about everything you do and what effects it might have on your pet. Let’s have a safe holiday season this year.

Mulberry Spot didn't notice that the sun had moved

On another note, Spotty broke with diarrhea again while on his antibiotic. Since I can’t afford to put him through expensive surgeries or more tests we are treating him with a medication that helps pets with IBD (inflammatory bowel disease). I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this finally helps him. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Aging with Glamor

Jabberwoky Glitter

We are joining the Cat On My Head blog for Sunday Selfies again this week. Sorry we’re so late today. We’ve been dealing with another health issue in the family. “Glamor Glitter,” er, Jabberwoky Glitter has decided she doesn’t want to eat very much anymore and is losing weight as a consequence.

She’s been suffering from kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, hypertension and worsening blindness. Did you know that these three conditions can be interrelated? In fact, hyperthyroidism can mask kidney function tests if not controlled.

This just emphasizes the need to have “senior panels” run on your cat on a regular basis. That usually means a complete blood count (CBC), a chemistry panel (organ function), and a TT4 level (thyroid).

Today we started applying Mirataz®, a transdermal appetite stimulant to Glitter’s ear and hope that we see a difference tomorrow or the next day. Luckily she is still eating some so I hope this gets her back to her regular level of eating.

Here’s Glitter’s selfie for this week. For some reason she always cocks her ears to the side whenever we try to get a photo of her.

Here's my selfie, aren't I glamorous?

Do you have a cat suffering from one of these ailments? If so, what do you do for them?

Bad experiences

As some of you noticed in last week’s comments, Mulberry Spot has relapsed. Two days after finishing his antibiotic he broke with diarrhea again. So we restarted his antibiotic and will keep him on it for another two weeks.

  Jabberwoky Glitter and Mulberry Spot

I’m writing this while watching Iowa State University Cyclone football. Now, I love cats and I like Cyclone football (only Cyclone football) but I don’t believe the two should be combined. I watched in horror, the video from some football game this week, where a feral cat got trapped inside the coliseum and kept running and running and running, trying to escape. All I could think was, that poor cat. Once he got free of that nightmare and all the adrenaline was gone he had to be exhausted. Cats weren’t meant to run long distances.

Have you ever seen a cat in such a harrowing situation? Have you ever seen your cats just totally exhausted from some experience?

Mewdy Blue and Cyclone colors

One year, I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, my beloved Mewdy Blue escaped my house at night and was gone for almost 24 hours. When he finally showed up again he came inside and collapsed. He must have slept for another 24 hours. He was usually one of those unflappable cats but I guess being outside alone was just too much for him.

I’m a big proponent of keeping cats indoors but in both of these examples the cat is outside due to some unfortunate circumstance. We are joining The Cat on my Head for today's Sunday Selfie.

Sunday Funtime

Mulberry Spot thought he would stop by for a selfie today. This time you actually get to see his nose. By the way a fecal culture showed that Spot had a particularly bad E. coli infection as I wrote a couple of weeks ago. Well, now he has finished his antibiotics and is doing great. I hope it lasts now that he's off meds. He is eating really well, filling out nicely and no more diarrhea! Yay!

Mulberry Spot before he got sick

We are joining the Kitties Blue at Cat on my Head for today's Sunday Selfies. Winter is definitely here no matter what the calendar says. We've already had our first two snows although the snow is already gone. Now the leaves are falling.

Sunday Selfies

B.W. Huckleberry with Gooseberry in the background

B.W. Huckleberry in a photo fail, sort of

We're joining the Kitties Blue for the Sunday Selfies blog hop. Haven't been able to get anything else together for a post today so this will be it. Enjoy.

A Recap of the Week Gone By

Wow, did I ever miss the boat(s)! Because of the weather I thought I should point out the winter hazards that are on the horizon. But I forgot two other happenings: National Veterinary Technician Week and World Cat Day (didn’t that used to be Feral Cats Day?).

Just because National Veterinary Technician Week is over that doesn’t mean you can’t go ahead and thank your local veterinary technician. Sure, veterinarians perform the surgeries but whom do you think preps the animals for surgery? And the veterinarian must diagnose diseases and be the one to prescribe medications for your pet but a veterinary technician will actually dispense those medications. Veterinary technicians will run lab work so the veterinarian can make that diagnosis. In smaller clinics you might even find veterinary technicians helping to clean the kennels, bathe animals and answer phone calls. No matter what role they play in the clinic/hospital you take your pet to, don’t they deserve a simple thank-you?

Two-y before he came inside

World Cat Day is important to me because I am devoted to my cats and because all of my present cats are “retired” ferals or the offspring of ferals. Without my work with feral colonies I wouldn’t have my present family! And I’m proud to say that last year I took in the last feral cat from the last colony I’ve worked with. His name is Two-y and he is slowly learning how to be a domestic cat. Just this weekend he came out of his cubbyhole to try to join the other cats at mealtime. They aren’t yet ready for this though so he had to go back to his cubbyhole to eat. I’m proud to say that yesterday I was able to clip his claws without having someone else to hold him.

I’m happy today because we may have found the cause of Mulberry Spot’s illness. First we had to diagnose his food sensitivity (probably an allergy) by going through diet after diet until finally he is stable on Royal Canin’s Ultamino diet. That helped to stop his vomiting and he stopped pulling out his fur. I have to be extremely careful not to leave any food out where he can get into them. He eats his meal in a carrier and doesn’t get to come out until after I’ve picked up all the other bowls and utensils.

Mulberry Spot at the Cat-n-Around Cat Club show

He continued to have diarrhea though and he continued to lose weight and muscle mass. Finally this week we submitted a fecal swab for a culture and sensitivity. It appears, tentatively, that the culprit is E. coli haemalytic. So I started Spotty on the appropriate antibiotic today and am praying that will be the solution.

Mulberry Spot is my last show cat. I continued showing him until he started to get sick. He is now retired from the show circuit, and enjoys his cuddle time.

Strawberry: "Can I get back to my nap now?"

We are joining The Cat on my Head again this week for Sunday Selfies. By popular request I helped Strawberry with his selfie. I interrupted his nap, however, and he wasn’t particularly pleased. I’ve also included a photo of a part of my feline family curled up together in a very warm lump. Enjoy!

Spot, Strawberry, Glitter, Gooseberry, B.W.

Winter Hazards

We're joining The Cat on My Head again for Sunday Selfies although this might be titled Easy Like Sunday Morning.

Jabberwoky Glitter and B.W. Huckleberry

 Our weather took a turn toward winter this weekend. Saturday we had our first hard freeze. I bring this up because it reminds us all to be sure we have our pets prepared for winter hazards. Even if your dog is “indoor only” he will be going outside a few times a day to tend to business and maybe go for walks.

First remember that some breeds relish winter weather but even they aren’t prepared for the worst that winter can throw at us. My late American Eskimo dog, Blizzard, loved to run outside after his baths to roll around in the snow – he was still wet! But even he knew that once the temperature hit below zero, inside was a much better place for him.

Two-y when he decided to be an indoor cat

Walks are another story. Think about all the things your dog’s paws touch during your walks. Remember he’s barefooted. He could be walking through salt or other thawing agents from the roads or sidewalks. There might even be anti-freeze mixing in there. And imagine all the ice that could be packing in his paws. That builds up and hurts his paws. Two possibilities can help. First, be sure to clean your dog’s feet off as soon as you get back to your house. Second, consider getting some boots for him. Pet supply stores usually carry them so you can try them on before buying.

Then there are the times when you might be transporting your pet somewhere. Be sure to line the carrier with something warm and cuddly. Also consider a cover for the carrier. I made a couple for my carriers when I was showing my cats. They are made of fleece and sewn to fit the carriers. I used Velcro on the front flap to make it easy to open. You might also put sweaters on your cats or shorthair dogs to help keep them warm.

This cold spell may only be temporary but winter is coming. Let’s all prepare for it now.

How do you protect your pets from winter hazards? Do you have some that I’ve left out?