Hurricane Sandy rescues

Sorry I haven't been around for awhile, been busy with a writer's conference, cat show and then THE FLU! Wouldn't wish that on anyone.

I just had to stop by though and pass on this information for anyone in the storm's path. It is a Facebook page where you can post lost and found pet ads for pets affected by Sandy. During any disaster pets can easily be displaced. They get confused and lose their way so we want to help these animals get back to their families ASAP.

If you are in the area, please help with this effort:

https://www.facebook.com/SandysPets?fre

I would like to hear how everyone is doing when you are able, too. Thanks!

Mewdy Blue Update

Just wanted to give you all a short update on Mewdy Blue. Today he still doesn't want to eat his food but he sure is interested in everyone else's food. I poured some chicken broth on his food and he lapped that up avoiding his food as much as possible.

Tomorrow he is going to his regular veterinarian, Dr. Tammy. Please keeps us in your minds as we search for an answer to this trouble. I can't watch my boy shrivel away to nothing. The way he's smacking his lips these last two days I'm leaning more and more toward his teeth and wondering what in the world we can do about them.

Thanks to all of you for your kind thoughts and prayers. We are cherishing our online friends right now.

Mewdy Blue

Please help me!

http://www.giveforward.com/mewdyblueveterinary 

As most of you know three of my cats have already passed this year (Bluebird in October, Rainbow and Twygal in April). This week Mewdy Blue has decided he doesn't like food anymore! You can guess what kind of shape I'm in right now.

Last night I had to take him into the emergency services at Iowa State Unversity for I.V. fluids and lab tests to figure out why he isn't eating. His liver values have been high but we've been treating them and he seemed to be doing pretty well until now.

He is home tonight but still not eating so more tests are in his future to figure out what is going on and how we can deal with it. I have started an account with Give Forward because I am having trouble paying for all of this. Four cats in one year is just too much.

If you are able I would really appreciate any donation to this fund. If you can't please pass on the information to your friends and readers to help me get out the word. Last night we rang up a bill of $461 but they are talking about a possible bill of $2000 if we go ahead and run x-rays, ultrasound and place a feeding tube.

The site is http://www.giveforward.com/mewdyblueveterinary .

Mewdy Blue thanks everyone who can pass on their prayers and warm cuddly feelings. And I thank you too.

National Senior Pet Health Month

Mouse

Do you know how to best care for your senior pet? For that matter do you even know what senior means in the pet world?

September is National Senior Pet Health Month in the U.S. so this is a good time to stop and think about your pet’s age and relative health. How old is your pet? Most cats are considered mature at about age 7 and “senior” after age 10. With dogs the determination is a little more difficult and individualized. Larger dogs generally have shorter lives than smaller dogs and thus mature much sooner.

Blizzard

Dr. Bianca Zaffarano at Iowa State University’s Veterinary Clinical Sciences Department talks about this on the ISU website:

http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2012/09/13/agingpets

If your pet isn’t yet a senior you can still protect his future health today. Familiarize yourself with your pet’s normal health condition. Fix in your mind the following behavioral tells:

·      Routine playtimes

·      Favorite toys

·      Favorite foods and amounts eaten

·      Drinking habits

·      Litterpan habits (bowel movement consistency, color and normal urine appearance)

Basically know your pet’s normal everything. At some point in your pet’s early adult life have your veterinarian run basic bloodwork in order to set a baseline for your pet. Any lab work run later will be compared to this baseline to determine if anything abnormal is going on. Also weigh your pet on a regular basis. If your pet’s weight changes drastically from month to month consult your veterinarian immediately.

Twygal

This month talk to your veterinarian and ask what you should be doing for your senior pet. Make sure his diet is appropriate for his age and activity level. Watch his activities to be sure he isn’t suffering any pain from arthritis or other maladies.

Most importantly cherish this time with your senior pet. You’ve shared so many years with him, so many experiences, so many special moments – now is the time to sit back and truly appreciate them. Love those seniors but make sure they are living a happy life.

Ozma and Zeit Geist

Vegetarianism

Waimea Falls Park

Have you ever had times when your mind just wanders – and wanders into territories that seem totally unrelated to anything you were thinking before? Mine did the other day. It started with memories of my vacations in Hawaii, ah, that wonderful paradise. I remembered our first trip when we stayed in Waikiki and could get just about anywhere we needed to go either by walking or taking “The Bus.” Yes, their bus system is called The Bus.

I’d get up early every morning, because I was working on mainland time, 5 hours faster, and go for a long walk around Waikiki by myself. Just me and my camera exploring the byways of paradise while cars jetted by on their routine rush hour. One day I even walked all the way into Honolulu and found the location where some television filming was going on. I hung around long enough to get my picture taken with Richard Chamberlain (a thrill of my lifetime) then caught the bus back to Waikiki. No one in my family believed me, not even after I had the film developed.

I also found a fast food restaurant I’d never heard of before, Jack-In-The-Box. We ate there a couple of times and I fell in love with their sourdough hamburger. Mmm, luscious. We went to Hanauma Bay and tried snorkeling but I, the competitive swimmer, panicked and scraped my leg badly on the coral. Needless to say I’ll never even consider scuba diving!

Hanauma Bay

The last time I was in Hawaii we stayed in Makaha in a condo right on the beach. It had been a difficult year and our family had hoped that this vacation would help us heal but it didn’t. All I could think of was getting back home.

Makaha is on the far side of the island of Oahu. Nothing is within walking distance and people told us that we shouldn’t go walking alone in that neighborhood. Instead my sister and I walked up and down the beach for exercise and played like kids in the ocean. We tried to be carefree and forget about problems at least for that week.

Makaha Beach  from our condo porch

The other difference this time was that I had decided to commit to a vegetarian lifestyle. I’m not a vegan but I don’t eat meat. Luckily we could make our own meals in our condo so we didn’t have to struggle to find restaurants that would satisfy all of our dietary needs too often.

Of course all of this went through my mind in just a matter of seconds and I drifted on to reminders of why I became a vegetarian. I think the seed of the idea started to germinate way back when I was a little girl. One spring my favorite of my grandfather’s cows died while giving birth to her adorable white-faced calf. I got to help bottle feed him and named him Goggles because both of his eyes were rimmed in black. Goggles grew into a handsome steer but like so many of my grandfather’s calves, he was sold as a 4-H project.

We saw him at the county fair in August and were thrilled to find that my grandfather had bought him at auction. We didn’t understand the implications until later when Goggles didn’t show up in the pasture. One night we were at the dinner table awaiting our meal and my grandfather announced, “This is Goggle’s heart we’re having tonight.” That may have been his way of hardening us to the realities of farm life but it backfired in my case. I never ate beef heart again.

My dad used to hunt squirrels but I only remember one time when he brought squirrel home for dinner. He was the only one to eat it. I believe that my mom convinced him to get rid of his gun and forsake that hobby for good.

Back in the ‘90s I started having digestive problems that we just couldn’t seem to diagnose. Eventually they decided I had irritable bowel syndrome but even before that I’d stopped eating meat. I had noticed that meat set my gut off and it took days to recover. That diagnosis gave me the final impetus I needed to change my lifestyle and recognize our responsibility toward the welfare of animals.

I’ve always loved animals, wild, wooly, fins and feathers but now it seemed my eyes had been cleared of a film of indifference. I started to see personalities I never noticed before. I worked with pigs getting close to them and realizing what fun creatures they can be. All I knew of them before was the stink that came from confinement farms. Now I looked #190 in the eyes and could see his mischievous nature. Every time I turned my back on him he pulled on my boot. When I hosed down the pen the pigs would run in and out of the water stream seeming to enjoy the sport.

Something else helped to convince me that ANY meat bothered me. I saw a piece on one of the news shows – I believe it was Dateline – about fish. They discussed the mercury in tuna, but even worse they showed the parasites that might be found in fish. To top it all off they showed footage of the manner in which fish are handled before they get to market.

Not a fish, I know, the first Baby Shamu

First, I must admit that one of my favorite childhood past times was to go fishing with my grandfather or my dad. It wasn’t so much the fish we got to eat afterwards but the thrill of seeing that bobbin start to bob. I could sit for hours watching that red and white ball sit on the water and when the first sign of movement caught my attention I’d tense up. The key was to wait until the bobbin went all the way under, then snap the pole at just the right moment to hook the fish’s mouth.

Waikiki Beach at sunset

More and more though it bothered me to see the fish hung on a line awaiting its demise or lying on the shore slowly suffocating. I don’t care what anyone says, I believe that a fish has enough of a brain to know pain and suffering. Surely all animals have the instinct for survival.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some militant activist who thinks you should adopt my lifestyle. Who am I to say what you should believe. This is just how I feel and how I have adapted my life to suit my beliefs. I’ve also wondered what animals might not exist if humans didn’t eat other animals. Where did that first cow come from? Would the species still be around if people didn’t raise them for meat and milk? And yes, I still crave meat. It is especially difficult in the summer when all my neighbors are grilling steaks or brats and I can smell it. Some days the smell makes me sick but other days………..my mouth waters.

Cattle ranching in Iowa

What do you think? Have you ever gone through an experience that changed your way of thinking about animals? Is there a species that you think you’d never be able to appreciate (like rats, opossums, snakes, spiders, etc.)? I like to hear from you so pipe in and let me know what you think?

More Shelter Cats

Chum

Twix

Smooshie

Blossom

Before the rest of this post I wanted to update you on the cats I wrote about for Adopt-A-Cat Month. Happily Ringo and Bingo found a home together since I took their pictures as did Spirit, the beautiful blue tabby. 

Ringo & Bingo

Jane/Spirit

Unfortunately Twix, Smooshie, Blossom and Chum remain at the shelter. Sometimes I don’t understand why certain cats remain behind although I know that personal preferences are unique and unpredictable. 

For instance, I realize that Twix and Smooshie may not seem “flashy” to some but to me they do stand out. Twix has those remarkably brilliant green eyes and splashes of gold in her coat. Smooshie is a red tabby so he naturally stands out.

Blossom and Chum are both longhair cats so maybe that makes some people hesitate but it shouldn’t. They are both such lovey-doveys that brushing them should be easy. All four of these cats are so lovable and playful that they would be great cats for any household. 

Let’s hope that they, as well as the other five cats that are still there find a forever home soon.

Today I want to present you with three cats I met at the shelter this week. I’m showing you all three because they all have similar attractions. They are young cats, bi-colors (meaning one color plus white), shorthair and have unique personalities. None of them had names listed for them so I will be referring to them by names I’ve boldly given to them.

Denver, named because he had a Broncos blanket in his cage when I saw him, is a cream tabby and white neutered male shorthair cat. He’s only about a year old so he’s still a bit of a kitten inside. He was a stray and lost part of one ear to frostbite but he is front-declawed now so he’ll need to be an indoor only cat. Though he didn’t get up the entire time I was taking pictures he was enthralled with the string on my camera. He’s obviously very playful but I think he’ll be a great lap warmer.

Mae; she looks a lot bigger in her picture than she really is

Mae is a black and white shorthair, spayed female who was also a stray. She is about one year old, front-declawed and quite a character. She has that look in her eye that says she is the boss and people are going to be her slave. I just love her quirky behavior and hope she finds the right home. Again she was taken by the string on my camera and really went for it as you’ll see in the video.

 

 Finally we have Dove, a blue and white shorthair, spayed female who is about 7 months old. She came to the shelter as a kitten and has been here way too long for such a beautiful girl. I found some inexplicable quality in her that spoke to me. I kept thinking of Bluebird as I stroked her fur even though she is nothing like my beloved girl. I don’t know what it is………….Anyway, Dove is a little shy but once you pet her she comes out of her shell and just soaks up your attention. She is extremely loving and needs someone who will smother her with their love.

I hope that these young “kids” are going to find a home soon. They shouldn’t grow up in a shelter no matter how caring the personnel are. They need a home life and a family to give them tender loving care.

These three cats are currently staying at the Story County Animal Shelter. Please come and meet them and the other cats looking for homes.

The shelter is located at:         975 W Lincoln Highway
Nevada, IA 50201
Ph: (515) 382-3338

Their hours are:                       M-F 11 am to 4 pm

                                                Closed on holidays and weekends

You can see more of the pets awaiting adoption at the shelter website and updates on their Facebook page.

A New Generation

Rainbow

Funny how a day can pass. Today I found myself sorting through the many harnesses in a rainbow of colors, changing tags and reassigning them to my present cats. Each one holds a memory so precious, so far from my reach. A tear came to my eye as I set Rainbow’s aside, unable to reassign it.

The reason for this sorting evolved from a biography, of sorts, that I am writing about Mewdy Blue. As I typed in his age, 15, I realized sadly that someone has to step up and take over his activities. He is a local celebrity in that he started as a show cat early in life doing very well and developing into quite an accomplished cat.

Mewdy Blue

Eventually he moved into the agility ring and won the regional award. With his partner, Lady Butterfly, he became a pet therapy cat visiting youth shelters, adult day care and long-term care facilities to help brighten the day of many people. He has appeared on television, in newspapers and in person many times. He even acted as a guinea pig for veterinary students learning to do physical exams as well as giving demonstrations of his tricks and agility skills.

So now that Mewdy Blue is ready to retire from the limelight who can possibly fill in for him?

I planned to visit my mother in her assisted living apartment so I packed up Gooseberry, his new (reassigned) harness, leash and carrier and headed out. The first part of the day Goose talked and talked and talked about the situation (I know he’s got some Siamese in him) and looked everywhere for the perfect hiding place. When he’d finally settled down a bit I put on the leash and took him out into the hallway for a walk.

Gooseberry, ready for anything

You know that boy actually walked on the leash?! I’m not saying that cats don’t walk on leashes just that he has never done so before. The couple of times I’ve taken him outside to judge his reaction he panicked and raced for the door. Remembering that experience I had thought that an inner hallway might be easier on him. His first outing no other people were in the hallway but we could hear their “noises” from behind closed doors.

Goose was nervous but he did a great job of following me down the hallway. If he balked a little I simply pointed up ahead and he followed my finger. A simple stroking of his head was all the reward he needed. It wasn’t until we turned a corner and saw an air conditioner sitting on a cart that he decided he’d had enough. He took one look at that contraption and told me in no uncertain terms that we were going back to the apartment. No mechanical monsters for him!

Goose, packing for his first show

I left him in the apartment with my mother for a couple of hours then we went down for the obligatory early supper (who eats at 4:30 anyway??). Afterwards I took Goose out for another hallway carousing. This time other people appeared from out of the elevator and he decided it wasn’t fun anymore. He seemed comfortable as long as I held him in my arms so he got a little experience around other people that way.

So my little buddy, Gooseberry, is on his way to learning how to be a pet therapy cat. I’m sure with a little more exposure to different environments, other people and more leash-walking he’ll be up to the challenge. Who knows? It might even improve his chances at cat shows. And the day that started with a tear turned out to be rewarding.