Monday, April 30, 2012

Good info to have


The FDA has a website where you can report problems with pet food.   I didn't know they had this..  I hope I never need it, but I wanted to keep record of it in case I ever did and I wanted to share it in case you would ever want it.

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ReportaProblem/ucm182403.htm

What a difference 46 days makes


3/13/12
4/28/12
I tried them on grain free canned food - the same food their mom did well with, and immediately the diarrhea was worse.  So bad it looked like they exploded.  I was able to get another sample, and I figured Id get it checked one last time for internal parasites.  I was pretty sure there wasn't any, but they don't always shed the evidence that there are parasites, and I thought if at any point you would see evidence it would be after an extreme irritation and release of the contents of the colon.  Alas, they are parasite free - including giardia.  Which is a good thing, but I was kind of hoping it wasn't a food issues (because as I have said before, kitties with food issues don't get adopted as easily.. although homes that are willing to feed foods outside the norm because the kitties need them would get extra karma points in my book).

So, I'm 90% positive we are dealing with food allergy issues.  I've arrived at the conclusion that Petra is having issues with chicken, so we went out to get some more food for The Crew and some beef based food for the kittens.  I found a pack of buffalo and I bought that too and fed that last night.  That was a HUGE hit, to the point where Squirrel was growling over it.This morning there was still "issues" in the litter box.  I'm trying not to freak out and reminding myself if the canned food produced such an extreme reaction it is going to take a while for things to settle down. 

If we are still dealing with this by Wednesday I'm going to say that it is time to get a professional involved and see if we aren't dealing with something else.

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Saturday, April 28, 2012

The Crew gets introduced to silvervine


So from time to time I would see posts about kitties getting silvervine and I thought it would be fun to get some for The Crew.  I have several who are very into nip (Eli being the #1 fan) and since there are only so many furry mice I can buy them before even I feel silly, I went to eBay and got a sample pack of leaves, powder and a stick.  OK so I got two sample packs, but when you have seven cats, you want to make sure you get enough for everyone.  I was a little afraid after I placed my order that it would be a total waste, I guess I shouldn't have worried.

The Package..
I claim this for Fleurp!!
Smells... so... good...
Weeeee
Yeee haw!
this... is... totally... wicked...
Eli, give me yours... ~Muffin
Eli and Skippy enjoy some together
GIMME!!
Skippy got a stick of Silver Vine
Me Likey
a lot
The kitty with the most leaves on them wins
I bet I can win, I have more surface area
Did I win
I'll count yours if you count mine..
No no, you'll cheat!  Will not.. Yes you will, I'm going to get that loose leaf
Fleurp gets the stick
I'm gonna get you little sticky!!
Cause I like litte stickies
get in my belly!! 
I so love you little stick.. (Jack is completely blissed out)
Be mine..
It was mine first ~Skippy
*sigh* we like
This was my thank you the next morning, their favorite toy in my shoe

Friday, April 27, 2012

Fleurp


While currently on the floor again, at least at this point she is on the floor in the bedroom.  A while ago she came up and sat on me while I was on my computer and I got to love on her.  Then she went and did this...

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Not another cat video wasting your time...




But what if I don't believe that cat videos are a waste of my time??

Thankful Thursday


I spend way too much time worrying about what is going wrong, and I don't stop and and focus on what is going right.  And since I have no new pictures lined up for posting (and stupid Blogger's "schedule" feature isn't working) I thought I'd take a few minutes and focus on the good.

Let me start off with,  I have blogger.com to blog on.  It is easy, fairly intuitive and quick to set up.  I've complained about a wide variety of things (from not being able to host my blog any more when they got rid of FTP to the bugs on this new interface) but it is far superior to coding the website myself and updating it every day.  That and being on blogger makes it a little easier to network with the others on the catblogosphere.

I'm thankful that my foster kittens don't have URI.  They are happy and active and a lot of fun.  They have started to get very excited to see me now that Meira is gone, and they crawl up into my lap and purr.  They aren't the most people orientated kittens I've ever had, or even had recently, but it always makes me smile when kittens run up to me and sing.  We have had quite a bit of regular looking stool in the litter box lately, and I am thankful for that.  I opened up a can of food, and they are more then willing to accept canned food - which is great.  Now hopefully we can get them on canned food AND keep the regular looking stool in the litter box. *fingers crossed*

I posted about Eli yesterday, and I was very thankful for that.  This morning he was back on my husband's side of the bed (he gets up before me) asking for belly rubs.  I tried to get him to walk on me to no avail, but I got Eli belly and that is pretty awesome.  But what is amusing about all of this is that it is almost like we have another cat.  We used to have six cats asking for attention, now we have seven.. (well six and a half, Fleurp still isn't 100% and doesn't come into the bedroom as much now)

I'm thankful Fleurp is feeling better.  I worry about her constantly.  I panic when I think her gums aren't as pink as they could be, I stress over the fact that she is choosing to sleep in the middle of the great room and not in the bed.. but then I remember to focus on how sweet she and Muffin are together when they get it into their heads to create mischief like only those two can.  How adorable she is when she is sitting there hoping for something yummy to come to her and what an absolute joy she is.  I am thankful every day for her coming into my life.  As I am all the cats (but not so much Jack when he knocks things off the counter hoping they'll break open and that there is treats inside)

I'm also very thankful that Jack does seem to be more comfortable in his roll of Alpha (or at least Oldest).  When Ollie was with us, he was absolute ALPHA!  All the experts say the Alpha status is very fluid in a home with multiple cats, but Ollie ruled with an iron paw and a bit of compassion.  Jack totally stressed as Ollie was leaving and then after he died.  There was some spraying some major insecurities and it was just a rough time for him.  I think he finally realized he didn't have to be Ollie, and thing settled dramatically.

As much as I hate what I saw, I am thankful for the cheap black light I bought after Halloween last year.  There was spraying, there was a lingering faint odor, I knew I needed to deal with it, but I didn't want to.  When I saw the light on clearance I bought it, and it stuck in a drawer for months.  The other week I dug it out and took a peek at some of the hot spots and I was shocked.  I understand a lot more about what my kitties were dealing with.  I forgot that I used to foster just about all of the rooms we were having issues with.  I wish there was some way to get the urine to show up with out the black light because honestly the rooms look clean in the daytime.. and by the time it is dark enough to use the light to clean I'm so tired.  Inventors out there, invent a nontoxic spray that makes urine show up so I can clean it.. I would be so thankful for that.

I'm also thankful for my husband who takes care of the litter boxes for me.  I have allergies to dust, so cleaning the litter boxes usually means I'm reactive for the rest of the night.  Sometimes even doing the foster boxes is enough to set me off.  He is so adorable that he's building a room for the kitties and their boxes.. they are in the basement in the unfinished portion.  I've never really liked that, but with three children's wading pools as litter boxes, there aren't that many other places they will fit.  We are enclosing the area with the window and are going to try to make it a nicer area..   I so need to get pictures of it before construction starts.

And I'm thankful all of you stopped by today.  Seeing my traffic increase over the years is also something that makes me smile..

(and I'm thankful it is Thursday and the weekend will be here soon)

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Eli - a breakthrough


It took ten years.  Ten years.  Let me say that again, ten freakin years..

but the other morning when I woke up I had an Eli on me.
Yes, I'm sure many of you have no idea how my heart sung because waiting ten years for a kitty to do this is just unfathomable.  heck, it is unfathomable to me too (and I can't believe unfathomable is not only a word but I spelled it right)

When I was able to get him to stop running from us when ever we moved, that was huge (and thank you Rescue Remedy for that) and when he stopped running from us when we walked in his general direction I thought that was huge.  The day I walked up to him and patted him.. HUGE.. The day he came up and asked for us to 'create static'.. well not so huge but pretty freaking awesome.. Then he started showing up in non-winter months and showing his belly for rubbin (although remaining at arms length).. and reminding me so much of his brother Kodi.. and it was impossible to resist him.

And then this.  To have him willingly come up and sit on top of me as I slept.. Eli, you have come a long way buddy!!

and if I didn't know it would bug you so, I would snag you and snuggle you and cover you with kisses.. but I so want you to do it again, I so won't.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Update - KITTENS!!


I felt the need to give Petra a little help cleaning her tushie.  We have had some diarrhea going on over here since the last feeding of canned food.  I have no idea if it is because of the canned food, if it was because it was that time for round worms to make their presence known (since most kittens are infected with them) or if there was something else going on.  I have been trying to get a sample in to the shelter to see what was up, but unfortunately it was too liquid and they would only poop after the shelter closed (seriously, the day they closed early they pooped early)   Petra seems to have the worst of it, having gas that is quite odorus, and her "pants" and back feet were less then pristine.  So I took her upstairs and gave her a rinse off.  She took it very well (and she has the start of a 'dulap' aka an extra flap of skin on the lower belly it was uber cute).  When she got back down to the kitten room her siblings were horribly confused.  She smelled different and the same (since I only washed half of her) so they were trying to figure out if the different smell was from her or from something near her.
It really is quite amusing to watch them learn that their noses are 'super sniffers'.  The night before Squirrel noticed I brought food in but he couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from.  He sniffed and followed the scent and realized I had it next to me as I sat on the litter box box.  He tried to jump straight up from the floor but there was no way that was going to happen, so eventually he realized he would have to go the long way around to get to it.  I so love watching the light bulb goes on, and thought and reasoning occur.
 ---------

Miriam would also like to show you something.  She heard of Robyn showing you Razzie's technique to correctly exit a cat tree. She says she has a similar technique.
Plan your route
Lock your feet
Extend and drop
What, you want to see it again?
locking the feet
Extend
drop - TADA!!!
Then this evening after getting home from work I FINALLY got a stool sample that was testable..Apparently it was given with love..

So I went to the shelter with it.  I haven't heard the results so I'm going to assume they didn't find anything.  There were actually several normal looking stools in the box this evening so I'm guessing things are resolving.  I'll give canned food another go once things settle and are normal for a few days.  I checked on Meira while I was there.  She was not yet on the adoption floor (not surprising) and she seemed to be doing pretty well.  I gave her some love and attention which she liked.  I took her out and cuddled her (yup, she likes to cuddle) but when she saw a kitty in one of the other cages she hissed, so I guess she's not a fan of other cats yet.  They have been feeding her a grain free canned food, and the stool in her litter box looked really good, which is such a good thing.  I was a little concerned because her mammary glands were getting kind of full.  I didn't think the kittens were nursing that much and were well on their way to complete weaning as her mammary glands were flat and I didn't see them nursing much any more.  Mastitis is a concern if she gets too much milk and it doesn't start drying up on its own.

There were a surprising number of cats in the treatment area.  Most were friendly and outgoing, including one guy who I saw when dropping Meira off who was so scared then he retreated when I looked at him, but tonight he showed me his belly.  But there was one kitty who made my soul ache.  It sat so far back in the cage that I couldn't see it, but I could hear it purring away trying to comfort itself.  I had no idea what was going on with it, if it was scared, or injured, or what.  Maybe it had a kitten in there and was really happy.. One can only hope.  I thought good and hopeful thoughts for it. 

On a personal note, Marsha aka - Simon and Leroy's Mom, sent me a few Fresh Step codes and with the extra boxes I was able to nab at the shelter I was able to order the stainless steel water fountain for The Crew. I can't wait till it arrives. I'll be using Fresh Step for the fosters into 2013. See the Rubbermaid container behind the trash bin in the photos above? it is FULL..

Update - Fleurp


Fleurp went back to the vet on Monday.  Her blood work showed marked improvement but she still has a way to go.  One of the results was out of the "normal" range and Dr. R didn't mention it when going over it so I asked and he said that it meant that her blood was 'fluffy' which was quite funny since Fleurp has always been "fluffy" herself and being on pred she became extra fluffy gaining a pound and a half
He said she was not infected with hemobart, that there would have been evidence of that in the blood work.  So he believes her own immune system is causing problems for one reason or another and that she might need to be on pred for the rest of her life to keep it in check.

I'm not a huge fan of that idea* as being on steroids can cause diabetes in cats.  He mentioned that maybe not as it was a year and a half since the last time we went through this.  I tried to do some reading on whole health support for anemia, and there was talk of injectible B12 being helpful.  I so need to do more reading to see what else might help.  I have another appointment on the 7th for another recheck.    *but since anemia can actually be fatal, if it is give pred or face life threatening anemia, I'll give it and deal with diabetes when or if it comes.

I still think Fleurp isn't feeling like her old self.  She has her moments when she is feeling better and comes into the bedroom seeking attention.  It just kills me to see her laying on the floor in the kitchen after coming out of the bedroom having the entire bed covered with kitties except her.
I may be fluffy, but it is all part of my charm

Monday, April 23, 2012

So I'm going


I found it highly interesting that Hills would invite me to come and visit their facilities.  With my basic personality being  very similar to a cat's the whole thought of traveling gets my fur up, but everyone said I should go... so I'm going.

I don't know a whole heck of a lot more then the fights at this point which is May 8th.

I know I have some pretty major questions, which again I'm sure they have someone with a bunch of letters after their name can totally justify away, but I can't wait to see what they have to say.

So, do you have any questions for Hills? and if you do, do you mind if I use your name/blog when I ask them?

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Earth Day


If you have never watched the TV show "The Tick" well then this post is going to be pretty silly.  Heck even if you did watch it then it still kinda silly.

Since watching it my husband and I have used many of the lines in our everday lexicon, and more often then not when talking about how the world is being destroyed (be it in a news show on in a movie) we often quote The Tick from this scene starting at :50
Interviewer: (clearing his throat) Well then, uh... can you destroy the Earth?
The Tick: (
alarmed) Egad, I hope not! That's where I keep all my stuff!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Take your Kittens to Work Day


Once kittens are weaned, I like to take them out of the house for short trips because it helps build their confidence, makes them better well rounded kittens, and it makes the whole getting neutered then going up for adoption a whole heck of a lot less stressful for them.

The first trip out is often quite sedate and this one was no different.  What is nice is there is now four women in the office so each one got a kitten.  I didn't and I was a little sad about that, but it is so much better for the kittens to be introduced to new people and new experiences so it was better for them and that is what was important.  That and I got work done on Friday :)

Hi there! ~Moose
Squirrel hanging out with the "angry mob" action figures
Petra working hard at napping
Miriam just hanging out
They all missed the birdie in the window
It always is quite amazing how much good that does.  That night, after returning them to their room around noon, they were so happy to see me they all ran right up to me where as before they were in their own world and barely noticed I entered.
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