Thursday, February 28, 2008

Licorice's field trip


Well Licorice is all alone once again now that Reece/Roxie is gone.. he seems ok with it. Although he does seem very interested in meeting the kitties on the other side of the door.

I went down last night. He stood up from his perch, and I realized once again just how LONG his legs are. I swear he has some horse genes or something..

I am trying so very very hard to control my impulse to pick at the few remaining mats. It is so hard. They are small and come off pretty easily, but it does annoy him when I do it. However last night I was cuddling with him, and realized his nails needed trimming pretty badly, and his ears - OMG his ears.. Caked with black desbris and bleeding (ok just a little but still) how could I have missed that?!?! *sigh* so once again I was the "evil lady" and pulled off a few mats, trimmed his claws, and did some surface cleaning of his ears. (I need to get some more mite medicine - so treatment is going to have to wait a short while)

So to distract him and make him forget how 'evil' I was to him, I took him on a little field trip up to the bedroom. He was ever so interested in the house as I walked past the kitchen and the bathroom - he took in EVERYTHING! Got to the bedroom, and shut the other kitties out and let him have his fill. Well he couldn't sit still. He was all over the room, all over the bed, up on the scratching post (yes, I have one in my bedroom - feel free to laugh) back on the bed, under the bed, in the bathroom, well you get the picture. He stopped to visit me a couple of times, but he just didn't want to sit still! after a few pats he was off again. Not running.. not stressed.. just actively looking around as if enjoying everything and not wanting to miss anything

This boy so deserves a special home.. one where he is spoiled rotten and where he is combed (he likes it as long as there is no pulling off of mats) every day.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Reese was Reece and is now Roxanne


Well the transport went well. We got her all bundled up in a big ol crate. Got out of the house, immediately had to turn around because we forgot something, then started back out again. Reese immediately started drooling.. poor thing. She didn't much like it either. We realized we put the cage in the truck backwards, so we stopped at the first convenient place and turned it around so I could have access to her. I got her cleaned up and we started off again.

Before we even got on the highway, she lost control of her bowels, and I had to clean that up. Fortunately I noticed it right away and so there for the car didn't stink up. Right after I got that cleaned up, I noticed she was about to hurl, so I quickly got the blankets out of there, and she vomited on the plastic bottom - very easy to clean up. Put the blankets back in, cleaned up more drool, covered the cage again, and tried to get her to settle. She didn't settle in the dark, she didn't settle with the cover off, she didn't settle if I held her, so I put her back in the cage and covered it. She'd whine on and off, and each time she did she was covered with drool so I kept cleaning her off.

My part of the journey was about 2 hours. Met up with the second leg of the journey and did the hand off in the mall parking lot. It was amusing. Just the whole thing..

Reese became Reece because I typoed.. Carolyn - her new mom - liked that spelling better, but then once she met Reece, realized that it really wasn't her name. I knew that from the begining. She came up with Roxanne. I like it.

Roxanne charmed absolutely everyone on the trip. She is an absolute belly slut, LOVES to roll over and present the belly for patting. Greeted everyone with affection and interest. She had a three part journey down to meet her mom, who traveled up and was staying in a hotel - so she had another journey the next day to get home. She also went on a few visits while she was in the area - other members of the felinediabetes.com website who lived in the area who wanted to meet up.

She got home and met her new 'brother' Niko. Like at my house, she ate his food, played with his toys, and just sauntered around like "ok, what's next?" Niko apparently was not impressed with her charms, as he was bullied in the past by a girl kitty. From the description of the meeting, he was completely unimpressed and would slink away quitely after she came around. I'm sure once he realizes that Roxanne isn't the kitty from his past, they'll become fast friends.
~


Licorice is a very interesting case for me. I'm not quite sure what to do with him. He goes off his food every couple of days - although he's stayed with the M/D dry for a week now. I've offered him multiple varieties of canned food, treats, and even the raw I feed my own cats - all he turns his nose up at. Now that he's been shaved, he's slowly putting on weight, a couple ounces here a loss there a few more ounces here, but its frustrating.

I am working on gaining his trust again. I know I know.. I'm obsessive about mats and removing them, and he's totally ok with leaving them right where they are "thank you very much" or at least I should say he absolutely does not want me to pull them off. I can't help myself! I need MA - mats annonomous. Hello, my name is Connie, and I have a problem :D

DH and I spent some time with him last night. He wanted attention but wasn't sure I wasn't going to tug at his fur. So he stood just at arms length. I'm sure if I can just restrain myself he'll be back to his "PAT ME" ways.

I guess I'm also not used to how much food ONE adult cat eats. I'm expecting them to both (Lic and Boots) to eat way more than they do. They both eat about a handful of dry a day. Which after watching my six pigs and room fulls of kittens eat, seems like nothing.

So I guess Lic is my life lesson in patience and just letting nature take its course. *sigh* I am really not good at that.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

addendum


I feel the need to post this..

I feel I am becoming (or is it too late for me) the crazy cat lady, who is looking for the highest standards of care for each and every cat, and feel that I might come across and condeming those who don't "measure up"

Well in a way I guess I kinda am/do but in the same way that I feel that we all should be eating fresh veggies, and fruits and restrict highly processed foods, alcohols, smoking, etc. Do I think any less of anyone who eats a donut? no. It is completely understandable.

I have absolutely NO intention of being condeming to those who care of their cat is not the same as mine. I know there are people who do more and better things for their cats, and I know there are going to be people who don't care at all - no wait. those I am going to pelt with pixilated stones. If you are going to own a pet, care for it.

Just as I am always looking out for new ideas, suggestions, ways to care for cats, I guess I don't censor myself when it comes to ways I care for my own kitties and fosters. I'm not always right, and I know it - just not at the time apparently.

as long as the cat is in good health, loved, safe, and sees a vet when necessary, you are A-OK in my book! (even if you do feed dry :D)

updates


So, I go and get "Reese" the diabetic cat. She's cute, and sweet, and a belly slut. She has more fur than a bear, and loves rolling around on the floor and picking up dust and debris for me.







I didn't have any test strips, so I followed the shelter's regime for her for three days. Got test strips, tested with the control - got 114. tested her, got 74. No insulin. Licorice still wasn't home from being shaved, so I gave her only the prescribed foods. tested in the morning, under 100 - no insulin. Kept on prescribed foods. Licorice came home that night. Gave some different canned food. tested in am, under 100 no insluin. Gave regular ol dry food that licorice liked, still under 100. Stopped testing. Tested a few days later, still under 100. I have NO idea what is going on with her, but that's ok.

Cause I found her a home. I post on a board about diabetic kitties, and before I had even posted a pict of her, she had a home. :) now it is in Virginia, so getting her there is going to be interesting. we've lined up four people to chain her down there. We are driving her to MA on Saturday.

Licorice is doing very well with his silly shaved tushie too. I think he's a bit embarassed by it, but since he's feeling better, he's eating better and slowly putting on weight.






Boots however is a completely different story. I don't know what to do with him. He has allergies to something, so I didn't feed him any beef products.. although I'm sure the food probably has some beef in it, because he's got scabs on his upper body, and the space between his ears and his eyes are all red and scratched up. His eyes are also a little inflamed. Not my cat, so I'm kinda limited in what I can do. His owner has brought him to the vet, and they've given him cortisone shots for it.. but apparently no one has thought to put him on an ingredient restricted diet. how can a vet not have suggested that?!?! he's with me for a little over a month more. I tried again to introduce him to my crew, but he is steadfast against it. It was a riot watching him hiss at Eli Kit and Jack. Kit just thought it was fascinating - but then she thinks EVERYTHING is fascinating. Jack had this look on his face like "Hey! that is MY line!!" and after getting hissed at three times hissed back. :) Eli just kept reaching out to Boots, as if to say, don't worry, it's all good, but boots wasn't buying it.. so he's still locked up in the office. Muffin is very determined to get in there, knowing there is gushy food in there.. Kit made a break for it this morning too, trying to rush past me.. was just too cute!

I wish there were more hours in the day to give everyone all kinds of love..

but now the shelter wants me to take more Bunnies. I'm going to look at them tonight, and will probably bring them home.. but OMG, my life will be overwhelmed if I do!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

I can rant if I want to


Sigh

I'm sorry for yet another rant. I'm sure I've said all this in the past, but sometimes it really bugs me and gets to me and I need to get it out before it breaks me.

Being in rescue/fostering you become painfully aware of the shortage of funds for saving pets. you also become painfully aware that you simply can not save them all, and even if some miracle happened and you had money to save them all, you will never find homes for them all. There are millions of homeless pets out there and simply not enough homes.

So when I see a rescue group trying to raise more than a few hundred dollars to save a pet, it just gets my hackles up.

I totally understand the desire to want to save a pet. An owned pet I have absolutely no problem with. What you do with your money for your pet is up to you. but when a rescue - who has only so many funds - and only so many times it can go to the well of resources it has to raise those funds - wants to come up with over three thousand dollars to save a puppy that has parvo, I just cringe. Another rescue group put out the call to raise several hundred dollars (close to a thousand if I remember correctly) to get a cat life saving surgery.

By going out on a limb for these pets, how many others are they not going to be able to take in or treat fully because they are going to be low on funds? a thousand dollars can go a long way to help save healthy pets that are out on the street...

sigh

And what the heck, since I'm ranting, I have to say I'm a little annoyed with my own shelter. I do give them major kudos and a wide birth when it comes to being annoyed with them because I know they are doing a LOT with the little resources they have. Licorice went in on Thursday to be shaved. Communication was not 100% and I did not get him in on time to have him done that night. I was asked to come in at night, and I work till six and have told them this many a time, and even though I was quick in getting there, there wasn't enough time. SO he spent the night and someone was to get to him on Friday. No one did. I left a note to have them call me on Saturday when he was done, never got the call. I hated leaving him there, but I can't make them call me. Got a call at 3 pm on Sunday saying they were going to get to him then, and I could come and get him. *sigh* poor boy. He's really off because of his experience. Hid for a couple of hours after coming back, and even after he started coming out he was very reluctant to have me touch him. Hopefully we'll get past this right quick.

Then there is Reese. Because I thought Licorice was lonely, I offered to take another cat to help keep him company. I was told Reese is diabetic. two and a half years old, had a UTI, figured out that she was diabetic, a diet change didn't help, so they put her on insulin. Well I took her. THey weren't testing her before giving her a shot. I am out of strips on my own meter for Em, and I know how expensive they are, so I went to the clinic I go to (who I donated two meters to when Em died for future diabetics) who diagnosed Reese. I asked for a little more information on her, since I was given so little. Well my vet really didn't want to give it to me. Wants foster parents to go through the shelter - which I did. But you got all the info on her that I got - not nearly enough for my tastes.

Well I took the meter home, tested her that night, got a 74! No insulin for her. in the morning got another reading under 100. still no insulin. next morning, and tonight.. damn good thing I refused to treat with out testing, cause insulin with that low of a number probably would have killed her. Mad at the shelter for not testing, mad at clinic for not talking to me about her, and just generally all around steamed at the situation.

Also kinda bothered by the lack of communication by my vet. I understand that he doesn't want me to tell him how to treat a pet I don't own - which some foster parents can be prone to do.. all I wanted was information I should be able to get but the shelter isn't prone to keep. another thing that bothers me is that he wouldn't come out and see me when I stopped in to get meter. He rarely stops out to see me when I stop by. I'm starting to feel that he doesn't really want me as a client. Granted I can be a strong advocate for my pets, and I like to know more than the average pet owner.. but I don't see where that is a bad thing. I hate to switch vets, as I like my vet, I like him a lot.. but I can't stand feeling like I am a bother - which I am very much starting to feel like when I go there. I very much wanted to be employeed by this vet as well. When I talked to him about it before he opened his clinic, I asked him point blank if he could ever see him hiring me. I asked him to be honest because it wouldn't change my feeling, but I didn't want false hope. He said he would be interested, but he had some prior obligations, and he didn't know if he'd have the funds any time soon. Well he ended up hiring another women we worked with - which I don't have a problem with as I really like the woman and she NEEDED the job. but all this off putting behaviour - which maybe I'm projecting - just makes me feel like he really should have said no to me in the first place.

so do I change vets (Eli needs a dental) and loose any small amount of hope of him ever hiring me, do I change vets simply because I can't stand feeling this way, or do I just hold off doing anything for now (Eli really could use a dental but isn't in any pain) and let sleeping dogs lie for now till this feeling passes? maybe I'm just obnoxiously insecure... which is kinda true... self esteem has never been my strong point (although I'm sure a few people would be surprised to hear it)

sigh

I'm grumpy, Im tired, and I feel like Im fighting to get up stream and not getting anywhere..

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Somewhere there must be "Sucker" written on my forhead


really..

A few weeks ago I took in Licorice, because my kitten room is just too cold for kittens.. Poor thing is holding his own, but is miserable.. So I've contacted the shelter about getting him shaved and said it might be a good idea to get him a companion..

In the mean time, my husband's aunt reminded me that in November I agreed to cat sit for her.. so now I have "Boots" at the house.



Let me remind you that I do not like cats that talk to me. I do my best not to encourage meowing for no particular reason. Tweedle does it, but she'll usually stop if I tell her to. Being Siamese, Boots enjoys the sound of his own voice, and at 3am he started singing opera.. *sigh* some attention and some food for distraction got me through the night. Last night we gave him lots of love, and held off on the food as long as possible, and I did get through the night. Not sure if he'll intergrate into the house because he smelled the previously used scoop and hissed. But I'll probably try it this weekend because he is going to be living at the house till April.

So then after the night of broken rest, I get an email from the shelter regarding getting Licorice in for a shave. and btw, how would you like a diabetic cat to be his companion :) Will be nice to put my knowledge to work again, but like I need this kind of additional work.. *sigh* But they need the help, Licorice needs the companionship and he absolutely needs to get off dry food and on to wet.. Maybe I can even get the new kitty Reece (haven't gotten her yet) off insulin.. it's been known to happen..

Oh to have a sick orphaned kit.. I miss little kitten licks..
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