Monday, March 31, 2014
Charlotte's glamour shots
Does this kitten take a bad photo??
She has been on the shelter website for a week with no takers. I didn't want to bring her in because I was a little afraid for her since she has been on the verge of a cold since she got here.. but she really really needs a home of her own and I need her to move on since I'm still devoting most of my time to Jack. She is such a doll, someone is going to be very lucky when they finally figure out that she's the one.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Caturday Art Hop - Jack
Jack thought he'd create his own art..
Art: works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power |
Since it is pinkish, I would say we aren't out of the woods, but he is getting back to normal, so thankfully breathing and sleeping are becoming options for me again :)
Friday, March 28, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Home again, home again, jiggity jig
He is home. I let him out, he walked around for a while, making sure everything is as he left it. He was a little surprised that "MirrorJack" also went to the vet and had a wrap on his paw as well. He then left his mark on the scratcher and we are now laying in bed.. I wish he would have picked a better place because he reeks of urine. He came and sat on me for a while, and I now have that special "Eau de Jack" aroma surrounding me.. (I REALLY need to change my shirt now) They gave him a bath before they sent him home (unlike the last place who sent him home urine soaked and bloody) but apparently they didn't get it all.
During the check out the doctor actually said to me.. "He was even eating kibble"
Yes, that mental image you have of me hitting her, I had that too..
I responded of course he would, he loves it..but it cause him inflammation and exacerbates this problem. I looked at the blood work they gave me (after I asked) and his urinary PH rose from 7.37 to 7.51 while he was there.. SURPRISE SURPRISE!! ugh! (and oddly they have the PH range being normal at 7.24-7.40 which is alkaline, not acidic.. so I have a feeling that range is not for cats.. because a cat's normal range is acidic and should be 6.5 ish so I've already started him on supplements to bring that down.
and now he has just peed on the tub.. *rolls eyes* hey, I'm just thrilled it is coming out.. as Shrek says, better out than in..
So, we are 'out of the woods' but we are far from home.. *knock wood* hopefully we can get him settled again and now that I know how friggen sensitive he is, it will help me tailor a better treatment for him so this NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN!
This time we have pain meds and antispasmotics to help him feeling good, but oddly they didn't prescribe antibiotics.. *shrug* we still have a culture that went to the lab to come back and he was apparently a little anemic on some of his blood work, and it looks like his potassium is a little low (but then again if this was set for dog, maybe he isn't.. I'll have to do a little research on this.. ) I'm going to be sending everything to my holistic vet and see what she has to say about things.
Charlotte and her coat of many colors
Why hello there beautiful girl, would you mind showing us your little nekkid back?
As you can see, we still seem to have an odd pattern to the regrowth of her fur. A lot of the 'guard hairs' are coming in on the nekkid areas, which you can see a little better on the bottom photo on the right side.
I have to say it can be mighty odd watching a cat regrow fur that has been shaved off. I've seen and heard of several cats (our little Lion from a previous litter included) that when the fur of a shaved area grew back it grew back gray or white. This, however, is the first time I think I've seen it grow back like this..
Jack, his bladder, and my sanity
So... Once again.. as you may have gathered from the title of this post, we are once again dealing with Jack's rebel bladder. As much as I want to beat myself up for 'causing' this (and this one I really do believe I caused as I gave him a treat that I suspected before of causing an issue since it has more than one ingredient) I know - and I mean really know - that this is not on me. Jack is a very very sensitive boy and I have to accept that. Could I be doing more, maybe, but not with Jack. He is his own kitty and I have to work with in the limitations that he presents me.. (which I'm going to touch on in a minute)
So Monday night the entire Crew were clamoring for treats. I really hate denying them when they look so cute and they look cute a LOT.. there are times I succumb. I was running low on "Jack approved treats" meaning treats that had just one or two ingredients and have no plant based ingredients. I was digging around in my treat cupboard and stumbled upon a package of UTI support treats. I had gotten them a while back and had given Jack a couple in the past, and each time shortly there afterwards he would either start peeing inappropriately or acting uncomfortable. It is one of those things where you couldn't really be sure.. so I suspected they were an issue, but I did not know. The ingredients have several things that are helpful to kitties with bladder issues like d-mannose, cranberry extract and N-Acetyl Glucosamine but it also has brewers yeast, corn oil, glycerin, maltodextrin, rosemary extract, soy lecithin, and vegetable oil.
Since I only suspected.. I gave him one. ONE. I gave him a few freeze dried treats to go along with it.. he also got his daily herbal supplement (oddly enough from the same company) which has been keeping him on an even keel as of late. I missed one dose a couple of weeks ago and he peed on something the next morning.
In the morning he seemed to be uncomfortable. I immediately locked him away in the bedroom with food and litter. Every time I've done this in the past he has REFUSED to use the box for 12 -16 hours.. often not peeing until the middle of the night. I joke he has a 'shy bladder'. Because of this a) I wasn't panicked when I went home from work at lunch time and he still had not peed, and b) I can't ever test his urine for his PH levels (but more on that in a bit too)
At lunch time he was so happy to see me, he wanted attention. He purred. He ate. He still was obviously uncomfortable. I had given him some supplements to acidify his urine (L-methionine - which is better for a cat than the lower quality DL-methionine that they put in the 'prescription' (and some OTC) urinary foods) and gave him some fluids and went back to work.
Now.. you can give l-methionine on a regular basis to help force a cat's urine into the ideal range of 6.0 - 6.5 (acidic on the PH scale) but you need to be very careful when doing this. If a cat's urinary PH is too low for too long it can run the risk of developing oxolate stones in the bladder which are far more difficult to treat and often require surgery. If you have a cat that will let you know when it is about to pee, and doesn't wait for hours when you want a sample - unless you can wait for hours - you can get PH strips to test the cat's urine so you can monitor it. Oddly enough there is a LOT of information you can glean about your cat's health if you want to dabble in urine (yes, I know, that sounds gross). You can get a refractometer and learn oodles of very helpful information - but as in the case of the PH - you need fresh urine.
And since Jack will not allow me to gather that information, I'm flying blind a lot of the time so I have to be very conservative.
Well anyway.. I got home from work on Tuesday and he still had not peed for me. He did pass some stool which was another good sign, and he had finished off most of the food I had given him when I locked him away. He was still bright eyed, still attention seeking, but still looking uncomfortable. Now he was laying down and the rear leg that was on top would be lifted slightly. At this point all of the local vets were closed.
Now let me preface what I did next with: He has been in this position before and came out of it just fine with some fluids and some l-methionine. This time I also had some cornsilk which is also soothing to the bladder. I also had some buprenex for pain from the last time he was uncomfortable like this and we went to the vet and got a once over.
So I waited. I checked in with him every hour or so. His attitude did not change. He did not eat the food I gave him for dinner, which was concerning, and one thing that always makes me worry as Jack's nickname is the garbage disposal.. he is always up for food. So now I had two symptoms that concerned me.. but I have gotten him out of this spot before. I was going to take him to a vet in the AM and have a once over - but I fully expected him to urinate before the night was out.
I checked on him hourly. I tried to get some sleep at about midnight. Each time he went to the box I woke up and prayed for that special sound of free flowing urine.. heck even a drop would have let me get some sleep.. Around 2AM I got up for the fourth time. He was slightly less energetic, and bingo we had the third symptom. I've got a list of like 10, and when we hit three I get to the vet, period. So I woke my husband up and off we went.
And yes, he was blocked.. and he had a bladder the size of a tangerine.. and now he has been at the clinic for 24 hours. His BUN and creatinine were very high when they first tested his blood, as well as a very high glucose level. After 12 hours there his levels returned to mostly normal. They really really got stuck on the high glucose level and wanted to run additional tests on his blood sugar.. I had to roll my eyes, they were already charging me an arm and a leg for every single solitary thing they could think of (including a warming charge in case he got chilled after surgery). I am all for supporting my local emergency clinic, because with out the fees they charge they couldn't stay in business and then they wouldn't be there when I wake up at 2AM and decide I can't deal with it any more... but man I wish they would just charge one larger fee and do away with charging me to inject the medicine they want to give (along with the charge of the medicine they want to give)
I was going to try to get him to a local non evet, but no one local has the ability to watch him over night. At the point when I would have had to pick him up to get him to a local vet, he still had very bloody urine and they were afraid of it clotting over night and reblocking him, so he is still there.
They were feeding him C/D: Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Pork Fat, Chicken Liver Flavor, Fish Oil, DL-Methionine, vitamins, Taurine, minerals Rosemary Extract, Beta-Carotene. (I've already mentioned the methionine, there are more plant based ingredients in this food than animal products, synthetic vitamins, GMO corn meal, what is chicken liver flavor that is cheaper than chicken liver? what type of fish, CAFO chicken just a few reasons why I'm so against this food) so I had my husband bring him up some raw food. Hopefully they give it to him, if not at least I tried.. I'm sure Jack is loving the canned food, he really does adore junk food, it is near impossible to keep him off me when I eat pop tarts.
He gets glowing reviews for not only his progress but his personality when ever I call. Which is the second real issue I have with this clinic.. They keep telling me they will call me with results, but they never have and because of that I got about two hours of sleep that night. I hate calling anyone, but I suck it up to keep tabs on my boy. I'll get over all of my issues if they simply do not send him home with two fat lips.
So as for my sanity.. it irritates me I can not fix this.. or even really do anything but walk a very very fine tightrope of keeping him stable. I still blame Catswell Treats for putting him in this position. He was far more stable prior to getting those, not needing herbs daily to keep from becoming inflamed. I know this is biology, which is far more mysterious than you might realize, and much more of an art than a true cause/effect science. Biology is not algebra.. there is no one right answer every single time. I am coming to accept that and deal with that limitation, but darn it why does it have to keep smacking me around and making me it's whipping girl??
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Toesday with Charlotte
Monday, March 24, 2014
Charlotte is still here
I heard from Shelley, and last I heard she was going to 'let me know' but at this point I haven't heard back, so I am going to start making arrangements with the shelter to try to find her a home. Not sure if I'll just bring her in, or send them a picture or two to use on their Facebook page in order to keep her stress level down. I am hoping for the later because she has been sniffling since she started the antibiotic she was given to aid in the healing when she got out of surgery. Since I had to take her off the antibiotic due to some pretty severe diarrhea, I never did put her back on it for the sniffles. I tried silver (which is antibacterial) I've given her vitamin c and probiotics, I've given her lactoferrin, and still she is just a little sniffly. Nothing made it better, it never got any worse. *shrug* Either she's got a cold and she just needs to get into a home and settle down to get rid of it (which is what I'm leaning to because a couple of my cats have developed weepy eyes in the past week) or she has allergies and hopefully getting into a home and settled down will help..
I've got pictures that will last the week.. Hopefully I end up with new kittens before I run out. I do know that one of the other foster homes in the area has a cat that just gave birth to three, so maybe if I bug them daily I'll get the next set that needs fostering :)
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Caturday Art Hop - Crazy Chipmunk Edition
A couple of years ago we had a pair of chipmunks who liked to play a chipmunk version of wild and crazy stunts.. they would run up the stairs of the deck and sit at the very edge, and then each one would try to see who could get closer to our sliding glass door. It went on all summer.
Well, looks like we have another one..
Apparently he's working up the courage.. |
(the original photo my husband sent me)
Athena's Caturday Art Hop
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Interview with a Fosterer - Robyn from Love and Hisses
I was so hesitant to ask Miss Robyn to participate, I don't know why, she's such a lovely person that I was pretty sure she would say yes but I didn't want to bother her. Now that we all seem to be in a fostering lull here in the US, I thought I'd take a chance and she said yes!! She blogs very regularly at Love-and-Hisses.com. I'm sure you all read her, but if you don't, go check her out.. you won't regret it.
Introduce yourself and where do you hail from? I am Robyn Anderson. I was born in Maine, moved around a lot as a kid (my father was in the Air Force), ended up back in Maine when I was in middle school, and now live in Alabama. I've lived in Alabama for almost 18 years, which is far longer than I've ever lived anywhere. I live on a small farm in the country with my husband, Fred (he's from Alabama, and is the reason I moved here). We have 50+ chickens, two Great Pyrenees dogs, occasionally a couple of pigs, and of course CATS.
What rescue group, shelter or sanctuary do you foster for? Challenger's House, located in Toney, Alabama.
What kinds of animals do you normally foster? Kittens, with the occasional older cat thrown in to make things exciting. We've had bottle babies and pregnant cats. Usually we get kittens when they're 5 weeks or older. They stay with us until they've had their vaccinations and have been spayed and neutered, usually between 3 and 4 months of age.
Three of Robyn's current six foster kittens |
Mia and her kittens |
What is most frustrating for you as a foster? The (what seems like) endless rivers of kitten diarrhea, especially when kittens are tiny and inevitably tromp through their diarrhea. I've been known to wail "Don't WALK through it!" helplessly as I shuffle-run toward the offending kitten. Cats being returned to the shelter after being in a home for years is frustrating, too, though I'm also grateful that Challenger's House will always take back cats. I know that sometimes life circumstances make it so that cats have to be returned, but it makes me sad for the cat and hurts my feelings a little.
What is most rewarding? Seeing a well-formed kitten poop in the litter box is like winning the Super Bowl. Getting a scared, shy kitten and watching him or her blossom into a confident, self-assured cat is amazing. Getting updates on my former fosters and seeing happy, pampered cats in homes with people who adore them is the BEST.
Maddy |
Hamilton |
Sugarbutt (winking) and Tommy, the first foster kittens we kept (one of Robyn's favorite pictures) |
When you are not saving animals what do you like to do? I like to read, watch TV (I'm addicted to those stupid Real Housewives shows), and have recently picked up cross-stitching after a few years away from it. I occasionally sew, though I'm not terribly good at it. I keep saying that I'm going to learn to knit, but haven't done it yet - I'm really good at planning, not so good at following through!
And now the questions from Inside the Actors Studio:
What is your favorite word? Onomatopoeia.
What is your least favorite word? Moist.
What turns you on? A just-vacuumed, just-mopped, just-dusted house.
What turns you off? Kitty litter in my sheets.
What sound or noise do you love? The purr of a deeply contented cat.
What sound or noise do you hate? The "hrk!Hrk!HRK! HRK!" of a cat beginning to barf.
What is your favorite curse word? I have to choose a favorite? It's a tie between fuck and goddamnit. I have a potty mouth.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? I want to be a singer! (But I suspect that would require some sort of surgery on my vocal chords, as I cannot sing on-key.)
What profession would you not like to do? I don't think I could handle being a vet.
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gate? They're waiting for you, first room on the left. I hope you brought Da Bird!
I love this photo, I'm thrilled she sent it over ~Connie |
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Charlotte's vet report
Sadly I didn't get to talk to the vet, but that's OK. Whomever she saw took an xray and everything looked fine, so they think that it is the soft tissue damage on her back that is throwing off her gait some how. Not really sure that is the only thing going on with her, but since her xray looked clean, I'm going with this is an issue she's just going to have to deal with, and hopefully in time as she gets used to the way her body works now (with said soft tissue damage) things will be much better.
Doesn't really explain what happened on Friday, but some of that might have been my being over protective.. (who me?? really??) I think it is best if she is adopted by someone who has carpet through out their house - which I do not.
So now I just need to connect up with this Shelley person I've been told is smitten with her and see if it is a love match..
While I was at the shelter a woman came in with a mother cat and kittens. The Spay/Neuter Clinic has a deal going on if you surrender a mother's kittens you get the mother cat spayed for free. They brought in a gaggle of little orange kittens... oh be still my heart. Sadly (for me) they were all of size to be neutered and go up for adoption, so they won't be stopping by at Casa de Gato to hang out with Happy Bear.. but I'm sure there will be someone in that room soon enough.. Although currently Charlotte is still there and lovin it.
Let's Play! |
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Charlotte is headed to the vet tomorrow
Well our dear little Charlotte had a little 'oops' over the weekend. She was running and playing and wanted to run around the corner of the couch. Unfortunately the carpet remnant I have doesn't extend there, and she wasn't paying close attention and she slipped again.
I have NO idea what is going on with her and her back legs. When she showed up she seemed to have a very slight limp, and when she would walk on the vinyl floor her back legs would often slip and 'give out'. I don't want to say she'd tumble because she did quickly recover - hence the lack of videos on it - but it was clear SOMETHING was going on.. I mentioned it to the shelter and they said when she came back to go up for adoption they'd get her in to be looked at to see what was going on.
If she fractured her pelvis, there wasn't much we could do but let it heal anyway, and she didn't seem in any distress over it at all, so I simply found a carpet remnant in my house that covered most of the floor and put that down for her. She seemed to start walking better, she played more vigorously - she actually does rabbit 'binkies' when she plays, it is so freakin adorable!! - and I couldn't see a limp any more. I figured I'd still have them look at her, but it was probably not going to be an issue.
Well this past weekend, as I said, she was playing and slipped. I heard a bonk, and assumed she hit her rear end on the couch or the end table. She simply sat down and froze. She didn't cry, she didn't try to lick the area, nothing. She looked up at me, and I scooped her up and laid her on my chest and kissed her and patted her. She did not cry out or react in any way like she was in pain, and a moment or two later she very clearly reminded me that snuggle time was over long ago and it is now play time thankyouverymuch (she is so rigid in her schedule!!) I gently put her back on the floor, not letting her jump or climb down. She stood up, wobbled a wee bit and her end flomped down and she 'sat' (front end upright, back end down) and then looked at me again. Once again I picked her up and cuddled her.. very gently probing her rear, her hocks, her legs, nothing seemed amiss. She let me cuddle her for a bit less time this time, and again reminded me (by chewing on my fingers) that it was PLAY TIME DARN IT!.. so I once again went to put her on the floor, and she tried to jump but I wouldn't let her.
This time she walked away, but was wobbly. Somewhere between five and ten minutes had passed since it happened. I was going to give her another few minutes before I made any decisions about taking her to a vet/calling the shelter, but after another ten or so, she was playing with the toy, and while she wasn't 100% she was back to about where she was when she showed up here.
I emailed the shelter on Monday and we now have an appointment to have her seen on Wednesday.. I'm not sure if anything will come of it, but I do want a professional to decide..
Seriously lady, you are WAY too over protective!! |
126 claws
So a while back I got an email from Kong asking me if I wanted to blog about one of their products. I had seen a few people do this and there are often treats involved, so I said I was happy to but I have food restrictions on one of my cats so as long as it wasn't treats I was in.
A few days later a Kong ZoomGroom arrived at my door. This made me laugh since had pretty much just finished telling you about it from the one I got in my PetBox
I figured I'd do a grooming post and once again share with you what I refer to as "Day of Beauty" when I brush, clip, and clean the cats. Seven cats, 14 claws a cat hence 126 claws..
Setting up the equipment |
This time I incorporated the ZoomGroom in and I was once again very pleased with the outcome. I've never had much success with the other two brushes on Muffin but the ZoomGroom helps take off the loose fur on her and she does not mind it in the least. The Furminator is great for thinning the undercoat, especially on Jack, but often doesn't do much for those kitties with "guard hairs" like Eli and Twee. I generally find that the blue handled brush did a good job on my short haired cats, but some of the cats aren't fans of it because it hits their hip/knee when brushing. The ZoomGroom was much easier on them. It got TONS of outer fur off Twee, which was nice. Just the night before my husband had been patting her and ended up covered in shedding fur. That night when he patted her, nothing came off. Now it doesn't work on every coat, so my experience on each member of The Crew was different. Some it worked wonderfully on, others not so much.
Truth be told, there is probably not even 120 here as a few of them went flying |
Grooming is vital to the health of your kitty. It helps you keep an eye on your cat's overall condition as well as keeping fur out of your cat's digestive tract minimizing hairballs. You want to keep grooming as positive as possible so you can continue to do it frequently. The GroomZoom might be your key to doing just that.
I get treats now.. right?? ~Muffin |
Kong did send me a free GroomZoom, but the post and the opinions are mine
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