poop patrol

Yes, this is a poop post, you were warned



so with Bug having issues, and Kate and Pippa having issues, scooping the box is going to be interesting.  I just fed them breakfast and scooped and saw a rather large and normal looking dark stool, which I assumed was Bugs because it was a different color and larger then Kate and Pippa have been leaving me.

I was quite excited by this, since the shelter told me she was leaving pudding piles.  I sat and cuddled with Bug while Pippa ate a little (she won't join in the communial plate, but once she gets in there she gets all growly)

Bug was very cuddly and looking for snuggles, so I decided to sit on the far end of the room with her and the toy and snuggle with her.  When I sat down, I saw a drop of something on the floor.  Turned out Bug was leaking again!!    Fortunately I had a towel right near by so I didn't get it all over me, but she didn't much like having her butt wiped.

After a few passes, I realized she wasn't going to stop so I put her in the box hoping that she'd pass most of the liquid, and fortunately she did.  Some pudding like stool came out, then something a little firmer, and just when I had hope this was nothing the rest of the liquid came pouring out of her.  *shakes head*  poor thing.

Which is when I remembered that I saw her evening medication when I went to pick her up.  They mix PanaKare with food, and instead of the A/D they said to give her on the cage it was chunked - which is full of glutens and other fillers, so *fingers crossed* this is going to be the last of it since I'm back to giving them raw.  They really like it and are eating a TON of it.

and just to make me smile, while I was tending to Bug, Pippa came over and used the box.  Kate ran around sniffing me, all on her own... both are new which is nice.  Kate didn't run and hide when I walked in the room - but she did walk away from me.  Kate also walked toward me because the food was in between us, and she sat down to eat near me and I was able to pat her without much reaction..   I think Bug is good for her.

Intros

It's always tricky when introducing kittens.  You can't help but wonder if they'll get along or have a raging fight and you need to stick your hand in the middle of flying claws and teeth.  So I put Bug down in her carrier to see what happened....

Kate & Pippa are very interested.

I was a little surprised how interested they were.  They were ignoring their fear of me over the interest in the kitty.

My opening the door was a bit too much

The hinge squeaked and my stepping forward was a bit too much, so they ran behind the toilet again..

SHE'S OUT!!

It didn't take long at all for them to try to get to her.  If you see in that photo above, Bug's poor back "knees" are missing all the fur.  So then I cleaned up the dry food that Kate and Pippa spilled and threw all around the room and went and got some more raw food.

FOOD!

Bug took to it like a fish to water.  Unfortunately she was a little food aggressive, so I had to keep intervening.  Eventually she got the fact that if she growled she wasn't going to eat.

My food!! ~Bug

Sharing is a good thing

 I was a little surprised that Kate was less concerned with Bug's growling then Pippa was.  Pippa backed off and went and sat in the carrier for a bit, but Kate kept eating.  By this time my husband was in the room helping me out and Bug wanted to investigate him and Kate wanted to be near him.   He brought in two clean litter boxes so we could change out the one they had been using and was getting a little gross.  Not sure what was more interesting there for a while, clean boxes or Bug.

Yours has litter and mine doesn't.

Then the cutest thing happened.

Kate sitting quietly on DH.

I think she was staking her claim.

so Kate and Pippa like DH and cats, but not me.  (but then again I give them medication all the time so I can't blame them there)

Went to see Bug

When I went to see Bug originally she had a plate of dry food and that image sat in the back of my mind and worked on my brain.  At one point it came up with - wait.. Jordan had food allergies, Nigel and Lily had food issues.. And because of that they were eating grain free (ish) canned food and Bug didn't have issues.. but she had major diarrhea while being fed dry.  hum..

So I went and got some grain free food for her.  I went to the shelter to visit with her.  She looks a lot better today then she did previously..  I'm not sharing the images of her furrless butt and the knees on her back legs that are missing fur, because those are just sad.

They have her exclusively on A/D and no dry food.  they also have her on B-12 shots and Panacare.  She is so bored in her cage. I took her out and held her and she purred and rubbed all over me.  She tried nursing on me, tried routing around on me, snuggled into my arm, then turned around and started playing with my shirt.  she could not sit still.  She really wanted to get down, but there were kitties on the floor and some dry food and I didn't feel comfortable letting her down.

She laid the guilt on pretty thick as I was leaving.  I talked to the staff about the food I bought her, and my thoughts on her, and it was offered that I might want to take her back.  I suggested I could use a friend for Kate and Pippa, and the staff member I was talking to wasn't in a position to know if they thought her going into foster care was a good idea (sometimes they want to monitor more closely) so I left. 

I just got a phone call a few minutes ago.  Guess who's coming to dinner...

Updates

so I mentioned the other day that Skippy was all congested.  I don't know what happened because when he came to see me the next morning he was fine.  I kept waiting to see what was going to happen before saying it must have been a fluke... and since he hasn't had another issue, it must have been a fluke.  I'm very glad.  But the excessive snot on the walls and windows I just noticed I'm not all that fond of..

I also was recently contacted by one of my long distance rescues.  Three and a half years ago Reece came to me as "diabetic"

she had high blood sugars yes, but by the time I got her home they were pretty normal.  I belonged to a message board for diabetic cats and I posted what a great personality she had.  With out even posting a picture our little Reece had a home.

Carolyn was in VA, and she saw my post about Reese (yup, I typo'd, so Reece had become Reese) and how I really liked her, and how she followed me right down to the kitten room and made herself at home.  Some cats have so much personality that you can't help but fall in love, and Reese was apparently destined to be with Carolyn

Fortunately the diabetic message board has members all over the country and they were willing to spend some of their time getting a furry soul mate to their new homes.  Several kitties have been rehomed though this board (I had  two.. Reese and later Bear) and it is a wonderful thing to watch.

So I sent Carolyn picts and the deal was sealed.  We worked out a daisy chain to get her to her new home and off she went. Carolyn renamed out sweet little girl to Roxanne, which I totally understand and it does seem more appropriate for her.

Well recently Carolyn sent me a tweet sharing how wonderful Rox is, and I asked for pictures and a little more of an update so I could post..   I love foster follow up posts that are happy..

Doesn't this just make you smile?

Roxanne & Niko

Roxanne about to whup Niko

Roxanne ate my table

Roxanne and her tomato

Roxanne likes feet

Behold my precious little angel *cough* Roxanne.  It's surprising to think she is now around 6 years old and she has been in my life since February of 2008, doing her crazy little chattering, her incessant reminders that it is time for food, or petting, or onto the porch, or back in from the porch.    

Roxie, also known as Roxanne-Roxanna-Danna, BooBoo, Pigpen -she's a total mess 24-7, she's always wearing some twig or lintball or whatever she finds in her travels- and Miss Thang, has taken on a stalker-like behavior towards her male human who happens to be wildly allergic to cats.  She sits by the door and waits for him to come in when she hears his truck.  She nags him through the bathroom door if he happens to get it shut before she gets there.  She parks herself on the bathmat while he's showering, refusing to budge an inch for him to get out of the shower.  She chatters incessantly to him whenever he's been gone from her, and outright cusses him through closed doors until he opens them for her.  She is one hilarious and charming kitty and she absolutely rules this household.

Me, I'm the mama.  She knows that, and she knows exactly where the food is coming from and who does the cat box and who lets her in and out and up and down and whatever else is required, or I am notified by an obvious airy blink and irritated tail-flicking. I am to be bossed around and straightened-out because as a human, I never get it right.  My toes and nose are subject to nipping if I am tardy waking up to feed her and I am not to touch her royalness in manners she deems unacceptable, such as brushing her or trimming her 12,000 claws. My fingers are the subject of endless teething, apparently she uses them to sharpen her fangs, though she's always careful never to poke any actual holes.   

She is a very outspoken and demanding little girl, and we happily pretend to be put in our places by her antics.  She's a born mama, tending to any cats who come in the house, and stretching out protectively near any who don't feel well. She has a full time "brother", Niko, and they play raucously, usually starting around 1am. She's a joy and a delight and I'm so glad she is mine. :)

About Roxanne's History: She was a diabetic in foster care with Connie when I found her posts.  She hasn't needed insulin since she was with Connie, and is completely diet controlled.  

Does Owning a Cat Make You Sexier?

Now when I first started reading this article, I swear I thought it was on "The Onion" or some other parody website.. not caster.com.  I followed the link figuring it would take me to a parody website, but it took me to fox news.  Seriously? 

In 2003, researchers at Charles University in Prague conducted a study funded by the Stanley Research Medical Institute in Bethesda, MD, which showed that domestic cats infected with the toxoplasma gondii parasite - the same parasite that's the reason pregnant women are advised to stay away from the kitty litter box - can actually alter the personalities of their human owners.

I can't help but wonder how they determined it was the parasite that caused this, and not the fact that these women got older - which changes our personalities in and of itself.

 Women exposed to the parasite experienced a desirable attitude adjustment. According to the study, infected women were shown to be more easygoing and warm-hearted, with more close friendships. Plus, they cared more about how they looked. "However," adds Dr. Jaroslav Flegr, who conducted the study, "they were also less trustworthy and had more relationships with men."

Now lest you think this is a women only issue, apparently it turns men into "alley cats" .... from Fox News

Infected men, on the other hand, became more aggressive, less well-groomed, undesirable loners who were more likely to be suspicious and jealous.

Seriously?

I've heard of the research on toxo and schizophrenia and bi-polar and that doesn't sound nearly as crazy as this study.  Who ever thought to study this?  Maybe they were studying brain issues and stumbled upon this??

really no point to this post other then.. "Seriously?"

Just a small aside, Toxo isn't the huge danger that a lot of people think it is.  It is serious yes.  I don't want to diminish that, but the cat only sheds it for 10 -14 days after infection.  Then you have to ingest it and it is in the stool, so unless you aren't practicing basic hygiene, you are generally fine.  As for litter boxes and pregnant women, it takes two days for the toxo to become airborne, so if a pregnant woman happens to have a cat who happens to have been infected and happens to be using a litter box in the house (most wouldn't be because they would have been outside catching the mice that infected them, and thus most likely wouldn't have an indoor litter box - not to say that mice don't come inside... but still) and she doesn't scoop the box every day, then she is at risk - sounds pretty small hun?

From what I have gathered, it is much easier to get it from eating undercooked meat or unwashed fruits and veg..
(guess there was a point to this post after all)