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!

Wordless Wednesday - The Crew minus one

Guess who is missing for a chance to win one of the necklaces I made last year.. (open to everyone)

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

Each kitty got a nail trim, got their eyes and ears checked out and cleaned if necessary, had their teeth checked, and any loose tartar picked off and enzyme toothpaste bushed on (I'm at the point where I don't use the toothbrush any more I just use my finger - Muffin likes the toothpaste so much that sometimes I use the brush to keep her from biting my finger in an attempt to 'eat' it)  Each one got checked over for mats as well.  I keep the small scissors on hand not to cut out any mats that might show up, but to help 'break' them by slipping the scissors in the middle of the mat and opening them up.  I try never to cut a mat off because cutting matted fur feels very very similar to cutting skin, and too many cats end up with cuts from owners who were just trying to help. If I feel the need to cut a mat, I will use the nail clippers because they pinch long before they start cutting.  Looking for mats I have to do a once-over with my hands which will also allow me to catch any lumps and bumps early.

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

Happy St. Patrick's Day