What We Have Been Up To Lately

It just occurred to me that I have been quiet on the blog recently. It's not on purpose, just life has been going by so quickly that I haven't had the time or energy to write. We have been doing mundane things like work (a heck of a lot of it), training and hanging out as a family. But the last two weeks have been busy and here's why.

Last Monday Zach noticed Trinity asking to go to the bathroom a lot, then urinating multiple times outside. Of course this is nothing new and I made a vet appointment for the next day. Sure enough she has yet another UTI. The Doctor examined her, he told us her vulva doesn't stick out like a normal female dogs does, hers goes inside towards her bladder. This makes contracting UTI's easy. The good news is that considering how much it goes back in, she keeps herself clean pretty well. The infections will continue, but having one every six months isn't that bad. She was on antibiotics for two weeks and its all cleared up now. Trinity never lost her spunk, or energy, and was still able to train with no issues. These will continue, I just hope that she doesn't have to be on antibiotics prophylacticly.

Then, last Thursday we noticed Star's right eye draining and had shut closed due to the drainage. I cleaned and flushed it with eye drops that day, but the drainage was still there so we brought her in for a visit. He tested her retina for scratches and, luckily, it was negative. We got antibiotic drops to give her three times a day for a week. They worked so well that her eye was cleared up after being on them for two days. But he still wanted to see her for a follow up. He was pleased to see the eye cleared and we went out of there with no further orders. We didn't find any scratches near the eye so we are not sure how it happened.

Then, last Wednesday day Miss. Kylie was lethargic and not moving like herself. No  running, jumping, or any butt wiggles when I came home and she was just acting pathetic. She also had some abdomen spasms and favoring her back when walking. I, of course, got really nervous so we brought her to the vet that night. She was so nervous in there and it recently occurred to me that she has never been to the vet (since being rescued) for anything but a sick check up. Not to mention that the last time she was there she was put under. The doctor checked her out and told us she just hurt her back. She was prescribed NSAID pain relievers and a muscle relaxer. She felt great the next afternoon and greeted me at the door with butt wiggles.We were supposed to keep her as calm as possible, but when Kylie feels good she wiggles all over the place.

 No needless to say, we had four unexpected vet appointments with in two weeks. I asked them if they give out discounts if you bring in more than three pets in one week and they were nice enough to discount Kylie's appointment. But now you know why I have been working so many hours. My pets seem to want to keep the veterinarian office in business and I don't care, as long as my kids are healthy!

We Went To The Vet Again: An Update

A few weeks ago I posted that the cats went to the doctors. Yesterday they went back for a check up and for a distemper booster. They did great, as usual. They climbed all over each other while in the carrier. But once they got out they were good. One stayed on the exam table while the other stayed in the carrier.

The vet checked Star first for her heart murmur. To my surprise it was gone! YAY! She said it is probably stress related and that every check up we should be sure to listen for it. She also has lost some weight about 5oz in 3 weeks. The Doctor's not to worried about it but she wants me to weigh her every week to get a baseline and if there are any changes to call her about it.

"I'm so happy to be here...not!"

Waiting for the Doctor.

"What are you doing?"

"Can we come out now?"

"This is not comfy."

Sitting an sulking.

"Where is that Doctor already!"

But my trouble child seems to be Miss. Cookie Dough who has been vomiting digested foods more than usual lately. Unfortunately for us their is a whole list of things that could be causing her to do that, so Dr. Natalie wants to put her on a 'sensitive stomach' diet to see if that will help. The Meow Mix they have been getting is, according to the Doc, like 'pizza and burgers to us'. Which is not good. So, we came home with special vet formula wet food. Now I need to go to the pet store to buy her food because I gave her the new food last night and she's not to impressed with it. My girls are such picky eaters. It took us forever to find the kind of wet food Star likes and now I have to worry about one eating the others food. But for the visit Cookie Dough was hamming it up because she thinks she's super cute. Well I guess she is!

"This is how I lay down now."

The Cat's Went To The Docotor's

I'm sorry for the lack of blog posts lately. It's not that I've been busy doing a ton of stuff, except for working I've just been reading all of your lovely posts. So when it comes time to write one of mine, it's to late and I'm tired.

Now that I explained that, I must tell everyone of the kitties' doctor appointment last week. We went in for a check up and some shots. I brought them both together in the same carrier. They were so cute. Cookie Dough kept meowing and Star was trying to escape by pressing her head against the door.

"I don't like being in here."

They were both very good for the doctor. My kitty vet is by far the best vet I have ever had. All of the vets in the office are great, but I give this one 5 gold stars with 2 thumbs up! She was talking to them both, petting them, allowing them to sniff her equipment and apologized for when she intruded on there territory ie: gave shots or checked their temperatures. P;us, she kept calling me 'Mom', which I loved. We had a very bad experience with bringing the cats to the vet 1 1/2 years ago, for Star's surgery, that it's wonderful to have a loving vet.

"The last time we went to the vet we came out all drugged up!"

She checked Cookie Dough first while Star sat on my lap. We have seen her vomit undigested foods and that concerned us but she just wants us to watch her to see if it continues, luckily it has only happened once more. The only thing is that need to watch that her weight doesn't go up. She's 8lbs and has gained 2 since her spay.

"Are you calling me fat?"

Unfortunately, Star has a heart mummer. I knew about this since they were monitoring her for it during her dental surgery. She checked her and it is only at a level 1 on a scale ranging from 1-6. So when we go back in 3 weeks she will be checked again by Dr. Natalie to see if it is just from being nervous or she has it all the time. She was very upset when getting the shots that she was burring her head in the tech's arm. But no behavior problems at all. At the other vets, she was clawing their shirts and trying to escape.

"I'm a good girl when you treat me right!"

The next time we go back they will get their second round of distemperment since I was a bad mommy and forgot to bring them in last year for it and the year before, that the sucky vet (as I refer to them as) never gave it to them. The doctor told me it wasn't necessary because they live indoors but encouraged, especially since I would like to foster cats. It's something that's been on my mind that I would like to eventually do, hopefully soon. I just have to work on Zach approving it.

"Wait, you mean more cats for me to play with?"

Lastly, I asked her about possibly having heart disease in their family. Unfortunately, my oldest nephew and my sister-in-law's cat Smeagol passed away last Tuesday from a heart issue. He was doing an agility exercise and he seemed to have injured his paw, but it wasn't an injured paw he had many blood clots in his leg. Dr. Natalie explained to me that the clots affected his heart very badly. I was not sure if it was hereditary or not since all the cats were in a family outside and were all 'mixing and matching' with each other (you get it). She stated that there is a blood test to check if the cat has a strand of the disease, but she has only seen this in male cats mostly under the age of 5. So as of now I'm not worried for the girls, but Star will be monitored for any further signs or symptoms of heart issues.

Sun bathing before Trinity came and spoiled all the day time fun.

So now, I'm happy to say that the girls are happy and mostly healthy. But we are going to miss Smeagol very much and the only good thing to come of this is, when they are ready, is that another rescued kitty will find a loving home.

Star the Sort of Toothless Cat

I had the worst experience when I brought Star in for a procedure a few years ago. As I spoke before about how she was found under a T.V on the porch, the tiny little thing never seemed to gain any weight. But, we just thought she was a picky eater because she used to enjoy nacho cheese once in a while.

I had brought her to the vets for a check up. At only 5 lbs she was concerned about how small she was. Cats average weight should be between 6-8lbs. Upon her examination she found an infection in her mouth and she needed her to immediately go in for oral surgery to extract all but two teeth. But first they put her on antibiotics before the surgery. Giving them was a nightmare! She would squirm and try to get out of our arms the whole time.

Before we agreed to do the surgery, the vet told me she would be going home the same day. So, Zach worked from home that day to bring her in, while I went to work. They did some lab work and found her H&H was low, which meant she was anemic from not being able to eat properly. They called me at about 3 o'clock and told me that once she was awake she would be able to go home, but it wouldn't be until late at night. That was fine by me, I just wanted her home. I called back at 5 when she had just woken up. The vet tech said that they needed her to drink some water and hold down food before they could discharge her. So I waited another 2 hours, called back and they said she was eating and drinking fine but I needed to call back in another hour to see how she was. By this time I was getting worried. They closed at nine and I wanted her to come home. Another hour went by and I called again and here's the response I got from the vet tech.
"Well, she's really drowsy I don't think you should take her home."
"Why?" I asked, "Is she lethargic? Did she vomit?"
"Well, she's not eating or drinking."
"Wait, what? I was told she was eating and drinking."
"Well i don't know but I really think she shouldn't go home."
At this point I was pissed! You don't know how my cat is? Your supposed to be taking care of my living, breathing animal and you don't know how she is?!? So my response was, "If she stays there, will anyone be with her."
"No." she said.
"WHAT!!! I want to talk to the doctor right now!" So I spoke to the doctor and told her I wanted to take her home and the doctor agreed to it.
We picked her up and she was drowsy but she was picking up her head, meowing and moving around in the carrier. I don't know what they could have done for her that we couldn't at home. All they wanted was more of my money. I couldn't believe what these vet techs were doing. And if something did happen, no one would have been there to do anything anyway. Luckily she was and is fine.  I took her back for a check up once and that was it, we have never been back since then. Now, we have a wonderful hospital we go to and we couldn't be happier.

Dogs vs. Cats: The Utlimate Show Down

A patient of mine asked me the other day, who do I like better dogs or cats?? Humm....That's a good one! I have never really thought about it.

I had both a dog and a cat growing up. My cat was afraid of me because my sister and I used to play very ruff with him (Sorry Junior). Until we were older, he never came around us that often. My dad got our dog when I was 10. I played with her in the back yard and I was the one who taught her how to loose leash walk. It's amazing that I did with no training at all. I didn't know what it was all I knew was that I just didn't want her to knock me down.

A show down indeed.

So here I will break it down....

With dogs I can bring them anywhere they are allowed. With a lot of training ANY dog can become CGC certified, a therapy dog or even a service dog. I can bring them to the park, on vacation, swimming, to friends & families homes, or just plain go for a walk. I enjoy that they bond with you so well and read your emotions like no other animal can. NOVA did a wonderful documentary entitled 'Dogs Decoded' where they showed that dogs are the most connected to us. You can watch it on Netflix. They always want to please there owners and will lift your spirit if you need someone to listen to. They are always sad when you leave but happy when whey you return. You can even use them as an excuse to exercise.

Trinity went with us to her Uncle & Auntie's wedding rehearsal

Now onto cats. Independent! That's a cat. They pretty much take care of themselves and you only have to do a few things with them. You don't have to be home at a certain time to let them do there 'business'. You can leave them home all day and they will be ok, especially if you have multiple cats.
But in my experience cats still need your affection. Before we adopted Trinity, Cookie Dough used to follow me everywhere around the house. Both my cats like to cuddle on our laps. And the definatly miss you when your gone for long periods of time. When Zach and I went on our two week honeymoon Cookie Dough was starving for attention. She peed on the table and she knocked over things in the house. Zach's brother had to come over everyday to play with Star & Cookie Dough. (He's such a good cat sitter)

"Please don't take pictures of us. It insults our intelligence!"

 So my answer is...Well I really don't know. Although a lot of this blog is based around Trinity. (I do much more with her) I love all my animals the same!

"Oh fine! I'll just take a nap right in this spot!"

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Our Lucky Star

I've realized I talk about Trinity & Cookie Dough here on the blog a lot. But I neglect to mention my oldest cat, Star or Lucky Star, to be exact. Here's her story...

Star was a tinny kitten when we first rescued her. We found her under an old wooden T.V box on the porch one day. She was small, scared and weak. Abandoned by her mother and covered in urine we knew she needed a warm and clean place to stay. So, we took her inside and gave her a bath which she was not happy about. She looked like one little drowned rat. We feed her some formula and hoped that she would make it. Considering everything that had happened to her we were not to sure if she would survive. But she did. After a few days she began to search around Zach's room and was using the litter box quite well. Of course at that time I wanted to keep this little kitten so she needed a name. At that time I had been listening to "Lucky Star" by Madonna, I thought that was a wonderful name for such a lucky girl. But I started calling her, Star, because I don't like the name Lucky very much, but I thought the name fit her quite well.

Nearly seven years have passed but now she's a happy healthy cat. She loves playing with Cookie Dough but not Trinity so much. She's still shy and timid around people but we love her all the same.