Reading Our Pets

Sorry to hear about your dog. :(

I am quite worried that she will open these new sutures and staples I see again from today's procedure. I asked about a collar or surgical glue but vet felt these stronger thicker sutures would be enough. I have my doubts.

This vet is very talented though and caring. Although she is not a homeopathic vet, she is the best vet I have ever seen and that is after 3 dogs, six rabbits, and my other cat. She CARES. So I am going to stick with her unless and until things stop improving. 

Despite her stitches problem, the feline acne is gone, the red hot spots are faint or gone and almost all healed up, If we can get her through this bad patch with the stitches, I feel she will be much healthier. At least I am hoping. 

I am tired of the aggression from both cats. The situation feels stressful to me and I just wanted to make my first cat's life better.  :(

Huzzah! Stitches still in place and she is right here on the bed with me. :) (She is still a little standoffish so this is nice) 

Today is other kitties birthday. She is 6.  Both are  napping comfortably in different rooms. Really relieved they are both chilling out...

Thanks for letting me vent. :)

@ghandigirl

Huzzah indeed!

There truly is something very soothing and wonderful about napping cats.

I developed an allergy to my newest rescued turning feral stray. After a lifetime without pet allergies it seemed so unfair especially when healing cat energies are so precious during times like these when stressors abound and surround us all.

Heck with that i said as i took my generic over the counter allergy pills every four hours with cat inside and often next to me.

And now only a hint of a reaction. I can happily  live with occasional sneezes but i would have a much harder time living happily without these little blessings of special creatures! 

@ghandigirl, so happy for you! Cuddle them and enjoy their love ❤️ 

@deetoo

Answering you here re: The Girls

Bambi is the fawn colored one (lol) - she's the MOST polite dog I have ever known. Never gets into trouble. She was a rescue from WV - someone threw her out of a car on Route 9 outside of Charles Town, a good samaritan thought a car had hit a baby deer (hence her name), and thought she was dead, but Bambi jumped up and jumped into the good samaritan's car as if to say "Get me the hell outta here!" We got her in January 2013, now she's probably about 10, has heart disease and due to diuretics has accidents in the house, but I used a vinyl floor mat (that you'd use under a highchair), and some weewee pads in our spare bedroom. She has to go pee during the night most nights, and bless her heart she doesn't even wake us to go outside - just trots off to the set up area, which I check and clean in the morning (super easy and much better than getting out of bed at 2am), and then she tucks herself back in her sleeping sack. She is also one of the smartest dogs I've ever had, and I think she understands a lot of what I say, she even got her Canine Good Citizen certificate back in 2014.

Coco is half chi/half daschund. The body is mostly chi, but that brain is mostly daschi. She thinks she's a rottweiler.  She was rescued here in SoCal from a high kill shelter in San Bernardino. Apparently she and her twin sister were found wandering around a supermarket parking lot. The sister got adopted out right away, but not Coco. The lady who rescued her usually rescues big dogs only, but when she saw how sweet she is she grabbed her before they could euthanize her. She has come a long way, required a lot of training early on, was not all that housebroken, but now she's a star. Her special gift is that she is awesome on leash - all slack, no pull, you don't feel like you're walking anything, she looks up at me to check in, a total star.  She's the one who barks at everyone and everything that passes within 50 yards of our house, even the neighbor's cat, who likes to hang out in our front yard to sleep under the succulents.  She also chases the small animals in our backyard and it's always her fault that they both get skunked. We got her in January 2018, and right now that makes her about 6 or 7 years old right now. Coco is more of a dog-dog, and while she's not the sharpest tool in the shed, she makes up for it with a goofy personality. She'll do something completely absurd, like dig a big hole in the yard or get out of the fence, and when confronted she gives a goofy snaggle-tooth grin and you can almost hear her say "Heheh! I'm Coco! Look what I did!"

They are both great on outings and both are good travelers, too. The whole cross country move in 2014 Bambi was in her little dog bed, harnessed to the seat belt in the front passenger seat, keeping me company while I drove. As I type this, they are both literally sacked out, exhausted from today's outing but as Cesar Millan always said "A tired dog is a happy dog."

@laura-f,

I love to hear happy stories about rescues.  Our dog Gracie, who passed away almost three years ago, had a tough life before we adopted her.  There should be a special place in hell for people who abuse animals. 

Canine Good Citizen certificate?  How cute is that!  Is that a local thing in San Diego?  Coco looks and sounds like a piece of work -- LOL!  

@laura-f love the babies. 

@laura-f

Sweet dogs ! What a gift you were to rescue them and give them such a great and greatly loved life ! ? 

@Pikake thanks for the web address.  My best friend has a cat who was just diagnosied with a digestive issue that they think is chronic.  I will pass this on to her.

It takes time for cats to get used to each other since they each have their own little personalities.  When I first adopted Mr Peabody,my older cat Izzybee wouldn't get friendly.  Luckily Mr P is friendly and patient.  It took a few weeks but they got used to each other, mainly when Izzy found out how warm it was to lay on top of Mr P.  She was twenty at the time and always cold.  Harry was another story.  Izzy never liked him but learned to ignore him and he eventually let her alone.  As for Mr P. he and Harry were buds at first sight!  

@deetoo

Canine Good Citizen is a national program through AKC. We worked with a friend in Leesburg who is a trainer. There are different tasks they have to do to pass the test, but it mostly comes down to how well they respond to verbal commands and how they react around people and other animals. She got an A+ on her assessment! She subsequently became my first ESA.

@yogagirl You are very welcome. The holistic vets in Australia do a terrific job - their homeopathics are human grade & I have used several of their remedies on myself with good results.

Thank you for sharing stories of your cats. As a micro-publisher of cat books, I am always keen on funny cat stories. Cats are endlessly entertaining!! I am happy to answer any questions your friend might have.

Cheers,

Best wishes,

Pikake

One of my cats always follows me into the restroom, to see what i'm doing in there.  This time, she went in by herself, and peed on the toilet(!).  Now if only she would have lifted the lid first.  What a mess!

@unk-p

Hahaha. We all have the cats that follow us in and many of us have had children that were always there when we were!

But far less common to have to wipe up after two not one!

How to Toilet Train Your Cat in 5 Easy Steps:

https://www.wideopenpets.com/how-to-toilet-train-your-cat-in-5-easy-steps/

@unk-p That made me burst out loud in laughter.  

@jeanne-mayell yeah, i couldn't stop laughing  long enough get mad about it.

@michele-b this cat would be a good candidate to teach to use the commode.  But i have to keep the lid down because of our two youngest cats.  They are brother and sister, and are obsessed with putting their cat toys in the water.  Every morning their water bowl has their toys floating in it, and if the toilet lid is up, there will be toys in it, too.  And nobody wants to fish things out of the toilet bowl, especially when you just got up, lol

@unk-p

Hahahaha!

@michele-b this cat would be a good candidate to teach to use the commode.  But i have to keep the lid down because of our two youngest cats.  They are brother and sister, and are obsessed with putting their cat toys in the water.  Every morning their water bowl has their toys floating in it, and if the toilet lid is up, there will be toys in it, too.  And nobody wants to fish things out of the toilet bowl, especially when you just got up, lol

Smart little cookies those cats!

That's one heck of a way to teach a man to close the toilet! ?

@unk-p

There was actually a product developed to help teach a cat to go on the potty - started back from a very early Shark Tank : https://www.citikitty.com/

Of my 3 ... 2 like to drown their toys in the water .. but.. they use their drinking water bowls and their fountain.

The reason it failed at my house? We only have one toilet... and... removing the insert and replacing it each time the household members needed to use the facilities was too cumbersome.. so.. we ditched the idea LOL   Tho I may dig it back out now that I am the sole occupant besides the fur kids.

An update on my kitties:

Lollipop had a biopsy and bloodwork. She had microscopic parasites of the hair follicle. Her stitches from the biopsy will be removed tomorrow and I will be asking the vet about putting her on a diet. She is way too fat. The skin infection and feline acne are gone and she is feeling so much better. 

Today we took her to my friend's house for several hours for the first time and she was all over the place , exploring and climbing. This is great news because she has looked depressed and laid immobile for days, recovering from all that illness and several procedures to keep her from pulling out her stitches again. She has been so stressed and my other kitty is jealous and sometimes charges at her.  She is madly in love with me and her actions scream, "MY Mommy!"  I have had to create a barricade with my enormous American Art map I shared here, to keep everybody happy and safe. It's a great room divider. Other times they coexist peacefully for the most part.  I credit Felliway and our close supervision. 

Today was a beautiful gift. Both kitties so happy. We will be taking Lolli to my friend's place as often as possible. Lollipop ADORES him and I am feeling that we saved her life. The biopsy and blood work was expensive even with a discount given. If I hadn't adopted her and gotten that done she would still be infected and having ineffective medicated powder and steroid shots doing nothing to help. She may still need a monthly steroid shot but maybe not... we'll see. 

I still hold out a little hope for them to fall in love with each other...it may not happen but at least we have the means to give them both quality time and distance. Lolli has taken to sleeping in the bathtub as I separate them at bedtime. I put down some towels for her in the tub every night. 

My other cat Cleo is without a doubt the most affectionate cat I have ever seen. A medium told me that my dog Toby is with her. It sure does explain how "doglike" she is. Before I was told this, I was wondering if Toby was whispering in her ear. She is very loving and comforts me when I cry, like he would , even licking my face  sometimes like he did. 

I bought these special "no vomit" food bowls for Cleo as she suffers from acid reflux. They are working great. They help reposition the head. She seems too skinny to me, and is now able to eat properly. All good things happening. :)

@ghandigirl

What a generous heart you have, and how lucky those little spirits are to have your devotion and caring.....

You for certain have not only saved their lives, but given them a place to have a haven.... ?

@stargazer

Thank you so much. I am really the lucky one. I have a lot of new love in my life. :)