A semi-occasional feature where I respond to comments about my last post about my pets. (Or maybe I’ll let the pets respond — after all, it’s about time they didn’t something to help out around here.)
1. Reader Tony noted that ”you have broken the first rule of pets, which is: never have more animals in a house than humans. It is your own damn fault!”
Too true, Tony. I think it all started to go wrong when I was thinking how nice my semi-feral kittens Zigra and Tibby had turned out, and how rewarding and noble it would be to take in a dog that nobody wanted, and give it a good home, and take it for walks and stuff.
And so I got Yodie, who was way more than I could handle, and so I got Flossie, to help me manage his energy. The kittens Torgo and Bix were an accident.
So, while it is all my own fault, I think Tibby and Zigra must also share some of the blame.
2. CS Lewis Jr. quipped ”Clearly you need a Crazy Cat Lady Action Figure. “
It’s sad how much that figurine resembles me. Thanks, CS, for showing me how pathetic my life has become. (Just joking, CS — I already knew).
3. Anntichrist S. Coulter (who, btw, has a new blog called Mark Of The Beast — CHECK IT OUT OR BE SQUARE) said:
If I could have cats in my current shoebox, I’d have adopted every feral in the neighborhood, which would not only make me the official Crazy Cat Lady for the entire PARISH, but would ensure that I would be able to teach myself how to make yarn & knit sweaters from pet hair.
Thanks, AC, for the kind thoughts. And you know, I’ve always thought that there must be something constructive I could do with all the cat hair. Maybe use it for insulation or something. I wonder if the Bush administration would give me a grant to determine if it could be used as a faith-based energy alternative.
4. Ciocia sympathized and indicated that:
In the last year, I’ve ponied up for: hyperthyroidism, tooth extractions, chronic irritable intestinal syndrome, festered wounds (like Zigra gets), allergies and chronic renal failure in my cats. It’s nice to know that veterinarian’s kids can get a decent shot at attending an Ivy League school.
With what I’ve been paying lately, my vets (who are married to each other) will be able to endow a whole new library at Harvard, to help their kids get admitted. (I think it should be called the “Zigra Festering Neck Wound Library and Blogging Center.”)
5. Doghouse Riley, who runs the blog preferred by 4 out of 5 cats) advised, “You’re probably okay treating the abscesses yourself.”
I had thought about skipping the vet’s visit this time, but since this wound was on an artery and was about the size of a plum, I thought I’d better go the vet route, so that Ziggy could get some antibiotics. And while the vet didn’t seem too impressed by it, since it’s still draining and still pretty large (and it’s been almost a week now since it burst), I may be taking him back on Monday — especially since follow up checks are free, and I want to get my money’s worth from this infection, damn it!
Mr. Riley added:
It’s sexual fights that cause real damage.
Hmm, like BeginningToWonder said, ”No shit. Oh, you were talking about cats?”
But, yeah, I don’t know why Ziggy keeps getting bit on the throat I’d think the dogs were doing it, since they’re the ones I always see mouthing the cats there, but the vet said the wound didn’t look like it was made by dog teeth. So, maybe it was a vampire.
6. Marq said:
Hopefully, the doglets will outgrow the chewing phase. […] Try to keep as much destroyable stuff as you can out of their reach. It’s a pain, but it reduces temptation.
Thanks for the commiseration, and for the advice. I do want to note, however, that the CDs WERE out of the dogs’ reach, so I suspect one of the cats (most probably Jet Jaguar) knocked one down for the dogs to destroy. It’s like the al Qaeda/Saddam terrorism connection.
7. D. Sidhe said.
I sympathize completely. In the last couple of months, my thirteen year old has lost six pounds while not apparently dieting and not apparently barfing. […] So we drag her into the vet Saturday, and they take some blood, and suggest it could be diabetes. […] Then they start going on about rapid weight loss and fat migrating into her liver, and I pretty much freak out, which I’m still doing. I suck, and I should have noticed her losing weight faster, and I damned well should have gotten her to the vet faster, and I just want her to be okay.
Aw, I’m so sorry that you are having to go through this, D. That’s very similar to the situation I faced with the first cat I ever lost, the sainted George. His problem turned out to be a tumor in his throat that was keeping him from eating. But before the x-rays revealed this, I worried about tons of stuff, and read those same scary websites, and beat my self up for not noticing anything sooner (I still do).
But the bottom line is that George didn’t suffer, loved me no matter my failings, and had a pretty darned good life during the 15 years that he shared with me. And it does help me to remember that I my best for him as soon as I knew there was a problem.
So, I wish you all the best, D. — please feel free to vent here whenever you want, and know that all of our thoughts and good wishes are with you and your cat.
8. Charlotte Smith Says:
I, for one, love the animal stories. Assuming your animals don’t come up with witty bon mots like the Gurdon kids, which would undoubtedly earn them many, many swirlies if they were not homeschooled.
Thanks, Charlotte. And while my pets frequently do say the wittiest, cutest, most politically apt things in the whole, wide, world, I respect their privacy enough not to repeat them.
9. Cynthia asked:
What’s this about leaving food everywhere? One dog training book (The Dog Listener) that I’ve read says that you shouldn’t do that. As the pack leader you’re supposed to pretend to eat first to show the dogs who’s boss, then feed them. Seems to work with our dogs.
The advice to have lots of small bowls of kibble is supposed to help Flossie learn that she can’t control the entire world’s food supply, and so she will relax and just eat her own damned food, and not worry about everybody else.
I have been doing the “pack leader eats first” thing ever since I got the dogs, and while I don’t know that it helps them to respect mah authoritay, it does mean that I always have their full attention for a few minutes each day, since they are always hoping I’ll choke to death on my pizza so they can finish it for me.
However, the cat’s a different story. We feed him whenever he decides he needs food because otherwise he’ll trip us and bite our ankles. We bow to our Cat Overlord.
I am happy to recognize another member of the cult! My cats always have bowls of dry food available, but out of the reach of the dogs, but somehow I fell into the trap of giving them canned food twice a day also. This catalicism is a harsh religion sometimes!
10. David in NYC said:
I don’t know about 100x, but it is true that cats shed much more when stressed (as in a trip to the vet). According to my vet, it’s actually a defense mechanism similar to a porcupine dropping quills.
Hey, now it all makes sense! See, after the cat releases a couple of inches of cat hair onto my black clothes, it seems to disappear into the background, leaving it free to make its escape. (”Dr. Smith, I don’t know what happened to Ziggy — he was here a minute ago, but now I can’t find him. Um, I guess you won’t be able to give him his injections today.”)
11. Dalton Periphery said:
And dear D.Sidhe (another love) when i have to give one of the cats (The Boys) a pill or two, i crush the pill, mix it with water and draw it up into a (needle-less) syringe, then wrap the little guy in a thick towel with just his head poking out, and squirt the pill-water into his mouth- they always get enough of the medecine to make a difference, and i don’t need stitches.
That sounds like good advice. Thanks! After much practice and many scratches, I am able to pop a pill down a cat’s throat fairly effectively, but Ziggy’s current medication is a liquid, and I end up getting about half of it on my clothes (which, sadly, aren’t Pepto-Bismal pink, to match the antibiotic). So, I’ll have to try your method.
12. rimone said:
One thing i’ve learnt about my kitties: never, but never feed ‘em wet food in the morning. i dig sleeping late and them being accustomed to their fave wet food first thing in the AM just ruins my sleeping w/the constant wails of ‘feed me! NOW!’ (despite the dry food always in the bowls but totally disdained in the morning).
Tell me about it! I think I started when I had to give somebody medicine twice a day, and the only way to get them to show up for it was to get out the canned food. That was probably three years ago.
Having to hand-feed the kittens only made things worse, since the older cats were willing to wait for the canned food until I got up, while the kittens insist on being fed as soon as they are hungry, which seems to be at sunrise. I’ve tried to teach them how to work the pop-off can lids themselves, but to no avail. (I’ve also tried to teach them to develop opposable thumbs, but they just won’t listen!)
Anyway, thanks, everyone, for all your comments, advice, sympathy, and pet stories of your own. Please join us again in a while for another edition of “Meet the Pets.”
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