Monday, November 25, 2019

a brief vacation


The kittens are doing well. Gargoyle and Selkie are probably big enough for surgery, so we will try to get that scheduled for next week (after the holiday). Dragon and Wyvern are still kind of little so they will be around for a while. Dragon occasionally sneezes and Wyvern wasn't eating as much as he should have for a few days but they both seem to be much better now. Wyvern is even out more and playing which is a great sign.

We have had some changes around here. Mom ended up having to look for a new job. She started last week and it has been an interesting change. The drive is a little longer for her. It is similar to her previous job but she is having to learn a lot of new rules and software so her brain had melted by Friday.

She no longer will have access to the internet at work, so she won't be able to do rescue work at work and also won't be able to post or comment during the day. With the job and rescue work, she may not be able to comment as much on your blogs for the short term. Please know we will be thinking about all of you.

That said, with the US holiday on Thursday, mom is going to take this week off from blogging after today so she can try to get more things figured out on her schedule.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Random Fridays

 Guess what?? Our boy Cipher was adopted on Wednesday. His new dad saw his picture and description online and put in his application. He was approved and met Cipher for the first time on Wednesday. After some time in our medical department, Cipher has become quite the chunky monkey. Mom handed him over and Cipher was immediately was rubbing on Z and gave him a kiss. It was love at first sight.

Selkie is becoming quite the friendly playful boy. He loves to play with Gargoyle though she is definitely still the boss.

Dragon is still a little snotty and felt the need to share with Wyvern.

Selkie and Gargoyle are be enough to be almost ready to go. The other two need to gain some weight so they will be here a little bit.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

annual vet visits

**a post from the mom

I always tell applicants and new adopters from the rescue that we recommend annual wellness visits for every animal. Beyond vaccines and any recommended blood work, cats should be seen just to make sure they are doing well and that there have been no changes in the previous 12 months. I think what people forget is that cats are prey animals as well as predators and that means they tend to hide symptoms of illness until the last minute - sometimes when it is too late to do anything about it.

Since I want to practice what I preach, I set appointments for the girls for this week. Here's my caveat with this - Junior does not go every year. However, he is my "house feral" and it is more stressful for both of us to catch him, transport him, and handle him. In fact he has to be sedated to be handled by the vet. It is just too hard on him. He did get a dental about 18 months ago and was fully vaccinated at that point. So I joke to the vet that he will be vaccinated every 6 years whether he needs it or not (maybe....).

I did have an applicant that had very little vet history for one cat - I asked and she explained a situation similar to Junior - I completely understand and she was approved.

The tricky part of this was going to be Goldfish. I know how skittish she is and that catching her and putting her in a carrier could be a tough prospect. In anticipation of that, I put a half dose of gabapentin into some food and put it out for her. She did eat it and was spacey enough I could almost pick her up. I figured with a full dose we would be fine. Except I think she was on to me by that time - I put out the canned food on Monday and she wouldn't touch it. About 10 minutes before I had to leave I thought to try it the hard way and just grab and she was all kinds of NOPE. I gave up at that point to stop stressing her out. Of course, then Chanel was worked up so I managed to grab Ivy and Daiquiri (who were actually scheduled for Wednesday) and took them instead.

Daiquiri is doing well. Same weight as always, got her vaccine and probably needs her teeth cleaned at some point.

Ivy however is another story. She wasn't due for vaccines and had a full blood work up last year that was fine. However, she has lost about 3 pounds. Which is a big concern. The vet found that her teeth are terrible and that is most likely the cause of her weight loss (though it was mentioned she could stand to lose another pound - which would put her at about 9.5 pounds total). Next step is to schedule her a dental and see how bad it is for her. The vet said she sees some stomatitis, so it is pretty likely the old lady cat is going to lose some teeth.

As for Goldfish, I am moving on to another plan and will try to get her to the vet in the spring. She may be OK or she may end up being like Junior and going when necessary. I do at least want to get one more round of vaccines in her beyond her current kitten set however. I've gotten a few comments online about just "putting her in the carrier". She really does need the gabapentin - without it she will be way too stressed. I won't do that to her or to my vet. I have friends who use it very successfully and I used to use it with Mozart since he would try to bite the vet. It is short lasting so there is no harm but definitely benefits to using it.

Chanel went on Wednesday. She was her normal self and seems to enjoy the vet and running around the room. She had lost a pound from last year as of this spring when she was in for her foot. Well - she gained it back plus a little more. Our bouncing tuxedo girl weighs 10 pounds 10 ounces (and now outweighs her sister Cupcake). And...her teeth are bad too. I suspected as much as Cupcake had to have hers cleaned last year.


Which means 2020 will be the year of the dental cleanings. Ivy first, and then probably Chanel then Ivy. Ugh....someone besides me needs to get a job around here. 

Monday, November 18, 2019

kitten report


The kittens are doing well. Mom needs to get weights, but Selkie is probably well over 2 pounds. Gargoyle is probably very close if not over. The other two are not close yet. However with Thanksgiving coming up we doubt there will be surgery spots open soon so they will be with us for a little bit longer.

Gargoyle
not sure if she is going to hide the clippers
or is going to try internet dating

Selkie
he has gotten to the long and leggy stage
he is a little shy but once mom grabs him and loves
on him a little bit, he is ready for lots of attention

Wyvern
a little reserved but very very sweet
mom was a little worried about him this week but he is eating
a lot more this weekend so hopefully it was something minor

Dragon
she is still a little snotty but SO much better
she is playing with the other kittens and demanding
2nd, 3rd and 4th breakfasts and dinners

Mom is going to have to do some work on a write up for Gargoyle. She definitely needs a home with no very little kids and an older kitten willing to kick her butt. She is sweet but she is very sure she is the center of the universe and is a bit of a dictator. Mom now has multiple scratches on her hands from a certain tuxedo kitten.

Friday, November 15, 2019

in case of emergency

**a post from the mom

After a certain "incident" this spring involving Chanel, I got to thinking about plans in place for when I am out of town and the pet sitter is caring for the cats. I reached out to the owner of the pet sitting service that I use and asked her some questions about how they handle different situations. They just recently updated their policies and I updated all the cat info online with them as well.

Q: Do you have emergency plans in place for clients? 
We do have emergency plans in place for all clients including vet release/permission to treat forms, emergency contact information for each client, a section in our handbook and training manuals on how to handle various situations which include contacting myself or Jandi (her assistant) immediately. We also have various training classes in addition to the hands-on training and pet first aid classes each sitter takes upon being hired.

Q: How often do you review emergency plans?
As for how often we review those plans with clients, it is on an individual basis mostly. We do ask that clients make sure all information in the system is updated for all pets before traveling which is in our policies signed upon becoming a new client as well as asking for updates when we know a pet has a medical condition that we have already cared for. We do have our software set to where a client isn't able to schedule services if certain things in the pet info section has been left blank and I am able to filter accounts by things such as not having a current signed policy by client, not having a vet listed for a pet along with various other filters.

Q: How do you handle emergency situations?
Any emergency situation is really a case by case basis. In 12 years, there have thankfully only been 4 situations where we have needed to get a pet into one of the emergency hospitals immediately and we have had a couple of times where a sitter noticed a health issue that hadn't been caught yet including two cases of cancer where the pet got treatment and lived several years after.

Our policy is for the sitter to contact the office first unless it is an absolute emergent situation where we have them contact us on the way to MedVet or OSU. We have a couple of vet techs as sitters who have also helped determine the severity of something, including Lynn, who worked for MedVet for 16 years. We do try to reach the client before any decisions are made and if we know they will be unreachable/out of the country, we ask that they leave a signed release just to be on the safe side. Unfortunately both OSU and MedVet have policies now where they require speaking directly to the owners over the phone for permission to treat but most vets still accept a written release. We do suggest to all clients who will be traveling that they contact their vet ahead of time to leave permission. All of this is something we go over on a yearly basis to make sure we stay as informed as possible on changes from others. We do have a spot where clients can pre-approve emergency treatment up to a certain dollar amount if they are not able to be reached. We have clients who have written anything from zero to unlimited. I always prefer to talk to a client not only for permission but to let them know what is going on, what steps we are taking and anything else we need to know.

Q: Have you ever encountered anything strange?
You would be surprised at some situations we have walked into without being told ahead of time or being told after they have already left. The one that stands out the most is a clients’ new kitten who was several months old actually *ingested* part of a foam bathmat before they left town. They did take the kitty to their vet before they left that day but I did not learn about it until they had already gone. Their vet thought the kitty would be ok and it didn't seem like there was any blockage but there was. We ended up going to check on him shortly after learning about it and thank goodness we did. He was not shut up in a room as he was supposed to be and did have a blockage. It took Shiloh close to an hour to find him and he would not have survived the night without emergency care. This is also one of the reasons we don't accept every other day visits- so many things can happen in a short amount of time. Cats are especially adept at hiding illness until it's bad- very much a worry all of us have on our minds often.

Q: What is your policy for client contact?
Sitters are never supposed to handle an emergency without contacting myself or Jandi. If anything is out of the norm, even something simple like runny poo for more than one visit, they are to contact us. We want to be proactive vs reactive!! I would rather have 10 calls a day just being paranoid than not be informed and something happen. Our #1 priority is the health and safety of the pets in our care and we can't do that effectively without communication. This is why we have a FB group as well as a group text chat in addition to our phones and email.
~~~~~~~~~~

I feel pretty lucky to be using this business. Ingrid (the owner) fosters so she understands that my house can some days be a little bit of chaos and that I don't own your "typical" house cats. There was an incident where a sitter went to my place and found that a foster kitten had passed away unexpectedly. Ingrid called and we went over the next steps and they were great.

What she did express in her email to me was that she had no idea about the incident with Chanel and Bissell. Apparently the sitter broke their protocol (he is no longer with them as he took another job) and he never contacted her. Fortunately I was on my way home and it wasn't very serious at the time so there wasn't anything to be done, but she was glad she found out and advised me that this would be brought up in their next meeting.

The best advice we can give you - find a service that you trust. Have conversations with them about how your household runs, what to expect, your expectations of them, and any changes that come up over time. Know what their policies are for everything that might come up while you are gone. Make sure they have contact information and pet information - I actually have a sheet in one of my cabinets with cat names, descriptions, microchip numbers, last rabies date and my phone number and vet information.


Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Christmas Village

we have our own Christmas village

Mom didn't intend to buy another scratcher from Target, but the camper was just too cute. The picture on the box shows kittens so she wasn't sure about the size, but as you can see, it fits one adult cat just right. Chanel has tried to fit 2 cats in there, but it isn't big enough for that.

The middle ski chalet is from last year. The blue one was a gift from some friends that apparently mom put somewhere for "safe keeping" and forgot about until she stumbled up on it this past weekend.




Chanel may have been the first one inside, but Daiquiri quickly took over residency after that. One of the houses is usually occupied at some point during the day.


Monday, November 11, 2019

kitten update


Dragon in her lair

Selkie thinks he is hiding

you have offended the Wyvern

Gargoyle acts like the code inspector
Selkie's choice of hiding spot may not pass

The kittens are doing pretty well. Gargoyle is still being....herself. :) She is 14 kinds of opinionated - about everything. You are combing her wrong. She hasn't been fed in a timely manner. Those new kittens showed up without her permission. On and on....

And now she is mad at mom too - it seems that Dragon decided to share her cooties and now Gargoyle has them. So they are both being medicated. And no one is happy about it (including mom - she is tired of being stabbed by Dragon). Fortunately Dragon is feeling much better and it out of the cube most of the time and playing.

Selkie and Wyvern are a little shy which is understandable. But they LOVE toys and food, so mom is using those as bribes. We bet they come around in no time.

Friday, November 8, 2019

New kittens

Mom had sort of been on the hunt for additional kittens for a little while. Gargoyle needs some friends and Dragon just doesn't feel well enough yet to put up with her shenanigans.

Wednesday night mom was volunteering for her shift at the rescue. The director walked by and said "would you like more monkey?". Well of course.....

Mom cat is feral and has been spayed and returned to her territory. They were hanging out at a muffler shop. Since they are joining the #mythicalkittens group, they got appropriate names. They just came into the rescue yesterday and a little worse for wear. They have big bellies so most likely worms as they are also thin around the ribs. They are acting mostly scared though not "feral" - just freaked out (go figured - caught, caged, transported, then released into a completely strange place). 

Wyvern
brown tabby and probably long haired
not sure about gender yet

Selkie
short haired and a boy

Dragon
her poor nose....
Mom doesn't think she cares so much about new kittens

Gargoyle
yes - getting a picture of that kitten is a pain

oh hey look - she can sit still (for about .2 seconds)

The kittens tested negative and have had a vaccine and started dewormer medication. Since we know their tests are negative, mom put them into the foster room. Dragon was more interested in dinner being served (OK - we are glad she is eating, but it is funny). Gargoyle on the other hand was TOTALLY offended at new kittens being in HER room. She growled, hissed and raised the paw of doom (can you really call it that if she weighs less than 2 pounds?) and generally acted like a bad hostess.

Mom gave the kittens overnight and Thursday morning to settle into the house. She is spending Thursday afternoon with them to help them settle and try to comb out Wyvern. The faster they get used to mom, the faster they will get all lovey and be ready to get adopted. They aren't 2 pounds yet so we have some time. 

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

more kitten video

Mom can't help herself - Gargoyle is so full of beans that the videos are pretty hilarious.

Dragon is doing better and eating pretty well but still not wanting to play much which leaves Gargoyle to entertain herself. Mostly she is fine though every once in a while there is some complaining from the foster room as she tries to "play" with Dragon and Dragon yells at the top of her lungs.

Poor Dragon's nose is still kind of stuffed up. She has a scab over one nostril and mom has stopped picking it off since it bleeds some. So Dragon can mostly only breathe out of one side of her nose for the moment until everything heals up. But she seems to be putting on some weight which is good to see as well.

However, for your entertainment.....Gargoyle:

Monday, November 4, 2019

Weekend report

There was an adoption event on Sunday at the partner store where Fate is staying. Mom stopped by to spend some time and see him.
Fate

Moro and Skittles
Moro actually was adopted
and went home

Houdi

Sassy

Friday, November 1, 2019

Random Fridays


a girl and her favorite toy

Ivy LOVES this bed
mom moved it to a different spot (this one)
and Ivy spends a lot of her time on it now


We have mentioned on social media that Miss Dragon wasn't feeling so well. She has a virus called calici - which makes her stuffed up and also causes lesion (sores) in her mouth. She wasn't eating for several days and mom was having to syringe feed her. Despite not feeling well, Dragon has some serious ninja skills and mom has been sliced up by the baby claws (yes Dragon got a manicure - no it doesn't make much difference). Thankfully Dragon has started eating again on her own and we seem to be over the hump with her. One side of her nose is pretty swollen so she whistles while she breathes and HATES getting her nose cleaned. Her mouth is still pretty sore but it is being managed. And she screams like a lunatic when Gargoyle jumps on her trying to play.