Very catchy feral cat rescue song
I just watched a really funny, but extremely well done song about rescuing a feral cat.
Really well done. Check it out!!
Feral Freedom program for feral cats
/in Health/by Bev AllenOver the holiday weekend, I started hearing about a new program based in Jacksonville, FL to help out the feral cat population there. From just the preliminary info I have read so far, it looks like they are giving vaccinations and microchipping in addition to spay/neuter which is great.
The ferals in our program are not microchipped, but do get an FCRVP shot in addition to the spay/neuter surgery.
It is great to hear that communities are starting to address this problem. My experience in this area in southeast Iowa is that volunteers can only do so much. I think our town feels like they don’t have to address the situation since the volunteers are doing such a good job. But after several years, people are burned out and discouraged.
One thing I wonder about the program in Florida is if it encourages people to abandon their unfixed cats, since they know the city will pick them up and fix them.
Diabetic dogs and cats living longer and healthier lives
/in Health/by Bev AllenWe are hearing from more and more of our customers who are caregivers to a dog or cat with diabetes.
Animals that have a chronic health condition often have more compromised immune systems, so caregivers have to be even more alert for symtoms of secondary conditions developing.
With diabetes, infections are a common conditions that can develop: urinary tract infections, skin infections, and respiratory infections. If caught early, these conditions are very treatable.
Diabetic dogs and cats require close monitoring, and I look forward to the day when we can eliminate this disease, but it is heartwarming to hear how well many of these animals are doing.
With a cousin who passed away last year from complications of diabetes, I am very aware of how serious this disease can be.
Pet friendly travel. Lily takes to the highway.
/in Health/by Bev AllenMy sister and Lily stayed with me last week on their cross country trek to San Diego. They will be staying there for the winter.
It was so much fun to have them here. Lily was originally adopted from Noah’s Ark Animal Shelter here in Fairfield in 1999. Her best friend at the shelter was another sweet, little dog named Shanti. Shanti lives with her people here in town. We brought the 2 dogs together for a reunion one morning. It was hard to tell if they remembered each other or not. They are both pretty shy and Lily especially bonds more with people than with dogs.
But the local paper came and took some pictures and an article appeared on the front page of the paper the following day highlighting the reunion between the 2 old friends.
Today Lily is taking in the Grand Canyon and will be arriving in San Diego on Saturday for her warm winter retreat. I am looking forward to hearing about the dynamic duo’s continuing adventures!!
Mortgage crisis and economy affects pet households
/in Health/by Bev AllenThe news about dog and cats and other pets being surrendered in these tough economic times keeps getting worse.
Many dogs and cats are being surrendered to shelters that are already full and crowded. I can’t imagine what it would take to have to give up an animal. And I can’t imagine what it would be like for an animal to suddenly find itself abandoned in a shelter.
I have been at my shelter when an owner has brought in an animal and I will never forget how frightened and confused they are.
That is one reason why I work so hard on spay/neuter programs as I know it is the best solution that we have to help animals find forever homes. Big fix campaigns are going to be in need of donations more than ever in the coming months and, hopefully, people will respond to the need.
If your dog receives a cancer diagnosis
/in Health/by Bev AllenAnother very cool benefit I receive from being involved with ThePetCheckup is talking with some pretty amazing people who are doing great things for the animals.
One person I have met through our respective websites is Laurie Kaplan who wrote a book called Help your dog fight cancer: What every caregiver should know about canine cancer.
Laurie also started The Magic Bullet Fund to provide financial assistance to people who are caring for dogs who have been diagnosed with cancer.
Check out the website at http://www.themagicbulletfund.org/ and maybe you will be inspired to help in some way.
Pet test at home saves lives
/in Health/by Bev AllenI know veterinary care is getting costly, but the cost of Lily’s recent trip to the vet ER was still pretty shocking.
Like me, I know there are many people out there who will do whatever it takes to keep our animal companions healthy, but I wonder how others can manage when their animals become sick. Even basic routine care is getting so expensive.
Actually, it makes me feel even more proud of ThePetCheckup, our preventative health care product for dogs and cats. It is used in addition to routine veterinary care and is not a diagnostic product, but more and more people are now understanding how important it is to catch problems before they have a chance to develop into something more serious.
Being a loving animal caregiver is, unfortunately, not a reprieve from dealing with dog and cat illnesses…so many of our customers tell me of difficult situations they have been through with their animals. Sometimes it seems that animals must pick their people knowing they will hang in with them through the difficult times as well as the good times. Our customers are really fantastic and I am really happy that I can support them in caring for their furry loved ones.
Lily has incident with elevated liver enzymes
/in Health/by Bev AllenJust as we were leaving for Boston on Friday nite before Labor Day, Lily started throwing up. It was quite intense and was followed by alot of drooling.
We brought her to a 24 hour emergency animal hospital in Dennis. After a wait of a few hours, we were seen and a blood sample was taken. By that time, she had stopped vomiting, drooling, and actually looked pretty good.
The blood work came back showing her very dehydrated and with 2 liver values out of the normal range. We opted to watch her carefully over the weekend and then bring her to her own vet the next week.
The follow up blood work showed hydration was normal, and although one of the liver values was a bit high, her vet said that it was not unexpected for her age and was still in the normal range.
So, another mystery acute illness. We all think that she ate something bad outside when we weren’t looking, but have no idea what.
It is great to have a Veterinary Emergency clinic. You could end up waiting a long time to be seen, as there is often only one vet on call and they will take critical emergencies first.
Still reassuring to have this available as I am sure all the people filling the waiting room on Labor Day weekend were feeling.
Another glorious day on Cape Cod
/in Health/by Bev AllenWell, here I am back on Cape Cod for the month of September.
It is a beautiful sunny day…hope we have lots more like it this month. It is pretty much perfect.
After the health challenges that Lily had last summer, I was so happy to see how healthy and happy she is. She really looks wonderful…she is her old self again.
We went to West Dennis Beach over the weekend and she walked on the stone pier…one of her favorite things to do. I think it is a Basenji thing. But whenever she sees a wall, she loves to jump up and run along it.
She also was chasing birds on Lily’s Beach yesterday morning. She likes to watch them fly off. We went down to see the high tides after Tropical Storm Hanna, but the storm pretty much passed us by, which was great. Lots of rain on Saturday, but it did not intensify as had been predicted.
I am looking forward to many more adventures with Lily the wonder dog in the coming weeks.
Kitty is quite the little biter
/in Health/by Bev AllenThis week I am fostering Gracie, a 2 month old kitty for a friend.
It’s been awhile since I have had such a young kitty and I forgot how sharp their teeth and little claws can be! I have done a little research on the web regarding training kitties not to bite or scratch.
What I have read makes alot of sense, although it is much more difficult when I try to put it into practice. If I stop playing with Gracie whenever she bites me, she will immediately find something else to amuse her, and at this age-that is pretty much everything!
I know it is a matter of being consistent and just to prove that she really is listening, she just jumped up on the desk and is sweetly laying quietly between the keyboard and the mouse, purring up a storm.
Wow….whoever adopts Gracie is going to be one lucky person. She is such a honey.
