Oh, the horror! (re-post from my other blog)

What a hard week hubby and I have had! It all began when we noticed a lot of little "uncooked rice-like" non-moving "things" left on the blankets and comforters of every place our cat Leo had laid. I called up our vet and they told us to bring them a fecal sample from him to have analyzed at their out-sourced lab. In the meantime, I researched the issue via the pet vet sites (and people I know who also have cats) and everything pointed to tapeworms! How? I honestly do not know since all of our cats are completely and strictly indoor cats only!

A day later, the vet called us and said that he had isospora which is supposedly an intestinal parasite similar to giardia. Now, when I dropped off Leo's fecal, I also bagged up the samples of the "rice-like" dead tapeworms for them to look at as well. I asked them about it and they said he doesn't have tapeworm, just isospora and that they did not "know" what the rice-like things were. Well, turns out they may have been right about the isospora, but they were completely wrong about the tapeworms!

Because these parasites are so contagious, we have to treat all five cats for both issues. So, yesterday morning I called up the vet to let them know that hubby was going to pick up the cats meds and they said they will have them dosed and ready for us. Then when my husband showed up at the vets office to pick them up, he was told some BS about our one cat Midnight had not been seen in the last six months so they couldn't give us his portion. WHAT? How useless is that? Why would we treat only four of our cats and not all as seriously contagious as the problem is? They told us that since we already have an appointment set for this Monday night anyhow to have Midnight seen for three wart-like things on his tail, we should be able to pick up all the meds then ... (sigh)

 

(What the tapeworms actually look like. They break off in segments via the cats anus. Although they come out live, they do not live very long outside the host cat's body ~ that is when they dry up and die looking like uncooked rice.)

 

Last night, we left Leo out by himself in the cat's room to stretch his legs a bit as we have had to keep him in a cage and separated from the other cats until the problem is resolved. Two hours later, I went in the room to put him to bed and back in his cage and what did I see? EEKK!! A live, moving, disgusting tapeworm which had apparently just slithered out of his butt! That was it! I had had enough of the vet's BS and first thing this morning hubby and I drove over to the vet and demanded help! That is when they told us that he also had tapeworms as well as the isopora! Gimme a break, will ya? I was so upset and livid at that point that Dr. Heather had decided to take a break from a surgery she was working on to come out and straighten out their mess!

She maintained that she could lose her license if she dispensed meds to Midnight without the "six month check up." She also said that the tapeworms were more than likely from fleas ~ either ingested by one of the cats or caused by feces in the litter boxes. Now, our cats do not have fleas, but after further thought, hubby told me that he remembered seeing one on Fancy Pants (the idiot neighbor lady's Siamese cat) the last time we watched her for her owner. AH HA!!! Made logical sense at that point and, lesson learned! We will never take another stray cat in for any reason, temporarily or otherwise, that way ever again. I absolutely refuse to go through this nightmare again! Everything, including the water and food bowls, cats boxes, blankets, rugs, etc.) had to be completely washed and decontaminated as best we could.. On top of that, we had to treat all of the cats for fleas.

Dr. Heather must have felt sorry for us and had decided to dispense the isospora meds after all so long as we still agreed to bring Midnight to his scheduled appointment on Monday night. For some ridiculous reason unknown to us; however, she did not give us tapeworm meds, only the meds the cats were supposed to get before their office screwed up.

And so we had to stop off at our local PetSmart and pick up tapeworm meds to give to all of the cats as well as giving them their isospora dosage. It isn't exactly over yet as only time will tell if the treatments worked, and we are keeping our fingers triple-crossed! All of this because we tried to do the right thing thinking that we were helping to save a nice, sweet cat. As the saying goes, "No good deed goes unpunished" ... how true!

Feline for Thought Friday!

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This week's "Feline for Thought Friday" is brought to you all by  ...

 Miss Haley!

Haley Update ...

Greetings everyone and "thank you" all for your well wishes to Haley! She is now home safe and sound. Her surgery went very well and we were given a little goodie-bag of items she will need for the next couple of days ...

The bag included both her meds (Onsior tablets for pain and Clavamox Drops antibiotics), a big can of wet food just for her, a couple of measuring cups, and all the instructions we will need. :)

>^^<   >^^<   >^^<   >^^<   >^^<   >^^<   >^^<     

Also, today I came across this wonderful post on Facebook and just wanted to share  ...  :)

Alley Cat Allies

With over 500 events registered nationwide—we can't wait to see how you're celebrating National #FeralCatDay! Share your pictures and stories with us: http://www.NationalFeralCatDay.org/

 

My poor little Haley ...

 

 

Last night, we dropped our little calico kitty, Haley, off at our vets for her dental surgery this morning. After her check up last week, we found out that she has at least three bad teeth which need to be pulled. Makes sense because her breath was becoming really bad and that usually means only one thing ... BAD TEETH!

I completely trust our wonderful and long-time veterinarian, Dr. Ostrich! He has always and continues to be "the best" in his profession and, even though he is now well into his late 70's, he still attends/speaks at veterinary conferences and shares his very extensive knowledge to his esteemed colleagues. I can honestly say that he is the only vet whom I would never second guess as he has always taken good care of our family's furr babies throughout these many years. I can't tell you enough about what a good feeling that is!

We were told that we should be able to pick her back up sometime this evening and so I will be sure to update this post later on tonight.

HAPPY FRIDAY ALL!!!

Surprise, Mom!!!

  
Who needs to pay for pest control when you have three four-legged female cats living with you in the house? Well, technically speaking, we also have our male cat, Mr. Midnight, but at his age he pretty much considers himself retired ... with the emphasis on the word "tired."...

Yesterday morning around 4:40-ish, I was awakened by a scurrying in the kitchen. I got up to see what was going on and saw none other than our huntress, Tabitha, batting something around on the floor with the other three cats just hovered over her watching intently. Was she playing with one of her toys? Nope, it was a poor little dead mouse which she had apparently (as cats are inbred to do regardless of whether or not they live indoor or outdoor) used it as her little play toy until the pitiful little thing most likely died of a heart-attack. 

None of the cats tried to eat it or anything, nor was there any type of mess on the floor anywhere ... just something that very much resembled their small cat mouse toy.

The last time we saw a mouse in our home, hubby managed to catch it and release it back outside before the cats could get to it. Not exactly the best way to wake up first thing in the morning but, unfortunately, it is feline instinct and a part of living with cats.  

Ahh, this is the life, eh ...

While our slightly older two female cats, Haley and Kiki, are claiming half of the sofa and our bed, Midnight and Tabitha continue to "cat bond."

It is not so uncommon to see the two of them either playing together on the living room floor, grooming each other, or very contently snuggling up to one another at any given time ...

Perhaps it is because I am finding a new appreciation for the more "simpler" things in life as I get older, but to me,  this IS the life!

My brother, the cat whisperer ...

My one and only sibling, Kerry, just loves to come visit our fur babies at least once a week.  He, like me, was raised to have the utmost respect for all animals and our whole entire family have always been aminal lovers. Our dad, for example, was raised around all sorts of critters growing up as a kid. Our nana used to take in every single solitary stray you could possibly imagine. I remember as a child so years ago, walking into the vets office with she and her sick blue and white colored parakeet, Peppy, in toe. 

Me with my nana Cora and one of her minature poodles, Suzie, when I was three years old.

My brother Kerry posing for pics with our calico cat, Haley

When we had to have our beloved Maggie put down at the age of 14, it was my brother who spent the entire day with me (as my hubby and I were separated at the time) until it was time to go to the vets later on that evening, and, it was also Kerry who stood in the middle of the vets office while we held each other crying. And, for that, I am eternally grateful ...

 Kerry playing UNO with Maggie, who appears to be helping him cheat!

 Me 'n' my bro!

As with so many other families, we have definately had our share of ups and downs through the years, but I love him dearly and wouldn't trade him for the whole world! One of the most proudest parts of it all for me is the fact that he absolutely adores our cats ... and they him.

Some new stuff!!!

Greetings everyone!!! Hope you all are having a blessed summer. As for me, I am very much looking forward to the Fall season and, of course, MABON!! To help get you into the spirit of things, I have posted my newest cat wreath, "The Four Seasons of the Cat" ...      > ^..^ <

I also added a couple of new items to Haley's catio. Since Mr. Gray no longer needs to "live" downstairs after his tests results came back to us negative for FeLuek, I thought I'd bring up the two pieces of furniture which I had bought for him and give them to Haley. She now has a new bed and kitty condo ...

I think she likes the new look!!!

Speaking of Haley, my hubby found a wonderful little item in, of all places, his Sportsman's Guide magazine! They are sofa/furniture covers with a kind of plastic underneath them. Wanna take a guess why I bought them? Yup, you guessed it, to protect our beautiful new sofa from Haley urinating on it and doing any more damage to it than she already has. The night we put them on, she decided to pee on the couch. Perhaps she felt the need to mark the thing that smelled "different" to her and wasn't there before? Well, after "testing" the new covers we found that THEY WORK WONDERFULLY!!! ...

They are machine washable and come in many different sizes and colors. I highly recommend these for anyone who is having the same problem with a house cat with the same behavior issue.

Wishing ALL a very lovely weeknd!!!! 

Getting to know you

Since Tabitha has been back from her surgery on Friday, she has gone through a kind of learning experience. While we still must keep her downstairs in her holding cage until her paws are fully healed, she spends a great deal of time upstairs with the rest of our furr babies.

For the first couple of days she hid underneath our sofa and we literally had to coax her out at bedtime with her favorite cat treats. However, each day seems to be getting better for her and today she decided to lie on top of the sofa rather than under it ~ allowing us to love on her a bit while she purred.

After this Thursday we will be able to keep her upstairs with all of us full-time and she will also be able to use the regular litter box. Something that I think she will come to enjoy immensely!!

 

In an effort to help encourage a bond between her and our other kitties, hubby bought some "Cat Dancer" toys ...

 

 

 

He actually bought the last four the pet store had left ~ our cats love these things and go through them like they are going out of style!

My Precious Boy ...

I call him my little boy, my pride and joy, my heart. I am talking about, of course, my furr baby Midnight. He is by far the most sweetest, docile, laid-back male cat we have ever had the pleasure of sharing our lives with.

Last night, he showed us just how loving a kitty he can be. While the other cats (both females) are still stewing about us bringing in yet another female into "their" home (how dare we!), Midnight is warming up to Tabby rather nicely. This is no surprise to us; however, since he has always been the little diplomat of the clan...

He is now beginning to share his toys and play with her. As you can see in the above pic, he is playing "footsie" with her from underneath the couch. I have also noticed that since we brought the scratching post back out for Tabby he has been playing with the little ball inside of it vigorously ~ having a great time while getting the excercise he is so desperately in need of ...

 

All pooped out!

 

 

 

WISHING A BLESSED SUNDAY TO ALL AND A VERY SAFE AND RELAXING LABOR DAY, TOO!!!



 



Lughnasadh Blessings from our cat Haley!

A special Lughnasadh Blessing from our calico cat Haley who, by the way, is adorning her new pre-fall fur coat of orange, black and white. Isn't she simply stunning ...

A purrfect first harvest to all!!