For Midnight ...

Midnight lying beneath his favorite tree ~ Samhain 2015

Last night, I decided to put up our yearly Samhain/Halloween tree and as you can see the cats are enjoying it already ...

Leo

Lady Tabitha

Kiki

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New additions to this year's tree ...

New Vet, New Challenges

 

After due consideration, hubby and I have decided to change vets. Since Dr. Ostrich has pretty much retired and Dr. Heather is so busy that she is hardly ever available when you need to schedule an appointment with her, we will be taking our fur babies to Dr. Mike (Comalli) and his wife Lila, who is also a veterinarian, at their veterinary clinic in Womelsdorf. Luckily for us, Dr. Mike is located only a couple of miles up the road from our old vet.

Another reason for the change in vets is that Dr. Mike is known for being extremely thorough and excellent at making a diagnosis. And, with the medical issues that we have been experiencing with our fur babies as of late, we need a vet who knows what they are doing and has a lot of experience just as our long-time vet, Dr. Ostrich.

Dr.'s Mike and Lila Comalli

On Wednesday night, we took Midnight to Dr. Mike to examine some wart-like lumps/tumors on the dorsal part of his tail. After he shaved away the fur to get a better look, he saw at least 12 more little tumors and also noticed a lot of moisture around that area. We have scheduled a biopsy for December 3rd, but first we must take care of the moisture on his tail so that Dr. Mike may get an accurate biopsy result. At present, we are treating his tail three times a week with a special shampoo we are to use up until his biopsy surgery. We are praying that our baby will be okay and will do whatever we possibly can to save him. Unfortunately, as is always the case, after a certain point it is all out of our hands. 

Midnight's tail

 

 

Another change which I, myself, have chosen to make is that since I will no longer have the time to keep two blogs going, I will soon be phasing this blog out. I will leave it up as there is some information that perhaps someone may find helpful or useful in some way, but other than that I will no longer be adding new posts to this particular blog. I will; however, still try to continue with my main blog, "The Wiccan Life." 

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!

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!

Can't say enough ...

Greetings everyone! Lots of new things have been happening here over the past couple of months from my father's hospital stay on New Year's Eve to his rehab and recovery, to the unrelenting Winter weather conditions we have had to endure since before Yule of last year. But, one piece of good news which I feel that I simply must convey to you all is Midnight's Laser Therapy progress. After his first inital six mandatory sessions, he now only has to receive his therapy once a month. Last night, when we took him for his therapy session, his awesome Veterinary Technician and Professional Therapist, Danielle,  who has been video documenting her patient's Laser Therapy progress from session to session, proudly showed us the videos she has been working on and I was utterly astounded at what I saw! Dogs and cats with major hip and other types of surgeries and even animals who were paralyzed, could not only walk again within one or two sessions but were running around pain-free and shaking their butts around the room! It is simply amazing what this procedure has done for our cat, Midnight and such a wonderful alternative to conventional medications. 

Danielle, from "Eagle's Peek Animal Clinic" performing Laser Therapy practices on her, "star patient," our  kitty Midnight.


It much reminds me of reiki in many ways, but seems to have much longer lasting effects. I still reiki him from time to time, but the problem is that he is not very comfortable with the fact that "he actually feels too comfortable" so Laser Therapy is just so perfect for him. 

In addition to his monthly therapy sessions, we also purchased a wonderful handmade carpeted ramp off Etsy for his off-days when he needs a little help getting up and down on the soda ...

What can I say, seeing is believing and the proof is in the video! Great job, Danielle!!

Finally finished!

Today marks Midnight's sixth and final Laser Treatment Therapy session. Each session takes only 2 1/2 minutes (dogs take between 45 minutes to and hour) and he has been responding so well to them thus far. From here on in, he is only scheduled for a once a month session unless otherwise needed. It has helped him a great deal with his arthitis pain and I would most definately recommend it to anyone. Although the only down side is that our kitty absolutely hates car rides and does not travel well. The worst part of taking him to the vet is getting him from our house to there. Once he is there, he is much calmer, and after he gets home again, he is great! 

It is hard to believe that only a couple of weeks ago, he could not even turn his back to groom himself and we could not so much as touch his backside without him crying in pain. Now, he is pain-free and flexible again ...

He had developed a respiratory infection from taking him back and forth for two weeks in this horrible cold winter weather. A few days ago, the vet gave him an antibiotic shot and it did very little. So now he is on oral meds ~ one pill three times a day and it seems to be helping as he is not sneezing near as much. It is highly possible that he lowered his immune system quite a bit by stressing himself out during the car trips back and forth to the vet. But, hopefully he will get over his cold now that he (and us!) have some down-time. He can rest and stay warm in the house for another whole month.

Midnight makes Eagles Peak's Facebook Page!!

Our clients have been talking-cats meowing and dogs howling about the different types of therapy that EPAC offers. For new advance treatment we have Laser treatment. Amazing what this does! We also have the Oasis (Hydro therapy) treadmill. Hydro therapy focus on weight and rehabilitation. We also have Acupuncture available now by Dr. Lee Pickett, she will provide pets with this option right here in the clinic. Pets have pain too! Make sure we have the solutions for all kinds. Long happy-pain free lovable life with our furry family is what we all want! Please feel free to call or stop in and speak to with us about anyone of the therapies. If your pet is happy, so are you. When you both are happy, so are we!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eagles-Peak-Animal-Clinic/209140892456756
http://www.eaglespeakanimalclinic.com/

Midnight's Laser Therapy

Since Midnight's diagnosis of athritis in his back and tail, we have decided to take Dr. Ostrich's recommendation to put him on Laser Therapy as an alternative to pain medication and/or periodic shots.

Yesterday morning was Midight's first Laser Therapy session with his technician, Danielle. She allowed us to be in the room with him while she treated him and she explained to us all about Laser Therapy, what is is, what it actually does, and the beneftit of this kind of treatment. She also told us that they have worked on hundreds of dogs so far but Midnight is their very first cat to be treated there. 

All of us, Midnight included, had to wear safety googles to protect our eyes. The entire session lasted only about 10 minutes and our baby was an absolute trooper as usual. Danielle said it feels like a warm message and took a pic of him afterwards. She told us she was going to hang it up in the office lobby for all to see. She even printed off a color copy for us to take home ...

Eagle's Peak Therapist Danielle works on Midnight's arthritic back using Laser Therapy techniques.

So far, Midnight is responding to the therapy fairly well ... only 5 more to go! 

Okay, I can breathe again now ...

The past couple of weeks since it has gotten so much colder here in Berks County, PA, our kitty Midnight has been limping and crying in pain if we so much as touched his backend near his tail. We finally decided we needed to take him to our trusty vet, Dr. Ostrich, to get him checked out. Turns out:

1. After placing a sample of his fur and skin dandriff on a slide and immediately looking at it under a miscroscope while waited, he had developed a yeast infection on his back; and,
2.  Upon examination, Midnight had to be scheduled two days later for x-rays of his spine.

For the infection, he prescribed a lotion we must apply on his back once a day for two weeks called, Ketomax. And, he also gave him a shot for the pain.

As for his x-rays, I took him back to the vet today and Dr. Ostrich took two shots of his spine. I got the results within a few minutes and the doc took me into a viewing room and, with Midnight in tow while I cradled him in my arms, went over the results. He showed me the x-rays and exactly what I was looking at and told me that the area between his tail and spine are arthritic and that is what is causing him so much pain. The answer: Laser Surgery treatments. It will take six consecutive treatments and then one session per month thereafter. 

Talk about relieved? I am so very happy that it is not something much worse and that we can help him with treatments. No pills, no shots, just a painless laser procedure with the added benefit of NOT having to put him to sleep while doing it. 

Thank you once again, Dr. Ostrich ... you're the best!!!

Busy, busy, busy ...

Hey everyone, it's Midnight. Just thought I would grab my mommy's computer for a quick post. She has been so very busy the past couple of weeks cleaning up the "really messy attic," she says, that she hardly even has time to fuss over me (*sigh*) lately.

Oh well, I know that she loves and adores me and that I am her "Little Prince Charming." After all, I am such a loyal little kitty that I am always there to greet her at the door when she comes home from work every night and I like to follow her around the house because I am so worried that she will leave me. 

Anyway, I also wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween and a Blessed Samhain from me and my siblings ~ Haley, Kiki, and Tabitha!

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.