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On 3/14/09 I found a orange and white male cat that had a blue collar on, he was limping badly so I took him to the vet to have him looked at to make sure he hadn’t been hit by a car and had internal bleeding. After he was looked at he was diagnosed with a torn ACL on his right leg. I was hoping that he was chipped, but he wasn’t, I have posted an ad on craigs list, called Kenton County Animal Shelter, and some local veterinary offices hoping to find his owner. I have had no luck in doing so, I tried to call all of the no kill animal shelters and they are all full with cats and cannot take anymore, Kenton County Animal Shelter told me that since he is injured and not adoptable in his condition that he would be euthanized immediately.

Being an animal lover I cannot bring myself to have him euthanized since other than his leg he is a perfectly healthy boy. He eats, drinks, and uses the litter boxes just fine. He is also very sweet and loving, he seems to not mind our other cats although at first there was a lot of hissing and I am sure that is due to the new environment he is in as well as the fact he is in pain. We also have dogs but he really doesn’t care for them. I am hoping to get his leg fixed and adopt him out since our house is full with 4 cats, 2 dogs, and a rat.

This is what the Veterinarian gave me at his visit

I also had this veterinary hospital mail me an estimate on how much it would cost to have his leg fixed and when I opened the envelope the cost was staggering. To have his leg fixed, and all his vaccines brought up to date the cost is $1286.40, I do plan on getting a second opinion next week and hope that the estimate that I get at another location will be substantially less since Erlanger Veterinary Hospital tends to be very expensive. We have been giving him a 1/4 tab of baby aspirin every 4 days for the pain. Below is a copy of the Erlanger estimate.

As I said we have been giving him 1/4 baby aspirin every 4 days for the pain, I am inserting a video below so you can see him, you can see that when he is standing he holds his right leg back and then has a limp when he walks which isn’t as bad with the aspirin but he cannot be on that forever. He also lays down frequently due to his other leg becoming fatigued from doing most of the work which had become another concern of mine, that his left leg will become strained. Please look at this site in about a week I hope to have a new and better looking estimate at that time

I am currently trying to raise funds to have his leg fixed. If you are interested in making a donation please make a donation to:

Huntington Bank

Acct: Trina Phillips Basement Kitty fund

3517 Decoursey Avenue

Latonia, KY 41015

acct # ending in 8426

I’m going to have to start putting some recipes on here that I have made and found. I don’t know about other people but I sometimes like to make homemade treats for my dogs. I made some today and they are kind of like a smoothie.

• 1 bannana
• 1 apple
• 1 heaping spoon full of peanut butter (natural or reduced fat)
• Water

I took the bannana and apple and put them in a food processor (which a blender can be used as well) and I grinded and chopped them until it became like a liquidy paste. I them poured the mixture into a bowl and added the peanut butter. With a wisk I blended everything together and I added enough water to make it runny enough to put into ice cube trays. There should be enough there to fill 2 ice cube trays. Let them sit for several hours, they will not be frozen as hard as an ice cube but they become a frozen treat more like ice cream. Place them in a zip lock baggie and store in the freezer as an extra special treat.

My dogs love them, and I’m sure yours will as well

In the neighborhood where my parents live they hold an annual event called the Doggie Doo-Athalon, it’s a real chance to bond with your pet and have a great time. During this event people can sign up to run a 1.5 mile marathon with their pets, or they can sign up for the swim contests (laps & diving) or there is open swim where you can get into the pool with your dog. This was my first time going and we did the open swim, I have corgis and well they have never been in a full sized adult pool so I swam with them in the 3 ft end. They had a great time, I had to hold their chests while they swam because well they have such short little legs they weren’t very good at swimming. They also had an area set aside for pets to run around without a leash, and they both loved that as well. I can’t wait for next year, as they only do this once and it’s on the last day the pool is open, it was hosted by a Therapy dog organization and the Blue Ash Recreation Center. I also treated myself to a new t-shirt and a purse which I will have to add photo later =) I love it.

Other activites: we take our dogs to the dog park to make sure they are socialized with other poochies, and they always have a blast at that, and we go on hiking trails. We make sure that we set aside at least one day per week to make sure we treat ourselves and our dogs to a day of activites we both can enjoy. How do you spend time with your pooches, I would love to know!!

Below are some pictures of the event.

Where I live I don’t have to worry much about earthquakes or hurricanes, but we do have tornados and occasional flooding in this area. Our plan of action is not the best when it comes to the emergencies that weather can bring. As I have said before we have 4 cats and have you ever tried to round up cats? and even when you do catch them, putting them in a carrier is a nightmare. Our dogs are easy, and they basically will follow us where ever we go. After reading about the Gustav hurricane I was worried about how the animals faired in that situation since during Katrina it was a horror story for everyone in the area and so many people were scrambling to get out alive that many animals suffered. I like to read National Geographic a lot and I came across Gustav Pet Evacuations Show Katrina Lessons Learned, which talks about how everyone has now developed a working game plan on how to evacuate pets before disaster hits. We are not fortunate here as tornados usually do not give much warning before they strike, so I just hope that when the time comes my plan of actions works as well as what they have established in New Orleans.

Here are a couple ideas from the Red Cross on how to evacuate when you are a pet owner

I have read that having cats can actually reduce the chances of heart disease from other sources, but I came across “Cats Better Than Cholestrol Meds in Preventing Heart Disease” on the psychology today blog site. The reason for the reduction you ask, cats reduce stress. I have 4 cats and I don’t know what I would do without them and my dogs, although sometimes I feel more stressed out with all the care, litter boxes, cost, etc etc. But as stressed as a get just petting them relaxes me and when they lay on my chest and purr I forget all my troubles and just focus on how much happiness my pets bring me. Below is one of my cats Goetta she was found as a stray January of this year, and she has been a wonderful addition.

Several years ago there was a litter box that hooked up to your plumbing and it was called LitterFree, this company went out of business. I did buy 2 of these a long time ago for over 300.00 each and that was off ebay. My cats never used them, they didn’t like the granuals, but then again I should have done a slow transition in their old boxes slowing going from regular litter to the granuals. After reading more about the litterfree I was happy that my pets didn’t use it, apparently it could start while your cats where still in the box and the heater for drying the granuals was a fire hazard (I read some say it actually started to smoke).

Now there seems to be a new cat box that hooks up to the plumbing called the CatGenie, which from what I have seen looks promising. The cost is still pricy at 297.00 which comes with the litter box, granuals, and the cleaning solution that last 2 months if you have 2 cats. Or you can pay 369.00 to have a 5 month supply. Both look like they have the same concept for the most part, the litterfree left the waste in the box and just has solution pumped into the box to break it down and the granuals are good for 2 months, the genie scoops the feces into a separate area to be broken down and it states that you never have to change the granuals. I just have to wait a couple months and check out reviews after it has been on the market a bit, if the reviews are good enough who knows 300.00 maybe worth never cleaning a litter box again, or having to buy litter.

This is a list that was posted by the ASPCA

Poisonous Plants for Dogs and Cats

Alfalfa (multiple exposures) Aloe Vera Amarylillis Apple (seeds) Apple Leaf Croton Apricot (pit) Asparagus Fern Autumn Crocus Avacado (fruit and pit) Azalea Baby’s Breath Bittersweet Bird of Paradise Branching Ivy Buckey Buddist Pine Caladium Calla Lily Castor Bean Ceriman Charming Dieffenbachia Cherry (seeds and wilting leaves) Chinese Evergreen Christmas Rose Cineraria Clematis Cordatum Corn Plant Cornstalk Plant Croton Cuban Laurel Cutleaf Philodendron Cycads Cyclamen Daffodil Devil’s Ivy Dieffenbachia Dracaena Palm Dragon Tree Dumb Cane Easter Lily (in cats!!!!) Elaine Elephant Ears Emerald Feather English Ivy Fiddle-leaf fig Florida Beauty Foxglove Fruit Salad Plant Geranium German Ivy Giant Dumb Cane Glacier Ivy Gold Dieffenbachia Gold Dust Dracaena Golden Pothos

Hahn’s Self-Branching Ivy Heartland Philodendron Hurricane Plant Indian Rubber Plant Janet Craig Dracaena Japanese Show Lily (cats !!!) Jeusalem Cherry Kalanchoe Lacy Tree Philodendron Lily of the Valley Mother-in Law’s Tongue Madagascar Dragon Tree Marble Queen Marijuana Mexican Breadfruit Miniature Croton Mistletoe Morning Glory Narcissus Needlepoint Ivy Nephytis Nightshade Oleander Onion Oriental Lily (cats!!!) Peace Lily Peach (wilting leaves and pits) Pencil Cactus Plumosa Fern Poinsettia (low toxicity) Poison Ivy Poison Oak Pothos Potato Plant (green fruit, stem and leaves) Precatory Bean Primrose Red Emerald Red Princess Red-Margined Dracaena Rhododendron Ribbon Plant Saddle Leaf Philodendron Sago Palm Satin Pothos Schefflera Silver Pothos Spotted Dumb Cane String of Pearls Striped Dracaena Sweetheart Ivy Swiss Cheese Plant Taro Vine Tiger Lily (cats!!!) Tomato Plant (green fruit, stem and leaves) Tree Philodendron Tropic Snow Dieffenbachia Weeping Fig Yew

* please note: this list is not all inclusive

The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, an operating division of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), is the only animal-oriented poison control center in North America. It is a unique emergency hotline providing 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week telephone assistance. The Center’s hotline veterinarians can quickly answer questions about toxic chemicals, dangerous plants, products or substances found in our everyday surroundings that can prove poisonous or fatal to animals.

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
1-888-4-ANI-HELP
http://www.napcc.aspca.org

For a link on additional information about poisonous plants on the ASPCA site click here

Date Published: 1/15/2001

Check your pet for obesity to prevent disease

Prevention of illnesses is becoming increasingly more important among pet owners, as opposed to the times when veterinarians were consulted only when pets were already sick. Pets have genuinely become part of the family, but just like obesity has become a problem in humans in the USA, it is becoming an epidemic in pets as well.

Obesity is the most frequent nutritional problem encountered in veterinary medicine, and approximately 25-30% of the cats and dogs in the USA are obese.

An animal is considered obese when it is 10-15 percent above its ideal weight. Obesity can occur when caloric intake (food consumption) exceeds caloric expenditure (exercise and activity).

There are several ways to determine whether your pet is facing a weight problem. One is palpating the tissue overlying your pet’s ribs. When doing this, you should be able to feel the ribs right under the skin with a very small amount of fat in between. Another experiment involves looking down at your pet’s body shape. You should see a definite waistline just behind the ribs.

An excess of fat in the abdominal area is a sign of obesity. As a rule the body weight of a young adult animal is considered to be its ideal weight.

Owners should check their pet’s body condition at least every month, as obesity is a very insidious condition frequently only noticed after the animal has gained a significant amount of weight. Checking your pet’s weight is extremely important as obesity can lead to conditions like arthritis, respiratory problems, heart disease, skin problems, heat intolerance, urinary problems, increased anesthetic risk, constipation, diabetes, general discomfort and a shorter lifespan.

Should a reduction of your pet’s body weight be called for, your veterinarian should be consulted to establish a weight control program which involves the doctor and owner determining the animal’s ideal weight and a course of action needed to achieve that goal.

Reducing diets are a good way to deal with a pet’s obesity. This is a special pet food high in fiber content and less concentrated in calories, allowing for larger portions and satisfying your pet’s hunger. An example of this type of food would be Sciences diets r/d which is a food that is supplied only at veterinary establishments.

Cutting the amount of food your pet receives is another way to achieve weight loss. A gradual decrease in food would be the best course of action, so your pet doesn’t feel its being “cheated” out of food. If your pet is still constantly hungry you can add green beans or rice to their diet. For cats you can try to add the water from a cat of tuna to the rice (make sure you use tuna in water, and not tuna in oil).

Every pet owner loves their pets and one way they show their love is through treats, although we all love treats, your pet will love being fit and trim better than panting from just going up a set of stairs. Our two Corgi’s rarely receive real treats, since they are a breed that is prone to obesity we keep a careful eye on their weight. One good treat is ice cubes, or you can add a small amount of apple juice (100% juice) to an ice try to give the ice cubes a bit of flavor. Other rewarding treats that are healthy for your dog are carrot sticks, apple slices, small pieces of melon. All these like anything else need to be given in moderation, except the ice cubes =) Once again for cats you can put water from a can of tuna in a cube tray and give as a treat, or cat nip.

Another part of the program is encouraging mild to moderate exercise and increasing it progressively to support the weight loss.

Reducing diet alone will make the process take much longer. Try to spend 15 minutes per day playing with your pet to get him or her active. Short walks are an ideal way to get you and your pet active. For those with cats, I had a veterinarian recommend that I carry the cat away from the house and it will walk back to the house, which actually did work. Throwing toys for your pets to retrieve is another way to get your pet active; there are dangly toys for cats to whack at. A laser pointer is great, I can get our pets all excited with this thing they will run around and chase it. You may think your pets want to just lay around and be lazy but that isn’t true, exercise is a great way to keep your pets active and happy, plus it gives you the time to bond more closely to your pet.

A successful program will be greatly rewarding for you and your pet, and having your veterinarian involved will be of great help in terms of advice and supervising the maintenance of your pet’s weight control. Make sure that you take your pet to get weighed regularly to keep track of progress, remember the weight will not just melt off it takes time. Below are diagrams on body sizes, try and determine where your pet is and what they need.

And if you have had a pet that was overweight but is now healthy please reply to the post, I would love to put success stories up to provide motivation!!

Everyone knows that the economy is in a slump, a big slump. The number of foreclosed homes has never been so high and in some areas of the country they are experiencing record unemployment rates. How can you hold on to your 4 legged friend during such a crisis? The article More pet owners seek aid, give up animals due to cost talks about the hard decisions families are having to face. First off if you have decided that you need to give up your loved one, think on it for one more week after your decision and do/think the following

1. Go over your financials, calculate your money coming in and going out. Print out your bank information that goes in detail about where your money is going. Is there anything you can cut out ex. star bucks, going out to eat 4 days a wk, and anything else that is something you do not need. Purchase off brand items in stead of name brand food items at the grocery store.

2. Pet supplies we all want the best for our pets and to give them everything but during tough times this is impossible. Can you switch to a cheaper litter, a cheaper food, cut out treats my dogs love ice cubes they think those are treats. As for toys stop buying them, to entertain your dog take him on walks more often or buy a cheap pack of tennis balls. As for cats try crumpled up paper and putting it in the shape of a ball, or try growing your own cat nip.

3. If you have pets on medications, talk to your veterinarian tell them that you are going through a hard time and see if they will write your a prescription to get your medications on-line which is usually for 1/2 the cost you will pay at the vet office.

4. Vaccinations, if you have indoor cats only just to save money you can get by just doing the rabies shot, if you have an indoor/outdoor cat find out what is needed usually it’s the FLV shot, Feline distemper shot, and rabies shot and skip the fecal sample or anything else your vet may recommend. As for dogs you will need to get the distemper shot, rabies shot, and the parvo vaccine once again skip out on the fecal sample and the heart worm test (only skip the heart worm test if you live in an area that doesn’t have a mosquito problem) once again buy all worm & flea medication on-line for big savings.

5. Only get necessary treatments for your pets, a dental can be put off unless of course your pets mouth is severely infected, but see if you can do antibiotics and hold off on the dental for a bit. Until you can get financially sound only do what is needed.

6. Do some research on-line and learn some pet first aid tips minor cuts can be taken care of at home and should be cleaned up to prevent bigger problems down the road.

7. Do you pay someone to groom your pet? Try bathing yourself I wash my own pets and clean their ears, the dogs I even brush and scrap tartar off of their teeth which saves money because it will be a while before they need their first dental. If there is something you cannot do on your own but don’t want to pay the big costs try looking in the paper or on craigslist (be sure to put your state and city in) to see if you can find someone willing to do it for cheap.

8. Seek out help, see if there are any programs that give out free food, or veterinary office’s or the SPCA does vaccines for cheaper than what your normal vets charges.

9. If you MUST abandon a loved one please make sure you place them in a good home, I cannot stress enough to people not to take their pets to the pound. This is supposed to be something in your life that was special and that loved you more than anything and to just drop it off at the pound where if someone does not take your dog within 3 days it will be put to sleep!!! Once again try craigslist (the link listed above), try putting a flyer up at vet offices, talk to friends/family talk to anyone just don’t take it to the pound your furry friend deserves more than that.

There are many ways to save money without having to give up anyone in the family. I recently cut down to part-time to go to school full-time and let me tell you there have been some struggles and some sacrifices that we have had to make to ensure that all 6 of our kids stay with us. If you open our pantry you see nothing but generic items, I sewed and made my own curtains to save money, I cook at home and pack my lunch. Like I said above think all of your options through before doing something you are going to regret for a long time, remember pets are a commitment and taking a pet into your home is taking on the responsibility that you are going to care for him/her for their life time. Your pet would never abandon you, can you really look into your pets eyes and abandon them? I know I never could.

In a recent article on discovery called In Multi-pet homes, cats are top dogs it discusses a recent study that suggests that if cats are the first ones in the home it is more likely that they will get along with dogs. We currently have 6 pets ( I know insane) 4 cats and 2 dogs. 3 of the cats were here first, then the dogs and then the last cat. Our dogs are Pembroke Welsh Corgi’s so they have a herding instinct which the cats do not appreciate, our oldest cat Pucker will actually sit with Izzy our older corgi, but the younger corgi, Suki Chan, he still has problems with (he doesn’t appreciate her spunky/wild personality). Our other 2 cats that were pre-dog do not like the dogs, they run from the dogs when they are chased and they only come out when the dogs are in their kennel. The last cat we got doesn’t mind the dogs, don’t get me wrong she still doesn’t like them but she doesn’t run from them like the other 2 cats do. She will actually run out and chase the smaller female corgi (she was the runt of the litter and at 1.5 yrs old is only 18lbs) she is also willing to share the couch with the pooches and will even play with her toys with them around.

The relationship among cats and dogs when introduced together as babies can be an unbreakable bond, when animals grow up together starting at young ages they learn each others mannerisms and body language. We were not fortunate to have this experience but we are hoping that after a couple more years of them pushing each others buttons and learning boundaries they too will have established a loving bond