We Are Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

I asked all the kitties (and the dog) what they were thankful for this year. Here is what they told me:

Harvey

I'm thankful for my amazing whiskers and floofy tail. They get me out of trouble when I've opened all the drawers in the bedroom looking for treats.

Evelyn

I'm thankful for the kitchen and all the yummy stuff it contains. Does this angle make my hips look big? I thought black was supposed to be slimming.

Lowenstein

I'm thankful for sunshine, a warm bed, and cuddles. And every now and then, a soft rug to pee on.

Stilwell

I'm thankful for Dr. Long and the entire staff at Banfield for taking such good care of me. I'm very thankful for my daddy. He's the best daddy in the world.

Yaz

I'm thankful for calming treats and that the annoying tweeting track-ball toy the cats use to freak me out has been moved to the basement.

We're all very thankful for our readers and fans. Thanks for loving all of us and we wish you a joyous and peaceful holiday season.

Stilwell and the Sickies

We've had a rough few days with Stilwell. The good news is he's now at home and recovering from a bout of pancreatitis. I've been a stressed out mom over it, but with a great veterinary team, things went fairly smooth. Here's the lowdown:

SATURDAY
We had been gone most of the day to take Mom to visit her sister. The cats, as usual, had full run of the house. We got home late that afternoon and everything seemed fine. All of the kitties ate dinner like normal, nothing seemed amiss.

Later in the evening I was in my bedroom and Stilwell was with me, laying on the bed. I didn't notice anything was wrong until I gave him some treats and he only ate a couple of them. Usually he inhales them and digs around in case he missed any. That is when it hit me that he was not his normal high-energy self. I tried to offer him a bite of turkey and he ignored it. That's when I knew something was wrong. Our blue boy never passes up food. I decided that I would call the vet the next morning.

SUNDAY

Stilwell went downstairs at breakfast time, but when Lee put his bowl in front of him, he just sniffed it and walked away. The same thing happened at lunch. I called the vet, but we couldn't get in that day so we made an appointment for Monday.

I headed to the grocery store to find something that might interest him. I bought a couple packets of Fancy Feast Broths, some meat baby food, and even crack (better known as kibble, in this case, Meow Mix).

When I got home I took Stilwell up to the bedroom so I could closely monitor his intake and output. I didn't want to have to fight the other cats off from his food, either. I first tried the kibble and was thrilled that he ate some. It wasn't much, but anything in his tummy was good.

About an hour later, I opened up one of the pouches. He licked up all the broth, but didn't eat any of the meat. That was okay, too since I was worried about dehydration. He had only drank a small amount of water so the liquid from the food was helpful.

He spent the rest of the afternoon napping. He didn't even change positions much. I could tell he was running a fever, but I had no idea what to do for that.

Dinner time rolled around and I tried canned food. Again, he gave it a sniff and ignored it. I offered him a couple of teaspoons of ham baby food and he licked almost all of that up, but that was all he wanted. I offered him more crack but that was a no-go. I heated the canned food. Still nothing.

He laid back on his blankie and slept some more. Around midnight he woke up and vomited a small amount of bile, then went back to sleep. All this time, Lowenstein was outside the door, begging to come in. He cried loud and he cried hard. Being the emotional boy he is, he ended up peeing on the bathroom rug that night.

MONDAY
Stilwell drank some water and peed, which made me very happy. He cuddled with his daddy until his vet appointment at 11:30.

When we got to Banfield, Stilwell's favorite vet tech, Andi, took his temperature and it was quite high: 103.9. She went ahead and ordered bloodwork and urine and suggested the vet may want to do additional tests like x-rays and the test for pancreatitis (which she did).

We ended up having to leave him there for the day so they could give him fluids and run the tests. The pancreatitis test came back positive, so they started him on antibiotics and pain meds. She didn't see anything obvious on the x-ray that would show a foreign body (which had been my biggest fear) but wanted it to be read by the experts before beginning him on anti-nausea meds. Luckily, the x-ray came back clear and they were able to get those meds in him too. At that point, the vet wanted him to stay until closing so they could monitor him.

When we went to pick him up, his temp had only gotten down to 102.5. He hadn't eaten anything, either. Dr. Long wanted us to bring him back the next morning so they could give him some more fluids and work on getting his fever down. She left the catheter in his leg and put a cone on him so he couldn't mess with it.

Once home, I offered Stilwell some canned food and he went right for it. He ate about 3/4 of a small can. After eating, he slept for the rest of the night.

TUESDAY
Lee took Stilwell in first thing in the morning and they got him going on fluids again. When he went back in, his fever was back up to 104, but by midday it was down to 102. When I called to check on him, they said he was really mellow.

I picked him up at closing again and at that time his temp was down to 100.2. The vet was very happy with that, but to be sure everything was okay, wanted me to bring him back the next morning to check his temperature to be sure it had stayed down. They sent me home with his antibiotic and pain meds, again leaving in the catheter and the cone.

He chowed down on dinner when we got home and he peed. He walked around the room checking things out-he was definitely feeling better. I gave him his meds and he settled in for the night.

WEDNESDAY
I took Stilwell to see Dr. Long this morning and the news was good! His temp was down to 99.2. No more vet stays for him! The cone came off and the catheter came out.

Since being back home, he's done great. He's taking his meds like a good boy and he has eaten. He still isn't eating as much, but that's to be expected. He's also sleeping a lot, but he needs his rest so he can recover from all of this. He took the prime sleeping spot on a cold day: right on top of the furnace vent!

We would like to thank everyone for all of the good thoughts, purrs, and prayers. They certainly kept me upbeat through the last few days!

Cat Quotables-How Do You Treat Cats?

How we behave toward cats here below determines our status in heaven.

-Robert A. Heinlein

Featured Furry-Crystal

UPDATED

BONUS FEATURED FURRY!!

I was so taken with the subject of this bonus post that I knew I would have to write about her, too. I'm pleased to introduce Crystal.

Crystal is up for adoption at Great Plains SPCA in Merriam. She is 5 years old and is front declawed. Then of course, you have her amazing coloring.

When I first saw Crystal, I was immediately reminded of Venus the Chimera Cat. I'm not sure what causes these striking markings, but I'm in awe of her beauty.

Crystal was very friendly, too. She loved having me pet her and scratch her head. She also politely told me when she was done and that it was time for me to stop.

She is certainly not your ordinary calico. If you'd like to see Crystal in person, you can visit her at Great Plains SPCA located at 5424 Antioch Drive, Merriam, Kansas.

UPDATED: CRYSTAL FOUND HER FOREVER FAMILY ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2014!

Featured Furry-Sabrina

I met a sweet little housepanther at Great Plains SPCA in Merriam yesterday. She's on the petite side and has a sprinkling of white hairs on her body with a white patch on her chest. Her name is Sabrina.

Sabrina is 4 years old and came in to Great Plains as a stray. She came right up to me when I sat on the floor and began to purr as soon as I began petting her.

She was immediately comfortable with me in the room and didn't show even the smallest hint of shyness. Sabrina even let me pick her up so we could take a selfie!

Here's Sabrina enjoying some love:



Isn't she the sweetest thing? If you're interested in meeting Sabrina, you can visit her at Great Plains SPCA located at 5424 Antioch Dr., Merriam, Kansas.

Pet Safety Chat on Twitter

The holidays are here! I love to share the holidays with all the furry members of my family, but I also know it's important to keep them safe. In fact, we're taking an extra step this year with our Christmas decorations. We're trading in all of our hand-blown glass ornaments and will instead use soft ornaments that can't be broken by the cats, thus possibly causing them harm.

An outtake from last year's holiday photo shoot.

For more ideas on how to keep your pets safe during the holidays, you can join in the #HappyPawlidays pet safety chat on Twitter this Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at 8:00 pm EST. It will be hosted by Dr. Cindy Bressler, the veterinary consultant for Wellness Natural Pet Food.

Be sure to follow @DrCindyBressler and @wellnesspetfood on Twitter and remember to use the hashtag #HappyPawlidays for the chat. They'll be hanging out for an hour exchanging pet safety ideas, it should be very informative!

Sebastian Claws (December 2011)

Book Review AND Giveaway! ASK ANNA by Dean Koontz and his dog Anna

While I was at BarkWorld in Atlanta a few weeks ago, I picked up several books. The first one I read is a dog advice book by Dean Koontz' dog Anna. It is titled, appropriately, Ask Anna: Advice for the Furry and Forlorn.

Dean Koontz is best known for his suspense novels (maybe you've heard of Odd Thomas) but Anna has taken a different path with her writing and is doling out canine advice. Anna is a Golden Retriever who flunked out of school with Canine Companions for Independence. She explains in the book that birds were her "undoing."

Anna gives advice to the dogs who write to her with questions about life. She reminds them that size doesn't matter, everyone has a talent, and tennis balls are symbols of joy. She seems to only have one adversary and that is Pierre, the postman's poodle.

Evelyn thinks, "Silly dogs. Cats don't need advice."

Since Anna spent time at Canine Companions for Independence, all author proceeds are being donated to them! To get your own copy for free, you can enter our giveaway. All you have to do is comment and tell us who you think would benefit from Anna's advice. I know this is a mostly cat blog, but a lot of you have pup friends, too. Maybe a dog friend in your life could use a holiday gift! You can gain an additional entry by tweeting about the giveaway as well. You've got a week to get your entries in!


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