Monday, August 27, 2012

ManCat Monday-Sammy Style


Sammy was once 'King of the Jungle' around here... but now that he is neutered, he says he just likes finding a soft pillow and having time to contemplate the universe...which he might still think he is the center of, hahameow!

PeeEss: We want to thank everyone who stopped by to purr for Disco and it's comforting to know you are all thinking of him, and offering advice and will be watching over him, too! We appurrciate all of you!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Simply Sunday Late Night...


OMC, how can a whole week have gone by with nary a whisper from us Curlz and Swirlz cats?!
And needless to say, we have only had a brief moment here and there to stop and say hi or Get Well or Congarats to any of our furiends!

Teri has been busy taking care of (and cleaning up after) Disco, even going in to work with him on her day off to do some more tests....Poor Disco!



She had a bit of a scare with him, because his blood glucose went very high, one of the risks and side effects of being on prednisolone can be diabetes, although he was not PU/PD (that means drinking and peeing a lot).

So he is being weaned off the pred and his urine test was normal (no glucose spilling into his urine, that's good), but unfortunately that means if he does have IBD, he probably won't be able to take prednisolone but will have to attack it from another direction with another medication...

And another side effect of being on pred is, because is suppresses the immune system, he broke with a respiratory virus, too. 80% of cats have been exposed to Rhino or Calici or Chlamydia but it lays dormant in their system until stress or medication causes it to recrudesce (show symptoms) again.


So Teri started him on L-Lysine and he is improving, but not feeling up to par yet. He is still having tummy issues and runny poos, in spite of being on Proviable KP and digestive enzymes. It's a wonder he doesn't hide when he sees Teri coming, but he is a very forgiving Mancat...

He is scheduled to have intestinal biopsies on Wednesday, to get a definitive diagnosis, so think of him on Whisker Hump Day, ok...

On a happier note, guess who came to visit us last week? Mama Katz! Yes, the orangey feral that had kittens under our porch a couple of years ago (we think TomTom was the Daddy Cat). We hadn't seen her since around Christmas and Teri was sure something bad had happened to her.


But it was late one balmy night and all the windows were open and Teri heard a plaintive meow and thought anxiously that maybe one of us had snuck out! But when she investigated, she found Mama K, and of course, put out some kibble for her and kept TomTom from chasing her off til she finished eating.


She looked fine, and it was nice to see her again and know she is as safe as a feral can be out there, and we hope that we see her again real soon!

TomTom is finally hanging around our backyard again every day, after being kind of scarce after his 'Day at the Spa' a couple of weeks ago. Our petsitter only saw him once while Teri was in Topeka and after that, we only saw him a couple of times.


He probably thought he was going to get trapped again, but finally he settled back into his normal AM and PM feeding times and Teri's glad he will be ready for the change in seasons with his furs in place and his worms gone and with his heated cat house ready for occupancy! They say it's going to be a rough winter and already the squirrels are gathering the acorns in our backyard!


Well, that's all the mews that comes to mind. We have a few minutes to visit our friends and wish Khyra a Happy Gotcha Day, send Kiril and Katie Get Well Soon purrs, and to check in to see how the auction for Zoolatry is going--we know Ann and Vic are getting lots of Cat 'n Dog Blogosphere support and the items in the auction keeps growing and growing! We are happy to think the Treat Rollers we donated are going to a good home, hahameow (we kinda ignored them, but you know how cats are---unpredictable!


Sunday, August 19, 2012

Mancat Monday-Disco's Diet/Take Your Cat to the Vet Week


Well, Disco isn't really on a diet to lose weight right now...he's on a diet to help his pancreatitis, Hill's z/d and Purina HA...

And in spite of being on prednisolone (which takes the "I'm Full" sensor away), he really hasn't blimped out, and at his weigh-in today, he is 14#  8 oz. He is near the end of his round of Zeniquin (antibiotic) and Sulfasalazine (anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory drug which is used primarily to treat IBD (inflammatory bowel disease and colitis in cats and dogs) and will stay on Metronidazole for at least a month. 

He is looking and feeling better, no more vomiting but still has puddle poo. Teri is hoping that will improve when he Zeniquin is finished. She is adding Fortiflora (a probiotic) to his food to help and at least his 'diaper rash' is all cleared up.

But today she noticed he has hives around his thighs and bum, so he will go in to work with her tomorrow for a look-see. He got lots of TLC when he stayed at the Cat Spa while Teri was in Topeka, and here's a couple of pix to prove it!






Except for his tests for pancreatic disease, all the tests have been negative or normal--no parasites, no bad bacteria, no toxo or t foetus, so that's all good! Now we just have to get his tummy better and the diet figured out, and possibly do a biopsy of his intestines to rule out or prove he really has IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease).

So, we will keep all our friends updated every Monday--diet or not, hahameow! And since this week is also Take Your Cat to the Vet Week, we thought we would tell you that getting your kitty into the carrier to get to the vets can be made a lot easier if you leave your carrier out all the time and make it a nice place for a snack or a nap!


These are two of our carriers, just left out in the kitchen with snuggley blankies in them, and as you can see, Disco thinks they are a good place to gather ones thoughts...

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Hill's Global Pet Nutrition Center Tour--Teri's Tale


Teri, the Curlz and Swirlz Personal Assistant aka Roving Repurrter, has been on the Hills' Global Pet Nutrition Center Media Tour, and she would like to tell our furriends, both feline and canine, about what she has learned! She'll probably do 2 or 3 posts about it, just so she keeps it short and sweet, hahameow.

I tried to start the post while on the shuttle bus on the way to the airport since it was a 2 hour drive, but I tend to get carsick if I don't watch the road, so I didn't get much accomplished.

I flew in to Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday, and was met at the airport by Amy Palmer, my blogging friend from Sebastian, the Sensitive Soul blog. We went to lunch for some KC BBQ and a beer, and we talked and talked.

Then we stopped by Amy's place to meet her new kitty, Harvey! Oh, I got to meet Amy's husband, too! Harvey was very soft and quite the 'teenaged' boycat! And her hubbie was nice, too, hahameow!



Amy drove me to the hotel and I settled into the large and comfy room, but I really missed the cats, as I always love seeing them investigate and settle into a hotel room, too. I invited two of my favorite blogger friends, Robin and Angie, to come for a champagne cocktail before we all headed out to dinner.


Dinner was held at the Kansas Museum of History, and after a nice meal and getting to know the presenters and bloggers and writers who were invited on the tour like me, we got to tour the museum... It it reminded me of that movie, A Night at the Museum.



It was filled with all kinds of artifacts and memorabilia from the region, including a haunted train car and an old McDonalds!




Wednesday, we were in classes from 8am to 4pm, listening and taking notes, and asking questions. The President of Hill's U.S. told everyone about Hill's history and mission. We got to hear scientists talk about Nutrigenomics and how Hill's is one of two pet food manufacturer applying Nutrigenomics to develop superior cat products! MeWowZa, I didn't know so much could be learned from a blood sample, telling so much about how cat and dog nutrition can be helped by science!



We got to listen to a veterinary nutritionist (they're as rare as hen's teeth!) and learn how veterinarians and staff can better help evaluate and educate pet owners about nutrition. I learned from other attendees that most of their vets don't even ASK what they are feeding their pets! That made me proud that we ask that of every client every time we see their cat!

We got to learn about Hill's Shelter Partnerships and how they are actively involved in their community, too and how much food they donate when natural disasters occur! 


I learned more about how to read cat food labels and how misleading they can be, too.  I remember years ago attending a nutrition seminar and learning that a pet food label could read exactly the same whether the food was made from shoe leather and crank case oil or from quality ingredients like chicken and natural things like Vitamin E and Fish Oils.

A pet food label is like a recipe card and unless you trust the company and the science behind the making of the food, you can end up with a not so nutritious food. So much of marketing foods is based on pictures on the bags and what us humans think is a tasty dinner.



Hill's said they have been told they are stodgy and their advertising not very exciting or trendy, or that because they are a mega large company with worldwide distribution that people often like to use the new, 'boutique' foods out there...but often they don't have the 'science' behind their recipes. I agree with that. We got to talk to the lady in the following video, who is VP of Product Safety and Quality!



I like the fact that Hill's has over 150 vets, nutritionists and food scientists on staff around the world! Some food companies don't even have veterinarians working for them, and that makes me wonder about how much they know about pet health!

Working for a feline vet and having to call companies and try and find out where they get their ingredients and the work done behind their formulas can be very frustrating! Attending this tour really helped me trust Hill's more. We got to listen to Dr Jewell, a nutrition scientist at Hills, and he spoke lovingly of his cat, Wishful...


He talked about their various diets and why they put in the ingredients they do. While I don't typically feed Science Diet or Hill's foods to my cats, they do get Hills' t/d dental diet as a treat help their teeth and I think it is a healthier treat than many 'junk food' treats and I feel good about that, and I will talk more about the tour of their manufacturing plant that we did on Thursday in my next post.

All studies conducted or supported by Hill's, at the Nutrition Center or in consumers' homes or at veterinary schools, have to meet their stringent criteria to ensure exceptional, high standard of animal care. During the tour this afternoon, that was shown over and over again and I was very impressed.

And none of the testing done on the cats and dogs is invasive, they do not 'create' disease to study,  and they do no studies that require euthanasia at the end of the study. They have animals on site from 1 week old to almost 20 years old and employees can apply to adopt the 'retired' Pet Partners and if they aren't adopted, they can live their lives happy, well cared for and loved by the passionate animal lovers at The Hills Global Pet Nutrition Center!



These next photos are of of the tour of Pet Nutrition Center. What a clean, spacious and state of the art facility! The cat habitats were something I know my cats would like and filled with lots of environmental enrichment furnishings! They even have a retirement cabitat for kitties that can't climb high because of arthritis, or other issues. They have single cat condos with skylights and cubbyholes for cats that are shy or on a special diet,  etc.


Everything is designed with the needs of cats foremost in mind and she especially liked the overhead cat runways with the skylights for sunbathing, and the fact that they set up routes so cats could pass one another and not invade each others space, avoiding traffic jams and 'road rage', hahameow!



And the dogs looked happy and healthy, too, with multiple dog park play areas, nice indoor lounging areas, and large sleeping 'caves' with their names on them. 


The dogs had numerous Dog Parks to romp in and they all looked very happy sniffin' and leaving their pee mail on every post, and splashing around in wading pools! They even have Buddies, employees who come and play with them when they are on breaks, besides their regular caretakers and veterinary technicians who care for them.


They have 420 dogs and 500 cats at the center and a ratio of about 17 Pet Partners per caretaker. I love that the dogs and cats are Partners at Hills'... it's a big part of their philosophy and I felt that commitment in each and every Hill's employee I spoke with on this tour...it wasn't just for show!

And I got to spend time chatting with the lovely Lori Smith and when she asked if I had seen her video for Hill's on hairballs...so of course, I had to come home and google it! Here it is for your viewing pleasure. The outtakes, which unfurtunately you can't see here, included her cat Roady freaking out at the bowl of fur and leaving her scratched and bleeding... but the show still went on!



Disclaimer: Hills paid for my transportation, meals and hotel as part of this media tour, but the opinions, and any I will share over the next few weeks, are mine and mine only. These posts are not sponsored posts, and Hill's did not compensate me in any other way, or even ask me to blog about my visit!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Toesday 'n More!


Of course, those are Disco's toes!

Sphynx cats seem to walk on little 'pillows' 


Even their pads are shaped differently than your typical moggies pads

Makes for a very unique Toesday!

We apologize for not posting any mews for over a week! Teri got busy outside doing yard work as the weather cooled off a bit. and right now, she is actually 'on the road' being a 'roving repurrter' from Topeka, Kansas! 

She was invited to tour the Hill's Pet Nutrition Center and she flew away today! She said she is lonely without us to keep her company in the cushy hotel room, but since she doesn't have to clean house...she is finding time to blog, hahameow!  This is probably what Brighton and Coco are doing while she is away.



Disco, he's kinda sick, so he is boarding at the vet hospital He has been diagnosed with pancreatitis! Yep, his poopy problem wasn't getting better, so he had some bloods stolen and he has tummy issues, maybe even IBD, so he is on lots of meds and needed more care than our pet sitter could give him at home, so he is being babied at the 'cat spa'...


Teri said she checks on him twice a day and he is not happy being confined, but so far no 'clean up on aisle 3' baths have had to happen...she said she will try and post more about what's going on with Disco when she gets back home on Thursday.

And to top off the weeks mews... last Wednesday she was able to trap TomTom (after trapping 2 raccoons and almost giving up on catching TomTom) and she took him into work aka the vet, to be sedated and groomed and dewormed and have his vaccinations. 


He weighed in at 19#!!! and the huge mat just pulled off, kinda looks like Donald Trumps pate, do you think?


He has ear mites, so got a shot for that, and something happened to the tip of his tail and it got about 1/2 inch of skin ripped off the end...they call that degloving.

But it wasn't infected and the vet said it should heal by drying up and falling off!! He got a bath while he was asleep, too and medicine to keep the fleas and worms away (he actually had no fleas or flea dirt on him, amazing!)

Here's a photo of him after he got back home, hanging out in our front yard, which isn't his typical hangout, but Teri let him spend the night safe and warm in the trap covered on our front porch, so for a couple of days, that is where he thought he should hang out!


But last night, he was back on our patio, looking very dapper indeed!


Well, it's midnight, so it's not Tuesday any longer and Teri has to be up early to attend the first Hill's seminar tomorrow. She hopes to learn a lot and she has lots of questions to ask, too. And, a few of her favorite bloggers are there, too! So it's not all work and no play, hahameow!

She promises to let us visit our bloggie friends this weekend, and we'll hold her to that promise! 

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Toesday...


These alien lookin' toes belong to that mutant cat, Disco Nofurno
Teri said she'll try and get a newsy post in tomorrow 
(on Wordless Wednesday, hahameow!) 
but she took these pix last week just for today!

         And these freckled, feminine toesies are the the fashionable footwear of Coco, of course!

And here's what they were doing when Teri took their footie fotos!


Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Thankful Thursday...

Dining al fresco, in Beverly Hills!
These two handsome Mancats are Brinkley and Percy,
of the Campbell clan
(part of our extended family, of course!)

Not-so-Wordless Whisker Hump Wednesday


(Bo, Teri's  cat.. who had very fine Whisker Humps)

You are probably saying that we've been Wordless since way last week...Teri says in between watching the Olympics, shredding purged files and cleaning up Disco every time he uses the litterbox (yep, he's still having ummm, the squitters)...she has not had time to help us blog!


Disco had some lab tests done, since we eat a little raw diet, Teri wanted to make sure he didn't have Salmonella or Campy or Crypto...and those are all negative. So he will start on a gut antibiotic today and hopefully by the weekend, be 'firm' again. Teri said Disco seems to feel fine and is playful, but when he was at the vets, the LVT (who is our petsitter, too!) said he seemed a little subdued...

Oh, he's still plateau'd at 14# 6 oz but he's sticking to the diet and Teri is playing with him every night with the laser light and the Cat-a-Pole (we get to join in too, in fact Brighton is a bit of a toy hog!) and Teri said she is going to try playing with us individually so we all get some action!

Teri's getting ready to trap TomTom so she can take him in to her day hunting place and do a sedated groom on him. She said he has a 'rug' on his back that's as ugly as Donald Trumps hair-don't, and she wants to 'Furminate' him so he will stay warm and dry when winter comes, instead of having a wet mat on his back.

He is so chubby and has such a thick coat, that he never shed out his winter coat and Teri feels bad that when it rains, his coat isn't insulating cuz of that wet mat. They'll give him a good looking over, deworm him and update his vaccinations while he's under anesthesia, too...then he'll be good to go!

We got an award a while back and Teri has to get that posted and passed on still, and we have a couple of reviews to do, too... but it will probably be the weekend before Teri gets around to those secretarial duties (if only we had thumbs)...

We probably won't get to Hop today...it's really fun, so hope our friends get to do some hopping!