Hey I know it's been months since I've written anything here. Life has been keeping me busy, and offering opportunities that have resulted in some big changes!
In late April, I went back to Costa Rica and spent 7 weeks there, living at my friend's place while she was away and working with the animal rescue Nosara Animal Care. I re-discovered my passion for animal nursing and care, and loved the simple jungle life.
Since then, my friend has decided that she wants to leave to pursue further education, and I was offered the position of Director for the rescue...basically in charge of the daily animal care, rescue and rehabilitation; adoptions and fosters; and organizing/assisting with the monthly spay/neuter clinics. After talks with my partner as to whether this could actually happen...now it is:)
We're moving in a month! The cats are, of course, coming with us. I would NEVER go if I couldn't take them. There's no quarantine there as long as we have the right paperwork and vet exams/vaccines, so I'm making sure we have all of that.
I've started a new blog to talk about our journey here: http://animalrescuenosara.blogspot.ca/
Please subscribe and follow the adventures of Fluffy, Stitches, Yin and Danger (and us!) adjusting to our new life in the little jungle town of Nosara, Costa Rica :)
Thank you again to everyone who followed this blog!
Jeanette
Friday 1 November 2013
Friday 1 March 2013
Danger Play
We didn't make it to the vet last Friday for her suture removal, as I had something come up last minute..but I rescheduled for Monday and we made it then:) She was MUCH better in the carrier this time, I think she's actually getting used to it! She's still scared of the subway, but then again, sometimes so am I:p
Her incision site healed well, she didn't bug at her sutures at all while she was healing, and the technician removed them with no problems. I actually could have done them myself at home, but I chose to be the good client and bring her in for the recheck appt:) She's back to playing normally, running around with the others having crazy kitty time.
But it seems like Danger inherited the chubby kitty gene...she's got quite the belly already! So, since both Stitches and Fluffy have a little extra too, I decided to switch their dry food over to the weight management version of EVO. So it's the same high quality, grain free food, just the adult "indoor cat" version instead of the "cat and kitten" formula.
A note when switching foods for dogs and cats: Even if it's the same BRAND of food, you should still switch over very slowly over 7-10 days. The first day, simply mix a few kibbles of the new food in with the old. Then at the end of the day, or next morning, you'll be able to tell if they're actually even eating the new food or if they left all the different kibble in the bowl. Once you've seen that they are eating the new food, gradually add more over the next few days, so that by the end of the week you have a 50/50 blend. In about 10 days you should successfully be able to feed the new kibble exclusively.
You may think this is a lot of work, or say "I'll just put down the new food and they'll have no choice but to eat it because they'll be hungry!". Wrong. Cats are fussy, love consistency and hate change. They're also stubborn, and you can't typically "starve out" a cat, like some people in the industry say you can do with most dog breeds (though I really don't recommend "starving out" ANY animal as you never know what could happen). If the cat isn't sure about what's in the food bowl, or stressed out by change, they just simply won't eat. The cat's organ functions can begin to seriously fail in as little as 2 days of anorexia (not eating). Here's a quote from an article by Cornell University: "Whatever its cause, anorexia can have a severe impact on a mature cat’s health if it persists for as little as 24 hours. For a kitten younger than six weeks of age, food avoidance for just 12 hours can pose a lethal threat." You can read the whole article here: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/healthinfo/anorexia.cfm
Another important reason to switch food slowly is to avoid digestion issues. Even if you put down only the new kibble and your cat eats it right away, the ingredients in each formula of cat/dog food are different and can cause digestive upset, resulting in vomiting or diarrhea. And who wants to deal with that? This reason is especially important for dog owners too. Even though dogs aren't typically as fussy about their food, switching too hastily to a new formula often causes intestinal issues that can last up to a month or even longer with dogs who have very sensitive digestive tracts. Adding probiotics to their diet can also help with the transition. When I had my dog, and was switching her from kibble to raw (which was a great transition and extended her lifespan and the health of her organ functions!), I added probiotics (DDS plus) to her food. The amount and type of probiotics to add depends on the size of your pet and their overall health, so I would definitely advise talking to your vet before adding any to their diet. I had the bonus of working at a conventional/holistic vet clinic when I was doing this, so I had great advice whenever I needed it:)
Basically what it comes down to is this: Would you rather spend a little extra effort and time to make your pet's food transition a smooth process, or spend a lot of extra cash if something goes wrong by feeding too much new food right away? It's a pretty easy decision, once you're aware of the facts.
In other news, I still have my Indiegogo campaign active, though I haven't had many donations yet:( As people are still recovering from Christmas, New Years, and it's "winter vacation" season, it's probably a difficult time for people to be charitable, which is perfectly understandable! I'll keep it up for a couple more weeks to see how it goes. The money that's been donated so far will be saved in my "animal rescue" fund, and I'll add any amount I can save over the next few months to add to my airfare funds. I'll get there eventually! I've also been looking into other places to volunteer, and possible opportunities with World Vets:)
Here's the link again, if you know of any generous animal lovers: http://igg.me/p/329086/x/1971336
I also added a new perk of pet photo sessions:)
Also, there's been a Fluffy purring ON MY LAP during half of the time that I've been typing this :D
I've taken a couple more videos! One is of Danger playing in the cat tunnel, still one of her favourite games...and one of Yin playing in a box to get out a piece of plastic, which I later took away from her so she didn't try and eat it:p Here are the links:
http://youtu.be/NUHCQL9zObk
http://youtu.be/oVBDao3gd1w
Enjoy the cuteness!!!
Her incision site healed well, she didn't bug at her sutures at all while she was healing, and the technician removed them with no problems. I actually could have done them myself at home, but I chose to be the good client and bring her in for the recheck appt:) She's back to playing normally, running around with the others having crazy kitty time.
But it seems like Danger inherited the chubby kitty gene...she's got quite the belly already! So, since both Stitches and Fluffy have a little extra too, I decided to switch their dry food over to the weight management version of EVO. So it's the same high quality, grain free food, just the adult "indoor cat" version instead of the "cat and kitten" formula.
A note when switching foods for dogs and cats: Even if it's the same BRAND of food, you should still switch over very slowly over 7-10 days. The first day, simply mix a few kibbles of the new food in with the old. Then at the end of the day, or next morning, you'll be able to tell if they're actually even eating the new food or if they left all the different kibble in the bowl. Once you've seen that they are eating the new food, gradually add more over the next few days, so that by the end of the week you have a 50/50 blend. In about 10 days you should successfully be able to feed the new kibble exclusively.
You may think this is a lot of work, or say "I'll just put down the new food and they'll have no choice but to eat it because they'll be hungry!". Wrong. Cats are fussy, love consistency and hate change. They're also stubborn, and you can't typically "starve out" a cat, like some people in the industry say you can do with most dog breeds (though I really don't recommend "starving out" ANY animal as you never know what could happen). If the cat isn't sure about what's in the food bowl, or stressed out by change, they just simply won't eat. The cat's organ functions can begin to seriously fail in as little as 2 days of anorexia (not eating). Here's a quote from an article by Cornell University: "Whatever its cause, anorexia can have a severe impact on a mature cat’s health if it persists for as little as 24 hours. For a kitten younger than six weeks of age, food avoidance for just 12 hours can pose a lethal threat." You can read the whole article here: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/healthinfo/anorexia.cfm
Another important reason to switch food slowly is to avoid digestion issues. Even if you put down only the new kibble and your cat eats it right away, the ingredients in each formula of cat/dog food are different and can cause digestive upset, resulting in vomiting or diarrhea. And who wants to deal with that? This reason is especially important for dog owners too. Even though dogs aren't typically as fussy about their food, switching too hastily to a new formula often causes intestinal issues that can last up to a month or even longer with dogs who have very sensitive digestive tracts. Adding probiotics to their diet can also help with the transition. When I had my dog, and was switching her from kibble to raw (which was a great transition and extended her lifespan and the health of her organ functions!), I added probiotics (DDS plus) to her food. The amount and type of probiotics to add depends on the size of your pet and their overall health, so I would definitely advise talking to your vet before adding any to their diet. I had the bonus of working at a conventional/holistic vet clinic when I was doing this, so I had great advice whenever I needed it:)
Basically what it comes down to is this: Would you rather spend a little extra effort and time to make your pet's food transition a smooth process, or spend a lot of extra cash if something goes wrong by feeding too much new food right away? It's a pretty easy decision, once you're aware of the facts.
In other news, I still have my Indiegogo campaign active, though I haven't had many donations yet:( As people are still recovering from Christmas, New Years, and it's "winter vacation" season, it's probably a difficult time for people to be charitable, which is perfectly understandable! I'll keep it up for a couple more weeks to see how it goes. The money that's been donated so far will be saved in my "animal rescue" fund, and I'll add any amount I can save over the next few months to add to my airfare funds. I'll get there eventually! I've also been looking into other places to volunteer, and possible opportunities with World Vets:)
Here's the link again, if you know of any generous animal lovers: http://igg.me/p/329086/x/1971336
I also added a new perk of pet photo sessions:)
Also, there's been a Fluffy purring ON MY LAP during half of the time that I've been typing this :D
I've taken a couple more videos! One is of Danger playing in the cat tunnel, still one of her favourite games...and one of Yin playing in a box to get out a piece of plastic, which I later took away from her so she didn't try and eat it:p Here are the links:
http://youtu.be/NUHCQL9zObk
http://youtu.be/oVBDao3gd1w
Enjoy the cuteness!!!
Thursday 21 February 2013
Danger's Surgery....and some cute videos!
Last Friday I brought Danger into the vet for her spay surgery, since all of her bloodwork came back normal:) The vet did a little exam while I was there on Friday morning, and she *did* hear a slight heart murmur. Very mild, and she's been healthy at home. I double checked that the drugs they'd be using are heart-safe, and they were. You see, there are certain pre-anesthetic and induction drugs that are harder on heart function, and though they are safe to use on healthy animals, it can be more risky to use them on patients with preexisting issues. Since we don't know the cause of Danger's murmur, it's best to use the heart safe drugs, and the vet obviously agreed. They also monitor vitals during the surgery so I felt secure in letting them go ahead with the procedure:) If the murmur is still present in a few months, it will be worth doing an ultrasound to determine the cause. A lot of the time, cats can develop small murmurs as kittens that resolve themselves as they become adults. Here's hoping that's what her murmur is!
I was having coffee with a friend in that area, so I told them I'd be around if anything happened. They called around 11:30am to say that she had her surgery, did very well and was recovering nicely! I was to pick her up later that evening, around 6pm. I had also arranged to bring Fluffy in for her nail trim and clip a couple of matts...so the next challenge was to get Fluffy into a cat carrier. The last time I did this, she was still quite feral and I literally had to set a trap for her, using treats as the bait. Now, seeing as I can pet her and she'll even sit in my lap, I was going to try just picking her up and putting her in the carrier. (This is when you laugh at me).
I was also developing a migraine, which didn't help me in efficiency or speed when trying to negotiate getting her into the carrier. Well, it took two tries. The first time, I started brushing her and gave her a treat, then picked her up and *almost* got her all of the way into the carrier, but she freaked out and ran away. She hid under the futon in the cat room, and at that point I figured I was done. "Under the Futon" is her safe place. It's where she stayed all the time when I first got her, where she had her babies, and where she now hides whenever anyone comes over. But after a few minutes of shaking the treat bag and showing her the brush, I convinced her to come out:) This time, it was a tiny struggle, but I managed to get her into the carrier and close the door behind her. Success! She meowed and scratched at the door, but I kept telling her I wasn't going to leave her there, that she was going for a quick visit and coming right back home:)
She was perfect for the technician, letting her trim nails and shave the few matts away from the areas on her lower belly and chest that she wouldn't let me brush out. I was very happy that they were able to do it, and I feel better knowing her nails aren't too long or ingrown.
We picked up Danger, who was still groggy from her meds but doing well. Since there were now two cats and two carriers, Dan met me at the vet clinic and we just took a cab home:) Danger settled in pretty well, though both Fluffy and Yin hissed at her a bit for the first day. Stitches didn't seem to care much either way...he's pretty easy going and I'm sure he was just happy it wasn't HIM who had to go the vet! They had given Danger an injection of a pain medication called Metacam, which lasts about 24hrs, and she still was feeling the affects of the other drugs the next day. She's been eating, drinking and doing all the normal things since:) The last couple days she's been more active as well, playing with the other cats like usual. She has a couple of sutures, and we're going to the vet tomorrow for a quick recheck appointment and suture removal.
So I discovered that it's pretty hard to snap a quick picture of Fluffy, since she's so fast and on alert all the time...leftover skills from living in the wilds of Toronto for a year. But there's video! She hasn't learned to run away from that one, yet. So today while we were all chilling out in the attic, I managed to take a couple of videos of the cats:) For some reason blogger wouldn't upload my videos, so I put them on You Tube. You can view them by clicking the links below!
http://youtu.be/MvbY72xPkfQ
http://youtu.be/p-Toww5Ch-M
They aren't on the "Public" view list, so you can only view them by clicking those links. If you want to share the videos, feel free to share my blog or copy the links :)
I'll update again this weekend once Danger's sutures are removed!
I was having coffee with a friend in that area, so I told them I'd be around if anything happened. They called around 11:30am to say that she had her surgery, did very well and was recovering nicely! I was to pick her up later that evening, around 6pm. I had also arranged to bring Fluffy in for her nail trim and clip a couple of matts...so the next challenge was to get Fluffy into a cat carrier. The last time I did this, she was still quite feral and I literally had to set a trap for her, using treats as the bait. Now, seeing as I can pet her and she'll even sit in my lap, I was going to try just picking her up and putting her in the carrier. (This is when you laugh at me).
I was also developing a migraine, which didn't help me in efficiency or speed when trying to negotiate getting her into the carrier. Well, it took two tries. The first time, I started brushing her and gave her a treat, then picked her up and *almost* got her all of the way into the carrier, but she freaked out and ran away. She hid under the futon in the cat room, and at that point I figured I was done. "Under the Futon" is her safe place. It's where she stayed all the time when I first got her, where she had her babies, and where she now hides whenever anyone comes over. But after a few minutes of shaking the treat bag and showing her the brush, I convinced her to come out:) This time, it was a tiny struggle, but I managed to get her into the carrier and close the door behind her. Success! She meowed and scratched at the door, but I kept telling her I wasn't going to leave her there, that she was going for a quick visit and coming right back home:)
She was perfect for the technician, letting her trim nails and shave the few matts away from the areas on her lower belly and chest that she wouldn't let me brush out. I was very happy that they were able to do it, and I feel better knowing her nails aren't too long or ingrown.
We picked up Danger, who was still groggy from her meds but doing well. Since there were now two cats and two carriers, Dan met me at the vet clinic and we just took a cab home:) Danger settled in pretty well, though both Fluffy and Yin hissed at her a bit for the first day. Stitches didn't seem to care much either way...he's pretty easy going and I'm sure he was just happy it wasn't HIM who had to go the vet! They had given Danger an injection of a pain medication called Metacam, which lasts about 24hrs, and she still was feeling the affects of the other drugs the next day. She's been eating, drinking and doing all the normal things since:) The last couple days she's been more active as well, playing with the other cats like usual. She has a couple of sutures, and we're going to the vet tomorrow for a quick recheck appointment and suture removal.
 |
| Danger playing with Stitches on the weekend :) |
http://youtu.be/MvbY72xPkfQ
http://youtu.be/p-Toww5Ch-M
They aren't on the "Public" view list, so you can only view them by clicking those links. If you want to share the videos, feel free to share my blog or copy the links :)
I'll update again this weekend once Danger's sutures are removed!
Monday 11 February 2013
The working world and back again
Apologies for not updating sooner. Today is my *first* weekday off to myself since the new year began! During the whole month of Jan, and the first week of Feb, I was working as a wardrobe assistant for an indie film. It was an interesting experience, and a good introduction to the world of making movies. But the hours were very long and I missed being home with the cats, for sure.
However, the job did ensure I would be able to get the kittens spayed very soon! In fact, I'm taking Danger in to the vet tomorrow for her pre-anesthetic bloodwork. If that all checks out, she'll get spayed on Friday. For the bloodwork, they check liver and kidney functions, proteins, glucose levels...all the main factors, which is great. It also gives a base line of her "normals" so that if she has any issues in the future, they can look back at those numbers. It's really important to get these blood tests done before undergoing any anesthesia, for animals and of course for us humans, too! I know a lot of clinics have it listed as an "elective", and give the owners the choice...and I also know it costs extra money that we don't always have. But what if your pet had underlying kidney or liver issues (the organs which metabolize anesthetic drugs)? It could seriously compromise their ability to recover, or even survive the procedure. I know from my experience working as a vet tech, this HAS happened to pets before. So, I'll do everything in my power to make sure all the bases are covered and my kitties are safe to undergo anesthesia :)
Now that my "safety" rant is complete, I'm delighted to say that Fluffy has gotten even braver:) She'll now come right up onto my lap to get cuddles! She won't really lay down on my lap, but she'll sit on me and stay there a while. She also really loves to be brushed, but I can't brush her belly yet...and of course that's where I've felt a couple little matts. I'm going to take her into the vet on Friday when I pick up Danger, to get her nails trimmed (another thing she won't let me do) and get those matts cut out. She's fine at the vet, being one of those cats who just freezes...not one who lashes out. I have many scars from those types of cats, for sure:p
Speaking of my time as a vet tech, I'm really excited about the possibility of going overseas to volunteer for an animal rescue who truly needs more skilled help! I've actually even just started an Indiegogo fundraising campaign, offering some of my photography as perks for people who donate. Check it out here:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/329086
If you can help, it would be amazing! Even just sharing with your family and friends...the more people who know about it, the more potential donations:)
In the meantime, I'm of course looking for more work to save up money as well! But I'd love to be able to go soon, before I become invested in another full-time job.
Here's some recent kitty pics!!
I changed phones recently, and am now using an older version of the iPhone. Transfering pictures with it kinda sucks:/ But I'll try and get some more up very soon!
Ohhhhh....I also just found out about this helpful Webinar "Helping Cats in your Community" by AlleyCat Allies:
http://www.alleycat.org/Webinar
Looks like it will be very informative!!
However, the job did ensure I would be able to get the kittens spayed very soon! In fact, I'm taking Danger in to the vet tomorrow for her pre-anesthetic bloodwork. If that all checks out, she'll get spayed on Friday. For the bloodwork, they check liver and kidney functions, proteins, glucose levels...all the main factors, which is great. It also gives a base line of her "normals" so that if she has any issues in the future, they can look back at those numbers. It's really important to get these blood tests done before undergoing any anesthesia, for animals and of course for us humans, too! I know a lot of clinics have it listed as an "elective", and give the owners the choice...and I also know it costs extra money that we don't always have. But what if your pet had underlying kidney or liver issues (the organs which metabolize anesthetic drugs)? It could seriously compromise their ability to recover, or even survive the procedure. I know from my experience working as a vet tech, this HAS happened to pets before. So, I'll do everything in my power to make sure all the bases are covered and my kitties are safe to undergo anesthesia :)
Now that my "safety" rant is complete, I'm delighted to say that Fluffy has gotten even braver:) She'll now come right up onto my lap to get cuddles! She won't really lay down on my lap, but she'll sit on me and stay there a while. She also really loves to be brushed, but I can't brush her belly yet...and of course that's where I've felt a couple little matts. I'm going to take her into the vet on Friday when I pick up Danger, to get her nails trimmed (another thing she won't let me do) and get those matts cut out. She's fine at the vet, being one of those cats who just freezes...not one who lashes out. I have many scars from those types of cats, for sure:p
Speaking of my time as a vet tech, I'm really excited about the possibility of going overseas to volunteer for an animal rescue who truly needs more skilled help! I've actually even just started an Indiegogo fundraising campaign, offering some of my photography as perks for people who donate. Check it out here:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/329086
If you can help, it would be amazing! Even just sharing with your family and friends...the more people who know about it, the more potential donations:)
In the meantime, I'm of course looking for more work to save up money as well! But I'd love to be able to go soon, before I become invested in another full-time job.
Here's some recent kitty pics!!
 |
| Fluffy sitting on my lap! Stitches is on Dan's lap:) |
 | |
| Sitting very silly-like while cleaning her tail. So cute! |
Ohhhhh....I also just found out about this helpful Webinar "Helping Cats in your Community" by AlleyCat Allies:
http://www.alleycat.org/Webinar
Looks like it will be very informative!!
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