All About Our Pets(Pics, Advice, Etc)

[Gwenevre]

Found two more fleas on fleabag kitten. Becoming more paranoid and keep thinking I feel bugs on me. I don't have the authority to apply flea meds to the kittens on my own, but definitely going to pick up some for my own cat tomorrow. Both kittens see the vet on Tuesday and I will definitely push for a re-treatment or a more effective treatment.

Now flea bag is staring at me in bed wondering why I don't wanna pet him.

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[vetmedhead]

Now flea bag is staring at me in bed wondering why I don't wanna pet him.

He may just be curious about his new name.

 

[Gwenevre]

He may just be curious about his new name.

I'm actually really pleasantly surprised at him. Spent almost an hour flea hunting as I found 4 more on him. Between the different holds and grasps and basically manhandling my poor fleabag, he just wanted more pets and scratchies before scuttling off.

 

[that redhead]

A while back 2 of our hens went broody (which my mom hated because they "stole" a whole bunch of eggs, pretty much have tied up our egg production for some time). But I wanted to let them sit, since one of them is actually a 2nd-generation silkie cross who hatched here last year (plus who doesn't love seeing new chicks hatch ) Went to check the chickens after I got home from work and discovered one peeping hatchling, still a tiny bit wet! I don't know if any of their other eggs are viable/close to hatch (hard to look since these 2 angry hens have decided to share one nest box for some reason...) a few looked pipped but I didn't hear anything so those may just be cracked.

Sorry for sucky pic quality, it's what I took on the fly to send to my family. The hen on left is the one that was born here (the red one may even be her mom? one of the red hens is), the chick is an ameraucana unrelated to either of them...they're sitting on a pile of mixed eggs.
View attachment 207194

 

[Cephal0pod]

I way underestimated how much fun it would be to have a betta, love our little dude. He's such a delightful little fish. Whirling around trying to target train him, just to see if I can.

 

[Gwenevre]

Friend and I are giving the kittens dawn soap baths. The sheer number of fleas that are popping up is astounding

 

[hazelmoo]

Friend and I are giving the kittens dawn soap baths. The sheer number of fleas that are popping up is astounding

I used to use ivory on my fosters to kill the scragglers. SO MANY FLEAS!

 

[Gwenevre]

I used to use ivory on my fosters to kill the scragglers. SO MANY FLEAS!

What amazes me most is that I CAMNOT FIND A STORE WITH A FLEA COMB IN STOCK. Not Walmart, not target, not Kroger. Local pet stores are closed this last on a Sunday. So I grabbed a cheap lice kit with a nit comb.

 

[Gwenevre]

What amazes me most is that I CAMNOT FIND A STORE WITH A FLEA COMB IN STOCK. Not Walmart, not target, not Kroger. Local pet stores are closed this last on a Sunday. So I grabbed a cheap lice kit with a nit comb.

Which, big surprise, it doesn't work well at all.

 

[Gwenevre]

I used to use ivory on my fosters to kill the scragglers. SO MANY FLEAS!

I'm vacuuming my room like mad right now. And my mattress. Glad I haven't let them into the living room. Though who's to say that a flea or two hasn't jumped on me...

 

[DVMDream]

I feel like I could make a little cat IQ test and give it to people.

• Has your cat even eaten shampoo?
• Has your cat ever tried to jump into the toilet after you flushed it?
• Has your cat ever gotten into a fight with a couch and lost?
• Has your cat ever gotten confused by curtains?
• If yes, did the confusion about the curtains then make him angry?

If you answered no to all of the above questions, congratulations! Your cat is smarter than my cat.

1. No
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. Don't have curtains, blinds in the windows, not confusing for kitty. Kitty can actually navigate the windows very well. She has gotten stuck in a plastic bag though and ran around the house terrified of it because it was stuck to her.


Has your cat ever licked an electrical outlet?

 

[vetmedhead]

1. No
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. Don't have curtains, blinds in the windows, not confusing for kitty. Kitty can actually navigate the windows very well. She has gotten stuck in a plastic bag though and ran around the house terrified of it because it was stuck to her.


Has your cat ever licked an electrical outlet?

He has, unfortunately. That's probably the closest he'll ever get to being bright.

Today he also got extremely confused by me walking around the house and proceeded to go wild for like an hour. I think that's standard cat stuff though.

 

[DVMDream]

He has, unfortunately. That's probably the closest he'll ever get to being bright.

Today he also got extremely confused by me walking around the house and proceeded to go wild for like an hour. I think that's standard cat stuff though.

Oh good my cat isn't the only electrical outlet licker. Maybe we should start an outlet lickers anonymous club?

 

[vetmedhead]

Oh good my cat isn't the only electrical outlet licker. Maybe we should start an outlet lickers anonymous club?

I've had several cats that could join! Can they also be members if they compulsively eat electrical cords and shock themselves?

 

[WildZoo]

My cats both do the thing where they absolutely lose their minds after they poop. With Gandalf it's not so weird because he loses his mind at various points during the day, but Cindy is usually a pretty calm cat. So if she starts running around like she's being chased by a ghost, you know she just pooped (and the ghost is the smell, probably).

 

[Caiter92]

Our dog is jaundiced and we don't know why her appetite was a bit down this weekend, and she vomitted three times since Friday, but she was still acting herself --playing, stealing socks, not lethargic at all. She is a lab, so she tends to be dramatic when she doesn't feel good, so we waited to take her to her normal vet this morning. I feel awful.

My mom is with her at the vet, and she's waiting for the radiologist interp of the x-ray and to see if we can get her in for an ultra sound today to see more what's going on. The vet didn't see any obvious masses in her liver, so that's good. But so worried and kicking myself for not going with my mom to the vet I'm moving Thursday and I don't want to be so far away from her when she's sick

 

[PrincessButterCup]

Our dog is jaundiced and we don't know why her appetite was a bit down this weekend, and she vomitted three times since Friday, but she was still acting herself --playing, stealing socks, not lethargic at all. She is a lab, so she tends to be dramatic when she doesn't feel good, so we waited to take her to her normal vet this morning. I feel awful.

My mom is with her at the vet, and she's waiting for the radiologist interp of the x-ray and to see if we can get her in for an ultra sound today to see more what's going on. The vet didn't see any obvious masses in her liver, so that's good. But so worried and kicking myself for not going with my mom to the vet I'm moving Thursday and I don't want to be so far away from her when she's sick

I'm sorry Caiter.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

Just realized my foster kittens are 5 weeks old

I'm excited for them to all go to new homes so I can reclaim a bit of my sanity, but I didn't realize they were so close to being old enough. They are such cute balls of fluff and I'll miss them. And the two mama cats . . . If I had the space to keep them, I would. I hope they can find a home that will take both of them.

How long is it generally a good idea to keep kittens with their mother? The range I've heard is 6-8 weeks. Is it best to wean the mother slowly - remove one kitten, wait a little, remove another, wait, remove the last one?

 

[Caiter92]

I'm sorry Caiter.

Thanks, PBC. There were no obvious masses on the X-ray, and the referral hospital closest to us could get a radiologist out today for an ultra sound, so I met my mom there and Lola is currently hospitalized while we wait for the radiologist to come out.

My stepdad is being an ass about everything since she's older, which isn't helping.

Really, really hoping it's something treatable causing this

 

[PrincessButterCup]

Thanks, PBC. There were no obvious masses on the X-ray, and the referral hospital closest to us could get a radiologist out today for an ultra sound, so I met my mom there and Lola is currently hospitalized while we wait for the radiologist to come out.

My stepdad is being an ass about everything since she's older, which isn't helping.

Really, really hoping it's something treatable causing this

That might just be his way of dealing with the stress of her being sick, but it definitely doesn't make things any easier. Hopefully the radiologist has good news for you!

 

[vetmedhead]

Just realized my foster kittens are 5 weeks old

I'm excited for them to all go to new homes so I can reclaim a bit of my sanity, but I didn't realize they were so close to being old enough. They are such cute balls of fluff and I'll miss them. And the two mama cats . . . If I had the space to keep them, I would. I hope they can find a home that will take both of them.

How long is it generally a good idea to keep kittens with their mother? The range I've heard is 6-8 weeks. Is it best to wean the mother slowly - remove one kitten, wait a little, remove another, wait, remove the last one?

I don't know if it's necessary to remove the kittens from their mother, as the momma cats tend to do the weaning process themselves and will start to push the kittens away from her when they try to nurse. You can try separating the kittens from the momma for an hour or two as they get older just so she has some space to herself for a while, but I wouldn't do a permanent removal or anything.

Have your kittens started on solid food of any kind yet? If not you may start introducing them to it gradually so that when they are weaned they aren't confused by their food. Most people will mix kitten milk replacer with food and make a kind of kitten mash out of it for them to eat, then gradually remove the milk replacer.

But again, your kittens are still young, so I would just let momma cat do her thing right now and not mess with them. Believe me, they usually make it really clear when they want their little babies weaned and off of them lol. 6-8 weeks is pretty average, though I have seen some momma cats start the weaning process as early as 4 and some nurse as late as 9/10 weeks.

 

[vetmedhead]

Just realized my foster kittens are 5 weeks old

I'm excited for them to all go to new homes so I can reclaim a bit of my sanity, but I didn't realize they were so close to being old enough. They are such cute balls of fluff and I'll miss them. And the two mama cats . . . If I had the space to keep them, I would. I hope they can find a home that will take both of them.

How long is it generally a good idea to keep kittens with their mother? The range I've heard is 6-8 weeks. Is it best to wean the mother slowly - remove one kitten, wait a little, remove another, wait, remove the last one?

Also how long do you have the kittens for? We usually have our fosters hang onto them until they hit 2 lbs, but they sometimes were out longer if they were sick or had ringworm.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

I don't know if it's necessary to remove the kittens from their mother, as the momma cats tend to do the weaning process themselves and will start to push the kittens away from her when they try to nurse. You can try separating the kittens from the momma for an hour or two as they get older just so she has some space to herself for a while, but I wouldn't do a permanent removal or anything.

Have your kittens started on solid food of any kind yet? If not you may start introducing them to it gradually so that when they are weaned they aren't confused by their food. Most people will mix kitten milk replacer with food and make a kind of kitten mash out of it for them to eat, then gradually remove the milk replacer.

But again, your kittens are still young, so I would just let momma cat do her thing right now and not mess with them. Believe me, they usually make it really clear when they want their little babies weaned and off of them lol. 6-8 weeks is pretty average, though I have seen some momma cats start the weaning process as early as 4 and some nurse as late as 9/10 weeks.

They have dry kitten food available to them but I haven't seen any of them try it yet. Mama is still nursing them, and hasn't shown any signs of trying to wean them. The kitten mash is a good idea!

My coworker was fostering a litter from the same place as mine. When her kittens hit 6 weeks she sent them off to their new homes, so I thought I'd do something similar. I haven't started advertising them yet and don't have any prospective owners right now.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

Also how long do you have the kittens for? We usually have our fosters hang onto them until they hit 2 lbs, but they sometimes were out longer if they were sick or had ringworm.

I don't have any timelines that I need to follow. I'm not sure how much they weigh right now - they feel really tiny, and I don't think they're more than 1 pound, but that's just guessing.

 

[Caiter92]

Ultra sound showed Gallbladder issues most likely, and she needs surgery and hospital care, and my stepdad doesn't see the point since she's 11 and he thinks she'd pass sooner than later anyway. But the ER vet thinks she's stable and in good shape and would make a full recovery unless additional complications arose.

I okayed the surgery and am paying for it. Stepdad is a bit upset (partially because he doesn't think I should and mainly because he feels awful he doesn't want to do it/feels like they can't afford it), but oh well.

Not the best case scenario, but definitely not the worst. We're going down to see her in a bit and they'll do surgery in the morning.

 

[vetmedhead]

I don't have any timelines that I need to follow. I'm not sure how much they weigh right now - they feel really tiny, and I don't think they're more than 1 pound, but that's just guessing.

An average kitten will put on about 0.25 lbs a week, so your five week old kittens would likely be a little over a pound if they haven't had too many issues.

Interesting that they go to new homes after they are weaned. Our cut off was 8 weeks/2 pounds because that's when they were big enough for us to do surgery on them and adopt them out. We were also in an area with a huge pet overpopulation/stray problem though, so we never sent unaltered animals home with people unless there was a medical reason for us to be unable to do surgery on them.

What type of organization are you fostering for, a kitty rescue? Where I worked I'm used to keeping animals with one foster until they can 100% be adopted out, but I know some other places move animals around between foster homes sometimes so I was just wondering.

Five weeks is a little early to be weaned. The only time we've had kittens weaned at 4-5 weeks was if they didn't have a momma (so we wanted to get them on solid food more quickly) or if the momma was really not cut out for the whole kitten thing and tried to wean the babies super early. From my understanding they can't really even handle solid food until around the 4 week mark anyway, so weaning them that early was usually a matter of a foster having a difficult time bottle feeding the around the clock.

I would try feeding them some kitten mash and see how they like it. I'm told if you mix it up really well and put some on your finger they may be more likely to try it initially than if you just have it in a bowl, since nursing kittens don't really understand what bowls are yet. Just be careful to not overdo it.

 

[vetmedhead]

Ultra sound showed Gallbladder issues most likely, and she needs surgery and hospital care, and my stepdad doesn't see the point since she's 11 and he thinks she'd pass sooner than later anyway. But the ER vet thinks she's stable and in good shape and would make a full recovery unless additional complications arose.

I okayed the surgery and am paying for it. Stepdad is a bit upset (partially because he doesn't think I should and mainly because he feels awful he doesn't want to do it/feels like they can't afford it), but oh well.

Not the best case scenario, but definitely not the worst. We're going down to see her in a bit and they'll do surgery in the morning.

Sorry that you're going through all this! It's definitely frustrating trying to help a pet when other people involved in its care don't want to do the same. Out of curiosity, has your stepdad had dogs before? I know some people who have never really had a certain kind of pet before can get extra squirrely when their pet approaches its senior years and they may not react well to major (but treatable) health issues. My own stepdad was the same way when my 17 year old cat kept getting bladder infections. You may just want to talk to him about not feeling bad that you're covering the surgery and seeing how he's doing.

Anyway, wishing you and your dog the best.

 

[Gwenevre]

Sidebar, I picked up some flea meds for my own cat. I admittedly got cheap stuff because it's rent paycheck (fipronil in a store-branded box). How long should I wait before cleaning the residue it left on her fur? It's a noticeable white-ish spot.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

Are you having the surgery done at WSU? Do you get any sort of student discount yet?

I'm hoping for the best for you and your pup! That's not an insignificant amount of money, and I'm not sure what I would do in your situation. Hope all goes well tomorrow!

 

[Caiter92]

Sorry that you're going through all this! It's definitely frustrating trying to help a pet when other people involved in its care don't want to do the same. Out of curiosity, has your stepdad had dogs before? I know some people who have never really had a certain kind of pet before can get extra squirrely when their pet approaches its senior years and they may not react well to major (but treatable) health issues. My own stepdad was the same way when my 17 year old cat kept getting bladder infections. You may just want to talk to him about not feeling bad that you're covering the surgery and seeing how he's doing.

Anyway, wishing you and your dog the best.

He's always been weird about money. if she was younger, this wouldn't be an issue, but I can see where he is coming from. If she was in poor health before this, my mom and I probably wouldn't opt to put her through surgery either. But she's not, and was still trying to steal my socks this morning before my mom took her in even, so we just can't do that. She was really happy to see us when we went to visit, and my stepdad softened about it and is on board now. I'm still paying, but I'd be surprised if he didn't try to help now.

 

[Caiter92]

Are you having the surgery done at WSU? Do you get any sort of student discount yet?

I'm hoping for the best for you and your pup! That's not an insignificant amount of money, and I'm not sure what I would do in your situation. Hope all goes well tomorrow!

No I'm still in Seattle, so it's at a referral hospital here. But I think WSU speciality stuff is actually a bit more expensive than over here, so I don't know how much the student discount would have helped.

Yeah, it's definitely a lot of money. If it wasn't for having been in a position the last two years where I was able to save almost everything I made since I was living at home my only big expenses where car and cat related, I wouldn't be able to do this. I'm probably going to have to take out a few extra thousand in loans over what I was planing on this year to make up for what I'm using in savings for this. Not ideal, but I'm okay with it.

And thank you!

 

[Caiter92]

Sidebar, I picked up some flea meds for my own cat. I admittedly got cheap stuff because it's rent paycheck (fipronil in a store-branded box). How long should I wait before cleaning the residue it left on her fur? It's a noticeable white-ish spot.

We always told people to wait at least 48 hours After applying flea meds to bathe. Hope your own kitty doesn't get fleas and the kittens can get something else tomorrow. Fleas are the worst!

 

[vetmedhead]

Sidebar, I picked up some flea meds for my own cat. I admittedly got cheap stuff because it's rent paycheck (fipronil in a store-branded box). How long should I wait before cleaning the residue it left on her fur? It's a noticeable white-ish spot.

I would wait a few days. Normal grooming may even make it less noticeable by that time anyway.

I've also seen some articles about fleas potentially developing a resistance to fipronil, so I would still keep an eye on your kitty for fleas just in case.

 

[Gwenevre]

The kittens were much better in terms of fleas today. They both got two Dawn baths yesterday, and one today. Only found one dead flea on one kitten during bath today.

 

[LadyOtheFarm]

They have dry kitten food available to them but I haven't seen any of them try it yet. Mama is still nursing them, and hasn't shown any signs of trying to wean them. The kitten mash is a good idea!

My coworker was fostering a litter from the same place as mine. When her kittens hit 6 weeks she sent them off to their new homes, so I thought I'd do something similar. I haven't started advertising them yet and don't have any prospective owners right now.

I think legally animals weren't allowed to be adopted out to new homes before 2 lbs and 8 weeks in CO. (It might not have been legal, it might have been a mandate from the board that oversaw rescue organizations in CO, but I thought it was the law.... like 90% sure)
We had a few rescues that came through with puppies for Spay/Neuter that were obviously too young, and as mandatory reporters, we always had the debate. We normally would just talk to them, sure they were still just trying to do the best for the animals, but my pup was one that came from a place that just pushed puppies through ASAP and fudged records to make it happen "legally."

But, that was the rules near me. They made a bunch in recent years because of so many new rescues being made and not all working for the pets best interest.

 

[hazelmoo]

You guys

 

[PrincessButterCup]

I think legally animals weren't allowed to be adopted out to new homes before 2 lbs and 8 weeks in CO. (It might not have been legal, it might have been a mandate from the board that oversaw rescue organizations in CO, but I thought it was the law.... like 90% sure)
We had a few rescues that came through with puppies for Spay/Neuter that were obviously too young, and as mandatory reporters, we always had the debate. We normally would just talk to them, sure they were still just trying to do the best for the animals, but my pup was one that came from a place that just pushed puppies through ASAP and fudged records to make it happen "legally."

But, that was the rules near me. They made a bunch in recent years because of so many new rescues being made and not all working for the pets best interest.

I'm not fostering through any humane society or rescue organization. These cats belonged to a client from work, and she surrendered them to me.

 

[LadyOtheFarm]

I'm not fostering through any humane society or rescue organization. These cats belonged to a client from work, and she surrendered them to me.

Fair. I always kept them until 8 weeks even if I was just bottle feeding them and when I was a tech doing private rescue work in Idaho, but I wanted to get them through 2 sets of shots because we had some nasty outbreaks at the time. (Actually still had one die a day before the second round of shots and 4 days before they were going to a new home. I was sure it was because the tech who was managing all the kittens in iso didn't understand why I wanted her NOT to pet my kittens no matter how well she washed her hands... but I could have just as easily been the fomite.)

I was also a bit sad to let them go and that was part of my excuse to snuggle a bit longer.

 

[Caiter92]

I see lots of kitten talk but no kitten pictures, @PrincessButterCup

 

[vetmedhead]

Fair. I always kept them until 8 weeks even if I was just bottle feeding them and when I was a tech doing private rescue work in Idaho, but I wanted to get them through 2 sets of shots because we had some nasty outbreaks at the time. (Actually still had one die a day before the second round of shots and 4 days before they were going to a new home. I was sure it was because the tech who was managing all the kittens in iso didn't understand why I wanted her NOT to pet my kittens no matter how well she washed her hands... but I could have just as easily been the fomite.)

I was also a bit sad to let them go and that was part of my excuse to snuggle a bit longer.

4 million% agree on the vaccines. We could never be sure if our animals would ever see a vet again after getting adopted (I mean, many do but you can never really be certain) so we kept the animals through most of their early vaccine rounds.

Infection control can be so hard for little kitties. Managing fomites/direct contact is hard enough, but some diseases also just shake you and you get very scared for the kitties in your care. I remember once we had a feline panleukopenia scare and all I could think were how many cats we had in our care who could have gotten it.

 

[Gwenevre]

Kitten pictures?

Juniper, Bandit, and Sly. I have the orange boys for one more week. Hoping to get them out of my bedroom for a couple of days, but I dunno how my cat will react.

 

[Caiter92]

BABIES!!!

 

[vetmedhead]

Kitten pictures?

View attachment 207580 View attachment 207581 View attachment 207582
Juniper, Bandit, and Sly. I have the orange boys for one more week. Hoping to get them out of my bedroom for a couple of days, but I dunno how my cat will react.

Which one's fleabag?

 

[Gwenevre]

Which one's fleabag?

Bandit! After 3 Dawn soap baths and actual dropper flea treatment, he got a real name lol.

 

[Gwenevre]

I feel bad sometimes, since I keep the fosters in my bedroom; I don't spend too much time in my bedroom. They're both fairly social, but I keep thinking and feeling bad that I don't spend more one on one time with them. But it's either them in the bedroom or my cat in the bedroom, so it's a catch 22.

 

[LadyOtheFarm]

4 million% agree on the vaccines. We could never be sure if our animals would ever see a vet again after getting adopted (I mean, many do but you can never really be certain) so we kept the animals through most of their early vaccine rounds.

Infection control can be so hard for little kitties. Managing fomites/direct contact is hard enough, but some diseases also just shake you and you get very scared for the kitties in your care. I remember once we had a feline panleukopenia scare and all I could think were how many cats we had in our care who could have gotten it.

The year I remember most, we had a trapped feral tom that they had been trying to bring in for weeks that turned out to be the first orange female I had ever seen, and she was near term pregnant. Her milk had come in, her vulva looked like things were progressing and the owners said they didn't want to know if she was pregnant.

I told the doctor, if the kittens have fur, I'll raise them and find them homes. I cut 4 orange fluffies out of the uterus. Only 3 recovered from the anesthesia.

I worked long shifts, so brought them back and forth to work with me. We had an outbreak of panleukopenia, several FIV and FIP kitties, and a ton of parvo puppies (stocked iso) and bordetella in the neighborhood around the clinic. They got to stay in a whole separate area and I stayed away from all infectious cases or made the kennel tech feed them so I could shower and change before touching them. I was super paranoid since they didn't get colostrum. But, like I said, one didn't make it anyway.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

Ignore the mess . . . The cats have destroyed my room.

All girls, two tabbies and one lynx point. The mama pictured is Nina.

Lynx point now has a hernia that has to be dealt with. As if their start to life wasn't rough enough, right?

 

[PrincessButterCup]

Marvel at my wonderful photography skills! The darn fuzzballs move so quickly, and my phone's camera is pretty grainy.

 

[PrincessButterCup]

And Stella!

 

[Caiter92]

Aww, poor baby! Hope the repair goes well.

They're all so cute! Glad you were able to get them out of there.