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RAVE HERE thread
Started by Jamr0ckin
Fascinating. We didn't free feed as kittens and my boy is considered on the larger size (lean body weight is like 13-14 lbs).
I personally never opted for a tracker. I feel microchips typically suffice as long as the info on them is up to date.
I would recommend buying a collar in store. Cats should have breakaway collars as they can otherwise pose a choking hazard. I like to test the breakaway function irl; too loose and it's going to pop off whenever it wants, too tight and it can defeat the purpose of the breakaway function.
Retweet. Mine like to eat spiders and flies that get indoors which can also carry parasites.
CeeGee14
U.C Davis c/o 2029
I didn't hear this either until I started fostering. We free-feed them dry food-usually Hills or Purina Kitten food-and offer wet food 2-3 times a day. When the kitties turn 1, we switch them to the adult diet and start portioning out food.
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I know someone who swears by using an automatic feeder for cats even as kittens so they never associate you with the food and let you sleep. I have a friend who has used an automatic feeder for a while and the cats do try and have once succeeded in getting it open even though she got the really nice Petsafe one that is supposed to be tamper proof. I used to have to use an automatic feeder for my dog when he had an insulinoma and needed like 8 meals throughout the day and night to keep his blood sugar up, but the Petsafe brand was nice. If the budget becomes an issue though this is definitely a “nice to have but isn’t necessary” type thing to me.
vampyrica
c/o 2030
way ahead of you! already training my facebook marketplace algorithm to show me baby gate listings haha (bye bye my victorian and antique recommendations ): )
we use the P4P plan so once i figure out what the needs are food-wise, i’ll just go ahead and order from there.
good idea! litter box #1 will be in the bathroom and litterbox #2 will be in the office so i’ll find some rugs to put under the boxes
Day 7 of house framing and it is really looking like a house.
vampyrica
c/o 2030
ideally looking for a young adult, so this is perfect! alot of my catsitting clients have timed automatic dispensers and then the cats will also get wet food 1-2 times a day
my cat does in fact wear an apple airtag HAHA it’s def not a necessity but my cat is one to hide and one to run out doors so it just helps me relax. the air tags are a little too big for a kitten tbh.
prevention 100%. i mainly use whatever i could get my hands on for free but if i have a choice, i like bravecto plus because that means she’s only annoyed by me every 60 days rather than than every 30 days. whatever you get, make sure it’s also HW prevention.
a word of caution for the automatic feeders. my cat did in fact learn how to break into them… even after i taped them shut. dont even ask.. idk how she did it.
prevention 100%. i mainly use whatever i could get my hands on for free but if i have a choice, i like bravecto plus because that means she’s only annoyed by me every 60 days rather than than every 30 days. whatever you get, make sure it’s also HW prevention.
a word of caution for the automatic feeders. my cat did in fact learn how to break into them… even after i taped them shut. dont even ask.. idk how she did it.
Between you and pinterest, I have never wanted a custom house more than I do right now
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Bruh...don't do it unless you have a LARGE amount of cash. I'm hemorrhaging money and we have barely started. Tonight's task is to pick faucets, and plumbing fixtures are apparently crazy expensive. And it doesn't help that I have expensive taste...my taste/vision and my budget are at war. Why is a shower head, handle, and sprayer $1,100? And one bathroom sink faucet is $400? Does the dog bath really need a $275 sprayer? We should be in budget on plumbing fixtures because my builder rocks but it hurts seeing the numbers. So glad I went to a cheap vet school and am done with student loans.
I do 100% believe it'll be worth it, but when they say to have 20% over your estimates because it's inevitable you'll go over, they aren't lying.
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This isn't helpful just a funny story related to the tamper proof feeder.
My brother has this feeder that opens with a chip on the kittens' collars but the old cat outsmarted the system. He will stand next to the feeder and somehow summon the kittens who then come and open the feeder. Then he pushes them out of the way and sticks his head in before the door can close and eats all of the kitten food. They bought every additional attachment to prevent this and he just came up with a new method each time. At that point what can you even do lol so since he works from home he basically has to keep an eye on the feeder all day long anyway
I love cats
Suggestions for your cat carrier:
1. Print a copy of your cat's vital vaccination record (e.g., rabies), with emergency information for your cat (ICE telephone number, DVM telephone number, cat's registered microchip number), plus vital information about your cat (e.g., known allergies), and a current photo of your cat showing your cat's physical appearance (e.g., DSH brown tabby cat).
2. Store this vital information inside a flat plastic ziplock bag at the bottom of the cat carrier (e.g., underneath the floor mat in the carrier).
3. On the outside of the cat carrier, you can attach a small tag with your cat's name written on it, plus an optional description (e.g., "Fluffy" female DSH brown tabby).
4. Update this information on an annual basis, or as needed.
TL/DR: Some vital information about your cat can be extremely useful for rapid identification and verification of pet ownership if you or your cat are ever separated from each other due to an unexpected emergency situation or natural disaster (e.g., wildfires, storms, earthquakes).
Rant AND rave here. I have a small tutoring service I run. I have 5 long-term client families, 8 kids in total, all of whom have been with me for multiple years, with two of the older siblings headed off to college this year. I was really hoping a few of them would stay with me on zoom when I moved to New York, maybe so I could have 6-8 hours of tutoring a week. It pays a lot per hour and is a pretty enjoyable job. I'm lucky to work with really great both kids and parents, which I have to imagine is rare.
However... All of the kids want to stay with me. I was sick this week, so we had zoom sessions, and they all liked it way better than the prospect of switching to another tutor. That puts me at 9-15 hours of tutoring a week, if they all convince their parents to go for it. I found a replacement tutor for the two parents who didn't want to do zoom, but the kids want to do zoom. So if all of them go for zoom, that means I either need to cut hours for my biggest client or fire a client. I don't think I should be working 15 hours a week for my first semester.
Any thoughts? Is tenish hours a week of work (from home, low stress) doable my first semester, or am I stabbing myself in the foot? I am glad all my clients love me, and I do generally have excellent time management and study skills, but y'all keep telling me first semester is a beast and I would like to see my horse once in a while.
However... All of the kids want to stay with me. I was sick this week, so we had zoom sessions, and they all liked it way better than the prospect of switching to another tutor. That puts me at 9-15 hours of tutoring a week, if they all convince their parents to go for it. I found a replacement tutor for the two parents who didn't want to do zoom, but the kids want to do zoom. So if all of them go for zoom, that means I either need to cut hours for my biggest client or fire a client. I don't think I should be working 15 hours a week for my first semester.
Any thoughts? Is tenish hours a week of work (from home, low stress) doable my first semester, or am I stabbing myself in the foot? I am glad all my clients love me, and I do generally have excellent time management and study skills, but y'all keep telling me first semester is a beast and I would like to see my horse once in a while.
I worked an average of ten hours a week as a first year. It was possible, but life would have been simpler if I had not done so. My grades likely would have been better if I hadn’t had to split my focus between studying/adapting and work. But I did do it and it was okay so I’d be a hypocrite if I said it was impossible.
I always say can make the time for whatever you want as a vet student, it just depends what your priorities are and what you’re willing to sacrifice to do that thing.
I always say can make the time for whatever you want as a vet student, it just depends what your priorities are and what you’re willing to sacrifice to do that thing.
WildZoo
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This depends entirely on you and your goals and priorities.
10 hours a week of low stress work from home that will also relieve stress in other ways (money) does not sound terrible to me. It may be a good idea to set the boundary that they'll need to be flexible with your schedule depending on your own exams and such.
Personally I'm someone who always needs other things to do in order to be productive at the primary thing. I didn't work a paid job my first semester but I got involved in leadership and volunteering stuff around the school - things that were fulfilling for me, didn't take too much time, but broke up the monotony of studying all the time.
It's also important to consider how much your grades are going to matter for what you want to do in the future. Big difference between chipping away at study time if you just need to do okay, learn the things, and pass vs if you're looking to go for competitive specialty life and top grades will help you get there.
And you're not locked in to anything forever. If you find you're struggling with the commitment, it'll suck but you can always take a step back from some of the tutoring hours. It might be good to let them know ahead of time that this is a possibility. Plenty of people think they have good time management skills and then they find that vet school is a beast to adjust to.
I think we chatted about this a while back. In an absolutely ideal world, I would say don't work, and if you have to, no more than 8-10 hours MAX. However, if you're confident in your time management and you're own personal pressure on yourself it is doable. I was displeased with working my first year because I was working too much, but all of my classes except two were pass fail and I passed them all. It is doable, I just felt miserable.
Gently, and without judgement, it feels like you're hoping we'll say "yeah do it it'll be fine!" and I don't think anyone here will say that. I think dubz and Jayna are right and it's totally dependent on you as a person. I was lucky that with pass fail I didn't have to worry about my letter grades, but if I did I would have quit my job sooner because I want to specialize and it was absolutely taking a toll on me.
That’s fair, I do sound like that. I think the 6 hours is unavoidable but I’m really hoping someone will tell me how many clients to fire… what’s the limit of what I can do my first year? I would consider specializing and I do care about my grades, but it sounds like the consensus is anything over ten hours is unreasonable.
Yes,
I would like to say I could do it all, but I AM genuinely taking the advice of people who have lived this to heart… I just don’t like firing good clients.
I think I’ll put a cap of ten hours a week.
Thank you! I appreciate the input of someone much more experienced than I.
I do care about my grades.
They’ve always been a primary motivator for me and I don’t think that will change.
I also agree with you though— while I can work for twelve hours a day, I can not study for twelve hours straight, so some break from the monotony is not bad.
I am also aware my time management skills will be challenged. I was good in college, but I’ll admit I’ve gotten out of practice in my gap year working 35 hours a week with no school (kinda nice!)
I have a side question related to this— what are the specialties that are considered competitive, and are equine rotating internships, large animal surgery, theriogenology, and large animal internal medicine among them? I really have no idea what I want to do, but would like to keep these options open.
All specialties are competitive. Some may have higher focus on grades than others, but with more and more schools going to pass fail selection criteria can pretty rapidly change. Even within a specialty, one training site may put a much higher focus on grades than another. But it’s much harder to match anywhere if your grades are below average. Just get the best grades you can, make connections, and find experiences that interest you.
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Okay I know I’m clogging the thread so I’m going to ask one more question from all you who have been through the debt paying— how bad of an idea would it be to take out 20-30k in debt when I could graduate debt free if I were able to work? I will also be marrying into ~250k of medical school debt. For those who have been through it, Which is worse, having to work through school or having more debt to pay off?
Again, I think it just depends. Having less debt is excellent and something I’d highly recommend, but perhaps not if it comes at the expense of your performance. But to some performance doesn’t matter aside from Cs Get Degrees and working to minimize debt is a no-brainer for them in that situation.
And it’s hard to know how much is too much until you’re actually in it. You can always try a little work initially and then increase in subsequent years once you’ve adjusted and have a better idea of what you can handle.
Having a high earning doctor spouse certainly makes paying the debt back a lot easier, especially if you control lifestyle inflation the first few years you’re both out making “real” money.
This is what I did. I didn't work first semester and then got a job working 1-2 hours a week second semester. This year I started covering in another department sporadically, and find working more than 5 hours a week to be way too stressful for me. I have 2 friends who work 10-15 hours during the week but leave all their studying for the weekend. I couldn't get through vet school using that method but it works for them. So you just gotta try things out as you go
Final house spam for a while…we’re officially all dried in (except for the garage door). We have a roof, windows, doors, and walls. One hiccup with a window the wrong size that will need fixed when a new window comes in in a few weeks, but it’s been a whirlwind ten days.
The number of nosy neighbors has been astounding. We’re averaging over one person per day driving down my 800 ft driveway to rubberneck at the house. And the house is very visible from the road! But as long as they stay in their vehicle, I guess it isn’t the end of the world until I can get a gate put up.
Eventually the brown raw siding will be painted white and the green areas will be bricked. Posts and patio concrete will go in at the end so they don’t get damaged. And maybe one day we’ll have grass again.
From the road, the house looks a lot bigger than the 2,000 sq ft is truly is.
The number of nosy neighbors has been astounding. We’re averaging over one person per day driving down my 800 ft driveway to rubberneck at the house. And the house is very visible from the road! But as long as they stay in their vehicle, I guess it isn’t the end of the world until I can get a gate put up.
Eventually the brown raw siding will be painted white and the green areas will be bricked. Posts and patio concrete will go in at the end so they don’t get damaged. And maybe one day we’ll have grass again.
From the road, the house looks a lot bigger than the 2,000 sq ft is truly is.
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cardamom23
C/o 2030 IS Waitlist @ WSU
Happy Mother’s Day, mommies of all kinds 💕😻
I could never foster because I get too attached, but my aunt is fostering a mother cat and her four baby kittens. I have been able to spend some time with them and their sweet little faces. So cute I can’t even stand it! The big boy isn’t sure about me, probably because he smells my dog and/or adult cats, but the other ones are super friendly. The orange boy in the back in my best friend. He took a nap on my lap within 5 minutes of meeting me. (Please no quoting the photo.)
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@JaynaAli
A big shout out to you for having the Dream (and the courage!) to build your own home from scatch!
Your home is looking AMAZING!
When I returned home after midnight, my cat was displaying signs of a serious medical problem, including vomiting, straining to urinate and outwardly visible signs of pain and distress.
Immediately called the 24-hour emergency pet specialty hospital, described presenting signs & symptoms to front office, then drove my cat to the hospital.
The DACVECC and RVT initiated prompt care and treatment as soon as my cat arrived.
At all times, these veterinary professionals treated my cat with the utmost of kindness, comfort and care.
They treated my cat as if my cat was a member of their own family.
With them, I was confident my cat was going to receive the very best of medical care!
And, she did!
My cat is recovering at home, with Clavamox and pain meds (confirmed positive for E. coli UTI).
THANK YOU to veterinarians and veterinary technicians, and veterinary staff members whose late-night skills, knowledge, expertise and dedication helps so many pets in the middle of the night!
YOU are appreciated!!!
Immediately called the 24-hour emergency pet specialty hospital, described presenting signs & symptoms to front office, then drove my cat to the hospital.
The DACVECC and RVT initiated prompt care and treatment as soon as my cat arrived.
At all times, these veterinary professionals treated my cat with the utmost of kindness, comfort and care.
They treated my cat as if my cat was a member of their own family.
With them, I was confident my cat was going to receive the very best of medical care!
And, she did!
My cat is recovering at home, with Clavamox and pain meds (confirmed positive for E. coli UTI).
THANK YOU to veterinarians and veterinary technicians, and veterinary staff members whose late-night skills, knowledge, expertise and dedication helps so many pets in the middle of the night!
YOU are appreciated!!!
I'm impressed they had a DACVECC on overnight.When I returned home after midnight, my cat was displaying signs of a serious medical problem, including vomiting, straining to urinate and outwardly visible signs of pain and distress.
Immediately called the 24-hour emergency pet specialty hospital, described presenting signs & symptoms to front office, then drove my cat to the hospital.
The DACVECC and RVT initiated prompt care and treatment as soon as my cat arrived.
At all times, these veterinary professionals treated my cat with the utmost of kindness, comfort and care.
They treated my cat as if my cat was a member of their own family.
With them, I was confident my cat was going to receive the very best of medical care!
And, she did!
My cat is recovering at home, with Clavamox and pain meds (confirmed positive for E. coli UTI).
THANK YOU to veterinarians and veterinary technicians, and veterinary staff members whose late-night skills, knowledge, expertise and dedication helps so many pets in the middle of the night!
YOU are appreciated!!!
I'm glad your cat was treated and hopefully is doing better!
I'm impressed they had a DACVECC on overnight.
I'm glad your cat was treated and hopefully is doing better!
You got weird nightwalkers out there in the world 🤣
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DACVIM was also present because DACVIM met with me before I left hospital and was taking over cat's follow-up care in IM.I'm impressed they had a DACVECC on overnight.
I'm glad your cat was treated and hopefully is doing better!
I bought a cheap-o Bissell vacuum toward the end of 2020 and it finally bit the dust (pun intended). We did some research for an "on the cheap side" vacuum because who has extra money floating around these days. Omg, if you need a vacuum, get this one. The amount of litter, dust, and cat hair this thing pulled up without kicking any of it into the air is INSANE. I'm in love. (This is not an ad, I just hate vacuuming, have cats who don't know what litter mats are for, and hate having to research stuff before buying it).
Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Allergen Lift-Off
Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Allergen Lift-Off
cardamom23
C/o 2030 IS Waitlist @ WSU
There’s something about a drizzly spring morning ... rain pattering on the windowsill and across the leafy foliage, the smell of spring blooms and fresh grass, and warm coffee in your favorite mug to start the day. Deep inhale, exhale. 🙂
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vampyrica
c/o 2030
this is my favorite vacuum ever, and i stand by it. i have to buy a new one bc my partner held onto it at his apartment, and now it doesn't fit in his car for the journey to CO. it lasted so long !!!
On the topic of vacuums, does anyone have a recommendation for a robot style vac (or even combo vac+mop) for daily use? I have a good “big” vacuum for deep cleans, but like having the robot to help keep daily mess to a minimum.
I have a 7 year old Shark robot vac that will need replacing when I move into the new house and I don’t even know what’s on the market now. My dogs aren’t super big shedders and tracking in dirt and grass is usually the bigger problem I need to manage. Mud may be an issue in the new house because of a lack of grass (hence being open to the combo vac+mop).
I have a 7 year old Shark robot vac that will need replacing when I move into the new house and I don’t even know what’s on the market now. My dogs aren’t super big shedders and tracking in dirt and grass is usually the bigger problem I need to manage. Mud may be an issue in the new house because of a lack of grass (hence being open to the combo vac+mop).
I have a roborock that does a decent job. It is a combo vac and mop.
The cheap bissell's last forever. I got mine at a thrift store and it works great lol
supershorty
Don't look so vexed, toots.
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You did it!!!!!!!!
apoptosis09
She/her • tOSU CVM c/o 2029
Congrats!
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catsandsnakes
tOSU CVM c/o 2029
This is my first year seriously birding during warbler migration and I've found 10 lifer species in the span of a week alone, all in my backyard. Every morning I wake up and my backyard is different. Yesterday I got the Tennessee warbler, today the Magnolia, Black-and-white, and Chestnut-sided warblers. Who knows what tomorrow will bring!!!
Updated my address in my pet insurance after living here for a year, and my premium went down 30%, which is awesome but means I've been overpaying for a year!
Thank you! Official on the 22nd!
vampyrica
c/o 2030
applied for a part time job at hot topic. 13 year old me would think 24 year old me is so cool.
(side note: why is it impossible to find any sort of job? literally applied to be a pet bather at petsmart 2 months ago and the application is just lingering. no rejection, nada)
(side note: why is it impossible to find any sort of job? literally applied to be a pet bather at petsmart 2 months ago and the application is just lingering. no rejection, nada)
Cause we are in a soft/hidden recession where the economy is being held up by the 7 big AI companies and nothing else. So everyone else is spooked and hedging their bets on when the AI bubble is going to burst.
I've gotten rejections for maybe 1/5 of the jobs I've applied to. I've had a couple of interviews where they assured me "you'll hear from us either way!" and nope, no rejection, nothing. Isn't it so fun? 🙃
I'm convinced retail jobs are completely luck driven. We have a huge list of applicants at our store but we've been "hiring" since January and we're still understaffed. Corporate requires a certain number of people on each store's roster and we're definitely under that but there's just no time to sit down and actually schedule interviews.
I drive by a data center every day and I've found myself considering how "eat the rich" is a hard sell to people because the top 1 or 2% wouldn't feed very many of us, but maybe if we got creative with it . . .
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