Meet Priscilla

This little stray kitten I've named Priscilla. Cute isn't she? I think she's going to be a long-haired cat.

She was brought in about 10 days ago. This past Monday was a week. To be euthanized.
I am not certain what her story was, or what really happened to her. I was told she was a feral kitten rescued from the jaws of the German Shepherd. And maybe she was, I don't know. I kept saying, "Really?" with 1 eyebrow raised. I look at the kitten. "Really?" Look again. "Really?"
No puncture wounds. No bite wounds. More importantly, NOT covered in dog slobber.
"Really?"

She was paralyzed in her rear legs. Couldn't stand up. But she did have some sensation in them, as she could feel you pinch her toes.

So I asked the lady who brought her in, "Do you want to keep her?" "No".
"Do you want to treat her?" "No". Well, that doesn't leave many options, I'm afraid.
"So you want to euthanize her?" "I guess so." So she paid to have her euthanized.

On day 1, that was a possibility.
But, it doesn't mean that I have to euthanize her right then, there, that minute. She didn't seem to be in a lot of pain.

So, Priscilla and I had a little talk later. Who didn't have a name at the time.
"Little Girl", I said.
"Sir?", she said.
"Are you in pain? Do you want to be euthanized today? Or had you rather hang in there for a few days and see if you mend?", I asked.
"Well, I can't feel my back feet very well, or move them at the moment, but other than that, I'm just peachy", she replied. "Would you mind terribly expressing my bladder? Girl's got to go pee-pee."

And so I did. Twice a day.

By Friday, she could move her left rear leg, a little more than the right one. Still couldn't stand though. This week she started standing. You can see her short videos I shot today.

She's not back 100 percent yet, as you can see her knuckling under her feet, so she still has some proprioceptive deficients (ie, she doesn't know exactly where those feet really are). But I think she'll get there eventually.










Also, while I was uploading the videos to youtube, the world's greatest encyclopedia :), I came across a really well done, sweet video of a kitten who passed away from feline leukemia. I am not embedding it in this link. But if you follow the link below to my blog, it is in a post below this one.

It's really worth watching. It'll make you cry, make you laugh, make you appreciate your pets while you have them with you.

Upgraded Version of Granite Hills iPhone / iPad App and Daneville 2013.

Yes, it's true.   The updated version of Granite Hills App is available, if you haven't noticed.  It has a few more links than the first version.  Information links that I think you'll find helpful and useful.

You can challenge someone to a game of Tic Tac Toe.  One person can be Lucky and the other Priscilla.

There is a screen of websites and social media sites. You can browse photos and information till the cows come home. Or your battery dies. Whichever comes first.

I have to update the Android version, and will get around to it shortly.   Most of it will be the same on the Android version, except there is no Lucky vs. Priscilla on the Android version.

Oh, and if you are local and looking for something to do this weekend,  there is a Great Dane Festival on Plantation Road.   

DANEVILLE  2013.  

Saturday and Sunday-  10 AM -ish to 5 PM- ish.  Anyone is welcome.  Any dogs are welcome as long as they are friendly and are on a leash.   1288 Plantation Road.  Plantation Road is a few miles out of Elberton, off Hartwell Highway.

If you want  to GPS the location-  1288 Plantation Road,  Elberton, Ga 30635


They are having a fundraising auction, benefitingGreat Dane Rescue.  Along with T-shirt sales, and  Photos taken of your Pet.    If you have ever tried to photograph your own pets, you know how difficult that is, so it might be worth a trip just to have someone else take the photos.    All proceeds going to Great Dane Rescue.

Priscilla Today

Well, Miss Priscilla is officially up for adoption this evening. I uploaded her information, photos, links, videos, etc. to Petfinder. It takes a few hours or a day for her to show up in the system.

It appears in the photo above that Carrie is supporting her back legs. But she is really just keeping her still for the photo. Her legs work fine, but she is going to have to be an outside cat, I think.

If you want to see all her photos together on one page, click on this link to see all three blog posts on 1 page. Notice how much she's grown in a month from her 1st photos.

New Scratching Pad

I bought a new scratching pad yesterday for the Cat Room since Priscilla is confined in there most of the time because of her incontinence issues. Maybelline, Sunshine, and Leon have one in another area of the hospital that they use fairly often.

Well. Crabby Lil Miss Sunshine decided to try and claim this one as her own. Finally I had to lock her out of the room while Priscilla had a turn.

I shot this with my little digital camera and I am not sure why some segments came out so dark and others were fine. I tried to edit the segments in imovie, but that didn't improve them much. I apologize about the darkness, but I think you can see what is going on.

Priscilla Update 2/3/09

I have gotten a few emails the past few days asking about Priscilla. Okay, maybe more than just a few, lol.

She continues to improve and doesn't knuckle under her feet like last week. Even started climbing up the bars on her cage door. She's still a little incontinent, not totally though. She might be a special needs kitty. Might have to live outside, where urine leakage isn't quite an issue vs. inside. Or have to have her bladder expressed once or twice a day to keep her from getting a urinary tract infection. But that is easy to do, and she doesn't object to it. I am still hopeful it will improve as well.

So, as to not make her adoring fans wait any longer. . . .
Video #1-


and Video #2-

Priscilla- 5/4/10

Here are some photos and a short video I shot earlier this week of Priscilla.  I thought you might be interested to see them.

 I got a few inquiries about her last week.  Which was unusual. 2 in one day.  It seems her petfinder link made it to some other sites for handicapped pets.

One suggested and insisted that I contact Best Friends in Utah. So I did.  Mainly to be polite, as I knew they wouldn't be able to take her.  They have enough animals out there to take care of.  They did send advice on how to care for an incontinent cat inside one's home.

Another asked about adopting her, and since I didn't have any new images of her, I shot these.  She isn't the easiest cat to photograph or try to catch on video as she wants to run right up, see what you are doing, and chew on the string handle or play with the dangling lens cap.

The video was to show how well she walks.  Not perfect as her rear feet slide out from under her a bit, but it could be worse. She can run, climb, etc. Just can't groom herself back there very easily. 

Painting of Luna on Yupo

Karen Weidert is an online artist friend of mine who resides near St. Louis.  She volunteers with the Clowder House Cat Foundation in St. Louis.   As I've mentioned before, I am working on a calendar project with some of Karen's photographs.

Here is her website, by the way. 


Luna is her personal cat, and I think she adopted her from Clowder House as well.

Lurve this Photo

So I decide to paint Luna for the calendar as well.  I also decided to flip the photo, mainly because the painting of Latte has her positioned on the right. Luna can go to the left.

Luna, 5x7 inches, varnished watercolor on Yupo

I'll admit, I love the reference photo, for the dramatic lighting, but I am not totally happy with this painting.  I didn't like the rattlesnake zombie pupils in the photo, so I decided to paint them similarly to another photo where the pupil was a little larger and a little more round. That might have been a mistake.

I've been looking at the eyeballs of Maybelline, Sunshine,  Leon, and Priscilla all morning. One can't glaze on Yupo without moving the color underneath, so I might play with it in photoshop, and add a little glaze of fluid acrylic to the eye(s), before it is varnished. But not too much glazing as I don't want to loose the lightness of the blue-green color.  Or I might paint her again, one never knows.

Have a nice weekend, Everyone.

Yoda and Priscilla Today

People on Facebook were requesting another video. . . .
It went something like this-


We're bored.  We're hungry.  Can you make us something to eat?  
And bring it to us while we lounge here in the lounge chairs? 
We don't have anything to do. Entertain us.  Shoot another video of the cats.

My little digital camera takes okay photos, but the video on it is a not so great.  So I took my camcorder to the office this afternoon.  It does better in low light situations.  Yoda and 'Scilla were playing in the cat room this time. 



(note to self- next time, remove that cat litter or whatever is stuck to her rear end . . . )

She's Back!

Now, I know the word is that Lucky has been telling the other ladies at the Ladies Auxilary that she went on vacation for a few days in Williamsburg.  

But, the truth is. . .  she had "a little work done."  It's true. You know. . .  the usual. Nose Job. Face Lift. Boob Job. Ass augmentation surgery.

Now, one can BE an asshole, and that it totally free.  It won't cost anyone a dime. 
But, let someone NEED an asshole. . . and that is another story entirely. Be prepared to spend bookoo big bucks.   Lucky returned from "vacation"this afternoon.

This is the "I hate this lampshade thing" look.  Just in case, you can't tell.

So now we wait.  Antibiotics, Stool softeners, Pain meds. Sutures come on in 2 weeks.  There still can be problems down the road-  megacolon, chronic contipation, fecal incontinence.  

Priscilla was happy to see her but even she wasn't digging the satellite dish as you can hear her hissing and growling at Lucky in the video.



Thanks again to everyone for her donations.  If this had happened 10 years ago, surgery would not  have been an option due to the expense.  So thanks to Facebook, Twitter, and other Social Media sites for making it all possible. 

And while Lucky doesn't appear thrilled in that lampshade pic, I am sure she is smiling on the inside.

She had enough money in her fund to cover the surgery with a little left over to cover any rechecks and followup.   Sundown Surgery and the Grace Fund are two of my favorite pet charities, along with Old Dog Haven (love them), so if down the road you find yourself looking for funds to make donations to, please keep them on your list.   While there aren't too many other Lucky's out there with her problem, fortunately, there are other pets who find themselves needing surgery to fix a medical problem (foreign bodies, trauma cases, orthopedic cases) and an owner who can't always make the finances work out on such short notice.  That is where the GRACE FUND and SUNDOWN SURGERY fund can step in to help. 

The Latest on Ms. Yoda

My apologies.
I realize that I haven't shared the latest photos and videos of Yoda over the past 2 or 3 weeks.  I have too many irons in the fire . . .  photos and videos. . . . going in different directions. . .  facebook, twitter, petfinder, etc.   That got shared everywhere but here. 

So today, y'all get treated to a Super size post of Yoda.  She is off her bottle as of yesterday.  I listed her on petfinder last week, I think.  But so far, no takers. Don't all raise your hands at once.  :)

Y'all saw her first photos sometime the first of August.  

These photos were from the 17th.

This video of her is also from the 17th.



If you have been following along on Facebook, then you've seen me over the last month whining about my Coffee Woes.  I drink coffee.  It's my vice- that and Diet Cokes/Pepsi.    Anyway, one day, Carrie was headed to Walmart to pick up the usual supplies-  paper towels, cat litter, etc.  And I was out of coffee.  So I asked her to pick some up.  I don't consider myself a coffee snob.  I don't buy the most expensive coffee. Nor the cheapest.  I buy somewhere in the middle.  I've bought 8 O Clock brand in the past.  Now I like the Bi-Lo brand, Southern Home Roasting Company.   So I suggested 8 O clock and figured Walmart would have that one.  Well, they didn't.  And Carrie doesn't drink coffee.


(Note to all you out there-  Never EVER let a non-coffee drinker buy coffee! )

So she brings back Maxwell House.  Like a 5 gallon bucket full of the stuff.  And I've been drinking it, rather than throw it out.  Mixing it with the BiLo brand, Doctoring it up with Cream and Splenda, etc.
And I was finally able to empty the container.  And put it to a more practical purpose.




Last Friday, I recorded Yoda and Priscilla playing around the office.




A little light reading while muti-tasking earlier this week. . . . 

A Little Fun with the Roomba, Wheee!




So if you know of anyone that might want to adopt a long haired black kitten, I know where one can be found.

Perhaps, I'll put

Lucky and Priscilla in charge of cleaning the food bowls. 



Have a nice weekend.

Herman Must Die

If you have been into the office during the past week, you've seen Leon walking around with a clipped spot over his left shoulder.

Leon, back in 2007. 

That's where his little buddy Herman lives.

Leon is my oldest hospital cat.  He's somewhere around 16 now, we guesstimate.  We aren't sure.  He was brought in to be euthanized way, way, WAY back in 95.  So we think he probably was born in 1994.  16 for a cat is about the human equivalent of 80, for a pet his size, if you are wondering. So he's no spring chicken. 

And I am always sort of watching for him to be doing like most old cats-  weight loss, drinking lots of water, urinating too much-  all the signs of old cat problems-  kidney failure, diabetes, hyperthyroidism.  There has been a few times that he didn't want to eat his food, which is highly unusual for him.  But he got over that.

It was probably 2 weeks ago I was petting him and felt something that shouldn't be there. Located under the skin and over his left shoulder blade.  Maybe a little larger than a golf ball, sort of oblong.  It's under the skin but I can pick it up. At this point I don't think it's attached to muscle.  It's close though.  It isn't raised much so it's sort of tough to see in the photo, but you can definitely feel it.

And since Leon is forced to live with a bunch of women- Priscilla, Maybelline, and Sunshine-  he chose to name his little friend Herman.  A little male bonding, you know how it is.

So, what to do, what to do about Herman?
For a 16 year old cat, do you do nothing? Watch for signs of pain, and eventually put him to sleep?
It probably depends on where Herman is,  what Herman is attached to, and how large Herman is.

Some places, some attachment, or with lymph node involvement, removing it isn't possible.
Some tumors are so large that trying to close the wound is a problem.
Then there's the whole issue of a 16 year old cat under anesthesia.

So, I've decided since Leon is fairly healthy otherwise for 16, and since Herman is hopefully not attached to much, to try and laser him off tomorrow at my Cousin's hospital with his fancy "big city" laser.   Herman might be malignant, with a high recurrence rate, something like fibrosarcoma.
Leon might have complications from anesthesia- and it that's the case, then I'll deal with that at the time.   Passing away under anesthesia, doesn't seem much different than being euthanized really.

I am gonna try and minimize the risks by giving him a low dose injectable anesthetic,  top it off with an inhalant anesthetic that doesn't have to be metabolized (it's just breathe in, and breathe out), and maybe use local anesthetic as well.

What's nice about the laser, is that it zaps tissue as it cuts.  No bleeding, no lymphatic drainage that might reseed  tumor cells, and zaps the nerve ending so less pain upon waking up.  

Hopefully, Leon will still be here this time tomorrow.  Without Herman.

If so,  he'll show you his scar and you can tell him how cool it looks.  He'll like that.

Bo Needs a Home- Pointer? Spaniel? Mix

This guy wandered up to a clients home last week. She sent me his photos to put on PetFinder so I thought I would share them with you.

She calls him Bo.



I thought about giving him a cool philosopher type name- like Socrates. Or Plato. But spell it PlayDough.

He's about 6 months-1 year old. Medium size, looks like a bird dog mix. Very friendly, plays with their other dogs. He weighs about 40 lbs. and is 22 inches at the shoulder. We don't think he will get much larger, if any.




If you know anyone who might be interested in adopting him, give me a holler.


PS. Scraggs found a new home last week. Priscilla and I sort of missed him for a few days.
He came back in yesterday to get neutered. He has a new name as well- Bach.

Lucky got her sutures removed yesterday

Hi all.

Lucky got her sutures removed yesterday. 

 

Her updates might become less frequent now, as the fun stuff is over with.  Right now,  we are on poop monitoring and no one wants to hear about that.   Her discharge instructions are posted below.  Click on the photo and it should enlarge a little making it easier to read.  

As  it says, Lucky nows 2 distinct tubes. One for urinating and one for pooping.  At the very caudal aspect, (closest to you if you are looking from behind) both open into a common area where the tissue didn't heal together.  A little pocket there.  

It might be handy for carrying change for the bus, perhaps.

She doesn't have much muscle tone to her anal area. She did before surgery.  That might return.  In the literature with dogs, some regained continence but only after several months.  So now, we are just waiting and watching to see if she urinates and poops in her litter box.  She has been urinating in the box and pooping there some of the time.  We aren't sure how much of the pooping is a conscous effort. Even if she is fecal incontinent, that is still better than Priscilla's situation where she ('Scilla)  has to have help expressing her bladder twice a day, and is fecal incontinent. 

Lucky still has to get spayed. So the plan is to wait a few weeks to let her get over this, and then spay her.  Once she is older, and larger, with healthier perineal tissues,  we might try to close the pocket at that time.  It depends on if she is able to keep the area clean on her own.  She can live with a little change purse there.  There is an increased risk of getting a urinary tract infection in the long run.  But if you didn't have a urinary tract infection before surgery from pooping through too tiny of a single opening as if it were squirt cheese, then that doesn't seem too terrible of a concern either.  

 

I'll probably spay her before looking for a forever home for her, or a foster home.  It might depend on the poop situation.  Below is a video of her around the office yesterday afternoon.   

 

Thanks again for all your help. And drop me a note if you find yourself suffering from withdrawal of Lucky updates.  Someone suggested a litter box webcam.  Where you can see "progress" as it happens.  

 

I'll think about that one. . . . . .not.

The March Issue of Shelter Pet Magazine.

Hi all. The March issue of Shelter Pet magazine is finally out.

 Yeah, we sort of skipped February. and almost skipped March as it took forever to put together.

 Priscilla is on the cover. Here's the link in iTunes.  The pdf is also available at MagCloud.com and at Gumroad,  if you want to read the issue on your computer, or download and sync the pdf to your Android device.

If you download the issue, and have a free half minute, leave a comment or rate it in the App store.  Apple tends to like it when people comment on apps, I think.   Thanks. 

Newt, Scraggs, and some Talented Sheep

Here's Newt. Sorry this is a tad blurry. 6 week old Lab in for his puppy vaccination.



Then we have more Scraggley photos from yesterday.




Chillin' with the neighbors.



Just realized that someone lives in the apartment below.


"How YOU Doin'?", said in his best Joey from Friends voice.



Priscilla checks out that "suspicious foot" hanging from the penthouse above, just seconds before it comes flying by. Fast towards the floor.




and lastly, the best video I think I have seen in awhile. It's worth sharing so I am passing it along. I hadn't seen it before, maybe you haven't either.

I might soon have enough cats to attempt this myself . . . . *sigh*. The dogcatcher stopped by yesterday and he has 5-6 kittens looking for homes, for several weeks, so it looks like I stuck with Scraggs for awhile. *sigh again*

Enjoy the Sheep.

'Scilla today

I let Priscilla run around the office for a few minutes this morning since no clients were coming in. The first place she goes to is Leon's scratching pad with catnip in it. Scratch, scratch, scratch. Sometimes she just lounges on top of it.

Lucky has a thing for Brunettes

Shih Tzus it seems.

Since putting Leon to sleep in July, no one has claimed his chair in the exam room.  Lucky is about the only one who'll sit in it while clients and patients are in there.  Sometimes he is so in the way, that he has to have time out in his own cage during office visits.  When clients aren't here, sometimes Sunshine or Priscilla are sitting or snoozing in it.

But strange things started happening a few weeks ago.  When Holly came in for annual checkup.

 Holly is a Shih Tzu, 5, maybe 6? years old now.  She has several middle nicknames- from Cockeyed to Jumps like a Frog- but the one that has stuck the most is McNasty.  She got that one as a puppy when she devoured a dead rat carcass before anyone could get it away from her.

Holly McNasty.

-

So Holly was on the table and Lucky proceeds to get on the table too.  And starts getting all amorous as if he is Pepe LePew.  Rubbing on her, grabbing her leg, etc.
 





So the next week another little Shih Tzu comes in. This time it is Chloe who is about 13.  She is getting a haircut.  and the same thing happens again.

Merry Christmas to All

Well, it looks like we are winding down towards the Holiday.  Some boarders came in yesterday, a few more arrive on Friday.  I have  few more things to buy.  A few more things to make.  A cluttered house to clean by Saturday night.  Ugghh.   My Mother announces this past weekend that she and Dad are staying at my house on Saturday night.  I'm sure she does it just to aggravate me.  So I have to suck up the Taj Mahal of spider webs out of the spare room with the vacuum cleaner.  If I don't make it out alive, tell the coroner and Channel 11 film crew to look for my body in that room.


I poured up homemade vanilla extract last night for little gifts.  It has to sit for 6-8 weeks to cure, so people can use it by March. Maybe.

 It's vodka and/or Bourbon with vanilla beans in it, poured up in little Jelly Jars. 

Then Ms. Ellie came in for a bath today.  Y'all have seen her several times since she was a puppy.  Don't tell anyone, but some say she's the prettiest and sweetest dog around.  That's what they say.

Her hair has grown out from when it got cut off by the groomer back in the summer.  That was a tough day all around.  Ellie was overjoyed. And cooler.  The rest of us cried like little school girls.

(Okay, I cried like a little school girl.  No fibbing right here at Christmas. )

 You know how you do when you pick up a sweater or scarf made out of cashmere?  You say the word "cashmere"  in sort of a sigh, as if it something rare, treasured, and precious, and immediately want to rub it on your cheek.

Ellie's the same way.  She's all fluffy and fuzzy, and smells like shampoo.  She's like the ultimate pillow pet and you just want to nap on her.

I'm sure this happens to her all the time. 

(You should visit more often, Ms. Ellie. Preferably about 2 in the afternoon, okay?)


And then the surveillance video captured this mischievousness by Little Miss Sunshine.

There is a folding chair in the exam room.  It usually has a slip cover on it.  Leon, the old hospital cat, claims it as his own.  If a client sits their purse in it, Leon wanders in, sits and stares at it until someone moves the purse.  So he can get up in the chair for a better view, a petting, a treat, or all the above.  If a client sits in the chair, the same thing happens.

So the slip cover was getting fairly grungy with cat hair and all, so we changed it to a clean one.  And 5 minutes doesn't by before crabby Miss Sunshine is in there christening the clean slip cover. . . . take a look.

Lastly, I doubt I'll be posting again before the holiday, (that spider web is huge)  so I just want to take the time to wish you a Merry Christmas and  Happy Holidays.  If you are traveling, be careful.  Be safe. Stay warm. Stay dry.  Spend time with family and friends and make memories if there are little ones around.    2010 has been a tough year for some people and their families, so here's wishing 2011 will be better, whatever the case may be.  

Thanks as usual for reading my gibberish and spending time here. 

Merry Christmas everyone,  

From Me , Daisy, Leon, Maybelline, Sunshine, and Priscilla 

Feline Leukemia- Video on Youtube

While I was uploading the short little videos of Priscilla, I came across this video of LoverBoy, a kitten who succumbed to Feline Leukemia back in Nov 2006. It's really well done, and I had to share it.

(12/10/10- I need to clarify something when I said this was well done.  This video originally had a different background musical track.  And then the video wasn't available for a long time.  I suspect it was pulled by youtube for a copyright violation of the music.  Now it's back with a different soundtrack.   I'm not a fan of the new music, but I still like the video sequences. In case you are wondering, about my "really well done" statement" as if I have totally lost my mind.)