BY ELAINE WEXLER-MITCHELL
If you own a cat,
you know they love to chew on plants. Bouquets containing lilies are especially
common during spring and Easter. Lilies are probably the most dangerous flower
that cats can accidentally ingest. U.C. Davis veterinarians note that while all
plants of the Lilium genus should be considered extremely hazardous to cats,
calla lilies and peace lilies, which don't belong to the Lilium genus, are
harmless to cats.
Lilies
contain a chemical that damages the kidneys. All parts of the lily plant are
potentially toxic, so if you suspect that your kitty has chewed one, get her in
for immediate veterinary treatment. If therapy is started within 18 hours of
ingestion, the prognosis for recovery is good. The sooner treatment is started
the better. Vomiting can be induced if you know your cat ate some lily within
an hour. This helps prevent absorption of the toxin.
Calla lilies are
one of two varieties (the other is the peace lily) that are NOT toxic to cats
if ingested. Be sure to keep all plants that could be toxic out of your cats'
reach. If you're uncertain, check out the American Society for Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals' website.
Fortunately,
most houseplants are safe, but it is good to know resources listing toxic
plants. One of the best is through the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Even if a plant isn't toxic, many plants are irritants
and will trigger vomiting in cats.
If your cat
goes outside, you likely have seen her eat grass, then vomit. Why would a cat
intentionally eat something that she knows is going to make her vomit? There
are several theories as to why cats eat plants, but most veterinarians think
plant eating provides fiber to cats. Wild cats are meat eaters; eating plants
gives them fiber to help with digestion and helps hair pass through their GI
tracts – it's a natural hairball remedy. Many owners grow "cat grass"
for their indoor cats to fulfill their cat's desire to eat plants.
You can do
a few things to prevent plant chewing in your home. Some pet-deterrent products
can be put in soil to repel cats. Use a water spray bottle to startle your cat
when she approaches a plant you don't want her to chew. Pet-motion detectors
that sound a horn and blow air can be put around plants. Ground ginger or cayenne
pepper rubbed on leaves can create an adverse taste that will keep some cats
from chewing. Some people just keep plants in rooms that are off-limits to
their cats.
I always
lose the battle in my home to keep my cats away from plants and flowers. My
cats even like chewing silk plants. I use Yuck repellant spray on the silk
plant leaves. I don't keep live plants around. If I have flowers that are safe
for cats, I put them in an area my cats cannot reach. Since both of my cats are
seniors, they are unable to jump as high as they used to.
Cats can
live safely with plants, but it is a good idea to check for possible toxicities
before you choose plants or flowers for your home. And it's best to keep lilies
out of your home if you have cats.
The
girls continue to make us laugh. Sunday
we cleared out the cat beds, kitty condo and misc furniture from our bedroom so
that I could shampoo the carpet. Kevin
put wheels on the kitty condo several years back which makes it easier to
maneuver. However, the girls get real
concerned when their “stuff” gets moved around.
Binks immediately staked out her place on the kitty condo as if to say
“Hey, that’s mine—what are you doing with it?”
Today, everything was moved back and Binks
once again is reigning on the penthouse of the kitty condo. Spirit was delighted to see that their heated
cat beds go back in next to my night stand and get plugged in. Yeah, heated cat beds—its rough being a cat
in our household!
Ahhhhhhhhhh,
springtime in Dixie. Or shall I say
ARGH*(&%^%%$! The flowering trees,
shrubbery and flowers are about six weeks early and are breathtaking this time
of the year. Literally—breath taking
(cough-cough). The pollen counts in our
area have been in the red (high) since about the beginning of February. I believe we are in for a lonnnnggggggg hot
summer. Our pets also suffer from these
allergies and they don’t even have to go outside to be affected. Cats and dogs suffer with hot spots, uncontrollable
itching etc. To help prevent problems
for our fur babies as well as ourselves, you should wash all exposed skin as
soon as you come indoors. If your dog
suffers, It may help if you take a damp cloth and go over their fur and feet to
help minimize the effects. Don’t pet
your cats or dogs until you do so. Even
though you may want to open windows to let in fresh air remember you are also
leaving in tons of pollen. Before living
in the loft downtown; we had a clothes line and we loved the scent of freshly
laundered bed linens, towels and clothing dried outside. Then I realized it was causing all kinds of
health issues.
Warm
weather also brings out critters such as the black-and-white kitties of the
world aka SKUNKS! Living in the suburbs
does not protect you from skunks. The
Crestwood area is renovating their park and they tore down a bunch of trees and
undergrowth that were home to a host of snakes, raccoons, opossums and yep, the
dreaded SKUNK. I noticed a dead baby
skunk on a side street in Crestwood about early February so beware! The editor of Pet Sitters International
magazine, Ellen Price warns us of such perils and she swears by the recipe to
deskunk your pet.
1 quart Hydrogen Peroxide
¼ cup Baking Soda
2 tablespoons of Dishwashing Liquid
Mix all ingredients together and use immediately, as the mixture
doesn’t keep. Sponge the solution over
the pet, avoiding eyes, nose and ears.
Use an eye lube or mineral oil to protect eyes and nose if needed. Let the solution soak on the fur for 5 to 10
minutes then rinse with warm water.
Repeat if necessary and follow with regular shampoo if desired.
Happy Spring and keep well!
Pets
like structure and schedules. An example
of this is that after Kevin and I eat breakfast I then make up the bed. Our girls, Binks and Spirit wait patiently or
impatiently at times for me to put the spread and all the pillows on the
bed. I then put Baby’s “Chicago Bear”
blankie on Kevin’s side of the bed.
Baby climbs up the stairs to the bed and heads for her blankie. By this time, Spirit has her “crazy” eyes and
I ask, Spirit, do you want to play?
Meorw she answers. Are you sure
you want to play? Meorrrwwww! What do you want to play with? She then leads me to the secretary where
their wand toys are kept. Do you want to
play with your boxing wands? Meoorrrwww! Where are they? She then stand up on the secretary and
stretches her paw up to the door. I open
the door and pull out their favorite two (don’t ask how many they have). Do you want to play with these boxing
wands? Meeoorrrrrwwww! And she leads me
back to the bed for playtime.
Both
cats and dogs are very quick at picking up stuff and usually 2 or 3 times
becomes habit. If our schedule is
changed for some reason; their whole morning is off kilter.
I
love to be able to turn off the two alarms on the clock on Friday when I don’t
have early morning clients to care for but unfortunately one can’t turn of the
“cat alarm”. The girls don’t care if it’
a weekend, they want their gourmet breakfast and they want it now!
Keep
in mind that the inane practice of daylight savings time affects our pet’s
internal clock. If your dog is used to
going out at 6 am and DST forces our clocks ahead one hour, their internal
clocks are saying Hey! I needed to go
out an hour ago!!! This is especially
important when trying to housebreak a puppy.
I
for one would love it if we quit this antiquated practice of changing the
clocks. Keep it one way or the
other. Not only do I struggle for 2
weeks with the change to DST but I am at amazed at all the clocks we have to
change. When I was growing up we had a
clock on the stove and my parents wind up alarm clock. Now, there is the alarm clock, the
grandfather clock, the clocks in the two bathrooms, the clock in the sitting
area, the clock on the frig, stove and microwave. And Kevin would add, all these clocks and she
still can’t be on time!
As a pet sitter, I am introduced to many different types of dogs
and cats. Some are big, little, furry
yet each one entirely different. I enjoy
each one and marvel in their different personalities. They make me laugh and when they move away or
cross the rainbow bridge, they make me cry.
But every now and then a pet comes into my life and finds a
special place in my heart. Sometimes it
is immediate and other times it takes a while.
The latest one is Daisy. She is a
Chihuahua who has been rescued and given a forever home with two other dogs,
Isabel & Buster. Each visit I make
sure each dog receives some one-on-one special attention. When it is Daisy’s turn, she snuggles up on
my chest and lays her head against my face.
The first time she did this, she captured my heart.
So here’s to Prada, Jack, Fred, Otto and Icarus all have moved
away and all pets of my heart. I think
of you fondly and miss you.
A couple of weeks ago, I had noticed that Baby’s eye was tearing
up a bit. Not an uncommon event and I
was keeping a watch on it. As Binkers
was sitting on her Daddy’s lap Monday night; I noticed her right eye did not
look right. Upon further inspection I
could see that her lower eye lid was slightly slit. The eye looked okay, no weeping or blood or
visible scratch. However, first thing
the next morning off we went to the vet with Baby riding shotgun in her Barbie
carrier. Yep, Barbie pink! (Several years ago one of the pet shops had
“Barbie” accessories for dogs and cats.
I had purchased two for our girls much to Kevin’s dismay. ) We
automatically thought that Binker’s kitten, Spirit had scratched her which
turned out to be correct. Spirit turned
8 month old October 25th and attempts to get Binker to play. She usually jumps on her back demanding a
kitty back ride or tackles her. This is
accompanied by Binker’s screams and cat curses to the kitten. Which of course, the kitten ignores and
thinks that yes, Binker is playing with me.
Dr. Fuller examined her thoroughly and her eye itself was not
scratched nor did he need to do surgery on the slit. He prescribed some antibiotic eye drops for
us to administer. He also said to keep
it refrigerated as we may need it again with Spirit. While there, I had him run blood work on her
as she had lost 1.9 pounds in a little over a year. All is fine; except normal aging as she is 12
years old. We are extremely fortunate to
have such a knowledgeable and compassionate veterinarian. I have known Dr. Fuller for years and trust
him explicitly with the care of my cats.
So important to have a vet you can trust.
I can tell Binkers is aging a bit; she was much more comfortable
with Dr. Fuller. She doesn’t play or run
like she used to (unless Spirit is after her).
She does get more exercise with Spirit as Spirit thinks she is a Border
cat and tends to “herd” Binks.
Pets are so amazing and our cats fascinate me with their
antics. At times you can read their body
language and can predict their next move.
I cannot imagine life without cats.
Have you hugged your pet today?
Here we are already the end of June and our little kitten has been
with us over two months now and is growing like a weed. Her name is Spirit Rose Ritchie-Keck. I did not want to get another cat that was a
silver-tipped tabby as that was what our beloved Appi was and I didn’t want
comparison’s and thought it would be too easy to do that. Of course, what did we get? Yep, a silver-tipped tabby. We stationed her in the smaller of the two
bathrooms with her food, water, cat litter, blankets and of course toys during
the introduction phase to our Baby Binkers.
On the second day I opened the bathroom to find a ball sitting in her
water dish. I have had many cats during
my lifetime and the only cat who would put the ball in the water was our
Appi. When I spied the ball I looked at
Kevin and said, “Look! It’s like its Appi’s
spirit telling us its okay. “ So Spirit she is and Kevin came up with her
middle name of Rose.
Like all of our pets, they have many nicknames. Baby’s name is Binki Blue Ritchie-Keck and
has nicknames of Baby, Binkers, Binker Blue, Nooper, naughty girl Keck and good
girl Ritchie kitty to name a few. So far
Spirit has No No, naughty girl Keck kitty, little Juannelle (I resent that!),
Noopi and Stop That.
Spirit had several littermates and was residing with about 12
older cats so she wasn’t at all scared of Baby.
Unfortunately, Baby wasn’t enamored with her at all. Spirit frequently gets Baby in a headlock and
bites and scratches trying to engage Baby in play. Baby just hisses, tries to escape and
occasionally will give Spirit a real good smack to stop her. We do see progress, just today Baby was in
bed with me cuddling under the blanket and Spirit located her and was actually
washing Baby nicely. They also lay close
together at times. Baby also introduced
Spirit to how nice the basket of warm clothes fresh from the dryer is.
If one gets a kitten or a puppy one
has to be prepared for the “baby” stage and realize that to them EVERYTHING is
a toy. Electric cords, decorative items
and rugs can all be dangerous. Having
enough toys and removing them from the source of danger and playing with them
in a different location usually helps distract them from what they were doing.
