Monday, January 29, 2007

A sudden change in attitude

Around 6 weeks ago a client brought one of her cats into the clinic for treatment of something quite basic, but a whole new problem arose when she went back home that day. Despite a long relationship, one of the cats decided that he really just didn't like the other cat after all, and raging intercat aggression has ensued ever since. We've tried a number of behavioral techniques too numberous to lay out here, and having no luck, have started reaching for behavioral modification drugs such as prozac. Thankfully, what is going on with these two cats isn't too common, but it's something I have seen before. The last time it happened, the client was the one who stumbled on the solution, and I'll never forget it. There were three cats involved, all having solid black coats. Two of the cats just began attacking the third for days after he had returned from a routine dental cleaning. We eventually realized that the problem was the new patch of white on this cats neck, something the clinic created when we had to shave a small patch of hair to collect a blood sample. The owner thought to fashion a black silk stocking for her cat to wear around his neck, and a harmony was restored.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Scuba diving cat

Thanks to Amanda for this link.  Gave me a much needed chuckle between appointments.

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=7435480002368724581

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

If fried chicken is what it takes...

A few weeks back this cat name Gorby came into the clinic for some gastrointestinal issues. She's going thru her sweet sixteen, and she's seen her share of problems. She's a cancer survivor (fibrosarcoma), has inflammatory bowel disease, and hyperthyroidism - at least those are the dieases we know about. We have some difficulty keeping her gut disease under control, and every now and then something strange will throw things out of wack. So, a few weeks ago, she's having some vomiting and diarrhea, and we start our workup trying to isolate the issue. Pretty soon, we see on the abdominal ultrasound that there is an obstruction in her intestines. Of course, one of the last things we are considering is that she would have eaten something she shouldn't have. Young silly kittens do things like that - not old pros like Gorby...right? So of course we are scared of cancer, and we move in late Friday afternoon to see what we can find surgically. Sure enough, it was a tiny plastic ball; the kind you would find in a cat toy. Good to know she's still having fun at her age.

So it's now about 7 pm Friday night, and we're feeling pretty darn good. Not only did we find the problem and find it easily correctable, the owners are going to have her transfered to 24 hour care to make sure her recovery is smooth. This is great for me, as I know I won't have to drive up to the clinic at 3:30 am to be able to fall asleep without worrying about how a patient is handling it's post-operative time. As the days go by, we find her electrolyte problems are returning to normal, and she seems more comfortable - only one problem - she's not too keen on eating. Early on, the question was asked if Gorby could be fed fried chicken after her surgery. Uhhhh, no! Last thing we want to do with a cat with GI disease is then to go anger its pancreas. So another few days go by, and I'm starting to sweat. Gorby should be trying to eat more cat toys in my mind, but instead she's being moapy and not wanting to eat. So again, the question is asked.

Turns out Gorby was driving with her dad several years back, and a visit was paid to the Kentucky Fried Chicken. Gorby seemed game, so dad picked up some extra spicy for himself and original recipe for the princess. She could have cared less for the blend of seven herbs and spices, but loved the spicy stuff.

Well, I had run out of options short of placing a feeding tube and an order of chicken was placed. As it turns out, she loved it, and ate like a champ. Two days after that she was asking for her regular cat food as well and has made it past one more bump in the road. But don't think it's ok for anyone else to start feeding their cats fried chicken.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

TV on the Radio

Well a combination of my natural hesitancy to contribute to this blog and a stomach flu has kept me away from the computer lately, but I have emerged from my week of nausea to discover that Houston is about to have a really great band swing thru town. TV on the Radio is going to be playing at the Meridian March 6. So yes, it's a Tuesday night, but judging from their performance at this years Austin City Limits Festival, it should be a great show. I have both their LP's, and have enjoyed them thoroughly - but why take my word? Go see what pitchfork.com has to say about them.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Why Whole Latte Love rules...

I don't know why, but when my espresso machine acts up, I get really upset - not mad, but upset at the thought of a day where I am unable to brew my own coffee. This past weekend, I was doing some routine cleaning on my machine, and as it turns out, I screwed something up. I bought my machine from a site called Whole Latte Love, and ever since, I have found them to be the most helpful group of people around. Just as before, I called them up, talked to their technical support team, and recieved instructions via email on how to fix my specific problem. I am so thrilled at how easy they make things for me.

Just had to share that. If you are looking for a high end coffee machine, consider visiting WholeLatteLove.com. I have a Gaggia Synchrony Compact and have found it to be an excellent machine. My creations beat Starbucks any day of the week.