Animals we share our lives with

[Sarah in SC]

Great rooster story, I hope he sticks around a while longer.

Very sorry about Chloe. No matter how much we think we are prepared for their aging, it always comes as a surprise.

 

[Keim]

Great rooster story, I hope he sticks around a while longer.

Very sorry about Chloe. No matter how much we think we are prepared for their aging, it always comes as a surprise.

We were lucky-she lived to old age for a lab. 13 years old. Our 12 year old Bassett hound seems to be taking it the hardest. She is deaf and blind, and Chloe served as her "seeing and hearing" friend. I fear she won't last much longer without Chloe to keep her engaged.

 

[Keim]

So sorry, I know how that hurts. We have two old labs (sisters) who just turned 10...

I hope they live as long as Chloe did.

 

[Buckeye]

OK, I need some help....

Our two cats have fleas.... We have used an Advantix generic (not sure if it is this one as I do not have the box with me) and also tried a pyrethrin based poison.... they still seem to be there...

My DW was expecting them to be dead within a day, but found about 5 hanging around one of our cat's nose.... the other is a Russian Blue, so you can not see anything even if she had them...

SOOO, what is the best thing to use? My DW wants to go to the vet, but I do not think they have anything we can not get...

Options? recommendations?

No more walks on a leash for our kitty, Gabby, because the fleas are so bad. We have been fighting them for about 3 months. We have used a combination of diatomaceous earth (food grade), natural flea shampoo, flea combing, and Kirkland (Costco) flea medicine.

She has been a real trooper enduring a weekly bath in the kitchen sink. We towel dry her as much as she will let us and then she spends about 30 minutes grooming herself. Sunday will be her 5th. She smells like cloves and is really soft and shiny when she is dry. A lot of loose hair is removed during the process which really reduces the shedding. I see the baths continuing for the foreseeable future.

We doused the apartment twice in DE with a cleanup about a week later. I have also applied it directly to Gabby.

We started the fight about 3 months ago with an application of Frontline and then another 30 days later. It did not appear to be effective at all so that's when we made her an indoor kitty and added the DE, baths, and flea comb.

30 days ago I purchased more flea meds from Costco. I tried the Kirkland brand because it was so cheap and it was a different chemical than the Frontline. It's very difficult to get the medicine down to her skin so I clipped some fur from a spot on her neck. It was still very messy. Before application, I checked out the comments about the product on Amazon and they were all very negative with horror stories including pet deaths. I then started computing how much revenue was at stake purchasing an application for $3.50 instead of $10 and decided to go ahead and put it on her. She was fine.

Because we have tried several things at once, I don't know what is working. I would like to avoid giving her the flea meds to avoid any side-effects but I don't want her (or us) to start suffering again. I guess I will do at least one more application. The weekly baths and combing and localized DE application will definitely continue. She's not a real fan of the heat so she has converted back to an indoor kitty pretty easily.

 

[Nemo2]

The lease hasn't been authorized...but the renovations are already underway.

 

[cj]

Keim - my sympathy for the loss of Chloe. It is never easy. We've lost 3 cats in the past 4 years, all of them 14+ years old. We still have a 16 year old, and we are clinging to her. She is doing OK for now, but losing weight slowly. She has been such a good kitty (and is my avatar).

I so appreciate all the animal lovers on this forum. Our pets add so much to our lives...

 

[Sarah in SC]

Oh the dove is so beautiful!

I use advantage on the cats for fleas. We live in a terrible area for them, and they are indoor outdoor cats. It works very well and I don't fear the scary side effects I've read about with the supermarket stuff. Try Petshed for ordering inexpensive high quality pet medicines. Highly recommended.

 

[REWahoo]

I've also seen roosters get "dumped". Many of the fancy breeds are sold "straight run", so some hobby farmers get the pretty ones , end up with 50% roosters that like to crow and part pet so they get "gifted" to areas that look like good homes. Not saying how I know that.

Here's a news story on that very subject: Backyard chickens dumped at shelters when hipsters can't cope, critics say

 

[Indigo Mule]

Our 12-year-old Akita dog, Yuki, has been gradually declining as a result of Cushing's Disease. She let us know on Saturday that she was done with the struggle. We found a veterinarian who makes house calls, and this afternoon, with compassion and love and caring, she ended her journey with us. It's been a very rough couple of days, as Yuki has been with us for half the time we've been together (my spouse and I). It's bizarre not to have our "dog rug" underfoot, and we will be a long time adjusting to our loss of those little rituals and routines.

On the plus side, I highly endorse the in-home euthanasia with a compassionate and caring veterinarian. Our dog had grown to fear and hate the veterinarians' offices, and I was determined she not end her life there. She had a fabulous life (we rescued her when she was three years old), and a dignified death.

If I ever have another dog, it will be very very far in the future. I'm just gutted.

 

[Major Tom]

I am really sorry to hear that Indigo Mule. It will take a while for you to come to terms with her loss. Although we don't have an intellectual connection with pets, it's easy for non pet owners to underestimate the bonding power of the little rituals and routines, and how attached we become to their personalities.

 

[Keim]

Cushings is a hard one, IM. My own dog just passed from its complications. Best wishes to you.

 

[NW-Bound]

This bunny, we rescued from our backyard swimming pool a couple of months ago.

My wife happened to go back there for something, and saw what looked like a rag floating in the pool. Then, she thought it was a bird. Anyway, a few more minutes and Thumper would be gone, as he (could be a she as I did not check) was barely breathing.

Scooped him up, wrapped him in a towel to dry. Within an hour, he showed sign that he was going to make it. The photo of him in the sink was taken the next morning, after he has consumed a carrot and a few leaves of lettuce. Thought about adopting him by making a cage, but wife said we'd better let him go. So, at dusk, I took him to the golf course down the road, and released him into a bush. As I did that, I noticed several of his elders were scurrying around on the green. So, he will have company.

This is the first time I saw any rabbit in my back yard in 25 years. We tend to have a quail family visiting every year, and they would stay a day or two. Sadly, there's usually one drowning in the pool each time.

PS. The rabbit was smaller than my fist, when he fluffed up. So, must be very young.

 

[veremchuka]

I have a lot of bunnies. One summer as I was mowing the grass on the lawn tractor I just happened to look down at the last possible moment and there in front of the tractor was the tiniest baby bunny, it would have fit in the palm of your hand. Rabbits rely on sitting still and run only if really pressured relying upon not moving as predators see motion more than a still object.

I was able to stop in time and shooed it off. While there are too many of them around here I would have felt terrible if I ran it over with the blades running.

 

[Nemo2]

Mourning Doves in the back planter....and now Robins by the front door:

 

[RitaR551]

Our ten year old cat, Mandy, has her own special routines. She makes it a point to trail DH every morning. When he puts on his socks, she is right there to "help". When he sits down, Mandy is right there to make sure there is a good supply of cat hair on his black T-shirt. She's such great help

 

[kcowan]

Cute!

I would love to read our cats' minds. The orange one talks to us and has different phrases depending on the situation. The black one is more puppy-like, just being around us all the time. They are 15 and becoming more complex.

 

[ziggy29]

Still sharing our lives with the doggie in my avatar (we think she's 10 years old now). And we have two cats who are just about 11, and one of them gets around and acts like she's about 5....

 

[Buckeye]

We adopted a new kitty just before Christmas... it is a Russian Blue (or European Blue as the lady said who knows for sure)...

Now, our 9 yo cat hates the new one... and the new one wants to play with any cat and there is only one around...

Hope the two cats get along soon... I think it will be the old one who loses the battle... she has no claws so the young one thinks she is playing when she is not...

But, the new kitty has a great personality... and she loves kids... my daughter pushes her around in her doll stroller... and the cat LETS HER... heck, I think she likes it as we have seen her jump into it a couple of times....

An unhappy older kitty is how I ended up with my faux Russian Blue, Gabby. A young woman at school found Gabby but her older cat was not hip on Gabby always wanting to play. Seven months later, Gabby still loves to play and play every day. Tons of personality. I think she is about 2 years old but no one really knows.

 

[veremchuka]

Still sharing our lives with the doggie in my avatar (we think she's 10 years old now). And we have two cats who are just about 11, and one of them gets around and acts like she's about 5....

Oh your dog has such a beautiful face! What a gorgeous doggie!

An unhappy older kitty is how I ended up with my faux Russian Blue, Gabby. A young woman at school found Gabby but her older cat was not hip on Gabby always wanting to play. Seven months later, Gabby still loves to play and play every day. Tons of personality. I think she is about 2 years old but no one really knows.

I had a Russian Blue and he looked like yours. I had a lot of cats back in the 80's so I'm familiar with their quirky personalities and behavior. My sister has her 1st cat, he's 3 years old now, and I get a kick out of how odd he is and how she is so surprised by his behavior. I told her if there are alien beings from another world on Earth I have no doubts they are masquerading as cats!

 

[Accidental Retiree]

One of 3

This is my girl, Annabel.

 

[Major Tom]

I had a Russian Blue and he looked like yours. I had a lot of cats back in the 80's so I'm familiar with their quirky personalities and behavior. My sister has her 1st cat, he's 3 years old now, and I get a kick out of how odd he is and how she is so surprised by his behavior. I told her if there are alien beings from another world on Earth I have no doubts they are masquerading as cats!

I must agree with the many idiosyncrasies of cats - and you really have to be around them a lot in order to fully know them. They don't reveal themselves at once, or to just anybody, that's for sure.

 

[Buckeye]

I purchased some new cat toys recently because Gabby was bored with her current collection. An Amazon reviewer called this toy "kitty crack" and it's an accurate description.

Amazon.com: Da Bird Cat Catcher Cat Toy by the maker of Go Cat Feather Toys: Pet Supplies

I purchased the feather attachment too and Gabby goes bonkers! I have to be careful to clear the area before we start to play because she launches herself high into the air doing crazy back flips.

 

[Jack_Pine]

Our two newest (we have 4). The Springer replaces one we had to put down last year and the BC is a rescue........................

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[Accidental Retiree]

Gorgeous Dogs, Both!

But where are the other 2?

Our two newest (we have 4). The Springer replaces one we had to put down last year and the BC is a rescue........................

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[Larro Darro]

The first three pictures are of LBJ [Liberty Belle Jr] The last one is Liberty Belle, her grandmother. We also have five or six orange cats. Midas, one of the orange ones lives in the back yard with our chocolate lab, Mocha. They are the best of friends, but I don't have any good pictures of them together. The second you open the back door, Mocha will come running, making any picture of them together impossible.