I received an action alert from the Texas Humane Legislation Network. The whole country needs to get behind these national bills (H.R. 503/S. 311). The Humane Society of the United States has more information about it here. The cruelty that horses endure during their shipment to plants for slaughter will make you sick. Once they arrive at the plant, their death is anything but humane.
After years and years of fighting the lobbyists for these foreign owned horse slaughter plants, the 3 plants in the US, (2 in Texas and 1 in Illinois) have finally been closed for good. But it is still legal for horses to be shipped to Canada and Mexico for slaughter, and then their flesh is shipped to Asia and Europe for human consumption. With the horses being shipped live even further than before, their abuse continues for days.
In 2004, a 30-year-old bill that prevented the slaughter of our western wild horses was overturned and our wild horses are once again being caught and killed for overseas human consumption. Please sign the petition linked below, or contact your own Senator or Representative. You can find them via the HSUS web site here. You can then call the capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for your Senators' and Legislators' offices and tell them that you support House Bill 503 and Senate Bill 311.
In my humble opinion, if Europeans and Asians want to eat horse meat, then they can kill their own horses. Our horses should not be considered an exportable commodity. And if Mexico and Canada want to keep their horse slaughtering plants open, then they can kill their own horses. Not ours.
Petition: Americans Against Horse Slaughter
Luf, Maw
Ham-Micks
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Thursday Updates
Grey is home with his Mom & Dad. They had to get a baby bean playpen for him to stay in because it's softer than a cage or a kennel. He still doesn't have the use of his back legs. His Mom & Dad have to set him in his litter box so he can use it, then they have to clean him up. The V-E-T said that dissolving the clot would take 7-10 days, and this is the 7th day so efurrybody, PLEASE KEEP SENDING PURRS & PRAYERS TO GREY!!!!!
He has to take 8 pills and luckily, his Mom is able to hide them in his food and he is eating them just fine, so they must not be gross tasting. He is eating and drinking. His Mom is very worried about having to give him an enema if he doesn't poo, so let's hope that he feels the urge to do that on his own....
In other noos, Sally hissed and growled at the V-E-T and tried to be her most furrocious self. I was totally UNHAPPY to hear that she also has FORLs. Feline Odontoclastic Resorptive Lesions. I SO did not need to hear that. If any of you haven't read about Dorfington Fish Stanley's ordeal with FORLs yet, it's quite the story. Luckily, Sally's jaws didn't chatter while she was under anesthesia, so they aren't the excruciatingly painful ones, yet. We'll see how her bloodwork looks tomorrow, and decide how we want to proceed. This may explain her howling and also rubbing her face against anything and everything. I always thought she was just marking the wall corners and the furniture, but maybe she is trying to soothe her painful teeth. Don't you wish they could speak to us?????
As for Smokey, his x-ray shows a teeny bit of honeycombing in his lungs, which might be asthma, but his heart looks abnormal. And since both V-E-Ts heard his heart murmur loud and clear, the heart worries me. Apparently a murmur isn't too big a deal, but an abnormal shaped heart is. We might opt for a sonogram to see what's up with it. We're going to see what his bloodwork shows also.
So, yes, the saga of the special needs kitties here at the Forty Paws continues. Just another day in the life...
We're going to need to raffle off a kitty Ham-mick for the Forty Paws.
Luf, Us
He has to take 8 pills and luckily, his Mom is able to hide them in his food and he is eating them just fine, so they must not be gross tasting. He is eating and drinking. His Mom is very worried about having to give him an enema if he doesn't poo, so let's hope that he feels the urge to do that on his own....
In other noos, Sally hissed and growled at the V-E-T and tried to be her most furrocious self. I was totally UNHAPPY to hear that she also has FORLs. Feline Odontoclastic Resorptive Lesions. I SO did not need to hear that. If any of you haven't read about Dorfington Fish Stanley's ordeal with FORLs yet, it's quite the story. Luckily, Sally's jaws didn't chatter while she was under anesthesia, so they aren't the excruciatingly painful ones, yet. We'll see how her bloodwork looks tomorrow, and decide how we want to proceed. This may explain her howling and also rubbing her face against anything and everything. I always thought she was just marking the wall corners and the furniture, but maybe she is trying to soothe her painful teeth. Don't you wish they could speak to us?????
As for Smokey, his x-ray shows a teeny bit of honeycombing in his lungs, which might be asthma, but his heart looks abnormal. And since both V-E-Ts heard his heart murmur loud and clear, the heart worries me. Apparently a murmur isn't too big a deal, but an abnormal shaped heart is. We might opt for a sonogram to see what's up with it. We're going to see what his bloodwork shows also.
So, yes, the saga of the special needs kitties here at the Forty Paws continues. Just another day in the life...
We're going to need to raffle off a kitty Ham-mick for the Forty Paws.
Luf, Us
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Wordy Wednesday
It's amazing how much more quiet the house is with 2 poodins missing overnight. With Sally and Smokey boarding overnight at the V-E-T, there were only 8 poodins to count when it came time to close the cat flap to the enclosure. Only 8 poodins worth of output to scoop from the litterboxes this morning. Of course they were missed. Without Sgt. Sally's howling, it was eerily quiet last evening. And without Smokey to wrassle Dorf and Reno, there wasn't much fur flying in the hallway.
During their health checks yesterday, it was determined that Smokey really didn't need his teeth cleaned. Yay! But, he does have a heart murmur, and we wanted his heavy breathing checked out. When he's lying down, we can hear him breathe from across the room. I don't know if it's because of his Herpes virus, or if he has asthma, or if it's his weight. He only weighs 15 lbs., which isn't overly large in this house. So, he stayed overnight with Sally and will have x-rays and blood tests done this morning.
Sally was throwing a hissy fit at the V-E-T. She was not happy at all. She used to get that way when I would take her to the PetsMart Adopt-a-Pet center. One hour in the cage and she was spitting and hissing and wanting to rip the arm off anyone who came near her. That's how we ended up keeping her. It was just too difficult to try and find her a home. I assume it's because she was kept in a cage for the first 10 months of her life at the Crazy Cat Lady's garage.
I will say this 100 times over on this blog. Anyone who believes they are fostering by keeping cats in cages are doing a disservice to that cat. Yes, shelters keep cats in cages because they have little choice. Most are publicly funded and way down on the community's priority list. But an individual who performs "rescue" should not need to confine the animals. They might be saving the life of that animal, but at what psychological cost to it?
Luf, Maw
During their health checks yesterday, it was determined that Smokey really didn't need his teeth cleaned. Yay! But, he does have a heart murmur, and we wanted his heavy breathing checked out. When he's lying down, we can hear him breathe from across the room. I don't know if it's because of his Herpes virus, or if he has asthma, or if it's his weight. He only weighs 15 lbs., which isn't overly large in this house. So, he stayed overnight with Sally and will have x-rays and blood tests done this morning.
Sally was throwing a hissy fit at the V-E-T. She was not happy at all. She used to get that way when I would take her to the PetsMart Adopt-a-Pet center. One hour in the cage and she was spitting and hissing and wanting to rip the arm off anyone who came near her. That's how we ended up keeping her. It was just too difficult to try and find her a home. I assume it's because she was kept in a cage for the first 10 months of her life at the Crazy Cat Lady's garage.
I will say this 100 times over on this blog. Anyone who believes they are fostering by keeping cats in cages are doing a disservice to that cat. Yes, shelters keep cats in cages because they have little choice. Most are publicly funded and way down on the community's priority list. But an individual who performs "rescue" should not need to confine the animals. They might be saving the life of that animal, but at what psychological cost to it?
Luf, Maw
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Tuesday Noosday
Bow went in last week to have some more blood work done. His blood glucose level was down to 164 from 245 so he was doing much better since we had stopped his massive treats intake and took him off the prednisolone and put him on Budesonide. Problem was, he was a bit dehydrated and he had lost 1.25 lbs. over 3 weeks. The pred increases appetite and water consumption. So we also had the fructosamine test run which tells us the number of blood glucose molecules linked to protein molecules in the blood. The test provides information on the average blood glucose level for the past 3 weeks in humans, usually over 1-2 weeks in felines. This reading was back in the normal range. So Bow received some sub-q fluids for his dehydration and we have put him back on the pred so that his appetite returns. Then he'll go back in for another blood test in 1 month. He turns 18 in one month.
Sally and Smokey will be going in for a checkup this afternoon, and then staying overnight at the V-E-T in preparation for their dentals and vaccinations tomorrow. They are way overdue. Everything got off schedule when Dorf kept having to have dental extractions.
We board the poodins overnight who are getting surgery. We don't attempt to take up food or water here at the Forty Paws because it makes for a grumpy bunch of 10 cats and no one gets any sleep.
We'll let you know how Grey is doing once we hear some noos.
Luf, Us
Sally and Smokey will be going in for a checkup this afternoon, and then staying overnight at the V-E-T in preparation for their dentals and vaccinations tomorrow. They are way overdue. Everything got off schedule when Dorf kept having to have dental extractions.
We board the poodins overnight who are getting surgery. We don't attempt to take up food or water here at the Forty Paws because it makes for a grumpy bunch of 10 cats and no one gets any sleep.
We'll let you know how Grey is doing once we hear some noos.
Luf, Us
Monday, February 25, 2008
Mancat Monday
Today we are featuring our good furriend Grey, who is still in intensive care.
Grey is a real ManCat! He used to be the shop cat at a mechanic's shop where they store a Real Race Car!!! He lived there for 13 years until he developed hyperthyroidism and needed twice daily meds, so then he came to live with the shop owner and his wife.
Then on Wednesday last week he threw a blood clot and fell over and couldn't get back up. His V-E-T sent him to North Texas Veterinary Referral Center and he has been there ever since. They discovered that he has cardiomyopathy and also a compressed spine. The x-ray showed down toward his tail that a disc is now missing & another almost missing & the vertebrae have been rubbing on each other which is causing some neurological problems in controlling his rectum & bladder muscle.
He is eating and drinking well, and pooping with enema help. The V-E-T removed his catheter yesterday and also said there was some feeling returning to his hind legs. Today he is probably going to see a neurologist.
So we still need lots of purrs, prayers, pawsitive thoughts and good vibratons sent this way. Ok?
Luf, Us
Grey is a real ManCat! He used to be the shop cat at a mechanic's shop where they store a Real Race Car!!! He lived there for 13 years until he developed hyperthyroidism and needed twice daily meds, so then he came to live with the shop owner and his wife.
Then on Wednesday last week he threw a blood clot and fell over and couldn't get back up. His V-E-T sent him to North Texas Veterinary Referral Center and he has been there ever since. They discovered that he has cardiomyopathy and also a compressed spine. The x-ray showed down toward his tail that a disc is now missing & another almost missing & the vertebrae have been rubbing on each other which is causing some neurological problems in controlling his rectum & bladder muscle.
He is eating and drinking well, and pooping with enema help. The V-E-T removed his catheter yesterday and also said there was some feeling returning to his hind legs. Today he is probably going to see a neurologist.
So we still need lots of purrs, prayers, pawsitive thoughts and good vibratons sent this way. Ok?
Luf, Us
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Purrs & Prayers Please
Owr gud furriend, Grey, hast bin in da North Texas Veterinary Referral Center since Wednesday and needz tons of healing thots, purrs, prayers and efurrytink else u kin do. OK?
He wus healthy and fine until Wednesday mornin wen he fell ofer an couldn't git bak up. His hind-quarters ist paralyzed cuz his hart ist enlarged an he threw a blood klot an now dey fink he mite haf had a pre-ik-sis-tink new-roll-oj-ik kondishun an his spine ist inflamed too. Dey hast him on Plavix to dissolve da klot an now dey ist giffin him teeny mownts ov stair-oyds but dis ist skeery cuz ov his hart kondishun.
An to add to dee indignity ov it all, dey giffed him an en-maw yestday to make him poop. He did.
But he ist dewin gud eatin an dinkin his ice water. (He only dinks water wid ice chips).
Pleeze pleeze pleeze send pawsitif thots, OK?
(Grey duzn't lif wid us. Maw poodin-sits fur him wen his Mom & Dad go to da whine count-ree. An Grey gifs Maw White Zinfandel fur Chrissymouse. He ist a furry nice poodin.)
Luf, Us
He wus healthy and fine until Wednesday mornin wen he fell ofer an couldn't git bak up. His hind-quarters ist paralyzed cuz his hart ist enlarged an he threw a blood klot an now dey fink he mite haf had a pre-ik-sis-tink new-roll-oj-ik kondishun an his spine ist inflamed too. Dey hast him on Plavix to dissolve da klot an now dey ist giffin him teeny mownts ov stair-oyds but dis ist skeery cuz ov his hart kondishun.
An to add to dee indignity ov it all, dey giffed him an en-maw yestday to make him poop. He did.
But he ist dewin gud eatin an dinkin his ice water. (He only dinks water wid ice chips).
Pleeze pleeze pleeze send pawsitif thots, OK?
(Grey duzn't lif wid us. Maw poodin-sits fur him wen his Mom & Dad go to da whine count-ree. An Grey gifs Maw White Zinfandel fur Chrissymouse. He ist a furry nice poodin.)
Luf, Us
Photo Hunt #38
Today's Photo Hunter's Theme is wood. This is a picture of Paw putting up our new enclosure a few months back. It is made of wood and wire. We luf luf luf luf luf our new enclosure.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Funny Friday
Here is one of those funny things that somebody sent Maw over email. It is a "redneck tree swing". We thought we'd share it with you...
Luf, Us
"click to biggify"
Luf, Us
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Wordy Wednesday
Ok, so today's Dallas Morning News has an article about the flu shot only being 27% effective against the flu strains showing up in Texas and about 50% effective in the rest of the US. So that explains why Maw got the flu even though she got shot.
In udder noos, Gatsbi has a scabby lump on her tail. Don't no wat dat is...
And in further udder noos, Bow has taken to howling in da middle of da nite. He goes Raowr raowr raowr raowr with a nasally sownd. He has done dis fur yeers, but he usushally goes out in da cat enkloshur an duz it. But since Paw puttted da noo cat enkloshur up, Maw hast bin shutting the cat flap at nite so dat it dunt go flap flap, flap flap, flap flap wen da poodins run in & out. So now, Bow is howling in da howse an Maw is yelling, "Bow!!!!!" So now she ist gonna take him bak in fur his next blood glucose test since he's off his treats and steroids and on da noo medsins.
Oh, an we haf da cat cold, aka Feline Herpes1 outbreak, floating arownd da howse. Annie hast green eye bogies. An Smokey ist sneezin an sneezin, and Jenny ist sneezin, an Bow is snufflin agin. Bow camed down wid da cat cold so bad dat it kinena ruined his nasal passages. He had dem scoped an efurryting at da specialist an den he was on Clindamycin for months cuz any kinena moxie type aunty-by-otiks makes him yak--immediately. He ist allergic to dem. So.....
Den yestday Maw wuz duing da Texassss Chain Saw Massacre on da tree limbs an Annie wast snoopervisin frum da cat ham-mik in da winder.
Ok. Oh, an of course, sumbuddy yakked overnite.
Luf, Us
In udder noos, Gatsbi has a scabby lump on her tail. Don't no wat dat is...
And in further udder noos, Bow has taken to howling in da middle of da nite. He goes Raowr raowr raowr raowr with a nasally sownd. He has done dis fur yeers, but he usushally goes out in da cat enkloshur an duz it. But since Paw puttted da noo cat enkloshur up, Maw hast bin shutting the cat flap at nite so dat it dunt go flap flap, flap flap, flap flap wen da poodins run in & out. So now, Bow is howling in da howse an Maw is yelling, "Bow!!!!!" So now she ist gonna take him bak in fur his next blood glucose test since he's off his treats and steroids and on da noo medsins.
Oh, an we haf da cat cold, aka Feline Herpes1 outbreak, floating arownd da howse. Annie hast green eye bogies. An Smokey ist sneezin an sneezin, and Jenny ist sneezin, an Bow is snufflin agin. Bow camed down wid da cat cold so bad dat it kinena ruined his nasal passages. He had dem scoped an efurryting at da specialist an den he was on Clindamycin for months cuz any kinena moxie type aunty-by-otiks makes him yak--immediately. He ist allergic to dem. So.....
Den yestday Maw wuz duing da Texassss Chain Saw Massacre on da tree limbs an Annie wast snoopervisin frum da cat ham-mik in da winder.
Ok. Oh, an of course, sumbuddy yakked overnite.
Luf, Us
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Freaky Sunday
So today Paw sez to Maw, "The birds are eating the cat food." Maw sez, "Yeah, the feeder must be empty." So she puts on her mud shoes (it rained 1.5 inches here yesterday), and took bird seed out to the feeder to fill it. Well, guess what was in the bird feeder but a little rat!!! At first, she thought it was a baby possum, but upon closer examination, she saw that it was a rat. So she popped the top and the rat leaped out and took off running! So then she dumped the wet seed and refilled it for the birds. And the birds quit eating Orinch 1, Orinch 2 and Bob(bie's) cat food and started eating there own food again.
Luf, Us
Luf, Us
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Photo Hunt #37
Maw sez when she gitz reeely frustrated wid us (like wen we yak, or wen we haf hissy spitty screamin fites, or wen we haf OLB experiences) dat we ist free to a gud home. We dunt fink she meenz it tho. Cuz like, jist tuday, wen she waz feedin us owr stinky goodness brekfust, she couldn't find Reno. She wuz callin him an callin him an she wuz jist abowt reddy to call Paw an interrupt his class to ast him if he sawd Reno dis mornin. So there.
Luf, Us
Friday, February 15, 2008
Awards and a Limerick for Jenny
China Cat bestowed this wunnerful award on us!!!
This award was created by Colin and the rule for this award is that you link back to Colin as the point of origin of the award. He said "An Award for you All. Please take this award with my gratitude, feel free to pass it on to other Global Bloggers."
Karen Jo over at Kitty Limericks wrote a wonderful limerick for Jenny today. Go check it out!
Luf, Us
This award was created by Colin and the rule for this award is that you link back to Colin as the point of origin of the award. He said "An Award for you All. Please take this award with my gratitude, feel free to pass it on to other Global Bloggers."
Karen Jo over at Kitty Limericks wrote a wonderful limerick for Jenny today. Go check it out!
Luf, Us
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Wordy Wednesday
Owr furry own Sgt. Sally is feechured ofer at Kitty Limericks today!!! We ist furry honored dat Karen Jo did such a beeyoutiful limerick fur owr Sarge.
Luf, Us
Luf, Us
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Toosday
Annie & Smokey watching Catnip Video.
We had furry big thunder boomers wid lightning flashies last night. It was furry skeery. So Bow yakked, an lotz ov us hid in da big closet.
Fur doze ov u wonnerin bowt formulating Bow's medicine, Budesonide ist a hyooman drug an it comes in a 3 mg capsule or in an inhaler version. So, da 3 mg capsule must be broken down into 1 mg capsules. Dat ist called "formulating". Not all pharmacies are formulating pharmacies. Dey hast to haf speshul ekwipment to do dat. Dey kin also make flavored medicines. Bow used to git tuna flavored liquid prelone a long tyme ago. G.T. used to git triple-fish flavored prelone afore he started gittin his allergy shots. Der ist an online formulatin farmacy fur animules dat has all sorts of flavors to make med-sins taste way bedder. Int dat kool?
Luf, Us
We had furry big thunder boomers wid lightning flashies last night. It was furry skeery. So Bow yakked, an lotz ov us hid in da big closet.
Fur doze ov u wonnerin bowt formulating Bow's medicine, Budesonide ist a hyooman drug an it comes in a 3 mg capsule or in an inhaler version. So, da 3 mg capsule must be broken down into 1 mg capsules. Dat ist called "formulating". Not all pharmacies are formulating pharmacies. Dey hast to haf speshul ekwipment to do dat. Dey kin also make flavored medicines. Bow used to git tuna flavored liquid prelone a long tyme ago. G.T. used to git triple-fish flavored prelone afore he started gittin his allergy shots. Der ist an online formulatin farmacy fur animules dat has all sorts of flavors to make med-sins taste way bedder. Int dat kool?
Luf, Us
Monday, February 11, 2008
Mancats Monday
This is a little blurry, but it shows 4 mancats watching Catnip Video! Reno, G.T., Obi, and Smokey. Annie is playing "Where's Annie?" under the newspaper.
In other news, G.T. is now undergoing his new allergy shot schedule with a Benadryl 1/2 hour prior to his shot. He is NOT impressed. The Benadryl also seems to make him hyper instead of sleepy.
We also got clippy claws yesterday and we were NOT happy about that either.
Bow is now on his Budesonide instead of Prednisolone. Maw had to hunt around for a pharmacy that charged a reasonable rate for formulating these capsules into 1 mg. The first formulary charged $2.15/capsule. So Maw found one that charges $1.33/capsule. Bow is unfortunately losing a lot of weight since he's off his treats and pred. He'll go back into the V-E-T for another blood glucose test in a couple of weeks to see if he's still leaning toward being diabetic.
We'll try to get around to efurrybody's blogs in the next few days. We know we are behind.
Luf, Us
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Weze Kinea Bak
We tot weze bedder post sumtink soze u dunt tink Maw croaked or nuttin. She ist still sik an mopin rownd heer like def warmed ofer. She did haf to make a stinky goodness an litter run earlier dis week as our supplies were desperately low. We hafta tell ya dat weze NOT impressed wid da kwalitee ov da serfus rownd heer lately.
Owr brekfist hast bin a mineemum ov 2 owrs late effurry mornin. Owr furrs hast not bin vakoomed daily. Da floors ist needin mopped. Da spare litter boxes ist stakked in da garaj watein to be washed. Der ist only 1 more kleen spare box left!!!!! Der is trubble in River City...
Luf, Annie
Pee Ess. Maw here. Things aren't as dire as Annie says. All the poodins are getting their meds and their food, and their litter boxes are being scooped. Even the yak is being cleaned up off the carpet everyday. Thank you for all of your concern. Paw & I are on the mend...
Anyone out there want a few ungrateful poodins?
Luf, Maw
Friday, February 1, 2008
We Kaint Post
Sorry guyz & galz. Maw ist furry furry ill wid da flew. We dunt know wer she flew to, cuz she ist still heer. An yup, she gotted her flew shot last yeer. Weze sorry yuze worried bowt us, but we ist all fine, except fur Maw & Paw. Dey ist both sik. Dat sux. We need sum nu servants.
Luf, Us
Luf, Us
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