Stung by a Wasp

Daisy was stung by a wasp today. One had gotten in the house and the cats thought it might be fun to play with it. We saw Daisy frantically licking her paw while the other cats where staring intently at the window. The wasp was still alive, trying desperately to get out. I took my husband's shoe and squished the poor thing.

I did an internet search to see what I could do to relieve her pain, or control swelling if necessary. I found that bathing the wound with vinegar water was good for a wasp sting, and baking soda was good for a bee sting. Interesting. Since it was a wasp, I knew there would not be a stinger in the wound. A bee leaves her stinger behind, so that would have to be removed as soon as possible. Some sites recommend that Benadryl could be used to reduce swelling, but I would call the vet for advice before I gave her any medicine.

Of course in the few minutes it took me to do the search, Daisy was fine. No swelling. She was walking normally and started playing with one of her toys. Whew!

MySmartyCat  - Test your cat's intelligence!

New Slideshow

I just added the slideshow today. Looks good. All photos are of my own 5 cats. Enjoy!

MySmartyCat  - Test your cat's intelligence!

Play to Help End Hunger

I don't normally play games on the web. However, here is one that my neighbor told me about. I play almost every day. It's called FreeRice.com, and I am addicted. For every word you define correctly, 20 grains of rice is donated to the United Nations World food program. My best Vocab Level so far is 44. Try it by clicking on the banner below:




I just found a site that will donate cat (and dog) food to animal shelters in central Oregon. 12 year old Mimi Ausland and her parents started freekibble.com, which is patterned after freerice.com. Answer a daily trivia question and 20 pieces of kibble will be donated to the Humane Society of Central Oregon and Furrytail Farms. They hope to eventually distribute food for cats and dogs in shelters all around the country. If you go to that site, check the press link and watch the NBC Nightly News video. Click on the banner below:




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Always Looking for More Cats

Today I am going to make this short and sweet because I am having trouble with my internet....

I have 5 cats. That's plenty and I don't want any more. But I do find myself looking at the web sites of the local shelters and checking out Craig's List everyday. There are so many cats for adoption and it is very tempting to take another home. I really should stop browsing. My husband is no help... He would like to have twin Maine Coon kittens to add to the crew we already have.

I thought maybe I could volunteer at the local shelter. Unfortunately, as I have mentioned before, I am very allergic to cats. I am used to mine and I do well on some meds. When I go to the shelter, where there can easily be 100 cats, I take extra antihistamine. Sometimes that helps control the symptoms, sometimes I am sick for the rest of the day. So volunteering is out.

I did go to the shelter the other day for a brief time. Very cute and friendly cats all waiting for a new home. Many of them were sneezing, so it was easy to say no that day. My cats just got over their own bout of a URI and I am not willing to go through that again.

I guess I will always be looking for more cats. Someday.......

MySmartyCat  - Test your cat's intelligence!

Trimming Cat Claws

I found a good video from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine on how to trim your cat's claws. Please, please, please do not declaw your cat. Declawing does not just remove the toe nail, declawing removes the first joint of the toe. It is painful and unnecessary. Imagine your hands without the tops of all your fingers. OK, end of lecture.

Here is a picture of a cat claw. Cut off the tip of the nail away from the pink part, which is the quick. Use a good, sharp pair of clippers from the pet store. Human clippers are not shaped correctly nor sharp enough.


An alternative to clipping is fitting Soft Paws onto the cat's nails. I have never tried this.


The video shows a very tolerant cat. Many cats do not like to have their nails clipped. I have several like that. Here's what I do:

• Wait till she is sleeping, then sneak in and clip one or two nails, or until she starts to resist.


• Have someone else hold the cat and clip nails until the cat begins to protest.

Some people wrap their cat in a blanket like a burrito. I do not like to stress the cat (or me). It makes it so much harder the next time. So what if all the nails aren't done? I can trim several more an hour or a day later.

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Time for Dinner

My cats always know when it is dinnertime. Abby patiently waits and stares at me until it is time to eat. Here it appears that she got tired of waiting.

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Convenia Antibiotic for Cats

I was reading catchannel.com and discovered that the FDA has approved a single-dose injectable antibiotic for cats and dogs. Made by Pfizer Animal Health, Convenia will provide up to 14 days of treatment for common skin infections in cats and dogs. Check out the press release from Pfizer here.

One of the worst things about cat ownership is trying to give them medicines. My cats are normally very docile, until they see me coming at them with a syringe (without a needle, for liquids) or a pill. How do they know? Twice a day for 10 days? Sometimes I can hide it in their food, but not always. It can be quite a battle to get the medicine in. It is very stressful for all of us.

I think this is an outstanding development.

MySmartyCat  - Test your cat's intelligence!

Achoo! Cat Cold

Last week Jack started to sneeze. Uh-oh. Kitty cold time. Jack had a URI (Upper Respiratory Infection). Cat colds aren't quite like the ones we get. Once a cat gets one of these and recovers, the virus goes dormant and can come back when the little kitty is stressed. Often the cat will get viral conjunctivitis (pink eye) along with it. Kittens have a harder time with URIs because their immune systems aren't quite fully developed. They could get a secondary bacterial infection. Because of this, cats are often put on antibiotics, but these of course cannot cure the viral URI.

Jack fortunately did not get the conjunctivitis. He was miserable for about two days. His nose was congested and he breathed through his mouth for several days. Jack did have a hearty appetite so no vet visit was necessary. His sneezing lasted about a week, and he is back to his normal self.

I kept quite a close eye on Jack while he had this cold. When Abigail was a year old, our new kitten Daisy passed on her URI to Abby. Abby became quite sick and stopped eating for 3 days, even while she was on antibiotics. She had to go to the vet several times for sub-q injections to rehydrate her. She also had a high fever.

Achoo! Uh-oh. URIs are very contagious. Baby started to sneeze a couple of days ago. She already sneezes once or twice a day from some unknown allergy, so at first I was not concerned. But her right eye started to squint and became watery. I put antibiotics in her eyes to combat any secondary infection. I also put extra water in her food to keep her well hydrated. She is already feeling better.

So far there is no sign of this cold in the other three, older cats. I may be lucky....

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By-Products In Cat Food

As I search the web for info about cat nutrition, I find there is a lot of confusion about by-products. Many canned food contains meat by-products, and many dry foods contain meat by-product meal. What is this stuff?

According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO): Meat By-Products - the non rendered, clean parts, other than meat, derived from slaughtered mammals. It includes, but is not limited to, lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, partially defatted low-temperature fatty tissue and stomachs and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth and hooves.

If you think about what a cat eats in the wild, mouse by-products make sense. The cat will eat the whole mouse, including the liver, heart, blood, bones and everything. But by-products can also be feathers, feet, or anything that is considered un-fit for human consumption. Some have claimed that diseased organs can be included in the mix. There is no way to tell from the label what is included in the by-products. And if it says "meat by-product", you don't even know the species.

Meal is made by grinding and rendering (cooking for a long time at a high temperature to remove fat and moisture) the meat or by-product. It is more commonly used in dry food.

I choose not to feed my cats by-products. Both the canned and dry foods I have chosen, however, do contain specific meat meals. Unless you feed your cats raw food, I think it would be very hard to avoid the meals.

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