The Thursday blues … and a bright spot named Harry
By Gina Spadafori
September 18, 2008
Our next PetConnection giveaway (sign up for the Nov. 1 drawing) — Aspen pet-care products worth $250 — marks the first time we will choose four winners, one for each gift basket. I’ll put up all the details this weekend, but I do know that some of the products really caught my eye at Global Pet Expo, the big annual pet-industry trade show.
But more details later about that, as I said. Instead, I was thinking about what our ever-professional contact at Aspen, Kelly Nelson, wrote recently in sending over the information on the prizes. “TGIF!!!,” she wrote. “What a whip of week!”
That phrase has really stuck with me, and this has been one whip of a week.
If I weren’t so darn busy, I would stay in bed and pull the covers over my head.
It started Sunday when my brother hit some road debris on the Interstate. His car’s front tires shredded under him, but he was able to pull to the shoulder without further damage or — most importantly — without any injury to himself. But the arrangement of the tow truck, the moving of people and vehicles here and there, the decisions (two tires, or all four?) just seemed to be a yawning vortex of time-suck that the whole family was dragged into. And the expense — not covered by insurance — was considerable, $1,100 to put four new shoes on the T-bird, plus alignments of various sorts. My brother’s a teacher, and that kind of dough is never easy to turn over. But what can you do?
The news wasn’t better on Monday, even if I wasn’t personally involved. And all animal-related, in one way or another:
- The ongoing deaths of babies in China proves for sure that certain elements in the Chinese manufacturing community and the government didn’t care about the death of thousands of pets from adulterated ingredients in 2007. They don’t care about their own children, so you know they didn’t care about our pets … or American children, for that matter. The Wild West of Chinese capitalism continues to run amok, and the powers that be there don’t care about anything except money. (Here’s the latest.)
- The leveling of entire communities along the Texas/Louisiana coast, by the one-two punch of hurricanes Gustav and Ike. These people are suffering, and so are many animals, domestic and wild, and this will continue for a long, long time, no matter how much help they get.
- The financial meltdown on Wall Street, which means the housing market isn’t getting any better any time soon. When people leave their homes, their pets suffer, too. This week I’ve already gotten an significant uptick of e-mail (some meant for me, some meant for the rescue group of the same name in the Kansas City area) from people who are looking for options that will let them keep their pets when they lose their homes — or looking for places to take their pets when they can’t find pet-friendly housing. Not to mention: With so many people living on the razor’s edge of solvency, it’s easy to predict that even for those who can keep their pets, there may be sacrifices in terms of the care those animals get.
There’s more behind my malaise, but that the most of it. Whip of a week? You betcha.
But then …
Our editor at Universal Press, Greg Melvin, rescued a feral kitten over the weekend. He was helping to handle a death in the family, on a farm a few states away. One of the barn cats had a litter with her, and she and her babies were all too wild to be pets, except one little kitten who walked right up to Greg and started purring. That little guy earned himself a plane ride back to Missouri and a great new home. Greg and his veterinarian are working to get the newly named Harry through the next couple of days. The kitten is loaded with every imaginable parasite and extremely malnourished. Dr. Becker and I both talked to Greg yesterday, to answer questions and offer encouragement.
Greg promises kitten pictures later just sent me a pic!
The Saving of Harry has been the only bright spot on what has been and likely will continue to be a Whip of Week. Never will I be so glad to see Friday come along.
On the bright side, 40% of us in the Houston area finally have power again, and most of us still have habitable houses, although many need some repair. Evacuation buses and shelters let people bring their dogs and cats, and rescue groups are very active in the evacuated area, looking for and bringing in animal refugees for much needed care.
My Flat-Coats and Golden will be happy this afternoon when the fence is back up and they can romp.
My friend who lives on Galveston Bay came to us before the storm with her 3 house cats. She is back home now with electricity, and discovered that all the feral cats she feeds were still there. (She traps and neuters them as she can.) She had really worried about the ferals, but of course couldn’t bring them with her. Her house kitties are SO pleased to not be in a house with 4 big, goofy dogs, too.
Comment by Theresa — September 18, 2008 @ 8:24 am
Just remember, during the Great Depression, we had 25% unemployment. Almost 50% of our population survived by subsistence farming. These farms had no running water or electricity. There were NO safety nets for people out of work except for the kindness of neighbors, who were also stretched for a way to feed their families. (I have two sets of grandparents and a set of in-laws who lived it.)I’m not saying it can’t happen again and I never like to compare to the worst, I like to compare to the best, but Americans are resilient. Theresa, thanks for the good news from Texas. It was a day brightener. So was the story of Harry.
Comment by C.L.H. — September 18, 2008 @ 9:09 am
I was going to do a short update post on MY whip of a week — but instead I’ll just post it as a comment here until I have all the details on what’s going on, which should be Monday.
Rebel now has a bladder infection with the same drug resistant bug that Kyrie had. And he can’t seem to tolerate the only “low-tech” antibiotic that it’s sensitive to, so much so that we ended up at the veterinary specialist all day yesterday doing ultrasounds and a bunch of other tests.
We’ve ruled out a few things, but our drug options right now are a couple of antibiotics that are potentially very toxic to my dog and devastating to my wallet. As in, thousands of dollars worth of devastating.
I’ll know more on Monday! For the moment Rebel is pretty comfortable, so I intend to spend the rest of the week and the weekend firmly in denial.
Comment by Christie Keith — September 18, 2008 @ 9:46 am
I’m a chronic sufferer of U.T.I.’s. What about cranberry? Any idea if it’s okay for canines? If so, try cranberry tablets. I’ve beaten a few that way.
Comment by C.L.H. — September 18, 2008 @ 10:47 am
You can prevent recurrent bladder infections with cranberry, but it doesn’t actually cure or treat existing infections…. that’s in humans. It hasn’t been studied in dogs. However, I have given it to Rebel before and intend to start it again in a day or two. Also, D-mannose, although it mostly is effective against e. coli and Rebel has staph.
Comment by Christie Keith — September 18, 2008 @ 10:49 am
Also, what about IV fluids to make Rebel urinate more frequently? Kind of a last resort, but I know it helps to keep things flushed. (It’s impossible to ask your dog to double up on water intake.) I thought the cranberry chemicals destroyed the bacteria’s ability to cling to the walls of the bladder? Seems like that works during an infection also.
Comment by C.L.H. — September 18, 2008 @ 11:02 am
Maybe sub-Q…. I can’t imagine giving him IVs every day!
I agree that preventing bacteria from adhering to the bladder wall seems like it would cure an infection, and perhaps in a mild one it does, but clinically, cranberry reduces the incidence of recurrent infections but doesn’t cure existing ones without some other treatment.
Perhaps the bacteria are also colonizing some other part of the urinary tract that the cranberry doesn’t affect?
Comment by Christie Keith — September 18, 2008 @ 11:15 am
Carrots are also good for UTI — can’t hurt to give him a nice big one to chew on.
Comment by Dorene — September 18, 2008 @ 11:19 am
I’ve also mega-dosed vitamin C during a UTI and had good results with that. No clinical data to support, simply anecdotal. Another thing that can’t hurt, might help? Best of luck. Poor, poor boy, I know how he feels.
Comment by C.L.H. — September 18, 2008 @ 11:34 am
Harry is super cute! I hope he gets 100% healthy soon. Many thanks to Greg Melvin for giving the kitten a loving home!
Comment by Margaret — September 18, 2008 @ 2:41 pm
Christie, Doesn’t recurrent bladder infection actually damage the tissue lining the bladder? It does in humans so I imagine it would be the same for critters too. I’m so sorry this is happening to Rebel. Paws are crossed here for his quick recovery.
Harry is lovely - looks like a spunky little guy. I needed to hear some good news today. Harry and Greg are both lucky they found each other.
Comment by Sharon H — September 18, 2008 @ 3:13 pm
Harry looks *exactly* like a cute little foundling I picked up 6 years ago. Tex (as he is now known) was only about 4 and a half weeks old. It sounds like Harry’s a lot friendlier and more confident than Tex though, even today, he zooms outside if visitors arrive, and stays there until they’re gone. Tex is ‘special’ to say the least
Christie, please accept my best wishes for Rebel. I know if I were a dog, there’s nobody I’d trust taking charge of my medical issues more than you.
Comment by Alison Woolley — September 18, 2008 @ 3:49 pm
Christie, Doesn’t recurrent bladder infection actually damage the tissue lining the bladder?
Yes, although his bladder looked normal on ultrasound. I’m sure there is some damage and thickening, but I’ve always been very aggressive and proactive about monitoring him for UTIs, plus, this hasn’t been lifelong. He did not have the surgery that predisposes him to UTIs until he was around 7, so it’s only been a little over two years.
Comment by Christie Keith — September 18, 2008 @ 3:59 pm
Feral cats and kittens are so tough, I really admire them. I’d like to TNR them into extinction, but I have great admiration for them. :-)
Here’s hoping Harry rebounds quickly.
On a related note we finally caught and spayed Coyote Cat. She kept showing up where we feed the ferals at my husbands office (all altered ) but had eluded capture thus far. But we finally got her (pregnant!) and after a little scrambling found a vet who could take her right away. So CC is officially trapped, altered and soon to be released, yay!
Christie, I hope Rebel bounces back fast too. Ralph only had one bout of UTI after surgery. While I know that the surgery comes with that increased risk, I have no regrets as the risk of future blockage was not worth it. Nor was a future that almost certainly involved more emergency surgeries for the same.
Comment by JenniferJ — September 18, 2008 @ 6:37 pm
Christie theres a product called tinkle tonic for dogs & cats that helps keep things flowing & helps to prevent UTI’s. Not a cure for the infection,but might help afterwards.I & several other people at Itchmo use it, I got it from mountain rose herbs.
Comment by Leslie K — September 18, 2008 @ 8:09 pm
Forgot to say Harry’s a real cutie !
Comment by Leslie K — September 18, 2008 @ 8:10 pm
Thanks so much for the story and pic of Harry. What fierceness! That’s about the first smile I’ve had this week.
We have three once-feral kittens who all turned into fat, happy, lazy, normal housecats. OK, they DO have a slightly elevated prey drive, but it’s a lot of fun to hear them all chattering in unison at the birds and squirrels on the back porch.
Comment by LauraL — September 18, 2008 @ 8:28 pm
What a cutie Harry is…
no matter how bad things get, there are always bright spots around us if we just keep looking.
Christie, I have had success using vitamin C with my kitties to fight infections. Don’t know how scientific it is, but it works for us.
Wishing you and Rebel all the best!
Comment by Marcy — September 20, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
Vitamin C may be very helpful with some specific infections, but it can be a disaster if given to dogs with specific metabolic conditions and/or those prone to certain types of crystals or stones.
Any dog forming crystals or stones should have them analyzed to determine the precise chemical make up even if it is the first time they have ever been diagnosed. While genetic predisposition by may be a good starting point as far as determining what a dog may be suffering with, diagnostic analysis is still more important.
Comment by JenniferJ — September 20, 2008 @ 12:56 pm
Good point, Jennifer.
If in doubt, see your vet.
Comment by Marcy — September 20, 2008 @ 3:09 pm