Cats

Cat allergies: Elcee gets track marks…

Today we started on the first dose of immunotherapy injections for our cat, Elcee.  She’s had problems with strange acne-like skin eruptions on her face and chin for years, but the last three years (Elcee is ten years old) they’ve gotten progressively worse.  

Elcee

During her last episode, the rash got into her ears and around her neck and shoulders: she licked her hair completely off in those areas, and ended up with secondary (bacterial) skin and ear infections.  It took weeks of treatment to get that cleared up, and the vet advised that we consider allergy tests.  As it turns out, Elcee is allergic to a lot of things…

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A Tale of Two Kitties: Harley and Jasmine

I’ve been really enjoying my motorcycle riding this year.  So much so that I started planning for my “ultimate” touring motorcycle.  I was weighing different features, reading dozens of forums and reviews, and lamenting the several years which I’d likely have to wait in order to save up the cash.  As you might imagine, this non-stop motorcycle this, Harley that, whining and complaining started to get on the nerves of my lovely wife Irene.  Finally, after hearing one too many “<sigh>I wish I didn’t have to wait another two years” noises from me, she snapped:

“Kelly, if I can have two kittens, you can go buy your Harley on terms”

Obviously, my lovely wife doesn’t snap in a mean way.  And that’s how we ended up adding two more kittens to our already cat-crowded home… and it marks the beginning of a stressful period of uncertainty that is still not over.

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200 pound Actor, Joseph Petcka, claims self defense in killing of 8 pound cat…

I am continuously amazed by the human capacity for cruelty and stupidity. Here we have a man, a former professional baseball player and sometime-actor by the name of Joseph Petcka, who claims he brutalized and killed his (presumably ex) girlfriend’s cat because “he attacked me”.

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Warm enough for you?

It was 38 degrees Celsius here on Wednesday.  It was about 32 today, and about the same on Monday and Tuesday.  I like warm weather, but “warm” to me is 25 degrees. 

We’d probably have central air conditioning in our house if this kind of weather was common.  Instead, we make do.  Our house has “top opening” windows, so in-window air conditioning isn’t an option for us either.  I bought a portable AC unit a couple of years ago, the type with the big hoses you are supposed to route through the window…but guess what?  There isn’t any real way to mount the hoses / vents in top opening windows either.  I can jury rig something with tin foil and cardboard (I’m serious), but it is generally more hassle than it’s worth.

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Rommel develops another new ailment…

Our cat, Rommel, has had a rather checkered past when it comes to his own health.  He entered our house as a basically healthy twelve week old kitten nearly twelve years ago.  Within a few months he had fractured his kneecap (resulting in six weeks in a cast), and within a year he’d had several abscesses, various stitches added and removed, and numerous x-rays.  In more recent years he’s developed a growth in his mouth called a stomatitis, for which he has had several surgeries, regular steroidal treatments, special hypoallergenic food, and periodic doses of anti-biotics.

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