Cooperation

A problem a friend was having today made me think of a common problem many people have when dealing with behavior problems with any pet, not just felines. The problem of cooperation and blame.

Really? You're going to blame me?

It's easy to blame the cat for the behavior problem. She peed on the carpet. He scratched the couch. She pooped outside the box.

He sacrificed the kids to Satan.

But in almost all cases, the pet does not hold all of the blame. As owners, we also need to cooperate for effective means of changing such behavior. Everyone in the household needs to come up with a plan for modification of bad behavior and stick to it. If everyone isn't on board, those plans won't work.

The cat did you a favor. Those kids were monsters.

The problem for my friend is actually pretty simple to solve. Her cat does what I call "revenge peeing." This means she pees to show her displeasure with whatever situation is going on that she doesn't like.

We really need to talk about the color of this room.

Revenge Peeing isn't always the easiest to solve, but the real problem for my friend isn't that, it's that her other housemates aren't cooperating to solve the problem. Peeing on her items is one problem to solve, but she also pees on her housemate's bed. All they need to do is shut the door when they aren't in the room, but in their minds it's the cat who needs to change, not them.

Just be prepared for the nose under the door.

The cat's problem needs to be solved, no doubt. But part of solving it is to keep a door shut. It'll save the bed from being peed on and a mattress from being ruined. Most times solving behavior problems requires a change on the human's part too. This includes every human in the house, not just the owner.

I'm watching you human.

Part of a behaviorist's job is to come up with a plan for the members of the household to follow to help modify the cat's behavior. Before you give up on solving a problem, it's important to make sure everyone is cooperating to help change bad behavior. If they aren't going to, you might need to consult a human behaviorist.

It's called "kicking them out."

Rebecca is a feline behaviorist with the Finicky Feline in Portland, OR. She can be contacted for all your feline problems at bravemer@gmail.com.

The Slaying of Mr. Turtle

For those who don't know- this is my dog, Merida.

This is Mr. Turtle.

She got this toy today.

These events happened between 4pm and 4:20pm.

The aftermath.

No remorse.

RIP Mr. Turtle.

Kitten Torture

This post is about keeping your already tamed kittens socialized. I call it kitten torture, for reasons you will soon find out. I will likely write a future post about socializing your feral kittens. Please DO NOT use this on your feral kittens. You will lose your lips.

So you've just taken your kittens home to foster for a few weeks, now what? Sadly, you can't just throw them in a room and lock the door like you can children.

"And then, officer, she gave me lukewarm milk with my cookies."

No, your kittens need love and attention so they don't turn into mean snarling feral balls of fur and teeth. My patented method is called (lovingly) Kitten Torture. Basically you want to subject your kitten to all the abusive loving they are going to get upon going to their permanent home. If they can't handle it, you'll need to change what they need in a home. Otherwise, get ready to have fun!

1) OH GOD NO THE KISSING

It'll be a cold day in hell before you find an adopter who does not want to smother their kitten in kisses. Unfortunately the reaction to a pair of gigantic scary lips coming towards your face is usually "Scratch the hell out of it." With some help from you, you can take this reaction down a notch to just resigned acceptance.

Please...call OHS.

2) Hands are not for Hurting

Kittens love to play. I think everyone knows this, right? They will play with literally anything. Toys, food, blankets. Each other. Poop. Hands.

Is that a toy or poop? Better play with it anyway.

I think you know which toy I'm concerned about on this list. That's right: hands. It's important to teach your kittens early on that hands are not toys. Sure, it's cute when they're small and adorable. But imagine ten pounds on that thing and claws three times bigger. Then you're looking at stitches.

What, you never heard of a bro fist?

Normally you want to take your hand away immediately and say "no!" or even yelp at them. Then you replace your hand with a toy. Or hair. Hair is funny if it's long enough. If it's too short you'll lose an eye, though.

Is that an eyeball or a toy? Better play with it anyway.

3) The Belly Blow

Be careful with this one. It's hilarious when done correctly, but you need to prepare. First, cut your kitten's nails. As short as you can without quicking it. Then, make sure your kitten is comfortable being held on his or her back. Some kittens need time to get used to being held like that, some never will like it. Either way if they freak out in the middle of the tummy blow you could end up with a face full of claws. Also, make sure your kitten doesn't bite when surprised or playful. This could also end badly for your face.

Once you're sure you've prepared (and I hold no responsibility if you haven't), take your kitten, stretch them out on their back, and blow on their belly!

I WILL KILL YOU HUMAN

4) Boob Job

No, this isn't as inappropriate as it sounds. Most girls do it naturally anyway. Again, clip those damn nails.

Kitten claws are my mortal enemy.

Young kittens can't control their body temperature, which means they get cold very easily. Usually they use mom's heat to keep warm, but sometimes they don't have mom.

And they have the saddest story ever told.

Women have these wonderful mounds of fat on their chest that are for some reason attractive to men and also serve as awesome heat packs. When I worked at the shelter and we had a cold orphan come in, between the boobs is the first place they went. It took some time to make a bed, set up a heating pad, get them situated and make food. In this time they would fit snugly between my boobs, leaving me hands free to do all that!

There are thousands of inappropriate kitten boob pics out there, but I give you this one,
because this is a blog about kittens, not boobs, you perverts.

So, to recap, kisses are good, hands are not toys, be careful before blowing on the belly, and boobs are warm. Also, poop is a toy. Deal with it.

Thank you to my friend Tara for modeling for these pictures!

The Google Complex

There are four words that people utter in this new modern day and age that no one in any medical community ever wants to hear.

"But the internet says..."

Honest Abe wouldn't lie to you though.

I cannot even count the number of times I've heard this phrase during my time in animal medicine, and every single time, even when it isn't directed at me, I have the same amount of intense hatred for those words.

The main problem is convenience. It's so easy to go to Google and have it tell you what the symptoms of a headache and fever might mean.

Hint: It's cancer.

On the other side, it's just as easy for the internet to make up totally fraudulent claims based on family anecdotes, something their idiot friend said or worse, nothing at all.

In my time in animal medicine I've heard them all:

• Feeding my pet garlic will kill fleas.
• Giving them apple vinegar will cure urinary crystals.
• Pain meds aren't necessary because animals don't feel pain like humans do.
• A broken leg can be "walked off"
• These vitamins and supplements will work better than antibiotics.
• Sour cream is an acceptable substitute for milk for nursing kittens.
• Cats have to give birth once before they are spayed.
• The internet told me only to give this much medication.

And my favorite: My cat is going to kill my unborn baby.

Here's the problem with the internet- any idiot can write anything about anything and make it public. They don't have to cite credible sources, they don't hold any blame if something they write is incorrect, and people lie. Often. On purpose.

Don't look at me like that.

The worst part is, we're all guilty of this. Doctors, assistants, techs, nurses, we've all turned to the internet at one point to tell us the answer. The main difference is (usually) professionals have the education and training to know when something might be valuable information and when it's total bullshit. And when there is a more knowledgeable colleague available, we will turn to them first.

So before you head in with your pet or yourself and seek medical advice, please remember that the people giving you advice have had years of experience in their field, and that person on the internet is probably your neighbor's teenage son.

My cat is bleeding profusely, I should wait and see right?

Little Es

WARNING: You are about to see lots of pictures of very cute kittens. Please don't hyperventilate and pass out. You've been warned.

Dawn is a sadist.

I get the foster emails from CAT every day as a digest, and she'd posted about a single orphan that needed a home. I don't get the digest until very late at night, but I let her know I'd be able to take the little orphan if it was still available. The next day she texts me to say he's taken, but there are three almost at-weights available. Being the sucker I am, I say okay, because they're older and almost at surgery weight.

When I get there, this is what I find.

"Punk Face"

"Curly Butt"

"Ew"

Dawn knows how I feel about Siamese, yet she failed to tell me one of them was exactly that. Fortunately, Curly Butt totally makes up for it. I have no idea who is who in terms of their shelter appointed names, but the above is what I have dubbed them. And Curly Butt is by far the cutest kitten I've ever had. Well, maybe except for Noodle.

This is why his name is Curly Butt

This is Noodle

I took about 200 pictures to get about ten good ones. These guys do not hold still for one second, especially Punk Face. However, when I gave them wet food you'd think they hadn't eaten in a year, which is pretty impressive considering they've only been alive for eight weeks.

"Hey, I'm sleepin here!"

I'll probably only get a couple of weeks with them, which is probably plenty anyway. But for now I'm already dreading the day when I'll have to take Curly Butt back to the shelter for his surgery. Sixth cat anyone?

Cue my dad's scream heard from afar

For now, though, here's some more pics for your fix.

She'll never get adopted.

Happy Tails!

Compassion Fatigue

Compassion fatigue is something that has been covered many times, and those in the medical/veterinary/social services and many others where you help people in shitty situations know all about it. Unless you have experienced it, though, it's pretty hard to convey in words. 

It seems like a first world problem, but it's a real thing.

Goodness knows I've experienced it many times since I've been in shelter care and now vet medicine. There's always a litter of kittens you can't help, a pregnant mom that needs to be spayed, a dog hit by a car that you can't save. It's the nature of our business, but we do what needs to be done for the times when we can save the kittens/dog/see mom go to a good home.

Thanks to us she will never be a mother. She will only be adorable.

A few nights ago I had a very real case of compassion fatigue suddenly hit me. I picked up an overnight at the animal ER where I work, which is hard enough as it is. As sad as it sounds, often we will try (and fail) to maintain some distance emotionally from our patients. We still give them the best care possible, but if you fall in love you make bad decisions and get, of course, fatigued.

I had been up for 12 hours with a two hour nap already before I started my 10 hour night at 9pm. It had been a long weekend already and I was feeling it. The ER side of our hospital was fairly slow, thank goodness, but ICU was hopping. After 3am I was all alone, and had just gotten word that a dog who had had surgery earlier in the day was not doing well and needed to go back in. She was set up on one of our open "pods" and getting transfusions until our surgeon came. But it wasn't even her that set me off.

This is pretty much how I was feeling by then.

What set me off was a little pug named Lola. She was old, diabetic, and adorable. Her blood sugar was high so she hadn't eaten in a while, but it finally came down enough that I could feed her. I found myself focusing all my energy on her. We had to lay her on her side to draw blood, something pugs don't like because they can't breathe well. The last time we drew blood she got a runny nose and started sniffling and sneezing. I wiped her nose, rubbed her face and was allowed to finally give her food, which she happily ate.

She was not even close to the sickest animal in the ICU, but I could see that she didn't have much time left. Even with the diabetes under control, she was just old. I started to think about her owner, and how devastated I would be if this were my dog and she passed. She was adorable, sweet, and full of love even though she wasn't feeling well. Suddenly I wanted to cry, and go home.

Just so you don't get too sad, here's a horse with a cone on its head.

Fortunately the emergency surgery had to start and took my mind off Lola and on to other things. It was a pretty crazy, fast and hectic surgery and I had to concentrate on that. But once I got home, Lola was still on my mind. I don't know if she went home or is doing well, and honestly, I'm often afraid to find out. Lots of times we'll have long term or repeat patients that we get attached to, and it's pretty obvious how much it brings down the whole staff to learn they've passed. If we make jokes or act callous towards death it's because the reality of it would break our hearts, our minds, and make us numb.

It's important to appreciate the people in this industry, and think about the situations we have to go through and deal with daily. It's important for us to appreciate each other, something I think we often forget to do. And it's important for us to appreciate ourselves. 

Animals can't talk, but they thank us every day in their own ways. That's why we do this. 

I'm Back!

Man, I don't even know why I left. It's been one hell of a crazy year and a half! I left my post as Foster Coordinator at CAT, not because a kitten robbed me and ate my fish, but because I had an opportunity to join one of the best animal ERs in the country and I took it. I still foster and am a mentor, so kittens are definitely still in my life. It's just a little more medical now.

Although that robbing thing did happen. No one will convict a kitten.

First of all, I want to thank Cat Adoption Team for helping me to start learning all the skills I have today. I went into my new job with a great background of knowledge and I consider myself lucky for that. Now that I'm in the ER, though, I've learned that this is what I'd like to dedicate my life to.

Plus you get to wear these awesome outfits that aren't stuffy at all.

Let me tell you a story: when I was young, I wanted to be a veterinarian. I could pronounce the word when I was five and spell it by the time I was seven. Throughout my years in school I came to realize math is not my best subject, and resigned myself to not be a vet, seeing as I only passed Algebra by cheating (cheating is wrong- don't cheat kids). Instead I went into writing, as I was moderately good at that and it required no math skills at all, unless I was writing about math, which I was not. That's crazy.

I also thought I could be a unicorn, but that is neither here nor there.  

So I plodded through college and got my English degree, hoping to maybe be a writer or, even worse, screenwriter. As soon as I realized it's really hard to make money that way (I like money), I decided to volunteer at non-profits in hopes of returning to my roots there. I started at cable access as a director and I never, ever fit in at any for-profit retail job I've ever had. I know right now you are laughing at me for realizing writing is hard and going into non-profit to make money, but if I'm not doing what I love there's no point in me doing it at all.

Once I got into the medical side of the shelter, a still newfangled thing called "shelter medicine," I figured out I enjoyed it and was actually quite good at it. I learned to give shots, recognize illness and find the right course of action to treat it. I'm pretty proficient at taking care of kittens as well. Now I'm learning to take care of other things, like these big furry animals called "dogs."

Terrifying.

So follow me on this scary journey into vet school and beyond. I promise I'll try to convey the hilarity as well as the hardships. And hey, you have questions? Let me know. Obvs I can't give medical advice online (nor would I), but behavior questions I am all over.

Questions like "What's wrong with my cat? He's not hanging upside down like normal." will be ignored.