Introducing Summer!!! Vet Updates Added

[phesina]

Oh my gosh! Tracey, you are amazing (if that's the right word)!

Welcome HOME, darling Summer.. You are a beauty!

[krazyaboutkatz]

The vet visit went well and I was very impressed with Dr. Blackwolf. I found out that she normally works on Wed.,Thurs., & Sat. and my regular vet Dr. Boltz now only works on Sun., Mon. doing mostly surgeries with some appts., and Tues. So hopefully in the future I'll be able to get appts. with either one of these vets. Summer is now allowed to be out and about. Her ears looked good so no mites there. Since she's still itchy, she'll be on prednisolone for a little while to help make her feel better. Dr. Blackwolf will call me in 2 weeks to see how she's doing. She has mild gingivitis but not as bad as poor Bentley and Levi. For their ages the vet said that they have it pretty bad. She recommended that I go to www.vohc.org to find out the kinds of cat treats that are recommended to help this. Summer weighs 9.02lbs, Bentley weighs 11.45lbs, Levi weighs a whopping 11.58lbs and is a much smaller cat than Bentley. Sky weighs 11.22lbs which is a good weight for a senior cat. I need to feed Levi more canned and less dry to help him lose weight. This will work because I had to do this for Ziggy several years ago. I'll have to put Levi in the bathroom by himself in order to do this though. Sky's bony lump on his head is just a very prominent lump. All cats have this but since he's lost some muscle mass from aging, his just feels larger. I still need to monitor this just in case. He also has a slight heart murmur on one side but it comes and goes so it shouldn't be anything to worry about.

The vet didn't charge any office visit fees for Bentley, Levi, or Summer. I guess it's because they're new or this was their first office visit. The vets put in the charges not the people in the front office that check you out. I love that the vets are allowed to do this. I've received many discounts or freebies in the past because of this. All of the other vets that I've gone to before always had the front office people to put in the charges. Dr. Blackwolf also doesn't believe in overvaccinating. Since my cats are all indoor only, she doesn't even recommend that they have rabies shots. After they receive their first adult FVCRP(no chlamydia) shot she said she may do it one more year and then after this no more shots. Many vets now recommend this kind of shot every 3 years. I've been very impressed that both Dr. Boltz and now Dr. Blackwolf don't pressure you into giving your animal shots. They prefer that you just come in to get their annual exams. I'm sure that if my cats were indoor/outdoor that this would change things a bit.

[cassiesmom]

Thank you for the tip on the VOHC site! I'll ask the vet about it when Cassie and I go back. I'm glad Summer was cleared to join everyone!

You said you'll feed Levi more canned food and less dry to help him lose weight. I'd have thought that canned food was higher in calories than dry food. You are a terrific cat meowmie, KAK! Could you please give your kitties a scritch for me.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thank you for the tip on the VOHC site! I'll ask the vet about it when Cassie and I go back. I'm glad Summer was cleared to join everyone!

You said you'll feed Levi more canned food and less dry to help him lose weight. I'd have thought that canned food was higher in calories than dry food. You are a terrific cat meowmie, KAK! Could you please give your kitties a scritch for me.

You're welcome. I let Summer out for a bit and she hissed at everyone. Finnegan was very smitten with her and he started talking to her and following her around a little too closely. Even when she continued to hiss, he was very persistent. After a little while she had enough so I put her back in the bathroom so she could relax and distress. I hope it won't take her too long to make friends or at least tolerate her brothers. Canned food has more protein and fewer carbs than dry food so it has less calories. The carbs in dry food make cats gain weight and this is also bad for diabetic cats. Most people also think that dry food will help clean cats teeth. This is false. The carbs of dry food stick to a cats teeth and help cause plaque and tartar. Canned food generally won't stick to cats teeth. Canned food also provides added moisture that cats need. Some cats will always have bad teeth no matter what you do because a lot of it has to do with genetics. I was looking at some of my other cats gums and Rory's look very red. Alani's look great and he only eats dry food because canned doesn't agree with his sensitive tummy. I've also read that hard water might affect cats teeth. I have very hard water so I hope that this isn't true. Scritches are delivered all around.

[shais_mom]

I don't even know what to say
first off wow - just wow - 3 animals (one being a LARGE dog that probably weighed more than all your cats together) was a lot for me to handle and there's no way I could afford anymore. wow

just wow
- but I can totally see why you became smitten with Summer - what a CUTIE!!
I'm glad things checked out well with the vet and she's able to be integrated with the rest of your crew - and thanks for the tip about wet food - Kloe tips the scales at 23 pounds - she mostly gets dry food with wet food as a treat - what kind of food do you feed do you mind me asking?
looking forward to how things are going in a few days - I will have to live vicariously thru you to have so many animals! 2-3 is my limit!!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I don't even know what to say
first off wow - just wow - 3 animals (one being a LARGE dog that probably weighed more than all your cats together) was a lot for me to handle and there's no way I could afford anymore. wow

just wow
- but I can totally see why you became smitten with Summer - what a CUTIE!!
I'm glad things checked out well with the vet and she's able to be integrated with the rest of your crew - and thanks for the tip about wet food - Kloe tips the scales at 23 pounds - she mostly gets dry food with wet food as a treat - what kind of food do you feed do you mind me asking?
looking forward to how things are going in a few days - I will have to live vicariously thru you to have so many animals! 2-3 is my limit!!

I feed them grain free dry and canned. The dry is Merrick's Before Grain and the canned is Wellness. It's the complete health wet cat recipes not the newer versions that they now have. I'm trying to feed them the Chicken and Turkey flavors again. I still have some of the Chicken & Herring left to use up. I found that if I feed them too much fish flavored food, then this is the only flavor they want to eat and I don't think it's good to feed them this all of the time. Merrick is also coming out with another grain free food called Purrfect Bistro. I may try the Purrfect Bistro Healthy Weight Formula in the future to see if they like it. It has more fiber in it which I know Ziggy needs.

When I was younger there would've been no way that I could care for this many cats. I wasn't mature enough, had a social life, wasn't home as much on weekends, and I traveled more. Now I just basically work during the week and then go home. I stay home on the weekends. I don't have any friends to hang out with any more. When my parents are in town, which is usually all of the time, I'll have dinner with them on Sundays. I now have the time to spend with my cats which I enjoy very much. They are my family and the kids that I never had. I'm also very organized so this helps when I feed them and take care of them. I do prefer to hang out with them over most people so I really don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. My entertainment these days are my tv and computer. My social life is PT or FB. I also enjoy pet sitting for others so I've been meeting new people this way.

[cassiesmom]

Just checking back in ... I hope Summer is getting acquainted with everyone!