Four out of five cats - Vet visits this week

Well what a week that has been…. we just never go to the vets apart from the annual check and neutering however this week was different.

Harvey

Monty

At the beginning of the week Harvey seemed out of sorts. Cats are notorious for hiding pain but he was not eating  and he was sitting in a very crouched bent back position. For a day I did not see him laid out resting, always in the same position. I was adding all the best treats on the food and nothing was enticing him so on Monday we went off to the vets. On examination he had no bladder, kidney or constipation  problems however as she pushed her thumbs along his back he was visibly wincing around his lower back. So metacam, antibiotics and a vitamin injection later we came home.

Bertie and Luna

Only to notice then that Monty had obviously scratched/hurt his eye which was junky and weeping. The next day we had to be at the vets early for Bertie's neutering so off the two went. Monty sorted and Bertie in the afternoon then collected! Bertie was fine just a lot of sorting out and cleaning needed to make him happy.

Reuben

As we then brushed Luna I noticed a lumpy matt which then I had a go at. On further examination their seemed to be detritus from outside within the matt and then when I opened the matt up further I found a small one penny sized flap of skin opened up. Off to the vets again. I felt very abashed that I had not noticed quicker as the vet said it had probably happened a couple of days ago as the edges of the tear were dying. Luna has a lot of loose skin being a kitten of 8 months so the vet said she had probably pulled it on a thorn outside and continued to walk not noticing. The vet was able to use a local on Luna as she is one very relaxed calm cat, she cut off the dead flap and glued the edges together. Another antibiotic injection and a £42 cost.

So we have one day left of the week and one cat that hasn't been……please Reuben just let our next visit only be for your annual check.





I have to say I know the vets are expensive but I have to say

Harvey was examined for 15 minutes and had Metacam, vitamin and an antibiotic = £34
Bertie neutering/ Monty exam = £52
Luna Saturday morning exam, local, flap excised, glued, and antibiotic = £42

Does not seem excessive but just a little unfortunate in one week.

Shortbread and Dundee cake

Well there are two recipes  I can remember off the top of my head, one is my mum's Shortbread and the other the Dundee cake recipe.

Mum was a fantastic baker and it is something as a Vicar's wife she had a lot to do.

Shortbread

This will make a very buttery short Shortbread.

Ingredients

3 Oz Cornflour
3 Oz Caster Sugar
8 Oz Plain Flour
8 Oz Cubed Butter, salted

1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla extract ( personal favourite Ndali Vanilla extract from Waitrose
Ndali Vanilla )

1. Get grease proofed paper cut and ready in container

2. Cubed Salted butter

3. Caster sugar added

4. Flour, cornflour, vanilla also added

5. Mix slowly

6. Combine to look like large breadcrumbs

7. Mix until one ball or combine in the tray

8. Pierce dough with a fork and decorate the edge

10. 150 C for 40-45 min leave in after for approx 10 min

9. Not immediately nor when cold CUT

This is the easiest thing to do. Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix. Initially the mix will combine to look like breadcrumbs which will then combine to one clump giving your mixer a hernia trying to mix it : )

Use a greased and baking parchment covered tin and put the mix in ensuring that it is in all corners. I then add a fluted pattern around the edge and fork the mixture over. Why? because that's what my mum did.

In my oven it then goes in at 150 C for 40-45 minutes. I tend to then turn the oven off and leave it in there for 20 minutes. Guess work really, most people like the Shortbread yellow and light and crumbly however my OH likes a little more colour and a more caramel taste!!

Dundee cake

You can have this plain or add split flaked almonds on top (whole almonds divided down  the middle) in increasing sized circles - Mum called it Toenail cake : ) it appealed to a kids uggy nature!!

Ingredients
6 Oz Butter
6 Oz Caster Sugar
4  Eggs
10 Oz Self Raising Flour
1 lb Soft Fruit mix including raisins, currants and peel, personally NO cherries, ughhhhhh

150 C 2 hours, personally I would look at 1 and a half  hours then judge from there.

I'd forgotten about my Redbubble, I must add to it

A notification came through yesterday from Redbubble which made me access my site again when I had eventually remembered my old old logins etc!!!!!

This is a new one to add

I realised there are a fair number of new photos I must add to it. Redbubble is a site to show your photos and receive comments, good or bad. It is like Flickr in that way however you are able to sell your photos in various forms - cards, posters, framed prints etc.

Redbubble

Gothic Wings

Sleepy

Moroccan Communication

Hummingbird Attack

Essentials - As a cat pet owner you can't do without

Well today whilst going through the house work I found my mum's old sofa looking a bit cat haired usually I use the hoover on it however I chose to use a sponge which I'd bought a little while ago from Pets at Home, well I'd forgotten how great it was. With a cursory rub the hair just attaches itself so all the dimpled areas that gather fluff like a belly button was easy to clean with a quick brush over.

So it got me thinking what other things have I found so useful or really used…….

• Zooplus Relax Scratch Bed £7.99. Wow, these are the most used items in the whole house. We have four, we gave one to my Sister in Law now she is buying two extra!!! As I speak all four are actually in use.

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/scratching_posts/cardboard_cat_furniture/315507

• Hair and Lint remover, Simple solutions. This is the sponge which I used to wipe off a coatful of hair from the sofa. £5.00

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/hair-and-lint-remover

• Flying toys - Dabird, Flying frenzy and Neko Flies. All these are excellent for keeping cats amused. love the Dabird flying range plus their mousey. Flying Frenzy to an extensive range of lovely attachments on their own rods or Dabirds, no reason for them to get bored at all. Neko Flies, just love them a lot but they are a little pricey but the quality speaks for itself.

http://www.da-bird.co.uk

http://purrfecthomes.co.uk/index.php?id_category=11&controller=category&id_lang=2

• Thrives freeze dried treats are the favourite for all the cats. They come at the rattle of the tube and bite your fingers off for them, they are however horrendously expensive. Get them whenever there is a special on such as Amazon 15% of pet treats occasionally or voucher codes!! I even work out which of their range has most in a tube, you have to look as the same size tube will hold different weights of product. I believe the Chicken works out best which is lucky as this is their favourite. Waitrose at the moment do them the cheapest - £ 2.99 a small tube.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrive-100-Chicken-Treats-MaxiTube/dp/B007IGMZD4

• Worlds best cat litter just goes on and on and on. I converted to this litter from a well known white brand available in supermarkets, well is was a revelation and this was no exaggeration. The litter tray was needing to be changed weekly at least (and with five that would be a lot of litter trays!!) at £6.99 a tray of the old brand and it did still smell. Well I changed to Worlds Best which on the face of it is ridiculously expensive (although from Zooplus it is much better priced) however the clumping nature of the litter means you ONLY remove the tainted litter ( wee clumps into doughnut shapes etc) and the multicat formula lasts and lasts and lasts and lasts. A tray just needs topping up when it gets low and only a change when you feel it needs it. It lasts absurdly long. Saying that I do like Natures Calling as well, Walnut based as opposed to Corn Kernel, which is new and cheaper. The best thing is that they are both licensed for the used litter to be flushed down the toilet so no huge litter waste in the bins and they are both from renewable sources.

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_litter/worlds_best_cat_litter

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_litter/clumping_litter/other_brands/387466

• A really good cat tree. After three shop bought cat trees that died within months of having them I came to the decisions of buying a large solid German made cat tree, and it's the best decision we made by far. In general the shop ones although cheap are not meant to take the weight of adult BSHs etc. There is a British make which is of fabulous quality, Tigga Towers, however the cost is exceptional. They do however have granite and solid wood parts. There are a variety of German makes some do use solid wood etc however to reduce the price some have plywood etc, the prices, even with delivery are much much cheaper.

http://shop.petfun.de/en/

http://www.kratzbaeume.de/Kratzbaeume/Holzbaeume-Multiplex-Buche-/

http://www.katzenglueck.de/xtm/

• For RAW feeding specifically mincing of bones and meat then a grinder is great. Bones being a challenge then one with a power motor is needed. The one we have will go through Rabbit and Chicken bones well especially on a coarse and them fine ground.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-James-Electric-Vegetable-Attachment/dp/B0063CF80G

• Fortiflora is described as a Feline Probiotic however it is used in this house when the tribes appetite is suppressed i.e. During hot weather. The product comes in sachets in minute qualities however a quick sprinkle over food will encourage most fussy eaters.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/FortiFlora-Feline-Nutritional-Complement-Kittens/dp/B004FGCVA2

If I think of more I will add them……...

A Crabmill birthday meal

Well our eldest had his birthday recently so it was off to the Crabmill for a meal, yummy.

To make the most of a free weekend we had booked for a Friday night. It is a restaurant that we haven't gone to very often and I am not sure why as certainly when we went it was a lovely experience.

The environment is comfortable with lighting and decor feeling just right for the building. The food had a perfect selection of just a few items all of which tempted you as well as the specials.

I have to say where we live we have an envious number of restaurants, bars and cafes. I am still finding new ones to try. The Crabmill however is definitely one which I will go to again for both an evening and a lunchtime meal.

My eldest continued to have an extended birthday in that he was able to make most of the weekend with his girlfriend cooking Hummingbird cake recipes and making the most sweet cake I have ever tasted : )

We even lit the candles on a cake so hubby was able to get involved with it over Skype.

Happy Birthday

Eggheads

My boy on Eggheads

Keep smiling

Finally we managed to see Tom on TV. Around a year ago he and his quizzing friends had taken part in the television programme "EGGHEADS" on the BBC.

Is this the way he revised at Uni?

Waiting to be seen

Proof that they read Newspapers

Hard at work with the important bit

It had been a long process, whilst at Uni he and a few mates used to go down to the pub to do their quizzes then one bright spark suggested going in for Eggheads!!!!!!! and started the process. They had to go to Birmingham initially to be interviewed and have questions given to them, as a result they suddenly found themselves actually chosen to go for filming!!!! all too real. They actually got a stay at a hotel and quite an experience out of it but unfortunately they didn't win any money!!

Meeting everyone

Handshakes with the presenter

My son has strengths in science and geography but certainly not SPORT which was the subject he ended up with. Seriously he is the most disinterested person in sport, never watching it and has not even a residual interest. He did himself proud and he scrubbed up really nicely on the TV.


When it came on I was of course very proud, I think he couldn't of cared less!! or he puts on a good front!!
This is the third time he's been on TV. What next? Only joking…..  The first being "Hell's Kitchen: School reunion,"( a one of programme visiting Gordon Ramsey old high school to improve their lunches) the other "Don't get done get Dom."

Nerves

Instructions

Sunshine to hail in minutes

Well as it was nice I thought I would go out for a walk, blue sky and some warmish sunshine plus a moody cat that wanted a walk!

Out we went  then it proceeded to get darker and darker, cold drops of rain came down so we made our way in an ever increasing hurry back home. Just as we got in the flash of lightening and the sky darkened dramatically to a hit of thunder and a massive downpour of hailstones. The cats shot in to us as the conservatory roof sounded as if it was going to impload.

My eldest stepped outside to the pain of hailstones on his back and regretted it. I on the other hand have a cruel sense of humour and laughed.

How to de stress a cat? Possibly!!! Pills, potions or actions

I've just been reading an entry on a cousins Facebook page where they have just got the most beautiful new puppy, who is just perfect, however the resident cat has just taken to sitting in her litter tray!!

She is used to dogs so it is only the fact that the puppy is new and probably somewhat more active than she has been used to for many years. She has probably taken to her tray as this is where her smell is and she feels safe but as cats are so fastidious she obviously won't want to be there.

So I wondered what could be done!!

Options - Actions

A bouncing puppy full of energy is probably frightening to an older slower cat so to open up physical escape routes where she can watch but not get approached
may help. Bring some height into her world where the puppy cannot reach, easy access to shelves, tops of units, backs of settees, across mantlepieces, and up cat trees. Here she has gained a whole new level of a world where he cannot get her but she can watch him. It might affect the aesthetics of the room but it can be done.

Place the litter tray where she can use it without fear of an approach, she is feeling insecure. Also add one more litter tray and if it can be given some height or turn it, if it is hooded, so access is restricted for the puppy.

Use a feather rod toy to get her to play AROUND the new puppy but not necessarily with ( Da bird or Frenzy rods, great flying action and most likely to get a response than the short ones in the shops 

http://www.da-bird.co.uk).

It will pull her out of the litter tray, she will see him as nothing to be scared of. Play with him at the same time but with something else, a game where he is not prancing around, maybe a training session of sit and down etc.

Potions and Pills


Zylkene can be bought from the vets or online as it is non-prescription. Online is far far cheaper. Its use is to calm and destress animals such as dogs, cats and horses. Most people I have known use it when moving, when fireworks are going to be about and when introducing new cats, dogs or babies to a household. Unless your cat is an angel at taking pills I have found the best way to use it is in food or treats, I use Webbox lick e lix tubes, a yoghurt like liquid which I break the capsule into. Expect it to  take a couple of weeks to work and does not work on all animals. However our household now does include five cats and so far so good!!! because of the cost I am sneaky I buy the ones for dogs and divide the capsule contents up as it is the same product for all animals just in different quantities and the capsules are not time release. This should just calm her.

Also Feliway ( http://www.feliway.com/uk/ )can be used or Pet Remedy diffusers ( http://www.petremedy.co.uk ). Feliway comes as a spray to be used in travel boxes or where a plugin cannot be used or a plug in diffuser. The evidence for success is anecdotal, some people swear of its success others say it hasn't done a thing!! Whereas Feliway is a pheromone Pet Remedy is herbal i.e. it includes Valerian etc, it smells like old socks a bit but I have to say if I spray this around their beds they do seem to use them, this also comes as a diffuser as well.



Time to use the vets!

Cystitis is horrible and cats are prone to getting it when stressed, just keep a check on the litter tray for blood or even straining by her. Cats are very, very good at hiding pain. She maybe in there NOT to hide but has the need to go. If  she has got cystitis the vets may recommend Cystaid

( http://www.vetuk.co.uk/pet-cystitis-cat-cystitis-c-5_7_1280/cystaid-plus-cystitis-glucosamine-capsules-for-cats-240-pack-p-41 )

 be added to her diet and a specific expensive dry cat food. I personally would add a water fountain to encourage fluid drinking, withdraw normal dry food and only feed wet tinned or RAW. Even add more water to the tinned if you can. If she is  a kibble only cat try buying "Fortiflora" this is a powder which you can dust over the tinned food to encourage eating and tastes similar to the stuff they blast the kibble with.

I know this is focussed on only the cat, when such a lovely puppy has entered the house, however she is confused and stressed.

I hope this helps a little, just a few ideas.