Pet(s): Photos & Discussion

[Scout Finch]

Am I unreasonable for expecting Willow's kidney function test results the day the vet has them, or at least the next day? The test was last Friday and they were supposed to get the results back by the end of the weekend. I called yesterday afternoon since I hadn't heard anything and they said they'd leave a message for the vet but she didn't call.

[Mindthinkr]

2 hours ago, Scout Finch said:

Am I unreasonable for expecting Willow's kidney function test results the day the vet has them, or at least the next day? The test was last Friday and they were supposed to get the results back by the end of the weekend. I called yesterday afternoon since I hadn't heard anything and they said they'd leave a message for the vet but she didn't call.

I’m hoping for along the lines of “No news is good news.”  Still I’d think it’s only reasonable that you expect some results and information by now. When I was in medicine we’d send the blood out at the end of the day. The results would come in in the am and we’d collate them to the patient’s/clients chart. They then went onto the Dr’s desk or inbox. Worst results on top. I’m sure they have your results. It’s now up to the vet to disclose them to you. 
    I hope you get good results. 

[Scout Finch]

Has she lost more weight? If the prescription food is making a difference? Does she need subQ fluids now? I don't even what stage her renal failure is. I just saw that it's been over two months since she was first diagnosed and last week was the first time I took her in for a re-check. I sent a brief email late last night asking for copies of her medical records and test results. Might be switching vets soon. Just sucks that the vet I liked so much retired and the current vet took over the practice. I'm planning to be gone Friday through Tuesday to go down to my mom's place for the first time since she died back in 2019 but am really reluctant to leave Willow. My neighbor always does an excellent job taking care of them but she'll need to stop in a couple of times a day now.

Edited May 12, 2021 by Scout Finch

[Mindthinkr]

9 minutes ago, Scout Finch said:

I don't know if she's lost more weight? If the prescription food is making a difference? Does she need subQ fluids now? I don't even what stage her renal failure is. I just saw that it's been over two months since she was first diagnosed and last week was the first time I took her in for a re-check. I sent a brief email late last night asking for copies of her medical records and test results. Might be switching vets soon. Just sucks that the vet I liked so much retired and the current vet took over the practice. I'm planning to be gone Friday through Tuesday to go down to my mom's place for the first time since she died back in 2019 but am really reluctant to leave Willow. My neighbor always does an excellent job taking care of them but she'll need to stop in a couple of times a day now.

I understand that it is a worrisome time for you to travel and be away right now. It might be time to consider getting a new vet. I had to change the beginning of this year for my own reasons. You need one that is willing to communicate and help you understand exactly what is going on, answer all your questions in terms you can understand and has compassion for your pet. I’d try calling again in the am. Today might have been that vets day off is he/she is in a multi vet practice. You will much better taking your trip if you know exactly what you cat needs and if you are able to find someone to provide it for you while you are away. Depending on that information I would be tempted to postpone my trip if my cat needed things my neighbor isn’t comfortable doing i.e. Subcutaneous fluids. Make sure you get copies of all of the tests and records. For your own files and copy them if you chose to begin with a new vet. It will save you time and money. Best wishes with your sweet kitty. 😽

[Scout Finch]

Vet just called! Willow has actually gone from stage 4 to stage 3, which the vet was surprised--but glad--about because that usually doesn't happen. Creatinine level is still higher than it should be but that's also dropped from 6.1 to 4.8, and in the two months since she was diagnosed, she has not lost anymore weight. The prescription food must be helping. Canned food is prescription but I'm still mixing the dry food as half regular and half prescription. I feel much better about having to leave her for a few days.

[MargeGunderson]

Oh, that’s wonderful news about Willow! 

[Bastet]

Congratulations on the improved kidney values, @Scout Finch!

I'm glad you finally have the information you need, but, yeah, I'd be looking for a new vet.  You should have received a call Monday, not had to seek them out Tuesday and wait until Wednesday to get a call back.  Shit happens, but that's an unreasonable lack of communication, and you've said that's a pattern since this vet took over the practice. 

The most important thing for now is that Willow is doing well, though, so I'm glad you have that peace of mind, especially as you prepare to leave for a few days.

[Scout Finch]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

Congratulations on the improved kidney values, @Scout Finch!

I'm glad you finally have the information you need, but, yeah, I'd be looking for a new vet.  You should have received a call Monday, not had to seek them out Tuesday and wait until Wednesday to get a call back.  Shit happens, but that's an unreasonable lack of communication, and you've said that's a pattern since this vet took over the practice. 

The most important thing for now is that Willow is doing well, though, so I'm glad you have that peace of mind, especially as you prepare to leave for a few days.

As it turns out, she said she was off on Monday and then yesterday one of the employees was seriously injured so they were dealing with that at the clinic.

[Bastet]

When my vet is out and test results come in, another vet calls me so I have the information and the chance to ask any immediate questions, and then my regular vet follows up on her return if there's any need.  Is this a one-vet practice?

The good thing is that, since Willow is doing well, if you do want to switch vets because of this pattern of poor communication, you have the time to ask neighbors and look online for recommendations.

My vet was located near my old place, and Maddie and Baxter didn't mind the trip (about 15 minutes), but Riley did as she's scared in the car.  But we only go once a year, I liked all the vets and techs, etc. so I was reluctant to take a chance on switching.  But I went ahead and did some research and interviewing in case I decided to, and found what seemed like a great option just five minutes from my house.

When I needed to get Riley in quickly last summer, my preferred vet had no available appointments for over a month and the first available with any vet in the practice was a week away, so I had to go elsewhere (it wasn't an emergency, but it was time sensitive).  I was so glad I'd done the legwork already and had a place in mind.  The new place had an opening the next day, and I was pleased with the care and responsiveness, so, given the proximity and its importance to Riley, I switched.

You may want to similarly have something in your back pocket should you feel the need to switch vets down the road.

[bosawks]

Look who’s one today!

Happy birthday, Harper!

Edited May 14, 2021 by bosawks

[Annber03]

Aw, that face :)! 

Happy birthday to Harper!

[Moose135]

Happy Bark Day, Harper! Jake sends his best wishes as well!

[SuprSuprElevated]

[Kromm]

Suggestion time: 

Note I'm a pet lover, especially dogs, but don't currently have one.  So I'm approaching this from a different standpoint. 

Neighbor A just bought a dog, a small one that looks like some kind of terrier. I'm not close to them, in fact there's kind of a language barrier (the kids are the only ones fluent in English really). 

There's a frequent barking problem.  High pitched too. Any time they stick the dog outside, but thankfully that's in total only a few hours a day, tops. But when it happens, they don't really intervene. 

Another neighbor on the reverse side, we will call them Neighbor C instead of B, because it's an extra house down (but all of the houses are very close together) has a dog almost as recent (actually this family moved in during the Pandemic, and now's simply the first warm weather since they arrived, and the dog has presumably been inside.  THIS dog is even more of a barker. More constant. 4 or 5 hours a day. They just stick the dog outside all day or something, and it's that kind of "alert/warning" barking at anything and everything that walks, drives, or flys by. 

The obvious pre-pandemic solution would be some kind of neighborhood meeting. But aside from not wanting to be the seening jerk to initiate that, there's the language (and I think maybe a cultural) barrier with one set of neighbors, people not wanting to gather now, this not really being a neighbourhood where people interact anyway, etc. 

Aside from the noise issue, my previous experience with dogs tells me it's not really ideal for the dogs either. Being so overly alert and edgy all of the time, I mean. Yes, small dogs bark. A lot. But it's foolish for people to think it's better left as is. 

Just short term, since I suppose inevitably I'll have to be the bad guy, talk to the neighbors (both sets) and bring this up, any humane ideas about how to directly (and I mean from across a fence) interact with the dogs with any hope of calming them?  Remember, they're not my dogs. I'm not going to put my hand through or toss treats. 

Oh, at least in part I'm thinking there's a call and response aspect between the two dogs (separated by several yards, but definitely able to hear each other). That makes it even more complicated to resolve, I think. 

[bilgistic]

I had an experience like this many years ago wherein a neighbor that shared a condo wall with me got a dog and it barked from the time she left until she came back home. I went to talk to her and no one came to the door. I left kind notes to let her know that the dog was barking constantly. Nothing helped. I finally called the city because letting one's dog bark nonstop is a noise ordinance violation. The barking stopped soon thereafter, so I assume the dog was relocated.

So my advice would be to look up your municipality's ordinances and if you are fortunate, there's someone who will come out and tell them they have to control the dog barking. I'm a cat person, but as I understand it, dogs can be trained to not bark all the goddamn time.

Where I live now, there's a dog I hear barking off in the distance ALL. DAY. LONG. when I have the window open during the day. I have exceptionally good hearing, and repetitive noises, even faraway ones, really set me on edge. Maybe one day I'll follow the barking sound and leave a note at the destination.

[rcc]

I don't mind large dogs who bark within reason but high pitched yappy dogs drive me nuts. Had a problem last year and called animal control. Apparently they had left their little yapper outside and she wedged in somewhere. Half an hour of anxious barking. Now she stays In the house when they leave.

[Kromm]

3 hours ago, rcc said:

I don't mind large dogs who bark within reason but high pitched yappy dogs drive me nuts. Had a problem last year and called animal control. Apparently they had left their little yapper outside and she wedged in somewhere. Half an hour of anxious barking. Now she stays In the house when they leave.

One of the two I mentioned is outside right now.  I've figured out another trigger. There's a THIRD dog the other side of a fence on the next street over. That's a nice medium sized dog who never barks (and who even in the backyard is usually accompanied by their human). It's a well behaved dog I'd forgotten about, for that very reason. 

But little yappy always left alone outside alone barks AT it. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

Just now, Kromm said:

One of the two I mentioned is outside right now.  I've figured out another trigger. There's a THIRD dog the other side of a fence on the next street over. That's a nice medium sized dog who never barks (and who even in the backyard is usually accompanied by their human). It's a well behaved dog I'd forgotten about, for that very reason. 

But little yappy always left alone outside alone barks AT it. 

Little Yappy is begging for attention and companionship.  He/she needs those things, and likely exercise in the form of a walk with a caring human.  Dogs are pack animals, and when left in solitary confinement, will do just about anything to attract attention; negative or otherwise.

My heart bleeds for your neighbor doggies.  People suck.

[Kromm]

I certainly agree it's not the dog's fault. While I don't favor small dogs, it's definitely doing what's natural when treated like that. 

Not all people deserve to have dogs.

[Mittengirl]

There is a dog somewhere in the vicinity that has a bark the likes of which I have never heard before - it sounds like that squeak that sneakers make on a gym floor.  It drives me crazy.  I think A leaves for work and puts the dog out, then B comes home and lets it in because I hear it every weekday at the same time for the same duration.

[Kromm]

6 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Dogs are pack animals, and when left in solitary confinement, will do just about anything to attract attention; negative or otherwise.

I will say that I think it's more Alert barking than Pay Attention To Me barking. It's definitely call and response in nature to the other barking small dog, two houses over the other side of me (actually even more frequent, but a bit further away), although in the case of the medium dog over the fence I mentioned, that dog isn't prompting via a bark, but clearly just by scent. 

If either of the two small dogs barks inside their houses, whether people are home or not, I haven't heard it. Or could just be extra noise insolation. I honestly don't know. 

Ultimately it's still a matter of them not caring that the dog is barking, and if that's actually a good thing for the dog or not. Being constantly in an alert state isn't healthy. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

Memes for a Sunday

[SuprSuprElevated]

Found another that got me giggling.

[Scarlett45]

Cosmo has a new crab squeak toy. He’s in love. He was playing with it so much this morning he didn’t even want to go potty! (Of course he did though)

[isalicat]

This is the best kitten evah :)

 

[theredhead77]

Awww the kitten! I looked up the Carcal cat and I feel like every other cat would like to have a word with the description the San Diego Zoo uses.

 

Quote

Pretty kitty. With their sleek, streamlined body, short, reddish gold coat, and dramatic markings on the face, caracals are among the most beautiful of cats. Also called the desert lynx, medium-sized caracals have no spots or stripes and have longer legs and a slimmer body than a true lynx. Caracals are the heaviest and also the fastest of the small cats and are the largest of the small cats in Africa.

 

 

[Scarlett45]

Somebody went to the groomer today!!

[Annber03]

Looks awfully happy about that, too :D. "Look how pretty I am!" Hee. 

[MargeGunderson]

I love Cosmo’s ears - they look so soft and fluffy!

[Moose135]

Cosmo is a sweetheart!

Jake went to the groomer today too!

[Annber03]

Aw, another happy dog :D. So fluffy!

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, Moose135 said:

Cosmo is a sweetheart!

Jake went to the groomer today too!

Jake looks so cute! I love his face and his markings. 
 

@Moose135- how do you get Jake in the car? Cosmo has an aversion to cars, supposedly he gets car sick (he hasn’t with me) and at first I thought he was having trouble jumping, but a jerky treat on the seat and he eventually decided to get in😯. 
 

Some tips to help him in the car would help thank you. 

[VCRTracking]

 

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by VCRTracking

[Moose135]

21 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

how do you get Jake in the car?

It took some time. We got him right as he turned one year old, and he was very reluctant to get in the car.  GF is a friend of his breeder, and he was returned to her by his first owners. We know he was treated well there, but we don't know his experiences with car rides - he may have only gone on rides to the vet, or maybe because he bounced around a little, he wasn't sure where he was going to end up at the end of the ride.

We would use treats or his favorite chew toy, letting him see us throw them in the back seat. At times, one of us would open the other door and try to call him, usually with a treat. We would also take him to "fun" places, the park, or just a trip to the drive thru. Eventually he got the hang of it, and now looks forward to car rides. He likes to sit up in the back seat and watch out the window to see where we're going.

His markings are non-standard for Australian Shepherds, usually they have symmetrical markings on their face, but we think he's adorable, wouldn't trade him for the world!

[Moose135]

Jake had a dog-ter (vet) appointment this morning. Just his regular check up, a few shots, everything is good. Later, GF went to pick up some lunch and took him along for the ride. She opened the door to the car, he just stood there looking at us. She said "It's OK, we're not going to the vet again" and he jumped in.

[Scarlett45]

On 5/20/2021 at 6:59 PM, Moose135 said:

It took some time. We got him right as he turned one year old, and he was very reluctant to get in the car.  GF is a friend of his breeder, and he was returned to her by his first owners. We know he was treated well there, but we don't know his experiences with car rides - he may have only gone on rides to the vet, or maybe because he bounced around a little, he wasn't sure where he was going to end up at the end of the ride.

We would use treats or his favorite chew toy, letting him see us throw them in the back seat. At times, one of us would open the other door and try to call him, usually with a treat. We would also take him to "fun" places, the park, or just a trip to the drive thru. Eventually he got the hang of it, and now looks forward to car rides. He likes to sit up in the back seat and watch out the window to see where we're going.

His markings are non-standard for Australian Shepherds, usually they have symmetrical markings on their face, but we think he's adorable, wouldn't trade him for the world!

 

On 5/21/2021 at 12:39 PM, Moose135 said:

Jake had a dog-ter (vet) appointment this morning. Just his regular check up, a few shots, everything is good. Later, GF went to pick up some lunch and took him along for the ride. She opened the door to the car, he just stood there looking at us. She said "It's OK, we're not going to the vet again" and he jumped in.

Thank you. My Godmother worked a lot, so she didnt take him many places besides the vet, groomer and boarding when she was having her cancer treatments at Mayo. I am going to try to take him some nice places to help with the car aversion. Getting him IN to go to the groomer was a pain, and then trying to get him in to go home was a trial. He acted like he couldnt jump. But I put a jerky treat on the backseat and eventually he hopped in. 

A starbucks by my home takes photos of people with their dogs in the drive through, I want to get him there before the summer is over.

[bosawks]

Someone is a little tired coming back from the dog park….

[theredhead77]

One of my house lions has decided that the perfect time for random meowing and trilling is between 4am and 6:30am every fucking day. I do my best to ignore him (locking him out of my room doesn't help). He has food, water, a clean litter box, toys, etc... he's just being a jerk.

[Scarlett45]

A rare good one of Cosmo & Blake together. 

[Suzn]

1 hour ago, Scarlett45 said:

A rare good one of Cosmo & Blake together. 

I love it!  They look very comfortable with each other.

[theredhead77]

On 5/23/2021 at 4:18 PM, theredhead77 said:

One of my house lions has decided that the perfect time for random meowing and trilling is between 4am and 6:30am every fucking day. I do my best to ignore him (locking him out of my room doesn't help). He has food, water, a clean litter box, toys, etc... he's just being a jerk.

My other house lion has decided that an hour is enough time to sleep after 2 hours of play so he can wake up and demand cattention at 1am. He does this super quiet pitiful whiney meow that I can't stand when I'm awake and really can't stand being woken up with and he won't stop until you pay attention to him.  He would not settle, would not play, just wanted to walk around and mewhine. I finally got him to settle after an hour (and I felt like a jerk for being impatient and using a terse tone of voice) then the first house lion started his shit at 2am. I locked him out for a bit but it was MEOW MEOW MEOW protesting. Let him back in and thankfully they went back to sleep.

I don't have kids and I don't consider my cats my kids but OMFG, if having a kid is anything like this I'm glad I opted out.

[Scarlett45]

14 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Do they ever have "issues" with each other?

Not so much. I don't know if Blake had ever seen a dog in person before Cosmo (we adopted Blake at 2yrs old in 2007, his previous owner had to go into a nursing home and had several animals- not a hoarder or anything but her family couldn't take them all, so Blake and Charlie went to a no kill shelter), Cosmo had lived with several cats- my godmother would keep her daughter's cats when she was in between pet friendly apartments and my godmother had a cat up until two years ago when her last cat died of old age.

Blake used to be a big ass bully, but I think old age has mellowed him, and after my two other cats Charlie and Mr. Norris died at the beginning of the pandemic, he was an only pet for the first time in his life.

I was more concerned with Blake injuring Cosmo, not other other way around. Cosmo is fine with Blake so long as Blake is NOT on his bed, and Blake has gotten used to Cosmo's barking. The first two months Cosmo was here Blake would run on top of the mantle behind the tv when Cosmo would bark. Now he just kind of looks.

[MargeGunderson]

My previous generation of cats tolerated each other. Kitty Gunderson the Elder really wanted to be an only cat, so that she could get all of the attention. She was very needy, and as she got older she was anxious when I wasn’t home. The current cats are good friends, which is such a relief, as we had no idea when brought them home. I think it helped that we got them at the same time, from the same shelter. They were inseparable for the first few months, but have since become more independent. They still play together a lot, groom each other, and snuggle.

[Scarlett45]

This weekend has been rough for Cosmo- you know you’re a dog mom when you’re annoyed that the firecrackers are ruining your dog’s time in the park. 

 

I’m trying to wait until the very last second to take him out because he hasn’t wanted to go this entire afternoon/this evening. 

[Scarlett45]

I finally got Cosmo to go potty. Jerky treats to lure him from under the desk and I just took him to the backyard. 

[Scarlett45]

Same thing happened tonight. Took 3 jerky treats to get him calm enough to even think about going to the bathroom tonight. Even then he was half way back up the stairs before he realized “ummm maybe I can potty”. 
 

Something out there he doesn’t like. 

[Mindthinkr]

BB is going to the vet tomorrow. If you look at the left eye there is a reddish ring around the perimeter and his pupils are uneven. He will be 18 in October and I'm concerned. Please keep good thoughts for him. 

[Suzn]

56 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

BB is going to the vet tomorrow. If you look at the left eye there is a reddish ring around the perimeter and his pupils are uneven. He will be 18 in October and I'm concerned. Please keep good thoughts for him. 

I'm sending good thoughts and hope his way.

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

To be fair, I think mama bear was trying to protect her cubs just as much as the teenager was trying to protect her dogs.  Luckily it all turned out okay, but it could have turned out very badly.  Every headline that I have read mentions nothing about the two bear cubs.  If you look at the video, you can see the two cubs on the wall along with mama bear.  Mama bear didn't react until the big dog ran toward her.  Mama bear was trying to protect her cubs.

Yes- I’m glad everyone is okay. The dogs were protecting their space and the momma was protecting her cubs. I understand. 

1 hour ago, Mindthinkr said:

BB is going to the vet tomorrow. If you look at the left eye there is a reddish ring around the perimeter and his pupils are uneven. He will be 18 in October and I'm concerned. Please keep good thoughts for him. 

Crossing my appendages everything is okay. 

[Gramto6]

2 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

BB is going to the vet tomorrow. If you look at the left eye there is a reddish ring around the perimeter and his pupils are uneven. He will be 18 in October and I'm concerned. Please keep good thoughts for him. 

Sending good thoughts and prayers that all is OK with BB.