Tuesday, April 24, 2007

The Pet Food Recall...


Unfortunately has reared its ugly head amongst our sanctuary animals. Someone started vomiting late last week in Poppy & MeiLi's room. It took a day or so to figure out who the culprit was - no one would 'fess up to it! Poppy has been on a diet trial for the last couple of weeks on Royal Canin's HP23, a hypoallergenic diet. He got sick roughly 3 days before the recall of his food...

Vomiting, lethargy, & lack of appetite have been his primary problems. His lab work has been okay so far, but he does have the telltale crystals in his urine which indicate melamine is working its way through his kidneys. He is at home, where our primary care veterinarian Dr. Booman is providing supportive care, which is all we can do for him. He's receiving subcutaneous fluids 3 times daily now, plus B Complex, Reglan (for nausea) and antibiotic injections as needed. He's also taking Pepcid, and Cyproheptadine, which is an appetite stimulant.

While he's feeling perkier and the vomiting has stopped, he still won't eat ~ at least more than a teaspoon a day. That's not much for an 11 pound kitty! We're walking a tight rope now, balancing his IBD problem with finding something he'll eat on his own. I'm hoping that syringe feeding him for a few days will jump-start his appetite.

Please keep Poppy & all of those affected by the pet food recalls in your thoughts & prayers.
Please check the FDA's website for current recall lists ~ don't rely on the news media to keep you up-to-date. You can find the list at www.fda.gov.



Sunday, April 15, 2007

An Old Timer Update

Friday brought some "routine maintenance" for a couple of the older furkids here. Luna has an eyelid growth which from time to time begins to grow down and irritate her eye. She's such a patient girl, that with a local and a topical anesthetic and plenty of cookies afterward, our primary care veterinarian Dr. Booman is able to trim off the part that rubs on the eye. Luna gets eye medication at least two to three times daily ongoing now to keep both eyes lubricated and comfortable for her.

Leonard had some dental tartar scraped from his teeth (always a two-person proposition!) plus some blood work done too. The dogs and cats who qualify as "senior" or who have ongoing medical problems have blood panels done yearly (or more often if needed). It was Leonard's turn, and he took it all in stride, purring the entire time!

Results came back for Leonard on Saturday, and he's looking great! He has early kidney disease, which is to be expected at 17 years old. The values are low, however, so coupled with his heart disease, everything's manageable at this point. He actually looks better "on paper" than he did last year!

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Happy Easter!

Here's wishing you and your family a wonderful Easter holiday!

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Interested in Volunteering?

Please join us on Saturday, April 28, from 10am to noon, for our first monthly volunteer orientation. There are many ways you can help us help the animals from Kitty Cuddling and Dog Hugging to Fundraising to Gardening, and much more. If you would like more information, please send us an e-mail at info@goldenheartsas.org, or leave us a message at 760-749-6122. We look forward to seeing you there!

It's Been A Year...

And she's still going strong! As a matter of fact, she's even gained a pound. Here's wishing MeiLi a happy 1 year birthday! Everyone who comes to live here gets a birthday which we celebrate on his or her arrival date. No one misses out on biscuits or kitty tuna that way!

For a little one who was given only weeks to live, she looks pretty good. In the picture, she's helping me feed the other cats. She always watches to see if anyone gets better canned food, and will steal it if it suits her better. Right now, she's recovering from a bug bite above her eye that we've treated with antibiotics and steroids. She's almost healed now, but insists that lots of kitty tuna speeds the healing process.

Happy birthday little one!

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Happy Birthday...

To my "old grey mare" who is 24 years old today! Yes, Osa was born on April Fool's Day, so her registered name is Oh So Foolish (not my idea!) She is pictured with Syd, who's not far behind her at 23 years old. Our "senior" horses are retired now and spend most of their day begging for treats. They're enjoying some wild oats that were growing on another part of the property ~ it's easy to recycle greens waste when there are horses and goats to help!