Just Another Day In (Kitty) Paradise!

I couldn't resist snapping this picture of these handsome boys enjoying their balmy San Diego Thanksgiving weather! Jim & Leonard felt that it was most befitting the senior kitties to spend their afternoon supervising the chores in order to ensure that they had turkey cat food for Thanksgiving dinner.
Y Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families from all of us at the sanctuary Y

New Arrivals!

Thanksgiving came early for all of us this year. We were blessed to have 2 beautiful new kitties travel cross-country just to move into the sanctuary. Marci (pictured on the left) and Phoenix (on the right) made their way here by car with the help of Beth, a wonderful volunteer from the Grayson County Humane Society in Leitchfield Kentucky (Shiloh's hometown). She drove them the 2,000 plus miles to California so they could enjoy life here at the sanctuary.

I received an e-mail about Marci a couple of months ago describing a kitten that had trouble breathing, was very lethargic at times, and probably had a diaphragmatic hernia. Time can do wonderful things, and this sweet girl has adjusted quite well to her condition. As a matter of fact, don't feel sorry for her, she races around as fast as she can, stops to catch her breath, then starts up again! It was felt that car travel at a lower altitude would be safer than flying her here. This is either an old injury or a genetic defect; either way, it certainly doesn't slow her down! She will be seeing our internist after Thanksgiving for an evaluation to see if this can be surgically repaired.

Phoenix is a beautiful white kitty with a horrible skin condition. The folks at the humane society said she came in with red, scabby sores all over her. They've tried with their veterinarians to come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan, but nothing has worked yet. We're hoping to create a wellness plan for her here utilizing both traditional and holistic medicine, and lots of hugs!

We look forward to swapping stories with Beth (and the dogs are looking for extra cookies) during her visit with us. The animals in Kentucky are lucky to have such a dedicated person working on their behalf!

Christmas Comes Early For Melody...

A good biopsy report! Melody's tumors were adenocarcinomas, tumors with low-grade malignancy and low potential for recurrence. She should be fine ~ all of the tumors were completely removed. What a great early Christmas present!
The x-rays we took as she was recovering from anesthesia were also reviewed. It's pretty amazing she can walk, let alone wrestle with the other dogs. In both hips, she has arthritis and hip dysplasia. She also has arthritis in most of her spine. Staying on the thin side has helped her stay so mobile. And wrestling (in small amounts) will help her stay agile!

Uno's Proud Moment

Uno worked hard all afternoon to master this climb. He's been spending more time with Scooter lately, and Scooter is very agile. So, in order to keep up with him, Uno is becoming much more adventurous, trying out new moves in an effort to keep up with the little fast guy. No chair or sofa is safe now!

Melody Has Surgery

Melody returned home this morning after an overnight stay following surgery at Veterinary Surgical Specialists in San Diego. Dr. Lenehan spayed her and removed all six of her mammary tumors, not quite a radical mastectomy on each side; four mammary glands which are tumor-free remain. She recovered well, and thankfully with no seizures. She's now snuggled in warm blankets on the couch, sleeping off the whole experience. She was not the most pleasant patient for the hospital technicians to care for ~ with an incision running from the end of her ribcage down to her vulva, who could blame her? Since she wouldn't let anyone touch her, I was off early this morning to do her catheter and bandage removal, clean her up, then bring her home. She curled up in my lap at the hospital as I gingerly removed the belly bandage and then pulled her IV catheter. She was very good for me despite feeling incredibly lousy!
We'll know the results of her biopsies by the end of the week. In the meantime, she'll have 2 weeks of restricted activity, and has to wear a t-shirt so she doesn't chew at the incision. There won't be any wrestling matches allowed, but hopefully with the extra pampering and biscuits, she won't even notice!

Scooter, Scooter, Scooter!

After losing Shiloh so unexpectedly, we decided to make sure that Scooter was doing as well on the inside as he is on the outside. Today we received the results from his urinalysis and blood work. We were surprised to find that he has some crystals in his urine, so his diet will be changed to a prescription diet made to dissolve crystals and bladder stones. He is also showing some elevated kidney and liver enzymes, so we will be adding supplements for kidney and liver support to his diet as well. We also discussed whether it was okay to neuter him, and agree with our regular veterinarian that it's best to wait at this time. Scooter's very happy to hear that he gets special meals now, we're telling him it's gourmet!