First, (Second, and Third) Aid

Les had her annual trip to the dermatologist to check out suspicious bumps. Sun exposure has taken its toll and we are lucky to have a doctor that keeps on top of things. Les had a few biopsies and plenty of bandaids to show the boys...

Vladi is yelling "What is going on here?"

Tanji kept sniffing the bandages and yelping,
so it was time for a distraction of kitty treats.

Oh, treats are MUCH more interesting.

Thanks boys, the best first aid is three good kitties.

(Oh Well,...)

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Your Food Looks Better Than Mine

Mommy cat and kitten? (sorry Uschi)

Part of the "fun" in giving the boys their medication is that everyone likes slightly different foods. Uschi likes his dry foods, especially his new Science Diet i/d and Royal Canin Special 33 (for sensitive kitties like Usch). Tanji is now crazy for baby food (turkey or chicken), and begs with a paw up and baby mews whenever he hears tho pop of a lid. Vladi can't resist Fancy Feast chicken feast (ground up without gravy). Sometimes this creates meal-time confusion...

Uschi didn't want the plated feast,
and dove over Vladi for the dry food.

Vladi is gobbling up the feast, oblivious to Uschi.
Tanji is off chasing Les to get his latest hit of baby food.


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Guilt Shopping Trip

Someone seems to be feeling a bit better.

This morning was off to a rough start when Vladi ate and then threw up his medication. The poor little guy was rough around the edges. His digestive tract is already unsettled and the medication seemed to be exacerbating the problem. We had to regroup and come up with a new plan to get him past the Giardia parasites. Luckily just as we were scrambling for ideas, the boys' Aunt Kelli wrote with suggestions to check for and maintain hydration, as well as techniques for sneaking the medicine into food. We decided to focus on getting Vladi back hydrated and his digestive system as healthy as possible, so he may tolerate the medicine better. We called the Veterinary office to reduce the medication from two to one for now, and also may try gel caps of the Metronidazole.

The guilt has definitely set in a bit, we know there are risks drinking from pond water (after all, we don't do it ourselves), but we are certainly not going to deny Vladi water since we rarely see him drinking from the water bowls, fountain, or bathtub. He could have had the infection for some time before we saw the symptoms. After Vladi settled down to nap, we went on a guilt-induced shopping spree and returned home with the goodies...

What did you get us?

We were glad to see Vladi eagerly leap in the grocery bag,
waiting for Tanji to jump on him.

Instead Tanji just gives him a smooch.

Aunt Kelli suggested turkey baby food as a way to sneak medicine
(but not too much to avoid diarrhea), and as soon as
Les smooths a bit of food on her fingers, it is a big hit.

Gimmee. NOW!

A bit of medication is stirred on each plate with the baby food
(we don't have the gel caps to try yet).

Yes, please.

Vladi and Tanji clean their plates.

Uschi is "in it to win it" too.

What else did you get us?

Uschi chatters at the new DaBird toys.
He can mangle one of these in under 15 minutes.

Uschi also "finds" the new scratching boxes Les is unwrapping.

These are MINE!

Whoa, Vladi is feeling a little feistier than we thought!

Taking out his frustrations on the scratching box

("can't believe they took me to the VET...grumble, grumble
...keep giving me medicine...scratch, scratch scratch").

Tanji wants to play too.

Bad idea, Vladi is not in a sharing mood.

I'm the sick baby, these are all mine.

After a while Vladi loses interest and settles down
in the window to watch the birdies outside.

Almost immediately, Tanji claims one scratching box...

...and Uschi claims the other.

Uh-oh, someone isn't the center of attention today,
time to pet the Uschi-belly.

Later, Vladi was feeling up for a pond-free walk outside
with the family (he took it easy with no running), napped,
ate some dry food (Royal Canin for sensitive stomachs),
napped some more (in Les' lap!), and even
took a few jumps at the new daBird toy.

Hopefully he'll feel even better tomorrow!

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Medication Woes

Vladi is getting lots of T.L.C.

Last night we started the boys on their medication (Fenbendazole) to fight the Giardia parasites. We tried the "hold and squirt" method of putting it directly into their mouths, and that was basically impossible. Our mild-mannered boys turned into writhing screeching leopard cats. Especially Vladi, who needs his medicine the most. They clearly were not trying to hurt us (no scratches to be found), but they were willing to hurt themselves to get away. After about a half hour, the pasty medicine was everywhere, on carpets, their fur, our clothes, everywhere except in their bellies. All of us were quite ruffled and a bit pissed.

So we tried a different tact, mixing the food in their canned food, which is a bit of a last resort because they can usually sniff out anything. Amazingly all three boys ate the medicated food and we thought we were home free.

Not so fast...

Today we picked up the second parasite medication (Metronidazole) that is supposed to work together with the first one to kill the highly resistant parasite cysts. It tastes bad, so the pharmacist added chicken flavor. We added it to their favorite canned food and T, U, and V each recoiled away like we had fed them poison. To make matters worse, they lost trust in us, and later on would not even touch the food with the first medicine. So now we have removed all of their dry food, and are waiting for the food-panic to set in. Vladi only made it about two hours before he gulped his dose down. Tanji and Uschi are made of sterner stuff, so it may be a very long ten days of treatment.

So now it us against the cats (or so they think).

Tanji has taken up napping under the ottoman,
just in case we try dragging him back to the V-E-T.

Uschi and Vladi are trying safety in numbers.

Poor little Vladi was a bit under the weather today
(threw up even without eating his usual grass and spiders).
This is a possible side effect of the medicine so
we are keeping a close eye on him.

Maybe a hug will make him feel better.

Or maybe a big kiss.

Lick, lick, lick.

"Ew, you really need a bath."

Uschi seems to be liking his Vladi-kitten
a bit more every day.

This is Vladi's dream-come-true.

Good boy Uschi, keep an eye on Vladi for us.

We'll give updates on their progress battling the parasites (and us).


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Beaver Fever

Vladi has had "bad-belly" for a few weeks,...

the other day on a walk, Lesley decided to

Collect a sample for analysis.

We dropped off on Monday,...
this morning we got the call,... 50+ Giardia cysts/field
(maybe a different sub-species than the "human" form)

Article on Giardia Infection in Cats

That is a high level of infection.

Vladi drinks from the ponds regularly,...

So,... a V.E.T. trip was scheduled,... for the entire family.

Oh boy, what is this fun thing,...
Tanji is gone,...

Since the entire family was going,... we headed out and

Got a second carrier,...
(we felt we needed a second anyway, just to be safe,...)

The spots loaded together,...

Uschi got his own carrier,... to balance the load,...

All loaded,...

What is going on? !

HEY !

Let me out of here,... the little one is crazy,...

We are not happy about this,...

All went very smoothly at the V.E.T.
I stayed in the car with the kenneled boys,
while Lesley checked us in.

We went straight from the car to our room,
Everyone got weighed and inspected.
T - 11.2 lbs, Heart Rate 150bpm
U - 14.1 lbs, Heart Rate 140bpm
V - 9.9 lbs, Heart Rate 140bpm

Everyone had nice low HRs, looked good and got clean bills of health,
except for the Giardia. All three behaved very well.

All the data got entered in their individual books.

Headed home.

T & U were relaxed, Vladi was still "singing"

As we approached home,...

Everyone became alert,...
(We were still ~0.25mi away,... interesting)

Headed back inside,...

T scooted under the ottoman,..

But everyone went for some food.

Everyone was happy to be home,...

The first doses of medication didn't go so well
but everyone got their full dose.

They are each getting liquid half doses of Fenbendazole
and Metronidazole calibrated to their body weight.

We need to watch them closely for changes in
behavior/body control, eating habits, etc. etc.

Of note, in the past we have always let the boys loose in the car, thinking this would be less stressful for them. Today, everyone stayed in the carriers, even in the V.E.T. and we feel it went smoother. They didn't sing more, and even seemed to relax a bit more, plus they are probably safer in their locked carrier while in the car.

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