kolarik1

I'm seriously considering getting HP for Carmel...I emailed them about Zelda as she has seizures and arthritis as pre-existing conditions, but those don't really cost me much in terms of meds...I'm more worried about her eventually getting some type of cancer as its' so prevalent in the greys or having something happen to her (dog attack, etc.) Plus I saw a cute male cat today that I may go visit Wed night when his group is there (3 year old, neutered black cat)...he likes dogs/cats and tried to play with the greyhound I was walking through the Plexiglas

Yes they did tell me that...but the one was elevated prior to her starting the meds. She is taking keppra (sp?)...so I am hoping it is just the meds and we can switch her to something else...I have feared the worst though for at least 2 years, especially once she made it past her 6th bday...she just celebrated her 8th bday on Monday with a plain cheeseburger and vanilla ice cream. Everything else has always shown up fine for her...I don't have those values right now, I just know about those as those were the ones that were 'off'...well the one was, so they ran another general profile test yesterday.

Ok, so before Zelda even started on her seizure meds, they ran bloodwork on her and I forget if it was the ALT or GGT that was slightly elevated...but due to her seizures becoming more frequent we went ahead with the seizure meds and said we'd do follow up bloodwork. Just ran a bloodwork check up yesterday and the vet called today to let me know that the GGT and ALT are slightly elevated and her bilirubin is now elevated to 1.1. She has been a somewhat finicky eater on/off the last couple of years which always worried me as I was told her sire died from stomach cancer. Besides her seizures there are random times when I'll call her, she'll come trotting over and right when she gets to me she'll start kinda coughing/hacking up (who knows what), takes a second then goes away. She is going in for a bile acid test, which due to the holidays I won't take her in til July 12th. I've done a quick search online and there are a whole list of things that this could be (including the seizure meds)...but my biggest fear is cancer since it's so prevalent in her bloodlines...and I just lost Pop in February to Osteo. The vet doesn't want to suggest cancer yet, but she did say that if the bile acid test shows somthing amiss that she'll want us to do an abdominal ultrasound to try to pinpoint the issue. Anyone have any experience with this? Our babygirl already has arthritis which she takes glucosamine chondroitin for...my mind just keeps going to worst case scenario and I'm thinking I really can't lose her too, not with Navy guy away...he's always asking about the girls. Oh, and I don't treat the back yard with any chemicals/fertilizers at all due to having the pups. TIA

Congrats on the new home and putting in your app. As others have said, you will just have to watch the cat/dog interactions for awhile. I had a cat when I adopted my first grey and then added a second grey a couple years later. That kitty passed in December 2010 and it took me until November 2012 before I adopted my current kitty. This kitty obviously wasn't around dogs in her previous home, but she is settling in and while she likes Zelda, she's still scared that Zelda will run her over...I never thought Zelda would run anyone/anything over, until yesterday when she crashed into my calf (first time in 5 1/2 years that she's done that)...so now I can see why Carmel runs. When I'm not dogsitting, it's just the girls home alone and since Zelda is so trustworthy (inside only), I leave her without a muzzle and there are plenty of places for Carmel to hide if she so chooses...

The exercise gets things moving...hence the pooping on the walks

Thank goodness you got him...by any chance, could you put up a baby gate, one of those walk through ones in your front door so if your dad does happen to have the door open again your pups won't get out?

Welcome! Mine have always refused to get on the furniture...Navy guy and I actually put them on a bed, made them stay (while they shook), took a pic and then they jumped down. Even now, I try to get Zelda on the couch and she goes to lay on a dog bed.

I'm so sorry for your loss...every time I read about another beloved pet lost to osteo it just makes me want to cry, the pain is still pretty fresh from losing Pop.

I am curious about the Chinese meds as Zelda has seizures...I haven't seen one in probably 3 weeks, but she could be having them when I'm gone...she's on meds currently.

Well we just did about a 7 minute walk and she marked 4 times My little marker...I guess she has decided to take over the responsibility of letting the other dogs know that she's in the neighborhood since Pop has gone.

So I know Zelda is doing this because we lost Pop....Zelda was always the alpha out of the 2, but you never really knew it as they were NEVER snarky with each other from day 1...he just let her do whatever she wanted but she was never pushy. I started taking Zelda for walks after Pop passed (i.e. she has been DEMANDING them by whining/pouting/STOMPING...similar to when she wants dinner). She is now marking while we are out on our walks...she never used to mark, that was always Pop's job LOL I'm not worried about a UTI because she hardly drinks water...Pop was a water hog. She honestly drinks at most on a day like today 1/2 a dish of water...I'm sure it'll go up once the weather warms up. So has anyone else noticed any behavior changes like this in their pup? When we go for about a 15 min walk she marks 4+ times but never really empties her bladder.

Adorable!

Not too long as Pop had zero prey drive...but back then we used to put Mousey in the basement when we were gone as we didn't want her ripping up our furniture with her claws (even though she did have a cat post)...and there was a landing where she could look outside through a back door. With my current cat, she still barely goes up to Zelda even though I adopted Carmel almost 5 months ago! Zelda doesn't chase indoors (although she did chase Mousey during the initial home visit 5 years ago)...Zelda is loose with no muzzle and the cat is free to do what she wants as well...even when Pop was alive, there was no need for muzzles.

Both of my pups refused to take it, I had to break it in half and shove it down their throats...I don't use it anymore. I don't know if it's the medicine smell or what, but they won't even take it.

So very sorry for your loss.

So sorry for your loss.

So sorry for your loss.

Sending hugs and prayers to you and your family.

Would you feed raw and/or cook for him? I tried cooking once for Pop, but he ate so much that we had to quadruple the recipe for a week's worth of food...I used recipes out of this book. I don't know how much raw would cost, especially if you could get in on some bulk pricing, etc...but you would have to make sure all his nutritional needs were met. I'm going to try Modern Mutt's suggestion on Simply Nourish with Zelda and see if she likes it.... (when I tried Welless on my cat, she HATED it so I had to give it away and switched her to Purina Naturals which she loves...go figure. Carmel actually preferred Science Diet to Wellness).

I misspoke, the diamond naturals is a 40# bag and it runs about $30 here...

Nevermind, I think I found it.... FWIW, I used to feed Diamond Naturals and would switch between the flavors so the dogs wouldn't get bored (this was before Pop had to be put on Purina Dog Chow to control his Lupus...it was weird, but it worked). Since Pop has passed, I'm going to switch Zelda to a different food and I'm looking at the different options. Diamond Naturals I could get a 30# bag for about $30 on sale, depending on the flavor...and I tended to get it at Menards (similar to Lowes/Home Depot) here in MI.

I'm curious, you keep referencing a scale...where did you find the dog food scale?

It actually is a safe alternative, not cruel at all. My female LOVES to be crated but since she is completely trustworthy I don't have any crates up...but I've had her for 5 years. I tried crating my current foster and he has SA, so it was not an option for him...however, he doesn't pee on furniture when I'm gone. Crating makes it so you don't have to worry about them eating anything...I didn't think my boy Pop would shortly after we got him, so we left him out of the crate and came home to him having eaten an entire bottle of fish treats. Just make sure you take their collar off before putting them in a crate. Besides, you won't be cleaning up a mess from your couch...and leashing him to you until he learns is another good idea.

Yay! I'd take an infection any day!!!!

You know, I think Pop and/or Mousey sent me one heck of a huge sign today. I left church about 10:30 and I was starving...I kept telling myself I had food at home, but I just had this urge NOT to go home, so I decided that Taco Bell sounded good as I hadn't had any in awhile. I went to a Taco Bell not too far from my house (I almost chose another one that was closer, but I didn't want to go to that one due to how busy the road is there) and as I pulled up I noticed there were only 3 people inside and they appeared to be military...once inside, I realized that their uniforms looked like Nat'l Guard...they were literally the only customers in there. Then when I was leaving, I realized...the building across the street is one that Navy guy worked at when he was in highschool...I've gone to that Taco Bell several times and never really realized what was across the street from it. So I think I had some Bridge Angels speaking to me today. ETA, Pop's ashes are on my buffet along with the certificate that indicates they really are his ashes. I plan on spreading his ashes on the Lake Michigan shore by my parents house at the end of April...