tamborine

My 16-year-old cat Max got a Lion Cut yesterday, and the dogs are acting like they've never seen him before! They're following him around, trying sniff him, and just generally harassing him. I've had to revert to "no kitty!" admonitions like when I first got the dogs. They're not being aggressive or trying to attack, just being pains in the butt. What I don't understand is, whenever any of the cats went to the vet & came home, the dogs never paid any attention. But Max got a haircut and they're suddenly fascinated by him! I thought dogs went more by scent than sight? Or could it be that since he also had a bath, he doesn't smell like himself to the dogs? I realize it's not too common for cats to get a haircut, but has anyone else ever dealt with this type situation? Poor Max is starting to get annoyed & has whacked a couple of snoots, but they're not taking the hint. Luckily I'm not going anywhere for the next few days or I'd muzzle them when I go out (though that would be more for my own peace of mind and wouldn't stop the sniffing!) or put the cat in a room by himself. But when are they going to come to terms with the fact that it's the same old cat? Update 5/14: Everything's back to normal now! I should've figured everything would turn out OK, but I tend to worry about stupid things.

A while back I won a selection of Jones Natural Chews chewies & bones in an auction. Most of the stuff - tracheas, voiceboxes, bully sticks, tendons, etc. - I thought was OK, but I'm left with a bunch of beef kneecaps & beef rib bones. The kneecaps don't look TOO bad, at least they seem to have a lot of meat/fat/whatever on them, but the ribs are just bare long skinny bones. And I'm afraid to give them (ribs OR caps) to my dogs. A friend of mine has a boxer, and the other night she was telling me how her Maggie loves to chew bones. So my dilemma is, should I give these bones to Maggie (since she chews bones anyway), or should I just get rid of them? I'd be devastated if I gave them to Maggie and then she choked or perforated her intestines. So I guess I just answered my own question. But what would you do? PS - We were discussing dog gas as related to their diet when the bone comment came up. Turns out Maggie eats Beneful, and I suggested that could be contributing to her toxic gas. Afterwards, my friend went online, did some research, and came to the conclusion that she's going to upgrade Maggie's food a bit. But at the time, I didn't want to seem like the Prophet of Doom or a know-it-all saying Beneful's not good, cooked/smoked bones aren't good, etc. But ARE smoked beef bones that bad? I mean, they sell them, and lots of dogs chew them (just not mine!).

After reading this thread, I looked for sardines the last time I went to the store. In the tuna aisle, there were only teeny tiny tins of sardines, but in the Goya aisle, they had these HUGE 15oz tins of sardines in tomato sauce (no oil) for less than the price of the teeny ones. I bought 3. So at the checkout, the cashier said, "I love these over white rice!". When I told her that they weren't for me, they were for my dogs, she said, "You're giving them to DOGS?!?", and looked at me like I was out of my mind. The dogs loved them! I'll have to give them another tin today for Sardine Saturday.

I'm in central Jersey, too, and there's always canned pumpkin in the supermarkets. Don't know about Walmart, though.

We're paying 37.99 at a "natural" pet supply store. Wow, it's 53.99 at the "natural" pet store I go to! They send out 20 or 25% off email coupons once a month to their discount cardholders, but the coupons are only good for 1 or 2 specific days! If I miss the day.... There's another place nearby that sells it, but they also sell puppies & kittens, so I won't shop there.

I'm so sorry that you lost your beautiful Spike. Sending hugs.

Looks like the 50 worked - I gave it to her 45 minutes ago, and now she's roaching comfortably on the couch.

Thanks for the replies! The food is the most likely suspect, but also, it's been cool & breezy here for a few days & I've had the windows open. I wonder if it's a seasonal allergy? But then again, although the A/C's been on all summer, they still all went outside several times a day. I think I remember her going through an itchy period last summer. Not this bad, though! I just gave her benadryl 50mg; I have to go to work in an hour, so I was afraid to give her more! But she's so uncomfortable! I have to chuck all that food now - I feel like such a jerk, trying to save a few cents, and look what happened. Luckily I have a box of Honest Kitchen & I can mix up some for their dinner; I'll have to stop on my way to work for a new bag of TOTW.

Poor Stephanie has been so itchy the past couple of days, rubbing her face on the furniture, biting at her legs. No fleas or anything! Now it's getting red & irritated around her eyes, where she's been rubbing. Last week I was running low on dog food, and hadn't gotten paid yet, so I bought a bag of BJ's new "premium" food & mixed it in with their TOTW. It just dawned on me that it's probably that stupid food she's allergic to, because nothing else has changed. I want to give her some benadryl, but I want to make sure I'm giving the correct dose, so I figured I'd check with you guys first. I saw 1mg/per lb as the canine dose online. Does everyone agree with this? Steph is about 70 lbs., maybe 68, 69... in that area. So would I give her 75mg? Or go with 50?

Glenn, I'm so sorry for your loss.

Thanks for the heads up! I just got my coupon & used it today to get a bag of EVO cat food - $23.99!!! For 6.6 lbs of cat food! I'm still in shock over how expensive it is. (I usually feed them TOTW). But I wasn't given the $7/off option - just a coupon for a free small bag of dog or cat food.

Oh Pam I hope you're wrong. See what the dr. says - renal failure can be treated, if that's what it is. Maybe he just needs his insulin adjusted. I'll be thinking of you guys...

I'm so sorry for your loss. The pictures you posted of him are beautiful.

I get Wildside Salmon treats for my cats, but my dogs love them, too! They're cubes of dehydrated salmon, very easy to chew or gum.

Has his blood glucose level been checked? Diabetes can predispose you (people, at least!) to yeast infections.

Sorry for not posting the update! By time we got to the vet he had licked it so it wasn't a blister anymore. Vet said it's most likely nothing & to just watch it for now - it's healing up pretty well & almost gone. Weird place to get a blood blister, though!

pet cosleeper Holds up to 100lbs!

We have a vet appt. Saturday morning.

I guess I'm going to take him to the vet. There are so many things it could possibly be. Even OSU would probably want to take a biopsy before saying it's nothing (which is hopefully what it is).

I noticed this on Bama's penis when they were running in the yard just now. At first I thought it was some kind of a tick, but on closer inspection it wasn't. The small speck under it was only a little piece of dirt. My first grey, Odd Cat, used to get little round black scabby things that bled profusely if the scab came off. But they were much smaller than this, and flatter. This is like a big raised fluid-filled (I think) blister. Could a bug bite or something cause a blood blister like this? I'm very worried - I've already lost 1 grey (Magic) to hemangiosarcoma.

Doesn't black on an xray indicate airspace? Wouldn't a tumor show up as white?

Just made a donation.

Thank you!

That has got to be the grossest thing I've ever heard.

This is totally off-topic , but I never knew Wabi was so teeny-tiny! I always pictured her to be the same size as Stephanie, ~70 lbs!