Hi Everyone! First time pet owner with questions!!!!!

[Ali]

Hi everyone!

My boys, Jack and kolbie, are the HIGHLIGHT of my life. They are 4 in a half yr old cats who I adopted and rescued when they were 7 months. I had never owned any animals on my own before other than our family pets growing up and me taking in every stray I saw. So I have some questions I could use some help with or even just some suggestions.

First of all, it took a year of extremely out of control behavior to get my boys to where they are today. They were malnourished when I got them and really out of control. I never knew animals could be this way since I had never witness what my boys put me thru. But even though I went thru A lot of heart ache and tears, I knew that whoever had them before me had to have been so cruel and mean and I was determined to show them love, patience and that I would not throw them away. I also feared that that if I ever did give jack up because he was just so awful........no one would ever keep him and something awful would hasppen to him. Also Jack and Kolbie are a package deal and they love each other so much it was all such a heart breaking experience for an entire year. But after that year of me just plugging along, Jack pulled thru, and hopped up on my lap one day. Our lives changed from that moment on and we are so close now and so I have let so many things slide and now I am stuck with some behaviors I do not know how to change. These things are nothing compared to the way they were, but I still am looking for suggestions.

OK, one thing is about the food. They have had a severe food issue from day one due to the fact that they were obviously starved prior to me. So when they see food, they attack it. They also do not know when to stop eating. Kolbie cries and yells at me all the time for food and I do not even know when he is really hingry anymore. I started giving him wetfood about 2 months ago? And now he down right refuses to eat dry food. This has become an isue because I fear that if I am not able to be here at a time at night he will make himself sick by not eating. He always wakes me jup every day by sticking his face into mine and then using the bed as a trampoline to show me he wants to be fed right now! This did not occur before when he ate the dry food. Any suggestions here? Will he eat the dry food? Is there a special kind of dry food cats mostly like?

OK, here is a tough and heart breaking one for me. Does anyone know how to get cat food anywhere cheaper? I have 2 boys who eat. I am unemployed right now due to a serious back injury. I may be facing surgery. My boys come first and I do take care of them and will. BUt I am only asking because I never ever want to fear or have to worry about them. I can deal with worrying about me, but not them. Anyone know? Thanks.

Another question....The vet told me to take a q-tip and dig down into their ears? I read on here how I am not suppose to do that? She said, I can go down deep to clean them without hurting them. I do not know what is wrong with them and getting them to the vet right away is difficult with my injury. So i called them and asked what can I do first. My boys were shaking their heads. I looked up ear mites. There is no odor and it is brown? I can see the brown even coming on the outer layer of the ear. So I did clean them as she said. It seemed to help a little. I know they have more. Is it safe to use a q-tip or not? And what do you think might be wrong with them? Can it be earmites? They said if it is earmites, it wont hurt them for now. Is this true??????? I am worried.

I have a lot more to ask but I do not want to make this into a novel.......if anyone has any helpful suggestions or thoughts, I am all ears. I love my boys so much and they are my world. I will do anything for them. MY life may be falling apart, but I wont let it affect them.

Thank you very much!







Ali, Jack, and Kolbie
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[Regina Dickerson-Event Admin.]

Your cats are beautiful. On the Q-tips, as long as you don't go down too far and wipe out the brown then that should be okay. Did your vet show you how to do, if you didn't know???? . They could have earmites, but then again their ears could just be dirty. Only the vet will really know for sure. If you ever want real medical advice, ask your vet because they had suggested not to give out any medical advice on here. Hope this helps.

[Regina Dickerson-Event Admin.]

On food. I feed (and had fed in the past) two meals a day. Once in the morning and in the evening. I usually feed her 1/4 of the wet cat food and a small bowl of dry food. I also give her a small dry treat(help cleans the tartar off her teeth) and lay it on her dry or wet food and she eats it right up. The dry food I leave out so she nibbles on it thru out the day. A cat knows when he/she is full where as a dog doesn't. Hope this helps.
(Remember everyone will have a different opinion)

[Rosemary Levesque]

Hi Ali,
My I offer my perspective as an animal communicator?
I just checked in with your 2 boys and here's what they had to say. I'll have to mix a little of what I got from them with a little of my own wisdom (but I'll let you know which is which.)
First of all they were a little suspicious of me and gave me a big hiss! But then I just sat quietly and waited, sending them love and blessings. Pretty soon they started to open up. I think I was just speaking with the one who is in the 2nd picture. Which one is that?
Anyway, he says they are "hungry in their hearts". Does this mean anything to you? Next, I felt that you are very worried about them... they are picking up on this. They may feel that as you are worried they're not getting enough, so are they. I wonder if you can do a shift in your thinking and provide some structure for them. Know that the food you are giving IS enough and then just send them lots of love. feeding more often may help so that their tummies aren't wanting for food. (as a side note, we went through something similar with our big dog, Gracie. She was abandoned and starving. It took trust and frequent feedings to get her to feel satisfied. Even now if she's a little hungry... experiencing an empty tummy, she becomes nauseous. We feed her 3 times a day) Can you feed them by hand? This will also build trust and slow them down a bit.
Also, I think their immune systems are compromised. Whenever we see infections like that, especially if they've been undernourished, the immune system isn't working. You can build good health from the inside. Try anti-oxidants and pro-biotics for cats and I would also do some detox (I can help you with that).
I hope that helps.
Rosemary

[Sandy Rabideau Pigeau]

HI....I'LL PUT IN MY TWO CENTS WORTH....MY VET SAID THAT THEY WON'T STARVE, THAT WHEN THEY GET HUNGRY ENOUGH THEY'LL EAT, SO YOU CAN DO LIKE REGINA SAYS & WHAT i USED TO DO...FEED THE BOYS 1/4 CUP WET FOR SUPPER SO THEY AREN'T WAKING YOU UP FOR TO BE FED, & DRY CAT FOOD IN THE MORNING SO THEY CAN NIBBLE ON IT ALL DAY...THAT'S WHAT I USED TO DO FOR MY SWEETHEART, HONEY....
AS FOR THE BROWN IN THEIR EARS, THE VET TOLD ME TO USE PEROXIDE ON A QTIP & JUST DO WHERE YOU CAN SEE TO CLEAN THE BROWN OUT...IF IT'S EAR MITES, THE PEROXIDE WILL KILL THEM, & IT WILL EASE THE ITCHING IN THE EARS, & WON'T HURT THEM USING IT....
I HAD TO RETIRE EARLY DUE TO AN INDUSTRIAL MISSHAP SO I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT....I HAVE TO LIVE ON A VERY RESTRICTED BUDGET, I BUY MY FOOD AT WALMART HERE IN CALGARY.....IT'S THE CHEAPEST PLACE BY FAR & THEY HAVE ACCREDITTED CATFOOD....
HOPE THIS HELPS....SANDY & RUSTY

[Donna]

first of all if it is ear mites are highly transmittable and can be passed from pet to pet.
If your pet is suffering from ear mites they will likely be constantly shaking their heads and scratching at their ears to rid themselves of the nasty pests and endless irritation. Telltale signs of the problem can be seen if you actually look into the ear itself. The ear may appear red and inflamed from all the scratching and although you will not see the mite culprit, there will be indications that it exists. You may notice a build up of wax within the ear as well as numerous black specks (likely spots of dried blood). In those cases where the ear mites have not been treated immediately or effectively, the mites will actually move down into the ear canal and cause an infection of the middle ear. This means that the animal may appear to be off balance and might be unable to hold its head up straight.
The first step in helping your pet is to clean out the ear and try to relieve some of the discomfort. Use an eyedropper or syringe (without the needle) to insert some Vegetable or Olive Oil into the ear canal. While keeping your pet's head still (as they will want to immediately shake the substance out) massage the ear thoroughly to loosen any deeply impacted mite dirt (you may be able to gently squeeze some of it up and out of the ear). Use cotton balls to clean the ears and only attempt to use q-tips very carefully being sure not to allow them to enter portions of the deeper ear canal. In order to relieve irritation caused by the mites, use a natural treatment of Psorinum or Sulphur.
In order to actually kill the mites there are a couple of natural remedies that you can make at home. The first one is a mixture of 9 drops of Yellow Dock Root Extract and 1 tablespoon of water. Use an eyedropper to insert the treatment into the pet's ear, being sure to massage it well prior to the animal having the opportunity to shake it out. Administer the treatment once every three days for a period of six weeks.

The second treatment mixes 1/2 an ounce of Almond Oil with 400 IU's of Vitamin E. Warm up the mixture to body temperature and apply 1/2 an eyedropper into each affected ear. Massage the mixture around in the ear and remove the excess with cotton balls. Administer the treatment for a period of six days, leave it for three days and then repeat.

About their food if you are feeding commerical food not good you should try raw feeding and that might get rid of the food issues they are not getting the nutrients they need. Here is a great group for newbies to raw feeding.
[e-mail]
There are all kind of places you can even get food free one being freecycle groups and craigs list, people are always getting rid of freezer burnt meat and it won't harm our pets. Also local butchers and food processing plants throw food away that can't be sold to the public and if you're lucky enough to find one willing to give you stuff how lucky are you!
This is the main reason they act like they are starving because they are not getting the nutrients they need from dry kibble and canned food. Not to mention the numerious health concerns including allergies from them.
Hope this has helped you to some extent now get on it and try and do some of the things I've suggested.
Donna ACS

[Donna]

Donna said:

first of all if it is ear mites are highly transmittable and can be passed from pet to pet.
If your pet is suffering from ear mites they will likely be constantly shaking their heads and scratching at their ears to rid themselves of the nasty pests and endless irritation. Telltale signs of the problem can be seen if you actually look into the ear itself. The ear may appear red and inflamed from all the scratching and although you will not see the mite culprit, there will be indications that it exists. You may notice a build up of wax within the ear as well as numerous black specks (likely spots of dried blood). In those cases where the ear mites have not been treated immediately or effectively, the mites will actually move down into the ear canal and cause an infection of the middle ear. This means that the animal may appear to be off balance and might be unable to hold its head up straight.
The first step in helping your pet is to clean out the ear and try to relieve some of the discomfort. Use an eyedropper or syringe (without the needle) to insert some Vegetable or Olive Oil into the ear canal. While keeping your pet's head still (as they will want to immediately shake the substance out) massage the ear thoroughly to loosen any deeply impacted mite dirt (you may be able to gently squeeze some of it up and out of the ear). Use cotton balls to clean the ears and only attempt to use q-tips very carefully being sure not to allow them to enter portions of the deeper ear canal. In order to relieve irritation caused by the mites, use a natural treatment of Psorinum or Sulphur.
In order to actually kill the mites there are a couple of natural remedies that you can make at home. The first one is a mixture of 9 drops of Yellow Dock Root Extract and 1 tablespoon of water. Use an eyedropper to insert the treatment into the pet's ear, being sure to massage it well prior to the animal having the opportunity to shake it out. Administer the treatment once every three days for a period of six weeks.

The second treatment mixes 1/2 an ounce of Almond Oil with 400 IU's of Vitamin E. Warm up the mixture to body temperature and apply 1/2 an eyedropper into each affected ear. Massage the mixture around in the ear and remove the excess with cotton balls. Administer the treatment for a period of six days, leave it for three days and then repeat.

About their food if you are feeding commerical food not good you should try raw feeding and that might get rid of the food issues they are not getting the nutrients they need. Here is a great group for newbies to raw feeding.
[e-mail]
There are all kind of places you can even get food free one being freecycle groups and craigs list, people are always getting rid of freezer burnt meat and it won't harm our pets. Also local butchers and food processing plants throw food away that can't be sold to the public and if you're lucky enough to find one willing to give you stuff how lucky are you!
This is the main reason they act like they are starving because they are not getting the nutrients they need from dry kibble and canned food. Not to mention the numerious health concerns including allergies from them.
Hope this has helped you to some extent now get on it and try and do some of the things I've suggested.
Try to relax as your pets can pick up worry and stress from you and you will see all kind of behaviors you might not like!

And boost their immune system
Maintaining a Healthy Immune SystemMaintaining a Healthy Immune System

While supplements can be used in times of illness, maintaining a healthy immune system is important in decreasing the incidence and severity of disease. Follow the following tips to keep your pet as healthy as possible.

1. Feed the most natural diet possible. Learn to read a pet food label and avoid foods with chemical preservatives (BHT, BHA, ethoxyquin) and animal and plant by-products that can damage a pet's immune system and do not help maintain health as much as foods with natural preservatives and no by-products. When possible, prepare and feed a homemade diet (using one of the recipes in The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats) to ensure that your pet is eating the healthiest food possible.

2. Minimize vaccines. Most pets do not need annual "shots." A simple blood test called a titer test can determine which vaccines your pet needs.

3. Minimize chemicals. I prefer not to use chemical flea prevention products unless absolutely needed. Monthly heartworm medication is preferred over the 6 month injectable heartworm preventive.

4. Administer whole food vitamin and mineral supplements, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids to maintain a healthy body.

5.Administer choline supplementation to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease (cognitive disorder) in dogs and cats 10 years of age and older.

[Fifi Leigh]

Gumby D'arcy dressed as an elf last christmas/new year 09

[Fifi Leigh]

i wouldnt put an Qtip in anyone's ears. just use a soft napkin, slight damp, and softly and careful clean it. how about using a little bit peroxide on the napkin?

[Karen B. Wood]

I wouldn't listen to anyone who says not to vaccinate your pets! Recently, someone(I can't remember who) was on, and had lost a beloved pet because she listened to someone who said the same thing. Her pet died due to lack of a vaccine. Her other pet nearly died. We've always given our pets commercial food, but supple it with raw meat, namely chicken. Don't worry about the bones, it's cooked bones that are dangerous. You don't hear about wild animals(wolves, cougars, etc.) choking on bones. They aren't cooked. If you continue to offer the dry food, they will eventually eat it. They won't starve on purpose, not with good food right in front of them. I agree, it's tough to change certain behaviors after you've gone along with them for a time.
We have a wolfdog that we wound up reclaiming through Animal Control. We bred her, and she went to a former(former!) friend's home, but they starved her and after we reported them, she and two others(including another of the 3 we gave her) were turned in. Animal Control called us, and we picked her up. It was over a year before she started easing up on being frantic with food. We've had her back nearly two years, and she's a lot more relaxed. Being more familiar with dogs, I can't say(I'm also not an animal behavorist!) if that will be the same with cats, but we did finally see an improvement. Princess has put on about 15 pounds since we got her back, she was skin and bones. We were livid! But cheers to YOU for taking the time and effort to help these kitties. Not everyone has a heart like yours.

[Karen B. Wood]

Oops- I should have said supplement, not supple! Major typo!