I have been reading the list for a couple of months now and have finally
learned to filter out what isn't of use to me and what I can use to better
the lives of my six fuzzies.  Thanks to everyone for all of the good stuff.
My guys love the rice box.  I purchased a 92 gal. container because it
wasn't much larger in width etc.  It give them more depth and I am
considering adding a few more pounds of rice.  I am looking forward to
getting the directions for the Plexiglas door blocks.  We are currently
gerry rigging large cardboard pieces and baby safety gates at the bottom
of our stairs.  The cats tear up the card board real fast as they jump over
it to get up or down stairs.
 
I would like to reply to the person who was worried about the cat giving
her ferrets the respiratory disease it got at the shelter.  Unfortunately
this is the first time I have been able to add anything of value to the
list.  I have been there and done that.
 
We are a multiple animal and people household.  My son had two cats and we
had three.  We decided to share a large six bedroom house and share the
rent.  our cats adjusted reasonably well and one of his cats was raised
with his ferret and one of mine was raised with my ferret.  so cats got
along with fuzzies .  We took in two more fuzzies because their mom was
moving out of the country.  They were reasonably healthy ear mites.
Nothing we couldn't handle They were supposed to be temporary until rescue
could find them a home I was just fostering.  LOL.  Long story short Mike
decided the the numbers were not right.  Mom and Dad have three cats and he
only has two.  Off to the shelter he goes and brings home a good looking
striped tabby.
 
Two days later on a holiday weekend ten o'clock at night son screams mom
come quick something is wrong with Tiger!  His eyes are watering like
Niagara Falls, his nose is running and he's foaming at the mouth like he's
eaten a bottle of dish soap.  I just knew this guy had distemper and would
have to be put down.  What to do?  Holiday weekend late night.  Emergency
clinic very costly.  No choice we take the cat to the emergency vet two
cities away.  Its midnight by now and cat is sneezing humungus volumes of
mucus all over the place.  It is really gross.
 
Vet says the cat has an upper respiratory infection he picked up at the but
he will probably live with lots of work and anti biotics around the clock.
I was very concerned about my other animals getting this because I know
they can get a cold or virus from people.  The vet assured me that the
other cats would get it but no way would the fuzzies get it.  He was not
to nice to me nor was he happy that I had ferrets.  They aren't legal you
know!  So for $250.00 I get a lecture and a bottle of amoxicillan.
 
Two days later everyone in the house is coughing and sneezing and flinging
gobs of mucus even though Tiger has been quarantined to one room too late.
We are now medicating six cats and yes four ferrets.  This vet clearly did
not know what he was talking about.  Another couple of hundred dollars to
our regular vet (who by the way i just found out is half owner of emergency
clinic)Have you ever tried to get a cat take something orally it didn't
like?  Multiply that by six and then by four times a day for about four
weeks.  Two of the fuzzies didn't like it either.  I wore a lot of amoxi
had to buy more because so much was lost even with syringe and eye
droppers.
 
everyone is well and doing fine except for my two oldest cats.  They were
never the same after that.  Minn has since died of a reaction to anesthesia
at the vet and rhubarb had congestive heart failure.  We had to help him
over the bridge.
 
All of the cats at the city shelter were probably euthenized as they dont
have the time money or help to do what we did for our guys.  Tiger is the
lucky one he came home to us and had a loving family willing to pull him
through.  I guess that was about a year ago .
 
We have since fostered LOL. two more ferrets whose mom was supposed to get
them back when she got another place of her own.  Shelter has not heard
from her since she dropped them off.  I was hit by ferret math twice before
I ever knew what it was.  Talk about being blind sided.
 
when ever I am asked if I have a ferret I don't bother to lie.  I just say
no I don't have one!  Sorry to be so long with this but it is important to
quarantine any new animal that you bring into your home , for the sake of
your new animal as well as your existing crew.  We all learned the hard
way.  We have never had this problem from animal shelters run by non profit
groups that depend on donations and fund raisers and volunteers I might
add.  They make sure all animals are healthy and have been altered and
current shots before they adopt them out.
 
I hope to see more of lime-jellos humor.  I need all of the laughs I can
get Life is hard and we all need a little humor in our lives once in a
while.
 
I forgot about the guinea pigs we had two of them.  Lost one that's why I
am " Animal House" in the land of the ignorant Fish and Game.
 
Cat 6 Weazle missing 2
Missing Minn & Rhubarb every day in every way!
[Posted in FML issue 2753]