Happy Halloween!

It's Halloween! 

Not gonna lie, my favorite thing about Halloween is all the black cat decorations. Is that weird? Probably...

Well, black cats are awesome. However because of silly stories about being bad luck and their association with Halloween black cats don't get a lot of love. In fact they are less likely to be adopted, which is ridiculous.

So if you are looking to adopt don't overlook these sweet kitties. You never know, you may be lucky enough to be loved by a black cat!

My former foster Olive is showing her Halloween spirit! And a bonus: When you have a black cat you can save money on decorations! 

Halloween can be lots of fun but it can also be dangerous for pets. So, here are a couple tips for keeping your furry friends safe this Halloween

1. If you plan to take your pups out for trick or treating be sure to keep them on a secure leash and if your pup doesn't do well around kids and crowds leave them at home to celebrate.

2. If you're staying home to pass out candy be sure your pets are safe. With the constant opening of the door they are more likely to get out.

3. And don't forget the candy! Chocolate and other ingredients in candies like artificial sweeteners are very toxic to cats and dogs, not to mention the wrappers are commonly eaten and require surgical removal. Keep all candy out of reach!

So have a happy and safe Halloween!

My friends and I dressed up at black cats (queens!) for the vet tech Halloween party at school! 

Merlin's not a black cat, but he thinks they're pretty cool! 

Cat Toy Toy Tuesday 9

Today's Cat Toy Tuesday is a classic favorite of all my foster kittens...

MOMMA MERLIN'S TAIL!

All the kitties love the play with momma Merlin and his super fluffy tail! 

You can get your very own at your local animal shelter! 

Killian Update

As promised I am going to give an update on Killian! 

Killian has become a very different cat! After lots of good food and extra love, a checkup from the vet, and a medication change, Killian is now a healthy spunky kitty! He's still a little nervous but he is now coming out of his kennel and playing all over Kitten Playground! He and Merlin are also becoming friends! His foot is looking much better and he is no longer congested and blowing snot bubbles! 

Here is Killian the first time he ventured out of his kennel on his own!

Killian and Merlin are buddies!

I've really enjoyed having Killian and I can't wait to see him continue to improve. I'm not going to lie, "foster failing" is definitely in the back of my mind. He is a very special kitty and fits the description of "special needs." The challenge is that with where I am living right now I cannot adopt another cat and continue to foster. As much as a love this little man and as special as he is, it's a difficult decision. There are always more kittens that need my help. I just hope that despite his struggles he will be able to find a good home as soon as he gets all better. 

Cat Toy Tuesday 8

Today's Cat Toy Tuesday is the super cool Petstages criss-cross scratcher!

Minnie used it to get on Merlin's level!

Arthur preferred playing with it on it's side

I got this scratcher at Petco!

Killian the Kitten

If you follow me on Instagram you have probably already seen my new foster kitten Killian.
Killian is named after the character of Captain Hook on the TV show Once Upon a Time. I think it fit him perfectly because although he is missing a limb he is still a tough little pirate cat!

Kilian came in to the shelter a hot mess. He required a leg amputation immediately. Not only is he getting used to only having 3 legs, his back leg on the same side is also injured. On top of that the little man has a pretty bad kitty cold. But he is quite the trooper! He is doing really well learning how to walk around with just his 3 legs. 

His back foot is sometimes a little bloody and full of puss, so he wears a little baby mitten to keep it covered but it's loose enough that the wound can still breath!

When he came to the shelter they suspected that he was feral. He was definitely not used to humans. When I brought him home he never came out of his kennel and hissed at me every time I was near him. 

He was so scared his first day

Unfortunately he required medicine 2x a day as well as attention to his foot, so he'd continue to have some negative experiences with me. So I decided to use a technique I learned about at school. It's a pretty basic concept but makes all the difference. The idea is to provide at least 3 good experiences for every bad. So I would open the kennel and spend time petting him and loving on him or feeding him and do nothing else. I would do this a couple times over some time before it was time for me to administer medications or tend to his foot. This really seemed to help and he started warming up to me and really didn't mind when I did have to provide treatments to him. He is now a lap cat! He loves to snuggle with me! 

He loves being pet!

He loves to snuggle!

Killian still has a long way to go, but he seems determined to make it through. He's a special little guy!

I'll continue to document his progress and journey with me on Instagram. I will also make occasional blog updating his progress. 

National Vet Tech Week

This week has been National Veterinary Technician Week. 

As a vet tech student it's important to me that people truly understand what it is that vet  techs do and how incredible they are. I have worked with so many incredible vet techs and they deserve the recognition and appreciation. I hope to live up to that greatness once I graduate and become registered (fingers crossed my exam is next month!)

So to help educate people on the profession of veterinary technology, here are a couple questions I am commonly asked about vet techs-- and my answers to them:

So what does a vet tech do? Well I could probably write a whole book if I was to thoroughly explain it. Most of the time when people ask me this I tell them we are the equivalent to a nurse but for animals. This is actually a bit of an understatement, a vet tech does the job equivalent to several different people in the human world. The legal limitations for what a tech can do is that they cannot prescribe, diagnose, or perform surgery. 

Do you have to go to school for it? Yes! Being a veterinary technician/technologist requires an associate or bachelor degree. That is 2-4 years of schooling. There are several schools that offer an associate program, but only a handful with the bachelor program. The schooling is by no means easy. I am in the bachelor program at Purdue University. it is a very rigorous program with a full load of classes in addition to clinical hours in the teaching hospitals. Then in order to become a Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) you must the VTNE (Vet Tech National Examination). There are Vet Assistants which do some of the same work as veterinary technicians but do not have the schooling. Vet Assistants are a wonderful part of the veterinary team, but there are limitations to what they can do as far as technical medical skills. 

So are you going to go to vet school? No. This is another time when I use the nurse analogy. A person does not go to nursing school to eventually become a doctor. That is the same situation here. You major in veterinary technology to become a vet tech and you do pre-vet and eventually vet school to become a vet. Being a vet tech is not "settling" because I don't want to go to school longer, or I am not smart enough. I chose to be a vet tech because it is my passion and my dream job. 

So you get to play with puppies and kittens all day?! Not so much. Being a vet tech is not easy and it's not all cute puppies and kittens. Its a lot of poop, blood, angry animals, bites and scratches, nasty wounds and masses, very sad times, very stressful times, very frustrating times, and the occasional adorable puppy or kitten that's healthy. But I'm not complaining. I love what I do. It's what I live for. But no one should go into veterinary technology because they think it's easy or they just get to play with puppies and kittens all day. You need to not just love animals but also love the medical side. You often don't work a regular 9-5 job, you hardly ever leave on time, and sometimes (especially if you work at a shelter) you literally take your work home with you!

Do you make a lot of money? Hahahaha. No. This isn't a profession that you go into for the money, but you do get paid highly in satisfaction and puppy dog kisses! Below is an image that really shows how terribly under paid veterinary technicians are. It compares the average salary of vet techs compared to the average salary of the other careers in the human world that techs also do.

So, next time you are at the vet, thank your veterinary technician!

It's Cat Toy Tuesday (On Wednesday)

With all the craziness of being home for fall break and then heading back to school I failed to post this yesterday!

This weeks Cat Toy Tuesday features the Kong Kickeroo! 

They come in lots of sizes and colors and patterns! My foster kittens tend to like the smaller one and Merlin loves the huge one! It's full of cat nip and has a fluffy "tail"  that's irresistible to the kitties! 

You can find the Kong Kickeroo at just about about pet store that sells Kong products! 

DIY for Kittens #1!

There are some really cool cat toys and products out there, but they can be pretty pricey. So I've decided that once a month I am going to do a post about a DIY cat toy/product and I am even going to make it myself. 

If you know me you know I'm not the most handy person there is. I don't do well with scissors, knives, hammers, lighters, basically anything that could potentially cause harm. So, if I can complete these DIY projects you can too!

A couple weeks ago I did a Cat Toy Tuesday post about a cat puzzle. That toy is a huge hit and all cats (even Merlin) seem to enjoy it. So I found a DIY cat puzzle project that I decided to try!

Here is what you need:

Tupperware Container with a Lid 

Sharp Knife

Something to trace circles with (unless you're really good at making circles)

Marker

Lighter

1. Take the lid off the container and trace circles on it where you plan to cut holes out. You can do different sizes or all the same

2. Take your knife and cut out the holes 

3. Use the lighter to smooth out the edges of the circles (don't want to hurt kitty paws)

4. Put toys in the container, put the lid back on, and watch them play!

I'm on fall break this weekend and am home visiting my family and my former foster kittens Tiger Lily and Olive. They were very willing to be the first to test out my new puzzle toy....

They definitely seem to approve!

Next month I will do another DIY project. Depending on how many ideas I come up with and how much time I have I many switch to every other week. Feel free to share any DIY projects you've tried for your cats or think I should try!

It's Hip to Snip!

Today's post is over an incredibly important topic, but also probably the simplest concept there is. Spay and Neuter your pets! It's so easy (and can be done at low cost) and it makes a huge difference. 

Why spay and neuter?
Pet overpopulation is a huge problem. It seems like shelters are always crowded and yet there are still lines at the door of people surrendering pets. A lot of these are kittens and puppies. You may assume all kittens and puppies get adopted quickly but that's but the case. Some end up growing up in the shelter. While there are some pretty awesome shelters out there, it's not a place for an animal to spend a large part of their life. Not to mention many shelters are still required to put down animals due to overcrowding. When you spay/neuter one animal you prevent 1,000s of unwanted animals from being born and facing a life like that. Spaying and Neutering Saves Lives.

So if that's not enough to convince you, or you say well my pet isn't around other animals anyway so they won't reproduce, there are even more reasons to spay and neuter. 
Health Benefits- spaying and neutering reduces risks for various infections and cancers. If you can prevent it, why not! 
Behavior Benefits- There's nothing more annoying than a cat/dog in heat or a horny cat/dog. Intact males are more likely to be aggressive (all that testosterone), sneak out (lookin' for ladies), and mark territory (gross)! 

Another huge area where spaying/neutering is key in in community cats. If you are feeding a stray cat that is intact please do your research and find a local low-cost spay/neuter clinic. May of them have special community cat/TNR (Trap Neuter Release) programs. Sterilizing these cats is a huge component to controlling pet over population.
 Check out this chart to see how much of an impact it has 


That's a ton of kittens. And if you think about it, if these kittens grow up feral like their parents that means more cats on the streets to feed and potential for them to also have babies. That's not a good situation. 

So if you have a pet or are caring for ferals that are not yet spayed/neutered go do it! There are so many awesome low-cost clinics out there to help you. Shelters and rescues can only do so much to prevent over-population, this is a chance for you to help out. There are so many resources out there to help you out and make it as easy as possible. So do your research and schedule an appointment!

Cat Toy Tuesday 6

Today's cat toy Tuesday is this awesome scratcher

This scratcher is fantastic, It provides multiple textures for scratching and has a festher toy on the side. Plus the shape makes it fun for play. This is definitely a favorite of Merlin and the kittens 

Working With Nervous Kittens

Some kittens arrive bouncing off the walls ready to play with anyone, which others are terrified and shaking in their boots anytime you look at them.

 A while back before fostering I worked at a clinic that raised litters of stray kittens. One litter in particular arrived very nervous and were suspected to be "semi-feral." I remember the first time I saw them I was hissed at and I thought there were only 3 (There were 4-- one hid for the first couple days). There was talk about not keeping them because they were too difficult to raise and adopt out, I couldn't let that happen so I ended up spending a weekend working on socializing them. By the end of the weekend they would come straight to the door whenever I approached and the one that hid even sat in my lap! They ended up being some of my favorite kittens I've worked with. These kittens helped strengthen my desire to work in shelter medicine and was my first glimpse at fostering kittens. 

Most recently my foster kitten Hazel was also pretty shy. When I first got her home she didn't come out of the kennel and hissed every time I walked by her. It was less than a week by the time she curled up in my lap to take a nap!

Hazel snuggling with me before going back to the shelter to find her forever home

These kittens were a much more mild case than many of the kittens seen but it just goes to show that a little love and patience can make big changes. More severe cases and true feral kitties take a lot more work! But I have seen proof that even the most feral of kittens can become a perfect adoptable kitten. There are few things more rewarding than seeing a kitten go from terrified to sweet and trusting. 

So here are some general tips for socializing nervous kittens

Be Patient-- My first reaction when I see a kitten is to pick it up and snuggle it and never want to let go. That's okay for some kittens but not for these nervous kittens. What  you perceive as being friendly they may find terrifying. The best thing you can do is sit still and let them come to you. 
Be Understanding-- Look at things through their eyes. These are tiny kittens and you are a very big, intimidating creature. It's possible they have had very negative experiences with humans in the past. They need time to learn that humans aren't bad, and in fact we are just trying to help them. Cats need to be untrusting to survive, it's their instinct. So just be understanding and see where they are coming from. 
Go Slow-- Imagine a giant hand coming down from the sky to pick you up. That's terrifying. You are a giant to these kittens. Go slow and be gentle, they need proof that you are not going to hurt them. It takes time. Don't rush them. 


So that's the basics of what I've learned from working with shy kittens. Please share any experiences you have, I'd love to hear more tips and recommendations! 

Panleukopenia

One week ago today I had to say goodbye to sweet Arthur due to Panleukopenia. When explaining to friends and family a lot of people asked "what is that?" so I figured I would use today's post to explain. 

Panleukopenia is a virus that is very contagious in kitties. It basically destroys rapidly dividing cells particularly in the bone marrow which is where blood is made (leukopenia means decreased in white blood cells) and in cells in the intestine. So signs typically seen include vomiting, anorexia (not eating), diarrhea, extreme dehydration, depression, and lethargy-- basically the kittens don't act like kittens. 
It generally effects kittens the most simply because they have a weaker immune system, but adults can get it, too.

Arthur just sat like this the whole time Gwaine was running around playing, I knew something was not right

So what can be done? Well, the plus side is that there is a vaccine for it, so it is preventable! This makes it fairly uncommon in most veterinary practices but unfortunately, shelters are a different story. With so many stray and orphaned kitties with unknown vaccine histories, panleukopenia is not uncommon. What especially sucks is that there is no cure for it. The only thing you can do to treat the disease is try supportive care which includes things like giving fluids, blood transfusions, and anti-nausea medications. Unfortunately the disease tends to progress quickly and once it is caught it's hard to reverse. In fact, when a kitten is infected there is a 75% chance they won't make it--which is really high! :( 

Overnight, Arthur started showing signs of anorexia, dehydration, and vomiting. At that point I (with help from my awesome friends who are also vet tech majors) immediately started supportive care. I provided him with subcutaneous fluids (injected under the skin) and I syringe fed him (only do this if you are comfortable and know how, they are at risk for aspiration pneumonia-- inhaling the food into their lungs). Unfortunately he continued to progress rapidly (only over the course of 2 days) so we tested him and he was positive for panleuk. His condition was far too severe and euthanizing was his best option. 

Arthur was incredibly spoiled with cuddles his last day with us 

Luckily Gwaine is doing really well and not showing any signs *knock on wood*. It's likely that his maternal antibodies (as I discussed in the post about vaccines) are kicking butt and keeping him healthy. Also, Merlin is all up to date on vaccines so he is safe. 

Another nasty thing about Panleuk is that it is very hardy. It can live in an environment for up to a year. But it can be killed with bleach. So when I got home I cleaned everything with bleach! 

I know I say it a lot, but please, please, please vaccinate your pets! There are so many horrible diseases that can be prevented with vaccines. And there are plenty of places that offer vaccines for a low cost. 

This post in in honor of Arthur-- RIP little man. 

The following day I got Gwaine and stuffed orange kitty, it is now his favorite toy-- he snuggles it and even tries to carry it around everything with him