The Less Than Stellar Pet Thread

Other than rabies, yeah. And even my outdoor-ish cat doesn't get other vacc's, because she never goes out unsupervised and her chances of messing with an animal that has something to infect her with is effectively zero.

Should've opted for Frontline or some other flea repellant though. Currently kicking myself over lack of forethought.

They're saying Frontline isn't as effective as it used to be; apparently we're now breeding super-fleas. Our vet gave us something called Comfortis.

Oh yay superfleas.

Maybe I'll just use that as the excuse for why she still has fleas even after a flea bath. I'm really not keen on getting her professionally groomed (which would also involve getting the other kitty groomed too, just for good measure) but I don't want her to be miserable. Bleh.

There are different topicals you can use, I had to go through a couple with my cat because she developed an allergy to Revolution (which sucks, because that stuff is no mess and does heartworm and fleas.)

So, umm. Yeah. Tonka is home again and he's happily standing himself up and walking around his dog run again. The vet's finally gave in and administered a large dose of steroids and the change has been astonishing. He's a bit wobbly and you can tell he's a little weak, but it's pretty damn freaky.

Has anyone had a dog go through this type of thing before? Has it lasted?

Yeah, both Frontline and Advantage no longer work where I live. My vet gave me something called Vectra, which I believe is for both dogs and cats. Unfortunately, only vet offices carry it.

Now if only they'd make this stuff for humans. When the fleas can't munch on my cat, they come after me!

So, looks like we're going to have to have my mom's cat put down. Something is wrong with it because it periodically has violent fits. It has savaged my mom's hands and arms multiple times, twice to the point of requiring visits to the emergency room and massive antibiotics. The most recent time was actually when she went to get the cat to show to the animal control tech who had come in to check the cat out after the LAST attack. I'm surprised the animal control person didn't just shoot it then.

I have forbidden my kids to go near the cat because they lack the impulse control necessary to not fuck with it. It's possible that the cat, which is old, has bad arthritis or something that's causing her pain and fits, but my mom can barely keep up with her own medication, and can't wrestle an already violent cat to cram a pill down its gullet once a day to treat that. So, the cat is making a trip to the vet today and probably isn't making a trip back.

On days we leave the dog home she is confined to the kitchen with her crate blocking the only way out of the kitchen. We arrive home yesterday to a fain smell of poop. There are little bits on the floor, but only remnants. Our little Coco ate her poop.

Not long after I was sitting on the couch and she spit up on me. That was like two ends at once. Ugh. We had to run some errands and took her since we didn't want to leave her home alone (plus we like to bring her along). She spit up a little outside (thankfully), and I brought paper towels and bags for our car trip. While my wife was inside there was some minor spit up in the car.

Then we're driving home an she's panting really heavy. Never saw her like that, like she was in distress. So, naturally, I'm driving like a motherfucker. We get home and my wife sets her down and she takes off like a shot. I run after her to make sure she doesn't get run over by a car (at least she knows her neighborhood and likes certain areas) and when she gets across the street squats and lets loose the loudest fart I ever heard her make. Then she takes off again for the actually poop.

I said to my wife, "at least we know she won't poop on us unless she really has to."

Maybe. My wife and mom took it to the vet today and --surprise, surprise-- they wanted to try treatment. The vet manhandled the cat to see how easy it would be to provoke, and of course it lost its shit and started trying to bite him. And then I KID YOU NOT, my mom just STICKS HER HAND IN THERE and gets bitten badly again! My wife is stunned by this and shouts "WHAT THE FUCK, SUE? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?" Mom says she was just trying to comfort the cat. You know, while it was flipping out and attacking every fleshy thing it could get its teeth on.

So the vet said something about nerve damage and that he thinks he knows the tender spot on the cats back and gave it a cortisone shot. This may help, and I guess we'll know when it's worn off because the cat will probably go berserk again and savage someone. It's just natures little way of saying that this temporary solution has run its course. Either that or the shot will have no effect and it's mauling my mom as I type this. So I currently have the Missouri Humane Society website open in another tab and am adding their number to my cell phone contacts list.

As someone who has tried to separate two fighting dogs with my hands I have a certain amount of sympathy for Jamie's mom. Yes, it's stupid, but the instinct is to reach in there and do something.

All of my animal handling experience and training has boiled down to "If two animals are fighting you back the fuck up unless you're specifically trained to handle that kind of thing." The last thing you need is for a person to get injured in addition to either animal, especially when in some jurisdictions, that becomes a legal liability for the animal to be put down, regardless of circumstances surrounding the injury.

So, unless they're my own two cats horsing around (which are pretty easy to break up anyway), my instinct is to give a wide berth.

My sister and I have started using the phrase "consistently displaying a lack of good judgment" but yeah I'm not gonna argue. It's funny how the tables of the parent/child relationship turn around over time.

The vet was holding it on the examination table and controlling it at the time.

I agree that's sensible. But with people screaming and animals fighting and a lot of adrenaline going I made a bad decision with no time to think about it. Luckily I wasn't hurt beyond a few scratches.

I do try to learn from my mistakes and apply that to future encounters though, so there is that.

Yeah, I can understand that. Especially when it's your own pet in the mix (or an animal you are otherwise fairly familiar with, like a neighbor's or friend's pet).

Our cat was super old and he ran away and started lying on the ground and twitching a few days ago so we had to put him down. I'm not sure why I'm sharing this other than that this thread exists.

I'm sorry. :(

I'm sorry, Hanacker.

Because pets live in that awkward space between being central to your life and yet totally insignificant to most people in real life, so it's good to get it out there. Sorry to hear about your loss, and I know how hard it is.

Thanks, all.

My vet's office is FABULOUS. Got flea meds over the phone without having to take the cats in again, since they were seen late this last spring.

ALSO FLEA PILLS ARE A THING NOW. One dose, starts working within 3 hours.

They're a thing again, actually. :) Back before topicals came out, in the early 90's, lufenuron was a pretty common anti-flea medication.

I was gonna say that it sounded like some kind of brain or nerve damage, especially if the cat just started doing stuff like that and hasn't always been like that. Though I know I don't know nearly enough about cats. Though after I tamed a semi-feral and an abused semi-feral, I learned not to stick my hand near an angry, thrashing kitty.

I used to work in a dog daycare. I was told to reach for the collar to separate two fighting dogs, but I've recently learned that the scruff of the neck might be a better place. Of course, not separating them wasn't an option because the owners would get pissed if their dogs got injured. I guess I was usually too worried about getting screamed at by the dogs' owners and the owner of the daycare to worry about me getting bit.

Poor kitty. I'm sorry you had to put him down. It sounds like he had a good, long life with you, though.

I was shown around a military guard dog kennel a few years ago. I remember the written instructions, in case two dogs started fighting , were to grab the dog's hind legs, lift, and drag them backwards. Of course, those dogs would have a handler each whenever they were out of their kennel. Not sure how well that technique would work if you grab your dog and the other dog is unrestrained.

Several years ago my two big dogs (passed on now) got into a horrific fight, and one of them was a pit bull mix. I had to attach one of them to the fence with a long lead and then grab the other one's back legs to get them to separate. I got a little bite for my trouble. It was terrifying.

I don't know, either. Usually at the dog daycare there was one person per floor and one person that ran around doing other stuff, like baths. So if a fight broke out, chances were good someone would be handling a dog fight by themselves. It would have made more sense to have two people per floor, considering we were usually watching 60-80 dogs a day, but the owner was a cheapskate.

Wouldn't the dog be able to bite you if you grabbed its hind legs and dragged backwards, though?

They would. I think the idea is that the dogs would be too focused on their foe in front of them to attack their handler. It's not like you have a lot of good options when it comes to stopping two fighting dogs. That said, the dog handlers were no doubt trained on the procedure. I'm not.

Cat fights are easy, all you need is a hose.

So unlike many of the sad pet stories in this thread, I have a non-sad but still quite annoying less-than-stellar-pet-experience to share:

My guinea pig Bandit has gone guerilla. I let him out to roam like usual on Wednesday and when I went to put him back in his cage, he snuck into a nook where I cannot get at him (usually he is quite cooperative about being picked up). I have tried numerous ways to convince him to come out but he keeps hiding behind/under/inside every imaginable nook and cranny. He's crafty like that. I have not actually seen him in two days, but I know he is there b/c he is consuming the food and water I left out for him. I also hear him scuttling about to drink the water and eat the food but by the time I get to the kitchen he has vanished into a hiding spot. He is like a very small and vegetarian guerilla force in my apartment.

I suppose I could stop giving him food and starve him out but I am a softie. Hopefully he will decide to rejoin my company at some point.

The like is for the "aww" factor!

I am pleased to announce that a successful containment and capture operation was conducted by local authorities and the guerilla force has been returned to its designated holding facility.

The tactical error made by the guerilla force was choosing a hiding place which could be turned into a cul-de-sac by means of box-moving operations by the local authorities.

From the day we brought her home, Beaker was Allie's best buddy -- his favorite place to sleep was right next to her crib. She learned to say his name even before "Mommy" or "Daddy".

Granddad came over to watch her today while we took him to the vet. She was climbing on the couch when we came home; when she saw his collar in my hand, she said "Bee kuh!", and kept on clumbering around.

I can't stop staring at the cracker she dropped on the floor a few minutes ago. It's just sitting there.

My condolences.

aw, I'm sorry.

My sister is crazy in love with her golden/chow mix. She's had him for 14+ years. He's an awesome dog.

He's gotten quite old and in the past few months, very stiff. The last few days he has had trouble walking and cannot actually get up sometimes. She is having to decide when to have him put to sleep. My heart is breaking for her.

She left an ambiguous Facebook status "I'm doing as well as can be expected" tonight and isn't answering phone or text... I'm afraid she may have had it done today, and I sure wish I could help. She's 400 miles away though.

I just now noticed your post, Talisker. Condolences. That's so very tough.

That's such a hard place to be in, MrsWidget, wanting to be there for someone but not being able to "be" there. I hope your sister has people physically there for her so that she can accept the comfort if she needs it and, if not, give you a call when she's ready. Grief sucks.