Scooter Pie

Scooter is, at this moment, a silky, healthy, independent cat of 9 years.  He came to me, as most of my pets do, as an abandoned baby.  Scooter was 5 weeks old and was among 4 brothers and sisters.  They were all identical tribbles of grey (blue) fur, mewling pitifully inside of a cardboard box.  My coworker had taken them home originally, but her husband had threatened to kick her out with the kittens.  And so she asked me to step in.  I do believe we have already explained that I am a sucker, and so this is how I came to have five kittens in my house.

My older son was 14 months old and had only been walking for the past month.  I was 4 months pregnant with our second son.  I had two adult female cats at home, Biscuit and Chicken, and they could not have possibly cared less about the litter.  All five kittens were outwardly healthy, and had received dewormer before they came to my home.  I kept them in a basement bathroom (my basement was finished and kind of nice for a 50 year old house of only 1700 square feet).  I was armed with a tin of KMR (oddly enough, my initials....see how I was cut out to be a vet tech?  hehe) and two 2 oz bottles.  And a husband who is addicted to cats.

The kittens just LOVED the boy.  And the boy was terrified of the kittens, but also drawn to them.  Keep in mind that this boy is an Aspie, and as with myself, is a cat whisperer.  So this two foot high pair of blue fleece footie pajamas would toddle over to the writhing mass of kitten fluff and try to squat down to pet one.  The entire litter would move en masse toward the new, tall creature and attempt to scale the heights while the boy screamed and cried.  It was a very difficult few days for the boy, until he got used to them.

Because they were identical, I made teensy tiny little collars out of fabric leavings and ribbon that I had.  The kittens' temporary names were Blue, Black, Beige, Red, and Rainbow.  Red and Rainbow were female, the rest male.  And within a week I had homes for three of the kittens.  But nobody wanted them until they were completely weaned and litter box trained, and I wouldn't release them until 8 weeks old.  It is kind of a thing for me to keep a litter or family together until then.

Blue suddenly stopped eating 7 days after I brought the kittens into my home.  He became lethargic and listless for a day.  I took all five to work with me the night Blue began to act sick.  I was working with a favorite veterinarian of mine, and he did a thorough exam on poor little Blue.  The doc said that I could run some bloodwork, but that Blue was likely suffering from panleukopenia, which is also known as Feline Distemper and Feline Parvovirus.  He said that if this was so, I could check a smear of Blue's blood and see how many white blood cells I could find.  If there were a diminished or absent amount, this was panleuk and I had to provide supportive care and hope he pulls through.

I pulled a quarter of a cc of blood from Blue, crying inside as I did, and checked three blood smears.  Just to be safe.  I found three white blood cells total on three slides.  And, I have to say, I am pretty awesome at creating readable blood smear slides.  They all have a full body, monolayer, and feathered edge.  So I knew my little Blue was sick, and the rest would also come down with the sickness soon.  Panleuk is a common disease in kittens, and it is preventable with vaccines *if* the maternal antibodies remain in the kitten's system until a vaccine is able to be given.  First vaccines don't even get suggested till 8 weeks, though some breeders give them at 6 weeks.  The kittens were barely six weeks old.  So there was no preventing the disease.

I gave Blue some warmed fluids under his skin and a shot of an antibiotic.  And prayed for the best.

The next day, Beige and Red fell ill.  Then Black the following day.  Then Rainbow.  Blue began to improve on the third day, as did Red and Rainbow.  Black died overnight the first day of his illness and Beige was euthanized on Day 2 of his. I was treating them all with subcutaneous fluids and antibiotics (for secondary infection, not for the virus itself.  antibiotics are for bacterial infections).  Red never woke up on Day 5, after she had gone back to eating and drinking.  I have no idea what happened there.  And Rainbow was euthanized by me at 4am while my veterinarian slept on Day 6 of her ordeal.  She had improved, then rapidly declined.  When I had taken her in to work with me that final night, her temperature (normal is 101-103 in cats) was at 98 degrees.  She was unable to keep circulation up.  The vet had approved the euthanasia before he went to bed, and offered to help when it came time.  I was crying so hard that I couldn't let him see me like that.  And as I injected the diluted pink fluid into her dehydrated, flat vein.....she slipped away to the Rainbow Bridge.

I went home the next morning to my one surviving kitten, Blue.Throughout the week of dying kittens, I had discussed the problems the babies were having with their potential new owners.  All had decided they weren't ready for the remaining kitten, and so I had nowhere to send him at 8 weeks old.  Due to the emotional trauma of losing 4 kittens in a week, the husband and I decided to keep him.  And because panleukopenia can cause lifelong cerebellar deficits, we named him Scooter because he would scoot-jump instead of walk normally.

The name no longer makes sense.  Within a few months of being christened Scooter, he figured out how to move his legs properly and has been relatively graceful ever since.  He and my boys are the best of friends, and Scooter prefers the company of children to adults any day.  He does torment our other cats a few times a month.  He likes to hump them as if he was a dog showing dominant behavior.  But then again, the other boy cats are twice his size, so I am sure it is necessary. :)

Scooter has a purr that warms even my brittle, tarnished heart.  He climbs on my lap some nights and shoves his wet little nose into my face and purrs so hard i can't help but stroke his thick, soft, bouncy fur.  And he is so adorable in that he makes suckling noises on his paw when he is blissful.  He is in love with those sticky-paper lint rollers also.  He carries them around by the sticky paper and licks them and chases them.  It's....endearing.

My life and home would not be complete without Scooter.  I love him very much, and I am glad he survived.

Mondays

I've had a chronic case of the Mondays lately. All I want to do is sleep.  And my older child, the one with Asperger Syndrome, was having a very hard time this morning.  I remember when I was his age, in fifth grade.  Moreso I remember sixth grade. When my Aspie nature really kicked in.  I thought it was because my family had just moved to another state and I was depressed and missing Colorado.  But seeing my son today, knowing I went to school feeling just as he does now, makes me want to cry.  That look on his face of hopelessness and sadness mixed with dread.....sheesh. it's like I'm walking down Newell Road in Holden, MA all over again. I've tried his whole life to avoid the pain of what i went through growing up.  And I can't. He has to go through what I went through. I just hope he comes out on the other side like I did. 

Asperger Syndrome and Animals

This is going to be a quick post, and mainly a link to another article/wordpress post.  I am a female of my species, and I have Asperger Syndrome.  My mother thought I was autistic when I was a child, and I went to a few child psychiatrists who insisted I wasn't.  I didn't speak till I was three, and my first 'word' was a sentence, "turn on air conditioner please."  I could not and would not make eye contact until I was 16, after a long and painful episode with my mother on the steps of our beautiful Colorado home.  I am hypersensitive to sounds, textures, and touch.  I did not know how to relax until my mother, who usually made me cringe that she would yell or hit me, forced me to lie down for a back rub.  She did that every so often until I learned how to relax myself.  I had a very difficult time discussing anything with my mother or sisters when I was a child, and actually felt closest to my father, who likely also has Aspergers and has been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder.  My father was very withdrawn and threw himself into his work.  My mother describes him as an absent father, absent spouse, and generally my sisters feel abandoned by the man even though he was there.  He just wasn't THERE.  They have even argued many times that my problems with my mother are imaginary and I should be having problems with my dad.  I don't have problems with my dad.  He was my favorite parent.  He didn't hit me when I wouldn't look him in the eye.  He communicated to me the way I communicated.  I understood him.

Anyway, I have always been hyperempathetic.  I cry when others cry, I feel what others feel, and I can read emotions in people and complete strangers (clients) because I am feeling their feelings.  I have always been praised over and over at work by colleagues and bosses for my client communication abilities.  My ability to help people through grief and loss, and help people cope with their pets' illnesses.  I knew autistic people are reportedly good with animals of all sorts, and I have felt closer to the family pets than the humans my whole life.

When articles began rising to the surface when I was in high school (think mid 1990's) about Asperger Syndrome, my mother leaped upon them to explain me.  But the articles all focused on boys and men.  Engineers and Mathematicians.  Stone cold emotionless men who still found spouses because they were successful, and passed on the gene to their offspring.  I am a girl.  I didn't entirely fit the profile.  but I kept it in my head for a long time.  I have frequently associated myself with being an Aspie ever since then, and decided that if I have kids, I will make sure to look for all the signs and work with them so that their childhood would not be as horrific as I remember mine to be.

When my first son was born, I worked on eye contact from day 1.  I know, I know, babies don't make eye contact.  But I made the effort every day to spend time gazing into his dark blue eyes.  When he was 4 months old, he began to have night terrors.  Doctors insist that infants do not have night terrors, but he did.  Until he was 3 years old.  My son rolled over at 2 days old, then not again until well after he was walking.  He hated Tummy Time as an infant and would scream for up to an hour (while I was speaking in soothing tones and rubbing his back) before I would relent and roll him back over.  He never crawled, but could stack alphabet blocks 9 high when he was 9 months old and cruising the coffee table.  He had a 50 word vocabulary by the time he turned 1 year.  And now, he is 10 years old and beginning to have Aspie issues.  He needs alone time, and has social exhaustion.  But he is brilliant and aces anything handed to him.  He's been begging me to not make him go to school.  It's so painful for me to see him like this.

Anyway, please read the article.  It is well written and describes me perfectly.  I sent it to my mother when I found it, and I have been in tears since.  I feel like I finally have an answer.  I am not a male Aspie.  I am female.  And we are different.  Much like cats are not small dogs, we cannot be assumed to have the same signs and treatments as the others.  I hope this made sense.  And I hope that my mother can stop being so angry with me now.  I know she is making an effort.  I hope I can continue to make the effort to be understood and it will be enough.

Purrs are for therapy

So my ten year old son did a research project on vocal cords and how they vibrate to help create sounds for words. He absolutely hates the subject with a passion now, but perked up when I showed him this picture.

IMPORTANT

Please remember this.  Puppies and Kittens are just too cute - but they are a LIFETIME commitment.  Also, they are a lifetime of love and devotion.  And a natural stress reliever.  Happy Holidays, secular and otherwise :)

The Parvo (dun dun DDUUUUNNNNNN)

When a puppy gets sick, it's usually vomiting and diarrhea.  One of the most prolific diseases in dogs is the Parvo virus.  It is ubiquitous.  You probably have some in your hair RIGHT NOW. No....don't.....don't go take a shower.  come back here.  it's ok.  Human Parvo Virus is different.  All mammals have a Parvo Virus.  And none of them have yet been able to cross species.  ****In humans, Parvo Virus is also known as Fifths Disease, and most children get it in the grammar school years.  It is a mild fever for a few days and then turns into a cheek rash.  Basically looks like the kid has had too much sun.....or too many visits from a certain aunt that likes to pinch cheeks a little too much.  As an adult, I had Parvo Virus and it was awful.  As an adult, you can contract the disease and go one of two routes.....asymptomatic (no signs or symptoms of the disease) or MAJOR WHOLE BODY PAIN FOR WEEKS.  My body decided to go the intense pain route and I was unaware of why I hurt so badly until my children showed signs of Fifths Disease and I researched it.  Turns out I was in such intense chronic pain that I fractured three teeth during my sleep...and when I went to the hospital because I was afraid I had something wrong with me, they took chest x-rays and sent me home without pain medicine because I didn't have pneumonia.  That's right.  Makes no sense.  In fact, the doctor didn't even touch me.  A veterinarian would never be so awful to a patient....ah, well.  I love my vets.****

Canine Parvo Virus is classically a gastrointestinal disease.  It is shed in the diarrhea and in order for a puppy to contract the disease, the virus has to be ingested.  Which sounds gross, but think of all the things a puppy licks and chews and bites in the course of a day.  You've seen those 20/20 sort of news shows that swab random things for E. coli bacteria?  Yeah.  The world is gross. (cue the Monk theme song here...)  So puppies are bound to be ingesting all sorts of grossness out there in the world, and one particularly nasty bug is Parvo.

So the bug goes into their poor little mouths, then tummies, and into the intestines.  It begins the attack via lymph nodes, where it heads to the bone marrow and starts killing immune cells.  This allows the virus to invade the rapidly dividing cells in the intestines and replicate, replicate, replicate. The virus basically destroys the little fingery foldy bits of your intestine where nutrients are absorbed.  This makes is nearly impossible for the little pup to digest any food that it is able to choke down, presuming the puppy is not vomiting.  Blood is frequently seen in the stool, and because there is intestinal bleeding, bacteria is more likely to jump into the blood stream and cause secondary infections.  Which sucks even MORE because the virus is also in the bone marrow destroying white blood cells AND in the heart tissue, replicating.  So this tiny ball of fur you see before you is positively miserable.

Basically, Parvo is kind of a big old Fuck You to the poor puppy's immune system.  And because it happens a short time after ingestion, and puppies are so small and become dehydrated VERY quickly, you must act fast.  MUST.  Even if it is the middle of the night.  Because let's be honest.  You have NO IDEA how healthy your dog's immune system is - both before the virus invaded or now that it has.  You have NO IDEA how dehydrated your pup was before it all started.  Usually this disease begins to show itself with a decrease in eating and drinking.  Usually so subtle you won't notice it till your pup is very ill.  I have seen seemingly resilient puppies die within hours of showing signs of the disease.  I have also seen, in one of my personal dogs, a case of only a little vomiting and inappetence for a couple of days.

If you think your puppy has Parvo, please please PLEASE call the vet clinic in advance and let them know you have a puppy with diarrhea that is feeling punky.  This will tell any receptionist worth her salt that you have a puppy that may be contagious to other dogs.  Also it should make the receptionist realize that no, you cannot wait till next Thursday to see the vet.  Parvo can get very bad very quickly.  Get in as soon as you can.  Preferably that day.  If not, be ready to go to the emergency vet later on.  Then do the following:

1. Bring a friend to open doors for you, and try hard not to bring children (they touch EVERYTHING and are already covered in the virus if they've touched the dog).
2. Have the friend go into the vet first and let them know you are there.  This gives them time to get a room set up for you without you sitting in the lobby, possibly infecting every other surface of the place with your Parvo-encrusted presence.
3. Wrap the pup in a clean towel or blanket.  This contains the mess and hopefully the virus-enhanced poopage
4. When the room is ready, have your friend open doors for you and walk STRAIGHT INTO THE ROOM and have a seat
5. Stay calm.  Vets and staff see Parvo a lot.  Way more than you think.  
6. Don't be afraid to ask questions. THERE ARE NO STUPID QUESTIONS (just very inquisitive idiots...HAHAHA.  but seriously.  ask questions.)

The veterinarian will do a full physical examination, and the technician will obtain vital signs and ask a bunch of questions.  The vet will recommend blood work (to check the white blood cell count, which is the immune cells the virus destroys in the bone marrow, and assess level of dehydration), a Parvo test (looks like a dry q-tip that the tech puts up the booty), x-rays (to see if your puppy simply ate something bad, like a toy or rock, and it is stuck.  also to see if the puppy's intestines have folded themselves inside themselves, which can be life threatening and is caused by diarrhea) and hospitalization.  

When it comes to veterinary medicine, there IS NO A LA CARTE.  You can't look at an estimate and pick and choose what you want.  In my 13 years, I have had WAY too many people say 'do I really NEED this blood work?  What if I want the IV fluids but not the catheter? Do I have to pay for antibiotics?'  The vet would not recommend something that is frivolous.  A vet recommends everything that will give us a clue as to your pet's health. 

Items your vet may recommend:
1. blood tests - initial, then every 12-24 hours to check to be sure the treatments are helping.  if they aren't helping, the vet needs to change the plan.
2. IV fluids - yes, you have to pay for the catheter.  how else will we get those slippery sterile fluids into your poor puppy?
3. Hospitalization - have to stay in hospital if you have an IV....don't care if you're a people nurse or farmer and 'very good' with needles and catheters.  
 4. Antibiotics - remember how those bacteria from the intestines are sneaking into the blood stream?  Can't kill those bad boys with fire, so you need these.
5. Antivirals (like Tamiflu) - if the vet has it, and it's within 24-48 hours of showing initial signs of the virus, this can help a lot.  It basically stops the replication of the virus so that your dog can start feeling better faster.
6. Pain medicine - a virus that eats away your intestines?  That can't possibly be painful!  OH WAIT.  YES IT IS.
 7. IV fluid additives - like potassium, which is being depleted in your dog with every time s/he has a diarrhea blowout
8. Anti-nausea medication - to prevent vomiting and bring back that appetite
9. Plasma Transfusion - in more severe cases, this is a good idea.  Plasma is made up of proteins, and constitutes about half of your blood volume.  Plasma is why you have a blood pressure and how you can stay hydrated.  When your intestines are leaking blood, and there's inflammation everywhere in the GI tract, you're losing proteins.  A lot.  Which makes it very hard to remain alive.  
10. Feeding tube (usually through the nose) - even though the GI tract is being ravaged and obliterated by the virus, allowing a trickle feeding of a high calorie and easy to digest diet is beneficial.  Lots of studies have been done, and as long as the puppy isn't vomiting, a feeding tube with trickle feeding is a fantastic plan.

So let's say your puppy got through the Parvo Virus and you get to bring your puppy home.  You're in the clear, right?  NO.  Your house....it is COVERED with the gross.  So is your yard.  But a few treatments with a spray bottle and a 3% bleach solution will clear that right up.  A 3% solution is strong enough to kill the virus, and not so strong it will bleach out your carpets and floors and yard.

Your pup will be shedding the virus in it's poop for a minimum of 6 weeks afterward, as well.  So DO NOT go to dog parks, the pet store, or any other public place.  This was an ordeal for you, and you don't want to be the reason other people have to go through it, too.  Or do you?  If so, you're a jerk.  Someone had to say it.  So I did.  I knew a veterinary assistant once who took her puppy to the dog park right after a serious bout of Parvo.  I was furious.  And I told her so.  She didn't care.  UGH.  Some people, right?

Anyway, an excellent website for specific details is Cornell (that's where I got one of the pictures), but you can also just, ya know, stick with me on this.  I don't mind.  I like the company.

If you ever have any questions about anything at all, please feel free to talk to your veterinarian.  I am happy to talk to people - I love it - but I am NOT a veterinarian, and I do not have a relationship with you.  Anything I say cannot be taken as the Ultimate Truth and Facts of This World, because medicine is changing rapidly.  Different vets do different things.  All of this is in my experience and entirely my own opinion.  I am offering up information - what you do with it is up to you.  I love you all.

Can You Afford Your Pet?

Last night, I happened to come across a nice elderly lady at a CVS.  My friends and I had stopped in for some post-pub munchies, and she was paying for her items and left.  She had a miniature poodle sitting on her electric wheelchair, and those little beady black eyes never left me.  She knew I was a veterinary professional of some sort, and didn't want to turn her back on me, I suppose.  Dogs Know.  Anyhow, when my friend and I had paid, we walked outside and the nice lady was putting a pink winter coat on the poodle because it was nippy out.  I cooed at the pup, and that began a short conversation about what I do for a living.  She was very impressed, and I told her that if her dog ever needs any specialist, she should take the pup to NHVS.  They have the best doctors and support staff in Houston.  She said, "Oh, I can't afford someone like that..."

I have a lot of Pet Peeves when it comes to the sweeping generalizations that animal lovers and professionals use to put down other animal lovers.  One of these is "If you can't afford for your pet to be sick, you shouldn't have a pet."

It sound perfectly reasonable, right? So why are there SO MANY people with pets that can't afford proper veterinary care?

the cost of healthy pets from this website

Think about it. I mean REALLY think about it.  A pet's life can be short or long.  A large dog generally lives to be 6-8 years old, a medium size dog tends to live to be 10-12 and a small dog or cat can live upwards of 15 years.  Where will you be, financially, throughout those 6-15+ years?  Hopefully you will improve your condition and get more and more affluent.  I agree that, when you initially acquire a pet, it's a good idea to at least have enough for wellness visits, vaccines, and maybe set a little aside for if the critter has an emergency.  But how much should you set aside?  What constitutes an emergency?  What are the price differences between my regular vet and an emergency vet?  What happens if you get fired?  Downsized?  Go to jail?  Lose a loved one? These are questions nobody wants to answer and nobody thinks will ever happen to them.

Truth be told, you simply cannot say where you will be financially during all the years your pet is alive.  And emergency problems are usually due to an accident, which means it isn't planned.  When an emergency isn't an accident, it is due to the pet not showing signs of illness until it is too late.  This is why I cannot possibly, in good conscience, get as furious with animal owners who cannot afford to amputate a limb as my brethren.  Murphy's law states that if it can go wrong, it will, and at the exact wrong time.


Working for over 10 years in emergency and critical care, I saw so many sad things and so many people without money to afford care for their pet.  Countless puppies with Parvo and Distemper virus, kittens with Feline Leukemia and upper respiratory infections, young male cats with a urinary tract obstruction, female dogs in dystocia (difficult labor, unable to deliver puppies), dogs of all ages in liver failure due to Sago Palm ingestion, and the list goes on.   Some of these diseases are preventable, but not all.

As far as how much you should set aside is a big head scratcher as well. A single trip to an animal emergency room can be as little as $100 and as much as $20,000+.  To be completely forthcoming, an outpatient procedure is likely going to be under $2000, but plenty of pets have an underlying condition that requires hospitalization or surgery, and that can get very pricey.  It's all a question of what is wrong and what it will take to remedy the pet back to a good quality of life.

I try very hard to avoid sweeping generalizations.  If this was a perfect world, I would not have to worry about mutated strains of Parvo or whether a plant my cat just found is toxic.  But in reality, we humans have a tendency to look down on others, judge them, and feel better about ourselves because at least we aren't as bad as THEM.  We are all flawed.  So stop being so damn judgmental, gosh darn it!

Biscuit the Bitchy Kitty

Biscuit is the first pet that my partner and I had that survived.  This sounds a little ominous, I know!  After being married for a little over a year, a woman came into the ER I was working at and had a tiny, cold, and filthy little ball of mew.  It barely moved. I am a sucker for itteh bitteh kittehs, and so of course I scooped the helpless, mute, deaf, and blind puddle of beige fur into my warm hand. 

The kitten had amniotic sac, dried and crusty, adhered to her fur.  She nuzzled my palm and tried to croak out a sound.  Her mama cat had obviously not taken care of this poor thing. 

The lady who brought this kitten in had told me that a feral mama cat had taken up residence in her house, under her bed.  The woman had abandoned her own bed to sleep on the couch in order for mama cat to have free reign in the bedroom.  Mama cat was vicious - and spookable.  The only photo the woman had was of the mama cat in the woman's kitchen sink.  She was hunkered down, only eyes and ears showing above the counter top.  Her tapetum lucidum reflected her hate and her ears were plastered to her cranium.

The woman explained that the mama cat had four kittens, but this one was left off to one side.  Abandoned.  This raised a red flag, as mamas seem to know when there's something wrong.  And they simply let the newborn die instead of invest energy into a lost cause. But as a new technician, and a complete sucker, I volunteered to take this kitten in and give it a chance. 

Feeding newborn kittens isn't as easy as it sounds.  They don't take to latex nipples very well, especially since the nipple on the bottle is huge compared to the tiny maw.  And so I learned how to drop KMR into her mouth and let her swallow.  She perked up, got a bath, and took a nap. 

Everything seemed to go well for three days.  I took her to work every night, and woke up every two hours to feed her during the day.  She got a bath every day because she seemed to have trouble passing stool without being in a warm bath. 

On the third day, while we were at work, the kitten took an acute turn for the worse.  Her blood sugar plummeted into the 30s and 40s. I fed her, gave dextrose orally, and monitored her every fifteen minutes.  All in vain.  She died at 6:45am on a Friday.

My veterinarian offered to do a post....a necropsy.  She found a few possible congenital defects, but with a three day old kitten.....they could've been part of a natural newborn anatomy. 

After she died, I told the woman who brought her to the clinic.  The woman said she was concerned about the other kittens.  The mama cat didn't want to go near them.  They would cry out, and she would feed them when she had to, but she spent most of her time apart. 

I went to go visit the kittens.  They seemed outwardly healthy.  But the mama cat had taken off. They were hungry and mewling and desperate.  So I took them home with me.

I don't condone taking babies from their mother.  I have made mistakes in my career, and I will not say that I've been immaculate in my choices.  A part of me was giddy with excitement that I could have a litter of kittens.  To this day, I don't know what would've happened if I let those kittens stay at the woman's house.  All I know is that when it comes down to it, I ended up with my best companion that day. 

There were two cream colored kittens and a blue tabby kitten.  Biscuit was named because she looked like a blob of dough.  Her brother Sid Vicious was named by my sister for his unruly hairdo.  He is a cream male.  The blue tabby was named Doobie by a coworker.  She ended up taking him home at 8 weeks old.

All the kittens had bowel problems, and required enemas every other day until six weeks old.  They all have had litter box issues, which I've attributed to their long history of feral cattitude.  I've only really followed up with Biscuit and Sid, since I have B and my sis has Sid.  They're nearly identical attitude wise.  Both very particular in the humans they allow to touch them.  Biscuit talks a lot.  And she loves going for walks.

Biscuit is a lean, cream cat with white milk paws.  Her belly has a white streak, and she is soft as ever.  She has an authoritative voice, and a penchant for walking on a leash outside.  She likes nobody, save for me, and her green gold eyes speak volumes.

She comes when called, can say 'no' and 'moooooooom' as well as any child.  She allows me alone to pick her up and manipulate her (including trimming her nails).  And after ten years, she has finally allowed the kids to pet her.  She is the Boss Of The House and is challenged by everyone...and always wins! She requires dexdomitor for any and all veterinary exams, and hasn't been sick a day in her life.

I am aware this means she will live strong until she succumbs to a tragic disease....but I'm gonna love her till the end of time.  Biscuit is my familiar.  My soul mate.  And I love her.

Hello, Friends

Hey there. I'm just another run of the mill veterinary technician who hopes to have a blog worthy of reading some day.  I know there are a lot of veterinary blogs out there, and I've always wanted to be worthy of being published.....but I digress. 

As for credentials, I've had a few. I went to the Bel-rea Institute of Veterinary Technology in December of 2001.  My GPA was ok.  I'm a B student, because I choose not to study, and I am ok with that.  I immediately began to work in a sleepy little emergency clinic in Lakewood, Colorado.  I've mainly been certified in CO, but when I lived in WA I was also licensed.  For about 13 months I also taught vet technology for the PIMA medical institute in Colorado Springs. 

From 2001-2011, I worked mainly in emergency and critical care.  From 2011-2013 I've been in internal medicine. However, for the last few months I have been a stay at home mom and I am going crazy. So I presume this blog will be about being a mom....things I've got a bug in my bonnet about in veterinary medicine....all sorts of things. 

I have a lot of opinions, and a lot of strong feelings from having worked in the field for so many years. I have not yet encountered compassion fatigue, and I am addicted to helping people through grief.  Perhaps I will write a blog on that a few times.  Haha I have so much stuff I just want to vomit out onto the page. 

Anyway, my next few blogs will be about my pets and how they came into my life.  I'm terribly self centered lately, because I have no adult interaction and no workplace in which to thrive.  I hope to meet you soon, dear reader.