Zoey goes to the vet

Yesterday was Zoey's first vet visit!

The diagnosis: she is a healthy, happy puppy with a few minor things that need to be taken care of. They found a few parasites (apparently very common in puppies) and a slight infection in her left eye. I was given medication, and a follow-up appointment will be in 3 weeks.

Also, we started her on heartworm prevention and flea medication. This is something I never did with Jera; always meant to, but kept forgetting to call the vet. Then, on that last camping trip, I was chatting with a vet whole gently chastised me for not taking care of both of those things. I felt like a horrible pet owner, and made a mental note to call the vet as soon as we got back to Atlanta. Unfortunately, Jera ran away a few days later so we never did take care of that. It goes through my mind now that she is suffering out there with heartworms because I didn't have her on preventative medication. :-(

So, we started on heartworm treatment today. Anyone have recommendations as far as brands? The vet gave me Iverhart to try, and said I should let her know at the next appointment in 3 weeks if I want to stay with that brand or switch. The vet also gave me Frontline for the flea & tick control.

The last thing Zoey got yesterday was a microchip implant! That was a big needle, the poor little girl. Even the yummy treats the vet's assistant tried to distract her with wasn't enough. I am glad to have that taken care of, though. Even though having a microchip doesn't guarantee your pet's going to get home (Jera is a case in point), you can't imagine the peace of mind it gives you. We are also thinking of subscribing to a service that helps you when your pet goes missing by contacting vets in the area. That would have been so nice to have for Jera. It's only $15 a year, so I think it would be worth it, but I still need to talk to Paul.

So after all that, the vet bill was a little high yesterday! It didn't surprise me, but I wish that it wasn't so expensive to keep your pet healthy. Paul and I are trying to make a realistic budget that includes the cost of a dog. We had figured the cost to be about $500/year, but it's definitely more for the first year of a puppy's life (what with spaying/neutering, puppy shots, microchips, and start-up supplies needed). We'll see. :-) It all gets confusing - we may need financial consolidation software to keep all this as well as our loans straight!

Two kitties and an 8-hour journey

A few years ago, shortly after I moved to Atlanta, I got a new car. It was 7 years newer than my previous car, and in much better condition. I was so excited to get the new car that I decided to take a trip for the upcoming weekend - Memorial Day weekend. I decided to surprise my parents and go down to visit them in Orlando! But what to do with my two kitties? I was so new to Atlanta that I didn't really have anyone to ask to watch them. So, I decided to take them with me.

It was quite fun. I left Atlanta around 6pm Friday night, so most of the trip was after dark. Ebony cried the first half hour, and then curled up and was fine. Lewis seemed to think the back of my neck was a really awesome place to sleep. I let him stay there for a little while, but soon my neck began hurting and I made him move.

The most interesting part of the night was about 2am, when I hit the toll-booths on the Florida turnpike. Let me tell you it was very difficult to keep two kitties inside the car, while trying to find the correct change and hand the money to the toll booth attendant at the same time!

Ever since then, I have always brought my cats with me on my Orlando vacations. At one point, I asked my mom if she minded that they came with me, and she said, "Well let's put it this way: Never come without them." They do pretty well in the car. Next time we go down, however, we'll have both kitties as well as a puppy. It could be interesting. :-)

Winston gets a bath

Here is a video of Winston, the cat, being bathed. It's so incredibly precious, especially with the kiss on the top of the kitty's head after his bath. :-) Looks like he used a measuring cup from his cookware set so he wouldn't have to stick the cat under the faucet. Smart! (Make sure you turn up the sound, too.)

I was reading the comments, and it seems a lot of people are very critical about the owner for bathing his cat. That frustrates me. I had it when people are critical without knowing the whole story. Unfortunately, on the internet, there are too many people who know nothing yet feel compelled to share anyways. I don't know Winston's reasons for getting a bath (but, judging from his great behavior this isn't his first bath!), but there are several legitimate reasons to bathe a cat:

- Long-haired cats often need regular baths to keep their fur from become tangled and matted. I've never owned a long-haired cat, so I'm not sure how often or how it relates to regular brushing.

- Cats sometimes get dirty and can't or don't clean themselves. Paul and his roommate once took in an abandoned 2-week old kitten, and they had to bathe that cat often because he didn't know to do it himself.

- Bathing cats is an option for reducing allergies. I've heard that if you start bathing the cat regularly when it is young enough, then the cat will eventually stop licking itself so much. (And, most people are allergic to the saliva and not the actual hair.) Even if the cat doesn't stop licking itself, bathing still helps keep the allergies to a minimum.

meet Zoey!

So, I realized I never posted about Zoey on this blog! I want to introduce the newest Puppy to fit the title "Two Kitties and a Puppy". :-) Below is the post I put on my other blog from August 11.

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Today, Paul and I drove out to Douglasville to pick up a little addition to our family. I was struggling with a beagle-shaped hole in my heart, and I knew I needed to fill it. :-) May I present: Zoey!

Zoey is a 10 week old tri-color beagle puppy. She’s simply adorable! :-)


She immediately took to her crate and to the pillow we had for her. Right now, she is curled up in her crate sound asleep. I’m so glad! (She also looks adorable. I want to get a picture, but the camera is in the other room and you know she’s going to move as soon as I get up.)




You can get an idea of her size here - she’s so tiny! Well, compared to Jera she is tiny. :-) She is smaller than the cats, and I’m hoping that plays to our advantage.



We picked the name Zoey after my favorite character on one of our favorite TV shows. Also, two of the members of the family where we got her from were named Kaila and Kylie, which put together make Kaylee. (I know, I make the most random connections!) This does NOT mean we’re going to name our daughter River.

I hope Zoey makes a good transition to our house, and the same for the cats getting used to her. I am so excited to take her on walks and go to the dog park, and play with her. I’ve missed having a dog! I think she’ll be a good playmate if Jera comes home, don’t you think?

More to come later.

a full house

This past week, my parents were visiting from Orlando. They brought their dog with them for the first time. It was quite a full house! 4 people, 2 cats, 2 dogs, and a fish... I felt quite overwhelmed but now that everyone's gone it seems so quiet.

My parents' dog is a spaniel mix named Spunky. We got her when she was 5 weeks old way back in February of 1998 - so she is almost 10 years old now. We got her so young because the people who owned her mother told us if we didn't take her then, they would give her away to someone else. Since free puppies are hard to come by in Peru, we took Spunky in. She was so cute and tiny, but she also suffered separation anxiety a lot. She cried and cried, especially when we weren't home, and drove our neighbors batty.

Spunky moved with us when we relocated permanently to the States in 2001. She changed a lot after being here. In Peru, she barked a lot and was antsy. We lived on a somewhat busy road with lots of cars and foot traffic, and we had a very tiny front yard. In the States, she had a yard to play in for the first time - how she loved getting her energy out! Also, since my parents' house is somewhat set back from the road, she isn't as distracted by people walking. She's much calmer and quieter. She loves to go sit in the driveway in the sun and watch the world go by.

My parents are traveling a lot this fall, so Spunky is going to be staying with us for a few months. It will be interesting! She loves the cats and the cats love her, especially Lewis. Zoey really wants to play, but Spunky isn't so sure (old woman!). I am excited to take Spunky to the off-leash dog park and see how she does!

So, it will be quite a full house this fall! I feel like I have 4 children. :-) I love taking care of animals, but I'm praying this doesn't sap all the energy out of me!

How many biscuits?

"If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them."

~ Phil Pastoret

(Found on muttscomics.com)

Cat eating with a fork

My mom sent me this video today.



Personally, I think it looks really weird. I told Lewis not to expect me to let him eat at the table any time soon. But hey, to each their own. Some people think having cats period is crazy. :-)