Wordless Wednesday: Pet Therapy

How to Save a Life

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I don't know what inspired me to send out these two tweets yesterday:

@SelenaMKI - I parent: a cat that plays fetch, a cat named Hiss, a diluted calico that hides, a puppy that whines & a poodle that gets jealous. #fb

and

@SelenaMKI - In my defense, I didn't aim to have five pets. But the poodle wanted a brother & the Hiss just showed up in my backyard. #howlifeworks #fb

I have to say that I couldn't manage this brood without the help of Robert. Dad helps everyday and steps up and takes over when having this many pets gets to be too much on my bad days. And yes, Robert and I call each other Mom and Dad when we discuss our furry children and their needs (like breaking up fights, food, potty breaks and bedtime.)

Thinking about my happy pets makes me want to help other pets who need furever homes too.

I follow @FriendsofPaz on Twitter and Facebook. She is a photographer who donates her time at the South Los Angeles Animal Shelter taking pictures of the pets who need homes and posting them online. I 'talked' with her on Twitter about a week ago and asked her how she got started. As she filled me in on the details, a little voice inside my head said, "You can do that. You could volunteer. Taking pictures once a week at the Animal Shelter could be fibro-friendly."

She warned me that not all the animals get adopted and some of them are in bad shape, but I already knew that because I looked around when I adopted Bastet and Brunswick from the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter. I told her I just want to help increase these pets' chances of getting adopted. I just want to try and help.

So now that I am feeling better, I've decided to head over to the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter and talk to the volunteer coordinator this weekend about doing the same thing for them. I don't know if they'll take me up on my offer, but I sure hope they do. I'll give them a copy of all the pictures I take so they can post them on the shelter website, then I'll take the pictures home to post and tweet up a storm.

As with everything else in my life, I've recruited Robert to help and support me when I go to the shelter. I am hoping he can be a back up on the weekends I am not quite up to snuff. I'm also going to see if I can get my sis Cyndie in on the action too. (Hint, hint Cyndie!)

Helping shelter pets find new homes; that's how I want to start saving lives. Assembling a team to support my do-gooding is how I'll make doing it fibro-friendly.

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Not Exactly the Mother I Thought I Was Going to Be

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This year on Mother's Day, I've decided to embrace the fact that I am a mother. I am not exactly the mother I thought I was going to be, but then again, I am not exactly living the kind of life I thought I was going to live either. I've overcome the roadblocks of infertility and chronic illness to discover this alternative to traditional motherhood and this year I am going to fully and joyfully embrace it and celebrate it.

I am a proud pet parent and mother to two dogs and three cats.

I started with a kitten in 1990 and over the past 20 years I have raised a total of five cats. My cats helped me get through the months and years after my cancer treatment, subsequent infertility and premature menopause. Back then I wasn't sure that I would ever date again, let alone get married or pursue family building options. My cats didn't care about all that. They were just grateful I found them at the shelter or cat adoption event and wanted to take them home.

In all my time as a cat momma, I've come to see its similarities to parenting a teenager. After all, they don't really listen to you, they seek your company on their terms and they only clamor for your attention when they want something. Sure, they are more than a handful when they are kittens. I've endured slashed furniture and unintentional scrapes on my hands while my kittens learned to use the scratching post and play gently with mom. One time, my cat Charlie actually stole my college class ring and I spent several hours searching my apartment for it. The whole incident reminded me of my teenage raids on my mother's jewelry box in search of cool accessories to wear to school.

Last Fall, at the urging of my hubby, we humanely trapped a stray kitten living in our back yard and I spend several months taming him. I see this as my greatest mothering triumph, getting a skittish 9 month old kitten used to being touched, played with and fed by a big, scary human. Now he runs around the house with his brother and sister and interacts with Robert and I like he was always meant to be inside the house.

All in all, being a cat momma takes a few minutes each day to feed them, clean the litter box and engage them in play. In return, I get a warm fur ball snuggled up against my belly when I go to bed at night. As I fall asleep, my hand resting on my purring child, I know this will be the closest I will come to having a child in my womb.

Initially I adopted a dog from the city animal shelter in January 2008 in an attempt to see if I could handle more responsibilities despite my chronic illnesses. Frustrated that chronic illness put a halt to my family building plans in 2005, I longed to fill my mothering void. I took a chance knowing that, if I failed, I could always find my dog a new, loving home.

I've learned that being a mother to my dogs takes much more of my time and energy. Some days it can be overwhelming physically to take care of them, which is why I feel fortunate to have my hubby's help. Reluctant at first, Robert now enjoys being a doggy daddy. Parenting our dogs brings my hubby and I together as a team and gives us an experience we can share with each other.

I find parenting dogs to be more like taking care of young children. I find myself wiping poopy butts, giving baths, trimming hair, keeping them out of trouble and teaching them how to behave. I've gone to parenting classes (aka dog training) and searched for appropriate child care (aka doggie day care.) There are daily walks and occasional trips to the park, play dates with their friends from class and practice for the big test (the Canine Good Citizen test.) I try not to spoil them, but they need some toys to divert their boundless energy and healthy snacks to reward them for a job well done (i.e., sit, stay and down to name a few.)

I even let my first dog Brunswick bring home a little brother. He met Theodor at doggie day care in 2009. When I came to pick him up, I saw how well they were playing together. Robert was with me that day and I convinced him to let Theodor come home with us for a trial sleep over. Needless to say, Theodor never went back and Brunswick is a much calmer and happier dog for it.

Brunswick loves to be near me, and every once in a while, he'll raise his head from my lap, throw it backwards and into my chest as he gazes into my eyes. I feel my heart melt every time he does this. In my head I imagine him saying, "I love you mommy."

Yes, today I am going to relish my well-behaved and happy furry children. I am going to acknowledge how all my hard work in caring for and raising them pays off in the unconditional love I receive from them every day. They are my companions and my company when I am home alone. They comfort and calm me when I do not feel good. They help me feel needed and appreciated on a daily basis and their presence in my life provides a means to fulfill my wish to be a mother each and every day.

Merry Hissmas!

I've mentioned a few times here on my blog about my adventures in becoming a wild cat tamer.

It all started back in July or August when I discovered two kittens living in my backyard. One of the kittens looked sickly and then disappeared, which fueled my resolve to try and humanely trap the other one. I named him Sir Hiss because he would meow at me to get me to feed him and then hiss when I got close and placed the food near him. What a silly little kitten!

I already own two cats and wasn't really looking for more, so I was O.K. with the idea of trap-neuter-release. I definitely want to do this with his mother, a black and white short-haired cat who also frequents my backyard. another cat that I think is his father, a short-haired black cat with a small tuft of white fur on his chest, comes to visit our yard too. I do not know if these cats were pets left behind by a human or always feral in our neighborhood, but I do know that I want to stop them from having more kittens.

However since Sir Hiss was a kitten, Robert and I wanted to give the little guy a chance at the indoor life if he wanted it. So in mid-November we finally saved up enough money to purchase a humane trap and within 24 hours we caught our kitten. Before Thanksgiving we took Sir Hiss to the vet to test him for FeLV and FIV: he was negative for both. Last week on Wednesday we took Sir Hiss to Shelter Vet to get neutered on their special spay/neuter discount day.

All along I have been trying to convince this little guy that I am O.K. Once we moved him into the house from the bonus room behind the garage, I took my other male cat, Ra, over to Sir Hiss' crate. I petted and held Ra in front of Sir Hiss and explained to him that if he wanted to live in the house, he would have to let me do he same with him. I spent time with Sir Hiss every evening, cleaning his litter pan, changing his food and water, giving him treats and playing with him using a cat dancer. He would let me "pet" him with the cat dancer, but always shied away from my hand.

Sir Hiss does not like the Elizabethan collar (ecollar) he needs to wear to prevent him from disturbing his stitches from his neuter surgery. He also hasn't figured out how to really eat or drink with the collar on. So I decided to employ a tried and true technique I've used with my other cats when they don't feel well and are not eating--chicken baby food. At first, I had to smear the baby food on his mouth to get him to eat it. In about a day he learned to eat from a spoon. I also started letting my finger touch him on the head when I "petted" him with the cat dancer after his meal.

Then something wonderful happened.

After four days of baby food, Sir Hiss decided he wanted me to pet him. He wanted me to stroke the top of his head. I complied with a brief head rub. In that one day, he requested three brief sessions of hands-on interaction, what my sister Cyndie would call a "lovefest." That also happened to be the day I ran out of baby food and wasn't able to make it to the store to get more. So I decided to offer him some of my leftover Crock Pot Rosemary Garlic Chicken. The chicken didn't lend itself to being spoon fed, so I took a chance and fed it to him by hand.

I sat amazed as this little kitten ate right out of my hand and licked my fingers to be sure to get every morsel.

Over the past three day I have just marveled at this little creature who came into my backyard and my life, demanding to be fed with his persistent meows. His fur is so soft and his purr so loud. It is like he has discovered how great it is to be petted and simply can't get enough of it. Now I can stroke the top of his head, scratch his cheek, rub under his chin and run my hands down his body.

We are both taking a leap of faith and trusting the other to do no harm.

I told him today, "We've come a long way. Did you think you'd be here in my home when you first saw me?"

I can't wait until the day that he crawls purring into my lap and lets me plant a big kiss on his soft furry little head. Until then, I will continue to follow his lead and provide him with a lovefest whenever he requests it. I also will help Robert get in on the love as well. Sir Hiss' trust in me is a wondrous Christmas gift and I know it is going to be a Merry Hissmas.

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Did You Miss National Feral Cat Day?

"Today is National Feral Cat Day," my friend Cyndie informed me yesterday, "Be sure to give Sir Hiss some extra tuna to celebrate!"

Who is Sir Hiss? He is the kitten I have been "growing" in my backyard. It's been several months now that I have been feeding him on a daily basis in the hopes that he'll let me get close enough to touch him. Actually, I think I've been conned into feeding him by his mother.

He is such a cute kitten and I think his mother has taught him to exploit this quality. He sits on the patio in my backyard and meows plaintively at me, while his mother watches on from the hedge, out of sight. I must be an easy mark because all that meowing makes me want to run into the house, grab cat food and bring it out to him. He lets me get pretty close but he won't let me touch him. The minute I turn around and walk away, mom jumps out of the bushes and joins him in the feast that I've provided.

I want to trap Sir Hiss while he is still small and try to socialize him so he can be a house cat. However, since we already have two cats, I need to have him tested to make sure he does not have any diseases he could pass along to my own house cats. As for his mom, I am convinced she is a feral cat. I am willing to trap her, get her fixed at a feral cat clinic and return her to my backyard. If I am unable to bring Sir Hiss into my home, I'll try to find him a home or consider letting him live a feral life in my back yard as well.

So yes, I'm celebrating a belated National Feral Cat Day. Let me share with you more information about this day:

Alley Cat Allies will honor National Feral Cat Day (NFCD), October 16, to remind people that Trap‐Neuter‐Return and other humane programs for feral catsare in the best interest of the cats and the community.

Feral cats are members of the domestic cat species, but they cannot be adopted into homes. They live outdoors in family groups called colonies. Trap‐Neuter‐Return is the best course of action for feral cats, because it ends the breeding cycle and stops behaviors associated with mating.

National Feral Cat Day was launched in 2001 by Alley Cat Allies, the national advocate for feral and stray cats and a recognized authority on Trap‐Neuter‐Return—a program in which cats who live outdoors are humanely trapped and brought to a veterinarian to be evaluated, spayed or neutered and vaccinated.

Cats that have undergone the procedure are eartipped—while under anesthesia, a small portion of the left ear is painlessly removed for identification. Friendly cats and kittens are put up for adoption.

“We applaud persons and organizations for their work to educate their neighbors about the benefits of programs that rely on Trap‐Neuter‐Return and the use of humane deterrents to ensure that people and outdoor cats get along peacefully,” said Becky Robinson, president of Alley Cat Allies.

Robinson noted that scientific evidence as well as decades of hands‐on experience show that Trap‐Neuter‐Return is more humane than programs that rely on catch and kill. It is also more effective, because it stops intact cats who evade capture from breeding and starting the cycle all over again, a phenomenon known as the vacuum effect.

“The cost of catch and kill is too high, and not only in terms of dollars,” said Robinson. “Being killed in an animal pound or shelter is the leading documented cause of death for cats in the United States.”

For more information about National Feral Cat Day, see www.alleycat.org/NFCD.

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Let the Napping Begin!

Ah, a long weekend is the perfect time for a nap. As you can see, the boys have already gotten a head start!

Video: My Cat and Dog Playing

Here is a video of my dog Theodor and my cat Ra "playing." It is the funniest thing! The video quality isn't great ... I took it with my Blackberry smartphone. I'll try again if I can catch them playing again.

Top 5 Products That I Think Make Owning Pets Easier

As a person living with chronic illness, any product that passes the test and makes my life a bit easier is a winner in my book. My pets are a big part of my life with chronic illness, but some of the day-to-day pet related activities are not very chronic babe friendly. Over the past few years, I have searched for pet products and supplies that make being a disabled pet owner just a bit easier and here are my top 5 picks:

1) Woofle Scoopstick

This wonderful little device from England allows me to scoop up the poop standing upright. No more bending over! No more poop escaping from the poop bags and onto my hands! You have to visit their website and check out their video that shows how this little stick works: click here to view Woofle video. I can't say that I understand the physics behind it; all I know is that it really does work! I ordered this through their website and they now have a distributor in the U.S.


2. Tidy Cats Breeze

I seem to have started right with the poop! But let's face it, when you feed your pets, things automatically come out the other end! Pottying is much more of a task than feeding and the litter box is the epitome of potty problems. Enter the Breeze with its pad that catches urine, trapping the liquid and odors and only needs to be changed ONCE a week---yeah! The only more frequent maintenance is scooping out the poops, which is a much easier job with this little box. A full demonstration can be found at the Tidy Cats website site: click here to view the Breeze demonstation. My cat Ra, who is a super picky litter box afficiando LOVES this litter box because it is so ODOR FREE.

3) Premier Easy Walk Harness


When I adopted Brunswick, I kept my health challenges in mind which lead me to adopt a small dog. Well, who knew a small dog, only 16 pounds, could pull your arm out of the socket! Our PetsMart trainer Ashley explained that leashing pulling is part of the sled dog legacy and one of the best ways to defeat the behavior is the use of an Easy Walk Harness. Now, if Brunswick pulls when we walk, he gets flipped around to face me. A few times of this, and Brunswick has learned to stop pulling so he can keep walking forward, which is his reward. Now that Theodor is in Puppy Training, he gets his own Easy Walk Harness too.

4. The Orvis Three Dog Night Pet-Proof Coverlet

I admit it, we let all our pets on the bed; that's two cats and two dogs. One little accident and all the animals are off the bed and all the linens are in the wash machine. For a chronic babe, laundry is one of the many chores that have now become a physical challenge. But with the Orvis Three Dog Night Pet-Proof Coverlet protecting the bed, the pet mess never makes it to the linens and only the coverlet needs to be washed. The second picture gives details on how the coverlet is constructed, making it waterproof (dirt-proof and pet hair proof too.) It is a bit pricey, but Orvis does occasionally have sales and Internet promotional coupons. After the last time the cat barfed on the bed at 5:15 am in the morning, it didn't matter how much the pet-proof coverlet cost compared to the hassle of stripping the bed and having to put everything in the washer at that hour of the morning!

5. Halo Vita-Mineral Mix

Back in the 1990's, I bought a book called the The New Natural Cat
A Complete Guide for Finicky Owners by Anitra Frazier with Norma Eckroate. In the book, she had a recipe for a Vita-Mineral Mix to make to add to canned cat food that put back essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients that were lost in the cooking and canning process. I took the time to find all the ingredients and started adding it to my cats' food. Within weeks, their fur was softer and shinier, they had fewer hairballs (my cats have always refused to take hairball remedies) and they acted more playful. This mix was a winner, even though it was quite a chore to run to Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and the local health food store to find all the ingredients. It was easier and less expensive to follow Anitra's suggestion to use a high quality canned cat food and the Vita-Mineral Mix than switching them to a raw food diet.

Once I started living with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, making Vita-Mineral Mix was something I had to give up. Then one day, while shopping at Drugstore.com, I saw Halo VitaGlo Vita-Mineral Mix and the description indicating that this was the same formula developed by Anitra Frazier. That, the fact that it was on sale, that Drugstore.com offers free SuperSaver shipping on orders of $49 or more and I was sold. Now the cats and the dogs get this mix with their high quality canned food and enjoy the benefits of thick, full, shiny, healthy coats and improved digestion and nutrition. Plus I get the benefit of fewer trips to the vet (and fewer vet bills) to address health problems. Saving money, healthy pets, and pre-mixed convenience delivered free to your door can't be beat.