My sister is leaving for Florida...
...this morning. I'm not sure what time her flight leaves but she knows. I know it's before noon. She told me to wake her up at 7. So that I would have time to make coffee and drink a cup, I set my alarms for 6:15 and 6:30. I was already awake when the alarm went off. I didn't know it was 6 o'clock when I woke up...I was looking forward to going back to sleep.
Anyway, I'm sitting here at the computer and it's almost 7:30. My sister is still asleep. I keep trying to wake her up and she keeps saying, "A few more minutes of sleep."
My sister is ALWAYS oversleeping so when I woke her up at 6:30, I said, "You're gonna miss the plane, you've overslept!!!" She jumped into a sitting position and then realized that it was still dark. I got quite a chuckle out of that. I don't get many chances to chuckle, I take them where I can.
This comment was down a few posts and I thought that it should be mentioned so I want to mention it:
"...I meant to comment on the flea stuff too! My cat had a reaction many years ago and I had to call the poison hotline. They told me NEVER use flea stuff from OTC- they get thousands of calls from animals that get sick from them. They're like nerve gas or something..."
Most things that you can buy to kill ANY bugs work on the nervous system, some work by interfering with the reproductive cycle. The amounts of nerve toxin is supposed to be enough to kill a tiny flea, but not enough to hurt an animal. Well, apparently they were wrong.
All I had ever heard about the OTC stuff is that it doesn't work. I had never heard that it was dangerous. If Payton had scratched any other day, I would have driven to the Vet's office to buy some of the stuff they sell. But they're closed on Sunday's and I can't stand to see my animals uncomfortable. And I can't LET Payton get fleas because he gets that Flea Allergy Dermatitis which leads to abrased bald areas that get infected. So, when I saw him scratching, I ran to Kroger to get whatever I could.
Naturally, if I treat one animal for fleas, I have to do them all so I got stuff for the cats as well. The Vet said that there was a flea med for dogs that people use on cats and that THAT causes a LOT of problems. But I didn't do that. I couldn't remember the name of the stuff when I was at the Vet but I found the box...this is what I used on the cats...damn, I lost the box again, but here's the leftover medicine...It's Sergeant's Gold for Cats:
Maybe a government computer can make out the writing on that...but I doubt that you'd be able to see it.
So, I guess the moral of this story is don't buy crap for fleas over the counter. Some vets will sell it to anyone who walks in but they charge a LOT of money. They're good if you need something immediately but if my animals can wait, I just order stuff online. It's the exact same stuff that the vet gives them...like those Capstar pills for which the vet charged $25 a pill. I get 2 boxes when I order them and I pay $17.99 for each box of 6. Of course I pay S&H as well, but it's STILL cheaper than 2 pills from the vet's office.
You have to shop around those sites to find the cheapest ones but that's not tough. Once your vet has treated your animals for fleas, you know what to use. If your animal didn't have a reaction to it and the fleas eventually left, you know it works so just go online and get the right stuff next time.
I had no clue that the OTC stuff could be so dangerous. I've been using it for as long as I've had furry animals. I also go to the vet, but like I did Sunday, first I get whatever I can to start killing the things that are hurting my animals. If I ever feel the need to do that again, I'll just give the animal a bath.
My sister and I bathed McFly the other day. For some reason, The Veterinary Clinic where Elizabeth Walsh offends did not clean the rest of the medicine off of McFly's back. So, that meant it was still being absorbed. Stewie got a bath at the Town and Country Veterinary Clinic ER.
So, my sister held him down while I washed him. I had a brush in there to brush the shampoo into all the hairs and his skin. I was hoping that it felt good for him, that poor thing has never been assaulted with water in his life. Cats do keep themselves pretty clean, the run off water that I squirted on McFly wasn't dirty. You'd think an animal would pick up SOME dirt in 10 years...even if he is an indoor cat. Oh well, it's nice to know that I don't have to bathe him again for another 10 years.
Payton, on the other hand...is going to get a full bath today. I was going to do it yesterday but I got too busy and never got around to it. I did wipe his back the best that I could but he does need a bath anyway. It's not because he's dirty, it's because he's got one of those areas that gets raw from a flea bite. I was out of that Capstar stuff for 2 weeks and Payton got one area about an inch in diameter. If he lets me, I'll take a picture of it.
I've been cleaning it, medicating it and now I think if he soaks it in a warm bath, it would help it heal a LOT. OK, he held still for some pictures:
The big black circle in the top picture is the shadow from the camera. It took me a while to figure out what all of those big circles were. I took about 10 pics to get 2 good ones. He was wagging his tail stump so it was hard to get a clear shot. Anyway, the sores aren't bad at all, and as I said, a bath would probably do the trick. I've got him back on the Capstar so no more of these things will start and I'll just keep this one clean so that it doesn't get infected and he'll be fine.
But in the meantime, it's so sad to see a sore on any of my animals, no matter how small. It makes me feel as though I let them down somehow. I don't know how people deal with it when their animals are half bald from some hideous skin disease. It would drive me insane.
Well, my sister seem to be stirring so I'll go hang out with her for a while.
:)
...this morning. I'm not sure what time her flight leaves but she knows. I know it's before noon. She told me to wake her up at 7. So that I would have time to make coffee and drink a cup, I set my alarms for 6:15 and 6:30. I was already awake when the alarm went off. I didn't know it was 6 o'clock when I woke up...I was looking forward to going back to sleep.
Anyway, I'm sitting here at the computer and it's almost 7:30. My sister is still asleep. I keep trying to wake her up and she keeps saying, "A few more minutes of sleep."
My sister is ALWAYS oversleeping so when I woke her up at 6:30, I said, "You're gonna miss the plane, you've overslept!!!" She jumped into a sitting position and then realized that it was still dark. I got quite a chuckle out of that. I don't get many chances to chuckle, I take them where I can.
This comment was down a few posts and I thought that it should be mentioned so I want to mention it:
"...I meant to comment on the flea stuff too! My cat had a reaction many years ago and I had to call the poison hotline. They told me NEVER use flea stuff from OTC- they get thousands of calls from animals that get sick from them. They're like nerve gas or something..."
Most things that you can buy to kill ANY bugs work on the nervous system, some work by interfering with the reproductive cycle. The amounts of nerve toxin is supposed to be enough to kill a tiny flea, but not enough to hurt an animal. Well, apparently they were wrong.
All I had ever heard about the OTC stuff is that it doesn't work. I had never heard that it was dangerous. If Payton had scratched any other day, I would have driven to the Vet's office to buy some of the stuff they sell. But they're closed on Sunday's and I can't stand to see my animals uncomfortable. And I can't LET Payton get fleas because he gets that Flea Allergy Dermatitis which leads to abrased bald areas that get infected. So, when I saw him scratching, I ran to Kroger to get whatever I could.
Naturally, if I treat one animal for fleas, I have to do them all so I got stuff for the cats as well. The Vet said that there was a flea med for dogs that people use on cats and that THAT causes a LOT of problems. But I didn't do that. I couldn't remember the name of the stuff when I was at the Vet but I found the box...this is what I used on the cats...damn, I lost the box again, but here's the leftover medicine...It's Sergeant's Gold for Cats:
Maybe a government computer can make out the writing on that...but I doubt that you'd be able to see it.
So, I guess the moral of this story is don't buy crap for fleas over the counter. Some vets will sell it to anyone who walks in but they charge a LOT of money. They're good if you need something immediately but if my animals can wait, I just order stuff online. It's the exact same stuff that the vet gives them...like those Capstar pills for which the vet charged $25 a pill. I get 2 boxes when I order them and I pay $17.99 for each box of 6. Of course I pay S&H as well, but it's STILL cheaper than 2 pills from the vet's office.
You have to shop around those sites to find the cheapest ones but that's not tough. Once your vet has treated your animals for fleas, you know what to use. If your animal didn't have a reaction to it and the fleas eventually left, you know it works so just go online and get the right stuff next time.
I had no clue that the OTC stuff could be so dangerous. I've been using it for as long as I've had furry animals. I also go to the vet, but like I did Sunday, first I get whatever I can to start killing the things that are hurting my animals. If I ever feel the need to do that again, I'll just give the animal a bath.
My sister and I bathed McFly the other day. For some reason, The Veterinary Clinic where Elizabeth Walsh offends did not clean the rest of the medicine off of McFly's back. So, that meant it was still being absorbed. Stewie got a bath at the Town and Country Veterinary Clinic ER.
So, my sister held him down while I washed him. I had a brush in there to brush the shampoo into all the hairs and his skin. I was hoping that it felt good for him, that poor thing has never been assaulted with water in his life. Cats do keep themselves pretty clean, the run off water that I squirted on McFly wasn't dirty. You'd think an animal would pick up SOME dirt in 10 years...even if he is an indoor cat. Oh well, it's nice to know that I don't have to bathe him again for another 10 years.
Payton, on the other hand...is going to get a full bath today. I was going to do it yesterday but I got too busy and never got around to it. I did wipe his back the best that I could but he does need a bath anyway. It's not because he's dirty, it's because he's got one of those areas that gets raw from a flea bite. I was out of that Capstar stuff for 2 weeks and Payton got one area about an inch in diameter. If he lets me, I'll take a picture of it.
I've been cleaning it, medicating it and now I think if he soaks it in a warm bath, it would help it heal a LOT. OK, he held still for some pictures:
The big black circle in the top picture is the shadow from the camera. It took me a while to figure out what all of those big circles were. I took about 10 pics to get 2 good ones. He was wagging his tail stump so it was hard to get a clear shot. Anyway, the sores aren't bad at all, and as I said, a bath would probably do the trick. I've got him back on the Capstar so no more of these things will start and I'll just keep this one clean so that it doesn't get infected and he'll be fine.
But in the meantime, it's so sad to see a sore on any of my animals, no matter how small. It makes me feel as though I let them down somehow. I don't know how people deal with it when their animals are half bald from some hideous skin disease. It would drive me insane.
Well, my sister seem to be stirring so I'll go hang out with her for a while.
:)
posted by Meg Kelso | 4:14 AM
4 Comments:
Meg -
Zoe has flea allergies, and when she gets bitten and starts to chew, that is what happens to her.
You can use topical benadryl in VERY VERY small doses on a dog, or even olive oil on that spot to help him stop licking....I also never, ever give them all their drugs (I still have some steriods and antibiotics left from her last treatment so I can treat her again). Oatmeal is useful too, both as a paste or if you feel like giving him a path...eveb aloe helps
Damn girl,
I can't believe that I didn't think of topical benadryl. I have been putting on topical lidocaine/menthol ointment after cleaning it with peroxide. I wish I had some Neosporin (triple anti-biotic ointment).
Well, as I said, it's not that bad and it does seem to be getting better. Now I'm going to go take him for a walk. I waited too long, it's dark. But that's OK, I'll be safe with that dog.
:)
Oddly enough I just talked to my sister who bought some OTC (pet store) all natural flea stuff. Her 2 dogs got a rash and her vet told her that the all natural stuff was even more dangerous than the others. The kind I used years ago was Hartz. I have to say that the vet clinic you use sounds terrible! And that Elizabeth Walsh sounds like a beast! My bro-in-law uses a pill for his dog since they live in Fla where the flea season never dies!
Whoa! The natural crap is as bad? Something needs to be done about this. Do you think that a lawsuit would help?
Too bad you can't get pain and suffering for a dog.
:(
Oh, the Walsh wench IS a beast. Before that I never had a problem. But she is enough to send me elsewhere, like Town and Country...the ones who treated Stewie for free.
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