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4 Dog Blog

Sketches and ramblings of a legendary nerd

Dinglefritz and a Rescue Dog

1/12/2016

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cat and rescue dog funny
Touche, Dog.
I know, pictures of your pets = most pointless use of blogging ever
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Chicken Rescue

21/2/2016

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When it comes to bird care, I admit, I am usually in camp, "Run away!" Don't misunderstand, I love birds. I think they're great, fascinating things. But I think the same thing about tigers. I would just personally prefer neither on my front steps. Thankfully, there are some laws in North Dakota that mean I don't have to go around being a big jerk about it. (While it might be tempting to take home an injured bird, you're best to leave it alone. You can't keep wildlife without a permit to "Possess, Propagate, or Domesticate" from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.) The PPD permit is issued through the Animal Health Division of the North Dakota Department of Agriculture. Good luck with that.

The state of North Dakota does allow you to own chickens. Which my sister-in-law, Annette, feels is very poor planning on their part.
Some people get dreamy eyed when you tell them that you have chickens. They envision some romantic, agrarian lifestyle which centers around egg collection for some reason. I have never experienced this effect, probably because A.) I am quite happy to get my eggs from the store, and B.) all the chickens which have ever been in the barnyard have been roosters.

This happens because of how a chicken develops. The stages being:
  • Egg 
  • Cute, fluffy chick stage 
  • Ugly scruffy stage 
Then the chickens are ready to leave the safety of the hutch and roam the yard for a raccoon or fox to find. This time honored process leaves you with a number of roosters to harvest each fall. The trouble is, you only need so many roosters for attaining chickens the "non-Murray-McMurray-hatchery" way. 
​

The Oldest Chicken Ever

Age and determination are how Caffè Latte came to live with us. He lived down the road with a group in a neighbor's hutch, but due to his age, he wasn't exactly thriving.  A little understood fact about chickens that Annette will point out to anyone thinking of buying them is that they are cannibalistic, pecking, buttholes. Chickens will find a member of their group with a flaw, and then peck at it until it dies. In many ways, they are a lot like some people I knew in High School. 

Long story short, even though I knew that a 6+ year old rooster was not going to make delicious chicken enchiladas, I agreed that Latte could come live here. I cannot tell you what sort of chicken he is. He only has one eye, and his spurs make me question his ability to sit carelessly, but at his age, truly, he's done raising families. I like to think of him as a tiny dinosaur. In appreciation for the forever home of chicken freedom he has been granted, he bravely came over to the camera on a February morning, and in a show of gratitude, watched, as I was clobbered by his cat friend, Brutus. Brutus is rather protective of Latte. I forgot.
The more observant of you readers might note that everybody seems to be eating the dog food. I suspect this is because you can feed anything Purina Dog Chow. It's just a theory, but so far, it has proven correct. And before chicken fanciers send me irate letters, let me point out that Latte has proper chicken feed. A LOT of it, actually. He just happens to prefer Purina Dog Chow. Because chickens are cannibals. Annette told you.
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How to Help a Cat With Burns

23/1/2016

 
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We're all allowed 10 minutes of stupid a day. Sometimes, we abuse the privilege. Cats run up into engines, fall into fires, and they knock over boiling stuff on the stove proving that self inflicted pain hurts the worst. Here's what you can do if you're forced to buy time until you can get your burned pet to the vet. 

Tools

You should have these items in your animal health-chest arsenal:
  • Silver Sulfadiazine Cream (SSD Cream)
  • Trimmer
  • Bandage Wrap
  • Iodine & Water
  • ​Large, pellet litter
​​​

What To Do

This will likely be a 2-person+ project, depending on the "agree-ability" of the patient. Most burns are thermal in type, (not chemical,) which is what the following steps cover. Care is a "learn-by-doing" process. Enlist experienced help if you can.

Step 1: Remove what burnt hair you can and determine the severity of the burn sites. Use the trimmer to clear away matted hair and expose the burned area. Matted hair will give infections the perfect place to grow.

Step 2: Make a diluted iodine & water mixture. I rather eyeball it. If you've never done it before, you can try 1 qt distilled water to 4 tsp Providone-iodine. Or you can buy it premixed. Up to you. You want to gently swab, (A paper towl can do the job,) and disinfect the injured areas and wage total genocide on all the bacterial growth on your injured cat.

Step 3: Rub on the Silver Sulfadiazine Cream on open wounds. SSD cream is available at any vet supply store. It's a medicated, topical cream, so it'll help keep out nasty infections as well. Your kitty will probably lick it off, so you'll likely be applying the SSD cream twice a day. 

Step 4: Fine, clumping cat litter is a not the best when trying to keep a wound(s) clear. If you can, get the largest litter you can find. I personally use the pine-nut pellets type in such situations as it isn't dusty, and you can dump it when you're done on the compost heap. You can also get pellet litter made of newspaper and all other things. Whatever you can find, so long as it's large. If you are stuck with fine, sandy-litter, do your best to keep the wounds clean.

Step 5: Pat yourself on the back. you've done the best you can to keep kitty safe and comfortable. You didn't apply ice to any wounds and you didn't break any blisters. Job well done! Hopefully, the vet will be able to see you soon!

​
How to help a kitty with burns
This is what the face of appreciation looks like. I think that's appreciation. Maybe.

What to Watch For

  • Foul smell
  • Fever (Cats run a little higher than you do. Keep a close eye if kitty gets over 39.5C / 103F)
  • New wounds (Sometimes 2nd or 3 degree burns aren't obvious for another day or two.)
​

What the Vet Will Do

The vet will be able to examine your cat and determine the best course of action. A vet will also likely administer antibiotics, as secondary bacterial infections are common in burned areas. Medications for pain are typically given, and will help kitty feel a whole lot better, faster. 

If you live some nations, a dose of Convenia (antibiotic) and Buprenorphine (pain killer) may be all you need and easier to come by in livestock supply stores. In western countries, you're going to need a vet. Drugs have side effects, so don't be dumb. Use as directed and follow the laws of your country/state.


The second-most-often question we get is "How much will the vet cost?" And we don't know how to answer that. "Depends?" Vet's aren't McDonald's. Treatments aren't burgers. One size doesn't fit all. It's OK to ask about costs up front, and with burns, the odds are good that you're going to need follow up visits. The vet wants to help. ​Be brave for kitty.


Disclaimer: This badlands-barnyard-backwoods advice is of a general nature only, and not intended to replace the good care of a veterinary medical professional which you should take your injured pet to immediately if you can. If you are taking on the care of an injured animal, YOU need to recognize that you are taking a risk(s), and those of us at 4 Dog Blog really have no responsibility regarding your situations or decisions. We really wish you every success; your mileage may vary. 

EDIT: UPDATE 1 WEEK LATER

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Burned cat is on the mend. Still not very appreciative of everyone's efforts though.

The vet did a top notch, professional job on his injuries. Burns are icky business. When we shaved him, his whole front leg was just white. (That's not a good deal. We had to wait for his burns to declare to decide which route to go.) After removal of his dead tissue, which left him with a leg of muscle and tendons exposed, this cat gets to wear a bandage for a week, which he is not too thrilled about, but, sulking is easier to live with then infection. We'll take the next stage step by step. He's going to look a little funny for a while, and there will be SSD cream, but he's on the mend. He's one lucky kitty, considering what he went through.

​

Edit: Update 2+ Months Later

There was a real chance that he would lose that front leg, as there was so much damage. Many, many bandages later, over a month and a half's worth of bandages later, changed daily, or as often as he could pull them off, I am happy to report this guy has been a lucky patient!
​
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Kitty is on the mend!

There remains only the task of scab removal. Dead tissue will collect and cover a wound, as anyone who has ever fallen off a bike knows. The trouble can arise when that tissue starts to actually keep, you guessed it, infection, in. So, as the edges start to come off, it's probably time to remove them. Some will pull off with little effort, and kitty will save you the trouble. Some spots you can soak. Some you can cut with a scissors. There will likely be healing still going on under some of the larger areas, but by now, you know how to apply Silver Sulfadiazine Cream.

I don't usually post "Patient pictures," but thought I would make an exception to illustrate the healing process. Hopefully it helps, not just gross people out. 
​
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Kitty's burns are healing well. Time for these patches of dead tissue to go. View is kitty's back from above the shoulders wrapped in purple wrap.
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Kitty has done a lot of healing. He is one lucky, lucky cat.

​The best part is, this story has a happy ending. Sometimes stories have Shakespearean endings, that's true enough. Maybe it's luck. He's healed things I'm not good enough to heal. Mostly, I think it's kindness, curiosity, and a sense of humor. You'd be surprised how far that gets you. 
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No more bandages or dead tissue! Huzzah!
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Happy and healthy kitty!

Cat Rescue - Mewchio Kaku

13/1/2016

 
We all know the world can be a crazy place, and sometimes, even when you do everything right, it can still fail. That's life. That's why we have friends, and sometimes strangers, who lend a helping hand. (Even if we hiss and scratch at the time.)

Be brave enough to show a random act of kindness all the times you can.  

Mewchio Kaku

Mewchio Kaku was the first rescue kitten of 2015. (That year, they were all named for physicists.) He was barely a few days old, cold, unresponsive, covered in his own "dirt", and the infected eye was the least of his troubles. He had a better chance of being attacked by a shark while winning the lottery than surviving another few days. We did our best and made him warm and comfortable, but figured he wouldn't last long. 

Woah, were we wrong! By week 2, he was posing for the camera. And a year later, he is still terrorizing the barn yard. Testing the boundaries of physics is this cat's game.

I look back on Mewchio, Neil deCat Tyson, and the others that pulled through in 2015. It’s a chance to be thankful for the things that were going right in the universe. Or was that the year to lock yourself in the bathroom with a glass of wine. I forget. 

The first rescue of 2016 is already here. Back to work.

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