Join the cause to prevent frosty paws!

The cold weather has finally arrived.  Well I say that, but next week I hear this fur coat will not be the right attire AGAIN. Either way today it is cold and tomorrow you never know. What I do know, it is time to go over the winter hazards to make sure all my fellow fur friends are well taken care of this winter.

There are so many things to cover when it comes to winter safety, so hopefully I do a good job. I have been thinking about it since I saw the humans bring out the hot cocoa topped off with fluffy marshmallows. So pay attention meow, you won’t want to skim through this one.  There are many pets who reside outside and even though you never know what the Texas weather holds for us, you can be certain without much warning we can wake up to freezing temperatures so please make sure outside pets have shelter from the cold wind.  You can put blankets in their home or even give them a little extra cushion with some hay to help keep them warm. Also make sure these shelters are protected from precipitation and do not allow water to get in them.  Do not leave heated blankets or heating pads out for pets because they could chew through wires and get electrocuted or even burned by these items.  Antifreeze is deadly so please, please make sure you do not have a leak or spill any in the drive way because us pets think antifreeze is a delicious treat. In addition, there is another car hazard that is very important to remember.  Cats will climb up under the hoods of your car and turning your car on can become deadly.  Please bang on your hood once or twice before starting your car to make sure it is free of animals looking for shelter. If you have short haired dogs it never hurts to buy them their own coat if you are taking them on walks or if they will be outside for more than a few minutes.  Booties are not only adorably cute, but can protect your dog’s paws from the cold concrete and avoid any salt crystals that someone may have sprinkled down from getting into their paw pads. Lastly we know this month comes with much celebration and decorations that can be harmful to your pets as well.  Be sure during parties the pets cannot partake in the food or alcohol.  Tinsel and garland can be choking hazards for pets of all sizes.  Yes, I know my picture shows me enjoying the sparkly red garland, but I promise, I was supervised at all times.  Ornaments and balls on your Christmas tree may look like a fun toy for us critters and may result in broken glass etc, so be on the lookout for naughty behavior and nip it in the bud.  Yes we too sometimes get naughty and forget Santa is watching. 

So I hope all my information was pawsitively helpful and you and all your family have a wonderful holiday and stay safe this winter.  I think I will doze off and dream of sugar plums and mice now as there are no creatures stirring and we have no mice in the clinic.  That is on the top of my Christmas list as I really want a mouse! Every year I ask for a mouse and I think Dr. Lorenz tells Santa that I was naughty because I have yet to see a mouse. So I will end this with Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night, I have mice to count. Those silly little guys just love jumping over the moon. 

Halloween Insight by Boo-tiful Bebe!

I wish I may, I wish I might, have the pleasure of giving you Halloween Safety Insight. It is that time of year again when kids dress up, candy is passed out and everyone wants to enjoy Halloween night. With a little help from me, we can make sure your pet’s Halloween is done just right and with little fright.

Listen up meow, below you will find tips for a spooktacular holiday. Just simply read and follow these rules to avoid boostakes that may come your way.

1.       Keep all cats indoors and especially black cats.  Word on the street is bad things can happen to cats that is better left unsaid.

2.       Do not leave candy out where pets can partake in the ohhhh so yummy sweets. Chocolate is poison and trips to the Pet ER would not be a fun way to spend your night or money.

3.       Make sure all pets are locked up so they do not escape when the creaking door is opened to fill the candy bags of the ghouls and goblins.

4.       Do not leave pets unattended in costumes that might be constricting or have parts that the pet may decide to chew off and cause gastrointestinal obstruction. Now I ask you to close your eyes and imagine putting a costume on a cat with something dangling in the back.  Do you see the cat doing circles chasing the uncatchable.  Now you might have two things to worry about. That would be one dizzy kitty, lol.

5.       Lit pumpkins can be a fire hazard if knocked over by a pet who is stressed from all the excitement, so be sure they are not in your pet’s vicinity.

Now that I have taken care of the safety of my fellow feline and canine buddies, I would like to share a little side note on the trick or treaters.  Many people get upset when they see teenagers come to their door with their bag wide open looking for you to toss in a treat or two.  Meow I know, some may roll their eyes and get purrrrturbed, but remember kids have to grow up fast and most parents would rather have their teens out enjoying their youth doing something innocent and fun than to be out hanging with the wrong crowd and getting in trouble.  So if these teens show up at your door and have put an effort forth to dress up, when you place the candy in their bag, know you are helping a parent have a good night versus them dealing with a teenager up to no good. Happy Halloween to all my Be-Believers out there and I hope you too have a fang-tastic Halloween evening. 

Summer Hazards

Summer time is here!!!!! I know this not because I feel the summer temperatures heating up, because I am living the privileged life indoors, but my best friend Bryan who works here in the kennel has started appearing for more shift lately which tells me it is summer.  I love my Bryan time!  When I can sneak him away from all the clients and other pets, I monopolize his time to give me belly rubs and tell me how I am the best kitty ever. With that being said and knowing Texas can be a scorcher, I figured I am on cat duty to educate you on avoiding summer hazards.

First I would like to talk to the clients that I like to refer to as exceptional pet owners.  These are the people who take their dogs for walks or even take them to dog parks to let them release all their built up dog energy.  I’m telling you these dogs, you release the leash and they are like Augustus Gloop in the Chocolate Factory, they go crazy running around with their tongues hanging out as if they forgot how to be dignified.  Anyways, I wanted to remind these owners to make sure their dogs paws are protected from hot concrete and carry water and a bowl to offer their dog a sippy sip to make sure they do not overheat.  To those pets that spend quite a bit of time outside, you should provide shade to avoid sunburns. That’s right I said it, dogs too can get sunburned and shade helps prevent heat exhaustion. If you have a pool, make sure it is gated to avoid accidental drownings. It’s devastating to see these types of emergencies come in the clinic. I don’t look pretty when I cry, so let’s avoid these types of visits please. Something else that should be avoided in the summer is leaving your pets in the car.  Did you know it could be 78 degrees outside, but a car parked in the shade can register at 90 degrees and a car parked in the direct sunlight can get up to as high as 160 degrees.  Let’s face it guys, it’s not 78 degrees here in Texas, so I don’t even want to think how hot cars actually get in our summer heat.  That makes my brain hot just thinking about it.

So it’s not just the heat in Texas that causes problems in the summer, have you heard of the pesky little mosquito?  Yeah you know the tiny insect that makes you do a dance and slap yourself silly? Yep, that’s the one.  Well these little pest are not only going to annoy you, but they carry heartworms, so please be sure to protect your pets by giving them a monthly heartworm prevention.  It doesn’t matter if I’m an indoor pet or an outdoor pet, I need my monthly heartworm prevention because even when I asked for a sign to be put up that said “Mosquito’s Keep Out,” it did nothing because come to find out mosquitoes can’t read.  I have seen what a dog goes through when they come in for heartworm treatment and it’s not pretty.  Not to mention they have to endure strict cage rest for a month after each treatment and that is dog gone crazy talk.  Worse than that, there is no treatment for cats!  In addition to those mosquitoes, I am not fond of the fleas or ticks.  These little guys are just down right nasty.  They make me itch, they feed on my blood, ewwwww and they lay up to 50 eggs a day.  What is wrong with them?  Have they ever heard of over population? Heartworm and flea prevention is the way to go, just sayin’.

To sum it up, if you are a responsible pet owner, you can take these blue skies and make wonderful pet memories by following these tips and enjoying your summer days.  I probably should go take a cat nap so I can wake up with some energy to exercise because I am thinking this year might just be the year for me to wear that itty bitty yellow polka dot bikini.  Enjoy your summer meow J

Poisonous Plant Purr-Cautions

I would like to apologize to my Be-Believers for my absence.  I have to say I’ve been all kinds of confused with the weather here in Texas and the warmth has made me extra sleepy and I might have increased my cat naps by a couple, or a few, or OKAY, I increased my cat naps by a lot each day.  I thought spring started two months ago!  To my surprise I learned from these humans that spring just started.  When I heard this, my ears perked up like the Easter Bunny.  If I do say so myself, the Easter Bunny is quite the charming fella with those ears that stand so tall and fuzzy. Okay, I may or may not have a crush on this debonair, bouncy little fella.  Shhhhhhh!

Any who, hearing that it is spring, I realized I need to do my cat duty and inform every one of the dangers of the beautiful flowers that line our yards or fill a vase and smell oh so good. I wanted to start with a list of the most common plants and flowers you may have around your house that may be  dangerously disguised in beauty and pleasant aromas. Easter lilies are often in bouquets of flowers as well as in well-manicured landscaped yards. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying do not bring me a bouquet of flowers, I love flowers! I just ask that you leave out the lilies.  In case you want to know, because I know you do, I love bouquets full of bright colors of reds, oranges, purples and yellows. Oh, sorry, I think I got off track.  What can I say a girl likes flowers. Back to the topic at hand, or should I say topic at paw.  I crack myself up!!! So anyways, there are also so many beautiful flowers planted in the yards at this time of the year that can be poisonous that you should know about so pay close attention. I can get out my laser pointer if that helps keep you focused.  Many of these you may be shocked to see on the list, but be aware that Azalea, Oleander, Angel’s Trumpet, Day Lily, Tiger Lily, Elephant Ears and Sago Palm all can cause toxicity in your pets. Some of the less common that you should still make note of is Monkshood, Japanese Pieris, Lily of the Valley, Foxglove, Rhododendron, Autumn Crocus, Yew, Yesterday Today & Tomorrow and Calla Lilies that all made the list as well. 

I have seen first-hand pets being brought into the clinic for plant toxicity, so please be sure if you have pets at home that you do not choose these plants and flowers to brighten up your scenery.  There are many other plants that are purrfectly safe that if your pet took a little nibble there would be no adverse affects. We all know that is what us pets do, nibble on anything and everything.   Sometimes it may be a mild case of nausea, but some of these plants and flowers can actually lead to death.  I don’t like to use that word, but I am doing my cat duty and I want to make sure I get my point across, so I had to pull the “d” word out of my cat bag. Hey but in case you’re wondering the cat is still in the bag.  LOL, seriously, I crack myself up!!! Well I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter and remember life is short and remember life is not measured by the amount of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. 

Meow is the time to step up!

Hi everyone, I see you survived the holidays.  I’m surprised you have survived this winter with all these freezing days and all.  Oh wait, that was a good dream I had of me on the sled zooming down the hill, fur flying in the wind, chasing all the mice who were wearing back packs that looked like cheese.  Now that I think about it, those mice were Green Bay Packer fans. GRRRR! That wasn’t a good dream, that was a nightmare!!! Those mice were teasing and taunting me about the win over the Cowboys.  Well we may not be on our way to the Super Bowl, but they’re still my boyz!

Enough of reliving the Cowboys loss, I really wanted to talk with MY fans out there about helping those in need.  If it weren’t for Dr. Lorenz, I could be a homeless kitty on the streets looking for my next meal.  So the subject is close to my heart thinking about those who are homeless.  The staff of BPRVC wants to join forces with you to make a difference and do something nice for not only the homeless people, but for their animal companions who give the homeless a reason to wake up every day.  We will have a bin in our lobby and until February 8^th and we will collect shoes and socks for the humans and cat/dog food for the homeless pets on the streets. Regardless if it is cold or hot these people need something to protect their feet and they would spend their last dollar to feed their pet, so we would like to help them feed their pets.

 The staff of BPRVC, whom I like to call the greatest humans in the world, well because they have been extra good to me, will actually take these collected items themselves and pass them out to the homeless.  They told me they want to shake their hand or give them a hug and let them know that people really do care.  You cannot save the world by yourself, but if you put a smile on someone’s face and help them out with something they really need, you can say you have made a difference for at least one person.  You have to start somewhere, I heard them say.  I wish I could go out to help them pass the collected items out, but if you were to put me in a carrier, well all my hair would stand on end and I might just poop myself, so I will leave that up the humans. I will be there in spirit J

I can now say I have done my part to get the ball rolling on this great cause.  Please come by the clinic during business hours and drop off shoes, socks, or pet food and know that we will get it in the hands of someone who needs it. If you cannot get by the clinic, we hope that you are inspired to pay it forward in some other way.  Thank you in advance from all of us here at the clinic. Time to go MEOW, I scheduled a pampering session with my favorite human Bryan.