What Your Pet Wants For Christmas

In the heart of Macy's department store for the month of December rests a large red Santa's mailbox. It is nestled between the racks of clothes, flanked by flocked evergreen trees, and it is always easy to find as it is the center of the crowd in the middle of the first floor. I visit it each year as a reminder of how magical this time of year is to the little kids in all of us. The front mail door swings open with its traditional metal hinge melody so often it sounds like part of the caroling. Children, of every size, from every corner of the world, congregate here to mail their present list to Santa. Although I have never slipped an envelope into its red belly, I stop and watch as the other kids do. For each time that door is pulled open and the mouth of the North Pole is summoned to answer a request, I wish for that kid to know that the magic is always here. Not in a store, but in the hope of a wish put to paper. The feeling of anticipation that whatever you ask for might be provided. If you take pause, and allow yourself to be the witness to another's joyful excitement you will quickly be reminded about how sweet the gesture of writing a list and sending it to make-believe-land is. You can stand as an onlooker to this little spot of letters, wishes, dreams, and love and just lose the rest of the bustling patrons elbowing by. I always wonder what those letters hold. How many are asking for a toy, a doll, a childhood keepsake to mark the year in the timeline of a life that grows up. How many are for such basic wishes that no child should ever have to ask for. Food, clothing, a home to feel safe in. How many hold wishes like mine always did; a pony, a puppy, a bunny. Something alive for me to cuddle and keep safe. Some little life to love and be needed for.

How do you do a thoracocentesis?
One of our rescue kittens getting treated by my team.
Giggles are always on the schedule.

These days my life revolves around the little lives my home calls its heart. I have 5 cats, and two dogs, and I will admit with 100% honesty that I spend every day asking myself if I have fulfilled all of the items that they would have penned in their letter to Santa. They always have the basic needs of a cat or dog at their toes. The basic is food and water, a warm place to sleep every night, but the wishes meant for Santa's ears, they are the items that I ask myself if I am providing.

So I thought that this year I will share what I think my pets would ask for, should Santa remind them that their Nice days outnumber the Naughty.

Wren is the cat I call my beloved. She is the first one I go looking for at bedtime if she isn't already purring at the top of my pillow. She is aging, and less finicky. Less likely to call out in alarm when she hasn't gotten her way. She lets the kittens plow past her and grumps with the expiration of an old soul who hasn't got time for shenanigans anymore. She is wise, adored and Queen. She bows to no one, and puts up with even less. This year we got her a heating mat that has 10 settings, (she prefers 3), and we set it for 12 hours. She also likes her water changed daily. We keep a glass by the bed, and she prefers options even in this. It is more likely that she will drink from my overnight water glass, a tiptoe at a time to scoop it from the glass to her tongue. Even in this we share everything. (I know not to drink past bedtime). She prefers fresh plants in winter. It's too cold to go out for a green nibble. Reminding the housekeeping staff to bow to her as they pass. 

Wren

She has a window sill of her own. Packed with a bed and blankets. A perch to see the sunrise, and then set, and monitor the critters of her kingdom. For cats, every single one of them, this perception that they are the apex predator, the indisputable badass of their kingdom, is paramount. Every cat needs to feel they are free to make choices. Free to have opinions, and able to execute commands at whim. Finding your place in your own home when you are their servant is the key to an equitable, honest, and amicable life. Your cat always needs to feel that they are in charge, and this will not be threatened. It is part of the reason that there is a critical mass threshold for multi-cat homes. That one extra cat too many that tilts the apple cart and leads to marking territory, cat fights, and stress in the multi-cat home. She is the constant comfort for all of my days. The one who purrs when she sees me. Takes delight in me just being near. She is the epitome of why we all sacrifice so much for the pets we call family. 

Birdie

My two rabies quarantine kittens; Raffles (short for the state bird of Pennsylvania; the Ruffed Grouse), and Birdie, (the state bird of New York; the Eastern Bluebird), are wild, crazy, pure kitten energy rambunctious. These days my husband is retired. The two kittens follow him like ducklings, always underfoot. They grew up with the puppies, Frippie and Storm, and seemed to imprint on them as much as us humans, so they follow the dogs in and out for the am pee and the before bed bathroom. Unlike the dogs who stay wherever we are, they decide if it's time to come, or go, and beckon their wishes with long drawn out meows fit for drama soap operas of the B-rated variety. My husband stands near the door and opens it slowly for the kittens to come and go, based on which side of the door they scream from. He will stand their like a doorman and say, "I do this all day," with a prideful subservience only a parent could admit to. Their new favorite fancy is feathers. My dear friend Kim gave us a handful of her peacocks plumage and they have systematically disemboweled each frond. The confetti of a killer spread across the living room floor. Life for a kitten is easier, as long as it is quiet, safe and has ample food. They make the simplest things fun. You just need to remember their energy threshold requires they come in pairs.

Raffles

The dogs; Fripp and Storm. Two peas in the pod who could not exist without each other, even though they are so different. There is a firm two dog rule in this house. Two dogs to keep each other company. Two to play so hard during the day that they sleep well enough through the night, so their already exhausted mom can go to sleep as soon as she gets home from work. This couldn't work if they didn't have each other. Their Christmas list to Santa would very likely include a wish for the other. They are this couple. They would only ask for more time. More time together to go on long walks. Walks where they lead and decide which trail to follow. Time to find that ever elusive squirrel and finally make peace with the pursuit. More steak dinners. Fewer vacations for their parents that involve planes or trains. The kind of vacations we take with cars allow them to go, therefore they prefer these. They are family and they expect every family vacation will include them. They are greeted every morning by a whisper of a "hello" that allows them to jump on the bed and curl up on our pillows. They insist that bedtime follow the same principles. Every day begins and ends with a bed in the bedroom and a wish for a peaceful night of dreaming about the adventures of tomorrow. These house fellows of ours never want for more than time together. It is the most sincere wish for Santa anyone of us could ever desire.

Storm and Frippie

Here's to wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a holiday season where all of your time is loved and treasured with the family you call yours.

Pets With Santa 2023

If you need some hints on what your pet might want this Christmas, think about these;

- a place to call home. So many pets die in shelters, and so many others still live in horrific conditions breeding the puppies of the internet sales ads.

- a person to remind them that they are loved. We all deserve this.

- the gentle acknowledgement that they are the most beloved being in the world.

- a warm place to sleep.

- a collar (dog only) AND a microchip that says "you are mine" (and the appropriate contact information).

- a place of their own. We all need a place that is exclusively ours. A bed, a perch, a cage, a corner, a space.. a bathtub and a vanity (if you are me).

- current vaccines for the appropriate place you live. Nothing, no one, not one living being should die from a preventable disease. Watching a pet die from parvovirus, rabies, a pyometra, the list is exhaustive, the mental pain, and the enduring heartbreak these bring, is avoidable. Why are we still begging for this?

- spayed, neutered, and putting the life of your pet above all else. (Breeding them puts their lives at risk, and we already have too many unwanted pets in the world).

- a walk everyday that is just for you, (I am talking to your dog, but, I know lots of cats who love being outside safely. Maybe consider a walk with them too). We don't walk a dog to go from point A to point B, we walk them so they can get out, stretch their legs, employ their nose to investigate a world of scents we can only imagine. Let your dog do the walking, just be the chaperone.

- a catnip station, toys, water fountain and feathers. How about indoor cat grass year around. What does your cat love to get their claws into? Do you think your cat feels like they are a guest in their own home, or do they think that you are?

- photos on the wall, the mantel, the wallet, all of the places where terms of endearment lie. Doesn't everyone have their screensaver set to their pet?

- cats need lots of choices for litterboxes. If you have four floors in your home, and your cat has access to each of them a litter box on each is a sign that they are welcome. Also, choices are important. What if your cat is afraid to get in the box with the lid, or can't quite manage to jump on the top to gain access? Think about your cat aging, and struggling with the joints? Who wants to debate a painful poo?

- dogs come in every shape, size, and demeanor. Some are highly social others just want mom and dad, and don't need anyone else. Maybe a gift of learning to allow others to have value is a way to ensure that your pet has options outside of you and your life. Dogs are just like people. Aren't we each our own individuals?

- remind your pets that they are the most important part of everyday. Say "good morning!" Say "I love you!" Or, say, "you are the most beautiful girl in the world!" it doesn't matter what you tell them, but acknowledge them every time you see them. There will never be another life who loves you so devotingly. 

Spend some time thinking about how lucky you are to have your pets. How lucky are we to have each other. 

Happy holidays to all of us who love the pets we devote our lives to.

I want to hear about your pets list to Santa. What would they wish for?

Cheeto,, another broken kitten who needs us..
He will have half of his tail amputated tomorrow.
He came to us with multiple injuries,, and his story continues.
He is loved and he reminds us of our purpose.

Kittens and Rabies, My N=2.

 

Raffles, 4 months old

Twice in one career. Ok, let's put it all out there, twice in under 5 years. It shouldn’t happen. The odds are staggeringly not in my favor, well, at least for anything else. Perhaps in the very high density, over-crowded, collection bins of the shelters, it might happen, but, me, little home town vet me, well, surely it couldn’t happen to me?

And here I am. Just notified that one of the kittens I was taking care of, the second kitten I have ever taken home to spend the weekend in my bathroom, is positive for rabies.

The staff had named him Scrapple. One of three we had been given custody of to try to find homes for. The finder of the litter is a wonderful long time client of ours had humanely trapped, vaccinated and spayed their mom. She had also decided to keep the other little tortoise shell kitten sibling named Kali.  

Scrapple

We do a lot of this. We do a lot of helping out when a client finds themselves with a stray pet (or four) on their property. While I recognize most other vets would simply point to the local shelter for the answer to their "not my problem" dilemma, the shelters are burgeoning with too many unwanted animals already. Further these little ones would be at great risk of euthanasia due to space constraints or acquire a respiratory infection from stress, overcrowding and inability to be vaccinated fully before their arrival. This is a client we have known for decades. If she is willing to step up and help these cats I am happy to assist her. It works like that, a compromise for the sake of the animals involved. Jump in, be compassionate. Make a difference. Live your purpose, all of the things we veterinarians came into vet med to do,, and then conveniently dismiss as "no good deed" comes along.

Scrapples story began as a simple kind gesture for the sake of need and ability. He needed us and we are more than best equipped to help. So we do. Period.

But, Scrapple had a past that preceded us. That past is what the "no good deed" and it's "punishment" brought.

He had been with us at the clinic for about 2 weeks. He and his two bouncing, bigger, buoyantly bubbly calico sisters. The little black Scrapple was always smaller, more subdued and quiet. On Wednesday (2 weeks into his stay with us) he started limping. By Thursday we took an x-ray. He had an old fracture of his femur. It was healing (as all kittens do), but why was he limping now? The fracture must have happened many weeks ago. He was about 2 pounds,, so at around 1 month old? Why would a kitten have an old fractured leg? Probably fell? There were no wounds ever evident on him. 

There are patients who step into our clinic that are so sick, debilitated and distressed that they require 24 hour care. Within a few days of his arrival Scrapple started to look, and act sick. He was too quiet, too small, and not looking like his thriving sisters. In vetmed he would be called "a kitten failing to thrive." In reality he is a kitten with a mysterious disease that would have gone undiagnosed had he not landed here with us. When it became obvious that he was still declining in spite of our sq fluids, antibiotics and TLC we needed to make some decisions. For Scrapple to go to the ER for the degree of care that he needs would be about $1,000 to $2,000 a day. I estimated that if he was going to survive he needed at least 5-10 days of this. So, I took him home for the few days I hoped he would need to get better. He did after all look like this;

Scrapple and his sisters had been dewormed and microchipped at their arrival to us. They had also gotten their first feline FVRCP vaccine. They were too young to have been vaccinated for rabies. Their mom was spayed, dewormed, microchipped and vaccinated for her FVRCP and rabies.

Within two days Scrapple was just lying around. Barely walking, barely eating, and he was separated from his sisters. By Thursday night I was very worried about him. Based on his unknown outside history and rapidly declining status I was worried about him dying, and I was worried about rabies. I took him home to minimize the exposure to the rest of the staff if he declined like the last rabid kitten I took care of did.

The last rabid kitten was Mauna. She had become an angry, exorcist-needy demon over 4 days. It was a Hyde from Jekyll. It was a change so intense and awful that I wish I had captured it on video. In the last two days of her life she only did two things; slept and attacked. When you woke her she used every tiny minutia of energy to kill you. She was a piranha possessed demon just alive to bite you. She was a virus nestled in her brain to pass on her disease. It was almost impossible to kill her. There was no way to euthanize her. There was no kindness or compassion or ethics in what I had to do. I was not able to hold her, restrain her, or be what I inherently am. She bit me twice in the last moments of her life. I had to stand in the room with her watching her violently attack me and ask myself how I was going to be able to euthanize 2 pounds of terror trying to kill me? I had to put her in a pillow case, tie it tight around her, wear thick leather gloves and inject a monumental amount of barbiturate's into whatever part of her lay under the case. I had to repeat it 4 times. I got my second round of post exposure rabies vaccines a few days later when the lab called me to say that she had been positive for rabies. This is a clear example of the "furious" form of rabies. Scrapple, turns out, had the "dumb" form.

Scrapple declined to a comatose state. He was still eating his syringe fed meals like a monster. Turns out that rabies virus is just that.. very convincing to the host to keep it alive, even when the host can no longer carry to its next victim.

It has been over 2 months since Scrapple died. It took a lot out of me to have to put him down. I will tell you that as a veterinarian you often have to separate yourself from your emotions and do rally hard things. You have to have some pretty excruciating internal dialogues about reality, civic duty, compassion and allowing death to be a part of a life you live even when it is absolutely unwelcome. Putting a kitten to sleep that weighs less than 1 pound via a needle into the heart so that you aren't going to be bitten and further jeopardize your own life, and then go to the ER for post exposure rabies injections to the tune of a couple thousand dollars, is a stark reminder as to why the saying still sticks. No good deed can be punished.

When the health department called to notify us that Scrapple was positive they required that the remaining kittens, and their mom all had to be placed in quarantine also. Mom was sentenced to 2 months, and the kittens four months. Our client decided that she wanted to keep her bunch and has them quarantined together in a spare bedroom. The calico kittens had an adopter who decided that they didn't want them, nor to wait four months, so they adopted elsewhere. When the Health Department asked me what we were going to do with the calico's we had I told them I would keep them for as long as they needed me. They were shocked. They had never had another vet do anything other than euthanize and move on. Learn their lesson and let the future kittens in need be someone else's problem.

Birdie and Raffles

They have names, Birdie and Raffles. They live in my spare bedroom at my home. And I love them to pieces. For whatever time we have together there is love, there is kindness, bustling thundering playing above my kitchen, and a reminder that life isn't supposed to be easy, it is supposed to remind you that you have choices to remind yourself who you are, and what you will be remembered by. It is about acta non verba.