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9:58 a.m. - 2003-05-21
Beware!
Burma graced us with her presence on the bed last night.

She is definately getting tamer. Whenever I go upstairs she comes out of whereever she has been and starts rubbing around the doorways and bookshelves and making cute meeping noises. Sometimes she will even let me touch her for a minute or two. She just seems to be happy to see me, and as long as I stay about two feet away, and move slowly, she acts like a totally normal and trusting cat.

I'm getting to be totally crazy about her, too. She has a very kitten-like mentality, and is constantly playing with her many toys and running up and down the stairs. It's almost as though she is making up for having such a rotten youth out on the streets of Birmingham.

I can relate to that!

She has come up on the bed with just me before - in fact, one day she actually curled up in between my legs when I was reading a book. But she's never slept with both Bruce and I, so last night was a big first.

I don't think she knows what to make of Bruce. While she appears to like him, and has long talks with him some mornings, she also appears intimidated by his size. Whereas I, in comparison, am such a pipsqueak I probably present no threat at all.

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And now for the rave of the day! Sambadelic likes my cranky, frantic side!! Yah! Here it is again!!

Did you know clumping litter is bad for cats?? Like, SERIOUSLY bad?? Did you know that the companies that make it know this and don't give a flying Fernando?!!!

If you use clumping litter for your cats, you might want to check out this website.

You know, I used to wonder why Zesto and Tylenol got diarrhea every time we used this stuff. Well, duh, I guess that particular mystery is solved.

And speaking of big corporations that don't really give a damn about your special furry companion, beware of Hartz Mountain products as well!! Bruce and I almost killed Tylenol and Burroughs a couple of years ago with their worm medication.

One night we were just hanging out, watching TV, when Zesto nonchalantly barfed up a huge, white, still wiggling, worm.

"EEEAAAGGGGG!" I screamed.

"Fascinating! It's some kind of (insert long scientific name here) worm! I could use that for my class!" exclaimed Bruce, rushing off for a bottle of preserving alcohol. By the time he returned, I was hysterical, and insisted we go to the store to buy over the counter wormer.

Good Lord, how stupid can I be? I should have waited to see our vet in the morning, but no, I had to get rid of those worms as soon as possible. We bought the Hartz Mountain wormer and gave all the cats the dose specified on the box. Of course, since Burroughs weighed twenty pounds at the time (I am proud to say he has since slimmed down to 18!) we gave him a humongous dose. The box didn't have any warning about a maximum dosage! And it didn't say anything about not giving it to elderly cats, so we gave Ty the recommended dose as well!

By noon the next day, Burroughs was acting ever so strange. He kept shaking his head slightly, and seemed to have trouble walking. When Ty developed the same symptoms, we rushed them to the vet.

They immediately knew what was going on. "We see it all the time. It affects their central nervous system. Especially with the Hartz Mountain wormers. Someone should sue them!"

Two days of intensive care later, both Burroughs and Ty were fine, though Burroughs still seems to have a sensitivity to having his face touched which he didn't have before the wormer. It may be due to some nervous system damage. Nonetheless, Bruce and I decided that someone should, indeed, sue Hartz Mountain.

We consulted Bruce's dad, who is not only a cat lover, but a rather charmingly aggressive retired corporate lawyer. He went into overdrive, drafting a remarkably reasonable and well-argued letter with just the right undertone of "If you don't respond immediately with some serious buckos we are going to sue the pants of of you and you'll have to walk around in your underwear"-ness to it. We sent it off to the folks at Hartz Mountain, with no hope of ever hearing from them.

Within two weeks, we had a check for the full amount of the cat's medical bills.

My advise? Get yourself a book on natural remedies for cats! Don't trust those dang wormers, or anything else made by a for-profit pet company! And if your pet is injured by one of these company's products, write me, and I'll send you a copy of Bruce's dad's letter! Why should you and your cat have to suffer and pay for the fact that these people are so rabid to make a profit that they would risk your cat's health? And they don't care if your beloved animal dies - I looked at a Hartz Mountain wormer box the other day, and there is still no warning about elderly cats or maximum doses!!

Sue the bastards!!

Man, am I becoming like the Martha Stewart of militant behavior? Everyday I'll write about some happy tip for being a radical homemaker!! Maybe I can get my own TV show! I should talk to Michael Moore about this!


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