Oh Jareth, you pretty pretty boy.
Getting ready to yawn.
Yawn beginning.
They always look so crazy when they’re mid-yawn.
Looks like that was an enjoyable yawn.
His eyes are just so pretty.
Sittin’ on a brick, waiting for a sibling to come along so he can swipe at him or her.
We started calling him “Bear” when he was little (because he looked so much like a baby bear) and that’s what we still call him, “Bear” and “Baby Bear.”
At evening treat time, Jareth’s been voted most likely to steal crunchies from his brothers and sisters, and to swipe at me if I don’t make with the treats fast enough. Brat.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Pretty, pretty Ruth. Oh, I’m just awash in beautiful kittens right now, aren’t I?
Have you noticed the white stripe going up the middle of her forehead? I love that stripe.
::urp:: “Oh! ‘Scuse me!”
::maniacal laughter::
“Blech. My paw tastes funny.”
::SNIK:: “Hey! Look what Ember taught me to do!”
“Hugs?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
::thlurp::
He is such a SMUG loony boy.
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Previously
2012: Sir Flooferton.
2011: It was seriously cute.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: Dancing Kitteh likes to dance.
2007: Yesterday I took a nap in the kitten room with them (a catnap, of course) and when I woke up, Maryanne was sitting about two feet away staring at me with hatred.
2006: No entry.
2005: I’m surprised I haven’t had a stroke yet.
Oh mercy!!! Ruth turns me into a puddle of goo!!!
Huge hugs to Marcia and Joel Galven! I think their vet needs to step up and take a bit of responsibility for this. I hope they know to now put them in seperate bags and write CAT and DOG on the bags….and keep the meds in the boxes!!!! What an emotional and finacial mess they put that couple in! I copied your post and sent it out in an email to all my contacts here in Florida. Hope it helps!
Confession: Ruth & Leia are my favs! Both are crazy beautiful, probably be adopted quickly (fingers crossed).
The two tuxies are my favourite kittens of this batch – Mind you would like to give them all a home though, not just the two tuxies!
Mine, too! Quickly followed by Charming and Puff.
Re: frontline… I use the dog version of frontline plus on kittens all the time. So do a lot of shelters. I have talked to Merial reps and they say it is safe because the ingredients are almost the same. The same is true for the original advantage.
I do not want anyone thinking I don’t believe Marcia, I do know some pets have very bad reactions to frontline even when given as directed. maybe they gave a different product that has different ingredients.
Regardless, my heart goes out to them… I hope they all recover quickly.
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Norbert please..
I read these snippets off the internet:
“OK, I called Frontline and spoke to a vet tech. She said that though it is the same active ingredient in both the dog and cat versions, the way they are blended is different to accomodate for differences in a cat’s system versus a dog’s. She said that to use dog flea products on a cat is a federal violation!”
and
“OK, one more viewpoint on the Frontline for dogs being used on cats…my vet said that the one difference in the two formulas is the specific anti-tick medication in the dog version. He said it can cause seizures in cats, and that he has treated cats brought to him having seizures from Frontline. He doesn’t carry Frontline anymore.”
and
“ok, i keep all my old used packaging. and i’m comparing cat frontline plus (includes flea, ticks and lice control) to dog (45-88pounds) frontline plus. Same active ingredients in slightly different amounts. FPlus for cats is fipronil 9.8% and (S)-methoprene 11.8%, inert ingredients 78.4% whereas Dog FPlus is fipronil 9.8% and (S)-methoprene 8.8% which is slightly LESS, and 81.4% inert ingredients. So I am guessing, GUESSING, that if given the right dosage, it might be safe. ”
I think it is all just too scary to risk!!!
http://vetmedicine.about.com/b/2003/08/06/accidently-put-dog-flea-repellent-on-cat.htm
I think the problem for Marica and Joel is the dosage. (Other brands seem to be down right toxic to cats.) It appears that she applied an entire tube (like you should if you had the cat medicine) to her cats. That high of a dosage on a cat…can kill it. So, I do believe the seizures were caused by the dog sized application of Frontline.
One thing consistent that I read everywhere was if this accidentally happens to you, wash the cat with Dawn dish detergent, shave the fur in the area where you applied the medicine and get your kitty to the vet. He/she will need IV fluids. Out of this tragedy, many people can learn ways to take preventive measures and to know what to do (Lord forbid) if it happens to you.
http://www.lisaviolet.com/cathouse/advantage.html
and as I said, I’ve been doing it for years, as has the shelter I work with, as have many other shelters.
I had a long conversation with the Merial (frontline)rep before i had even heard of splitting doses. there was a large cat that was having issues with fleas and the FL didn’t seem to be working.. he said it was probably because the cat was larger than normal and to use the small dog version of FL on the cat because they were virtually the same product. There are two ingredients and one of them has more of it in the cat version then the dog version, so it has less effect on the cat.. (and forgive me for not remembering which one it was, but I believe it was the one that killed the eggs)
I do know though, that Bayer, makers of Advantage, makes several varieties of product and not all of them are safe to pass between species. I know that Frontline Plus and the original Advantage is and I always tell people to be VERY careful of what they are giving. I also know that there are counterfeit products out there.. which is why I never purchase them OTC at pet stores or on the internet. There are now so many different products that it is so very easy to get something that isn’t safe.
as for against federal regulations.. yes, you are using it ‘off label’ but so many products are and are safe. Simply because you are using something ‘off label’ does not inherently make it bad.
and even using a product “on label” does not mean it is 100% safe. I said it, Charlene said it.. while these products are generally safe and effective, there are pets who have bad reactions to it. no matter what the dose was – even if she gave the right product to the right animal.
nothing is 100% safe..
Yesterday when I read about the kitties who had the Frontline reaction I wondered if it may have been due to the dosage more than the igredients. I also felt that the vet should help cover the cost of the treatment. So very scary. I hope the kitties are fully recovered soon.
That happened to one of mine. the Vet said soemthing about every now and then there’s a fluke dosage.
Either way, we stopped using it as they’re indoor cats with almost no exposure anyway.
Love these pictures! All the kittens are beautiful, but there is something about Ruth…
Even though this video has more d*g video than cat, it made me laugh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTbbYLvhDSM&feature=youtu.be
(You can fast-forward through the puppy bits if you are not a d*g fan – you get the idea in 10 seconds, which is about the length of the entire cat portion. Cats do it faster!)
The kitten cuteness is too much. I have no idea how you get anything done besides squeezing them all day long….
I love me some Loony Jake! I’d wear a Loony Jake t-shirt, yes I would…
Jareth is just so handsome. I love me a black kitty!*
Ruth is so beautiful. I hope she keeps her bright blue eyes, but I always hope that. My Barney had red eyes when he came to me, it was scary! I can’t imagine them going from blue to red! They’re now pale amber and lovely…but the red was certainly a talking point for visitors. Me and my devil kitten!
*disclaimer – I love me any kitty.
There really is something magical about Jareth. So charismatic.
love the Loon!! And that Ruth is gonna be a heart breaker 🙂
Agreed – I think the vet needs to step up on this one….I hope they get the help they need though and the cats recover….
I’m sorry but the vet should cover for their mistake!
About the frontline – Wow, they should really be 1. in a box 2. if not in a box a separate bag
I hope the vet steps up and takes some responsibility for this as well
Granted the frontlines should be labeled on the back of them (at least i think they are, I’d have to check)
Just awful, best wishes to them for their kitties <3
i ADORE all of these dragon kittens, like if i had room for a kitten and you would adopt to someone in PA i'd be down with a drive to where you are lol
Re: Ruth’s :SNIK!: followed by “Hugs?”…That is sooo totally cat! 😉 Even my fully adult pair do not entirely get that claws hurt humans in ways they wouldn’t hurt cats–when they get extremely “kneady”, especially. I think cats must just be able to handle more kneading or casual/cursory claw contact w/ one another than humans can w/out it hurting, due to their fur or something(and yet if I recall, kitteh skin UNDER the fur is actually quite thin and sensitive…makes me wonder about hairless breeds kneading one another!).
I posted in the comments yesterday about a new flea & tick product that’s totally non-toxic, chemical-free and 100% safe that would save all pet owners from the risks of spot-on meds like Frontline and Advantage. I don’t want to be seen to be using Robyn’s blog as advertising space, but I hope she’ll allow me to just post the link again here since it is relevant to so many of today’s comments ( http://www.petprotector.org/?ID=18451) and say that anyone can e-mail me (charlenelinfu(a)gmail.com) if they want to purchase directly from me or can go read my comment in yesterday’s entry.
But I also wanted to let everyone know that all of these spot-on flea & tick remedies are known to carry the risk of causing seizures, other serious health problems and even death in pets. This has been well-documented in government studies and reports:
Here’s an EPA page devoted to the whole problem: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/petproductseval.html
And this page has about two dozen reports on specific products: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/petproductsders.html
I skimmed the first one (27 pages!) It noted that of nearly 9,500 incidents with dogs, there were 21 deaths and 37 “major incidents”, which is a statistically low <1% — but as a pet owner and lover, you know that that's just absolutely devastating if yours is one of the 21 dogs who died or one of the 37 that became seriously ill. Also, this fact jumped out at me because the weight range is what most cats tend to be: "because there were so many incidents in smaller dogs, closer examination was made of incidents using the product labeled for use on dogs 9-20 pounds."
The FDA has a page just for reporting problems with pet flea meds: http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm253492.htm
Anyway, remember: forewarned is forearmed!
Oh that Ruth hugs photo! Calendar-worthy absolutely!
I lost my beloved 19 y.o. Zoey in mid-April, and many of you left such kind messages of condolence here – they really helped me get through a very tough time. I still miss her very very much, and am not yet ready to adopt another cat. However, I’ve just started fostering a 7 y.o. calico who was saved from euthanasia a week ago, and would welcome any advice you can share with me.
She’s been declawed and is a total nervous wreck. I collected her on Saturday from the cat rescue people who had taken her from the high-kill shelter, and she immediately retreated to a safe spot under my bed – exactly where Zoey used to hide during thunderstorms and vacuuming 😉 She’s very slowly warming up to me, but is still a stress-ball. She actually sat next to me on the sofa last night, but I suddenly sneezed, and she tore through the room, down the hall and back under the bed. I do pick her up every day at least a couple of times, and give her a cuddle until she pushes me away, letting me know she wants down. She is letting me stroke her under the chin, as well as pet her, and she comes up on the bed every night at least for a little while. But I live on a main road in a big city with lots of traffic noise, and whenever she hears a siren or a horn through the open window, she gets spooked.
She has some teeth that need to come out, but the vet wants her to gain a bit of weight before the op. She is eating, but is so scared she only eats a tiny bit and then goes back under my bed. I’m currently giving her a mix of kitten food and baby food with a tiny bit of water added to make a gravy, warmed up a bit, and mashed together. Any advice on helping her eat more, as well as gently coaxing her out of her shell, would be very much appreciated!
I love Jareth, and his eyes are gorgeous. If I didn’t live many, many miles away, he would definitely be a member of the black cat army I’m going to build someday (right now, there’s only one black cat in my platoon, so there is lots of room for growth).
You’re always saying how you kiss the kittens – check this out!
http://i.imgur.com/e3Bx7u3.gif
I want to say THANK YOU to all that donated to Marcia and Joel Galven on You Caring website this week. We’ve reached our goal! They decided to raise the goal a little since more bad news hit this week. I didn’t mention it in my first comment, but the house they purchased 6 months ago turned into a total mess. The home inspector did not find any “major” problems with the home and the home owners did not declare any issues on the condition report. Well, there was fraud or incompetence involved on both parties. There are major problems with the house and a lot was obviously hidden by the owners. Marcia and Joel have to decide if suing is worth the cost. They should sue to nullify the sale. This past week, more things broke at the house and Marcia posted on Facebook she wasn’t sure they could afford for her to attend her next semester of classes.
So once again, thank you for your help. At least we know about 1/2 of the cost to treat the 4 kitties is covered. They were very lucky their regular vet charged this so little. Most of the vet costs were for the emergency vet the first night and subsequent nights that they had to rush the kitties back for middle of the night treatments.