Poor pooky in the ProCollar is ready for her voyage on the Titanic.
In my quest to prevent Cat Mandu from scalping herself, I purchased way more e-collars (see
this post) than was necessary.
I first tried the ElizaSoft Recovery Collar, and, although she tolerated it WAY more than the Comfy Cone, she still didn’t like it all that much. The material is sort of like a very thin tarpaulin, and it held its shape nicely, away from her head, but it still obstructed her peripheral vision, and caused her to shake her head a lot.
Next, I tried the ProCollar, and, yes folks, we have a winner. It effectively stops her from scratching her head, and most the time she doesn’t seem to notice she has it on. It does pose a problem when trying to maneuver around objects, but since it doesn’t obstruct her peripheral vision, she seems to find it much more tolerable than the others.
Now if we could just get the @&$!* miliary dermatitis to heal, we’ll be golden.
Jan 10, 2010 | | Animal Tales
Remember Mr. Tabby, the little cat I drove across two states for?
He and I are featured on the Best Friends website today… lucky us! I was really impressed with what a nice job the Best Friends staff did.
There’s even a video (and if you watch Mr. Tabby’s face closely, you can see that he isn’t as happy about the whole thing as I am…)
After being at Best Friends for 10 years, he is still pretty freaked out about having been thrown in a car and dumped in a house! He’s been living in my closet, but he comes out to eat & use the litterbox, and there is evidence that the catnip toys get attacked at night. 
I adore him.
Jan 06, 2010 | | Animal Tales
I’ve sent many a pet home wearing the dreaded lampshade, but, until now, have never had to deal with the lovely contraption myself.
Enter Cat Mandu’s miliary dermatitis–she’s been scratching the bejeezus out of her little head. I’ve had Soft Claws (nail caps) on her back claws, and they’ve been doing the trick for awhile, but lately it’s been getting out of hand. I knew I had to act, but I just couldn’t bring myself to put a lampshade on her.
Off I went to the local pet store in search of an alternative. I basically had two choices available to me locally. The Comfy Cone:
Comfy Cone
And the ProCollar:
ProCollar
I think we both would have preferred the ProCollar, since it doesn’t obstruct vision, but they didn’t have the right size in stock. So, I ended up with the Comfy Cone.
At over 5″ deep, I decided the Comfy Cone would obscure too much of her peripheral vision. It’s also fairly thick, and, I imagine, would seem heavy to a cat. I spent an hour whacking it down to 4″ deep, held my breath, and put it on her.
Read the rest of this entry »
Jan 05, 2010 | | Animal Tales
I suppose it’s a little ambitious to start a blog titled “Vet School Blog” long before one is even accepted to vet school. And it would have been really embarrassing had I never been admitted!
The good news, though, is…HOLY COW! THEY LET ME IN!
I’ll be starting at Colorado State in Fall 2010, and then you really will be reading a “vet school blog.”
One of these days , I’ll write a few posts about the application process this go-round.
Until then, however, I invite you to visit the project I am doing in honor of being admitted. I am profoundly grateful for the chance to go to vet school, and this is my way of showing my gratitude:
www.HolyCowProject.org
Jan 01, 2010 | | Getting In, Miscellany
My handsome boy
At what point is crazy cat ladydom achieved? Greater than three cats per individual? Is it just the number of cats that seals the deal, or is it your level of slavish devotion to them? Angela Martin of “The Office” licking her cat=definite crazy cat lady material. Me… well, I’m not quite there yet. But I’m about to take a step in that direction.
A few years ago, I paid a visit to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in southern Utah. If you’re unfamiliar with Best Friends, go take a look at their website right now and become a member. Seriously. They’re awesome. I’ll wait.
Best Friends is the nation’s largest no-kill shelter. It’s located in a beautiful red rock canyon, and on any given day is home to about 2,000 animals. Visitors can take tours of the sanctuary and see DogTown (of National Geographic series fame) and Kittyville, among other things.
Being a cat person, I was especially interested in seeing Kittyville, which is sort of like cat paradise. Cats have large indoor areas with plenty of snuggly spots, and access to large outdoor enclosures–complete with climbing towers and catwalks crisscrossing here and there.
Upon walking into one of these enclosures, I spied a beautiful tabby up on a catwalk. “Hello, handsome,” I said. Read the rest of this entry »
Oct 24, 2009 | | Animal Tales
