Foffmom: Final Nanny Goat Update

The nanny goats had caseating lymphadenitis and had to be euthanized. Our equine (I'm NOT a Goat Vet) vet once again came out, agreed on diagnosis, prognosis, and management. (Cull from the herd- as described in multiple sites on line.) The euthanasia was swift and that was a good thing, as they were so herd bound to one another that to have had one ever be aware of being alone would have been misery inducing.

I brought their bodies to a local business that cremates dead large animals, as the organism can supposedly survive in soil for years. I still have to finish sanitizing the stall before we can use it for the horses again. Yes, it is moderately contagious to horses, and mildly so to humans, although there is effective humane treatment in humans, but not in goats.

They were making such progress on becoming socialized. It was put to ironic good use, in that they were not crazy freaked out antelope when the vet walked into the stall. Sigh. Goats- they are not easy, at least not for us. So far.

Foffdaughter: Olaf's #s

Foffmom and I took Olaf to an unfamiliar vet clinic to assess the seriousness of his illness. It feels like cheating on WonderVet, but for some reason which isn't good enough, WonderVet decided to take off work for a day. Of course this only became apparent when I was calling to schedule a visit for that afternoon. Anyway, we all went to a new place to get the opinion of a vet since we could not reach the vet.

They estimated Olaf to be around 11-12 weeks old, and he weighed in at 1 lb 15 oz. An oz off of 2 lb. Kittens are supposed to gain one pound per month, and that makes Olaf a little behind schedule. I cannot wait until his health returns to him. His entire life has been handicapped thus far. Initially the problems were worms, fleas, ear mites and hunger, and then he was healthy for about a week before this sickness started to settle in. Anyway. Those are some numbers for Olaf.

Foffdaughter: Olaf

The newest kitten has finally gotten a name. Olaf. I didn't name him, and I am just grateful that the final title wasn't worse. Olaf isn't such a bad name. It is from a book - good start. It is the name of the villain - excellent. If you rearrange the letters, it spells Foal - brilliant. The adorable kitten has not been photographed just yet. Here are other things instead.

Note: above picture not Olaf. One cheetah has an average of 2000 spots.

Foffmom: What Consequences?

Updating on unplanned rat family.

About two weeks later, on second round of giving out treats, I was hovering over the end of the aquarium that held the roiling wriggling mess of rattins, now with fur. I was trying to determine if there were 7 or 8. Mother was not happy with my studying (eyes only mind you). I decided to offer her another treat. She bit me with a lunging intention I would have previously only attributed to a shark. Foffdaughter had shown me the movie at the end of Ratatouille which stated that rats can chew through stainless steel. So doing a pincher move piercing my index finger nail bed and my finger pad was an easy task.

You know in cartoons when a rodent bites a finger, the human then waves around the finger trying to shake the rodent off? While an unavoidable instinctive move, I do not recommend it, because the full weight of the rat swinging off your finger really really hurts worse than the rat bite, which hurts plenty. And no they do not turn loose to fly through the air, they wait until they are firmly planted to release you. I have not gotten an infection, and have an interesting puncture/blood bruise in my nail bed, that will grow out eventually.

The rattins are really really cute...
I think there are 8 of them..
Maybe.
Don't care as much now.

Gibbs: Graduated

Gibbs is getting a new ID badge to replace his current 'in training' badge, and then that is it. He will be so credentialed that it practically qualifies for diplomatic immunity. It is rather startling to admit how gloriously Gibbs has performed through virtually every aspect of this saga.

Even though it was not mandatory, Gibbs was held to the standard of the 'Public Access Test'. It has various scenarios that all fairly common and routine, and each one is scored based on how closely the testing dog matched the ideal behavior(s) listed for that scenario. Make sense? I don't care enough to really get into examples, but the bottom line is that Gibbs passed with flying colors when tested.

Kitten Update

Kitten (still unnamed) has been improving! He feels well enough to act all kitten-ish and playful... which is making it slightly more difficult to continue giving him the medications two times a day, but eh. He still has earmites, but they are clearing up. The flea problem seems to have been dealt with after two baths. WonderVet has wormed him two times in as many weeks. The kitten weaned himself off the milk substitute and seems quite content with gorging himself on kitten food. And there is a basic summary of his progress without random off-topic fluffery paragraphs. I must say... This way of updating seems much more efficient.

New Kitten

So there is this kitten...

We find ourselves with another kitten as of September 22nd. The circumstances surrounding the discovery can be summarized with the assurance that this was a rescue. There were three other cats in the same location, all of whom were feral and evaded capture. Yes there was an avid chase/hunt/scheme on my part to come home with four new animals instead of one. (Opinions differ as to whether the outcome was positive or devastating.) This little fuzzball was the youngest by far and the short legs are the only reason for my success.

The kitten was not happy to be caught. (I am saving your adorable fluffy ass, and promise to drastically improve your quality of life!) The kitten did not want to meet me. (Once I get those teeth unstuck from my hand, surely we will bond for life!) The kitten had no intention of going quietly. (I will just talk to myself over your yowling shall I? You will love home!) The kitten wanted me to fuck off. (Hey kitty- I love you.)

Several hours after getting back home, WonderVet arrived. I had called from the road and left a voice mail relaying the situation. Maybe there was more than one. Ach well who cares. WonderVet put the kitten at about 6-7 weeks of age, but very small and malnourished. The kitten was announced as a boy.