Foffdaughter: New Cat

This introduction is somewhat tardy, but as of July 2nd, there is a new addition to the ranks of Foffarm.  It is a young female cat (estimated at the vet clinic to be at least 6 months old), and her name is Shrink. 

 Shrink before being assimilated.

Shrink is a very small cat.  Very..well... shrunken.  Standard procedure means that Shrink was quarantined immediately after being caught, and in this case, it was needed.  The 'initiation visit' is always done by WonderVet.  Always.  Shrink did not get the 'WonderVet welcomes you to Foffarm' experience though.  Instead, I brought her to the veterinary clinic that WonderVet uses as a home-base for the surgical portion of the job.

During the initiation visit (for a cat), WonderVet will draw a blood sample for Feluk/FIV testing, and usually it is another 48-72 hours before the clinic actually runs the sample. Shrink's symptoms made me uneasy, so I brought her in for a checkup.  

Basically healthy animals;  I have had a lucky go thus far with healthy animals falling out of the unknown.  Now, like Foffmom before me, I am responsible for a cat with FIV. 

After

There are only a few poor quality pictures because Shrink is an unwavering, an (on occasion) uncivil, unencumbered, contact-focused boomerang that doesn't hold still.

 Day after clinic appointment and the start of her medications

This is Shrink as of a few hours ago.  The pictures are harder to take these days, but I guess the mania means she is feeling much better

FIV positive cats can live a normal, lovely life... for 3 years at the most, and only if there are no complications along the way.  

Shrink still gets her medicines twice per day.  It was easier before they worked.

Day one, pee one, and she mastered the litter box.

WonderVet proclaimed that Shrink had reached a healthy weight.

Except for the enlarged lymph nodes, all symptoms are gone.

Brilliant!  Wet cat food is a painless, terror-free way to get the medicine inside of the cat!

Shrink gets her rabies vaccination from WonderVet.

WonderVet hints that 'portly' Shrink could use a diet.

Foffmom: Birdie

A follow up on Birdie the one-eyed beagle. 

She finally was healthy enough for her spay procedure last week. Wonder Vet has decreed she should be sheltered from roughhousing with the big dogs for two weeks, so she is back in the kennel, leash, and roam the house with supervision routine. She enjoys napping on the couches, but misses the canine companionship. On two occasions she has run out the front door, and on one, skipped down the basement steps to greet her dog friends. She continues to be a haunted dog and is terrified of new men, which frustrates our dog-loving son, who is living here for a while. 

Birdie is drawn to the cats, particularly Elwood, and avidly pursues their company when out for a walk. Her happy circle runs always remind me of Snoopy's happy dance, and bring a smile to my face and lift my spirits. A big change since she arrived here on February 21. And yes, she is microchipped. I think that means she lives here now.

Foffdaughter: Any Answer

Within the horse world, there are established communities for different breeds, disciplines, color, cause, etc.  The pictures below are an example representing one of the aforementioned sects.  Click on a picture to make it bigger.

When I am disgusted by one aspect of horse related two-legger barbarism and/or stupidity, it is weird to know that a specific, sanctioned subdivision exists to further and encourage the offending cause.  Most of their websites even sell denim jackets with their particular logo embroidered across the back.  Those people, the in-the-club-people, are enthusiastic about the same thing that makes me ill with revulsion.  Those people...

What do those people see that I don't?  What am I not seeing that somehow makes everything okay?  What do outsiders, non-horse people, see without a prior basis of knowledge? Is this how things should be?