Winston Wednesday: Park Adventure

As I am typing this post Winston is stretched out on the couch next to me wrapped up in his Winnie the Pooh blanket. Of course he is also snoring like a freight train as well. It would be nice to live the Pug life sometimes. This post is later than I intended because I have been at work today and then I got home and was typing up stuff for a meeting tomorrow. I actually really enjoy that kind of responsibility though. I hope all you lovely readers have had a good week so far. I will have up my poison post tomorrow afternoon. I have it almost completely written up except for a few small tweaks I need to make. I wanted to make this another short cute post since my post tomorrow will be a longer one. Alex and I took Winston to the dog park over the weekend and I got a video of him showing off for the camera as well as a very handsome picture. Enjoy and check back tomorrow for my next post! Make sure you sign up for email updates so you will be informed when I put up new posts!

Winston never brings the ball back so he was definitely showing off for the camera! 

Meow Monday: Charlie

Yesterday I meant to have an in-depth post on poisons but I got caught up in a book and never was able to pry myself away from it. I'm a complete bookworm and once I get sucked into a good book there is no getting me to do anything. Sorry guys! I know, I suck. I will probably post-pone that post until Thursday since that will be my next day off. Today I was on cleaning the house duty so this post is late. I promise I will be better next week! And my Winston Wednesday post this week will make up for all of this. It's super cute. I also wanted to let everyone know that in mid November I will be going home for 12 days to visit my parents who I haven't seen in over 2 years but I will hopefully be able to get in at least two good posts during that time. I honestly had a health topic all picked out and ready to go today on cats but I didn't like it. I felt like it was kind of half-assed so I didn't think it should be put up. Instead I am going to just put up a cute video and a cute picture and then check back on Wednesday for an awesome post!

Obviously today is a very Charlie centric post but seriously? Look at his face! He's precious! By the way I wanted to thank every single person who reads my blog and I really appreciate all the support. Have an amazing day tomorrow and check back on Wednesday!

Winston Wednesday: Poisonous Foods

How has everyone's week been so far? Winston and I have been good! Today I just wanted to do a quick post on foods that can be poisonous to dogs and cats. Not all dogs and cats will react the same but I still wouldn't give these foods to my pets.

- Alcoholic beverages
- Apple seeds
- Apricot pits
- Avocados
- Cherry Pits
- Candy (particularly chocolate or any candy with the sweetener Xylitol in it)
- Coffee (grounds, beans, and chocolate covered espresso beans)
- Garlic
- Grapes
- Gum
- Hops (used to make beer)
- Macadamia nuts
- Moldy foods
- Mushrooms
- Mustard seeds
- Onions and onion powder
- Peach pits
- Potato leaves and stems (green parts)
- Raisins
- Rhubarb leaves
- Salt
- Tea
- Tomato leaves and stems (green parts)
- Walnuts
- Yeast dough
- Xylitol (artificial sweetener)

This is a list of only the food products that can cause toxicity in your pets. On Sunday I will go over household products as well as plants. I wanted to do that tonight but I am pretty tired after work. I'm going to leave you with this precious video of Winston and I will have some extra cute pictures on Sunday along with my more in depth post! Have a great rest of the week.

Meow Monday: FIV/FeLV

Happy Meow Monday! Today I wanted to take the time to discuss the difference between FIV and FeLV which are two cat diseases. Lets get started.

What is FIV?

FIV stands for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and it is a lentivirus that affects cats worldwide. FIV is closely related to HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). Cats who are infected with FIV may not show symptoms for years after they are initially infected. The virus is slow acting and weaken the cat's immune system just as HIV weakens the immune system of a human. Infected cats become susceptible to secondary infections very easily.

How Does A Cat Become Infected?

FIV is usually transmitted through deep bite wounds and scratches where the infected cat's saliva enters the other cat's bloodstream. FIV can also be transmitted from mothers to their kittens in utero, however it is rare.

What Are Symptoms of FIV?

Symptoms of FIV vary and most infected cats do not show symptoms for years but here are a few (which could also be linked to many other diseases):

- Anemia
- Behavior change
- Enlarged lymph nodes
- Fever
- Dental disease
- Diarrhea
- Discharge from eyes or nose
- Frequent urination, straining to urinate or urinating outside the litter box
- Sneezing
- Wounds that won't heal
- Weight loss

How Is FIV Diagnosed?

FIV is diagnosed with a blood test that looks for the presence of antibodies to the virus in the blood.

How Is FIV Treated?

There is no specific antiviral treatment for FIV. Cats can carry the virus for a long time before any symptoms appear so usually treatment focuses on extending those periods of asymptomatic periods of time. Often fluid and electrolyte replacement therapy is necessary as well as medication for secondary infections the cat gets from having a weakened immune system.

What Do I Do If My Cat Has FIV?

The best thing to do for your FIV infected cat is to keep it indoors. This way it cannot spread the infection to other cats in your neighborhood. Also it will protect your cat from any disease-causing agents that it may be susceptible to. Another important thing is to watch for changes in your cat's behavior and health because the slightest change can indicate something is up medically. You will want to take your cat to get checked up by your vet regularly for blood work and wellness exams. A balanced nutritional diet is also important to maintain proper nutrition and a healthy weight.

How Can You Prevent FIV?

The best way to prevent FIV is to keep your cat indoors and if you bring another cat into your household have it tested before introducing it to any other cats you may have in your house. Vaccinating your cat for FIV is something you should speak to your vet about as well.

What Is FeLV?

FeLV stands for Feline Leukemia Virus and it is a transmittable RNA retrovirus that severely inhibits a cat's immune system. It was first discovered in the 1960s. FeLV predisposes a cat to a variety of infections and diseases including anemia, kidney disease and lymphosarcoma which is highly malignant and a fatal cancer of the lymph system.

How Does A Cat Become Infected With FeLV?
FeLV is a virus that is shed in bodily fluids such as: saliva, nasal secretions, blood, urine and feces. It is most commonly transmitted through direct contact like sharing litter boxes, food and water bowls and grooming one another. It is also passed in utero and through mother's milk. Cats who are outdoors and often fighting with other cats can transmit the disease through bites and scratches too.

What Are Symptoms of FeLV?

Infected cats can often show no signs but again it is the same as FIV. This list of symptoms could account for a number of diagnoses. Here are a few symptoms:

- Abcesses
- Change in behavior
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Enlarged lymph nodes
- Lethargy
- Jaundice
- Loss of appetite
- Pale or inflamed gums
- Upper respiratory infections
- Vomiting
- Seizures

How Is FeLV Diagnosed?

FeLV can also be diagnosed with a blood test.

How Is FeLV Treated?

Unfortunately there is no cure for FeLV and it is estimated that less than 20 percent of clinically infected cats survive more than three years after active infection. Most treatment is focused on providing a better quality of life.

What Do I Do If My Cat Has FeLV?

The best thing to do for your cat is to make it comfortable. Provide it with a quiet place indoors where it can rest. If you have other cats who have tested negative for FeLV you will need to house them separately keeping the infected cats food and water dishes and litter box separate from them.

How Can You Prevent FeLV?

There is a FeLV vaccination for cats who are at risk for contracting it. Discuss it with your vet and decide if it is best for your cat. Routine FeLV testing is also a good idea as well as keeping your cat indoors. Be a responsible pet owner because unfortunately there are a lot of irresponsible ones out there who don't try or care to get educated and take care of their pets.

I hope this post helped some people and please have a great rest of your Meow Monday! Winston will have a cute post up for you on Wednesday!

Puggerfest

Puggerfest was AMAZING!!! Let me just start off by saying that. I seriously was so happy there! I don't even know how many Pugs were there but it seemed like a lot. It was all enclosed too so Pugs were just running all over the place making friends with each other and everyone. I think I had a smile plastered to my face the entire time I was there. I can't comprehend how people can dislike Pugs. They are probably the friendliest most loving breed out there. Winston at first was not sure what was going on or how to act because he's never seen more than one Pug at a time. I kept him on his leash for the first 30 minutes because I was worried he might run off and I wouldn't be able to find him again and me being a crazy Pug mom that thought gave me serious anxiety. I relented though and decided to let him roam free because I figured he would be safe amongst all the other neurotic Pug parents. It was really funny, as soon as I let him off his leash he started wandering around and making friends with every Pug and person he encountered. My best friend Tara came with me because Alex had to work so we walked around petting all the Pugs who passed us and talking to Pug owners. The funniest thing to me was that once Winston was off his leash he kept finding me and Tara every 5 minutes to check in with us and make sure we hadn't left him. It was really precious. Then as Tara and I were walking around the booths and just through the park Winston would pop up following behind us. At one point I think Winston got confused and lost us and started following some girl and Tara and I called for Winston and he saw Tara and his eyes got all huge like, "Oh, you're over there!" It was hysterical. It also made me really happy that so many people would follow Winston wanting to take his picture. One lady told us how she had been stalking Winston for a while trying to get a picture of him but he kept wandering off. Another adorable moment that melted my heart was when we were sitting on these stairs and a little boy and his parents were next to us and the little boy had a cookie and Winston stood right in front of him and gave his saddest face and stood up on the boys legs. I told the boy he could push Winston off if he wanted to and he said he didn't want to and seemed to think it was the most magical thing that he had this Pug begging him for a cookie. My heart almost exploded it was so cute. I could honestly go on and on about how awesome Puggerfest was. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am definitely glad I went! So now for me to let you know I am an absolute idiot and forgot my camera before we left but fortunately Tara is awesome and brought one so she took some pictures. So all photo credit goes to her! THANK YOU!!! I took a few pictures on my phone but we honestly were so busy loving on all the Pugs and watching Winston socialize that not many pictures got taken. I will share what I have though.

The last picture cracks me up because you can see Winston in the background! Such a handsome guy! Now for one little video.



I know it's not the greatest quality but it's still adorable! He was running all over the place like this being a social little guy. Well I hope you guys liked the pictures and me going on about Puggerfest! Leave a comment and make sure you subscribe!

Winston Is Adorable

Winston wanted to share his cute shirt for Puggerfest today! 

I will post pictures from Puggerfest tomorrow! 

Winston Wednesday: Save A Life

Happy Winston Wednesday! Winston and I hope everyone has had a great day. I just got home from work and came home to a clean Winston who was freshly bathed by my husband. Winston loves baths and was definitely in need of one! He's got to be nice and clean for Puggerfest on Saturday. I bought him an adorable shirt today to wear there but I'm not going to give you any details. You will just have to wait for pictures. I brought the shirt home and tried it on Winston and he was so excited.

So October is an important month for the ASPCA and Humane Society. They both have a similar awareness event going on during October which for the ASPCA is Adopt A Shelter Dog Month and really just bringing awareness to people on how much good they can bring into a shelter dogs life by either adopting one or volunteering at a shelter. The Humane Society is using October as Adopt-a-Dog Month. They also want to educate people on what a difference they can make. I would like to aid in this process and to encourage you all to help out at your local shelter. Whether you donate, volunteer, adopt a dog or cat, you are genuinely making a difference and that is what counts. I used to volunteer at my local animal shelter for a couple years back in Washington state and I mostly worked with the cats but it was wonderful and I loved it. I cleaned their cages, fed them, comforted them and even got to name them! It was a really rewarding experience. Yes, it was hard sometimes but I knew that I was doing something wonderful and that I was making life better for these cats and that was all that mattered.

Here is a cute video of Winston with his Winnie the Pooh blanket:

That is it for this Winston Wednesday! Have a great rest of the week and check back probably Sunday for pictures from Puggerfest. Although I might put up a quick picture on Saturday of Winston in his cute shirt.

Meow Monday

Welcome to my first official Meow Monday! Each Monday I will give a little update on all three cats and also include a post on either a cat health topic or opinion post. Let me start off with a kitty update!

Rusty my gorgeous older cat has been doing really well. She will be 15 this year and has definitely taken on the mother role to Jasper and Charlie. It makes me smile because when she lived with me at my parents house their two cats there always bullied her but here she holds her own and actually has kitty friends. Jasper is just as moody as he always is but I still adore him and he cracks me up. He does have an obsession with anything plastic and it drives me crazy because I can't leave any wrappers out but I wouldn't trade him. Charlie is definitely a character and a talker. He walks around the house narrating his life. So does Jasper but not as much as Charlie. And yes, I am a crazy cat lady. These cats are my children and bring me tons of joy.

So today I wanted to write about a subject that is something of a controversy among cat owners. People are either very against it or very for it. I am completely against it and find it barbaric. If you haven't guessed I am going to be writing about declawing cats. In the United Kingdom declawing is illegal and it is also illegal in many other European countries. I honestly believe that the United States should also make it illegal but unfortunately as a society we are not educated enough on what declawing is and without that education nothing will change which is sad.

What exactly is declawing? It is not like a simple nail trim which a lot of people compare it to. In actuality the cat is having each toe amputated at the last bone. If you need a visual then think of it as having the last part of your finger cut off at the knuckle. Not pleasant right?

How is declawing surgery performed? Well really there are two most common methods. One being the scalpel method where a scalpel is used to cut through the joint. The other is the guillotine clipper method where a set of special clippers detach the joint. Then surgical glue is placed to close the sites and the paws are bandaged.

Recovery isn't always easy because it is traumatic for the cat to lose it's claws. They are programmed to scratch and protect themselves with their claws. Complications can arise as well such as pain, tissue necrosis, back pain, infection and lameness. When you remove a cat's claws it changes how the cat walks and how it's paws meet the ground which can cause pain and has been described as being similar to wearing an uncomfortable pair of shoes. A human can always take the uncomfortable shoes off and buy a more comfortable pair where as the cat is now stuck with this pain and discomfort for the rest of it's life. Not only is it a painful procedure but declawing also can cause cats to change their behavior and to act out. They may stop using the litter box and no matter what you do they won't use it anymore. Another common behavior change is cats becoming biters because they no longer have their claws for self defense so they feel extra vulnerable and become aggressive.

I believe declawing is absolutely unnecessary and that there are other measures that can be taken. So you have a cat that is scratching on furniture and you're thinking your only option is to declaw it or re-home it. Be patient and try these things instead:

- Trim your cat's nails. It is not very difficult there are even videos on YouTube to show you how. If you really can't do it yourself then take your cat to the Vet and let them do it for you.

- Try bitter smelling sprays like Keep Off to stop your cat from clawing that one spot on the couch. My cat's HATE the smell. All I do is spray it on the side of the couch and they avoid that area.

- Provide your cat with plenty of cardboard or carpeted scratching posts that you can buy at your local pet store. Also have lots of toys and spend time playing with your cat so that they don't get bored.

Declawing is another example of humans ruining a beautiful animal that is perfect the way it is. How do you feel about declawing? Winston hates it.

On a lighter note here are a couple pictures of the cats.

The kitties say have a great week!

Winston Is Ready for Fall

Sundays are definitely mine and Winston's favorite days. We not only get to sleep in but we can do absolutely nothing all day if we feel like it! It's a nice change in pace because I have been pretty busy the past couple months planning some things and also making some life changes for the better. Winston is super excited (okay, not as excited as I am!) that this coming Saturday, October 5th is Puggerfest here in OKC and you can bet I will be taking plenty of pictures which I will post on here! This will be our first Puggerfest and the theme is pirates so tomorrow I need to go find some kind of costume for Winston which I am excited for. Any excuse to dress Winston up is awesome to me. Not only will I be attending Puggerfest on Saturday but I will be participating in the Color Run 5k that morning. I am really looking forward to BOTH events and can't wait to share my experiences with you guys. I am going to finish this post off with a funny video of Winston thinking the cat toy is his. I will have a Meow Monday post up tomorrow with an update on the cats! Have a great weekend and make sure to check back tomorrow.

Getting Back Into This

Sorry for being a major slacker with this blog but I promise that I am now ready to get back into it! It's been a busy couple months and Winston and I have some exciting things going on the next few weeks. I will have a more official post tomorrow afternoon and then Monday I will have a Meow Monday post to update you on the life of the cats. Then on Winston Wednesday I will have an adorable video with some great updates! Again, I apologize for being lame and not keeping up with this blog but I am at a point where things have slowed down a bit and I can jump back into this full swing. So please check back tomorrow afternoon for some great stuff. Have a great night and great weekend.

Winston Wednesday

Today marks my first official Winston Wednesday post! From now on every Wednesday there will be a Winston Wednesday post which will include some pictures and a video of Winston as well as an update. Also there will be another weekly post on Sundays that will be a weekly health post each time about a different health topic in pets. Some will be longer more in depth posts while others will be more brief. And to top it all off on Mondays I will be doing weekly Meow Monday posts giving an update on the three cats which will include pictures and the occasional video. I would also like to do an occasional product review on this blog.

Lets start off the first Winston Wednesday!

First off, I do not have a new video this time around because I got lazy and kept forgetting to charge the camera. Sorry! So here is an older one from about a year ago.

So how has Winston been since my last post? Well, he has started on a diet because unfortunately he has gotten overweight which is really common for Pugs. He started on the Hills Science Diet Metabolic Diet which is high in protein and guaranteed to help him become healthier again. I think he has been on it for about 3 weeks now and he hasn't lost anything so hopefully next week when I weigh him again he has started to lose some! Otherwise he is a happy boy like always and I am hoping to have some time this weekend or next to get him together with the neighbors dogs again to play so I can post more cute pictures of them together. Alright, so this is a brief Winston Wednesday but I am going to leave you with some cute pictures of my handsome boy.

I hope you enjoyed the first Winston Wednesday and check back on Sunday for the first health post!

Crazy Wrestling Cats

I hope everyone had a great Monday! I just wanted to make another quick little post to share some things that will be coming up within the next week on here. I am going to be going into detail on dental hygiene in your pets and also talking about Winston's new diet he started. So keep an eye out for those this week. Also it would be awesome if I could get more subscribers on here and make sure to click the links on the right to follow me on other social media sights! Now I am going to leave you with this awesome video of Charlie and Jasper.

If you enjoyed that then make sure to check out a longer video of them playing on my YouTube account!

It Has Been Awhile

Sorry I have slacked on posting on here but I have been lazy and kind of down the past month. So to make up for my absence I wanted to share this adorable video of Winston after his birthday. So here is the video:

We had Bella and S'mores over to play with Winston on his birthday and he had a blast! As far as the cats they have been great. 

Well that is all I am going to post tonight but I should have two new posts this next week so keep an eye out for those!

Happy Birthday Winston

Today is Winston's third birthday! I cannot believe it! I love him very much and since I don't have children he is my child and he has brought me a lot of joy. I will post pictures and a video of him playing with S'mores and Bella tomorrow. Here are a few pictures from the past that melt my heart.