Prozac Kitty

So Woody has been on Prozac for about a week now, and I have noticed considerably less fur loss and I have not seen him pee outside the litterbox. Hooray!

But that doesn't mean the smell is gone.

I used an entire gallon of "Wee Gone" which I did like, however I think that we've just got some deep set stains in our shag carpet that it's going to take more than (literally) pouring a gallon of crap onto to fix.

This weekend will be another weekend of deep cleaning the carpet which seems to help.

I just ordered 2 pints of Anti Icky Poo! Starter Kit and supposedly this stuff is like the end-all for cat pee cleanup. Better be since I spent like $50 between that and the little feliway spray. I'm not to the point of the plug-in crap but if I get there I'll let you know.

Since I'm pretty sure it's miss Elphie doing the peeing, she'll be seeing the vet in 2 weeks (and my wallet will be crying from its' black eye after the fact I'm sure). Why can't my cats have some cheap thing? No, it's always gonna be $150 when they get a UTI when all is said and done. Thank God I don't still have Banfield.

I have also learned over the past few weeks that my newest cats are totally used to a feeding time. Even though I leave dry food out for them, if I stand in the kitchen for more than.. oh, thirty seconds.. they think it's feeding time. So I've been implementing a feeding time with wet food once a day, either in the morning or at night (when I have time). They love it (Remmy cries for food less), but I'm probably not helping the fact that Remmy is a little fatty.

I leave you with a picture of Indy from last week. No, I'm not choking him (even though sometimes that sounds slightly tempting). He's getting his ear and his neck rubbed at the same time - the only thing that gets him totally calm.

Why I Dropped Banfield - What You Can Learn

Banfield is one of the largest pet hospitals in the country. PetSmart has a good thing going – they’ve got an in-house groomer, veterinarian, boarding kennel; the works.

When I first adopted Elphie, I went to Banfield because it was the closest vet to my house (and Elphie gets car sick). They sold me on their all-inclusive $32/month plan that would include all her exams and shots every year. When she had her first accidents from a bladder infection, all the included tests seemed to be a great savings, especially from their print-out showing what I *would* otherwise be paying compared to what I was paying. The difference was over a thousand dollars. If I joined Banfield that day for either $384 or $32/month, the sleu of tests they wanted to run would be under $100.

When I adopted Indy, I was told that kitten plan took care of his neutering, all his initial shots and vaccinations, and his microchip. I joined, however still ended up paying *some* amount every time I went to the vet. 

One of Banfield’s dirty little secrets is that while it states that procedures on the plans are included, they aren’t all-inclusive. For example, the kitten plan states that your kitten will be neutered or spayed, and this is included in the plan. When I paid for Indy’s “included” services and the total was $85, I asked why – apparently the anesthesia and other medications to calm him weren’t included. Oh, because you wouldn’t anticipate anesthesia being included when you’re neutering an animal? I would take him in for the “included” care, knowing it would be around $100 when I walked out the door for various costs that were not covered. Still, when I saw the comparison of what I supposedly would have paid not being on this plan, I figured it was okay. I now know that I could have taken Indy to a clinic or the humane society and had him neutered for around half what I paid, without paying the $35/month fee for something that was supposed to be “included”.

During all this, Elphie continued to get bladder infections and the bills continued to come in. I always said I wouldn’t be one of “those people” – however, when I added it up and found that due to her repeated infections I had spent over $2500 treating her in one year, I went to my mother in law’s veterinarian of 17 years for a second opinion.

This vet actually took time to understand what was going on with Elphie; he asked what her litter type was, how many boxes we had, how her behavioral patterns had changed since getting Indy, and what type of water she drank. He did conclude that she had a bladder infection but was the first vet to actually address the underlying problem: crystals in her urine from crappy food and deposits in the water. He explained that when you’re not on a prescription diet, you could be feeding your cat the same food on the outside – but with the economy companies are trying to save money and are substituting cheaper additives and fillers on the inside. Since getting Elphie on a distilled water and prescription diet, we’ve only encountered one infection in almost two years, as opposed to four a year like she was having before.

Banfield has been accused of over-vaccinating and medicating. It’s clear that they are out to make as much money as possible. It’s no discount on service when you’re still paying $35 a month regardless of if your pet is seen or not. Their markup on services for people who aren’t “members” is ridiculous compared to other local veterinarians. For instance, when I adopted my late uncle’s cats, my vet ran tests for both of them and had them put on antibiotics for their kennel sicknesses at a fraction of the cost that Banfield previously prescribed medications and treatment for my cats, without any “membership” fee. There was no pushing, guilt tripping, and they explained everything they did and why.

Clearly, this is my own experience with Banfield. Also, this doesn't reflect my opinion of PetSmart - I choose PetSmart for my pet products over Petco due to the allegations of animal abuse and neglect within the chain. PetSmart provides a better overall shopping experience, and I can get my prescription food there. However, Google “complaints with Banfield” and you can find hundreds of other pet owners who are at least as dissatisfied, if not more so.  I try to be very cautious of veterinarians since I have seen friends repeatedly getting taken for a ride;  their emotions played on when it comes to their pet. However, I definitely feel that Banfield pushes unnecessary procedures, costs far more in veterinary bills in the long run, and may not always be looking out for the best interest of your pet. Yes, there are veterinarians and technicians who work for Banfield whom I believe care about your animals, but when their own staff and PetSmart employees tell you that you should look for another vet because their own pets were over-vaccinated and medicated, it’s time to move on.

Unhappy Remmy.

Oh, Remmy.


This was Remmy last night as I was about to head to sleep.

Yeah... that's how my cat sleeps.

This was the look I got this morning when Remmy realized I was going back to work.

I literally was *whined* at the entire time I was getting ready for work. The big eyes and whine.. whine.. whine.. then meow meow meow. Like.. "Really, Mom? You just started figuring out how this works: You stay home with me all day and I'm happy. And now you're going back to work?"

So of course all day, while I was feeling (still) sick at work.. I missed being in bed with my kitties. Luckily they were extra snuggly when I got home.

Although, I had to peel Elphie away from Twitter...

Doctor's Visits and Sox Wins

I went back to the doctor today.  I think it's super cool that that her dad is the head doctor at the practice. They get to work together and that is awesome.

I'm on 4 new drugs, and the antibiotic is supposed to attack the upper respiratory issues more vigorously. Here's to hoping... and to hoping the earache that came on suddenly tonight goes away.

There are two guys in my life that knew just what it would take to make me feel better at just the right moment today. The first was my brother, who took me to Chronic Tacos for some killer flautas (even if it did kill my diet for the day).
If you don't know what Chronic Tacos is or have never been there, then you might as well stop living because what left is there?

Chronic Tacos is a super awesome Mexican place where you can find everyone drinking at noon and there are rumors as to why the restaurant (which originated in Newport Beach) was named "Chronic" to begin with. All that aside, it's down right awesome Mexican food and I'm so happy more and more Chronic Tacos are opening up. This poster is what caught my eye today:

That's right, suckers. A frigging BOUQUET of FLAUTAS.

I mean, really. How can it get any better? Ohhh how I wish I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight. But eating disorders and I don't get along well. I think.

Anyway, the other man.. men.. in my life who know how to cheer me up are the ever so wonderful/heart wrenching/stressful/amazing/boneheaded/fantastic/losers/champion Boston Red Sox. In particular (since Tek was benched), thanks go out to Kevin Youkilis for knowing how to bring it, cuz he brought it, and it was good. Sure we're 5 1/2 games back and Papi is completely killing us, but hey, I won't look a gift 17-8 victory in the mouth.

 Scutaro tagging Hunter at 2nd. I'm sorry, Angel Fans, but "ALCS Repeat" What?

Thanks also go out to li'l Dusty Pedroia for stepping up to the plate after going 0 and 4 and hitting a home run (I called it, by the way. You can thank me later).

What a time for Boston sports, huh? And here I am in California with California "sports fans." (They think I am crazy. Little do they know where I come from, this is nothing.)

Anyways, hopefully I get to go back to work Wednesday. It's a bad sign when you miss work. Really, I miss normal life. But I leave you today with the awesomest thing ever. After over 20 years of waiting, I was finally able to buy my own Mokey Fraggle plush today. About 3 weeks ago I bought a hand puppet from the UK (as you can find the other Fraggles here but of course not Mokey) and my Mom bought Gobo for me. I took some super lame video teasing the cats with it that I'll have to share.

Anyway - I have literally wanted a plush Mokey since I was.. maybe 3? And now I will FINALLY have her. HOORAY! You know you want one!!!

Woody "Helps" When I'm Sick

Kitties Love So Cal

The kitties love Sunday afternoons in So Cal... much better than Connecticut :-)

And to my Connecticut friends.. I am not necessarily talking about the weather :-)

Sickies.

I've been sick since Monday afternoon, and it blows.

I was sitting at my desk, minding my own business, Monday morning. I had made lunch plans with a friend for 12:30, like we normally do. Around 11:45, it hit me...

I never get a fever, but the chills, then the sweats, the aches and the burning hit me. I canceled lunch plans, saying I was too busy to go, and ate at my desk. I kept asking my cube mate if it was hot in our office or just me (we have very irregular heat in our 50 year old building). Then I realized that the headache I'd had since the night before was an indicator that I was really getting sick. The migraine I had called in sick with 2 weeks before was also probably an indication that I was coming down with something. I was literally counting down the minutes that made up the 6 hours until I got home. Once I got to 2, I knew I could not stay any longer and left.

I stopped at Target to buy a thermometer and cold medicine and barely made it down the aisle. When I got home, I collapsed on the couch in tears. I can't tell you another time that I felt this completely sick.

The bed was my entire existance for the next two days. Tuesday.. Wednesday.. blurred together. The guilt of calling in to work probably just made things worse (and checking my piling up email from home didn't help). Thursday, when I could still not get out of bed, I had to find a way to drag myself to the doctor. Long story short(er), I've got strep, sinus pressure, a doozy of the flu, an infection, and am on 4 different medications (and swigs of cough syrup), and a doctor's note putting me out of work until Monday.

Here are the 3 biggest bummers of my week of being sick:

1) I'm a huge Fraggle Rock fan since I was all of 2 years old, and I missed Karen Prell and Red Fraggle at Free Comic Book Day (it's been my dream to see any Fraggle in person since I was running around the house singing the songs in my underwear 23 years ago.. no, not recently you weirdo)
Epic photos here and here.

2) Photographing the Saddleback College Ladies' Softball game tonight (which also cost me $35 on the rented lens I wasn't well enough to pick up). I'm trying to get my feet wet in shooting sports photography and this was totally exciting - of course I come down with the flu. (Blog post will come soon on my business website here.)

3) Shooting a wedding tomorrow with my awesome friend Kim. Kim is my constant go-to 2nd shooter along with my other good friend Justin. I invite them to all my weddings I shoot as I love their style and it consistently compliments mine. She shot a wedding with me a month ago and it was amazing. I was finally able to repay the favor, and now I can't stand. Nice, huh? She's also an amazing concert photog... we are similar in that we shoot weddings and portraits to make the money, but she shoots concerts and I want to shoot sports because it's what we *love*. :-)

Here's one of my favorite photos she's taken.. Owl City!

So, long story short, being sick sucks. Just one weekend of being out of commission did all this to me - let alone all the cleaning and laundry to be done at home.. and oh, I am just dreading my inbox when I go to work on Monday!

Well, the plus side to being in bed is how obsessed my cats have been over me (well, three out of four). Elphie has been next to me constantly, Woody follows me around the house, and is always laying on top of me, Remmy is always lying next to me, and Indy stays upstairs and patrols the house. Kitty loving did my body good as it healed.. so thankful for that! :-) And being able to catch up on my soaps. Just saying.

Coming up soon on the business blog I'll have those Saddleback College photos along with some headshots I took of my mom-in-law last weekend. Until then, I've got a CD Recommendation for you: Deas Veil.

Deas Veil is an amazing band that I saw open for Copeland a month or so ago. You should definitely check them out! They have a great sound (think Sleeping at Last/Eisley/Ruth/mellow Relient K (yes there is such a thing)/Owl City). Great yet unique. Definitely worth a listening to!