Happy St. Patrick's Day!


For the past few months of winter, we have been lucky and not seen any snowfall at all. However, these pictures clearly reflect that winter has come to Central Ohio albeit for a very short period as this weather did not stick around for long. This has been the mildest winter for many years.

The picture on the left is the old barn/corn crib at the front of our property. We use it to store the hay bales that we get from haying our pastures. During the winter months, we take the horses off the pasture to allow the ground to recover and put them in a corral with shelter, and we feed them the hay from our fields. It sure saves us a few dollars not having to buy hay all year long. When we lived in Colorado, we had to buy about 9 tons of hay every year to feed our horses - it was very expensive. Now that we have our pastures, we let the horses graze on one of them and pay a local farmer to cut and bale the other two pastures. That's about a $900 per year savings!!! Gee, I wonder where that extra $900 is? It certainly is not in my pocket. We sure are looking forward to this March and hopefully the start of some better weather.

Urination Problems

Part 2 of 2

Is your cat urinating outside of the litterbox or straining to urinate? Is your cat not able to pee? Any cat not able to pee (a blocked cat) must be brought to the veterinarian immediately as this is a life-threatening situation. If your cat is blocked, it will be immediately unblocked by the vet. After your cat is unblocked, or if the vet finds that it is some other problem, the cat will undergo a thorough diagnostic workup.

This workup will include a urinalysis, urine culture, complete blood count, biochemistry panel (liver, kidneys, electrolytes) ultrasound and possible x-rays. This is the minimal testing necessary to diagnosis the cause of disease correctly. A complete blood count will look for evidence of systemic inflammation/infection or anemia. A biochemistry panel will help identify other co-existing conditions that might be exacerbating the clinical signs. A sterile urine sample must be obtained via inserting a needle into the cat's bladder to draw out the urine. The urine is analyzed with a particular machine and examined underneath a microscope for cancer cells, crystals, mucus plugs, white blood cells, red blood cells, protein, and bacteria. Not all bacteria can be seen under a microscope, which is why a urine culture will determine if any bacteria are present in the urine. Urinary tract infections are uncommon in cats and occur 12% to 25% of the time. Radiographs are necessary to determine if stones are present in the bladder or the urethra. Ultrasound allows the vet to view the bladder wall and determine if sediment (crystals) or stones are present.

With these test results, the veterinarian will have a better understanding as to what is causing your cat's urinary tract issues. The unfortunate part is that only a small minority of cats will have an abnormal test. So what disease might your cat have?

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this article.

Teeth Care

Starting while the cat is a kitten, they should have their teeth brushed. Kittens begin to get their baby or temporary teeth at about 2-3 weeks of age. Their permanent teeth usually start to come in at about 3 - 4 months of age, and all of their adult teeth should be in by about eight months of age. Brushing a cat's teeth is not as hard as one might think and just like trimming a cat's claws, it is something both the owner and the cat can become accustomed to with a little practice.

Did You Know?

Hebrew folklore believes that cats came about because Noah was afraid that rats might eat all the food on the ark. He prayed to god for help. God responded by making the lion sneeze a huge sneeze --- and out came a little cat!!

Researchers have tried mouse-flavored cat food, the cats who tried it - refused to eat it.

Cats born without tails (like Manx) genetically, have a shorter spine and longer rear legs than other breeds of cats.

When in France, make sure you do not cross a babbling brook carrying a cat. It is considered bad luck.

"There is no more intrepid explorer than a kitten." ~ Jules Champfleury

Litter Box

For more information, please visit our website . Review the pages under the Placement tab and if you would like to be considered for one of our Persian kittens, please fill out and submit the on-line Application.

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