the cat lady

I too can understand the problems with cats breeding unchecked. I have a neighbour who over the years has had many cats and kittens come and go. Sometimes they will have a cat a few months, maybe a year, they may have kittens, the cats and kittens seem to hang around until they "run away" or just disappear. Desexing or veterinary care is not on their radar. I recently found one of their latest cats, who had given birth to 3 tiny kittens in my dog kennel overnight. I am so thankful that I noticed the tiny bundles before I let the dog out! I have never been even close to this mother cat, as she was extremely nervous and would dart away as soon as she saw me. But, she was obviously starving and grateful to have some food from anyone. I managed to grab her while she was eating, and move the kittens inside.... away from the dog. Over the last 10 weeks I have had the joy of watching those kittens grow, they have moved on to beautiful homes, where their new families keep me updated. Mother cat has turned out to be very sooky and now loves my company. She is staying with me and is booked in for desexing this week. Neighbours were glad to be rid of mother cat. They have one more cat I believe to be male. I have spoken to them and their adult children about the cat situation, and they have said there will be no more cats...... I can only wait and see.

Our little dog has had much trouble with fungal infections in his ears related to his allergies over the past 18 months. A one stage it felt like we would use the dermotic ear drops for 2 weeks only to have the infection back a few weeks later. WE visited the specialist centre in Sydney where the vet advised we use the drops for about 4 weeks. She said we did not have to aim it right down into the ear, as it was quite oily and to give the ear a massage and the drops would work their way down. His ears are quite hairy, and they always looked oily while we were doing it. The ears did clear after 4 weeks. In conjection with diet for his allergies which are under control we have not had much trouble with his ears since then.

I have noticed in our household that if the cat is confident and dog savy there is hope that they will get along. Our 15yo cat is very savy, and always approaches the dog with confidence and walks very slowly and deliberately and looks the dog in the eye. Our dog seems to have a certain amount of respect for the cat, however, if Big Hercules (cat) tries to run then its every man (cat and dog) for himself I would never leave them inside unsupervised together I just can't trust them I have seen them close by each other in the yard, but as soon as one of the family goes outside the cat must leave. Our dog has no respect for neighbourhood roaming cats and they are all dispatched quickly with great drama

Great website, I'll give them a call Thanks for your help

Hi, I have been reading about groomers on dol and some of the problems others have encountered. As the time comes to have our dog clipped for summer I was wondering if there were any local Novacastrians who could recommend a good groomer. Our dog is 7 yrs old, and we have had him for 12 months, he is a rescue, and I am not sure how he will react to being groomed, so someone with experience and compassion would be great. He is a good dog, but is fussy about his ears being touched - (if he thinks you might hurt him around his head and ears, he may snap at you) I would prefer to be there when he is clipped Any recommendations would be appreciated Thankyou

If you're stuck for getting the quality you need, contact Kerrie at World Par-Tea. She sells on-line. I've spoken with her a few times (the first time to check on the purity of the Calendula she stocks) and from what I can gather it's a . I've done a "test patch" on his white fur, and all seems good..... I've started using it on his face and snout (black, tan & white) as he is itchy there. Funny thing though, he seems to love the taste of it!! As soon as I put the jug of tea down, his tongue goes in and he's drinking like he's dying of thirst!! By the way it does wonders for the itch!

We lost 2 of our cats and our dog last year. I don't know which of them it is, as all of them had curled up on the end of the bed at some period of their lives, but I have felt one of them jump on the bed and walk across my legs. I immediately thought, Oh, that's just the cat! Then remembered that our one remaining cat was sleeping in the laundry. We now have another dog who has taken up residence on the end of the bed, I haven't felt anything for a while. My daughter often says when she visits that she can feel Lexi (the dog) in our house. It's kind of nice to think they are still around us

Thanks Erny The tea I purchased was from a health food shop, it was scooped from a sack into an unlabled brown paper bag.... I guess I'll be calling them before I give the dog an all over soaking!!

Just wondering how the calendula tea goes on a white dog. It has a yellow colour, does this tend to send their coat a yellow or "dirty" colour. I have used the calendula on itchey feet with some successs. Our dog is quite "itchy" and a frequent bath or wash seems to ease thy itching.

Our daughter and son in law had a problem with one of their dogs jumping the 6ft colourbond fencing. He seemed to do it when they were out(maybe separation anxiety, even though they had another dog for company).They would find blood on the fence and no dog, so he was harming himself in his struggle to go over that fence. He is not dog aggressive, but was looking for human company. They installed an electric fence, and only needed to have it on for a few days. Now, since they have moved they only have the tape around the fence line.... it is not hooked up, just the sight of the white tape is enough to deter him.

I think we must be at a similar point to you with the elimination diet. I was happy to read that your dog is sleeping, playing and being a more "normal" dog. We too are experiencing this with our boy. We are week 5 into the diet, and for the last 4 weeks have been giving our boy ear drops for a constantly recurring ear infection (I think we are wining with his ears as well). We have backed off the cyclsporine to every 2nd day now, and even though he has started to chew at his feet a little, his general demenour has noticably changed. He is happy, bright and playful, was never relly interested in toys but now is always dropping something at our feet for a game. He sleeps through the night without hardly a movement all night (I know this because he is by the bed) he is better behaved and just happier all round.

Great to read this thread. I have a little sheltie X who is currently into week 5 of the sweet potatoe and kangaroo diet. We have had him 9 months, and he is 7 yrs old. His scratching has been under control during winter with the use of cyclsporine and the odd cortisone injection to combat the flare ups. One of the aims during the 6 weeks of diet is to reduce his cyclsporine, however, as soon as I start to decrease his dosage he starts to chew at himself again. One of our biggest worries with him is that due to his allergies he has recurring ear infections, due to increased wax. I was glad to read the suggestion of the kangaroo tails... would the dried ones be OK? I too can see the tartar building up on his teeth, and his breath, well, that's a whole other issue. We have never had a dog with these severe allergies before, and yes it does hurt the wallet $$$$ I am not convinced that diet is his issue, I think it is more environmental, but time will tell (I hope) it may be a combination?? I would love to hear your outcomes Redangel when your diet trial is over thanks

I second the small amounts, we discovered this the hard way! Our boy loves sardines, however sardines, do not like him. It will be a while before we are ready to try sardines again... I have to wait for my memory of many runny poos in the house (when we were not quick enough) and in the yard (minefield) to fade away

What a great thread. I just wanted to add that some years ago I was assisting with transport of dogs from the pound to about 3 different rescue groups in sydney. Being a bit nieve and just wanting to help the animals, I was anaware of the massive risk I was taking. I know it was my responsibility and I should have been more aware and cautious, but these animals were transported just in our family car. None of the rescue groups ever mentioned the importance of using crates that could be properly cleaned, or the risks involved with possible parvo. I imagine there are a lot of people out there doing the same thing. None of the rescue groups asked how I would be transporting (crates etc) or suggested any method of cleaning up, I guess they were just happy for someone to do it. In hindsight it would have been great to have had information about possible risks and how to avoid them. I'm not sorry I did the transport and would do it again, if I were in a position to do so, but it is always better to be informed.

Thanks to all those who replied with your recommendations. I will look into a few of these clinics. Jumabaar, thanks for the tip about the allergies, he is prone to allergies and was scratching and biting himself as a result. I thought we mostly had it under control, he only scratches occasionally now and nearly all his bald patches are growing hair again. Looks like the allergies are not as controlled as I thought. We are using antibiotic drops in his ears now to try to clear up yet another infection, but his ears are so sore he can't stand us putting the drops in, he has to be muzzled. They are very swolllen and the opening is very narrow and I wonder just how effective the drops are, and if they are in fact getting to the source of the infection.

Thanks for the info on Earthborn Holistic Coastal Watch. We have been working hard with our boy and his allergies. We have managed to mostly stop him scratching and chewing using mostly vegies and chicken and a bit of Royal Canin low allergy dry food. I know he is not "cured", but a work in progress. He is having trouble with recurring ear infections, which is related to the allergies, so I will be giving the Coastal Watch a try. Thanks

Thanks for that perygrine. I had forgotten about Phillip Adams, we have used him before (about 15 years ago) when we first moved into the area. He was very kind to our old dog way back then. Unfortunately at that time we had no alternative than to PTS, but he was very kind and understanding. That was before the new clinic, and I think there was only l other vet at that time. Thanks

Hi All I was hoping to get some recommendations for an excellent vet in the Newcastle area. My little dog has seemingly one ear infection after another (at present recurring every 3 weeks). We adopted our dog 6 months ago and his ears have been a problem from day one. He's 6 years old. I am hoping to find a vet who will look for answers to the problem, rather than one who just hands out the antibiotics without searching for the reason why this is constantly happening. Your recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Yes, I too had some "buyers remores". We adopted Hamish who was 6yrs old approx 6 months ago. The remorse set in after he snapped at me on day 1, and the bit my husband on day 2, drawing blood. I did have second thoughts, but gave him the benefit of the doubt, setting in, new surrounds and people. As time passed he did settle but I came to realise he was allergic to "everything". Many vet visits and lots of $$$ later, I think we are getting a handle on it. Funny thing is I didn't think I was bonding with this dog, until we were planning a short holiday, and I just couldn't get excited about it, until I realised I didn't want to leave him at home. I was worried about him. Now that I have done some research I have him booked into a lovely "pet resort" I feel a whole lot better about our holiday. Sometimes they worm their way into your hearts without you even realising it.

Our Hamish is not displaying any of the symptoms you mentioned, just lots of head flapping and scratching at it. The soreness seems to be improving a little, however nowhere near back to normal. The vet gave me the antibiotic drops and wants to see him again in 2 weeks. An ear flush under anaesthetic has never been mentioned, however I may suggest it as I can't see how the ears can successfully be cleaned while the dog is muzzled and snarling, and trying to escape and generally being unco-operative. Thanks for you comments

I was very interested and timely to read the comments about the ear flushes. As the owner of a dog that suffers from allergies, ear infections seem to be an ongoing problem . His itching seems to be under control at the moment with the help of daily cyclosporyn tablets however we are still struggling with the ear infections. Which brings me to ask... we have been trying to clear up his current "infection" for the last 3 weeks with antiboitics. I took him back to the vet last week as we should have been seeing results by then. He "cleaned" out the ears, and said that there was a "plug of muck" which would have been preventing the antiboitics from getting to the root of the problem. While he was "cleaning" the ears I noticed that the cotton tips were blood stained, not old blood but bright red. Could he have perforated the ear drum? or done some other damage? This particular ear is now sooo sore that even though he is muzzled to have the drops in anyway, the struggle to do anything with this ear is hazardous with snarling growling and attempted biting. (I will add that our Hamish does have a good temperament except when it comes to his ears!) Any thoughts would be helpful

The first dog we owned when we were married was a german shepherd. This dog was trouble on legs!! She was always fed outside, however, somehow managed to sneak inside with a lovely lamb shank...something to be savoured at a later time. After quite a few days of sniffing, and smelling, hunting and searching for the source of this ungodly smell, we found the treasure, neatly enveloped in the folds of a rarely used bean bag, in a spare room. After much gagging and coughing, and lots of disinfectant, the decision was made to dispose of the bean bag....quickly!! We have owned a few dogs since old Suzie but this is the most memorable treasure that we have found!

Thanks heaps for your suggestions. I just hate the thought of leaving him behind I'll go and have a look at some of these later this week

I don't know if this topic has been done before, so I will ask again anyway We will be away in June this year, and are looking for a boarding kennell for our little boy, in the Newcastle nsw area. He is 6yrs old, and a rescue dog that we have had since November last year. It had taken him a while to relax and settle into our home, and I am very reluctant to have to leave him for about 10 days He has a few "needs", medication each day, a bland diet (which I am happy to supply), his bedding changed every 2-3 days (I will also supply this). He has allergies, which can flare up, and he would need to be "watched" so that if the allergies did flare, they could be addressed quickly. Once he gets into the rythm of scratching and biting himself, it's hard to stop. He's not particularly interested in playing with other dogs, but seems happy enough being with other small quiet dogs. Being June, it will be cold, so our pampered boy would not like to be in a cement kennell outdoors. I would greatly appreciate your comments and any advice you can give me Thanks in advance