Kat,
Thanks for the suggestions regarding Starman. I do have some CS
somewhere in the house, I'll have to look for it. I got it a while ago
and chickened out in trying it. I'm already adding RR and BioPlasma to
his water, should I put all three in there, or just the CS?
When I met Star I judged him to be about 4 or 5 years old. The vet
thought he might be more like 2. I was a bit skeptical, and she said,
it's been a very hard 2 years for him. The kittenish look on his face
now, sure does make him seem younger!
What a great idea about the vanilla! Thanks for the tip. I bet that
would help for return home trips from the vet. You know, when the best
of friends hiss at each other because they smell like the vet's office.
I can't keep the bedroom closed off, it's the personal territory of
Timmy, the last of the kittens from my felv litter. I did just have a
talk with Tim and asked him if he'd be so kind as to vacate the bedroom
for a few minutes so Starman could come in for a little while. He
jumped off the bed and, even though he didn't seem esp happy about it,
he complied. I opened the window and Star came in the bedroom for the
very first time. He checked the joint out, sniff, sniff, sniffing
everything. There are some powerful doggy/kitty smells in there! He
wandered over to our GSD, Zevon's bed and threw himself down, rubbing
and rolling in ecstasy. You'd have thought someone had sprinkled catnip
all over the bed! So cute! He hopped on the bed when I asked him to
and spent about 5 minutes watching himself and me cuddle in the mirror.
Such a fella! After about 10 minutes I asked if he were ready to go
back outside and he hopped back out.
As far as talking to my guys... I do it all the time. They get pretty
fed up with me always bringing in someone in need, but they love me, so
they indulge me. I have started telling Star that he needs to change
his attitude toward my cats. He had a pretty good "conversation" with
my littlest guy Pistol Pete through the fencing of the habitat. I also
asked him if it would be okay to let one of my smaller dogs into the
habitat with him. He seemed okay with the idea, so I let Zelda (JR
Terrier x), in to investigate. Star watched with very little interest
from one of the higher shelves. All this has me feeling a little more
optimistic. I'm still going to look for a more appropriate forever home
for him. Try as I might, my numbers keep on climbing!
I'm so glad to have you guys to turn to when I get discouraged,
Nina
Kat wrote:
Nina,
Get some Collidal Silver to put in his water to help him get over his URI.
I usually use 20 ppm strength, and just add a dropperful to the water dish
each time I change the water. Once he is not sounding so congested, have
him neutered. Being that he is an older Tom, it may take 6 weeks for all
the hormones to get out of his body, but this should help - the others are
probably reacting to his "entact-ness".
Can you keep your bedroom (temporarily) closed off for a week so that when
you open the window to let Star in (after surgery and the 6 week waiting
period), he can move around the room and get used to being inside? Then
when he wants out, you can let the others in to start getting used to him
being inside too. (Sort of like swapping bedding around to get everyone
used to each others smells first.)
Then, get some feliway spray (comfort zone plug-ins) and some cooking
vanilla. Dab the cooking vanilla on EVERYONE (dogs included) both on the
back of their necks and at the base of their tails - this will help
everyone smell the same. The vanilla is non-toxic and can be re-applied
whenever you feel like you need it again.
All the while (starting now), talk to everyone and tell them what you are
doing, why you are doing it, and ask them for their help and co-operation
in this matter. And listen for anything that comes up - they will need to
be reassured and know that they are not being "left out" of the process.
Then, GO FOR IT!! You can do it! They will help. (And so will we, but
you already knew that.)
Kat (Mew Jersey)
