[Akari_32]

Yes, every couple years half the appliances all die at the same time, at the worst possible time life can throw at us. Screw you, appliances, screw you! Lol

I’m very happy with how Ginger is doing now that she’s been on the denamarin for a while. Once we get all these water-spewing problems figured out, I’ll be getting back on mom about getting Ginger a dental.

[Akari_32]

It’s at least $150, and each tooth pulled in extra. Not to mention, the AC, toilet, and water heater all went out at the same time, all three beyond repair, spewing water everywhere. Fantastic *rolls eyes* That’s not helping the dental situation right now either lol

[Akari_32]

She won’t eat her food if it’s all dry. Hurts her mouth too much, I’d assume. She doesn’t mind a few crunchy pieces, so I figure it’s better than nothing with some of them still being hard. I do still have some mint flavored Denta Sticks that I had planned on donating. Maybe I could give her one of those every couple days, as well?

I did ask about the chewable Denamarin, but they apparently don’t have that.

The vet has been fine with doing the dental all along, it’s mom now that keeps going back and forth. After the blood work came came, he did say he wanted to do the Denamarin and Baytril for a while first, and then do the dental, but he’s never said he’s not wanted to do it (the other antibiotics, previously, were given on my request to at least help fend off some of the infection in her mouth some while I got more information, and then later, while I got mom on board). Mom’s the one keeping us from getting it done at this point. The dental is coming from her pocket, because I paid for the blood work. She’s doesn’t want anything to happen to Ginger while she’s under anesthesia, which I understand, but I do feel like it she would be ok at this point. Ginger’s almost completely different now, so much more spunkier, and actually wanting to do things. At this point, because it is moms dog, and money, all I can do it just bug her about it. Ginger’s do for a check up here in less than a week, and I have heart worm tests for the others to get done, so I’ll talk to the vet then and see what he says.

I have tried giving coconut oil before, but it upsets her stomach so bad that I don’t think it’d be wise to go down that road again LOL

[Akari_32]

It’s a molar, angled upwards a little bit. I think it’s also missing a set of roots. The vet said he’d be fine with giving her a dental, but mom doesn’t want to do it anymore because of how her blood work came back, even though she had wanted to do the denamarin for a month and do the dental. She changes her mind a lot. Maybe since Gingers doing so well on the denamarin she’ll change her mind again. It really does need to be done, however her mouth does smell a lot better these days. She’s just got normal dog breath, not rotting carcass breath lol

[Akari_32]

So mom just got home from work and informed me that Ginger lost a tooth. Since mom doesn’t want to do the dental, I’ve been trying to encourage some of her teeth to fall out on their own by not putting as much water in her food, and not letting it soak as long, so that about a quarter of her her food is still pretty crunchy. Apparently it’s working. Do you all think I’m doing the right thing, trying to make the yucky teeth fall out?

And for your viewing pleasure, heres a pic of the tooth that fell out 😉

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/10FE34BD-2B78-4A1F-A70B-45925C075FCE_zpsldnjaahc.jpg

[Akari_32]

Just picked up 80 pounds of cat liter for $31.01!

Pet Supermarket has 40lb boxes of Tidy Cats litter for $16.99, and I had a $5 off $25 purchase store coupon, and two $1.50 off any scoopable Tidy Cats, excluding Lightweight, coupons. Thats 39 cents a pound! 😀

[Akari_32]

LOL Mine are all used to it at this point. Mom’s come to at least accept my piles of dog food in the spare room, but still I can’t believe she even agreed to go for me the other day when I was sick! I feel your pain girl 😛

Oh, and IT’S HERE, IT’S HERE, IT’S HERE, IT’S HERE, IT’S HERE, IT’S HERE, IT’S HERE!!!!!!! My cat tree is here! Can’t wait to put it together 😀 Me and mom and gunna move stuff around in my room this weekend or next week :3

[Akari_32]

Just depends. You could always take a couple people with you, just in case. Make a day of it lol Some times the ones here will take a few at a time, some times they’ll only take one per person, per transaction.

[Akari_32]

My current batch of prey model raw for my cat costed me about 83 cents a day. Pork tender loin, beef shank steak, chicken necks, chicken liver, and beef sweetbreads.

I pack it all up in to one day portions, and freeze it. Then I just remove a new container from the freezer and put it in the fridge every day. No cooking needed :p

[Akari_32]

Ugh, so I’ve been sick in bed for 5 days, and had planned on getting some sale goodies at work today, but had to call off. So I had mom run out and do my couponing for me, because today was the last day of the sale. So I sent her to Publix to pick up 6 of the BOGO 4lb bags of Purina One dog food. They go for $8.49 a bag, and I had 6x $3 off any size bag coupons. After tax and coupons, it was $9.25 for all 6 bags (24 lb). Not too bad! Now fingers crossed I don’t have to call out of work friday @.@

[Akari_32]

Hey girl! Haven’t gotten it yet. Hasn’t even been shipped out yet! If it’s not shipped out by monday, I’ll email them and check it out. I paid big bucks for that sucker– I want iiiiiiiiit!!!! *dies*

Since I’ve been spending so much on the critters, I’ve not even been opening any emails from Amazon, PetFlow, PetSmart, PetCo…. No more spending money for me! LOL I know Bobby Dog uses Innova Nature’s Table for her cats, and I’ve used the EVO canned for my guy (it’s high in fat, so maybe not a good choice if you’ve got a fatty lol).

Glad he’s doing well! Have you tried Friskies Special Diet to help keep the cost down? The Turkey & Gizzards and Beef & Chicken ones aren’t too bad, and PetSmart has them on sale for 45 cents a can right now 😉 Halo also still has their $2 off any can of Vigor coupon, and they are $1.99 each at PetCo, so all you pay is tax!

[Akari_32]

Thanks! I’m glad she’s feeling better 🙂 For now, she’s still on JM for now. I tried to figure out the Balance It website, or to contact the vets the made up the home made liver diets, but I can’t manage either :/ There are concerns that the potatoes in the home made liver diet would be too inflammatory for her joint issues (even on JM she’s back to limping and being a bit stiff again, but still has spunk enough to goof off and go up and down steps, so I don’t think I’d even be able to combat the potatoes with suppliments, etc), so I’m pretty reluctant to take her off it. If she’s doing this well just 22 day into Denamarin and still on a “regular” food, I can only assume that she’ll continue to do better even longer like this. I don’t know enough about canine nutrition, medications and prescription diets to really say for sure though.

[Akari_32]

Hi guys! I’m noticing some great improvements in Gingers over all mindset the last several days. She’s been waking up earlier, between 9 and 11 am, rather than her usual 12 to 1, and she’s been up and about more often during the day. She’s also been doing much better about pottying in the house. She’s also been very happy to walk around the corner and back when we go out for potty breaks, rather than digging her feet in and refusing to go further than necessary to pee and go back in the house. She’s also put all her weight back on (and seems quite determined to put even more on because she’s demanding snacks all the time! LOL), and mom has even gotten her to play a little bit 🙂 She’s get 8 days of Denamarin left, so I’ll be talking to the vet about maybe keeping her on it. As soon as I’m done being sick, I’ll be getting the others in for shots/HW tests, as well as Gingers check up @.@

[Akari_32]

First feeding in the elevated bowls went really well! Haley wasn’t really sure what to do with it at first. She took a few bites, and then backed off and looked at me “Like what exactly am I supposed to do with this??”, so I took some coaxing to get her to finish. Dweezle, of course, almost knocked his over, because, well, he’s a bit of a derp LOL Then he left a couple pieces in his bowl because he couldn’t see in it, so I had to point it out to him, in which case he promptly sucked them up like a vacuum cleaner, almost knocking the bowl over again :p Over all, they’re pretty sturdy, but not quite sturdy enough for a rowdy eater, and even Haley’s rattles some when she eats. I think I’ll have mom attach them each to a small sheet of plywood, to make them more stable.

[Akari_32]

Hey cat people! Just scored this awesome cat tree on Etsy for $140 after shipping! I love it, and it’s perfect for my little brat 🙂

https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1019228364

Now to figure out where it’s going to actually go….. lol

[Akari_32]

They do look really tall! I was worried they would be too tall for Haley, but I went ahead and got them anyways, and they are actually only 15 inches :p (if you click on the photo to expand it, they look normal)

I wanted the blue placemat! Thats what caught my eye was the color, but I didn’t see that they sent you a random color until after I had decided to get it lol Oh well, maybe the blood stains will just remind me to keep it clean *rolls eyes*

[Akari_32]

The first of my three Pet Mountain packages is here! The two elevated bowls, the water conditioner, and the cat’s new placemat. I was worried the bowls wouldn’t be sturdy enough, because Dweezle is a very enthusiastic eater, but I played with them a little bit, and they stand up pretty well! I imagine a couple times tipping it over will teach him to chill out and not act like a lunatic lol I also orginatlly wasn’t quite sold on the placemat, but the cat really likes to drag his food on my carpet (especially the red meats!), so it was something I really needed. I thought it was going to be hard, rigid plastic, but it’s actually rubbery, probably silicon. I do like it 🙂 (just wish they could have picked me out a nicer color…. lol)

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/733768A0-7A51-4B25-8CBA-20D605358E80_zpsxz90qyai.jpg

[Akari_32]

Thanks Dori 🙂

I have some news for you guys! I don’t know if its just a coincidence with the cooler weather, but the last two days, Ginger seems to be feeling great. She’s willingly walked around the front side walk, rather than just running out to pee, and then running frantically back into the house, and she’s been quite bossy about dinner time and things my cousins are doing (I’m pretty sure she barked for a solid hour this morning because the kids were goofing off and she didn’t appreciate it lol). It’s going to warm back up over the weekend, so we’ll see if this improvement, lasts, but I really hope it does. As much as I love a dog that sleeps all day, I like seeing her feel better.

I’m currently working out if a change in diet is going to benefit her in any way, and how the best way to go about it would be if I do decide to do it. I tell you, looking on how to balance home cooked dog food is a tiring business!

[Akari_32]

Online shopping is the best!

[Akari_32]

Every time I buy something from somewhere else, PetCo has their free shipping!!!!! Rude, PetCo. Rude.

In any event, Petmountain has their forever deal, free shipping at $75, and you combine it with their current 10% off coupon code, Happy, when you spend more than $84 (10% off $84 is $75.60). I just bought a new 36 inch 10.0 UV lamp for Rex, my Uromastyx, two elevated bowls for Haley and Dweezle, a neat exstend-o net for the pond, a fancy heavy duty place mat for the cat to hopefully not drag raw meat on my carpet, and a huge bottle of water conditioner for the tanks for 75 bucks. I bought so much stuff, and it’s all so big, that its coming in three separate packages, and totals 15 pounds LOL This does NOT include the four new bowls for Ginger and Bentley and the feeding tongs for the leopard geckos I bought for $25 off the same site last week… lol I might have a little bit of a problem…. :p

[Akari_32]

While I do not recommend kibble for a cat, I can at least point you in a decent direction. Wellness CORE is sold in 2lb bags, and they always have $3-5 off any size bag coupons either on their website, or in monthly emailed news letters, that you sign up for on their website. I find that using high value coupons on the smallest product possible will give you the best bang for your buck. Plus, many smaller stores offer a rewards program, such as buy 10 get 1 free, on pet food, which you can combine with coupons.

[Akari_32]

I don’t even think I’ll vacinate him at this point. He was a stray when we got him, and he was a big, healthy boy, and then I got all the vaccines (or most of them, can’t remember), so I’d say his immune system is good for now. Maybe in a couple years I’ll get him another rabies.

So, for some reason, I totally mixed up the liver diet and the kidney diet. Probably because I was going back and forth between Purina and Hill’s. Hill’s has a Liver diet, and Purina has a kidney diet. The Hill’s liver diet is waaaaayyyyyyyy to high in fat. It’s got some sort of fat (pork, I think) as the second or so ingredient, and it’s twice as high as the protein. I will *not* be cleaning up that mess, thank you! So I was looking at the Purina kidney diet, linked above, thinking it was the same as Hill’s liver diet. They do have the same characteristics, so I’ll be going to the vet tomorrow and have him look it over and see what he thinks. Ginger needs food, and she needs it soon, if we are going to change her food. I should have been paying closer attention to that! Lol

She’s doing good right now. The kids are too stubourn to follow dirrections and put Gingers leash on before she gets out of the cage (they like to help with the dogs), so she’s pee’d on the floor a floor a few more times than usual in the last couple days, but otherwise just does her usual sleeping, and then at some point gets up and demands to eat dinner, then goes back to sleep after her stomach is full lol

[Akari_32]

So mom and I were talking this morning, and she wants to put Ginger on the kidney prescription diet. I suppose since it’s her dog, it’s her choice, but ugh! That stuff looks so wrong! The two biggest things I’m worried about are that is has a very high fat to protein ratio (13% fat, while just 12% protein), and that is has sugar the 5th ingredient. The corn, I can handle. Sure, it’s not the best ingredient, but many dogs do fine on a diet rather high in corn. But Sugar? For real? I suppose at this point I’ll just go with it. We’ll get one bag, see how she does, and go from there. I hate to take her off the JM, because it’s actually a pretty decent food for a prescription diet, and it’s helped her joints so much, but the NF kidney food does have Omega’s and such in it, as well. I also plan to start her on turmeric (I will be having mom order the stuff off Amazon here soon), and probably ginger root, if I can find enough info on it.

Oh, and on that note, I just found out, not too long ago, that one of moms friends is a holist vet, with an office just under an hour away from us! I mentioned in passing that she could probably really help Ginger, with out pumping her full of medications and prescription diets. Maybe mom will consider it. I know she feels a sense of loyalty to our current vet, since we’ve been using him so about 15 years, but he’s a little too traditional (doesn’t even have three year cat rabies vaccines!) and laid back for my liking. I do like he lets me get away with not doing certain procedures, though…. lol

And if anyone would like to share in my heebie-jeebies, you go…

https://www.purinaveterinarydiets.com/pet-food-nutrition/canine/products/nf-kidney-function/

[Akari_32]

If it helps any, I’ve emailed Simmons before, and never got an response back from them.

[Akari_32]

Blue Buffalo is not a trustworthy company at all, for exactly the reasons you see in the reviews. They don’t care that they are making animals sick, and even killing them, with their food. I would suggest Wellness CORE. My 11 and 12 year olds love the Puppy formula :p

[Akari_32]

It’s very easy! Once you start getting near the end of a bag (say a weeks worth of food left) you buy the next food you are wanting to try, and mix the new food with the old food, increasing the amount of the new food given as much as your dog will allow. Some dogs need slower transitions than others, just watch his stool, and as long is stays relatively firm, you’re good. Eventually, you will be able to switch the dog with little to no transition at the end of each bag. I’m fairly sure mine no longer any transitioning period, but I do it anyways, for a couple days at least.

[Akari_32]

As far as the bulging goes, I got on the computer and edited one of the pics.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/1.jpg_zpsyrl8bywg.png

[Akari_32]

The cutting itself isn’t the problem, its that Ginger sees everything out of the ordinary as life threatening, and I’m pretty sure she’s part cat and isn’t attached to her skin at all. She’s also very strong for such a small dog. I have thought about slipping her a Benadryl or something before any vet visits or at-home procedures, but I’m sure thats frowned upon LOL Cheapest for a vet to cut nails around here is $10, but the problem with that is even just standing in the lobby of the vet’s office is extremely stressful for her. It’s less stressful for her to do it at home, even though it’s marginally so. At least when it’s done at home, once the muzzle comes off and she gets a treat, she can go sulk in her cage for a while and then everything is right in the world again. Anything to do with the vet is a huge ordeal and ruins her day. She’ll either be in a nasty mood, or extremely pathetic for the rest of the day. She’s a bit dramatic. While you’re at it catching C4C’s cat for a tooth brushing, could you cut Gingers nails and brush her teeth, too?? LOL

[Akari_32]

Does Ainsworth still manufacture all the dog Pure Balance kibbles?

[Akari_32]

But if the animal can’t be put under for whatever reason, it’s still better than letting their teeth rot out of their head.

[Akari_32]

The Halo Vigor coupons have been reset! Get your free cans of cat food while you can 😀

http://www.halopets.com/coupons/?utm_source=March+2015+Newsletter&utm_campaign=March+Newsletter+2015&utm_medium=email

[Akari_32]

Awwww thanks girl! :3 I’ll try my hardest to refrain LOL

Mom is back to not wanting the dental. Ginger has dropped even more weight since the last vet appointment, and over all she doesn’t seem well. The antibiotics are helping her mouth and runny nose, though. I’m unsure if she’s not been on the denamarin long enough to see results, or if she’s too far gone for it work (today was day 10). Sometimes you can see in her face that’s miserable, but most of the time she’s so happy. When you responded just now, we were actually outside and she was rolling in the grass, soaking up some sun, her little tail wagging a mile a minute, and eyes so bright. She’s such a cutie lol We will probably just keep her on the denamarin until she doesn’t have any quality of life. Right now she’s happy, so we’ll take it day by day. My cousins (9 and 11) will be here next weeks, so let’s hope nothing happens while they’re here o.o’

She’s low on food right now, too. I guess I’ll have mom order just one bag. Now to decide if I should up her portions, or leave her a half cup….

How does that thyroid medication work?? Never heard of anything like that before. And I just saw an ad on my local craigslist for no-anesthetic dentals. Not sure how it works, but that may be something to look into if your guys teeth aren’t too bad.

LM, the plan was to cut her nails when she went under for a dental, because she acts like getting her nails cut is the end of the world. First we have to get the muzzle on (that’s a job in and of itself!), then we have to tag team her and one of us holds her while the other cuts, neither of which are easy tasks, because she puts up a fight big enough for a 100 lb dog. It is in the horizon, however. Mom and I just have to be home together at a time where neither of us have to rush off to work. We’ve both got off until the 5th, so it’ll happen soon enough.

[Akari_32]

Hey guys, anyone care to check out these pictures of Ginger laying down and tell what you thing of this bulge in her lower rib cage area? I mean, she’s always been like that, but it really seems to be larger.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/AB5FC0D1-9719-4190-ABD5-098B33D9642E_zpsnw0hlwdv.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/54F7E842-9DA4-4D45-AE88-EBE928BB1474_zpsrzsx5sn9.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/2258191B-0481-44AF-B03B-3CCFD446C656_zpsblqqvybh.jpg

She’s at a point now where all she does is sleep, pee on the floor, and eat. Although she is in a good mood when ever she is awake, especially when food is involved. But I’m pretty sure she sleeps like 22.5 hours out of the day at this point. She does demand attention from mom every night that she sits at the desk. She’ll stand at moms feet and bark, and if she gets up, she’ll lead mom to the kitchen and show her where the treats are XD Apparently moms work makes Ginger jealous, and hungry LOL And she leaps in the air gets really excited for her dinner. And if she gets hungry, she will stand in the middle of the house and bark at me, and show me where the kitchen is and where the food is, and then she shows me where the bowl goes (regardless of if I have it or not) 😛

[Akari_32]

I’d do Natures Recipe and Nutro over Canidae any day. PetSmart and Petco both also carry Natures Variety, which is a great brand.

[Akari_32]

Sure thing 🙂

[Akari_32]

Just to add, Merrick and Whole Earth Farms are not at PetSmart, and FreshPet is available at most grocery stores, now, but not all. And Nulo will not be available in every PetSmart. I know mine doesn’t have it. The good thing about PetSmart is that you can go on their website and see if the product you want is in the location you’re wanting to shop at.

[Akari_32]

You should have seen him just before I took the picture. He was laying with his head hanging down so that you couldnt see it AT ALL. It was so hilarious XD I tried to get it, but he saw me taking a picture and looked up at me with that “What?” face :p

[Akari_32]

I remove the white big when prepping with kidney. Not really sure if your supposed to or not, but I have a small dog, and not a very smart one at that. I feel like he’d find a way to choke on it or something lol I know most people use the whole thing, however.

It really does smell bad, doesn’t it?? Livers and sweet breads don’t smell that bad lol I do get a little bit of that organy, irony, earthy smell from very fresh beef heart, but not near as bad as kidney is @.@

[Akari_32]

The $5 off any Natural or Specialty dog food coupon, you mean? I haven’t seen a new one pop up yet. Actually, I haven’t seen any new PetSmart coupons this year other than $5 off BilJac puppy food in an email.

[Akari_32]

(Wow, totally did not see this in my email LOL)

If you have Yahoo, it likes to file everything in to the spam folder. It’s irritating :p

So guys. I need some opinions. So I need a smaller cat, or a larger perch??

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/C752EB2C-538F-4F4B-99F1-BCD7462EDD0E_zpsibh0iosa.jpg

LOL

[Akari_32]

I wish I could travel with my dogs! Haley gets car sick (but does love the end result of most car rides), Dweezle is too big and too protective of me and Haley, Bentley’s just an idiot (lol) and Ginger rolls off the seat a lot because she can’t just sit down XD

At least I only have two rules! LOL Almost all of the lights are triggered by a car pulled up to the line, so if some crazy snow bird doesn’t pull up all the way, you don’t get anywhere! And doing the speed limit, that’s just a no brainer :p

[Akari_32]

Oh! And thanks, I’m rather partial to it, myself 😉

[Akari_32]

Sure! Why not! Dweezle will have to sit out, the only dog he likes is Haley and even that’s negotiable lol Everything bothers Ginger, she’ll just go to sleep after a while. The cat and Bentley will have a good time though! And if they’re really lucky, they’ll get Haley to play, for a few minutes anyways lol Otherwise, she’ll just supervise :p

[Akari_32]

Lol come on! And bring some of that snow with you! 😀 We can have a puppy party :p

[Akari_32]

It only happens here during season, so it’s definitely you northern people :p

Hey, I got a spare room, come on! As long as you don’t mind all the dog food… lol

[Akari_32]

Oh, and as long as you know how to do the speed limit and pull up to the line at stop lights, you can come down here all you want 😛

[Akari_32]

Ugh, it’s *too* hot! I’m the first one born down here (my family is from Ohio and Kentucky), and I hate how hot it is. You’d think I hadn’t lived here my entire life lol It’s mid 80’s today, and it feels like it’s about 103 @.@ I’m *NOT* looking forward to doing work on the pond today…. Too bad it needs to be done, and I have fish I want to move back out there lol

[Akari_32]

Hahaha, right? I could totally sell off my goodies and have money to buy whatever I wanted XD

Hmmm….. About 6-7 months for the dog food, probably longer now that its getting super hot out, and everyone will turn extra lazy, and about 4 months for the cat litter. Can you say “hurricane preparedness”? LOL

[Akari_32]

The fact that lufenuron does not kill fleas is what makes it a safer product than other flea medications– because it’s not a pesticide, like the others are. If you do not have a serious flea problem, you will notice it working within a couple weeks, as the existing fleas and eggs go through their life cycles, coupled of course, with regular bathing, flea combing and vaccuuming.

[Akari_32]

I must resist because of this:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/F7CFEA89-03D9-4CEA-8458-C4AE5FAB6EF1_zpsn3bbsz6u.jpg

This:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/01459E6D-7AF8-4B68-AD57-C087F5AC4D78_zpscjizoj0t.jpg

This:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/46079128-AC7A-4EA3-92B4-92024D698A9F_zpst59uy4h4.jpg

This:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/85631139-F7BE-4473-B145-A6A767BEFC0F_zpskjprdxqs.jpg

This:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/7F91040B-DA5A-4F56-AE99-5C276FF6AA3E_zpsno3jaeqk.jpg

And this:

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/51B89979-6F01-4756-B3D1-D075C516BF0D_zps0yju4wz8.jpg

Side note: look how low the cat food cabinet is!!! Can’t wait to get him all the way on raw 😀

[Author]

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