robertwoodsdvm.com Blog

As I had mentioned previously, our impulse buy at the Pet Expo, was the “Kitty Kamode”. It is basically a flat, toilet bowl shaped cover that is attached to the bowl by velcro. Then there is a little plastic tray that drops into it, adding depth. You fill the tray with cat litter, and then place the toilet seat on top of it. It is basically just a little litter box that happens to be hanging inside the toilet. At first it says to fill it with a lot of litter, and then after a few days decrease the litter amount until you take the whole contraption off completely and supposedly the cat will just use the toilet in its place.

Now let me tell you about the cat who is experimenting with it. “Dr. Claw” is his true name, but we usually refer to him as “Doc” or “Crocodile” or “Crew Crew” depending on how nice he is being. He is an almost 9 year old Siamese who has a personality beyond words. When I tell stories about him, I can sometimes sense some doubt in the listeners face, as if my stories are “Tall Tales” or embellished. I assure you they are not. Previous skeptics are always turned believers, once visiting our house. Let me give you a taste of a day in the life of “Doc”:
Our mornings begin at the crack of dawn, there is no need for an alarm clock. “Doc” begins yelling, meowing, and howling at the bedroom door. He has been known on occasion to step on the remote control to our ceiling fan which causes the lights to come on, and the fan to start whirling at high speed. A Tornado at the crack of dawn!
I know what your thinking, well, then just open the bedroom door for him. Open the door and he will sit in the hallway or the stairwell where his meow will echo or worse become amplified! Or what if you just open the door to let him out and then close it? He will jump up at the door knob until he grabs it just right to turn the knob, fling the door open, and come flying back in the room. Walk down stairs and feed him, and he will eat.
Why not just leave a bowl of food out you ask? We have, he will refuse to eat it. He loves the ritual of walking down stairs with you and seeing you have to feed him.
Now if it were only that simple to wake up early, feed him, go back to bed. What he learns from this is that, maybe tomorrow I can wake you up a little earlier, and then earlier and earlier!
Get in the shower and “Doc” comes right in and sits at the back of the shower, water sprinkling on him, yelling at you. Apparently, getting ready in the morning is not going fast enough.
We have baby locks on all the cupboards, and a hinge lock on the pantry. Yes, I know we have 4 kids, but they are not the concern. “Doc” loves to eat ANYTHING, but particularly tortilla chips, packets of seasoned dry noodles, and cheesy flavored items. You open the refrigerator and he walks inside to see if there is anything he would prefer.
He will be quietly sleeping on the couch with his head on a throw pillow, and then wake up, cock his head and start biting the pillow. He has extraordinarily long top canine teeth, so a bite, is a CHOMP out of anything.
Of course, most cats love to sleep on the warm clothes that come out of the dryer, well, “Doc” just prefers the dryer itself. No clothes necessary, so a double check is always needed before starting laundry.
The kids want to play outside, open then door, “Doc” runs out and begins eating grass that in turn causes an allergic reaction that makes the hair on the top of his ears fall out. Neighbors dogs walk by, very confused at the cat laying in the middle of the sidewalk refusing to budge. Dogs can go around him if they please.
After I am at work, if I come home and sit on the couch, he has to lay across my lap, with his front legs wrapped around my legs (a bear hug). Feeling depressed that I spent my day with other animals that he can smell.
When our family friend comes to babysit the kids, “Doc” will trample upstairs, start howling, doing laps in our bedroom, then run down stairs and yell at her. The hardest part to agreeing to watch our kids is not the sleeping babies, it is “Doc”. Will he escape, will he be nice, will he wake up all the sleeping kids on purpose?
He very rarely will drink water by lapping it up with his tongue. He will sit for 10 minutes, and dip his front paw in the water, lick it off his fur, and repeat. If there is a glass on any counter top, he stuffs his head inside to smell it, which 50% of the time results in him spilling it when pulling his head back out. Or, if he recognizes the smell, he will help himself and shove his paw in your drink!

That is just a taste of his personality, I could go for days, he has no medical condition, BELIEVE ME, I have checked everything under the sun, he is just a Siamese.
He does however, always remind us why we even let him hang around with his antics. He is a 100% purr-er, he purrs on his inhale and exhale, so it is non-stop. He comes running to greet you at the door. He will crawl under the covers and curl up beside you. He will lick your face. He will attack any animal, no matter the size if he thinks they are a threat to his people. He is a very loving cat, but he is also too smart for his own good. And thus, the Kitty Kamode Experiment began. If ever there was a cat that wished to a be human, it would be “Doc”.

Yesterday was Day 1, we showed him where it was, and took his other litter box away and he did use it without any “questions” asked. Is he just humoring us? We will soon find out

We made it to the Orange County Pet Expo this past Sunday, yes, one of the hottest days this year so far! Last year I remember it being even hotter, at least there was a breeze this time. We had the opportunity to bump into clients and colleagues, and that is impressive considering how MANY people were there. One of the most humorous things about the Pet Expo was even with all the animals around, pushing the stroller with our 1 year old twins drew just as much attention as a booth with a cute puppy.

Here were the entertaining moments of our day:

“Fawn” the 4 week old calf, wearing a purple collar and walking on a leash, was happy and personable:

“Marley” the 14 month old kangaroo who visits the elderly:

www.silveradosenior.com

“Lilly” the little brussels griffin, sitting in a pink stroller, on a pink fluffy blanket, in pink rhinestones giving out kisses:

www.petsuites.com

A skateboarding bulldog, who truly LOVED showing everybody his talent:

The Bird & Reptile tent had a lot of animal touch areas:

www.omarsexoticbirds.com

I did feel bad for all the dogs panting in the heat, but most of them had breaks where they were sprayed off to keep cool. Others had booties on so the blacktop would not burn their paw pads. It was a good cause though, as we were surprised that even our neighbor had picked up a rescued chihuahua there.

The downside to our afternoon came when we finally found the cat exhibit that we were searching for. We walked into a disappointment, there was only a section of about 12 different cats. Usually, there are about 10 of each breed of cat in a giant, wonderfully air-conditioned hall. Each cat has such a distinct personality, some persians are humiliated by their owners swooning over them, others comical about being brushed. No such entertainment this year. After talking to the cat handlers, they too voiced their disappointment and said that the spots were sold to vendors too, and when the additional cats wanted a section they were “sold out”.
We did however have an impulse buy, I am now the owner of a “Kitty Kamode” which basically teaches your cat to use the toilet instead of a litter box. We are curious to see if our obnoxious, siamese cat “Doc” is up to the task. We figure, he can unlock and open doors, push out window screens, and helps himself to all our food in the cupboard, why not make it official that he is a “human”. We begin “potty training” tomorrow, so it should, if nothing else, be entertaining to you to hear of his learning curve.

Erika I. Ritchie, wrote an excerpt in the OC Register today:

In todays OC Register Sunday paper was the reminder that their “That Darn Cat” contest has begun. Go to their website: ocregister.com/thatdarncat
and upload your favorite picture of your cat and tell your friends and family to vote for them. The deadline to submit a picture is noon April 23! The two top cats win $500 cash cards. One winner will be picked by the voting audience and the other is chosen by the OC Register judges. Winners are announced April 27, in the Life section of the OC Register.
It is always fun for us to look through and usually at least one of my clients makes the cut of being featured. Now, the guilt sets in, if I have 11 cats do I enter a picture of each of them to be fair, I do not want somebody to be left out? I assume that only a few will even humor us with the camera in their face, so we will see.

I was waiting in line at my local hardware store, waiting, waiting, waiting, as it is ALWAYS my luck that there is only one cashier and a line down the aisle of people when I choose to bring my final purchases up to buy. I am looking at the bright side of the situation now, because is reminded me of a very good product, that gets overlooked.

When you have a flea infestation, people usually are most concerned about treating their pet directly, then their home, and forget about where the flea might have come from in the first place…..the back yard. This only pertains to those who have a grass backyard, but there is a very simple, safe way to completely rid your lawn of fleas: it is called Flea Destroyer and you can find it in the garden section of your local hardware store: Osh, Ace Hardware, Home Depot, etc.

It boasts:
100% natural and easy to use. Microscopic Beneficial Nematodes are applied by mixing with water, then spraying or pouring onto the affected area. They are harmless to people, pets, and the environment. Kills fleas in the yard and garden where they breed. Millions of microscopic organisms that penetrate the body of juvenile fleas living in the soil. After killing the juveniles they will reproduce and continue searching for more pest victims.

It is a safe natural way to help you fight the war on fleas. There are some helpful hints on how to disperse it on your lawn at: YardLover.com

If you are having trouble finding it locally, a lot of the sites I noticed are sold old, but one site that I found that still has them in stock is: RealCoolToys.com

Things that made me appreciate that I live in California…..

Here is an excerpt from todays Orange County Register, in the “OC Outdoors” by Laylan Connelly:

Surfing sea lion
One of the most spectacular — almost spiritual — things I’ve ever seen happened on Sunday, as a group of about 100 surfers formed a circle to mourn fellow surfer David Kitagawa north of the Newport Pier.

And on Monday morning, I surfed at Blackies and an adult sea lion came right up to the lineup — where Dave could be found almost every day — swimming alongside surfers close to shore. I’ve never seen them come that close, and while a bit scary, it was really amazing.”

To read the rest of the rare animal sightings this week in her article:

Nature Provides Magic

On my way home from a long day at work, I stopped by the video store to pick up a movie. There I stood with so many options, but one kept staring back at me, and I knew if I did not rent it I would feel guilty. So, I picked up the movie, shook my head laughing at myself, and drove home.
My other half is notorious for reading books far before they become, or even think about being turned into a movie. In 2005 she read “Marley & Me” by John Grogan, I remember her bringing the book into work after she was done reading it, and DEMANDING that everyone we work with read it! When we heard it was going to be made into a movie, she was hopeful that the movie would coincide with what was written in the book.
We do not make it to the movie theatre very often, having 4 kids we don’t want to take advantage of our friends babysitting too often. Then when we do have a family friend babysit, usually the last thing we want to do is sit in silence in a movie theatre. We are much more a “coming soon to DVD” family.
Feeling the guilt of all of these reasons, I selected “Marley & Me” and brought it home to her great applause.
I must say, we both enjoyed the movie a lot. We laughed at Marley’s fat puppy pot belly. We shook our heads at all the ridiculous things Marley did, but as a vet, I knew all those things to be very true of unruly Labs. If you are a lucky Lab owner, your dog will calm down when they are about 2, but usually it is not until 6 or 7 that their energy level dips. It was a very true to life scenario, here was this dog who destroyed things, the owners get angry, then for some reason still enjoy the dogs company?
The last line of the movie really reminded me about why I became a veterinarian in the first place:

“A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. As I wrote that farewell column to Marley, I realized it was all right there in front of us, if only we opened our eyes. Sometimes it took a dog with bad breath, worse manners, and pure intentions to help us see.”-John Grogan

…and then I realized why she was telling everyone we work with to read the book, to be reminded why we do what we do, even on the worst days.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is using the color ORANGE to signify their start on April 7th as Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. An ASPCA spokeswoman, Kate Sutherland, explains “orange is the color of life vests signaling prevention, safety, security, confidence, and hope”. Celebrations for the “Go Orange for Animals” campaign will feature live music, and landmarks will light up in orange. Unfortunately, there are only three cities that the campaign will hit: New York’s Union Square on April 7th, Austin Texas’s Zilker Metropolitan Park on April 18th, AND Venice Beach California on April 25th. Venice Beach’s info is as follows:
On April 25th, animal lovers and pet-parents throughout Los Angeles will head to Venice Beach with their four-legged friends in tow (those without pets are welcome to walk too!) to participate in the ASPCA’s first annual ‘Go Orange for Animals’ 1.5k ‘Wag-n-Walk’. The 1.5 mile dog walk will begin at 11:00 am at the Windward Plaza area of Venice Beach (1800 Oceanfront Walk, Venice Beach, CA 90291). Registration will begin at 9:30am on Ocean Front Walk across from Windward Plaza. All registered walkers will receive an ASPCA T-shirt and a bandana for their canine counterpart. Immediately following the walk, walk participants and the general public will be invited to enjoy a celebration featuring adoptable animals from Los Angeles rescue group, Bark Avenue Foundation, a remote radio broadcast and giveaways from L.A. stations, KOST and KTLK, ASPCA experts, refreshments, activities for people and dogs, drawings, photos, prizes and more! For more information and to register for the Los Angeles Wag-n-Walk www.aspcaambassadors.org

Date: Saturday, April 25, 2008
Time: 11:00 am start, registration begins at 9:30 am
Place: Venice Beach, CA.

They do however have a Go Orange Photo Contest planned, and no matter where you live you can participate in that one.

The ASPCA does also offer 10 additional ideas to help celebrate.

Looks like April is going to be a BIG pet month

As the weather is starting to warm up, we as pet owners get to start the fight against pests on our pets.

I came across a good resource from The Natural Resources Defense Council that released a new guide to the active ingredients in flea and tick products:

Green Paws Pocket Guide

The safer chemicals are in the products sold by veterinarians. At the bottom of the guide it lists natural or herbal remedies that are safe to use as flea prevention. It also cautions against certain oils that should be avoided.

If you want to stay away from any type of chemical on your pet, a product that is safe and I have seen to be affective is called Flea Treats and it also prevents ticks.

TRUST ME, you want to have a game plan now, because an infestation is very hard to battle. Inside a flea egg, the pupa can lay dormant for over a year, ready and waiting for the perfect environment to emerge as an adult flea. Something as simple as the vibrations of a pet walking in the room, or the carbon dioxide emitted from you or your pet, will cause a flea to hatch more quickly!