This past Spring, one of my cats, Sissy, began coughing or throwing up a clear foam with mucus. Because it happened so quickly and without warning, I couldn’t tell whether she was coughing or throwing up. Once a vet visit confirmed it was coming from a cough, I went to work finding a way to help her.
Since 2012, I’ve had dogs, free-range chickens, and cats all peacefully co-existing. Teaching my four dogs to not bother my new chickens and then to also not bother the first cat that ever showed up was actually very easy. The tips I use and share can be used in any household to help others have a harmonious multi-species household also.
Over the years, I’ve lost many pets. Not a single one of them has ever been an easy loss. As a matter of fact, most of them have been gut-wrenching and left me in a state of sadness and feeling of defeat and despair that I’ve never experienced with any human I’ve lost. I know many others out there reading this can relate.
It’s been a while since I’ve shared a humorous story about my life with my animals. Given the craziness in the world right now, it seems like a good time to share this (now) funny story that definitely wasn’t funny at the time.
This year was my 20th year of taking in cats and dogs that have been dumped and abandoned near me. It’s hard to believe how fast those 20 years have gone by and the number of cats and dogs I’ve saved, just as one person in one little spot in the great big world. While in those twenty years I have learned a lot, I’ve also learned you should never stop trying to learn.
With (currently) 10 cats and dogs, and several bad vet experiences under my belt, I spend countless hours researching and learning ways to safely treat my pets. While I’ve known about homeopathic remedies for a while and how well they can work for cats, dogs, and humans, this experience really cemented how useful they can be in times of crisis and encouraged me to learn even more about them.
Every winter it seems, I hear stories about pets and even wild animals, falling through ice and being rescued by emergency responders. Sadly, I also hear stories about people drowning while trying to save their pets. After a recent tragedy, I learned firsthand how dangerous a frozen pond is and why it’s so important to have an emergency plan.
Most people probably never think twice about getting a prescription from their vet and administering it to their cat or dog. While I do, I’m still susceptible to learning lessons that I feel are important and want to pass along to help others. My most recent experience with a couple of my dogs serves as a valuable lesson about asking lots of questions before the prescription is written and why I recommend small prescription amounts so you don’t end up with a large private pharmacy collection of expensive, unreturnable medication.
Up until last Fall, I’d only used colloidal silver randomly for small things on my crew like eye injuries, ear infections, and on Abby’s incisions after her lipoma surgeries. I had, however, seen enough, read enough, and used it on enough things around the house to know it was one of those things I’d be keeping on hand for the next time someone in the house had anything wrong with them. Little did I know my need would be sooner rather than later with a very sick cat.
For over a month now, I’ve been working on a post about products that have killed many cats and dogs. It’s taking much longer than I’d planned because I had no idea what I was opening myself up for when I decided to compile a list of the major offenders in one place for pet owners to find. During all this research, I’m continuing to run across pet owner after pet owner who is putting their pets’ health in immense danger. The reasons vary from the owner being too trusting of their vet, believing the risks are not worrisome enough, or they just don’t want to/care to spend the time or effort to even research the product or to go the safer, but longer route for curing an ailment. Read more
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