Sunday, February 12, 2006
Sick Cat - Jan 29
Nana is sick, have acute diarrea and had blood i it. Hope she gets well soon.
No time and no mood to talk about new cat Toby/Nobu yet.
No time and no mood to talk about new cat Toby/Nobu yet.
Raw Diet的好處
- 跟天然環境吃到的食物更相近
- 防止營養在加熱煮熟時流失
- 對牙齒更健康
- 吃得少一點，排泄物亦少一點
以前讀過不少資料，也聽過醫生說吃乾糧對牙齒好一點，因為濕糧根本不用咀嚼。直至有一天，看到一遍文章，說乾糧對牙齒所謂的好處可能是言過其實，才改變主意。文中説因為乾糧的體積那麼小，貓兒一般也不會慢慢咀嚼，只會很快把沒有完全嚼爛的乾糧吞下肚。看罷我便加倍留意女皇的食相，果然，她只隨便把乾糧咬一兩下便吞下肚。文章還說，因為乾糧裡含有炭水化合物(質素愈差的乾糧便愈多carb)，如果積聚在牙齒上，糖份更可能引致蛀牙呢！而且乾糧中沒有水分，加上很多貓兒平日飲水不足，只吃乾糧的話便較容易在尿液中出現結石。種種因素，讓我由最初比較傾向餵乾糧變到今天差不多完全不餵乾量。說到尾，貓是肉食動物，乾糧中的炭水化合物實在對他們沒有多大好處。
至於Raw Diet對牙齒較好，那是不容置疑的事實，不信便給你的貓/狗一點生肉試試吧！記得第一次讓娜娜吃生雞肉時，她像吃濕糧般，用舌頭黏那塊雞肉，可是吃不到。試了數次之後，我們看到她抬頭呆了數秒，然後嘗試把雞塊整塊含在口中，再慢慢開始咀嚼。當時她咀嚼的模樣好笑極了，看着她很用力的咀嚼，從右邊吃完轉到左邊繼續咬，十分開心的模樣。很快，她便吃完第一塊，得到女皇的認同，我們便再給她一些生雞肉，結果她以風捲殘雲之勢把雞肉吃完，教我們驚訝不已。當時她仍處於不愛吃東西的階段，差不多每晚也要用湯匙喂她吃濕糧，才能把晚餐吃完，看到她那麼喜歡生肉，實在出奇不已。
現在我們最大的concern是吃生肉可會有寄生蟲的問題。細菌是另一個，即使貓兒的腸胃構造與我們不同，不容易被細菌感染，但每天跟女皇朝夕相對的我們可會因此受到細菌感染呢？如果可以解決這兩個問題，我想，我一定會讓女皇轉吃Raw的。
大食漬 - Jan 28
女皇這兩天忽然大食起來，真奇怪！不過這樣也好，至少我們不用再擔心她不吃飯，營養不足。
今天買了"走地雞"回來，同事說很好的，批發價，細細隻，買了兩隻回來，結果，只比鵪鶉大一點點，比較像cornish hen吧？芝士媽媽說用來燉湯就最好不過，但像我這種死懶鬼，燉湯這樣花時間的東西實在應付不來。想着想着，那鵪鶉般的大小似乎剛好給女皇吃啊！給她一隻雞肶就夠作一頓晚餐了！
希望快點出糧，那就可以帶女皇去看獸醫，詢問有關吃Raw Diet的事宜。Forum上的網友均說轉Raw Diet後貓兒健康了很多，我也很想試，更何況Raw Diet比買Wellness便宜得多呢。
今天買了"走地雞"回來，同事說很好的，批發價，細細隻，買了兩隻回來，結果，只比鵪鶉大一點點，比較像cornish hen吧？芝士媽媽說用來燉湯就最好不過，但像我這種死懶鬼，燉湯這樣花時間的東西實在應付不來。想着想着，那鵪鶉般的大小似乎剛好給女皇吃啊！給她一隻雞肶就夠作一頓晚餐了！
希望快點出糧，那就可以帶女皇去看獸醫，詢問有關吃Raw Diet的事宜。Forum上的網友均說轉Raw Diet後貓兒健康了很多，我也很想試，更何況Raw Diet比買Wellness便宜得多呢。
女皇與小貓 - Jan 27
星期日我們發覺女皇的毛色有點改變，沒有以往的柔順有光澤，我們都擔心起來。但看見她如常的吃喝玩樂，又不似生病的模樣，實在大惑不解。到Cat Site上問人，大家都說最好到獸醫處檢查，求個安心，直至後來Forum的獸醫Advisor說沒有大問題，我們才鬆一口氣。這數晚我們跟娜娜玩耍的時間多了，昨晚傑跟我均認同娜娜的毛色已回復正常。想來是過往一星期我們工作忙，加上放工後常常花了時間去物色小貓，少了時間陪女皇，她因為心情不佳，所以毛色有所轉變吧！
明天會帶小貓回家，很期待，亦有點擔心。
明天會帶小貓回家，很期待，亦有點擔心。
大家 - Jan 20
真好！Quin跟鴨從香港帶回來的手信均包括給女皇的零食，大家對女皇真好！鴨帶回來的健康零食是一些切成小塊的、綠色像魷魚乾般的零食，很香的魚味，女皇一嗅到便興奮起來，要她做甚麼動作也可以。可奇怪的是，當她做完動作，我張開手掌讓她吃時，她卻好像看不到乾般，還一個勁兒的給我手手，難道魚乾太薄她看不到？還是她看綠色有問題呢？之前在網上看過報道說貓是只可以看到某幾種顏色，不知綠色可是其中之一呢？今天試了印度按摩，回家時頭上還有香油味，本來以為女皇會不喜歡的，可以她好像完全有發覺甚麼不同呢。明天要去看小貓，希望這次會有所收獲！
咀咒 - Jan 19
決定了要多一隻小貓，才發覺困難重重。
首先在petfinder上看到小貓，打電話去他的foster home預約時間見面，對方回覆說那隻小貓已經被收養了，但說有其他貓可能合適，叫我去看看，結果失望而回。
星期二在Toronto Animal Serice的網頁上看到有兩個月大的小貓，所以放工去看，竟然見到一隻跟娜娜一樣灰色的小猫女，僅有9個星期大，而且相當活躍。本來打算帶她回家，但工作人員以時間太晚為由，拒絕為我辦手續，叫我第二天回去，還說下午一般是死靜的，沒有人去。
本來打算午飯的時候去，但一來傑不能陪我前往，我不想再一次自行帶貓貓回家，想讓他一看才作決定，二來我怕帶小貓回家後即要鎖着她在陌生的地方一個人，待數小時後我才放工回去看她。可是待放工後前去，小貓已被別人收養了，氣得我！
今天傑查看Humane Society的網頁，有三隻小貓剛到達，放工時我們便興沖沖的去看，誰知兩隻可愛的已被人帶走了，剩下不太可愛又不太清潔的那隻，也在我們留在該處的期間被人領養。最令人氣憤的是，我們喜歡的那隻brown tabby，竟在我們因找不到小貓詢問工作人員之前的10分鐘被人領養，大概我們剛到步時看到某人手中拿着的紙盒，便裝着我們想要旳小貓。
回到家中，我一個勁兒的問娜娜女皇，是否她不想有弟妹，因此咀咒我們找不到貓呢？
首先在petfinder上看到小貓，打電話去他的foster home預約時間見面，對方回覆說那隻小貓已經被收養了，但說有其他貓可能合適，叫我去看看，結果失望而回。
星期二在Toronto Animal Serice的網頁上看到有兩個月大的小貓，所以放工去看，竟然見到一隻跟娜娜一樣灰色的小猫女，僅有9個星期大，而且相當活躍。本來打算帶她回家，但工作人員以時間太晚為由，拒絕為我辦手續，叫我第二天回去，還說下午一般是死靜的，沒有人去。
本來打算午飯的時候去，但一來傑不能陪我前往，我不想再一次自行帶貓貓回家，想讓他一看才作決定，二來我怕帶小貓回家後即要鎖着她在陌生的地方一個人，待數小時後我才放工回去看她。可是待放工後前去，小貓已被別人收養了，氣得我！
今天傑查看Humane Society的網頁，有三隻小貓剛到達，放工時我們便興沖沖的去看，誰知兩隻可愛的已被人帶走了，剩下不太可愛又不太清潔的那隻，也在我們留在該處的期間被人領養。最令人氣憤的是，我們喜歡的那隻brown tabby，竟在我們因找不到小貓詢問工作人員之前的10分鐘被人領養，大概我們剛到步時看到某人手中拿着的紙盒，便裝着我們想要旳小貓。
回到家中，我一個勁兒的問娜娜女皇，是否她不想有弟妹，因此咀咒我們找不到貓呢？
多一隻 - Jan 15
還是決定要為Nana豬找一個朋友。女皇陛下太活躍了，每天跑跳不停，希望我們全天候倍伴著她。雖然我們也盡力的多點陪她，但畢竟時間、精力均有限。看着她每朝喵喵叫過不停，希望我們陪她玩耍，但還不得不忍心不理她趕着上班，實在於心不忍。每次夜歸回來看到她興奮地在門口迎接我們，喉頭發出咕咕聲，不停的用前額輕擦我們的身體，總不禁想到她在家中悶了一整天，在等我們回來。每次想起在盧業媚的專欄中讀到，"我們可以相約很多不同的朋友吃飯逛街，但寵物便只有主人而已"，便會感到慚愧。
貓兒天性是懶洋洋的，儘管頑皮如Nana豬，當我們不在家或不理她時，她總是坐在一邊睡懶覺。加上居住在室內的貓活動範圍少、居住在地庫的Nana豬連在窗邊看風景的機會也沒有，若不理會她，恐怕會有變成couch potato的危機，我可不想瘦削玲瓏的Nana豬變成豬扒啊！於是為她找個朋友的意念便燃點起來。
從網上的資料看到，不同性別、年齡的貓一般會相處得較佳，因為減少了同性之間互相比較的心理，而年紀較小的新貓，對原有的貓不會做成太大的威脅，大的那隻還會教導BB貓生活的所需及規矩呢！因此我們暫定要為Nana豬找一個弟弟。
我心目中的理想小貓其實是貓女，因為感覺較文靜，其實不只一個友人說Nana豬的舉動十分女性化，即是打獵(當然是玩)的時候還是很斯文，但其實女皇陛下的舉動對我來說已十分殘暴了，真不能想像貓仔會是怎樣。可是我家的女皇那樣專貴，讓第二隻貓女到來，恐怕會引起她的不滿，因此我們暫定選男生。
今天在Pet Finder 中看到一隻合心水的小貓，打了電話去，但貓貓剛被人收餋了，但那邊說還有幾隻可能適合我的小貓，因此約了明天去看，希望會有所收獲吧！
貓兒天性是懶洋洋的，儘管頑皮如Nana豬，當我們不在家或不理她時，她總是坐在一邊睡懶覺。加上居住在室內的貓活動範圍少、居住在地庫的Nana豬連在窗邊看風景的機會也沒有，若不理會她，恐怕會有變成couch potato的危機，我可不想瘦削玲瓏的Nana豬變成豬扒啊！於是為她找個朋友的意念便燃點起來。
從網上的資料看到，不同性別、年齡的貓一般會相處得較佳，因為減少了同性之間互相比較的心理，而年紀較小的新貓，對原有的貓不會做成太大的威脅，大的那隻還會教導BB貓生活的所需及規矩呢！因此我們暫定要為Nana豬找一個弟弟。
我心目中的理想小貓其實是貓女，因為感覺較文靜，其實不只一個友人說Nana豬的舉動十分女性化，即是打獵(當然是玩)的時候還是很斯文，但其實女皇陛下的舉動對我來說已十分殘暴了，真不能想像貓仔會是怎樣。可是我家的女皇那樣專貴，讓第二隻貓女到來，恐怕會引起她的不滿，因此我們暫定選男生。
我的擇貓條件
- 男性
- 年齡在六個月或以下
- 不能長得太大太健碩，因為Nana豬太嬌小了，不想找一隻大貓回來嚇怕她！
- 友善，我可不想每晚回來看到貓毛滿天飛。
- 清潔，女皇陛下對貓盤的要求極高，雖然我打算讓兩隻貓各只擁有私人廁所，但如果他最後決定用同一個的話，女皇陛下應該不能忍受衛生欠佳的皇弟。
- 好動，那他們便可以日玩夜玩，不會悶了
- 愛親近人
- 聰明，擁有狗的性格，像女皇一般，會得做Tricks!!
今天在Pet Finder 中看到一隻合心水的小貓，打了電話去，但貓貓剛被人收餋了，但那邊說還有幾隻可能適合我的小貓，因此約了明天去看，希望會有所收獲吧！
Seeing Spirits 靈異小貓
娜娜女皇昨晚上演了一幕小貓遇靈記
晚上8點回家時，傑把一箱箱的樽裝水搬進屋裡放到飯枱下，因為Food Basic的水減價，$2.97/24支，所以我們買了10箱之多。一如往常，女皇陛下並沒有被搬運過程的巨大聲響嚇到。事實上她是一隻極為膽大的小貓，從來不會被搬移家私、打翻碗碟…等東西嚇到，不像其他小貓一樣容易有stress attack。直至飯後，一齊也很正常，吃飯時她還躲在我們身後的枕頭下睡懶覺呢！(上個entry的照片便是那時拍的)
十時左右，我要載Re到女房東處交按金，帶了娜娜去遊車河，約一小時後回家，途中一切正常。回家後，我跟她玩了一會，便開始上網用電腦，傑跟友人談電話，忽然間，傑定了講電話，叫我看一看娜娜，然後，詭秘的事情變開始…
娜娜站在沙發的邊緣，背部弓起、全身的毛髮豎起、但尾巴向下，瞪大眼晴看著枱底。傑立刻說家中有甚麼她不喜歡的東西，她正準備要攻擊。我卻記得如果尾巴向下，是代表貓兒在害怕。
娜娜凝望了數分鐘，便鑽到沙發底去。當時我們把沙發打開成為沙發床，床下底的空間很小，娜娜要得辛苦才能爬進去，除了頑皮搗蛋時，她很少會鑽進沙發床底下的。
鑽進去後，她還是不甘心地把前半身伸出沙發底以外，我竟然看到她的整個上半身在抖陣！我把她從床下拉出來，抱在懷中，用毛氈包著她的身體，不到數分鐘，她便掙扎著要出來，我不敢勉強她。
她跳到地上，站在茶几底，繼續凝望枱底，背部仍然弓起、毛髮豎起、尾巴向下。過了數分鐘，她走近枱底一點，但身體語言沒有變，直至約10分鐘後，她才冷靜下來。
我和傑二人均摸不着頭腦，完全不知道她在怕甚麼。因為8點多把水搬進來時，她是一點也不怕的。我懷疑箱中有一些昆蟲是她不喜歡的，但以女皇的性格，不喜歡的話大概會趕著去把昆蟲殺掉，應不會害怕牠們。然後我想是不是洗衣房中有甚麼她不喜歡東西，但房東一家好像晚上沒有下來洗衣房，應該不會忽然間多了甚麼可怕旳東西吧，即使是，枱旁邊的牆也是與洗衣房相連的，為甚麼她只盯著枱底看呢？傑還是認為娜娜是怕那些一箱箱的水，可能是因為她出街回來忘了家中多了很多水，所以嚇怕了，而且向來她對閃令令透明東西均有點奇怪反應。後來我發現Nestle的包裝紙上，Logo是藍色的，但因為質料問題，在燈光的照射下Logo紙會好像有些綠色的光點在移動，或許這是想娜娜害怕的原因？
今天跟芝士媽媽聊起了這件時，她說可能有特別的氣味讓她感到害怕，尤其貓對化學品的反應一般很大。或許包裝紙上有化學品的氣味？因為放在家中數小時，化學品的氣味被釋放出來，嚇到娜娜。芝士媽媽然後問我，可會懷疑貓是見到靈魂？因為貓常會無故盯着某些東西看，人們說那是他們看到靈魂的原固。很嚇人呢！我不知這世上是否有一靈魂，也不敢去想，只要現在娜娜沒有事，我便很開心了。
芝士媽還問了一個有趣的問題，她問我娜娜反應異常時，我的第一反應是安撫她還是拍照呢？答案當然是安撫她了！
晚上8點回家時，傑把一箱箱的樽裝水搬進屋裡放到飯枱下，因為Food Basic的水減價，$2.97/24支，所以我們買了10箱之多。一如往常，女皇陛下並沒有被搬運過程的巨大聲響嚇到。事實上她是一隻極為膽大的小貓，從來不會被搬移家私、打翻碗碟…等東西嚇到，不像其他小貓一樣容易有stress attack。直至飯後，一齊也很正常，吃飯時她還躲在我們身後的枕頭下睡懶覺呢！(上個entry的照片便是那時拍的)
十時左右，我要載Re到女房東處交按金，帶了娜娜去遊車河，約一小時後回家，途中一切正常。回家後，我跟她玩了一會，便開始上網用電腦，傑跟友人談電話，忽然間，傑定了講電話，叫我看一看娜娜，然後，詭秘的事情變開始…
娜娜站在沙發的邊緣，背部弓起、全身的毛髮豎起、但尾巴向下，瞪大眼晴看著枱底。傑立刻說家中有甚麼她不喜歡的東西，她正準備要攻擊。我卻記得如果尾巴向下，是代表貓兒在害怕。
娜娜凝望了數分鐘，便鑽到沙發底去。當時我們把沙發打開成為沙發床，床下底的空間很小，娜娜要得辛苦才能爬進去，除了頑皮搗蛋時，她很少會鑽進沙發床底下的。
鑽進去後，她還是不甘心地把前半身伸出沙發底以外，我竟然看到她的整個上半身在抖陣！我把她從床下拉出來，抱在懷中，用毛氈包著她的身體，不到數分鐘，她便掙扎著要出來，我不敢勉強她。
她跳到地上，站在茶几底，繼續凝望枱底，背部仍然弓起、毛髮豎起、尾巴向下。過了數分鐘，她走近枱底一點，但身體語言沒有變，直至約10分鐘後，她才冷靜下來。
我和傑二人均摸不着頭腦，完全不知道她在怕甚麼。因為8點多把水搬進來時，她是一點也不怕的。我懷疑箱中有一些昆蟲是她不喜歡的，但以女皇的性格，不喜歡的話大概會趕著去把昆蟲殺掉，應不會害怕牠們。然後我想是不是洗衣房中有甚麼她不喜歡東西，但房東一家好像晚上沒有下來洗衣房，應該不會忽然間多了甚麼可怕旳東西吧，即使是，枱旁邊的牆也是與洗衣房相連的，為甚麼她只盯著枱底看呢？傑還是認為娜娜是怕那些一箱箱的水，可能是因為她出街回來忘了家中多了很多水，所以嚇怕了，而且向來她對閃令令透明東西均有點奇怪反應。後來我發現Nestle的包裝紙上，Logo是藍色的，但因為質料問題，在燈光的照射下Logo紙會好像有些綠色的光點在移動，或許這是想娜娜害怕的原因？
今天跟芝士媽媽聊起了這件時，她說可能有特別的氣味讓她感到害怕，尤其貓對化學品的反應一般很大。或許包裝紙上有化學品的氣味？因為放在家中數小時，化學品的氣味被釋放出來，嚇到娜娜。芝士媽媽然後問我，可會懷疑貓是見到靈魂？因為貓常會無故盯着某些東西看，人們說那是他們看到靈魂的原固。很嚇人呢！我不知這世上是否有一靈魂，也不敢去想，只要現在娜娜沒有事，我便很開心了。
芝士媽還問了一個有趣的問題，她問我娜娜反應異常時，我的第一反應是安撫她還是拍照呢？答案當然是安撫她了！
9 個娜娜女皇喜愛的遊戲
- 跳貓 - 用繩子綁著玩具，在空中搖晃，讓她跳起來捉，她可以跳到我心口那樣高！
- 打獵 - 貓喵獵人先躲起來，看著被繩子綁著獵物拖過眼前，看準機會，一把跳出來咬着獵物。
- 扯貓- 把玩具放在肚的位置，她便會躺在也上，用手抓着玩具，用後腳狂踢玩具，就像兔子一般。可憐的是，我的手有時也被當作玩具之一。
- 踢波 - 把玩具波波踢出去，她便要追着截停波波，然後跑回原處，等我再踢波給她追。
- Fetch - 把玩具丟出去，她便會追着，有時還會跳起在空中接着，但不一定每次也像狗狗般把玩具拾回來。
- 跳高 - 不時發現她在廁所的浴廉上練跳高。
- 鬥牛 - 把毛巾掦起，她便會像鬥牛般沖過來。
- 捉迷藏 - 首先與娜娜來一個四目交投，然後慢慢的躲起來，她便會來找我了。有時後我縮在沙發後面，裝着看不到她，她便會跳到沙發椅背上，輕拍的我的頭，當我與她有眼神接觸時便算捉到。
- 排球 - 當她跳到貓樹上的第三層時，把玩具拋上去，她便會用手拍下來，十足打排球扣殺一般，有是還會躺在第三層上反手扣殺呢！
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Rip Off
What a big rip off some veterinary clinics could be!!! - Jan 10
Nana was tested to have trimple phosphate crystals (struvite) in her urine at her visit to our vet on Dec 10th. Although she does not have any infections now and is perfectly healthy, Dr Lavoie suggested to put her on a prescription diet FOREVER in order to prevent crystals forming in the future, which may lead to Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) or urinary tracts obstruction. He gave Nana 3 different brand to try, which are Hill's Prescription Diet c/d, Medi-Cal Preventive and Royal Canin Urinary SO to try, and I could find one which one she likes best. He explains that about 2%-3% cats are prone to have cyrstals and Nana jsut happened to be one of them. The idea of putting Nana on a prescription diet FORVER freaks me out, also I'm not comfortable with the prescription food as they all contains by-products.
After that visit, I've done extensive research online, and asked around for opinions. I leanred that most of the cats in a similar case were only put on prescription diet for a few months, also I leanred that cyrstals could be related to stress and the food she eats. Since I only adopted Nana for a month at the time, and have no idea what she has been eating in the shelter, as well as the first 2 weeks she's with me she only get Hill's Science Diet Dry, I wonder with better care and food, would the crystals disappear. We've decided to keep her on Wellness cans and Eagle pack dry for another month, and do another body check to see if it gets any better. Another reason for waiting one month is that her insurance would kick in. One Month has passed and we’ve been longing to bring her to this vet clinic for a more thorough check-up. This one called Bloor Animal Hospital and has four locations, one in Willowadle, they are one of the few 24 hours clinic around. From their website, I learned that they've been in business since the 60s, has 10 doctors and 30 support staffs, they even have a on site lab. A health examination done here would include bloord test and feacal analysis. They provide all kinds of services including Cardiac Monitoring, Endoscopy, Radiology and Ultrasound, surgery….sounds like a very well equipped clinic, doesn't it?
I planned to bring Nana in during the weekend, but on Saturday night naughty Nana ate a piece of string which is at least 30 cm long. Monday morning Lester found stool on the bathroom floor that consist the string she ingested, he took some picture for me to see and that sample certainly looked SCARY!!!!! I decided to bring her to the animal hospital earlier.
I schedule an appointment for 9pm for that night, we arrived around 8:50. The clinic was very crowded, and have only 2 doctors on duty. I have to put Nana's carrier on my lap, as there's obviously no room and I don't dare to put it on the floor for all the dogs trying to sniff her.
It wasn't until 9:25 until we finally see the Vet. I told her Nana ate a long piece of string (those string you use to tie your oven roast) and pass it thru, and showed her the picture. She says that is almost surgical, if there were a knot on the string it'll get stunk in her tiny intestines. She has just done a surgery a few days ago to remove a piece of string from a cat's stomache and it cost his owner $3000. She gave nana some basic checkup, (looking at her eyes, ears, taking her temperature…etc) and asked about what food she's eating, and her background. I mentioned she's from the shelter, we have her for only 2 months and her vaccinations is up to date except she needs another booster shot for her Leukemia. She look at the record, and says that her first shot is done on Dec 10, and the booster should be done in 3-4 weeks after the first, so it was time for her 2nd. I asked if it's better to have my regular vet doing it, as he's been following her profile. Her reply was unless I could bring her in tomorrow, it'll be too late as there's only a few days of grace period. This contridicted to what Dr. Lavoie has told me, as he said as long as she's kept inside, she doesn't need her booster until later. I thought it's better to be cautious and agreed to give her the booster, although it'd be much more expensive to have her shots at this clinic. As well I felt better not to refuse as I still have lots ot ask the vet.
When she insert the needle somewhere around Nana's hind legs, Nana was so agitated that she actually tried to run for it, so the vet had to hold onto her and try to insert the noodle again. This actually puts me off, because when I saw Dr Lavoie do it, he was talking to us casually and we didn't realize he's given her shots until he finished, it's like Nana didn't feel it either, for she has never moved to twiched.. Now this vet need my help to hold onto Nana.
Next she recommended a Leukemia test, as she's been a stray before. I'm not too sure about this, as the shelter have her since June and I have her since Nov, and she shows no symptoms of having Leukemia. Since I don't know how long the virus would stay undercover before it actually make her sick, as virus like HIV could stay 10+ years before one developes AIDS, I agreed to have her tested.
Next I asked for a urinalysis, due to Nana's crystals issue. She immediately go on and say Wellness and Eagle Pack is not a good food, espeicially for male cats that have FLUTD. Which I replied while I understands a FLUTD cat needs prescription diet, for the healthy cat, what's good for them. Guess what's the answer I got? SCIENCE DIET, she's such a big fan of Science Diet that her face glowed when she's announcing the name. I asked why is it so?
“Best company around, biggest, been around longest, industry leader!”
hm..yes??? No comment about the ingredients they use? Just becuz they are industry leader? Well, why are they industry leader anyway? Because they have the biggest share in the market? That could have been simply because they are making the most money! The company with best sales figure doesn't necessary have the best quality!! In fact, doesn't usually the cheap or middle range quality product has the biggest market share as it's more affordable and appeal to the average buyer? Don't tell me that a Corolla is a better car than a BMW in terms of safety and performance. Don't tell me that those chicken rasied a cage and have hormone injections and sold at a cheap price in supermarket are of healthier food compare to the expensve free ranged chicken.
I remain polite and asked her opinion about “by-product meal”. The answer I got almost made me choke! Really!!
“Oh those company who claims to use chickens in their product, “chicken” could mean they use the whole chicken, with feather and stuff grind up, and Science Diet we could trust to use good products.”
?????? HELLO?????? EXCUSE ME????
According to AFFCO, chicken and by-product is defined as follow:
Chicken: the clean combination of flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken or a combination thereof, exclusive of feathers, heads, feet and entrails.
Poultry By-Product Meal: consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.
Even by-product meal DOES NOT contains feather, Miss Science Diet Fan, let alone chicken.
I told her “I thought Wellness and Science Diet are Ameirican brands? And they have to go thru AFFCO? According to AFFCO chicken is really chicken meat, muscle meat.” There she immediately back off, hestitated and said
“Maybe I remembered wrong, it was deboned chicken instead of chickent.”
Ha, if they bothered to deboned the chicken they don't bother to take off the feather???
“But Science diet is really the best food around, don’t trust the labels so much, it could be deceiving. Like they always put chicken in the first ingredient, and grain is the 2nd or 3rd , but that was measured before they take out the water, so after you take water out, chicken is way down on the list and you have grains on top”
Yes I know her theory is right, but it's only for the dry food as they rarely put grains in cans. And most important of all, grains on Science diet was listed as 2nd (ground corn) while Grains in Wellnes (ground brown rice)is the forth down the list. So, according to her theory, Wellness is still better compared to Science Diet. So there I goes
“Yes I'm aware of this problem, but I thought it only happens to the dry food, as they don’t put grains in wet and do not dehydrate it. Also as I've told you, I feed mainly wet”.
Another pause.
“I thought cats don't need grains as they r carnivores?'
“Well, what does cat in the wild cat? Mouse, and mouse eat grains, when the cat comsume the whole mouse, there's grain in the mouse' stomache, intestines, as well as his feces. So that is what made a balanced diet for the cat”
It seem sort of make sense the very moment you hear that, but when what you think about it again, the grain contains in the mouse body is like what? 5%-10% of the mouse body????? Why on earth do you need grain as one of the MAIN INGREDIENT listed 2nd on the cat's food then?????
“Don't trust the labels so much, trust what you see, Science Diet is really what the vets feed their cats, and look the results, they look so much healthier. “
“But when I feed Nana Science Diet she has hairball problem and once I switch her onto Wellness and Eagle Pack her hairball problem disappear.”
Indeed her digestive systems become so much stronger nowadays that she successfully passed thru that 30cm piece of string, feathers, pieces of bamboo, elastic bands and other things that she happened to swallow.
Another Pause
“Well, if Wellness agree with her more… but Science Diet is really the best food”.
The way she talked, made me think that she's been brainwashed, or she has been payed to promote Science Diet, like a sales representitve would do. Yeah all vet feed their pets Science Diet, but haven't we heard about how poorly vets are taught about nutrition at school? Doesn't the huge shelf of Science Diet food that takes up about 1/5 of the recption area say something? Vets get their “education” about nutrition from big companies like Science Diet, Iams, Purina, and it's pretty obvious they get incentives for carrying their food.
Now when we r finish with all our questions, she said she need to take Nana downstiars for blood and urine sample. I asked how are they going to take the urine sample, by inserting a needle or by pressing her tummy. She said needle, I asked why, she said pressing her tummy and have her pee naturally would be hard to do, especially when Nana is so tiny and have a small bladder. Um, while my regular vet who charges much less is skilled enough to do that, I certainly did not expect this kind of answer.
I can't go downstairs so I waited at the reception. I saw the vet come back up upstairs right away so I have a look of concern on my face, and she told me that lab assistants will be taking the sample.
There I wait for another 15-20 min before Nana came back to me, and they tell me that they WERE NOT able to take urine sample. No they didn't phrase it that way, they said “She's not willing to give us any sample” as if it were Nana's fault. There they give me this tiny bottle of plastic beads, told me to clean out the litter box, put those plastic beads it there and have her go. EXCUSE ME? They gave me so little plastic beads that it would not even fill up a cup of small yogurt. We are talking about CATS here, not any other animal, and they sure see enough cats to know how clean and picky cats are regarding litter box issues. Do they really expect her to go in those plastic beads??? I asked the lab assitant to give me more of those plastic beads, as I know it wasn't nearly enough. She gave me another small bottle. I asked it was some kind of special litter, they said it's just simply plastic, and it won't clump or tract the urine, which makes it possible for me to collect the urine sample. I have my mind made up that if this is not going to work, I'll buy some marbles used in fish tank to substitute for litter, and collect the sample that way. I read about this method online.
And here comes the Bill,
“Your total is $345”
I THOUGHT I HEARD IT WRONG
“$345???”
I have expected this clinic to be much more expensive then my regular vet, but I certainly did not expect it to be THAT expensive. When I schedule the appointment I did ask what the fee is like, the reception told me that Doctor examination fee is aorund $62, Vaccination is about $95 and stool sample is abour $35. But if you cat is healthy and just need regular vaccine the cost of it would be included in the exam fee. I asked the price for blood work and urinalysis, which she refused to give me any quotes, but said it depends on how many and how the vet would like the test to be done.
Now here’s what they charge
Examination and Vaccination $72
Feline Leukemia Test $95
Urinalysis $57
Blood Work $35
Wellness Check $6x
While my regular vet only charge $22 for urinalysis and $45 for exam fee, this one charged $57 and $72. The exam fee is far from what the the receptionist quoted to me, and she never told me that the Wellness Check (taking body temperature, checking her eyes, ears) and the stool sample would combine to cost $6x! I've only expect the bill to be $150-$250, now I am paying $345! And what kind of service do I get?
Nana was tested to have trimple phosphate crystals (struvite) in her urine at her visit to our vet on Dec 10th. Although she does not have any infections now and is perfectly healthy, Dr Lavoie suggested to put her on a prescription diet FOREVER in order to prevent crystals forming in the future, which may lead to Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD) or urinary tracts obstruction. He gave Nana 3 different brand to try, which are Hill's Prescription Diet c/d, Medi-Cal Preventive and Royal Canin Urinary SO to try, and I could find one which one she likes best. He explains that about 2%-3% cats are prone to have cyrstals and Nana jsut happened to be one of them. The idea of putting Nana on a prescription diet FORVER freaks me out, also I'm not comfortable with the prescription food as they all contains by-products.
After that visit, I've done extensive research online, and asked around for opinions. I leanred that most of the cats in a similar case were only put on prescription diet for a few months, also I leanred that cyrstals could be related to stress and the food she eats. Since I only adopted Nana for a month at the time, and have no idea what she has been eating in the shelter, as well as the first 2 weeks she's with me she only get Hill's Science Diet Dry, I wonder with better care and food, would the crystals disappear. We've decided to keep her on Wellness cans and Eagle pack dry for another month, and do another body check to see if it gets any better. Another reason for waiting one month is that her insurance would kick in. One Month has passed and we’ve been longing to bring her to this vet clinic for a more thorough check-up. This one called Bloor Animal Hospital and has four locations, one in Willowadle, they are one of the few 24 hours clinic around. From their website, I learned that they've been in business since the 60s, has 10 doctors and 30 support staffs, they even have a on site lab. A health examination done here would include bloord test and feacal analysis. They provide all kinds of services including Cardiac Monitoring, Endoscopy, Radiology and Ultrasound, surgery….sounds like a very well equipped clinic, doesn't it?
I planned to bring Nana in during the weekend, but on Saturday night naughty Nana ate a piece of string which is at least 30 cm long. Monday morning Lester found stool on the bathroom floor that consist the string she ingested, he took some picture for me to see and that sample certainly looked SCARY!!!!! I decided to bring her to the animal hospital earlier.
I schedule an appointment for 9pm for that night, we arrived around 8:50. The clinic was very crowded, and have only 2 doctors on duty. I have to put Nana's carrier on my lap, as there's obviously no room and I don't dare to put it on the floor for all the dogs trying to sniff her.
It wasn't until 9:25 until we finally see the Vet. I told her Nana ate a long piece of string (those string you use to tie your oven roast) and pass it thru, and showed her the picture. She says that is almost surgical, if there were a knot on the string it'll get stunk in her tiny intestines. She has just done a surgery a few days ago to remove a piece of string from a cat's stomache and it cost his owner $3000. She gave nana some basic checkup, (looking at her eyes, ears, taking her temperature…etc) and asked about what food she's eating, and her background. I mentioned she's from the shelter, we have her for only 2 months and her vaccinations is up to date except she needs another booster shot for her Leukemia. She look at the record, and says that her first shot is done on Dec 10, and the booster should be done in 3-4 weeks after the first, so it was time for her 2nd. I asked if it's better to have my regular vet doing it, as he's been following her profile. Her reply was unless I could bring her in tomorrow, it'll be too late as there's only a few days of grace period. This contridicted to what Dr. Lavoie has told me, as he said as long as she's kept inside, she doesn't need her booster until later. I thought it's better to be cautious and agreed to give her the booster, although it'd be much more expensive to have her shots at this clinic. As well I felt better not to refuse as I still have lots ot ask the vet.
When she insert the needle somewhere around Nana's hind legs, Nana was so agitated that she actually tried to run for it, so the vet had to hold onto her and try to insert the noodle again. This actually puts me off, because when I saw Dr Lavoie do it, he was talking to us casually and we didn't realize he's given her shots until he finished, it's like Nana didn't feel it either, for she has never moved to twiched.. Now this vet need my help to hold onto Nana.
Next she recommended a Leukemia test, as she's been a stray before. I'm not too sure about this, as the shelter have her since June and I have her since Nov, and she shows no symptoms of having Leukemia. Since I don't know how long the virus would stay undercover before it actually make her sick, as virus like HIV could stay 10+ years before one developes AIDS, I agreed to have her tested.
Next I asked for a urinalysis, due to Nana's crystals issue. She immediately go on and say Wellness and Eagle Pack is not a good food, espeicially for male cats that have FLUTD. Which I replied while I understands a FLUTD cat needs prescription diet, for the healthy cat, what's good for them. Guess what's the answer I got? SCIENCE DIET, she's such a big fan of Science Diet that her face glowed when she's announcing the name. I asked why is it so?
“Best company around, biggest, been around longest, industry leader!”
hm..yes??? No comment about the ingredients they use? Just becuz they are industry leader? Well, why are they industry leader anyway? Because they have the biggest share in the market? That could have been simply because they are making the most money! The company with best sales figure doesn't necessary have the best quality!! In fact, doesn't usually the cheap or middle range quality product has the biggest market share as it's more affordable and appeal to the average buyer? Don't tell me that a Corolla is a better car than a BMW in terms of safety and performance. Don't tell me that those chicken rasied a cage and have hormone injections and sold at a cheap price in supermarket are of healthier food compare to the expensve free ranged chicken.
I remain polite and asked her opinion about “by-product meal”. The answer I got almost made me choke! Really!!
“Oh those company who claims to use chickens in their product, “chicken” could mean they use the whole chicken, with feather and stuff grind up, and Science Diet we could trust to use good products.”
?????? HELLO?????? EXCUSE ME????
According to AFFCO, chicken and by-product is defined as follow:
Chicken: the clean combination of flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken or a combination thereof, exclusive of feathers, heads, feet and entrails.
Poultry By-Product Meal: consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered poultry, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs, intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidably in good processing practices.
Even by-product meal DOES NOT contains feather, Miss Science Diet Fan, let alone chicken.
I told her “I thought Wellness and Science Diet are Ameirican brands? And they have to go thru AFFCO? According to AFFCO chicken is really chicken meat, muscle meat.” There she immediately back off, hestitated and said
“Maybe I remembered wrong, it was deboned chicken instead of chickent.”
Ha, if they bothered to deboned the chicken they don't bother to take off the feather???
“But Science diet is really the best food around, don’t trust the labels so much, it could be deceiving. Like they always put chicken in the first ingredient, and grain is the 2nd or 3rd , but that was measured before they take out the water, so after you take water out, chicken is way down on the list and you have grains on top”
Yes I know her theory is right, but it's only for the dry food as they rarely put grains in cans. And most important of all, grains on Science diet was listed as 2nd (ground corn) while Grains in Wellnes (ground brown rice)is the forth down the list. So, according to her theory, Wellness is still better compared to Science Diet. So there I goes
“Yes I'm aware of this problem, but I thought it only happens to the dry food, as they don’t put grains in wet and do not dehydrate it. Also as I've told you, I feed mainly wet”.
Another pause.
“I thought cats don't need grains as they r carnivores?'
“Well, what does cat in the wild cat? Mouse, and mouse eat grains, when the cat comsume the whole mouse, there's grain in the mouse' stomache, intestines, as well as his feces. So that is what made a balanced diet for the cat”
It seem sort of make sense the very moment you hear that, but when what you think about it again, the grain contains in the mouse body is like what? 5%-10% of the mouse body????? Why on earth do you need grain as one of the MAIN INGREDIENT listed 2nd on the cat's food then?????
“Don't trust the labels so much, trust what you see, Science Diet is really what the vets feed their cats, and look the results, they look so much healthier. “
“But when I feed Nana Science Diet she has hairball problem and once I switch her onto Wellness and Eagle Pack her hairball problem disappear.”
Indeed her digestive systems become so much stronger nowadays that she successfully passed thru that 30cm piece of string, feathers, pieces of bamboo, elastic bands and other things that she happened to swallow.
Another Pause
“Well, if Wellness agree with her more… but Science Diet is really the best food”.
The way she talked, made me think that she's been brainwashed, or she has been payed to promote Science Diet, like a sales representitve would do. Yeah all vet feed their pets Science Diet, but haven't we heard about how poorly vets are taught about nutrition at school? Doesn't the huge shelf of Science Diet food that takes up about 1/5 of the recption area say something? Vets get their “education” about nutrition from big companies like Science Diet, Iams, Purina, and it's pretty obvious they get incentives for carrying their food.
Now when we r finish with all our questions, she said she need to take Nana downstiars for blood and urine sample. I asked how are they going to take the urine sample, by inserting a needle or by pressing her tummy. She said needle, I asked why, she said pressing her tummy and have her pee naturally would be hard to do, especially when Nana is so tiny and have a small bladder. Um, while my regular vet who charges much less is skilled enough to do that, I certainly did not expect this kind of answer.
I can't go downstairs so I waited at the reception. I saw the vet come back up upstairs right away so I have a look of concern on my face, and she told me that lab assistants will be taking the sample.
There I wait for another 15-20 min before Nana came back to me, and they tell me that they WERE NOT able to take urine sample. No they didn't phrase it that way, they said “She's not willing to give us any sample” as if it were Nana's fault. There they give me this tiny bottle of plastic beads, told me to clean out the litter box, put those plastic beads it there and have her go. EXCUSE ME? They gave me so little plastic beads that it would not even fill up a cup of small yogurt. We are talking about CATS here, not any other animal, and they sure see enough cats to know how clean and picky cats are regarding litter box issues. Do they really expect her to go in those plastic beads??? I asked the lab assitant to give me more of those plastic beads, as I know it wasn't nearly enough. She gave me another small bottle. I asked it was some kind of special litter, they said it's just simply plastic, and it won't clump or tract the urine, which makes it possible for me to collect the urine sample. I have my mind made up that if this is not going to work, I'll buy some marbles used in fish tank to substitute for litter, and collect the sample that way. I read about this method online.
And here comes the Bill,
“Your total is $345”
I THOUGHT I HEARD IT WRONG
“$345???”
I have expected this clinic to be much more expensive then my regular vet, but I certainly did not expect it to be THAT expensive. When I schedule the appointment I did ask what the fee is like, the reception told me that Doctor examination fee is aorund $62, Vaccination is about $95 and stool sample is abour $35. But if you cat is healthy and just need regular vaccine the cost of it would be included in the exam fee. I asked the price for blood work and urinalysis, which she refused to give me any quotes, but said it depends on how many and how the vet would like the test to be done.
Now here’s what they charge
Examination and Vaccination $72
Feline Leukemia Test $95
Urinalysis $57
Blood Work $35
Wellness Check $6x
While my regular vet only charge $22 for urinalysis and $45 for exam fee, this one charged $57 and $72. The exam fee is far from what the the receptionist quoted to me, and she never told me that the Wellness Check (taking body temperature, checking her eyes, ears) and the stool sample would combine to cost $6x! I've only expect the bill to be $150-$250, now I am paying $345! And what kind of service do I get?
I wait 25 min before I see the vet
The office is totally crowded
There's only 2 doctor on duty
The vet left in the middle of our time for an emergency and I need to wait another 15.
The doctor have trouble giving vaccination to Nana, I have to hold onto Nana to make it easier.
The doctor claims it's too hard to get urine sample from my cat as she's tiny, and need to use needles to extract it. My regular vet has no problem performing this.
The doctor DID NOT extract the sample herself, have lab assitant do it.
I wait another 20 min before the Nana came back, and the lab assistant FAILED and said my cat is not willing to give any sample.
They give me tiny little bit of plastic beads to use as cat litter.
I need to collect the urine sample and bring it to the vet office within 6 hours.
I am not getting the blood work report right away or the next day (as the doc told me), but instead, reception said I won’t get the result until NEXT WEEK.
I am landed with a $345 bill!!!!!!
I totally hate this clinic now, and would tell all my friends to avoid it unless it's really really aemergency and all other vet office is closed in the city.
This is such a long post, I don't know if anyone could have the patience to read till the end, but I really need to write it out, to release some of my anger.
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