I have decided to do a weekly posting about my life in general. As much as I love writing about animals, I sometimes feel like talking about other things (mostly what’s been happening in my life). Since I don’t feel like doing it all that often- Nor getting another blog for such matters, I have decided to post a weekly (don’t kill me if I skip a week or something) blog about my lifely matters.

So I shall start here and now. This past week was a busy one for me. Not only have I been having to deal with my poor cat and her leukemia but I have had an awful week of work. I worked much overtime and put a lot of my energy into it. I am feeling a bit tired but now am refreshed it is over and have some more down time with myself and my boyfriend. I started reading “Cell” by Stephen King (one of his new ones) and have almost finished it loving every word. It’s got a Zombie/End of the world feel to it (which I love in books/movies, basically any media). I highly recommend it. Also, I have been waiting to go snowboarding… it is finally been cold enough around here and we got a nice chunk of snow… alas this work week cut into my plans to go this past Sunday and I have to plan something this week/weekend hopefully (it was considerably warm today and I am afraid it will be like that tomorrow and melt all of the snow). So yeah, if it wasn’t for work… I may have more interesting things to tell but this is the way life goes… take it or leave it right? And since I am not suicidal… I shall take it. Enjoy the moments you have… I always try to at least. Have a great week everyone and take it easy… that IS something I plan to do this week for sure!

My boyfriend has started a blog… check him out since he is new and all alone in the wordpress community.

JetLagg’s Blog: Who is Dave Dunn

I saw the article first in the paper I work for and wanted to blog about it. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten around to blogging much this past week and it’s been a bit. I still think it’s a great heartwarming story and should be told…

In Meriden, CT at the CT Humane Society… a mother cat who just gave birth to kittens adopted a 6 day old Rottweiler puppy that was abandoned by it’s mother. The pup is named Charlie. Charlie’s mother was found by the side of the road in Meriden a couple of months ago. She gave birth to two puppies, but one was stillborn. As sometimes happens with a stillborn in the litter, the mother refused to accept Charlie. “The kittens scrum up with him and the kittens treat him like one of their own,” Chorney said. “There’s a certain social benefit of small animals being with each other.” Volunteers are hoping that dog owners will volunteer their puppies to be Charlie’s playmates. “Dogs need to be with a litter of puppies, to learn to play with other dogs,” Chorney said. “He has to learn to be a well-socialized dog. Here is the Meriden Humane Society’s website. Also, here is the article about the whole situation.

And a photo:

And a video!

I just stumbled upon this article about long-tailed macaque monkeys in Singapore causing havoc. Basically they roam the streets in groups of 20 and ransack houses - taking food, opening cupboards, overturning trash bins and pissing on the rug. It’s not even just houses anymore… Out for a game of golf, did you pack a lunch? Consider it gone if these packs of monkey’s come around. Nowhere seems safe anymore. Lock those doors and fear the monkey’s wrath! According to an article about these incidents: “It’s not that they want to attack. They just think, if you have the food, why don’t you share it? Why are you eating and not sharing? Can I have some? They cross the line.”

Here is a video of a monkey in a Singapore parking lot stealing an apple:

Here is another video of a monkey in Singapore AGAIN stealing and eating someone’s food. It’s crazy to see.

Here are some great stock photos I have found just for you… enjoy them!

I have gotten the worst news today that has sent me spiraling into a depression. You will have to excuse me if I slack a bit on the posts for the next couple days since I haven’t been too happy about this news. My kitty “Skittles” (she is half Siamese, half Persian and gorgeous) has Feline Leukemia. It is in the 1st stage of the virus and could live 3 more healthy years (on the bright side) but that doesn’t mean she will. You wouldn’t even be able to tell she had anything wrong with her as she looks and acts the same as she ever did. The bad news came from a regular Vet checkup. It’s good that it was caught early because the 2nd stage only means bad things for our furry friends. I have decided to post a few facts about this virus for everyone’s information… it will show also what to look for (as in signs)… although I would urge everyone to just bring their pet for regular checkups because my baby isn’t showing any signs at all but she still tested positive.

What is Feline Leukemia Virus?

Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV), a retrovirus, so named because of the way it behaves within infected cells. All retroviruses, including feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), produce an enzyme, reverse transcriptase, which permits them to insert copies of their own genetic material into that of the cells they have infected.

How common is the infection?

FeLV-infected cats are found worldwide, but the prevalence of infection varies greatly depending on their age, health, environment, and lifestyle. In the US approximately 2 to 3% of all cats are infected with FeLiv. Rates rise significantly - 13% or more - in cats that are all, very young, or otherwise at high risk of infection.

How is FeLV spread?

Cats persistently infected with FeLV serve as sources of infection. Virus is shed in very high quantities in saliva and nasal secretions, but also in urine, feces, and milk infected cats. Cat-to-cat transfer of virus may occur from a bite wound, during mutual grooming, and (although rarely) through the shared use of litter boxes and feeding dishes. Transmission can also take place from an infected mother cat to her kittens, either before they are born or while they are nursing. FeLV doesn’t survive long outside a cat’s body - probably less than a few hours under normal household conditions.

What does FeLV do to a cat?

Feline Leukemia virus adversely affects the cat’s body in many ways. It is most common cause of cancer in cats, it may cause various blood disorders, and it may lead to a state of immune deficiency that hinders the cat’s ability to protect itself against other infections. The same bacteria, viruses, protocoa, and fungi that may be found in the everyday environment - where they usually do not affect the healthy animals - can cause severe illness in those with weakened immune systems. These secondary infections are responsible for many of the diseases associated with FeLV.

What are the signs of disease caused by FeLV?

During the early stages of infection, it is common for cats to exhibit no signs of disease at all. However over time - weeks, months or even years - the cat’s health may progressively deteriorate or be characterized by recurrent illness interspersed with periods of relative health. Signs may include:

• Loss of appetite
• Slow but progressive weight loss, followed by severe wasting late in the disease process
• Poor coat condition
• Enlarged lymph nodes
• Persistent fever
• Pale gums or other mucus membranes
• Inflammation of the hums (gingivitis) and mouth (stomatitis)
• Infection of the skin, urinary bladder, and upper respiratory tract
• Persistent diarrhea
• Seizures, behavior changes, and other neurological disorders
• A variety of eye conditions
• In unspayed female cats, abortion of kittens or other reproductive failures

What are the two stages of FeLV infection?

FeLV is present in the blood (a condition called viremia) during two different stages of infection:

Primary Viremia, and early stage of the virus infection. During this stage some cats are able to mount an effective immune response, eliminate the virus from the bloodstream, and halt progression to the secondary viremia stage.

Secondary Viremia, a later stage characterized by persistent infection of the bone marrow and other tissue. If FeLV infection progresses to this stage, it has passed a point of no return: the overwhelming majority of cats with secondary viremia will be infected for the remainder of their lives.

How can I keep my cat from becoming infected?

The only sure way to protect cats is to prevent their exposure to FeLV infected cats.

• Keep cats indoors, away from potentially infected cats that might bite them. If you do allow your cat outdoor access, provide supervision or place them in a secure enclosure to prevent wandering and fighting.
• Adopt only infection-free cats into households with uninfected cats.
• House infection-free cats separately from infected cats, and don’t allow infected cats to share food and water bowls or liter boxes with uninfected cats.
• Consider FeLV vaccination of uninfected cats (FeLV vaccination of infected cats is not beneficial). Discuss the advantages of vaccination with your veterinarian. FeLV vaccines are widely available, but since not all vaccinated cats will be protected, preventing exposure remains important even for vaccinated pets. FeLV vaccines will not cause cats to receive false positive results on ELISA, IFA or any other available FeLV tests.

I hope this has helped inform you of the risks out there and to seriously consider getting your cat vaccinated. I never thought it would happen to my cat and it did. She hardly left the yard when she went outside, she was a scaredy cat about roaming around the neighborhood, and still she caught it. Please do me a favor and check on your cat… if everyone took better care and diagnosed their cat, this wouldn’t be becoming more of a common problem. I now have to keep Skittles indoors and worry about her getting all sorts of infections bringing her to the vet every few months. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

This is my skittles… her eyes are light blue, so it’s hard to get a good photo of her eyes looking normal:

She also loves to sit on your shoulder like a bird ever since she was a kitten. Here she is with my boyfriend… chilling on his shoulder:

I was quite tired today after work, so I appologize that I haven’t put much up but I couldn’t leave you with nothing at all, so here is some goofy cat pics.

This morning I was sent a group of pictures in my email of hands that were beautifully painted in the style of many animals and photographed to look like that animal (hard to describe, the pictures speak for themselves). It didn’t give the name of the artist, so I did my own research and came up with two links (One is his very own website and the other is a link to an article on Animal Planet about his work.) His website — Animal Planet Article. Here are some of my favorite painted hands that were sent to me:

I am so very excited! I looked under the blog stats and found that 5 people today searched and found me through the word adorablay! I am thinking this means only one thing… that they have heard of this blog or are return visitors since the word was made up by my boyfriend (the way he pronounces adorable, to be goofy). Joyous of days when someone comes back for more or hears of this blog by word of mouth! I am reaching people and that makes makes me very happy! Thank you for all your support!

Here is something to make you as happy as I am:

only a little bit…