Monday, March 28, 2011

Be sure....

and hop on over to our new blog site and bookmark it.

http://wacofostercat.gridlines.net/

I've got a full-sized edition of Tuesday's Artful Cats ready for posting tomorrow, and you won't want to miss it.

I'm still in need of black cats for Black Cat Friday. We're completely out, and Ollie is pouting. He KNOWS there are black cats that need some face time and fame!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

RSS Feed has moved...

over to the new place. I will keep posting updates here for the next little while until things get a bit more settled.

So if you haven't visited us at the new place, come on over. :)

http://wacofostercat.gridlines.net/

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Tuesday's Artful Cats

Today's edition of Tuesday's Artful Cats is up at the new blogsite. Hop on over and take a look...this one had to be short because of time constraints and a learning curve, but next week we should be back to the regular length.

Today's Artful Cats

Sunday, March 20, 2011

New Blog Address

It's still somewhat a work in progress, but Ollie's new blog address is:

http://wacofostercat.gridlines.net/

We will be continuing with the Sunday with Ollie, Tuesday's Artful Cat, Black Cat Friday and (maybe) Shelter Cat Saturday.

The RSS Feed will be moved over to the new site most likely tomorrow. I will be closing comments here, but the archives will remain. All older posts (with comments) were also migrated to the new address, so nothing should have been lost in translation.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Forever homes are GOOD things!

I'm sneaking some time at the keyboard here while meowmy's back is turned.

My foster bro, Snickers, is now with his NEW FAMILY!!

Meowmy and daddy took him to the shelter today to meet his new family, and Snickers went home with them!!!!!!

How cool is THAT???????????


(Less cool....they brought in another foster dog. Meowmy assures me this is temporary and just for a couple of weeks, but still. ANOTHER dog??????? Hmph. Really.)

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Little Foster Bro

I know meowmy and I are supposed to be on vacation, but I HAD to get to the keyboard this morning to pass this news along.

Snickers, my mini-dachshund foster bro, who has been here since mid-January, MAY HAVE A FOREVER HOME!!!!

A nice lady contacted meowmy yesterday about him and after some emailing, meowmy said it sounds as if Snickers has found a match. She's gonna call the adoption dude, Tim, at the shelter when they open this morning and begin the process.

How cool is THAT? Maybe fostering here with meowmy is good luck? I mean, I got MY forever home here. Foster bro, Elvis, has his forever home here. And now Snickers has found HIS forever home while he was here.

I'm pretty sure meowmy will let me at the keyboard again to post an update once things run their course. I am SOOOOOOOOOOO happy for little Snickers!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Blog vacation

Guys,

I'd hoped Ollie and I could resume blogging today, but along with the overflowing dishwasher this last week, I swapped out PCs with my husband yesterday, so I'm in the process of getting stuff back up and running.

Because of that, Ollie and I are going to take the week off. We'll resume posting next Sunday, March 20 with the regular Sunday With Ollie feature.

Meanwhile, if anyone knows any black cats who'd like to be our BCF selection, have them take a look at this link ( BCF ) and email me. I hope, too, that when we come back from vacation, we'll also have the new blog location set up (we're working on that this week, too), and I'll post a redirect link for everyone.

Have a good week guys!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Black Cat Friday, March 11, 2011

No black cat for BCF. **sniff**

It's hard to believe I've posted pictures of all the black cats in the world who might want a few minutes of online fame, but maybe I have.

I may really need to rethink this, though it won't be after the blog move.

It looks, too, like Shelter Cat Saturday was a good idea whose time has just not come. That will be rethought, too, once the move is underway. :(

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Clean up update :)

Thank you all for your comments today. :)

Today has been the day from hell, though Ollie really, really did enjoy his dryer time. He got so much of it he finally found himself well done and left the dryer for nap time on the bed.

Fortunately, it looks like the flooding was really just a major mop up. It doesn't appear to have done much, if any, damage. Fortunately, we have a nearly indestructible sheet vinyl flooring (it's original to the house from the late 50s), and I've never been so grateful in my life to not have carpet or laminate flooring. Dealing with an insurance company on top of this would have been a nightmare.

The dishwasher is reparable for a modest amount of money, so it looks like our biggest hit will be from the water and gas bills. The dishwasher ran all night and it ran hot water.

So while we're all exhausted, there's no question it could have been much, much worse than it was.

Bloggie update

Meowmy wanted me to let everyone know that the blog move is delayed for probably a couple of weeks.

She and daddy woke up to a flooded house...the dishwasher overflowed and overflowed and overflowed. Me and Howdy had to stay in our room until really late until they got it cleaned up.

I don't mind, though, because I wasn't meant to walk on water and that warm thingy I love has been running and running and running.


See.............

Monday, March 7, 2011

Moving off Blogger soon

Folks,

Due to some constant changes that Blogger makes, I'm going to move Ollie's blog to another platform. I hate to do that, but Blogger has made itself damned near unworkable for what I do here, and moving it is the only option.

It won't happen this week, and I'll post linky goodness when it does, but expect it within the next week to 10 days. The look will change, but there's nothing for it. I've struggled with Blogger as much as I'm going to. Ollie's blog is supposed to be fun, and the changes that are made each week keeps it from being that.

Stay tuned for moving information.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

What if cats had thumbs?

lol

Sunday with Ollie, March 5, 2011

The cool weather made an unexpected reappearance, and Ollie is back making up to his second best small appliance buddy. The bathroom heater. :)

(Please pardon our dust. We're doing a bit of renovating in the bathroom.)

It's my FRIEND!

Oh Friend. I love you!

WHHHAAAAAA....Turn it back ON!!!!!!


Purring is an automatic safety valve device for dealing with happiness overflow.
- Anonymous

Friday, March 4, 2011

A Sad and Late Black Cat Friday, 3/4/11

I know this BCF is really late and, unfortunately, I don't have a picture, but I wanted to post an In Memorium BCF for my father and stepmother's Persian, Smokey Joe.

Smokey lost his battle with the rare lepto virus that just doesn't usually effect cats. He'd been on antibiotics for five weeks, and it looked from his blood test on Tuesday that he'd turned the corner.

He did, only to run smack into FIP. Sadly, his immune system had been so weakened, that it looks like that triggered a dormant FIP.

So the sad decision was made by my dad and stepmom last night to end his suffering.

Smokey Joe was a lovely dark smoke Persian cat who was much loved and cherished. He'll be missed by my father and stepmom. He'll also be sorely missed by his running buddy and sleeping partner, Jake, the rat terrier mix who so loved him.

Sleep well, Smokey Joe.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Reporting A Pet Food Complaint to the FDA

Taking a serious turn here, folks. What with the Wellness recall, a very nice person on my Devon Rex mailing list has documented how she contacted the FDA and how it went.


She graciously agreed to have this cross posted.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


When I stumbled across this info on March 1 on fda website, I had just sent
helper to pet store to buy wellness cat food: 
 
" February 28, 2011 - WellPet LLC announced today it has voluntarily
recalled certain lots of WellnessR canned cat food.... WellPet discovered
the lower thiamine levels during independent testing conducted together with
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to a single,
isolated consumer complaint received by the FDA. Although WellPet has
received no other reports concerning thiamine in its products, WellPet has
taken additional steps with the manufacturer to ensure that this does not
happen again."

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm245108.htm 

When seeing that only a single complaint triggered this discovery, I decided
to call the fda about two separate problems I've had in last couple months
with two different brands. I've never reported to fda before, so didn't know
the process or whether it was a waste of time.

Today I got to speak with our regions coordinator. She spent 58 minutes!!
talking with me, taking down details. I'm severely disabled with
neurological Lyme disease as well as several other conditions that have
affected my cognitive function as well as short-term memory. So  I keep a
journal for myself and for my 2 cats and dog that records foods and all
changes and any signs of illness. She was impressed with the info I shared,
saying it was very helpful.

I was impressed, favorably. She said every complaint is entered with all
detail into national database, and at minimum is "tracked and trended." Most
are also investigated.

So, if you ever have problem you think is caused by pet food, I strongly
encourage you to call your regional coordinator and report the problem.
Also, it's helpful to know BEFORE you have a problem, the type of info the
fda needs. For instance, I now always keep the original packaging until sure
there is no problem.
 
 
http://www.fda.gov/safety/reportaproblem/consumercomplaintcoordinators/default.htm 
 
Consumer Complaint Coordinators
To report adverse reactions or other problems with FDA-regulated products,
contact the FDA district office consumer complaint coordinator for your
geographic area. 

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ReportaProblem/ucm182403.htm

 How to Report a Pet Food Complaint
You can report complaints about a pet food product electronically through
the Safety Reporting Portal1 or you can call your state's FDA Consumer
Complaint Coordinators2. 

Please have as much of the following information available when submitting
your complaint: 

Consumers often transfer dry pet food into other containers for easier
handling.  If possible, please save the original packaging until the pet
food has been consumed.  The packaging contains IMPORTANT information often
needed to identify the variety of pet food, the manufacturing plant, and the
production date.  

Exact name of the product and product description (as stated on the product
label)
 
Type of container (e.g. box, bag, can, pouch, etc.)Product intended to be refrigerated, frozen, or stored at room temperature
Lot number - This number is often hard to find and difficult to read.  It is
stamped onto the product packaging and typically includes a combination of
letters and numbers, and is always in close proximity to the best by/before
or expiration date (if the product has a best by/before or expiration date).
The lot number is very important as it helps us determined the manufacturing
plant as well as the production date.
Best by, best before or expiration date
UPC code (also known as the bar code)
Net weight
Purchase date and exact location where purchased.
Results of any laboratory testing performed on the pet food product
How the food was stored, prepared, and handled  

Description of the problem with the product.  Examples include:
Foul odor, off color
Swollen can or pouch, leaking container
Foreign object found in the product.

If you think your pet has become sick or injured as a result of consuming a
pet food product also provide information about your pet, including:
Species (dog, cat, rabbit, fish, bird, other)
Age, weight, breed, pregnant, spayed/neutered
Previous health status of pet
Any pre-existing conditions your pet has
Whether you give your pet any other foods, treats, dietary supplements or
drugs
How much of the suspected product your pet normally consumes
How much of the "suspect" product was consumed from the package?
How much of the product you still have
Clinical signs exhibited by your pet (such as vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy)
How soon after consuming the product the clinical signs appeared
Your veterinarian's contact information, diagnosis and medical records for
your pet
Results of any diagnostic laboratory testing performed on your pet
How many pets consuming the product exhibited clinical symptoms
Whether any pets that consumed the product are not affected
Whether your pet spends time outdoors unsupervised
Why you suspect the pet food caused the illness