Update on Mia - and a Plea wrapped in a Rant

Thank you all for the support and concern - I have been showing Mia all the comments she's getting - she feels the love.

Now that the bulk of the tests are done this is where we stand ...

She appears to have very early onset of a kidney issue - we're going to start with changing to prescription food. She also appears to have a urinary infection - antibiotics should clear that up.

Her thyroid is fine.

So that's the good news. But it doesn't explain the seizure and it doesn't answer the heart murmur. So she needs to have an echo whatever thingie - an ultrasound of her heart. I was hoping this could wait since the test is expensive but it can't.

She is scheduled to have the echo thingie on Monday. There is a good chance that if there is a heart condition it can be treated with meds.

Which brings me to a PLEA. A couple of pleas actually - A Plea-ii if you will.

First - get health insurance for your pet. It doesn't cost much and even though you have to come up with the cash upfront you will get some (sometimes most) of it back.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE spay/neuter your pets. The world just doesn't need any more puppies and kittens. Especially kittens - for some reason people seem to feel cats can just roam the neighborhood and breed and it's all just so damn cute.

It is NOT cute. It is irresponsible. It is cruel.

There are low cost (even free) spay/neuter programs. And you know what - even if you pay full price - it is cheaper than feeding a posse of kittens.

Finally - ADOPT - do NOT buy. I don't want to start a whole brouhaha about breeders but as a business - I'd rather be a prostitute to make money than breed animals when thousands of animals who are already here are being killed every day.

There is a slogan. Buy One Today, Kill One Tomorrow
Harsh? - yes it is. But the reality for the animals being held in cold steel cages until they die alone is even harsher.

I have always felt strongly about these issues but I'm really worked up about them now. I called the rescue people who gave me Mia to see if they could loan me the money for the echo. They are a good group of people who do these things all the time. They are buried in homeless animals - from foreclosures, from people who can't feed their kids so the dog has to go, from elderly people who have to move to homes where animals aren't allowed.

I ended up sending them money! I have food and I'm not going to lose my home and I'll be late on some bill until the insurance reimburses me. And I won't get my hair colored - hell gray can be hot.

Socialism at its finest. Don't get me started on people who make 250K or more. Really, just don't.

Two years ago we had a terrible stray cat problem here. I traced the problem to a few roaming cats from the trailer park behind me. One owner was an asshole who shouldn't be allowed to own a roach let alone an animal. I will have to tell the story of my "discussion" with him one day.

But the others were either uninformed or so elderly or poor that they felt they couldn't do anything. I found a shelter that offered to spay/neuter all their cats at cost - I paid for a few myself. And for those who were too old/ill to take their pets I either played chauffeur for them or just took the cat on my own.

So far this spring we have one - ONE - stray cat in the entire complex and one of the son's of one of the people I helped has sworn to me he will trap and rescue the stray.

I'm not mentioning this to congratulate myself. I am mentioning it to illustrate from first hand experience that a spay/neuter program does work and that one person can make a difference.

It is what American values are supposed to stand for. Those who can - do. Those who have - share. Those who know - tell others.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.