By Dr. Bruce Carstens
Willow Rock Pet Hospital
During the holidays, we are more aware of our family connections and ties and this got me thinking about the different ways our pets become parts of our families.
Of our five cats, the oldest, "Samuels" is the only one we actually went out to get. Eleven years ago, we had been married less than a year and a co-worker said she had some kittens in her barnyard that she felt sorry for because they had to fight the chickens for their food. We went out to look, and it was true. No sooner did the cat food get set out, than a crowd of hens gathered around squawking at the kittens to get out of the way. One kitten would rush back in and decide how many pecks he would take to get a bite of food. We took this one and even now, if he misbehaves, he decides how many squirts from the water bottle he will take to chew on a plant he wants to chew on.
One day we opened the door of our apartment and a striped kitten rushed in, bopped Samuels on the head and made for the food dish. After eating her fill, she jumped on the couch, stretched out and fell fast asleep. Reasoning she couldn't have gone far and was really too young to be outside alone, we put up posters about the found kitten. The next day, her owners came and collected her. We thought that was the end of that, though she was awfully cute. The next day, she was back, rushing in for dinner and settling down for a nap. Since we didn't know where the owners lived, we waited for them to come back and get her, but they never showed, so "Cricket" became our second addition.
"Chester" also came to us from the same parking lot. My wife, Suzie, who is also my office manager, used to admire him as he went for walks around the parking lot over the shoulder of his owner. Occasionally he would be walking on his own, but since he was a very hairy Persian, he usually had leaves and sticks stuck to his underside, which Suzie would brush off. One day, his owner asked Suzie if she would like to take him. She couldn't believe he would give him up, but it turns out the owner was getting married and Chester didn't get along at all with his new wife's cat. Of course we took him. Sadly, after ten years, he passed away recently of kidney failure.
"Roland" only has three legs. He was brought to the hospital years ago for euthanasia by someone who had found him stuck on a fence with gangrene in one leg. She allowed us to amputate his leg and look for a good home for him. After several months of no success, we took him ourselves, although four cats seemed like a lot at the time.
"Kirby" was found in a woodpile by a friend's Golden Retriever as a six-week old kitten. Mom was scared off, but Kirby must have imprinted on the dogs. He seems to think he is a Retriever, including pawing at the doors to get out and chasing the other cats for fun.
Our most recent addition, "Keiko" appeared in our backyard one day and simply stayed in a corner of the garden. We didn't feed her for three days, but she still watched our gang hopefully through the windows. When we finally let her in, she never left.
So I suppose there are lots of ways to get a new pet. If you got one over Christmas, I hope you will be responsible and take care of all their life and veterinary needs, including spaying/neutering, annual vaccinations, heartworm prevention (now for cats, too), proper nutrition (next month's topic) and lots of attention to make sure they feel like part of the family. It's what makes me feel like your other family doctor.
Send in your Pet-Care Questions: Each month Dr. Carstens will answer your questions about pet care on this page. Dr. Carstens can be reached at 630-9234, or mail your questions to Willow Rock Pet Hospital, 6661-M Stanford Ranch Road, Rocklin, CA 95677. www.willowrockpet.com(email - netvet@vfr.net)
About the Author: Dr. Bruce Carstens graduated from the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1991. He and his wife have been residents of Stanford Ranch since 1992 and have two children at Breen Elementary. Dr. Carstens opened his own office, Willow Rock Pet Hospital in the Food Source Plaza in June, 1997.