Two black cats, zero trick-or-treaters

For the second year in a row, we managed to have exactly ZERO children (or other, older persons) at our door on Halloween.  The first year we moved in I think we had one or two kids… the second year we had one or two, and it’s been all downhill from there.  We live in a large subdivision, but we’re like “the street that time forgot”, because we’re separate from the rest of the neighbourhood and isolated on the opposite side of a busy, multi-lane street.  Our neighbours on one side live in Chicago for most of the year so their house is empty, and the neighbours on the other side are rarely home either, so the street isn’t very inviting.  To be honest, we don’t do anything to encourage trick-or-treaters anymore, because it’s sort of tedious to spend four hours sitting in the living room downstairs, “waiting”, while the rest of the household continues life upstairs, where we have fun things like computers and television and NHL InDemand in HD.  We spent Halloween watching a Leafs/Panthers game on TV while eating quesadillas, but we felt particularly festive because we shared the room with not just one, but TWO, black cats.  They slept in an extra-evil manner as was fitting for the occasion.  I later ate a small Reese’s peanut butter cup, which was in an orange wrapper, so my Halloween was full of tradition.

One of the great things about having a blog is that it helps you to meet a lot of interesting strangers from all over the world.  It’s a small world lately, as my most interesting recent stranger has been a blog reader who lives here in Vegas.  Cheryl has a dog with allergies, like Phoenix, and she recently wrote to ask Flippy if she was aware of Dr. Plechner, a veterinarian in California who specializes in canine and feline endocrine disorders and allergy problems.  The question got passed on to me, and Cheryl has directed me towards a wealth of knowledge about pet allergies.  In a way it’s been quite reassuring, because Dr. Plechner treats his patients with low-dose doses of cortisone (“physiologic”) , sort of like we’ve been doing with Phoenix, and he’s had great success in treating allergies without the negative cortisone side-effects you’d see with “pharmacologic” doses.  Dr. Plechner also mentions that many of his allergy patients also suffer from hypothyroidism, which is certainly true with Phoenix as well.  While I don’t know if Dr. Plechner’s method is *the* answer to what ails Phoenix, it’s nice to read numerous reports of pets who’ve been helped with his methods, and it never hurts to learn something new.  The next time Phoenix is at the vet I’ll enquire about the “Plechner Protocol” to see if our vet has an opinion about it, and in the interim, there’s lots of reading to do.  If you have a dog or cat with allergies and are interested in reading more about Dr. Plechner’s methods, there are two books you can pick up at Amazon.com, Pet Allergies, and Pets at Risk.  You can also buy a compendium of professional articles by Dr. Plechner from New Sage Press, Endocrine-Immune Mechanisms in Animals and Human Health Implications.  It’s not quite as dry as the title would have you imagine, but it is a bit pricey compared to the books from Amazon.  Once again, thanks to Cheryl for broaching this subject with us, as we’re learning so much.  I also want to thank Vet Mommy for more information in the allergy department, as we now know to ask our vet about Atopica as well.  We’ll be so well prepared, the vet’s head will spin.

Another person I want to mention and thank is Judi, who was kind enough to send me a link to her website about her cat, Hobbes, and his battle with chronic renal failure.  Hobbes sadly passed away earlier this year, but Judi has done a great job of compiling a website for other cat owners who might be dealing with a similar diagnosis in their pet.  I think these kinds of websites are exactly what pet owners need to supplement information from their vets.  Yes, you definitely need a vet to oversee all diagnosis and treatment, but sometimes you need another pet owner in a similar situation to help you figure out how to get by at home, when you don’t have vets and vet techs to do all the dirty work for you.  Judi’s site is a wealth of information which I hope I never need to know, but I really appreciate that it’s there, just in case.

I’m intrigued by today’s Halloween-themed Luann.  Is Luann about to adopt a “Frank” of her very own?  Enquiring minds will stay tuned…

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Posted by Leigh-Ann on 11/01 at 07:11 AM

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  1. Hi Leigh-Ann,

    Good to see you have made it through the books, it was completely eye opening for me. I finished them off in a matter of days as the possibility of finding another alternative other than the allergy shots which don’t seem to be helping him. It may not be the answer for everyone, but I think that the E-I 1 blood test should be run alongside all allergy blood tests. I am sure it would save a lot of time and frustration…

    I do know someone at the dog park who has had good success with the Atopica. Mind you, he has been on a pinto bean and sweet potato diet as well, which may also be contributing if he has a food allergy.

    Posted by Cheryl  on  11/01  at  09:31 PM

  2. How sweet is that poor wet kitty.  I do hope that Luann sees fit to adopt him!  :)

    Do you think that your lack of trick or treaters has a little something to do with your “scram” welcome mat! ;-) LMAO

    It has been three years running without trick or treaters for us.  I can not say that I am complaining as I am not a fan of being a slave to the door all night.  (Ooooh that just made me sound jerky!  LOL Imagine denying candy to children at Halloween?  How is that for evil?  :vampire:  )

    Posted by Expat  on  11/03  at  10:24 PM

  3. I grew up in a neighbourhood where Halloween meant the doorbell rang non-stop for hours.  My parents could just stand at the door and wait for the throngs of kids, usually a couple of hundred.  I wouldn’t mind that so much, because I do think the little kids are cute.  We’re now so isolated, though, that the only “kids” who might come to our street are teenagers, and frankly, they all probably have more disposable income to spend on candy than I do.  There’s one house on our street with about seven young kids, but the family are Evangelicals who think Halloween is evil.  I don’t know if the kids would be allowed to come to the “scary lesbian house”, anyway, lest we somehow taint them.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann (aka Mudpuppy)  on  11/04  at  07:09 AM

  4. Thanks for linking to my Hobbes’s site.  Like you said, I hope that people don’t need the information, but it is there for them if they do.  Hobbes was a great kitty and may he continue to do good by helping those who might need the information. 

    Thanks again.

    Judi

    Posted by Judi  on  11/09  at  04:27 AM
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