Ultimate Fighting Championship:  Jackson Monroe vs. Frankie McFrank

The vet who writes the blog The Rabbit Lived has been generous enough to answer pet-related questions from her readers, and she answered one I asked about trying to negotiate the relationship between Frank and Jackson.  They’ve been getting along slightly better lately (i.e. no actual brawls), but Jackson still takes offense at the mere sound of the bell on Frank’s collar.  I used to think that Jackson was being the aggressor, but lately he’s just seemed afraid of Frank, and will even stop eating if Frank comes in the room.  As Jackson loves to eat, this is serious stuff.  The Buspar has done a great job of mellowing out Frank (I haven’t been bitten in weeks!), and we’ve definitely seen a positive change in him since he had his toe surgery.  On second thought, I guess it might not have been a “positive” change—he’s very active and loving and playful, but has also taken to jumping up on tall pieces of furniture and has broken a margarita glass.  In any case, he seems pretty happy, and I’d like to see Jackson just as cheerful.  The vet’s blog recommended that we try Bach Flowers Rescue Remedy, even though she acknowledges that it sounds sort of far-fetched.  We’re already trying (or have tried) her other suggestions, so I’m definitely going to add Rescue Remedy to the shopping list.  What the heck—it can’t hurt.

Speaking of Frank, he’s turned into a love bug who constantly wants to cuddle.  I took time out around 5pm this afternoon to have a little nap, and he came in the room and jumped right up with me.  This photo is completely unstaged:

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It’s hard to believe that he’s the same cat who sank his teeth into my leg more than once.  I think adjusting to a new home and all the pets, plus the pain in his feet, made him unpredictable.

In other pet news, Keno the cockatoo is almost finished her two weeks of antibiotics, thank goodness.  I have to grab her with a towel twice a day to give her the meds, and she just screeches like a banshee or a horror movie scream queen.  The sounds are hideous, and at least once she’s grabbed the syringe out of my hand with her foot, so I’ve had a handful of screaming bird wildly waving a syringe in my direction.  The antibiotics have had no effect on her paranoia or her feather-plucking, so I guess once we’ve put this infection behind us we’ll move on to Haldol or something similar.  I also recently started to try her on Kava Kava (after having no luck with St. John’s Wort, Valerian, or a homeopathic treatment), but it doesn’t seem to have helped at all.

Last but not least, Dante wouldn’t lie down in his crate when he went to bed tonight, and he kept suddenly spinning around and lifting his foot as if something had bitten him.  When I was finally able to check out his paw pad, I could see it was cracked and split open and I’m sure it was pretty painful.  He’s usually so stoic about pain, but he was horrible to deal with as I tried to clean his foot and put ointment on it—I chased him back and forth downstairs for 15 minutes, and at one point he kicked out at me while I was lifting his leg and it was like being kicked by a horse.  Eventually I was able to clean out some dirt with a damp paper towel, but all I could put on it was some Bag Balm—I didn’t want to leave him and search out antibiotic ointment, as I was afraid I’d never catch him again!  Hopefully this will heal on its own with a bit of TLC, because the thought of putting him in the new car to take him to the vet is depressing.  Not that I would put the car above my love for Dante, but hey… new car.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/09 at 08:53 PM

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  1. Awww, a girl and her stray cat.  Frank really is a sweet boy, when he isn’t doing is crazy kitty act and climbing all over things.  He’s the best sleeper.

    Posted by Flippy  on  07/09  at  10:23 PM

  2. Awwww…

    What a cute pic!  I am glad that things finally got sorted out with Frank and that he is learning that he can relax a little.

    I know the traumas of having to give a bird medication all too well.  Two years ago, one of our girls had egg yolk peritonitis and I had to give her drops twice daily.  It was such an ordeal.

    Good luck with the critters!  I hope that they are all on the road to recovery.

    Posted by Expat  on  07/11  at  07:54 AM

  3. Awww, man… Expat, I think you jinxed us wink

    Posted by Mudpuppy  on  07/11  at  07:46 PM

  4. I totally believe in “Rescue Remedy”.  Get the bigger bottle, ‘cause the stuff’s soo pricey. And Whole Paycheck is the highest gouger, so try an alternative. Portland has more competition on that front, so if you like it, let me know and I can get it cheaper, by volume. I use it on myself--stubbed toe, slammed door on finger, etc...it totally works for those sorts of traumas.  I used it on my pets too, but I’m now petless. Kave and Valerian are good, just slower acting on the critters.

    Posted by Babe  on  07/11  at  10:46 PM

  5. AWWWWWW So cute smile I miss snuggling my cats. :( They’ve been recently forbidden to enter the room because they might start messing up my artwork and eating my paint or something.

    (PS I don’t miss Satchel’s cuddles so much because he fights in his sleep rasberry )

    Posted by celine  on  07/12  at  02:34 AM

  6. eu qria ouvir muito a musica cabelo-encolheu se vc podesse me mandar eu ficaria muitu agradecido

    Posted by christopher  on  10/03  at  12:26 AM
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