Theme
6:48pm
August 2, 2015
things about Hufflepuffs #468
Hufflepuffs with animal allergies are quite likely to have a “pet” plant.
This Hufflepuff with a severe cat allergy (as determined any time in my life I’ve ever been tested, as well as by the amount of Benadryl I go through)… still has a cat. And I suspect that may actually be a weirdly Hufflepuff thing as well.
Although I found out that actually unless your allergy is so severe as to be life-threatening, it can be more beneficial to keep the cat around and treat the aI still couldn’t breathe through my nose for the first several months of living around dogs. And I lived around cats all my life, but not indoor cats until I grew up. We found out I was allergic because when we brought the cats indoors, I’d fall asleep, so my mom had me tested. I was furious at the doctor because I loved cats so much and because I was a kid and didn’t know that the doctor not telling me wouldn’t have made it go away.
I had actual reason to be furious at an allergist as an adult who pretty much refused to treat me unless I “got rid of” my pets – and it turned out that the symptoms I had gone to see him for, weren’t even the result of allergies to begin with, but of a really bad lung infection that was mistaken for an asthma exacerbation that was being blamed on my allergies because what else was there to blame? But at any rate, I did some research and the allergist’s recommendation to “get rid of” the cat apparently is not even considered best practice for people with allergies, even severe allergies, as long as they’re not life-threateningly severe allergies.
Which mine aren’t and never have been – both skin and blood tests have consistently shown an allergic response to cat saliva that’s technically well into the severe range, but my actual physiological response to that isn’t to keel over and die or stop breathing, so I’m not in the category of people where “getting rid of” a cat would even make sense. My allergies have actually been improved somewhat by living with a cat, which is one reason it’s not considered good to just avoid the animal you’re allergic to (unless it’s some kind of obscure animal you’re never going to see) – it just means your response will be more severe when you do come into contact with that animal.
So that (and the fact that I love Fey and would probably not mind living with her even if it somehow did shorten my lifespan somewhat, which there’s no evidence that it does at all even a little, mind you) is why I’m a Hufflepuff with a severe cat allergy who lives with a cat. And even sits here typing this with this 16-year-old cat sitting on my chest with her fur right in my face, blocking the fan, on a hot day. She’s lived with me ever since I moved out on my own for the first time, and she’s going to go on living with me until one or both of us dies. She’s one of the closest friends I have in the entire world, and she knows things about me that nobody else knows. I sometimes have a sneaking suspicion, however, that she thinks of me as sort of like a big, none-too-bright kitten who’s never had the decency to move out in her old age, and doesn’t know enough to come in out of the rain and therefore has to be looked after all the time. People always act like the cat is the “baby” in the relationship but I’m pretty sure the reverse is how Fey actually sees it (and I’m not arguing too hard, I call her Grandma Fey a lot of the time).
But I love the idea of pet plants. Although I have plant allergies too, so that’s not necessarily going to work out any better. I guess it depends on the plant – or the animal – and the person.
139 notes
3:57am
June 29, 2015
mostlycatsmostlyIf you find yourself suddenly needing a TON of money for an emergency vet bill, it can be very stressful! Luckily, there are some things you can do to help your situation.
Apply for Care Credit
Financial Resources by US State
YouCaring Fundraising
National organizations that provide financial assistance to pet owners in need Via The Humane Society Website
http://www.bigheartsfund.org/ (Heart disease)http://www.browndogfoundation.org/ (Medications)
http://caninecancerawareness.org/
http://www.dccfund.org/ The Dog & Cat Cancer fund
http://www.all-creatures.org/gcm/help-cf.html
http://www.themagicbulletfund.org/ (cancer specific)
http://themosbyfoundation.org/ (dog specific)
http://www.petsofthehomeless.org/ (assistance for homeless)
https://www.riedelcody.org/ (cancer specific)
http://www.shakespeareanimalfund.org/
http://www.topdogfoundation.org/ (senior dog specific)
I know from personal experience that this is THE WORST! Stay positive if you can, because things can work out. Personally, I applied for Care Credit and did a fundraiser through YouCaring. There are other options out there too!
(also a reminder that we only signal boost and donate to certified non-profits, so we can’t help individuals in those ways, but I hope this post helps out because I know how difficult this can be!)
12:34am
May 2, 2015
Urgent health care help for sick cat
My cat’s not eating. He’s dropping alarming amounts of weight, and starting to look emaciated. The tests to find out why he’s not eating alone are going to cost a little under 200 dollars. I need to obtain a diagnosis before I can apply for financial help, and Care Credit has already rejected me.
Please donate to desertlily777@hotmail.com on Paypal if you can, so I can get my cat into a vet’s office and find out what’s wrong with him. I’ll update this post immediately as soon as I have the amount needed.
OR please offer advice and resources, as long as you keep in mind that most financial aid won’t cover the cost of testing and diagnostics and I have already been rejected by Care Credit. If you know of national financial aid for vet services (in the US) that covers testing, please let me know.
2:37am
October 9, 2014
Lots of people have been a\sking where I got the new look / theme for the blog - You can get it at http://bit.ly/Y6VOSX - Enjoy!
11:20am
October 4, 2014
The pets who leave us behind.
My father had a few pets that meant everything to him.
There was Tag, half collie and half coyote.
Corky, a Siamese cat who learned to spell (p-u-t t-h-e c-a-t o-u-t) and rode dogs out of the yard.
Bummer, a sheep rejected by his mother.
And all of them slept in a pile on the farm.
There’s more recent pets too.
Brightspot, the cat who always snuggled with him, and who dragged herself all the way home – the only cat who ever did this – after getting dragged by a car, her hind end rotting off, and she purred as he picked her up to take her to the vet for the inevitable.
Noki, my dog I raised from a puppy who became my parents’ dog after I moved out. She turned into my dad’s running buddy. And always iinjured herself going after squirrels. She died of a sudden, fast-acting cancer. My parents wanted to put her to sleep right away, but I convinced them to wait until she gave some sign. So we got her on pain meds. And we gave her the best send-off we could – steak dinners, car rides, her favorite music – until she clearly couldn’t stand it anymore and then (and only then) we called the vet.
Ron… if there’s any kind of afterlife at all, they’re all going to be waiting for you. They’ll purr, they’ll wag their tails, they’ll rub their faces on you, they’ll jump in your lap, they’ll walk beside you, they’ll dance around you in circles, they’ll lick your face, they’ll head-butt your chin, they’ll be all over you. So remember that. You may get to meet every pet you’ve ever lost, all over again.
Or as my friend (who seems to be losing her bird right now :-( ) put it:
My plans are to go into eternity myself flanked by two pets, one the best anyone can have ever hoped for, another the worst anyone could have loved.
(Referring to her two birds over the years.)
3:15am
July 14, 2014
Please help.
I’ve lost my source of income, and I need some help until I can figure out something else. I’m disabled, mentally ill, and basically alone. My needs are few, but without income, I’m afraid I won’t be able to meet them.
Donate to nymphbeast@gmail.com on Paypal if you can afford to. Please make a note that it’s for lichgem, since it’s not my Paypal.
If you can’t afford to help, please signal boost. Thank you.
Boosting again for a friend who also has an urgently sick cat right now.
(And I will personally come and dropkick anyone who suggests that poor disabled people don’t deserve animal companions. So don’t inflict that BS on other people, even if you’re mean-spirited enough to be thinking it.)
Thank you.
Cosigned. I don’t think I have enough strength to dropkick anyone, but I will claw your eyes out.
10:07pm
July 7, 2014
I’m seeing a thing going around encouraging the adoption of ‘imperfect’ or ‘unadoptable’ animals and it makes me really happy!
I do want to remind people, however, that it is important to make sure you will be capable of meeting the needs of that animal! While a three-legged cat is not likely to need much accomodation, a deaf cat or a blind dog may need some extra help, and a diabetic animal or a paralysed one will need even more! It is not shameful to admit you are not able to meet the needs of a specific animal’s care—in fact, it is very important to be able to recognise your limitations and find a pet to whom you can give the best life possible. Do your research!
And adopting an older animal or one with less severe special needs is no less wonderful, valuable, or rewarding!
Ask the shelter volunteers or employees about their favourite animals! Pay attention to black cats and dogs, who are most often overlooked! Don’t be afraid to ask questions or take your time at the shelter!
And remember, this doesn’t just apply to cats and dogs. One-eyed horses. Three-legged rabbits. Deaf birds. Elderly snakes. Rats with vestibular problems.
Now go forth and adopt!
Also be sure to watch a lot of positive videos about how to care for different types of disabled pets. I stress positive because some of them can sometimes get snarky and nasty and say things in front of the animals that are horrible. But most videos are pretty good, and some will show you how to do the “really hard” things that everyone thinks will be more difficult than they are.
3:27am
June 8, 2014
Parrots should be somewhere near human babies in effort. Seriously. If you take care of a parrot right, you are providing the parrot with the same amount of stimulation and socialization (including conversation, whether or not the parrot learns to talk back, because their receptive vocabularies are huge) as a young child, for the duration of the parrot’s life. If you aren’t doing that with your parrot, you’re neglecting the parrot and setting them up for serious psychiatric issues. Parakeets (at least budgerigars) are just domesticated parrots, so I assume they’re “easy” because people don’t think to provide them with much stimulation and they die easily because most people don’t know the respiratory needs of birds so people see them as kind of disposable too.
8:16pm
January 24, 2014
We interrupt your usual schedule to bring you a very small pig descending a set of stairs.
HE FACEPLANTS INTO HIS DINNER
THEY NAMED IT HAMLET IM GONNA CRY
2:53pm
January 21, 2014
Dog and Cat Teach Their Offspring to Descend Stairs In Very Different Ways
HA!!!
12:00am
December 15, 2013
The short life span isn’t even an issue. Yeah it sucks that they don’t live 5 years plus, but the time we spend with them is so great and full of happiness, and knowing that you have spoilt them and made them happy little rats and they’ve enriched your life with happiness is just great.
This is why I have guinea pigs. Though I think guinea pigs aren’t as smart as rats… but the rest is totally why I love my boys! :)
6:27pm
December 5, 2013
things about Hufflepuffs #21
Some Hufflepuffs’ animals have been known to disrupt a class in order to get a treat from their owner.