TwentyFiveCats

THE SILENT CRUELTY - Reptiles*

Ever notice how pet reptiles, such as your pet snake or lizard, are never as excited to see you as your pet dog? There are reasons for this that you may not be aware of!

Reptiles are Not Domesticated Animals
Consider dogs and their history for a moment. They are successfully domesticated or ‘tamed’ animals. This means that their ancestors, the wolves, were selectively bred by early humans. From this process of allowing only the most placid, friendly wolves to mate, over many generations, came man’s best friend, the dog. Any animal that is considered ‘domestic’, whether it be a dog or cat, has gone through this process in the past to become what it is to you today – a tame and loving companion.

Reptiles, on the other hand, are not domesticated animals.  In all of their history, reptiles have never gone through this domestication process. Therefore, they are still wild, stay wild animals by nature.

But we’re friends! He isn’t unhappy at all!
Unfortunately, the most likely case is: Yes, he is.
Because reptiles have never become domesticated, no matter how much handling and attention they may receive, they will never really become a companion you can call a friend. Instead, your pet reptile has a co-dependent relationship with you, and nothing more. He depends on you for food and shelter and will never show signs of excitement or love when you walk in the room, like a dog or cat, unless he is hungry and desires food from you.

Consider This Scenario:
Foreign creatures have placed you in a glass cage. They seem to enjoy you as some kind of entertainment. They speak to you and feed you, but you could never really forgive them for making you leave everything you know behind, trapping you in this new and confusing world. You would never consider these captors ‘friends’. A friend wouldn’t do this.

Now ask yourself, ‘Would I be happy in this situation?’ If you value your freedom to live your life as you wish, it can be expected that your answer is ‘no’.

Please, don’t keep reptiles as pets; allow them the freedom they were born to have.

 Okay, what else can I do to help them?
Give your friends or family this information sheet. Don’t be afraid to share what you believe! 

 
Note: This article is in no way referring to the reptiles housed in zoos for the important endangered-species breeding programs.

*This is an information sheet that I had to create as part of my assessment task. 

Say No to Reptiles as Pets

Reptiles should not be kept as pets. Reptiles are born wild, stay wild animals, no matter how much human handling and attention they receive. They resent it. They will never actively seek your affection. This is because they have not been purposefully bred by humans to become tame, amicable and human-dependent, AKA ‘domesticated’. These animals do not, nor will they ever, see you as their friend.

PLEASE CONSIDER THIS:

You are taken from your mother/your home when you are very young. You are forced to leave your spacious, intriguing, fertile, comfortable and familiar home where you grew up.

You are kidnapped by strange, different creatures. These beings are huge, loud and strong, you can’t understand a word they are saying. You have no idea what is happening, what these monsters want or why. You are disorientated, sad, terrified, confused, bewildered and angry. When you try to make a break for it, weapons and restraints are forced upon you. Huge ghoulish hands are restraining you, applying pressure, trying to maneuverer you into a large bag. You fight but then come more loud noises and more restraint, pressure that’s close to pain now.

The fear is overwhelming as you fight for you life when suddenly you are forced into complete and total darkness. The restraint is gone, you try to move out from whatever this space you are in is. You struggle to the top, only to find more darkness and no crack of light. You realise you’re trapped.

NOW: 

…You live in a glass cage. These beings clearly view you as some sort of entertainment. You never understand a word they say. You rarely, if ever, see or feel the sun. These monsters pick you up, put you down, hold your mouth shut so you cannot fight and feed you the same thing over and over for the rest of your life.

If ever you came to like them, it’d simply be Stockholm’s Syndrome.

Procrastination - Henry & Chicken

I should be doing my TAFE work but instead I’ve managed to procrastinate for about 10 hours. I’ve been trying to re-tame our birds on and off the past week…it’s not going very well. I’m becoming so impatient, unfortunately. I’m also training my dog, Henry, to perform the trick, ‘shake’ (simply a handshake with one paw). He is not getting it so far. ONE DAY, right?! One day the birds won’t screech at my hand and one day Henry will greet me with a solid handshake. RIGHT?! Right.

This is Henry:

I love him. He has idiopathic epilepsy. It’s very painful to watch his seizures, not being able to help. It makes me cry most of the time.

This is a chicken.

I AM SO CONFUSED AND ENTERTAINED.

Thoughts - They come, they go, they bother and they hover.

I saw this and immediately thought of my boyfriend and I. He is warm and he is my favourite place. That’s what this picture says to me.

I miss Summer. I went swimming everyday and just wanted to stay there 24/7. I love the beach, I love the sea, I love being in the water. I want to be a mermaid.

If it were still Summer, I would wear this bikini. It is very me and very beautiful.

I have recently got back into Charmed, for approximately the 6th time round. I’m watching the 8th Season again as I’ve only watched it 3 or 4 times. I love the finale plot where Christy and Billie are against Piper, Phoebe and Paige, then everyone takes in The Hollow. That’s where things get AWESOME. On another note, I love this end-of-the-episode scene. It’s so beautiful.

Our Burmese cat, Elmo, brought in a lovely half-dead Mouse tonight into the lounge room. You can automatically tell, without looking, when he has a murder-present in his mouth because he walks in meowing his head off with a strange “my-mouth-is-half-full-with-this-innocent-rodent-I-have-brought-to-you-as-a-gift/a-toy-for-me-to-entertain-you-with!” kind of meow. Then he looks ridiculous and confused when we pick him up, holding him with arms outstretched in disgust and dropping him outside to be a sadistic murderer by himself. His expression says, “WTF?! Why am I being treated with such disdain?! I SAY! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!” Think Stewie Griffin’s voice. Definitely obnoxiously English, I’d imagine.

In other news, CALL THE MEDIA AT ONCE! Flying Penguin! (…But don’t……Probs be awkward for everyone :D )

I LOVE Grey’s Anatomy and am panicking that it will inevitably come to an end - which I believe to be very soon.

This is my pending philosophy for my life (pending because I have to convince myself the fact that it’s Autumn and the cold makes me want to set everything on fire for warmth AND because it sends me mad is not a good enough reason to hibernate indoors 24/7).

Being Bipolar without medication is the hardest, scariest, guilt-causing, moving-forwards-in-life halting, friendship killing, academic-failure causing, family destroying, physically debilitating, painful, confining and most confusing thing that I had been living with for 19 years of my life. I am of 20 years now. I hate that no one in my life can ever fully understand. I love that I am free. I hate that other people take their emotional stability for granted. I love that I have learnt more, emotionally. I hate that I spent such a long time hating myself for every mistake that was never my fault. I hate that I still think about that everyday, filled with guilt, even though I know it is an irrational thing to feel. I love that I can think of things that I like about myself again. I hate that I will have to be on medication with frustrating side effects for the rest of my life. I love that I can now follow through with my plans, my goals and fully believe I have the strength and intelligence within myself to make these dreams come true.

This quote perfectly explains my main beliefs and why I love nature, the Universe, emotions, the mystery of life and the conclusions I have been fortunate enough to come to by my consistent searching, animals and the concept of love that we are all blessed to experience:

Goodnight.

“In a larger and more speculative sense, the theory suggests that the entire universe can be seen as a two dimensional information structure “painted” on the cosmological horizon, such that the three dimensions we observe are only an effective description at macroscopic scales and at low energies.”

This is Wikipedia’s summary of the “Holographic Principle” which is basically the coolest, most believable explanation of the world, the meaning of the “weird” nature of quantum particles e.g. their ability to basically telepathically send information to one another and how a single atom..or photon, can’t remember exactly, takes all possible paths in it’s movement across distances… (which in the world of physics, makes absolutely no sense). There is a name for the experiment but I can’t remember what it’s called…anyway, it’s been proven. This principle also answers and potentially proves many questions and theories about our perception of the universe and spirituality. If it is proven true, it pretty much explains everything and exposes amazing possibilities.

This is the best place to read about it all:

http://emergent-culture.com/alice-and-the-rabbit-holographic-universe/

After reading that, I am 100% convinced. I’ve also read a lot about Carl Jung’s theory which helps my understanding…

Monitoring Anesthesia in Small Animal Surgery

MM/CRT - Mucous Membranes/Capillary Refill Time - Apply pressure to the animal’s gum then quickly remove finger, the capillaries in the gum should refill with blood in a well oxygenated animal in approx. 1 second. If longer, oxygen may need to be increased. Any mucous membranes’ colour are a good indicator of oxygenation. All should be a healthy pink, if grey to blue-ish, the animal is in serious physiological danger.

RR = Respiratory Rate - By watching the rise and fall of the chest, feeling the animal’s breath or listening to the lung sounds, the respiratory rate can be noted. Normal RR for a cat, for instance, is 24-28 breaths p/m. A dog’s normal RR is 16-20 breaths p/m. Most vets/vet nurses will only count the amount of breaths within 15 seconds then multiply by 4 to save time. 

HR = Heart Rate - The heart rate is also to be taken with the 15s x 4 method. Auscultation of the heartbeat is heard using a stethoscope. The normal HR for a cat is 110-140 bpm. Normal HR for a dog is 70-160bpm depending on the size of the dog. The larger the dog, the slower the HR.

CORNEAL REFLEX = Involuntary blinking of the eyelids stimulated by touching of the eyes. If the corneal reflex is gone, the anesthesia is too deep. Always test to make sure it remains at all times during the surgery.

PINCH TEST = Pinch a sensitive area of the skin to test the animal’s sense of pain. If the animal flinches/makes noise, the anesthesia is obviously too light and should be heavier.

SKIN TENT TEST = To monitor hydration levels, the occasional skin tent test can be done. All this means is: pull the skin on the back of the neck (the ‘scruff) upwards and together I.e. “tent” , then watch to make sure the skin falls very quickly back in place. If it is not very fast, you can assume that hydration levels are low.

JAW TONE = Pull the lower jaw down. If the animal is adequately sedated, the jaw will remain open and no reflex to shut it will occur.

TEMP = It is normal for the animals’ temperature to be slightly lower than normal due to exposure of the organs, inhalation of pure, cold oxygen, the metal of the surgical table against the skin…this is why shivering is a normal part of coming out of anesthesia as the body regulates its temperature. Of course, there are things that can be done to lessen the temp drop such as warm IV fluids, paw booties/socks, or an  electric blanket/some other blanket or mat between the surgical table and the animal. Normal temps: Dog = 37.2C - 39.2C. Cat = 38C - 39.2C.

-

I am going to get 2 pet rats very soon. So cute.

-

grasp me, list me on the lines of your smile. ask me, kiss me just by the sun dial. time wants me almost as much as you do. she isn’t enough for me to hold onto. slippin’ away in the lightest wind, you may be fragile but she’s just thin, can’t win, she can’t, can’t win, can’t sing like you do.

A story of deceit, treachery & jealousy until I became their new nanny.

Last week I went to a job interview for a Vet Nurse position at the busiest animal hospital in my area. It seemed to go pretty well. I should hear back at the end of next week-ish. I tried not to get my hopes up…but they’re up, they’re so far up I can’t seem to get them down. Completely irrationally UP. So the past few days, I’ve been looking up information about anesthesia, monitoring anesthesia and restraint of cats and dogs. I’ve been practising these on my cat and dog. Our cat is a Burmese called Elmo who is dominant and bossy when he wants to be. He’s needed to have his worming pills for a month or so but my parents have been putting it off because he is never impressed and always becomes a crazy, stubborn old man, with claws (an elderly Wolverine perhaps???).

So today we got one pill in pretty well. My dad held him down by leaning on him and having his right hand in front of his chest. It’s not a professional method by any means but Elmo was still sleepy from his nap, and we thought deceiving him - making him think he was getting cuddles - was the best approach. So dad held him whilst I opened his mouth and got him to swallow the pill. We had to clench his jaw shut and rub his throat because I could tell he was just holding it in his mouth, thinkin’ he was sooo smart. Eventually he swallowed and victory was ours. He turned around and glared at dad with a look of pure death-threat. Then he gave me a shifty,suscpicious sideways glance like, “Yea, I’m watchin’ you, paaal.”

About half an hour later we attempted to give him the second pill. First we tried the wrap-him-in-a-towel method. That didn’t go so well. He was just like, “WTF are you doing?! Grrrrrrr, bitches, grrrrr.” Then we moved him to the table, I pressed his shoulders down, which naturally tilts the head and loosens the jaw slightly, and held the rest of his body tightly against mine, with my hand wrapped around his front paws. Then dad attempted to open his mouth and place the pill in with the pill popper (ammunition was now deemed neccessary). Elmo barely let us get it in there, then spat out a half dissolved/chewed mess. We tried and tried again until we finally got it all in. He was then set free and raced off with a flick of his tail that could only be interpreted as, “FUCK YOU GUYS.”

And just now I gave him cuddles, explaining why we had to do that and how he shouldn’t be such a whinger about it all. He was clearly cold and wanted a person’s lap because I put him down and he did what he always does, wanders up and down the hallway, glancing left and right, meowing his head off constantly until someone picks him up. Then he sits on your chest like a koala and purrs like a quiet construction drill. I didn’t want him on me, so I heated up a wheat bag and sat him on it with a blanket next to my dad who is watching television. He pawed at it, intrigued but highly suscpicious of the feelings in his feet, until he decided it was not some kind of sneaky ploy that will end him in being force fed pills and pills and pills.
Then my dog Henry became jealous of the attention Elmo had been receiving all day and pawed at me, jumping on me and making Elmo put on his “Go. Away.” face. So I got another heat bag, put it in Henry’s bed with a blanket and put that on the couch opposite dad and Elmo. I placed Henry in it, who seemed confused and displeased with his new bed time. Seeing this, Elmo wanders over like, “Oh HAAII Whatchu doin’ theeereee? You know I’m better, right? RIGHT?!”, meowing all over the place. I put him back on his heatbag, pointed at both of them and explained, “PLAY NICE.”

And after all that ridiculous battling and pampering, I am now here. Still boosting their egos with this rant.

WELL, SCREW YOU GUYS.

Brachycephalic dogs, in particular, the ‘Pug’

The Pug dog, much like many other pure-breed dogs has a huge set of genetically inherited illnesses that it is prone to. Most of the problems are to do with the
extremely brachycephalic shape of the Pug’s skull - broad and short.

Most Common Issues:

Proptosis
Bulging of the eye so that it protrudes outwards from the eye socket, further than it should. As a result, the eyeball is no longer protected from dust etc by the eyelashes, so the dog may scratch it’s eyes frequently, leading to damaged eye tissue and/or infection.

Respiratory Problems
Because of their small breathing passageways (due to the ‘squashed’ look of the Pug), most cannot breathe efficicently enough to maintain their body temperature. Thus, should they be exposed to warm-hot conditions, their ability to cool themselves will not be enough. This can lead to eventual cellular death which creates its own set of problems with organ function etc. In a worst case scenario, the pug may simply die from overheating.

Necrotising Meningoencephalitis
This is basically a severe inflammation of the brain. There is no known cause or treatment for this disease. It is not usually diagnosable until it is too late.

Hemivertebrae
That cute little swirly tail you love so much? An awful mutation. Hemivertebrae occurs when the curling of the spine occurs not in the tail, but in another area of the spine, such as the dogs lower back. Often causes severe paralysis.

(Both of the last two issues are not exclusively brachycephalic-related, but are still common and severe problems with the Pug.)

-

Breeders refuse to accept the science that clearly shows how the dog used to look like, back when it had no health problems, is how it should have stayed.
All of the ‘cute’ things about the Pug dog, including it’s screw tail, small fat head, squishy face, rolls and short, stocky stature are all simply mutations of the original. These mutations have occured due to people breeding for traits they superficially find desirable, to the point where they will breed a grand-daughter with her grand-father in order for puppies that meet the ‘breed standard’.

At TAFE last semester, we watched a documentary about Dog Shows and Breeders and in the UK. The documentary explained that out of 10,000 pugs in the UK their gene pool consists of only 50 unique Pugs because they have been so inbred.

All humans know that inbreeding is wrong due to negative moral and physical consequences, in fact, it’s illegal (I think). The government needs to get off its fat ass, take responsiblity for the double standard, and do something to stop all this.