Meet the Boosh
I have another foster cat. Her provisional name is “the Tiny Boosh” (her silly shelter name is “Babooska [sic],” which obviously could not stand), but “La Bouche” is equally appropriate, as girlfriend weighed only 5 lbs. when she got picked up by Animal Control, and she is snacky. For example, I found out she likes garlic bagels when I turned my back on one for all of four seconds this morning.
This is actually working out awesomely because she keeps eating her own meals and Little Joe’s, so I’m fattening her up and putting him on a diet at the same time. But she can’t stay here forever, even though she’s super-cuddly and sweet. Three cats is too many.
More details on the Boosh after the jump.
She’s a domestic shorthair, about 7 years old, spayed, fully vetted. She’s on some doxycyline right now; it’s unclear for what, but it’s nothing contagious (she’s got some mangy action happening on her ears and nose, probably from living outside for awhile, so that’s probably the issue).
She’s a tabby; you can’t see it so well in these pics, but she is stripey on her legs and tail. Said tail is sort of hilarious, because when she gets mad, not all of it fluffs up; the end stays flat, so it looks like a fir tree. Aw.
No idea where she came from; Elana at SI Feral Initiative thinks someone just curbed her, same as Nikolai. She’s obviously acclimated to humans, because she hopped out of her carrier and immediately started weaving around my legs. The Boosh doesn’t enjoy getting picked up, but will get right up on your lap, sleep next to your legs, and so on.
She appears to have most of her teeth, and she is not declawed. I am told she’s cat-friendly, though there’s been no shortage of hissing around here since Friday afternoon. No actual fights, but she’s not afraid to wave the paw at Joe (Hobey hides from her) (he’s twice her size) (hee).
Any questions? Interested in adopting her? She may get picked up at next week’s pet fair in Brooklyn, so you should act fast. Post here or email me directly with any inquiries.
Tags: beige cats feline fun times friends photo essay the Boosh
Maybe Annie, Erin W, Barb and I are the dog people contingent of Tomato Nation. (Again, not Dog People; no freaky Fringe hybrid types here.) I’m not in a pet-friendly situation right now, my landlord having severe allergy issues. But that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the Underground Kitty Railroad stories, because those? Are aces. All the pet-related comments that they generate are fascinating and moving, as well.
@ferretrick: That’s not a good vet. Seriously, go somewhere else. (Hopefully you already are.) It’s hard to find a vet that isn’t always looking for an upcharge– my practice has four vets and I’ll only see one of them, because the other three are crazy with the testing, and I don’t trust that they’ll help me make the right choice for my dog– I only trust that they’re worried about what their sales are.
At 15, my dog has been diagnosed with a particularly nasty form of cancer in one of her front legs. My vet and I talked about the options, and she won my loyalty forever when she said that her priority was making sure that my sweet old girl had the highest quality of life for the maximum possible time– *not* giving her expensive treatments that, while they aren’t guaranteed to help her, *are* guaranteed to significantly lower her quality of life. She explained what the treatments would be, told me what the side effects were, gave me her recommendation, and let me decide. No pressure, just information and support.
THAT’S a good vet. THAT’S what they’re supposed to do. Unfortunately, it seems hard to find.
@ JH She runs Animal Haven Rescue in Stettler. I go to the website sometimes to read the Happy Endings. My soft mushy heart can’t take the Adoptions page– am too far away and too easily taken in by a furry face.
I have 3 cats and a dog and would never give any of them up. 3 cats is a lot but not too much. I got two kittens to keep my old guy company (he’s 17) after his friend died at 18 years old. He loves them and now when he passes they’ll still have each other. The dog is about the same size as the cats so it’s all good. Of course my apt. has a two pet limit but what they don’t know won’t hurt them, right? The other two are just “visiting” if anyone asks. :)
Regarding how much to spend re: a sick pet, here’s my two cents (or dollars, given how I tend to ramble):
In my case, my cat is about 10 years old, gorgeous, basically strong and healthy (has been blind since long before I got him – but no pity for this boy! He’s amazing!). Suddenly he was breathing through his mouth, coughing, hacking, out of nowhere.
After checking the internet for basic info and talking to a coworker who used to be a vet tech (this is all the same day I woke up and discovered my cat wasn’t feeling well) I called a vet she recommended and they said I needed to bring him in ASAP. I had hysterics in the office, my incredibly understanding bosses sent me off immediately to take care of the cat, and I rushed him in.
They did blood tests and an EKG, and heard the heart murmur. That all ran about $600. Then they recommended an echocardiogram, which was another $375 or so. They gave me the option, especially after the vet realized that it was most likely a bad cold rather than a serious heart issue, but I chose to have the echo done rather than possibly miss something.
In the end, Cloudy was/is just fine. I also recently spent $96 at a clinic (I strongly recommend Dr. Sandra Park at the Cobble Hill Animal Clinic for all you Brooklyn/NY residents – she’s fabulous!) for Beasty, who somehow managed to get pinkeye (the cat version).
Because my cats are basically strong and healthy and have quite a few years left, paying for this sort of care is a non-issue. But I don’t have the money or the mental energy to embark on a pricey care routine for (shudder) something like cancer, or more serious and ultimately terminal issues.
In those cases, I would likely ask the vet how much time we’d have, and for as long as possible, as long as my pet has a good quality of life, I would do all I could to make them happy. It’s not like a child, where you know they have their whole future ahead of them – you can’t explain why you’re putting the animal through this, for a possibility of a few months… anyway, that’s my general view. Of course it doesn’t apply to every case.
I completely agree with Jill. One of my kitties developed an abdominal tumor two years ago (and my mom is going through the same thing with the same vet with BOTH of her cats now, sadly). Our vet told us about the more invasive/expensive options, but really emphasized that there was no guarantee that those treatments would extend the cat’s life beyond six months and that it would put her through significant pain. My cat was only 5 years old, so I can imagine a less scrupulous vet trying to “hold me hostage,” as ferretrick put it, and refusing to allow me to euthanize her. My vet let me make the decision, then cried with me and gave me alone time in the exam room to say goodbye. I wish there were more vets like her.
I worked at an animal shelter in high school. We were basically a no-kill shelter in terms of the cats unless they were terribly sick, rabid or dangerously feral. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work that way for the dogs since we had limited facilities for them. And having a bunch of raving politicians attempting to cut our budget every year in the name of tax cuts didn’t help with that.
My experience is that it is very hard to work at an animal shelter without becoming cynical, especially one that is run by the state. It’s really hard to separate the lying dirt bags from people who genuinely need help taking care of their animals. One thing I liked about the way we ran things is that before we allowed someone to surrender an animal we would grill them extensively to figure out if there was any possible way they could keep the animal. For the people who were genuinely in the tight spot we would help them come up with a plan for getting through rough times. In some cases, especially ones involving domestic abuse, we would foster the animal or arrange financial discounts with a local pet stores. Taking the animal into the shelter was a last resort. As for the dirtbags that just want to dump an animal because it doesn’t match the furniture, we made them pay a substantial fee (which makes them think twice about adopting an animal on a whim) and found the animal a better place to live. The unfortunate side effect of the fee is that we had a lot of doorstopping to avoid paying (a security camera in the parking lot helped cut down on that). One woman even came in the shelter THREW a cat on the counter and dashed out before we could catch her.
We were equally scrutinizing when it came to adoptions and potential adoptees faced a lot of questions about their homes, their habits and their finances. Since we were a public shelter we got a lot of crap for our high fees ($100 for an animal, all shots included and animal is fixed is high?) and “interrogation” methods, but at the end of the day we knew we were doing our damnedest to find good homes for our animals.
Shelters, especially public ones, are often at the mercy of state budgets; which is why methods like ours are unfortunately very uncommon. The financial crisis won’t help either because shelters will be facing an increase in animals while experiencing budget cuts. So if you can afford it, cut a check to your favorite shelter or take a little time out to volunteer. Lobby your local politicians to continue to support good shelters even in these tough times. Got a finicky feline that won’t eat that expensive food you just bought? Donate it to the shelter. The more resources the shelters have to work with, the fewer animals they will have to put down. Even if you can’t adopt, your support would undoubtedly help save animal lives.
@ferretrick – Its tricky to balance out the money vs. risk vs. pet. Some people have a really low tolerance, some people pretty high. My personal feeling is to look at the likely success of the surgury and how pet-like the pet will be (if they’ll be miserable and can’t do normal pet things…is it worth it?). And of course, if the cost is in the realm of reasonable (which, of course, varies person to person and I can’t really slap down a dollar figure). People marvel that my cat made it to 19, nearly 20, but we did spent $800 in ear surgery on him (along with all the regular vet care plus a lot of dental care plus some other less expensive things that cropped up–getting to 19 wasn’t cheap nor complete magic). But the vet said it had a high chance to work (he had a tumor that was weeping and he was 12 or so at the time and in otherwise good health and my parents were willing to shell out the money (yay, parents!). Turned out to be well worth it in kitty love.
A good vet should lay out the options, give you outcomes, give you the pets current status and let you choose. But I would say, if you’re being a jerk about it–like its something that can be healed and the pet will be fine, but yeah its going to cost more than $50 bucks so you’ll have to be on a payment plan or maybe sign the pet over if you’re broke (and yes, you do need to feed your kids) than maybe you should get hasseled by the vet. There, I said it, there may be cases where you should get hasseled by the vet. At least a little.
On the other hand, I’m sure ‘the line’ is different for different vets. There’re also good and bad vets like there’re good and bad in every field (and different opinions). I can also see how vets can get worn down and sometimes make poor choices about badgering people to save pets. Can you imagine how frustrating it is to see people come in and ask to get perfectly healthy pet put down because the owner’s are moving or the pet is peeing in the wrong spot? Or can’t be bothered to feed their pet something remotely nutritious (or maybe these people don’t bring their pets to the vet)?
I always ask the vet what he would do, no matter what the issue is. “If this were YOUR CAT, what would you do?” The answer has never steered me wrong; occasionally it revealed that the vet doesn’t own cats, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but with some issues, their medical opinion and my everyday reality don’t seem to occupy the same space.
There are actually some pretty bad vets in this neighborhood, based on what I’ve heard, but Park Slope Vet Care on 5th Ave. is great. Dr. Parker was quite encouraging about the single pound Little Joe managed to lose last year, in part because he has fatties of his own and he gets it.
My point is that, when it comes to the big decisions, whether the “big” is emotional or financial, it’s helpful to try to talk to your vet as a fellow owner who happens to know more than you about medicine. At the very least it tells you that maybe you need a different doctor.
Park Slope Vet Care!!! That’s where I took Cloudy – we had Dr. Maddon, who was absolutely wonderful. I was so impressed with the staff, the techs, and Dr. Maddon. They were not only very kind but totally thorough.
I’d absolutely recommend them as well!
About the money issue … it’s always tough. For me, the quality of life issue is usually forefront.
We have a 3-year-old golden retriever who, through no fault of his or ours, caught a virus just as his teeth were forming in his gums, so his teeth came in with little to no enamel on them. Two and a half years and a few thousand dollars later, I’m once again staring at a $2000 vet bill coming in the next few weeks.
Many people think we’re flat-out nuts for keeping this dog and doing the expensive dental work. But he is in all other ways a happy, sweet, healthy dog. And this is a situation where if we just let it go, Very Bad Things could happen that could make him extremely sick or kill him. While it’s not like we have money just laying around, I feel very lucky that we’ve never had to choose between the dog or the mortgage.
@Cyntada Thanks for giving me a chance to debunk this some more: “Ashera” cats, with their 22K price tag, are a confirmed con-job. Supposedly a hypoallergenic designer breed, they are actually early generation (F1) Savannah cats. Same Serval/domestic bloodline, less regulated breeding, and an extra several thousand dollars to the price.
I’m allergic to cats, so I can’t take her. But she is adorable!
Thank you so much for fostering. I was involved in rescue for almost 10 years and it is incredibly rewarding. Rescues couldn’t do the work they do without dedicated foster homes. You rock!
@freertrick- your cat probably had vestibular disease, which is a neurological condition which is still quite mysterious but not uncommon and actually not life threatening, though it’s so scary to experience that people often think it’s a stroke or something. It’s essentially vertigo for dogs and cats, tends to happen to older animals, and leaves on it’s own (with only a residual head tilt).
My dog came down with it when she was turning 15, and had a second bout about 6 months later. That last one was almost a year ago, and hopefully it won’t happen again. The best treatment for the animal is a form of Dramamine for the motion sickness so he can get some food and water into his system (he wasn’t drinking because he was nauseous), and monitoring to make sure he doesn’t fall and hurt himself. 95% of the time the condition clears up on it’s own. (Thanks to Dr. Smith at Astoria Veterinary Group for her great diagnosis and care! No huge unnecessary vet bills for me!)
Fiona, thanks for the tip. That sounds exactly like what Millenium had. Curious how the vet didn’t tell us that, she was too busy recommending DRILLING A HOLE IN HIS SKULL to look for a brain tumor she wasn’t even certain was there.
Yes, I’m bitter. And, Jill, yes I’ve already sworn our animals will never go back to that place unless it is a life threatening emergency. Unfortunately, they are the only 24/7 facility in Cincinnati, so we may have to take them there someday.
I think the decision to stop treatment of any pet shouldn’t start until you figure out what is going on with the pet. Of course, that isn’t always possible (e.g., unknown condition that takes thousands to diagnose). I have spent hundreds as the result of my cat, Sula, getting a urinary tract infection.
The vet also determined that a cat’s eye pressure couldn’t possibly be that high due to stress so I had to track down a veterinary ophthamologist (sp?) immediately and return for tests and whatnot. Sula was just stressed. Because she couldn’t pee.
And then they put her on expensive kidney prescription cat food. That she is allergic to. And wanted to do ongoing tests of her kidneys. She threw up a lot and could not poo inside the litter box. And was in pain a lot. Then one day I heard her fart like a sailor. So we took her off the k/d and put her back on the science diet kibble hairball control for ancient cats (which she loves) and her weight hasn’t changed in the past two years. And she hasn’t been back to that vet.
She turns 19 in a couple of weeks. She really doesn’t like change and I’m glad I spent the money. But I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t spend 5000 for brain surgery at her age. Since she doesn’t like change.
Ferretrick, I just wanna give you a big hug. I’m so glad you have a new vet! Being held hostage for money while a loved one suffers is torture. I’m so sorry you had to go through it.
Iam lucky enough to have a vet like Jill’s – and mine makes house calls, too, for a fee. (I wonder what she’d charge for a visit all the way to Connecticut?) I sure wish I could loan her out, she’s the best vet I’ve ever known. My animals love her!
I was watching a flip-the-house show & someone was renovating a foreclosure & found the previous family dog locked in the basement. Her food and water were locked in the kitchen. Nice, huh? The animal control lady said this is a national epidemic, abandoned pets left to starve in foreclosed homes. WTF is WRONG with people???? Who was it that said “The more I know of people, the better I like my dog?” (And if there is a special place in hell for those who abandon pets, maybe there’s a place in heaven where those who rescue animals get to hit the abandoners in the face with a brick. Repeatedly.)
LaBouche is capital-A Adorable! I’m so so so glad YOU found her!