As I’ve mentioned in the past, Poppy had a bad Ear Mite problem when we got her as a little kitten. Even now, if I use the wrong flea/mite treatment (as happened recently) she has a reaction to them.
As I’m sure there are plenty people out there who aren’t sure what ear mites in their cat may look like, I’m going to do a little post on signs, symptoms etc, here.

Ear Mites are basically parasites, under a microscope they look like little crabs (really not nice!). If they are not treated in a cat they can cause all sorts of infections and in really bad cases (like when we first got the Popster) they can cause the cats ear drums to rupture. When this happened Poppy, I thought she was having a stroke or something, because her head tilted to one side and she became disorientated and couldn’t stand. There’s a chance that when this happens, the cat can be left with permanent hearing damage. in Poppy’s case, she still has a slight head tilt, but thankfully, her hearing seems fine.

These nasty blighters are the most common cause in outer-ear inflammation in cats. It your kitten or young cat keeps scratching at her ear or keeps shaking their head, there is a good chance they have ear mites. Many older cats build up a tolerance to them, so it’s mostly young cats and kittens that show signs. If a cat has ear mites and they keep scratching at the ear they can tear open the little blood vessels in their ear flap, this can lead to swelling. Another sign of ear mites in cats is a build up of dark wax inside the cats ear. This happens because the mites stimulate the gland in the ear that produces wax. This build up can cause the cat even more discomfort. This waxy build up looks a little like coffee grounds in the ear.

The best thing to do if you suspect your kitten or cat may have Ear Mites is take them to your vet to be checked out. If the cat does have mites, most treatment starts with the ear being cleaned and flushed out, this is something only your vet can do. Once your cat’s mite problem is sorted by the vet, regular treatment with a good spot on treatment (that kills mites AND fleas!) should keep them away.

For more info check out this site http://www.petshealth.com/dr_library/earmite.html

Well in all fairness I wouldn’t be surprised if it seemed I was dead, it’s been so long since I posted! The truth is I was abducted by Aliens and only just made it back alive. Ok, that’s not 100% true, but sounds more exciting than the truth

Poppy and Oliver are also alive and well as is The Hubby and Mr. Jaws. Poppy did have to go to the vet a little while back. She had another battle with her Arch nemeses ‘The Ear Mites’ but thankfully after changing her flea/mite treatment all is well and healthy again.

I also came across a site called VerveEarth which is quite cool. It’s a map of the world with info on Blogs from each country. Check it out and if you’re a blogger register, it’s free.

I’m planning on taking some new pic’s of the Fur Babies soon, when I do I’ll post them up here. Still haven’t got around to buying my shiny new Digital SLR, but I have my eye on one or two!

On that note I will sign off for the moment and hopefully will write a full and interesting post very soon!

Wow, it’s hard to believe Easter is upon us. It feels like just last week it was Paddy’s Day (oh yeah, it was!!).

Easter is a lovely time of year, a nice bright spot after the cold and long months of January and February. A time to tuck in to an Easter Egg or two and maybe even enjoy a couple of Hot Crossed Buns, yummy!

Another very traditional thing around this time of year is the Easter Lily, which many people buy to put in their home. either in pots or as a bouquet. If you own a cat this can prove to be lethal. 

Easter Lilies, and many other types of lilies, are deadly to cats. All parts of the plant, if eaten by the cat are poisonous and will lead to kidney damage if untreated by a vet. As many as 50% to 100% of cats that ingest Easter Lilies die.

There is an article on the dangers of lilies and other plants to cats here. You can learn more about the dangers of Easter lilies and the symptoms of poisoning in this article.

The safest option, I believe, is to avoid bringing lilies into your home if you have a cat. It’s no harm to keep an eye on the wrapping from Easter eggs too, just make sure no tin foil or cellophane gets eaten by a nosey moggie!

I hope you all, human and feline, have a very Happy and safe Easter

Spotted an interesting article on The Limerick Animal Welfare blog today. All about how being a cat owner is good for your health

Check it out !

The weather, in Limerick city, was lovely for the St. Patrick’s Day parade. We even got a little sun There was a great crowd in town and loads of groups in the parade. It was great to see such a mix of cultures represented. The theme this year was The United Colours of Limerick. Very apt.

Oliver and Poppy slept through it all ;p !

Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day :D. There will be parades galore all over the country, indeed all over the world,  as proud Irish people (and random drunk people!) celebrate the wearing of the green!

I’ll be one of them. Marching, that is, not drunk!

Yep, I’ll be marching up O’Connell St, Limerick tomorrow afternoon. I’ve tried retracing my steps to figure out how I managed to land myself in the parade. It’s still hazy, to say the least!

I am looking forward to it though. I’m very lucky to be working with a fantastic group of young people and I’ve no doubt tomorrows parade will be one of my most memorable. One way or another!

The weather forecast is pretty good, last I heard, so that’s a bonus. Hopefully the rain and wind will hold off long enough for us to strut our stuff and get to the pub home dry and in one piece ;p

I’ll try and get some photos tomorrow and if they’re half respectable I’ll post them up here when I get the chance.

Happy Paddy’s Day to you all

Thought I’d start the celebrations a wee bit early, for the weekend that’s in it

I laughed soo  much at these to animated videos! They could be based on Poppy. They are excellent.

THese two shorts are by an English animator called Simon Tofield and are called ‘Cat Man Do’ and ‘Let Me In’. He works for an animation company called Tandem Films.

A while back I made a post called Cats in Art which can be viewed here. It was my plan, at the time, to make this a regular feature. If not weekly perhaps on a monthly basis. Obviously that didn’t happen as it’s been over SIX months since that first post! But I digress.

I’m planning on doing a painting of The Fur Babies this weekend. I’ve threatened it before, but this time I mean business. It’s shocking really that I’ve never gotten around to doing a painting of them. I’ve only ever painted a cat once, it was a few years back, ironically it was before we were even pet parents

This is it.

It was a Tom cat that used to wander through our backyard (when we had one) on his way to more interesting destinations.

Anyway, I’m thinking of going more modern with my next effort. More painterly. I don’t know.

I feel very inspired by this painting by Nicolas Tarkhoff.

It’s called Black Cat on the Window Rail.

The way the cat is sitting on the window reminds me of the way Oliver and Poppy sit on our sitting room window and watch the birds as they fly past!

The painting below is called The Radish Hunt. It reminds me of the way Poppy like to stalk anything that looks vaguely similar to a small animal! I like the illustrative style in this too.

I’m torn between the two styles! Well I’ll just get stuck in to it an we’ll see what happens. Here’s the proverbial blank canvas I’ll be working on…

Here’s Oliver checking it out…

And now it’s Poppy’s turn…

They are SO nosey! Anyway as you can see it’s not that big a canvas, so I should get something done over the weekend.

I’ll post the result as soon as I’m done.

I’ve been looking at ways to make our apartment more lively and interesting to The Fur Babies. Now, to be fair, there’s no disguising the fact that we share our home with two fair felines! In fact I use the word share loosely. I think we’re more like lodger’s or the hired help!

There are dozens of balls in every nook and cranny, behind the dishwasher, under the fridge. It’s not unusual to find one in your shoe! They have their own chair, complete with snuggly blanket (next to the heater) in the sitting room. Plus they have a lovely view! However, as they are completely indoor I want to give them as much stimulation as possible.

I’d heard about cat DVD’s that are available on the Internet. After a quick Google, sure enough I found this and this. Although I think if I go for any of them, it would be this Cat Sitter one. I’m a sucker for those sale blurbs, ”Cat Magazine gave this DVD two paws up” type of a thing! Plus I figure if there’s more than one volume (there appears to be 3 in fact) it has to be decent enough, that and it’s only $12.99. So I might try and order one.

Watch this space for updates!