2 posts tagged “parasites”
I completely forgot about posting.
Boo!:
- parasites. they are cramping our style here. my friend's kids want to see Puka, but I won't let them until she gets closer to being parasite-free. I let adults see her, but make sure to keep a bottle of Wet Ones handy, just to be on the safe side.
- not having inspiration. I haven't opened up my sketch book in a month, maybe more. I haven't been inspired to do anything. I don't like this. I want to be able to pick up and draw whatever. it doesn't happen.
- haven't been to the gym in over a week. since getting Puka, I've been bringing her to work, keeping he company and making sure she's doing okay. plus, I have to give her eye ointment twice a day (although we've been slacking a little on this, but I keep up as best I can). I miss going to the gym. I'm gonna start up next week for sure, when I start leaving Puka at home.
- gas prices.
- cost of living in Hawai'i.
- constant reminders that I will never get to live anywhere but here. Pearl Harbor is celebrating its 100th anniversary. It is now being considered somewhat of a "national treasure" and so they will be doing upgrades and such... so it just reminds me of how stable Pearl Harbor is, compared to Puget Sound or San Diego. I'll never get to move.
- unresponsive property managers and maintenance crew. Last week, I went to the restroom, and one of the toilets was clogged. I went to use the other one, and a lady came in and flushed the clogged toilet... causing it to overflow. The water started spilling all over the floor and I had to lift up one leg to avoid it. yuck. I called the property manager to get the maintenance guy out to fix it. I had to LEAVE A VOICE MAIL FOR HER. and you know what? I don't think they have mopped the floor yet. I think it air-dried and they didn't clean up the floor, because there are still little bits of toilet paper near the drain on the floor. double yuck.
Yay!:
- kitty getting bigger and keeping very active. Puka naps a lot, like all cats, but she runs around and pounces her toys and our feet and crumpled pieces of paper... she's a lot of fun.
- getting my teeth cleaned by the oral hygienist. I love the feeling of freshly cleaned teeth.
- Indian food. I took my mom and brother (his birthday is May 12) to Maharani for dinner on Sunday night. Luckily we got there early enough to avoid standing in line (they don't take reservations). I forgot to take pictures... oh well, I guess I'll just have to go again!
- word games. I like word games.
- my boss. he's a really laid back guy who understands that, when there isn't any work going on, there isn't any work going on.
- getting ready for parties. we're having a going away party for my boss on Friday night, at the assistant manager's house. Saturday, there's a party out in Hawai'i Kai. We also have a Rock Band Party for the end of the month.
- sleeping in. I slept 'til 11:30 on Sunday. it was nice.
- spending money AND helping someone at the same time. we've decided to use part of our stimulus package to buy my boss' television. it's a big screen tv and he's selling it for less than what he paid for it, even though he's only had it for about 5 months. I was hoping to get it for a little less than that, but I think he's a little cheap and doesn't realize used items don't hold their value like they should. oh well.. it's helping him out.
Well, I think we have finally come up with a name for the new kitty. Her name is Puka. Puka is Hawaiian for "Hole," meaning she's already causing a hole in my pocket.
I took Puka to the vet yesterday, and found out she has THREE different parasites in her system, plus the goopy eye thing. Altogether, the vet visit cost me $150. I have to take her back next week, which will probably cost me another $60 (this is just my guess, but I could be wrong and the follow-up visit might not cost anything).
For those who may not want to know details of her condition, please turn away. This might be TMI for you.
She has ringworm, which is a parasite that can be transmitted to other animals, including humans. Most adult humans have a strong enough immune system to avoid getting it, but children are more likely to get it. Thankfully no children here, but we do have Bela, and he might get it... so we're trying to avoid having the two of them out and about at the same time. She also has coccidia, which is a microscopic parasite in the intestinal tract. This can be transmitted through contact of infected feces, so the best way to prevent spreading this is to keep the litter box clean at all times. She also has tapeworms. This one will be taken care of later on, when she gets a little older. According to the vet, Puka is younger than what we were told, probably 4.5-5 weeks instead of 6-7 weeks. I guess she's not quite old enough to get the tapeworm medication, so we'll be taking care of the other crap first.
I have ointment for her eye, liquid gel medicine for coccidia, liquid gel antimicrobial treatment (to boost her immune system for any other problems she might have), and a medicated dip for the ringworm. Medicated dip? We haven't done this one yet... going to do this tonight. It's a sulfer-based medicine that is diluted with water and will be sponged onto Puka's entire body, and paintbrushed onto her face area. There's a spot on her nose where the ringworm discoloring is visible, so we must make sure to treat that area. Sulfer-based... yay... we're gonna have a stinky kitty. We have to dip her once a week, for anywhere between 4-6 weeks. oh fun.
Someone had told me to give up on her and get another cat. What? that's like adopting a child and then saying, "oh, this one is broken, take it back and get a new one." at least that's how I feel, anyway. At the time, I didn't know how the foster lady got her kittens... until I was already interested in adopting Puka. The foster lady and her boyfriend trap feral kittens and raise them and adopt them out to people. It's a good way to control the feral cat population, but at the same time, you have no clue what illnesses they might have. I guess she does all her own medicating, rather than taking them to the vet to do check-ups. I was under the impression she took them to the vet when they got old enough for it, but perhaps I misunderstood. In any case, Puka is our responsibility now, and it's gonna be quite a journey the next couple of months.
