Wednesday 20 September 2017
One boy and his dog
Mac the Dalmatian
This is Mac, he belonged to my Aunt and has been just a memory for many years now. I was asked to do a portrait of him for a present for my Aunt for Christmas and this was the result.
Monday 28 August 2017
Cerebellar Hypoplasia & the importance of vaccinating your cats
I have been quiet for a while and this is the reason why. As you probably know we rescue abandoned kittens, feed, sterilise and re-home them. We are asked by many people during the year if we can take on many sets of kittens, with and without a mother.
A few months ago we were brought a set of kittens with a mummy that had been taken from an old man. The plan, I was told, was to let mummy feed the kittens and then when old enough, find homes for them, get mummy sterilised and return her to her owner. We then had another set of kittens from the same place brought to us with another mummy. The kittens started changing mums to feed and they all seemed to get on very well. Then suddenly one of the kittens became really sick, very high temperature and died within a day. The other kittens started getting sick but by this time we had taken them all to the vets and they were caring for them. The person who brought the kittens had said it sounded like a virus that she had had and it is terrible, very resistant and hard to get rid of. I asked the vet if this was the same virus as she said yes its the Typhus virus which is the cat version of the Parvo virus in puppies.
After reading up about it we knew we had a nasty virus arrived on the farm. We spent the night neat bleaching everything, every wall, floor, crack and crevice. We burnt all the bedding we threw away every item we could find that was in the vicinity of the kittens at the time of their illness. We isolated every cat we had, 30 adults and 13 kittens. We bought boxes of rubber gloves, disinfectant spray, anti ban hand gel, we boil washed all our clothes, we bleached every crate and bed, every cat toilet. We bought new mops and buckets, new bedding, new cat toilets, new brushes and pans, new cat climbing trees ( we burnt the old ones). We bleaches shoes and kept a different pair in each room with kittens and cats in them. We wore one set of clothes per visit to the kittens then showered and boil washed the clothes. We burnt all the used cat litter, we bleached again, we bought special anti virus sprays and special typhus virus spray from the vets, we sprayed ourselves every time we entered or left a room with a cat in it.
Any sign of anything wrong with a kitten we rushed it to the vets and had it checked or left it there for observation. We had two more babies that contracted the virus but we managed to contain it and stop the spread very quickly due to our rigorous cleaning and barrier methods , our meticulous routines and instant burning. I even bought an incinerator just for this purpose. We have had all our cats on lockdown for two months. Wherever the cat was at the time of the outbreak they had to stay there and not leave the room so they can be vaccinated and the virus will not spread.
Although we had all our cats vaccinated when they were young (advice from the vets). As we have ended up with loads of rescued cats who we couldn't find homes for, the vets said it was best to vaccinate when young and they would gain immunity as they get older. This has worked for 10 years until this virus turned up on our farm.
So we have had to get every cat vaccinated again plus all the kittens which we have here at the moment, I have had to shut my business down for a while until we have the all clear from the vets and the stress of it all is unimaginable.
We have one little pussy cat who has survived this terrible virus. Dora was very sick and her little brother Monkey didn't make it. They were beautiful healthy little babies until we had these sick kittens arrive and unfortunately they were casualties. I am writing this blog on this subject because I wanted to make people aware of this terrible virus and also show you what can happen to a little cat if it survives this ordeal. We have Dora back from the vets and she was contagious for another three weeks so she was in isolation and we had to keep a strict cleaning anti contamination routine so as not to spread it. This said she is left with Cerebellar Hypoplasia. This is a condition from the high temperature. The virus starts with a high temperature and it then plummets to such a low temperature that the pussy cat dies of hyperthermia, its bone marrow is attacked and it becomes dehydrated and so weak before death. Anyway Dora has a neurological problem now and cannot walk properly, she has no balance and will need help now forever. She cannot be sterilised because the anaesthetic could kill her, so we have to be very careful that she stays healthy so she doesn't need any operations. She will have to be an inside cat and will need lots of special care to keep her safe.
This is one of the terrible side effects from this horrendous virus and I urge everyone who sees this or has the time to read it to spread the word and make sure your cat is vaccinated. I cannot express how bad this virus is and how sad it is to see the little bundles you have rescued being taken so quickly in such a horrible way. All the sleepless nights bottle feeding these babies only to have them taken within days.
I hope this has been of interest to you all and that you take action and keep your fur babies up to date with their vaccinations, you never know when this virus will come knocking on your door!
Picture above is of a healthy Dora and her brother Monkey who passed away. The video above shows how Dora has been left after this horrible virus (click watch and it will redirect you to YouTube).
A few months ago we were brought a set of kittens with a mummy that had been taken from an old man. The plan, I was told, was to let mummy feed the kittens and then when old enough, find homes for them, get mummy sterilised and return her to her owner. We then had another set of kittens from the same place brought to us with another mummy. The kittens started changing mums to feed and they all seemed to get on very well. Then suddenly one of the kittens became really sick, very high temperature and died within a day. The other kittens started getting sick but by this time we had taken them all to the vets and they were caring for them. The person who brought the kittens had said it sounded like a virus that she had had and it is terrible, very resistant and hard to get rid of. I asked the vet if this was the same virus as she said yes its the Typhus virus which is the cat version of the Parvo virus in puppies.
After reading up about it we knew we had a nasty virus arrived on the farm. We spent the night neat bleaching everything, every wall, floor, crack and crevice. We burnt all the bedding we threw away every item we could find that was in the vicinity of the kittens at the time of their illness. We isolated every cat we had, 30 adults and 13 kittens. We bought boxes of rubber gloves, disinfectant spray, anti ban hand gel, we boil washed all our clothes, we bleached every crate and bed, every cat toilet. We bought new mops and buckets, new bedding, new cat toilets, new brushes and pans, new cat climbing trees ( we burnt the old ones). We bleaches shoes and kept a different pair in each room with kittens and cats in them. We wore one set of clothes per visit to the kittens then showered and boil washed the clothes. We burnt all the used cat litter, we bleached again, we bought special anti virus sprays and special typhus virus spray from the vets, we sprayed ourselves every time we entered or left a room with a cat in it.
Any sign of anything wrong with a kitten we rushed it to the vets and had it checked or left it there for observation. We had two more babies that contracted the virus but we managed to contain it and stop the spread very quickly due to our rigorous cleaning and barrier methods , our meticulous routines and instant burning. I even bought an incinerator just for this purpose. We have had all our cats on lockdown for two months. Wherever the cat was at the time of the outbreak they had to stay there and not leave the room so they can be vaccinated and the virus will not spread.
Although we had all our cats vaccinated when they were young (advice from the vets). As we have ended up with loads of rescued cats who we couldn't find homes for, the vets said it was best to vaccinate when young and they would gain immunity as they get older. This has worked for 10 years until this virus turned up on our farm.
So we have had to get every cat vaccinated again plus all the kittens which we have here at the moment, I have had to shut my business down for a while until we have the all clear from the vets and the stress of it all is unimaginable.
We have one little pussy cat who has survived this terrible virus. Dora was very sick and her little brother Monkey didn't make it. They were beautiful healthy little babies until we had these sick kittens arrive and unfortunately they were casualties. I am writing this blog on this subject because I wanted to make people aware of this terrible virus and also show you what can happen to a little cat if it survives this ordeal. We have Dora back from the vets and she was contagious for another three weeks so she was in isolation and we had to keep a strict cleaning anti contamination routine so as not to spread it. This said she is left with Cerebellar Hypoplasia. This is a condition from the high temperature. The virus starts with a high temperature and it then plummets to such a low temperature that the pussy cat dies of hyperthermia, its bone marrow is attacked and it becomes dehydrated and so weak before death. Anyway Dora has a neurological problem now and cannot walk properly, she has no balance and will need help now forever. She cannot be sterilised because the anaesthetic could kill her, so we have to be very careful that she stays healthy so she doesn't need any operations. She will have to be an inside cat and will need lots of special care to keep her safe.
This is one of the terrible side effects from this horrendous virus and I urge everyone who sees this or has the time to read it to spread the word and make sure your cat is vaccinated. I cannot express how bad this virus is and how sad it is to see the little bundles you have rescued being taken so quickly in such a horrible way. All the sleepless nights bottle feeding these babies only to have them taken within days.
I hope this has been of interest to you all and that you take action and keep your fur babies up to date with their vaccinations, you never know when this virus will come knocking on your door!
Sunday 2 April 2017
The Weird and Wonderful Funny Farm
If I was to tell you some of the things that happen on the Funny Farm you would look at me with raised eyebrows and say 'you're joking'. I sometimes have to remind myself that these things actually do happen and the sad part is we don't bat an eyelid now as it is all so normal.
A day on the Funny Farm is a unique experience and one that, with only the people who live the life, would understand.
The last week has seen the following scenarios. Waking up at 6am with my father standing over me telling me its raining. This being because a week ago I had given him the task of letting me know if it starts to rain because I had washing on the line.
Getting a phone call in the middle of dressing, from the vets and running round the house and farm in my underwear and one sock shouting for Holly.
Sitting on the toilet when Holly comes marching in with a goat to tell me that it has an injury to its face. Also on many occasions having the dog and one of our cats keep me company while on the toilet.
As we speak I have just been interrupted with my father in his pants because he has lost his trousers. They are probably in the fridge or somewhere similar!
Having a shower with the water going cold every two seconds for three seconds then hot again.
Letting out 19 cats, keeping in five, feeding five outside cats, one kitchen cat and two wild cats in the cattery.
I am also not forgetting the night time fun and games, when my father gets up and makes breakfast at 3am thinkings its morning.
Then there is the cockerels who think its morning during the night and keep everyone awake. The staying dogs who bark all night and the cats who haven't been sterilised yet who howl in the boiler room in search of a non existent male.
The rubbish collection lorry then turns up every two weeks at around 2.30am and wakes the dogs who bark and growl waking the whole house up.
This morning a baby duck was found dead, strangled by feathers of the chicken who is mothering it. Strange but true, you learn something every day.
Then there is the duck having its first swim in a baby bath in the bathroom, a chicken being powdered in the garden, a dog having his nails filed, a goat with his head stuck through the fence, a mouse who keeps popping his head out at breakfast time (even though we have 28 cats) and the guinea pig who has just had a haircut.
There is also the midnight runs around the farm with a torch because you have heard running water and have to find out where its coming from. Last time it was a tap in the goat house which they had cleverly turned on and run the hot water tank dry!
This is just a small glimpse of the fun and games we have and life is never boring. After living a normal life of office work with a semi detached house with everything at a touch of a button, this life is somewhat different. It's a raw basic life with tears and laughter along the way, one we have had to get used to and learn to love. We appreciate the small things like running hot water and a fire in the winter. We don't fret when the electric is cut off for days as we have learnt, by experience, to have every possible means available to be able to boiling a kettle and make a brew.
All in all Life on the Funny Farm is ok xx
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