Daniel, I feel for you. I would do the same if I could. As it stands, I have two cats. Both were adopted from rescue organizations -- this is NOT the humane society OR the pound -- the organizations were BOTH foster organizations where the cats lived with "foster families" subsidized by the group.. and then included in adoption events around the areas where I lived when I adopted. Here are a few links in your area: http://littleorphananimals.freehosting.net/ http://www.netpets.com/cats/catresc/groups/newyork.html http://www.catcraze.com/rescue.htm (scroll down to find the "All Rescue" vs the specific breed rescue groups) Maybe it would be a benefit to not only you, but to one of the groups in your area for you to volunteer as a foster home? I hope you find some support for your kitty boarders.. maybe you can call the aspca about the dog at the house?? they can maybe send someone to check on him/her? Keep us posted! Stef

Yes, those medications can be very expensive and there is usually a vet office call involved! I learned that if you look in the directory there is usually a veterinary supply store in most major cities. This is my heaven! I can buy all of my vaccines, most meds (tapeworm pills included) and my first aid supplies at these places. a good one to check out on-line is petmeds.com they offer most of the standard meds at a lower price. you may have to get a prescription from your vet to get started on some of them but the savings could be worth it! Just one word about heartworm prevenatives..(my pet peeve) If you give your dog heartworm medication (heartguard) and you dog has heartworm you can make them very ill. Always have a blood test done first!

I thought I'd expand a bit on my reasons for why I believe cats should be indoor pets, or at least should be supervised/restrained while out of doors, the way dogs are or should be. First of all, I know how much cats love to go outside. After all, it's their natural instinct to be hunters, and they are curious and love to climb and explore. They are also quite social animals and like to make new "friends". But, there are many reasons why our pets should not be allowed to act as their wild ancestors did. I saw a lot of terrible things happen to cats who went outside, when I was a child. When I was 5 years old, I saw our first Siamese being killed by a dog, some kid was walking his German Shepherd and saw our cat behind our house, and thought it would be fun to sic his dog on her. He yelled "sic 'em!!" and the dog immediately tore the leash out of the kid's hand, which I'm sure wasn't part of the kid's plan. When the dog went for our cat, she tried to run up the nearest tree, but the dog managed to jump up and snap her spine and disembowel her as she hung helplessly from the tree by her front legs. My father was able to unhook her, still alive and conscious, from the tree, and my parents had to take her to the vet and have her put down. When cats are allowed to roam outdoors, they do what comes naturally to them - they hunt. Their hunting behaviour has a number of bad effects. A lot of small birds, insects, reptiles/amphibians and rodents get killed, and many species that cats prey on are in decline or even endangered. In Australia, feral cats have decimated many native species, and it's now illegal there for pet owners to allow their cats outside after dark. Cats left outside there at night risk being shot. In England, studies have shown that populations of many species of birds have declined significantly due to cat predation alone. Pet cats don't hunt because they need to, they hunt for fun, for of course we feed them enough at home. The other bad side about cats hunting, is that they pick up parasites and diseases from the prey they catch. They bring home fleas, worms, and ticks, as well as a disease called "toxoplasmosis" which is the reason why pregnant women aren't supposed to change cat litter boxes. All of these parasites can be transmitted to humans. Rabies is another deadly disease cats can get while outdoors. Cats can come to a lot of harm outside too, not just from dogs, but other wild animals such as raccoons, coyotes, and foxes, and of course other cats. They can be exposed to poisons such as antifreeze, gasoline and pesticides, they can be hit by cars, and we all have heard stories of the cats that get killed because they climb into car engines to keep warm at night. Speaking of keeping warm, people don't realize that cats, even longhaired ones, didn't evolve to be left outdoors at night in subzero temperatures. They can get frostbite and hypothermia, and they can die from heat exposure too. Humans also harm cats they find outside - people torture them for fun, steal them to sell to labs, or just to take home for themselves. Anyone who lets their cat roam outside would be wise to pay for vet insurance to cover the extra vet bills! Not only do the cats come to harm, but they cause damage to the property of others. I used to live in a townhouse in a neighborhood where many of my neighbours let their cats roam freely. I had a nice flower garden that I put a lot of work into. Unfortunately the neighborhood cats put their own "work" into my garden. I was constantly having to remove cat feces from the soil, and replace plants that had been killed by cat urine, dug up, or trampled. Cats were also spraying urine on my door and the window frames because they could see my cats inside. At night they would fight noisily outside the window, waking us up. My car was often spotted by muddy footprints from cats wandering on the roof and hood. Despite the fact that I love cats, I was still frustrated at having to deal with the damage and mess caused by cats belonging to irresponsible and inconsiderate neighbours. I don't think cats have to spend their lives indoors, however, if their owners are responsible about it. Cats can be trained to walk or at least be restrained on a leash, with a harness. They can also spend time outdoors in an escape-proof enclosure, like a large dog cage or a pen built with a roof (like a dog kennel but for cats). Apartment cats can go outdoors on a screened-in balcony. It's my opinion that the same kinds of laws that apply to dogs outdoors (that they must be on leash, or tied up, or in a fenced enclosure, and wear tags) can and should apply to cats outdoors as well, and that the owner of a cat that is allowed to roam and causes property damage, should be held responsible for that damage. Anyway, that's my rant for tonight. I'm sure there are many out there who will disagree with me, because it's a very longstanding and traditional practise to let your cat roam outside. But, think of your cat, and realize also that cats who are kept indoors live longer and healthier lives than cats who are allowed outside to roam.

Yes I think I saw that episode of Vets in Practise too. We've got another show in Canada on the Life network, about a vet college in Alberta, it's pretty interesting as they show the large and small animals - last week they showed a vet trying to pull a bad tooth out of a muskox! I know cats love to go outside, and once they get a taste of it, it's very hard to get their minds off going out again. One of my cats got outside by accident once at night months ago, luckily she froze on the spot while outside, and I grabbed her and brought her right back in. Now, at night she still sometimes goes to the door and scratches, or sits in the window nearest the door and peers out hopefully. I've got lots of reasons why I'm against cats roaming outdoors, but I think I'll post that separately. When cats outside get fleas, it's mainly from hunting. The fleas jump off their prey (birds or mice) and on to the cat. Or, they can pick fleas and ticks up in long grass. Ticks can transfer Lyme disease to humans, and they will bite any creature with blood (even reptiles get certain types of ticks) so they are more dangerous to humans. Fleas won't usually bite humans unless there's nothing else around with warm blood to feast on. But, I always find that if I know fleas are around, it gives me the heebie-jeebies and I can't help but scratch. When I was in high school I worked for a summer in a dog grooming shop. My job was bathing and blow-drying the dogs. Sometimes we got dogs in who were loaded with fleas. Usually the boss would do a "rough clip" on the dogs before I bathed them. One dog was so full of fleas, that the fleas and flea dirt (feces) actually clogged the clipper blades and the clipper overheated! We used a concentrated flea shampoo that we'd dilute with water before using on the dogs, with this dog the boss told me to use it straight. When I went home that day my clothes were still speckled with dead fleas. Hence my heebie-jeebies! I've found Advantage to be the quickest and best flea killer out there, it doesn't stink or seem to have any adverse effect on the cats, and it works for at least a month with one application. Once it's dry, it's safe for your pets to be handled by kids, or anyone. You can't even tell it's there. It seems expensive, but that's because it's sold by the manufacturer in packages of 6 doses at a time. Many vets will open the packs and sell the vials individually, and I got a vial for each of my three cats for $7 CDN (that's about $5 US) each. So, maybe you should call a few vets around your area and see if they will sell it to you. Also many vets will sell it over the counter, you don't have to bring your cats in and pay for an appointment on top of the cost of the Advantage. You can also order Advantage directly from the Internet, but that's in the multi-dose packages. Anyway, if you want more info on Advantage, there's a website www.advantage.com I think. Good luck, and I hope you can get rid of your flea problem a lot more easily than I did! Patti