Adventures of Melissa Wood ~~ Pet Sitter, Traveler, Nature & Animal Lover, Photographer

In a time of severe drought like we have going on in South Texas right now, this is NOT the time to have a Water Softener Unit that has developed a leak.  It was discovered because the Reverse Osmosis system that is here in the house, has not been flowing with very much pressure, so I had Culligan come out and see what’s going on.

That’s when they discovered the leak.  So today is the day that they are coming back to replace the water softener units.  This takes about 3 hours, but at least now the leak is fixed and the drinking water is flowing at a normal pressure

Tags: house sitting, pet sitting

I got an email last night from the Humane Society SCPCA here in San Antonio….Oreo was adopted yesterday!  He went home with a great family and apparently, they adopted another kitten along with him, so he has a playmate!  I’m so thankful that he has found a new home and that the family was gracious and loving enough to adopt another kitten for him to have a friend. 

I’ve been going to see him at the Humane Society for the last week.  I’ve been to visit him 3 times and it was hard to see him there.  Yesterday, I went during lunchtime. They have private rooms with lots of cat toys so that prospective new “parents” can have a get-acquainted session with the animal they are thinking about adopting.  So I had him in one of those rooms and played with him for about 1/2 hour.  It was good to see him again and he purred and played and we had a great time!  It was hard to put him back in the cage and leave him again!  I said a little prayer while there that he would find a nice family to go to as he is a very special little kitty!

So later to get an email that said he had been adopted was a relief! I admit to being a little sad…(still have lots of emotions about missing the kittens!), but I’m joyous and thrilled that he has a family now!  I hope he lives a long and happy life with his new family.

Tags: Cat Rescue Work, house sitting, pet sitting

I’ve noticed these long pink flowers that only bloom after we have a rain.  Of course, we’re in a MAJOR drought down here in San Antonio, but occasionally, we get a sprinkle of rain.  Then these flowers come up.

It must have “sprinkled” again this past weekend when I was gone from the house during the day.  These flowers have once again bloomed:

Pink Rain Lily

Pink Rain Lily

They are native to Mexico so I guess it’s not a far stretch that they are here in San Antonio.  Their Botanical name: Zephyranthes carinata    Family: Amaryllidaceae (amarlyllis family).

Tags: house sitting, Nature, pet sitting

Well now that the kittens have new homes, I feel like life is starting to get back to normal again.  I mean after all, this was *supposed* to be a house and pet sitting job!  Fostering those kittens took alot of my time over the last 2 months, so the quiet now is nice to have.

It actually gave me a chance the other night to spend some real quality time with the property owner’s cats!  Of course I’ve spent time with them over the last 2 months, but my time has been limited as the kittens required alot of attention and with all the illnesses and trips to the vet, it definitely ate into the time that I had available on any given day. But now, I have more time. 

So last night, I went down to the guest house and spent some time with the 10 cats that I am petsitting and caring for.  I hung out with them for a couple of hours.  They loved it and we played and played and I sprinkled cat nip around and we had a little party!  I was able to get some pictures of them. And in fact was able to get all 10 of them, which is surprising since a few of them are very skiddish (Melvin in particular).  But he actually posed for me, which was really nice!

So here they are….all 10 of them.  As a reminder, these kitties are all rescued kitties that the property owner has saved….many of them have had eye diseases in the past and are blind and not adoptable, which is why they live here in the guest house. 

Ashley

Becka

BetsyBoo

Chloe

Hanna

Leena

Marco

Melvin

Timmy

Tuffy

Tags: house sitting, pet sitting

Well after Riley and Merlin were adopted yesterday, Oreo became extremely VOCAL.  WAY more so than usual and if I didn’t know better, I would say he had some Siamese in him!  He became very needy and literally followed me from room to room.  If I dare leave him behind, he would start screaming and howling just like a Siamese.

Needless to say, last evening, overnight and this morning were challenging.  He obviously wants to be with other animals or in my lap.  All the time.   It not only was stressing him out, but stressing me out and the 17-year old cat, Amadeus.  Amadeus does not like Oreo’s howling and crying and it really upset him a great deal.  So I can tell that this isn’t going to work long term.  I was hoping that Oreo could just “hangout” with me for awhile….be a lap kitty and be content.  But he’s much too playful….not surprising since he is just about 7-8 weeks old and he wants to play ALL THE TIME!  I can’t be his playmate (as much as it would be cool to play on the floor with him all the time!) and Amadeus is definitely not interested in being his playmate either!  Since I’ve not been successful on my own in getting him adopted, I don’t have any choice and I have to call the Humane Society.

Fortunately for me, I have a good friend at the Humane Society of Bexar County who arranged for me to bring him in this afternoon.  They were wonderful and obviously, since Oreo is so cute, they think he’ll get adopted right away.  Of course, he’ll get neutered immediately and then, put up for adoption.  I’ll be following his progress closely and I’ll report back about his adoption progress.  I’m setting the intention that he’ll get adopted by a loving family who will have a playmate for him.

In the meantime, I heard back from the family that adopted Merlin and Riley.  Apparently, there was a ‘bump’ in the road while introducing the two new kittens to their dogs……so let’s just say that all is well now, but the introductions will take place a little slower next time!  I don’t think the kitties appreciated meeting the German Shepherd and Pomeranian just yet!  So for now, they are safe and sheltered in their own room and they will have very slow introductions to the dogs.  They are adjusting well and here is a cute picture of them together:

Merlin and Riley in their new home

 So tonight, I’m going to clean up the house….put all the kitten-related toys and beds and kitty litter boxes away.   I can put all the chairs back around the dining room table again.  I’m having lots of mixed emotions right now.  Part of me is glad this kitten rescue adventure is over…it’s been a long two months.  But the other part of me that so loved having them all here, is very sad and emotional.  I already miss playing with all of them, and I expect to hear them rough-housing on the carpet any minute.  It will take some getting used to not having them around now.  So right now, I’m sad.    I’m going to go and spend some time with Amadeus, since I’ve not been as attentive to him the last several weeks because the kittens have taken so much of my time.  I’m sure he will appreciate the attention!  ♥

Tags: Cat Rescue Work, house sitting, pet sitting

Well today is the day.  A friend of the homeowner’s has a friend that is interested in Riley (the black cat).  She has been set to come over for weeks now, but it seems as though everytime we set it up, something happens. First, the kittens had diarrhea; then ringworm.  Now, since they are all healed up and there is no more ringworm in the house, we set up today for a visit.

They came about 2:00.  Riley and Merlin both ran right up to them.  Originally, they were coming with the intention to just get one kitten.  At first they were interested in Riley; but then I sent pictures and they seemed to like Merlin.  But Riley wouldn’t leave her husband alone!  He curled up in his lap and really bonded with him.  And of course everybody loved Merlin!

So Merlin and Riley have a new home.  Now Merlin is known as “Snickers” and Riley’s new name is “Marvin”. 

Oreo is left behind.  He doesn’t like this and is voicing his displeasure.  I know this is stressful for him; he’s wandering around now looking for his friends.  He seems really traumatized and I’m sure is upset.  So I’m giving him the Bach Rescue Remedy which I know will help him to be calm.

I’m certainly sad to see those two little kittens go, but it never was the intention to keep them.  I’m glad they have found a good home.  Now, I must find a good home for Oreo:

Oreo - Available For Adoption!

Tags: Cat Rescue Work, house sitting, Natural Remedies for Animals, pet sitting

Well all 3 kittens are acting lethargic and tired.  The 2nd round of booster vaccinations really has taken it’s toll on them and I think wiped them out.  So they are all huddled together in the chair, resting.  I hope they snap out of it by Sunday because that’s Adoption Day!

Here’s a picture of them all cuddled together on the chair:

Riley (black), Merlin (Tabby) and Oreo

Tags: Cat Rescue Work, house sitting, pet sitting

Took all 3 rescue kittens back to the vet today for a final check.  Great news…the ringworm is officially GONE!  They used the blacklight to see if there were any “hot” spots; NONE!  So the treatment has finally worked.

We also had another once over of all 3 of the kittens.  Since I have a woman coming on Sunday to look at them for adoption purposes, I just wanted to be sure all is well.  They got another dose of worming medicine and their 2nd set of booster shots.

They are officially ready!  So I hope that one (or all) of them find a good home….we’ll see what Sunday brings with that visit.

Tags: Cat Rescue Work, house sitting, pet sitting

Riley & Oreo

Merlin

Merlin & Oreo

Merlin, Riley & Oreo

Tags: Cat Rescue Work, house sitting, pet sitting

Tonight, while I was outside doing some hand watering, I saw this Yellow Crowned Night Heron in the tree.  Fortunately, I was able to snap a picture before he flew away!

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

Tags: house sitting, Nature, pet sitting

So I snapped this picture of this snail who was slowly making his way across the walkway in front of the house.

Snail

Snail

Tags: house sitting, Nature, pet sitting

Today we had some pockets of thunderstorms throughout San Antonio. Part of San Antonio got some rain and other parts didn’t.  Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it!) it rained downtown in King William.  The rain itself probably lasted for 15 minutes and was pretty hard.  I came home tonight to water in the dining room again.

So I called the property owners to let them know.  They are convinced that it’s the gutter system and it’s clogged somewhere along the way; they make plans for a handyman to come by tomorrow morning and take a look at it.

In the meantime, I clean up all the water and am allowing the oriental rug to dry out again.  Have to also wipe down the windows in that corner, you can see the water drips from the ceiling down:

Dining Room Leak

Dining Room Leak

Also, there was water down in the basement in the wine cellar.  That is also where we keep alot of the cat food and although the outside of the bags of cat food were soaked and ripped, the inside of the bags has a plastic liner so the cat food was unharmed!  So that is definitely good news.

Tonight, the landscaper came to do some of the weekly watering.  I mentioned to him about the leak and he got up on a ladder and took a look.  Turns out, that in the corner of the house where the gutter system does a really funky “Z” thing, that in the middle part of that was just crammed fully of leaves and debris.  So he cleaned it all out, got the hose and put it down there while I stood at the other end and YAY….water came out!  With alot of other leaves and debris.  So perhaps this was the problem and *hopefully* it’s fixed now!

We need another good rain to see for sure!

Tags: house sitting, pet sitting

Here’s some pictures:

Cicada

Cicada

Tags: house sitting, Nature, pet sitting

Well the one thing I wanted to avoid in all of this ringworm issue with the kittens, was having Amadeus contract it.  And he has.  It’ s not bad; only one spot on his face above his right eye and one spot on his right leg.  I guess with all the walking back and forth over the carpet that the kittens have played on for several weeks, it’s not that much of a stretch that he would get it too.  And then of course I have it and I’m in contact with him numerous times daily.  Even though I try to be conscious of washing my hands and clothing, I’m sure at some point he’s been exposed.  Unfortunately, I probably waited a week too long to sanitize the carpet and I’m sure he picked it up about 10 days ago; it has an incubation period where it doesn’t show up right away.

Since Amadeus is 17 and he just recently went through an illness when his “family” went to Europe, his system is very sensitive.  I called the property owner to let her know what was going on.  She doesn’t want to give him any medicine, but she decides to call the two vets and confer with them on this issue.  They both agree; his system is too fragile and even though he has been without any health incidents for weeks now, it’s just too risky to give him some toxic medicine.  So we decide on purely topical treatments. 

So 3-4 times daily, I am applying Melaleuca (Tea Tree Oil) to his lesions.  In between those applications, I’m using the Tea Tree Relief Spray from Desert Essence too. 

He sure likes it when I apply these to him.  I think it must be soothing for his skin (just like it is for me).  I’m also giving him Bach Flower Remedy Crab Apple and homeopathic Sepia for the skin issues.  Both of these are going in his water and we’ll see how that does in a few days.

Tags: house sitting, Natural Remedies for Animals, pet sitting

Well today I’ve finally noticed that my ringworm has improved.  I’ve been using two things regularly and I think they are both helping alot.

First, my  beloved Young Living Essential Oil Lavender which is really great for soothing the skin and for me, seemed to work better than the Melaleuca (Tea Tree) Oil after awhile.  I think the Melaleuca Oil helped to initially stop it from spreading, but it didn’t help the itching.  But the Lavender Oil helped alot.

The other thing I’ve been using is Tea Tree Relief Spray from Desert Essence.  This product is awesome too and I feel really helped me get over this.

Over the years as a Naturopathic Doctor, I have recommended Lavender Essential Oil to many of my patients to help prevent scars after injuries, surgeries or burns.  So I am continuing the Lavender Essential Oil to prevent scarring from the rings that the fungus has made on my skin.

The kittens are also improving.  No new spots on any of them and I can tell that they are slowly starting to heal.  I am also using the Relief Spray on them as I think it really helps to soothe their tender skin.

Tags: Cat Rescue Work, house sitting, Natural Remedies for Animals, Natural Remedies for People, pet sitting

This morning when I got up and let the kittens out, Riley started coughing and hacking.  Doesn’t sound good.  Has lots of fluid in his lungs and it’s really easy to hear it.  Sounds like he has pneumonia.

Off to the vet I go.  Since I’ve had past experience at this vet’s office, I decide to get there really early so they have to take me 1st.  So there I am, waiting in the parking lot 20 minutes before they open.  At least it’s a nice morning out and he and I sit outside for awhile. 

Eventually the vets office opens and they take me in.  The vet tells me that since the latest medicine I’m giving him for the ringworm is liquid, and it doesn’t taste good, that it’s very common for kittens to aspirate some of the liquid into their lungs.  He said it sounds worse than it actually is, but that he will naturally clear this up on his own.  He informs me he’s not even going to medicate him (YAY!!!).

So that’s a relief!  So we’re back home now, but I can tell he doesn’t feel good. Instead of his normal romping around the room with Oreo and Merlin, he’s sitting in the crate on his fluffy bed, curled up.  This definitely isn’t normal Riley behavior.  He must really not feel good!  Hopefully, he’ll rest today and be back to normal tomorrow!  I’m going to monitor him and make sure he improves on his own; otherwise, I will give him some homeopathic medicine; but for now, I will wait and see how he does.

Tags: house sitting, Natural Remedies for Animals, pet sitting

Well I finally have had time today to really scrub down this place.  For weeks now, the kittens have been in a very large crate in the dining room.  Of course, I let them out to play, but they are getting to that stage where they are trying to get into everything and climbing up on things.

So in addition to thoroughly scrubbing down everything, I have to “kitten-proof” this room.  I need to start letting them stay out longer and longer and I can’t always be here to watch them, so I have to change this room so that they can’t get into too much trouble.

I start by removing the 10 dining room chairs and putting them in the livingroom.  They don’t have access to the livingroom as it’s separated and closed off, so that’s good. 

Then, I have to focus on cleaning and sanitizing this room.  First with the coccsidia bacteria that Merlin had that then everyone else got, then to the ringworm issue, this room needs to be sanitized! So I take all of their toys outside.  Each thing gets a very thorough scrubbing with the hose and Simple Green.  For the extra sanitizing, killing of fungus and bacteria, I am using my beloved Essential Oils from Young Living.  In particular, Thieves, Purification and Melaleuca (Tea Tree Oil) I use in combination in a spray bottle and really thoroughly clean EVERYTHING.  Even the carpeted Cat Tree that they climb on, it’s getting doused with it!  Everything smells so fresh and clean.  My main purpose with doing this is to ensure that Amadeus doesn’t get ringworm; he walks across this carpet everyday since his food bowls and water are in the kitchen, so I want to make sure he is safe and not exposed to the ringworm.

Next, it’s time for another bath.  All 3 kittens get the bath and of course, they hate it just as much as last time!  I put them in a smaller crate outside to dry; I decided not to torture them any further by using the hair dryer and since it’s 100 degrees today, they could just dry naturally outdoors.  I think they enjoyed it for awhile.  But then Oreo voiced his displeasure at being in the heat, so I brought them back indoors.

In the meantime, I got a bucket of hot water and again I added my Thieves, Purification and Melaleuca Essential Oil. I scrubbed the tile flooring in the dining room and then sprayed the same mixture all over the carpet.   This for sure will kill any remaining fungus or bacteria that they might have traipsed around this room. 

Once everything dried, I let them loose in here.  New things to explore as kittens like it when stuff gets moved around, so I put things in new places and it was like having all new things!  They were entertained for hours and last night, never heard a peep out of them as I think they crashed and slept like babies.  So did I thankfully!

Tags: birding in Port Aransas, house sitting, Natural Remedies for Animals, pet sitting

The ringworm is getting worse on Merlin and Riley.  Oreo, the culprit that originally brought ringworm to this house, has cleared up and is fine.  Isn’t that ironic?!  But in the meantime, Merlin has lost all of the hair around his mouth, in his whiskers and on top of his nose.  Now losing hair on his ears.  Riley has lost hair around his mouth too and now also on his ears.

So we return to the vet.  In addition to the shampooing which I must do twice per week, the Program pills which will give another dose of next week, now we have a new medication for them and some topical stuff to put on their lesions.  Since most of them are on their face, this has to be done very carefully with Q-Tips to ensure it doesn’t get in their eyes.

The medicine does not taste well, the vet warns me.  And I know this instantly in trying to give it to them.  I have to use a small syringe and squirt it down their throat. 

I hope this procedure works but I think now it will just have to run it’s course.  So I imagine that it will be like this for another 10 days to 2 weeks. 

In the meantime, I’m sanitizing everything so as to not contaminate the other cats here.  My lesions have not worsened, nor do I have any new spots, but they are not going away either.  Like the cats, I suspect I’ll have to deal with them for about 2 weeks until they run their course and go away.

Tags: Cat Rescue Work, house sitting, pet sitting

I guess all this exposure to the ringworm fungus has finally caught up with me.  What started as 2 small dots 2 days ago, has now erupted (or should I say exploded?!) into 30 spots all over my legs and arms. 

The itching is driving me mad.  I think the Tea Tree Oil has helped stop the fungus from growing, but it hasn’t helped the itching.  So I went to the drugstore, I’ve tried Lotrimin which didn’t do a thing.  Now, I’m trying Campo-Phenique which stopped the itching immediately.   I’m covering it with NewSkin Liquid Bandage which helps to keep it from spreading.  It’s working in that I don’t have any new spots developing.  And it doesn’t itch anymore, so I hope I can sleep tonight!

Tags: Cat Rescue Work, house sitting, Natural Remedies for People, pet sitting

Well today all the kittens got a bath with the medicated anti-fungal shampoo that is supposed to kill ringworm.  Or at least slow it down. 

Bathing kittens is fun.  First of all, they don’t like water and don’t like being wet at all.  Fortunately, they are still small enough that I can still hang on to them and their claws have not developed into lethal weapons yet.  But the thing about this shampoo is that they have to have to have it on their skin for 10 MINUTES!  It’s quite the challenge to keep them in the sink, soaking wet and covered in shampoo for 10 minutes.  They don’t like it and in particular, Oreo is VERY vocal about voicing his displeasure at this.

After the bath, comes the blowdrying.  None of them appreciate the fact that I’m using my hair blowdryer to get them dry.  I’m sure the noise scares them, but I don’t want them to get chilled either.  So they get about 1/2 dry and then back in their crate they go.

Of course now with all of them having this fungus, the crate has to be scrubbed down with Simple Green and Tea Tree (Melaleuca) Essential Oil to help kill the fungus.  I have to wash their bedding and toys too.  This keeps me busy most of the day!

Tags: Cat Rescue Work, house sitting, Natural Remedies for Animals, pet sitting

The electrician came this morning to check on what happened in the guest house.  Apparently, there was some kind of short in the wall socket and it blew some tiny little fuse on the socket itself which controls the electricity to both the kitchen and the dining room.  A $3.97 part and a $112.50 service fee!  Yikes!  Everyday I’m reminded why I don’t want to do home ownership!  But it’s fixed and the lights are back on.

Tags: house sitting, pet sitting

Well with all the flies I’m killing around here, the lizards are pretty darn happy.   Although it’s not as bad as the first few days they were here, I’m still killing on average of about 20 a day.  And now, the lizards can almost time my delivery…it’s pretty comical but I’ve still been unable to catch them in the act of actually eating one of the flies I’m tossing to them.  But here’s a pic I got shortly after one of them came and scarfed down some flies:

Lizard

Tags: house sitting, Nature, pet sitting

I got home this afternoon and went to check on the 10 cats in the guest house.  The lights in the kitchen and dining room don’t work.  It’s not the bulbs and it’s not the circuit breaker.  Have no idea what’s going on.  The housekeeper was here today and I called her, but she says everything was fine when she was cleaning in the guest house. 

I can live without the lights; the main thing is that with this 104-106 degree heat every day, it is vitally important that the AC is working and it is.  So I decide to call the electrician tomorrow.

Tags: house sitting, pet sitting

Well today Riley’s face is ALOT worse.  So I took all three kittens back to the vet.  Yep…it’s ringworm.  Apparently, they wanted me to shampoo the kittens from when I was there about 10 days ago, but they didn’t have the shampoo and they never got it in until yesterday….great!  I have a feeling that they never gave Riley or Merlin the “Program” the first time I took them in.  Only Oreo got it because he was the one that showed the ringworm.  Well now Riley has it.  So he was given the “Program” today and a bath along with Merlin and Oreo.  So we’ll see how that goes.  It was very frustrating there; lots of waiting and having to drive back later to pick them up.  And on top of which, the vets office is HIGHLY unorganized and extremely inefficient.  So I’m frustated and aggravated right now!  Must have a glass of wine!

Tags: Cat Rescue Work, house sitting, pet sitting