Indignity and Infernal Ideas

Our post for today is all shades of rude and weird, we're afraid. Let's start with the rude. This is going to involve some public shaming of a certain mancat here.

See? Talk about rude! Evan is one of the primary butt-sniffers in this house. His victim here is poor little Thimble. To be honest, around here, the most common offender of the crime of butt-sniffing is actually our housemate Toby, but he's more careful not to get caught on camera.

Does this make this post a Tushie Tuesday post?

Anyway, are there any butt-sniffers amongst our friends out there? We're sort of hoping Evan and Toby aren't the only offenders of this crime.

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We're thinking the rudeness and weirdness of this post doesn't get any better with our A to Z Challenge contribution for today.

We're at the letter I today. As per usual, our theme involves putting animal-inspired twists on classic story titles. I tried and tried to conjure up some cute or witty idea for the letter I, but all I could come up with was this:

As weird and unsettling as it is, I turned Dante's Inferno into Inpurrno. I don't really know what else to say on the matter.


We hope all of you friends of ours have a truly terrific Tuesday!

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Our Tip of the Day:

 

Our parasite talk today is all about ticks. These nasty little guys can find their way onto your kitty or pup (or yourself) from wooded areas, shrubs, and tall grass. They can make their way into your yard, especially (though not limited to) if you live near a wooded or other similar area. This means that animals who go outdoors can always be at risk for ticks. Then again, it is not impossible for animals with limited outdoor activity to pick up a stray tick as well.

Ticks pose more danger than one. First, to put it simply, they suck your furbaby's blood. It would most likely take a good deal of time for a tick to cause anemia in their host, but this is still something to keep in mind. What's more, ticks can transfer dangerous, sometimes life-threatening diseases to a cat or dog (or human, or other animal). Lyme disease is one such disease, and it can cause swelling, pain, and arthritis in the joints. Another disease that ticks can transmit is Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can result in fever as well as lameness, similarly to Lyme disease.

Obviously, for reasons such as those listed above, you certainly don't want ticks on your furbabies. Especially if your furbaby goes outdoors, and most especially if they visit areas with lots of trees and tall grass, the best way to protect them from ticks is by way of preventatives. There are indeed preventatives on the market that cover ticks, often while at the same time preventing against other parasites we've already discussed, such as fleas and intestinal worms. So, discuss these options with your veterinarian. Again, as we've said before, it is always safest to purchase quality products, such as those offered at your veterinarian's office.

We'll also take this time to note that, if you see a tick on your furbaby, don't just start pulling at it. Ticks can attach themselves, especially their heads, very securely to an animal's body. This means that if you pull on them, you might very well remove their bodies, all while leaving their blood-sucking heads still on your kitty or pup. For this reason, if you see a tick on your furbaby, assess the situation and determine if you know how to or are able to remove it safely and in its entirety. There are some tricks and even products, such as tweezers specifically designed for tick removal, that can assist in removing a tick completely. However, if you are not positive that you can manage this, as it is not always an easy thing, then contact a veterinarian and seek assistance in removal of the tick.

How about a bonus tidbit? Possums are known to be incredibly efficient tick-eaters. It has even been said that one single possum can consume over 5,000 ticks in one season. So, if you have possums in your yard, leave them be. They could very well keep that tick population down, leaving your furbaby and yourself safer for it.