Mancat Monday and the Letter G

We've reached another day of the April A to Z Challenge, this time with the letter G.

Our alphabetic theme is All Things Cat, for which I've doodled up items shaped like cats, as in with cat ears and cat faces. Today, for the letter G, we have a graham cracker sandwich.

I really tried to make this one work for S, since it's indeed known as a s'more. I really needed S for another doodle in this series, though, so graham cracker sandwich it is. That said, did you know that one of the first times s'mores were published as a recipe in a magazine, they were referred to as graham cracker sandwiches? So there you have it.

As another tidbit, our fuzzy house panther Toby can be seen in a way in that image. I didn't notice until I uploaded the image here that, when I scanned the drawing, there was apparently one of Toby's long black hairs either on the doodle or on the scanner. If you squint your eyes and look by the whiskers on the left side, you'll see Toby's contribution. Honestly, this is very likely not the only drawing we've shared that was scanned with a cat hair or two. I'm sure it happens often.

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Now, it's also Mancat Monday. We of course have for you handsome Evan, who was sleeping when I went after him with the camera.

That was Evan napping about an hour after he got his evening meds one day this weekend. He's on increased pain and anxiety meds right now, which we started to help him through a flare of his urethral and bladder issues, and the aural hematoma healing on his right ear.

For a couple hours right after Evan is medicated, he is incredibly calm and a bit extra tired. That said, his increased meds have brought back a lot of his old, happy habits that hadn't been showing up lately. Now they are again, and it makes me so happy to see acting him so much like his old self.

Evan wishes you all lots of naps today!

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Tip of the Day

 

After yesterday's discussion on tapeworms, we thought we'd briefly discuss a couple of other similar intestinal parasites, these being roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms. We won't go into all of the science for each of these worms, but we will touch on the basics of such infestations. So, if you're interested in these wormy parasites, read on.

Depending on the worm, cats and dogs can potentially become infected with the aforementioned worms as kittens or puppies, such as in utero or from their mother's milk. Worms can also find their way to a cat or dog's intestines by the ingestion of a rodent or other carrier of the parasite, or by ingesting the parasite in certain stages of its life cycle elsewhere in the environment. Symptoms of such an infestation can include diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, a potbellied appearance, and sometimes even sight of the worms in your furbaby's feces.

If you think your kitty or pup might have intestinal worms, such as if they are a young puppy or kitty with a potbelly, if you see worms in their feces, or if you see any other potential signs, of course take your furbaby and a stool sample to be examined by a veterinarian. Parasiticides can be used to eradicate these intestinal parasites. Just as with tapeworms, though, it is important to use preventative measures to keep your kitty or pup clear of them from then on. Keep their environment clean in order to prevent growth of the worms in the environment. In addition, if your furbaby goes outdoors, monitor them and try to ensure that they are not ingesting prey that are potential carriers of intestinal parasites, such as rodents. If needed, such as if your cat or dog is largely outdoors, discuss with your veterinarian the potential for keeping your furbaby on regular preventatives that cover intestinal parasites such as roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms.