Happy Birthday, Tonks, Winky, and Flitwick! (...and the Letter F)

So, it's Tonks Tuesday. You know what makes that even better? The fact that it's Tonks's birthday!

My sweet, happy, active, and just generally amazing calico Tonks is 8 years old today. I can't believe that number. She's now in her second year as a "senior" cat, and yet she's constantly playing, running, jumping, and just generally acting nothing like a "senior". Which I love so much.

Happy Birthday, my sweet Tonks! I love you so much!

What's more, though, my sister is owned by Tonks's litter mate Winky, and my parents are owned by their brother Flitwick. So, it's a triple birthday today!

Here's miss Winky...

And here's the handsome boy Flitwick...

Happy 8th Birthday, Tonks, Winky, and Flitwick! We love you and we hope your birthday is the best day ever!

You know what else? These birthday babies actually have a little to do with today's contribution to the April A to Z Challenge.

This April, I'm sharing my own fan art versions of covers for some of my favorite books. Even better, all of my covers star cats, or dogs. Or other animals, like you'll see below. Today's letter is F, which won't make sense at first since I'm about to ramble about Harry Potter. You see, my sister and I grew up in the era of Harry Potter. We were the target audience when those books were coming out, and we loved reading them so much. We still do, just as we still enjoy watching the movies. Our dad also read the Harry Potter books back in the day, and our whole family has watched every movie together more than once.

All that said, today's birthday kitties are all named after Harry Potter characters. My girl Tonks is named after the witch Nymphadora Tonks, who has the magical ability to change her appearance. Winky happens to be named after a house elf whose name is, well, Winky. In the books she is notoriously drunk, and our kitty version of Winky plays that up quite well by being her sometimes spastic and sometimes curmudgeonly self. Flitwick is named after the professor Filius Flitwick.

Since I have another book very significant to me being used for the letter H, I was able to make the first Harry Potter book fall under today's letter of F. After all, remember the one and only kitty Flitwick I mentioned above, and his namesake character Filius Flitwick? In the first book of the Harry Potter series, that being Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the title character and his classmates start their lessons at the magical school known as Hogwarts. One of their professors is none other than Filius Flitwick, and that's not only one F but two!

Before I share my Harry Potter book cover, I'm going to share the Harry Potter-inspired birthday doodle I scribbled up last year for Tonks, Winky, and Flitwick.

I'm not only sharing that in honor of the birthday kitties, but also because this was one of the cases where I allowed myself to use an old doodle to create today's book cover. Unfortunately, the one and only Flitwick could no longer aesthetically fit in the image when cropped as a book cover, but he's still there in spirit. So, in honor of Professor Flitwick, here's my version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

You actually get a bonus cover today as well. A couple years ago I scribbled up a Harry Potter birthday card for my sister, and I made it start one of her favorite animals, that being a sloth. So, I guess still using today's letter F for Professor Flitwick, here's another cover for the first Harry Potter book.

[Reminder/Disclaimer/whatever you want to call it: These are not real, true covers of this book. My name is also not J.K. Rowling, and so I am admittedly not the author of this book. I'm just someone who likes books and cats, and of course sloths, and so I drew these unofficial feline and slothy versions of the book's cover.]

I apologize for all of the rambling above. But, I get quite excited when it's some of my kitties' birthday, and when I get the chance to gab on and on about one of my favorite book series. So, there's that. If you made it this far in this long post, many magical kudos to you.

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Tip of the Day

Yesterday we discussed the topic of fleas and the importance of using preventatives. We briefly noted on how a flea infestation can lead to a kitty or pup being infected with tapeworms. Today, we are expanding on the topic of these nasty, wormy invaders.

To begin, as we just stated, a tapeworm infestation can be the result of a flea infestation. This is because fleas can carry tapeworm larvae, and when a cat or dog grooms and thereby ingests a carrier flea, that furbaby can then become infested with tapeworms. Fleas are not the only hosts of tapeworms, though. A cat or dog can also become infected by ingesting a rodent, rabbit, or bird that is carrying them. For this reason, some veterinarians will recommend that outdoor cats and dogs remain on tapeworm preventatives regularly, to prevent infestation in the event that a tapeworm host is ingested during a hunt.

Now that we know how a kitty or pup can end up with tapeworms, let's give a brief summary on the signs. One obvious sign that a furbaby has tapeworms is visually seeing it in their feces, or around their anus, or even in an area where they frequent. What you see in the feces of an infected cat or dog are actually segments that break off of a tapeworm, and these segments are perhaps best described as looking like grains of rice. Other symptoms of tapeworms include a cat or dog scooting their rear end on the floor, to alleviate the itching, irritating sensation of the tapeworm and its segments. In severe cases, such as after a lengthy tapeworm infestation, side effects can include lack of growth or weight loss, or even intestinal blockage as a result of tapeworms.

If you have any concerns that your furbaby might have tapeworms, take your furbaby and a sample of their stool in for your veterinarian to examine. There is the possibility that tapeworms may not shed consistently, and some stool samples may come back as negative even when tapeworms are present in the intestines. This is why it is also important to explain and describe to your veterinarian any signs you have seen, such as tapeworm segments in the feces, scooting, weight loss, and so forth.

These days, treatment for a tapeworm infestation is relatively straight-forward and easy, with the use of parasiticides. Thereafter, prevention is of course also key. Flea preventatives are imperative in ensuring that your furbaby does not become infected with tapeworms by way of fleas. If your cat or dog is often outdoors, and especially if they are known to hunt or ingest wildlife, you can also discuss with your veterinarian giving preventatives more heavily geared toward tapeworms. Tapeworms can hinder your furbaby's ability to thrive, so of course be sure that you understand their risks and do your best to prevent these wormy pests.