Kringle: A Cat to Flip Over
While some cats are all about the nip, and Kringle loved his catnip like the best of ’em, this cat was all about the flip.
Unearthing what amounts to “vintage video” in cat years, I share with you this special moment from May ’06 when we first discovered our cat’s untapped love of acrobatics. Often spinning in circles on his own, we found a new way to entertain our little beasty on this particular day. See for yourself.
From this moment on, Kringle spent each morning kneading the pile of the dining room rug to garner his papa’s attention. Tim would meet him there, on what we called “the mat,” to wrestle with, roll and flip the kitty. Evolving from a hillside rolling flip, their new combination involved Tim holding Kringle upside down at waist level, then sliding Kringle down the length of his legs until Kringle met the floor with his front paws. Kringle loved this and, purring, would circle Tim’s ankles until he was lifted once more to do it again. This became a daily ritual, one you can view in the previously posted “Kringle the Christmas Cat” video.
Accentuating your pet’s interests can be rewarding and fun. Let them show you what they find entertaining and build on that. Just remember to never violate their trust by pushing your pet beyond their comfort level. The activity has to be enjoyable for both of you.
Winter Games: K9 Style
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics has been a tremendous display of talent and determination as demonstrated by gold medalists Lindsey Vonn, Evan Lysacek, Shaun White and Shani Davis. While these athletes are making headlines, and rightly so, another worthy competition deserves some light shed upon it…
WELCOME TO THE 2010 WINTER GAMES K9 STYLE!
The Athletes
Meet Shamus, reigning champion.
Shamus had first proved himself in a qualifying run during last spring’s final snow. Tim, his coach, believes he shows a great deal of promise. A descendant from Newfoundland, he weighs in at 96 pounds and is chock full of talent, speed and stamina. His new winter coat is designed for the rigors of competition. His spirits are high going into this year’s games. Winter is, after all, his favorite season.
Meet Emmett, the contender.
Emmett is a 60 pound Brittany Spaniel mix. He is extremely athletic, compact, and solidly built. With a little help from Vera Wang, his costume could use some thermal improvement for this particular competition. After eating his previous fashionable coat though, his owner has decided to invest in other areas of Emmett’s training. No worries. This dog has bounding energy that may heat things up just enough to get him through.
Fostered, Adopted, Rescued
EMMETT: FINALLY ADOPTED
On January 23rd, Tim and I adopted Emmett, our foster dog of 7 months. If you’ve been following along, I’m sure you think “It’s about time!” I happen to agree.
Not only has Emmett blossomed into an affectionate, well behaved and happy pup with us, but he and Shamus, our Newfoundland, are the best of inseparable friends. Long before Tim and I fully committed to keeping Emmett, the dogs demonstrated loud and clear what they wanted – to be together always. See for yourself in the video I shot two weeks prior to signing the paperwork.
DOG RESCUE: FOR BETTER OR WORSE
Of course, dog rescue is a “for-better-or-for-worse” proposition. Unfortunately, when Emmett’s adoption plan went into action, for worse was the greater part of our reasoning.
Emmett’s behavior had unexplainably shifted over the course of several days. He watched out of the corner of his eye as we passed him in his bed. Nights became unsettling for him and he walked through the dark with his back hunched like a cat. His fur would stand on end, even while his tail wagged, and he’d bark at nothing in particular in an empty room. Something was very wrong. Emmett’s trust in the safety of his environment had waned. Tim and I felt like we failed, like Emmett was regressing. We needed answers.
WHERE TO GO FROM HERE?
Breaking the situation down into manageable parts, we first filled out the adoption contract to proceed as a solid family unit. We have been Emmett’s family, the only long-term support he has ever known, and he needed to feel that he belonged with us no matter what. Next, in an effort to explain Emmett’s odd behavioral shift, we combed back through the previous week’s events hoping to uncover the mystery.
THE FORENSIC TIMELINE
About a month ago, Emmett’s foot pads had become deeply rutted and slightly discolored. He was placed on over-the-counter fish oil supplements based on a picture I brought to the vet. Concerned that there was no discernible change several weeks later, I took Emmett for a follow up exam.
Abhorring this visit after a previous bout with staples, Emmett pulled me back toward the car once we reached the front door. When we did finally get inside, he would not allow the techs to see his feet without significant coercion. Leaving with meds in hand, a precautionary measure to treat any possible issue with the least amount of stress to Emmett, we came home. Relieved to be back, Emmett bounced around as usual with Shamus.
One day later, Emmett’s behavior began to change but I couldn’t put my finger on what was happening. I wondered if stress from the vet visit had caused some previous insecurities to resurface. Two days later, Emmett grew more frenetic. Questions arose and we watched vigilantly. Taking stock of his environment, we noted that Emmett’s food had changed. The brand was the same but the flavor was new. Could this be an allergy? Was he was sick? In pain? Was there a tumor pressing on the behavioral center of his brain? The following day, Emmett’s personality deteriorated into a ball of nerves that could no longer be attributed to the dog we knew and loved. We called the vet to hurry him in for a full blood work-up and x-rays.
MYSTERY SOLVED
While the majority of veterinary journals make no mention of this, and the vet who originally treated our boy was unaware, another vet at our clinic knew of some rare, yet undesirable side effects associated with the medication Emmett was on. When his anti-yeast and ear meds were mixed with an antibiotic, she said it was possible that the drug or the combination of several had likely made Emmett “crazy.” There was no way of knowing if he was hallucinating or simply feeling anxious, but we took him off that questionable drug and one other immediately. We also returned to the original flavor of food to cover all bases. The following day, we had our Emmett back.
FOR THE BEST
While this wasn’t the most joyous or ideal way for Emmett’s adoption to come to fruition, we have no regrets. When push came to shove, we knew we belonged to Emmett and that he belonged to us – long before bureaucracy, semantics and a medical mystery entered the picture. I suppose, after dragging our feet in our formal commitment, the Universe whacked us hard over the head to remind us of our undeniable truth. We all belong together.
Firmly rooted in the commitment of our bond now (as I always was, eh-hem), we are certainly a merrier bunch for it.
Welcome home, Emmett.
We’ve always got your back.
Love,
Kim, Tim, Shamus and the birds
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