Calamity is a Tonkinese taht arrived on Thursday.  By Saturday, we
noticed that she had not eaten anything.  Dr. Z assigned me the task
of trying to get her to eat/

So at certain intervals I would just open the cage and pet her.  She
would be hiding in her cubby/tent, curled up in a ball.  I would start
behind the ears ans gently scritch her.  she would sit there for a sec
and then start rubbing into my fingers.  By the thirs time, I had some
of her canned food with me.  I stuck my finger in her food and held it
out in front of her.

She looked at me, looked at the food and turned around.  Hmph!!

This went on all day and I eventually had to take a syringe full of
the baby food her owner brought and syringe baby food into her mouth.
She ate a little bit, but was still not eating.  Then at the end of
the day it hit me.....would I want to eat cold, canned food fresh from
the refrigerator?  So I took her food and nuked it in the microwave
for 10 seconds.  I set it down in front of her, and she sniffed at it.
Then she started to lap it up.  It was just a little bit, but  it was
more that she had eaten in the last few days.

Guess when her owner feeds her, she gets her food heated up.  Sheesh!!

I made a few mistakes yesterday, but that's normal with every job.  I
couldn't stop to take a moment to think about things, so I made a few
mental notes.

-When removing an animal from a run/cage, make sure fingers are not in
the way.  Owwww!

-When a cat has received enemas all day, expect anal leakage, and
handle accordingly.  (Meaning be careful unless you want diarrhea all
over your scrubs. bleach!)

-Expect to change your scrubs at least once a day

-When walking the dogs in the morning and afternoon, CHECK YOUR SHOES
OFTEN!!!!  If you are one of the unlucky, please clean shoes before
reentering clinic.

-Do not expect to eat Tuna Helper in the break room without paying
tribute to Pete the hospital cat.

-Upon returnin home expect to have your clothes and shoes THOROUGHLY
inspected by your own kitties

Cheers,

Kristi