[Gpdd] Gpdd (Misc) (Update on feral cat feeding)(etc)

[Ellen Garrison]

Hi everyone and happy new year,

I am about 2 wheeks behind on my digest reading but thank you to all for
your sympathy and condolences regarding my pigs Rufie and Cheyenie who are
now together again at the bridge.

I feel impelled to post that I was reading some posts from about two wheeks
ago, Sandy to Corrine and vice versa,  and although i also live in Hawaii
like Corrine and Michael do, I live on another island.\

But I just want to clarify something if it wasn't clear and maybe we got
mixed up.  I do feed feral cats not Corrine. At first I was not sure.  I
also have the stressy job, but it has been a more relaxing wheek too.  It is
a good job.  I also was the one doing piggie laundry e.o. day, and caring
for these cats (all outside) and the 10 pigs I did have and the bunny and
three fish aquariums.  Did it ever occur to me that I needed a few mental
health days? YES!
i have cut down to the feeding of the feral cats twice a wheek at their
feeding station up the hill.  I do put a bowl of water and small plate of
dry cat food outside my front door for them. I live in a condo so they do
not come in the unit.  I have a screen door also.  the piggies are up on
twin beds (I am sleeping on a very comfy new sofa with a day bed which I
have had to "bunny proof" with a rodent fence around the bottom as the bunny
has turned the thing from brand new to just new).We are well inside where
feral cats will never go. and we are upstairs.

Every time I come in I wash my hands and use a good soap.  If I ever wash
the cat bowls it is done in the tub not the kitchen sink with soap then
bleach, and then the tub is disinfected as well.  There are two feral cats
that let me pet them and I always wash up after that as described above.
Even my house/car keys are sanitized as well as the door knob with rubbing
alcohol,  I use bleach around the front door and outside the door. I would
say my biggest fear is fleas which can be carriers.
.
I know that Cheyenie had been diagnosed with giardia which is an intestinal
parasite last month which the vet had treated her for with panacur.  this is
a parasite that has been on the island for years, I had purchased some local
baby greens which after eating those, both Rufie and Cheyenie had loose
stools.  The other pigs were ok.

  I had asked the vet about the treating of the other pigs for giardia. Well
they said the pigs would have to be mouth-to-bottom and that is how giardia
is spread as it seems to be the only type of intestinal parasite that stays
in the intestines only.  Well anyway, the other pigs that had gotten the
fecal test had all been negative for parasites when they had been tested.
and I am thinking of doing the procedure of treating for parasites as
outlined in Ann Evans great protocol (thank you Ann).  But I am thinking of
going to the other vet for that because I think two vets are better than
one.  Demian will give ivermectin whereas the exotic vet only gave
revolution,  revolution does not kill internal parasites in piggies but
panacur does.  I do not think I have ever tested Cheyenie before --anyway,
it was sad that she passed however I know she's with all her friends at
R.Bridge especially with Rufie her best friend.

I do want to say thank you to Sandy also since you give good information.  I
also wish to say that eventhough Hawaii is the tropics it does not have
(knock on wood) the many diseases that are on the mainland, for instance we
do not have the hantavirus   There is typhus and leptospirosis, but typhus
is not highly contagious and lepto is remote.  there is the parvovirus which
is  not something I have researched--but feral cats here do not carry a lot
from what I know ( I will research more). I did research from when I had pet
mice and the place I lived at the time was infested with wild mice that
would visit my pet mice.  also it had any kind of scarey looking bug Hawaii
has to offer (Scorpions and centipedes etc) but I never got bit and never
got sick from anything, and the unit I had was outside partially in an
enclosed back porch where I had my first guinea pig and the two rabbits.
Li'l Guy the guinea pig never got any diease and in fact was  quite healthy
, he lived to be 6. he used to hang out with Tawney the mommy rabbit and
would walk around on the back porch. He lived there with me for 14 months,
until we all moved.

The other thing about Hawaii is yes there are those things that grow but
just to let you know we do get winters and now it is about 68 degrees F
which sounds warm to some but it is cold to us and things do not grow well.

It is cold and it was even 65 F in Kapalua where I work.

thank you to everyone for all the good stuff you share and all your
concerns.
by the way ---LOL--i have stopped doing so much pig laundry as THAT was
driving me insane!


Love and Wheeks, Ellen