I see them now. Cute pics. I always wanted to get a bird as a pet, something along the lines of an African grey parrot. At the moment I'm "pet-less," exclusive of dust mites.
Being a little snot with the pill, but otherwise OK. I put the pill in her mouth this evening and it seemed way too easy. Three minutes later, I see it on the floor in the kitchen. I had to really force her to take it tonight, but she usually goes to eat right after. I think she knows it tastes horribly, but will get rid of that taste by eating.
Her, sorry. Well hang in there with that, I think you made the right decision to forgo surgery and go with the pill regimen.
Keeping birds in cages is cruel. They have wings, fer Pete's sake - they're meant to fly in wide open spaces.
No worries. She is actually an it, but I still refer to it as she. Sometimes when she is problematic, I combine the two and call her (*)(*)(*)(*). I think I did too and this is not that hard. She is getting better with taking it each day. The first time she tore my hand up with her teeth. Tonight she just swallowed it the second time. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
I've always wanted and african grey as well. My parent's friends had one that would tell their dog to sit for cookies, they are cool birds. Mites are there to greet you when you walk in the door too.
I had to give my cat pills every day for the first two years I had him (I adopted him after he'd been rescuted from horrible abuse and recovery took a loooooong time). It was awful. It got to the point where I was the dreaded giver of icky pills and he didn't even like me. Even worse, the pills really didn't help with the issues he had while recovering from the abuse. I finally found a vet who recommended taking him off all meds and see how he did. That solved all the problems. At any rate...this is rather amusing (except for the last step, of course): =^..^= HOW TO GIVE YOUR CAT A PILL IN TWENTY EASY STEPS Sit on sofa. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your elbow as though you were going to give a bottle to a baby. Talk softly to it. With right hand, position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. (be patient) As cat opens mouth pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow. Drop pill into mouth. Let go of cat, noticing the direction it runs. Pick the pill up off the floor and go get the cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process. Sit on floor in kitchen, wrap arm around cat as before, drop pill in mouth. Let go of cat, noticing the direction it runs. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away. Scoot across floor to pick up pill, and go find the cat. Bring it back into the kitchen. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten. Drop pill into mouth. Pry claws from back legs out of your arm. Go get the cat, pick up half-dissolved pill from floor and drop it into garbage can. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of closet. Call spouse from backyard. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously. Retrieve cat from curtain rod, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered Doulton figures from hearth and set to one side for gluing later. Get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with rubber band. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom. Call fire department to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take another pill from foil wrap. Tie cat's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed, force cat's mouth open with small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour one cup of water down throat to wash pill down. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call at furniture shop on way home to order new table. Get last pill from bottle. Go into bathroom and get a fluffy towel. Stay in the bathroom with the cat, and close the door. Sit on bathroom floor, wrap towel around kitty, leaving only his head exposed. Cradle kitty in the crook of your arm, and pick up pill off of counter. Retrieve cat from top of shower door (you didn't know that cats can jump 5 feet straight up in the air, did you?), and wrap towel around it a little tighter, making sure its paws can't come out this time. With fingers at either side of its jaw, pry it open and pop pill into mouth. Quickly close mouth (his, not yours). Sit on floor with cat in your lap, stroking it under the chin and talking gently to it for at least a half hour, while the pill dissolves. Unwrap towel, open bathroom door. Wash off scratches in warm soapy water, comb your hair, and go find something to occupy your time for 7-1/2 hours. Arrange for SPCA to get cat and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.
Most people don't keep their birds in cages all the time. Mine was out any time we were home, and had a leash so he could come outside with us as well. Used to love to go for car rides. So I take it you never owned any pets?
Mine needs them for an overactive thyroid. She will be taking them every day for the rest of her life. If it really impedes on her life, I will stop giving them to her. The vet recommended a surgery that I do not want to put her through, or radiation treatment. The radiation can have terrible side effects. These are just things you have to accept with older pets. Once she stops eating her food or if her condition cannot improve, it will be time to accept this and let her go.
Birds are not domesticated animals. Being 'out' of a cage, but still inside a house, or on a leash, is slightly less cruel than constantly in a cage. Slightly less...but still cruel. Birds should be living free and flying in wide open spaces. Lots and lots of wide open spaces. I'm a cat person. Almost every one I've had has been a stray who adopted me or a rescue/shelter cat. I don't know what it is with humans that are so viscous to such cute little critters. Karma will get them, I hope. Still, cats aren't birds though, if that's where you're going with the question. Cats don't have wings, weren't born to fly around wide open spaces and it's just plain old cruelty to clip the wings of birds and force them to live in a space a teensy tiny minute fraction of what they would normally occupy. Some people obviously think differently about such things though, so there you go.
If a cat had the option it would choose to come and go as it pleases and not be confined to a house or apartment. The argument can be said for any pet. If you have the time to dedicate to one, there are lots of birds that make great pets. Marley, the cockatiel shown, was a rescue. He was a great family member and was very happy living with us, his favorite food was parmigiana cheese. Most parrots form very strong bonds with their owner(s) when given love and some effort. I don't normally have the flight feathers trimmed so they can fly around the house. I have had a couple of parakeets though that I would clip in the summer so they could hang out outside with me free of restraint, and I would let them grow in in the fall. I volunteered at animal shelters for years, the humanity that can be shown by animals is quite admirable especially when it is still retained in spite of the inhumanities we so often bestow upon them.
or as we call them here, a Blue Heeler. These dogs were first bred in my home town in the Upper Hunter Valley of NSW Australia
I'm not sure why some people are not able to see my pictures, I can see them. That is a nice looking dog, my mom has a mutt that looks similar to him, perhaps he has some blue heeler mixed into him.
