Day 11 of Death by Caroling
It’s been another one of those days. I’ve been out of my office for nearly the entire day, due to an emergency in an area where my primary duties are. I spent over two hours on my feet, making snap decisions and recording information for later use. I’ve been having trouble with both my right hip and my left shoulder, and now I can barely stand to use either one. I will be very glad to see the end of this day.
Current musical accompaniment: Some new agey orchestrational thing that I don’t recognize, but fits right in with the ongoing Christmas motif.
A friend of mine had a scare this weekend, so I thought I’d make mention of something that every cat and dog owner should be aware of. Cats and dogs have different metabolisms than people. There are things you can safely give them that you couldn’t give a person. And there are human medicines that can kill them.
Never give your dog or cat Tylenol unless prescribed by a veterinarian (and I sincerely doubt that any veterinarian would ever prescribe Tylenol for a cat). Even in small quantities, it can be very toxic to your pets, causing their blood to be unable to carry oxygen, and doing severe damage to their liver.
This time of year, it’s also a good idea to keep in mind that chocolate is toxic to pets. There’s a great article at Dogbreeder Online that addresses this problem, and explains why it isn’t a good idea to give your dog any chocolate whatsoever, even if it’s a small, “safe” amount. While cats don’t have a sweet tooth like dogs to, my own little Grey Menace taught me a couple of years ago that even cats will steal and eat Hershey’s Kisses given half a chance. And that stuff they tell you about cats being unwilling to chew through aluminum foil to get at something? It’s hogwash, believe me. If you want to keep something away from your dog or cat, then put it in a sealed container, or better yet, behind a cupboard or refrigerator door. Aluminum foil is not a deterrent, just a challenge to be overcome.
Current musical accompaniment: “Santa Baby” performed by Eartha Kitt. Well, at least it isn’t the Madonna version.