Pets

[LucasM]

This 7 Dust discussion - demonstrating the 'what we know now' vs. 'what we knew then' - is part of why I suggested diatomaceous earth [in this interaction with Wurwulf:
http://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php?topic=3699.msg726251#msg726251
http://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php?topic=3699.msg726258#msg726258
http://forum.rifftrax.com/index.php?topic=3699.msg726337#msg726337]

Diatomaceous earth is not a chemical.  It is stone powder.  So as long as one doesn't inhale it directly, it is basically inert.  That cannot be said for the multitude of neurotoxic chemicals that are sold for flea treatments, all of which are damaging to living tissues.  If they weren't damaging to living tissues, they wouldn't kill the fleas.

Look up online all the ingredients listed on any flea treatment you plan to use.  See if you want that applied to a critter you love, or when you pet it, have rub off their backs, necks, heads, bellies onto your skin where you can ingest it [as the animal cleans itself, it spreads the oil suspension around so that it is all over].  Plus, your pet will lie down on a large number of pieces of furniture that your family will then sit or lie on.  They may lie on the floor where children might play, do you want those chemicals being ingested by a child [presuming you have one or more]?

Those chemicals don't 'evaporate' and become inert after a couple days.  Only the most reactive of chemicals break down in a short period of time.  [Last I read (about a decade or so ago) there was still measurable DDT in the dirt and food chain in this country.  It's use was discontinued in the early 70s.]  The couple day waiting period after using a flea treatment is just when they are intensely concentrated on the pet.  After that, they are inside your pet, and on your skin (in your body, if you ate food by hand after petting your pet without washing your hands first), and on your furniture.

The Environmental Working Group [name is link] is a good place to find out about the toxins that are in items you use around the house all the time (e.g. cleaning products contain a multitude of chemicals that are toxic to humans and animals, including, for instance, chemicals known to cause severe respiratory problems in products in spray containers, so they are inhaled any time they are used).

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Diatomaceous earth is not a chemical.  It is stone powder. 

That's the boring description, the stone it comes from is made of fossilized remains of diatoms.  That gives the particles their tiny size and odd shapes.  It's great for filtering, our swimming pool filter when I was a kid used it.

[LucasM]

Diatomaceous earth is not a chemical.  It is stone powder.

That's the boring description, the stone it comes from is made of fossilized remains of diatoms.  That gives the particles their tiny size and odd shapes.  It's great for filtering, our swimming pool filter when I was a kid used it.

  Yeah, I had all that in the first post of mine I linked to, but I was trying to make a point by simplifying it: that it is no more chemically active than your average stone.

[Mrs. Dick Courier]

Can you still buy Sevin dust over the counter?  I thought it was only used in agriculture now.  My dad used to use it outside around the house back in the 70s.  It's pretty scary how many pesticides that were used around the house are now banned.

How long ago did the guy suggest this?

It's still only a suspected carcinogen for humans, but is a known toxin to humans (and pets), so telling someone to put it on the carpet and vacuum it up (putting the dust into the air) was a horrible suggestion even back when we didn't know how bad cumulative exposure was for cancer risk.

It was 1993, when we got our dog Stormey, she came with those damned sand fleas.

I don't know if you can still find it over the counter, we found it at Southern States.

It could have been coincidence, but Stormey was riddled with tumors when we had to put her to sleep.  And Mr. Kitty had pancreatic cancer.  He was 16 at the time though, Stormey was only ten.  1993 is also about the same time my mom's medical problems started to get worse, she was the one that rubbed it on the animals (with gloves of course), she wouldn't let me near it.  She also vacuumed it up, so I didn't have too much exposure to it.

Still, I'm not blaming the 7 dust, it could be a coincidence.  Her doctor also had her take Avandia, and that has been known to cause heart problems.

[CJones]

Semi-interesting story:

We had some animal stealing fish from our backyard fish pond, and generally wrecking the place in the process. So we called in animal control. They thought it was a raccoon, and set a trap for it. We never caught a raccoon, but yesterday, we caught a kitten. Probably only a few weeks old. We have it in a cat carrier now, but it's clearly scarred to death of us.

But that's not the "best" part. The very next day (which would be today), we found another kitten in the trap. Almost certainly a sibling of the first. There's no sign of the mother though.

I really want to adopt them, but the animal handlers say they're feral. Plus I've already got a cat who hates other cats and a very rambunctious dog, so that could be a problem. I don't know what to do with them. Every single cat I've taken in has been a stray. In fact, the one I have now was a kitten left by the side of the road that my mom happened to find. I'd hate to take them to the shelter.

 

[Mrs. Dick Courier]

My Lucy was feral, and I got her young.  It took a while but she trusts me though.

Only me.  She hates everbody else, even my other cats.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Looking through picts for the "photoriff me" thread has me really missing my horse Waco, he was so awesome.
Here he is lugging my camera stuff around, cushy job for him since I wasn't on his back, and he got to eat grass while I was taking pictures.

[wurwolf]

I cannot in good conscience put this in the adorable pictures thread, since neither my cat nor his behavior are adorable, but here's Todd being shamed for opening up the bread box and stealing APGIL's bagel that he had set aside for dinner.

[k1]

The look of disgust on his face really ties the whole thing together nicely.

[wurwolf]

Todd feels no remorse.

[goflyblind]

Todd feels no remorse.

i've never met a cat who does.

[k1]

Ocicats are a weird breed. Rules do not apply in their minds.

[anais.butterfly]

Does Todd need to join a 12 step program because he has no self control?

[wurwolf]

Todd feels no remorse.

i've never met a cat who does.

I didn't think cats could eat non-meat?

k1 is right, ocicats are a weird breed, but actually both of our cats love non-meat things. Todd goes crazy for bread and the like -- anything with flour in it. He once bit into a bag of flour, I guess because he liked the smell. Kitty loses her mind for plants. Her favorites are corn husks and lettuce, but she also eats the skins when I peel pears and green olives.

[anais.butterfly]

Huh. Well, I learned something I guess.

The more you know.....the more Bar Trivia contests you can win