Kira lives, along with her “sister” Samantha, with their pet parents, Susan and Tony. Kira is a small, beautiful, friendly Manx.

Samantha is larger and gorgeous with long white hair and brown spots. We have taken care of the two of them several times. Their litter is kept in two boxes in an upstairs bathroom. They eat separately downstairs in the kitchen. All had been going well. When Susan called for a booking date in late October she mentioned that Kira had been having “accidents” in the living room, downstairs. She couldn’t understand it because Kira has always been so well behaved.

I suggested she have her vet check Kira to be sure there were no health issues. She came back with a clean bill of health. During the Thanksgiving visits, Kira, indeed, did indeed leave several “gifts” (both urine and excrement) in the living room.

Samantha usually makes herself scarce when we come in to feed them and clean the litter boxes. During these visits, she did not show her beautiful fluffy face, but we did not think too much of it. She usually hides under the bed in the master bedroom. Then, we realized that Samantha had not been coming downstairs to eat. We began taking her food and water upstairs for her.

It occurred to me then that “the girls” were having some kind of spat. I thought that Kira was not going upstairs and Samantha was not coming downstairs. They had gotten along for years, but for some reason seemed to be having a problem now. I mentioned this to Susan and Tony upon their return and suggested they leave a litter box downstairs for Kira for a few days to see if that helped the situation.

When we visited again in late December, Susan reported that placing the extra litter box downstairs seemed to work. Kira had not had any more accidents in the living room. And we saw no signs of wavering during that entire two-week visit.

I checked with Susan to get her permission to write this story and here is how she responded:

“Hi, Andee. I still use it.  They both seem to love it downstairs–especially Kira. I take it out and put it in the entry area of the living room when we go to bed and leave it out in the early am until after they are fed.  Kira will sometimes use it after she eats.  Once she uses it in the am I clean it and put it back in the garage.

She has had 2 “accidents” (only poop not urine) since I started using it in as per your suggestion back in late October.  My house doesn’t work to keep a downstairs one all the time but this is fine with us.

Thanks for the advice and yes write about it as it might help someone else.”

All of these stories are from “Healthy Pets and other creatures great and small,” compiled by Ginny Vaughn and Betsy McMahan, Copyright © 2001.

Dog Story from Mary Kaczor

“Duke is our 12 year old, very loved, yellow Lab. In the past nine months, his joints have gotten progressively stiffer. Getting up and down steps is difficult. In the morning, he could hardly get up. We started giving him 8 Alfalfa and 2 Osteokinetics per day. After two months, he was going up and down steps with ease and getting right up in the morning!

Within the last six months we also noticed he was panting from the slightest exertion. I started calling him the Pink Panter! This panting had nothing to do with his being hot or thirsty, he just panted all the time. He only stopped when was asleep. We started giving him 1 Vita-Lea a day. After a few weeks, my husband commented, “Duke isn’t panting anymore. It has to be the Vita-Lea!” It’s amazing! Thanks to Shaklee, I think we may be blessed with Duke for a few more wonderful years.”

Cat Story from Lynn Toney

“Schaltzie’s short black hair, once thick and shiny, was thin and scraggly, with scaly, itchy lesions on the skin of his back, stomach and legs. It looked like mange. Schaltzie, 16, constantly licked, itched and scratched, often breaking the skin open. Advice and medicine from the vet did not help. I began giving Shaltzie Instant Protein 2 x a day. Within several days he seemed happier and friskier than I’d seen him in ages. His hair started growing back in the bald spots and the itching seemed less severe. His skin cleared up quickly.

For years, Schaltzie had fibrous fatty tumors. One day after we’d started Shaklee products, I was petting him and accidentally hit one of those very large, hard lumps and witnessed a strange sight. On top of the bump was a tiny hole. It looked like a worm was trying to come out. The more I  pressed around the lump, stiff material curled up out. It was like paste. I washed the wound with Basic-H and water. I continued this process and in 2 days, that lump was gone. In a week, all the lumps were gone. I was SO amazed. Much time, money and trouble had been spent in vain over the years. Shaklee products took care of the problem with a few weeks. If I had been giving the animals Shaklee products from the beginning, we probably would not have had all the problems in the first place.

As animals age, they tend to lose weight and interest in life. I kept Schaltzie on the Protein and Liqui-Lea and, periodically, Herb-Lax for the rest of his life. He gained weight and had a skip in his step until his death several years later.”

Vet Gives Personal Testimonial from Molly C. Spicuzza, DVM, White Lake, MI

“This is a personal testimonial about the wonderful Basic-G germicidal cleaner. Two employees at my clinic were very sensitive to chemical odors. When we began using Basic-G, there were no more complaints of headaches from chemical fumes. Basic-G is also a great cleaner. The kennel help finds it removes dried blood better than any product we have used. The clinic also uses Basic-G in the mop bucket to disinfect the floors throughout the day.

I personally use Basic-H (now Basic H²) to wash my hands between patients. In the past my hands have been dry, red, and cracked from washing with harsh soaps. Basic-H doesn’t strip the natural protective coating from one’s skin. The dry, cracked skin has healed.

I’ve been using Shaklee’s nutritional products to help animals with allergies and hip dysplasia and been happy with the results. I’ve been using Osteokintetics(now Joint Health Complex) to help dogs with osteoarthritis with good results. It’s the best glucosamine product on the market, and is less expensive than any comparable veterinary product. It’s worked better than I expected in dogs with hip dysplasia. The recommended dose of Osteokinetics(Joint Health Complex) for dogs is as follows: Less than 25 pounds – 1 x day, 25 to 50 pounds -1(capsule) 2 x day, 50 pounds and over – 2 in the AM, 1 in the PM.

Note: The parentheses are mine.

These are just a few of the stories I have. If you have a specific problem, contact me and I will see what others have found as helpful and get back to you.

 Whiskers was our first cat as a couple. An awkward looking calico with long whiskers, she stood out from the other kittens at the pet shop.

 When we got her home, our lovebird, Chiquita, took it upon herself to teach the newcomer who was the real head of the family. She would not allow the kitten to step up on the raised fireplace hearth, pecking at Whiskers’ feet every time she would dare to try.

 Next lesson: there was not enough room on Momma’s lap for both cat and bird. Chiquita would be sitting on my shoulder while I read. When Whiskers would jump up to settle onto my lap, the little bird would climb down my arm, stride over to the kitten and peck at her until she would jump down.

 As Whiskers grew into a beautiful long-haired calico cat, she never forgot the lessons taught to her by Chiquita and continued to be dominated by her.

 Whiskers loved to ride in the car and play fetch with little foil balls. She was such a joy.

 One afternoon a grey tabby kitten entered our garage through the open side door and began to eat Whiskers’ food. Whiskers spotted him and, and saw that neither my husband nor I were making the kitten leave. She spun around and began to stalk back into the house. I called to her, “Whiskers, you don’t have to take that.” She turned to look at me as though to say, “I don’t?” I said, “No. You don’t.” With that she turned back around and strode up to the kitten, who was still eating, and smacked him with her paw.

 The kitten ran behind the bicycle and started fighting with Whiskers through the spokes of the wheels. After several minutes, they both decided this was getting them nowhere and Whiskers went back into the house. The kitten came out from behind the bike and went back to the food dish.

 Rocky, as he came to be called, became the Alpha cat in the household and his antics earned him a lasting place in our hearts and memories. But that is another story.

 If you have stories you would like to share, please post them – or any comments about my postings. We love to hear from all of you.