Do I have "sucker" stamped on my forehead?

I was sitting out on the front porch after class today, and one of the "regular" stray cats bolted out from under the bushes. She was HUGE. I figured I'd just picked up a couple flats of wet food from school today, so I'd bring her out a can, and hide inside so she'd eat it. When I peeked my head back out a couple minutes later, she had finished the first can, and when she saw me she bolted. I brought another can out. She came running up as soon as I opened it. This time, I placed it near me and stayed outside. She dove in, then eventually let me pet her, and even seemed to enjoy the attention. From a distance, she looked hugely pregnant, but up close, you can tell that all of her nutrients have gone to the kittens - her spine and hips are jutting out, and her ribs are really easy to feel.

So I did what any other complete sucker would do. I brought her in, and locked her in the empty extra room with a bunch of food, cardboard boxes, pillows, and made as many hiding spots as I could.

She's timid, but sweet. She lets us pet her, but is nervous about being approached initially. And she's going to pop soon. Not only can you feel the kittens moving, but you can see them. Pregnancy is so gross.

I guess I'm fostering a momma cat? I'll look into the resources at my school and see what freebies I can score for getting her and the kittens tested, vaccinated and fixed.

So she doesn't explode, here's a picture:

And I'm pretty sure my mom's going to be pretty angry when she reads this post, or I tell her about this. She's been lecturing me about ignoring the strays in front of my house since I moved here. Well, Mom, you were right. I'm a sucker.

Meant to post earlier in the week. Oops.

Anyway, this week's case is about a group of dogs with a highly contagious disease in a shelter environment. Lots of virology, immunology and epidemiology. Tuesday, we had a lab where we had to take and read fecal floats, and tomorrow we have a virology lab, and I think we'll be doing snap tests.

Couple random things - I ordered the virtual anatomy dvd from CSU's vet school, and it's awesome. If you're reading this, and going to, or thinking about going to vet school, buy it. Next on my list of random stuff to buy is the veterinary nerdbook. I've heard it's awesome, but I haven't had a chance to browse through one yet.

Its weird thinking that I'm halfway through week 6. Only 2 1/2 weeks until the midterms of doom - we don't have frequent testing like a lot of schools. We only have tests every 9 weeks, so two giant tests each semester. I should probably be more freaked out by it than I am, but I'm pretty low stress right now.

I also found out after doing last week's case (about nutritional deficiencies in iguanas) that my super crazy cactus tree in my backyard is one of the "ideal" foods for captive herbiverous reptiles, because of the calcium:phosphorus ratio. I tried to tell Tyler that this was a sign we needed a bunch of tortoises. He didn't fall for it.

This guy was on my front porch this morning

Has it already been a month of classes?

Week 5 started today with a bang. I spent the morning on VACS (Veterinary ambulatory community service), a big RV that works with local shelters to do cheap/free spays, neuters and vaccinations. Got to do a pre-surgical physical exam on a GSD, and got attacked by a satan cat who latched itself deeply into the skin on my hand. I know a lot of people don't like working with cats for precisely that reason - a scared one will figure out how to use all four limbs and its teeth against you. I don't mind - as long as you avoid their teeth, and keep them away from your face, scratches really don't hurt that bad, and who can resist a kitty, no matter how scared it is, and no matter how many pointy things it directs at you?

Of course, this attitude is probably why I adopted the Baby Chicken, my black kitten that was raised by one of my favorite co-workers back in Colorado. She's got an evil streak. When my co-worker was trying to find a home for her when she was 8 weeks old, people would come and look at her, she would claw them, and then they'd quickly change their minds. I felt bad for her, so I took her home. Tyler spent the first few months absolutely terrified of her. I found myself defending her. "She's just a little bitey. But she's sweet. Well, of course she clawed you, you tried to pet her on your terms. Don't move your toes when you're under the blanket, 'cause she'll attack. But she's just trying to play. She's just a kitten!" She's just over a year old now, and something strange has been happening to her over the past month or two. My evil little kitten of doom has been transforming into the most demanding, pushy cuddler. All of a sudden, instead of attacking your feet while you're on the couch, she'll jump on your lap, and headbutt you with maximum force until you pet her. At night, she will barely wait for you to get under the covers before she's lying on your chest purring up a storm. I told Tyler she was a sweet cat. She just had to wait a year until it was obvious to anybody but me.


Speaking of things that I think are adorable, but can easily hurt you, our case this week is an Iguana! Squee! I don't know why I'm so excited about it, but I'm a sucker for exotics.

And since there isn't enough complaining in this post, after anatomy today, we had a lecture called "Stress Management." It involved new-age hippies that rang bells and made us meditate. A classmate calculated that school costs us $200/hr in tuition. Which means that I just spent $400 on a terrible meditation class. You know what reduces my stress? Not making me waste 2 hours that I could have used on more productive things like sleeping or studying. I would rather have had another cat latched to my hand than sit through it.

The blow

I live in Pomona, within a few minutes driving distance from the school. I'm pretty sure the majority of my classmates live farther away (in Claremont or Diamond Bar), since Pomona isn't exactly the nicest area. I had a classmate ask me the other day if it bothered me to live in the area I do, and quite honestly, its not that bad.

The majority of the people reading this are either in or from Colorado, and will completely understand what I'm talking about. I live in the blow.

Pueblo (affectionately named "the blow," since it, well, blows,) and Pomona are like long lost twin cities. They have similar population sizes. Pueblo is home to the Colorado State Fair. Pomona is home to the LA County Fair. Pueblo is 44% Latino, Pomona 64%. Pueblo suffered economically in the 70's from the crash of the Steel Mills, while Pomona lost their main industry around the same time. They're both kind of dumpy. Both cities have really similar feels while driving around.

So Tyler has taken it upon himself to crown the city we live in "Blowmona."

And another post before I forget

Last night I was talking to my brother on the phone. He just moved to Tuscon to get his masters in aquaculture or fishery science, or something along those lines (can you tell what good of a sister I am? I can't even remember the name of his degree. Could be worse. I think it was dad that accidentially said my undergrad degree was in orgasmic biology. I wish.)

Anyway, he's two weeks into his program, working part time working with the researchers in the fishery, part time bartending, and taking a full course load. Needless to say, he's freaking out, and he kind of sounds like where I was a few weeks ago.

I was trying to be helpful, and I said something along the lines of "Well, if you can tough it out for two years, you'll be able to do what you love." Long silence. He replies, "I think I love doing nothing." We then had a decently long conversation about if we up and left school, the merits of being a bum vs. being a hunter gatherer. I think all that really divides the two are bums tend to be urban, and hunter gatherers would be more rural. Bums beg for change and eat pigeons -not kidding, I did see a homeless guy eating a pigeon feathers and all once- and hunter gatherers mooch off somebody else's land and eat bigger game.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what higher education does to you. Next time you've got some smelly schitzophrenic bum asking for change, ask yourself, "is this guy the scum of our society, or a really burnt out scientist?"

Hang in there Eric. It gets better. And if you finish your M.S. and still want to be a hunter gatherer, you'll have all the information you need to create a biologically viable fish farm in the center of your tent city. Then you'll be the Jesus of the hobo world, and have fresh sushi. Its win-win.

Sheep Wrassling

So at 7:00 this morning, I donned my ghostbusters uniform, and drove to Cal Poly to go wrassle some sheep and goats. Unfortunately, we ran out of time, so didn't get to wrassle goats (and I have such a soft spot for goats,) but the sheep were fun.

We got to herd the flock into a corner of the paddock, then we'd single one out, grab it, and flip it, so it was up on its hind end. It pretty much had the same effect as flipping a rabbit onto their back, where they suddenly become calm, and you can look them over. So I got to catch and restrain some sheep, listen to their heart, lungs, and ruminant sounds, and practice doing a physical exam on them.

No awesome pictures yet of handling the sheep, since the ones of me weren't taken on my camera, but until I get those emailed to me, here's some pictures of most of my PBL group (minus one. She took off before we gathered for pics.)