Error #4

Hi Catster Friends,
This is really a comment that I tried to write in answer to my dear friends who commented on my diary but error #4 wouldn't let me and was making Mommy Holes in the Head crazier. We decided to just write another diary and see if THIS works. It wouldn't even let us delete the errors!

You are absolutely right, Zoey, kitties should get Sociable Security too. Mommy says that human governments are corrupt so we must have our own government to get it. I think our Angels should be our government. We have many senior kitties like Jezebel who are eligible.
Gunnar T, we didn't get anything special for Easter dinner because Mommy and daddy went out. Fat Mommy Holes in the Head ate all of her shrimp and didn't even bring any home to us! Skinny Daddy who has never ever finished a meal still has his steak sitting in the fridge but hasn't offered any to us! What rotten parents!

Love,
Elise
xoxo

Sociable Security

Hello Catster Friends,

Genny and I want to thank everyone who sent us Easter giftees and greetings. It's so nice that although we aren't on as much as we would like so many kitties remember us and Mommy Holes in the head. Thank you.

There were big doings in the Sphikas house on Easter. Daddy Shrek Actually took Mommy Sister Arlene out to eat! The only problem was because the meal cost more than donuts Mommy had to pay for it. Mommy started to collect Sociable Security this year. That is given to old people by the government people.

I had to figure it all out on my own. I think it is called Sociable so the government ensures that old people will have friends and not be lonely. No one will want to hang out with an old person who has no money. They can now also gather at old people places together and hopefully do nice things and not get into gangs and get in trouble.

I also think they get money because the government people are so happy that the old people like Mommy Holes in the Head are still good at something! Mommy isn't good at anything any more. She is clumsy when she walks and Daddy says she talks like Porky Pig. It takes her forever to say anythng and it doesn't make sense. When she finishes Daddy says "Th th th that's all folks." Mommy either laughs or hits him on the side of the head and tells him to "shut up". How rude of Sister Arlene!

Anyway I think that the government people are so happy when they see that old people like Mommy are still good at something-growing old- that they clap their hands and write out checks for them to celebrate this great accomplishment.

So that is that and I figgered it out all by myself. Hooray for me and Sociable Security and old people!

OK Catster Mommies expect to be jealous when you find out- what my Mommy got for Valentine's Day

Hi Catster friends,
First I want to say concats to bratty Genny and all the Dream girls who have been chosen. Good job, guys! Only my big mouthed sister could issue a challenge and have it turn out in her favor. I was mortified when she did that.

Now back to Valentine's Day. As some of you may remember Daddy Shrek every Valentine's Day gives Mommy ( sister Arlene) a cup of coffee from 7/11 and a bag with 2 heartshaped donuts from Dunkin Donuts in it. Yes he is a big spender.

Since Noveember when selfish Mommy acquired a new brain lesion she has been having a hard time. To make matters worse her insurance company has been holding back her meds because of the price and her doctor is out because she has surgery so it is a long story. Mommy has been in lots of pain and in bed a lot.

On Valentine's Day Mommy's head hurt very much so she got up to get her coffee and donuts and go back to bed but lo and behold there was a big box and 2 cards! Mommy got all excited. She opened the cards and they were actually Valentine's cards-one from Daddy Shrek and one from us! Next she went to open the big box which actually had wrapping paper on it. It was Christmas red santa paper but it was red and Mommy overlooked the rest. Mommy slowly opened it filled with anticipation and there was a large bottle of.....Bissell Urine Eliminator for the Bissell Rug Shampooer! Mommy was stunned. This was a new low even for Daddy Shrek.

Ever since Mommy brought in Pixie with the goofy eyes one of my brothers had been spraying in the hall and Mommy had to shampoo everyday and Mommy mentioned getting low on the formula. Only Daddy Shrek would think she wanted it for a present.

When Daddy came home from work, Mommy did not say a word all through dinner which she did not cook. She had a bagel and he had a frozen dinner. After dinner Daddy Shrek went out and got 2 heart shaped donuts for Mommy which she snatched out of his hand took to bed and slammed the door.

After this year I think donuts are going to look pretty good to Mommy.

Love and kisses
Elise
xoxo

Mom's Gettin Nuttin for Christmas 'Cause She Ain't Been- Nuttin But Bad!

Hello Dear Catster Friends (if I have any left thanks to Mommy!)

I have no idea what has been happening on Catster thanks to that holes in the head woman! I hope you are all well and happy. We are mostly OK. Imp is a diabetic now and we have 2 more siblings (sigh). One is a littermate of Genny's. His name is Harry and is a monster. The other is a girl named Pixie who almost lost her eyes to a virus. Her eyes were saved but they are goofy looking. She is a housewrecker and keeps us out of trouble by getting blamed for everything and rightly so.

Mommy grew a new brain lesion last month. Daddy said it was very greedy of her since she already had enough. This is her biggest yet! I guess that is some sort of accomplishment. It makes her weirder than ever. She stumbles around more which is dangerous for us and sometimes forgets our names. This makes Daddy annoyed because she will do it many times in a row. When that happens after two times Daddy won't tell her the name anymore which makes Mommy mad. To get back at daddy who is a dyed in the wool Republican she will call us Democratic names. I have been Hilary many times and Harry has been Bill Clinton. Daddy hates them so much that he will then tell her our real names!

Mommy put up some Christmas decorations for us to pull down. We have done a pretty good job so far. What isn't broken we decorated with pretty kitty tooth marks.

Genny, Mommy and I wish all of you a blessed Christmas. We hope that your New Year is filled with lots of good health and happiness. Even though we don't get on much we do love you and think of you.

All my love
Elise
xoxo

PS OOPS almost forgot to mention that our beautiful pages were once again made by Princess and her Mommy. They make magic!

Counterfeit Frontline

Counterfeit Frontline
The following information is from an investigation by Dailykos.com. A veterinarian has evidence of counterfeit Frontline flea treatment believed to be responsible for a pets death.
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/counterfeit-fron tline.html

Goodby, Dear Catster Friends

Today is a very sad day for all of us. Mommy says the time has come to say "goodbye" to all of our beloved Catster friends. We have cried a lot about this but Mommy's holes in her head are not getting any better and she no longer is able to visit Catster. Our subscription is up for renewal and Mommy said there is no sense renewing if we are never here.

We have had so many good times with you. Your kindness and compassion just blew us away. Mommy doesn't want to name names because she knows she will forget someone and she will feel just awful when she does.

So many kindnesses have been shown to us. Lovely giftees, P-mails and wishes for Mommy's health.

We do need to thank Princess and Auntie Aileen though for doing all the work they did to keep our pages beautiful and us looking adorable. Thank you also Auntie Eva and Angel Sydney Rose for my first pcture and many after. Auntie Janeen, you made me feel very special for including me in your works of art.

To all of my other friends, I will never forget you. On the pages where we were allowed, Mommy stole your pictures and is making me a Catster album. This way I can look at you and remember the fun we had.

So many of my dearest friends are in heaven and I look forward to seeing them someday. Someday I hope in the very far future we will all meet. What fun we will have!

I may be gone from Catster but you will always remain in our hearts and prayers. We wish for all of you, long healthy lives. Never take your time together for granted. Fill each moment with love.

We love you very much and will miss you. Thank you from the bottoms of our hearts for gracing us with your friendship.

Forever with love
Elise, Genny and Mommy Holes in the Head
xoxoxo

Happy 2011! ( or is it 2012?)

Hello Catster Friends!
It is so nice to be back if only for one day. We tried to visit some of your diaries that were posted and to catch up on the news. Once again we are sad to have missed so many of your special days. Genny and I wish we could have been here to congratulate you for all of your special occasions. We wish we could say that we will be here from now on but Mommy's new tests were stinky so probably not.

We want to wish all of you good health and much happiness in the new year which Mommy Holes in the Head can't remember if it is 2011 or 2012 so will probably go to jail for alternately writing checks with both. Oddly she doesn't write 2010 like most people do. That must have fallen through one of the holes in her head.

Living with Mommy gets crazier and crazier. Mommy literally laundered some money that she had. Daddy had gone to the bank and handed Mommy money to put away which she put in the hamper and then put in the washing machine. It was very clean money. I think Mommy needs to be crated.

Remember that we love all of you and think about you all of the time. We will be back again someday. If Mommy goes to jail it may take a long time.

Love and kisses
Elise, Genny and Crazy Mommy
xoxo

Thank you and Merry Christmas

Hi Catster Friends,
First of all I want to apologize to everyone for not being here to comment on your diaries and for missing so many of your special days. We all feel so bad about that.

I also want to thank so many of you for your lovely comments on our pages and for the giftees that your left. I hoped we thanked you but Mommy can't remember.

The biggest thanks we want to give is to my dear friend Angel Emily Felicity. When she was on earth she genuinely cared about people especially her friends. She didn't just say it. She genuinely felt it in her sweet little heart. She CARED!

Most of all, Emily cared about her family. She loved her sweet Mommy who spoiled and adored her as she was meant to be spoiled and adored, of course, and she cared about her brother, Edgar, even when he was a pest. Emily was very wise and didn't let Edgar get away with anything. When he was out of line she would give him a good hard smacky paw. She taught me a lot about how to handle my brothers. She was my mentor.

Now that she is in heaven she continues looking out for her family. She is concerned because Edgar is not adjusting to his new housemates, Salem and Lucy and most of all, she is looking after her Mommy who is having a difficult time dealing with Emily Felicity's loss. This makes her very sad. She visits her Mommy and snuggles with her for comfort.

Now for the surprising thing-Angel Emily Felicity is looking out for MY Mommy! She wrote the most beautiful and touching diary about her and asked for purrs and a miracle for my Mommy. NO friend could do more than that for you. Mommy cried when she read it. She was so touched by Emily's caring for her and the wonderful comments some by kitties we don't even know.

Emily, I can never thank you enough. Mommy does need prayers. You touched our hearts when you were on earth and you melted our hearts now that you are in heaven. How special you are, little one!

Mommy tried to comment on some diaries today and catch up on what was happening. Please purr for Minnie. She is Nikolai Dreamboat #24's sister and she has cancer. A beauriful combined diary was written by them. Violet and Gleek also need purrs. Mommy knew she couldn't read all of the diaries so she skipped around.

Mommy, Genny and myself want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. We hope that you can be with your loved ones for the holidays and that if you are, you will cherish your time together. It is precious and of a very short duration in the scheme of things. If you have loved ones who have passed on, hold them close in your hearts for that is where they are and always will be.
God bless all of you
Elise
xoxo

Happy Thanksgiving

Dear Catster Friends,
I want to wish all of you and your families a very blessed Thanksgiving.

I am sorry we haven't written any diaries in awhile but Mommy isn't feeling at all good and she felt it was more important to try to respond to yours and honor your special days. Unfortunatley she won't be able to do that for awhile either. For the past 2 weeks Mom has been pretty sick and is having a hard time keeping up with her group and Catster.

We love all of you and will miss you. Mom promises to check on you when she can. Of course, purrs and prayers will continue for those we pray for.

Evil stepmama Amy, if you can, please let Mom know about Minnie's biopsy when you get it but she will try to remember to check Facebook. Mom's memory is as bad as her typing and you all know how bad that is!

Hoping for a purrfect day again soon

Hugs, kisses and head bonks
Elise
xoxo

Please Contact the FDA

Horrible Story, Horrible Implications
Written By: Susan Thixton
10-15-2010
One pet owner made the gut wrenching decision to have his ten year old family dog euthanized. The pet owner watched as Mia was given two injections and declared deceased. He took her home, wrapped in a blanket and laid her in the garage for burial the next day. When he entered the garage the next morning, there was Mia, sitting in front of her food bowl - alive. The absolute worst scenario and horrible implications.

From HuffingtonPost.com, "As any pet owner can attest to, it was no easy task for Matt Olivarez to end the life of his 10-year-old family dog, Mia. But with spinal problems that left her barely able to walk, the veterinarian told Olivarez that there were no better options to ease her pain.

Olivarez watched as Mia was given two shots and declared deceased. He wrapped her in a blanket and took her home so the family could give her a burial. But the next day, Olivarez found Mia sitting in front of her food bowl, wide awake and obviously alive.

In this video from WXYZ News (via CNN), Olivarez expresses his frustration with the baffling situation: "What if I would have buried my dog alive? What if I had her cremated? She would've got burnt alive."
Now he is faced with the tough choice of if he should try to have her put down again, and witness the death of his beloved companion once more. "How do I explain to my kids I have to kill Mia twice?"

I can't even imagine. In fact, as I read this horrifying story, I wondered about all of my own pets I was forced to euthanize. How could this happen?

Going on the assumption that the veterinarian that performed Mia's euthanisia did it properly (no statement has been issued), my first thoughts went to pet food and the FDA.

The following is a statement from the FDA website regarding the FDA's pentobarbital testing of dog food...(bold font added)
"During the 1990s, FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) received reports from veterinarians that pentobarbital, an anesthetizing agent used for dogs and other animals, seemed to be losing its effectiveness in dogs. Based on these reports, CVM officials decided to investigate a plausible theory that the dogs were exposed to pentobarbital through dog food, and that this exposure was making them less responsive to pentobarbital when it was used as a drug."
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/CVM/CVMFO IAElectronicReadingRoom/ucm129131.htm

For those unaware, FDA testing found pentobarbital - a euthanizing drug - in many dog foods purchased right off store shelves (cat food was not tested). FDA linked the common pet food ingredients "animal fat, meat and bone meal, beef and bone meal, and animal digest" to be the source of the drug (and thus the ingredients to be sourced from euthanized animals). FDA testing concluded "that it is highly unlikely a dog consuming dry dog food will experience any adverse effects from exposures to the low levels of pentobarbital found in CVM’s dog food surveys." I doubt this pet owner would agree with the FDA on no "adverse effects".

Are dogs and cats still consuming pet foods that contain pentobarbital (euthanized animals)? Of course they are. Why/how can I say that? Because the FDA allows it. FDA Compliance policy allows euthanized animals (animals that have died other than by slaughter) to become rendered pet food ingredients.
"CPG Sec. 675.400 Rendered Animal Feed Ingredients
POLICY: No regulatory action will be considered for animal feed ingredients resulting from the ordinary rendering process of industry, including those using animals which have died otherwise than by slaughter, provided they are not otherwise in violation of the law.
http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/ComplianceP olicyGuidanceManual/UCM074717
CPG Sec. 690.300 Canned Pet Food
“Policy: Pet food consisting of material from diseased animals or animals which have died otherwise than by slaughter, which is in violation of 402(a)(5) will not ordinarily be actionable, if it is not otherwise in violation of the law. It will be considered fit for animal consumption.” http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/CompliancePolicyG uidanceManual/ucm074710.htm

This is horrible, unimaginable, and something that NO Pet Owner should EVER have to experience! Practicing Veterinarians alerted the FDA almost 20 years ago their fears of dogs consuming a euthanizing drug was causing the drug to lose its effectiveness. Yet the FDA did nothing to change the outcome. Nothing to protect future pets. Back in the late 1990's when FDA testing proved a lethal drug was included in some dog foods, the FDA should have forced a recall of all pet foods that tested positive. They didn't. Nor has anything changed since.
Pentobarbital in a dog food or cat food, a euthanized animal becoming a rendered ingredient in pet food violates Federal law. No ifs, ands, buts, or gray area. It is nothing short of a crime; a Federal Crime. Of course dogs and cats consuming rendered ingredients containing euthanized animals and the lethal drug pentobarbital are being effected. In my (very biased) opinion, Mia's story above is evidence of such; horrible evidence.
If I was Mia's owner, I would have a difficult time deciding when/if Mia should be euthanized again. Mia is clearly in pain, but to be forced to watch your beloved dog be euthanized twice seems unbearable. And now, Mia's family will forever wonder; forever doubt. This family has been incredibly scarred.
However, if I were Mia's owner there would be no difficult decision to my picking up the phone and calling the best attorney I could find. My legal aim would be taken on the FDA; not the veterinarian, not the pet food company. My target would be the government agency that allowed this horrible event to happen in the first place (that is again assuming the veterinarian performing the euthanasia performed it properly). In my very biased opinion, I believe this horrible incident was indeed caused by a lifetime of exposure to pentobarbital in the dogs food. The devastation suffered by this family should be paid for by the government agency that allows pet food ingredients to contain euthanized animals and pentobarbital; the FDA. And in my book, they should pay dearly.
Yes, I am assuming Mia consumed a dog food that contained a pentobarbital linked ingredient. That's not a far stretch however. Considering there are over 74 million homes in the U.S. that own pets, considering only a small percentage of these pet owners know the dark side of pet food, the assumption Mia was a pet that ate a highly marketed dog food containing a rendered euthanized animals is easily made. It is an assumption, however a very plausible assumption.
Until illegal FDA Compliance Policies are removed from the books, until the FDA actually enforces the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as it is written, Mia's horrible story could repeat itself time and time again.
I hope everyone of you that are as horrified as I was at this story will take action. Call or write the FDA; call or write your State Department of Agriculture. Call or write your Representative in Congress. Tell them about Mia. Tell them practicing veterinarians warned the FDA about this almost 20 years ago. Tell them about FDA's ridiculous Compliance Policies allowing euthanized animals to become pet food ingredients. Dog foods, cat foods, and pet treats should NOT contain even the tiniest amount of a euthanized animal or the lethal drug pentobarbital. It's illegal. It has to change.
You can contact the FDA by email:

webmail@oc.fda.gov

Food and Drug Administration
10903 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002

or by telephone:

1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332)—main FDA Phone Number (for general inquiries)