Kevin's Watch

I love a good lightning show and you cant beat a cracker thunder storm.

Our animals first go bunta with thunder and lightning. Then they turn into terrified angels.
Cool here, Phone says 11c, but t feels more like 6c

One of my cats is terrified of thunder. But for some reason, he seems to think he's safer hiding in a little store-room outside, under the stairs.

If I can, I try stop him running out when it storms, in which case he hides in my cupboard.

We actually had rain here yesterday. Rain in winter is not supposed to happen where I live.

Bloody climate.

--A

mmm ... bloody climate theres been so many things out of the ordinary this year particularly. Been freezing today .. been rugged up to the nines.

Supposed to be max of 12 but yeah feels like at least half that .. well 12C was supposed to be the max ..

Wasn't too bad this weekend, highs in the low 20's, nice and sunny like winter is supposed to be.

Only 16C forecast for today though.


--A

14C today and a chance of rain .. and been low temps all week this week

Tomorrow is supposed to ALSO be 14C but sunny

Hot, with yucky air quality. I am congested and I have a weirdly heightened sense of smell right now. Simultaneously, which shouldn't even be possible.

No justice.

--A

Ugh that sounds awful Sorus .. is it because of pollution that the air quality is poor?

There was a fire at some sort of recycling facility over the weekend - put a lot of smoke and junk into the air. Which explains my allergies, but not the heightened senses, which are usually a sign that a migraine is imminent. (Because I'm apparently only allowed to have mutant superpowers in a situation where it's impossible to enjoy them.)

Not as bad today, but still a bit icky.

Who wrote those super power rules for you Sorus ... cos they suck

So today I wrapped up my job in Canberra and arrive home to fid a goat booked into care. At first I thought it was scours .. but its bloat and and quite advanced bloat.

Hes one of the goats we raised but he clearly hasnt been monitored .. I put in a warm bath to relax his stomach are he liked that .. farted a little in the bath which is actually what you want.

Now hes inside on the floor near the fire. Hes in quite a bad way .. he may not survive this. Ive put a sterile need directly into his gut .. and released a bit of gas .. but unfortunately its too little, too late. Im massaging his gut cos that stimulates his rumen.

I fear we might lose him

Poor guy. Hope he makes it.

Geez I must have written that late .. he didnt make it .. Im so sad too cos he was one of our orphan goats we raised from wee kids .. 3 week old kids.

The release of gas was too late .. the damage had already been done .. he was basically marking time.

As soon as we realised it was bloat and it wasnt frothy bloat which is worse .. I thought we were in with a chance. So gave him a bicarb paste .. that is supposed to help them bleh up gas .. which he didnt really. In the early hours of the morning the bloat had not improved and we couldnt let it continue so injected a syringe trocar into rumen wall to release the gas pressure build up. It gave him some comfort but he passed a few hours later .. the damage had already been done. The saddest thing has been taking his lifeless body to the Pet Cemetery. The second time weve been there this year

So cut up about Tones passing as I was so glad to have him home. Even for such a horrendously short time.

Ah, shame Sky. Sorry to hear about your goat.

--A

cheers thanks mate .. we had the vet out to give them, Tony and Sid their shots when they at 8 weeks .. and cos Tones had feeding difficulties .. and was severely underweight .. the vet said it unlikely he would survive. The fact that he did go on was a real uplift .. we finally got the feeding issue back on track. But he was perpetually under developed from that time .. so maybe that was why he was the only goat to suffer from bloat .. as the others would have eaten the same feed.

Perhaps he did well to survive as long as he did. My son asked me if I would stop taking in orphans .. and even though its hard .. to watch some not make it .. I couldnt in good conscience refuse an orphan a home. Particularly as we are well located and able to care for them.

I've had numerous people tell me that I should become a vet, but nope. Couldn't do it. I have a hard time working in the recovery ward at the shelter, and that's mostly dealing with 'afters'.

Good on you for doing it, and I'm sorry the little guy didn't make it.

Thanks Sors .. I couldnt be a vet either .. too hard. I take my hat off to those folks who are though. And tbh I didnt think I could tocar syringe little Tones either .. but you have to do what you have to do. Vets must be driven by that ethos.

And good on you for working in the recovery ward at your animal shelter. Thats got to be equally as hard but on a larger scale.

It isn't usually that bad - most of the animals in that ward will eventually be adoptable, and at this time of year we have a lot of kittens with minor respiratory whatnot. I think the main reason they have a hard time getting volunteers there is that you have to put on full protective gear and completely disinfect yourself between every visit.

It isn't an open intake shelter, but there's a full vet service that's open to the public, and it's depressingly common for animals to be abandoned when someone doesn't want to pay the bill. I try to look at the bright side - at least they're trying to do the right thing - but too often they wait too long and the animal would have had a better chance of survival if they'd been brought in sooner.

UGH .. my exact feeling about Tones. If they had taken him to get medical assistance as soon as he showed signs of bloat .. well she didnt seem to know what that was. But as soon as she saw that he was unwell .. he could have survived it, of that I am sure. Once the gas was released he should have made improvement. I feel so angry with this woman tbh. But who knows .. it may have been more serious than just the bloat.

It is an emergency situation though .. the problem becomes fatal when theyve gone on too long with the bloat .. so who knows how long he was like this .. grrrr .. its no good though ,.. wont change anything NOW BUT fuck it grinds my gears