Looking for a good mover.

passim · 5 days

I'll third this. The guys at Mambo moved me three times around Philly. Nice guys, reasonably priced, and they never broke anything. Doesn't get much better.

darth_zevraan · 5 days

Your cat needs to visit a vet. He needs a urinalysis plus a urine culture. You may have just knocked back the weakest bacteria that were living in his urinary tract and now he's got superbacteria invading. Urinary stuff with cats isn't something to sit around and ponder. Medical problems can cause them to stop using the litter box, which can then become a habit, which is the most common reason cats are given up to shelters or booted outside. Or, in male cats, they can develop a mucus plug or a buildup of crystals and then block (not be able to pass urine), which is fatal if not treated within a matter of hours. All of this can be avoided by going to the vet at the first sign of an issue and then FINISHING the antibiotic course your vet recommends, if that's what is prescribed.

Canned food can help, but more important is the formulation of the diet. Which formulation depends on if he's got a bacterial infection or which type of crystals are found in his urine. Again, you need a vet to determine this and help you choose the right food.

Source: I'm a veterinary nurse with 11 years of experience.

acboenisch · 7 days

Rickett's Glen State Park, Falls Trail..

It is a 2 hour drive from Philly, but one of the nicest hikes in the region. 27 waterfalls. C'mon. Totally worth a little extra drive time.

TinyDancer1221 · 12 days

This will likely get buried since there are already over 1800 comments, but I thought this should get out there.

I used to work as the manager of an animal shelter. We were small with a very limited number of cages. It was mid-summer. Cat space was at a premium. I think we had maybe 4 empty cages in the whole place. That day, a hoarder was ordered to get rid of her cats. Boom. Thirty cats in my lobby.

Picking the four that would live was soul crushing. Euthanizing the remaining 26 broke me. I've worked in the veterinary and sheltering world for over 10 years. That day was hell. Choose which of these thirty will live. You get no information and no time. This one goes because it's black, that one goes because it's over three. That one's too scared, this one's missing an eye.

When there are only 40 cages, only the perfect ones occupy them.

Please, people. Spay and neuter your pets.

infernal6 · 27 days

That looks awesome. Be mindful, though, that long distance relationships are really, really difficult. But you might get lucky and discover a girl from the next town over. The universe works in mysterious ways like that.

infernal6 · 27 days

I think your past girlfriend had a larger issue than your religious beliefs. I hear "spending too much time on something that was pointless" as "you're not spending enough time on me/us."

If you're really active in your local pagan community, then you're doing things right. It wouldn't hurt to get some non-pagan hobbies, as well, just to spread yourself out and maybe meet some new people.

It's unfortunate, but paganism (especially in less urban areas) tends to draw a strange crowd of very insecure people. You may need to expand your search area. Go to a gathering out of town, maybe?

olsmobile · 27 days

Please take him to any veterinary hospital to have him scanned for a microchip. (There shouldn't be a charge for this - if they try to charge you, go somewhere else.)

Hopefully he's chipped!

Be careful if you post him on Craigslist trying to find his owner. There are some really creepy people out there. I'd recommend not posting his photo, or take his collar off and post photos but ask people to describe the collar. You need some way to ensure the dog gets back to his real home, not the home of a dog fighter.

infernal6 · 27 days

If I might ask, what sort of disagreements?

I personally identify as a non-practicing pagan/agnostic. I just don't bring it up in relationships. It's awful, but the majority of people don't find any pagan religions to be serious. I'd rather not have that conversation at any early stage of a relationship. If that's how they feel, there are going to be other problems besides religious beliefs that will come up quickly. That being said, religion isn't a huge part of my life. I wouldn't date anyone who spent three nights a week in church or prayed towards Mecca daily or wore a yarmulke on a regular basis just as much as they wouldn't want to date me.

Anyone I've ended up in a serious relationship with has been open to at least accepting my beliefs, once they came up. (Usually as a result of him getting the courage to pick up one of my books.) I usually end up with atheists, and as much as they might have found my beliefs to be ridiculous, not a single one of them worth his salt ever voiced that directly.

Anyone worth dating will respect you enough to be interested and open to whatever you believe, even if she doesn't agree. If she's not, then she's not worth dating. My guess is that you're fairly young. If you had a 4 year relationship with an atheist, chances are you haven't had much experience dating other people in general. It's possible you're placing too much emphasis on this or, alternatively, if this is so important to you, maybe you're placing too much importance on physical beauty, since you say you can't find "attractive" monogamous pagan girls (we do exist, though!).

RKZ87 · 27 days

Proceed with caution. Both of you are fresh out of serious relationships. Good chance one (or each) of you is on the rebound. In long term relationships, you forget how it feels at the beginning and when you get that new, butterfly, infatuation feeling it's exciting. Don't mistake it for love. It isn't even really "like" at this point. It's attraction. It's a biological high, but it's just an evolutionary leftover that gets in the way now that we're in it for long-term monogamy instead of procreate ALL the things. Enjoy it, but don't try to make it into something it's not. (Obviously you know what I'm talking about, since you were in a serious long term relationship...you may just have forgotten about all this.)

Yes, driving her around to her jobs was incredibly nice of you, but also a very relationship-y thing to do. She likes you but is a little scared. She's probably confused by the biological high she's on. She's probably got some integrity and doesn't want you to be her rebound since she can see you're potential relationship potential.

Back off for now. Dates only, no life-assistance unless it's an emergency. Let her keep seeing other people if she wants. YOU keep seeing other people if you want. Do NOT ask her about it. And for the love of all that is holy, do NOT tell her about your other escapades, should you choose to have them. (I'm not saying to be dishonest if she asks, just that you shouldn't bring them up unsolicited. Give a classy answer if she does ask.)

Do NOT have sex with her. You might want to. She might want to. Just don't put yourself in a situation where it's a possibility. Public dates only. Don't take it past a kiss goodnight, you'll just be torturing yourselves.

If things between the two of you have a chance of working, this "slow" time will give you a chance to get to know each other, let each of you get comfortable with the idea of another relationship, and has the added bonus of building anticipation for later events, should it work out.

Good luck!

octobrety · 28 days

I was there! Loved Phoenix Fire and Steel Top (last act). The Emcees really could have done a better job getting the crowd going - I felt sort of bad that, at times, it seemed like I was the only one applauding for the performers.

Kayla_Howard_ · 1 month

It would also do you well (in any career, mind you), to put effort into speaking and typing with proper grammar, spelling and punctuation. I realize this is just the internet, but be sure you know how to do these things properly. It goes a long way with employers when they see a well written cover letter and resume.

When I was involved in staff hiring, any resume with net-speak, spelling or punctuation errors went straight in the trash. There are too many people out there looking for jobs to even consider someone who doesn't proofread.

If you're not naturally inclined to pick up on these errors, have a friend or family member read over your things before you ever send them off to potential employers.

ResilientFellow · 1 month

If you're a fan of dogs, the use of dogs in the military during WWII was pretty fascinating.

makemusicguitar5150 · 1 month

My dog's paws, especially after a walk in warm weather.

awkwardalpaca · 2 months

You can also try a Feliway diffuser or spray. It's a product which contains pheromones which calm kitties by mimicking the pheromones released by mother cats while nursing their kittens. I've fostered a lot of cats (and litters of kittens) from shelters - I really think this stuff helps with the adjustment phase.

You can find it at most pet supply stores like Petco or Petsmart.

You're doing everything right so far. Just try to remember that the cat's entire world was that old dorm house. She's just been uprooted from everything she knows and was comfortable with. She just needs a little time to adjust and learn that her new house is good, too, and her new people are nice.

Check out this cat behavior advice page for more tips.

Jaymboii · 3 months

Call your vet, explain the situation. Most vets are compassionate people and will try to help you. If your own vet won't work with you, call others in the area. You can also try local animal shelters/humane societies.

If by chance you're in Denver, CO, Philadelphia, PA or Pittsburgh, PA, PM me and I'll give you the names of a few vets who I'm sure will help.

Thanks for trying to do the humane thing.

czerniana · 3 months

I can sympathize! I remember having parasit, micro, and pharmo all in the same quarter. (Do you go to Bel-Rea, by chance?) I cried a LOT that quarter, but I made it through. Just take it one day at a time. I made sure to take really good notes in class, then I'd go home and write "cheat sheets" for myself - essentially just re-copying the essential parts of my notes. It really helped me to retain all of the information and decreased my more formal study time overall.

Hang in there!

scubacat · 3 months

Ten year veteran of the animal sheltering/veterinary world. I wish I could hand this out to every single one of my clients.

This job would be great if it weren't for the people. :)

grahampaull · 3 months

Please, please, please socialize and train him as much as possible! Shar peis have a tendency to be difficult - the more effort you put in now, the better things will be for him and your family in the future.

AgentAsterisk · 4 months

Wow. Your practice is gorgeous! It looks like an ultra modern house. Those cat condos and hallway are so cool! So jealous!

ilikedirt · 4 months

I'm a few days late to the party, but if you haven't already chosen someone, I'd highly recommend Steve Foltz with Century 21. He helped me find my house when I moved to Pittsburgh and had about 12 hours to find suitable housing. He's now helping my father find a house here. He's a really great realtor - honest and hardworking.
Here's a link to his website.

Wilhemina5 · 4 months

This is an excellent question. I just posted asking virtually the same thing (before I saw your post). I'm fairly new in town and really have no idea about public transport around here.

I'm in the South Hills...if I get any info that might be helpful, I'll be sure to let you know. Good luck.

hvdeezy · 5 months

Also, it would be worth it to check with the shelter where you got him. My shelter would hospitalize him at no cost to you if you'd adopted him within 2 weeks. Some other, smaller shelters can't do that, but they might be able to provide you with the medications he needs at a reduced cost (or maybe even free).

Please don't blame the shelter. They're all doing the absolute best they can do with whatever very limited resources they have. Know how tight your money is? The shelter's money is even tighter...and they have hundreds of animals to care for.

hvdeezy · 5 months

Hi, lead technician at an animal shelter here.

Here's what I would do if I saw your kitten:

-Parvo test (tests for panleukopenia in kittens) - if positive, it's bad news - very few recover from panleuk and those that do have usually had days of hospitalization

-If parvo negative, run another fecal to rule out concurrent infections - treat what you know you're dealing with first, then if that doesn't help, go all out

-If another fecal still shows coccidia but nothing else, ramp up the diarrhea meds:

-Albon: 50mg/kg by mouth as a one time loading dose, then 25mg/kg once daily by mouth for 14 days (this one's specific for coccidia but doesn't always cut it for bad loads)

-Panacur: 10mg/lb by mouth once daily for 10 days (great general dewormer - very safe and very effective)

-Ponazuril (Marquis paste): see Cornell's website for doing specifics (a horse dewormer recently found to be effective against coccidia in dogs, cats and rabbits at much lower doses)

-An acidophilus/endosorb (50/50 mix): 0.2ml/lb two to four times daily by mouth until diarrhea resolves (great probiotic plus general anti-diarrheal)

-Deworm again with Drontal Plus (if more than 2 lbs) or Pyrantel (if less than 2 lbs) even if fecal doesn't show worms - both of these meds are safe and could only help

Keep doing the fluids under the skin every day or every other day until he's eating and the diarrhea slows down. Keep up the force feeding unless he starts vomiting, in which case you need to go back to the vet.

You can get BeneBac (a cat product loaded with the good bacteria that should live in the GI tract) over the counter from your local pet supply store. While he's on all kinds of meds, he may need to have some of his normal GI flora replaced.

I also swear by Amforal - a general anti-diarrheal approved for dogs but I've had great success using it in kittens, too. 0.4ml/lb two to three times a day for 3-5 days.

Best of luck to you and your kitten!

Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian. I am a technician (nurse) with 10+ years of experience. I know my shelter medicine, but I'm not allowed to officially diagnose or prescribe. Any advice provided in this comment is meant as information to bring to your vet, not in place of veterinary care.

ibattletherous · 5 months

I'm glad to hear you had a good experience with PP. I fully support their work. Have you ever been to a private (non-PP) gynecologist? I'm just wondering if you get the same level of care from them as you would with any other doctor.

ibattletherous · 5 months

What makes him awesome? I'm 31 and have always had female gynos just because I thought it would be more difficult to talk to a male doctor about this sort of stuff. I've had friends who say their male gyno's are awesome, though. Maybe it's time for me to get over it...

ibattletherous

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