There’s Something About Molly
Posted on April 16, 2006 by Ching under Babies.
Yesterday was the best day ever! Molly was active and playful. She was running around the house chasing the cats around. She also showed signs of a hearty appetite. We still had to syringe-feed her a few times but for the most part she is beginning to learn to eat on her own.
We also received some good news from the vet yesterday. Molly is negative for canine adison’s disease. I went ahead and purchased pet insurance for her (much to Brian’s disapproval because I didn’t consult him first – what can I say, I panicked) just in case she gets sick or injured later on. I want to make sure that her vet bills are covered. It was about $300 a year, but Iams paid for $50 of it so we only had to pay a little over $250. I think it’s a pretty good deal considering that we’ll probably be visiting the vet several times during Molly’s first year. Of course, the $300 that we have already spent on Molly’s checkup and medical tests over the last three days aren’t covered because the insurance won’t be in effect for another two weeks, if our application is approved. However, it’s better to be safe than sorry. She may not be sick now, but it’s always good to have a backup plan. Besides it’s a pretty good deal because I enrolled Molly in the “Superior Plan plus Routine Care Coverage,” which means that vaccinations, heartworm protection, annual exams, flea control, spaying and other routine procedures are covered.
Anyway, as I mentioned earlier Molly is beginning to get a taste for food. Brian and I are really pleased to see her show an interest in eating. Brian isn’t happy that we still have to do a lot of coaxing and still have to syringe-feed her sometimes, but we both agreed that her health is moving in the right direction. It’s wonderful to see her playfully attack our cats, instead of continuing to be lethargic and weak.
Despite the progress, she’s still being really finicky about food. The vet tried to give her cheezwiz and she wouldn’t touch it. What pup or dog doesn’t like cheezwiz? She doesn’t like bacon either. She doesn’t even want our scraps. This is probably a good thing in the long run but not so much right now when we are trying to fatten her up. Her lack of interest in the typical foods that dogs are interested in kind of worries us because it isn’t normal. Then again, I’m not sure why I expect Molly to be “normal” when Brian and I aren’t “normal” ourselves.
After not being able to figure out what Molly likes, I finally witnessed her exhibit an interest in something. Yesterday I noticed her showing chowing down on the cat food that we leave out for our cats. We had put it up on the counter initially (after we found out that we would be bringing her home) because we were afraid she would eat it. After she didn’t show any kind of interest on any kind of food, we set it back down on the floor where it was before because we figured she probably wouldn’t touch it so it didn’t matter. Anyway, I was worried at first and didn’t want her to eat the cat food. It’s in small pieces but it’s kind of hard. It’s not soft like the dry puppy food we have. I tried to give her some of the Science Diet puppy food that came with her new puppy kit. I put a small portion in my hand and tried to offer it to her to lure her away from the cat food to no avail. I put it under her mouth and everything and she still wouldn’t touch it.
I also tried to soften some of the cat food up with water and mix it with the wet dog food that we had been syringe feeding-her. I offered it to Molly but it was all in vain. Anyway, Brian told me to leave her alone and just let her eat the cat food if that’s what she wants to eat. At least she’s eating something. Brian says that it doesn’t matter because dog food and cat food are virtually the same they just come in different flavors. He also says that if cat food is actually cheaper than dog food so if that’s what she prefers we will end up saving money in the long run. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. I was just worried that the cat food may not have the vitamins and minerals that a growing puppy needs. I will need to do some checking but if there is virtually no difference then we are good to go.
Over the next few days we’ll probably be experimenting with food quite a bit. We have this dry puppy food, puppy biscuits and canned puppy food that we purchased from PETsMART last week, so we’ll gradually be having her try those to see if there is anything she likes. Luckily we have cats that will eat anything so if Molly doesn’t like it, we know that Felix, Oscar and Jesus won’t let it go to waste.
We actually proved this yesterday after opening a can of puppy food. We offered it to Molly in hopes that she’s start digging in but she just turned her nose up at it like, “You want me to eat this?” Brian wanted to put the food in a zip lock back and save it for later but I told him to just put it in a cat dish for the cats to eat because unlike Molly, all three were actually anxious to ravage the food. The cats were so eager to scarf it up you’d think they hadn’t been fed for days! Anyway, we have like two dozen cans of that thing. I was actually glad that the cats like because that means the food won’t go to waste. I was also kind of hopeful that if Molly saw the cats eating it she would follow suit.
So there you have it. We have a dog that eats cat food and cats that eat dog food. What a weird family we have!
P.S. Contrary to Ray’s smart-ass comment that we should just start charging people because our house is a petting zoo, we will not be charging for admission. Visitors are always welcome. Feel free to stop by and check out our babies. Of course, if you brought something for Molly or any of our other children (like a treat or toy of some sort) it will be much appreciated. However, the price of admission to our little petting zoo will always be free.
P.P.S. Sara and Jeremy stopped by last night on their way to dinner. Sara worked for a vet clinic for five years and is a bonafide animal lover so she has tons of experience and knowledge to impart. We actually welcome advice from anyone, not just the experts so feel free to leave a comment. Anyway, Sara gave us some advice on what to do about Molly and while they were here she also checked on our suggies who, I’m very excited to announce, happen to be pregnant! She confirmed that both Ginger and Star are pregnant but it may be a few months before the babies actually become more prominent and begin to outgrow their mom’s pouches. Right now they just look like little peas or peanuts hidden in the pouches. To the uninitiated, Ginger and Star just look fat. I had suspected that they were pregnant for a while but gave up on my speculations after several weeks passed with no progress. Even though the gestation period is only 16 days, the development period actually takes a bit longer. It will be a few months before we actually see joeys. I will keep you all updated.
Related Stories
Replies to "There’s Something About Molly"
« A Love Song for Bobby Long « this post » Pia’s New Ride »
pinayhekmi on April 18, 2006
I’m so glad she’s feeling better! This is awesome news. I will make sure to get pet insurance when I get a puppy again!