Saturday 2 June 2018

Bluebells And Billy

I was really taken aback to discover on the catch up of Country File that every part of a Bluebell is poisons to dogs. If ingested it can cause severe vomiting, diarrhea and cardiac complications. I really am shocked. Of course these have never tried to eat them but a younger Ross may well have done! I knew daffodils were poisonous and a young Sammi did get sick after I placed her among some pretty white flowers for her photo .. the pretty and smelly white flowers being the wild garlic flower. To be honest I think it was the over powering smell that got to her rather than anything else.
Of course given the opportunity I will again take future photos of the dogs in bluebells but now if I have youngsters I will take care that they do not nibble at the beautiful flower. Interesting though .. Miss Sheep who is demolishing her way through the trees in the top field has not touched the bluebells, these animals do know don't they.
Poor Billy seems to be aging quickly. He's now started weeing in the middle room. For 16 years he's been clean and now he seems to have forgotten himself. I don't really know what to do about it, all the practical solutions in a normal household, like put a litter tray in the spot, are not practical for us with the dogs. It really is sad but I do think he's getting a little senile and possibly as is common in old cats there is a deterioration in his kidney function. Bless him he's such a sweet little old man, I guess for the time we have to grin and bare it.
As I mentioned Billy's eating habits have change too, he doesn't have the appetite he had and even the pouches don't always please him. He likes to steal when I'm preparing the dog food. He likes Ross' raw food, including the tripe so now I make sure there's always a little bit extra for him. This morning I cooked him some white fish which went down a treat and he followed that down with butchers tripe dog food from Loki's breakfast. Not ideal I know but as long as he's eating something then I feel better for it.