askOrionsFire
advice column ask question view feedback favorite columnist advicenators

Q: I need someone who is a vet/and or can help me.
I have 3 sick kittens coming to my house that need treatment for these problems -
Upper respitory infection
fleas *
eye infection *
possible earmites

My mother can treat ones with * next to them since she is a vet tec. No animal hospitals are open at this time and the SPCA wont take them in since they are too much to handle/care for. I dont need sarcastic remarks this seoncd and if your any help at all, I will give you a 5. Thank you, meg
You're going to want to keep them comfortable overnight, possibly keeping them on a heating pad. The Upper Respiratory Infection needs to be treated first thing in the morning, since it is the one that can progress to more serious problems. Make sure they are getting water, if they aren't drinking, you may need to force the water into their mouth with a syringe. The earmites, if they have any, will cause a dark brown/black goop in their ears that wouldn't normally be there. That is simple to treat if the vet sees them, they will give you drops to put in. Those are more of a pain then anything else, you are going to want to focus on their breathing at the moment. Like I said though, they need to go in the morning, otherwise there isn't much you can do except comfort them overnight.

Q: I just had to put my cat to sleep due to blindness and its hard for me, because hes older than i am!!!!! he's 17 years old and i've had him since he was born. he was just the sweetest cat ever and he was sort of my best friend. does anyone have any tips of how to make this pain go away??


sorry i sound so dumb...lol. please help!!
First, why did it get put to sleep just because it is blind? Was there other complications?

Anyway, it's always hard to lose a family member like that...you've known this cat your whole life and it's natural to go through the grieving process. There really is no way to make it "go away", you could focus on the fact that he is more comfortable now or make a collage of photographs to remember him by.

Q: Hey, my gerbil has a scent gland tumor. It's kind of big and I put some valerian root in his water to try and help him. It's seemed to help a bit. Does anybody know any other things I can do to help him and maybe reverse the damage, other than surgery?

By the way, I'm not giving him surgery because he's pretty old and I don't want to stress him out.
First of all, don't give him tons of Vitamin C because you can actually overdose on it at which point it would obviously be harmful and not helpful. There isn't much you can do hun, even taking him to the vet really won't result in much. You can put vitamins in his water (get them at a pet store) and just make sure he is eating a healthy diet. There is no way to really reverse a tumor and since he is old, there are bound to be complications.

Q: I always get sidetracked and daydream in class. like i dont pay attention [i still get A's and B's somehow]. sometimes i will space out when people talk to me and they get mad sometimes. My friend always says "pay attention" or "i think u have ADD" .. this is botherin me now that someone pointed it out to me. Is this ADD.. if it matters 13/f
If you are getting A's and B's in school, then it doesn't matter if you are or not because you can function with it just fine.

Q: I think that i may have an ear infection and i'm wondering do i have to take out the ear rings let it close or can it heal eventually?
Don't take out the earrings, it will only create more problems if you heal in the infection. You are going to want to wash your ear twice a day with anti-bacterial soap (Dial) and let it heal on it's own.

If you are talking about an inner ear infection...that really has nothing to do with earrings.

Q: What do people do when you get tested for ADD. like what is the test ?
Actually, they send a few questionares to your teachers to fill out on how you act during a normal class. Your parents will also be able to fill one out and then they will have you fill one out as well as talk to you. That's about it though, you real tests.

Q: I have an eleven month old colt. (Uncastrated male horse) He is almost completely shed out (lost all baby fur) and there is one thing that troubles me. He is a pure Quarter Horse, but he has a white spot on his stomach. (About eleven inches from his sheath on the side of his barrel) His lineage gives no evidence to why he would have this spot – he's pure AQH. This is his lineage through his great-grandparents:

Great Grand Sire: Bay, right-fore coronet white, stripe. No other markings.
Great Grand Dam: Gruello, left-hind sock, blaze. No other markings.
Grand Sire: Sorrel. No markings.
Grand Dam: Chestnut, right-fore stocking. No other markings.
Sire: Black, stripe. No other markings.
Dam: Sorrel, left hind sock, blaze. No other markings.
Colt: Sorrel, both hind stockings, blaze, [odd white spot]. No other markings.

Because he has this odd white spot on his barrel, he cannot be registered. The AQHA has strict rules and regulations about this, and he can't be registered because of the white spot. I thought he would shed the spot out when he lost his baby fur, but now that he's almost a year old and has lost his baby fur – he still has the spot. My question is, what is this spot from? It's not a saddle sore scar (duh! He's never worn a saddle), it's not a scar at all, so is it a recessive gene? Why was my colt afflicted with it?

Thanks!
It doesn't sound recessive, it sounds like an oddity which can always happen when breeding any animal. As far as not being able to show him, there are other circuits you can enter him in just for fun, he doesn't need to compete professionally if you are planning on keeping him as a riding horse. You should be just as proud of him whether he has a white spot or not.

Q: I recently started dating a guy with a very very close family. I am 22, he is 24, and still living with his parents while he saves up to buy a house. The problem is that I'm starting to see signs of his parents making too many decisions for his life.

First of all, he is christian, and quite religious. Me and him have made the decision to wait to have sex, at least for now. I think this is a personal decision that is between me and him.
He stays at my house sometimes, and has already slept in the same bed at me while staying at my mothers house, at my house, and at my sisters house. There is not a problem with this because we are both adults, and are very capable of making out own decisions.
But, recently he told me that he doesn't think he should stay at my house anymore because his parents are already getting suspicious. He has already told him that we're not having sex, but, apparently, they don't believe him, and are trying to stop anything from happening.

Another thing is that I'm planning a trip to Florida, and he really wants to go. He is allowed two weeks vacation from work, and would only need one week. The problem is that he works for his father. I would not see a problem if his father told him "I don't think I can give you the time off, because I need your help here" But, instead, he said "I don't think you should go because you need to save your money"
This guy is 24 and is capable of making his own decisions on where he sleeps at night and what he spends his own money on.

I'm wondering how I could make this clear to him, that it bothers me, without making it uncomfortable. I do not want to make things uncomfortable for me and his parents, him and his paretns, or me and him. Any advice would be much appreciated.
This is a hard situation because guys will undoubtedly listen to their parents over their girlfriend/boyfriend. I went through a similar situation with my, now, in-laws. Don't bother going to the parents and trying to say anything to them, this will only make things worse and then they will think you are trying to change their son for the worse. Your best bet is to go straight to him and be honest, tell him that you feel he is still living under his parents rule and it worries you. He is obviously a capable man, able to make decisions and don't forget to tell him that either. Pride him on the relationship that he has with his parents, but also make it clear that you don't appreciate them controlling your relationship. And no, I don't think you are being unreasonable.

Q: Ok, so my thighs rub eachother when i walk and now iI have like a rash on both sides of my inner thighs and it's really itchy. Some reason it got to my stomach and its the same thing. I put Nivea cream and anti itch cream but I still scratch it often and its getting to a point it doesnt go away even if i put alot of creams on. So.. my question is is there any products you recomend and do you have any idea on how to lose wheight around your thighs?
I would think it was chaffing but since it spread to your stomach, it sounds like it could be eczema. If it is, you would want to see your doctor about that because it is itchy and basically REALLY dry skin. It isn't anything to feel weird about though. If you want to use over the counter meds, try Eucerin which is what doctors recommend for highly dry skin.

Q: I;m 13 f, and I've been having a lot of different thoughts about things. I have a little of OCD, if that might be a conclusion of whats going on..
Okay, it started just maybe a month or 2 back, and I've been having thoughts about sucicide, like overdosing on pills and stuff. That's all I think of, and it wont stop! What can i do to help this?
OCD really has nothing to do with suicidal thoughts and images. You are going to want to tell someone about this thought because sometimes they can be over powering and you may do something that you would otherwise regret. Tell your parents or a guidance counselor at school that you've been having thoughts about harming yourself and you would like help.

Q: i have begged and begged but mom will not let me get my tongue peirced! she says im too young to make that kind of choice.im 13! one of my family members got it done when she was 11 and my mom approves of it! i really want this done but i dont know were to go that will let u with out your parents permission and one of my friends said to do it my self which i thought about but then another friend said that if you hit the wrong spot it can kill but still this is a choice.what should i do?
DO NOT pierce your own tongue. Also, do not go to any place that will pierce your tongue without your parents permission, they are breaking the law and would you really trust them to have the best quality in care and cleanliness then? If your mom thinks you are too young, it might be that you are too young emotionally to handle something like that. Personally, I think you should wait too, you are pretty young and there are many infections you can get as a result of improper care for your tongue.

Q: Hi my girlfriend recently told me she was pregnant and that the baby was concieved before we met i love this girl and was looking for any advice on not being the biological father and also looking after a small child any input from people who have experienced this and been through it would be very helpful thankyou in advance.
If you want to be the step-father, that is one thing that you can be but don't ever assume the position of the biological father because he has more rights then you do. You can love the child like your own, it doesn't matter who's child it actually is. But you do need to decide if you really want to do this, because once the child gets attached to you, it will be really hard for them to understand if you suddenly decide it is too much to deal with.

Q: ok this is kinda weird to be asking but i had to know...If your going to tease about it dont write me... Ok here it goes
every time i get fingerd i tend to cum alot adn i was just woundering if it was normal to cum so much. and if it is normal is there a way to slow it down a little bit? Please, give me any advice.
That's completely normal, every girl is different and the amount they put out differs too. There is no way to slow it down or change the amount though, sorry.

Q: can a doctor or whatever tell if u have already had sex? i mean how can they tell? cuz your hymen can be broken lots of ways other then sex.... and if they can tell otherwise.. then how can they tell?????????????
They can't tell if you've had sex, they can GUESS that you have or not depending on if you have little tears in your vaginal walls from having sex. BUT, that can also happen if you are masturbating. It is wise to be HONEST with your doctor anyway, so if you ARE sexually active, tell him.

Q: when i have got my hands wet my nails go almost transparent and take a while to go back to the normal colour. does this mean i have a calcium defiency? if so what can i add to my diet to improve this as i already eat a fair amount of cheese and drink milk in my tea.
I wouldn't say that it necessarily means you have a calcium deficiency. BUT, if you don't have little white chips in your nails, it means you definitally aren't getting too much. Just because you eat cheese and drink milk in your tea doesn't mean you are getting enough calcium. You should be drinking a few glasses of milk each day, try one with each meal.

Q: i have a lot of trouble getting to sleep. i can't switch off wheni go to bed and i feel tired a lot of the time. I have tried cutting out caffiene, herbal sleeping tablets and all the obvious things and nothing works. can you help
You are too young most likely to be taking herbal sleeping pills, not to mention they are NOT FDA approved and there could be serious side effects.

Before bed, do not watch TV within 30 min or play on the computer or any games. This will only alert your eyes that it is time to be awake. Read a book or take a hot bath to relax your body, or drink warm milk.

Q: My b/f thinks im cheating on him... but his friends are telling me he is the 1 that is going around grabbing other girls butts! should i believe them and break up with him... or should i just go on pretending like i don't notice?
Well, either his friend likes you, wants to backstab his friend, or he really is cheating and the guy is trying to help you out. Often, if someone keeps accusing you of cheating, it is because THEY actually are. If you really think he is, dump him, otherwise stick around until you have proof.

Q: can the air i breathe give me respiratory conditions? like if i breathe pollutants.. what conditions could it give me?
If you don't have pre-existing conditions, chances are it won't do anything for several years. If you already have an asthmatic trait, ozone days can cause a lot of havok on your breathing.

Q: ok ... so my mom said that if i loose 10 pounds shed give me 100 dollers!! the problem is..i dont know how.. i cant exercise regularly cause i never have time im always doing soemthing and i cant really eat special things cause one weekend im with my dad and one day during the week i am with him...i dont kno what to do i need HELP! what could i do to loose weight??????????? thank you sooo so much! OxoxO

If your mom is that fixated over YOUR weight, maybe she should consider counseling.

If you want to lose 10 lbs, quit drinking soda and juice. Drink a lot of water each day, eat 6 small meals per day instead of 3 larger meals. Make sure you are taking in good fats and not a lot of trans fats.

Q: Ok.. well my mom works for social services. and she got this job when i was in third grade (i'm currentlly in 8th) and ever since then shes been SO overprotective. She doesn't like for me to do things without her knowing every single detail. She's takin the lock off my bedroom door. so that she can walk in at any given moment just to see what i'm doing. And it's getting worse every day. Even when i was in 3rd grade i didn't have a 'bed time' but now she's making me go to bed at 9 oclock. it's getting really bad. i'm getting ready to be in high school and i still have a bedtime. i feel like such a child because i never get to do anything. And i've tried talking to her. And i've told her that i think she is to protective. Yet nothing ever changes. What should i do?
14/f
You should thank your lucky stars that your mother cares about you. It is better to have an over protective parent then an absent parent. She doesn't want you to become another teen statistic and as long as you don't get it in your head that you don't need to listen to her, you will eventually exceed in life.

bio
OrionsFire

Info
Location:
Texas

Age:
101

ICQ:
AIM:
Yahoo:
MSN:
gagragragra

Member Since:
May 3, 2005

Answers:
159

Last Update:
September 22, 2006

Visitors:
14230

Favorite Columnists







layout by Adam Particka

<<< Previous Advice Column
Next Advice Column >>>
humorist-workshop
eXTReMe Tracker