Pappy, Although you make a good argument against secondary poisoning, there seem to be several Internet sites that warn about it when using anticoagulants. I don't have any first-hand experience witnessing secondary poisonings, but Googling "brodifacoum secondary poisoning" pulls up a lot of sites. However on primary unintentional poisoning, I've witnessed it first-hand. When I was a kid, I lost an Airdale terrier to rodent bait. It was a puppy, and we weren't sure it got into the bait, until it was too late. However, I don't know if it was an anticoagulant poison, or something like zinc phosphide. Either way, with second generation anticoagulants that kill with a single feed, or zinc phosphide, I think there could be risk. My original point was that with non-label use of rat bait, if an accidental poisoning happened, it could incur more liability than with PoP alone. Additionally it doesn't appear dogs and cats are as susceptible to hypercalcemia, as rodents are, so there is probably less danger of unintentional poisoning when PoP is used as the sole active ingredient.

I used to make my own, particularly when I had chili plants in my yard. However, for the past few years I've been using the Huy Fong Sriracha because it is cheap, and I really like the flavor. I also like that it is thick. When I made my own, I used ripe (red) jalapeños, garlic, white balsamic vinegar, and kosher salt. I put everything in the blender and then stored it in a jar. The good thing about making it yourself is that you get to choose what kind of vinegar goes into it, and that makes a big difference. I also took out all the seeds so that I could get more chili flavor for the same amount of heat. I haven't noticed seeds in Sriracha, and that is another plus. Before, I would buy Chinese chili paste, and I started making my own just so that I could make it without the seeds. I use Sriracha when I make Bloody Caesars, but I also use it in eggs in place of black pepper. In most recipes, I prefer to use fresh chilies (and I go through a lot), but it's great to have something to adjust a recipe after it is finished. Also, I can make things a little blander for Kevin and then add the hot sauce to my servings. Lars

Thank you everyone for your kind words and prayers. It has been not quite two full days after saying goodbye to Henry and it is still hard to not imagine him being in his favorite spot when I go in a certain room or find him following me. It has been such a hard emotional month dealing with all this; I miss him terribly even though there is a relief that I don't have to worry about him anymore. It was hard to put away his bedding and I have yet to clean his food dish with his latest meal still in the fridge, but I know it will probably take me a few more days before I am able to think of him without such saddness. I am just still so bitter and in shock that something like this can be so devastating. I wish I could do something to help fund research to find a cure or a medicine that would allow cats to live with this disease. Does anyone out there know if there is a place that is working on an FIP cure/vaccine? I would be interested to know. Soemone said it earlier, that this is just such an evil disease, and I figured out that it is because there is no hope that one can hang onto........you feel so helpless........as his "mom" that was just so hard for me to deal with, and of course the not knowing when and how long he would stay with me until the time came to relieve him of his suffering. I found comfort in reading all your words, so thank you again for supporting me through this hard time. Wow, it hasn't even been a month........i think back to a few weeks ago, I have a picture of him in my washing machine where he was exploring one day and I had to snap a picture, that was Henry.......just a sweet little kitten snooping around my space while I was close by. He always had a way of looking right at me with his eyes, almost like he was trying to tell me something.......and I have to believe it was love, and that's why losing him has been so hard, he was one of those kitties who really, really loved you(me). I hope that if anyone else is going through this with their kitty they can find some help and support through this forum, I didn't know who I could talk to and this really helped fill a void. So onto the healing and again, just love love love your animals, in sickness and in health, because once they're gone you can't go back and have more time with them, and at least you can hold onto the fact that you gave them all the time, attention and love that you had. Again, peace and thanks for your prayers, D.

As a banker, I know that in the industry there are certain groups of high-earning professionals that have a reputation for being very poor money managers. There are lots of banker insider jokes about this particular pool of professionals. I know they are not unintelligent people. They couldn't be as judged by their education level & career successes. Many, fortunately, turn their money over to a financial manager. Those who do not are a banker's worst nightmare (well, that's not true...but close enough). Honestly, the reputation is so bad that if bankers could reject people without feeling they were discriminating soley on career...they would. So, I know from experience that IQ level does not guarantee understanding of finances. It seems to be rather that these people have been so involved with the education process in their chosen career that other areas of knowledge are short-changed. They 'could' understand but don't bother to learn. I've found myself in situations that required IQ testing several times. My scores have ranged from 131 to 136 with the higher score coming on a day I was completly stoned on Roxicet (recovering from major surgery & the test day couldn't be changed) & could hardly read the questions. The breakdown of my test scores tell a much different story though than one might assume from just the overall score. I'm just on the positive side of the moron level spatially. Well, not quite but didn't score very well at all. However, my language score was 187. So, when the other test parts like math (I think there was another part also?) were averaged, I came out OK. Since this was a private test situation with no privacy concerns, the administrator of my test said that they rarely saw such a divergence in scores & asked about my background. I was sick as a kid & missed 5th, 6th, 7th, & almost all of 8th grade. During those years, I had a home teacher who came for one hour/day. We mostly focused on maintaining the dexterity in my hands (I play piano) & history. I clearly remember going through my 6th grade history book in two week's time. I did A LOT of reading during those years. But, I was mostly bedridden so had few experiences out in the world. At 14, I was given IQ tests & some type of highschool equivilency exam (this was in CA mid-60s). The school determined I didn't need to attend highschool. What to do with a kid that young who's not in school? In conjunction with my parents, we decided that I would attend school for 3 periods a day in the morning taking classes of my choosing. I took ONLY foreign language & literature plus one lonely history class. I took zero math or science classes. When I was old enough to work, the school got me a job in the Mayor's office & that, in essence, became my 'school'. I held that job for 3 years. The school gave me a diploma when I was seventeen. I went on to art school. I don't think my IQ score has played any significant role in my life other than frustrating me because I was always lost until GPS became available in cars! Did I mention that I love my GPS?! So, it's no surprise that my language skills developed at a higher level than my spatial abilities. It's not ALL in the DNA. Life experiences do contribute to our IQ scores. My father only had an 8th grade education & didn't learn English until he was thirteen; yet he became a very successful business owner (Russian immigrant family). He was a math whiz but not exceptional at reading/language. Yet, he was extremely adept at understanding the finances of his business & banking relationships. I believe he was successful because he deemed understanding his finances as critical to the success of his business and, therefore, devoted energy to learning how money works. My father was a musician & that's how he earned his living & supported his family until purchasing his first business at around age forty. Music taught him math skills (as it did me) as well as personal discipline. I believe it was those skills as opposed to his IQ (don't know what it was?) that contributed the most to his success. So, anyway...I'd be very hesitant to place any responsiblity for the country's mortgage debacle on IQ. I do, however, feel we are seriously lacking in even the most basic financial education in our school systems. My own son is a classic example. He received no financial education in highschool. In college, he was a double science major. In order to get through in four years he didn't have time to take any finance, business, etc. type of classes. So, were it not for DH & I being bankers he wouldn't have nearly the financial understanding he does today. I've always heard that IQ represents only 20% of a person's potential. The remaining 80% is determination & ingenuity. /tricia