Actually, I'm kind of puzzled on why Wal-Mart gets away with having such crappy products. I know other big retailers are bad too, and I know all food has "impurities", but I really get the distinct impression that every time I get anything at Wal-Mart it's of poor quality. I mean, anything really! Produce rots and milk goes off faster than what I get from the regular grocery store, their clothes are thin and flimsy and fall apart fast, appliances and tools from there only last a few months before they break, even the dishwashing detergent I got from there left all this residue on our dishes. Really, it's starting to be a joke, whenever something rots/breaks/performs substandardly, my boyfriend is like, "Did you buy this from Wal-Mart?" and I sigh and say yes. It's like everything they sell (unless it's a national brand that's sold lots of places) is the most shoddy made crap they can get. Ok, I haven't done a scientific study or anything, so maybe I'm imagining this, but it's enough to make me try to avoid Wal-Mart and get stuff from other stores. But every now and then I happen to be closer to Wal-Mart and think "Why not?" and get some stuff from there, take it home, and then hilarity ensues once again. Also, there was an expose on the news a few years ago comparing Wal-Mart's prices to Target. They found that, on average, shopping at Wal-Mart is NOT less expensive. I think they bought a similar array of stuff and the bill came out about the same. Maybe it used to be cheaper there, but by now Wal-Mart just survives off the reputation that they're less expensive, and wants to count on people going on that rather than actually comparing prices. Ok, there's my anti-Wal-Mart rant. I don't know, maybe I have some kind of WM curse, but I just keep getting tempted to give them another chance, and then keep regretting it. Even if they really are cheaper than Target, Kmart, etc., if the produce rots in two days and you have to throw it away, and appliances and clothes fall apart so fast you have to keep replacing them over and over, it's NOT cheaper in the long run.

folkvictorian, you are absolutely right about people throwing away their pets. Millions do it everyday and I cannot go near Craigs list or I go nuts reading ad after ad written by some irresponsible jerk who took an animal with no regard for its' life for the next 10-15 years or for however long it would live. To those people animals are disposable. Those ads you point out are very disturbing. The one who adopted from a shelter is in direct violation of their contract because when you adopt from a shelter or a rescue organization you are obligated to return the animal to them for rehoming. It's unfortunate shelters can't do thorough screenings and they also can't eliminate as many people as potential adopters as a private adopter would require. This is the reason so many animals adopted from shelters end up without a home within the first year of their adoption. I realize that sometimes is it absolutely necessary to find a home for an animal that someone can no longer care for, but most of the time, like these 2, who clearly have not stated it is a necessity, just dispose of them because they are too lazy and/or unwilling to take the time the animal needs or spend the money to care for it. When I hear people say they have to get rid of an animal because they are moving and the new place doesn't accept animals, my question is, then why don't you find a place that does? I know why they don't, because it takes time to find that right place. I also love the one, my new fiance' doesn't like it. Well, my advice is, get rid of the fiance' now because if you marry him you'll be wishing you had not traded your dog/cat for him. I've worked as an animal adoption counselor for 25 years and have heard every excuse for people wanting to dump their animals. The one that took the award for stupidity was the family who walked in the shelter one day with their current pet, turned it in at the front desk and proudly said, we don't want this one anymore because the kids don't like it. We want to adopt a new one. Needless to say they didn't get a new one from that shelter. When people are so willing to give up a pet for some lame reason, the first question in my mind is, would you give up your child for that reason also? As far as I'm concerned, when you adopt an animal, just like when you make the decision to have a child, it is your responsibility for life. Now if you can't take care of it, then find it a better life, but don't just throw it away because it is too much trouble and you are too lazy to deal with it. What is wonderful to see and is happening around the country is shelters doing a better job of educating potential animal owners about the responsibility and expense of owning a pet. Some people are truly ignorant and don't have a clue, but unfortuantely it's the majority that do that upset me.

I'm not saying this is what's wrong with your kitties but I had a problem with my kitten that the vets just couldn't get to the bottom of. We did multiple types of medication on her (she did come to me extremely sick) but the diarrhea never subsided even after she was bug free. The medications seemed to relieve the diarrhea greatly while she was taking them but then it would come right back. I was to the end of my rope so what I did was just give her plain cooked rabbit (from the butcher) for her meals. The vet said rabbit was a good selection b/c it's not a popular ingredient in food. Her stool immediately firmed and she was better by day two! From there I could add a store-bought cat food and she'd get diarrhea immediately. Since I knew for sure I was dealing with food, it got considerably easier to get to the bottom if it. Nature's Variety, Prairie Lamb and Oatmeal was the winner. It took me months and months of frustration. Again, I'm not saying that's what wrong with your kitties but you may want to keep that in the back of your mind if the meds don't work. You can't do a continuous diet of meat alone because it lacks all the nutrients but my cat was fine for a couple of days. If you are in fact dealing with a food problem, from my experience I can tell you that you can't just settle on one brand that's 'supposed to be a good food'. I tried every supermarket food and traveled to 3 different pet specialty stores searching for a variety she could tolerate. I can't think of a brand I did not try. She couldn't eat the other flavors of the Nature's Variety either - even the rabbit - go figure. And for some reason the oatmeal works fine for her. It seems to me if both of your cats are getting the proper meds then the bugs should be cleared up by now in both so they wouldn't be passing it back and forth to each other. I hope the E-coli medicine fixes their problem. If not you might consider switching vets or addressing a possible dietary problem. I so sympathizes with you. Are you giving them probiotics to counter the antibiotic effects? I believe there's a thread about them going on now. They basically just put back in the good bacteria that the antibiotics kill (which can cause stomach upset).

At least your cat is trying to clean itself by scooting along the carpet or floor. I've been feeding and outside stray cat for a while even raise her kittens and rehomed them after she abandon them. Now she has such a horrible smell it's like literal death and she has old fecal matter stuck to her but like glue. It took us eight months to be able to pet her so it's not like we can give her a bath this stuff is so stuck on there I don't know what to do. I've grabbed her by the Scruff of the neck and use some wet washcloth only to get a very minimal amount off of her and it smells so bad that I just finished vomiting it was like an involuntary reaction. I really need to know if there's anything I can do we have tried powder just anything that I can do real quick that might resolve this issue. As I said she's a stray cat so she's usually outside but she doesn't even try to clean it. Now she tries to rub against our legs when we are outside and it is disgusting. I've gone from feeling sorry for her and wanting to help her to just feeding her and trying to avoid her. I really need some advice that will work