December 13, 2019

Welcome to the Balanced Blends newsletter! We opted to make a few changes, which means adding a few more animal-related stories and news items, as well as the most important recalls we’d like you to know about. Then we’ll end with our cute thing of the week and the non-profit of the week. 

Let us know what items you’d like to see us cover!
 

Animal News

Santa’s Reindeer Are Ready!

-Did you know Santa Claus has his own veterinarian? John Howe, the president of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), made a trip up to the North Pole to ensure all of Santa’s reindeer are in tip-top shape for their upcoming flight. The reindeer were all vaccinated, and have the required paperwork to travel to the various countries on the 24th. How cool is that? 

https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/santa-claus-official-veterinarian-okays-reindeer-for-flight/

A Possible Vaccination for FIP? 

-Researchers at Colorado State University, with funding from the Morris Animal Foundation, are working to create a vaccination against feline enteric coronavirus (FECV), which is quite common, but can lead to feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a rather deadly disease for domestic cats. The goal of the vaccine is to target FECV before it morphs into FIP - fingers crossed this works!

https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/fip-treatment-in-the-works/

Recalls/Health Warnings

The Never-Ending Romaine Recall

-Bagged salads from Fresh Express are the latest to be implicated in the 2019 E.coli outbreak. The salads contain romaine lettuce from Salinas Valley, California, and people are being warned to double-check the origin of any lettuce they may purchase to ensure it’s not from Salinas Valley. While not everyone currently ill with E.coli ate Fresh Express salads, the common thread is the California city. At this point, it’s probably safest to just avoid romaine until the outbreak is over. 

https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2019/12/wisconsin-finds-e-coli-o157-in-bagged-fresh-express-romaine-salad-from-californias-salinas-valley/

Raw Cookie Dough and E.Coli

-When I used to bake cookies on a regular basis, licking the batter off the spoon was just an added perk. Unfortunately, I’ve realized the dangers in doing so, and it’s not just because of the potential of infection from eggs. This year alone we’ve had two recalls of *flour* due to E.coli - all-purpose flour as well as organic flour. Basically, if you’re going to be dealing with raw flour, whether it’s for making cookies or for making play-doh, make sure you wash your hands, your clothes, the countertops, and all the utensils involved so nobody gets a present they don’t want this holiday season. 

https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2019/12/cookie-season-in-the-midst-of-flour-recalls/

Cute Stuff!
Cinderblock Working Hard at Working Out

-If you remember, back in October we featured a story about Cinderblock, a cat surrendered to her local vet clinic because her owners could no longer care for her. Cinderblock was aptly named, and immediately put on a diet. 

So how’s she doing? Well, she works out on an underwater treadmill twice a week, in addition to 15-20 minutes of playtime every day. She’s now down to 20.8 pounds from 21.8, with a goal of 12 pounds. Go, Cinder, Go!

Check her out on Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/cinderblock_cat/

 Non-Profit of the Week

Northern Colorado Friends of Feral is a non-profit organization near and dear to my heart - they work to trap-neuter-release (TNR) colony cats to help keep their numbers manageable. They also vaccinate and provide medical care so the kitties can live their best lives. They’ve been active since March 2009, and show no signs of slowing down. Thank you so much for working so hard to keep feral kitty populations in check!

https://nocoferals.org/about/