In my first stab at a Youtube Video, my 20 year old cat Muffy reviews Whiskas Meaty Pockets dry cat food. I thought the result was funny enough to share with the world, but the story behind this was not humorous in the least and will be an article unto itself.

The basic story is that after following the advice of a vet and an “expert” at a local pet store and giving her certain high priced brand of food exclusively for many years, she became unable to digest it properly and nearly died of malnutrition.

Only because I considered this possibility and decided to start experimenting with other foods did she recover and survive to be a healthy, happy 20 year old kitty with lots of energy and attitude as you can see for yourself. As dry foods go, the Whiskas Meaty Pockets quickly became her favourite and caused the least intestinal distress (although the gas she got was more distress for me than her) and this review is the result.

That story should and will be shared at length very soon but for now check out the video to see the happy ending for yourself J

TwistedlyCanadian

Shapes in a box of lucky charms

Graph by: Kidwii via Graph Jam Builder

In my experience, no. I’ve known a cat who was a vegetarian and refused to eat leftover hamburger (though knowing what I do now about takeout meat, she was making a wise decision).

Some cats will only eat the food that is put in their bowls. I’m not sure why this is, but some cats just don’t seem to recognize meat as edible cat food.

Or your cat could have gourmet tastes like mine. She likes to share my tuna salad sandwich I get from a local cafe, but if I try to whip up some tuna salad at home, she won’t touch it. I’ve finally figured out why – the cafe’s has shaved carrots and black olives in it, while my version just has mayo and relish.

Some cats like to play with their meat when you give them a piece. They bat it around like it’s still alive. I’m not sure if this is instinct taking over, but it can be amusing to watch.

Cats can be extremely unpredictable when it comes to food. The turkey or chicken that they couldn’t get enough of today may be disdained tomorrow. They seem better than humans at recognizing when they are hungry. If the cat isn’t, it may give you a skeptical look. However, if you leave the house and then return later, the scraps may be gone.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Saturday, November 21, 2009
Waxing Moon
Uranus Retrograde
Cloudy and mild

I went to check Angie’s List to try to find a man-with-a-van. You have to pay to join. I don’t think so. I’ll keep hunting on my own.

By the way, Lori, the people running the leafblowers at 5:10 in the morning belonged to the Department of Public Works. Yeah, the city’s own employees completely disregard the city code. Of course what they were doing is illegal. But they don’t give a damn.

Yesterday was frustrating. I lost the thread of the Christmas story, and I’m having trouble getting it back. It’s been better this morning. I’m almost back, but I need to sort out more plot.

Ran errands, went to Costco to stock up on a bunch of stuff, went to Party City to stock up on plates and cookie bags — last year I waited too long and they were out. I’m trying some different cat food because I think Elsa has an allergy, and I’m wondering if it’s food-related, so I went to Pet Smart and bought a can of several different brands. This morning’s, called “by nature” was not a hit. Picked up a few things at the grocery store to get me through the next few days until I leave for Maine.

Started figuring out what I’m baking and who gets cookie plates this year.

Did some research for the Christmas story, took care of some unpleasant correspondence, searched for another man-with-van, sent out a few more requests for a quote. I guess we must be out of the recession, since so many of these places can’t even be bothered to give me a quote. They must not need the work. My great movers from July seem to have vanished.

Started reading AS Byatt’s THE CHILDREN’S BOOK. Not at all what I expected, and I have to shove away my expectations in order to properly appreciate it.

The cats woke me up at 4 and I said, “No way” and went back to sleep, which, of course, meant I overslept until 7 and had a slow start getting back to the page.

Writing today and more errands. It feels like I’ll have a better day at the page, which is a good thing. I’m behind, and allowing myself to get overwhelmed by the forest instead of dealing with the individual trees. i have to up my quantity and improve my quality simultaneously. Since I don’t have a day job to fall back on, it pretty much doesn’t matter whether I “feel” like writing or not, or whether the Muse smacks me upside the head, or whether or not life is getting in the way. The writing has to get done.

Devon

Just like humans, cats need to keep up a healthy weight to prevent weight-related illnesses such as feline diabetes and heart disease.  Cats that are overfed by their owners and are not physically active are at a higher risk for developing these diseases. Indoor domestic cats tend to fall into this category more so than outdoor cats since they are typically confined to a single place (the owners’ house or apartment) and, out of love, they may be given more food than they really need. I admit that I have fallen into the overfeeding trap myself allowing my cats to graze on a large measure of dry food throughout the day. This practice led to my cats gaining too much weight too fast.  As my veterinarian explained, indoor cats tend to eat what they are given and will keep eating until their bowl is empty. It’s like me with a big bag of potato chips…if I’m sitting in front of the TV eating this large bag of potato chips, chances are, I’ll continue eating until the bag is empty. The trick (for me at least!)  is to eat a small bag of chips so that the entire bag can be eaten without as many calories being consumed. Applying this concept to my cats, my veterinarian recommended feeding my cats smaller quantities of food at a time which satisfies them until their next feeding time and prevents them from overeating. Thankfully, this recommendation has worked;  my cats are at a healthy weight and are now used to eating small amounts of food!!

November issue of Healthy Pet Magazine

In this month’s issue of Healthy Pet magazine, there is an interesting article addressing the issue of excess weight in pets. According to the article, the first step to follow if your cat is overweight is to visit your veterinarian who will assess the problem and give a solution which includes exercise and dietary tips. Since indoor cats are limited as far as space is concerned, much of their weight loss regimen will focus on diet. The article mentions three types of diets that can help your cat achieve a normal weight. These diets include:

1) A weight-loss diet which strictly but safely regulates a cats food intake

2) A maintenance diet which helps cats keep up the weight they have lost as a result of the weight-loss diet

3) A therapeutic diet which incorporates balanced, nutritious foods into a cats’ diet. These foods are designed to help reduce specific issues such as joint problems.

There are many manufactures of cat food that can help your cats achieve a healthy weight. I particularly prefer Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Inc. who are the manufacturers of Science Diet and Prescription Diet cat food. I have come to love these brands of indoor cat food because they are recommended by veterinarians and they have ingredients that are beneficial to indoor cats.

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fofurasfelinas/43381522/

Although I think these brands of cat food are great, you should always consult your personal veterinarian when it comes to choosing food for your cat. They know your cat best and can make individualized recommendations which are suitable for your particular furry friend.

I was blogging about my day today and realized I’ve never mentioned something that’s very important to me–making sure EVERYONE in our family eats food that is nutritious and good for them!

T and I made the conscious decision a long time ago to feed our pets high quality foods.  Buckley, Southpaw, and Milhouse are important members of our family and we need to take their nutrition seriously, too!

Low-quality pet food is just like low-quality people food–it leads to health problems and obesity.   It isn’t cheap–I just paid $30 for a 15 pound bag of dog food–but it is absolutely worth it.  Interestingly enough, cost isn’t indicative of quality when it comes to pet food.  Science Diet, unfortunately sold in lots of veterinary offices, is expensive…and full of corn and other things that are not good for your dog.  It is consistently rated among the lowest quality pet foods, and it makes me sad to think lots of people are getting this crappy food sold to them by their veterinarians.

We feed Milhouse Blue Buffalo brand dog food, found at Petsmart.  It is made with meat (not meat by-products), whole grains (not corn) and veggies and fruit.  It is free of artificial flavors, corn, wheat, and soy, and meat is the first ingredient.  He loves it, too!  (We also feed him Newman’s Own Organic treats, and he does not get food from the table unless it is a small piece of plain meat.)

Our cats are a different story.  Poor little Southpaw has feline colitis, which is basically the cat equivalent of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  When something doesn’t agree with her tummy, her gums get very inflamed and she gets diarrhea that doesn’t usually occur in the litter box.  She sometimes pukes too.

We experimented with several foods for the cats, including several high-quality organic and natural brands, and after speaking with our vet came to the conclusion that they are simply too rich for her system to handle.  We’ve switched the foods slowly, mixing them over the course of a few weeks, and she just cannot adjust to them.   We made the conscious decision to switch to what is considered a more grain-based food (though still higher on the quality scale), and her stomach issues cleared up instantly.  (Our cats are fed Royal Canin Sensitive formula.)

(Buckley will eat whatever we put in front of him.)

Sometimes I feel guilty about this, but she is eating the food that keeps her in the best health and the happiest, and that, in turn, makes me feel better.  Just like with human nutrition–there is not always a “right” answer.  Some people do well on high-carb diets despite the overwhelming majority of people who do better with lower-carbs.  Southpaw needs a higher-carb, lower protein diet, and we’ll give it to her if it means she’s not healthy, even though it’s not considered the healthiest.

I really recommend going to this site and checking out reviews of what your pets are eating.  Animals have nutrition needs too!

Do you have pets? Are you concerned about their nutrition?

So post number three is a hoghedge, or more commonly known as a hedgehog, but whatever.It belongs to my friend Clare, he lives in their garden and eats cat food. We scared him away, I hope he finished his food…..

The Reluctant Waiter, Luigi’s Restaurant and Speculation Theater ‘What If Early Man Had Cable Television’

I remember we were going to attempt to do a stage version of the ”BU skit”, but many technical problems would have cropped up, (we needed a flaming arrow shooting thru a working window, a provost desk, and a full set of china for tea) which had us move on to the Reluctant Waiter skit.

Mark knocked it out of the park.

A few behind the scenes notes – I’m a lousy memorizer – in fact for half the skits, I found a prop or some other way to conceal the script in the scene. Here, it’s in the menu. I also somehow saved the plant I hit from falling down at the last second.

Next – Luigi’s – This was one of our radio bits, in fact the audio is straight from that skit. We shot the video in a bathroom in Needham MA, and edited it at Newhouse the day before the show, so the finished product was a surprise until right before airtime.  Mark was game to be the corpse, and we made a toe tag from a file label. A few scrubs and sheets grabbed from the local hospital, a can of cat food, a saw and a jack from the car later, and we had a passable autopsy room. The audience reaction was miked for this during the live show, and it really sold the bit.

And last – Speculation Theater. We did this one just so Andrew could have the punch line – we kept cracking up just hearing his voice say it. Look close and you’ll see we’re all actually wearing toilet bowl covers from K-Mart. Anything to sell the skit… that’s dedication. Enjoy.

Animals Like People Benefit From Live Foods

Veterinarian, Dr. Karen Becker, dispels the long-held myth that “table food” is bad for your pets.

Human, edible foods can be very healthy for your pets. Throw away the concept of “cat” food and “dog” food, and just think “food” — food that grows in the ground or comes from animal products.

A whole generation of pet owners is afraid to feed anything but over processed rendered food to their pets. But there’s no way you can create abundant health in an animal by providing only the minimum nutrients it needs for survival. Dogs and cats have a living food requirement, just like you do.

The food you feed your pet should be biologically suited to meet your dog’s or cat’s needs. Dog and cat chow may be nutritionally “complete,” but it is akin to your drinking a meal replacement shake three times a day for the rest of your life … or giving them to your kids in lieu of fresh foods.

Yet, many veterinarians will often recommend you feed your pets kibble or canned food for the rest of their lives. Some will go so far as to say that feeding your pet anything that doesn’t come from a bag or can will be harming your pet!

This is a paradigm problem, and one that can be very confusing for pet owners.

In reality, there’s no way you can give your pet the food it needs to thrive if you do not feed it a biologically appropriate diet that includes a variety of fresh foods.

In fact, a growing number of holistic-minded veterinarians state that processed pet food (kibbled and canned food) is the number one cause of illness and premature death in modern dogs and cats.

So how did conventional veterinary nutrition positions get so skewed?

Well, major dog and cat food manufacturers provide much of the veterinary nutrition information to veterinary students. It becomes engrained in many new vets’ minds that it’s wrong to feed pets “living” fresh foods.

This is a myth!

Your Pets Need Living Foods

Veterinarians tell you to never offer living foods to your pet. But your pets need living foods on a consistent basis to achieve optimal health.

So, yes, you can and should offer your pets some of the very same foods that you enjoy. And since those foods are at a much higher grade nutritionally than typical dog or cat foods, they may be the healthiest foods your pets have ever consumed.

As you know, I recommend you feed your dogs and cats an all raw, nutritionally balanced living food diet. In my opinion, the only viable excuse to not to feed your pets a species appropriate diet is cost. Feeding raw food cost more than dry food .However, raw fed animals have fewer health problems, which mean lower vet bills over a lifetime. If you cannot afford to feed your pet an all raw diet, don’t deny your pet’s access to living foods throughout the day, in the form of treats. Remember, treats (even really healthy treats) should not constitute more than 15 percent of your pet’s daily food intake.

Berries are one of the best treats you can offer. Bite size and packed with antioxidants. Many cats enjoy zucchini and cantaloupe. . My favorite training treats for dogs include peas, raw nuts (remember, the only nuts you should never feed your pets are macadamia nuts).

A salad without dressing, but with plenty of dark green leafy vegetables, is also good for your cats — your pets are chewing on your houseplants for a reason, after all.

Avoid giving your carnivorous companions biologically inappropriate foods, including grains, such as oats, soy, millet, , wheat, or rice. Dogs and cats do not have a carbohydrate requirement and feeding your pets these pro-inflammatory foods creates unnecessary metabolic roadblocks to health.

Furthermore, there are certainly some foods that are toxic to feed to dogs and cats such as grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts and onions. Never feed your pets these foods.

The Optimal Choice to Feed Your Pets

I highly recommend you give your dog or cat an opportunity to experience living raw foods like fruits and veggies as treats, and feed them a biologically appropriate, balanced raw diet the rest of the time.

Remember, your pet is resilient and can eat a variety of suboptimal, metabolically stressful foods on occasion and be fine, but because it’s my goal to provide a diet that most closely fits your companion’s biological requirements, I don’t recommend a lifetime of kibble or other “dead” over-processed food.

The goal is to provide a diet that mimics your pet’s biological nutritional requirements as closely as possible … in this case it means rethinking the “lifetime of dry food” or “canned food” theory.

If you are unable or unwilling to feed your pet a species-appropriate, nutritionally balanced, raw food diet, then I strongly recommend you compromise with the next best choice: USDA-approved canned foods (and supplement with raw)

My last choice would be a dry food (kibble), made from human-grade ingredients with little to no grains, and LOTS OF WATER.

But no matter which option you choose, remember that you can treat your dog and cat to berries, leafy greens, raw nuts and many other fresh fruits, veggies and meats on a regular basis.

I hope this insight will help you feel more confident offering foods and treats to your pets that are unadulterated and fresh. They deserve the same benefit of living foods that you get, and there’s no better way to start than by sharing some of these raw healthy foods with your dog or cat today.

We have always cooked for our pets, so always find it amazing, if not horrifying, that there really are pets who never get live food and who are doomed to eat the same dry food every day and that there really are pet owners who think that would be okay!!  This myth created by the pet food industry and perpetuated by pet stores who just want to sell animals, regardless of whether the potential purchasers should be pet parents and then accepted by the “ME” generation, is another one of those practices like keeping your pets in a crate all day or all night, or shock collars, electric fences and collars with spikes etc that defy all common sense and really fall into a category of pet abuse or neglect, perhaps pet abuse light… but unacceptable pet parenting to be sure!!

Would you want to eat the same packaged food everyday?  Would you want to be locked in a cage all day or all night?  Would you want to have to wait to go to the bathroom all night or most of the day, until some lets you out and says it is okay?  Would you want to receive an electric shock when you tried to talk or walk across a boundary area… or have spikes dig into you?  Would you do these things to your kids?

When making decisions for your fur-babies, you should ask yourself, “Would I want to be treated this way?  And would I make these choices for my human children?”, and then act accordingly!!  As Dr. Laura would say… Use common sense and compassion and “then go do the right thing!”.

Posted:  Just One More Pet

Related:

Beef Verses Bison for Dogs

Teach Dogs Impulse Control – Not Just Submission

Excessive Barking A Common Behavior Problem

Dog Training – Train Your Dog From Barking

Dogs Left Home Alone – With Anxiety

Crate “Training” – Blessing or Abuse

Our 2-Year-Old German Shepherd Has Started Biting

Company Will Start Building “the World’s Most Pet Friendly House(s)” – But Here Are Some Hints For All Pet Parents

Dogs Left Home Alone – With Anxiety

Crate “Training” – Blessing or Abuse

How Safe Is Invisible Fencing?

Shock Collars, Crate Training, And Needing to Control

Pet Parties – The Latest Craze

They do not care how late at night it is. You WILL fill the dishes NOW!

Les Clefs De Bagnole: experimental film about making a film of a guy looking everywhere for his car keys. Even though almost nobody has heard of this feature, nearly every famous French actor you know shows up at some point. The ending’s revealed in the first two minutes, however the fast pace of their epic adventure mean you don’t really care. It brings up strange movie-related observations that viewers often miss: over-use of extras, continuity, presumptions, time lapses – even when the characters eat. It’s not an easy watch as they go from one crazy idea to the next, and the random segments of meta-film, interviews with the public, clay-mation, animation and sound effects don’t help. On the upside, this little gem looks great, has a witty script and is laden with gags – although they don’t all hit the mark. Most critics totally slated this, which is pretty harsh as it’s nowhere near as bad as they make out. The tagline on all promo material was “Don’t watch this, it’s crap” which shows how seriously it’s supposed to be taken. Experimental and undeniably French under-rated comedy that should keep you laughing, or at least smiling.

Rating: 6/10

Series of 25 Photographs

For those of you with cats, Purina One is giving away a sample of food! I’m sure if my cat was a person she would be just as into a month of not spending any money, so Hellcat (the friendly looking critter to the left), this post is dedicated to you!

Other places to get free pet food:

Trophy Pet Foods (cats and dogs)

James Wellbeloved (cats and dogs)

Gourmet (cats only)

Go Kat (indoor cats only)

There are loads more links for other cat and dog food samples, plus ferrets, birds and small mammals.

My companion has worked through a number of commercial feeds. We are now able to offer reviews of some of these products. Kibble and water are available at all times. Bob gets canned food twice a day, or upon request. My search for exotic pet food started when this former stray simply did not recognize chicken, turkey, beef, or fish feline-feed blends as food.

A case is 24, 5½ ounce cans. A bag is 4 lbs.

Addiction Foods, New Zealand Brushtail & Vegetables Entrée

Brushtail is a rodent indigenous to New Zealand and Australia. It is considered a pest and the wild-caught animals are used for animal feed. This product arrived to the United States during 2001. Bob tired of this food before 30 days. He would eat about a third of a can at a time twice a day. His coat is amazingly soft and oily with this feed. I see even more glimmer when Bob sits in the sun. His kibble intake did not go up, and he may have lost weight.

This feed is specifically marketed to cats allergic to common poultry blends, lamb or beef. I have purchased this product locally for $2.39/can and online for $41.99/case.

Crude Protein (min.) 11%
Crude Fat (min.) 5%
Crude Fiber (max.) 1%
Moisture (max.) 80%
Ash (max.) 3%

Nutro, Natural Choice Complete Care Kitten Chicken & Liver Formula Chunks in Gravy

During our first days together, this is the only thing I could get him to eat. He was eating at least four of these 79¢ pouches per day. I am not entirely comfortable with the kind of cat food you can get at the big-box stores, especially after a series of recalls during 2007 and 2008. I am less comfortable with the fact that this is made by Mars, the same folks who bring you the Three Musketeers bar and Whiskas. The fourth ingredient on the label is wheat gluten, for Pete’s sake.

Bob did manage to survive, and even thrive on this stuff. You will note, even though this is a product branded as kitten food, it has less protein and fat than the all-life-stages feed above.

This is Bob’s only feed not specifically marked “all life stages”.

My assessment of big-box pet feed isn’t entirely fair. Organix, Natural Balance, Blue Buffalo, Solid Gold and Wellness are available at some big-box stores and are well regarded. Not that Bob would eat any of those.

Taste of the Wild, Rocky Mountain Feline Formula (kibble)

Despite its overly ambitious name and velvet-painting packaging, this is an especially well regarded feed which is not well distributed. Among my goals with discovering a  feed for my Bob is to find something available locally. Taste of the Wild is carried by two local pet-supply chains. The primary protein is chicken, tempered with venison, salmon and a sweet potato binder. This kibble is completely free of wheat or corn. While I shop for something even more appropriate, this is Bob’s daily feed which is available at all times.

A bag runs about $10 and Bob eats it in a little more than a month.

Nervous about Bob not eating very much while feeding him the Addiction Brushtail formula, I resorted to the abject desperation move of cat fanciers. The people who make the cat food you can buy at the grocery store do something to that feed which makes cats want to eat corn. During my weekly sojourn to the grocery I discovered something I never imagined I would find.

Natural Life Pet Products, Lamaderm® Lamb & Rice Platter and Chicken & Veggie Platter

Clearly these people use a different definition of platter than I do. This was more of a foam.

The first five ingredients in both formulas are inoffensive. The most concerning are flax seed and rice flour. As far as grocery-sourced formulas go, this is a spectacular product. At a mere 90¢ per can, I suspect many cats shall get somewhat better feed quite soon. I remain stunned that a low-priced, acceptable-quality feed is widely distributed. It shall not become Bob’s daily dish, but he practically inhaled half-cans of both formulas.

Please note: Natural Life’s dry formulas are pretty much the same semi-toxic crap you find under other labels at the same price point.

Natural Life’s canned formulas have more protein and fat, and less moisture and ash than the much higher-priced Nutro above.

Nature’s Variety, Homestyle from the Prairie, Beef, Lamb and Duck formulas.

The contents of these cans look like food. I know that doesn’t mean anything, but it does something for me. I originally purchased a selection of Homestyle from Austin’s priciest pet shoppe. The ingredient lists offer no red flags and each of these are quite palatable according to my roommate. The reason I purchased these was they were on clearance for half price. This proved unwise as once it was established that this feed met all of my other requirements, it was no longer available locally. I found the entire line online for a mere $31.49/case

Enter K9 Cuisine. If you order $50, they eat the shipping charges. Just two cases of cat food, at 70% of the local price, tops $50 and it comes via Fedex Ground in four or five days. They also offer free samples of selected kibbles which is coming in handy as I shop for something new for young Robert. This time around we’ll try Solid Gold Katz-N-Flocken.

The only problem being where do I store 72 cans of cat food in my modest home?

All of the research I completed for this entry was done via simple Google searches.

The diet of my cat is similar in importance to me as the diet of a child to a parent. As such, Patch’s food has been carefully looked into to form a better understanding of what my ‘child’ is consuming each day. Currently Patch eats Hill’s (TM) Science Diet (R) Adult Original dry cat food. It is described by Hill’s as having “everything your cat needs to stay strong, healthy, and happy. Hill’s super antioxidant formula helps maintain your cat’s immune system.”

Hill’s (TM) Science Diet (R) Adult Original dry cat food

Hill’s Science Diet adult original ingredients:
Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Corn, Brewers Rice, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Sulfate, Choline Chloride, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Iodized Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

Pros:
The first ingredient listed is a protein! Protein is soooo important to your cat’s energy levels (primary source of protein). In comparison, Whiskas’ first ingredient is ordinarily a starchy product.
Contains a Vitamin A supplement. Cats cannot produce their own Vitamin A (unlike, say, dogs) and need to obtain via another source. Vitamin A is linked to normal growth, reproduction and sight.
Contains a Vitamin E supplement. Vitamin E can stop body fat inflammation in cats, which sounds horrible and I don’t want happening to my Patch. And considering it is mainly found in foods that cats cannot eat often/much of (like vegetables, green plants, cereal products and eggs) I think it’s important for my cat to have.

Cons:
Contains “Chicken By-Product Meal.” Anything that is a ‘by-product’ is made up of the parts of an animal that are unfit for human consumption. This isn’t always a bad thing (heck, Patty loves chicken necks!) but it has been found in the USA that by-product meat can also contain road kill, deceased zoo animals, euthanized animals and so on. Do I really want to be feeding my cat these things? Not really! However, I haven’t been able to find any information (one way or the other) regarding by-product meat sourced in Australia. I am fairly certain that Hill’s is imported from the USA, which ain’t so good.

Neutrals:
Contains Vitamin C. In fact, Hill’s goes so far as to use it in advertising the product (via Key Benefits). However, it has been discovered that cats make their own Vitamin C in their liver. So does Patch really need a supplement of it? I don’t know.

Observations:
Without all of the scientific mumbo-jumbo above, we have witnessed Patch becoming a mellow, decent mannered cat while eating this product. We had previously been feeding Patch a variety of Whiskas products. A pet store clerk recommended Hill’s to us and we decided to test the product (if the cat refuses to eat it, you get a full refund – what did we have to lose?) One day we ran out of the kibble and not having time to go to a pet store that stocked Hill’s, we decided to resort to our backup supply of Whiskas. OH what a surprise was in store for us! Suddenly Patch was hyperactive and acted similarly to a small child on a sugar high. He was very hard to deal with shortly after he had eaten and for quite a time after (see this forum for other accounts of Whiskas and hyperactivity). His heart raced and he ran around a lot more than usual. We also noticed he started getting a skin irritation on his chin/mouth area (may or may not have been linked to the Whiskas – uncertain origins). After a brief trip to the vet we returned Patch immediately to the Hill’s Science Diet and noticed a change right away. Patch calmed down and didn’t act out quite so much. He still has kitten periods of play, but they are much more controlled and his attention is easily drawn away from things/places he is not meant to be concerned with (like, say, the pile of cables behind our TV or the stove top). The skin irritation also subsided (he still irritates it by scratching the area, but it is nothing like it used to be).

Patch (on R.’s computer)

Overall:
We are maintaining Patch’s diet of Hill’s dry kibble. I am not totally convinced that it’s everything it’s made out to be, but anything is better than Whiskas!

Future:
I plan on organising a homemade diet for Patch. However, this requires some further research and planning, as well as the sourcing of ingredients. Most cat websites also recommend variety in the diet. I therefore hope to add more to Patch’s diet than simple dry kibble. I will let you know how it all goes!

ASPCA® Cat Assistance Program: You Can Help!

The ASPCA estimates that over three million cats and kittens end up in shelters each year—now, due to the troubled economy, more cats than ever are at risk. That’s why Fresh Step^® litter and 9Lives^® cat food have stepped up to help us launch a program this November to support pet food banks at shelters nationwide. The ASPCA^® Cat Assistance Program is a national grassroots effort to provide food and litter to cats across the country whose owners are in need of assistance.

Find out what you can do to help keep cats in their loving homes.

Pet Food Recall First Alert

A concerned pet owner and Susan Thixton have collaborated on a project asking all pet owners to contact their pet food companies and ask them to develop an email and voice mail notification system for pet owners/purchasers of their products (Pet Food Recall First Alert Program). 

From Susan’s site:

“A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a very concerned pet owner.  Her own dogs had suffered from a silent recall in the past; the recent increase in silent recalls was becoming alarming.  Her idea was to develop a method for pet food companies to alert customers if they experienced a product recall.  Her hope was that every pet food company would choose integrity over secrecy.  Her hope, as well, was for us – pet parents – to push the changes through. ”

Read all about it here at Susan’s site and see how you can get involved in this letter writing campaign.  It is for the safety of our pets!

http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/pages/Pet-Food-Recall-First-Alert.html

Also join discussion at Itchmo Forums:  http://itchmoforums.com/

Press Release
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/attachments/1/PetFoodRecallFirstAlertRelease.pdf

For immediate release.

Tampa, Florida October 27, 2009. In 2007 the killer of pets across the U.S. and
Canada was melamine. In 2009 the killer of pets is silence.

“The latest news from the FDA regarding pet food is no news” states Susan Thixton
of TruthaboutPetFood.com. Thixton continues “Dog foods and Cat Foods are being
recalled left and right, it’s just that few pet owners are hearing about it. The FDA
appears to be encouraging silent recalls of pet foods.”
Thixton and her website have been educating pet owners around the world for
several years. When she was contacted by a concerned pet owner whose 2 dogs
managed to survive a silent recall, the duo worked out a plan. Their plan became
the Pet Food Recall First Alert program; a grass roots campaign that can swiftly and
easily stop silent recalls of dog foods and cat foods.
“It’s really very simple” Thixton explains. “Pet owners will
be asking their Pet Food Company to initiate an email
notification system. Should a pet food be discovered to
be tainted or should human error occur, customers of
that Pet Food can be promptly notified by email to stop
feeding the suspect food.” Thixton states a simple
email auto-responder program can be added to a Pet
Food Company website within a few hours. Pet Food
Customers could begin registering to be notified almost
immediately. A voice mail system can be easily initiated
for customers that are infrequent Internet users. “With just a
tiny bit of effort, this plan will save the lives of countless pets.”
TruthaboutPetFood.com will devote an entire webpage to participating and nonparticipating
Pet Food Companies. “Those companies that choose integrity will be
significantly noted on the website, pet parents around the globe will easily see if
their pet food is choosing to be candid about problems or if their pet food company
is choosing to hide a problem.”
To read more about the Pet Food Recall First Alert program visit
www.TruthaboutPetFood.com and click on the First Alert Banner, or go to
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/pages/Pet-Food-Recall-First-Alert.html
TruthaboutPetFood.com is a pet food educational website providing the latest news
to a world of pet lovers. The website publishes numerous educational articles each
week informing petsumers how to choose healthier options for their dog or cat.
Susan Thixton, pet food journalist and editor of TruthaboutPetFood.com also
publishes Petsumer Report; the only online pet food review publication. Petsumer
Report provides subscribers with vital information not provided on pet food labels
on over 1500 dog foods, cat foods, and pet treats.
Media Contact: Susan Thixton

www.TruthaboutPetFood.com
Email: Susan@TruthaboutPetFood.com
Phone: 727-726-5895

Link to letter:  http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/pages/Pet-Food-Recall-First-Alert.html

Link to Pet Food Company contact addresses compiled by pet owner “Runwiththewind”:   http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/pages/Pet-Food-Company-List.html

Thank you Susan Thixton and “Runwiththewind”!

Pet Food Recall First Alert

A concerned pet owner and Susan Thixton have collaborated on a project asking all pet owners to contact their pet food companies and ask them to develop an email and voice mail notification system for pet owners/purchasers of their products (Pet Food Recall First Alert Program). 

From Susan’s site:

“A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a very concerned pet owner.  Her own dogs had suffered from a silent recall in the past; the recent increase in silent recalls was becoming alarming.  Her idea was to develop a method for pet food companies to alert customers if they experienced a product recall.  Her hope was that every pet food company would choose integrity over secrecy.  Her hope, as well, was for us – pet parents – to push the changes through. ”

Read all about it here at Susan’s site and see how you can get involved in this letter writing campaign.  It is for the safety of our pets!

http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/pages/Pet-Food-Recall-First-Alert.html

Also join discussion at Itchmo Forums:  http://itchmoforums.com/

Press Release
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/attachments/1/PetFoodRecallFirstAlertRelease.pdf

For immediate release.

Tampa, Florida October 27, 2009. In 2007 the killer of pets across the U.S. and
Canada was melamine. In 2009 the killer of pets is silence.

“The latest news from the FDA regarding pet food is no news” states Susan Thixton
of TruthaboutPetFood.com. Thixton continues “Dog foods and Cat Foods are being
recalled left and right, it’s just that few pet owners are hearing about it. The FDA
appears to be encouraging silent recalls of pet foods.”
Thixton and her website have been educating pet owners around the world for
several years. When she was contacted by a concerned pet owner whose 2 dogs
managed to survive a silent recall, the duo worked out a plan. Their plan became
the Pet Food Recall First Alert program; a grass roots campaign that can swiftly and
easily stop silent recalls of dog foods and cat foods.
“It’s really very simple” Thixton explains. “Pet owners will
be asking their Pet Food Company to initiate an email
notification system. Should a pet food be discovered to
be tainted or should human error occur, customers of
that Pet Food can be promptly notified by email to stop
feeding the suspect food.” Thixton states a simple
email auto-responder program can be added to a Pet
Food Company website within a few hours. Pet Food
Customers could begin registering to be notified almost
immediately. A voice mail system can be easily initiated
for customers that are infrequent Internet users. “With just a
tiny bit of effort, this plan will save the lives of countless pets.”
TruthaboutPetFood.com will devote an entire webpage to participating and nonparticipating
Pet Food Companies. “Those companies that choose integrity will be
significantly noted on the website, pet parents around the globe will easily see if
their pet food is choosing to be candid about problems or if their pet food company
is choosing to hide a problem.”
To read more about the Pet Food Recall First Alert program visit
www.TruthaboutPetFood.com and click on the First Alert Banner, or go to
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/pages/Pet-Food-Recall-First-Alert.html
TruthaboutPetFood.com is a pet food educational website providing the latest news
to a world of pet lovers. The website publishes numerous educational articles each
week informing petsumers how to choose healthier options for their dog or cat.
Susan Thixton, pet food journalist and editor of TruthaboutPetFood.com also
publishes Petsumer Report; the only online pet food review publication. Petsumer
Report provides subscribers with vital information not provided on pet food labels
on over 1500 dog foods, cat foods, and pet treats.
Media Contact: Susan Thixton

www.TruthaboutPetFood.com
Email: Susan@TruthaboutPetFood.com
Phone: 727-726-5895

Link to letter:  http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/pages/Pet-Food-Recall-First-Alert.html

Link to Pet Food Company contact addresses compiled by pet owner “Runwiththewind”:   http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/pages/Pet-Food-Company-List.html

Thank you Susan Thixton and “Runwiththewind”!

No – these are not the names of my sisters.  As I have said before, one’s home should be an interesting and personal place.  Anyone can furnish their house with homogenous items from Great Big Shops, but truly interesting houses that contain interesting people have things that are out of the ordinary, that they have made themselves or collected or created from something else.  Let your possessions have a story.

As you know, I am a tremendous scavenger and there are few things I like better than a village fete, a charity shop, a bric-a-brac stall or a jumble sale.  They bring three-fold benefits in that one can find wonderful, cheap treasures, you can use things in unusual and decorative ways and they usually benefit a charity at the same time. 

I wish immediately to give credit for this string dispenser to Diplo, who I know reads this blog. (Have a look at his own eclectically interesting ‘Sweat, Steam & Gasoline’ in my Interesting Blogs list).

A STRING DISPENSER OF DISTINCTION

Thoroughly wash an empty golden syrup tin left over from your storecupboard.   Using a bradawl, make a hole in the centre of the lid, then use a slightly larger Phillips screwdriver to widen the hole.  Turn the lid over and place the hole on something hard and just flatten any sharp bits with a hammer.  Thread your string through the hole – it keeps string neat and tidy and looks great.

A BOX FOR PRACTICAL CATS

I found this bread bin for 50p at a jumble sale.  At some point I may go mad and stencil it, but at the moment it is simply an excellent container for dried cat or dog food.  I keep a measuring cup (an old plastic baby cup) inside and the food is kept dry and fresh.

BATHROOM BOUNTY 

I love to wallow in the bath and I like my bathroom to be a calming place with nice things to look at.

These three decanters cost me £1 each from charity shops.  They are a common design and turn up all the time so you can collect a set over time.  I fill them with brightly coloured bubble bath – shop’s own brand aromatherapy type at 97p each – and bingo! they look great and smell lovely.

Incidentally, the mirror just visible behind the decanters was found at the local tip with a chunk missing from the frame.  It measures about 48″x36″ and I paid £4 for it.  I built up the frame with plastic wood (available from DIY shops) then sanded it down and bevelled the edge with a chisel.  A couple of coats of white paint and the job was done.  I bet you can’t see where I repaired it.

I live in a rented house, so I don’t want to attach too many things to the walls.  This little wooden corner unit cost me 10p from a village fete and is so light I just nailed it up.  The plants are artificial and were bought in a sale for £3 each from a company on e-bay and the corals have been in my drawer for about 15 years, but you could use shells or glass things to catch the light.

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/NewsEvents/CVMUpdates/ucm187218.htm
October 20, 2009

FDA is providing the following information from Premium Edge Pet Foods to alert pet owners of a voluntary recall of certain cat foods manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods for Premium Edge. The affected brands were found to contain an inadequate level of thiamine, which may cause clinical signs of thiamine deficiency in cats eating this food. FDA is working on this situation and will provide additional information as it becomes available. If your veterinarian diagnoses that your cat has become ill from consuming the affected pet food, please ask your veterinarian to file a report with FDA.

Diamond Pet Foods has issued a voluntary recall on the following date codes of Premium Edge Finicky Adult cat food and Premium Edge Hairball cat food: RAF0501A22X 18lb., RAF0501A2X 6 lb., RAH0501A22X 18 lb., RAH0501A2X 6lb. The date of manufacture is May 28, 2009. All retail outlets shipped the above lots were contacted, asking them to pull the product from the store shelves. The retailers were also asked to contact their customers via email or telephone requesting them to check the date code of the food. However, if you or anyone you know has these date codes of Premium Edge cat food, please return them to your retailer.

Symptoms displayed by an affected cat will be neurological in nature. Symptoms may include wobbly walking or muscle weakness, paralysis of the hindlimbs, seizures, ventroflexion (bending towards the floor) of the neck, and abnormal eye movement called nystagmus. Any cats fed these date codes that display these symptoms should be immediately taken to a veterinarian.

The company tested the product and found no contaminants in the cat food; however the cat foods were deficient in thiamine. Diamond tracked the vitamin premix lot number that was utilized in these particular cat foods and have performed testing on another lot of Premium Edge cat food that used the same vitamin premix, and it was not deficient in thiamine. No other neurological signs have been reported on any other product manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods.

To contact Premium Edge Pet Foods, please call 800-977-8797 between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm central time, Monday through Friday.

How to Report a Pet Food Complaint

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ReportaProblem/ucm182403.htm
Contact Us
240-276-9300
240-276-9115 FAX
Issued by: FDA, Center for Veterinary Medicine

Communications Staff, HFV-12
7519 Standish Place
Rockville, MD 20855

What our mom fed us: Rodents

If she could catch them.

Don't let your fat face get you killed. Chipmunk.

Tootsie: Mom’s gone, but I got all the chipmunks around here.

squirrels

We are not big enough to catch them yet.

What the humans feed us

toosie eating

We like canned food more than dry food. If they give us the same food a couple of days in a row, we are not happy.

Finicky feral cats. Who knew? They’re probably too well-fed. Their sister Snickers who comes once a day inhales everything.

Snickers devouring her food

dryfood: Evanger's and Wellness core
canned food: Evo 95% Chicken & Turkey and Venison, Wysong Rabbit, Evanger's Cooked Chicken	Evanger’s Cooked Chicken :| Evo 95% Chicken & Turkey and Venison, Wysong Rabbit Mixed together
Nature's Variety Raw Frozen Diet Chicken Formula	Twinkie :| Tootsie
Steve's Real Food Frozen Chicken & Salmon	Twinkie :| Tootsie
Twinkie: I recently developed a taste for pistachios. Shelled pistachios in bird food. She spits out the skin. Our veterinarian’s office told me pistachio is not on the list of food poisonous to cats.

Do you feed your cat Premium Edge Finicky Adult food or Premium Edge Hairball food from Diamond Pet Foods? If so, return the package to the place of purchase—according to the ASPCA, these foods are being recalled because they lack thiamine, a vitamin that cats can’t make on their own and must get from food.

So far, there have been 14 confirmed cases of thiamine deficiency. If your pet has eaten this food, schedule an appointment with your vet—thiamine deficiency can cause neurological problems such as loss of balance and even deadly seizures, says the ASPCA. (Other signs of the deficiency include lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, mental dullness, dilated pupils, increased respiratory rate and low body temperature.) If given anti-seizure medication and thiamine supplementation promptly, your cat should recover.

Posted by Emily Hendricks Turnier, Associate Editor

See also:

Meet 10 adorable dogs

Make your own pet toys

10 little known pet health hazards

So… Man BFF and I are kind of addicted to TV. Unlike most TV addicts though, we are not ashamed to tell people we like TV. You know in job interviews when they ask you what you like to do in your spare time? I have no qualms with divulging my main hobby… watching TV… and I like to think people appreciate my honesty.

We have passed our obsession on to Tobias.

As much as we love the tele, we don’t have cable. People give us confused looks when we tell them that, but seriously, if we had cable we would never shower. Man BFF’s parents have cable and the last time we visited them we watched 11 straight hours of Million Dollar Listing in one day.

A. I’m not joking.

B. We live for Bravo marathons.

C. See why we can’t have cable?

We make up for our non-cableness by watching the free channels (yay DTV), DVDs (obsessed with RedBox), and the best invention eva: the ability to watch shows online. We are especially diggin Shark Tank right now. The show is basically about inventors/entrepreneurs who pitch their inventions/ideas to 5 richies who decide whether or not to invest in the product. Seriously genius.

The Sharks. Or as Man BFF and I like to call them... The Barracudas.

People pitch all sorts of whack-a-doodle products to the sharks, but this week a vet came on with pet food he claimed could prolong the life of a pet by 50%. Dr. Geoffrey Broderick of Cornucopia invented this pet food with the usual all natural blah blah blah that he says prevents all sorts of pet diseases and cancers. The sharks didn’t trust his claims because he didn’t have any scientific evidence to prove anything… what do you think?

Stolen from Dr. Broderick's blog (he's the old one). Where the 30-year-old kittehs at?

You know you love me,

Gossip Kitteh