[Akari_32]

Hey guys! A girl at work told me she found a kitten (says he’s maybe a year old or so) living in the woods of her apartment complex. She can’t take him, but she does feed him a few times a week. She said if she could catch him, she’d call me and I could have him. She thinks he used to be someone’s pet, and looks to be neutered.

I need some cat tips (last time I had a cat, I was 5, so I don’t think that really counts… Lol), and some recommendations on food. I do know that too high in carbs and fat isn’t good, and that wet is much preferable over dry. I’d like him to eat both if there is ever some sort of emergency that there would only be one or the other available, but he will eat mainly wet otherwise.

The only brand wet that I’ve found that looks best is the chicken Wellness. Others have high fat, are corn/ rice/soy based, or are overall just terrible. I also don’t want to be spending much more than $0.50-1.00 a day on food. This can obviously be taken rather lightly, but don’t go crazy with $3 single serve cans of food LOL If anyone has a few brands and flavors they use, let me know!

For dry, I’ll be starting with Nutro Max Cat Kitten (hey, it’s $3 with a coupon, and I don’t want to buy an expensive bag of food to start him out on and him not eat it), and then the chicken EVO. Common sense tells me I could just do the same I do with the dogs, and soak the food in some water before offering it. That’d be ok, right?

And what all do you guys use for litter, and what brands should I stay away from. My sister uses tidy cats, and that stuff is so dusty and gross. I wouldn’t mind one of those one-bag-a-month deals. It seems to work out about the same for cost anyways. And if I can pay $8 for a 2 pound, one month supply, rather than pay $6 for a 20 pound, one month supply, I’m all for that!

I also been some tips on keeping the dog out of the cats food, and the other way around :p

[Mom2Cavs]

Okay, here is what I do for my one Tortoise Shell stinker of a cat lol:

Dry: It is left out in a small bowl for her to nibble on periodically, which she likes to do. I dump it every other day, if it’s still there. I put 1/4-1/3 c. in the bowl. The kibbles she likes are Instinct, Fromm (Gamebird only), Orijen/Acana (she will eat it, but not like some others, so I’ve stopped buying it), Annamaet (actually the grain inclusive is her favorite and it has made her fur even softer!). She will be trying some Dr. Tim’s soon.

Wet: She gets a 3 oz. can every day split between am and pm. She loves Wellness cubes and Wellness Chicken grainfree. She also likes Fromm and Mulligan Stew. Very picky with wet food and the only Instinct she’ll eat is Healthy Weight. Btw, sometimes cat and dog canned ingredients are identical, as in M. Stew and Instinct Healthy Weight. So I use those for both the cat and dogs. Fromm is, too, I believe. I’ve used many brands for her in the past and they were fine, but I’ve just narrowed the list down now as to what I’m buying. She’s eaten BB, Weruva, Tiki Cat and Earthborn.

Litter: I’m a diehard World’s Best fan. I did have some great coupons for Blue’s new walnut litter and have integrated that into her litter at times with no problems.

Sometimes she also gets Dinovite for cats or the Well Blend/or Cat version of Missing Link added in. She has some minor health issues, but she is a beauty. Princess Di will be 9 yrs. old this year. A few years ago, we lost our other cat, a runt black cat named Smokey Jo who died at age 21 yrs

[Mom2Cavs]

I wanted to add that my daughter feeds her cats TOTW, dry only, and they’re beauties. The only thing is it’s a Diamond food, but can’t convince my daughter to change lol. As long as she’s vigilant and aware then she could be feeding worse. You don’t have to break the bank to feed your cat. TSC has TOTW and 4Health, wet and dry, that are good foods for the price.

[Akari_32]

Thanks! I’ve been scooting around the websites for all the stores here and picking out some foods to try. Wet and dry together sounds cheaper than just wet, and obviously healthier than just dry.

Wet:

Newmans own
Rachael Ray
Natural Life 95% (the dry is disgusting, but I don’t think the wet looks at all)
EVO
Wellness Core
Natural balance (some of them)
Nutro Natural Choice
Wellness
Blue buffalo

For dry, I’m kind of just leaning toward EVO, for the price. Given the good selection of canned foods I’ve got going, that’d be alright, right? Obviously, if another brand I like the looks of goes on sale I can get a few bags of that, too. It’s hard to find a good, affordable (for me) grain free dry cat food around here! :/ I’ve still got a local shop to check in person, and two more websites to check (PetSmart and PetCo).

What do you guys think so far?

[crazy4cats]

Hi Akari-
Yippee, cats, one of my favorite subjects! I have four right now. 15, 5 and two 3 year olds. I hope the kitten is fairly tame. He might be tough to catch if she isn’t. I am first going to give you my go-to website for cat food nutrition. It is catinfo.org. I have rescued a handful of semi-feral kitties. They sometimes are hard to get to eat wet food at first, but keep trying if that is the case. I also feed both canned and dry. My favorite budget canned food is Authority only found at Pet Smart. I think it is the best for the least. I also have and do feed Chicken Soup, Fancy Feast, Nutro Max and Friskies. In addition, they get Weruva Cats in the Kitchen every now and then as it is more expensive, but very good. I rotate dry between Taste of the Wild, Wellness Core, Earthborn and right now am feeding Premium Edge Healthy Weight because they are getting a little chubby. Yes, the Premium Edge and Taste of the Wild are Diamond products, but I keep an eye on recalls and so far so good. You actually have to be aware of recalls for every brand. Very concerning matter! Check out the site I mentioned above. It is full of all kinds of cat health information and has two different charts with several types of canned food sorted by protein, fat, carbs and phosphorous. Good luck. It can be a very rewarding experience to save a kitty. It certainly will not survive for more than a couple of years if left in the wild. It might take a while for it to warm up to you. My 15 year old kitty was feral and it took three years for her to come to me. Now, she won’t get off my lap! LOL!

[Akari_32]

She says he comes to her when she goes out to feed him. I can only go by what I’m told until I get him and can see for myself, if she manages to catch him. I don’t know if she’s ever tried to pet him or anything, though. She has a dog and she plans to catch it and put it in dogs the cage for me, so I can transport it home. I probably should have told her to flip the cage up so that the door is on top so she can just drop him in and slam it shut, in the event he isn’t as friendly as we think LOL

I’ve been to that site. It’s helpful, to an extent. I’d like to know what people have success with, which is why I posted here. This site makes it seem like feeding a cat is some sort of rocket science, but “I guess it’s ok to feed this grocery store stuff if you have to.” I dunno lol I didn’t actually save one of the charts (didn’t know there were two!) to my phone for future use last night, though. I did see that the Authority looked pretty decent.

Oh and the dry CORE is on my list as well. I always got good coupons for Wellness :p

[crazy4cats]

Just remember, the cat will most likely be very scared. That’s what I told myself when I have gotten bit. It’s not mean, just scared. You’ll have to be patient. But, who knows, maybe it’s very friendly and used to people. Yes, I’d like to feed a little higher end, but can’t afford as I mostly feed the canned food. With 4 cats, 2 big dogs and a kid in college. I do the best I can! I hope it works out. I love kitty rescue stories!

[Akari_32]

I’m right there with you, only I’m the one in college, with reptiles and crap-tons of fish thrown in as well (and less cats) LOL

(Side note, I meant to write THAT site, referring to CatInfo, not *this* site, DFA, above lol)

I hope I do get the little guy. She said he looks almost like a bobcat, but his front and smooth, and back end is fluffy LOL Has me thinking he may be a hybrid, or just got some crazy genes.

The biggest thing is getting my mom on board. We’re both allergic to cats, but if he shows up while she’s out of town, he’s got a much better chance. However, I know plenty of people who will take him in the event I cannot (be it a straight up “no,” or we give it a try and one of our allergies is too bad).

[crazy4cats]

Akari, one more important thing. Make sure to keep your dog out of the litter box. Dogs typically love cat poop. The cat may have worms or parasites and you do not want your dog to get them too.

[Akari_32]

I’ve heard that. Dogs are so weird lol My sister left behind a covered litter box that I’ll snag (she keeps it here for when she comes home from college with her cat), which should help with dogs wanting snacks.

Speaking of worms and parasites, are there good over the counter dewormers, in the event the cat needs it? We’ll obviously be seeing a vet and getting shots and what not, but I’d like to do what I can at home and save myself some money, if possible.

[crazy4cats]

I’m sorry, I’ve never wormed mine at home and none go outside any longer so I don’t worry about it. Hopefully someone else will chime in. Good luck.

[pmsuperstar84]

Half my cats are on Rx diets and looking to change to raw once my IBD kitty is weaned off his meds (Can’t everyone eat the same thing? Oh right, no. That would be too easy! 🙂 ). I will also vouch for World’s Best litter. My vet had us changed after clay litter caused urinary tract issues in one of my cats.

[pmsuperstar84]

Akari: This is the kind my vet gave our kitties as a dewormer. But am not sure of the dosage because I don’t remember how old or anything. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=1457

When my IBD boy also had tapeworms she gave Drontal. With that said, I know some things are available at Tractor Supply Co as far as shots and things go but I am leery of doing it myself. I have a very close relationship with my vet and trust her when it comes to that kind of thing.

[Akari_32]

I know I can buy DIY vaccines and such, but I’d like him so see the vet and make sure he’s healthy enough to be around the dogs and reptiles. Just curious, do you guys with indoor cats get them vaccinated every year, or no? My sister never got hers done after their boosters. But she also didn’t have any dogs. The dogs go with us place, and then they’ll have contact with the cat…

I’m off to check PetSmarts website for food! If I don’t come back, it’s the because the freakishly large selection killed me….

[Akari_32]

PetSmart list for wet

Natures recipe
Blue Buffalo
Simply nourish
Organix grain free
Innova

[crazy4cats]

Hi Akari-
Did you get the cat yet. Was your friend able to catch him? Honestly, I’ve never been very diligent about getting my cats vaccinated. After hanging out on this site for a while now, I think I’m glad. Mine are strictly indoor now. But, in the past I had indoor/outdoor cats and didn’t always keep up on shots after their initial ones and never had any problem. But, I certainly don’t want to make any recommendations to you as I don’t know enough about it, other than my experience. Also wanted to remind you to try and stay away from fish based kibble and fish based canned food as much as possible. My senior cat was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and feeding too much iodine from mostly fish seems to be a common cause for it. There was actually some talk about it today on the off-topic thread on the review side of this site. Have fun!

[aquariangt]

I use Simply Nourish canned stuff for my dogs and my cat. I have trouble getting her to eat wet food, even as a topper. They make Stew style ones that I can mix into the dry food that she’ll still eat

[Akari_32]

She hasn’t caught him yet. She told me before she only goes out there a few times a week to feed him, so I’ll give it some time.

I’ve heard about that fish thing. I’ll be using mostly poultry and beef. I figure a can of fish here and there won’t hurt though, if I have to or for a treat or whatever, but I won’t use it on a regular basis.

The Simply Norish (both kinds) is only on my list for when it’s on a good sale. It looks like a good quality, but the protein is a little low from what I can tell. Lots of people have good things to say about it, though, and I like the looks of the Source dry food. I just have to see how much is fed before that goes down on my dry list, since it’s pretty expensive.

[Akari_32]

PetSmart dry list!

Simply nourish source
Organix
Natures recipe grain free
Simply nourish LID
Wellness CORE
Blue buffalo wilderness
Blue buffalo freedom

Blue buffalo’s cat food is pretty cheap, considering! I was surprised. Their dog food is outrageous lol

[jakes mom]

Here’s my 2 cents on the vaccination issue. I’ve had a lot of cats, right now I’m down to just 5. Three 12 year old siblings, a 14 year old and my old guy is 18. When I get a new cat I get to the vet asap and the cat gets an exam and any worming, etc needed. He gets a series of core vaccines, then, since my guys are indoor only, get boosters every 3 years or so. Latest info I’ve read is that the protection seems to be lasting about 3 years. I don’t think it’s necessary to do it every year, plus the more vacc, the more chance of a vacc. related sarcoma.You can also get the cat’s blood tested to check the titer. If it’s still high no need for a booster. Good luck, hope you catch the little guy! He’d be lucky to have you!

[Akari_32]

Guess what guys?? SUE CAUGHT THE KITTY!!!! Going to pick him up now 🙂 Pics to come!

[Akari_32]

HE’S SO FLUFFY! And very sweet. He’s already taken to me. And eating lol I bought him a huge can of Friskies at the dollar store, expecting much if it to go to waste while I figured out what he liked and got him eating. I put down three bowls, water, canned food, and dry food. Made a mess of the water, ignored the dry, and inhaled the Friskies. Good thing also bought a can of Innova and a can of EVO! If he doesn’t eat the dry (which, whatever) I’ll give it to my friend (It’s just the Nutro Max Kitten, nothing special).

[Akari_32]

This has got to be worlds sweetest cat! He just wants to petted and rubbed and loved on. He’s not pushy about it, though. He’s so gentle. I tried to lock him in the back room with a baby gate, but he let himself out while I was preparing his food lol there a step over style baby gate in the opening of the hallway, and I think the only thing keeping him from jumping it is the dogs lol He’s already made himself at home in my sisters empty room (probably because it smells like Chester, her cat), so I just closed the bathroom and let him be. I happened to buy a little bed at goodwill today for Bentley, but this cat is freaking huge, so I’ll give it him LOL He’s now laying the doorway of the bedroom, where he can see me. He goes between napping, and just watching me. It’s pretty cute :3

Here’s some pictures of him! He must be a Maine coon mix. He’s very well built!

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/13BB068A-DA57-4E25-9CC4-EABAF43B9A11_zps0eou7ahm.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/E59D56BA-672F-47CA-A89B-B0E593994C05_zpstu3f5xg0.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/5DFA0F18-A97C-48AA-9DDB-25E9BDA13C83_zps24xuqkfh.jpg

In the last pic, I was texting the girl that gave him to me, instead of petting him, so he plopped down at my feet and stared at me LOL

[crazy4cats]

Yahoo! He’s gorgeous! You already sound like a cat lady. Congrats. Lol! Yes, he’s definitely not very wild. I hope no one’s looking for him. It’s great he ate the canned food. It’s much better for them. Especially males that are more prone to urinary tract problems. Just a warning, if he loves the Friskies, he might not like the expensive stuff. Congrats!

[Akari_32]

He doesn’t seem at all like the type to bolt out an open door. Someone dumped this cat, I’m sure of it. He’s shy and skittish, but boy can be get in to trouble! He escaped from the bathroom, then after a while jumped the step-over gate in the hallway. I figured I’d just let him roam the house. He’s already been climbing all over the kitchen table, tried to jump on both reptile tanks in the living room, found the blinds on the back door… Lol

He seems very healthy. I checked his teeth, and they looks great, his coat is solid, he’s super soft. So I’m really worried about him giving the dogs anything. I’ve got him locked in the bathroom for the night, though, and I’ll lock him in there when I go to work tomorrow. He can’t be trusted alone just yet, it seems LOL

The good news is, he knows what to do in the litter box! Thank god lol that would be terrible if he didn’t.

He’s starving, it seems, so I think at this point he’ll anything. He did end up going back for that dry food. And he got into moms room and under black hole of a bed, so I had to lure him out with even more canned food. He’s eaten two tablespoons of Friskies and about 1/8 cup (less, really) of the Max Cat. And I saw poop and pee in his litter box when I went In the bathroom to get him to stop clawing on the door lol Turns out, the litter I bought is NOT clumping. I flushed the poop down the toilet, but can’t do anything about the pee. That’s ok, I guess. I’ll buy better litter later. I bought everything but the Innova, EVO and Max Cat at the dollar store. Can’t expect much from dollar store cat litter LOL But his bowls are really cute! :p

Another friend of mine and I have decided that if I can’t keep the cat (it’s up to mom, in the end, after all), that she will take him. They’ve got another cat, and they should get along great.

[Akari_32]

So I need some tips. The cat is starving. He ate all his food last night, and this morning input down exactly the same (~1/8 cup of dry food, and a nice big tablespoon of canned food). He’s eaten it all, and is currently chasing around the bowl that had the canned food in it. He’s thin, but he’s in no way dangerously skinny. I can just barely feel his spine and ribs, but his hips are a little obvious when you feel around under all that fur. He’s not that bad, though, and he’s happily eaten a few crickets as well (he knocked a Kritter keeper full of them off the table, and I missed a few in the clean up lol). I don’t want to give him too much food all at once, and make him sick or something, but it’s pretty pathetic that he’s chasing his food dish around! Thoughts?

[Mom2Cavs]

Pretty cat….looks like the first cat I adopted, named Jezebel lol. I’m not sure what to tell you about the food situation. I guess I’m used to my cat eating what she needs and then just going off and sleeping lol. Maybe you could put a little more down and see what happens.

[Akari_32]

How much, do you think? He’s a *big* boy! I hoping for a vets visit tomorrow, so he can be weighed then. But in his defense, Bentley did eat about half of his dry food before I could stop him lol

[Molzy]

He is gorgeous!! Congrats!

Wet food is SO important for male cats! Luckily they are a lot smaller than dogs – I can feed my 10lb cat a commercial raw diet for less than a dollar a day. His coat is gorgeous, and it keeps urinary tract infections at bay! Ralph is on natures variety raw chicken. But even canned food is better than dry (Ralph only gets dry if I leave overnight without a pet sitter).

I could do natures variety even cheaper, but the medallions are SO convenient!

[Mom2Cavs]

Yes, definitely wet food is better than dry. I do feed my cat dry and wet. I believe I’ve posted before that she gets wet (canned food, and sometimes premade raw) in the morning and evening and dry is left out all the time (I replenish it if she doesn’t finish it in a timely manner). She likes to eat this way. She loves nibbling the dry food in between breakfast and dinner. She also drinks plenty of water. So, if you can give wet along with any dry all the better. 🙂

[Akari_32]

He seems to like both (well, I’m not sure if he likes both, or if he just likes to eat. He checks his bowls often, so I’m voting more for he just likes to eat LOL) so we’ll continue on with both for now. I think I’ll go for the Simply Nourish Source for our next bag of dry. Either that or EVO. I’m not sure lol

[Bobby dog]

Hi, congrats and he is gorgeous! As far as how much to feed your kitty, if you are going to feed wet and dry food I would suggest you check out the feeding guide on the dry food you are feeding him. For example, Wellness has a guide on their bag suggesting how much to feed your cats if you are feeding only dry or a combo of wet and dry according to your cat’s weight. When you decide on an amount just observe your cat’s body condition and adjust your food amounts accordingly.
I have had cats ever since I can remember and still have lots to learn. I have two 15 yrs, one 14 yrs, one 11 yrs, and one 6 yrs, all stray cats. I wish I never fed them wheat, corn, soy, fish, or dry food. I lost two that were 15 years old about four years ago to illnesses that bad nutrition surely contributed to; digestion problems, obesity, and the male had urinary tract issues throughout his life. I have one cat that was diagnosed about five years ago with a hyperthyroid; he requires daily meds now. I have slowly changed their diets over the past five months, but at their ages change is difficult so they still need their fish and dry food fixes. Most importantly I have weaned them off of Friskies. I might not ever be able to completely ween them off of fish or dry food. If I paid more attention to their diets I truly believe I would not have had the vet bills I had over the years. About four years ago an emergency room visit in the middle of the night for my male cat’s urinary tract infection cost me about $2,000 to get him well.
My advice is to feed them the best wet diet that fits your budget. Avoid soy, wheat, corn, and fish. Stick to poultry, lamb, rabbit or beef if possible. If you are going to feed dry find a good quality GF dry.
I am with Crazy4cats, my go to website is catinfo.org. My other favorite is the naturalcatcareblog.com. They have a great list of dry and dehydrated foods and the reason they recommend them. I feed wet three times a day (totalling about 3-5 oz./cat) and give them a small scoop of dry once a day. I am on a very tight budget as well so I only buy food that I either have coupons for, on sale, or on the 50% off shelf. I feed Natures Variety raw (when they e-mail coupons), 4Health from Tractor Supply, Merrick, Wellness, Tiki Cat, Weruva, Soulistic (chic only, K3 is in the other varieties), Blue Buffalo, and Evo. I am always trying new canned foods using the information I learned about food from catinfo as a guide. I also feed them boiled chicken two or three days a week as one of their meals to help keep costs down. For dry I have been feeding Wellness GF Turkey & Duck meal (bought with the $5 coupon from their site of course) because there is no fish meal in the recipe. I just bought a bag of Merrick GF chic on sale which they seem to like.
Sorry for the long post, maybe something I have written will be helpful for you. Good luck, he’s one lucky kitty!

[Jackie B]

Cats, especially males, need plenty of wet food. As people have already stated. If I was able to have a cat, I would seek out a brand like WildKitty where you can make your own raw at home. I feel like it is the optimum food for cats. That being said, if you want to do kibble and supplement with canned, any can is better than none. But a canned food without red-flag ingredients (same standard as for dogs) would be my pick.

A friend of mine who fosters many cats and kittens says Authority is her budget-friendly but still quality canned food choice.

Also, you can get a pet watering fountain. Cats love them. I have a CatMate brand one for my dog.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Jackie B:
Have you used Wildkitty? I was just checking out their website. I would love to try something like this for my kitties in the near future and was just wondering if you had any comments, good or bad, about the product. Thanks.

[Akari_32]

Thanks guys! I just weighed him myself, and– even under weight– he weighs 11.2 pounds!!! Omg lol Talk about food bills!

Just curious on the dry subject, can I add water to his dry food? He doesn’t seem to have had much water today, even though he ate all his dry food. He did drink some yesterday, though, and I refilled his bowl once (it’s not a large bowl).

Also, I ditched the Nutro Max. I traded it for EVO. But I just realized that the EVO has herring meal in it! It’s like the 4th ingredient, though. It’s only a small bag, so that’s not much of a problem (2.2 pounds). I think next I will the Simply Nourish from PetSmart. I did see that Innova Natures Table had a cat food. Anyone have thoughts on that?

[Akari_32]

And here we have the amazing jello cat, now seen only in captivity. It is said they have no spines.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/5A4A13A8-DA84-4537-BE86-291588E453C7_zpsim3nj52h.jpg

[Bobby dog]

What a big kitty! I love the tuffs of fur sticking up between his toes. I would think any way you can add moisture to the food he is eating, wet or dry, is a good thing. I add one to two tablespoons of H2O to the canned food I feed my cats at each meal; it makes it like a toothpaste consistency.
Funny you mention Innova Nature’s Table. One of the pet stores I shop at always has a great 50% off section. The food I have bought is never even close to expired. They quickly discount food that doesn’t sell so they can stock more of their popular varieties. They had Innova’s “Prime” GF Chicken for 50% off. Innova renamed their “Prime” line of food “Nature’s Table,” so the store put the old bags on sale. I got a 5 lb bag for $5.00. I was afraid to buy more because I did not know if they would like it. My cats are extremely picky and they do like this food and the ingredients look good. If I make it back to the store I will buy more at 50% off. I will definately add it to the list of dry food they like. I believe Innova might have had a recall recently, but we always have to be on the lookoout for recalls. I also have a small bag of Merrick GF chicken I bought on sale that I will be feeding them after the Innova. By the way, I think you have a great line-up of food to try out on your new friend.

[Akari_32]

All of Natura’s line was effected by last years recall (EVO, Innova, California Naturals). It looks to me that Natures Table is just Prime, but with a fancy new name. The dog food still looks pretty much the same, but I’ve not investigated the cat (didn’t have a need until now LOL). I would imagine it’s a pretty good food, if that’s the case.

PetSmart seems to have some good foods on the clearance rack every now and then. Usually is Science Diet, Royal Canin and Pro Plan, though. But I will keep an eye out! They also put individual bags expiring in 3 months on sale 20% off (I actually just picked up a 15 pound bag of Natures Recipe for the dogs for 17 bucks after the foods sale, the bags discount, a $4 off any bag coupon, and a $4 off $20 order coupon!).

I forgot about merrick! I’ll have to give that a try, too! 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Akari 32, quick question. Where do you find the coupons for PetSmart? I do not shop there but it is fairly close to me and if they had a good sale and I could use coupons I could really stock up and it would be worth the trip. Any info would be great, thanks.

[Akari_32]

They aren’t for PetSmart, they’re for Pet Supermarket. They are emailed though, you have to signed up for their VIP card (or scrounge around for them toward the middle of the month on the internet). If you have a Pet Supermarket near you, you can use them at PetSmart. PetSmart also takes any surrounding competitor coupons. For example, when I lived in Pensacola, PetSmarts there took PetLand coupons, as well as Pet Supermarket and PetCo. The closest PetLand where I live now is about an hour away, so my local PetSmart will not take their coupons. Just go in there and ask who’s coupons they take, and they should tell you. You just gotta match up sales to coupons 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Thanks for the coupon tips. I will ask them which competitor’s coupons they honor.

Just one more thought for you. If you do decide to add H2O to the dry food, I am not sure how quickly it would be absorbed and what kind of consistency your cat may like it to be. Maybe you could add just enough H2O to it the night before to break it down, put it in a container in the fridge to keep it fresh, then add more H2O prior to feeding it to him if necessary. This is how I make my horses’ meals every day. I prep their meals for dinner at breakfast and meals for breakfast at dinner time. I add just enough H2O to break down the hay pellets, then when I feed I add more hot H2O to make a mash.

[Bobby dog]

One more thing, I just re-read your comment on some of the wet foods you want to try. I have actually tried a few you listed that I forgot about and maybe one that you might want to try in the future. Now this is just what I experienced with my cats. I thought the ingredients looked good on each food and I would recommend that anyone give them a try. I have tried Natural Life 95%, Variety, and Rachal Ray (with a coupon I got from her website).

I only tried the 95% beef and 95% turkey of the Nat’l Life because the other recipes included K3. Only one of my cats liked Nat’l Life. I tried Variety’s Salmon, Mom’s Turkey & Giblets, and Savanah Chicken Crockpot; they each smelled like human food. Only one cat liked them, but it gave him soft stools. Rachel Ray also includes K3 in all her wet recipes except for the chicken flavors and again only one cat liked RR. This also smelled good and seemed to be spiced like it would be for humans.

I believe my cats just want meat with no extra flavors in their canned foods. The one cat that liked each of these foods is not finicky. Have fun with your guy and I hope your mom will warm up to the idea of a new friend in the house!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Akari 32:
How’s the little guy doing? I hope well. I am not sure what brand(s) of dry cat food you decided to feed, but I did some quick research for my future dry cat food purchases. I needed to find more GF and fish free options for my kitties for budgeting purposes; you never know when a good sale or coupon will pop up. I thought I would share what brands I found that meet these criteria’s with you.

My cats’ liked all of these flavors:
Innova Nature’s Table GF Chicken & Turkey – same recipe as “Prime”
Wellness Core GF Turkey & Duck Meal
Merrick GF Chicken

I haven’t tried these flavors:
Precise Holistic Complete GF – Pork Meal & Pea or Turkey & Chicken
Simply Nourish (Petsmart) GF Chicken
California Natural GF Chicken Cat & Kitten

[crazy4cats]

Yes, I like the wellness core turkey and duck also. It doesn’t have any chicken or fish in it. I try to use it every other bag. It’s a little pricey though. Luckily we don’t go thru near as much with the cats as dogs.

[Akari_32]

Oh my god kill me.

This cat needs to learn some serious manners and house etiquette. He’s a sweet boy, but he sure is naughty! He tries to get in the blinds (they’re horizontal blinds, rather than vertical ones, so he all but tears them off the wall -_-), gets on the counter in hopes of food, plays with random things all night, tries to get into a closed off room all day, and thinks it’s time to eat EVERY time you go into the kitchen (I’ve tripped over him at least 4 times in the last week…). I’ve started spraying him with a spray bottle when he does bad things, mainly pulling on the blinds. That’s not even the worse part though…

Mom caught him scratching on the furniture the other day, and told me I had till Thursday (tomorrow, at this point) to get rid of him, before she came home from out of town. This is AFTER she told to get rid of him when she first saw him, then said I could keep him, and then went back and forth another few times, all since last Wednesday. I don’t even know what the crap to think any more. It’s ticking me off. Make your freaking mind up and tell me what you want me to do (before I get rid of you!!!)! Now she’s back to me keeping him, but making feel like the biggest dick ever for it, telling me to get him declawed, and that she hates cats, and all this other crap. And then she just texted me saying to buy him a scratching post (I haven’t bought one yet because why the crap am I going to spend the money on a scratching post for a cat I’m not keeping, or apparently now, declawing???). Just, whatever. I’m not over exaggerating at all when I say all this. At least when she first found out about him, she didn’t want him simply because she’s allergic to cats, which I can respect and understand, now she’s saying to get rid of him because she is mad that the cat is being a CAT.

I’m making an appointment for the vet tomorrow to get his shots and health check, and possibly neutered (we really aren’t sure if he is or not, he’s very fluffy and it’s hard to tell). I may actually call the humane society and see what they can do. Pull the “you guys are full of cats and I don’t want to give you another, can you just give me cheap vet care” thing. They do shots and fixing, but I don’t know if they do exams for the public. Won’t know until I ask, I guess.

My sister is giving me an old scratching post, and I may look into nail caps (thoughts on those?). I will not get him declawed. I’d sooner give him to the only people who apparently want this cat other than me, the nasty indoor smoker neighbors. Their house is so gross I want to shower every time I have to go in there. They do have a cat over there, though. They had two, but one ran away. Go figure. And they feed dry only, whatever’s cheap (I’ve seen versions flavors of Friskies and 9Lives over there). But yeah, they’re the only ones to say they want him. I may be able to get them to feed him wet/mostly wet, even if it is something like the huge $1 cans of Friskies from Dollar Tree, if they were to take him.

Anyways, I got a good deal on some lesser wet foods (Purina One, Sheba, and Fancy Feast) so we’ve got about 60 cans of these. It’s better than nothing right now. I’ve got coupons for BOGO Wellness Select-whatever, which I’ll get before they expire. He’s still got some EVO dry left, but I’ll need some more soon. It was just a teeny baby bag (2.2 pounds) and he’s just a big fatty (11.4 pounds). I’ve got his mix pretty well figured out, I think. I’ve been mixing half wet and half dry, according to how much he should be eating according to the can and bag, and feeding him 2-3 times a day, about 2 tablespoons. It seems about every other day he wants an extra snack, which is when he gets fed a third time. Mom said he was so hungry the other day when I was at work that he was just walking around the house meowing and meowing. Granted I had fed him at about 10 and she said she finally broke down around 7 and fed him, so I could understand him being hungry. He also won’t take treats unless he’s starving. Kind of a weird cat lol

So anyways, all this drama is why I haven’t updated you guys. Moms given me one month to try him out, and if she’s still pissy about him, he has to go :/ If that happens, and if I have no other takers, I’d think I’d rather see him go to my neighbors rather than a shelter. What do you guys think about that? I’m honestly not so sure, either way…

[theBCnut]

My cats’ favorite scratching posts are cardboard boxes and a berber carpet sample stapled to a board, in that order. You might want to crate the kitten at night or when all of you have had enough, just like you do with puppies, except kitty gets a litter box in there too.

[Akari_32]

He ticked me off last night to the point where I locked him in the bathroom for the night, and had my sister lock him up today when she left for the day (I left at 6:30 this morning for work, but let him out while I got ready). He’s got so much pent up energy because he’s used to roaming in the woods. He won’t play with his toys (catnip mice, and those stretchy, bouncy figure 8 shaped things that smell like catnip), but he does like Bentleys bell on the front door, and shoe strings. Since we’re now apparently trying the cat out, I’ll (besides name him lol) buy him some stringy toys that I can fling around and play with him with. Hopefully I can tire him out enough to keep him out of trouble.

The biggest thing with him is keeping him out of the blinds. I’m home alone most of the week, and our neighborhood sucks. I won’t open the blinds most of the time, not even when moms home. I don’t want no druggies knowing I’m here by my self all week. But I do understand that windows are like TV for cats, and he loves getting up in there and laying in the sill, even if he’s not looking outside. I may run the idea of keeping the spare bedroom gated off so the dog can’t get in there, in stead of keeping the door completely closed, and keeping his litter box and such in there, and keeping just enough of the blinds open that he can get in and out of them ( the ones in there are vertical hanging blinds, much more suited for naughty little cats trying to be in the windows). My sister is here on spring break and has her cat in there right now, but that’s only until Sunday… Hmmm…

[theBCnut]

Try the little jingle balls, and they make a foam ball that kitties can sink their teeth into. My cats don’t like catnip toys either, but they love the ball with the jingle in it. Also get a laser pointer for kitty to chase. Good luck!!

[Akari_32]

I’ll try those, thanks! I’ve got a laser pointer around here somewhere, I’ll have to find it lol Anyone have success with those “cats meow” toys?

Also, I have a collar on him, but it’s not a break away collar. Or even a cat collar lol It’s a reflective dog collar, but I’ve got it large enough that if he happens to get caught on something (though there is litterally nothing for him to get caught on in this house), he can easily pull out of it. Do you think that’s ok? I’m just worried about if he gets out or something that some one will scoop him up or animal control will get him or something. With a collar on, someone is more likely to find out where he came from. I do want to get him microchippied, though. That’ll be a job for the humane society. It’s super cheap there.

[Akari_32]

Here’s some vet-type questions for you guys. First one, which one of these shot packages should I get? I really don’t want to spend $55 just on his shots if I don’t need to, but I can.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/2203290D-7050-48DD-B332-EDE276825177_zpsiuggeswp.png

And also, what are these CHEM-whatever things?

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/D2922A90-D2D6-4B5F-8391-6D8803716B21_zpsc0llwzfy.png

Do I need them? What do they do?

And lastly, I assume these are all good prices? And how’s $25 for a microchip sound?

[Author]

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