[Akari_32]

Here are a couple pics of my two shubunkins :3

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/11B4623C-28D6-4EF1-826C-B028EF4D1094_zpsozhitpru.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/EDC4A3B6-5A23-4D3E-A5D3-AD409B8764BB_zpsot5udwal.jpg

My other pond goldies are feeders, though. And with the recent upgrade of my pond, I will be buying some wakin’s this spring 😀

Hahaha, Patty, I don’t put fish worth more than $5 in my pond. So far nothing has eaten them in several years I’ve had my pond up, but better than safe than sorry lol

[Bobby dog]

Akari: You need to get an under water camera to take pics. I am sure they are beautiful when they are swimming in the pond! They are a good size too.

C4C: I call my pet store loops “The Bermuda Triangles” because I might say it’s going to be a quick run, but sometimes I disappear for hours without a trace.

[Bobby dog]

Okay, stopped by the pet store and bought some Weruva Cats in the Kitchen. I tried the Fowl Bowl and Chicken Frick ‘A Zee. Those were the only recipes they stocked that didn’t have salmon or tuna.

AGT remembered correctly, it’s not a pate’. It is similar to Petco’s Soulistic that Weruva makes for them. The difference is that it is more shredded chicken and less gelee. The gelee doesn’t seem as thick either. All of my cats loved it this morning, even the two finickiest males gobbled it up. I am going to buy some more so I can throw it into their rotation here and there.

[theBCnut]

“Hahaha, Patty, I don’t put fish worth more than $5 in my pond. So far nothing has eaten them in several years I’ve had my pond up, but better than safe than sorry lol”

I don’t either…anymore. I used to have some real beauties though.

[crazy4cats]

I have seen beautiful fish ponds in Hawaii. I’m guessing that you have some great ones in Florida as well!

Of course, I just got an email for 30% off of Royal Canin from PetFlow. A day after I ordered a case of canned prescription cat food from Chewy. Darn it! I haven’t tried the Adult RC that has the s/o index yet. Hopefully I don’t end up with a case of uneaten food! Casper is getting sick of the other Rx foods. I do not know why this one needs a prescription!

Looks like I have found a good affordable litter finally. Thanks BDog for the tip on the Paws and Claws brand. It’s not very dusty or smelly and so far it seems to clump pretty well. I’ve transitioned with about half of the new litter so far.

[crazy4cats]

Hi guys-
This is mostly for you, BDog, as it relates to your comment on the review site. But I thought I’d address it here since it is regarding cat food.

All of my cats actually really like the Spots’s Stew Pate Turkey and Duck formula (today anyway). It was one of the 30% off deals on Pet Flow that enticed me to try it. It is very unusual for all of my cats to like a food. Especially a higher end food. They usually only all love the cheap Friskies stuff. LOL!

It is normally too expensive, but I plan on buying it again if they put it on sale again.

From my experience while working at a store, I really think that sometimes manufacturers do not want to be known for certain products for some reason. I’ll try to remember or find out more about that subject.

But, anyway, thumbs up for Halo canned pate cat food, everyone!

[Bobby dog]

Hey C4C:
I do know that sometimes manufacturers don’t want a company to disclose that info for various reasons one being they don’t want to be considered a spokesperson for a particular brand.

I have fed Halo before and both cats and dog liked it. The cats, of course, did not eat any pieces of vegetables in the food, but they liked it. I did reach out to them to find out who cans their food and received the “it’s proprietary.” That response doesn’t bother me too much because there are so many that will disclose the info so I just feed the brands that will answer my questions. However, I thought GSD’s response was interesting because I never thought to use that approach, ask who they don’t use for manufacturing!

[crazy4cats]

That is definitely an interesting angle. Maybe they would be more apt to answer those questions! The pate that I was feeding them did not have any chunks of vegetables in it. It was pretty smooth. Just like they like it. Weird cats!

[Akari_32]

Theres something about the Spots Stew that is apparently really delicious, even with those huge chunks of veggies lol My cat really like the okra, surprisingly!

[Sandra R]

My finicky cat’s favorite brands are Applaws and Weruva. My guy gets wet twice a day with dry food for an occasional snack. He is not speaking to me at the moment as I just did his monthly Advantage treatment.

[Akari_32]

Applaws was a big hit with my cat. Too bad its so expensive and not balanced. It’s a great product, but its more meant to be a treat.

[Bobby dog]

I tried the 4Health GF canned cat food and none of them liked the GF turkey & giblet and only my female liked the GF chicken & whitefish. At least I found another food for my Sr. female even if it has fish; it can be part of her twice/week fish meals. Don’t be discouraged by my kitties and give the new flavors a try if you have a TSC store nearby. I wish my cats liked all of the 4H canned foods, but what can you do! 😉
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/4health-grain-free-turkey–giblet-dinner-cat-food-55-oz
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/4health-grain-free-chicken–whitefish-dinner-cat-food-55-oz

My cats, especially the finicky ones, are still groovin’ on Weruva’s Cats in the Kitchen Fowl Bowl and Chicken Frick ‘A Zee. I bought a couple of cases and I am thrilled they still are eating it after a few weeks!

My finicky female still loves the Pure Balance GF Chicken & Turkey in sauce.

[crazy4cats]

I was just at Del’s on Monday. No grain free here yet. Congrats on the Weruva success. Woop! Woop! They like something healthier than Friskies and Fancy Feast!

[Akari_32]

Guys. I was looking back through the thread, and it’s been a year since I brought Kitty home!! :O this calls for celebration! I think I’ll get him lamb for his next raw meal :3

Speaking of raw, I’ve got an order of 8oz Reditainers on the way from Amazon! Right now, he’s getting 6oz of canned and 6oz of raw, rotating days. He’ll get either Fancy Feast, Wellness Duos or Wellness Sliced/Minced/Cubed (2x 3oz cans) one day, a 5.5oz can of Friskies Special Diet (randomly replaced with Newmans Own, and a couple other brands) another day, 6oz of balanced raw the next, and then another 5.5oz can the next day, and then it starts all over again. I opted to pull the better brands (Halo Vigor, Halo Impulse, and Natures Variety) out and save them for if I ever go away and whoever watches him cannot do raw. There’s probably 8 cans, none of them expiring until sometime in 2016 (I wrote all the expiration dates down on the tops of the cans). Once the rest of the canned is gone, he will be on 100% raw! I’ve got something like 50 days of canned left, so it’ll be a while, but I’m very happy with his coat and teeth improvements with raw only being a few times a week 🙂 Can’t wait till I’ve used all the canned up 😀

[Akari_32]

Ugh, I’m gunna start smacking people. My grandparents came over today, the same ones that have no self control over how many treats they give the dogs, and they left the front door open when they came in! I was out back, in the garage, so I didn’t even know, and I come back in through the back door to mom yelling, and the front wide open. Mom comes around the corner with the cat (who had a terrible, angry, defeated look on his face) draped over her arm. I took him from mom, tossed him in my room, and shut the door.

We leave to go fishing, come home a few hours later, they come back in, guess who leaves the door open AGAIN? Luckily the cat was still locked up. I made some very nasty comments, disguised as “jokes”, both times. What the crap is so freaking hard about CLOSING THE FRONT DOOR WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH IT????? *bashes face on wall* And why does MY cat have to suffer being locked away in the bed room because some idiot can’t close the door? Why do I have to suffer the stress of my cat getting out because someone else can’t function? What happens when my cat get hits by a car because some retard can open a door but NOT CLOSE IT? Do you think they leave the front door open at their house? I can guarantee you they don’t.

[crazy4cats]

Ooh, I’m so glad your mom grabbed him! I have the same issue at my house when my parents come over. I try not to get mad at them, but it’s frustrating. The coyotes have been out in the back field. They sound so awful. It’s horrifying to think of what could happen. Btw, happy one year anniversary of being a crazy cat lady!

[Akari_32]

The worst part is, there was absolutely NO EFFORT to even close the door, either time! There is a bell hanging from the handle for the dogs to ring when they need to go out, so I can understand the bell getting caught up and the door bouncing back open. It happens– whatever. But to just flat out not close the door? Are you kidding me???? Drives me insane!

Haha, thanks! I can’t even believe its been that long already! :O

[BlackandBlue]

I’d like to post a few ideas about feeding cats. About a year ago, I noticed my cat obsessively licking the fur off his belly. Eventually figured out he’s got chicken intolerance. And, although I put a liquid dental additive in water that I add to his canned food everyday, his teeth were looking yellow. Here’s how I solved both problems: I feed my cat canned large breed chunky lamb dog food (Nutro Natural Choice large breed lamb and rice formula works great but there’s others such as Hills Ideal Balance lamb cans) a few times a week.
1. It’s really hard to find a resonably priced canned cat food that doesn’t contain either chicken or fish, the dog food works great for these reasons. The Nutro is often $1.78 on sale for a large 12.5 oz can.
2. Kitty has to really chew up the large chunks so it’s really helping his teeth. (It also slows down his eating which I think is good.)
I do feed daily his dry cat food and canned cat food but it is tuna fish based.
As a side note, I think the dental dry cat foods (the large nuggets by Royal Canin or Science Diet), given as treats everyday, do help with cat’s teeth, but I can’t use them anymore as they are always chicken based.

[Akari_32]

The problem with feeding a cat dog food is that dog food typically lacks taurine, which is essential for cats. And the problem with feeding chunked canned foods is that they are very (*very*) high in carbs. Carbs are hard on a cats system, because they aren’t meant to digest them, and they take a lot of water for their bodies to break down. Not to mention, they are the cause of tartar build up on the teeth, with out regular brushing. I do include some chunky style canned foods in my cats rotation, yes, but they do not make any significant portion of his diet.

I’m actually finding a raw diet is cheaper than even using coupons to get super good deals on premium brands. With raw, you want to use lots of dark and red meats and hearts because they are high in fat and taurine. Dark meat chicken is cheap, usually about $1 a pound, pork is around $2.50 a pound, and many cuts go on fantastic sales for $1 a pound. Large pieces of meat and chicken bone are great for dental health. He also eats much less on raw than canned. On canned he normally gets about 9 oz. On raw, he eats 6 oz.

[aquariangt]

Akari-are you using a premix of any sort? Are there those for cats? Or are you just doing a full on homeade raw?

[Akari_32]

Nope. I do 85% meat, 5% liver, 5% etc organ, and 5% bone. More or less, anyways. general recommendation for cats is still 10% organ like with dogs, but 5-7% bone, so I just kind of go with it based on what bones I have available at the time. He loves bones, so I typically give him closer to the 7% mark.

There are pre-mixes for cats, you just have to dig for them, and they cost a lot. The cheapest one, Wild Kitty, I didn’t like the looks of, but I’ve used a sample pack of it before, and he likes it. Pre-mixes require the meat be ground, which doesn’t do anything for dental health. It’s cheaper to just figure it out yourself, but it does take all that planning and prepping…. lol

[theBCnut]

I got a great premix at Hare Today for cats, called Alnutrin, but if the cat won’t eat it, it does no good. Fortunately, as long as you don’t throw out the liquid that seperates from defrosting meats, you really don’t have to worry too much about using premixes for cats. I get whole prey grinds, fur, feathers and all from Hare and mix back in any liquids that settle out as it defrosts and feed, that simple.

Oh, and about the door, what?!? are they nuts? You can’t leave a door open in Florida!! You’ll never get rid of the mosquitoes and gnats! Are they crazy or foreign to the concept?

[Akari_32]

Huh, never heard of that. Is it a grind, or it is an actual pre-mix to add to your own grind?

Dude, I don’t even know! They moved here from Michigan last year, but have been coming down here for the winter for the last 7 or so years (damn snow birds…. lol), so they know perfectly well about the bug problem here…. Better yet, the cat has this crazy idea in his head that he is now allowed outside, and has been trying very hard to open the front door. It’s kind of funny, actually, because his is large enough to wrap both paws around the door knob. Good thing its round, and we keep it locked anyways, or he’d have it open in a heart beat! He’s also taken to trying to casually walk out as we are going in and out of the door, rather than sitting up on the back of the love seat just happy to even look outside as it opens. Turd….

[theBCnut]

If they live down here permanently then you need to go to their house at the height of bug season and leave their door open several times, maybe they will get the hint.

Do you mean the Alnutrin or the whole carcass grinds? Alnutrin is a supplement, but it is all that needs to be added to cat food grinds, so in that way, it’s a premix. If you are feeding whole carcass, you don’t need anything added at all, and like I said, mine wouldn’t eat the Alnutrin.

[crazy4cats]

Hi All-

Just received an email informing me that Primal Pet Foods is voluntarily recalling a single lot of Raw Frozen Feline Turkey Formula 3 lb. size.

Akari-
Something that helped us with the open door issue is to add a screen door that automatically shuts when you let go of it. That way when you are bringing in groceries and such, it closes behind us. But, it doesn’t help when someone stands there holding it open. (my mother!) LOL!

[Akari_32]

Speaking of Primal, I have free samples and coupons coming in the mail from them! I’m excited lol

The way our door is, a screen door would’t work. Good idea, though!

[crazy4cats]

Shoot, that’s too bad, it has been helpful for us. Except when my mom is attempting to leave and can’t quit talking and stands with it open while I cringe and try not to be rude! My mother is probably about the same age as your grandma. I believe you are about the same age as my two (human) boys. They are 24 and 20. If the cats do get out, they get scared and dart under a vehicle and we have to get out the laser light for them to chase back into the house! It doesn’t happen very often. But, it makes me crazy when it does! They are not outdoor savvy at all.

[puppypiles]

I second the Alnutrin. I used the one with eggshell calcium added and made my own homemade mix with chicken, rabbit, and chicken livers. My cat, the fussiest, prissiest little turd on the planet, ate every last bit.

[crazy4cats]

Hi puppypiles-
Welcome to our kitty thread! We need some new blood!

[Bobby dog]

testing my e-mail subscription

[Akari_32]

Does it work? 😉

[Bobby dog]

I had to stop playing on line yesterday. Lol I can’t find my test e-mail, but I deleted my spam folder without reviewing it yesterday. Your last reply to me was in my inbox this morning, but I found the reply from DO on the coupon thread in my spam folder. I fixed that and I will see with this post if my cat rec e-mails are o.k.

[Akari_32]

(Wow, totally did not see this in my email LOL)

If you have Yahoo, it likes to file everything in to the spam folder. It’s irritating :p

So guys. I need some opinions. So I need a smaller cat, or a larger perch??

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/C752EB2C-538F-4F4B-99F1-BCD7462EDD0E_zpsibh0iosa.jpg

LOL

[crazy4cats]

I’ll take him!!!! So cute!

[Bobby dog]

I love that pic! 😉

My e-mail notifications from DFA are all messed up. I think it has to do with when I use my tablet. The screen is sensitive and if I am not careful I can hit the unsubscribe button on threads. The screen on my tablet is small so I changed the view on my e-mail so it fit better on the screen. The buttons changed position and when I changed some settings the other week I hit the wrong buttons and everything went to the spam folder; I have that set to delete frequently. I don’t use the e-mail much that I have notifications sent to so I didn’t notice I messed the settings up. lol I might have fixed it, IDK, I’ll check in a few days.

[Akari_32]

You should have seen him just before I took the picture. He was laying with his head hanging down so that you couldnt see it AT ALL. It was so hilarious XD I tried to get it, but he saw me taking a picture and looked up at me with that “What?” face :p

[Bobby dog]

FYI, for anyone who feeds Pure Balance and 4Health cat kibble. I contacted Ainsworth and Diamond a few days ago to ask which recipe(s) each manufacture. It’s been a while since I last checked and since Pure Balance added cat kibble to its line I thought I would check it out. Both responded within a days time with the requested info.

Diamond manufactures 4Health All Life Stages, 4Health Indoor, and 4Health Grain Free Indoor Cat recipes for TSC. Ainsworth still manufactures the Grain Free Whitefish & Potato cat recipe for TSC.

Ainsworth only manufactures the Pure Balance Limited Ingredient Turkey and Sweet Potato cat recipe. I asked for confirmation, they confirmed, they only produce the one cat recipe. I found that interesting.

I am contacting Wal-Mart’s customer service to see who manufactures the Chic & Brown Rice, Hi Pro Salmon, and Hi Pro Turkey cat recipes, but sometimes they take a long time to respond. My cats will not be enjoying the Chic & BR until I know who the manufacturer is. I wonder who it could be?

[Akari_32]

Does Ainsworth still manufacture all the dog Pure Balance kibbles?

[Bobby dog]

Yes, I confirmed Ainsworth still manufactures all Pure Balance dog kibbles. When I contact Wal-Mart about the other three PB cat kibbles I am also going to see if Simmons still co-packs their wet foods too.

[Akari_32]

If it helps any, I’ve emailed Simmons before, and never got an response back from them.

[Bobby dog]

I’ll try Wal-Mart CS first. I am not sure I ever contacted Simmons before.

Just in case inquiring minds want to know Ainsworth still only manufactures 4Health Grain Free Beef & Potato and 4Health Grain Free Turkey & Potato dog recipes. Diamond manufactures the rest of the dog food recipes for Tractor Supply.

[shawn a]

what are some other good grain free kibble beside taste of wild,4health,earthborn that is budget friendly for my senior cat

[Akari_32]

While I do not recommend kibble for a cat, I can at least point you in a decent direction. Wellness CORE is sold in 2lb bags, and they always have $3-5 off any size bag coupons either on their website, or in monthly emailed news letters, that you sign up for on their website. I find that using high value coupons on the smallest product possible will give you the best bang for your buck. Plus, many smaller stores offer a rewards program, such as buy 10 get 1 free, on pet food, which you can combine with coupons.

[Bobby dog]

shawn a:
What is your budget, is it the price for the kibble you listed in your post?

[shawn a]

like to stay around earthborn price which is around 15 to 17 dollars for the 5 pound bag

[Bobby dog]

Hi shawn:
That’s a nice budget and you have many choices in that range. I don’t like to feed my cats kibble either and mostly feed canned food to help maintain their UT health. Here’s some brands & recipes that I feed:
EVO GF Turkey & Chic
Grandma Mae’s GF Cat & Kitten
Innova Nature’s Table GF Chic & Turkey
Precise Naturals GF Chicken
Simply Nourish Source (Petsmart) GF Chic & Turkey
Wellness Core GF Turkey & Duck

Here are brands & recipes I want to try:
Annamaet GF Chicken & Fish
Fromm GF Game Bird
Nutrisource GF Country Select
Precise Holistic Complete GF Pork Meal
Precise Holistic Complete GF Turkey & Chicken
Pure Vita GF Chicken
Simply Nourish (Petsmart) GF Chicken

[Akari_32]

Hey cat people! Just scored this awesome cat tree on Etsy for $140 after shipping! I love it, and it’s perfect for my little brat 🙂

https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1019228364

Now to figure out where it’s going to actually go….. lol

[crazy4cats]

Hey Akari-
How is the cat tree working out? Looks like fun! I looked at something like that at Christmas time for my herd, but didn’t know how it would hold up. Or if even my big chubby kitty would fit in any of the little houses or on the platforms. I ended up getting something a little more simple without any enclosures. They use it a lot!

Did you guys get the Pet Flow specials email? I think some of you use Evo and Innova for your cats. It’s either 20% or 30% depending on if it is a one-time or recurring order off through tomorrow. CA Natural is also on sale. My cats are getting finicky again. So frustrating!!!

It has almost been 6 months since my Casper’s blockage. I still feed a little Rx canned food, but mostly OTC canned. I’m still feeding him a small amount of the Rx kibble however. He continues to do well. But, man…it’s expensive feeding mostly canned to all four cats.

[Akari_32]

Hey girl! Haven’t gotten it yet. Hasn’t even been shipped out yet! If it’s not shipped out by monday, I’ll email them and check it out. I paid big bucks for that sucker– I want iiiiiiiiit!!!! *dies*

Since I’ve been spending so much on the critters, I’ve not even been opening any emails from Amazon, PetFlow, PetSmart, PetCo…. No more spending money for me! LOL I know Bobby Dog uses Innova Nature’s Table for her cats, and I’ve used the EVO canned for my guy (it’s high in fat, so maybe not a good choice if you’ve got a fatty lol).

Glad he’s doing well! Have you tried Friskies Special Diet to help keep the cost down? The Turkey & Gizzards and Beef & Chicken ones aren’t too bad, and PetSmart has them on sale for 45 cents a can right now 😉 Halo also still has their $2 off any can of Vigor coupon, and they are $1.99 each at PetCo, so all you pay is tax!

[crazy4cats]

Yes, I do feed the Friskes Special Diet to them plus the poultry platter. They do help keep the cost down. Plus they all eat them every time!!!

Fingers crossed that your kitty play yard shows up soon!

[Author]

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