[Bobby dog]

pitlove:
Instead of not knowing what by-products are in the “low end” food you are feeding occasionally why not research it rather than continuing to feed something you assume is questionable? If I questioned the quality of ingredients in any food I would not feed it budget or not, that’s my criteria. I regularly feed Fancy Feast and others to several of my cats. However, as with all foods I did my due diligence researching the company and am satisfied with the quality of the ingredients used in the recipes I feed. And yes j m feeds grocery store foods too. 😉

[jakes mom]

Thanks guys for all your help. No worries, Bobbydog, I knew what Pitlove meant. So here’s my new plan. Darwin’s site says the food can be fed raw or cooked, as some animals just don’t like or can’t tolerate raw. So that’s what I did tonite, lightly cooked a pack of the chicken. Didn’t cook very much, just sautéed a few minutes. Not enough to cook bones, was still partly raw. It went over very well, everybody seemed to eat a bit of it, even the 2 who turned up their noses at the raw. I’ll cook for a few days as well as get some kind of probiotics, and hopefully slowly work back to full raw. I did weigh my old guy, no weight loss so that makes me feel better. I really want this raw thing to work! Besides the better nutrition, one of my girls has a yeasty ear issue which I hope raw feeding will help.

[Bobby dog]

jakes mom:
Good to read, hopefully you’ll get back on track so you won’t have to keep carrying those cans and cleaning a stinky litter box. Poor Jake, he probably thought that the Darwin’s was going to be his to eat!

[jakes mom]

Oh, he does ok, Bobbydog, lol. He had a nice raw chicken drumstick this afternoon.

[Bobby dog]

Bobby loves it when the kitties don’t finish all their raw. Sounds like Jake is doing pretty good on RMB’s.

[jakes mom]

Oh, he loves them, and his teeth look better. He’s had the chicken drums, and backs. Turkey necks, pork neck bones, and some ribs. He was so confused when I gave him the first one, and I was a little nervous, but after the first couple we’re both doing well with them. I still always keep an eye on him, tho, just in case. He was funny, wasn’t sure what to do with it, but was sure he didn’t want me to take it back! 🙂

[Pitlove]

Hey guys, does anyone know if coconut oil is safe for cats? I just got the Carrington Farms one from walmart. Its Extra Virgin organic cold pressed unrefined etc. I gave her a small lick of it and she loves it and I put it in my dogs food today. Hoping the kitty can have it too

[jakes mom]

Pitlove, yes! Coco oil is good for cats. My guys love it, too. Same dose for cats or dogs. Just remember that it’s got a lot of calories so watch that. It’s one of the reasons I give it to my old hyper-t cat, good for his coat and extra calories for him.

[Pitlove]

great ty! i’ve been using one level spoonful atm is that too much? and its not every meal.

[jakes mom]

The “official” dose I’ve read is 1/4 tsp twice a day (or 1/2 once per day, lol) per 10# of animal. Honestly tho, I just smear a blob on a plate and give it to them, they all just lick what they want. When the cats are done, Jake gets to clean the plate. The cats are all older,as you know, and wt gain is not an issue for me as far as they’re concerned.

[Pitlove]

My cat is funny she loves the coco oil by itself but didnt eat half her food last night when i put it in it, however my once picky pit will now eat his food regardless of whats in it lol. I guess ill just be letting her lick a spoonful of it every once in a while.

Im not sure if she needs to gain a little weight. She has no hanging belly and seems very lean but I get worried because I can feel her hip bones easily. I’ve always had overweight cats so Im not really sure what is considered too skinny for a cat. any insight?

[jakes mom]

Yeah, cats are weird sometimes, aren’t they? Mine won’t eat it in food, just like it on a plate to snack on.
I doubt your kitty is underweight, she’s been to the vet recently, hasn’t she? They’d have told you if she needed to gain a bit. My Julie has always been kind of “boney”, too. Only about 7# and I can feel her ribs, hips, etc. but she’s healthy and eats well. She’s in her mid teens and has been this weight pretty much as an adult. Genetics I guess? Some breeds, like Siamese, tend to be pretty slender. She’s a stray, who knows what’s in her lineage. She may gain more as she gets older, she’s still a kitten. As long as she has a clean bill of health from the vet, no worms, etc, I wouldn’t worry. The coco oil has 120 cal in a Tbl so she might gain a bit from that.

[crazy4cats]

Hi guys-
I bought Fancy Feast Elegant Medley Chicken Florentine in a light savory sauce for my kitties the other day. I pondered buying them crowns and tiaras for them to wear as they ate it on my fine china! LOL! I’ve never bought any of the Elegant Medleys before as they are more expensive and thought they had unnecessary ingredients. Which, is probably true, however, I’m happy to report, that all four gobbled it right up! I’ve been really struggling with finding a variety of canned food they will all eat. They seemed to have changed their tastes lately. Of course, it’s still Fancy Feast. But…it’s the Elegant Medley line???? They will at least still eat the Halo Pate’s and stews at and some flavors of Wellness Core. In addition of course to their Friskies, Fancy Feast and Sheba. :/

[Bobby dog]

MMMMMMMMM Chicken Florentine in a light savory sauce, they make it sound so good. I have checked them out before. Sometimes I think they just need a different taste. I am still having luck with giving a few Pro Plan savory bites to my seniors before their meals; it seems to get their appetites going.

[crazy4cats]

Sounds delish, doesn’t it!! :):):)

[jakes mom]

OK guys, time for a raw update. Long story short, I’ve failed. Still only have one cat who will eat it at all. I’ve tried 3 different probiotics. They refuse to eat anything with 2 of the brands mixed in. The third brand has helped with Dustin’s sloppy poos, at least. I’ve tried raw and cooked a bit. I’ve re-read all the tips on raw sites. Watched videos by Dr. Becker about transitioning cats, very interesting if you haven’t seen them. She says cats have addictive personalities, very hard to make changes. Some cats take a year!
I just think my guys, all being geriatric, are too set in their ways. If they were younger I would persevere and keep at it. I’m concerned about them not eating well as they try to avoid any bites of canned that may have a bit of raw mixed in. I’ve weighed them and they’ve all lost a few ounces and that’s not acceptable to me. They’ve made it to ages 15-20 so I guess I won’t rock the boat. Jake will be a happy boy. I will use up the raw I have from this shipment, about 20#, geez! on him, and the one cat who likes it. Dang, really wanted this to work!

[Bobby dog]

Hey J M:
I have some food reviews coming soon too.

I bet Jake is busy wagging his tail at the news he is getting the leftovers!!!!

What brand of probiotic are you using? I have had good luck with getting all my cats eating food with Actipet Ultra probiotic mixed in. It doesn’t have a taste to it. Initially I was only using it for the hyper-t kitty.

Sorry it didn’t work out like you wanted it too. I actually have reconsidered many things since I changed up my zoo’s diets over the past few years.

I am with you on not rocking the boat especially for our seniors. Two of mine are turning 17 this year (probably already are, they were strays) and both do not care or buy into the variety & rotation is best. lol I am fine with that. I am not comfortable risking their health at this stage of their life by continually trying to transition them to new foods. The more research I do on their diet, the more I am comfortable with what they are eating and most importantly that they are happy and healthy. 😉

My Vet was thrilled with my senior male’s wellness check-up a few months ago. He said he is always amazed when I bring him in at how well his muscle tone is and what good shape his teeth are in for his age. He really is a lean and fit kitty.

[crazy4cats]

Hi JM-
Sorry the raw didn’t work out. I’m so impressed with your effort. I gave up after only one or two tries with Nature’s Variety Raw Bites. You must be doing something right considering the age of your old folks home you have going. Lol!

My senior kitty is or will be 16 any day now. She has her ups and downs, but is doing great right now. Happy, happy, joy joy! I do think her eyesight is going a bit though.
In addition to the grocery store stuff, my cats are now eating Dave’s, Halo’s, Nutro Max duck chunks in sauce and Iams canned foods. I gave up on Authority after recipe change. I’m feeding very little kibble and my urinary problem cat is well too.

Good update guys. I wish Akari was still around also. 😿

[jakes mom]

Thanks for the support, guys. I was really disappointed. The probiotics I tried were Perfect Form, the GNC Superfood complex for cats and NaturVet . They didn’t like the first 2, and I thought they smelled like a chic bouill. cube. The NaturVet is a soft treat style, smelled like a chic treat. I crumbled a couple over the food every meal, of course they wouldn’t just eat one!
Luckily they aren’t picky about their canned, will eat whatever brand or flavor. I just stick to the pate, mostly. Partly because of the gravy ingred. and partly because they usually just lick off the gravy and leave the bits!
Jake is a lucky boy! He gets some raw now, frozen or dehydrated, he’ll eat everything! And a couple of the cats did eat some Darwin’s when I cooked it, but not twice in a row, geez! Brats! So that’s the plan, use up what I have on Jake, and cook some once in a while for the cats. I’m just glad I can use it up and not waste all that $$. Expensive experiment!
Nice to hear all of your seniors are still doing well. We try so hard to make them happy, don’t we!

[crazy4cats]

Hi All-

Big news! I made another litter box! Lol! I used an 18 gallon tote this time. It’s smaller than the first one I made. But, it fits right under a standing storage shelving unit I have in the laundry room. This way the dogs cannot get into it. I filled it with litter and left it thinking I need to get some litter from another box to make sure they could smell it. I came back with the “used” litter and the darn box had already been initiated! Six boxes for four cats. What have I done?

The Whole Earth Farms canned food is going well. Hopefully, Purina will not change or delete it from their line up. Also surprisingly, all the cats are liking the beef, lamb and venison Wellness Core recipe. I didn’t think they liked any of these flavors, but they’re having it!

Need an update from the other crazy cat peeps!

[jakes mom]

OK C4C, not much of an update but here goes, lol.
Your new litter box sounds good! I never add used litter to a new box, tho, never had to. It seemed like somebody always wanted to be the first to christen the new one. Years ago I used a hard plastic kiddy pool as a litter box (when I had 13). I still remember Dustin working his way around the whole circle, peeing every foot or so!
I tried a bag of Stella and Chewy’s frozen raw chic for the cats, On sale, figured I’d give it a shot in case it was just Darwin’s they didn’t like for some reason. They didn’t like Instinct, either, but hope springs eternal I guess, lol. I have put it out a couple of times and it’s disappeared but don’t know who ate it. I’m assuming it was Dustin but haven’t been able to see. So I have that and a couple of Primal dehydrated raw flavors that he’ll eat. I figure I’ll pick up a small bag of those once in a while, just a little extra for him, he can use all the calories he can get.
The biggest news at my house is not cat related, tho. Poor Jake got skunked again on Monday am! We’d just gotten up, 445. He went out and came right back in, started rubbing his face all over the carpet. No, not again!!! So I had to call off work and spent the last couple of days cleaning. Tuesday was my usual day off luckily so have had 2 days to deodorize. Lots of vinegar and baking soda, lots of baths for Jake and showers for me. But he’s very pretty, lol. The peroxide in the skunk wash mixture made his white fur nice and bright!

[Pitlove]

Nice updates guys!

C4C- Glad they are liking the new litter box and the WEF! Praying they don’t change WEF either as thats exactly what my little girl is on and she’s very happy with it right now.

JM- Oh no! Sorry to hear about Jake. So thankful we really don’t have skunks around here, cuz my boy would be the first to get hit! However, I’m glad to see you haven’t completely given up on the raw. Keep at it girl!

I guess my update is I’m convinced that Dani can not have beef now. I gave her a sample of Primal Beef & Salmon freeze dried raw for a little treat and she threw up instantly. It definitely has nothing to do with the quality of the food. So that’s it, I’m staying away from anything beef for her.

She is on Whole Earth Farms like C4C’s kitties, so I’m in the same boat with the whole Purina thing. I’m keeping her to just one food now with different proteins since I find her poop is a lot better when she’s on one food.

Also, did anyone see the new Purely FF food they came out with? No by-products etc? I was reading reviews for it and apparently it replaced their FF Appetizers line (which I’m assuming had by-products) and people are pissed lol. They want the old formula back.

[jakes mom]

Have not seen the new FF line. I don’t look too much at the small cans, buy mostly the bigger sizes for my gang. Unless there’s a coupon involved, lol. My guys will eat pretty much anything but Wellness. Have tried several flavors and always end up giving most of it to Jake. Nice to have a furry trash can handy sometimes!
Too bad Dani has to stay away from beef. That cuts down your options! But glad you only had a sample of Primal and didn’t spend a lot of $$ on it.
Jake and I are pretty much back to normal after our skunk adventure. Back to work for me today and nobody told me I stunk, lol. And the house seemed ok when I came home tonite. No stinky smell when I opened the door.

[crazy4cats]

JM-
You are right, the cats usually do like to be the first to use the box right after I clean it out. Not sure why I worried about them knowing it was ok to use it! Jake got skunked, huh? I’ve not had the pleasure of that experience yet. Lol! I’m laughing because you had to miss work due to it. I was just saying today, instead of FMLA (family medical leave act), the federal government needs to implement a pet medical leave act. I’ve only missed a couple days of work in the last few years and they were all due to pet issues! I never admit it though! Glad you all came out alive!

PL-
You are right, the FF Appeteezer fans have gone wild! I checked out the website. They are not happy with the new healthy line. It has no by-products or very much fat. No wonder the cats don’t like it! Fingers crossed for the WEF sticking around and keeping its good price.

[Pitlove]

C4C- I know! I was cracking up with how mad they were. I didn’t stop to check out the GA tho. It seems like it would be better, but I guess those kitties need their kittie crack back lol. And hey maybe if Purina put some by-products in WEF they will knock the price down to like .80$ a can! 😀

[jakes mom]

Yep, I very rarely call off but it’s usually pet related when I do! 🙂

[crazy4cats]

Hey Fellow Cat Lovers-
I discovered a new cat site today! Maybe it’s old news for you, but I thought I’d share it: http://feline-nutrition.org/

I haven’t got a chance to look at it very closely yet. It looks like it may contain some valuable information.

Let me know what you think.

[jakes mom]

Thanks C4C, it’s a good site, I’ve been on it once or twice in the past but tend to get busy and forget about it. Lots of good info.
Kitty update, my 16yo girl has been diagnosed with hyper-t. Not surprised, I noticed she’d lost some weight when I returned from a week away from them all. One of those things you don’t notice when you see her every day I guess, but she looked thin to me when I got home. So now everybody will get weighed regularly! Anyway, she’s on the same meds as my 20yo, Dustin. Not a good pill taker so I hide it in a bite or 2 of canned food.
Other than that, everybody’s doing well. Sad that the warm weather and open windows will be gone soon. They love to sit at the windowsill and get some fresh air and watch the birds and squirrels.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Jakes Mom-
Another hyper-t kitty? Darn. It seems to be an epidemic these days. I started using the gel form that you rub on the ear for my hyper-t kitty. I believe it’s called a transdermal form? It makes life a little easier. When I was putting it in her food, sometimes she wouldn’t eat it all and I was afraid another cat would eat it and get the pill. All the other cats are chubby and certainly don’t need their thyroid slowed down!

It’s cooling down here as well and unfortunately windows are closing too. I do have an outdoor enclosure set up for them outside our sliding glass door though. It is just a kennel that opens up to a pet door that we have in our slider. They don’t get much of a view out of it, but they can get some fresh air and sunshine in it. It has worked out well.

Thanks for the update!

[jakes mom]

Yes, C4C it is an epidemic! I’ve read a theory ( Dr. Becker?) that it may be due, at least in part, to fish cat food, all the iodine in fish. Even beef or chicken cat foods seem to have fish in there, somewhere. Sounds plausible to me. I’d forgotten about the transdermal meds, you told me about that before. Vet didn’t give me that option, I may ask when I talk to him again. I watch her eat her food with the med in it otherwise I’d have the same worry as you, somebody else eating it. I just give her a spoonful of food with her med, then she can join the gang for the rest of her meal. I’m bummed she’s hyper-t but I look at it this way, of the big 4 diseases of old cats, that’s the best one to have.

[crazy4cats]

JM-
I actually asked my vet about it. I remembered reading about it on Dr. Pierson’s website. You have to get it from a special compounding pharmacy. Luckily we have one about 18 miles away. But, they do offer to ship it as well if you don’t have one close by.

I can think of diabetes, kidney disease and hyper thyroidism. What is the fourth?

And I think you are right. The hyper-t is probably the least worrisome of the diseases. I sure hope my others don’t get it though. The oldest of the rest of the crew is around seven years supposedly.

[jakes mom]

Cancer. Hope your younger guys don’t get any of them. We know better now, feeding better, less vacc, etc. Any new animals in my future will get initial vac then titers, and raw food. I’ve had a lot of animals and a lot of medical problems, hyper and hypo thyroid, cancer, heart disease, seizure disorders, renal disease, male cats with crystals and blockages, one cat with vac-associated sarcoma….on and on. I believe now most of it could have been prevented.

[DogFoodie]

Just saw this… Dr. Tim’s has a new canned cat food available at Chewy.com!

http://www.chewy.com/s?dept=all&query=nimble&nav-submit-button=Submit

Here’s a link to the item on Dr. Tim’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DrTimsPetFood/photos/a.198458483505265.48534.120163871334727/1098217310196040/?type=3&theater

[Bobby dog]

Ooooooh, thanks DF, always looking out for new ones to try!!

[Pamela D]

Most OTC dewormers do not address tapeworms so it is best to have the deworming done by your veterinarian. Referring to vaccines, try to find a veterinarian that uses The non-cancer-causing Merial brand vaccines. Having worked for a feline exclusive veterinary hospital for nearly 8 years, I can tell you we saw several cats with cancer that were caused from other vaccines. So be very picky and request vaccines that are non-adjuvanted. Many vaccines contain an adjvant which is a chemical or metal particulate additive used to initiate an immune response needed by the vaccine to work properly. The trouble with these additives are that they are cancer-causing, and I can tell you that the whole entire time working for a cat exclusive veterinary hospital we have never seen a cancer and cats that was linked to a non-adjuvant we vaccine. These cancers are extremely aggressive and fast growing and are almost always fatal. For this reason it is recommended to have your veterinarian vaccinate your cat. All you have to do is Google non-adjuvanted vaccines versus adjuvanted vaccines and you’ll see for yourselves. The non-adjuvanted vaccines do tend to be a little bit more pricey but seriously now isn’t the life of your cat worth a couple of extra bucks?

[crazy4cats]

Hi Pamela-
I have read about the benefit of the non- adjuvanted rabies vaccines. Our vet only has the one-year so far. I’m not so sure I want them to have them every year instead of three. What do you think?

[Pamela D]

@crazy4cats: The 3-1 vaccine is considered a core vaccine by most feline practitioners, in other words all cats should have it routinely as well as rabies, even indoor cats. If your vet does not carry the three-year 3-1 by Merial or another manufacturer, I would suggest finding a vet that
does.

[crazy4cats]

I’m sorry, I meant she only carries the one year non-adjuvant rabies vaccine. She does not have the three-year NA rabies yet. They do have the three-year 3-1 core vaccine.

[jiten M]

Thanks for posting about the cats’ food and it is really appreciable. There is the birthday of my cat next week and I was looking for some fo best gifts for her and suddenly I found a list of some best gifts for cats at https://mycatneedsthis.com/best-gift-for-your-cat-this-holiday-season/ . Whoever wants to gift his/her cat shoud have a look at that once.

[Author]

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