We are a multiple kitty household. We adopted Sofie and Sam at the same time. Funny thing, they both have issues with their weight.
As indoor kitties, we lavish fabulous toys on them. They love them. They exercise by flinging them up into the air for a self-serving catch. They leave “mouse killing fields” at the end of the bed, out into the hall … all leading to their favorite place of all:
The Kitty Food Center.
Cat diets are even more excruciating than human diets in terms of time-it takes months and months for a cat to lose a few. This, of course, doesn’t stop kitties from begging for treats. Or food. Or attention …
I’ve got Sofie and Sam on a diet. Changed their feeding schedule, too. Now, they each get an eighth of a can of “light ” wet cat food in the morning and a few treats at 4:00 p.m. (and I mean it; Sam won’t let me forget it!). Their bowls are full with an oral care formula of a cat food that our vet recommended. Why oral care? The nibbles are very large and the kitties need to really break it down and chew it. This is supposed to slow down their feeding, so they don’t inhale the food, as mine usually do.
Lately, though, I see Sam stealing Sofie’s food. It’s a difference in their personalities, really. Sofie is sensitive and quiet. She investigates the food in her dish before nibbling. Sam just chows down.
In the case of treats, I see Sam’s little paw reach over and swipe a few of Sofie’s treats out from under her. And there’s only a few treats there to begin with! This morning, Sam managed to eat all of his wet food plus all of Sofie’s food, as Sofie watched from afar.
I’m afraid this is hindering their relationship, as I hear hissie-fits more often these days.
Some experts suggest disbanding a food center for more personalized food locations for each cat. I think I’m going to give this a try.
Photo Credit: The_Beast
June 26th, 2009 by Janet Muniz | Posted in Cat Food, Uncategorized | Comments (0)
My cats are finicky. No surprise, right? I mean, they are cats after all. I have two, both males. Max is a 7-year-old brown and black tabby, and Buddy is a 12-year-old black and white domestic medium hair cat.
They love to eat. I feed them canned food once a day, in the evenings, generally around 5pm. I also have a feeder with dry food that is left out, in case something happens and we are late in feeding, or in case the cats just feel like snacking. Like clockwork, at about 4:30 every day, they start in with the harassing - the meows (that sound very much like “NOW!”), the jumping into the middle of whatever we are doing, afraid we are going to forget their feeding time.
Like I said earlier, my cats are finicky. They don’t care so much about the type of cat food they get, as long as it’s the right flavor. My boys will only eat fish-flavored cat food. Forget the poultry, the beef, the liver. It has to be salmon, or whitefish, or tuna, or anything else that swims. If we accidentally buy a can of chicken, and then, horror of horrors, actually try to give it to them, they will sniff it and walk away. Then, a few minutes later, one of them will return to their dish to see if the offending food is still there. If it is, either my husband or I, whomever is closest, will get the look. If you’re a cat owner, you know exactly what I”m talking about.
The funny thing is, however, they will eat poultry, beef, or liver cat food if it is mixed with fish. And, they absolutely love fresh chicken. They just don’t want that processed stuff. Actually, I can’t say that I blame them.
Photo by Beth VanHoose
June 25th, 2009 by Beth VanHoose | Posted in Cat Food, Cat Stories | Comments (1)
Summer’s around the corner and kitties are still shedding their winter coats of hair.
How can you tell? Well, I see wisps of it everywhere - on the floor, on the rug, on my clothes after my kitties sit on my lap.
Plus, I’m on hairball patrol.
Imagine cleaning yourself day in, day out, only to have the hair on your body accumulate in your stomach, and there’s too much there for your body to expel normally. What naturally occurs? Well, you take care of it - by vomiting.
Experts say hairballs are the most common reason why kitties vomit and that they cause a digestive issue for the cat, not necessarily a respiratory issue.
To alleviate that hairball hacking a little bit, I brush my kitties. It’s a form of prevention: getting rid of excess hair before the kitty has a chance to swallow it through grooming can help.
Plus my kitties absolutely love it. It’s all that attention, partly.
The brush I use is rather small, with delicate metal combs that very effectively remove hair from the body. It’s actually made for the task; check them out at your local pet store.
I also feed my kitties cat food with a hairball formula included. PurinaONE offers a Hairball Formula. I use the Science Diet hairball formula when I need to. These products help your cat’s digestive system to keep it healthy.
When all else fails, get out the Woolite Oxy Deep. Works wonders on the rug.
Photo Credit: 10 Corso Como
June 12th, 2009 by Janet Muniz | Posted in Cat Food, Cat Health, Grooming Tips | Comments (0)
I put this information in the need-to-know-but-didn’t-cat-e-gory: Did you know that felines have a higher protein requirement than many other mammals? That the only way cats can meet their nutritional needs is by consuming other animals?
Cats are true carnivores.
So even if your kitty likes to eat a grass salad, she needs to get her taurine, arachidonic acid, vitamin A and vitamin B12 from meat, or she could suffer from problems with her liver, heart, skin and hearing.
Who knew?
Whether it contains animal protein or not, domestic cat food does not include the small prey, birds, rodents or reptiles kitties really need in their diet for proper nutrition. Our kitties adapt to the dry and wet food we do provide for them, though, and that can make it a little easier on their digestion.
Somehow, this information allows me to be just a little more lenient with my kitties when they’re cornering the spider or insect in the corner of the living room for a little nosh.
Janet Muniz
(photo credit: tobym)
April 13th, 2009 by Pet Guy | Posted in Cat Food | Comments (0)
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