For Cat Lovers Only X - Post Pics, Ask Questions, Comments, Etc.

[Sicy]

Poor Moo.

 

[Sicy]

If anyone wants to see some short cell phone videos of my kitty chasing the laser pointer, then clicky-click :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFTFyYRkY5U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8QKKylBHDM

lol.

 

[Lila64]

:hugs: for Moo

 

[bonoishot]

My babies are growing like crazy. They'll be 6 weeks old on Tuesday. I want them to stay this size, and stay with me forever! :scream : They're fully litter trained, and eating dried food now. Mama is still nursing them a bit, but not that much. I'll try to post some more pictures soon. :heart :

They grow so quick. More pics soon.

The pictures of Patches, Jasmine and Biscuit. I love the way Jasmine and biscuit are all snuggled up together.

If anyone wants to see some short cell phone videos of my kitty chasing the laser pointer, then clicky-click : D :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFTFyYRkY5U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8QKKylBHDM

I love watching cats chase things.

s to Worf, Moo and Isabella.

 

[beegee]

Moo is just about the cutest cat name I have ever heard

Moo

 

[VintagePunk]

Moo

WH, did your sister ever hear about the adoption?


Kaf, adorable clips!

 

[kellyahern]

Moo

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

Thanks for all your kind thoughts guys.

I spent the afternoon at my parents house to kind of say goodbye to Moo. She's weaker today than yesterday.
She wouldn't eat any of the yummy gravy food we gave to her but she did eat some roast beef tenderloin and gravy, what we were having for dinner. It was a pretty sad day. Even my dad cried. I think my mom wants to wait until she's a little more out of it b/c car rides are really traumatic for her. When I left she was lying on the bed in my sister's old room. She's still purring up a storm when you pet her.

 

[kafrun]

s for pretty Moo. I hope she's resting comfortably still.

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

Thanks for all your kind thoughts guys.

I spent the afternoon at my parents house to kind of say goodbye to Moo. She's weaker today than yesterday.
She wouldn't eat any of the yummy gravy food we gave to her but she did eat some roast beef tenderloin and gravy, what we were having for dinner. It was a pretty sad day. Even my dad cried. I think my mom wants to wait until she's a little more out of it b/c car rides are really traumatic for her. When I left she was lying on the bed in my sister's old room. She's still purring up a storm when you pet her.

aww.. wild.. my heart is breaking! I can completely understand how you feel tho.. hang in there..

so sorry to hear this bad news. to you and your parents!

 

[Lila64]

 

[indra]

WHA -- I'm so sorry about Moo.

She's such a beautiful cat, and she's obviously much loved. I'll be thinking of you and your parents.

 

[MsPurrl]

Thanks for all your kind thoughts guys.

I spent the afternoon at my parents house to kind of say goodbye to Moo. She's weaker today than yesterday.
She wouldn't eat any of the yummy gravy food we gave to her but she did eat some roast beef tenderloin and gravy, what we were having for dinner. It was a pretty sad day. Even my dad cried. I think my mom wants to wait until she's a little more out of it b/c car rides are really traumatic for her. When I left she was lying on the bed in my sister's old room. She's still purring up a storm when you pet her.

This is a heartbreaker. It is SO hard to let them go, especially when they purr and all. Somehow, though, you (and they) know when it's "time." Many hugs to all of you. Sleep well, beautiful Moo.

 

[mandy1973]

Oh...big hugs to you WHA
It's such a sad time, but be comforted by the thoughts of Moo resting peacefully.

 

[cruzila]

so sorry to hear about Moo

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

isabella is over her flare up. Stupid at home vet that i talked to won't come here to look at her cuz of her having to be sedated and she is by herself, no assistants... whatever.. I will call around some more.. Isabella tolerates these flare ups that really don't last more than a couple of days and they are really mild.


here are a couple pics i took a couple months ago.

 

[sue4u2]

Thanks for all your kind thoughts guys.

She's weaker today than yesterday.
She wouldn't eat any of the yummy gravy food we gave to her but she did eat some roast beef tenderloin and gravy, what we were having for dinner. It was a pretty sad day. Even my dad cried. I think my mom wants to wait until she's a little more out of it b/c car rides are really traumatic for her. When I left she was lying on the bed in my sister's old room. She's still purring up a storm when you pet her.

Oh Wild, that brings tears to my eyes. Let Moo eat anything she want's that might make her happy, but not sicker. I really feel for you and your parents. It's a sad time for all.
Hang in there, love.

 

[sue4u2]

How adorable, Sicy and Meegannie!

I hope all of the ailing kitties are feeling better soon.

My babies are growing like crazy. They'll be 6 weeks old on Tuesday. I want them to stay this size, and stay with me forever! They're fully litter trained, and eating dried food now. Mama is still nursing them a bit, but not that much. I'll try to post some more pictures soon.

ditto on that. Been catching up on all the kitty news.
and VP my kitties were a month old last friday. The solid white one, Snowball now, is eating some canned food, Rose is sniffing and Max just nurses still. He has a totally different personality than the other 2.
All of them have begun to play around in the litter box. Yikes, I'm even busier than before keeping it clean. But they seem to actually be getting an idea of what it's for, I think.
I'm going to have to keep them separate from Bela when I try to introduce food, being the pig that she is, she'll eat their food also. I have found homes for 2 of them, so far and they are nearby so they can come and visit. I'm keeping them untill they are 6 weeks old though - It's going to be hard give them up and I want to make sure they go to good homes.

Edited to say: U2F- Isabella is so adorable. I love the cat toys too. I played all weekend with my kittens. I even brought Lovey inside the room Sat & Sun but the a cat carrier. She just watched the kittens and Bela watched her like a hawk.

 

[Sicy]

Sue I would keep them until 8 weeks at least. They should be with their mom until then. And I think weaning is 6 weeks, so they will definately still want to nurse right now.

 

[VintagePunk]

Sue I would keep them until 8 weeks at least. They should be with their mom until then. And I think weaning is 6 weeks, so they will definately still want to nurse right now.

From what I've read, keeping them with their mom for 8 - 12 weeks seems to be the general rule. They say that kittens who stay with mom this length of time end up being better socialized, friendlier with other animals and people, and better adjusted. They say that kittens removed from mom earlier than that are more prone to abnormal suckling behaviour (in other words, attempting to suckle the hands/arms of their owners). This behaviour can continue into adulthood. I've also seen that kittens can still nurse till around 10 or 12 weeks, obviously not as much as they did before being introduced to solid food, but sometimes. They say that the mom will know when it's time for her to cut them off altogether. Mine aren't nursing that much these days, but occasionally I walk by the room and they're still doing it.

All that said, a 6 week old kitten can obviously survive without its mom, so if there's a reason to give them up that early, they'll likely be fine, it's just not what is considered 'ideal' according to what I've read on pretty much every website I've seen.

Me, I'm using the 8 to 12 week guideline to justify keeping them longer.



U2fanatic, Isabella is a beauty.

 

[VintagePunk]

Speaking of cats/kittens eating, I have a question for you all.

With all the cat-related web surfing I've been doing lately, I've noticed one overriding theme - if you're not feeding your cat the most expensive, premium food you can get, you're practically being negligent as a pet owner.

With the kittens eating now, I've spent the past few days pricing kitten food, and I came away shell-shocked. Right now, I have them on Purina One Kitten Food. Not really a premium brand, but better than your average grocery store brand. A 4 lb bag lasts me 5 days (and they're just starting to eat, it's going to get worse), and it costs around $9. I went shopping around to see if I could find it in bigger bags at a lower price per lb, and no place I've been to carries it in bigger bags. I've gone into a couple of pet store looking to see if they have something comparable. The answer is a resounding "no," and in fact, for a 4 lb bag of premium brands, I'd be looking at about $17/18 up to $25. I think you all know that I adore them, but really, is all that expense necessary? Is Purina One good enough? It says on the label that it's 40% protein, and chicken is the first ingredient listed. It also has DHA added, which they say is important for brain development.

The funny part of all of this is, back before people were uberconscious of what they fed their pets, the cat I had while growing up lived a good, long, extremely healthy life on generic and cheap brand name cat food. After she was spayed, she never had to have a vet visit for the rest of her years, and she lived a very long life!


So, yeah, I guess what I'm asking is, what do you all feed your cats? Does anyone have any words of wisdom? Thanks in advance.

 

[MsPurrl]

Yes, Isabella is a beauty!

 

[Sicy]

Purina One is good. As long as the first ingredient is beef, or chicken, or turkey, etc then you're fine. The crappy foods have nothing but 'by-products' in them. And while yes, some cats do just fine on that their whole lives, I look at it as eating McDonalds every day compared to cooking at home. lol.

 

[Lila64]

Isabella

I have no idea what Otto eats. Maybe hubby will come & tell me

 

[indra]

I've never had a lot of money, but often had a lot of animals, so the vast majority of my animals have never had premium food -- in fact they rarely get much above a pretty basic food most people here shudder at. You know what -- I consistently have happy, healthy, and for the most part long lived animals. And I have had a shitload of pets in my lifetime. My vet even commented just last week about how long my pets tend to live.

Don't feel you need to break the bank for cat (or kitten) food and don't feel guilty if you can't provide them with "the very best". Try one or two of the less expensive brands and see how they do with it. If they like it and do well on it you're good to go.

 

[Liesje]

Food will depend on the animal. My minimum requirement is NO corn, wheat, soy, "by-product", or any form of a gluten or gluten meal. I won't consider ANY food containing even one of those ingredients. Anything else is fair game. I do not feed my cats or my dogs grain-free. I tried grain-free super premiums with the dogs and it was a disaster. It's too rich for them. Right now my cats eat either Eagle Pack Holistic Select or Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul.

Purina One is something I would not feed my cats, but that's just me. I looked up the salmon one, just for example, and the first ingredient listed is a "by-product", plus it also contains corn, soy, and corn gluten very high on the list. The chicken one looks better, but also contains by-product, wheat flour, wheat gluten, corn, and corn gluten. I avoid these types of ingredients b/c many animals develop allergies, and these are all fillers. If the animal does not have an allergy, then they are not necessarily bad, but they are not providing and real nutrition. For carb sources I prefer rice, oatmeal, barley, or potato. For protein sources, a by-product will not suffice for me. It needs to be straight up, or a "meal".

EP ingredients:

Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meals, Ground Brown Rice, Chicken Meal, Chicken Fat (Preserved With Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Oatmeal, Menhaden Fish Oil, Flaxseed, Dried Egg Product, Tomato Pomace, Dried Beet Pulp, Natural Chicken Flavor, Carrots, Sun-Cured Alfalfa, Peas, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Quinoa (Organic), Taurine, Apples, Blueberries, Inulin, Choline Chloride, Cranberries, Dehydrated Kelp, Beta-Carotene, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, DL-Methionine, Polysaccharide Complexes of Zinc, Iron, Manganese and Copper, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Vitamin A Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Ascorbic Acid, Biotin, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Vitamin B 12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Phylloquinone and Cobalt Sulfate, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, B. Subtillus, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus coagulins, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger.

Chicken Soup ingredients:

Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), ocean fish meal, white rice, potatoes, oatmeal, millet, natural chicken flavor, salmon, turkey, duck, flaxseed, sodium bisulfate, egg product, methionine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

If cheaper, supermarket brands work, then I don't have a problem with it as long as the owners are educated about what's in the food and what it's doing or not doing for the cat. Many people just have false assumptions about food and end up harming the animal. For example, my in-laws have been feeding their Cocker crappy food his entire life and he has had chronic yeast infections in his ears that are like torture for him. They never knew that the ingredients in the food are what many dogs are allergic to and the food itself is making those ear infections worse. He has been suffering for years (since I've known Phil) when simple changes in diet could have gone a long way in treating and preventing his chronic condition.

Another thing to consider is that many premium quality foods are the same price or cheaper than the crappy ones. There's not a single cat food at Target or the other big grocery stores here that I would feed my cats, but we have several local pet store chains that carry good foods for comparable price. I don't pay any more for my range of cat food choices than I would for Science Diet or something more common.

 

[Sicy]

I was actually thinking of the chicken one. My friend feeds her cats that one, the first ingredient is chicken. Which is a lot better than most grocery store brands. For someone that cant afford to feed multiple cats expensive food, I think its fine.

Personally, I have no choice. I have to feed Zoey & Saki each a seperate vet prescription food becuase they both have urinary issues. Zoey's is worse than Saki's so she gets the 'stronger' version. They both suck though. The ingredients are crappy but for the most part they have not had issues while on the food so that's more important to me right now.

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

I, too, don't really have a choice about food b/c of the urinary tract issues. Will and Roscoe seem to do fine.

 

[Liesje]

Personally, I have no choice. I have to feed Zoey & Saki each a seperate vet prescription food becuase they both have urinary issues. Zoey's is worse than Saki's so she gets the 'stronger' version. They both suck though. The ingredients are crappy but for the most part they have not had issues while on the food so that's more important to me right now.

Yes I am lucky in this regard. No urinary or allergy issues...yet! Coke is sick right now and the vet wanted him on a special Science Diet diet for a while but we are cooking for him instead.

 

[sue4u2]

All that said, a 6 week old kitten can obviously survive without its mom, so if there's a reason to give them up that early, they'll likely be fine, it's just not what is considered 'ideal' according to what I've read on pretty much every website I've seen.

Me, I'm using the 8 to 12 week guideline to justify keeping them longer.

You won't have to twist my arm. I can go for having them around for a few more weeks. The little girl who wants snowball is so impatient. I let her take the kitten to her apt (just upstairs, to teach her a lesson and the kitten cried and cried. She came back and said she needed to nurse. I told her so. The other little girl already has food, litter box, and some toys. She's ready but the kitten isn't.