A new (to us) raw cat food

I was out buying food for The Crew the other day and found a lone package of a new frozen cat food in the freezer. It is called Answers. I liked the ingredient list and when I went to purchase it I was given an information sheet on it and I really liked the company's ideas and philosophies.

Personally I wouldn't have gone for carrot fiber, but would have preferred something in the low glycemic green family like green beans or parsley, but that's just me

It thawed in my fridge for a while and I opened it up much like you would a milk carton.

With seven cats who eat about two ounces each, the 16 oz container really isn't practical. I could over feed them, they would like that, but that seems like a waste. I wrote to the company and asked if they would consider selling it in larger containers and got a very nice reply from Jacqueline C. Hill, Vice President of Operations and Product Development. At this time they are not doing sizes any larger than the 16oz.  (bummer!!) but I am hopeful that they will in the future. Most households are not one cat households.. (which if they were would mean this one container would last three to four days) but multi cat households and it seems a little impractical to continue to sell only in smaller containers. My other issue is this product cost me nearly $9. If I had one cat that wouldn't be out of the question, but I can not afford $18 a day.. ($17ish since there was one serving left over) nor would it really be practical for us.. I currently buy 30-60 pounds of food at a time.. which would be 30-60 of these containers..

I am really saddened by this, as I love the ingredients.. and The Crew really likes the food..

Yes, Muffin is a diva when it comes to new food.. no idea why since she is a total dishwasher and scrounges food where ever she can.. Don't worry.. she did actually like the food.. she was just holding out for her own private plate..

So it got two huge thumbs and fourteen paws up.. I am hoping that in the future there will be a way this will be more affordable for The Crew and any future fosters who need it can get it..


BTW, ANSWERS Pet Food has been named "Best Pet Food You Can Buy" By Susan Thixton, at TruthaboutPetFood.com, in 2012! Read the very first of a new series of articles taking a detailed look at various pet food companies. Read "Answers From ANSWERS Pet Food"

2 + 3 = MAYHEM!

Not math... don''t make us do math.. 

I think you might enjoy this math though, it ends in mayhem.. 

What's mayhem?

I think we are.. 

No me.. she won't seem to let me out of here.. 

So, what is this mayhem you speak of?

This.. 

And this.. 

and most definitely that.. please don't growl at the feathers.. 

I think I like Mayhem.. 

I stopped by the shelter to pick up some food and came home with three more kittens :) Three little boys that are just shy of weight, so I doubt they will be here very long. They went into the shelter with their mom, but since they were so close to weight and I already had kittens I opted to them them with out her.

There was a sneeze or two on the way home, and some eye watering in the time since they showed up, so I've opted to keep him isolated a bit longer. I know it is probably pointless as they are in the same room, but I wrapped a sheet around the cage anyway. The other two boys are very healthy and haven't sneezed once. It is interesting in that while they look exactly the same, we have three distinct personalities. The super friendly one, the growl-y one and the "DO NOT TOUCH ME I'M SICK" one.  He is so sick and tired of my trying to get silver and golden seal in him that he tenses up when I go near him.. I mean really tense.. jaw clenched, muscles taught.. one great big little ball of leave me alone.  But he is feeling better and I let him walk around outside the cage last night, and all seemed to go well.  I'm sure in another day or two he'll be feeling much better and I'll feel comfortable leaving them all out in the same room.

Initially I wasn't sure how it was going to go, since the new boys are a bit overly dramatic.  The boy who growls growls at everything.. but I didn't know that initially and thought he was telling everyone to leave him alone.  There is some screaming when they are tackled by Lion or TKTRMOM, but then I realized they scream when their own siblings do it too, so I have stopped worrying about it.

So now do I not only need to come up with a name for TKTRMOM but three little black panther kittens..

Christmas for The Crew

So a while back we went shopping for the kitties.  My husband picked up a few things for the kitties (I usually buy the toys so this was fun for him) and then 'hid' them from them until Christmas (don't want them seeing what they were getting before they got it - cause they could so tell what it was by what was on the outside of the box right??)

Not completely sure toys were necessary as the boxes and wrapping and tissue were so much fun for them, but it's always fun to find new stimulation for The Crew..

As you can see the FroliCat Pounce garnered a bit of attention.  It is a once piece unit that takes three double A batteries.  You turn it on, and it automatically turns itself off after 10 minutes but you can shut it off manually if you wish.  The first three speeds are kind of boring.  They simply make the yellow mouse go around the track at slightly faster speeds. The fourth speed is 'variable' and it makes the mouse go forward and back and 'hide' in the three domes.  They didn't care about it until it went on variable mode.  Eli (who showed up after that last photo) finally pounced on the mouse and held it for so long others were losing interest so I had to shoo him away..

Sadly this thing doesn't help them get a lot of exercise, but I do see it as mental stimulation so I will keep it and pull it out from time to time to give them something different to do.

They have yet to show any interest in the snuggle sack, but that's OK.. if they don't want it I am sure the foster kittens will love it.

Secret Paws 2013

Last year I stumbled upon a "secret Santa for cats' called Secret Paws.  This year I was amazingly lucky to end up getting Amy of SeabassCat whom I was about to go and visit.. and I was lucky enough to be gotten by The Critters in the Cottage.  The gift arrived a while ago but I had way too much going on to give it the proper respect, so I decided to wait until Christmas.

They were very generous and The Crew was well pleased.  I didn't have the heart to tell them they weren't going to keep it all and that they would end up sharing with me and the foster kittens.. They won't even notice they don't get to eat the chocolate and that some of the toys will mysteriously disappear since they got a few of their own from myself and my husband (which I'll share with you later)

With out further ado..

Wordless Wednesday - Meowy CatMouse Kittens

Kittens make good presents..

First you need a box..

And then we need some kittens.. and then the magic begins..

and then you need to make a gif of it..

You could also try editing out the walls...

And just when you think things couldn't get any cuter.. throw in a bow tie.. because bow ties are cool..

Do you know someone who would like a cute little kitten under the tree?

More progress

So I went down to the kitten room tonight and tried working with the kittens again.  I went down with Vermont Naturals Calming Treats that I got to try for them.  Well The Kitten that reminds me of Melody thought they were the BEST TOYS EVER!! and proceeded to play with it for twenty minutes.  I tried breaking it into smaller pieces and she ate a couple.  Lion was content to let her play until he actually got his paws on it, and when he realized he could play with it too he got all growly.  I convinced them both to try it, but they didn't eat much.  I broke the rest of them into smaller pieces and mixed them in with their dry food.

I then sat on the couch and waited to see what would happen.  TKTRMOM went and sat on Happy Bear. I tried making 'love eyes' at her and she was not having anything to do with me.  I just kept at it and at it and at it until it felt like my eyes would fall off.. finally.. but she looked away and didn't quite blink.  I implored her to try again, and again she looked right at me, eyes wide.. five more minutes of slow blinking and finally she simply closed her eyes.. I praised and praised her, then asked her if I could move and sit on the floor.  I moved off the couch on to my knees, and she went wide eyed again, and I blinked and blinked, and when she blinked again I moved forward a bit.  It went on like this until I was almost at the bear.. Lion perked up at one point and mewed and came over - I'm not sure if it was to participate or to tell me off.

Once I was laying on the floor, hand slightly out to attempt a pat, she took off.  I laid there and tapped my fingernails on the floor which they seem to be very intrigued by.  I ignored them and just tapped.  I got a few sniffs. I broke out 'hand monster" and they totally did not buy it.  Hand monster advances until they move and it immediately retreats trying to be prey.. By the time they were ready to move, they were retreating, so they pretty much missed that hand monster was too. However at one point Lion jumped up on Happy Bear and I was 'tickling' HB's foot and Lion didn't think that was appropriate and decided I needed to receive the PAW OF DOOM!!  Sadly it turned out to be the paw of 'you really shouldn't do that, so if you wouldn't mind stopping that would be really nice'.. but I am still THRILLED that he reached out to me.. Sadly though I couldn't get him to do it again.

I sat on the couch again, and they went under the couch and started purring pretty loudly.. I thought they were going to settle into the night and I started making plans to call it a night, but after a minute or two they came out for a little more dinner.  So I got off the couch again and pulled over the track ball - something else they can not resist.  I made the ball roll over and over and over.. they were FASCINATED.. I moved my hands closer and closer and they were still fixed by the ball.  Occasionally they would look at my hands and start, but all I had to do was make the ball roll around the track again and they would forget.  I finally got my hand on TKTRMOM and she started purring!!  After about 30 seconds she had had enough, and rolled on her back and exposed her belly.  I could not resist, and figured if she told me off that it would be a good thing.  The more power they assert over you (such as saying do NOT TOUCH MY BELLY YOU STRANGE WOMAN) the more confident they become - which is why hand monster works so well. Well she gave me a few bunny kicks and took off.  Lion took off when he realized I was patting TKTRMOM, but when she took off I made the ball go again and I had them both as an audience again. A few more spins and I was able to get a hand on Lion, and he too started purring..

Such a beautiful sound.

Now if we can just get them to the point where they don't flinch.

The day before the night before Catmouse

Twas the day before the night before Christmas, and the kittens thought it was about time I put up a tree for them so Sandy Paws would have a place to leave a present or two..

We have been good, I promise!