Current fosters - The Boys..

Blog the Change - Catswell

Back in January, I got a couple of packages of Catswell cat treats, and I fed them to The Crew.  Most of them did not like it, but Jack, oh my dear dear Jack, will eat anything, ate up those I gave to all of The Crew. Shortly there after he started showing signs of urinary crystals.  It progressed to the point I was fearful of it and I took him to the vet.

It has been a very slow road back to recovery.  There have been several times I thought he was better only to find a puddle of urine in the tub, or on the bathroom floor (or on the washing machine - really Jack, the washing machine?? what on earth... *sigh*) and so I continue to nurse him and make sure he continues to heal.  But at this point I feel the need to write to the makers of the product that caused this mess.

Catswell SOUNDS like a good and healthy product. The packaging hits all the buzz words in marketing for people looking for good and healthy products... "natural" "grain free" "no corn" "no soy" "no gluten" "no byproducts" "no antibiotics" "no added hormones" "real salmon" "Cage free chicken" and have names like "Happy Hips" and "VitaKitty" What you don't see, because they wrote it in VERY fine print in white on a yellow background, which makes it very hard to see is the "Made in China" stamp..

Chicken from China has a VERY dangerous track record.. Please, be aware of where your food products are coming from!

Well anyway.. I was finally comfortable that Jack isn't going to get any worse (update, yeah, about that.. not so much..), so I was writing my letter to the company and in the back of my mind I was contemplating what I might write for the Blog the Change this go around.. when I had one of those D'OH! moments. This is something that we need to change.  If it is not safe for us to consume due to how it was raised/produced, then it is not safe for our kitties..

Below is the letter I wrote and sent to Catswell / Dogswell  I do hope they take it seriously.

Catswell

c/o Dogswell

1964 Westwood Blvd.

Suite 350

Los Angeles, CA 90025

Dear Catswell

I wanted to write to you regarding an experience I had with your product earlier this year.  I apologize for my delay in writing, but I wanted to make sure the aftermath had completely finished before writing.

So earlier this year I was given an opportunity to receive two free packages of Catswell products.  I went to my local PetSmart store and got a package of Happy Hips and a package of Vitakitty.

I opened the package of Vitakitty first.  I have seven cats.  Many of them gave it huge paws down and refused to eat it, a very unusual occurrence in my household, as most treats are gobbled right up.  My eldest “Jack” however enjoyed all the treats I had dispensed for my cats. 

This was the only change to his diet in a very long time.  He has had several rounds of issues with urinary crystals, so I am careful what I feed him.  I liked that your products stated that they had no hormones, antibiotics, and more especially no fillers: no corn, soy, wheat, etc.   I read over the ingredient list carefully and while I wasn't thrilled with the plant based sources of added nutrients, I assumed it couldn't possibly have enough to have an effect on him.

What I missed was the very small ‘Made in China” fine print at the bottom.

Very shortly after feeding your product (and as you can see by the enclosed package, he did not get all that much) Jack started showing signs of urinary problems.  By the time I got him to the vet he was peeing blood and it was leaking out of him.   It was EXTREMELY unnerving for both of us.

Fortunately we have dealt with urinary crystals in the past and knew how to take care of it.  After an x-ray and an exam we gave him pain meds some additional supplements that have helped him in the past.  Slowly he recovered.  Several times I thought he was 100% only to find him peeing in the tub or on the washing machine.

At this point we haven’t had an incident in a while, and while I am not quite ready to say he is back to his old self, I am ready to say that it isn’t going to get any worse than this and my fear of what might happen to him has abated somewhat.

My beautiful boy did not deserve this.   You promote such healthy sounding products.  You sucker those of us who care about what we feed our pets with all of the current buzz words, while hiding the source of your product in fine print so fine it is easily overlooked.

Made in China; three words that have led to the deaths of so many companion animals.  With all the product contamination out there I can’t believe a company so seemingly interested in providing a “healthy” product would sell it.

Please find enclosed both packages of Catswell products I purchased, as well as a copy of the bill for $239.60 for the exam, x-rays and pain medication.

I would very much like an apology and for you to reconsider the source of the ingredients of your products.  I would also like to be reimbursed for the vet care. 

Sincerely,

Connie 

Cat Person /Rescue volunteer / Blogger

Oh.. My.. Goodness...

I was going through the shows my Tivo recorded and smiled when I saw Bewitched hidden among the other shows.  My Tivo does weird things every once in a while, pulling up shows I haven't seen in a long long time.  Sometimes I can't help myself and watch them.

This time it was the episode "The Warlock and the Gray Flannel Suit" (if you are interested you can see it there) and 20 minutes into it (or 14:30 into it in the video linked above) I saw and heard this..

Alonzo (the hippy): Here are some words that sing..
Mr. Cushman (the client): Flurpity Flurp?

Of course the reaction is "Those aren't even words! as for singing, they only hiccup a little"  lol.. (although Alonzo goes on to say/sing "it's the seductive sound of bare feet on a carpet")  (fun fact, Alonzo is also "Doc" from the Love Boat)

Imagine my shock at hearing Fleurp.. ok fine Flurp on Bewitched! I must have seen this episode in the past, as "Panda's Wedding" sounds familiar enough, and a few of the other bits rang a bell in the back of my mind.. but for my mind to hang on to this seems just so odd..

I always assumed I came up with Fleurp because I had recently fostered another kitten that I wanted to name Fleur as in the Fleur-de-lis and while that didn't happen (she ended up going to a different foster home) I didn't want to reuse the name..

So might it have been some part of this added to that? or pure inspiration as I was driving (I remember the exact spot in the road where it popped into my head as I was driving to get her from the shelter)

Fleurp's Great Adventure

So earlier this week I took Fleurp to the vet.  Sadly we have signs that she is anemic yet again..

This time I decided to skip the standard steroid antibiotic treatment and went to a holistic vet.  I have been to this vet in the past for Ollie (which didn't help - but I wasn't shocked on this as Ollie wasn't big on accepting help) and for Eli (which did help a great deal) and with Em for her diabetes (this one the results weren't very clear and I can't say for sure one way or the other)

I am keeping a very close eye on my Fleurp.. if I get too concerned I know that steroids will help..  but I would really rather that we fix this instead of having to deal with it each spring.

The vet has a very tight schedule to begin with and there are some other issues that made scheduling interesting, so when she offered me an appointment at 11 am on very short notice I jumped at it.  This of course meant that Fleurp would come to work with me for an hour before I headed to the appointment.

Fleurp wasn't all that interested in being social at work.  She's never been to this office as we moved in the past year, but she visited several times as a kitten at a different location, and I keep her picture on my desk, so the girls all know her well.  Despite being fawned over her preference was to sit in the carrier and just bide her time, so I let her.

She rides pretty well, in fact she didn't make a peep.  When I got there the previous appointment was just leaving so we had no waiting which was nice.  I brought her into the room and Dr. G and I sat around talking for a while.. I went over Fleup's history, her personality, where she likes to sleep, what is unique about her, what she likes to eat, as well as a bunch of other things you wouldn't think has anything to do with anemia..

While we were talking, Fleurp decided she wanted to get out of the carrier and investigate - which made me smile.  It is in her personality to explore and make her space her own, but it is something she hasn't done a lot of lately outside of the house.. probably because every other time she's left the house for the past three years she has had blood drawn.  I brought treats and she ate and explored and attempted to get into trouble :)

We were sent home with a few homeopathic remedies.. yup, those kinds of remedies.. the ones you mix a small amount in with water, then you mix a few drops of that water with more water.. I do not understand these in the least.. the science orientated part of my brain says this is insane.. but I know people who fully believe in these and have seen results, and I trust Dr. G because I've seen her do a lot of good for other pets.

So we will give this a go.  As I said I will be keeping a very close eye on her.  I tell her that it will work and she will feel better, and I choose to believe this will work and she will be better.

And if I am wrong, there is always another round of steroids..

Thank you Cabot Cheese!

A while back I entered a giveaway for Cabot Cheese for volunteering.  I didn't give it much thought, because I rarely win things from companies these days, so I entered and pretty much forgot I did..

Until a package showed up on my doorstep a couple of weeks ago.

disclosure, they gave me the cheese, but asked for nothing in return.. did I mention I got no notice I won save for it showing up on my doorstep?

In the box were six other boxes..

and in each of these boxes, was a box..

And inside that box...

so 600 units of cheese!!  Talk about overwhelming!!

talk about your boxes..

You thank us Cabot, we thank you for these boxes we are about to enjoy.. 

I donated five of the boxes to the shelter.  I told them I would like to use it for the Kitten Shower that is coming up next month.  Unfortunately they don't seem feel the need to use the donation as intended.  Last I heard they were seeing if it was feasible to use it to give medications to the dogs.. (The dogs! *sigh*  not that I hate dogs, I just really feel the cats are under supported and that is where I intend my donations to go)   There was also the thought that since they are all individually wrapped there is the belief that wrappers would end up on the grounds (aka people wouldn't dispose of them properly) so instead of using my donation as is, there is intention to unwrap them and put them on a platter.. *sigh*  I guess I will have to re-evaluate my donations in the future.

I'm glad I saved one box out and gave it to another organization who was THRILLED to have it.. and near the end of the day all but a handful were left.. Considering there were less than 100 volunteers and there was fruit and chips and pizza and chocolate up the wazoo, I would say the cheese was VERY appreciated.  Not everyone wants high sugar snacks..

So thank you Cabot for doing this!  I totally appreciate the donation and the chance to help..

and I thank you for this box..