Celica Blue and Lymphoma: Two Weeks In

Two weeks ago today we discovered Celica Blue has lymphoma, a disease totally unexpected in such a young cat.

Since then, living with the disease has become the new normal.

Home-prepared kitty food: It doesn’t get any EZ-ier

In a world where kibble is still king for so many cat caregivers, there’s a small army of people looking to make a difference, both in the information they share and, now, in a product that can make species-appropriate feeding more convenient.

Laurie Goldstein and Carolina Liima teamed up to create a new product that creates a complete and balanced homemade diet when it’s added to meat. Both are devoted and knowledgeable pet parents. They’ve seen how proper nutrition can dramatically improve the health of their cats.

My Journey to Raw

This is my contribution to CatCentric.org’s “Journey to Raw” series.

My cats have been fed a raw, homemade diet for 15 years or so. Several kittens have been raised on it and several adults have been introduced to it mid-stream.

Two factors contributed to my interest in feeding a more species-appropriate diet.

Continue reading here.

A Step Back for Feline Nutrition Awareness

A short article in Sunday’s USA Today magazine makes it even harder for pet parents to get the real message about what to feed an obligate carnivore.

“Garden-variety cat foods are joined on store shelves by a large selection of purportedly healthier sustenance such as by-product-free, grain free, human-grade, natural and organic brands, “ writes Marc Selinger. He wonders if the new foods are really necessary.

Challenges for kitty caregivers

Tekla chows down!

There’s a lot of news in the wonderful world of felines, much of it confirming my philosophy that less is more. The choices faced by pet caregivers go far beyond which food to feed and the annual checkup with its obligatory “shots.”

Diabetes in cats

Two new articles on diabetes in cats confirm a single take-away: dry food is its biggest culprit. Eliminating it is the single best thing you can do to manage the disease.

Another Natura recall

Natura Pet Foods issued a profusely apologetic recall of all its dry foods today. The affected brands are Innova, EVO, California Natural, HealthWise, Karma, and Mother Nature.

The company took consumers into its corporate arms and announced that the recall was the result “a single positive Salmonella test by the FDA on product manufactured April 3.”  They are very sad and disappointed and truly sorry.

The announcement came directly from the manufacturer (which was bought by Procter & Gamble in 2010) and it was not made on a Friday, a/k/a the Friday night dump and run that has become popular with manufacturers issuing recalls. Some credit is due there, I suppose.

Will these foods help your cat’s poop?

A Nestlé Purina-funded study found that its own therapeutic food was more effective, when compared with a Hill’s Science Diet food in feeding trials. Sixteen cats (15 completed the study) with chronic diarrhea were alternately fed the two foods for four weeks in a double-blind clinical trial. Surprised?

The study found that dietary fat did not affect the “output” so to speak; a low fat diet was originally thought to be important in managing feline GI issues. The Purina diet contains Omega 3 fatty acids, which have an anti-inflammatory effect.

The two foods used in the study were Hill’s Prescription i/d Feline and Purina Veterinary Diets EN Gastrointestinal Feline Formula.

Do we need to offer our opinions here? The ingredients speak for themselves.

What is Purina thinking?

“The Scream” Edvard Munch

As a professional writer, I try to keep a lid on any really strong opinions and equally strong language. But a google alert I received just screams WTF!

Purina has just come out with a new Purina Be Happy Dog and Cat Food Brand.

Based on ingredients such as ground yellow corn, corn gluten meal, soybean meal, chicken by-product meal, meat and bone meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), animal liver flavor, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, turkey by-product meal, and salt (this is for the cat version), the food is “inspired by the enduring happiness pets share with owners.”

AVMA under fire from advocates of raw pet diets

Mollie loves her raw chow.

The divide between commercial pet food manufacturers and those who advocate for a raw food diet for their pets has grown deeper this week with the proposal issued by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Titled “Policy On Raw Or Undercooked Animal-Source Protein In Cat And Dog Diets,” the resolution reads in part:

The AVMA discourages the feeding to cats and dogs of any animal-source protein that has not first been subjected to a process to eliminate pathogens because of the risk of illness to cats and dogs as well as humans. Cooking or pasteurization through the application of heat until the protein reaches an internal temperature adequate to destroy pathogenic organisms has been the traditional method used to eliminate pathogens in animal-source protein, although the AVMA recognizes that newer technologies and other methods such as irradiation are constantly being developed and implemented.

When the refrigerator died

And what does that have to do with cats?

Our 21-year-old fridge died last week. Its demise was imminent, but of course it happened on a holiday weekend just after the shopping was done for the week.

What the cats eat when the fridge dies

Saturday night my husband poked me and announced the fridge wasn’t cooling. I tried to go back to sleep and hoped I was dreaming. On Sunday, a discussion with a repairman pretty much confirmed that we’d gotten our money’s worth out of the appliance. Later, I quickly checked out refrigerators in a local appliance store and did some Internet research. On Monday, we hit the road in earnest, tape measure in hand.