Dem Cats: A Review of Blue Wilderness Dry Cat Food

As promised, I am planning to roll out some reviews of the pet items I use here in my home with my two cats - and in case you missed my introductory post to them, here it is!

Like many others, I try to do the best I can for my pets - I think it's just human nature to be that way. With the advent of new, grain-free diets, I was interested, but I wasn't entirely sold on the idea. That was, until I lost a five year old cat, who had a lot of life left to live, to kidney failure. At the time, I was doing a dry diet, free-fed, with canned food once in a great while. What I found out in my research after the fact was a bit astonishing.

I had never bothered to look at the ingredients of the food I was using - that being regular blue bag Cat Chow. And when I did? I don't know exactly how I felt - maybe just bummed? Bummed to find out that I was feeding my cats a mixture of chicken heads and who knows what else. I had just purchased a new bag of food, and for whatever reason, flipped it over and read the ingredients. After I did that, I grabbed the receipt, got in my car, and drove back to the store where I'd purchased it, returning it immediately. This was in the beginning of my research, of course, and I had earmarked a few different foods I wanted to try instead.

Through research, and talking to my vet, I figured out that cats cannot thrive on just a dry diet. While it works, for the most part, a combination dry/canned, or just a canned diet is much better for cats in the long run. Why? Because they don't naturally drink a whole lot of water, and they get a lot of water from canned food. I attempted to combat the water problem by supplementing with canned food, as well as getting a water fountain (which I will review next), to generate interest. And it worked, all around!

My "natural" pet food journey started with a variety of Wellness-brand foods. Eventually, something didn't sit right with Vegas, and he started having some issues with vomiting and all else. So, I made the switch to Blue Wilderness. Initially, I was just using their Chicken recipe, and then this stuff came out - Blue Wilderness Chicken Recipe Indoor Hairball Control. My pet food savior!

Having two long-haired cats can be a bit of a challenge anyway, but with one who stress eats on occasion, as well as (in the past) yacked up at least one hairball a day, I couldn't not try it. And to be totally honest, it has changed my cats for the better in a multitude of ways. First and foremost, no more hairballs! On the rarest of occasions they still happen, but nowhere near the frequency as in the past. And not so much just this formula, but the Blue Wilderness brand as a whole, has changed everything from their energy levels to how soft their fur is! It is truly, truly a godsend.

While it may be more expensive than the old blue bag Cat Chow (a five pound bag will cost you around $13), it is definitely worth every penny. At this point, I feed a split diet, between this and a variety of canned foods (which I will cover in another post), and am so, so glad that I found this product, and will continue to pay the higher price tag in order to know that I am doing the best I can for my critters - and that's enough for me.

A Tale of Two Kitties: Meet Vegas and Reno

Since I am planning to roll out some pet product reviews coming up, the thought occurred to me that I hadn't yet formally introduced my cats to the blogosphere! And, since they're the ones who are going to be doing the reviews, I figured it was only right!

One of my favorite pictures of Vegas of all time.

First things first. Let me tell you about my old friend Vegas. I met Vegas when I was 19, and I worked at the local animal shelter. He came in as a stray, and I just so happened to be working in admission that day. Since part of my job was to name the animals, I forewent the weird Pokemon and other theme names, and settled on Vegas. He just looked like one, to me. He was beautiful - after a bath and a brush, he was fluffy and happy - all ten pounds of him, a little skinny after too much time outside. He has had such a great attitude since day one, and I noticed that, and the 'thumbs' on his front paws due to polydactyly, right away. Policy was to hold pets for ten days when they came in as a stray, and then they would be put out onto the adoption floor to find a new home. Unfortunately, he wound up with a pretty gnarly upper respiratory infection, that left him in the isolation area for several weeks. From the first time I saw him, I think I loved him. Every day, I would make it a point to visit him if I wasn't working in that area, and I think he knew all of it, too. Have you ever heard the phrase that pets pick you? I really and truly feel like he did. I let him go out for adoption, and he sat out in a cage for around a month. It was summer, and we didn't have the space. Even then, I went in every day, got him out, and let him run around the room and played with him. Until the day that I got the unfortunate news that if I didn't foster him, he would be put down. So, of course, being 19 years old and living with my parents, but knowing damn well I wasn't going to let them put him down, I called home and told my dad I was bringing a cat home. His response was, "Like hell you are!" But within about twenty minutes of being at the house, it was my dad who brought him into the living room first. From there, I fostered him - even taught him to walk on a leash so I could bring him to adoption days at local pet stores like Petco. I had had one foster cat in the past, who I did the same thing with - his name was Monster Paws as his polydactyly gave him two extra digits in front and one in back - but who found a home with two people who worked at the store. I thought this would be the same situation - eventually, Vegas would find another home, and I could rest easy knowing that I saved another one. I made a flyer with pictures of him, and his story, and had it on the counter of the shelter (it was risky to bring him back and forth every day, since I didn't want him to get sick again). Three separate people made appointments with me to visit with him at our home. Three separate people stood me up. That was the only sign I needed, that this was meant to be, and that this little dude was meant to hang out with me forever. This April, it has been ten years (I use their adoption dates as their "birthdays"). And boy, has the time flown! I really and truly don't know what I would have done without him, in some of my darker times. He has always been around to hang out near me, and all around just make my life better. I am thankful, every day, that we found each other.

Reno, the day I rescued her from that cage.

On April 18, 2012, I lost one of my kitties, TK, to kidney failure. I have always had two, and couldn't see Vegas without having a buddy to hang out with. I went to the animal shelter on the 19th, just because I was sad and wanted to take my mind off of it, never imagining I would meet the newest member of the family just then. I walked through the rows of cages of cats and kittens, laughing at a fat old gray cat they named Gus, only because he seemed super ornery. In one of the cages, though, I found this ridiculous looking black and white cat, with her whole body shaved minus her paws, head, and tail. I found out then that her previous owners did not know what a brush was, and that was the reasoning. When I went to see her, she had a nice attitude, and meowed at me a couple of times - TK had been a talker, so it was something I was looking for - but when I walked away from the cage, that's when I knew. She got up on her hind legs, and pawed on the door of the cage, and meowed at me a couple of times. When I walked back over, and stuck my fingers into the cage, she brushed herself back and forth on the door, and I was set. The shelter did free adoptions for pets over a year old, and I figured I had nothing to lose, so I jumped. I have never lost one pet and adopted another so fast before, but it has been great. I decided to name her Reno, and have theme names for my cats - I figured it would be cuter that way.

Besides the first couple of days, Vegas and Reno became fast friends. They aren't typically the kind of cats who snuggle together, but I think they do it when I'm not home.

Vegas is all "Yo, who the F are you?"

Without the two of them, my life wouldn't be nearly as exciting, and you know what? I love them both, dearly, for it.

How to Tuesday: Cat Tower Re-Do

A few years ago, a neighbor of mine built a great cat tower for my cat kids. All real wood and carpet, it has been a joy to have in my home. Of course, though, as the years have passed and the carpets deteriorated with the constant scratching of multiple sets of nails, the posts were looking a little worse for wear (the carpet completely worn down to the posts in a couple spots). Our carpenters at work were going to re-cover the tower for me last year, but I didn't want to take it out of my place, even for a day. So, I took to Google and figured out that I could re-cover the carpet posts with sisal rope fairly inexpensively, and it sure beat buying a piece of fiberboard crap cat furniture that I (and they) would hate every day and that wouldn't last nearly as long.

So, I set off collecting supplies! Here's the list of things you'll need:

Sisal Rope
Hammer and Small Nails (or staple gun)
Box Knife
Wood Glue

Seems pretty simple, right? What I would do, though, is before you pick up the rope, especially, comparison shop! The day I had the idea I spent $5.99 each for balls of 50 feet, and a couple of days later found balls of 100 feet at Lowe's for about $1 more! As for the rope, I picked the 5/8" diameter, but you could go smaller - though you'll need more. How much you need will depend on what you're trying to cover - for the front posts on mine, it took right around 150-200 feet. Everything else is pretty easy to find. I chose to use Gorilla Wood Glue, but any wood glue should suffice. As for the small nails, anything less than 1" should be fine - I used all small nails out of a picture hanging kit that I picked up at Target and had no issues.

Here we go, the steps:

1. Rip the old carpet off of what you're trying to re-cover with a box knife so you're left with a bare surface.

If there are staples or anything in your way, either pull them out the best you can or pound them into the wood. I cut straight down the side of mine and pretty much just yanked until the carpet came off. If you have older, flakier carpet, you'll want to have a trash bag and the vacuum handy!

2. Apply a liberal layer of glue to about the first four to five inches of the surface.

Why do I say four or five inches? If you don't have help (like I didn't), you will need to hold the rope taut and if you have too much area, it's hard to get the glue to stay sticky long enough to get all the way up a post.

3. Pound a nail into the center of the rope at the back of a post to start with. Pull the rope taut as you wrap, and add another nail every four to five wraps.

I started with a nail so that as I pulled the rope, I wouldn't have slack. The tighter the pull, the closer the rows will be together.

4. As you go, use your hammer to pound down on your rope, so you can fit more on and have a tighter wrap.

5. Repeat the above steps. Nail, wrap, repeat. And before you know it, your cats will be enjoying the fruits of your labor like Vegas is here!

Overall, it looks scary, but it was pretty easy to accomplish, and Vegas and Reno definitely appreciate my giving their favorite perch new life. In place of nails, you could definitely utilize a nail gun, but either way works. I didn't want to use too many nails since I didn't want the cats to get their paws stuck and hurt themselves, but thankfully, I haven't had any issues.

If you try this project, I would love to see how it turns out, as well as any feedback or questions in the comments!

On losing my best friend.

happier times.

Let me start by saying, I don't like writing negative, sad posts. I want my blog to be a fun place to check out new music and books, learn something, and read about my silly little life. As I'm sure you know, life isn't always rainbows and sunshine.

Two days ago, I had to put down TK, one of my kitties.

She had been in failing health for about a month, stemming from some extreme weight loss that I had initially attributed to stress from our recent move. I brought her to the vet, where I was given a bit of a shock - that she was in pretty late-stage kidney failure. They told me I could put her down, or give her subcutaneous (under skin) fluids and special food and see how she did. Well, for awhile she did okay. She was back to not eating again the last few days of her life, and she was very lethargic, and I was force feeding her just to get her to eat. She stopped using the litter box, and I found blood in her mouth on Wednesday night, and Mike told me that it had taken him about ten minutes after getting home for him to find her, which wasn't normal for her. I knew that there was nothing else I could do. Her quality of life was gone, and I truly felt that when I looked in her eyes that she was giving up. I couldn't blame her. For a small-statured, five pound kitty, she had a lot of fight in her.

The decision to do what I did was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make in my life. If you have ever done it, you know exactly what I mean. Through tears, I called my parents and asked what they would do, and I decided to bring her to the emergency vet, knowing that I more than likely would not be bringing her home. My mother gave me some advice - "you have to love her enough to do it".

Love between an owner and pet is unconditional. No matter what happens, as an owner, you fall in love with these little creatures so hard that it's impossible to imagine your life without them. And when I imagined my life without TK, I was overcome with sadness. I also realized, though, that it was not a time to be selfish. I needed to do what was best for her.

Through tears that I never thought would end, I said goodbye to my little girl late on Wednesday night. The staff at the clinic were wonderful, and gave me as much time as I needed with her, to tell her how much I loved her and how I knew that she was in pain. I told her that I did not want her to hurt anymore, and, through tears (much as I am while recounting this story), that I would always love her. As the vet came in, I held her to my chest like she fell asleep every night, and before I knew it, she was done suffering. I held her for a few more minutes, sobbing into her fur and knowing that it would be the last time I would ever touch her.

I wanted to memorize the way her fur felt beneath my fingers, the way her meow sounded in comparison to other cats I've known. More than anything, I wanted to remember how she was when she was healthy, before the illness took over. Following me around, chatting about her day, and always making sure I was okay. I never had to say anything to her when I had a bad day, she just knew. The way she would crawl onto my chest and headbutt my face was something I'll likely never find again, and something I will miss most of all.

While the tears still flow here and there, I know, and sleep easily, knowing that her pain is over, and she's in a happier place. She was a happy kitty, and she would want me to be happy, as well. Those are the thoughts that get me through. She will always be my little meow-meow.