June 11, 2011
Hello everyone, hope your summer is going well so far. Even if it’s not technically summer, it has been incredibly hot! I hope
anyone who lives in the Massachusetts areas of the tornadoes from a couple of weeks ago, are okay and didn’t suffer any
damage. How scary! We had tornado warnings here in NH that day but we were very, very lucky.
This is a great page and video that one of the mom’s on Catster provided:
How to convert a baby diaper to a cat or dog diaper.
www.thingamababy.com/baby/2008/04/catdogdiaper.html
This guy does amazing things to rescue animals and cares for his disabled cat. He even has a video of the wheelchair his cat
uses! http://ngothyeaun.blogspot.com/2008/03/aleras-wheelchair.html
I have some information from Gump’s mom Jen about Merrick: This was her post she’s agreed to let me share:
I wanted to pass along some info I discovered about Merrick canned food (the "entree" varieties like Turducken, Grammy's Pot
Pie, Cowboy Cookout, etc). I remember when I had looked online a while ago, these Merrick varieties didn't have grains. But
when I looked closely at the labels of some cans, I noticed "pearled barley". I then looked again at the Merrick website and the
"entree" varieties did not have pearled barley in the ingredients. So I emailed the company and this was the response:
"Thanks for taking the time to e-mails. Actually the pearl barley was removed about a year and a half ago. We are using up labels
that were already printed. Our website is correct and your product does not have grain in it. AFFCO allows time for old labels to
be used up. The only 2 canned cat products that contain grains are California Roll which has whole brown rice and Southern
Delight has brewer’s rice.
Thanks,
Cyndi, Merrick Pet Care "
So the "entree" varieties don't contain pearled barley. Though I've got cans right now that have it listed in the ingredients. I haven't
found any without pearled barley still on the label. Wow, it's interesting that they would try to save a small amount of money by
reusing labels (and keeping people misinformed). It also probably turns some people off to the food who don't want any grain in
their cats' food. I guess you never really know with pet food labels?
Very aggravating to me that a company like Merrick would do something like this just to save a few pennies! I’ve been told by my
friend Linda at Food for Pets, that other companies have done similar things. So here is yet another thing to look out for when
buying food. Which is annoying to think that we have to check the labels of foods we already believe to be grain free or what we’
re looking for.
Great info on this blog that Barb sent:
How to Handle a Veterinarian Who Won’t Let Up On the Yearly Vaccine Protocol.
www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2011/june/vets_and_yearly_vacc_protocols
I also wanted to share the results of the necropsy that was done on poor little Indiana who passed away so suddenly a few weeks
ago. This was pretty stunning to both his mom Kristin and I. We’d never heard of this before:
www.petplace.com/cats/pyothorax-in-cats/page1.aspx. Pyothorax is an infection of the chest cavity generally caused by
bacteria, although less commonly it may be due to other organisms, such as viruses or fungi. The infection causes fluid to
accumulate in the chest cavity – the space between the lungs and the body wall – which causes difficulty breathing.
Here’s another link explaining the condition: www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/respiratory/c_ct_pyothorax
I found these two links for financial assistance with vet care: www.fveap.org/, this next one is for dogs but there are many
organizations on it that do both dogs and cats.
http://yellowdogindy.blogspot.com/2010/02/financial-aid-for-veterinary-care.html
Annabelle’s mom Sarah started doing something to get her to eat all her food. You know how kitties can be so picky (like I need
to tell any of you). A lot of them won’t eat chunky food or shredded food. They love those particular brands yet they only lick up the
gravy and leave the food part. Well, this is how she took care of that problem. She uses a little food processor she originally
picked up to turn veggies into baby food but it was never used. She took some of the new Simply Nourish cat food at Petsmart
(which I have now added to my list of foods on that page). She just put the whole can of food along with the gravy in the processor
and it made a nice pate. Annabelle licked the plate clean and let me tell you, this kitty is PICKY! She’s also tried using any
leftover and mixed it with a little bit of Fancy Feast and again, she gobbled it up. So this really opens up food options! I’ll be
adding this tip onto the Tips & Tricks page.
And just to prove I don’t only talk about bad news with kitties, our little friend Pumpkin was vomiting hairballs pretty food for
awhile. I talked with his mom Kristina and she switched him to a grain free diet. I’m happy to report he’s doing GREAT, no more
puking hairballs, his coat looks great, he’s feeling good and now she’s switching all of her pets to a grain free diet as well. Hurray
for Pumpkin and for his mom! Great to hear this stuff. Kristina has now been posting about Pumpkin’s progress and helping
other kitties and their parents which is the way we like it. Pass it on! Hearing about healthy and happy kitties makes it all worth it.
June 25, 2011
Hello everyone, first let me take this time to thank all of you who have sent your love, support and condolences during this
extremely difficult time. I very much appreciate it. It’s been a very tough week and a half and frankly I’m still reeling but life goes on
and so must our work to help our furry children with their health.
First up, I have a few additions to the site. One is that I’ve added a link for Gift Shops. These aren’t my shops and I don’t sell
anything or make any money from them. They are handcrafted gifts from friends and members of IBDKitties. There are only 2 so
far and I’m going to be very choosy about who I recommend. One of the sites is Happy River Dances Catnip Company and you
can read all about River’s story on this page of my site: http://ibdkitties.net/RiverFIV.html. Finney & Lacey have personally tested
their products and trust me, this is organically grown catnip from right here in New Hampshire and it’s VERY good! LOL. Mine
love it and so do many others.
Along these lines I also received this from my daily cat tips newsletter: FIV is Not a Death Sentence, by Jane A. Kelley, Cat
expert and animal communicator, www.paws-and-effect.com/. “Cat owners who learn that their feline friend tests positive for the
feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) often worry that their cat is doomed to a short and painful life. However, well cared-for FIV-
positive cats can live up to 12 years, and there are stories of FIV-positive cats living 20 years or more with no symptoms of any
severe disease. Many vets say that because FIV is transmitted almost exclusively by bite wounds, FIV-positive and negative cats
can live together as long as they have a peaceful relationship. FIV-positive cats do require special care, stress management,
excellent nutrition, and treatment of illnesses. For more information, check out this article,
www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/petcare/cats_fiv.cfm, about FIV from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.”
A Hodgepodge of Feline Nutrition Facts
Very good reading! www.petmd.com/blogs/thedailyvet/vcarroll/2011/june/a_hodgepodge_of_feline_nutrition_facts
This site is well known to many of you already. This woman does custom paintings of any pet and they are quite beautiful!
www.catsuppliesandmore.com/pet-portrait
Hello everyone, hope your summer is going well so far. Even if it’s not technically summer, it has been incredibly hot! I hope
anyone who lives in the Massachusetts areas of the tornadoes from a couple of weeks ago, are okay and didn’t suffer any
damage. How scary! We had tornado warnings here in NH that day but we were very, very lucky.
This is a great page and video that one of the mom’s on Catster provided:
How to convert a baby diaper to a cat or dog diaper.
www.thingamababy.com/baby/2008/04/catdogdiaper.html
This guy does amazing things to rescue animals and cares for his disabled cat. He even has a video of the wheelchair his cat
uses! http://ngothyeaun.blogspot.com/2008/03/aleras-wheelchair.html
I have some information from Gump’s mom Jen about Merrick: This was her post she’s agreed to let me share:
I wanted to pass along some info I discovered about Merrick canned food (the "entree" varieties like Turducken, Grammy's Pot
Pie, Cowboy Cookout, etc). I remember when I had looked online a while ago, these Merrick varieties didn't have grains. But
when I looked closely at the labels of some cans, I noticed "pearled barley". I then looked again at the Merrick website and the
"entree" varieties did not have pearled barley in the ingredients. So I emailed the company and this was the response:
"Thanks for taking the time to e-mails. Actually the pearl barley was removed about a year and a half ago. We are using up labels
that were already printed. Our website is correct and your product does not have grain in it. AFFCO allows time for old labels to
be used up. The only 2 canned cat products that contain grains are California Roll which has whole brown rice and Southern
Delight has brewer’s rice.
Thanks,
Cyndi, Merrick Pet Care "
So the "entree" varieties don't contain pearled barley. Though I've got cans right now that have it listed in the ingredients. I haven't
found any without pearled barley still on the label. Wow, it's interesting that they would try to save a small amount of money by
reusing labels (and keeping people misinformed). It also probably turns some people off to the food who don't want any grain in
their cats' food. I guess you never really know with pet food labels?
Very aggravating to me that a company like Merrick would do something like this just to save a few pennies! I’ve been told by my
friend Linda at Food for Pets, that other companies have done similar things. So here is yet another thing to look out for when
buying food. Which is annoying to think that we have to check the labels of foods we already believe to be grain free or what we’
re looking for.
Great info on this blog that Barb sent:
How to Handle a Veterinarian Who Won’t Let Up On the Yearly Vaccine Protocol.
www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2011/june/vets_and_yearly_vacc_protocols
I also wanted to share the results of the necropsy that was done on poor little Indiana who passed away so suddenly a few weeks
ago. This was pretty stunning to both his mom Kristin and I. We’d never heard of this before:
www.petplace.com/cats/pyothorax-in-cats/page1.aspx. Pyothorax is an infection of the chest cavity generally caused by
bacteria, although less commonly it may be due to other organisms, such as viruses or fungi. The infection causes fluid to
accumulate in the chest cavity – the space between the lungs and the body wall – which causes difficulty breathing.
Here’s another link explaining the condition: www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/respiratory/c_ct_pyothorax
I found these two links for financial assistance with vet care: www.fveap.org/, this next one is for dogs but there are many
organizations on it that do both dogs and cats.
http://yellowdogindy.blogspot.com/2010/02/financial-aid-for-veterinary-care.html
Annabelle’s mom Sarah started doing something to get her to eat all her food. You know how kitties can be so picky (like I need
to tell any of you). A lot of them won’t eat chunky food or shredded food. They love those particular brands yet they only lick up the
gravy and leave the food part. Well, this is how she took care of that problem. She uses a little food processor she originally
picked up to turn veggies into baby food but it was never used. She took some of the new Simply Nourish cat food at Petsmart
(which I have now added to my list of foods on that page). She just put the whole can of food along with the gravy in the processor
and it made a nice pate. Annabelle licked the plate clean and let me tell you, this kitty is PICKY! She’s also tried using any
leftover and mixed it with a little bit of Fancy Feast and again, she gobbled it up. So this really opens up food options! I’ll be
adding this tip onto the Tips & Tricks page.
And just to prove I don’t only talk about bad news with kitties, our little friend Pumpkin was vomiting hairballs pretty food for
awhile. I talked with his mom Kristina and she switched him to a grain free diet. I’m happy to report he’s doing GREAT, no more
puking hairballs, his coat looks great, he’s feeling good and now she’s switching all of her pets to a grain free diet as well. Hurray
for Pumpkin and for his mom! Great to hear this stuff. Kristina has now been posting about Pumpkin’s progress and helping
other kitties and their parents which is the way we like it. Pass it on! Hearing about healthy and happy kitties makes it all worth it.
June 25, 2011
Hello everyone, first let me take this time to thank all of you who have sent your love, support and condolences during this
extremely difficult time. I very much appreciate it. It’s been a very tough week and a half and frankly I’m still reeling but life goes on
and so must our work to help our furry children with their health.
First up, I have a few additions to the site. One is that I’ve added a link for Gift Shops. These aren’t my shops and I don’t sell
anything or make any money from them. They are handcrafted gifts from friends and members of IBDKitties. There are only 2 so
far and I’m going to be very choosy about who I recommend. One of the sites is Happy River Dances Catnip Company and you
can read all about River’s story on this page of my site: http://ibdkitties.net/RiverFIV.html. Finney & Lacey have personally tested
their products and trust me, this is organically grown catnip from right here in New Hampshire and it’s VERY good! LOL. Mine
love it and so do many others.
Along these lines I also received this from my daily cat tips newsletter: FIV is Not a Death Sentence, by Jane A. Kelley, Cat
expert and animal communicator, www.paws-and-effect.com/. “Cat owners who learn that their feline friend tests positive for the
feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) often worry that their cat is doomed to a short and painful life. However, well cared-for FIV-
positive cats can live up to 12 years, and there are stories of FIV-positive cats living 20 years or more with no symptoms of any
severe disease. Many vets say that because FIV is transmitted almost exclusively by bite wounds, FIV-positive and negative cats
can live together as long as they have a peaceful relationship. FIV-positive cats do require special care, stress management,
excellent nutrition, and treatment of illnesses. For more information, check out this article,
www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/petcare/cats_fiv.cfm, about FIV from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.”
A Hodgepodge of Feline Nutrition Facts
Very good reading! www.petmd.com/blogs/thedailyvet/vcarroll/2011/june/a_hodgepodge_of_feline_nutrition_facts
This site is well known to many of you already. This woman does custom paintings of any pet and they are quite beautiful!
www.catsuppliesandmore.com/pet-portrait
| Newsletter Archive June 2011 |
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