Introducing Betty White

[Margot Lane]

I know Zorro is galvanized into action like Pavlov’s dog once that timed machine whirs! Must be so hard on you both, all this food tweaking. Would -and this is an odd thing to say I know- it help her to have access if she doesn’t to a (safe) window w/ a screen if possible? Perhaps a little fresh air or even fresh cat grass? Sometimes cats feel a little more grounded with a whiff of the outdoors. (I have no idea what your place is like there). Not to imply in any way Miss White isn’t 100% content, but there is always a streak of the wild in them all. (This suggestion brought to you by me watching today’s video of a cat in a stroller!).

 

[daftcat75]

Yeah, it doesn't do any good if it's all going down the sink. I'm SO glad that my time of feeding the garbage disposal is over and I hope it's going to stay that way. No idea why they were doing that, but they're happily snorking again and that makes me very happy.
Have you weighed Betty recently? As long as she's looking good and weighing in well, you're doing it right but she sure does seem delicate in the appetite department! Really hope you can find a good balance food-wise.

Honestly, I'll feed Betty AND the garbage disposal as long as Betty eats enough and keeps it down. If she wants a fresh can every 12 hours and only eats half of it, as long as she's happy and healthy, that's still cheaper than ultrasounds.

For those following along wondering why I haven't taken her in for an ultrasound yet, I'm still waiting to see if insurance will have my back. Still waiting on the assessment of her first claims. I still have a dental exam scheduled for next week and it would be nice if insurance could help me out with some of it. But even if they can't, I am expecting some of the ER visit to count towards the deductible. And in any case, if they see thickening, then what? Even if they underestimated her age, I still think she's too young to be put on steroids. And even with steroids, it still always comes down to a dietary component. So I'm trying my damnedest to get that dietary component down first.

And in any case, since she stopped bringing up hair, none of her barfs have seemed food related except today. Which seemed perhaps a regurgitation. Possibly because I was over liberal with the powdered freeze dried.

 

[daftcat75]

I know Zorro is galvanized into action like Pavlov’s dog once that timed machine whirs! Must be so hard on you both, all this food tweaking. Would -and this is an odd thing to say I know- it help her to have access if she doesn’t to a (safe) window w/ a screen if possible? Perhaps a little fresh air or even fresh cat grass? Sometimes cats feel a little more grounded with a whiff of the outdoors. (I have no idea what your place is like there). Not to imply in any way Miss White isn’t 100% content, but there is always a streak of the wild in them all. (This suggestion brought to you by me watching today’s video of a cat in a stroller!).

I think Betty is one who would eat grass to bring things up. Krista was like that. I don't need to encourage any more vomiting. She loves the windows. She has one near the desk that she sits in. And a sliding glass door in the front room that she will occasionally watch the world go by from. But that's not as exciting since the property managers told us to take down our bird feeders.

 

[Margot Lane]

Even humming bird feeders? Those don’t drip seeds or anything.

 

[daftcat75]

Even humming bird feeders? Those don’t drip seeds or anything.

Theres lot of silly rules here. But it’s rent controlled and it’s not a -hole like many of the other rent controlled properties. So I try not to make waves.

 

[daftcat75]

Another spit up. I think she probably brought up the luxolite. Or stomach acid. Or both. I want her to have something. But I also don’t want to throw the kitchen sink at her. I have the Lotus raw chicken she’s had before. I also plated half an ounce of the Rawz chicken to see if she might be interested in a different Rawz flavor in a protein she has still had before. I think maybe I need to step out and stop helicopter-ing this situation. Give her some time and space to work it out on her own. I need to pick up something from the store anyway. Good luck girl! I’ll leave the chicken out and we can start with a fresh plate of rabbit when I get back if she’s still not convinced.

 

[daftcat75]

She ate the half ounce of chicken Rawz while I was working on a log-back-in last email of the day. So I called up one of the stores that carries Rawz and purchased four more cans of the chicken. Gave them my CC and asked them to stash it somewhere outside as they’d be closed when I got there. I love stores that will do that.

I also decided to eat dinner and grab a beer at the taproom to give her the time and space to digest that chicken as she sees fit. I just got the notification that she went back for the remainder. Not very much. But at least I’ll come home to a hungry cat.

 

[daftcat75]

She ate the second Betty-sized portion (another 22 grams) of Rawz chicken (pate, not shredded) already. I plated a third portion of 22 grams. If she eats that, that will put her at (14+22+22) = two ounces. For a new flavor on a barf day?, “That’ll do, Donkey. That’ll do.”

 

[daftcat75]

Best laid plans….

She barely touched the third portion and doesn’t seem interested in either chicken or rabbit for breakfast.

She did drink a fair amount of water last night and show a worrying interest in eating that cat tree I think I might replace this weekend. Sad. It’s seen two other cats. But it’s a hazard to Betty now. And I know I’ll never get around to re-carpeting it myself.

I may put some powdered freeze dried on one of the choices later just to get something in her so she’s not sitting on a stomach full of acid. But otherwise, I’m going to try to be more patient today.

Not today. But I am considering letting her have some kibble again. At least when she had kibble, it was always an appetizer. She’d have a few pieces of kibble before continuing to the wet food. Let’s see if she can complete her own transition to Rawz this week without going too crazy in one sense or another.

Besides. I’d rather underfeed her and stop the vomiting than have vomiting become a cycle and a habit for her.

 

[daftcat75]

This is her trying to keep it down face.
[

I got her to eat a few bites of the rabbit with powdered freeze dried. And I’m done for the morning. Just wanted to get a few bites of food (not carpet fibers) in her belly this morning.

Last night she ate about an ounce and a half. If she can eat the same today, that puts her at half the calories I want for her. But it’s also a good base to grow from.

 

[daftcat75]

 

[tarasgirl06]

Best laid plans….

She barely touched the third portion and doesn’t seem interested in either chicken or rabbit for breakfast.

She did drink a fair amount of water last night and show a worrying interest in eating that cat tree I think I might replace this weekend. Sad. It’s seen two other cats. But it’s a hazard to Betty now. And I know I’ll never get around to re-carpeting it myself.

I may put some powdered freeze dried on one of the choices later just to get something in her so she’s not sitting on a stomach full of acid. But otherwise, I’m going to try to be more patient today.

Not today. But I am considering letting her have some kibble again. At least when she had kibble, it was always an appetizer. She’d have a few pieces of kibble before continuing to the wet food. Let’s see if she can complete her own transition to Rawz this week without going too crazy in one sense or another.

Besides. I’d rather underfeed her and stop the vomiting than have vomiting become a cycle and a habit for her.

Is the part she's biting on a horizontal or a vertical? If it's on a vertical, have you thought about removing the carpet and replacing with sisal? Just a thought.
C'mon Betty! You work it out, girl! There has to be a way for you to eat and be happy without puking (so much)! Elvis is a notorious regurgitator.
*So adorable!!!*

 

[daftcat75]

Is the part she's biting on a horizontal or a vertical? If it's on a vertical, have you thought about removing the carpet and replacing with sisal? Just a thought.
C'mon Betty! You work it out, girl! There has to be a way for you to eat and be happy without puking (so much)! Elvis is a notorious regurgitator.
*So adorable!!!*

That’s the thing. She’s not regurgitating. Yesterday she was. But that’s likely too much of the freeze dried with too much of the wet. But most of her sick and spit ups lately have been stomach acid or carpet fibers. She’s not a habitual carpet eater or we would be dealing with this more frequently. But I see her as eating the fibers as a cat grass analog. So what’s got her feeling so nauseated that she wants to bring it back up? It’s almost like she’s still on a hairball cycle but I’m not seeing the hairball anymore.

 

[tarasgirl06]

That’s the thing. She’s not regurgitating. Yesterday she was. But that’s likely too much of the freeze dried with too much of the wet. But most of her sick and spit ups lately have been stomach acid or carpet fibers. She’s not a habitual carpet eater or we would be dealing with this more frequently. But I see her as eating the fibers as a cat grass analog. So what’s got her feeling so nauseated that she wants to bring it back up? It’s almost like she’s still on a hairball cycle but I’m not seeing the hairball anymore.

Yeah, it's mysterious. Cats don't ALWAYS eat grass because they're sick. Sometimes they just eat grass for digestion and because they like it. It's like salad for cats. Sort of. She may just be on a "kick" as cats do love pattern and habit. But her food may be too rich? It's not an easy guess.

 

[daftcat75]

I have one call I lead every morning. And that’s when the Betty alarm goes off. And during the call, I see her wandering over to the tree for nibbles. I know this tree has sentimental value. But it’s also really beat up and not worth the restoration. The replacement will be cheaper. I plated some Lotus raw. That’s about as close to plain chicken as I have.

She’s so chatty this morning. I feel like I have an awful choice between starving her into transition (and dealing with carpet eating and other acid spit ups) or go back to the food that may not have been working so great for her.

At least for right now, I’ll see if I can fuss her into eating a raw portion so I don’t have to worry about her eating carpet.

 

[daftcat75]

Yeah, it's mysterious. Cats don't ALWAYS eat grass because they're sick. Sometimes they just eat grass for digestion and because they like it. It's like salad for cats. Sort of. She may just be on a "kick" as cats do love pattern and habit. But her food may be too rich? It's not an easy guess.

I would expect her to eat the tree habitually if it was indeed a habit. But she only seems to eat it on days she’s going to be sick. I like to think she’s smarter than eating the tree every few days and then swearing off it for a few days after it made her sick. But no, I think the sick precedes the eating in this case.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I have one call I lead every morning. And that’s when the Betty alarm goes off. And during the call, I see her wandering over to the tree for nibbles. I know this tree has sentimental value. But it’s also really beat up and not worth the restoration. The replacement will be cheaper. I plated some Lotus raw. That’s about as close to plain chicken as I have.

She’s so chatty this morning. I feel like I have an awful choice between starving her into transition (and dealing with carpet eating and other acid spit ups) or go back to the food that may not have been working so great for her.

At least for right now, I’ll see if I can fuss her into eating a raw portion so I don’t have to worry about her eating carpet.

*Hoping that worked!*

 

[daftcat75]

She nibbled a little of the raw and a little more of the Rawz chicken. She still looks at me and licks her lips like she's hungry, nauseated, or both.

I tossed the old tree. Sad. So many memories of Krista in that tree. I went out to replace it. Then I saw the price was nearly double what I was expecting. That gave me pause. I decided not to rush back into the same tree and see if there was another Betty might like more in that place that won't have so much chewable carpet. I like the Furhaven faux fur trees better for this reason. Also because it was a carpeted number I brought home for Krista one time that was off-gassing. It made her barf and she never really used it. Pet Food Express was good enough to take it back for store credit even though the receipt had long gone missing.

So I'm taking suggestions for trees to fill that corner. Preferably something with levels that's easy enough for an old gal with creaky joints.

 

[tarasgirl06]

She nibbled a little of the raw and a little more of the Rawz chicken. She still looks at me and licks her lips like she's hungry, nauseated, or both.

I tossed the old tree. Sad. So many memories of Krista in that tree. I went out to replace it. Then I saw the price was nearly double what I was expecting. That gave me pause. I decided not to rush back into the same tree and see if there was another Betty might like more in that place that won't have so much chewable carpet. I like the Furhaven faux fur trees better for this reason. Also because it was a carpeted number I brought home for Krista one time that was off-gassing. It made her barf and she never really used it. Pet Food Express was good enough to take it back for store credit even though the receipt had long gone missing.

So I'm taking suggestions for trees to fill that corner. Preferably something with levels that's easy enough for an old gal with creaky joints.

A friend told me about limited-time sales on amazon and I was fortunate enough to get our largest one on there several years ago. It's Go Pet Club brand, unfortunately made in China, and it has the faux fur on the horizontals, with sisal on the verticals. It's gotten a lot of play, relaxation and enjoyment. gopetclub.com has their disclaimer and you can view a variety of configs and colors, at affordable prices and you can see the venues where they're sold. Baby Su doesn't go in the living room any more, but Elvis occasionally climbs it and enjoys a little R&R, especially when the patio doors are open. IDK if it would meet with your approval in all ways, but we like it. The others are all carpeted. There are $$$ ones that are mostly wood *plywood* with carpeted platforms, but they're not affordable by me. Lotus is one of the popular brands and they come in different sizes and shapes. There are some $$$ ones from Europe, ditto. hauspanther.com has links to a lot of these.

 

[daftcat75]

I hate to throw yet another food at her. But I'm hoping that she'll do a dry-wet combo once again. I picked up Boss Cat Freeze Dried Raw. I put out a few of the dry pieces next to a small pile of rehydrated pieces. Sure enough, she ate the dry pieces first and then continued to eat the wet bits next to it. Because it is a raw food, I don't think I can leave hydrated pieces out for very long. But let's see how she does with a small allowance for dry pieces and Rawz wet food available to her next to it.

That is assuming her stomach isn't doing flips by dinner or overnight.

I also picked up some fresh catnip and wheat grass. She showed more interest in the catnip than the wheat grass. So I'm leaving the catnip out for her to nibble on if she wants some roughage. I decided it wasn't fair to punish her for Krista's grass barfs. Betty should be given the benefit of the doubt with cat grass until she shows me whether she can handle it or not.