Introducing Betty White

[tarasgirl06]

At least you know how old Elvis is.

Shelter thought she may be 4 to 6 years old when I adopted her. Vet and I thought she may even be twice that. So two years later, she may be 6 to 8 years or 10 to 12 years old. Vet says she has young eyes though. Old teeth, old joints, but young eyes. She says cat's eyes undergo changes as they get older that makes her think that she may still be on the younger side.

What a difference a day makes! She finished her breakfast. And she finished her lunch. More surprisingly, she finished her lunch in one go. So perhaps her reduced appetite was indeed a hairball making its way through her into the box (and a little grease spot outside the box too. )

Yeah, maybe. All I have to go on is that Elvis' dad told me he was "about 9" when I adopted him, in 2016. So that makes him "about 17" now. His eyes do not show aging. Not every cat's eyes do. And we both know some cats live into their 20s and even sometimes beyond, while I have lost kittens at less than 3 months (to wet-form FIP). So I don't tend to statiticize cats or anyone else. As long as someone is eating, drinking, eliminating fairly to very well/normally, expresses a desire to enjoy life in some capacity, and enjoys the company of those who care for them, I'm calling that "good." Elvis emerged from his lair to eat and drink some, and I picked him up and deposited him on a comfy chair in the dining room, right outside the breakfast room, thinking he might like having a view to his comestibles. Nope. Right back to check out the fountain before jetting into the laundry room.
He's always been kind of aspy. He has patterns. He'll spend days or nights or both in a favorite place before switching it up, for no discernible reason. The places aren't all beautiful or comfortable to me, but I'm not Elvis. When I visit him in his spot and snorgle him, he purrs. *Weird, Elvis, you're WEIRD. But in a good way. Because you're Elvis.*
Betty doesn't have an "old" look at all. But one never knows with cats Good breakfast and lunch? Bravo Betty! Hoping she's on a good streak there.

 

[tarasgirl06]

The King got snatched from his journey to his "throne" and spirited away to laptop duty this morning. He stayed until I had to get up for lunch. His assistance, as always, was invaluable. He got brushies, too. In return:

He and the kid and I hope Ms. Betty is retaining her feasts and enjoying her Friday afternoon.

 

[daftcat75]

Betty was acting hungry and even came on to the kitchen counter when I was preparing my lunch time shake. But when it came to her lunch, she wasn't interested. I thought maybe I could prime her stomach with half a treat. She promptly gave it back with a little foam and a wisp or two of hair. Not a hairball proper. In return, I shot her with a cc of water and a couple drops of CBD oil. I'm leaving her lunch out because she doesn't seem sick with hairball as much as sour from going too long between meals. I don't know what's going on. It's not even that hot out or in here. She had a bonus poop last night so there wasn't one this morning. We shall see. Having a mini-pop, I'm not going to rush her. But she may get fed off the carpet if she hasn't started dinner in an appropriate amount of time.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Betty was acting hungry and even came on to the kitchen counter when I was preparing my lunch time shake. But when it came to her lunch, she wasn't interested. I thought maybe I could prime her stomach with half a treat. She promptly gave it back with a little foam and a wisp or two of hair. Not a hairball proper. In return, I shot her with a cc of water and a couple drops of CBD oil. I'm leaving her lunch out because she doesn't seem sick with hairball as much as sour from going too long between meals. I don't know what's going on. It's not even that hot out or in here. She had a bonus poop last night so there wasn't one this morning. We shall see. Having a mini-pop, I'm not going to rush her. But she may get fed off the carpet if she hasn't started dinner in an appropriate amount of time.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Yeah, your assessment would be mine, too. Just a little sour. The feline physiology, like the aspy physiology, is delicate. Handle with care.

 

[daftcat75]

Came to regret leaving her lunch out. She ate a few bites and promptly gave those back with a yowling milkshake yawn.

Plates up. I hope she'll feel better in a few hours. I'll give her her medicine in an hour. But I may have to withhold her dinner a bit longer.

 

[daftcat75]

She gets a Greenie with her meds because I personally know how bad her gabapentin tastes. I let her have the Greenie and set an alarm for an hour. If the Greenie stayed down, I would put down her dinner. She was laying on the towel under the ceiling fan. I brought the dinner plate over to her feeding spot, and she got up and came over. Then she looked up at me like, "are you going to watch me?" "Alright, I'm outta here. Enjoy!"

(Or as I usually say, "bonnie bonnie ape tit" which is my gringo-ization of a Bon Appetit.)

I set out a 2/3 portion. If she's good with it and it's good with her, she can return to full portions on second dinner.

 

[tarasgirl06]

She gets a Greenie with her meds because I personally know how bad her gabapentin tastes. I let her have the Greenie and set an alarm for an hour. If the Greenie stayed down, I would put down her dinner. She was laying on the towel under the ceiling fan. I brought the dinner plate over to her feeding spot, and she got up and came over. Then she looked up at me like, "are you going to watch me?" "Alright, I'm outta here. Enjoy!"

(Or as I usually say, "bonnie bonnie ape tit" which is my gringo-ization of a Bon Appetit.)

I set out a 2/3 portion. If she's good with it and it's good with her, she can return to full portions on second dinner.

Did she keep it?
Mr. Fluffy had been storing up loose floofs, which he deposited on the chair and my one good rug in the master bedroom yesterday. I discovered it when bringing in my dinner tray to enjoy dinner and a couple of movies. Oh well! Better there than in the cat, right?! It was sizeable and accompanied by plenty of liquid.
Elvis and Mr. Fluffy got their CATurday ritual of catnip spray applied to various cat furniture pieces, and dried 'nip-and-'vine sprinkled on scratchers. They also enjoyed their favorite breakfast of Blue Buffalo Wilderness Flaked Chicken & Turkey. We beat the ants this morning. But I know they'll make up for it. Mr. Fluffy is just as enthusiastic as Betty and Elvis when the Greenies are distributed last thing at night. He'll come barrelling out to the breakfast room or, if he's really enjoyed the movies, he'll wait in the bedroom for me to bring them in there.

 

[daftcat75]

Yes. Last night's meals stayed in her. We even got a chicken leg poop (shaped like a drumstick ) this morning which I assume had a hairball in it. It was too early for exploratory science. She finished breakfast too.

But lunch.

I don't know why she's having so much trouble with lunch lately. She seemed interested until I plated it. She did a sniff and snub. So I sat down next to it and asked her to eat a morsel off the carpet. Nope. I tried once more. Nuh uh. So now there's a morsel on the carpet. I started to put it back on the plate and thought, would she? I asked her if she would eat it from my fingers and she licked at it. Sweet girl. I got her to eat another morsel partly from my fingers and partly from the carpet. Then I said, "that'll do, Donkey." It may or may not do. But I neither wanted to force it nor leave it up to her. I wanted her to have at least a little bit go in her belly so hopefully she won't sour, and maybe she'll come back to it in a bit after it's primed her appetite.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Yes. Last night's meals stayed in her. We even got a chicken leg poop (shaped like a drumstick ) this morning which I assume had a hairball in it. It was too early for exploratory science. She finished breakfast too.

But lunch.

I don't know why she's having so much trouble with lunch lately. She seemed interested until I plated it. She did a sniff and snub. So I sat down next to it and asked her to eat a morsel off the carpet. Nope. I tried once more. Nuh uh. So now there's a morsel on the carpet. I started to put it back on the plate and thought, would she? I asked her if she would eat it from my fingers and she licked at it. Sweet girl. I got her to eat another morsel partly from my fingers and partly from the carpet. Then I said, "that'll do, Donkey." It may or may not do. But I neither wanted to force it nor leave it up to her. I wanted her to have at least a little bit go in her belly so hopefully she won't sour, and maybe she'll come back to it in a bit after it's primed her appetite.

Well, here's my take on it: Cats are crepuscular. They hunt at dawn and dusk and presumably, if they are successful, eat shortly thereafter. Midday is upside-down-lioness time (on World Lion Day and every other day, again presumably). I feed my guys mornings around 7 and evenings around 6, year-round, and they seem pretty amenable to those times. Treats (with no accompanying news) at 11. During the day, if they haven't finished breakfast, it becomes brunch and if they have and want more, they get more. But this is more the exception than the rule. I'd rather they eat 3 times a day! or even 4! and they may, being grazers returning to their leaf-and-grass-covered prey. But the initial feasts are best enjoyed fresh.

 

[daftcat75]

Well, here's my take on it: Cats are crepuscular. They hunt at dawn and dusk and presumably, if they are successful, eat shortly thereafter. Midday is upside-down-lioness time (on World Lion Day and every other day, again presumably). I feed my guys mornings around 7 and evenings around 6, year-round, and they seem pretty amenable to those times. Treats (with no accompanying news) at 11. During the day, if they haven't finished breakfast, it becomes brunch and if they have and want more, they get more. But this is more the exception than the rule. I'd rather they eat 3 times a day! or even 4! and they may, being grazers returning to their leaf-and-grass-covered prey. But the initial feasts are best enjoyed fresh.

If she can skip meals without getting sour stomach and the spits, I would relax more about lunch.

 

[tarasgirl06]

If she can skip meals without getting sour stomach and the spits, I would relax more about lunch.

Yeah. I know. It's so difficult trying to ascertain the sweet spot between those, and those.

 

[daftcat75]

It took her all afternoon. But sometime between 3:30 and 4 pm, she finally visited her lunch and ate it. And kept it.

Not sure what this means for how much dinner she might eat. But she doesn't get the spits overnight. I'm not worried if she's light on dinner because she'll make up for it on second dinner.

 

[daftcat75]

Slight decrease: 9.54
This is what happens when she skips meals (or tosses them) or leaves half on the plate.

Maybe it tasted remarkably different from one can to the next. Because yesterday’s can she was paw scraping at. So far, she ate breakfast in one go from today’s can. Hopefully that bodes well for the rest of today’s meals.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Slight decrease: 9.54
This is what happens when she skips meals (or tosses them) or leaves half on the plate.
View attachment 482333View attachment 482334View attachment 482335
Maybe it tasted remarkably different from one can to the next. Because yesterday’s can she was paw scraping at. So far, she ate breakfast in one go from today’s can. Hopefully that bodes well for the rest of today’s meals.

Did she eat dinner?
A tiny loss isn't to worry about and in summer, it may just be for her beach bod She looks so lovely!

 

[daftcat75]

Did she eat dinner?
A tiny loss isn't to worry about and in summer, it may just be for her beach bod She looks so lovely!

She ate half of dinner and most of second dinner. But they were both paw scraping messes. Sometimes i wonder if her teeth are bothering her again. But then she demolished breakfast in one go.

0.1 on the face of it isn’t very much to lose. But she doesn’t have very many 0.1’s to lose before she becomes too skinny again.

 

[tarasgirl06]

She ate half of dinner and most of second dinner. But they were both paw scraping messes. Sometimes i wonder if her teeth are bothering her again. But then she demolished breakfast in one go.

0.1 on the face of it isn’t very much to lose. But she doesn’t have very many 0.1’s to lose before she becomes too skinny again.

Well, you won't let that happen. You have ways of enticing the Betty.

 

[daftcat75]

Betty took several bites of lunch when I served it before saving the rest for later. I guess this one is a good can.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Betty took several bites of lunch when I served it before saving the rest for later. I guess this one is a good can.

When lab-grown meat is finally feasible for mass sale/consumption, maybe then there will be good consistency in taste...and, presumably, consistency, too But yeah, it does differ from can to can. Here, too. Even fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains differ. So it's not surprising that Betty would have her preFURences.

 

[daftcat75]

When lab-grown meat is finally feasible for mass sale/consumption, maybe then there will be good consistency in taste...and, presumably, consistency, too But yeah, it does differ from can to can. Here, too. Even fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains differ. So it's not surprising that Betty would have her preFURences.

Don't even get me started on cucumbers. My batting average on cucumbers would send me back down to the minor leagues. I am determined to figure out how to select them because I do enjoy a good one in my salads. Yeah. I know there is can variances. We used to hit this with her stew cans. There was one this week that had suspicious dark spots that might have been extra fat bits or oxidized something or... ??? Wasn't worth the gamble. That's the first can in a long time that I dumped without feeding so I'm doing better than cucumbers on Betty's food.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Don't even get me started on cucumbers. My batting average on cucumbers would send me back down to the minor leagues. I am determined to figure out how to select them because I do enjoy a good one in my salads. Yeah. I know there is can variances. We used to hit this with her stew cans. There was one this week that had suspicious dark spots that might have been extra fat bits or oxidized something or... ??? Wasn't worth the gamble. That's the first can in a long time that I dumped without feeding so I'm doing better than cucumbers on Betty's food.

Well, those are good PURRiorities, after all and yeah, it can be hard to get a good cuke. I also have this problem with cantaloupes and pineapples. A good one of either is one of my chief gastronomic joys. But there are so many pithy, tasteless ones out there. Still, better than in the Mojave, where the pineapples were so bad I had to speak to the manager, contact the pineapple grower company, and get a check for my troubles. The pineapples up there didn't improve, which was the result I was looking for. I think they froze them en route from grower to store, with the result that they were often mushy and inedible soon after purchase.