New catz on the block : Thomas, Maggie and Max

oneandahalfcats

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Greetings,

I joined The Catsite forum a few days ago after lurking here for the past couple of years.

I have three beautiful fur children : Max (nine year old brown tabby), Maggie (seven year old grey mackerel tabby), and our newest addition, young Thomas (one year and seven months) our little Tuxedo.

Max and Maggie were adopted from our local shelter in 2006. Thomas showed up with Max at our door one cold rainy day, right out of the blue a year ago this past October. You could say that from day one, Thomas decided to adopt us rather than the other way around. He was determined to get in the door at all costs that morning, and has made it his mission to make himself at home here and in all of our hearts. He and Max are the closest of friends.

My interests are cat nutrition and natural and holistic approaches to cat health.

Thomas


Maggie (and Max)


Max

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betsygee

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Oh, they're all so sweet and Thomas is adorable.  Smart boy!  He knew a good home when he saw one.  How neat that Max took him under his paw LOL and brought him home.

Welcome to TCS!  
 
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ozo7

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Hi 1 1/2

Do you have a local vet that works with you on natural remedies?

Do you use herb tinctures, silver colloid, etc?
 
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oneandahalfcats

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Thanks Becky!

It was indeed a sight to see Max literally become a 'mother' overnight. Incredible as he came to us as a very decidedly independent two year old who didn't care or seem interested in a lot of affection. When Thomas came along, Max suddenly was very into snuggling and mutual licking and grooming with Thomas. I was so thankful as it could have gone another way between them. Now Maggie is a different story when it comes to Thomas, but she is getting better. 
 
 
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oneandahalfcats

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Hi ozo7, yes I do have a holistic vet and love that there are natural options available.

So far we have looked at L-Lysine for Max's occasional rodent ulcers. I have also just started coconut oil to aid digestion, help with hairballs and to use as a good anti-fungal. I am hoping the coconut oil will help with Max's occasional constipation. I also do pumpkin puree a couple of times a week with the boys. This is a great source of fibre and beta carotene. Maggie doesn't care for this as much, but she seems to really dig the coconut oil so I am pleased about that.

I haven't gotten into using a lot of herb tinctures or internal herbal remedies as yet. So far everyone is pretty healthy with the exception being Max who has had some issues with constipation. We are finally getting to a place where we can manage this without the need for things like Cisapride or laxatives, etc., through getting him onto a dry food with low or no grain content. Its been a journey I must say. Next year I will be looking into going raw or a totally wet diet for all cats. One other thing I use is Cothivet which my holistic vet turned me onto. It is a natural antiseptic wound product. It smells wonderful (like absorbine) and works great for cuts and scratches.
 

ozo7

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Our local vet is 'open' to natural things, and he usually just agrees with me after I suggest. You are very fortunate to have one that's holistic.

I understand truly the scary issue with constipation. Many people think it's not a big deal, but it is, and can even lead to extended bowel syndrome, and as awful is that is for any cat, it can be really nasty 'looking' on a pure white albino. [We picked our white cat up from the vet (yrs ago) and he had given her an enema] and she was brown. I almost lost my temper completely because they didn't bathe her, poor baby, and they knew she was bath friendly.

I imagine you use an eye dropper for the coconut oil, yes? What about the pumpkin puree? And is it organic?

We feed grain-free dry and some raw......canned on occasion [when needed], as we do Gerbers chicken. We try to never compromise on food quality, even if we just feed dry. We currently have 18 indoors and our budget [both retired] sometimes dictates our daily life, but not heir food......and water.

I use silver colloid for topical treatment, even internal........with great results. I will now have to look into Cothivet also. We have a large male [23lbs] with acute UTI and I make a tincture with Golden Seal- Echinacea- Hydragea Root administered 7 straight days/month then diluted cranberry concentrate for days in between. He hates the bitter tincture, but it's over fast with one squirt.

Coconut oil and coconut milk.....GOOD.....for them and us !!
 

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Welcome.  What a beautiful family you have.  I too am interested in Natural things.  Right now I have 2 of my kitties on Lysine.  I also just started my oldest kitty on Zeel & Traumeel for her arthritis.  I work for a Traditional Vet, but have a Holistic Vet I consult with.  We are adding some homeopathic things to my kitties regimen for her Pancreatitis. 
 
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oneandahalfcats

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Hi Lara, and thank you. Oliver is also very beautiful.

Hi ozo7 : Sorry to hear about that bad experience with the enema. Poor Kitty. Your anger is understandable.

Re. the coconut oil, I am happy to report that the cats love the taste of this that they will lick from a dish, even Maggie. The coconut oil is a solid product which you can purchase like a jar of mayonnaire. You break off a chunk and heat it up in a pot just long enough to make it liquid. It takes literally seconds. A little dab on the paw is one of the best ways to introduce your cats to this. A quarter teaspoon in wet food is also a good, safe start. Once the cat's system has become acclimatized, you can increase the amount. Too much to start can cause digestive upset and greasy stools as there are detox properties in coconut oil.

The pumpkin puree I freeze in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, I dump out the cubes and bag them up. Each morning I take out a cube or two for Max and Thomas. They get this sometime during the day once it has thawed. Both love this. Its a great source of healthy fiber and beta carotene that can also help to control hairballs.

I like your attitude re. quality food. Sounds like you are doing all the right things for your kitties


Hi cprcheetah, and thank you. I feel really blessed. 

Re. the Zeel & Traumeel, I am intrigued and look forward to your posts on this. Maggie took a tumble with Max one day. He was a very bad boy in that he pounced on her (she's half his size) when she was sitting on the stairs and she took a tumble and did something to her back leg that has not been right since. I have been thinking about what I can do for her to improve this situation, short of doing some kind of physical therapy, that is when she will let me.
 

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I offered pumpkin puree to Oliver when he had diarrhea a few days ago, and he refused to eat it. He also refused an egg yolk this morning (I'm testing out integrating raw into his diet). Is there a better way to go about introducing these new things to him?
 
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oneandahalfcats

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I offered pumpkin puree to Oliver when he had diarrhea a few days ago, and he refused to eat it. He also refused an egg yolk this morning (I'm testing out integrating raw into his diet). Is there a better way to go about introducing these new things to him?
Yes, some kitties tend to not like pumpkin. You could try sneaking a bit into his wet food or putting a bit of organic beef or chicken stock to enhance the flavour of the pumpkin. Always give small amounts to start, like a couple of teaspoons and then gradually increase this.

As for the egg yoke, if serving raw I would discourage this in lieu of a hard boiled egg as a safety precaution against possible issues with salmonella. I occasionally give Max the yoke part of boiled eggs ground up as a treat and he does enjoy this but wouldn't like and doesn't need this everyday.

Hope this helps.
 
 
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betsygee

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Hi Lara, and thank you. Oliver is also very beautiful.

Hi ozo7 : Sorry to hear about that bad experience with the enema. Poor Kitty. Your anger is understandable.

Re. the coconut oil, I am happy to report that the cats love the taste of this that they will lick from a dish, even Maggie. The coconut oil is a solid product which you can purchase like a jar of mayonnaire. You break off a chunk and heat it up in a pot just long enough to make it liquid. It takes literally seconds. A little dab on the paw is one of the best ways to introduce your cats to this. A quarter teaspoon in wet food is also a good, safe start. Once the cat's system has become acclimatized, you can increase the amount. Too much to start can cause digestive upset and greasy stools as there are detox properties in coconut oil.

The pumpkin puree I freeze in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, I dump out the cubes and bag them up. Each morning I take out a cube or two for Max and Thomas. They get this sometime during the day once it has thawed. Both love this. Its a great source of healthy fiber and beta carotene that can also help to control hairballs.

I like your attitude re. quality food. Sounds like you are doing all the right things for your kitties


Hi cprcheetah, and thank you. I feel really blessed. 

Re. the Zeel & Traumeel, I am intrigued and look forward to your posts on this. Maggie took a tumble with Max one day. He was a very bad boy in that he pounced on her (she's half his size) when she was sitting on the stairs and she took a tumble and did something to her back leg that has not been right since. I have been thinking about what I can do for her to improve this situation, short of doing some kind of physical therapy, that is when she will let me.
I prepare the pumpkin puree the same way as you do, in ice cube trays but I mix it in their food.  They eat it fine but you know, it never occurred to me that they might like it on its own, as sort of a treat.  I'll have to try that!
 

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What a sweet story about Max and Thomas!
 They are three beautiful kitties.

None of mine would eat the pumpkin, but duh.. I didn't try mixing it in their food. We'll see how that works.

Welcome, oneandahalfcats!    Warning - this site is addictive 
 
 
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oneandahalfcats

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What a sweet story about Max and Thomas!
 They are three beautiful kitties.

None of mine would eat the pumpkin, but duh.. I didn't try mixing it in their food. We'll see how that works.

Welcome, oneandahalfcats!    Warning - this site is addictive 
 
Thank you Susan. Yes, the mixing of things in wet food does work well most of the time although there are some kitties, like my little Maggie, who I swear must have a bionic sense of smell as she will find the pumpkin and attempt to eat around it. No problem for the boys, they eat pretty much anything I give them. 
 

Hope this can work for you and BetsyGee.
 

ozo7

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Califay asks:

Are you buying the pumpkin puree in a can, or a raw pumpkin and making it?

She is curious.....

 
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oneandahalfcats

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Hi ozo7 .. Califay is beautiful as is Calibo? The beautiful grey in one of your other posts from another thread.

I get the pumpkin puree in the can and freeze it. I've tried doing the raw pumpkin thing but its a bit a process. 

Meowy Christmas!
 
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