Raw Kitty Vomit, Then Doing Fine With Canned?

[daftcat75]

As if on cue, she woke up and tossed up a hairball. And a whole lot of liquid. It's as if she digested all the food but retained all the moisture in her stomach. I've never seen that from her before. We already have a vet visit tomorrow. I will mention this. I think some of the hairball frequency is on me. We do a fish flake hunt usually before or after her meals or sometimes both. It's something she enjoys and it's a way for me to judge her attitude and physical ability. That part is okay. Where I take some guilt and blame is that she hoovers up the flakes off her trees and the floor of her carrier and I don't clean those as often as I should. After awhile, she's probably ingesting her hair secondhand. I squigeed all the trees and her carrier today. Genius-level effectiveness. I only wish I could squigee the cat to cut down on any shedding.

 

[lisahe]

Oh no, sorry to hear that, daftcat75 ! If you think of it, I'd love to hear if your vet has any specific comment on that particularly kind of barf. Edwina has done that a few times over the years, too -- meaning liquid plus hair, no food -- but never around the time of a vet appointment or often enough that I was concerned about what that particular kind of vomiting means. She just generally seems sensitive to having fur in her stomach (which the vet knows about) and I suspect her of secondhand hair consumption, too: both our cats go around sniffing and licking stuff off the floor a lot. The other cat tends to snarfle stuff up and then cough. If it's not one thing, it's another!

 

[CHIKITTIES]

I'm glad things have been calm for a few days, CHIKITTIES! I hope the streak continues. Fingers crossed on that! 70 mg of sodium should be fine for the turkey -- for EZ Complete they say 100 mg and under. Interesting that your cats liked pork so much: ours love it. (So do I: it's reasonably priced!)

Ugh, hair! I nearly got back up last night when I was falling asleep and hadn't brushed Edwina! I didn't and she was fine. Strange but I've noticed that there seems to be a correlation between hair barfs (not necessarily hairballs but significant amounts of fur) and nights when I haven't brushed the cats' teeth. I wonder if the glycerine (or some other ingredient? hydrated silica? yum?) in the toothpaste might somehow help her to pass the fur.

lisahe Thank you!!

I was initially not making Pork but then "hmm... kitties are eating mostly birds (plus rabbit), I want to add variety", to my surprise, after initial "???" reaction, they started to like it. Yes and it is good price! When you buy pork from store, what kind of cut do you usually use? I have to google ... no idea how to call each part of pork in English...

I am again lucky here, not much hair ball issue. I am wondering ... this is zero scientific backup ... my kitties like to eat grass. Not to barf hair. They just chew on and I assume coming out from back undigested. Only time it come out from front is when I am away/late to come home and they become very hungry, nothing else to eat, so eat too much grass. I wonder for Pila and Saf, eating cat grass helping to push hair down maybe?? Again no science in here, just an idea ...

 

[CHIKITTIES]

As if on cue, she woke up and tossed up a hairball. And a whole lot of liquid. It's as if she digested all the food but retained all the moisture in her stomach. I've never seen that from her before. We already have a vet visit tomorrow. I will mention this. I think some of the hairball frequency is on me. We do a fish flake hunt usually before or after her meals or sometimes both. It's something she enjoys and it's a way for me to judge her attitude and physical ability. That part is okay. Where I take some guilt and blame is that she hoovers up the flakes off her trees and the floor of her carrier and I don't clean those as often as I should. After awhile, she's probably ingesting her hair secondhand. I squigeed all the trees and her carrier today. Genius-level effectiveness. I only wish I could squigee the cat to cut down on any shedding.

Cat hair is mystery ... it's just never-ending!!

Pila sheds this much hair for ONE brushing

Saf does not like brushing. This was the time when she had one hairball, so I attacked her while she was taking kitty nap ...

It's just hard to believe they STILL HAVE HAIR!! after all these shedding ...

Tuna hunting sounds real fun! Our's don't like vacuum either, I normally use swiffer dry ... it collect hair very well. I don't like buying and disposing these paper but very good at caching kitty fur.

Good luck on tomorrow's Vet visit

 

[lisahe]

lisahe Thank you!!

I was initially not making Pork but then "hmm... kitties are eating mostly birds (plus rabbit), I want to add variety", to my surprise, after initial "???" reaction, they started to like it. Yes and it is good price! When you buy pork from store, what kind of cut do you usually use? I have to google ... no idea how to call each part of pork in English...

I am again lucky here, not much hair ball issue. I am wondering ... this is zero scientific backup ... my kitties like to eat grass. Not to barf hair. They just chew on and I assume coming out from back undigested. Only time it come out from front is when I am away/late to come home and they become very hungry, nothing else to eat, so eat too much grass. I wonder for Pila and Saf, eating cat grass helping to push hair down maybe?? Again no science in here, just an idea ...

Yes, pork is great for cat food. At least for our cats. The names for pork cuts are a mystery to me, despite being a native speaker of English (sometimes I wonder if I'm better at this in my second, foreign, language because I have to pay more attention!), so I had to check what's in the freezer for cat food: boneless rib chops, $2.09 a pound. I think I buy another kind of chops, too, that almost looks like it has two kinds of meat, one much pinker (and tenderer) than the other. Ireland (pickier cat) particularly loves pork tenderloin so sometimes the humans and cats will split a package of that. (Though the humans are scaling back on their carnivorous habits these days...) I'm okay with feeding a fair bit of pork fat to the cats -- a lot of the meat I use, like chicken breast, which they love, is really too lean -- and once bought the mysterious cut known as "Boston butt" (! I think it might have another name, too?) but that one was spectacularly fatty and also had some, hmm, I'm not sure what, but tough connective tissues or something. So I mostly stick to various kinds of chops.

As for your theory on cat grass helping with hairballs, allegedly that is the case! See, for example, this article. Our cats don't (won't!) eat stuff like that: they even reject fresh catnip!

And those fur pictures are great: it's really amazing how much fur will come off a cat that hasn't been brushed in a long time! Keep at it with Saf: Edwina used to hate (really, truly hate!) to be brushed but now hops right up on the coffee table for grooming. I think she likes the attention. What can I say? These cats are divas.

 

[daftcat75]

I don't know if Krista was eating the grass to help things go down or the help them come up. I was offering the grass during the peak of her IBD when I thought it might help settle her stomach. Maybe I should try again with it now that I know her triggers. But we also seem to have a dental issue to conquer first.

 

[CHIKITTIES]

Yes, pork is great for cat food. At least for our cats. The names for pork cuts are a mystery to me, despite being a native speaker of English (sometimes I wonder if I'm better at this in my second, foreign, language because I have to pay more attention!), so I had to check what's in the freezer for cat food: boneless rib chops, $2.09 a pound. I think I buy another kind of chops, too, that almost looks like it has two kinds of meat, one much pinker (and tenderer) than the other. Ireland (pickier cat) particularly loves pork tenderloin so sometimes the humans and cats will split a package of that. (Though the humans are scaling back on their carnivorous habits these days...) I'm okay with feeding a fair bit of pork fat to the cats -- a lot of the meat I use, like chicken breast, which they love, is really too lean -- and once bought the mysterious cut known as "Boston butt" (! I think it might have another name, too?) but that one was spectacularly fatty and also had some, hmm, I'm not sure what, but tough connective tissues or something. So I mostly stick to various kinds of chops.

As for your theory on cat grass helping with hairballs, allegedly that is the case! See, for example, this article. Our cats don't (won't!) eat stuff like that: they even reject fresh catnip!

And those fur pictures are great: it's really amazing how much fur will come off a cat that hasn't been brushed in a long time! Keep at it with Saf: Edwina used to hate (really, truly hate!) to be brushed but now hops right up on the coffee table for grooming. I think she likes the attention. What can I say? These cats are divas.

Thank you very much for checking out your freezer finding names for me!! When I googled and saw "Boston Butt", and saw the part I expect to be called "Butt" is called "Ham", I was totally lost ... plus I have no idea which part is soft/hard, lots of fat or not, things like that!

I will go to see what kind of "chops" are available in my stores As much as I want to jump on and buy some, I think I will stick with @Wile 's advice and continue Chicken for now, at least until end of my current 3lb batch. I am still reading and learning cooked recipes, but also wait a little. Changing a lot of things makes both myself and Pila confused, I guess. She is doing pretty good yesterday and today, almost exclusively eating Chicken raw (with lots of topper ). Must be feeling quite good, running up and down to tree, did fur flying "girls fight" as usual (she is the alpha cat, always win).

Thanks for the article, too! Interesting, Edwina and Ireland have no interest on grass??!! I used to grow grass from wheat berry (MUCH cheaper), getting lazy and buying from store these days. Kitties go NUTS on this type of grass Setaria viridis - Wikipedia which grows summer time. Pila eats flower/seed portion and Saf eats leaves. They prefer this over store bought organic wheat grass but I am trying to light on these, because I worry about herbicide contamination...

Pila enjoy being brushed and roll around shows her tummy, but Saf try to run away makes miserable little meow. I hope she will start liking someday, like Edwina ... cats are unpredictable, so one day, hopefully

 

[lisahe]

Thank you very much for checking out your freezer finding names for me!! When I googled and saw "Boston Butt", and saw the part I expect to be called "Butt" is called "Ham", I was totally lost ... plus I have no idea which part is soft/hard, lots of fat or not, things like that!

I will go to see what kind of "chops" are available in my stores As much as I want to jump on and buy some, I think I will stick with @Wile 's advice and continue Chicken for now, at least until end of my current 3lb batch. I am still reading and learning cooked recipes, but also wait a little. Changing a lot of things makes both myself and Pila confused, I guess. She is doing pretty good yesterday and today, almost exclusively eating Chicken raw (with lots of topper ). Must be feeling quite good, running up and down to tree, did fur flying "girls fight" as usual (she is the alpha cat, always win).

Thanks for the article, too! Interesting, Edwina and Ireland have no interest on grass??!! I used to grow grass from wheat berry (MUCH cheaper), getting lazy and buying from store these days. Kitties go NUTS on this type of grass Setaria viridis - Wikipedia which grows summer time. Pila eats flower/seed portion and Saf eats leaves. They prefer this over store bought organic wheat grass but I am trying to light on these, because I worry about herbicide contamination...

Pila enjoy being brushed and roll around shows her tummy, but Saf try to run away makes miserable little meow. I hope she will start liking someday, like Edwina ... cats are unpredictable, so one day, hopefully

Oh, CHIKITTIES, you have hit on the problem with pork cuts: they're utterly the most confusing! I think "Boston butt" is a somewhat regional term (I live in New England) plus, yes, it seems like there are other name for it when the meat is used in specific ways. (I think "smoked picnic" might fall into that category.) My solution is to just buy meat that doesn't look too filled with sinews/gristle and the like. But not to avoid fat.

Yes, changes make me and the cats confused, too!

The big thing is that Pila seems to be feeling better: eating, running, and a fur-producing "girl fight" are good signs. Your two cats sound so much like ours, who do all the same things, though we haven't seen fur actually fly in quite some time. Their worst was last summer when the neighbor's giant cat -- he's like the sumo wrestler of the neighborhood cats, he must outweigh our two little cats even if they're taken together! -- came to our glass storm door and looked in on our two little indoor kitties. Ireland went crazy and the two cats had such a nasty fight that we had to separate them. Anyway!

I hope brushing starts to work: it makes such a huge difference for Edwina. No barfs in, hmm, almost a week, I guess? (I'd better knock wood and go tfu-tfu-tfu over my left shoulder, though, so as not to tempt fate! They are devil cats!)

 

[CHIKITTIES]

Oh, CHIKITTIES, you have hit on the problem with pork cuts: they're utterly the most confusing! I think "Boston butt" is a somewhat regional term (I live in New England) plus, yes, it seems like there are other name for it when the meat is used in specific ways. (I think "smoked picnic" might fall into that category.) My solution is to just buy meat that doesn't look too filled with sinews/gristle and the like. But not to avoid fat.

Yes, changes make me and the cats confused, too!

The big thing is that Pila seems to be feeling better: eating, running, and a fur-producing "girl fight" are good signs. Your two cats sound so much like ours, who do all the same things, though we haven't seen fur actually fly in quite some time. Their worst was last summer when the neighbor's giant cat -- he's like the sumo wrestler of the neighborhood cats, he must outweigh our two little cats even if they're taken together! -- came to our glass storm door and looked in on our two little indoor kitties. Ireland went crazy and the two cats had such a nasty fight that we had to separate them. Anyway!

I hope brushing starts to work: it makes such a huge difference for Edwina. No barfs in, hmm, almost a week, I guess? (I'd better knock wood and go tfu-tfu-tfu over my left shoulder, though, so as not to tempt fate! They are devil cats!)

I went for meat-window-shopping to 3 different stores.

• Whole Foods - they don't have "packaged" pork with ingredients label on it. I am sure people at meat counter can answer all the question I have. Saw various cuts. Wasn't ready to buy yet, did not ask, bought another pack of "chicken back" and came home.
• Aldi - this is where I saw 70mg sodium turkey. I saw frozen duck but it has +100 mg sodium. Porks - +200 mg They have "all natural" type Chicken which said "no added sodium" but it was about same price as WF - skip.
• Jewel-Osco - promising online. Excited to see their "buy 1 get 1" sale But actual package at store does not have label with sodium info... Their "all natural" chicken was on sale, but Breast is 50 mg sodium and Thigh is 120 mg?! I did not get it. It has identical type of label, just different parts. I decided not to trust and came home

I will keep looking ... too bad there was one butcher shop few blocks from home, but they closed ... 6 or so month ago. They had wonderful yelp review.

So funny little Edwina and Ireland freaked out with Mr.Sumo wrestler kitty They are from same litter sisters, right? I always thought it is quite interesting that kitties have different purrrsonalities even growing up together, and Edwina and Ireland sounds like the same! When I looked up TCS article "real fight vs. play fight", their "girls fight" falls under real fight category but ... in the end of day they cuddle up and lick each other, I'm sure they love each other. This is their signature " shaped cuddle"!

 

[lisahe]

CHIKITTIES, your cats are so sweet! Our two sometimes lie like that, too, but lately their favorite spot is in a little box behind my computer monitor. It's available on a first come, first served basis, though, so sometimes Edwina gets kicked out: Ireland (alpha!) will come and hiss at Edwina (who's only a beta, though really more like a gamma, even though there are only two of them) until Edwina leaves. One day last week Edwina stood her ground, though, and I congratulated her. They are such different cats, these two! But yes, they are also littermates, like yours.

Okay, on to the business of feeding these beasts! I think your Jewel Osco is similar our Shaws (same management company, I think?) so if they have the air-chilled chicken, it's a bit expensive (though often on sale!) but very good. What you observed about the sodium in chicken breasts and chicken thighs is unbelievable, isn't it!? I agree on this: But that's what I always see, too. Sometimes I mix some chicken thigh in with some other meat that's lower in sodium but the cats don't much like chicken thigh anyway so I rarely do that!

Whole Foods is where I bought the Boston Butt, so watch out! The Whole Foods prepackaged chicken is good, though.

We don't have Aldi but if that turkey doesn't have any additives, then it's a good one. Our cats prefer turkey tenderloin over turkey thighs. (They prefer that I spend more money!)

Here they are, the two posh princesses. This is from last winter but I love this photo of them!

 

[daftcat75]

I've been wanting to say that Edwina is the name of a good friend's former cat. Krista's favorite tree (well, second favorite since the new one in the office) is a hand-me-down from Edwina. So there's a little bit of Edwina in Krista's day. They never met and they never would have got along anyway. Both feisty tortie princess divas.

 

[lisahe]

I've been wanting to say that Edwina is the name of a good friend's former cat. Krista's favorite tree (well, second favorite since the new one in the office) is a hand-me-down from Edwina. So there's a little bit of Edwina in Krista's day. They never met and they never would have got along anyway. Both feisty tortie princess divas.

That's a nice story about Edwina and Krista's tree! "Edwina" is such a great name for a cat; I wish I could take credit for naming ours but the shelter gave the cat their names. (The cats were brand-new there and didn't know the names yet but they fit so well that we kept them.)

I think you said Krista's dental appointment is today -- I hope it goes well!

 

[CHIKITTIES]

CHIKITTIES, your cats are so sweet! Our two sometimes lie like that, too, but lately their favorite spot is in a little box behind my computer monitor. It's available on a first come, first served basis, though, so sometimes Edwina gets kicked out: Ireland (alpha!) will come and hiss at Edwina (who's only a beta, though really more like a gamma, even though there are only two of them) until Edwina leaves. One day last week Edwina stood her ground, though, and I congratulated her. They are such different cats, these two! But yes, they are also littermates, like yours.

Okay, on to the business of feeding these beasts! I think your Jewel Osco is similar our Shaws (same management company, I think?) so if they have the air-chilled chicken, it's a bit expensive (though often on sale!) but very good. What you observed about the sodium in chicken breasts and chicken thighs is unbelievable, isn't it!? I agree on this: But that's what I always see, too. Sometimes I mix some chicken thigh in with some other meat that's lower in sodium but the cats don't much like chicken thigh anyway so I rarely do that!

Whole Foods is where I bought the Boston Butt, so watch out! The Whole Foods prepackaged chicken is good, though.

We don't have Aldi but if that turkey doesn't have any additives, then it's a good one. Our cats prefer turkey tenderloin over turkey thighs. (They prefer that I spend more money!)

Here they are, the two posh princesses. This is from last winter but I love this photo of them!
View attachment 274784

Ireland and Edwina look so comfy sharing their bed I think I can tell purrrsonality difference from their facial expression! Interesting, in our case Pila (alpha) never hiss, she just quietly approach to Saf making mean face vs. Saf is VERY loud when they fight!

Well I again displayed my missing knowledge of meat THANKS! I just looked up this site and although it is not as drastic as I saw yesterday, sodium contents are different depends on parts I remember seeing "air-chilled" label, don't remember that was the one with sodium info or not, but I think I can try. There is another one called Mariano close to my place. Several more small/ethnic markets but I don't think they have detailed label.

They have expensive taste Well let's put this way, it is much better than them addicting cheap junk food ... what would you say, kitties?!

 

[CHIKITTIES]

I've been wanting to say that Edwina is the name of a good friend's former cat. Krista's favorite tree (well, second favorite since the new one in the office) is a hand-me-down from Edwina. So there's a little bit of Edwina in Krista's day. They never met and they never would have got along anyway. Both feisty tortie princess divas.

When I read a lot of "introduction" thread on this site, it seems quite difficult in many cases ... I am so glad they are life-long-never- been- separated littler mates. I think it is a lot easier to have two than one, they play each other, when I need to leave them they have company, etc ... but if you have two who aren't get along each other, that must be quite stressful to everybody.

Wishing all the best for Krista's appointment today!!

 

[lisahe]

Ireland and Edwina look so comfy sharing their bed I think I can tell purrrsonality difference from their facial expression! Interesting, in our case Pila (alpha) never hiss, she just quietly approach to Saf making mean face vs. Saf is VERY loud when they fight!

Well I again displayed my missing knowledge of meat THANKS! I just looked up this site and although it is not as drastic as I saw yesterday, sodium contents are different depends on parts I remember seeing "air-chilled" label, don't remember that was the one with sodium info or not, but I think I can try. There is another one called Mariano close to my place. Several more small/ethnic markets but I don't think they have detailed label.

They have expensive taste Well let's put this way, it is much better than them addicting cheap junk food ... what would you say, kitties?!

Ha ha, yes, the cats' expressions do show a lot about them! Edwina is the sweetest cat ever, very easy-going about everything except her food, and Ireland is the sweetest cat ever, too, though in a much needier way. They're quite a pair!

Very interesting about the different parts (cuts? I'm not quite sure how to talk about meat, either!) of meat having naturally different sodium levels. I find it very weird, though, that the numbers are the opposite of what we're seeing on the chicken labels: they're showing raw chicken breasts having more sodium than thighs, both, allegedly for 3.5 ounces. But then it's opposite for cooked?! This is so mysterious!

I don't think I have an air-chilled chicken package in my freezer but here, I'll go check... no, no air-chilled chicken. I think that one had a detailed label, at least at my store. I have to say that the lack of detailed labels was my biggest concern about buying butcher counter meat at Whole Foods, too, though at least the people at the counter were always knowledgeable. (Unlike at my grocery stores! OMG, if I tell them I want to make cat food, they look at me as if I were the one with the fuzzy tail!)

The cats definitely have expensive taste and they are clearly prima donas but you're right: better to feed them good stuff! Knock wood (again) but Ireland seems to really be enjoying homemade lately.

How is Pila doing? I hope she's still barf-free!

 

[CHIKITTIES]

Ha ha, yes, the cats' expressions do show a lot about them! Edwina is the sweetest cat ever, very easy-going about everything except her food, and Ireland is the sweetest cat ever, too, though in a much needier way. They're quite a pair!

Very interesting about the different parts (cuts? I'm not quite sure how to talk about meat, either!) of meat having naturally different sodium levels. I find it very weird, though, that the numbers are the opposite of what we're seeing on the chicken labels: they're showing raw chicken breasts having more sodium than thighs, both, allegedly for 3.5 ounces. But then it's opposite for cooked?! This is so mysterious!

I don't think I have an air-chilled chicken package in my freezer but here, I'll go check... no, no air-chilled chicken. I think that one had a detailed label, at least at my store. I have to say that the lack of detailed labels was my biggest concern about buying butcher counter meat at Whole Foods, too, though at least the people at the counter were always knowledgeable. (Unlike at my grocery stores! OMG, if I tell them I want to make cat food, they look at me as if I were the one with the fuzzy tail!)

The cats definitely have expensive taste and they are clearly prima donas but you're right: better to feed them good stuff! Knock wood (again) but Ireland seems to really be enjoying homemade lately.

How is Pila doing? I hope she's still barf-free!

Pila is doing good! Thank you No vomit, good appetite. Their normal meal schedule was 4 times a day, but they've successfully increased to 5 times

5 days or so ago, I noticed that part of Pila's tummy fur (between back legs) is ... quite thin I think that is the exact spot kitties lick lick lick when they are stressed out. It is still covered with soft thin layer of fur, not bare or red skin. I compared with Saf and she has quite nice thick fur. So I am wondering ... maybe as I initially suspected Pila was quite stressed out by me travelling? That stress, plus diet change and eating schedule change all piled up made her ??

Thanks again for checking your freezer!! I found this thread and first picture is the one I saw yesterday... I think. Interestingly, orange&white says if meat has no added ingredients FDA does not have label requirement!

Very first time when I was tip-toeing WH meat section feeling a bit dizzy myself (oh, meat!), nice person asked me if I needed help. He explained different types of packaged chicken they have (step 2, organic, etc). I thanked him and said " I need to buy non-enhanced meat because this is for kitties" and he was cool with that, saying "I am sure your kitty will enjoy!". But if I do the same with my small local store (where I normally buy my fruits and veggies) ...

Glad Ireland likes Mama's cooking It is SO HARD to buy food! Sometimes I feel like being so picky and strict is just my own ego but ... when I start making cooked food, I might consider canning by myself

 

[lisahe]

Pila is doing good! Thank you No vomit, good appetite. Their normal meal schedule was 4 times a day, but they've successfully increased to 5 times

5 days or so ago, I noticed that part of Pila's tummy fur (between back legs) is ... quite thin I think that is the exact spot kitties lick lick lick when they are stressed out. It is still covered with soft thin layer of fur, not bare or red skin. I compared with Saf and she has quite nice thick fur. So I am wondering ... maybe as I initially suspected Pila was quite stressed out by me travelling? That stress, plus diet change and eating schedule change all piled up made her ??

Thanks again for checking your freezer!! I found this thread and first picture is the one I saw yesterday... I think. Interestingly, orange&white says if meat has no added ingredients FDA does not have label requirement!

Very first time when I was tip-toeing WH meat section feeling a bit dizzy myself (oh, meat!), nice person asked me if I needed help. He explained different types of packaged chicken they have (step 2, organic, etc). I thanked him and said " I need to buy non-enhanced meat because this is for kitties" and he was cool with that, saying "I am sure your kitty will enjoy!". But if I do the same with my small local store (where I normally buy my fruits and veggies) ...

Glad Ireland likes Mama's cooking It is SO HARD to buy food! Sometimes I feel like being so picky and strict is just my own ego but ... when I start making cooked food, I might consider canning by myself

I'm glad to hear there hasn't been any vomit! And yes, five meals a day is definitely living in the lap of luxury for our cats. You mentioned that Pila might get stressed when you travel... when I was traveling last year, my husband said the cats demanded constant food so he was feeding them seven times a day!! And they were eating everything! (My Russian colleagues kept saying it was stress... and they were probably right!)

If Pila is licking her tummy fur that could be a sign of itching from a food allergy/sensitivity. It could be stress, too. We went through that with our previous cat and I'm almost certain it was part of her food issues. The vet -- and we, too, at the time -- thought she licked her belly bare because of stress that (wait for it!) started when we traveled but she had all sorts of digestive symptoms over the years, too, so I suspect it was actually a food problem. She also itched her ears a lot (they were always gunky) and had poop and puke problems that came and went, making them hard to pin down or diagnose. If I'd known then what I know now, I would have fed her much differently! (Despite those and other health problems -- a horrendous heart murmur, kidney disease, and mild thyroid disease, as well as arthritis -- she lived to be at least 16! She was a great cat.)

Yes, that Open Nature chicken is the same I buy. It's very good stuff! And ha ha I mentioned in that same thread about how Whole Foods employees love hearing the meat's getting used for cat food! Some of them have even asked for advice! I wish they were half as "normal" about using human-grade meat when I ask questions at the regular grocery store.

The big cat news here is that it looks like Ireland might have scratched Edwina's nose! This has happened before: we noticed it today because the white fur part of Edwina's nose looks a little pinkish-brown, as if there's been a little blood. They are savage beasts, as my husband likes to say!

 

[CHIKITTIES]

I'm glad to hear there hasn't been any vomit! And yes, five meals a day is definitely living in the lap of luxury for our cats. You mentioned that Pila might get stressed when you travel... when I was traveling last year, my husband said the cats demanded constant food so he was feeding them seven times a day!! And they were eating everything! (My Russian colleagues kept saying it was stress... and they were probably right!)

If Pila is licking her tummy fur that could be a sign of itching from a food allergy/sensitivity. It could be stress, too. We went through that with our previous cat and I'm almost certain it was part of her food issues. The vet -- and we, too, at the time -- thought she licked her belly bare because of stress that (wait for it!) started when we traveled but she had all sorts of digestive symptoms over the years, too, so I suspect it was actually a food problem. She also itched her ears a lot (they were always gunky) and had poop and puke problems that came and went, making them hard to pin down or diagnose. If I'd known then what I know now, I would have fed her much differently! (Despite those and other health problems -- a horrendous heart murmur, kidney disease, and mild thyroid disease, as well as arthritis -- she lived to be at least 16! She was a great cat.)

Yes, that Open Nature chicken is the same I buy. It's very good stuff! And ha ha I mentioned in that same thread about how Whole Foods employees love hearing the meat's getting used for cat food! Some of them have even asked for advice! I wish they were half as "normal" about using human-grade meat when I ask questions at the regular grocery store.

The big cat news here is that it looks like Ireland might have scratched Edwina's nose! This has happened before: we noticed it today because the white fur part of Edwina's nose looks a little pinkish-brown, as if there's been a little blood. They are savage beasts, as my husband likes to say!

Oh no ... don't damage your pretty face, kitties!! I think nose scratch will heal nicely though (how was last time?). We had that one, too. Mine, when they were younger, made permanent damage on their ears it is tiny, but they have cut on ear which healed but never stick back together. Mine came to me when they were 4-5 week old, did not have chance to learn much from Mama kitty ...

GOOD NEWS! We finished 3lb batch and I made new Chicken batch today, and Pila licked her bowl clean with minimum topper I am guessing she liked fish oil. I added 10 capsules this time. Dr. P recipe called 5-10 capsules and I normally add 6-8 (depends on my mood ). Or maybe she liked WH chicken?

After I wrote yesterday, I also started wondering maybe she developed allergy ... but reason I am more inclined to stress is I don't see her licking so much. Saf spends longer time grooming. So what I thought was maybe Pila lost her fur when I was away but not over-grooming since I came home? I could be wrong ... and as your previous cat case, it is coming along with puke. I will watch for itch and other symptoms you've mentioned. Thank you!

So my next plan is ; instead of switching from Chicken to Rabbit/Pork (we normally go 16oz mason jar per 2 days), I will do 3 chicken serving - 1 Rabbit or Pork serving - then 3 chicken kind of rotation. If this goes well I will try to gradually move back to 16oz rotation. If not, eliminate protein causing issue ... I think

Your previous kitty went through lots of health challenges We are SO lucky being rather healthy, but Pila and Saf are my first cats and I easily freak out I really appreciate I can do as much cat talk I want here in this site! It helps a lot!

Going off topic a bit ... you translate Russian? That is pretty cool I took Russian class at collage but forgot almost everything. I've been dreaming about going to see Hermitage cats one day!!

 

[lisahe]

Oh no ... don't damage your pretty face, kitties!! I think nose scratch will heal nicely though (how was last time?). We had that one, too. Mine, when they were younger, made permanent damage on their ears it is tiny, but they have cut on ear which healed but never stick back together. Mine came to me when they were 4-5 week old, did not have chance to learn much from Mama kitty ...

GOOD NEWS! We finished 3lb batch and I made new Chicken batch today, and Pila licked her bowl clean with minimum topper I am guessing she liked fish oil. I added 10 capsules this time. Dr. P recipe called 5-10 capsules and I normally add 6-8 (depends on my mood ). Or maybe she liked WH chicken?

After I wrote yesterday, I also started wondering maybe she developed allergy ... but reason I am more inclined to stress is I don't see her licking so much. Saf spends longer time grooming. So what I thought was maybe Pila lost her fur when I was away but not over-grooming since I came home? I could be wrong ... and as your previous cat case, it is coming along with puke. I will watch for itch and other symptoms you've mentioned. Thank you!

So my next plan is ; instead of switching from Chicken to Rabbit/Pork (we normally go 16oz mason jar per 2 days), I will do 3 chicken serving - 1 Rabbit or Pork serving - then 3 chicken kind of rotation. If this goes well I will try to gradually move back to 16oz rotation. If not, eliminate protein causing issue ... I think
Your previous kitty went through lots of health challenges We are SO lucky being rather healthy, but Pila and Saf are my first cats and I easily freak out I really appreciate I can do as much cat talk I want here in this site! It helps a lot!

Going off topic a bit ... you translate Russian? That is pretty cool I took Russian class at collage but forgot almost everything. I've been dreaming about going to see Hermitage cats one day!!

I'm glad to hear Pila is a happy kitty with the new food! It's so good when they like their food, particularly if, ahem, we've gone to the trouble of making it for them. I have batches of pork and chicken food to portion out this morning, how fun! But the cats love it and Ireland particularly laps up the food with the Alnutrin supplement, she really enjoys it. And yes, just keep trying new things and seeing what works best for the cats. It's about all we can do!

That along with, yes, also keeping an eye on Pila's (over-)grooming and the vomiting and everything else. It's so hard to know what causes it all and I'm like you, I can easily freak out when things happen. But I also try to remember those other causes of barf, like nerves, particularly with Edwina... who hasn't barfed in more than a week now, since we've been brushing her well again. These cats have such sensitive little tummies to begin with (Siamese mixes!) and then just about anything can upset their balance.

Yes, Brooksie had a lot of health challenges. The only good thing about that is that it taught me a lot about how cats' digestive problems and what they should be fed. And all that really helps these cats, who came to us at ten months, underfed, with tetchy stomachs!

And yes, I translate Russian, mostly novels. It's really fun work, particularly because I've been lucky to work on some excellent books. (A couple of my authors love cats so I sometimes send them photos of the cats helping me translate their books, as Edwina is doing below by sitting on my dictionary. Ireland's contribution is usually biting the covers of books.) I wish I'd had time to go to the Hermitage to look for the cats when I was in St. P. a couple years ago -- I want to go back there anyway so maybe next time!

Even if you forgot most of the Russian you learned in college, I bet you still remember the word кошка, though!

Have a good day at home with your cats and your work!

P.S. The nose seems to be healing just fine! (I wiped off the blood yesterday... )

 

[CHIKITTIES]

I'm glad to hear Pila is a happy kitty with the new food! It's so good when they like their food, particularly if, ahem, we've gone to the trouble of making it for them. I have batches of pork and chicken food to portion out this morning, how fun! But the cats love it and Ireland particularly laps up the food with the Alnutrin supplement, she really enjoys it. And yes, just keep trying new things and seeing what works best for the cats. It's about all we can do!

That along with, yes, also keeping an eye on Pila's (over-)grooming and the vomiting and everything else. It's so hard to know what causes it all and I'm like you, I can easily freak out when things happen. But I also try to remember those other causes of barf, like nerves, particularly with Edwina... who hasn't barfed in more than a week now, since we've been brushing her well again. These cats have such sensitive little tummies to begin with (Siamese mixes!) and then just about anything can upset their balance.

Yes, Brooksie had a lot of health challenges. The only good thing about that is that it taught me a lot about how cats' digestive problems and what they should be fed. And all that really helps these cats, who came to us at ten months, underfed, with tetchy stomachs!

And yes, I translate Russian, mostly novels. It's really fun work, particularly because I've been lucky to work on some excellent books. (A couple of my authors love cats so I sometimes send them photos of the cats helping me translate their books, as Edwina is doing below by sitting on my dictionary. Ireland's contribution is usually biting the covers of books.) I wish I'd had time to go to the Hermitage to look for the cats when I was in St. P. a couple years ago -- I want to go back there anyway so maybe next time!

Even if you forgot most of the Russian you learned in college, I bet you still remember the word кошка, though!

Have a good day at home with your cats and your work!

P.S. The nose seems to be healing just fine! (I wiped off the blood yesterday... )
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Aww Edwina those white paws! Such a elegant kitty!

My Russian text book had little "skit" in the beginning of each chapter. муж, always mistreated by жена (she goes to Paris with their dog vs. he stays home alone for example), and very last sentence was always "Cкажите пожалуйста дорогая собака, почему xxxxx ?!" I can still say this one, cannot write without google though

I've separated 16oz pork food to 4oz jar but did not have courage to try yet... I do have 1lb HT duck, maybe make duck+chicken food first (gotta get that Open Nature chicken ). And even I feel buying food is such a headache, I'd better have some back up plan in case I cannot make their food for a while ... plus when I travel (they eat 50/50 raw and canned when I am not around).

Thank you very much for all your encouragement and spending time writing for me!

Here is Pila, reading chapter on Feline diabetes from Dr. Hodgkins's "Your Cat".