for pet lovers....my family :)

[floridian]

ive taught my cat to floss!

[blankslate]

Ah a great thread! One of my favorite topics!

This is my Australian Shepherd who thinks he's a lapdog all dressed up for Halloween



Our kittens Hector and Achilles who were adopted from a rescue that had to bottle feed them



And though he passed away last Monday, Champagne will always be always somehow rule the house

[Introuble2008]

Here's our babies. They're named Donner and Dasher. They're HS rescues. The HS had 8 kittens out of that batch so named them after the 8 tiny reindeer (they were brought in on Dec 5).

[liz417]

I am absolutely loving this thread!!! All of your babies are beautiful!!! We should start a "sticky" under "family" and people could put pics of both there furry friends or children!!!

[bk4sky]

i love everyones pics! thanks for so many responses, as for trying to get sabastian to lose weight, its like impossible, i had to stop feeding him dry food due to kidney stones, i feed him 2 cans a day, and he will still follow me all around meowing like he hasnt eaten in days.
and then i feed my kitty dry kitten food, and its a constant battle of trying to keep sabastian from raiding her food bowl, im constantly chasing him away lol

[WhatMoney]

i feed him 2 cans a day, and he will still follow me all around meowing like he hasnt eaten in days.

Two cans a day, assuming 5.5 oz cans of a quality cat food, is enough to maintain a 25-30 lb indoor cat! It is twice what your cat needs to maintain a healthy weight of say 14-15 lbs. And it is why it remains fat.

Of course the cat will think it is starving - just like overweight people think they are starving when they try to reduce their calories to burn up the fat, build muscle, and lose weight. But in your case you can control the cat's intake, unlike most overweight people who do not have the self-discipline to go on a diet and stick to it.

If the cat is fat enough it probably cannot jump too high. Find a high shelf or cabinet to feed the kitten - where the fat cat can't jump up to and steal the food. In the case of my 18.5 lb fat cat I adopted at age 10, this worked until he lost enough weight to be able to jump up to the 5' kitchen shelf. He now weighs 13.5 lbs and act and feels like a new cat. It took a year on one can of 5.5 oz of Friskies pate PER DAY, to slowly get him down. Yes he complained and was obsessive about food - still is - but he will now live longer without medical problems and can run and jump like a normal cat. He is also no longer asthmetic since he lost the excessive weight, and I don't have to worry about future diabetes or urinary blockages with his new "natural" low carb canned food diet.

[bk4sky]

wait my bad.....i feed the adults each a half can 2x a day...thats what i meant, so in reality he is only getting one full can a day, and the other cat is fine with 1/2 can twice a day and never begs. i already have the kitties food on an end table by the couch but he can reach it, everytime i catch him i stop him, but i bet once i leave the house lookout! im going to have to find something higher to put the kitten food on that he cant reach...

[WhatMoney]

i feed the adults each a half can 2x a day

OK, you are on the right track then in controlling his weight. BTW I find the Friskies "poultry platter" (orange label) has the best ingredients, the first ingredient is actually turkey, not the mysterious "meat by-products" most canned food uses as the main ingredient. Another good Friskies Pate is the "ocean whitefish & tuna dinner pate", with whitefish as first ingredient. Both are well balanced low carb canned foods.

The Prime Filets are a good change too - but have gluten in the gravy - only safe if they don't start sourcing it from China. I only use the "Classic Pate" and occasional Prime Filets, and the all tuna or tuna/egg high protein varieties. Trader Joe's canned tuna cat food is also good if you happen to have TJ's nearby. The premium "vet brands" are just a ripoff imo - save your money.

Good luck keeping the kittens' food away from your Sabastian. But you got to do it if you want the diet to work. A dominant hungry cat will always eat everything it can reach. A friend of mine had to seperate feeding time and location for the mother and her fat boy adult cat or the mother would have starved.

[bk4sky]

OK, you are on the right track then in controlling his weight. BTW I find the Friskies "poultry platter" (orange label) has the best ingredients, the first ingredient is actually turkey, not the mysterious "meat by-products" most canned food uses as the main ingredient. Another good Friskies Pate is the "ocean whitefish & tuna dinner pate", with whitefish as first ingredient. Both are well balanced low carb canned foods.

omg! that is what i feed them! i switch back and forth from the poultry platter and the ocean whitefish and the tuna dinner pate. its really cheap too!

[AngelinaCat]

I've always liked the Friskies and 9-Lives products. But I have to be careful and read the labels closely. My cats don't seem to tolerate red tuna well. Nor do they tolerate anything with gravy in it. If they do eat it, I am rewarded with 'up-chucks' all over the place.

I switched over to dry food almost exclusively after the Chinese wheat-gluten episode, where we lost one of our cat children. There, I have to read the labels and avoid artificial colorings, etc. I have lately started cooking a little extra of whatever we are having for them. For the kitties, that is a special treat, plus I know what goes into the food.

[Over our heads]

Ok, I don't have pics of my cats on this puter, and they sabatoge my camera every time I try to take a new one...how to they drain batteries with one dirty look anyways?
Our Precious is 14 years, and Moe-Moe is 9.
Precious was actually born in my room in my laundry basket. My hub and I had only been dating for a year! Now married for 11.5.


But! We do have new additions this week. As ironic as it sounds, this was the right time to add them.

[blankslate]

Awww they are adorable and the right time to add furbabies is when you need their love the most!

On the topic of feeding pets, most rescues and breeders use Canidae for dogs and Felidae for cats. Organic food with good meat and for the kitties, cranberry too. When my Champagne first suffered a horrible UTI that almost killed him I fed him felidae and added a cranberry supplement to his canned food and he lived 2 years longer than he was expected and was full of energy as if nothing had ever happened.

For the dogs, I actually cook for mine most of the time. I simmer together brown rice, chicken livers and veggies. Make enough to last a few days at a time put in tupperware containers that are each the size of one meal so it's as easy as opening a can. The cost of decent dog food each month for two dogs is at least $75. The cost of cooking it, about $30 and I know what is in it!

[Jenie0109]

What a cute bunch of angels! I will post mine too, soon.

[Over our heads]

Finally some cat pics..and new pup pics, I forgot I organized the ol' photobucket.