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Swag Saturday

Newton: The head peep got back from BlogPaws last Sunday, but it has taken all week for her to let us see all of the swag she brought back.

Pierre: That might have been because of the way you tried to unpack it on your own.

Newton: It wasn’t my fault. Cats like opportunities! I found an opportunity to check out the bag of freeze-dried food that Christine from Oh My Shih Tzu sent home for us. It was for us, after all, right?

Pierre: That looks like a little more than just checking it out.

Newton: *burp*

Pierre: *sigh*

Newton: Anyway, did you want me to tell everyone about the swag she did finally unpack from BlogPaws?

Pierre: Go right ahead.

Newton: There’s so much of it that the head peep insists we can’t eat all of it, and we have to share it with Cousins Shep and Earl and with some of our other friends here in town who aren’t as fortunate as we are.

Pierre: It’s good to share with others, especially those who aren’t as fortunate as you are.

Newton: I’m going to pick out the good toys before they are given away. If I drool on this feather, I can keep it, right?

Newton: In addition to the swag bags from BlogPaws, we got lots of wonderful things from my fan club.

Pierre: Those probably weren’t all for you.

Newton: Sure they were! So I personally wanted to thank them all.There were wonderful gifts from Sheebie at Katnip Lounge, my new friend Meg at Housecat Confidential, and Ms. Stella O’Houligan from On a More Personal Note. Oh, and a catbell from Waffles, not to mention soap from Priscilla the Goat.

Pierre: I’m just going to sit here and watch to see what you do with that soap.

Ashton: Don’t forget the homemade treats that Oui Oui at Twinkletoe Tails sent for me!

Pierre: Since the head peep finally met Ms. Stella O’Houligan‘s human, she was able to buy one of her famous catnip quilts. This one actually says BlogPaws 2014 right on it!

As a connoisseur of fine catnip, I give this dazed paws up!

Newton: Ms. Stella, your human does great work. It takes a lot to make a mancat like me this silly.

*whew* I’m worn out.

Pierre: Since Newton is laying down on the job, it’s up to me to say thank you to everyone who the head peep forgot to tell us to thank. Good help is so hard to find.

Newton: Yes, thank you to my whole fan club.

Pierre: Oh, Newton, they’re not your… you know, never mind. Let’s go see if we can have some of those new treats.

Try-it Tuesday: Nature’s Variety

We recently had the opportunity to try some of the new products from Nature’s Variety.

Pride by Instinct

The first one we sampled was the new Pride by Instinct line of grain free canned foods. These are in colorful cans, and each flavor has a whimsical character assigned to it. This seems kind of silly at first, but if you happen to have a member of your household who gets sent to the store for cat food and has a hard time remembering which one to purchase, the silly characters like the glasses-wearing diva cat on the Diva’s Duck flavor probably would help ensure the correct flavor comes home. These are the four flavors we tried:

Two of the flavors, rabbit and chicken, are “flaked” while rabbit and duck are “minced.” (All flavors come in both textures, and there are a few more available too. You can check out the full line at their site, if you’re curious.) These seemed to be similar consistency in the sense that both of them allowed pate-loving cats to eat the sauce first and then decide whether or not they were actually going to eat the bulk of the meal.

Newton!

The flaked texture seemed to be slightly larger pieces, as pictured below.

NEWTON! He is ready to give the food his seal of approval before it is even served.

Since Ashton’s calorie intake is still limited, we had the boys vote on these cans:

Starlet’s Salmon Recipe – Pierre: Paws up! Newton: Paws up! Pierre loves fishy foods and doesn’t get them often. It was clear that he thought this one, especially, was a real treat.

Champ’s Chicken Recipe – Pierre: Paws up! Newton: Paws up!

Diva’s Duck Recipe – Pierre: Paws down. Newton: Paws up! Pierre is a picky eater, so this isn’t surprising.

Ritzy’s Rabbit Recipe – Pierre: Paws down. Newton: Paws down. We haven’t ever had rabbit before, and at first we thought that was the cause. Looking more closely at the label, it turns out that this is really a pork-based food with some rabbit in it (top ingredients pork broth, rabbit, pork, pork liver). Pork isn’t a food that the boys are familiar with at all, so it’s understandable that they would have approached it with caution. .

We like that the recipes are grain free, and are happy that there is no carrageenan anywhere on the ingredient list, too. Although the foods are grain-free, they do have peas and spinach listed high enough on the ingredient lists to be less than ideal. Still, Pierre’s enthusiasm for the Starlet’s Salmon recipe when he hasn’t been eating very well recently is something we are pleased to discover.

Instinct Raw Freeze Dried Meal or Mixer

One of the new Nature’s Vareity products is a freeze-dried raw. We were really excited to try this because we are hoping that now that the transition from kibble to canned is complete to eventually make the transition from canned to raw.

The pieces of this freeze-dried food are roughly the same size and shape as kibble, so cats who are accustomed to kibble might be more likely to accept it than they would other raw. All three of us still think that kibble is addictive, and we took to this just like it was kibble.

It can be fed as a complete meal, or sprinkled on top of other food as an enhancer. Or, as Pierre quickly determined, it could be a tasty mid-day snack.

Pierre dove so enthusiastically into the bag of Instinct Raw that he actually got it stuck on his head and had to shake it off. Do not try this at home! Considering he hasn’t been eating well recently and has had us worried, this was exciting to see.

Also, since this food is so well-accepted all around, it seems like a really good gateway into raw feeding. This is an exciting discovery for the cats who mostly didn’t recognize a raw diet as real food the last time we tried it, and we hope it helps us work on the transition to a species-approriate raw diet.

FTC Disclosure: We received this sample food free from Nature’s Variety. All opinions expressed in this review and on this site are our own.

National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day

Are you prepared?

We aren’t talking about Cat Scouts — we hear they are always prepared. We are asking about having a disaster plan for your pets. With hurricane season just around the corner in our part of the country, National Pet Disaster Preparedness Day is a good time to check and see if you’re prepared in case of emergency.

Do you have ID? Collar with tag and registered microchip both give the maximum ability to get pets back who go astray during a disaster. If you have changed telephone numbers recently, verify that you have updated the number on tags and with the chip registry.

Do you have a disaster kit handy? Disaster kits are good to have on hand if you need to evacuate, and they are also filled with handy things in case disaster strikes and you are at home with local stores or delivery services not operating. A disaster kit should be in some kind of a durable bin or bag and contain:

Food for at least five days. If you use dry food, package it in something airtight and rotate it every six months so it doesn’t go bad. Don’t forget to include bowls. Paper bowls are a good idea since they are lightweight and you don’t have to worry about cleaning them.
Water for at least five days. You probably have this for yourself, but don’t forget your pets!
Litterbox with litter, scoop, and trash bags to dispose of used litter. There are disposable litterboxes on the market. Disposable foil pans like you would use for making a turkey can work for this, too.
Medications and written instructions on how you give them, especially if your routine varies at all from what is on the prescription label. (If you cut pills in half and dose twice a day, for example)
A copy of medical records, especially proof of recent vaccines. If you have to board your pet during an evacuation, you’ll need that documentation.
Written information about feeding schedules and medical conditions that could be left with a boarding facility if necessary. You may have compiled this already for a pet sitter. If so, you can use a copy of the same information here.
Current photos and descriptions of pets to use in case you are separated from them during a disaster. It’s a good idea to also have a photo of yourself with your pets for a quick proof of ownership. Tip: You can put all of the photos and other documentation on a thumb drive to make it compact rather than carrying it all on paper.

Do you have cat carriers for everyone? You may only take one or two cats to the vet at a time, but if you have more cats than that, make sure you have enough carriers to go around in case of evacuation. If you aren’t going to use the additional carriers for anything other than emergencies, less-expensive plastic carriers have the advantage of being stackable if you’re in tight quarters, and most of them break down for compact, nested storage.

Do you know where to go in case of evacuation? Not everyone is pet friendly, so it’s a good idea to ask around before you need to find a place to go in an emergency. Places you might go include:

Local evacuation centers. Do the ones in your area make provisions for pets? More of them are including this in their contingency planning, but you should check before assuming that they do. Contact your local emergency management agency well ahead of a disaster — not after — to ask how to research this for your locality.
A family member or friend in a nearby region or state who might accommodate you? It’s always better to ask now rather than showing up in their driveway in an emergency!
Pet friendly hotels. Do you know where to find pet-friendly hotels? Several internet sites include listings, such as:

Keep in mind that when there is a disaster that causes an evacuation, lodging fills up fast.

What if you are away from home when disaster strikes? Talk to a trusted friend or neighbor about helping evacuate and meet you with your pets in a safe location away from the disaster.

We all hope that disaster won’t strike us, but better to be prepared and not need the plan than need a plan and have no idea what to do!