Somebody Is Taking Over My House

After restoring the barn loft from pack rats, I knew I needed cats.  I got 2 from the shelter.  The big orange guy was friendly to the point of being a nuisance.  The Puddy above wouldn't let me near her but I was in a hurry so I just said, "I'll take that one too." Being chums didn't seem to be a requirement for an 8 year old barn cat.

It wasn't until I got her home that I realized how pathetic she was with her thin, stubbly hair over a bag of bones. Her eyes were squinty all the time and her head sort of wobbled. She made sure there was at least 15 feet between us.

There have been no cats in my house since the kids were little so I set out to research cat nutrition.  Here's what I found out.  Because cats are carnivores, they do the best on a raw meat diet.  Cats need a lot of water and Taurine with each meal.  Wet food is better for them than dry. I already make Cody's (dog) raw food so I have the grinder, a Tasin 108. Just one hitch, Puddy didn't like wet food. She must have always been fed dry food and it's probably the reason she's so sick.

All summer I was "tearing-out-my-hair" busy and I didn't have time to make animal food so I mixed up dry and canned food with water and sprinkled a little taurine,  N-Zymes and salmon oil on top. Gradually she started eating some of the wet food. Actually she had to because it was stuck all over her dry food :)  The best dry food I found was a brand called Origen.  It's 80% animal, 20% veggies/fruits and NO GRAIN.  Yay....... that was good enough for the summer.

Come winter, I moved back to town. Someone took the big orange cat and Puddy had to come with Cody and me.  Getting the cat and dog to socialize is another story, for another time. Puddy was warming up to me but still held her distance.  Getting her into the moving carrier left me with scratched arms and frustration.  Now my life started running at a slower pace and I would have time to make the raw cat food.
I follow Dr. Lisa Pierson's raw cat diet. For meat, I use poultry and rabbit (when I can get it), liver and other organ meats.  I grind the meat and add a slurry of water, supplements and sometimes eggs.  For supplements I use taurine, vitamins E and B, salmon oil and a little kelp.  It's so easy. As Lisa Pierson says, "It takes less time than watching a lousy sitcom." Put it in small jars and pop it into the freezer.

She eats 3 small meals a day.  I give her a heaping tsp. of the raw food mixed with a little water. On top I sprinkle taurine, salmon oil, N-Zymes, Solid Gold Sealmeal and Forti-flora.  A few times a week I also sprinkle a little diatomacous earth to discourage parasites and bugs.  The Solid Gold Sealmeal is all vitamins and minerals. It's like a miracle in a jar. Someone said, it will grow hair on a bucket.  Probably so, because Puddy's scrawny hair is becoming thick and lustrous.

I am absolutely amazed at her progress. She is not only getting more beautiful each day, her personality has completely changed. She became a normal, friendly cat, who now sits very still when I brush her or clean her ears.  The pictures are all recent. I wish I had taken pictures of the before but I was far to busy and "who'd a thunk" there would be this much improvement. She almost looks like a kitten again.
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I saw Les Miserables Christmas Day. It has always been one of my favorite classics and I was curious how it would work as a musical.  It definitely works and I was enthralled. I had no idea Hugh Jackman could sing.  I'd like to see it again.
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Dr. Lisa Pierson's link is HERE.