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Thursday, December 27, 2012

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.

24 comments:

  1. I sure missed your posts...glad you're back!!!

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  2. Hi Manzanita .. you've had one busy summer - glad the pack racks were rid ... but your Puddy looks quite delightful and talk about spoiling her ... still love is - isn't it!

    Great to see the photos - and yes I want to see Les Mis .. and definitely will do ... thanks for that shout out .. cheers Hilary

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  3. Awww.... What a sweetheart she is. You have saved her life and she must appreciate it or you wouldn't get near her.

    Good Job Manzi!

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  4. What a sweetie she is. And how happy she must be to be so loved and cared for. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, Manazanita.

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  5. Turquoisemoon : Ditto.... I really missed all of you guys too. Happy to be back

    Hilary :Would you believe all these years I didn't think I cared much for cats and never really wanted one because they jump up on counters and tables but this little sickly feline just took my heart.

    Terry : Thank you my dear. I should never say never, huh. Just when I say "I won't" the Universe says, "You will." dang-it. And how can we refuse the Universe. :)

    Teresa : Thanks.... She must be happy because she purrs all the time. I take it that's a sign of contentment.... I've heard humans purr when they were eating something they really adored. You know, that yummmm, nummmmy, yummmy
    Ha ha ha

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  6. Wow when you post you really post! That was a great story about your cat (even though I am not a cat person). I love the fact you make your own pet food. I thought my dogs ate better than most people but your cat is way better then that! Stay and enjoy the holidays!

    Seeing Les Mis with the wife after the first of the year.

    Chuck

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  7. Awwww pretty kitty! As for Hugh, Oh mama! He is hot.

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  8. Awesome that she came along so well. Also look at nutrtion a ton as one of mine has allergies, but won't eat anything else what so ever, no matter what it is, her dry food is grain, dairy, gluten free though, so that helps, won't eat wet foo either haha

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  9. Chuck: I think it's called, running off at the mouth or fingers. :)I always said I wasn't a cat person too, until this sickly little challenge came along. I baby Cody too. Have always made her food and it's always organic, or at least as near organic we can get these days. blaaaa
    You and the wife will love Les Mis. The voices blended so well and the music at the battle scene reverberates through your whole body. Sp exciting. It makes you want to grab one of the flags and wave it.

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  10. Paige : Ah Ha..... you're noticing.
    Ha ha Years ago when I first saw him in movies, I wasn't too impressed with his acting. I never felt he was believable but I liked him better and better the more I saw of him. I saw him interviewed and he said his acting school had voice lessons once a week. He was a fast learner.

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  11. Pat : I suppose you've tried mixing a little of the wet in with the dry. I've heard some cats will almost starve than change their diet. It took all summer and up to November before she was eating all the raw food. It was really a study in my patience and the food she left was never wasted as Cody will gobble it with one swipe of her tongue.

    Have you ever tried putting a little salmon oil on their food. It comes in a pump bottle and she gets one pump and Cody gets 2 pumps. Cats seem to love it and dogs will just eat anything.

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  12. Glad to know that you and Puddy are doing much better. Especially Puddy, as the result of your careful attention.

    Hope you've had a good Christmas,and that 2013 will be good to you, whether in tow or in the country.

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  13. Bear: Good to hear from you. I hope you bounced right out of hibernation and into the land of the Christmas Spirit. Now the New Year Spirit. I'm really happy and cheerful, Bear, but inside my gut is quivering like an arrow, straight from the bow, when I think about the coming year.
    Blessings

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  14. Dear Manzanita,

    Apologies for not visiting your site in quite some time.

    I got Penny the Jack Russell to read this and she even looked at your photos without trying to jump through computer screen :)

    Like me, Penny knows that the beauty of precious animals are there for us as those who understand, are there for them.

    You have had some hectic times and may the New Year bring much promise of peace and contentment.

    Thank you for your kind interaction on our site, for which we warmly embrace.

    In peace a good wishes,

    Gary and a the lovable Penny staying in the background.. "Stay away from the screen, Penny!" :)

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  15. Your kitty is beautiful, and it's amazing how much difference a little TLC can make to an animal, isn't it? That, and all that good food you're feeding her, of course. Not only do we feed our kitties wet food twice a day, (with dry food left out for "between-meal snacks") but we do the same for a neighbor's cat, as well. The little guy was here every day, and for the longest time, we thought he was a stray, so we took care of him. We were considering taking him to to the vet, and bringing him inside when we found out he belongs to a neighbor. But, um, the cat evidently doesn't know it. He's still here every day, begging for food and attention. What the heck? Once you start tending to a critter, it comes to expect it. (His owner probably wonders why he never eats.) Other neighborhood cats stop by for a bite every now and then, too, as well as a raccoon and an opossum. Dinner out at Chez Swiderski.

    Happy New Year! (almost)

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  16. Feeling good can do wonders for a personality. Puddy is proof positive.
    She is one lucky cat that you took her in. I don't make Minnie's food but found Halo Inside Cat totally corrected her horrific gas. I also got my pets a water fountain so the do love to drink from that. That is so important especially for cats as you mentioned.
    Hoping you had a great holidays and are looking forward to a wonderful 2013.

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  17. Your new furry friends are arodable!! I love cats :)

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  18. Puddy looks very lush...what a lucky cat to have fallen in your hands.

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  19. Puddy is gorgeous! She must be very happy that she found you, Manzi.

    Molly the Cat is a picky eater and she'll eat only eat Rad Cat Raw Diet and a certain non-grain dry food. We have to drive over the mountain and to the coast every few weeks to buy the raw food. Don't mind it since it's gets us out of the house and we get to see the ocean. I've thought about making the raw food from scratch but worry I might not ground the bones enough.

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  20. Puddy is a beautiful cat!
    Do you ever feed fish in place of the raw meat? or just the salmon oil on the food?
    Cats I've owned in the past have loved fish, but i only bought the stuff in cans, tuna or sardines. Cat food fish as well as people food fish.

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  21. Su-sieee,
    Over the river and through the woods to buy cat food, huh? Sounds like she's on a really good diet plan. What brand non-grain dry do you use? I put Origin brand in the post because it's the only one I know. California always offers more variety in things than Montana. I think about the bones too, but I use the same grinder and disk that Lisa Pierson uses and she feeds her own cans that grind. I could go one thinner as several disks came with it. Maybe I should.

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  22. River :Hi...During the summer when I was feeding her the canned food, it was fish based. They didn't seem to like it so much so when I found Lisa Pierson's diet for raw meat online, I decided to go with that. I guess cats eat close to their natural diet and that would be mostly mice, birds and rats. Unless one lives near a body of water, fish wouldn't be in their natural diet. They do love the salmon oil and I think that would be for omega 3. It probably makes a difference if you start them on raw beef or fish when they are kittens. Puddy is 8 they said and her taste habit was really formed. She just wanted the dry food I I think she would have accepted whatever I put out bevause I went very slowly.

    You are going to be all ready for your cat when you retire.

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  23. I'd LOVE a cat - but won't have one because of the danger to native birds and animals we encourage on our property. Although, if I could find a rabbit-killing cat I'd have to re-think ...

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