Feeding Time!

I've been working with Beasley for over 2 years - he eats too fast and then regurgitates his entire meal.

When it was just Beasley and me, way back in the beginning, I would heat his wet food (kept in the fridge) to room temperature and he would eat it. Dry food was no problem. He ate well, didn't gorge himself, and didn't vomit, even with hairballs.

However, for over 2 years, he's had a real problem. Ever since Princess came to us. She doesn't eat at the same time, doesn't eat wet food, and was a virtual ghost for the first 3 months - she hid under the bed all the time. This didn't matter to Beasley, though, because he began to gorge himself when food was put down. Poor Princess became the problem, and she was no problem at all.

I treated him with hairball treatment, and sometimes that would work. I began to restrict his access to food. I put down 1/2 teaspoon at a time and allow some time to go by before he got any more. Between the two treatment methods, he seemed to get better. Then the girls came.

Now, with 5 cats, it's pandemonium every time I walk near the kitchen. Fluffy was severely overweight when she came so she needed a special diet to reduce her girth. Bugs is allergic to all wheat products and gets terrible smelly diarrhea if she eats any, so all the dry food is specialized and wheat-free. Queenie will eat anything she can get, especially since she was spayed. Bugs hangs in the kitchen for meat, but won't eat it - she's just underfoot.

Beasley comes in, sees the crowd, and leaves. I have to bring him back in. Lately, I've been using the hairball remedy again. He sees me coming toward him to apply it and he leaves the kitchen. By the time he gets back to the kitchen, Queenie or Fluffy have finished what was in his bowl.

So, I'm trying a special food: Wysong Feline Archetype which is a meal where you add a little water and it becomes a soft food. It guarantees nutrition for a small amount of food. You can use it as a "seasoning" to other foods, as well. I've been impressed with Wysong for a long time now, and this will be my first venture into the archetype food - which is not available around here. I have to get it online, just like you.

I'll let you know how things go. I hate to see the upset Beasley goes through every day. At least it's only food-related! I'm grateful he's not sick, just high-strung.

How to find the stuff I talk about...

If you ever have trouble finding something I talk about - this blog is set up so that if you click the title of a post, it will take you to the page I'm talking about.

This post for instance, will take you to the marketplace - the page changes at least monthly and gives a good overview of anything you might want to check on. All items I talk about are on at least one of the pages there.

Hotmail & MSN Down?????

Well, MSN and Hotmail seem to be down this morning. I won't be able to get to my email to counsel until they resolve the problem. I've tried from two (2) browsers, so the cookies aren't the problem.

If you submitted a contact form, give it a little extra time. Sorry about this, out of my control....

Voting Concluded

Well, voting is concluded. Interesting results, and here they are:

By sheer clicks, Katie won by a landslide. By IP address, or individual computer address, Rohan won but not by a landslide.

There were several people who came by and voted more than once, for more than one kitty. That's to be expected.

So, since I didn't say that it would be by IP address or sheer clicks or any other criteria, what I've decided to do is to split the winnings between Katie and Rohan. This might seem unfair, but I don't know what else to do. I've asked for help, and no one has stepped forward with an opinion.

So, if you are either Katie's or Rohan's owner, please send me your mailing address by the same way you entered the contest (remember how you did it?) and I'll confirm by email. You will get a bank certified check/money order for your winnings.

Help Needed - Voting Results :)

I've been analysing the results from the pretty kitty contest. It seems that some of my visitors have pretty good programming skills, or they paid someone to click a certain button - or perhaps its just a glitch someplace.

However, on analysing the results, it seems that Rohan is the actual winner by IP addresses. By sheer number of clicks, it's Katie.

By IP address, the results are: Rohan #1, Rebecca #2
By sheer clicks, the results are: Katie #1, Rohan #2

Several folks clicked their kitty more than once, which is to be expected. Several of the IP addresses picked more than one kitty, coming back for the second click. However, there were over 900 clicks and only 181 visitors. That told me the results were terribly skewed. The strange results are in 10-second increments, so I know something isn't right.

Now, my dilemma is: Who is the winner???? Should I go by clicks or by IP address?

Post your opinion and I'll keep a tally, voting on this issue closes at midnight EDT, 7/11/2007. In this case, IP address and identity count, so only vote once - give your reasoning - I need the help.

Happy 4th!

I hope you are all having a wonderful 4th of July holiday.

Remember to keep your pets safe from harm - away from that enticing smell coming off the BBQ and please don't tie a firecracker to your cats' tail! As a matter of fact, please don't play with fireworks of any kind - go to a professionally put on show of fireworks this evening, instead. Keep yourself and your pets safe.

Eat some watermelon (if you like it) and have some BBQ for me. I had to stop eating meat because of a tummy upset.

Pretty Kitty Contest Is Up &

Voting has Begun!

Boy! We are off rockin' and rollin' on the pretty kitty contest! Make your vote count - get there and vote!

There were 12 submissions, and the photos are set up to be thumbnail on the page - if you click on one, it will get bigger in a new window. You can vote right on the contest page. The prize is only $10, and, boy!, I can't believe the response! This is truly amazing!

The voting will continue till July 15, when the voting form will come down. I'll put up the results, so everyone can see them.

Now, for next month, what do you want to see????? If it's another contest, can you/are you willing to donate for prizes???

Talk to me...
Morgen

There is new history

There is new history reported today on the origen of cats. I found it interesting but not earthshaking. They did mention how kidney disease in cats is similar to what happens in people, though.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/science/29cat.html?em&ex=1183262400&en=f6e4d0ed5218dd70&ei=5087%0A

What surprises me is that more people aren't interested in how cats can be affected by disease and the link between cats and humans. With more information coming out of China regarding tainted foods, and what happened to our pets recently, you would think more people would be interested. Maybe they will be soon.

Meanwhile, use the best quality foods you can for your cats and yourself. Only Natural Pet has an article this month about the importance of supplements and good quality food for humans as well as pets. I suggest you read that as well.

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/KnowledgeBase/knowledgebasedetail.aspx?articleid=96&Keywords=

And don't sweat the small stuff! Our bodies are amazing, and God's creation contains all the cures for all the diseases - some we just don't know where they are yet. So, take a clue from your feline friend and stretch out in the sun and have a siesta, you'll feel better about everything afterwards.

Been Getting Submissions!

I've been getting quite a few new stories! Please check out: Scruffy, Charlie, Baby, Cody and Cruiser. These stories were all submitted by readers.

In the middle of getting all those stories, I also got a special supplier of Cat Furniture, Burt Elias. He and I are very happy to join up to offer excellent cat trees and climbing surfaces for low prices. The quality is excellent and because Burt uses recycled materials, the cost is low enough that even shipping them, you will spend less with Burt than at your local pet supply store. Truly a find!

There are great things coming up in July, so stay tuned...

Been Quite a While!

My, it's been a while! Things have been a little strange in the home so I've been working on that instead of the internet. I got a client to develop 2 websites, so I got started on that. I had some trouble with the computer, mostly because I don't know anything about Mac or the Tiger OSX system. I've had to learn.

I have posted some reader stories on the site, and I've been working on some articles for future posts. I've put out a newsletter special issue, but it isn't saved as an archive because I didn't want non-subscribers to have access to it. It's about submitting photos for a photo contest, but only the recipients of the newsletter issue are eligible to enter.

So, more stuff coming up, and I'm just working on things the best I can. Subscribe to the RSS feed from the site if you want to keep current. The "blogs" do not duplicate, but between this one and that, you will be pretty up to date.

I'm not working outside the home, and all the "temp work" dried up right after I made the change. Then, because I wasn't technically fired - but could not work in those immoral conditions - I can't collect unemployment. I'm praying really hard right now for some opportunities to come my way.

I know that God has us all in the palm of his hand, but I always have doubts. God provided 2 small bookshelves so I didn't have to go out and buy them, but I still have doubts! Why? God takes care of me in so many ways, but I never trust Him to provide for me. He always does! I just need to increase faith and believe in all of me that He will provide better for me than I could ever do myself, and it will be that way. "Ask and it shall be given" Matt 7:7, but still....

Well, I have work to do so I can accept all those photos! And I sincerely hope that I can reduce the file sizes or they might not get uploaded! So, pray for the US postal system and pray that my finances don't fall apart, that I have the faith to hold strong - things are getting pretty tough and I'm getting scared.

You know, fear is the biggest problem.