Pet(s): Photos & Discussion

[Gharlane]

On 11/16/2024 at 5:25 PM, isalicat said:

I don't have any info to offer as to where this is, or anything else, but is this not lovely? The spirit of St. Francis is alive and well!

I know they do a "blessing of the beasts" every year, but do they perform exorcisms? 😀

On 11/19/2024 at 8:48 PM, Is Everyone Gone said:

I am a mess. My beautiful 19 year old cat has been dealing with kidney disease for about 3 years. We've been giving her fluids and watching her diet, but recently her values have gone up again. I've been a wreck. She's still eating, having fun, being feisty and snotty, so we're going to let her be, but I am so afraid that the end is near.

Fabulous was diagnosed with failing kidneys a couple years ago. I mostly feed her the prescription food (always wondered why that requires one!) and she seems to be doing OK. Here is the first photo I took of her in 2010.

[Gharlane]

Here's the first one I took without her moving around (ha ha).

[badhaggis]

Here is our kitty Ivy aka Poison Ivy. We wanted another cat but Ms. Ivy is a fighter not a lover. She does not care for other cats. She was really traumatized when we got her. She was very shy and standoffish. It has taken time patience and a few band-aids but she is super sweet now. 

I am very thankful to our first kitty Princess Fuzzybutt to teach us the capacity to love another kitty so much.

Edited January 31 by badhaggis

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Gharlane said:

Fabulous was diagnosed with failing kidneys a couple years ago. I mostly feed her the prescription food (always wondered why that requires one!)

In chronic kidney disease, the kidneys have a hard time filtering phosphorus, leaving too much of it in the bloodstream, which comes with quite a few potential problems.  So you want to feed food with a reduced phosphorus content.  Because the phosphorus content of the Rx food is reduced so far it doesn't meet general nutrition guidelines, it can only be fed with a vet saying yes, that's worth it because of the kidney disease.

45 minutes ago, badhaggis said:

Here is our kitty Ivy aka Poison Ivy.

What a cutie!  It is so rewarding when your patience pays off and you see your cat feeling safe and secure enough to trust and love like she wants to.

[Suzn]

4 hours ago, badhaggis said:

Here is our kitty Ivy aka Poison Ivy. We wanted another cat but Ms. Ivy is a fighter not a lover. She does not care for other cats. She was really traumatized when we got her. She was very shy and standoffish. It has taken time patience and a few band-aids but she is super sweet now. 

I am very thankful to our first kitty Princess Fuzzybutt to teach us the capacity to love another kitty so much.

She's very beautiful!

[peacheslatour]

Her mane's really coming in.

 

[Yogisbooboo64]

This is my cat, Charlie....in his lazy natural element!

Charlie is from the streets.  When we first got him, he'd tear up a whole little can of wet food; now that he's an indoor cat, I'm lucky if he eats wet on a daily basis.  I don't want him to get blocked up or constipated by eating dry food, any suggestions?

[supposebly]

Constipation can happen with less fillers/fiber. Kibble usually has lots of that.

The more dangerous thing is kidney disease or urinary blockages.

Slowly move on from dry food. You could also try freeze dried raw and slowly add water to that.

Get a water fountain to hopefully make him drink more. Or add tuna water to his water bowl to entice him to drink more.

Hopefully, you can stop feeding dry food altogether. If that's not an option at all, make sure there is as much attractive water to drink as possible. In nature, cats get most of their hydration from their food. Dry food is the antithesis of that.

I don't want to alarm you and obviously, it doesn't happen with every cat, but male cats are more prone to urinary blockages or kidney disease when they get older.

6 years ago today, I adopted my two girls and my life was better. 

[Yogisbooboo64]

Charlie is the first cat that I've had that constantly drinks water.  He's poopy regular too.

My vet suggested that I feed him dry twice a day instead of 3 times.  Now I'll do 6 am wet then 7 am/7pm dry with water in between.

 

 

[Bastet]

Another problem with dry food is almost all of it has way too high a carbohydrate count for cats, putting them at risk of diabetes.  For however long dry food has to be part of his diet, it's best if you can feed one of the few that isn't loaded with carbs.   Nature's Variety Instinct is a great option.

[isalicat]

35 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Another problem with dry food is almost all of it has way too high a carbohydrate count for cats, putting them at risk of diabetes.  For however long dry food has to be part of his diet, it's best if you can feed one of the few that isn't loaded with carbs.   Nature's Variety Instinct is a great option.

What is your opinion of Blue Mountain Grain Free Formula? I buy the chicken one that is labeled: Adults "Weight Control", as both my tabbies (now 5 years old) are tending to get chubby. They each get 1/2 a tiny can of wet food once a day plus small spoonfuls of the dry food a few times a day (I don't leave anything out as the tom will eat it all instantly and then want yet more). They have a water fountain and drink water several times a day.

[Bastet]

18 minutes ago, isalicat said:

What is your opinion of Blue Mountain Grain Free Formula? I buy the chicken one that is labeled: Adults "Weight Control",

I assume you mean Blue Wilderness.  It's made mostly from good ingredients, but has a high carbohydrate content -- nearly 30% of its calories come from carbs, which is typical of dry food (some are closer to 50%).  You ideally would feed cats no more than five percent of their calories from carbs, or at least no more than ten percent, but that's all but impossible with dry.  Last time I gathered data (because you need "as fed" numbers to calculate caloric composition, not the "guaranteed analysis" numbers on the bag), only Nature's Variety and Wellness Core got down anywhere approaching ten percent.

[bosawks]

Winter!

[peacheslatour]

Please remember to re-pot your cats. They need room to grow.

[fastiller]

The Demon Child, from a couple weeks back.

[Mindthinkr]

I entered a contest where the prize is a portrait of the winning pet. This is BB who went OTRB last April. Guess what. We won! What a beautiful tribute to put the picture of him (once I get it framed) up on my wall. 

[peacheslatour]

15 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

I entered a contest where the prize is a portrait of the winning pet. This is BB who went OTRB last April. Guess what. We won! What a beautiful tribute to put the picture of him (once I get it framed) up on my wall. 

What a beauty!

[Mindthinkr]

5 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

What a beauty!

Thank you kindly. He was big..24 lbs at his biggest, but what a cuddle bug 😻

[Gharlane]

On 1/31/2025 at 1:39 PM, badhaggis said:

Here is our kitty Ivy aka Poison Ivy. We wanted another cat but Ms. Ivy is a fighter not a lover. She does not care for other cats.

What a pretty kitty! My previous cat, Tabby, was rescued from the parking lot where my sister worked. Tabby HATED other cats (I think sis said Tabby was bullied by other strays) and would howl and scream and hiss until blood started spraying out of her mouth if she even suspected one was nearby. On several occasions, people thought there was a wild animal outside making the noise. 😲

 

On 1/31/2025 at 2:26 PM, Bastet said:

In chronic kidney disease, the kidneys have a hard time filtering phosphorus, leaving too much of it in the bloodstream, which comes with quite a few potential problems.  So you want to feed food with a reduced phosphorus content.  Because the phosphorus content of the Rx food is reduced so far it doesn't meet general nutrition guidelines, it can only be fed with a vet saying yes, that's worth it because of the kidney disease.

Would feeding prescription kidney-friendly cat food make a cat hungrier? I've had to feed Fabulous thrice a day recently.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, Gharlane said:

Would feeding prescription kidney-friendly cat food make a cat hungrier? I've had to feed Fabulous thrice a day recently.

Yes, because it doesn't have as much protein* as a cat should eat, and is instead high in carbohydrates -- carbs curb the appetite for a shorter time than protein, making the cat hungry again sooner.

*Protein and phosphorus got lumped together.  The prescription diet is based on research done back in the '60s on mice, and tested in dogs.  Unlike either of those species, cats are obligate carnivores.  Those with CKD need reduced phosphorus, but not the reduced protein that the Rx food manufacturers use to help achieve it.

[peacheslatour]

5 hours ago, Gharlane said:

What a pretty kitty! My previous cat, Tabby, was rescued from the parking lot where my sister worked. Tabby HATED other cats (I think sis said Tabby was bullied by other strays) and would howl and scream and hiss until blood started spraying out of her mouth if she even suspected one was nearby. On several occasions, people thought there was a wild animal outside making the noise. 😲

 

Would feeding prescription kidney-friendly cat food make a cat hungrier? I've had to feed Fabulous thrice a day recently.

This is why Elizabeth is an only cat. There used to be a sweet male cat that would come around and sit on top of our fence at the end of the driveway, right next to her window. They would paw at each other playfully and we loved him. Then one day, my husband opened the front door for something and he darted in. She went after him and would have torn him to shreds (lol, she's a BIG cat) and my husband threw a towel over her and separated them. She tore that towel to ribbons. So, there went the idea of getting her a little friend.

[Gharlane]

16 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

This is why Elizabeth is an only cat. There used to be a sweet male cat that would come around and sit on top of our fence at the end of the driveway, right next to her window. They would paw at each other playfully and we loved him. Then one day, my husband opened the front door for something and he darted in. She went after him and would have torn him to shreds (lol, she's a BIG cat) and my husband threw a towel over her and separated them. She tore that towel to ribbons. So, there went the idea of getting her a little friend.

Ha ha! You reminded me that I had a neighbor cat who made a point of antagonizing Tabby by jumping on the front windowsill or my car hood and making sure Tabby saw her.