Posted by Hazel C | 4 Comments

Raw Cat Food

It is only natural for cats to eat raw meat, if you have an outdoor cat they are no doubt supplementing their diet with mice and birds and other small creatures that they catch.

But what are the benefits of changing from processed cat food to natural raw meat?

Pros:

• Healthier fur and skin – some cats are allergic to the grains in processes food, they can get dermatitis
• Clean teeth – a raw diet can lead to healthier teeth and gums
• Natural weight control – carbohydrate in processes can lead to weight problems
• Increased vitality – cat’s are carnivores their digestion works best with raw meat, they will be healthier with more energy
• Less chance of suffering from diabetes

Cons:

• Contaminated meat – if you don’t buy from a reputable outlet there is a danger of salmonella, e coli, listeria
• Cost – raw meat can be more expensive
• Convenience – if you buy frozen meat you have to allow time to thaw – if you buy fresh the meat cannot be stored as long

It is better to feed as small chunks rather than ground to get the best nutrition value from raw meat; grinding can add more bacteria to the meat.

Cats will naturally prey on rabbits so it is an excellent choice for their diet. You may also try other meats such as lamb, also beef liver, heart and kidney are good sources of nutrients, you may have  to mince this and add to other foods if they will not eat it. The food should be room temperature, cats don’t like cold food. Occasionally you can give your cat fish too, but not too much as this can cause health problems.

Don’t feed your cat more than they can eat, you don’t want excess meat laying around all day. Younger cats will need regular small meals, older cats should suffice on two meals a day.

Make sure any bowls, utensils and food surfaces are thoroughly cleaned.

Everything a wild cat needs nutritionally can be found in their prey, and similarly domesticated cats need real meat and bone for a healthy diet.

Related articles

• Raw Food Diet for Cats: A Natural Solution (cats.about.com)
• The Benefits of Raw Dog Food for Dogs (dogslikerawfood.com)
• Myths About Raw Feeding | What About Cats (www.rawfed.com)

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Posted by Hazel C | 2 Comments

Cat Things ~ Favourite Quotations

“I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little they become its visible soul.” ~ Jean Cocteau

“If cats could talk, they wouldn’t.” ~ Nan Porter

“Those who play with cats must expect to be scratched.” ~ Cervantes

“One cat just leads to another. ” ~ Ernest Hemingway (owned over 30 cats!)

“There are no ordinary cats. ” ~ Colette

“A little drowsing cat is an image of perfect beatitude.” ~ Champfleury

“It always gives me a shiver when I see a cat seeing what I can’t see.” ~ Eleanor Farjeon

“There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats. ” ~ Albert Schweitzer

“Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from insomnia.” ~ Joseph Wood Krutch

“The smallest feline is a masterpiece.” ~ Leonardo Da Vinci

“When I play with my cat who knows whether she is’nt amusing herself with me more than I am with her?.” ~ Montaigne (French Philosopher)

“I have noticed that what cats most approciate in a human being is not the ability to produce food which they take for granted – but his or her entertainment value.” ~ Geoffrey Household

“My cat does not talk as respectfully to me as I do to her.” ~ Colette

“Usually I know exactly what the cat has eaten. Not only have I fed it to the cat, at the cat’s insistence, but the cat has thrown it up on the rug, and someone has tracked it all over onto the other rug. I do not know why cats are such habitual vomiters. They do not seem to enjoy it, judging by the sounds they make while they are doing it. It’s their nature. A dog is going to bark. A cat is going to vomit.” ~ Roy Blount Jr.

The Difference Between a Cat and a Dog

“What’s the difference between a cat & a dog? A dog ponders his relationship with man: ‘He feeds me, he grooms me, he takes care of all my needs… He must be God’. A cat thinks: ‘He feeds me, grooms me, takes care of me. I must be God’. ” ~ Friend Tali

“A dog is prose, a cat is a poem.” ~ Jean Burden

“Dogs have masters. Cats have staff.” ~ Anon

“The difference between dogs & cats is that a dog will respond but a cat will take a message & get back to you.” ~ Mary Bly

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Posted by Hazel C | 0 Comments

Cat Welcome Plaque

I love this medieval-looking wall plaque.

A unique and whimsical gargoyle-like cat with a tiny mouse at the base. It would make a great gift for a cat lover.

Cast in stone with a wire in the back for hanging.

Ships to US and Canada only.

CLICK HERE to read more.

Cat Things may receive commission on any items purchased through the affiliate links here.

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Posted by Hazel C | 2 Comments

Dead and Buried?

Angelo Petrillo buried his cat, a ginger tom named Alfie, after a friend spotted his body at the side of the road apparently killed by a car.

Soon afterwards the family moved to a new home with their other cat Freddie, also a ginger tom.

Nine months later their old neighbor phoned to say that their ginger cat had been trying to get into their home and had been meowing pitifully outside. But their cat Freddie was with them at the time. The ex-neighbor said the cat had tried to get into an upstairs window by climbing on the consevatory roof, which is what both of their cats used to do.

Mrs Petrillo asked her husband if he was sure that it was their cat Alfie who he had buried and he replied ‘Yes, 100 per cent.’ He had examined the body of the cat found near their home in Milnrow, Greater Manchester, last June and was convinced it was Alfie.

Mrs Petrillo returned to the couple’s old home and immediately recognised the cat as Alfie. He had lost the collar and had put on weight, so someone must have been looking after him while he was being mistakenly mourned.

Mr Petrillo said, ‘It was just unbelievable – the cat I had buried nine months earlier, the cat we spent about a month grieving over, was back, and my wife just couldn’t believe what she was seeing.’ 

Now reunited the family are overjoyed, apart from their other cat, five-year-old Freddie. ‘They’re not getting on very well at the moment, but hopefully he’ll settle in again,’ said Mr Petrillo.

Read the whole article at The Daily Mail

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Posted by Hazel C | 2 Comments

Ghost in the night?

For the second night in a row we’ve had a stray cat in the house. He has been visiting us regularly for about a year now, I only ever catch glimpses of him in the garden, a grimy big white cat with black ears and tail.

He mews mournfully as he wanders thru the house late at night and early in the mornings. The night before last at 1am Stole joined in with warning growls on guard duty at the top of the stairs. This morning at 4:30am he must have been in my bedroom from the sound of the meows, I didn’t move, he’s scared of people, just listened to his woeful meows as he wandered off again like a ghost in the night.

This was the cat I saw on the Lane last year when I went looking for Babe. I asked him to send her home if he saw her and a day later she was back home. So now he is welcome to come in the house and help himself to the leftover food.

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Posted by Hazel C | 3 Comments

Is it Spring yet?

I’ve been outside today – there’s a hint of warmth in the sun. Is it Spring?

I decided it was ideal weather to walk around the lawns picking up twigs and as usual I had my little helpers. Danny Mittens and Babe Cattykins love when anyone comes outside to play with them.

I tried to get a photograph of them together but they move too quickly, I got quite a few pictures of just grass. I wish I had a video camera…

No picture of Stole – she was busy indoors sunbathing on a windowsill.

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