Lap it Up - Muse *New* Purina Cat Food

I have often wondered along with the "experts” what does a purr really mean and how do cats make this divine sound.  Actually, experts can't agree on exactly how cats manage a purr. What is known is that a purr is a way felines communicate, for example, when a kitten purrs, it tells mom, "Everything is ok".  It is also a way our cats communicate with us... oh yes, that is the right spot or --- oh yes, more of that treat or cat food!  And, as for a yawn, I have to think it means, ok, I trust you enough to unwind!

Speaking of cat food, a new product, Muse by Purina caught my eye on www.chewy.com  -- it grain free, affordable and created by an iconic pet food brand. This month, Muse is 29% off, a great deal and a special treat for my cats for the holidays.   

My gang of five prefer pate and I was happy to see that this pate is made from high quality ingredients - real chicken, ocean whitefish and liver combined with antioxidant-rich spinach, sweet potatoes and even blueberries!  There are no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives making it super healthy.  

Muse also adds essential vitamins and minerals making this new all natural cat food really good for your cat. Taurine is added and that helps supports eyesight and digestion; another added benefit is that because there are no grains added to this food like corn, wheat or soy it is easy for your cat to digest.

Muse comes in five flavors, but my cats seem to like the Natural Chicken and Carrot recipe the best.  I liked the consistency of this food that is sprinkled with little bits of carrots in it... my cats, who can be a bit discerning about their pate really "lapped" this food up and cleaned their plates... not once or twice... but every time I fed it to them.  

Nutritional Details 

Chicken, chicken broth, ocean whitefish, liver, spinach, sweet potatoes, blueberry pomace Potassium chloride, guar gum, choline chloride, taurine, salt, mono and dicalcium phosphate, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, calcium pantothenate, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), manganese sulfate, pyridoxine hyrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide. A-3800

Muse by Purina Natural Chicken Recipe is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance of adult cats.

Time for an Upgrade to Halo Mix n' Mores

We all know the word upgrade... I usually relate it to getting a new computer... and dreaming of upgrading to a new car... but my gang of five dream about cat food upgrades... so I decided to try Salmon and Turkey Mix 'n More by Halo offered by www.chewy.com  at a great discount of  30%! The company, Halo, Purely Pets has created healthy products for pets for thirty plus years using real meat with the resulting product being nutrient dense and really tasty according to the reaction to them from my furry family!  I think they want "more" !

Halo's Mixes n' Mores are delicious morsels that are made of and are grain; they are  gluten free and, best of all,  my cats like them -- as a treat and also sprinkled over their wet food... they see Mixes n' Mores  as a special and essential upgrade.

The way Mixes n' More is  made ensures that your cat will satisfy your furry friend's  inherent love of protein.  First-- step is that  turkey and salmon is pasteurized then it is crumbled into little chunks and flash frozen to lock in the nutritional value of these scrumptious kiblets, best of all no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives no dehyredration is used.  -- and all I have to say is that my gang is in love with these Salmon and Turkey  bits by Halo and we have www.chewy.com to thank for that!

Ingredients

1. Salmon, turkey, whole flaxseed, salt, mixed tocopherols (a preservative), taurine, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, vitamin e supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, copper sulfate, niacin supplement, manganese sulfate, d-calcium pantothenate, vitamin a supplement, riboflavin supplement, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin d3 supplement, vitamin b12 supplement, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid

The origins of Thanksgiving.... and Thanksgiving Day Dinner for Cats!

The first Thanksgiving was held in the fall of 1621 and historians believe it took place something between September 21 and November 9.  Edward Winslow, an English leader that attended the first Thanksgiving in 1621 noted that venison and waterfowl were the centerpieces of the meal as well as eels, lobsters clams and mussels.  The forest provided chestnuts, walnuts and beechnuts and they grew multicolored Indian corn, pumpkins, squash and beans.

Thanksgiving as we know it today was the brainchild of Sarah Josepha Hale, editor and publisher of a popular woman's magazine, Godey’s Lady’s Book, Hale petitioned 13 presidents to make Thanksgiving an annual holiday as a way to unite the country in the midst of the Civil War and in 1863, it was made a national holiday.  Hale published many recipes in her magazine as a suggestion of what women should prepare for “Thanksgiving” such as creamed onions, roast turkey with sage stuffing, mashed squash and turnips.   

Today’s modern Thanksgiving menu is iconic and always consistent from year to year.  From roasted butternut squash, candied yams and carrots, to, a golden brown roast turkey replete with cranberry sauce followed by a richly spiced pumpkin pie.  With this in mind, I went to the www.chewy.com website to look for a special treat for my gang of five to celebrate the Thanksgiving Day holiday!

It was hard to resist the new cat food by Merrick called “Thanksgiving Day Dinner” –  it is made both for dogs and cats.  This grain free Thanksgiving Day is a classic recipe that contains everything healthy and festive for your cat  -- white turkey, turkey broth, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans and even cranberries!  Merrick sources their farm fresh ingredients locally to ensure freshness and are cooked in their five star kitchen and manufacturing facility that is in strict compliance with FDA guidelines.  I garnished it with  Freeze Dried Kiblets Chicken by Halo for an extra special treat.  These kiblets can be eaten as a topping or rehydrated as a food. They are 95% chicken, gluten and grain free providing natural nutrition for cats.

My cats went wild over this… the shredded chunks of turkey are lightly minced and in a thick wonderful gravy that my cats just couldn’t get enough of; I even added a bit of water to the mix so they could lap up more gravy and minced turkey goodness.  When looking at the mixture, that doesn’t smell like “cat food” you can see the bits of vegetables in it, I like to see what I am feeding my cats and they seem to love this Thanksgiving Day Dinner by Merrick. In addition, this cat food is loaded with lots of essential vitamins and minerals plus a protein content of 10%. 

Watching my cats enjoy this fabulous new food, Thanksgiving Day Dinner, I thought to myself, it just goes to you that “Thanksgiving” should be and can be every single day… even for my furry family. Getting this food from www.chewy.com is a click away and if you spend more than $40, shipping is free!

How did you celebrate National Cat Day

Two days ago, October 29 was National Cat Day established in 2005 to celebrate our love for cats, worldwide as well as to raise awareness of cats that need to be rescued.  Cats lower blood pressure, offer unconditional love and of course, make us laugh with their antics. In my opinion the establishment of National Cat Day is long overdue...even though "cat day" is everyday in my house!

To celebrate the day and in honor of Halloween as well, I was sent a special treat from www.chewy.com called Raw Boost Mixers by Nature's Variety Instinct. This is like getting two treats in one in terms of the way you can "serve" your cats this kibble!  My cats like it both ways.  One is to use it as a topper on their favorite wet food to add an extra healthy boost to it and the other way is to serve the kibble as is as a treat...my cats really love it this way.

To mix up their diet I decided to try the Instinct Raw Boost Rabbit Formula Mixers and they loved it... and why wouldn't they as it is made  to mirror a cat's ancestral diet!  This formula has lots of protein, rabbit, pork liver, pork heart, for lean muscles and strong bones plus natural oils such as salmon and rosemary to keep their coats and skins healthy, pumpkin seeds for good digestion and montmorillonite clay, that has become increasingly popular with veterinarians because it works as a detoxifier.  The mixers are also grain free and free from "fillers".

Best of all, these mixers are easy to serve.  I sometimes crumble it up and sprinkle it on their wet food or give it to the cats as a morning treat or bedtime snack.  When they hear the rattle of the bag, they come running!  A 6 oz. bag of boosters is 24 1/8 cup servings.... a perfect start and finish to the day! Mocha and Sabu, looking like a pair of bookends, are ready to pounce on the treats!

About Nature's Variety
Nature's Variety is an independent pet food company based in St. Louis Missouri with manufacturing operations in Lincoln, Nebraska. The company produces pet food through two brands, Instinct, the leader in raw pet food and Prairie, a holistic line of pet food.

Travel Tip - Mark Twain House

It is well known that famous author, Mark Twain loved cats....He once said,  "I simply can't resist a cat, particularly a purring one. They are the cleanest, cunningest, and most intelligent  things I know, outside of the girl you love, of course."

If you are a fan of  Mark Twain, don't miss a visit to his 25 room house in Hartford Connecticut that was built in 1874 in the Gothic style.  Mark Twain and his family enjoyed what the author would later call the happiest and most productive years of his life in his Hartford home.  It was here that Twain wrote: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Prince and the Pauper and a CT Yankee in King Arthur's Court.   National Geographic has named it one of the ten best historic homes in the world.

Purrfect Pairings from Solidgold - Is Goat Milk Healthy for Pets?

Yesterday was a perfect day for a walk with Mocha...  he had a lot of fun playing with the leaves and certainly worked up an appetite !  With that in mind, I  decided to have the cats try a new catfood from www.chewy.com by Solid Gold called Purrfect Pairings; it is a healthy grain and gluten free savory mousse with chicken and goat milk!

This mousse looks so creamy, light and airy; it's consistency is definitely unique. I was intrigued that this recipe contains goat milk and come to find out it is possibly the MOST nutritionally complete food according to the "American Journal of Medicine".  Goat's milk can counteract inflammation and has some antiviral properties that enhance the immune system.  It is said to have a similar nutritional profile as human mother's milk and is easily digestible.

There are  several health benefits of the addition of goat's milk to your cat's diet. The enzymes in  goat's milk helps alleviate inflammation caused by arthritis or other joint problems; it is also good for cats that are underweight and is good for cats that have digestive issues such as colitis, diarrhea and IBS to name a few.

In addition to goat's milk, Purrfect Pairings Savory Chicken and Goat Milk Mousse is formulated with chicken, tuna, potato and a variety of vitamins to ensure your pet's health and give them a balanced diet.  Solidgold has been developing pet food for more than forty years and pride themselves on developing  balanced nutrient dense superfoods with high quality proteins.  As soon as I opened the container, I could not get it out of the cup fast enough for my cats!  They really seemed to enjoy this savory mousse and devoured it in one minute flat if that !

For an extra special trick or treat, I added Nature's Variety Instinct  Rawboost Mixers in the Rabbit Formual to top off  the  Purrfect Pairings from Solidgold's Savory Mousse with Chicken and Goat's Milk is available from www.chewy.com at a 30% discount.  A case comes with six convenient cups of this yummy holistic food.

Sabu the Birthday Boy and Natural Balance

Sabu my Tonkinese is two years old today!  He is everything and more that the Tonkinese breed is known for and beloved by many.  The Tonkinese breed, or "tonks" is a breed that came about as a result of crossing the siamese and burmese breeds with the result of a very solid medium size cat that is reminiscent of the apple headed siamese cats of 25 plus years ago...with an amazing personality... even though my breeder told me (Sabu's parents are from Thailand) that Sabu was the shy... quiet one!  This of course is not true at all -- but then again, you have to gain the trust of some cats.  Tonks have a long history in Thailand and resemble chocolate colored Siamese. Sabu is a sable Tonk -- he is amazing!

To celebrate Sabu's birthday, I decided to try a new brand of cat food by Natural Balance - Venison and Green Pea Limited Ingredient Diet.  This food is being offered by www.chewy.com at a 20% descount making it a great value and affordable to try. It is a good change from the proteins  -- beef, chicken and fish that my cats normally eat.

This is a grain free food that has a limited  number of premium protein and carbohydrate sources with the added health benefit of  pea flour made from split peas that is a better alternative to wheat or rice flour.  The Venison and Green Pea cat food by New Balance is designed to support healthy digestion and to maintain skin and coat health.  Sabu's coat is as sleek and soft as silk so maintaining his coat is  very important. It also provides a healthy diet for cats of all ages.

I choose venison because it is not usually found in pet food and I thought it would be a special treat for Sabu and company!  I also liked the fact that this food contains additional taurine that  helps to maintain healthy heart function and includes canola and salmon oil that are excellent sources of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.  It is fun to change up the cat food a bit and to serve them a protein that they never have tasted and that they seem to enjoy.  This  food did have a rather distinctive smell -- not bad -- just  a bit stronger than that I usually  feed them.   It was gone in an instant...apparently they liked it --  so what do I know!   Sabu says... "Yum" to  Natural Balance - Venison and Green Pea Limited Ingredient Diet.

 

Think Foie Gras for Cats with Stella & Chewy!

Stella and Chewy was started in 2003 and was inspired by a sick pup and a very good vet that recommended a “raw” diet.   Thankfully, the pup recovered and Stella & Chewy became a successful business in the pet food industry.  I like the fact that the founder of this company, Marie Moody worked with animal nutritionists to create unique recipes; I also like the fact that the food is made in a plant in Wisconsin.  I am always on the lookout for a new treat for my cats from www.chewy.com, so I decided to try Stella & Chewy’s Duck DuckGoose Dinner Morsels … think Foie Gras for cats  -- and my five absolutely love it !  Best of all, it is 20 % off from wwwchewy.com!

Duck Duck Goose is made with 100% cage free poultry with no added hormones or antibiotics.  There are no grains, artificial preservatives or color in it.  The freeze-drying process maintains vital proteins; vitamins, minerals, amino acids and natural enzymes cats need to thrive.  It is enhanced with parsley for added vitamin K, pumpkin seed that aids in digestion and probiotics that helps to keep your cat’s immune system strong.

Duck Duck Goose comes freeze dried in the form of semi –soft bite size morsels that allow pet parents to feed cats this food in one of several ways. You can feed the morsels as they are like a treat, sprinkle them over other wet or dry cat food; or you can rehydrate them by adding ½ a cup of warm water to one cup of morsels. I add a little extra water to the morsels because water is good for cats and also because my cats prefer a softer pate.  If your cat has dental problems adding extra water will make it easier for your cat to eat while ensuring good water intake.

The minute I open the bag of Duck Duck Goose Dinner Morsels, my cats come running.  They watch me with great interest when I am mixing up a batch of morsels and devour it when I put the bowl down.  They really love it!  Most of all, I think they prefer this food as a nighttime treat!   I have caught them sitting by the bag late at night waiting to get a morsel as a treat before I head upstairs to sleep apparently it is a purrfect bedtime treat and at 20% off from www.chewy.com it is a must have!

Travel Tips On October 1 at Ridgefield Playhouse

Pete the Cat LIVE!Saturday, October 1 at 11am & 2pm Ridgefield Academy Family Series Partially underwritten by Books on The Common, South Salem Animal Hospital and Noah's Ark Animal Hospital For Pete's sake – don't miss Pete the Cat! Join Jimmy and the hilarious blue cat, Pete, on a new adventure of friendship, all the way to Paris and back again in a VW bus. Pete the Cat never loses his cool. Jimmy Biddle never strays from his routine. Can cat and boy ever be friends? Fun songs and bright costumes keep the little ones engaged – this is the perfect show to introduce kids to live theater! Bring your book and Pete will sign it in the lobby after the show!