Sea Biscuits --- Sailors and Cats!

Wellness signifies the state or condition of being  healthy in body and mind;  it is usually brought about by deliberate effort.   In my mind, wellness should integrate emotional, physical and spiritual well being -- and  should be a way of life.   With this in mind, watching my young cats snooze, the Tonkinese are now a year and a half, the himalayan kittens are eight months old and TheMaxx is a healthy eight, I could not help but try a new catfood by Wellness Pet Food.

Although Wellness started out as Old Mother Hubbard in 1926 making dog biscuits, the company's roots go back even further to a bakery called A. Hubbard and Sons in Gloucester Massachusetts that made hard tack sea biscuits for the fishermen of the fierce North Atlantic. The story goes that one day, a sailor threw one of the biscuits to his four legged friend and the dog gobbled it up in a flash... and the rest as they say is history!  In  1961 the company was purchased by Jim Scott Jr., a professional in animal nutrition with a commitment to developing highly nutritious products for pets.  Fast forward to the year 2000 when Wellness added "cat recipes" to their already successful repertoire.

Wellness Cat Food is grain free, it contains no wheat or wheat gluten, no corn or soy and no artificial colors. Interestingly, the food contains vegetables such as sweet potatoes and carrots that are natural sources of  antioxidant nutrients like blueberries and cranberries that help maintain proper urinary tract health, taurine for healthy hearts and vision and flax seeds that help maintain a healthy coat.  Word on the "street"  says that this cat food does not use meat that has hormones or steroids added to them... a five star plus for me.  Another major plus of this food has to do with water -- the wellness healthy indulgence entree is a healthy and yummy way for cats to increase their water intake.

I decided to try the  Wellness Morsels Healthy Indulgence with Turkey and Duck in a savory sauce  that I received from chewy.com and I am glad I did.  The sauce is rich and thick and has bite sized pieces of  turkey and duck in a thick healthy sauce.  My cats seem to like the taste and definitely like the sauce  -- it keeps them healthy and hydrated with tons of great nutrients.

And, yes,  Zoey is gulping this cat food down... she really loves it... I  think she is a  DIVA!  She has managed to  splash it all  over her face and whiskers and is digging in... regardless!

 Speaking of  Gloucester, it reminds me of  Cape Cod and the most amazing cat,  Willie, that  enjoyed exploring the sandbars on Cape Cod... he really was the coolest cat  and greatly missed... and was 18 in this photo.... and really wet and  full of mud... he loved it !

And..... willie was one of a kind....

Do you know about Salmon- Iceland, Cats & Halo !

Located  at the intersection of the North Atlantic and the Arctic oceans Iceland is a rugged country with undulating extinct (and some not) volcanos, fields of black lava rocks, boiling hot geysers, gorgeously textured glaciers, a rich culture with some of the nicest people you will ever meet and the best smoked salmon that I have ever tasted.  Icelandic salmon is lightly salted and smoked to perfection with beach wood.

Eating the last of my smoked salmon from Iceland, I started to think about a special treat for my cats offered this month by www.chewy.com created with love and care by a company called Halo.  The treats, called "Live -A -Littles"  are  all protein, actually 100%  "wild" salmon and perfect for the health of your cat... I can't believe how much  my Tonkinese love it!

Halo has quite a pedigree... they donate over 1.5 million meals to shelter pets and sponsors the acclaimed PBS series "Shelter Me".  This is a pet company you can feel good about purchasing their product.  Halo's story started with a kitten named "Spot" that was a lively kitten but as an adult had issues... digestive and skin irritations. After a lot of research, Halo began making healthy food for  pets -- dogs and cats since 1986.   Their basic mission is to provide a natural healthy diet for pets.  I think  they have... my cats fell in love "Live -A -Littles" salmon treat & forever spoiled !

Live-a-Little 100% Wild Salmon Treats by Halo is a high protein snack and the ultimate treat the ingredients are simply wild freeze-dried salmon!  You can give it to your cat in a whole chunk or crumble it up on wet food  as a tasty incentive.  Mocha is motivated he loves the chunks.

 Or, you can  break it up in little pieces like a trail of deliciousness and have your cats hunt the pieces!  Here is the problem, the minute I  jiggle the jar I have  cats  looking for their Halo Salmon Live-a-Little Sabu is now  pushing his way in and as usual it is "double trouble" !

Tip on  Iceland -  Don't miss a fabulous dinner at Sjavargrillid in Reykjavik or a visit to the Handknitting Association of Iceland to pick up one of those gorgeous handknit traditional sweaters. And, go to East Iceland to the wonderful  town of  Seydisfjordhur the scenery is simply... Iceland.  And,  in the meantime, my cats enjoy  Halo from chewy.com.

A special treat for special cats!

The spring bunny has left something special for my gang of five cats... Instinct Raw Boost Mini Treats by Nature's Variety, the leading pet food brand for natural raw pet food that my little carnivores crave!

 Located in the Midwest, Nature's Variety is a small thoughtful pet food company that provides holistic nutrition for our pets.  I like that idea and decided to see if my cats liked that product idea as well, thanks to www.chewy.com.  

 The mini boost are the perfect size for my himalayan kittens -- they love the taste of these healthy cat treats that are pure raw 100% freeze dried tasty chicken.  Freeze drying the treats assures that freshness is locked in.  Best of all these treats don't contain any wheat, corn, soy, grain, gluten, by product meals, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.  The list of ingredients is impressive and includes: chicken including ground chicken bone, turkey, liver, turkey heart --all of what you would expect in a cat treat.

The unexpected ingredients that help round out your cat's diet are: pumpkin seeds, carrots, apples, butternut squash, ground flaxseed, montmorillonite clay, dried kelp, broccoli, apple cider, mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract, blueberries and dried chicory root.  Reading these ingredients sounds like someone raided the health food store for cats!  Never to be left out, Mocha, the fearless Tonkinese, had to get in on the action...and he devoured these treats!

Two ingredients caught my eye; montmorillonite which is a natural clay that Nature's Variety sources from deposits in southern Utah and is used for anti-caking and tocopherols that are a mixture of vitamin E isomers and when mixed with rosemary and citric acid it is a natural preservative with the additional benefit of dietary vitamin E.  Beside all the natural health benefits, the Raw Instinct Mini Boosts are just two calories each.

Zivah and Zoey are patiently waiting for more Natural Raw Boost Mini Treats!  They are a perfect solution to the grooming process... while they are getting groomed I give them a treat and when we are finished they get a few more... hopefully, they will come to look forward to the grooming process... thanks to Instinct Raw Boost Mini Treats by Nature's Variety.

As for Mocha... he is relaxing by the window... dreaming of the next time he will get more treats!  Should I tell him these treats also come in a tasty duck formula -- check it out at www.chewy.com