Living it Up -- Kitty Style With Liv A Little Treats by Halo

My gang of five likes treats... they all run into the kitchen every time I walk into it looking for goodies.  This month I could not resist trying Liv A Littles Whole Chicken Breast treats...from chewy.com and, I am glad I choose these high protein treats to review, so is my gang of five...they love them!

My Tonkinese cats are sniffers and they seem to know when something good has shown up at the door... and Liv a Little didn't disappoint.  The first thing I noticed about these treats is that they smelled really good and looked even better, this is because they are freeze dried and not dehydrated.  The freeze drying process helps them to retain a good wholesome color, great smell, and texture.

The second thing I noticed was their size, the container was packed full of large chunks of white chicken breast meat.  There isn't anything wrong with small treats but, it seems that half the fun of having Love A Little treats for Sabu is trying to fish them out with his paw adding an element of fun to deliciousness!

Benefits of Freeze Drying

Liv A Littles Whole Chicken Breast are made by  US company, Halo, Purely for Pets whose goal is to be transparent about what is in the pet food they make and where the ingredients come from.  I like the fact that this treat is freeze-dried as opposed to dehydrated because it helps to lock in the whole chicken nutrition, aroma, and taste. 

The process of freeze-drying uses a vacuum to remove moisture from frozen meat without thawing it, similar to the process for preparing raw food. The protein doesn't shrink or toughen during the freeze, which makes it enjoyable to eat. Plus, it doesn't contain additives that dehydrated food does, and it retains its original nutrients, while dehydrated food loses up to 50%.

Healthy Highlights

For over 30 years, Halo has insisted on creating only holistic pet foods that rely on whole meat, poultry or fish and never any rendered meat meal. This is the fundamental difference that sets them apart as a premium pet food brand.There are several key reasons why to try Liv A Little Chicken treats for your dog or cat and chewy.com makes ordering them easy.

• Pieces of freeze-dried white meat chicken breast made in the US.  
• No meat meal of any kind is used in this product.
• Grain-free perfect for pets with a sensitive stomach
• All natural, single protein treat that is low in calories, a real plus for indoor felines. 
• Simple wholesome ingredients: chicken, water, sodium phosphate, salt, and carrageenan.
• Serve as a high-quality special treat or crumbled them in food at mealtime for added incentive.
• Packaged in an easily stored 2.2-ounce  hard plastic container that keeps the product fresh. 
• Best of all my cats love them and I think they would eat the entire container at one sitting if left to their own devices!
• Good to the last drop, with the small amount of chicken "dust"  at the bottom of the container I sprinkled it on their wet food for a special treat and they went wild!

It's Just Yummy!

My gang of five and I are not the only ones that think that Halo's Liv A Littles Chicken Breast Treats are good, out of 478 reviews on chewy.com this product had 4.5 out of five stars with 78% of reviewers giving it 5 stars, 9% giving it four stars and 4% giving it three. Best of all, this is one of the few products that is suitable for cats as well as dogs.

Getting in Shape with Slimcat! & #TigerTwins @ Beardsley Zoo!

One of the most popular resolutions of New Year is to get back on or go on a diet!  So many of us indulge during the holiday season -- even our cats get extra treats!   With  this resolution in mind,  I was intrigued when I saw a gadget called Slimcat  available at www.chewy.com.   This clever device is an interactive cat feeder by Petsafe, and, better yet,  available @www.chewy.com at a 56% discount!  It seems every time I head into the kitchen, so does my gang of five for their treats  !  The trouble is  I don't want them to gain weight... and with Slimcat they have to "work" for their treats...at least some of the time!

The cool thing about this treat dispensing gadget is that you can load up the treats and then adjust the number of treats that it dispenses depending on the size of the treat and the size of the opening which is adjustable.  It is a great new and healthy toy that my cats, especially the Tonkinese enjoy.

It is fun watching them bat this ball around that rolls easily on the floor as well as on a carpet dispensing treats along the way!   It keeps them all occupied on these cold winter days as well as helping them maintain their weight. I have tried this with several brands of treats from chewy.com including Greenies, Temptations and Party Mix.

To really get the attention of my Tonkinese I  broke up a few pieces of Halo Chicken one of their favorite freeze dried treats and, once they understood that food came out when they played with it, they really enjoyed this interactive cat feeder by PetSafe.

Slimcat is made of  BPA- free plastic and can be  taken apart and washed by hand or in the dishwasher.  It holds 2/3 cup of  dry food or treats and is compatible with most because the  holes in the sides are adjustable.  Slimcat comes in a variety of colors and seems to really brighten up these short winter days...it even woke theMaxx up from his snooze!

Rare Amur Tiger Cubs Born @ Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo

On November 25, two rare Amur tigers were born at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo, which is home to their parents, a male, Petya and a female, Changbai. They are  part of the Species Survival Plan that is administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. When born these girls weighed 1.7 pounds and seven weeks later they weigh 10 pounds and will weigh over 100 within six months.

 Rejected by their mother at birth,  Zoo staff has been hand feeding the cubs every five hours; and happily the cubs are  thriving. They will not interact with their mother because at this point she would see them either as a toy or as prey, not as her cubs.  As they grow and are weaned physical interaction will end.  Zoo staff  will raise these girls as "tigers" and time will tell if they will be kept together although the hope is they will be together for at least two years.  Genetically, they are very important to this rare species.

The girls have been named Reka and Zeya in honor of their Russian heritage. Zeya is a river that runs through the Amur area of Russia and Reka is a city in that area.  To watch the tiger girls grow, check out the zoo's Facebook Page.  The cubs parents are considered to be in the top ten in regard to tigers by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums because of their genetic diversity.

The Amur or Siberian tiger is a rare subspecies of tiger and the largest cat in the world. There are only 500 Amur tigers left in the wild and genetic diversity is a concern.  Male tigers can weigh up to 675 pounds and females can weigh up to 350 pounds. Another difference is that the stripes of Amur tigers are fewer and paler and they have a mane that helps to keep them warm.  The public will be able to visit the tigers this spring.  The Zoo is raising money to build a special viewing area for the girls.