Kitty Finally Finds a Paté She Likes

Blue Wilderness Chicken Recipe Wet Cat Food

For years, we’ve been convinced that the mini-kitty (as Miss Winki’s generally known) would automatically turn up her nose at any paté that landed in her food bowl. As a result, we’ve limited her wet food to serving from packages labeled “in gravy,” “flaked,” “slices,” or occasionally “in aspic.” Times being bizarre, however, the lady of the house recently picked up some canned food for our teenager (almost old enough to drive!) at the grocery. She knew to get Blue Buffalo, but the significance of a can with the word “recipe” was lost on her.

In case you didn’t know already, that means the contents are paté. Kitty's always been pretty dismissive of even the premium foods in that form, including Wellness and Natural Balance. But when the Blue Wilderness® Chicken Recipe hit her food bowl, Winki was all over it. Who knew?!

According to the label (and to Blue’s website) Wilderness is grain-free and has no chicken or poultry by-products, artificial flavors, or artificial colors; or, of course, grain. What it does have is chicken (including liver), potatoes, flax seed, taurine, and natural flavors. The “recipe” also includes vitamins (a, B1-9, E) and minerals (Ca, Zn, K, Mn, Cu, Fe), folic acid, and thickeners like carrageenan and guar gum. You can look it up yourself at Blue’s website, since who knows when they’ll change the formulation.
For those who want to know, the analysis is: minimum 10% protein, 8% fat, 1.5% fiber, 0.10% taurine; and maximum 78% moisture.

Whatever the case, Miss Winki is definitely a fan. She only gets an ounce at a time, morning and evening, and gobbled it all – even after it was chilled in the fridge. Although the Wilderness is a little pricier than everyday Blue recipes (even the cuts in gravy), the little girl is worth it. Not to mention that she’s just expanded her menu by a whole bunch of flavors!

copyright © 2020 scmrak

As Harnesses Go, I've Seen Better (But It'll Do in a Pinch)

PetSafe EasySport Harness

OK, I’ll admit it, I’m a space cadet. Here’s what happened: we left the house one morning headed for a vacation spot 1000 miles away, both dogs tucked into the extended cab of the truck. A hundred miles or so into the trip, I realized that I’d spaced out the dogs’ leashes and harnesses. You can find a leash almost anywhere, but harnesses are different. So we pulled into a local “farm store” and browsed the pet section. Since we already had quality harnesses at home (Ruffwear), we looked for something similar in design. We ended up with a pair of PetSafe EasySport Harnesses.

Design-wise, the harnesses served their purpose: they fit over the head with a little elastic “give” and have padded front-back sections that run under the belly and atop the back. The upper section has a sturdy handle that can be used for control or to help a dog scramble up a steep path, much like the Outward Hound packs they carry on long hikes. There’s also a D-ring for clipping on the lead, placed behind that handle.

Purrfect Bistro Tuna Niçoise: Kitty Agrees on the Purrrrrrrrfect!

Merrick Purrfect Bistro Tuna Nicoise

Winki the mini-kitty wasn’t having a good year. She and the new rescue hadn’t connected yet, which resulted in a lot of hissing fits between her, perched halfway up the spiral staircase to her lair in the attic, and the new boy, whining and snorting on the bottom step. She also slept less often in her favorite spot, tucked into Daddy’s armpit. Poor baby…

Aloha, bland food: here comes Tiki Cat Hookena Luau

Tiki Cat Hookena Luau Ahi Tuna and Chicken

Maybe it’s because she’s spoiled, and maybe it’s because she resents having to live in a house with two dogs, but my cat has little interest in pate-style foods. As a result, almost everything I buy her is either “flaked” or some variation on “chunks in gravy.” I generally avoid so-called supermarket cat foods, too, so you can almost always find me looking for sales on the high-end stuff. That’s probably why I picked up a few cans of  Tiki Cat not long ago, one of which was Hookena Luau Ahi Tuna and Chicken. To be blunt, kitty approves – a LOT.

Kitty Has a New Favorite Brand: Nulo

Nulo Medal Series Beef and Rainbow Trout Cat Food

One of kitty’s more interesting quirks is that she pretty much refuses to eat pate-style foods. That’s not really a problem, given the variety of “filets,” shreds, chunks, and flakes on the market. We do, however, try hard to avoid what some call “supermarket” cat foods while also not breaking the bank buying two-dollar cans. Since she only gets an ounce or so twice a day with her dry kibbles, though, a dollar or so a day seems acceptable.

Sorry, Tidy Cat: I'm going back to Scoop Away

Tidy Cats 24/7 Performance Clumping Cat Litter

You might think that all clumping kitty litters are alike. I used to think that, but no more. The last time we ran out of litter for Miss Kitty, I picked up whatever was on sale. For the past couple of years, we’ve used Scoop Away Complete because you can buy a ginormous box at Costco, cheap.  Since I was already buying food for the fur babies at the pet store, I picked up a tub of Tidy Cats 24/7 Performance Clumping litter at the same time. I was amazed at the difference.

Miss Kitty is tiny; about seven pounds, and decidedly “senior” at more than twelve years old. Nevertheless, she can produce a lot of waste in a short time. Unlike some people, we only scoop the box every other day – it’s in the basement, not in the bedroom, and we use a big covered box, so it’s not like anyone gets “stankface.” Or at least it wasn’t until we started using this Tidy Cat!

A Kosher Food for the Observant Pooch, but Be Prepared for Flatulence

Evanger Classic Recipe Cooked Chicken Canned Dog Food

There’s no way our blonde Lab is Jewish – she’s a native of Galveston, Texas, which suggests she’s most likely Baptist. As for our little boy, he’s a our rescue pooch who came without a history. So as to not offend his religious sensibilities, when Rosh Hashanah arrives we changed his once-a-day canned food treat to a nice Kosher chicken recipe. Just kidding: it was pure accident that there was a can of Evanger’s Classic Recipes Cooked Chicken in the pet food cabinet, but this recipe is Kosher for Passover, so I thought, “What the heck?”