Pets and food

[The General]

I posted this on another forum and got some feedback and some namecalling and some threats, but overall pretty good topic, so who has  pets, what do you feed them?

I think everyone and thier mama knows i have 8 cats and 2 rabbits and i plan on buying 2 baby ducks when season 5 of smallville starts.( OMG I cant wait ) As for my cats tho, i feed them cat food in a can of course, some of that expensive/cheap stuff, meaning the price could be high, but with a bonus card, its on sale  :mrgreen: I carry my bonus card everywhere i go, never know when you might need one. ( This sounds similar to..... ;-)

I also give them ice cream, we all Vanilla is the best, not to mention Caramel and rootbeer ice cream. They seem to enjoy that, a little too much. I also give then fruit, pancakes( with jelly ) , and thier fav food is:

Only difference, the one i buy is american's choice products, its very tasty, my cats love it too. Salf and pepper and lots of onions

Now both my cats and rabbits enjoy banana pudding. My rabbits enjoying eating anything we bring home, but one thing that stands out the most with them, is:

Macaroni cheese with Jamestown sausage chop up in the macaroni cheese

What they drink? Well, i give both the cats and rabbits water of course, milk and sometimes, sometimes i give them soda(Rootbeer) and kool-aid.

They also seem to like:


Thats about it.

[Calvin]

Cruelty to animals is what I think.

[TheMissingLink]

i plan on buying 2 baby ducks when season 5 of smallville starts.

I laughed out loud when I read that because it's so incredibly random.

[Calvin]

i plan on buying 2 baby ducks when season 5 of smallville starts.

I laughed out loud when I read that because it's so incredibly random.

I thought my thing was funny

[TheMissingLink]

Your thing isn't funny, it's nearly 12 inches long.

And it's oh so delightful, from what I hear.

[The General]

Cruelty to animals is what I think.

Yea, thats what others was thinking when i posted this thread. But i dont think its cruelty to animals. Food is food, if you eat too much of it, it can be bad for you, this goes for animals and humans.

What, did scientist say its wrong to feed animals the type of food i feed them?

If so, scientist is wrong, once again. Cat food in the can is great, but gotta let them enjoy the other types of food in this world too.

[The General]

i plan on buying 2 baby ducks when season 5 of smallville starts.

I laughed out loud when I read that because it's so incredibly random.

Well smallville is a big event, its the top WB show( this may have change tho, not really sure) and its my fav show on tv( cant forget everwood ). So in such a great time coming, me and my wife decided to buy 2 baby ducks the same day season 5 comes on.

Me, my wife, my 8 cats, my 2 rabbits and 2 baby ducks, we plan on having a pizza party. Our animals be kicking back in the bed with silk robes and tiny socks on, our ducks will stay naked of course. But they be chilling with us , no doubt.

[the Nightbreeze]

There are men in the Guiness Book of World Records who survived eating more glass than the man who had attempted the feat previously, and survived long enough to satisfy a records judge.

Just because something can survive eating something, it is not true that the item is a suitable food for that creature which has ingested it.

If you want your animals to have a shorter life with less quality of life in it, carry on as you are.

If you don't, read something about pet care.

If this is another moment of farce for us to all pay attention to you, I guess that's some good work there.

[Calvin]

If this is another moment of farce for us to all pay attention to you, I guess that's some good work there.

You are kidding right?

[stiffler]

I don't even think HUMANS should eat hash, let alone a cat.  And feeding them root beer is just plain stupid.

Other than that, I can't really comment since my mom feeds her dog all kinds of crazy (but actually healthy) shit.

Thankfully my cat doesn't even like human food.  I caught him drinking my Kool-Aid once but it's sugar free so no big deal.

Banana pudding might not be bad, but hash?  That's crazy.  Check out the fat content of that stuff...

[mytocles]

On the hash - I'd worry about the salt content too, it's normally over the top, same with the sausage and the mac-and-cheese, unless you made it yourself with low-sodium cheese.  Pets get hypertension and heart disease too!  Also diabetes - so the fat and sugar should also be kept to a minimum.  Sugar doesn't "cause" diabetes like they thought ages ago, but sugar and fat can affect how early and how badly your pet can get the disorder.  And, until you dis the scientists too much, General - are your cats lean? They live longer, not only when not fat, but when lean, like in the wild - and have you ever had their blood pressure taken?

I really liked the "silk robes and tiny socks part," though!   I can totally picture it.  And, even if General is kidding, teasing, or playing mind games, I still think it's a great topic.  So here's more than you wanted to know about my pets' food...  :lol:

My three cats love chick-peas (garbanzo beans) and they get a few on very rare occasions as a treat.  One of them loves melons, lettuce, and spinach  - he begs for the greens when we're making salad.  Normally, I give none of my pets table food, and especially not when preparing it, eating it, or from the table.  No chow hounds in my house!  But this cat just comes and begs a few pieces, eats them like they were lobster, and is happy, so we let him do that. He also loves canteloupe so much that we sometimes call him "Melon Boy"... and if we call him by that name he comes running - as he does whenever we cut one open.  The rest of the time the cats get dry food in the AM and canned in the PM, good quality, high protein, low-ash, etc.  And we don't leave it out all day - eat it or don't, it gets picked up as soon as they turn away from the dish.  No fat cats either!

My puppy will pull any blueberry or strawberry off the plants if you walk her too close to them.  Other than an occasional one swiped that way, she  gets dog treats or liver for training, and Iam's Big Breed Puppy food for meals.

Any veterinarians, technicians, or breeders out there?  I'm pretty sure that aspirin is really bad for one pet - cats?  And I think there was also something I heard about chocolate being bad for dogs or cats, also...  :?

And I'm also willing to bet that jpinard will have some interesting stories to tell about his pets and their feeding!  :wink:

[The General]

^^^^^WOW, i like it. Fruit is good for animals, despite what others may think. I hope yall understand tho, i aint feeding my animals those types of food everyday, its something i give them every and now and then. Thats all, so no worries, but i know something yall dont know, but i rather not comment on that part right now.

Yall just remember, food is food, and if you eat too much of anything, it can be bad for you, this goes for humans and animals.  

[stiffler]

Yall just remember, food is food, and if you eat too much of anything, it can be bad for you, this goes for humans and animals.  

Sure thing, but please keep in mind that animals are smaller and are different physically so you can't treat them exactly like humans.  Certain foods are harmless to humans but even comparatively small doses can easily overcome an animals system.

If it's bad for humans it's going to be REALLY bad for animals.

[mytocles]

but i know something yall dont know, but i rather not comment on that part right now.

Yall just remember, food is food, and if you eat too much of anything, it can be bad for you, this goes for humans and animals.

First of all, General - stop with the "I know something you don't know" stuff - please? If you're not willing to share it, you are on the wrong forum...

Second, "food is not food" -  different species need - and can tolerate - different foods - and some are even poisonous.  I get the part where you say that these are only occasional treats - that's cool - but you really should make sure that the food in question is at least safe for your pets.

But I still like the silk robes and tiny socks, so don't be mad at me, lol...

[Lee]

but i know something yall dont know, but i rather not comment on that part right now.

Yall just remember, food is food, and if you eat too much of anything, it can be bad for you, this goes for humans and animals.

First of all, General - stop with the "I know something you don't know" stuff - please? If you're not willing to share it, you are on the wrong forum...

Second, "food is not food" -  different species need - and can tolerate - different foods - and some are even poisonous.  I get the part where you say that these are only occasional treats - that's cool - but you really should make sure that the food in question is at least safe for your pets.

But I still like the silk robes and tiny socks, so don't be mad at me, lol...

The sooner you realize its a joke, the better.

[The General]

Lee cant seem to understand i am the same person that have been putting it down since 1999 and i post on 57 forums, trying to hit 80 before winter of 2007.

[TheMissingLink]

That's something you're proud of?

I think you have some sort of addiction to the Internet and maybe you should take a long look in the mirror and perhaps see a psychiatrist.

[Mystic95Z]

HA.. My cats a finicky little snatch. She wont eat ANYTHING but dry cat food. Dont matter what brand so long as its dry. Tried all kinds of things but no go...

[The General]

HA.. My cats a finicky little snatch. She wont eat ANYTHING but dry cat food. Dont matter what brand so long as its dry. Tried all kinds of things but no go...

Thats animal abuse.  :lol:

j/k  :wink:

[Calvin]

HA.. My cats a finicky little snatch. She wont eat ANYTHING but dry cat food. Dont matter what brand so long as its dry. Tried all kinds of things but no go...

Thats animal abuse.  :lol:

j/k  :wink:

The style has changed so obviously, and as little as I liked the original, I like this one worse.

Myto, you are a sweet lady, please don't waste your time and energy on this one.

[The General]

The style has changed so obviously, and as little as I liked the original, I like this one worse.

Myto, you are a sweet lady, please don't waste your time and energy on this one.

Yes please waste your time on me, please continue to do. Btw, do you dress your cats?

And Rage, why do you think i am new person?

Do you want me to go around screaming westside, makaveli lives on, dreamcast coming back in 2009 again?

[Calvin]

The style has changed so obviously, and as little as I liked the original, I like this one worse.

Myto, you are a sweet lady, please don't waste your time and energy on this one.

Yes please waste your time on me, please continue to do. Btw, do you dress your cats?

And Rage, why do you think i am new person?

Do you want me to go around screaming westside, makaveli lives on, dreamcast coming back in 2009 again?

Nononono. That would be too obvious. The fact is, you simply are unaware of many of the things your predecessor has said and done. Your grammar, tone, syntax, spelling, and more are so different as to either be affected-which confirms your status (never really in doubt) as a troll, or gives more credence to the thought that you are a new user. Either way, Myto is above it.

[mytocles]

Myto is above it.

Thanks, Rage - for the compliment, and for thinking to save me some effort - it makes me feel like I have a bunch of nice, "big brothers" here... and it's a very good feeling!

Sometimes I just like to try, though.  Occasionally it even works out.  And what have I lost by it?  A little time is about it.  However, I'm busier than usual of late - darn puppy... and I'm beta testing a game, woot!  I feel obliged to actually spend some time playing it, lol!

So I guess I'll stay above it (or at least get above it for a bit!)  :twisted:

[gameoverman]

So I have a cat and he gets:
Dry food- Friskies

Wet food- Nutro Max

Treats- maybe a can of tuna here and there


I have a question related to this.  I notice that with the tuna or wet food, he will eat his fill then act like he is burying the rest of it(he rarely eats all I give him at one sitting).  He never acts like he is burying the dry food.  Does anyone know what this signifies?

Cats bury their poop, so is this his way of saying it tasted like crap?  He eats it though, so why would he eat something that tasted like crap?

[mytocles]

One of our cats does the same thing... but only when she's done, as in - it's all gone.

Do you think yours could be burying it to "save it for later" - or just saying that he's done...?  Either way, it would be like covering up the evidence that he'd been there, like in the wild, I guess... :?

[gameoverman]

But he never does it with the dry food.  Maybe wet food qualifies as 'fresh kill' to him and gets special treatment- the burying of the evidence part I guess, hehe.

[Lee]

I was watching a thing on cheetahs recently and the mother was burying a fresh kill for later. So I would guess, wet food, which cats love, is something your cat doesn't want to lose, unlike the dry food, which is the equivalent to grass for her.

[stiffler]

I give my cat some wet food on special occasions.  When he is done he just leaves the rest and walks away.  Doesn't do anything funny with it.  He is picky and doesn't like the same stuff for days on end.  Right now his favorite is "chicken hearts and livers."  My cat is too stupid to even bury his junk in the box.

Gotta try a can of tuna.

[Darren8r]

I have a dog, I've had him for like 11 years.

I feed him dog food. And thats it, well sometimes some bread. Or Cheerios.

But I cant give mine anything with sugar, because hes Diabetic.

I have to give him a needle 2 times a day. But he seems to enjoy it, because I give mine bread after, and tell him hes a good boy, ahahah.

[Blackjack]

This seemed like the right place (even as a 5 year old thread) to put this neat video by Reuters (it's at the Post site, but probably other news sites too):

Taking the Purrfect Drink is All Physics to a Cat
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2010/11/11/VI2010111104784.html?hpid=artslot
It's about some researchers using time-lapse footage to see how cats drink. It isn't so much that they "soak up" water/milk via their tongue, as it is using "tongue-physics."  

Print article's over here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/11/AR2010111107897.html

[Geezer]

Just in case anyone was wondering

[Ironrod]

My cat gets whatever dry food's on sale and has a coupon. It's all good as far as he's concerned. Canned food, he insists on Friskies. Doesn't matter what flavor the "meat" supposedly is; he's all about the "gravy" (aspic). The vet tsk-tsks this and tries to sell me expensive vet food, but our cats have all lived to be 15+ on cheap commercial catfood plus the occasional mouse or bird.

As for water, he will only drink from the toilet, and only after a fresh flush. He won't even consider drinking from a bowl unless it's tuna or crab water.

[Z-Corn]

My cat can eat a whole watermelon!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bu4erOGQuU

[Teggy]

My cat smells like cat food.

[Razgon]

Why cant we have fun threads like this anymore?!

[WalkingFumble]

Giving pets people food is like giving plants Brawndo!

[Teggy]

Why cant we have fun threads like this anymore?!

I blame the Republicans.

[kathode]

Has anyone had any success putting a cat on a diet?  My cat is overweight, and I've had her on diet food (Science Diet Light) for about a year and a half now.  She hasn't been gaining but she definitely hasn't been losing anything.  I have her on three feedings a day via an autofeeder, two tablespoons of food for each feeding.  She always acts hungry and stalks the feeder for about 30 minutes before each feeding.  I've tried switching her to more fancy low-carb and natural foods, but she doesn't tolerate it well even when I change her over slowly.  Taking her to the vet next week, but wanted to see if anyone here had any advice.

[Blackjack]

Has anyone had any success putting a cat on a diet?  My cat is overweight, and I've had her on diet food (Science Diet Light) for about a year and a half now.  She hasn't been gaining but she definitely hasn't been losing anything.  I have her on three feedings a day via an autofeeder, two tablespoons of food for each feeding.  She always acts hungry and stalks the feeder for about 30 minutes before each feeding.  I've tried switching her to more fancy low-carb and natural foods, but she doesn't tolerate it well even when I change her over slowly.  Taking her to the vet next week, but wanted to see if anyone here had any advice.

Ha, yeah my late cat used a circular timer-feeder for many, many years.

Molly was very obese when my brother gave her to me in I think late 1997. At about 14 lbs., 2 oz. at one point in 1998, she couldn't even clean herself anymore. A vet at the time told me she might "eat to death" if I didn't change her diet.

My vet put Molly on a prescription dry food diet (I believe it's "Hill's Science Diet R/D" for "weight reduction," and it's only in vet offices that sell prescription food). I used the timer dish because otherwise she would just gobble all her food in the morning, and she'd whine all evening if I didn't give her more. In theory "free eating" is better for cats, and they're supposed to just kind of pace their feeding over the course of a day -- when she was younger, Molly just couldn't do that.

Spacing it out at approximately 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 6 p.m., 10 p.m., along those lines via the timer dish worked for her. I seem to recall R/D being high fiber. I don't recall it making her litter box stuff grosser per se, she just used the box more often.

Just as you described, she "stalked" the dish and my visiting mom used to be so amused at Molly's eagerness for the dish to turn. But it really did work in taking her weight down. Eventually she shed a few lbs. over time, and we switched back to regular store-bought food.

Molly sometimes would love a certain brand dry food for literally years and then BOOM, she wouldn't touch it, and then I'd be off experimenting until something clicked for her. Or once there was a brand she really liked for a year or so, then she got really sick all over the place, and I decided "she's not getting that food anymore."   I tore out a lot of my hair trying to figure out her appetite sometimes, but in the end I miss that.

Anyway, I'm blathering. I'd ask your vet if he/she thinks a prescription food is called for. And by all means ask if the vet really thinks your cat is obese, or "just chubby." It's a fine line. Molly at about 13.2-14.2 lbs was obese, dragging her butt on the carpet and obviously unable to clean herself normally; at about 12 to 12.8 lbs she was just about right. I mean, it was just a matter of maybe a 1/2 lb. difference between her being obese and her being OK.

[mytocles]

Has anyone had any success putting a cat on a diet?  My cat is overweight, and I've had her on diet food (Science Diet Light) for about a year and a half now.  She hasn't been gaining but she definitely hasn't been losing anything.  I have her on three feedings a day via an autofeeder, two tablespoons of food for each feeding.  She always acts hungry and stalks the feeder for about 30 minutes before each feeding.  I've tried switching her to more fancy low-carb and natural foods, but she doesn't tolerate it well even when I change her over slowly.  Taking her to the vet next week, but wanted to see if anyone here had any advice.

I guess it's a night for long, blathering stories about cats, lol.  Here's mine:

We've never had a problem with our cats' weights, partly because we don't leave the feeding up to them either.  When we had two cats, one would eat (lots) more than the other, so we started feeding them separately.  We had two cats that made it to 20 years old on that regimen, and another that is still sleek and healthy at umm 11 yrs. old I think.  We constantly remind ourselves that thinner animals live longer, which does help us keep ourselves in line regarding amounts of food and treats.

It doesn't sound like you are far off of what we feed, amount-wise.  The morning food is about 2.5 to 3 tablespoons (or a scant quarter cup) of a name brand dry food, but nothing particularly unusual or expensive.  Toward the end of their lives, the two old ladies needed a special food, but they ate less, so it didn't end  up costing more overall.  The other cat gets Friskies dry, with an occasional change to another brand.  At supper, they all got/ get a low-ash wet food, about 2 rounded tablespoons.  This might not be much help, but if it were me, I'd try skipping the middle feeding, add one of those tablespoons to the morning feeding - so you'd be feeding her one tablespoon less per day, which should result in weight loss, you know - eventually.

Do you think your cat would "exercise?"  The low-tech stuff works if the cat is inclined to play - like a bit of rolled up paper or a ping pong ball.  Another one that our cats love is a long pipe cleaner - we usually get them in craft stores - they are extra fuzzy and maybe 10 or 12 inches long.  Wrap it tightly around one finger, pull it off so it bunches up and ends up looking like a spring.  When you toss it, it goes boinging all over the place which can pique the cat's prey instinct.

We were given a gift once that was rather spectacular in getting the cats' interest:  it looks like the end of a fishing rod, with a string and a bunch of feathers on the end of the line.  Little movements - somewhat like fly fishing - makes it bounce and hop around, and drives cats nuts.  Then your cat drives you nuts trying to run off with it or to get at it after you've put it away.

That's all I can think of right now, keep us posted and good luck!