Señor Fluffypants and his faithful sidekick, Big Foot

All of the cats at the home for wayward cats have silly, affectionate nicknames. Kitty is Kittyboo, Gypsy is Princess, Mina is Monsterbutt & Joni is Little Baby. Jasper and Durango have recently earned their nicknames, and are now known as Señor Fluffypants and Big Foot respectively. ;)

Both boys are positively blooming now that they're back out of quarantine and with the brood full time. And it is entirely due to the influence of their foster sisters, little Mina and Joni. My two mini cats are both incredibly social and outgoing little bundles of love and the boys are now picking up their social cues from them.

Evo cat food - buyer beware

I've been feeding everyone here at the home for wayward cats Evo dry and wet food for just over a month now. The dry, I received as a generous donation and the wet I was purchasing on my own. I felt happy with it, knowing it was a grain free product and that online reviews were overall positive.

However, in the last month, I have been dealing with a lot of mild digestive issues in almost all of the cats. Everything from poopy bum to loose stools to the occasional vomiting. Not to mention poor Kitty and his mouth ulcers. With the exception of Kitty and his mouth, no one cat would show symptoms for more than a day at a time, but all of the cats have experienced at least one of the symptoms over the course of the month. Because it was so inconsistent, and there were no other signs of being ill (no dehydration, activity levels were the same, everyone was bright eyed and bushy tailed, etc) I had assumed it was due to the stress of having so many new arrivals. That is until I randomly found this article this morning.

http://petfoodtalk.com/catfoodreviews/evo/

If you only read the info on the left hand side of the page, Evo gets glowing reviews, pretty much across the board. However, if you take the time to read through the reviews and discussions section on the right side of the page, a different story emerges. Evo was (unbeknownst to me) bought out by Proctor & Gamble about a year ago and as far back as last September, you can find complaints about the visible change in the quality of the food. Most tellingly, many of the posts from that point onward deal with cats suffering from vomiting, diarrhea, and food allergies causing mouth pain.

Hmmm... that doesn't sound familiar at all.

Looks like it's time to switch everyone back to Acana.

ChipIn for Cause 4 Paws

Due to a recent spat of serious health issues in some of their rescue cats, Cause 4 Paws has created a ChipIn to help defray the costs. Please... consider contributing what you can. Every little bit helps!

Cause 4 Paws ChipIn

Weekly update 5.18.12

Whew! Busy times! Its been a week of ups and downs in the home for wayward cats. Since there's something to update for just about everyone, but not enough to qualify for individual posts, I'm combining them into one big post for this week.

My semi-feral boys

Durango's new favourite place to hang out is on the small filing cabinet next to my desk. He is entranced with my computer screens, and watches what is happening there intently. He's still quite shy about being touched, but did jump onto my keyboard earlier and allowed me to hold him and pet him for a few moments before indicating he wanted to be put down.

His progress has been much slower than I had hoped. But he is progressing, so I am pleased.

Jasper has finally reached the stage where he will allow me to hold him still during our grooming sessions. Which certainly makes grooming a little easier to accomplish. ;) We're still getting him used to having his sides touched, which means we haven't really been able to get rid of any of the mats on his sides yet, but he is allowing me to touch him there with more pressure than before. So there's that at least. I don't have any new pictures of him available, since he prefers to show me his bum rather than his cute little face, but we've managed to get rid of a great deal of dead hair from his ruff and upper body, and the difference in size between his front and back halves is quite noticeable now. He's still a big boy, but not nearly as chunky as he initially seemed when he first entered my home. ;)

Multi-cat households - How to effectively introduce your new cat to your resident one.

So you've decided to adopt another kitty. Bravo! All a twitter with excitement, you bring the new little bundle of fluff home, and place him down in the middle of a room so he can meet your resident cat. And lo and behold, your otherwise sweet and pleasant resident cat has turned into a spitting, hissing ball of claws and fangs. Or maybe it's the newcomer that's being aggressive. Either way, you're now stuck trying to play referee between two (or more) very angry cats.

Sound all too familiar? Perhaps you're now regretting your decision to adopt another cat. Perhaps you're even contemplating returning the new cat since it's obviously not working out. 

What if I were to tell you that such drastic measures aren't necessary? That it is possible to successfully, and most importantly, peacefully integrate your cats? Even if initial mishaps were made, and the cats have already come to blows... it is still possible to create peace once more. They may never be cuddle buddies, but at the very least, they can and will live in harmony.

And three becomes four.....

So I know that as a foster mom, the goal is to provide my fosters with a loving, safe space until they find their forever homes. It's not supposed to be an excuse to acquire more cats. :P But I have to admit, I have fallen hook, line and sinker for little Joni. Most importantly, it's obvious while watching them all together that the brood feels the same way.
Mina adores her and the two are rarely apart. Gypsy has taken on the role of surrogate parent and can often be found grooming her or gently playing with her - something she has only ever done with her own babies. Even Kitty, the resident grump has taken a shine to her sweet little face. She is incredibly sweet natured and is adorably patient when I clean her snotty little face (poor baby still has a cold), or tend to her daily grooming needs. All in all, she is the perfect addition to my feline family and it would be heartbreaking for all if she were to leave.

How could I say no to that sweet little face?

And so, Joni has earned herself a place on the Cast and Crew page, in our home and above all else, in all of our hearts. Welcome to your new life babygirl.

Durango's first petting

As predicted, Durango has started asking for pettings. Well... in a manner of speaking. He still hasn't quite figured out how to actively ask, so he does it passively.
He waits until Jasper comes over to be pet, and while I'm petting him, Durango rubs up against Jasper on the opposite side. Then when Jasper moves away, Durango just kind of stands there, as if he's waiting for me to pet him. He lets me run my hand along his back a few times before his nerve wears out and he scoots off again. It may not sound like much, but considering how timid he is, I am pleased with his progress.

He did get up on the bed and snuggle down against my leg the other night, but I'm still not 100% sure he realized I was there. I have a tendency to bury completely under the blankets when I sleep, and my comforter is quite fluffy, so its entirely possible he was just oblivious. Either way, we were both comfortable, and I didn't want to startle him away, so I simply enjoyed the moment until sleep took me.

Jasper is his usual, amazing self. He's started to demand pettings now, often coming over and dipping his head as if he was headbutting me until I sit on the floor with him to give him scritches. He's becoming more and more comfortable with me petting his sides, which is fantastic news. Given that he is such a long haired beauty, I really want him to enjoy being groomed in the sensitive areas as well.