My Cat Is Borderline Diabetic. What Do I Do?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I have a 7-year old Siamese mix cat who came to my house as a starving kitten. She was terified of humans, but hunger won out, and after many weeks she allowed me to pet her. I brought her inside where she has stayed since then. She only likes dry food, except for tidbits of chicken which I give her for good behavior. She was drinking lots of water and peeing massive amounts, so I took her... Read More
Ellen and Halo: No Plans for Vegan Cat Food
Since we’re part of the crowd that amplified the rumor, we feel ethically obligated to set the record straight. When we responded to a letter from a reader who heard Ellen De Generes and Halo Pet Foods plan to introduce a line of vegan pet foods, we had no idea how much response we’d get to this post and how far it would spread around the blogosphere. We were a little concerned when we were able to source the story to a gossip blog in... Read More
Can A Cat Be Healthy on a Vegan Diet?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I recently heard on the radio that Ellen DeGeneres is coming out with a line of vegan cat food. Is that even a healthy possibility for our cats? I thought they naturally ate meat proteins. ~ Donna Do these look like the teeth of an herbivore to you? Image courtesy of free-extras.com Siouxsie: After all four of us (that would be the three of us cats and Mama too) went “WHAAAAT?!?” when we... Read More
Why Is My Cat Losing Weight?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I have a 10 year old Bengal who has never had health issues. She’s a strictly indoor cat. Recently she dropped from 11 lb 8 oz to 9 lb 13 oz. It seemed to happen over a matter of weeks but may have been more gradual. I took her to the vet who did an exam and took blood. According to the results, there appears to be nothing wrong with her — no disease and no parasites, no tumors. Throughout... Read More
Review: Castor & Pollux Organix Cat Food
Disclosure: I created this image with digital manipulation so I could display all the products I reviewed in one graphic. The size relationship between the dry food and canned food packages is not accurate. Castor & Pollux Pet Products is probably best known for its super-premium dog foods. But the company makes cat products as well, including Ultramix and Organix cat food. Recently I had the opportunity to review the Organix Indoor Adult Cat... Read More
When Should I Switch My Cat to a Senior Diet?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I have been searching online for information about senior cat food, but there is a lot of conflicting advice. Carolan, a kitty in my house, is about 11 years old. I’m unsure if I should be switching his diet. A lot of sites said that the senior foods might say a specific age (usually 8 or 10 years) but that it varies with each cat. They say to watch the cat’s behavior instead. Carolan... Read More
Product Review: Nature’s Variety Limited Ingredient Diet Kibble
Hi everyone, “Mama” here. As long-time Paws and Effect readers probably know, Thomas has a very sensitive stomach which has resulted in a more or less chronic case of soft stools or diarrhea. I’ve taken him to the vet and had a fecal sample examined to check for parasites; the sample came back negative, he doesn’t have any tumors, and the vet told me that his problem is almost certainly a food intolerance issue. I’ve... Read More
