Snuggles Inn Cat Boarding

A year after my last (terse) post and not much has changed. We're still here... working hard at being RE-tired. Nancy and I are still taking about half as many clients as we used to. That allows our tired old bones the ability to provide the same exemplary service we always have. With all our heart and soul. On that note - I'll not regurgitate last year's post, the jist of which is that if folks are going to ask me to be part of their fur babies' life, then I will have a say in the quality of that life.
If you haven't read catinfo.org (yet) ... save yourself a lecture - and in turn - a good deal of suffering by your kitty.

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition – Common Sense. Healthy Cats. A veterinarian explains the basics on properly feed cats which are strict carnivores, and the link between a poor quality diet and common diseases.

Here at Snuggles.... business as usual. We were always fastidious, taking great care to assure that kitties are healthy when they get here, and if at all possible, leave even healthier. That hasn’t changed.

So... now it’s up to you. We understand, and we’ve been patient. But it’s time. Time to get up - get out. Are you not sick of Jun-u-ary? Take a road trip to... somewhere. Go discover the sand dunes in Oregon, or head east, over the mountains. There’s a whole other world over there.
Just avoid Hawaii for a bit longer... unless you want to be stuck inside your lovely accommodations - forbidden to leave. (Still beats our weather IMHO)

At any rate. A very wise man (my father) once said: “Life goes on”. The first time he uttered those words, I didn’t understand what he was actually saying. I actually thought he was being a little flip - given the situation. But I would learn the hard way - as each of us must - that what he meant, is that the living have a duty to do just that... Live. Yes, there will be periods in our lives, encompassing many months, perhaps even years that we face challenges and must make adjustments. However, whatever... the duty remains to make the most of it. To scratch and claw your way back and seek fulfillment. Otherwise, those that came before us, those that didn’t give up, were wasting their time.

There is life after Covid... although I need to rephrase. There will be, I believe life WITH Covid. Perhaps we’ll actually start being healthier as a society on a whole - taking those extra little precautions when its “Cold and Flu Season”. Perhaps Fall and Winter will get a new moniker... CFC Season. Cold/Flu/Covid. As such we won’t be so casual about how we treat people around us. We won’t let that one jerk come to work anyways, and get us all sick in the process. We’ll become prodigious hand-washers. Etc.
Sanitation stations are going to pop up alongside every public and many private entrances. A whole new industry will evolve. And the face coverings. Behind every garish mask lies opportunity. My sister, a gifted seamstress, will come out with her own designer line of bridal facial protection for the modern couple. Everyone in the crowd wearing matching embroidered face coverings.
(Get on it Sis).

In the mean time, before the big event... go find a venue where your loved ones can gather together.
Somewhere out of town... and bring me your kitty.

Jerry

Bigs came to me Seven short years ago. He was very much responsible for me becoming a better care giver. The first Snuggles client to "stick" ... his other Dad, (Uncle Roy) kept extending his stay - "afraid of making him sick again."
Bigs and I went through Hell together - curing him of his diabetes - so he could go home. Actually "Biggers" hardly ever complained - no matter how many times I tried sticking his ear, (which was a lot until I got it figured out) as long as there were salmon treats involved.
As it came to pass, he just ended up staying. Bigs was my bud. I'd just have to give a whistle and up on my lap he'd be.
We ended up adopting Roy as well, and he and I were great friends. They are together again, both sorely missed.

I originally posted this in 2020. Wow... what a rant! After five years I had to take another look and see if I should maybe tone it down?
NOPE
Seems the message isn't getting across. There are too many people that haven't slogged through it or I wouldn't keep getting kitties that are eating crap. So... a recap:
Read the label... simple statement. Flippant or not, We‘re all capable. Lets do it together.
But first, why? After all, Mr ”Cat Listener” - or whatever. (Why should you care - you’re just the hired help) how dare you, what the hell is your problem?
My problem is, I’m selfish. There... I said it.
Its all purely for the sense of self preservation. You see, its a hell of a lot easier taking care of kitties that are healthy. And way easier on my psyche to not have to get those messages regarding a kitty I have cared for - for many years - that has been diagnosed with renal failure, diabetes, and etc., and more often then not, dispatched across the Rainbow Bridge, said trip precipitated by the very fact that taking care of a health challenged pet can be... challenging.

That I am able to share my knowledge and carefully selected sources of research - reviewed multiple times a year - with those hundreds of clients that are willing to stop and listen and then take a proactive posture - and in many cases, get off the merry-go-round of meds prescribed to fix a problem brought about by a deficient diet - and see their fur babies flourish does indeed ease the way forward. But it is never ending. So I’ll keep whining.

This is not just a look at dry food (kibble) but applies equally to the junk that ends up in all those cans of “Granny’s Pot Pie” etc. Once again recognizing what a challenge it can be to even decide what we should do - given the choices. All I can say is, don’t trust - and verify. Just because the label has the words Science, or Grain Free, Weight Management, opr my favorite... All Natural!. It does NOT mean its good science, and that what replaced the grain is any better, or that feeding a calorie rich carbohydrate laden diet will somehow fix your obese kitty.

Let’s look at a very popular brand commonly touted by Veterinarians - that oddly enough, fill their shelves with like-kind food stuffs - more often than not, labeled as “prescription”. AKA the ABC diets. Side Note: There are NO ingredients in so-called prescription diets that would require any sort of professional endorsement from someone with medical training. It’s all BS. If brave enough... ask your Vet to share the secret. What is the magic in that bag or can? We'll all be happy to hear about it.

Here's a peek at some of the "Science" magic ingredients
-Science Diet *Chicken-
Chicken, Whole Grain Wheat, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken Fat, Chicken Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Brown Rice, Chicken Liver Flavor, Calcium Sulfate, Lactic Acid, Potassium Chloride, Fish Oil, Soybean Oil, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Oat Fiber, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Natural Flavors, Beta-Carotene, Apples, Broccoli, Carrots, Cranberries, Green Peas.

YUM

So? Let’s break it down. Remember when we were kids, and our Grandmother having to shoo her kitty away from the garden, to get out of snap peas - no?
No
The good news is this particular recipe left out “powdered cellulose”. The sadder news is the Beet Pulp - which works great for horses - That said, the only significant ingredient listed that belongs in a cat -maybe- is chicken. Which is BTW... also the very same protein most often targeted as causing “food” allergies.
Only thing is - the chicken in that bag of kibble really isn’t chicken anymore and hence the allergic response. It’s like calling the bag it came in a tree. (Said bag at one time in its life cycle - powdered cellulose - which did indeed come from a tree) So, your kitties’ “All Natural” “Protein Rich” “Grain Free”, etc. food should perhaps come plastered with a picture of a splendid tree, complete with a chicken roosting in it.
The rest of the ingredients are just filler and the vitamins and minerals that are required to bring the contents up to the minimum standards as set by the self-regulated pet food industry.

Watch the video - Pet Fooled - in it, a researcher sends her nasty concoction labeled “Old Boot” to the standards lab and actually gets certification as meeting those AAFCO standards. Unlike main stream commercial diets - her label gave an accurate description of the contents.

I have posted - in the past - the subjects of bio-availability and the difference between survive and thrive and it becomes quite evident in the outward appearance of our pets. People are usually pretty surprised that I can tell at first glance, that a kitty is on a dry food diet. Its never obvious to the owner since Fluffy’s appearance has changed so subtly over time. But years of chronic dehydration and consumption of a heavy carbohydrate, low-quality-protein based diet indeed does enough damage so as to facilitate losing your loved one in eight years, vs eighteen. I know... Your Mom’s kitty lived to nineteen while consuming dry food its entire life. Mom's kitty also lounged around outside a good deal of the time snacking on mouse treats. (The perfect pre-packaged diet) Mom's kitty didn't need to read the label. You do.

Grain Free... whoopee!
So I’ve been sitting on the sidelines for some months now (not whining about anything) and I figure you guys must be desperate for a scolding by now.
Lets call this one a simple admonishment... but! with a self help tool attached. Search for a little documentary (Free on Prime) called “Pet Fooled”. The original title graphic gave away the underlying theme as it inserted the L and E askew within the word food, so one could quickly ascertain what’s coming next. At any rate, It’s an insightful look at the inner workings of the pet food industry and what actually goes into all the pretty packages. I would suggest skipping what ever meal you may have planned for yourself prior to viewing, and no doubt you’ll remain a bit squeamish in regards the next.
IF... after watching it - combined with all my other musings over the last couple of years - you are still inclined to feed your beloved fur balls cardboard from a bag (kibble) - or those canned offerings containing some of the more creative wholesome ingredients (my most recent favorite... “powdered turkey”) then I’ve got nothing left to say. About healthy diets anyways.
I realize as it stands there is no perfect answer, short of keeping a good supply of live feeder mice on hand (Nature’s perfect pre-packaged diet) I have to leave it to all of you to do your own research. To question every claim from every source. Read the labels. Don’t trust - and verify.
As always, as your Pet Care Giver of choice, we are here to lend advice regarding your four legged children's overall care regimen, including diet and the role it plays in managing health and vitality.

JH