I have been.......

I have been .....catching up! Hope your cold is getting better dear Sherapop...We all wish you a speedy recovery, as you are very important to us!!!! The rest of you...continue your lovely comments, and suggestions! I am always behind at the moment, as haven't got the time now, as have in the winter months!! But, always have a look to see, what is going on!!

Check in when you can, we miss you.

I have been collecting vintages today.

I have been wondering about little Digs trophy and collecting vintages today.

Please Dig tell us more. You do have a following you know.

I went to work on Saturday and gave my car to my brother who took my son to his banquet. My son was happy when I got home. Thanks for asking.

I took a bus downtown (no car remember) and restocked on my decanting supplies.

I picked up my vintages (and a few more) at the store today and here they are...

Latest Catch 3/21/13 by ConiferLover, on Flickr

I have been collecting things for my Christmas giveaway!

I have been reading this....
$37.7 billion the amount it cost Americans annually, in lost wages, to sit around waiting for the cable guy....
Or any other person to fix, install, or deliver something.
The three services that inflict the longest waits ....
Electricians, gas companies, and home health care providers.

Just thought you wanted to know this. Ha!

Cincy, the "waiting for someone to deliver something" part made me snort my coffee all over my laptop! All those perfume packages we wait on

I have been buried in work lately. I have also been trying to stay away from any threads that represent temptation to buy for me here. My vet bill was $700 and worth it...my little girly is doing well. Get to see her today....I have missed her and her brother so much.

Wonderful! One of my dogs needed surgery for kidney stones last year and the only thing worse than the bill was the stress of it all. Glad to hear everyone is doing okay.

I have been looking like this

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tb n:ANd9GcQKNvPjyVdbBLJxdMl7j5FfgbU3o0AdUmFf96FA J8zy-jb4IlIX

Do take care of our nose Shera.
I have been shopping.

Yikes, glad to hear the update on Fergie.

Health care for our fine friends is frighteningly expensive--if only I were diabetic, instead of The Emperor!

Well, I am happy that Fergie is doing well! The perfume sacrifice you have made is noble!

[quote="SherapopHealth care for our fine friends is frighteningly expensive--if only I were diabetic, instead of The Emperor!
Shera,
Is the Emperor on grain-free food? Several years back both of my older cats went from chubby and squishy round the middle to fit and lean after I changed them to grain-free. (Not to mention clearing up some serious health problems in one of them, which I've talked about ad nauseum.) It positively impacts diabetes as well.

Not entirely grain free, but definitely high protein, and the grains in blends are usually stuff like brown rice.

I often prepare homemade cat food, which is just braised chicken breast chopped finely, and when I buy cans, I always make sure that the first two ingredients are real meat: tuna, chicken, liver, beef, white fish, etc.--not grain or "meat by-products" which I believe is stuff like horse hooves and other scraps from rendering factories (yuck!).

I found a new variety containing garden greens, which he adores. It also contains corn bran--of all things, and he no longer has a weight problem, perhaps because of that, but I do still have to give him insulin shots twice a day. I also give him methylcobalamin (B12) to counteract his neuropathy, but he had a stroke, and so has limited back leg mobility. We do physical therapy before every meal.

So, as you can see, it's really true:

I am his Chief of Staff!!!

Shera,

NO GRAINS! Including brown rice. I know it's healthy for humans, but it's absolutely not for cats.

As the holistic DVM said who prescribed grain-free to my cat about 8 or 9 years ago, feral cats never, EVER raid rice paddies or corn fields.

Whole grains = good for humans

Whole grains = wreak havoc on feline organs

I will repeat the following a million times if it helps even just one kitty to be free of chronic health problems:

My now 18-year old tomcat had recurring and life threatening health problems (liver failure and crystals in his bladder) for a few years from the age of around 9 to 11 - there were many lengthy hospital stays, lots of pain and worry. The old vet had given up trying to fix him and put him on a low dose of prednizone to try to extend his life a little, which she didn't expect to be long.

I switched him to grain-free, and after a month of solid improvement I scrapped the prednizone, and here we are 8 or 9 years later and he's never been back to the vet except for a routine checkup every now and then. And as you know, 8 or 9 years is a long time in a cat's life. Proof, meet pudding.

Not all grain-free is created equal though, so be careful! What USED TO BE an excellent brand (Innova Evo) was bought by Procter & Gamble and almost immediately began making pets sick. DO NOT GO NEAR ANYTHING BY THAT COMPANY. I'll be happy to tell you which ones I've used if you want me to.

I've actually moved on to the even more biologically appropriate RAW diet (still grain-free). I get frozen raw (it's handled differently from raw meat meant for humans, and the freezing process eliminates all dangers from bacteria or parasites). All my three cats love it and thrive on it. And the 18-year old is doing great.

BTW, my grandma got herself off insulin by changing her diet, and she lived to 98.

Thank you so much, Dulcemio for all of this advice. Are grains even in small amounts (like the tenth ingredient on the can) really going to harm The Emperor? Oh my. Well, at least much of his food right now is the straight tuna variety, which contains NO grains. Plus, as I said, many of his meals are straight chicken--no grains there!

Maybe if I switch completely over to NO GRAINS AT ALL then The Emperor's diabetes will subside... Good idea!

BTW: I agree with you about P&G: stay far, far away. For me, that means their perfume, too, sad to say.

I have been reading all the good advice given for our felines.

I have been planting Swedish Ivy today.

I have been trying to sleep off a wicked sinus headache. It worked, sort of.

I have been wondering if this will be the coolest April on record in my area.