To use the old Cockney phrase so prevalent on shows like 'Eastenders', I've 'lost my bottle'. When did my courage evaporate? I think it has been a gradual leakage, almost imperceptible at first, only obvious when I reached for it and found a void in its place.
I suppose courage is easier when one has nothing to lose. Or perhaps it becomes more difficult as one loses more and more... Four of my Puttikins are undergoing procedures today. I took them to a low-cost clinic because otherwise I would not be able to give them all the help they desperately needed.
Why did I wait this long? Well, I do not have the funds, never have the funds, but that is not the full tale here. It is partly because I was overwhelmed with fear that they would not survive, the fear of losing another loved one.
There are those, possibly in the majority, who believe that animals and human beings never can be equal in terms of the love one has for them or their intrinsic 'value'. Obviously I disagree vehemently with that. My Cats are as much my family as any human component. My daughter is the centre of everything but she is almost 21. She no longer needs me the way that the Puttikins ALWAYS will need me. Furthermore, she is out of my reach physically, which does limit our relationship significantly.
I have lost a large number of human friends in the past decade. Part of the price one pays for having close friends from another generation I suppose. Some were of the same generation as my mother. Even so, death of a loved one always is a shock and very painful, even when the person is 'in the zone' as my Mum is fond of putting it nowadays.
As more of my close friends died, I became increasingly fearful of loss. I had nightmares about my Puttikins dying. What should be straightforward and one hopes, without risk, becomes filled with danger in my mind. I did not take them to the vet sooner because, quite honestly, I was terrified that they would not survive the experience. Foolish perhaps, but if any one reads this post, please spare a moment to say a little prayer for Apollodoro, Temujin, Pumpkin and Jasper. Despite the fact that I have more Cats than I really ever watned, they ARE my family and I could not bear to lose even one of them.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Clandestine Cooking, aka Operation Puttikins Chicken Soup with Rice
After dealing with endless digestive problems with respect to my purebred babies, and finding the smell of the tinned food atrocious enough to make me think it MIGHT be the cause, I decided to make my own Putti Food in the form of Chicken with Rice. I had read that Cats, like human beings, find Rice to be binding to some extent. It therefore made sense to mix Rice with fresh-boiled Chicken to make food for them.
It began as a special diet for Cupid but then I discovered he had not been the only one to suffer ill effects from the Friskies tinned food diet. I thereefore expanded the culinary experiment to cook great vats of chicken thighs boiled in water to produce a good stock in which I mixed rice.
If any one knows of any reason why cats should not be fed this diet, please do let me know. I have read, however, that both chicken and rice are good for cats who have digestive problems of this nature.
The real problem here is the 'lord of the manor', aka the owner of this house. He always will find a reason to complain but I was genuinely surprised when he shouted that he 'hated' the smell of the boiling pot filled with chicken. After all, I had cooked much the same for Freya when she was young and he never complained about the odour then. It is not disgusting bits and pieces or innards. It is nothing more than whole thighs boiled in water with a carrot or two and a bit of salt. The only difference between that and the fresh chicken stock I made for Freya is that I usually chopped an onion and some celery and tossed that into the water as well. I did not think that would be particularly appealing to the Putti so I simply added a little carrot.
At first, all the Putti apart from Cupid (who will eat ANYTHING, it appears), were a little wary of the rice. They ate the chicken enthusiastically but were inclined to leave the rice on the plate for awhile, until it became clear that no substitute was forthcoming. I actually do mix their chicken and rice with a couple of tins of the Friskies Indoor type of tinned food. It smells and looks far more healthy than the regular Friskies... The combination I create is about half and half. Three tins of Friskies to two heaping plates of chicken with rice.
Since the Man protested, however, I have to do it all in a clandestine fashion when he is at work. I have to begin the moment he walks out the door as the chicken should be boiled for a few hours to make certain that all the goodness in the bones is transferred to the water. In other words, I reduce the stock and cook the meat until it literally falls from the bones. I then add the rice. After it cools, I pack it all away in little containers in the fridge for use throughout the week.
I do worry that they may not be eating enough protein but when I have researched the contents of tinned cat food, it is evident that those mixtures do not contain THAT much meat, but are a horrid combination of 'by-products', grains of vairous sorts and, most appallingly, ash. It is the ash content that is creating health issues in our cats. Ashes are not food. Horribly, they are added as filler. Who knows how this is done and what sort of meat actually goes into the food. Diseased animals sent to the knackers, other dead creatures not deemed suitable for human consumption. When cats and dogs die of kidney failure, it may be their diet that is to blame. I remember about a decade ago when cat food that should have been respectable and decent caused a fair number of deaths. We pay quite a lot for the privilege of having our animals poisoned! I think I will carry on with my clandestine cooking experiment unless something better presents itself.
It began as a special diet for Cupid but then I discovered he had not been the only one to suffer ill effects from the Friskies tinned food diet. I thereefore expanded the culinary experiment to cook great vats of chicken thighs boiled in water to produce a good stock in which I mixed rice.
If any one knows of any reason why cats should not be fed this diet, please do let me know. I have read, however, that both chicken and rice are good for cats who have digestive problems of this nature.
The real problem here is the 'lord of the manor', aka the owner of this house. He always will find a reason to complain but I was genuinely surprised when he shouted that he 'hated' the smell of the boiling pot filled with chicken. After all, I had cooked much the same for Freya when she was young and he never complained about the odour then. It is not disgusting bits and pieces or innards. It is nothing more than whole thighs boiled in water with a carrot or two and a bit of salt. The only difference between that and the fresh chicken stock I made for Freya is that I usually chopped an onion and some celery and tossed that into the water as well. I did not think that would be particularly appealing to the Putti so I simply added a little carrot.
At first, all the Putti apart from Cupid (who will eat ANYTHING, it appears), were a little wary of the rice. They ate the chicken enthusiastically but were inclined to leave the rice on the plate for awhile, until it became clear that no substitute was forthcoming. I actually do mix their chicken and rice with a couple of tins of the Friskies Indoor type of tinned food. It smells and looks far more healthy than the regular Friskies... The combination I create is about half and half. Three tins of Friskies to two heaping plates of chicken with rice.
Since the Man protested, however, I have to do it all in a clandestine fashion when he is at work. I have to begin the moment he walks out the door as the chicken should be boiled for a few hours to make certain that all the goodness in the bones is transferred to the water. In other words, I reduce the stock and cook the meat until it literally falls from the bones. I then add the rice. After it cools, I pack it all away in little containers in the fridge for use throughout the week.
I do worry that they may not be eating enough protein but when I have researched the contents of tinned cat food, it is evident that those mixtures do not contain THAT much meat, but are a horrid combination of 'by-products', grains of vairous sorts and, most appallingly, ash. It is the ash content that is creating health issues in our cats. Ashes are not food. Horribly, they are added as filler. Who knows how this is done and what sort of meat actually goes into the food. Diseased animals sent to the knackers, other dead creatures not deemed suitable for human consumption. When cats and dogs die of kidney failure, it may be their diet that is to blame. I remember about a decade ago when cat food that should have been respectable and decent caused a fair number of deaths. We pay quite a lot for the privilege of having our animals poisoned! I think I will carry on with my clandestine cooking experiment unless something better presents itself.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Update on the Puttikins
A house built upon an 'open plan' is the worst when the owner does not wish to be reminded of the fact that some of his tenants are cats. Any whiff of a smell of the litter boxes and he goes into a fury. The 'Silly Room' where the Puttikins live is quite spacious but it is in the basement. Nonetheless, if some one has digestive problems, the smell will rise almost instantly to the bedrooms on the upper floor. It is an impossible situation.
Cupid in particular is having ongoing problems with his food. I did a bit of research and decided to change his diet to rice with chicken. I boiled the chicken and mixed it into rice. For the other Puttikins, I mixed rice into tinned cat food.
It has made a bit of a difference but Cupid continues to deliver very soft stools. At least it is not running through him instantly. I suspect it has something to do with the kidney disease he has. Unfortunately, when it occurs, I am treated as though it somehow is MY fault. Very nerveracking... I wonder if he needs some sort of medication at this point. He is alert and active but quite obese. It may be better if I feed him once daily for awhile but I need desperately to find a solution to the problem.
Cupid in particular is having ongoing problems with his food. I did a bit of research and decided to change his diet to rice with chicken. I boiled the chicken and mixed it into rice. For the other Puttikins, I mixed rice into tinned cat food.
It has made a bit of a difference but Cupid continues to deliver very soft stools. At least it is not running through him instantly. I suspect it has something to do with the kidney disease he has. Unfortunately, when it occurs, I am treated as though it somehow is MY fault. Very nerveracking... I wonder if he needs some sort of medication at this point. He is alert and active but quite obese. It may be better if I feed him once daily for awhile but I need desperately to find a solution to the problem.
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