Hey Jon! I'm interested in hearing your opinions about cat's diet. I'm feeding my puddy tat a frozen lamb/salmon mixture (cooked) from Whole Foods part of the time. Other times I get a cat food tuna (with little else in it -- this is infrequent) or I feed him raw meat (usually chicken -- ground rabbit if I can get it without the fur -- he has problems with the fur left in). I sprinkle a little extra taurine on his food, just in case.

He got REAL fat and I think he was getting diabetic on the dry kibble. So I cut that out a couple years ago. Even the "good stuff" from the pet store (like EVO) had a lot of added things that aren't natural for cats, like potato or pumpkin. So I cut that stuff out. I think cats aren't supposed to eat a high carb diet.

Even after putting him on an all-meat diet he didn't slim down, I had to start weighing out his portions carefully. I survived months of cat-nagging. But he is finally slimmer, although I think still a tad portly and looks much healthier. He's a 15 year old siamese. I hope to have him around at least another 5 years!

I think he probably supplements his diet with insects and lizards from outdoors (he only spends a few hours outside most days). He tried to bring me a lizard the other day.

Do you think this diet is healthy for a cat? (Meat, fish, mostly raw, no bones).

Nancy this is completely off topic but I must say that I bow to you for surviving months of cat nagging. I swear I could never cut down the amount of food one of my cats eats because she already nags for an hour before breakfast anyway.

Rachel

LOL! Fortunately he gives up when I leave the kitchen area! And I've trained him not to nag me when I'm sleeping (see footnote for details below). Anyway, given that I'm not IN the kitchen the furby gives up and takes a nap. Just so long as I'm out of eyeshot of his bowl.

Footnote:

How to train your cat to stop trying to wake you up.

Tools need: 1 vacuum clean with a long cord. 1 door that closes between you and your cat when you sleep. 1 cat with a healthy fear of the vacuum cleaner.

Step 1) The night before training commenses park the vacuum outside your bedroom door, running the cable under the door and next to a plug where you can plug it in without getting out of bed. Turn on the vacuum cleaner, but leave it unplugged.

Step 2) Sleep. ZzzzZZzzzZ.

Step 3) Cat makes a fuss outside the door and wakes you up. Groggily reach for the plug and stick it in the socket for a bit. When you're convinced the cat got the message, unplug.

Step 4) Even if you're now wide-awake DO NOT go out the door for at least 10 minutes, otherwise you're training your cat to endure the noise because you'll get up.

Repeat this training for a couple of days. Later on you might need an occassional reinforcement but usually just the sight of Mr. Growly is enough of a warning.

If you have an especially tough case you might need to move the vacuum cleaner to just inside your door. So he won't come to the understanding that if he can't see the vacuum cleaner it can't wake up and growl. Fortunately my cat isn't that bright.

Bwaahahahahahaha!!!!

That is the funniest thing I have read in a long while!!

Thanks so much!

Hahaha! I am glad you like that. It truly works. I had a terrible problem with a cat who wanted me awake at 4 am and he'd kick up a fuss and wake everyone up. Fortunately a Usenet newsgroup came to my rescue and suggested this method. It probably saved that cat from being reassigned to a new home. We lived happily ever after.

very interesting article on what may have really happened

http://www.organicconsumers.org/arti...ticle_4776.cfm

koz