Hi MsL, your Main Coon Cats are beautiful. Our Main Coon, Sabrina, is so special, since I'm with RSD. She loves to curl next to me and feels so good. They are so special. We've had her she she was a baby, Making me carry her up and down the stairs, which keeps me mobile. I don't even have to pay her for therapy. smile Take care, loretta

Dear Lynns,
Great idea to relieve some of our sorrow! I got a cat almost 7 years ago because the month before that my boyfriend was tragically murdered and I needed something to nurture (since I am good like that). My son and I were just devastated and I thought it would be great to finally have a pet. We lived in apts and could never have pets. His name is Tigger and he is grey with black spots and black lines on him. I never had a cat before him so I did not know what to expect. He is so great and acts just like a dog!! He sleeps on the foot of my bed every night and in the morning I find him lying next to me or I pretend I am asleep and find him checking on my breathing by being close to me or putting his paw lightly on my bottom lip. He has been such a blessing to me and I know I would never have been able to move on with my life had it not been for him. Plus, now with the RSD he calms me down when my pain is real bad. I just adore him.

About a year ago my son decided to get a Chihuahua/Pomeranian Mix puppy (but mostly Chihuahua) with his girlfriend. They lasted a month and I got him full-time because they broke up. Well, he has turned out to be another love of my life. He is my PT because he gets me up out of bed every few hours and makes me walk outside. He is lying across my lap right now. Now, I have my two babies in my bed each night. Since I am single it is a comfort to have Buddy sleeping next to me. He barks at everything so he is a great watchdog too. I feel so much more secure while he is on duty.

The best part of my day (I know this is sad but it is my life) is when the dog chases the cat up and down the condo (We call this crazy puppy time). They are so funny to watch. Then, the cat lies on his back and the dog nips at his paws. They do this for about 15 mins. then both like to take a nap. Buddy keeps Tigger in shape and when Tigger has had enough he lets Buddy know by either playfully biting him or by giving him the evil cat eye to stop. They are very entertaining. My son tell me I need a life and I tell him "Well, you stay in the house for five years in agony and tell me how you would stay sane."

I just adore my best friends and would be in an asylum somewhere if it were not for them. They get me through each day. Thanks for the idea.
kathy d

Oh, I wasn't clear, sorry...

Sheba is almost 24 yrs OLD. She does not weigh 24lbs. She used to be pretty big but has lost weight, on IAMs dry food Eukanuba, and has been normal size for about 10 yrs when I switched her to that. (she was having reactions to Science Diet which has alot of corn in it)

I have some pictures of the cats in my album...under vacation and family.

Your pics are gorgeous! I love that begging posture!

That's good news...Sheba must be a very happy cat to live such a long life. Your photo's of you family, your cats and your gardens are beautiful! You have a little slice of heaven there don't you.

We have a big garden too and occasionally have the odd deer or bear roam by. Fortunately the bears were not too active this past year. Everyone here has to practice bear aware living so we don't attract them to our backyards. Sadly not everyone does and then the bears get into trouble and end up getting shot. This year there was only one bear shot, thankfully the rest were all tranquilized and relocated.

I feed Rocky a dried food from Medi-Cal, its vet recommended which means it's expensive but again it's the only dried food Rocky will touch. I spent a small fortune on trying all the expensive natural foods and he just turned his nose up to them all, including tuna a salmon so I finally just gave in to the shrimp thing. Now a days shrimp is a lot less expensive and in the end probably about the same as canned food.

I found a recipe for a cat crunchie treat that plan to try on him. Let me know if you want the recipe and I'll send it along.

Warm wishes.

MsL

That's so funny that your cat wants the shrimpy- a- day. We always thought it unusual for our Sheba to be so insistent. Must be something unique in the shrimp. She did lose alot of weight when we started that shrimpy-a-day treat.

We did this for Sheba for YEARS. I would get the frozen, and give her two thawed (the 50-60 size), each afternoon, around 3-4pm. Then all of a sudden she refused them! I tasted them, and they tasted rubbery...so I bought another, and same thing. So we stopped them. She is eating less and less as she ages anyway. Her skin hangs almost to the floor! If she runs fast (like when a MAN comes in the house to fix something)...her boobies/lion belly flaps and it is hard not to laugh at her.

The vet said she had grade 4 cardiomyopathy years ago and its been 6yr past her estimate of death. I am feeding her now a new formula of IAMs dry that has acetyl carnitine added. I think this is helping her move around. I found it at the new super WalMart on vacation in Sault Ste Marie . So she is still going strong. Sometimes I wonder how accurate Vets are...sort of like human doctors...

LOL...I think Main Coons must have a special gene that makes them train us so well either that or I'm just a big sucker .

Rocky is now up to 6 50/70 size shrimp for both lunch and dinner. If I don't feed him on time he comes to get me and leads me to his bowl making lots of noise until he gets what he wants. I cut them up into bite size pieces for him and he paws at my leg to make me give him the tails of each shrimp while I cut up the rest. I was worried about giving him just that for a diet of protein but my vet said it's ok as long as he does eat his dried food. He did turn his nose up to a batch of shrimp last summer and after tasting them myself I had to agree with him. There was a nasty chemical taste to them so I returned them to the store. Now I get large bags from Costco and he loves them the best.

Main coons are known to have heart problems and my vet said Rocky has a heart murmur but I honestly think it is only when he is stressed like going to see her that that happens. Acetyl carnitine is very good for the heart and also in the Med-Cal I feed Rocky, I get the Fiber formula to help keep his weight under check. Glad to hear Queen Sheba is still going strong after all these years. They really are like little people in fur aren't they.

Sebastian had a good strong heart and we estimate he was about 13 when he passed last summer. He was very good at hiding his illness, as I learned most cats are because it wasn't until he decided that he just couldn't get up anymore one day that I found out he was in complete organ failure. There was no other signs of problems so it was a real shock and it broke my heart to lose him. He was the junk food junkie in the house, would eat anything and his favorite was butterscotch ripple ice cream. If I was ever upset about anything he would jump right up on my chest and kiss my face to make me feel better. He was very tuned into human emotions.

Like others have expressed here caring for pets has been a real joy for me, helps to keep me active and distracts me from the daily grind of RSD.

Have a wonderful day.

MsL

Oh, I'll have to try the Costco frozen. I do buy their fresh now and then, for myself, and give Sheba one of those now and then.

But twelve a day! Wow... I thought I was indulgent. LOL

I have a saved nutrient chart from Whole foods on shrimp:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...spice&dbid=107
I thought it was interesting..

The reason you have to give regular cat food in some form is that cats must have Taurine (it is supplied by mice in the wild) and will die if they don't get enough. This is why one cannot feed dog food to cats.

I am trying to find out how much taurine is in shrimp:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5595392_add-...line-diet.html

It appears that taurine is in shrimp to some extent. I can't find an exact amount however yet.

Yeah he is a spoiled kitty isn't he.

The nutrition information you posted here is very interesting, Thank you.

I posted the cat crunchie treat recipies for you on your visitor messages. Perhaps I could add a bit of Taurine to the cat treats?

You're the best.

MsL

Yes, I think so. As the article says, it is non toxic and can only help. With a LARGE cat... the requirement for the taurine would be higher.

For humans you know, Taurine is used now in insulin resistance when inositol is used to help blood sugar levels. It also improves bile flow in humans, as well as provides the other necessary benefits. It is very inexpensive. But if you are in Canada, it might be hard to buy...maybe your Vet would sell it to you or at least give you an RX so you could buy it? The last I heard Canada required RX for single amino acids. I don't know if that is still true or not.

Yes it can be difficult to get some products here in Canada but I do have a very good supplier that I can still get my single amino acids from. It will probably change soon now that everything will need a NPR (Natural Product Number) later this year. The government's new laws have most companies in the natural supplement manufacturing up in arms. I'm heading out there tomorrow to stock up on all my goodies and will add the L-taurine to my basket. This may sound like a silly question but is there any difference between Taurine and L-Taurine? They sell 60 gm of the L-taurine powder for $8.99

I read that Taurine is good for pain modulating transmitters that affect neuropathic pain, muscle tension and spasms. L-Glutamine and and glutamine acid are also indicated as single amino acids that also have inhibitory properties that neutralizes the stress response.

I started taking L-glutamine last month and thinking of adding the other 2 amino acids too. so I would appreciate your expert advice on the subject.

Many thanks for such a lovely exchange about our dear pets.

MsL