Canuck PetAll about Canadian Pets

I have been trying to find a food that all my cats like, will eat (some food they just like to play with) and do well on. Between my little princess who is just a fussy eater when it comes to catfood, and nervous about eating in general to another who throws up many foods, this is not an easy task. I have a senior and a growing 1 year old, an overweight and an underweight but heaven help me if someone gets a different food than another ones does.

Rather than spend a fortune buying and returning bags of food they will hate, I contacted the companies of the foods I was interested in and asked them for samples, which they were all happy to provide. Yesterday I came home from meeting the SmartCanuck ladies to find a ripped open package from Holistic Blend Pet Foods including several samples of their foods as well as a cute save my pets in case of fire sign – we have one here and I was wondering where to get a new one as we are planning on moving so YAY. Anyway, back on track, the older cats have been fed Holistic Blend before, but we stopped when dealing with diabetes and obesity issues with another cat, Scully, who has now passed. So I was hoping they would not have changed the formula much and the newer cats would like it (which they did, another YAY). But one of them likes the new Grain Free All Life Stages so much he decided that I was taking too long to get home and feed it to them that he would help himself. (I say he because chances are it was Quincy, but my princess would never, ever rip apart mail – it is just so un-princess-like and the others are boys so…). He had left some in the little packet so I gave some to the others as treats and they really seem to like it.

Then today, a second package came in from WellPet – this time nicely secured in a bubble envelope where it wasn’t so easy for the brat to open it – but my thoughts on last night’s package thief was confirmed. I opened the package and looked at the contents, leaving it on the table beside the recliner. It should be safe there, they like to sit on the back of the recliner but not the seat of it. Well I was wrong, because I got out of the shower to this:

Once again, he had chosen the Grain Free Formula (in this case, this is called CORE) and he wasn’t giving this one up for the world, he actually growled at me for trying to take it. I swear he thinks he is a dog.

I sent the picture into WellPet in response to the email they sent me saying they would send me samples, I am sure it is nice to get something back rather than the usual complaints customer service have to deal.

They also sent me samples of Indoor Health (yellow bag) and Complete Health (blue bag) which the cats all seem to like but not enough to open the bags themselves this time.

Visit the links for more information on each of the foods (all high quality cat foods that are healthier for your pet than supermarket brands, although usually only sold in pet food stores)

I have no idea where I bought this, I bought it a while ago and after using it, lost it and could not find it anywhere. One of my cats is not great at grooming himself, and despite regular grooming, often gets matted fur in some areas. This has been a real problem over the last few months since he has taken a real disliking to grooming but likes baths so he tends to cement in the matted fur playing in water.

I have tried numerous dematting tools on him but none worked as well as the tool I knew I had somewhere at home (shown on the right on the image here)

It is hard to see from the image, but these dematting rakes are not straight edged like many, but curve under making it easier to get the matted fur and giving you a small area between the skin and the matted fur to hold as you work the rake through the matted fur.

This obviously hurts him less than many of the other tools we have tried with him, we can use it for a good 15 minutes before he starts hissing at us, with many of the tools, he would hiss almost as soon as we touched him with it.  After two 10-15 minute sessions, we have dematted one whole side with no real pulling leaving bald spots as happened with another brush and he seems much happier minus the matted fur and enjoyed his furminator grooming this afternoon.  Hopefully now we found the brush again (and I blogged it so I can remember who made it this time, walking into a pet store and saying it had a nice soft handle and a curved blade and is blue and grey did not find me my favourite tool) we can keep up on the matts before they get bad again.

These comfortable grip, extremely durable grooming tools are perfect for in-home and/or professional use. Softly cushioned non-slip handles provide cushion and control while absorbing pressure and reducing fatigue. These tools have been carefully designed to minimize effort and maximize efficiency. The durable ABS plastic reduces breakage. All ComfyCare Products are packaged for resale. Razor sharp, serrated blades tackle unmanageable mats and tough tangles quickly and efficiently while maintaining coat length. Non-slip handle for more comfortable grip. Allows greater control for safe, effective mat removal with minimal effort.

Edit: now I know the brush name, it is sold at Ren’s Pet Depot for less than $9

It takes a lot to be a feral caretaker, to find home for strays or work in any kind of rescue.  It really is not for those who get very emotional, but unless you have that emotion there – you would never get into rescue/caretaking.  It really is a fine line you have to balance.

I have met some great caretakers over the years, some a little kooky but their hearts and heads are in the right place.  Having found and shared resources with these caretakers, maybe I am lucky in my experiences.  I have seen bad rescues but never a bad caretaker – all of the ones I know practise TNR along with feeding.

However, a recent posting I read (and banged my head against a wall replying to several times and trying to help the person find a rescue to help her) just made my blood boil.  The kinds of people who half-heartedly rescue/caretake are those who give the rest of us a bad name and cause the disconnect between the different groups.

This person rescued a stray cat and took it to her home, where she has several unneutered toms (she called them feral but said they were completely approachable) and several (if not all) strays and pets are FeLV+.  Said stray went into heat (you know being Spring and surrounded by intact males will do this) and the person was overwhelmed by dealing with it.  She did find a home for the stray but after the stray was exposed to FeLV and stressed her own cats out by doing so and was upset that she didn’t find more support amongst the rescue community online.

I realise that not everyone will ever use the best practises, but there does need to be a level of common sense used as well as knowing what will put you over your emotional and financial limits in order for this disconnect in the rescue world to stop

I am sure you have seen the cartoons and email forwards about how to pill a cat, amusing but sometimes not that far off.

Greenies Pill Pockets have been a lifesaver for me, both at home and at the shelter.  A pill gun helps but why bother when they will happily take a ‘treat’from you, ensuring that they take their pill with some food.

I always try the pill in a little wet food first, a small amount of butter etc but at the shelter, Pill Pockets are cleaner and help stop the spread of disease that could be caused by using a spoon of butter or handling something that needs to be broken up into pieces.

You just pop the pill inside the treat and pinch it closed, leaving a happy cat and you not becoming one of those people in the forwards, covered in blood from trying to pill your cat.  They also come in dog sizes for bigger pills.

I have been working on getting a list of low cost spay / neuter clinics in Canada.

I know there are resources out there, but unlike the organised lists found for the USA there is little organisation of these resources for Canada

If you know of any

• low cost spay/neuter clinics
• Groups that help with veterinary care
• Foster groups that help people in need until they can get out of abusive situations etc
• Pet Food Banks
• Other helpful organisations

Please let me know at snr (at) canuckpet (dot) com and I will add them to the listings that I will be posting over the coming weeks.

The (work in progress) listing of Canadian low cost spay neuter programs is now live (see link in top menu)