He likes it. 

I sure hope I don't regret this, but catnutrition.org now has a Facebook presence.  Help spread the word by linking to and liking us. Or loving us. Or whatever it is you're supposed to do with Facebook.  Click on the thingamajammer below to go to the Facebook page and then please pretty please "Like" us.  

In no particular order, below is a top ten list of stuff I wish that I had known about long ago.  On taking care of, living with, and feeding cats, that is.

1. The Double-Sided Sticky Tape Trick With Furniture.  How did I miss this one? Bar none, this is the easiest and most humane way I've found to keep cats from transforming upholstered furniture into a shredded mess.  Inexpensive. Inconspicuous. Effective.  Sure beats the old idea I tried  years ago of wrapping furniture in aluminum foil for a month to deter cats from destroying upholstered furniture.  Which mostly had the effect of making my living room look like a Star Wars set and giving my friends another reason to poke fun at me. 
   
2. The Furminator!  Again, where was I when this came out?  How did I not learn about this until this year?  I totally love this tool.  It's a fabulous time saver for grooming cats and, hooboy, do they love it.  There are way fewer flying cat fur dustballs around now that I've discovered this de-shedding tool.
   
3. Dr. Pierson's Cat Litter Box Cleaning Method.  I shudder to think of the thousands of pounds of litter I hauled and discarded for decades until I learned, d'uh, that there's a great way to keep litter boxes pristine without emptying all the contents regularly.  Saves time, saves money, saves your back.  It's much greener too. 
4. Biodegradable Bags for Soiled Cat Litter Stuff.  Using the Dr. Pierson Method means having handy and nearby a durable container lined with a bag into which the "stuff" you take out of the box at each cleaning goes.  But I sure didn't like how un-green it was using plastic bags, even if I was re-purposing grocery store bags.  There are lots of choices now for 100 percent biodegradable bags that work perfectly well for this purpose.  I like the 3-gallon "food waste" bags sold by Bio-Bag.  Put one of those inside a durable plastic container to hold it in place when you're scooping and you're good to go. 
   
5. Raw Feeding is a Good, Sane Idea.  This should go without saying, but I'll go for it anyway.  I wish I had known many years earlier than I did that feeding dry food is a horrible idea for cats and that feeding a balanced, raw-meat based diet is the single most important step one can take to set a strong foundation for a cat's health. 
   
6. Feeding Chunks From the Start!  When I first started raw feeding, I under-appreciated the value of including large chunks of muscle meat in my cats' diet to help keep their oral health as good as it could be.  That said, when I first started raw feeding, the cats I had then were adults and weren't big fans of eating anything "chunky."  When our new kitten, Sidney-Beans, arrived a couple months ago, one of the first things I did was offer him oversized chunks of muscle meat to work on.  He and his most awesome big brother Wilson now get one "chunk treat" a day of chicken thigh meat.  I'm hoping this dramatically decreases the chances that they'll need to have regular dental cleanings. This doesn't mean they won't need or get dental cleanings, but it sure seems to me that feeding those chunks is a smart way to reduce the chances that their oral health will deteriorate. 
   
7. Glass Jars for Storing Food.  I've never been a fan of storing food in plastic containers.  They're environmentally yucky and can leach dangerous chemicals into the food inside them.  A healthier, and greener, solution is found with can-or-freeze jars.  They're durable as can be; I've had the same set of jars for nearly a decade now and not one single jar has broken or cracked.  And yes, I've dropped more than a few. 
   
8. That Annual Revaccination is Not The Great Idea I Used to Think It Was.  I wish I'd had the wisdom and information decades ago to recognize that the practice of blindly revaccinating cats each year is unnecessary and carries serious risks of side-effects, both long- and short-term.  I used to feel so righteous and responsible when I'd haul my cats in once a year to get their 'booster shots.'  Once I started digging more into it, I learned that I wasn't doing them any favors.  
   
9. That Adopting an Adult Cat is Equally if Not More Rewarding Than Adopting a Young Kitten.  Until this year, I'd always assumed that if I brought any new animal into our lives, it would have to be a young kitten.  Too many risks and unknowns, I thought, adopting an adult cat, even though I know that they are the ones who often have the hardest times finding good homes.  Once four-and-a-half year old Wilson entered the scene, however, I changed my mind entirely.  Maybe it's because Wilson is Mr. Wonderful and within a remarkably short period of time I fell head over heels in love with this guy.  Maybe it's because he came into our lives exactly when his vibe, his unique presence, and his demeanor was exactly what we needed. As my friend reminds me, adopting a kitten is like getting married on the first date!  You never really know what their unique personality is going to shape up to be.  But with an adult cat, you usually have a pretty good idea of who they are.  Adult cats in need of homes should get the love and forever home they deserve.   
   
10. That Fear of Loss Shouldn't Intrude on Loving the Cat(s) You Have Now.  No doubt, losing a beloved animal companion is painful.  But I wish I had realized years ago that worrying about the fact that our lifespans are longer than theirs and that one day, most likely, their form will be out of our reach is an absolute waste of time.  And that any subtle, lurking fear just beneath the surface about one day losing them depreciates the relationship.  And makes it more difficult for you and for them to experience the elegance of the moment with clarity.  Love them now.  Appreciate them now.  Don't let anxiety about what may or may not happen in the future invade your nervous system and poison the moment.  Now is all you ever have, so cherish it, absent fear.  It's the only way.  It's really the thing. It's not always easy, but it's worth the effort.  Try on love without fear.  It's huge. 
    

Kudos to Dr. Karen Becker for conducting, and posting videos of, her interview with one of the nation's leading veterinary immunologists, Dr. Ronald Shultz.  It's worth the time to watch these to learn more about vaccines - their efficacy, their risks, and the wisdom of the paradigm of regular revaccination - before your next visit with your vet. There are four videos in this series.  

Wilson needed a playmate.  And the lovely, caring people at Animal Allies had a kitten named Ernie.  The rest is history. 

Renamed "Sidney" (for Sidney Bechet) which somehow evolved into "Sidney-Beans," the 11-week old confident, affectionate, fearless, and healthy little purr machine came home to live with us a week ago and has settled in beautifully. Mr. Wonderful (Wilson), ever the adaptable and gentle-hearted, quickly assumed the role of co-trainer, groomer, and big brother to the little fellow.  We couldn't be more delighted to have him in our lives.  They are now quite a pair.

Sidney-Beans took to eating the homemade raw food recipe like a duck to water, and is emphasizing the point that kittens are absolutely voracious eating machines.  If you're asking me now how much a kitten eats?  My new answer is "more than you would ever imagine possible."  How much food will you need to make to keep your kitten fed?  A lot.

It's a joy to watch his enthusiasm for the food and to see him thrive.  It's a joy to watch him play with his brother.  It's a joy to have him on our laps. 

It's a joy. 

Welcome home, Sidney-Beans.

Wilson has been in the house a little over 48 hours.  It looks like the universe sent me one of those "easy" cats to transition to raw. The trick was that he was willing to eat canned food which suggested he was not averse to textures that are different from crunchy dry food. 

Perhaps, too, Duke was mentoring him.  His first night here, he took some nibbles of raw and obviously recognized it as food - usually the biggest hurdle.  Last night after an 'appetizer' of some stinky fish food, he dove in headfirst to a plate of homemade raw.  He did the same this morning.

Which is only to say that sometimes it's much, much less of a struggle to switch a cat from kibble to raw food than we think. 

Needless to say, we're very proud of this boy and happy to see that not only has he adapted beautifully to his new surroundings but he has also taken his nutritional rehabilitation in easy stride. 

He is one very, very cool cat. 

Meet Wilson.

He is 4.5 years old and was living for a short time with an amazing and deeply caring foster family. I met him a few weeks ago by pure happenstance and was instantly charmed and intrigued - despite being strongly committed to not being charmed or intrigued - but I couldn't begin think about another cat given how much of my time and my heart was given over to Nettie. Which is where my time and my heart needed to be. 

Wilson was an absolute prince and a gentleman when I drove him the 170 miles back to his new home with us.  He's aces, this little guy.  His first day has been remarkably easy.  He's been gathering olfactory intelligence, playing, head-butting, and generally surveying the scene and offering an awful lot of love.  Amazing how these creatures can bounce right into Love after their lives have been upended. 

I've gently begun his nutritional re-education.  His foster parents kindly gave some of his current food to take home.  I set out three options for him:  his kibble, a plate of homemade raw, and a plate of good canned food.  We're only 8 hours into his arrival, but I will say that after pausing over each option and almost . . . almost taking the kibble, this little guy ate a few nibbles of the home-prepared raw earlier tonight.  Then a few bites of kibble. 

He's an absolutely great cat.  Strong as an ox. A love machine.  Incredibly confident.  The most efficient basement bug exterminator imaginable.  And that smudge of white on his nose is to die for.

We're on our way.

Yesterday, with help from our wonderful vet, we said goodbye to the beautiful form that our Nettie the Wondercat occupied for close to sixteen years.  I'll offer some of what I sent to family and friends yesterday:

I wanted to share this news so that you might remember now, especially today, tonight, and in the coming few days, to join in celebrating the Light for her, with her.  To ease the movement of her spirit cleanly into wherever it is she goes. 

I loved her, and continue to love her, profoundly. And as deeply sad as I am, my number one job here is to remember the Light.  To be that light, remember that the light is Love that fuels creation, so that I can play my part in helping this beautiful being relax into that light, trusting it fully.

So? If you would?  I'd ask you to do whatever it is which is most appropriate for you that might be part of that.  Light a candle.  Say a prayer. Or just take a deep breath, close your eyes, and know and see your own light. Know it's joined with hers, and with everyone you've ever loved.  And everyone they have ever loved.  And on and on.  Don't put a limit on it!  

I wanted to read this just before the euthanasia, but composure was elusive, and I didn't want the words read through a tentative, broken voice.  I wanted the words read with strength, with conviction.  My husband, bless him, read this for us all:  

Remember the clear light, the pure clear white light from which everything in the universe comes, to which everything in the universe returns; the original nature of your own mind. The natural state of the universe unmanifest. Let go into the clear light, trust it, merge with it. It is your own true nature, it is home.

Godspeed little girl.  Godspeed.