Hey dearest furiends, how is everypawdy? I’s gotta tell ya’, mine’s week was not great. Nope, no way, no siree.
Continue reading “Blest Sunday: The Blessing Train Goes Round”
Tag: Raw Food
Mixers Monday: Boost Your Pets’ Food
Well meowllo Monday, weez havin’ a Mixer today. We totally missed a day. Fur all of ya’ dat follow us regular, you’re purrobly wunnerin’ where we was and what happened to Blest Sunday. Well weez still blest, no worries there, but mommy was in so much pain she just flaked out when it came to helpin’ me and sis Lexi on da catputer. It’s winter time in da South and dat means wonky weather and wonky mommy. She purromissed to try to do better. So anyways, weez on to our Mixer Monday. Me knows you really wanna know what me’s talkin’ ‘bout. As part of da Chewy.com bloggin’ team we get to review sum gweat purroducts, and da one we have fur ya’ today is no different.
As a lot of ya’ know mommy switched up me’s noms recently cuz of da Cystitis. At this point she sez it was kinda a blessin’ in disguise cuz she was able to get me close to eatin’ a raw diet. Me always luvved fureeze dried treats, but not at meal time. But now…dat’s all me eats. Happy Dezi equals happy mommy. So when Chewy offered to let us try da Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Mixers we was all in. Mommy chose da rabbit furmula fur us, cuz as ya’ know we do luv us sum ‘wascally wabbit’. Now let me tell ya’ these mixers ARE NOT a balanced diet. Dat means they can’t be fed by themselves as your kitty or doggies only food. Thus da name ‘Mixers’. Da ingredient list looks purretty pawsum.
Ingredients
Rabbit, pork liver, pork heart, pumpkinseeds, carrots, apples, butternut squash, ground flaxseed, montmorillonite clay, dried kelp, broccoli, mixed tocopherols, apple cider vinegar, salmon oil, rosemary extract, blueberries, dried chicory root
They look like little cylindrical pellets and have a crunch to them. Ifin you’re tryin’ to get your kitty off of da dry kibble they wuld make a gweat topper to get fluffy eatin’ better. Da pieces vary a little in size, and me’s a picky girly and likes everythin’ to be bite size; so mommy has to bweak up da larger pieces. Mommy sez they’re not so hard dat her arthritic hands can’t manage it. And they be made here in U.S. facilities. They come in a 6 ounce bag and fur kitties they come in 2 flavors, chicken and da rabbit we tried. Now dat da business be behind us, let’s get on wiff da eatin’. Sissy why don’t you tell everypawdy what you think ‘bout da Instinct Raw Boosters Mixers?
Faynkz Dezi. I lubz da rabbit mixerz. Mommy addz lotz of water to mine and they puff up a little and don’t habz da saym krunch az they do dry, but they still tayzt grayt. I hayng over da edge of da tayble waytin’ fur mommy to bring my playt. She sez she’z worried I’z gunna topple off da tayble one of theze dayz. But dat’z not da poynt. I give theze Mixerz 4 pawz up.
Fanks sissy. Me’s gotta tell ya’ me worries da same thing. Anyways, glad you like ‘em. Now on to me’s ‘pinion. Me has never been da kitty dat meowed fur her meal. Me waited patiently and quietly fur mommy to bring me’s plate. Well not anymore. As soon as me can see dat mommy has da food in our plates, me runs to da livin’ room where me eats and starts meowin’ fur mommy to hurry up and bring me’s plate. As me sed earlier, mommy has to bweak up da larger bits but me licks da plate clean. So me gives these Mixers 4 paws up too. So dat’s 8 paws up fur da Instinct Raw Boost Mixers. Mommy, what do you think?
Well Dezi I like that you girls love them. And I like that the first ingredient is meat. Altho’ the bag is only 6 ounces, there’s actually a lot in it. They work great to stretch out your regular food since most freeze dried food is expensive and comes in small sizes. They also would have been a great choice for transitioning you from kibble to good food. And I like that the price, under $15.00 makes them affordable. So I give the Instinct Raw Boost Mixers 2 thumbs up.
Fanks mommy. So duz dat mean we’ll be getting’ more? While mommy thinks dat over, me wants to tell ya’ dat we received these Mixers furee of charge fur our honest opinion. We didn’t get any gween papers, but hey, sissy and me can’t eat da gween anyways. Furee didn’t change our opinion as you know we always tell it like it is, good bad or otherwise. And we only share those things we use or have tried ourselves and think wuld be of innerest to you all. Member to check out all da pawsum purroducts at Chewy. They have gweat purrices, customer service, shipping and even auto ship so you never run out of your furries favorite noms, treats or supplies. There’s a new blog hop where you can see all da purroducts reviewed and read everypet’s ‘pinion on what they got. Just click here and check it out.
We have a lot of things to pack into this last week of January so stay tuned. And…
Till da next time………………………………………..Be Blest!!!
Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses
Dezi and Lexi
Dezi’s New Favorite Food
Me knows da question on all your minds is…what food is Dezi eating? Right? You all know me was a BB addict. And dat when mommy started this food change me was not a willing purrticipant. She had tried to change meez foods lots of times fru da years, but me wuld always go on a hunger strike till meez bowl was full of da old BB. And fur all of ya’ dat suggested a slow change, she did dat. Do you think us kitties can’t smell sumfin’ different in our plates? Me kuld smell a mile away dat there was sumfin’ new mixed with meez fave noms. And when me did finally try sum of it, well me tummy and bloomers paid da price. You know it’s not just outward change dat kitties don’t do well with. Mommy hadn’t had too clean meez bloomers in months when all this started.
And then finally it happened. Me got on board all da way with da change. OMC Da smell emanatin’ from meez plate was sooooooo amazin’. Mommy you did real good. Me luvs da new food.
- Yummm mmmm mmmm Don’t bother me right now, meez eatin’.
I know you do baby and I’m so happy about that. And no tummy upsets or dirty bloomers during this switch either.
No mommy there sure wasn’t. and now when you tell peeps meez poop don’t stink you’ll be tellin’ da absolute truth.
Yes angel you are right. So now that you’ve got everybody intrigued why don’t I explain. I will never know the whole truth about Deztinee’s first 3 weeks of life but when she came to me she was malnourished and close to death. She apparently hadn’t eaten in a while because she didn’t want to suckle and the rescue had been told she was 6 weeks old and eating solid food. A bit impossible without actual teeth. Dezi’s never been a huge eater but the BB was the only thing she would consistently eat. She was terribly picky and always insisted on dry kibble or she wouldn’t eat canned. I know some of you have cats who won’t eat wet food no matter what so you understand part of my struggle. Her favorite treats are freeze dried chicken breasts, but she won’t eat them as a meal. I know, she’s a little…but she’s mine and so we do what we must.
So as you all know if you read our post on Sterile Cystitis, I started researching supplements, foods, pretty much anything that would fix my baby and keep this from ever happening again. And that’s when I came across the Wysong website. I recalled the name from a very long time ago, but had never actually tried any of their products. The more I looked at their website the more I liked what I saw. Wysong makes products for the whole family. They have pet foods, supplements, household products and even products for humans. A few emails later and they were gracious enough to send out a veriety of food for the girls, especially Dezi to try. I had already picked up their urine pH supplement and was hopeful that at least one of the foods would appeal to Dezi.
We received a bag of Wysong Uretic Feline Formula dry kibble. Being a diet formulated by a veterinarian with the urinary tract in mind meant we must try it. It wasn’t my first choice for a long term diet, but only because it’s still kibble and ideally I would like to get Dezi away from dry food altogether. But of the foods we received this was the most traditional kibble so it was also the first I offered her. And to my surprise, she picked every piece out from the bottom of her plate and ate them. She left behind the other kibble and then asked for more. Kibble or not, I was thrilled and gladly gave her a whole plate full which she ate up in no time. The real test came later when she used the litter box. No tummy upset and clean bloomers. And she ate as heartily at the next meal. Wysong also makes a Uretic canned food that we got to try.
Since Dezi accepted the Wysong food so well and her favorite treats are freeze dried I decided to bump up her transition. We also received a bag of Wysong Anergen 2 . This alternative protein rabbit formula is part kibble with chunks of freeze dried rabbit. So kibble to make Dezi happy and freeze dried to appease me. This formula is a step in the direction I would like to go in order to eventually switch her to a raw diet. But what did Deztinee think about it?
Oh meow mommy, me luvs wabbit. And me really likes da chunks of wabbit thru out da meal.
Yes Dezi took to it right away. And again no upset tummy, dirty bloomers or atrocious smell coming from the litter box. I love my baby, but oh my, everybody knew when she went to the litter box. Anyways, I wasn’t finished transitioning her. You’re probably wondering why I didn’t stop or slow way down and just be glad things were going so well. I just figured while she was in the mood to change, we might as well keep going. After all, Wysong had been generous enough to send my final choice; their original raw food diet called Archetype. This formula is designed to emulate the natural diet of felines and canines. They also make one for ferrets. We had the opportunity to try the chicken formula, but I will certainly be trying the other proteins as well, because the Archetype was a great hit. Both Dezi and Lexi love this food. This is a balanced diet that includes the necessary taurine for cats.
Archetype is a freeze dried formula that can be served as is or reconstituted with water. It’s easily breakable so it can be crumbled over the top of your pets food, given as a treat or made smaller for those pets that prefer a smaller bite like Dezi. It’s starch free and meat based so those carbohydrates Dezi was getting too much of are no longer a problem. It comes in a variety of proteins like chicken, rabbit, quail and pollock. Because it comes in a bag as freeze dried, feeding your pets a raw diet is made easier for those who don’t have the time to make raw, those who don’t want to deal with the raw proteins, or anyone who would just like a better quality diet for your furry friends.
- Oh this Archetype is sum yummy stuffs.
All of the formulas we tried are complete and balanced. Wysong also includes probiotics and prebiotics in all their formulas. Unlike some of the pet food manufacturers, Wysong doesn’t have a prescription line, but they will work with your veterinarian to make a prescription diet for your furry family member if needed. If you are interested in learning more about the reasons for a more natural raw food diet such as Archetype, you can read about it here or many other wonderful sites. Raw diets are wonderful, but they’re not all created equally or balanced. Please do your research before switching. You want to make sure your pet is getting a well balanced diet with all the nutrients they require in the right amounts.
I think that as pet parents we all want what’s best for our 4 legged family members and we’re label reading more and more these days. And I think a lot of us would love to feed our animals a high quality raw diet. But sometimes it’s just not possible for whatever reason, so we strive to do the best we can within our own limitations. We love the Wysong foods and think the Archetype line is a good option for those wanting as close to raw as possible. It is our fervent hope that we bring you more from Wysong as there’s just too much to cover in one post. For us, this works. Dezi has a new pep in her step and is feeling and looking better than she has in a while. We really do thank Wysong for sending us their great products to try.
- Meez gunna go eat now. come back fur part 3 to find out ’bout da supplements and stress relieving techniques weez usin’
We sure do mommy. Lexi and me luvved everything we tried. And meez glad you kept pushing me, cuz da Archetype sure is yummy. Me can’t wait to try da wabbit and quail. Hopefully da peeps at Wysong will wanna continue workin’ wiff us and send us more pawsum products to try and to tell everypawdy about. Now everypawdy knows what’s in meez plate. And let me tell ya’, me luvs it so much dat fur da furst time in a long time, meez plate gets emptied at meal time. Stay tuned fur our post ‘bout supplements and stress relief. As you all know we always tell it like it is. Wysong is not respawnsible fur da content of this post. And all yummies are totally da truth. You can connect wiff Wysong on their social media sites: twitter and facebook.
Dezi = Blue
Mommy = Black
Links are in Red
Till da next time……………………………..Be Blest!!!
Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses
Dezi and Lexi
But That’s Raw Mommy
Well mommy had sum big plans ‘bout makin’ sum big changes in da way weez eat wound here. She sez they awe still gunna happen, she’s just gotta find a diffewent way to go ‘bout it. See, sissy’s not da only picky eater wound here. Mommy sez it’s one of da worst twaits we picked up fwum her and isn’t good cuz ifin we was to get sick and need to change our noms it wuld be much easier ifin we liked a variety of fings. Sissy wasn’t picky at all afur hers got da CKD. She wuld eat anyfin’ mommy put in fwunt of her. But since she got sick dat’s just not da case anymore. She may like sumfin’ one meal and won’t touch it da next. And me…well meez always been dat way.
Anyways, mommy ‘cided a while back dat she was gunna at least supplement our meals wiff a raw food. She used to feed a raw diet years ago but stopped when one of sis Lexi’s bwofurs needed a special diet. At da time she didn’t know da fings she knows now and quickly put hims on da purrscwiption diet da VET wecommended. Hims had to go to heaven pawrtly cuz hims got to da point where hims wuldn’t eat da purrscwiption noms and da VET sed dat’s all hims kuld have. Mommy wuldn’t be so quick to jump on da purrscwiption diets anymore. Case in point, when sis Lexi was diagnosed wiff CKD and da VET sed she needed to be eatin’ purrscwiption noms, mommy sed let me do sum wesearch furst.
So mommy dug in and read anyfin’ and everyfin’ she kuld find ‘bout CKD cats and da bestest food fur them. She was shocked to find da only weal study confurmin’ these purrscwiption noms was dun years ago by Hill’s Pet. And every udder purrscwiption food purrvider just jumped on da Hill’s band wagon. Da one fing cats need to not only survive but thrive, purrotein, is cut way back in these diets. So dat an older cat who is alweady facin’ muscle wastin’ and poor appetites is now getting a very small amount of purrotein. Fankfully there was quite a few studies dun since then on a much smaller level by VETs and Animal Nutritionists dat cited smaller amounts of purrotein fur da carnivorous cat wiff CKD dusn’t weally do anyfin’ to keep da disease fwum purrgwessin’. Stead these studies show dat da carnivorous feline actually needs high quality purrotein and less phosphorous. And dat a balanced raw diet kuld be very beneficial. So mommy set ‘bout to make dat happen.
Mommy stawrted chattin’ it up wiff da Raw Paws Pet Food peeps and it was decided dat we wuld twy out sum of their raw purroteins and write up a weview. So mommy ordered us sum chicken, duck, beef and quail. Yep weez like a variety of meats. These were al gwound wiff bone and organs alweady gwound into da meats. Raw Paws sells quite a few diffewent purroteins fur da kitty and da doggy. And they come in a variety of sizes. We got 5 pound chubs of da gwound meats and bone we chose ‘cept fur da quail which came in a 2 pound container. They awwived mostly furozen in a small disposable ice chest wiff dwy ice. There was a small amount of thawin’ and sum blood, so ifin yous have an issue wiff bloods, you might want sumpawdy else to unpack it fur ya’. Course yous gunna have to deal wiff it later when yous go ’bout thawin’ it fur yous furry to eat. Mommy put on hers gloves and pulled da chubs out and washed them off and stuck them in da fureezer fur later.
Da day finally came when mommy ‘cided it was time to stawrt our twansition. A while back our furiend Christy Paws had hers mommy send us sum of da supplements wequired fur feedin’ da raw foods cuz dat’s all they eat. So mommy thawed da meat and bones and added our supplements and offered Lexi and me a little taste afur puttin’ in our plates. We boff weadily ate da little bite sample so mommy ‘citedly went ‘bout makin’ our dinner plates. Sis Lexi went to town and even asked fur seconds. She sure did seem to luv dat quail. She ate 2 whole plate fulls in less than 30 minutes. Me kittens, mommy and me was weally happy. So dat’s 4 paws up fwum sis Lexi. But then it was meez turn. (scwoll over sissys fotos to read da captions)
I’z want mower din a bite mommy
Yummmmmy diz iz berry good. I’z gunna want sekundz in a miniit.
Me looked at da plate mommy had put in fwunt of me, and looked up at her standin’ there wiff da camewa hopin’ to get a foto of me scawfin’ down dat quail just like sissy did. Me didn’t have to get too close as da smell was purretty stwong even fawther away. Well, stead of puttin’ meez head down and munchin’ away, me walked over to mommy and rubbed hers leg and meowed fur her to feed me sumfin’ else. Mommy petted me a little and told me it was yummy and da same fing me had just eaten fwum hers hand. All me kuld fink was dat da bite fwum da hand was a tweat not a meal. And now dat it was meal time me wanted meez weal noms. MOL Me still hasn’t eaten it outta meez plate, only fwum mommys hand. So me gives it 1 paw up. Meez just not so sure ‘but this plateful of raw meat. Me didn’t even want it after mommy cooked it a bit. So, back to da drawin’ board on ways to get me to eat raw food.
- Hmmmm smells good. Tastes good too. Fanks fur da tweat mommy. Now, where’s dinner?
Raw Paws Pet Food web site is purretty easy to navigate and da customer service peeps awe very nice and fairly helpful. They sell foods called completes dat awe posed to be nutritionally complete. However, where da supplements they use come fwum is not stated and is of a little concern. When feeding raw yous need to be certain dat it twuly meets yous cats nutwitional needs.. Even unnew da cat da purroteins da statement is dat they awe nutwitionally complete based on what a dog wequires in a 80/10/10 ratio. They have made sum changes to their website since we placed our order, but it’s still purretty easy to get wound. They offer furee shippiing on your furst order over $99.00 and a furee raw feeding consultation. Ifin yous be a busy workin’ purrson lookin’ to implement a raw diet, Raw Paws might just be what yous lookin’ fur. It’s convenient and shipped wight to yous door. They also have tweats and offur an auto delivery purrogwam. Just member to make sure yous awe givin’ a nutwitionally complete meal to yous kitty. Dat may include addin’ sum supplements like mommy did.
Till da next time……………….Be Blest!!!
Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses
Dezi and Lexi
Service Cats U.S. 