feeding time

Shadow had a scheduled vet visit last week. He’d been scratching his ear again and while we have medication which we use for it, we looked at his records and realized he was due for some boosters anyway.

He and I ended up there a day early with an emergency visit due to something else entirely.

Shadow has some crystals where there shouldn’t be crystals.

He is doing much better now. (So am I)

I am happy I was working from my home office at the time and was able to see a rapid change in his condition and take him.

What does this have to do with my post category of food?

He is now on a new diet to help dissolve the crystals and hopefully prevent more from forming. He has a few new water bowls around the house too. While he has access to clean water all over the house we decided to make it even easier.

Please, your cat will probably eat dry food without complaint, but supplement it with more canned food than I was doing. I wasn’t being cheap and trying to make a small can last longer, I just didn’t stop to realize the importance of it to his diet. He was getting water, however, most likely not nearly enough.

There is another side to this coin, however. You need to be careful that you don’t over feed yourself or your pet. Pet obesity is growing, as is human obesity. There’s an article in today’s Wall Street Journal, “When Man’s Best Friend Is Obese” which covers some of the basics on the issue. Read the serving sizes included with the food you buy for your pet (they generally go by weight) and talk to your vet about what is right for your situation.

We hope Shadow’s current diet is temporary and that we can then maintain his health with food more easily accessible. Yes, there will be more canned food in his diet.

I highly recommend Meadow Veterinary Hospital— both the staff and Dr Mendez for being able to see Shadow at the last minute and following up on him yesterday by phone. Dr Mendez took an unhappy and uncomplaining Shadow for an ultrasound and explained to me what she was doing and why. She made sure that we knew not just the phone number and services of the local emergency veterinary hospital, but also identified another which might be faster for us if we needed it (may we not). She also took a few moments to look at a sample before she sent it to the lab for confirmation and sent me home with Shadow’s new diet. The staff is friendly to everyone and knowledgeable as well.

Please, take your furry friend for routine health checkups, preventative care saves lives! If you notice a change in behaviour make that visit now!

Here’s to healthy, happy, and well fed pets!

p.s. Shadow’s ears are fine.

• Category: food, kitten