Jewel's Visiting

We've had Jewel staying with us for almost a week now.  We really like having her around!

After experimenting with her renal food, I've discovered that she WILL NOT eat it!  She's quite stubborn.  She won't eat it warm or cold, with water or without water, by itself or mixed with other food.  She'd only take a couple of bites and walk away.

I think she's lost more weight in the last month, though I'm not completely sure because I don't have a scale, so I decided it would probably be best for her to eat what she wants instead of trying to force her to eat the kidney food.  Tonight, I gave her the same stuff Milita eats, and Jewel ate nearly all of it!

Our vet doesn't open until Jan 2, which is when Carmine goes in for his three-month anal gland expression, and Milita goes in for her yearly check-up.  While I'm there, I will confirm that we are doing the right thing with Jewel here.  Her kidney medication goes on her wet food, though, so she wasn't getting hardly any before.  I figure it's better for her to eat something and get her medication than not.  I think the vet expressed the same sentiment to her dad, but I will double check.  I went to the CRF website and found several canned food options that have low phosphorus, protein, and sodium, and a higher fat content, and I plan to get Jewel some of those for her to eat.  She will still be eating her k/d kibbles as she doesn't seem to mind eating those.

I'll be sad when she leaves.  It's been nice having her around again.  Here, she's decided to take over one of Carmine's cubes.  He doesn't seem to mind sharing with her :)

We hope that everyone is well and had a good Christmas!  

Mancat Monday

This contraption came into our home on Saturday.

Mom says you walk on it, but Milita and I think it's made for us kitties to sit on!

Merry Christmas Eve to you all!!

Junior Got His Wings

I am very sad to report that Junior got his wings today.  I was hoping he could pull through.

If you haven't already, please stop by his blog and give his mommy some condolences.

A Competition for the Most Pet-Friendly Workplace

Nestlé Purina PetCare is currently accepting nominations for the Purina Pets at Work contest.  The company wants to reward the nation's most pet-friendly company.  Nominations are being accepted until January 15, 2013.

Purina will reward the most pet-friendly company in the United States with $5,000 in pet-related materials.  It will also donate $10,000 to a local pet charity.  John O'Hurley will present the winning company with the award.

According to CatChannel, in a study published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management in March 2012, it was discovered that employees who brought their dogs to work with them experienced more job satisfaction and less stress than those who didn't.  I'd like to add that I've brought my cat to work with me in the past, and I was much more content than on days I didn't bring her to work (I only had Milita at the time).

To nominate your company as the most pet-friendly, you must write an essay describing how pets make a positive difference in the workplace and why your day is better for you when you have your pet at work.  You must also provide three to five photos showing that your workplace is pet-friendly, and describe your company's Pets at Work program.

The winner will be announced sometime in Spring.

You can learn more about the contest by visiting Purina's website.

Sources:

CatChannel: Dog- and Cat-Friendly Companies Competition

Purina: Pets at Work


Disclaimer: I did not receive any compensation for posting about this contest.  Nor did Purina ask me to post about their contest.  

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday With Carmine

Moooooooooom!  It's time to pay attention to ME!  NOW!!

Purrs and Prayers for Junior

Could everyone please purr and pray for our friend Junior?  He is a very sick little kitty and his mom is very worried about him.

We are also sad to report that we have updated our Purrs & Prayers and Rainbow Bridge pages.

More Stars!

We have received two more stars!  One came from Cherry City Kitties, and the other one came from Celestial Kitties.  Thank you!!  We now has three stars :)

We would like to award more stars to some more of our friends.

We'd like to give one to the Kwee Cats, a new bloggie friend of ours :)

We want to give a star to fourwhitepaws because they do a lot for the precious feral babies.

We also think Homeless Cat Care deserves a star for their work with the feral kitties, too.

The rules to the award can be found here:
http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/ 

We hope everyone is well!

Update on Jewel

As many of you probably recall, Jewel has been diagnosed with kidney disease.  We tried her on the Hill's prescription k/d, but she didn't like it.  So, we asked the vet for a new prescription for the Royal Canin LP wet food.  We got some last weekend, but....she doesn't like that, either. :(

I am going to call around to try to find out which vets around here have the Purina N/F stuff, but I've never even heard of it until some of you kindly told me about it.  If worse comes to worse, we can order it online, I'm sure, but it'd be nice to know if she likes it before we order a bunch of it.

In other news, Jewel will be staying with us over Christmas and I am very excited to see her again! I haven't seen her since I went to the vet with her and her daddy (though her daddy keeps me informed of how she's doing).  I'm sure Carmine will be very happy to see Jewel again, too!

In January, Jewel will get tested for hyperthyroidism again as she was "borderline" hyperthyroid in November.

I just worry about her.  I love her so much. <3 nbsp="nbsp" p="p">

We Got a Star!!!

I had planned on posting in here over the weekend, but I got very sick on Sunday.

Milita: I laid on mommy for a little bit while hers was on the couch.

Carmine: I slept by mommy's feet most of the day while hers was in bed. Sometimes I would come up by her face and let her pet me, too.

I am still recovering from being sick, but feeling better today.

In other news, we got a star from Nerissa's Life. Yaaaaaaay!!  We feel quite honored that somebody thought of us! :)

Here are the rules of this award:
http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/

Now we get to give stars to some of our favorite bloggies!

We wants to give a star to Celestial Kitties because Star and Leo are great friends and we love that their human helps raise money for babies in need. It's fantastic!!

We also want to give a star to Eric and Flynn - they always has such good pictures and we love reading about their adventures!

We also want to give a star to Cherry City Kitties.  They has a great bloggie!

And a star for The Island Cats!  Ernie and Wally are nice kitty friends to us.

And while she is already at capactiy, we are returning a star to Nerissa at Nerissa's Life.  We thank you again for thinking of us! :)

Jewel Update

I thought it was time to give everyone another update about Jewel.

She is eating her k/d kibbles, but she does not like her k/d canned food and won't eat it.  So her daddy called the vet today, and he has a prescription for her to try the Royal Canin LP.  I know several of you mentioned your kitties liked the Purina NF, but I couldn't find any stores that sold it here (Colorado).

Hopefully she will like the Royal Canin stuff better.  She needs to eat her wet noms.

Pet Poison Helpline Now Smart Phone Friendly

Pet Poison Helpline has recently released an iPhone app that contains a database of over 200 toxic substances for pets.  

The app, called "Pet Poison Help," features a full-color photo and description of over 200 toxic substances, such as medications, plants, food, and household cleaning chemicals often found around the house or yard.  The symptoms a pet may experience after ingestion as well as the severity of the poison ("mild to moderate" or "moderate to severe") are also displayed for each substance.  

It is important to note that potential antidotes and in-depth treatment options are not offered in this app, as Pet Poison Helpline feels pet owners should always seek out the advice of a professional when dealing with a potential pet poisoning.  However, pet owners can call Pet Poison Helpline directly from the app.

You can download the Pet Poison Help app from iTunes for $1.99 here.  You do not need cell service or Internet service to access this app from your phone.

For those without iPhones (like me), you may want to check out the organization's new mobile-enabled site, which also provides valuable information.  The site contains a list of poisonous substances as well as emergency information on how to deal with a poisoned cat or dog.  As with the app, you can call Pet Poison Helpline directly from the organization's mobile-enabled site.  You can view the new mobile-enabled site by entering www.petpoisonhelpline.com into your phone.  

Pet Poison Helpline is available 24 hours a day to help you if your pet gets poisoned.  They charge a $39 fee, which covers your initial call as well as any follow-up calls concerning that specific poisoning case.  You can reach Pet Poison Helpline by calling 800-213-6680.

If you think your pet is suffering from poisoning, please seek medical attention for him or her.  

You can learn more about the organization by visiting the Pet Poison Helpline website.  

Source:

Pet Poison Helpline: New iPhone Application and Mobile-Enabled Website

Getting Kitty to Eat?

Jewel's daddy reports that she would not eat any of her k/d wet foods today.  I suggested he warm it up for her a little, but she still didn't want it.  She just may not have been hungry today, but I don't want her to miss too many wet meals and doses of her Epakitin.

Does anyone have any other suggestions on how we can get her to eat?  I know several of you said your kitties like/d the Purina n/f noms.  Do you need a prescription for those?  Where can you buy them?

I think if she continues to refuse her k/d wet until Tuesday, I'll see if her daddy can call our vet and get her a prescription for something else she might like better.  I just like having information ahead of time, in case we need it.

Hopefully Jewel will decide she wants her k/d though. :)

Thank you, everyone, for all the purrs, prayers, encouragement, advice, and resources you've provided us with.  We don't know what we'd do without all of our awesome kitty friends and their human companions! <3 p="p">