Not much physical progress today

[chochiyo_sama]

I didn't accomplish much--at least not much in my house.  I did catch up on my journal entries--I had been keeping notes so when I had time I could sit down and type everything up.  It is a little different when you are going "back in time," but at least everything has been documented. 

I did clean up five piles of cat vomit--two on the pink bathroom rug and three in  the living room on the hard wood floor.  At least it wasn't on the large area rugs which are a pain in the ass to clean.  The pink rug is small enough to throw in the washer once the puke pile is removed.

Ugh.

I spend too much time dealing with cat vomit.

I have been wanting to get back to writing daily again--so last night I signed up for Camp Nanowrimo--I have several ideas that have been floating around in my head, and I think having the Nano connection will be a good motivator.  I miss my friends at the IDBoF--but the place, which used to be a thriving internet community for book discussions and fun, is now a ghost town.  I miss those people.  Laurie has died.  Kvetch and GG have grown up, gone to college, and become real adults.  Only God knows what Brad is up to.  Last I heard, he and his wife were mourning their inability to have children and thinking of adoption.  I am thinking of them because they were my biggest fans and encouragers when I was writing regularly.  They would beg me for "more story" when I wasn't right on top of my daily goal--which was 1,500 words. The feedback was constant, honest, and intelligent as all of them--even the "kids" who were still in high school, were extremely intelligent and well read.  I miss that.

Ah, well.  Maybe I can find another writers' group on line that I can get involved with.

At least, starting on July 1, I am going to start writing 1,500 words a day again--now that I am retired, it should be a piece of cake. When I did it before, I was teaching full time and working like a dog. 

My goal for Friday is to continue working on my office area--it is the last place on the main floor that is still a cluttered mess.  There is a bunch of "paper" stuff that needs to be filed or tossed as well as a lot of pictures that need to be dealt with.  I have only sporadically and limitedly put pictures into albums for the last several years.  I have tons of pictures that are lying in boxes and tons more that exist only digitally.  I would like to get those all dealt with.  That may be my winter project. 

I should also take my car down to the gas station and fill the tank. It is almost to a quarter of a tank, and I have to take mom to two doctor's appointments next week.  Jack is taking her to Rochester on Friday as I just cannot walk all over the Mayo Clinic--and she can't see well enough to find her way around that huge place.  Jack used to guard prisoners who had to be taken to the Clinic or hospital there, so he knows his way around  there.  I wish I could wander around there--it is incredibly beautiful in places--lots of art and fountains--even a grand piano where a guy sits and plays throughout the day.

I have some boiled potatoes that I want to turn into potato salad today, and I have some blankets in the dryer that need to be folded and put into the linen closet.  I have a ton of stuff recorded on the DVR, including The Coneheads, which I need to watch and delete. I can probably do some of that while working in the office as I have a clear view of the Living Room TV from  the Office. 

There isn't much else from Thursday to report on. 

I am looking forward to getting back into my writing.

Comments

[the_godiva]

Why are they vomiting so much? That just doesn't seem normal. Not even with all of the cat hair and grooming.

You really do need to get back to writing. That is probably some of why you have been so depressed the past few years. Not just losing everything physically but your circumstances took your writing away from you.

I just filled the tank on Wednesday as my two gas points were going to expire on Friday and at the time I thought I'd be at my parents' house. Since I'm taking the month off from the gym and pool class, the tank might last me longer, even though I am going to the watercolor workshop for three days and driving to San Juan Capistrano July 18th. Still excited about that concert, even the Yelp reviews say the food is overpriced, mediocre and service is lousy. Yeah, they take advantage because you are a captive audience with no choice. If you want to good seat, you have to order dinner and they can charge whatever they want and only need to barely meet health laws. But I don't care. It's Tommy Emmanuel.

[chochiyo_sama]

I am switching them to a grain free diet. Cats were not meant to eat a diet consisting mainly of grain, which is what most cat foods are made of...Cats are true carnivores. They need primarily meat protein in their diets. I have purchased a food that is without grain and artificial coloring. It is mostly salmon, chicken, and sweet potatoes. I have read that pumpkin is excellent for cats as it helps their digestion. Sweet potatoes are very similar to pumpkin, so I am hoping for the best. Peaches is my puker. She devoured the new food with gusto. I hope it doesn't take too long for her system to adapt to the new food.

[the_godiva]

Yeah, I did the same with the dogs when I had Caesar and Goliath. It costs more, but in the long run your dogs live longer if you don't feed them crap. With Caesar and Goliath I took them off anything with corn. With Ramses I went even further and checked the protein percentages. He was on a 35% protein food with fruits and vegetables in it (because they are almost omnivores) but when he developed the chicken allergy I switched to lamb and salmon. Then after the last vet visit I put him on a diet with only 24% protein as he's a senior dog now, but it still has the other healthy ingredients.

I know cats need a LOT more protein than dogs, which is why dogs will eat cat poop if they can get it. Like little treats nature provides for free.

She may be puking because she is eating too fast. That gulping is a result of competition with Stewie, wolfing it down so he can't get any. That can also cause puking.

It wouldn't hurt to rotate their protein flavors a bit if they'd allow it.

I think the sweet potatoes are an unneeded filler, like pumpkins but even cheaper. Check the percentage of proteins (good quality). Is it high enough? And is it meat meal or meat and bone meal? You want to avoid the ones with bone meal as it's cheaper grade and has more filler.

What kind of protein is in that cat food? If it isn't quite 50%, would it be worth it to add a raw egg to it? Egg is the absolute best protein to give both dogs and cats. The vet said I can give Ramses egg even though he's allergic to chicken because egg protein is different than chicken.

At their age, it wouldn't hurt to give them a few supplements in case it is a lack of some enzymes. Wouldn't hurt them any.

Oh, my! This looks just like shadow kitty. Black, same eyes and just as skinny. I wonder if shadow kitty has hyperthyroidism rather than is just skinny?

https://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2011/11/optimal-protein-requirements-for-older.html

Says 52% protein, 36% fat and 12% carbohydrate for inactive cats. Your cats are pretty inactive.

Boy, that's not only a lot of protein it is a lot of fat. But I guess it's needed to grease the tubes because of all that hair they eat.

This is interesting:

"However, energy requirement sharply and progressively increase again in these cats when they become older, starting at 10 to 12 years of age. "

"In addition to an increased caloric intake, older cats also require higher amounts of protein to maintain protein reserves compared with younger adult cats. As cats age, they absorb and metabolize protein less efficiently — therefore, it’s extremely important to feed high-quality protein (i.e., animal source rather than grain-based), as well as an adequate quantity of protein to aging cats.

It's very clear that not all proteins are created equal, especially when feeding a obligate carnivore, such as the cat. The biological value of a protein is a measure of that protein's ability to supply amino acids (especially the 11 essential amino acids) and to supply these amino acids in the proper proportions. It is well-established that animal proteins (e.g., meat, meat by-products) have a higher biological values than vegetable proteins (e.g., corn gluten meal, soybean meal, soy protein isolate)."

"In the short digestive tract of cats, plant proteins are far less digestible than meat proteins. "

"To help maintain lean body mass and promote optimum health, geriatric cats should receive diets that will provide 6.0-8.5 g of high quality protein per kg body weight per day, or diets that provide at least 50% of calories or metabolizable energy (ME) as protein. "

"So how do we calculate how much protein a commercial cat food diet actually contains? Here is how I do the calculation:

First determine the grams of food in a can or cup of food feed.

For canned diets, there are 28.3 g per oz of canned food, so a 5.5-oz can of food contains ~156 grams of food.

For dry food diets, remember that a cup is a measurement for volume, whereas a gram is measurement of weight, so there is not a general conversion of cups to grams. Depending on size and density of the dry kibble, one 8-oz. cup may hold under 3 oz (~85 g) to over 4 oz (~113 g) of food. To determine the weight (oz or g) in a cup of dry food, look for the information listed on the product bag or manufacturer's website; otherwise, email or call the company to find the information.

Second, look up the moisture content for the canned or dry formulations.

Most canned foods contain about 75% water, so that leaves us with 25% dry matter. In a can containing 156 g of food, that leaves us with 39 g of dry matter (i.e., 156 g X .25 = 39 g).

Most dry foods contain about 10% moisture, leaving 90% of dry matter. In a cup of dry food (113 g), that leaves us with ~102 g of dry matter (i.e., 113 g X 0.9 = 101.7 g).

Third, look up the diet’s percent protein on a dry matter basis (DMB), again from the information on the can or bag or from the information on the company’s website.

If the food contains 30% protein (DMB), that means the diet contains 30 g of protein per 100 g of dry matter. This is true for either a canned or dry diet.

Finally, multiple the grams of food (DMB) contained in a can or cup of dry food by the percent of protein (DMB) in each can or cup.

If a 5.5-oz can of diet has 75% moisture and 30% protein on a DMB, then that food contains 11.7 g protein/can of food (39 g X 30% = 11.7 g).

If the same can has 75% moisture and 50% protein on a DMB, then that that diet contains 19.5 g protein/can of food (39 g X 50% = 19.5 g).

If a cup of dry food has 10% moisture and 30% protein on a DMB, then that food contains 30.6 g protein/cup of food (102 g X 30% = 30.6 grams)."

[chochiyo_sama]

Shadow Kitty probably has worms or other parasites. Most feral cats do. You could buy a wormer and put it over some food for her and get the worms out of her system.

If she has worms and Candy eats her poop (which dogs will if they get the chance), she could also get worms.

Now somewhere I read that pumpkin and sweet potato was good for cats and helped them with digestive issues. That's one of the reasons I got that food, thinking it would help Peaches digest her food.

I'll have to speak to the vet and see what she says about the food. My cats eat exclusively dry food, though Peaches will eat ice cream and bread if she gets the chance. She is a bit of a scavenger. Stewie doesn't seem interested in people food. Weirdly, he likes to chew on plastic bags. He doesn't eat them, just chews them. He's just odd.