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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / December 2003Hi to you guys! Some newbie help please?
First I'd like to say Hi to you guys, I'm a new cat owner, just over 3 weeks and counting although my SO has had cats most of her life. If anyone is interested you can view pictures of our new boys at the following links http://www.stevencook.net/images/benny.jpg http://www.stevencook.net/images/chooch.jpg We got them from our local Cats Protection in Scotland, UK. They are 8yrs old and are everything we'd hoped for! The main reason for this post is that we have been feeding them IAMS, and although the boys absolutley love the stuff I have been shocked by some of the stuff I've read about their "research" techniques. Most of the stuff I have read has been "old" and I'm wondereing if they have cleaned up their act recently, if not can someone recommend an alternate dry product we can switch them to? Also, we live in a small one bedroom flat/apartment and are currently trying to get them to use a covered litter tray with varying levels of success.It doesn't half reek when they drop one! Does anyone have any tips on converting them to such a tray? Steve. > First I'd like to say Hi to you guys, I'm a new cat owner, just over 3 > weeks and counting although my SO has had cats most of her life. If [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Steve. Are they brothers? Sure look alike. I switched off Iams when Johsnon bought them. I really don't know what to believe about "research" anymore. Whenever food comes up here it's a big issue. As I understand it, food is much better in the UK supposedly. So, I think you just need to do what you can. Most posters here are US so it will be different anyway. As for the litter box, what type of litter do you use? that makes a big difference. Again, I don't know what brands you have over there, though I believe the choice is less. Karen Dec 2003: > First I'd like to say Hi to you guys, I'm a new cat owner, just over 3 > weeks and counting although my SO has had cats most of her life. If [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > 8yrs old and are everything we'd hoped for! > Awww.. congrats and thank you for adopting some "oldsters". :) They are darling! Can't comment about your questions but love the pics.  SignatureCheryl "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do." - Helen Keller > Also, we live in a small one bedroom flat/apartment and are currently > trying to get them to use a covered litter tray with varying levels of > success.It doesn't half reek when they drop one! Does anyone have any > tips on converting them to such a tray? If you mean that they don't always want to use the litter box, try an uncovered one, too, next to the covered one. See if they prefer it. You may also want to try a different litter if the uncovered box doesn't work. Cathy -- "Staccato signals of constant information..." ("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon Yes, a lot of cats do not like covered litter boxes. Try an uncovered, large one. Gail > First I'd like to say Hi to you guys, I'm a new cat owner, just over 3 > weeks and counting although my SO has had cats most of her life. If [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Steve. Hi Steven , James Wellbeloved and Burns are often recommended on UK newsgroups . You'll find their websites on the search machine Google . Alison > First I'd like to say Hi to you guys, I'm a new cat owner, just over 3 > weeks and counting although my SO has had cats most of her life. If [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Steve. > Hi Steven , > James Wellbeloved and Burns are often recommended on UK newsgroups > . You'll find their websites on the search machine Google . > Alison For reasons I've never understood; far too full of carbs for me. Steve, ideally you should be aiming to feed tinned food. You might want to look into Yarrah or Denes. If you need to feed dry food, say when you are out at work, I'd recommend Royal Canin. HTH Helen > "> Steve, ideally you should be aiming to feed tinned food. You might want to > look into Yarrah or Denes. If you need to feed dry food, say when you are > out at work, I'd recommend Royal Canin. > > HTH > > Helen Hi Helen , I actually feed Kim on Yarrahs and Denes as she has to have a wet diet. Yarrahs I buy at Waitroses and Denes from a near by garden centre pet shop . Alison > > "> Steve, ideally you should be aiming to feed tinned food. You > might want to [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > diet. Yarrahs I buy at Waitroses and Denes from a near by garden > centre pet shop . Alison It's do as I say here, Alison, lol, not do as I do - my cats won't eat Denes. It's too dry for their taste. Haven't tracked down Yarrah locally, but there's a Waitrose near my husband's place of work so looks like he'll now be lugging catfood home with him... Helen > The main reason for this post is that we have been feeding them IAMS, > and although the boys absolutley love the stuff I have been shocked by > some of the stuff I've read about their "research" techniques. Most > of the stuff I have read has been "old" and I'm wondereing if they > have cleaned up their act recently, if not can someone recommend an > alternate dry product we can switch them to? I don't know if you get it out there in UK, but I feed my kids a mix of Natural Life and Eagle Pack kibble. I stopped feeding mine Iams when I found better stuff for the same price, and could have it delivered to my door. Good luck with your new kids. SignatureDennis Carr - ke6isf@spamcop.net | I may be out of my mind, http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way. ------------------------------------+------------------------------- Congratutions on your new cats; they are adorable! I have to be honest, I never had good success with getting my cat to like a covered box. In fact, I think using a covered box contributed to his starting to spray. There were other issues too, but having a covered box did not help. Also, I'm not a big fan of Iams, but that's just my opinion. Sue > First I'd like to say Hi to you guys, I'm a new cat owner, just over 3 > weeks and counting although my SO has had cats most of her life. If [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Steve. >First I'd like to say Hi to you guys, I'm a new cat owner, just over 3 >weeks and counting although my SO has had cats most of her life. If [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > >Steve. They are fine looking kids. Were they littermates? Thanks to everyone who has responded so far! Yes, the boys are brothers and also litter mates. We have been using the same litter that we've used in the un-covered tray, so that shouldn't be the issue, they just seem unsure about going in! We're having more success now that we taped the flap open. I guess we'll just keep our fingers crossed they get used to it... Steve. There are boxes in the US with hoods, but with a dorrway cut out (no flap). Maybe this would be a compromise. Gail > Thanks to everyone who has responded so far! > Yes, the boys are brothers and also litter mates. We have been using [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Steve. > There are boxes in the US with hoods, but with a dorrway cut out (no flap). > Maybe this would be a compromise. The only sort of covered litterbox I've ever seen in the UK - but now I'm off to look for one with a flap, lol. Helen >> There are boxes in the US with hoods, but with a dorrway cut out (no >flap). [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >Helen Helen, We got it at Pets at Home, it was about £17 or so.. They had a more expensive one too but it looked a bit too fancy for what we needed! Steven. > First I'd like to say Hi to you guys, I'm a new cat owner, just over 3 > weeks and counting although my SO has had cats most of her life. If [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > http://www.stevencook.net/images/chooch.jpg Cute. :) > > The main reason for this post is that we have been feeding them IAMS, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > have cleaned up their act recently, if not can someone recommend an > alternate dry product we can switch them to? I have yet to hear about Proctor & Gamble (owners of IAMS) switching their ways. See http://www.iamskills.com/ I feed a mix of Purina Pro Plan, NutroMax, and Wellness (when I can get it). This is because I can't decide between PP and NM and I can't always get Wellness. heh My cats like all 3. > Also, we live in a small one bedroom flat/apartment and are currently > trying to get them to use a covered litter tray with varying levels of > success.It doesn't half reek when they drop one! Does anyone have any > tips on converting them to such a tray? > My cats have always used a covered box, no flap. I get the biggest size there is so no one feels "trapped" or claustrophobic. Some cats just don't like these, though, so you may never get them to use one. Try cutting out one more hole in the back or small "windows" in it if they seem reticent to go in a closed space. Signature-- ~kaeli~ She was engaged to a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off. http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace Iams used to be considered a quality food. After they were bought by Procter and Gamble their reputation has gone down hill. I don't know if the quality has gone down hill or not. I use Wellness (by Old Mother Hubbard) which might not be sold in the UK. I strongly suggest that since your cats are males, you try to get them to eat canned (tinned) food rather than dry. You want to try and prevent urinary crystals from forming and dry food is thought to be one of the causes of this problem. -MIKE >Iams used to be considered a quality food. After they were bought by >Procter and Gamble their reputation has gone down hill. I don't know if [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > -MIKE Mike, Thanks for that advice, I wasn't aware of that issue so I did a bit of research and found one website ( http://www.belfield.com/article4.html ) that mentions that cranberry extract is effective in preventing crystals. Based on this I think we'll switch them to James Wellbeloved, which according to their website contains extarct of cranberry! I know it's not what you recommended but we've found the dry food more convenient... Steven. |
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