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I received a subtle hint that my cats were out of food, when Bella jumped up on the table, grabbed a fortune cookie (still wrapped), and started to walk off.

I’ve been in the market for a new cat food.  I’ve been trying out different “Indoor Cat” varieties, and trying to feed the girls weight control food as well.

Looking at the ingredients of popular cat foods, including LITE varities, it shocks me to see that a good number of product’s primary ingredients are corn gluten, and corn meal.  If you’re lucky, it might start off with “chicken by-product”.

Now, I can’t imagine too many cats willingly hunting down an ear of corn in the wild.  And I’d rather my cats get something other than chicken by-product and corn and other fillers.

So after searching through the 20+ brands of cat food at PetSmart, I found Blue Buffalo’s Spa Select.  Primary ingredient:  “Deboned Chicken”.  I know my cats like eating that.  They steal that from me as often as possible.

Specially formulated for cats that spend a majority of their time inside with natural fiber to help control hairballs and omega fatty acids for healthy skin and a shiny coat. Contains LifeSource Bits formulated and processed to do exactly what their name implies. A precise blend of nutrients and antioxidants selected to strengthen your cat’s immune system, help offset the negative impact of environmental toxins and provide support for specific life stage requirements.

Ingredients: Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Fish Meal, Whole Ground Barley, Potato Flour, Oatmeal, Natural Flavor, Dried Cellulose, Chicken Fat (preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Fructooligosacharides, Cranberries, Whole Ground Sweet Potatoes, Whole Ground Carrots, Calcium Chloride, Sea Salt, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Ground Flaxseed, Yucca Shidigera Extract, Dried Kelp, Dried Molasses, Malted Barley Flour, Taurine, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Mixed Tocopherols, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Zinc), Iron Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Iron), L-Carnitine, Spirulina, Lecithin, Tumeric, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Lactobacillus Casei, Enterococcus Faecium, Bifidobacterium Thermophilum, Niacin, Copper Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Copper), Vitamin D Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Manganese), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamin Hydrochloride, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Calcium Iodate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Sodium Selenite, Folic Acid, Vitamin K Supplement, Biotin.

It’s a bit more expensive than Iams or Science Diet, but the ingredients look alot better, and it resembles something they’d probably eat if they could.  Hell, alot of the ingredients look like things that I would eat.  Mmmm Carrots.  Sea Salt.  Cranberries. Kelp !

i have two litterboxes and three cats.

i’ve noticed that the cats use one litter box EXCLUSIVELY for poop, and one EXCLUSIVELY for peeing.

isn’t that strange ?

I was wanting some new fish for my small aquarium (30 gallon), and I picked up 7 Eureka Peacock Cichlids for $2.99 each (on clearance).

Scientific Name: Aulonocara jacobfreibergi “Eureka”
Common Name(s): Eureka Peacock
Diet: Carnivore
Gender Differences: Dimorphic
Breeding: Maternal Mouthbrooder
Temperament: Mildly Aggressive
Conspecific Temperament: Aggressive
Maximum Size: 7″

This variant of jacobfreibergi does not occur in the Lake Malawi but instead is a line-bred (not hybrid) strain of the race from Otter Point, Malawi.

as adults, they’ll look like:

here are mine now:

jill’s cat (pekoe) is sick… has an urinary tract infection and requires an antibiotic pill for now, PLUS a big pill to change his urine’s pH so he won’t get sick again.

this cat runs from me anytime I’m near. jill’s out of town for a conference for a few days, so I get to pill this cat twice a day. the process usually involves me trapping the cat in a room and trying to coax these pills into his mouth.

the first day, he spit out the pills. as I was putting one back in his mouth, his needle-sharp fangs punctured my index finger in two places, causing much pain and blood to pulse out. but he swallowed one pill and spit out another. as I was finally getting that pill down, he peed on me. damned cat ! I didn’t let go, and finally got that pill (and some blood) down his throat. then he ran. Pekoe pee’d on me.