Friday Fun

TGIF! As always, we are starting this fantastic Friday with the Friendly Fill-Ins, hosted by 15andmeowing and McGuffy's Reader.

This week's fill-ins are just as clever as ever.

1. Keep calm and _________.
2. _________ disappoints me.
3. _________ is my _________.
4. In retrospect, _________.

And here are the answers my brain worked its way to:

1. Keep calm and cuddle a cat.
(Need I say more?)

2. Holiday Reese's Peanut Butter Cups disappoint me.
(Let's be honest, I had typed out the answer, "Humanity disappoints me." The news these days initially prompted me to write this. Then I decided that today I didn't want to be so down and dark. So, now, here I am expressing my disappointment in holiday candy. Honestly, have any of you had the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup pumpkins? They taste as they should, but they look nothing like a pumpkin. The same goes for the Christmas trees. I once read an entire article on someone's disappointment in the Reese's Christmas trees, and they outright said the candy looked like a turd. I can't say I disagree.)

3. My angel Rosie is my muse.
(I've said this more times than I can even remember. I do have a great many muses and inspirations in my life, but my calico angel Rosie is most definitely one of the biggest. As some of you may already know, Rosie was by my side from the time I was 4 years old until I was 26 years old. I happily spent a lot of time with her, and though we are no longer together on this earth, she still inspires me every day. Though some people I know might not understand understand this, as I grew up with Rosie, she taught me so much about compassion and life in general, and she is my muse in so many ways.)

4. In retrospect, perhaps I would have enjoyed a college major in art, literature, and/or creative writing.
(I have a bachelor of science in animal sciences, which I really do appreciate having. After all, I love animals, and I learned a lot about animal health and behavior, and even worked in veterinary settings for 3 years after college. But, after a while, I got a bit worn down from seeing ailing animals and watching sad goodbyes on a regular basis. I absolutely love animals and appreciate the opportunities I have had to help them, but in the end I felt like that line of work wasn't really my calling. I now work in a chemistry lab. Whats more, though, in addition to spending time with furbabies, my favorite things to do are draw and read and write. I'll admit that some days I do wonder if a major in one of those areas would have been more up my alley.)


Okay, now, what's next? Eddy, of course!

I snapped this shot during a brief Eddy nap. This sort of calm doesn't happen all that often, so I took advantage of the opportunity. That's in part why the shot is dark and not all that great. When Eddy is sitting still, you just go for it and grab the shot.

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We thought we'd give you an update on Astrid, after she had the tumor on her paw pad removed on Tuesday. We are still awaiting the biopsy results, but that's not the purpose of this update anyway. To make this brief, let's just say that Astrid's foot has been agitating her ever since she got home, even with her pain and anti-inflammatory meds on board. The poor girl. She wants nothing more than to lick and chew at her affected foot, she panics when wearing the cone the vet sent home with her, she tries to remove any and all bandages and boots we put on her foot, and yesterday she managed to make her way to her incision and remove the majority of her sutures while we were away at work.

So, off to the vet we went to have her patched up. Understandably, the vet said that somehow we need to keep that dreaded cone on this anxious and annoyed pup so that her foot can heal. After doing some brainstorming, the vet gave us some anti-anxiety meds that will help calm Astrid while she's wearing that dreaded cone, and while she heals overall. I was at first worried about giving Astrid the medication, for fear that she would be too sedated. Let me tell you, though, after Astrid woke up at 1 o'clock this morning furiously kicking her foot and doing everything she could to remove her bandage, I am grateful for the anti-anxiety meds. We gave her one, and she is now resting and is the most calm I have seen her since the surgery, even with the cone on. 

All we need is a couple of weeks to get this all healed up, and though it will be a long couple of weeks, we'll get there!

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Happy Friday!

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Our Doodle of the Day:

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Our Tip of the Day:

When we think of carbohydrates, things like pasta and bread may come to mind. But, carbohydrates in other forms are also an important aspect in pet food. In a dog or cat's food, carbohydrates often come from plants or grains, such as corn, rice, oats, or wheat. Just as in humans, carbohydrates can serve as a source of energy and fuel for our furbaby's body. That being said, carbohydrates is one aspect of pet food that may hold different levels of importance for cats and dogs.

Dogs are omnivores, meaning that even in the wild they get their nutrition from both animal and plant sources. For this reason, carbohydrates in the form of plants and grains are of course important in commercial dog food, just as meat products are. 

On the other hand, cats are strict carnivores, and in the wild they gain much of their nutrition and energy from the protein and fat of their prey. This is why plants and grains in commercial cat food is sometimes debated. Some studies indicate that cats in the wild do consume a small percentage of plant and grain carbohydrates, these being from whatever vegetation their prey may have eaten. Regardless, most commercial cat foods do contain carbohydrates from plants and grains, some in far higher percentage than others. This is where reading labels and comparing protein versus carbohydrate levels can be important for cat owners to do.

Not only is it important to consider a cat's strict carnivore ancestry, but it's also important to realize that for cats as well as dogs, a diet with a higher carbohydrate content can potentially lead to digestive concerns, such as diarrhea or flatulence. In addition, just as can be the case with fats and even protein, an excess of carbohydrates in the diet can potentially lead to weight gain. This is all just one more reason why it is so important to research, understand, and discuss with your veterinarian the best diet for your kitty or pup.