A Wordy Valentine's Wednesday

Guess what? We have a smiling Astrid to (finally) show you all today!

That there shot was a candid one snapped by my sister on her phone. I am still trying to get Astrid to pose for a happy, pretty, smiley photo shoot when I have my favorite camera in hand. But, for now, I think this will do. So, now you know what Astrid usually looks like. Despite her usual posts on this blog, she does not look like a pouty puppy all the time. Usually, she is smiling just like she is doing in the picture above.

Oh, and can you tell what she's lying on it that photo? It's a coffee table. A glass-top coffee table. That is one of Astrid's naughty habits. Despite our lessons stating otherwise, she seems to think coffee tables are just the perfect height for her 70-lb body to use as stepping stools and resting places. The above photo was snapped at my parents' house, when Astrid was there visiting them, chillaxing on their coffee table (Grandma and Grandpa can't seem to say "no" to their granddog). I also have a coffee table at my house that Astrid likes to grace with her presence. When I catch Astrid on it, I always tell her that she is not a table dancer and that she needs to pursue other avenues in life. She refuses to believe that. She's a work-in-progress. But then again, so am I.

Now, of course, we wouldn't leave without wishing you all a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Of course, our doodle for today is all about this day of love. We'll get to it shortly.

First, though, last week we shared a doodle starring Astrid and a mancat named Trapper, who is madly in love with Astrid. We reminded you all that Trapper is my parents' cat, and he also happens to be one of Thimble and housemate Toby's litter mates. The other boy in that litter of four is none other than Talon.

To put it simply, Talon is an awesome cat. He loves everyone, and he loves everything, and he is simply the epitome of unconditional love. He will give a stranger the same buoyant and happy welcome that he gives his own human mom and dad. He truly loves every person he meets, every cat he meets, every dog he meets, and everything in between.

Needless to say, just like his brother Trapper, Talon absolutely loves pup Astrid. And that leads us to our Valentine's Day doodle.

These four sibling kitties—Thimble, Toby, Trapper and Talon—were all raised around Astrid. They adored her the second they met her, when they were just 3 weeks old. Nothing has changed since then, and they all still love her something fierce to this day. And isn't that what Valentine's Day is all about?

Much love to all of you friends of ours!

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Our Tip of the Day:

As a continuation of our National Cat Health Month tips, and also related to our tips from the past two days, we have even a bit more (more like a lot more) to say on food and weight management for those kitties in your life. We've already discussed selecting a proper diet for weight management, as well as initiating activity and playtime to aid in weight loss. Today, to add on to that, we're going to give a couple of tips that could potentially help keep certain feline food fiends healthy and fit.

The following tips will most relate to those cats who scarf down their food. Eating fast can, to put it simply, lead a cat to immediately desire more food even after just eating, and can thereby lead to weight gain if they indeed attain that second or even third serving. Another negative side to rapid eating is that a cat can also regurgitate or vomit food that they gobbled up too quickly, and excess vomiting is of course less than ideal. To help reduce these issues related to rapid eating, there are a couple of tricks you could try.

To begin, you could of course try one of those famous treat-dispensing toys. Making your cat work for their food in this way can help them to eat slower, as they will not be able to scarf down a serving so quickly. It will also prompt activity on their part, which will keep their little body moving and burning extra calories even while eating.

Another trick to help slow down those quick eaters is to simply use a plate rather than a bowl. Food served on a plate is not as easily scarfed, since they will not have the sides of a bowl to help keep the food in place and easily inhaled into their mouth. Another similar method would simply involve feeding your cat their food directly on the floor, from which they will again have to be careful and diligent about picking up and eating the morsels. In this same line of thought, you could try putting something such as a ping pong ball or golf ball in your cat's bowl or plate with their food. The kitty will then have to eat around the ball, and that will thereby help slow their eating. There are also bowls on the market that serve this same purpose, such as bowls that have partitions around which a cat has to more carefully eat their food.

The above are all just some simple tricks that could potentially help slow a cat's eating. Helping a food-focused cat eat in a slower, more controlled, less manic way can help them realize that they are full after eating, so that they can perhaps refrain from immediately begging for more food after inhaling their meal. Of course, that being said, do be aware and mindful of your cat's response to these methods. If they are unable to figure out how to reach their meal in a food dispenser, or if they seem unable or unwilling to eat from a certain bowl or plate, then reassess the methods you could use to slow their eating, or discuss other options with a veterinarian.