Our cat is not spoiled. I could just be in denial – after all, isn’t cat spoiling the stereotype? – but with four young kids I figure she earns her keep (and not just by keeping the mice out of the basement!). And I like to think that just like my kids, she gets some satisfaction out of having work to do… even if they/she whine about it.
Here is Luna’s job description:
– Groom all my boys when she feels they have not bathed enough. (Which is always.)
– Prowl the house at night and attack any rogue Legos she feels may pose a threat to our family safety. (And she’s not wrong on that – I’ve stepped on so many Legos in the dark that my husband and I call them kiddie land mines.)
– Add another level of difficulty to my yoga practice. You know what they say – you can’t grow if you’re not uncomfortable!
– Drink out of the toilet often enough to remind my kids why they’re not animals.
– Not poop, pee or barf on anything since I already have enough children to do that for me.
– Tolerate being called a variety of silly, ridiculous and completely inappropriate nicknames. (Although she answers to none of them, including her own.)
– Sit on my shoulders and/or across my mouse hand when I write to make sure I’m warm. And ambidextrous.
For the most part she’s pretty great about holding up her end of the deal! In return my kids give her water, feed her and clean out her litter box every day. (And make sure she gets plenty of exercise by constantly chasing her around the house, putting bows in her fur, sticking her in the doll stroller and once trying to take her for a “walk” with a jump rope tied around her tummy – I’d feel bad for except she’s a master of escape and I swear she gets downright giddy when she gives them the slip. Girl can clearly hold her own with kids.)
Normally this arrangement goes off without a hitch but a couple of weeks ago the feeding part of the routine seemed to be failing. I’d bought a different brand of cat food this time around and it did seem clear that it wasn’t agreeing with her. (All you seasoned cat owners are yelling You fool! You should know you never mess with kitty food!) She had just been picking at it the last few days and while I know that cats can go for days without eating and be just fine, I was still worried about her. Once a mom, always a mom… even to non-humans.
So my son got out the bag, read the ingredients and hollered across the room, “I didn’t know cats ate corn!” Ugh.
“Cats really don’t eat corn,” I answered. So we were off to the store to buy Luna some dry cat food that didn’t sound like cereal.
In the pet food aisle I also picked up a few cans of SHEBA® Entrees as a treat, hoping to get her back to eating again. I never thought I’d be one of those people to spoil my pets but Luna has become such an integral part of our family – and takes such good care of my kiddos – that I felt like maybe it is time she deserved a little spoiling! Reading the ingredient list, her cat food sounded better than what I was cooking for us that night. Not only did it sound delish but since all SHEBA® recipes are formulated without corn, wheat, soy, or gluten, and never have artificial flavors or preservatives, I felt good about getting them for her. Plus, the SHEBA® brand promises that if my kitty doesn’t like their food, I’ll get my money back. Win-win!
Also: I tried a bite. Don’t judge me, I was just curious! And you know what they say about curiosity… um. It was pretty decent. I won’t let my kids eat anything without me trying it first – especially if it’s jelly beans (sacrifices, sacrifices!) – and she’s basically my 5th kid. Except she never pees on my toilet seat. And Luna agreed with me as she gobbled the GRAVY DESIRES™ chicken entrée right down and was immediately back to her gluttonous self. Now she wakes up my boys each morning by licking their heads and meowling until they get up and follow her to the cabinet where she begs for her SHEBA® cat food, just like a puppy. And now she’s back to doing yoga with me! 
Kitty yoga adds a certain level of difficulty (don’t step on the tail!) but makes up for it with upside-down kitty nose kisses!
How do you spoil your pets? For those of you that have cats, how do you choose what food to feed them?
This program is sponsored by SHEBA® Brand and BlogHer, I was compensated for my writing but all opinions are my own.
Love this post – I can relate on so many levels. My Cat Freddie looks like your Luna in reverse (black with white not white with black) and Luna sounds just as cuddly (and jealous of the computer). *heh* I stress over buying cat food sometimes as I love my furbabies like family and do not want to be poisoning them with the wrong stuff! If people took up torches over the pet food industry like they do over human food I’m afraid of what they’d uncover, to be honest, in the dark underbelly of that side of the CPG “food” business.
Aw, Freddie sounds like a doll! And I think you’re probably right about this: ” If people took up torches over the pet food industry like they do over human food I’m afraid of what they’d uncover, to be honest, in the dark underbelly of that side of the CPG “food” business.” :/
OMG I spoil my cat the exact same way I taste the water to make sure it’s fresh- ya I’m crazy!
Our beloved cat started getting allergic to a lot of stuff she got older, and as soon as we’d find one obscure brand or another that agreed with her that she didn’t hate, the pet stores would stop stocking it and we’d have to drive hours and try to find new brands. So TOTALLY understand the lengths one will go to.
And if you’ve now got a readily available brand your cat loves and thrives on, yay!
Do you ever listen to This American Life? They did a whole episode about a dog who had this issue, and the lengths they went to to keep him alive. It was so sweet!
My cat children are very spoiled. But when it comes to their food, I buy them what they’ve shown me they like. I stick with the same dry food all the time (Purina One–I will vary the flavor from time to time) but I do get them different canned brands. The only “rule” for canned food is it has to be the small 3 oz cans. That’s because I don’t like to put an open can of food in my fridge (just grosses me out).
With previous cats, I tried to get all crunchy granola with them and bought a very expensive bag of dry food from the food co-op. They wouldn’t touch it (even when I tried to switch them over slowly) so it sat (open and neglected) under the sink for months. Then I caught them going under there and eating it once it was all old and stale. Crazy cats.
Oooh good point about buying the small cans! I wouldn’t want that in my fridge either!! Too funny about your cats waiting for their “health” food to go stale!
This from Charlotte: “Also: I tried a bite. Don’t judge me, I was just curious!”
*laughs* I judge you in a positive light! It IS food after all!
“Crabby” mentioned her cat being allergic to certain types of food. Hopefully it doesn’t run in the family, Crabby! But to reassure you, I used to be allergic to peaches. Allergy Doctor diagnosis. And as I type this, I am sipping peach juice. For real. The allergy did not really last that long in me.
I was also allergic to cats. Also an allergy doctor diagnosis. Working as a studio cameraman at one point, a man with a cougar (the feline kind – not the human female-younger guy kind) came into the studio as a guest. I did not even have to turn around to know they were in the room, as my eyes started to itch and water immediately. Laughing, the director had to focus the camera remotely from the booth because I could not see to do so.
I have not been allergic to cats for years. So there is hope for your cat to shed its allergies Crabby!
Cats are smart.
I have mentioned in previous comments the brilliance of my various dogs over the years (who knew exactly when we were coming home from school at lunch and after school, and walked to the corner and sat and waited for us among other clever things).
But a girl I dated seriously in university (fellow student) lived in the community with her parents. Her Dad was an art professor. Going to her home, the family cat would acknowledge my presence from a distance at the end of the hall by making eye contact and nodding at me.
Then this cat would suddenly slip out of the foliage of some yard I was passing (I noted because I am hard to sneak up on even at this time BEFORE my cat allergy) and walk with me to the house.
It would disappear at some point in the evening, and then when I left, a few blocks from the house, the cat would slide in beside me again and walk with me side by side on my way home.
This cat knew when I was coming and watched for when I was leaving (always tried to stay longer) but this cat also knew my projected travel path and where I lived.
Cats are smart.
I have totally tasted my dog’s food. I’ve never tasted the cat’s because I’m a vegetarian, but I once bought a few cans of vegetarian dog food that was on sale and got curious. Not to self: don’t be curious. Also, don’t buy vegetarian dog food. The dog deserves better. My rats are now slowly going through that veggie dog food (what possessed me to buy so much?!)
Oh, I also found out after your last cat post, that my parents feel Sheba wet food. Their cat is 12 and seems healthy. My cat’s tried it too, and they all seem happy with it.
Okay this whole comment made me laugh! Duly noted about vegetarian dog food. I’m so glad your parents’ cat is doing so well!
totally thought this was going to be about menstrual cups.
Cheated.
🙂
Buwhahahahh! I love you for this. I also love menstrual cups (although I use the Diva cup). I should totally do another post on that – you can never talk too much about bodily fluids, right??
My cats are my babies. I love them. They are spoiled, yet they don’t even know it. They just want more and more and more from us. They are true cats. 🙂 We feed them the healthiest food that we can so long as it doesn’t cost a fortune. They have actually been on diets for several months now and we have to track their daily caloric intake. They are maine coons so they are HUGE, but they are a little bigger than they are supposed to be. It is really funny tracking their calories… I am finally done tracking my OWN calories and now I’m tracking my cats’ calories!
No cats here…I adore them, but I am so allergic I can’t even touch them without wheezing and teary, red , itchy eyes! As for our bunnies, they eat better than we do! In the winter they get their greens/herbs from the expensive grocery store and I have to drive an hour away to get their pellets (tho I also get the chinchillas pellets at the same store, so it is a 2 for one). They were getting their hay from a local farmer, but with our long winter the hay is no longer fresh and sweet smelling, so now they are getting first cut hay …from California! Can’t wait for true spring to get lettuce and herbs planted so I can save money! Also anxious for that first cutting of hay in July…a whole BALE for $4!!!! Yes, our buns and chinis get the best, but we owe it to them for their loyalty and love…they don’t have a voice…except did u know bunnies “purr”…it is a teeth clicking not at all like a cat purring, but a sign of contentment all the same.
Every time I read about your bunnies it SO makes me want to get some!
My cats are spoiled old men…but I don’t think I could ever eat their food. Given that one is a picky eater they only eat one food and heaven help me if it ever ceases production :). I’ve tried them on Sheba…it was given the paws down…but they also won’t eat chicken so I think they might be broken!
You’ve got pop up ads now? It’s wierd….
I have pop-up ads?!? Seriously, I don’t see them anywhere on my site. But BlogHer runs all my ads for me so they might have stuck something obnoxious in there! I’m so sorry – I’ll see if I can figure it out:/
We have three cats and always fed them supermarket chow for years. Then a few years ago, we discovered the oldest was diabetic and so we did a lot of research about feline diabetes. Basically, cats are carnivores and all those”healthy garden style” cat foods are useless carbs — fillers and sugars that cats can’t utilize and it upsets their digestive systems. Cats are born to eat rodents and birds and any other proteins that cross their path. Since most dry kibble is held together with carb fillers, we switched to prescription kibble from the vet with low 8% carbs (not cheap!) and supplement with wet canned food. Supermarket dry chow can be as high as 90% carbs, so that had to go. We found that canned Fancy Feast Classics had the highest protein content in non-prescription brands; also most kitten canned food is high in protein and fat, so that works, too. You gotta read your labels carefully. While we still have to shoot insulin twice a day for the diabetic cat (he doesn’t care as long as he’s distracted with canned food), the other two are happy with the diet and are all at a healthy weight even at the senior ages of 16, 15, and 12. Our vet tells all his cat owners to put them on a low-carb diet from the start to avoid diabetes and kidney problems when they get older. We’ve even experimented with making our own cat food, grinding raw chicken and bones and adding taurine and fish oils (there are recipes online for this stuff). The cats loved it but it’s time-consuming and messy to do regularly. I will have to check out the carb content in Sheba and maybe try it out on the kids. Thanks!
So interesting! Good to know about the carbs – I had no idea! I definitely don’t want our kitty to get diabetes:( So glad yours are doing better! As for making my own cat food… the thought had honestly never occurred to me but I love that you tried it! I think I’ll stick to buying it for now;)
For newbie cat owners, this site explains it all! http://www.catinfo.org/.
Thank you so much!!
Please will someone tell my cat he shouldn’t eat carbs, because he’s currently trying to steal my porridge.
I feed my cat raw, but not the messy, time consuming make-your-own-food way. I just give him chunks of meat, organs, and chicken wings and let him have at. I believe it goes by the ‘frankenprey’ or ‘barf (bones and raw food)’ method.
We got our cat when he was 3 months old (he had a bad upper respiratory infection from being a stray), and transitioned him to raw after about 1 week with ease. He is 10 or 11 months old now, very healthy, totally NOT food motivated (we have to wake HIM up to eat in the morning), and ridiculously energetic and affectionate.
We buy whole chicken wings, gizzards, liver, pork kidney & heart, beef chunks, sardines and sometimes venison or other game meat, cut them into largish chunks when necessary and freeze them. Each night we take out the next day’s food to thaw in the fridge. It’s easy, fast, cheaper than commercial, less likely to get contaminated than ground meat, and GREAT for kitty dental hygiene.
You have to do some reading To hit roughly the right percentages (80% muscle meat, including lots of heart for taurine; 10% bone; 5% liver; and 5% secreting organ), and adjust based on what you find when you clean the litter box, but once you get used to it it’s easy.
….and, not gonna lie, there’s nothing quite as immensely satisfying as watching your friends’ reactions the first time you drop a whole chicken wing or small fish in front of your adorable half grown kitten and he devours the whole thing in front of them in a a matter of minutes without leaving single trace.
Sometimes it just happens: The perfect pet comes along. Our Luna (who, as you know, was a dog), was like an intuitive therapy dog with our kids. She had endless patience, took on the role of protector, and always seemed to know exactly what they needed, even before they did.
It sounds like your Luna is the same way. Plus, she’s ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My cat eats 1/3 small can of wet food every morning, which she lives for, and the rest dry food. I have tupperwares that fit the food, so I don’t have to have open can in my fridge.
Any dry food I give her, she likes for a week, then grows disillusioned with it, and just sits on her food step and stares at me until I give her smooches (or my bf gives her meat – she’s not such a fan of the rice and beans and veg that I eat).
I wish I had her life, lying about in the sun all day, waking occasionally to stretch and have bath #23 of the day, torturing the occasional small rodent, if lucky, bring it through the cat door alive and then lose it in the house (gee thanks, Splotch!). I swear she can fart on demand.
She’s lucky she’s so cute!
I seem to be the only person in my house who has never eaten catfood. Both kids have gone for the bowl as soon as they could crawl, and hubby ate a tin as a joke at a food fair once. ( and still says it was better than the canned chicken they were promoting at the next stall).
But as a vet, I wanted to give you a heads up on your “cats can go for days without eating and be fine” comment – actually, cats can develop a severe liver disease called feline hepatic lipidosis as a result of fasting. It’s usually seen in overweight cats that go off their food for reasons like stress, or from being sick with another primary condition, like pancreatitis. In these cats, their liver doesn’t tolerate the shift to metabolizing stored fat. The secondary liver disease that can develop is often extremely serious and difficult to treat. It’s important to have your cat checked out by a vet if they go off their food for more than a day or two.
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