Sunday, September 29, 2019

May it be a Sweet New Year! Rosh Hashanah


From Chabad.org: "Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday marking the first and second days of the Jewish year., Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Sunday, September 29, and continues through nightfall on Tuesday, October 1st). It’s the day G‑d created Adam and Eve, and it’s celebrated as the head of the Jewish year." To click here to learn more about Rosh Hashanah.

To our friends who don't observe this holiday, have a great day!! 

Friday, September 27, 2019

Cat "Foodie" Friday: Tiki Cat Food & Treats


Hi dear friends! Today Cody and I would like to present some delicious products that were sent to us by Tiki Cat.






They are  delicious treats that are high in protein, low calorie  and they are crunchy! They contain pumpkin to aid with digestion, they also have salmon oil and flaxseed  to help keep a kitty's coat nice and shiny!! As you can see, if you look at the bag, they are shaped like little stars, too cute!!



Cody gobbles them right up and is one of their newest fans!

We also received:

Photo used from the Tiki Cat Website

This is a protein rich treat made with real, high-quality chicken. I like the versatility, it can be used as a topper on dry food or dry treats, which adds some flavor and moisture. I also like that they come individually wrapped so that one Stix would be the equivalent to one serving. For Cody, I used it as a topper on his current kibble and I also used it on his treats.



We also received

Tiki Cat® After Dark™

Chicken & Quail Egg

image taken from the Tiki Cat website


This contains shredded chicken, organ meat and whole quail egg in an "enticing" broth.



Tiki Cat® Puka Puka Luau™

Succulent Chicken


Tender pieces of shredded chicken in a "delightful" chicken consomme.


Why Feed Tiki Pets?


1

REAL, NATURAL INGREDIENTS

What does “real” mean? It means shredded chicken, flaked fish, whole peas and diced carrots. It’s identifiable ingredients that look like they belong in your bowl, not theirs.
  • High-Quality Protein First

    Always the #1 ingredient, the protein in Tiki Pets™ foods come from high-quality animal sources, like Alaskan salmon, chicken, lamb, egg, ahi tuna and whole prawns.
  • Superfoods

    Ultra-nutritious superfoods, like kale, spinach, pumpkin, carrots and flaxseed, give cats and small dogs a boost of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids.
  • No Fillers. Nothing Fake.

    No animal by-products, corn, white potatoes, wheat, artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.
Whole Food For Pets

The above information was taken from the Tiki Pets website  
***To be completely candid, because Cody currently eats a different brand of wet food he has not tried either of these yet, because I didn't have the time to transition him properly. An abrupt switching of food should never take place because that can cause distress to a cat's digestive system. A change in FLAVOR within a certain brand is fine, but abruptly changing to an entirely different brand should be done gradually. (I did link to both of the foods listed above so you can read more about them).

Cody DID greatly enjoy the Tiki Cat Stix as well as the Tiki Cat Crunchers. We are certain your kitties will like them too! Thank you Tiki Cat for allowing Cody to try some of your products!



***FTC disclosure. We received the items listed in this blog post and were not compensated financially in any way.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Our Hearts and Our Candles are Shining for Orphan Pets #RememberMeThursday

Hi every furry and human! It's Cody, and I am here to tell you that today is a most impawtant day. It is the day when we honor the millions of pets who lost their lives without the benefit of a loving home, and shine a light on the millions of healthy pets who are still awaiting adoption. Mom and I are proud to have participated in this impawtant day for the past five years.




Remember Me Thursday® is a global awareness campaign that was created by the Helen Woodward Animal Center,  that unites individuals and pet adoption organizations around the world.  The combined influence creates  an unstoppable, integrated voice for orphan pets to live in forever homes and to not die waiting for them.




I am a rescue kitty

My litter mates and I were blessed to have had an amazing foster mother and I was adopted by my current Mom when I was only 10 weeks old. My Mom adopted me two weeks after her beloved kitty, Bobo, passed, whom she lived with for 18 beautiful years.  Bobo was rescued from the streets when he was about six months old. When Mom adopted me she had a broken heart.

Adopting ME Helped Heal Mom's Broken Heart



Adopting ME helped Mom in many ways. Mom always tells me adopting me was one of the most special days in her life.

I am a Lucky Kitty

 Things could have been different.

I never roamed the streets looking for warmth, water, food or shelter.


I wake up every day to a family who loves me. I have a full belly, sunny perches to sit on, toys to play with, warm beds to snuggle and sleep on. I have regular Veterinary care.

I am loved and I give love


My Mom and Dad love me with all of their heart. I try to repay that every day by showing them my ample belly so that they may rub it. I sit with my Mom every night when she watches TV. I "talk" to my Dad at every meal. My Mom and Dad gave me a home where I am loved, I bring them laughs, love, cuddles and kitty kisses in return.


Today I want to acknowledge animals who weren't as lucky as me and pray for those who are still waiting to be adopted.




Animal lovers across the planet will honor these loving babies
 by lighting candles on the exact same day.

Help get the entire world talking about pet adoption!

 Tweet, tag, post and share the beauty and life-saving significance of pet adoption on social media. Let’s honor the lost pets who ran out of time and bring awareness to the pets we can still help by working together and using our voices.

ENTER THE
 REMEMBER ME THURSDAY 
CONTEST (CLICK HERE)

"Light Up the World For Orphan Pets"

LIGHT A CANDLE
IN THE CANDLE GALLERY

If you don't have a pet,
or are interested in adopting another,
Visit our Petfinder widget
that permanently "lives"
on the sidebar of our blog

I want every kitty and doggy to be 
as lucky and as loved as I am.
Love, Cody

"Every animal deserves love,
Every animal deserves a forever home"





Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Sending PAWSitive Thoughts and Lots of Love to Marg



From our furiend Ann in case any of you missed this:

"Dear Marg ~ so many of you know her well, and love her much, has 
suffered a severe injury to her back.  At this time, more information is
not available, she is not in hospital at this time ... but will be undergoing 
some testing soon and we'll do our best to keep all of you, her friends,
up to date. 
For now, please share prayers for her well being, her comfort ...
and for her healing ... Thank You, as always for caring."


Monday, September 23, 2019

Cat Amazing SLIDERS! Interactive Treat Maze Review and Give-Away!

Hi my furiends! It's Cody! Today I figured I would take over the blog because I am purring with excitement to tell you about the NEW Cat Amazing SLIDERS! (Interactive Treat Maze) because if anything purrtains to my having more treats, I'm all over it!


Anytime Mom tells me we received an email from our dear furiend Andrey at Cat Amazing I KNOW it's gonna be GOOD! You see this is the third maze I have had the honor of presenting to my furiends. I have previously blogged about the Classic (way back in 2012!!), and the Epic and today it's the SLIDERS!!!  The SLIDERS are a catabulous treat-hunt puzzle toy. (I wasn't the ONLY one who got to play with the puzzle, Mom was pretty puzzled trying to assemble it, with her lack of mental/physical dexterity I'm not surprised...but I digress...)

The fun began when Mom took all of the parts out of the box:



LET THE FUN BEGIN!!! You see, when faced with puzzles, Mom becomes just a tad nervous and impatient. When Mom gets like that I KNOW I want to come in and snoopervise the activity. I mean after all, how HARD could this be to assemble, it comes with EXTREMELY CLEAR instructions!


Mom said my paw was preventing her from reading the instructions. I don't know what she was talking about, I was simply trying to direct her to the letter "A: which is the first step. The first step involves assembling a yellow box. Easy peasy.


After thoroughly surveying the part, I felt that if I only had opposable thumbs, even I could put it together!! But...I had to wait...........


and wait.........................until finally....(was it 15 minutes, 20 minutes?) the yellow box was put together.


Unbelievable that she actually accomplished step one. "Oh no problem Mom, I promise I won't point out the piece of tape that you have on the box to keep it closed. What do you mean I already pointed it out? Oh...silly me!!!"

Guess what Mom just discovered? Remember when I told you she is impatient? Well, while helping me write this blog post, she found IN THE INSTRUCTIONS a phrase that clearly states "The EASIEST way to learn to assemble SLIDERS is to watch the quick video at: catamazing.com/assembly


"PLEASE SOMEONE ADOPT ME!!!!!! Mom didn't see that until today!!"

Ok back to Mom putting the SLIDERS together. Now it was on to assembling the purple box.


"I don't know why you can't put it together with me sitting on the pieces Mom, what is wrong with you?"

On to the green box:



"Yeah Mom, that's what I think of your assembly skills! Next time read the instructions thoroughly and stop being stubborn!! You could have watched the assembly video which CLEARLY states how the Sliders can EASILY be assembled!"

But Mom plodded on and about a catzillion hours later (ok, maybe it only took her about an hour when it should have taken her maybe 10 minutes), she actually finished!




I couldn't believe my kitty eyes! "By George she did it!" I checked the box out from every angle.


and I must say she did a good job! There is even a video of me enjoying it! (Please excuse the poor lighting, videos are yet another thing that Mom is NOT good with!)



I love my Cat Amazing SLIDERS in spite of Mom's issues!!! Mom loves it too because the boxes move inside which makes the puzzle keep changing which fights boredom! It also makes me eat my treats slower instead of inhaling them like I usually do!

It also looks nice so we can keep it out all of the time. I also love that it enhances my hunting skills! You know, being an indoor kitty I don't get to hunt that much. 

The material the Cat Amazing SLIDERS is made out of is industrial strength, 100% plant based and the material is biodegradable. It's "planet-friendly!!".  it can withstand biting and whapping big time! It engages my brain AND my paws!

And..because my Mom never saw the "how to" video until TODAY, I am certain that YOU will not experience ANY DIFFICULTY assembling YOUR SLIDERS!!!! Let's not forget how inept, impatient and STUBBORN Mom is! You will be FINE!

It's available on Amazon by clicking here   (and NO we are NOT Amazon affiliates so we won't make a dime from your pawchase)




WANNA WIN ONE?

Our furiend Andrey is offering ONE of our lucky readers the chance to win their own Cat Amazing SLIDERS!! You must reside in the U.S.A. and be 18 years of age or older.  There is only ONE entry requirement on the Rafflecopter below. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway



In full disclosure: We were sent the Cat Amazing SLIDERS in exchange for our always honest review. We received no green papers for featuring this product. 

Thursday, September 19, 2019

International Talk (Meow) Like a Pirate day! (Throwback Thursday)

Yep we have published this before, but since International Talk Like a Pirate Day is on a Thursday, our lazy butts decided to use our old post with one new addition! And...we could never, ever top the graphic that we use each year!  Enjoy!


It would not be right on
International Talk Like a Pirate Day
for me NOT to repeat the
catabulous photo made for me by
Mr.Puddy !!!
I mean seriously,
why mess with PURRFECTION??







And because I am a "Lusty Lad" I especially love this video!





We be so glad you stopped by on International Talk (Meow) Like a Pirate Day! We be goin' t' have so much fun goin' around visitin' all o' you! Can't wait t' see what fun you be havin' today! Are thar certain games that you like t' play today?

 Tell me
about them!



 Love, Captain Cody

Monday, September 16, 2019

A Meow from ME to YOU!

\
I am happy to be pawticipating in "Awww Mondays" with our dear furiend Sandee over at Comedy Plus! Be sure to check out the other great posts! 


Sunday, September 15, 2019

Detroit Lions First Home Game of the 2019-20 Season!

Today is the Detroit Lions first home game of the season and I am hoping (along with Mom and Dad), that they WIN TODAY (and that they don't have a debacle like last week!!!! )
If not............there is always this:


BEST OF LUCK TO THE DETROIT LIONS!!

Friday, September 13, 2019

Microbiome and Its Relationship to Pet Health:Written by: Dr. Ryan Honaker, Director of Microbiology at NomNomNow

This is a sponsored post written by Dr.Ryan Honaker, Director of Microbiology at NomNomNow


In our world, there are life forms so small that we can’t see them with our naked eyes. We need a microscope to see them. These miniscule beings are called microorganisms and include things like bacteria, viruses and fungi. They live everywhere -- from lakes to soil to animals -- in massive communities made up of billions or trillions of individuals.

Though some microbes are best known for their ability to make us sick -- for example, bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumonia can cause human pneumonia -- most of them are important for survival. The collection of such beneficial microorganisms within a specific habitat, whether that be your pet’s skin or the soil in your garden, is known as the “microbiota.”

Each member of the microbiota has its own instruction manual for making and maintaining life, called genes. Just as in us humans, this manual is comprised of genes that provide the code to dictate how microbes survive. Within the microbiota teeming in a specific environment, these genes are called the microbiome. The assemblage of genes in a microbiome is vast. In our gut, for instance, it outnumbers the number of human genes [1].

Scientists “read” these microbial genes like a book with sequencing techniques to identify the community in a given habitat. This helps us puzzle together what various types of microbes contribute to their environment, such as their roles in keeping us and our pets healthy.

Microbiomes have a wide impact on health

Microbes living in and on our pets can affect health in a variety of ways. In the gut, for example, bacteria assist with digestion [3]. Skin microbes may be important for preventing allergies [4]. Others, however, can make your pet sick or, in the case of bacteria living in their mouths, may affect the development of periodontal disease [5,6].

Although microbes with these extreme effects exist, most microbes are somewhere in between: some of them are slightly beneficial, some of them have no effect at all, and others are partially detrimental but not bad enough to make your pet sick.

This gets even more complicated when we think about how microbes affect each other and how their interactions may change the outcome with respect to health. For example, microbe X may help with food digestion only if microbe Y is absent. If microbe Y colonizes the gut, however, microbe X produces a toxin to kill microbe Y. The toxin may inadvertently cause inflammation of your pet’s intestinal walls -- an unpleasant side-effect of a microbial fight.

The gut microbiome’s relationship to overall health

Animal guts in particular are one place brimming with microorganisms. All animals -- including us, wild animals, domesticated livestock and our pets -- support an incredible number of intestinal microbes. In fact, current estimates suggest that the number of microbial cells in your gut is approximately equal to the number of human cells in your body [2].

Without these digestive tract-inhabiting microbes, our pets would be unable to digest all of their food. Researchers have also uncovered links to the gut microbiome that extend far beyond the gut. Your pet’s ability to fight infections, for instance, likely depends on a healthy microbiota facilitating how their immune system develops. Studies suggest that gut microbes may also send signals to the brain.

Conditions that affect gut health

The types of microbes living in your pet’s microbiota are carefully balanced. Imbalances, called “dysbiosis,” may play a role in the development of several conditions, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)[7–10]), allergies [4,11], obesity [12], periodontal disease [5], and diabetes [13].

Myriad factors can cause these disruptions, including antibiotics, dietary changes, and stress [14–16]. Antibiotics, for example, have been essential for treating bacterial infections. But they also wreak havoc on the microbiota because they impact innocent microbial bystanders in addition to the one causing disease. Thus antibiotics can alter the abundance or presence of particular bacteria in the gut, thereby disrupting the normal function of the gut microbiota.

Other influences work similarly by upsetting the normal balance of microbiota. As more studies are conducted to identify the causes and consequences of disrupting the microbiota, scientists will be able to identify robust associations between changes in the microbiota and disease, and eventually identify effective treatments.

Changing the microbiota is often unavoidable. In order to prevent loss of beneficial gut microbes, scientists need to do all we can to improve our ability to return pets’ guts to a healthy, pre-disruption state.


Microbiome relationship to nutrition

Diet is a major driver of microbiome composition. Microbes in the gut help with digestion [3], which means that they eat what the animal they live in eats. Thus, diet and nutrition have a strong impact on the gut microbiota [17,18]. Can your pet eat specific foods or nutrients in order to maximize the number of beneficial microbes living in their guts? Can specific foods reduce the numbers of detrimental microbes or steer microbial interactions to have outcomes that are favorable for your pet’s health?

We cannot completely answer these questions until we conduct more research. But we do know that certain components of diet affect particular members of the gut microbiota in pets. For example, the amount of protein and carbohydrates that pets eat can steer the gut microbiota towards having more bacteria of the Firmicutes type [19]. Too much protein might negatively alter the gut microbiota and impact pet health [20]. Experiments with potato fiber in pet diets have also shown that this fiber source increased abundances of “good” gut bacteria [21,22].

Examining gut bacteria by “reading” their DNA sequences has now become much more affordable, paving the way for more studies to test particular dietary components for their effects on gut microbiota and overall health. Pet parents can now have their pets’ gut microbiome characterized in order to improve overall health.

If you’d like to learn more about the microbiome and how it relates to pets’ health. Head over to https://www.nomnomnow.com/learn/pet-microbiome.

References Cited
  1. Qin J, Li R, Raes J, Arumugam M, Burgdorf KS, Manichanh C, et al. A human gut microbial gene catalogue established by metagenomic sequencing. Nature. 2010;464: 59–65. doi:10.1038/nature08821
  2. Sender R, Fuchs S, Milo R. Are We Really Vastly Outnumbered? Revisiting the Ratio of Bacterial to Host Cells in Humans. Cell. 2016;164: 337–340. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2016.01.013
  3. Flint HJ, Scott KP, Duncan SH, Louis P, Forano E. Microbial degradation of complex carbohydrates in the gut. Gut Microbes. 2012;3: 289–306. doi:10.4161/gmic.19897
  4. Rodrigues Hoffmann A, Patterson AP, Diesel A, Lawhon SD, Ly HJ, Elkins Stephenson C, et al. The skin microbiome in healthy and allergic dogs. PLoS One. 2014;9: e83197. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083197
  5. Davis EM. Gene Sequence Analyses of the Healthy Oral Microbiome in Humans and Companion Animals. J Vet Dent. 2016;33: 97–107. doi:10.1177/0898756416657239
  6. Adler CJ, Malik R, Browne GV, Norris JM. Diet may influence the oral microbiome composition in cats. Microbiome. 2016;4: 23. doi:10.1186/s40168-016-0169-y
  7. Suchodolski JS, Dowd SE, Wilke V, Steiner JM, Jergens AE. 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing reveals bacterial dysbiosis in the duodenum of dogs with idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease. PLoS One. 2012;7: e39333. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039333
  8. Kalenyak K, Isaiah A, Heilmann RM, Suchodolski JS, Burgener IA. Comparison of the intestinal mucosal microbiota in dogs diagnosed with idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease and dogs with food-responsive diarrhea before and after treatment. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2018;94. doi:10.1093/femsec/fix173
  9. Vázquez-Baeza Y, Hyde ER, Suchodolski JS, Knight R. Dog and human inflammatory bowel disease rely on overlapping yet distinct dysbiosis networks. Nat Microbiol. 2016;1: 16177. doi:10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.177
  10. Minamoto Y, Otoni CC, Steelman SM, BĂĽyĂĽkleblebici O, Steiner JM, Jergens AE, et al. Alteration of the fecal microbiota and serum metabolite profiles in dogs with idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease. Gut Microbes. 2015;6: 33–47. doi:10.1080/19490976.2014.997612
  11. Craig JM. Atopic dermatitis and the intestinal microbiota in humans and dogs. Vet Med Sci. 2016;2: 95–105. doi:10.1002/vms3.24
  12. Handl S, German AJ, Holden SL, Dowd SE, Steiner JM, Heilmann RM, et al. Faecal microbiota in lean and obese dogs. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2013;84: 332–343. doi:10.1111/1574-6941.12067
  13. Bell ET, Suchodolski JS, Isaiah A, Fleeman LM, Cook AK, Steiner JM, et al. Faecal microbiota of cats with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus. PLoS One. 2014;9: e108729. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0108729
  14. Myers SP. The causes of intestinal dysbiosis: a review. Altern Med Rev. 2004;9: 180–197. Available: http://anaturalhealingcenter.com/documents/Thorne/articles/intestinal_dysbiosis9-2.pdf
  15. Estaki M, Quin C, Gibson DL. Diet and dysbiosis. In: Nibali L, Henderson B, editors. The Human Microbiota and Chronic Disease. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2016. pp. 443–465. doi:10.1002/9781118982907.ch29
  16. Curtis M. An introduction to microbial dysbiosis. In: Nibali L, Henderson B, editors. The Human Microbiota and Chronic Disease. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2016. pp. 37–54. doi:10.1002/9781118982907.ch2
  17. Turnbaugh PJ, Ridaura VK, Faith JJ, Rey FE, Knight R, Gordon JI. The effect of diet on the human gut microbiome: a metagenomic analysis in humanized gnotobiotic mice. Sci Transl Med. 2009;1: 6ra14. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3000322
  18. Winglee K, Fodor AA. Intrinsic association between diet and the gut microbiome: current evidence. Nutr Diet Suppl. 2015;7: 69–76. doi:10.2147/NDS.S62362
  19. Li Q, Lauber CL, Czarnecki-Maulden G, Pan Y, Hannah SS. Effects of the Dietary Protein and Carbohydrate Ratio on Gut Microbiomes in Dogs of Different Body Conditions. MBio. 2017;8. doi:10.1128/mBio.01703-16
  20. Pinna C, Vecchiato CG, Zaghini G, Grandi M, Nannoni E, Stefanelli C, et al. In vitro influence of dietary protein and fructooligosaccharides on metabolism of canine fecal microbiota. BMC Vet Res. 2016;12: 53. doi:10.1186/s12917-016-0672-1
  21. Panasevich MR, Kerr KR, Dilger RN, Fahey GC Jr, GuĂ©rin-Deremaux L, Lynch GL, et al. Modulation of the faecal microbiome of healthy adult dogs by inclusion of potato fibre in the diet. Br J Nutr. 2015;113: 125–133. doi:10.1017/S0007114514003274
  22. Panasevich MR, Rossoni Serao MC, de Godoy MRC, Swanson KS, GuĂ©rin-Deremaux L, Lynch GL, et al. Potato fiber as a dietary fiber source in dog foods. J Anim Sci. 2013;91: 5344–5352. doi:10.2527/jas.2013-6842

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Thankful Thursday: A Happy Update about Adoptable Cat "Athena"

Back on Cody's Gotcha Day I featured an adorable kitty named Athena who I would see every time I would visit the Petco near my home. You can read about her here

I had been avoiding that Petco ever since because I couldn't bear to see her there any longer.

Well, I no longer have to worry! Thanks to our sweet furiend LouLou who left a comment asking if Athena had been adopted, I reached out to our furiends at Paws for Life Rescue and Adoption and asked if Athena was still available for adoption.

The INSANELY HAPPY NEWS IS SHE IS NOT AVAILABLE BECAUSE SHE HAS BEEN ADOPTED!!!!!! They said that "she is living the good life in her forever home."

To say that I am ecstatic is an understatement!

The rescue shared some photos with me and gave me permission to use them, I haven't touched them up at all, here they are!







I am so happy and THANKFUL that this precious girl found her furever home!! Thank you to

You can visit their website here
for allowing me to use these photos as well! 

We are happy to be participating in the:

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

A Few Words On Wednesday: National Wildlife Day

The below photos were taken last Fall at Heritage Park in Farmington Hills, Michigan. It was a gorgeous day and my husband and I decided to visit, look at the colors of the trees and take a hike. I never used these photos on the blogs and since today is National Wildlife Day I decided to share them (even if there are NO CATS!) All were taken with my iPhone and for the deer I had to use my zoom on my phone. (I did enhance the brightness/color of the photos on ribbet.com) 





ABOUT HERITAGE PARK: Currently available at this 211-acre park are 4.5 miles of trails for hiking and nature study.  In the winter these trails are used for cross-country skiing.  A large picnic area is located at the north end of the park.  It includes a splash pad, group picnic shelter, youth playground, in-ground grills, two sand volleyball courts, an in-line hockey rink and six horseshoe pits.




ABOUT NATIONAL WILDLIFE DAY: 
"America marks National Wildlife Day on September 4. It’s an opportunity for everyone to step back, take a deep breath and think about all that surrounds us. It inspiring to consider preservation and conservation efforts that work to improve the natural world. There remains so much to learn. As Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “In wildness is the preservation of the world.” 

Colleen Paige created National Wildlife Day in 2006 in honor of the late wildlife conservationist Steve Irwin — the famed "Crocodile Hunter."