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Post by Claire on Mar 7, 2009 12:01:37 GMT 1
I have had some cats with weird eating habits over the years. Barney used to like marshmallows, turkish delight and picallili with the odd saucer of lager thrown in for good measure. Rose loves chilli heatwave doritos. But last night Oscar proved he is the weirdest of all. I was trying to eat a pizza and was getting accosted by the greedy lad as usual. I'd put some extra strong jalapeno peppers on the pizza and I evilly thought I'll give him one of these and that will get rid of him. But yes you guessed it he ate it straight down. In fact he seemed to love em cos he ate loads more!!! Must have an asbestos mouth cos they were very strong. Can anyone else's pet beat that for weird tastes?
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Post by exmoorfan on Mar 7, 2009 15:04:20 GMT 1
Can't beat that claire.Have never tried any of that with the pups, but Flo likes Curry and cheese and onion crisps.lol
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Post by kunuma on Mar 7, 2009 15:38:43 GMT 1
That must be where I am going wrong, I've been using this stuff called pet food!! Can anyone who has tried their cats on this pet food stuff tell me which of these ghastly concoctions is the best. I've always fed dried food before, which is much higher quality, but not so palatable, but now because I am trying to catch one, and keep the other inside, I'm using tins and these ridiculous pouches. So far I have found what she won't eat, which is ANY of the cheap ones but she also hates any sort of Whiskas or Felix, loathes Kit e Kat and won't go near anything with fish in it! I should have tried Pizza I guess!
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Post by garej on Mar 7, 2009 16:57:08 GMT 1
Can anyone who has tried their cats on this pet food stuff tell me which of these ghastly concoctions is the best. I've always fed dried food before, which is much higher quality, but not so palatable, but now because I am trying to catch one, and keep the other inside, I'm using tins and these ridiculous pouches. Please do not go for any cheap ones if you can help it. They are full of additives and are not the best things for them. It significantly increases problems in later life and lot contain higher amounts of salt. My Pickle is on Royal Canin Renal because of his kidney problems, but my Tigger is on Hills Light and Felix Senior (because she is indoors only I keep on a lower fat diet). However when she was fed in the shelter she was on Purina Pro Plan - which is what all their cats are fed on. James Wellbeloved is a good brand, but gets rather expensive. Purina One is a cheaper version of Pro Plan (more fillers), but is still fairly decent. Hills Adult (which is just the ordinary version of mine) is a good one. They are all available online or at Pets at Home, but online is cheaper (I buy all my food for Tigger online). Just one thing - are you giving up too quickly? Sometimes cats will start eating if they are offered only that for several days. My Jack, went he was alive, once went off with a whole naan bread in his mouth with an expression as if he caught a mouse. He was a little monster when it came to people food - each time I ate, I got digestion!
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Post by Claire on Mar 7, 2009 20:43:14 GMT 1
Oscar is the world's biggest dustbin. He has been known to grab a whole baked potato and run off with that!
However when my gran had him he was very finicky as she spoilt him a lot. But now he is really good as I am fairly no-nonsense when it comes to feeding. Garej is right most people give up too easily if you keep putting the food out they will eventually eat it rather than go hungry. Mine have either Felix, Whiskas, Kitekat or Classic. The latter is reasonably cheap but I have been feeding it for years to my cats and they are all healthy for their age. Oscar is about 17 or 18 and still going strong. They also have dried on a morning and the odd treat. (I feed tins mainly not pouches as I think they are a rip off but if you only have 1 small cat may not be so bad)
Another tip which might work for finicky eaters is mixing some water with the food. I had to do this with Oscars food due to a chronic problem he has, and found that Rosie preferred his more moist food to hers. I do it for both of them now.
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Post by garej on Mar 7, 2009 22:00:04 GMT 1
Another tip which might work for finicky eaters is mixing some water with the food. I had to do this with Oscars food due to a chronic problem he has, and found that Rosie preferred his more moist food to hers. I do it for both of them now. Warming it for a short while (check that is not too hot and in a suitable bowl) may also work too. They do that sometimes at the shelter with finicky eaters. Also, you probably know this, but please make sure you wean them properly. If you change them suddenly as well as giving them an upset stomach they will probably feel unwell which in turn will put them off most food.
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Post by Claire on Mar 7, 2009 22:12:34 GMT 1
Does anyone have any horses or ponies with weird tastes? I know seahorse's boy like bananas (hence her avatar!)
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Post by garej on Mar 7, 2009 22:24:31 GMT 1
Does anyone have any horses or ponies with weird tastes? I know seahorse's boy like bananas (hence her avatar!) I knew a pony that liked Tango and another that liked chocolate chip cookies. I remember reading years and years ago in Horse and Pony Magazine about a rescue donkey that wouldnt eat, and one day he nearly nabbed a groom's arm for her cup of tea. So to build his strength up they gave him a cup of tea every day and for years afterwards they would still give him a cup of tea.
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Post by cally on Mar 7, 2009 23:16:24 GMT 1
I have heard of horses liking beer- don't know which brand they prefer. Not Fosters, obviously- no one in Australia drinks it.
We don't ever buy tinned pet food for our cat & dog because of who's in it. The dog gets dry food & scraps with porridge & the odd bone & the cat gets (at the moment) kangaroo meat. I'm trying to convince the OH to buy beef but at the back of my vegetarian mind I know it's all just equally as bad. Bloody cats! Once you've lived with them you can't live without them.
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Post by kunuma on Mar 7, 2009 23:43:46 GMT 1
Oh no - not eating Skippy! I must admit to being a bit concerned as to what was in some of these tins I've opened. I had one lot which I gave to a friend to feed her visiting badger after the cats had turned their nose up at it - and the badger wouldn't look at it, that really made me wonder! Re horses, I was given some polos for my charges at Xmas, and they loved them, I felt very guilty that I had never given them any before, but I don't like peppermint so I have never bought them!
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Post by Claire on Mar 8, 2009 21:16:35 GMT 1
Oh no Oscar is getting weirder. He was eating tomatoes today!
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Post by kunuma on Mar 8, 2009 21:33:10 GMT 1
Now wasn't it Cascade who liked them??
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Post by Claire on Mar 8, 2009 22:00:11 GMT 1
It could have been but my memory fails me. But horses are veggies! I wonder if he is maybe losing his sense of taste which does happen in old cats. Could explain why he was happily guzzling down jalapenos which were hot enough to blow your socks off!
Just wondering what to try him on next!
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Post by kunuma on Mar 8, 2009 22:11:15 GMT 1
Being serious for a moment (I seem to be having that sort of day!) is he on any corticosteroid type drugs? They can really do odd things to their eating habits, and sometimes as in the case of one my present oldies, make them want to eat anything, edible or not!
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Post by Claire on Mar 8, 2009 22:18:10 GMT 1
No, he is on medication but not that. He does have a thyroid problem which I think makes them more hungry but its just lately he seems to have started eating weird stuff. But he certainly does like his food. He's like Father Jack in the father Ted series but instead of a constant cry of 'drink, drink' with Oscar its 'grub, grub!' ;D
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Post by exmoorfan on Mar 9, 2009 16:58:55 GMT 1
your cats sound hilarious claire. ;D I had a pony that liked coco cola.. And my last ones loved satsuma's.Peel as well
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Post by Claire on Mar 9, 2009 21:00:03 GMT 1
He ate a bit of a pickled onion today that fell on the floor!
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Post by haffyfan on Mar 9, 2009 21:19:32 GMT 1
My boys love bananas, dates and oranges andalso eat nectarines/plums etc whatever Steve dosen't basically!
Jadey is a junk food addict (like her mum) and loves Picked onion crisps (well crisps of any flavour actually), pizza, bus/cakes, cereal, crumbs on floor, bread put out for birds... she will do anything and I mean anything for cheese (inc getting out of bed at night and coming downstairs to get some if she thinks she hears the fridge...and going to bed at night is top of her priorities list believe me! She gets up off settee about 9 ish and walks to door then stares at OH as if to say come on then it's bed time you know) and will eat most human food BUT NOT fruit and veg (bit like me i guess), she won't entertain it!
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Post by snowfilly on Mar 10, 2009 12:52:44 GMT 1
Hehe, used to have a yard cat who liked cheese sandwiches.
My Mum's dog loves picked onions, but doesn't like anything else vingery!
And most of the ponies eat polos, only once we got some suger-free ones and tried, and they spat them out! I tried one and did the same, to be fair. Had to bin half the packet.
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Post by zoe on Mar 10, 2009 13:39:09 GMT 1
I'm very mean as the only sweeties my horses get are carrots. My jack russell will eat most things though and is a very effective hoover behind the kids but she has a disgusting liking of feet..........it doesn't matter if you've been wearing wellies all day on a hot day, if you take your socks off, she is licking your feet! Actually that's not quite true, if you don't take your socks off she will grab the toe end and pull them off herself! Yuk!
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Post by Claire on Mar 10, 2009 19:20:49 GMT 1
Rosie has a bit of a foot fetish too well its more of a shoe fetish, the smellier the stuff you have stood in the more she likes it! ;D On the same lines this reminds me of a rather gruesome eating habit of a friend's dog, which found the contents of her cat's litter tray very tasty!
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Post by kunuma on Mar 10, 2009 20:25:10 GMT 1
Don't start me on litter trays! I have never had an indoor cat before, and the whole litter tray thing is a delightful new discovery!! Plus I am not buying that horrendously expensive cat litter, esp as I can't even lift the sacks, so she gets a sandbox, and it gets everywhere! My dogs actually get carrots as treats! With one gluten sensitive and one with IBS (from chewing things she shouldn't as a pup), they're all on gluten free food all the time, so packet treats are out! But they all adore carrots!
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Post by Claire on Mar 10, 2009 20:31:37 GMT 1
I didnt know dogs could get IBS! I love raw carrots too. I would end up eating half the ponies rations when I was a kid ;D I use the wood cat litter stuff it gets everywhere as well, buts it the easiest one to clean out. I cant lift them either my dad usually brings me a couple of big bags whenever he visits. It looks awful in this house I am living in cos it has a dark red carpet in the living room and stairs and its always coated in sawdust I have heard that people have actually trained cats to use the loo! Has anyone come across this? (sorry getting off subject here)
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Post by garej on Mar 13, 2009 21:55:09 GMT 1
Don't start me on litter trays! I have never had an indoor cat before, and the whole litter tray thing is a delightful new discovery!! Plus I am not buying that horrendously expensive cat litter, esp as I can't even lift the sacks, so she gets a sandbox, and it gets everywhere! Both of mine are indoor only, so I know a bit about litter. In the shelter we use wood based but some cats (usually ones that have been strays or living outside for ages) have to have this gravel stuff (usually called lightweight litter. At the moment it is Catsan) which is horrible. It sticks like hell to the tray, and you have to scoop it off the tray which is horrid because the scoop wont shift it. We cant use the water to get it off because it is full of this special disinfectant which wont work if there is too much litter in the tray. So we have to try and get the rest off with tissue which all in all takes at least 10 mins - at the time a whole pen could be done. I do not recommend it! We had to do a couple of years ago a trial (head office said that we had to do so) using World's Best Cat Litter. It was easier to get off than the gravel stuff, but still it was time consuming because you spent at least 10 mins making sure we had got rid of every little clump. Plus they made everyone use 1 binbag so you can imagine how crowded it got with 6 people crowding around one standard bin. Once the trial was over, one of the (then) cat care assistant took the whole bag for her cats (she had 6 at the time) and said that each litter tray did not last 2 weeks in her house (each litter tray is supposed to last a month) because it didnt do that much. It was completely saturated. My cats were on wood based, but having a smaller flat means that the tray has to live in the kitchen, and I am noticing the pong more. I am at the moment trying Bio-Catlet, but I went to Pets At Home yesterday and was unsure what to have. I knew what not to have. At the moment I have not weaned them entirely onto the BioCatlet but the smell seem better, but I dont know how much that is due to the new litter. I use the wood cat litter stuff it gets everywhere as well, buts it the easiest one to clean out. I cant lift them either my dad usually brings me a couple of big bags whenever he visits. It looks awful in this house I am living in cos it has a dark red carpet in the living room and stairs and its always coated in sawdust I have heard that people have actually trained cats to use the loo! Has anyone come across this? (sorry getting off subject here) My dad gets them too, but it's because I cant drive, and my dad can. Carrying big sacks of litter is not practical on a bus. Re: the loo. I dont know a cat that does, but Pets At Home sells a kit that trains your cat to use the (human) loo. The only thing is that cats can drown in a just the amount of water there is a toilet (for safety reasons it is recommended that you always put the toilet seat down) so I would be very wary of encouraging a cat near a loo in case the worst should happen. For me, I would rather clean the tray every single day rather than risk that happening (plus with the work at the shelter we have to empty the trays anyway, especially with days like today with it being full and there only being 3 people to clean the pens you get used to it.). Claire do you have one of those litter trays mats? They are supposedly supposed to stop the stray bits of litter and dust being caught in the paws and being spread everywhere. I bought one yesterday but I dont know yet how good it is. Also, cat litters are usually cheaper online, and because it comes via a courier it means that you dont have to carry it! The same goes for cat food too. I buy Tigger's biscuits online because they carry much bigger bags than at Pets at Home which makes it cheaper in the long run. For those of you who are worried about postage costs, many do free delivery over a certain amount (some as little as £29!). So it is worth considering that people.
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Post by Claire on Mar 13, 2009 22:21:26 GMT 1
Garej I have seen the mats but not sure if they work and am skint at mo so didnt want to fork out money for nothing. Please let me know if it works and if it does I will hotfot it to the shop and get one. Anyone with cats should make sure they have cat litter coloured carpets! Actually if I owned the house not renting it that carpet would have been long gone as its awful The worst cat litter I have used is that clumping stuff which just ends up as one huge mass in the tray and you have to chuck the whole thing out, not cost effective at all. Luckily I have a little utility room for their tray and it is the type with a 'roof' on but it does tend to pong as Oscar has very smelly ones and does not cover them up! (Due to being litter trained at a late age) Rosie will not go in until I have cleaned Oscar's smellies up She will just stand beside it meowing as if to day get that pong removed NOW! (Apologies for this gruesome topic)
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Post by garej on Mar 13, 2009 22:33:07 GMT 1
The worst cat litter I have used is that clumping stuff which just ends up as one huge mass in the tray and you have to chuck the whole thing out, not cost effective at all. Yeah the gravel stuff is the one that clumps together and like I say, is a complete pain to get off. For a while Pickle in the shelter would only use the gravel stuff and I was hoping that he would not have to use it when he got to my home. Fortunately once his cystitis cleared up he used the wood based stuff fine and at the moment he seems to be using the combination of Bio-Catlet and wood based stuff fine. Claire I will let you know how well the litter tray mat is working in a couple of weeks time and also how well the Bio-Catlet works too (and also for anyone else who is interested). I am not bothered about the topic, we usually have these topics in the shelter (usually around the table when we are eating) so I am used to it.
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Post by Claire on Mar 13, 2009 22:40:50 GMT 1
lol doesnt bother me either in fact I could say much worse ;D but maybe they are some more refined people on the forum than us ;D
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Post by snowfilly on Mar 14, 2009 15:49:59 GMT 1
I think anyone who has cats get used to it. Decapitated mole on the fence, anyone? Dead rabbits left hidden in hard to reach places?
We can't be refined. Talking of which, anymore horse hairs end up in awful places, I'm taking a hoover to the shetland!
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Post by garej on Mar 14, 2009 16:55:08 GMT 1
I think anyone who has cats get used to it. Decapitated mole on the fence, anyone? Dead rabbits left hidden in hard to reach places? We can't be refined. Talking of which, anymore horse hairs end up in awful places, I'm taking a hoover to the shetland! I found a hair in my cup of tea yesterday. It was not even any of my cats (I was not in the flat at the time.)
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Post by Claire on Mar 14, 2009 18:14:05 GMT 1
Oh dont get me started on hairs. Sometimes I wish cats were bald! They do get everywhere. In fact i rarely have a meal where I do not have to remove a cats hair from the contents. (But then again I usually have to remove Oscar as well as he will happily climb onto your plate to nab your grub) Oh well if we are going down the unrefined route...worst thing is a litter tray 'accident' where cat stands in the poo and tramps it all over the house Or if you have a long-haired moggie sometimes a piece sticks to their hairly little bots and you have to 'remove' it. Erk! Pets are not for the squeamish! Luckily mine dont catch anything worse than the odd moth or butterfly. But my friend who lived in South Africa had her cat bring her in a tarantula once!
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