Monday, March 28, 2011

Rat Bait Kills Pets. Pet Foods. Iams. Wrecked Trans Am. Cargo Trailer. Orphan Kittens.

How Rodents Kill Cats and Dogs...

Home owners put out bait to control the mice and rats, assuming their pet won’t or can’t get into it. Even pet owners who hide the bait around their homes can wind up with a poisoned dog or cat.

In order to save your animal’s life, it’s important to know what to do if you think your pet has acquired toxicosis from rodent bait.
No Sudden Symptoms to Look For & Preventing Toxicosis-

Because some of these symptoms also occur in less serious illnesses, it’s common for pet owners to assume a dog or cat is just a bit under the weather, when in reality, the animal is in the process of dying.

More at:  http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/03/22/rat-bait-warfarin-causing-deaths-in-pet-cats-and-dogs.aspx

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"Friendship isn't about who you have known the longest 

It's about those who came and never left your side ....."

 

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Nutritious dog food will help him grow up healthy - Jess Braun, DVM

Nutritious dog food will help him grow up healthy - Jess Braun, DVM
"How to compare different brands of dog food and find the most nutritious food for your companion based on the ingredients on pet food nutrition labels.
What is in your dog's food? Does the brand of dog food really matter?

Nutrition plays an extremely important role in your dog's overall health and life span, just as it does with humans.
What all living, breathing beings eat, matters.
The trick is figuring out exactly what you are feeding your dog when you look at a pet food label! .
Different Brands of Dog Food
Although there are literally hundreds of different brands of dog food, they all fall into one of five different categories. These categories are generic, store brands, popular brands, premium brands, and all natural foods. These foods are all created in different ways.

The less expensive foods will change their ingredients based on the prices of the ingredients.
The more expensive foods will use the same ingredients regardless of price so the product is more consistent."

Read more at Suite101: How to Buy the Best Dog Food Based on Pet Food Nutrition Labels http://www.suite101.com/content/how-to-buy-the-best-dog-food-based-on-pet-food-nutrition-labels-a321922#ixzz1HqXXLPDy

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"Each year, Americans spend $10 billion on pet food for our beloved companion animals, animals we treat like members of our families and who we love as our closest friends.

Yet 95 percent of the food fed to these treasured creatures is made up of materials that are unfit for human consumption and contain little nutritional value.

As a result, “man’s best friend" has skin disorders, arthritis, obesity, heart disease and a variety of cancers.

Without speech, our animal companions cannot tell us of the insidious, often life threatening ill health they experience."

More at: http://www.naturalcanines.com/gpage8.html
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My views on pet's diet:

From my own experience, as a vet tech, kennel owner, dog handler, and SPCA foster mom, I have found out that the AAFCO Dog Food and Nutrient Profiles just assure that your pet can survive on their requirements.   Like a person living on bread and water.

Marketing hype would have you believing that today’s cat and dog diet is all that is needed for optimum cat and dog nutrition and well-being just like MacDonald’s would have you believe that a Big Mac, fries and a Coke is a healthy, nutritious meal as well.

Just like people, to be in optimum health pets need to have the best human grade nutrition, which even most of the widely advertised pet foods don't supply.
 
I was given a bag of Iams Mini-Chucks by a well meaning person. I looked at the ingredients and I was appalled.  For such a famous food, the ingredients were terrible. Their advertising agency sure does a good job!   As you know, ingredients are listed by the most predominant first.   Corn meal, Ground Sorghum, Chicken By-Products were in the first 4 ingredients.  Corn meal, ground sorghum and meat/chicken by-products have no place in a dog or cat's diet, and are the leading cause of skin, and other health problems in  pets. Iams is poorly rated food:  http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/iams-proactive-health-adult/

Being a frugal person, I fed some to my dogs, mixed in with their human grade dog food.  With all of Iams advertising, I thought it couldn't be all that bad.  But I was wrong.

I am the one who poop-a-scoops around here, and my dogs were acting hungry, but leaving me larger piles to clean up, and had upset tummies.  It was taking more food to satiate them, because of all the fillers in it, and their bodies weren't getting enough nutrition.
 
They started eating grass, a sure sign of nutritional and tummy upset, so I had to add French style green beans to their diet.  Then Paco, my foster dog started refusing food, very unlike him, as he is a little eating machine, and even had to go potty in the middle of the night.   As soon as I stopped mixing the Iams with it, he got better.

It is like a person eating Eggos, margarine, and syrup, and thinking that they are eating something nutritious. It tastes good and fills you up temporarily, but the processed, bleached (chlorinated) flour, processed margarine and processed syrup really hurt your liver and kidneys.
 
(Dr. Oz revealed that everyone has cancer cells in them anyway, and it’s when they explode and take over that you actually have a problem. Dr. William Li told us that to prevent that from happening, it’s important to avoid carcinogens, like smoking, processed foods, processed meats, sugar, sodas, then exercise and sleep well to assist your body in staying healthy.)

The same applies to our pets. 
That is why there is an overwhelming number of pets coming down with cancer these days. 
It is all due to a bad diet.
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Yesterday:

SAM_0778-1
Ray was at a job in the next county and a man on a 4-wheeler ran it into his car.
Ray loves that Grand Am, and because of the cost of repairing it, $3,000, the man's insurance company wants to total it.  Ray is devastated.
The door won't close properly, so he has had to take the interior light bulbs out.
I looked up the value on NADA and Kelly's for him.  Then I found him another door.  Now he just needs a mirror on that side.
It is such a shame, as Ray has taken really good car of that car, and is fussy about how it looks.  I know he won't be happy until it is fixed properly.
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Today:

SAM_0786-1 Jay and I made the stiles for the counter top. 
Normally one would do everything the other way around and build the cabinets first, but this is not a normal installation.

Because of the angles under the sink we had to cut the boards at a 22-1/2 degree angle on the table saw. Then we glued and stapled them together.  With the fridge not being installed under there anymore, at least the kitchen will have some decent size cabinets. 
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I was delayed posting this, as a lady came to my door about some orphan kittens.
 
SAM_0789-1She had found them while they still had their eyes closed, and had been trying to bottle feed them, and go out to work. The local shelters said that they were overwhelmed and didn't have anyone to take care of them, so they would be PTS.  So she brought them to me, as a last resort.

SAM_0788-1 I tried to say "NO" , but I knew I had to help these three poor little critters.   I told her to go get them, while I fixed them up a little den.

They were obviously hungry, trying to suck on my fingers, so I gave each a little NutriCal, until I could get them some food.

She had been feeding them baby formula, which is not the best thing for their development.   So I quickly drove to the feed store in town, as I know they have a good kitten replacement milk with colostrum.  I already had a pet bottle, and they sucked on it very well, except for one little scrawny one. I don't know if she will make it.      They weighed 4-6 oz.    Here they are all happy and settled down.

One cat makes 400 offspring in 10 years, so in my care they will be properly fed, vaccinated, spayed and neutered before they have are offered for adoption on http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/spcaofmc.html

So I saved 1,200 unwanted cats from being born, today.

3 comments:

A couple of newer paintings 2019 said...

The kittens are so cute. I'd love the yellow one but we've agreed we will be pet free here.

pidge said...

Thanks for all the info on pet food. I hope a lot of people read it.

LakeConroePenny,TX said...

I didn't say what I feed them, as it changes.

I buy whatever does not have corn, corn meal, other grains or by-products in the first four ingredients. Preferably the foods where none of those ingredients are present. Whatever is on sale as I have to feed my pets, and my fosters, out of my own pocket.

I would be bored with the same food month after month, so they are fed a variety. Also it stops them from getting an allergy to a certain food.

Both Petco and our local feed store put the bags that are going to expire soon on sale. So my animals get dry Wellness, Taste of the Wild, Natural Balance, Nutro, Royal Canin, or any of the good foods. I mix it up in a container for dispensing into their bowls.

I buy "Exclusive" dry cat food at our feed store, and mix that up with Wellness, Taste of the Wild, Royal Canin, or any other good food that I happen across.
The cats don't get much dry food, as it is not good for cats. Maybe just a 1/4 cup a day just to scrunch on. But not the "dental care" kind, it can cause urinary tract problems in cats. Some brands do not care about the PH of the food, which is so important for cats, and cats are carnivores, so they need grain free. I stay away from 'fishy' foods for the cats, because of the mercury levels of the wild caught, and the farm raised fish have often been fed GM corn.

For the dogs and cats, I usually get canned Wellness, as that is their main food for their breakfast and dinner.
They don't have any foods that are good for them at our local grocery stores, so I have to go to Petsmart, Petco or a good feed store.

Wellness is considered the best, it is expensive, but it is cheaper than vet bills.
The cheap foods can cause cancer,(just like people) and I don't want them to get that.

I have some samples of a dehydrated food coming here soon, the ingredients are all natural and human grade, so we will see how that works out.
Happy Tails and Trails, Penny, TX