This morning I
had to make cat food - the three terrors had finished off the last of it
last night around 9 p.m. Since I'm sick, I had no strength to make it
last night. All I did was take the chicken thighs out of the freezer and
left them to thaw on the counter. (In a dish. Just wanted to be clear
on that!)
"Add fiber," the vet kept saying, "to help Maggie along with her bowels. Pumpkin is good." This, the day AFTER Hallowe'en, when there were no pumpkins to be found. Actually, I did see a can of pumpkin on the shelf at Maxi, right next to the pumpkin pie filling cans, but I prefer to put fresh ingredients in my cat food. So I've been using squash. Today was acorn squash.
Maggie and Bijou wanted OUT - in no uncertain terms! Since there was no food, they were bound and determined they were going to find some for themselves. And, as it turns out, Maggie has been a bit of a slut - someone taped their phone number to her collar tag the other day asking us to call them, and we had a short conversation. Yes, Maggie goes to see people when she goes out. So she wanted out to go see if her other "family" would feed her!
There was a more sinister note to that conversation, though. The person was warning us that a neighbour of theirs had set traps out for cats. Recalling that my vet had asked if someone near us had traps when Maggie was injured, I have put two and two together. This was how she got her injuries. What I'm going to do with this new knowledge, well, I don't know yet, but it'll be a topic for another blog.
Returning to this morning's endeavour: I set the squash in the microwave and the chicken in the frying pan, covered so they would steam. I gave Bijou her cream - she always starts her day with a saucer of cream, she has no trouble digesting it, unlike most cats.
Ordinarily, when I'm "late" providing sustenance, the two cats just lie around quietly. But we have the kitten to contend with now, and believe me, no one lies around quietly with Pixie running amok!
She picks on Maggie mostly, because Maggie is playful and tolerant and will actually play a bit with her. But of course she goes way beyond even Maggie's patience!
If Pixie were with her mother and siblings, she'd be learning about the limits of other cats' patience from them, so for the most part, when Maggie hisses at her or swats her, I mostly let her alone. The kitteh has to learn socially acceptable behaviour!
Well, as I was cooking, Bijou and Maggie were at the back door, yowling their heads off to go outside. I had to keep assuring them I knew what they wanted. They looked most doubious.
Pixie kept running around just out of reach of both of them. Swatting and hissing, the older cats would dart from one spot to another in the kitchen and living room, trying in vain to get away from this holy terror that was plaguing them.
It's not that quick a process to make the food, though its by no means as difficult as cooking a meal. Once the chicken is steamed, I grind it in my hand blender. I also grind the squash, since parts of it are still quite firm after it's cooked. Then I cook oatmeal in either beef or chicken broth in the pan the chicken was cooked in. I add ground flax seed, remembering I have to keep the fiber content high for Maggie's sake. Once it's all mixed together, I spooned out servings, but I had to let them cool in the fridge for about five minutes before I could give it to the kittehs. As a final touch, I stirred in 1/4 teaspoon of feline veterinary vitamins to each serving, and finally fed the cats.
And then there was peace. I drew up my chair to sit and enjoy the near silence. Only the licking and smacking of jaws was heard for five full minutes. It's a gratifying sound. Three very happy kittehs. Lick, smack, lick, smack...Quite rewarding.
Then the big two went out, and the little one chased me around a bit, but she finally curled up in a ball on the couch beside me and is now fast asleep, dreaming up new devilment to offer the other two when they come back in.
"Add fiber," the vet kept saying, "to help Maggie along with her bowels. Pumpkin is good." This, the day AFTER Hallowe'en, when there were no pumpkins to be found. Actually, I did see a can of pumpkin on the shelf at Maxi, right next to the pumpkin pie filling cans, but I prefer to put fresh ingredients in my cat food. So I've been using squash. Today was acorn squash.
Maggie and Bijou wanted OUT - in no uncertain terms! Since there was no food, they were bound and determined they were going to find some for themselves. And, as it turns out, Maggie has been a bit of a slut - someone taped their phone number to her collar tag the other day asking us to call them, and we had a short conversation. Yes, Maggie goes to see people when she goes out. So she wanted out to go see if her other "family" would feed her!
There was a more sinister note to that conversation, though. The person was warning us that a neighbour of theirs had set traps out for cats. Recalling that my vet had asked if someone near us had traps when Maggie was injured, I have put two and two together. This was how she got her injuries. What I'm going to do with this new knowledge, well, I don't know yet, but it'll be a topic for another blog.
Returning to this morning's endeavour: I set the squash in the microwave and the chicken in the frying pan, covered so they would steam. I gave Bijou her cream - she always starts her day with a saucer of cream, she has no trouble digesting it, unlike most cats.
Ordinarily, when I'm "late" providing sustenance, the two cats just lie around quietly. But we have the kitten to contend with now, and believe me, no one lies around quietly with Pixie running amok!
She picks on Maggie mostly, because Maggie is playful and tolerant and will actually play a bit with her. But of course she goes way beyond even Maggie's patience!
If Pixie were with her mother and siblings, she'd be learning about the limits of other cats' patience from them, so for the most part, when Maggie hisses at her or swats her, I mostly let her alone. The kitteh has to learn socially acceptable behaviour!
Well, as I was cooking, Bijou and Maggie were at the back door, yowling their heads off to go outside. I had to keep assuring them I knew what they wanted. They looked most doubious.
Pixie kept running around just out of reach of both of them. Swatting and hissing, the older cats would dart from one spot to another in the kitchen and living room, trying in vain to get away from this holy terror that was plaguing them.
It's not that quick a process to make the food, though its by no means as difficult as cooking a meal. Once the chicken is steamed, I grind it in my hand blender. I also grind the squash, since parts of it are still quite firm after it's cooked. Then I cook oatmeal in either beef or chicken broth in the pan the chicken was cooked in. I add ground flax seed, remembering I have to keep the fiber content high for Maggie's sake. Once it's all mixed together, I spooned out servings, but I had to let them cool in the fridge for about five minutes before I could give it to the kittehs. As a final touch, I stirred in 1/4 teaspoon of feline veterinary vitamins to each serving, and finally fed the cats.
And then there was peace. I drew up my chair to sit and enjoy the near silence. Only the licking and smacking of jaws was heard for five full minutes. It's a gratifying sound. Three very happy kittehs. Lick, smack, lick, smack...Quite rewarding.
Then the big two went out, and the little one chased me around a bit, but she finally curled up in a ball on the couch beside me and is now fast asleep, dreaming up new devilment to offer the other two when they come back in.
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