For animal lovers

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Originally Posted by Uncle David;2318465;

Thanks TV! I'm lovin' your avatar. :biglove

http://www.alongtheway.org/images/TV_AV.jpg

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Thanks :nod

DJF: I noticed your chair too! Classic.

tv lover: your doggies are so adorable! I love the last photo with Dempsey showing his little pink tummy. :)

stephanie: Sugar is very very shiny and pretty!

prhoshay: That was a cute letter! I like #2 and #3.

We need some advice.

We rescued two kittens who were living in the 8 inch space between our privacy fence and the neighbor's fence. There was a third kitten and we tried to get that one (and Mama) but haven't been successful.

We think these kittens are about 5-6 weeks old. They have teeth and they are playing around in the crate. We can't keep them, but since it is a holiday weekend, our vet is closed and so are the shelters. So, any advice on what we should feed these babies or how to care for them would be appreciated. They are adorable, and I've attached a couple of pictures of them.

Thanks! - Oh - and our dogs have gone insane with jealousy. We have the kitties in a safe crate in a warm room where Henry and Simon cannot torment them.

They look like they are a pretty good size, but I'm not sure they would be quite ready for kitten chow just yet (but they might be). I would get a quality canned food, and try feeding them with a little of it on your finger...that way you can monitor just how much each is getting. Make water available in a small bowl. Sounds like you've got them in a good place; make some kind of litter box available.

If the mother's there, as well as a sibling, it may be best to return the kittens, and put out food for the whole family. Come Monday you can see if there's a no kill animal shelter in your area. If so you could trap the family and take them there.

Thanks! We went with the canned food idea. A friend of mine suggested that we mix ithe food with canned goat's milk. The kitties were ALL about that - they gobbled it down. I got them to eat out of a spoon (I didn't realize that cat food smells so bad). We now have a litter box for them too (one of them has used it). Is it ok for us to keep them in a crate overnight? And, I'd like advice on how often we should feed them. Thanks!

Uncle David - my thought at first was to just leave the cats with their mother. However, it's been really cold here (Alabama - but it went down to 25 last night) and these kittens were shivering when we finally got to them. The dogs (our two and the dogs who live next door on either side) have been going crazy - barking at these cats for days. We'll be able to keep the kitties warm and safe for a few days and then either find good homes for them or take them to a shelter (a no-kill shelter of course!). I'm having fun with them in the meantime!

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Originally Posted by canuckinchile;2314826;

Since my Shih Tzu developed bladder stones 9 years ago, due to the high salt content of most store bought pet foods, I have made her food. She eats hamburger, rice, and mixed veggies (she likes squash the best) and has been extremely healthy and problem free ever since. I only have to make one big batch every 2 weeks, and freeze some. She is the perfect weight, and at 13 years old still likes to run, and play tug of war. I don't think making your own pet foods is as complicated as the Dog Food companies would like you to think.

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I think I agree ... and information regarding proper, balanced nutrition abounds on the net and in many books.
I'm feeding rice or orzo, carrots, brocolli, green beans and either chicken or beef, with beef or chicken stock. Occasionally, I add other meat such as roast pork mixed in. I'm planning to add a little bacon to the next batch to add some fat and possibly something to add calcium ... maybe a supplement.

I went to a holistic/organic pet food store the other day and the owner told me there was nothing he could sell me that would be healthier for my dog than what I'm feeding her. So there ! :lol

Oh ... and I let mini-bagels get hard so she can have a solid chew, and cooked some steak and cut it up into soft chew size treat bits which I freeze and take out a few each day to thaw ! Man ... I am so obsessed ... but I love her.

I'm sorry I don't have any advice as I've never had cats, but thank you for taking care of them! They are lucky that a caring person is helping them.

Wow, what a great day at the dog show! My buddy Oliver, a Newf out of Colorado, took Best of Breed for the second time this weekend, and took Group 4 (4th best of the hundreds of working dogs entered in the show.) His mother, Lucy, got her final qualifying leg in Rally Obedience Excellent. She now has just about every title that can be put on a Newf--conformation, drafting, obedience, rally obedience, water, tracking, and therapy. She also shows in the Veterans conformation class occasionally, where she still turns heads. I love that girl :lovestruc I took about 150 photos at the show; if I can find four or five that I like, I'll post them. :up

I also saw a Tibetan Mastiff for the first time--very impressive! I had seen pictures in the AKC magazine and liked them, but that can be misleading. I liked the Neapolitan Mastiff, too, until I actually saw several in person. No thanks!

My boys: Bernie is the red and white; Mickey is the Tri. Both are Pembroke Welsh Corgis