A Rant - Don't criticise me!! Pedigree cats, Raw Pet food and Catproofing

This week I have had to defend the choices I have made over certain things even when I have not requested the conversation.

Harvey BSH Cream Colourpoint

Reuben, BSH Lilacpoint

Monty, Selkirk Rex Curly Shorthair

Bertie, Selkirk Rex Curly Longhair

Luna, Selkirk Rex Variant

 Firstly, I find it interesting that if you have a hobby no one will criticise you if you spend a bit on equipment. No one will comment. If you choose to own horses or dogs no one will comment should you get a specific breed, if fact you would be deemed to be sensible. Yes indeed, if you are buying a horse for a child you want a breed of horse with a specific temperament and whose adult size you will be able to accommodate. Similarly if you wanted a dog to be family companion you would not choose a dog bred for guarding or with a suspect nervous temperament, you would choose a dog that would fit your house and your household. However even though I have done a similar thing and chosen 5 pedigree cats that are my own hobby and fit into my house I have been criticised for not having taken on rescues and insisting that I have added to the cats that have been abandoned in shelters. No mention that only 7 percent of all cats in the UK are pedigree hardly hitting the heady heights of pedigree dogs!! No mention that responsible breeders have invested so much time and cost into their cats i.e. paying for yearly tests for genetic and other diseases for each of their cats, investing in vaccinations, treatments and costs of feeding that they would do their best to ensure their cats would never find themselves in a shelter, in fact most have a clause in their contract stating that if the cat needs to be rehomed to tell the breeder first and they will take them back. I chose pedigree cats because I wanted to know their temperament, their health and their size. Nobody asked if I also supported/adopted a cat in Cat Protection!!! All I got was someone trying to demean me. Why? I never started the conversation and why do they not question pedigree dogs and specific breed ownership of horses.

Pheasant and Mallard  

Coarse mince 

Chicken hearts left whole

Separately grind chicken liver and kidney coarsely 

To the fine grind add eggs

Supplements, TC feline and Felini Complete

Add supplements

Mix together, supplement fine grind and offal

Add all the good chunked meat i.e. over shot breast

Mix together with lots of additional water

That was my first rant but  in the same week I have had to justify what I feed to the cats and explain the costs. I feel as though I am the odd one out. We are constantly informed that we are what we eat, Jamie Oliver has managed to get the dross of school meals sorted out however when I choose not to feed my cats artificially extruded carcass meat, boiled and dehydrated with sugars and carbohydrates added kibble I am the one who is criticised! Apart from the fact our original cat years ago died at the age of three due to a blocked urethra caused by stones created in urine which was so artificially concentrated due to the permanent dehydration he was in as he could not drink enough to hydrate his body from all the dry kibble!!!

Basics of feline nutrition    http://www.catinfo.org

The pet food manufacturers do not have to follow great standards, there is a base level which they pride themselves on exceeding sometimes. No long term studies. Now we have exploding rates of obesity, diabetes, cystitis and urethral blockage - now where have we seen exploding rates of obesity and diabetes in our society maybe those who have a poor diet. I am happy to feed them a healthy diet to ensure I don't see them in pain at the vets because of the convenience  of dry food. Also I would prefer to use human grade meat and prepare it in a pristine home environment not having to worry about the pet food recalls due to salmonella contamination plus other items such as plastic etc due to the meat having been bought through a Pet food meat broker.

Petfood brokers     http://truthaboutpetfood2.com/sellyourrottenspoiledwastefoodto-pet-food

Petfood recalls       http://truthaboutpetfood2.com/?s=recalls

I then had to argue the costs on top of the health benefit, why? Yes I can feed my cats cheaper than Sheba tins at £5.00kg although my general amount I work on is £5.50kg. I feed five DOCs or 5 mice daily( some will go uggh but that is what we can get closest to their natural diet), the DOCs are 6.5p each and the mice 22p each. Meat can be trimmings or cheap cuts i.e. lamb breast, beef skirt, over shot pheasant, in season game ( rabbit), or special offer super market meat ( Morrisons pork £3.59kg, Beef £5.59kg). All game is frozen for two to three weeks before feeding. The heart, kidney and liver is all offal and really cheap, heart making up around 20% of the meat , liver 5% and kidney another 5%. Cost on top of this are the supplements. So there is my justification, I'm not preaching I did not bring it up but these are my reasons.

An article on costs of kibble, tinned premium, commercial raw and homemade raw -

http://catcentric.org/nutrition-and-food/raw-feeding/how-much-does-it-cost-to-feed-my-cat-or-i-can-afford-to-feed-commercial-raw/

Catproofing

Secure side path

Last of all I even had to stand up for the reasons why I don't let my cats out to roam the streets and have a cat proof garden. Again someone bringing up the subject then almost mocking me as if I was weird. This is a very cultural thing, it seems to be the norm here to let cats roam but not elsewhere. There are many reasons why I don't want them out to roam, we had a cat called Louis who dragged himself back through the cat flap with his whole stomach having been slashed down. I don't want my cat to get involved in an accident with a car either for the injuries he will sustain nor the horror which an accident would cause the person who was involved in it. I do not wish to have to treat abbesses on my cats for when they have been involved in cat fights. Nor see them poisoned with sweet antifreeze that seems to entice them, I don't want hormonal matcho men try to torture my cats nor do I want my pretty cats being picked up and nicked. Also pedigree cats are not bred to have the best car awareness!! None of my cats know what it is to roam so they do not miss it. They have access to a reasonable sized garden which has a variety of plants, shelves and objects to keep them investigating, they have free access through a cat flap and the run of the whole house. They are not terrorised by cats as none have ever got in and none of ours have ever got out. As a result we have the most amazing relaxed cats around.

Comparing indoor and outdoor issues -

http://www.americanhumane.org/animals/adoption-pet-care/caring-for-your-pet/indoor-cats-vs-outdoor-cats.html

Cat proofing hardly obvious in the background

So this is my rant for now, I don't mention or force my opinions on anyone, what I do is research and do what I feel is best for my circumstances if you disagree keep it to yourself.

All change - Meant to post this last week, whoops

Well today was a wake up call and not a nice one. Taking hubby to Heathrow to fly to America is never fun, remembering everything including stuff to cope with a minus 50 C chill from the Arctic vortex around his location is complex.

As I drove back I found that his plane was an hour and a half late so his connection is missed and he goes into another airport, which has only just reopened due to the weather and is in chaos, to connect and end up flying to a completely different airport destination. Hence frantic cancellations of a car at the other airport and a long long day for him.

Decorations are down : ( from Christmas although the outside ones have been left as each time I go outside it starts to rain AGAIN. Youngest kindly saws up the tree however we did have a mass needle frenzy. Usually it is horrible  but this tree has been magnificent, huge, rounded, well balanced and looked good the whole time. I salute you.

Bertie our Longhaired Curly Selkirk Rex is our issue at the moment. He is at a time of kitten fluff and adult hair the combination of which is matting. None of the other cats are or have been like this. Hence getting matt cutters, the furminator and talc plus scissors.

Well, the furminator is a revelation - you stroke it through the coat and it removes the fluffy undercoat, aaghhhhh. However before this matt removal is the order of the day. Using the cutting blade brushes we get through some and with others the scissors have to come out. I have to say he is not the keenest. Talc or cornstarch I have read is good for teasing out the matt and preventing new ones so poor Bertie fell under a cloud of talc being rubbed in at root level - we shall see if it works. I am hoping this is just temporary as we didn't touch his coat in summer and hopefully as it matures the downy coat will disappear.

Pasta making

Adding whole eggs to a flour well

For our 25th Anniversary last year I bought my OH a pasta maker!! It was the closest thing I could find that was silver!!

I honestly thought it maybe used once or twice, however I am pleased to announce that we have become keen pasta makers.

Failures have included the basic spaghetti!! however linguine we have down pat and is our favoured form, as is filled ravioli.

Agggh a photo was here until LUNA walked over the  keyboard and I can't be bothered to find it again : )) sorry guys.

Gradually combining the flour into the egg

I have to say I have never been involved in the mixing of the pasta, someone guards that job!!!

It is is a bit like when he is in charge of pastry making as well!!!

 The eggs are slowly mixed in with the flour from the well. It is combined to form a drying ball.

Finally when it comes together then it is placed in the fridge.

Today it was going to be linguine. Using the pasta maker we went up to 6 on thickness which proved about right.



The pasta maker has to integral cutting areas one of which cuts the linguine size. We just have to make sure the pasta is pretty dry to go through the machine without sticking.

An oiled clothes drier makes a good pasta drier

As you can see we have a patented dryer for our pasta, yes a clothes dryer!!

Chef at work, or Gordon Ramsey by another name!!!

With our chicken and pesto linguine we also had roasted courgette and cherry tomatoes.

Bertie watching

Bertie watching his master cook, waiting for some samples!!

Frying the coated chicken with even more seasoning and garlic!!

The OH was a  bit grumpy about showing this as there was no colour on the plates as this was to come from the roasted cherry tomatoes and courgette. However these were served at the table if they were wanted.

Well I thought it was a bit of fun to post this. Whilst the OH has been back the kitchen has been fully used - Belly of Pork, the Gordon Ramsey recipe, Risotto - prawn made by me when the OH tool toooooo long bird watching so ravioli making was going to take to long, and even the humble but comforting Liver, bacon and mash potato option plus all the other quiches etc made. Back now to having my tidy kitchen however at least two of the kids think they need to stretch their culinary skills!!! shame about their washing up skills : ))

RAW stocking up

Well after promising myself that I would never get so low on RAW food for the cats again Christmas crept up and kept me busy so when I looked at the beginning of this week I found only a few bits a pieces left, aaghhhhh.

Felini Complete is used here as a supplement but now I use T C Feline

I thought we would have loads of success getting unusual game items as people had been on holiday and gone out for the day!! but no, we ended up doing two farm butchers, one local town butcher and one supermarket to get everything. What a morning!! however we came back with three rabbits, venison bits and pieces and liver, pheasant over shot items, Ox heart plus kidneys and liver etc. The best buy today however was pork at £3.59 Kg and Beef £5.59Kg at Morrisons. Liver, heart and kidneys are always cheap.

Chicken wings being eaten with mince to the left and Ox heart sliced to the right

Well if you think a well known brand of basic cat food is 50p per 100g  as long as I come in around that for 100% Human grade meat and I know I am trying to protect them against obesity,  diabetes and dental issues I think I have done well. Docs (Day old chicks) are also a brilliant way of cutting costs at 6.5p each.

The down side was that I had a pile of meat to wade through. I started with the most awkward, Rabbit. Already dressed meant all I had to do was cleaver apart and take off chunks of meat to add after mincing the bone. The first grind is very coarse to allow the bone to go through the mincer. Then I put in the finest disc to ensure the bone is minute, the bone adds to the calcium level whilst the meat adds to the phosphorus side, 10% of the total should be bone. I add heart, liver and kidney 5% heart 5% kidney/liver and then additional supplements plus egg. At this stage I add loads of water which is why I rarely ever see any of my cats drink at all. If I had been making chicken up I would follow the same procedure just trying to keep the proteins of the offal species appropriate i.e. chicken hearts and chicken liver to be added to chicken.

Basic ground mince without offal, heart, supplement, or water added yet.

Pheasant legs then had to be ground and added to a game mix of bits and bobs they had given me. The cats love the game food as well as the venison, beef, pork, and rabbit but they really dislike chicken??? why?? they love small game birds - pheasant, mallard, partridge, quail etc. The venison came next, as this has no bone in the supplement has to be added which has calcium extracted from natural bone. Similarly when it came to the beef and pork food additional bone supplement had to be added. I also ensure a balance as on the days I feed the pork, beef, venison meats I also supply mice or Docs , bone in. Visa versa with the rabbit, pheasant and chicken they get strips of heart etc.

Well after a morning mincing, cutting and bagging we have a freezer full of food and another months worth done. I must try and get a small etc garage freezer, the game meat should be frozen for around a month just to be uber careful regarding disease.

Holidays and favourite food

Harvey, 2yrs 1 month

Reuben, 1yr 7 months

Well we run full steam ahead to the end of this year. I sit listening to the wind and rain outside and whilst it is already 8.00 am there is little light in the sky because of the dour weather.

Monty, 1 yr 3 months

I have just been going through the photos over Xmas and although we have not been studious in our attentiveness to this I must say we are keen on photographing food!! so I have just taken some last photos of the year of the cats.

Bertie, 8 months

Luna, 7 months

Although our run up to Xmas involved both two members of the family having health issues we did manage to get them all here for the day. Grandad was definitely fragile whilst my Sister in Law had only just had a two knee operation a week before!!

It wasn't our most lively Xmas but one that revolved around family. Everyone enjoyed their presents and I could not be more pleased with a darn lovely pair of boots and a beautiful Coach handbag, a total surprise, and my Focus magazine subscription.

Mutton……that was our Christmas dinner. Gorgeous - 5 year old heather fed Black Face Mutton.

http://www.blackface.co.uk

Full plates and only just fitting the family in.

A huge 4.4 Kg Shoulder and a 3.4 Kg Leg arrived to be shoved somehow into our normal oven. We cooked the shoulder in the end for 7 hours on 140 C surrounded by stock and wine whilst on a bed on onions and veg. The shoulder we added a mustardy/ herby crust to and cooked for 3 hours. This year we were reasonable in our variety of vegetables etc. We each had ONE carrot, yes only , but a special one. Tom Kerridges carrot recipe is a must,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/christmas_carrots_90489

 Scrape and smooth the carrot, one for each person then place in a pan of buttery, sugary water and cook for a long time. Those carrots become unctuous. Brussel sprouts were sliced finely on a mandolin and just sweated simply with butter and fried lardons. The Cauliflower cheese was just thick creamy and cheesy whilst our roasts were parsnips and potatoes done in goose fat. Yorkshires were added as golden clouds of yumminess and the deep glossy winey gravy made up from the stock upon which the mutton had cooked finished up our lovely main Christmas meal.

Then we started again!!! Dessert. But only one this year!!!

The MOST calorific dessert ever, I have always threatened to work out the calories. Croissant Butter pudding, wow, wow, wow. This buttery, creamy, whisky soaked, white chocolate saturated dessert is divine. It's light in texture with sweetness but with a kick of alcohol. To add to the unhealthyness we added custard, yumm.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/whitechocolatewhisky_86302

So that was Xmas however I had not had my favourite meal of the year yet, Venison Wellington which finally made its appearance yesterday. I am so happy. A Venison fillet had been sitting in the freezer waiting for this special moment. It did not let us down. So happy.

Apparently it is not special enough for Xmas!!! but for me this is the king of meals. The venison is wrapped in a mushroom duxcelle with added herbs and bacon held together with large savoy cabbage leaves and enclosed in puff pastry. The jus is slowly made from spare meat and veg with loads of wine and beef stock plus a little redcurrant jelly. Then finally we have shredded savoy cabbage cooked down with sweated onions and fried streaky chopped bacon with a tiny splash of cream. Did I mention I was so happy.

Well I may post again before the new year but maybe not so Happy New Year to one and all.See you in 2014.

December - Cooling winds and decorations up up up

Our variety of Christmas lights

The front garden

Well chomping at the bit at the beginning of December I attune myself to the new lights we have bought for outside. Last year we had got down to our last string but we are back on form again this year, not quite blackpool lights but our house does stand out a little with our neighbours as well.

It's amazing how long it takes! I start stringing then have a change of mind and then again. A good three hours finally gave results.

Bertie looking curlyat 8 months

The tree is now up as well and as ever with get rather carried away with size. Last year it touched the ceiling, this year however we had a hard time getting it in the car and then after soaking it for 24 hours it did not fit into the tree holding bracket : ( Out comes the saw twice once to take off and inch or two off the height and then cutting along the side to get it to fit in. Still however it has fallen over, my cutting straight is obviously left handed and NOT good.This tree is magnificent. It is SOOOOOOOO bushy everywhere, it does take up one sixth of the room.

I do have to say though if you want to see Christmas done properly my neighbour has Xmas mugs, Xmas tea towels, Xmas singing things up the stairs, wow it just is a grotto. Her hubby is of course doing the  "baa humbug" routine.

Luna, our girl, at 7 months

Pressies are soooo hard : ( I only have to do the kids. The eldest buys what he wants, the youngest needs to get his and let me pay as we need his feet, my daughter is the easiest  but even that is not that easy, now we are passed computer games I have no convenient back up!!!

Luna asleep

Soon hubby is home. Just a week and a half. He loves Christmas but he can do a bit of Gordon Ramsey grumps in the kitchen, here's hoping a change!!

Luna our lovely Selkirk variant girl cat has just been spayed, the vet wanted to do her midline because of her coat and wanted to get her weight up  to do it. Well what an amazing job!! Her shave was truly minimal, her cut so neat and as it was glued we have not had any weeping. Needless to say she did not wear those horrible head cones nor did she have a bland diet coming home, the others would have terrorised her and trying to keep her away from their food is not possible. Bertie is still entire and at the moment man-ing up. None of our boys have ever sprayed and we left them all to a year, Harvey 1 and a half, so as long as Bertie behaves we will go down that route.

We have found a great window cat shelf on ETSY which has been loved by the cats, extremely comfortable, safe and very easy bird watching from the window. As you can see our heavy weight boy fits and it holds up to the strain!!!!.

Monty trying out the new ETSY shelf

Gosh that looks comfortable

Just rushed off to get the cats their whole food prey, i.e. DOCs and small mice. We are very lucky to have one of the best suppliers in the UK literally only 20 minutes away. It's a bit gruesome but once you realise the DOCs are what are rejected from the chicken industry and they are so natural for the cats to eat and at 6.5p per chick it is a very, very, very, cheap addition to their diet.

A bag of 50 DOCs

Snoozing again