Sometimes, it's the little things
May. 5th, 2011 10:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trinityvixenI have mentioned (and, if not, demonstrated) how very little it really takes to make me happy. I sometimes worry that I come off a generally pessimistic and grumpy person. Perhaps I am and that is why small things completely turn my day around, even one that has only just begun.
Today is the first day I'm riding my bike to work. Now, I did ride to work before, on a Sunday, but I'd like to forget that I worked on a weekend, so today is the officially official start to my biking to work season. No more dealing with the stupid, slow bus to get across town! I'm going to be getting exercise, like, every day! Without taking any more time out of my day because the exercise replaces my commute! (THAT I HATE.)
On top of that, my cats liked new food! Given how freaking picky they are, this is enough to make me squeal. Luckily, no one was in the apartment at the time but me. The great news is that it's el-cheapo stuff they like that is actually great for them. So, on top of it being something they like, they're cutting my cat food bill almost in half. The food, for the cat-lovers who need to know (all two of you), is 9 Lives Flaked Tuna in Sauce. I can get as many 5.5 oz cans for the same price as the 3 oz cans of Fancy Feast they have been eating. And! It has A TON of protein in it, twice as much as it has fat, and is only 2% carbs, which is the most ideal cat diet...ever. There's a great set of charts at this website. I think, given how much they like this food, I may cut out the three-pack of Fancy Feast I've been getting them. Same amount of carbs, but more fat than protein. Better they get the protein.
In my ongoing attempt to slim my cats down, I've bought about four different kinds of food with which to experiment upon them. I got a little paranoid about feeding them fish all the time (mercury build-up!), so I focused on three non-fish varieties. So far, I've tried two of the non-fish on them: Fancy Feast Gourmet Chunky Chicken Feast and Friskies Special Diet Beef and Chicken Entree. They tolerated the chicken, but the Beef and Chicken was a non-starter for the first day. If they weren't being so "starved" for food, they wouldn't have touched it the second day either. And it took half an hour for the cats to really circle back to it and, grudgingly, eat it. So that's probably a no-go. That's okay. I'll keep half the cans I have, see if they like it better later, and, if not, the whole package of 24 (ordered online, so I had to go big) can go to the shelter where I work. Those cats will eat anything, bless 'em.
The last bit of food is more expensive--Nutro's Natural Choice Turkey & Giblets Adult Cat Food. It's twice as expensive as the Fancy Feast. So, if they really like it, I can deal because I'll switch off between it and the 9 Lives, and I'll still be spending the same amount. However, if they only like it as well as the Fancy Feast Chicken, I'll stick to that. Hopefully, the interruption of the chicken will be enough to offset any imaginary mercury poisoning they'll get from the tuna.
The really real last food to experiment upon them with is a dry food. Any dry food that isn't incredibly bad for cats is expensive. If you look at this table, you'll see that most dry food is 30% carbs OR MORE, which is freaking ridiculous. Cats are not dogs. Cats are most definitely carnivores. Even in their humans-are-kidding-themselves-if-they-think-cats-are-domesticated semi-domesticated state, cats eat and are meant to eat meat. Any carbs they get from their food should be incidental. Aside from a couple of prescription-only brands, I could only find two types of dry food that were low-carb (like 10% or so), and I could only find one on the PETCO website when I was ordering. So we'll try that out. Given how ravenously they've been devouring the half-cup of dry food they get any more, I doubt it will be a problem. But did I mention I have picky-ass cats?
Today is the first day I'm riding my bike to work. Now, I did ride to work before, on a Sunday, but I'd like to forget that I worked on a weekend, so today is the officially official start to my biking to work season. No more dealing with the stupid, slow bus to get across town! I'm going to be getting exercise, like, every day! Without taking any more time out of my day because the exercise replaces my commute! (THAT I HATE.)
On top of that, my cats liked new food! Given how freaking picky they are, this is enough to make me squeal. Luckily, no one was in the apartment at the time but me. The great news is that it's el-cheapo stuff they like that is actually great for them. So, on top of it being something they like, they're cutting my cat food bill almost in half. The food, for the cat-lovers who need to know (all two of you), is 9 Lives Flaked Tuna in Sauce. I can get as many 5.5 oz cans for the same price as the 3 oz cans of Fancy Feast they have been eating. And! It has A TON of protein in it, twice as much as it has fat, and is only 2% carbs, which is the most ideal cat diet...ever. There's a great set of charts at this website. I think, given how much they like this food, I may cut out the three-pack of Fancy Feast I've been getting them. Same amount of carbs, but more fat than protein. Better they get the protein.
In my ongoing attempt to slim my cats down, I've bought about four different kinds of food with which to experiment upon them. I got a little paranoid about feeding them fish all the time (mercury build-up!), so I focused on three non-fish varieties. So far, I've tried two of the non-fish on them: Fancy Feast Gourmet Chunky Chicken Feast and Friskies Special Diet Beef and Chicken Entree. They tolerated the chicken, but the Beef and Chicken was a non-starter for the first day. If they weren't being so "starved" for food, they wouldn't have touched it the second day either. And it took half an hour for the cats to really circle back to it and, grudgingly, eat it. So that's probably a no-go. That's okay. I'll keep half the cans I have, see if they like it better later, and, if not, the whole package of 24 (ordered online, so I had to go big) can go to the shelter where I work. Those cats will eat anything, bless 'em.
The last bit of food is more expensive--Nutro's Natural Choice Turkey & Giblets Adult Cat Food. It's twice as expensive as the Fancy Feast. So, if they really like it, I can deal because I'll switch off between it and the 9 Lives, and I'll still be spending the same amount. However, if they only like it as well as the Fancy Feast Chicken, I'll stick to that. Hopefully, the interruption of the chicken will be enough to offset any imaginary mercury poisoning they'll get from the tuna.
The really real last food to experiment upon them with is a dry food. Any dry food that isn't incredibly bad for cats is expensive. If you look at this table, you'll see that most dry food is 30% carbs OR MORE, which is freaking ridiculous. Cats are not dogs. Cats are most definitely carnivores. Even in their humans-are-kidding-themselves-if-they-think-cats-are-domesticated semi-domesticated state, cats eat and are meant to eat meat. Any carbs they get from their food should be incidental. Aside from a couple of prescription-only brands, I could only find two types of dry food that were low-carb (like 10% or so), and I could only find one on the PETCO website when I was ordering. So we'll try that out. Given how ravenously they've been devouring the half-cup of dry food they get any more, I doubt it will be a problem. But did I mention I have picky-ass cats?
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Date: 2011-05-05 03:49 pm (UTC)Of course, she's 19 and weighs less than five pounds at this point.
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Date: 2011-05-05 04:52 pm (UTC)