WW: Playful Cats

Playful, possessed. Same difference when talking about cats, right?

Tasty Tuesday: Merrick Purrfect Bistro

Chewy.com sent my cats some Merrick Purrfect Bistro canned food to try out this past month. I really like using canned food as treats and rewards for my cats, and I love finding food that makes them go crazy for it. Both of them went totally bonkers for the Purrfect Bistro. My cats tried both the Chicken Pate flavor and the Beef Wellington. They seemed to like the beef a little more than the chicken, but the chicken had a better texture for using in training.

Photo provided for me by Chewy.com

The ingredients in these foods are things that I am comfortable with my cats eating, with deboned chicken as the first listed ingredient in the chicken flavor. I do think these would be a bit expensive to feed exclusively, but are reasonably priced enough to be good for occasional treats or to use in training or, if you feed dry kibble, for mixing in with the kibbles.

Theodore Trex really liked this food. I use that little scoop (it is a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon) to give rewards while training. Theo just licks off the liquid from the bottom of it for small rewards, or gets to get right into the food in the scoop for a jackpot. Overall, I would highly recommend trying out Merrick's Purrfect Bistro foods if you are looking for something new for your cat. I know I would like to try some of the other flavors for my two in the future.

Theo maybe wasn't quite this happy, though...

Speaking of Theo, I thought I'd share an updated photo of him. He is over a year old now and is presumably at his full growth. A lot of photos make it really hard to tell that he is dwarfed, but I thought this one showed his stubby legs pretty good. He is not crouching at all in this photo, he is standing at full height. I love having matching pairs: one normal female dog, one normal female cat, one dwarfed male dog, one dwarfed male cat.

Cute Theodore. Forgive me for the horrible wrinkled shower curtain and awful lighting!

Mischief Monday: What is more mischievous than a cat?

Okay, so, this isn't going to turn into a cat blog, I promise. But, I may post about training of this new kitten on here some. I do plan on teaching him flyball, after all. And hey look, I've taught him to tug already!

Tugging away

I would consider him a good candidate for flyball, actually. He is smart, toy motivated, and eager to learn.

Tasty

We'll have to work on his confidence a bit though.

Attack! Kill! Maim!

I'm thinking we will have a good run, though. And really, he'll be the cutest thing running flyball ever.

Putting on the cute

See? We are already working on leash training.

All leashed up

Kitten Name Survey

I compiled a list of names that were suggested for the new kitten, both on the blog and on my personal Facebook page. Now, I need your input. Choose your favorite name (or favorite names), or enter another name in the write in section.

Also, the winners of the name submissions earlier this week have been notified, and prizes will be on their way shortly.

Which Name Should I Give My Cat?

Brian ("Life of Brian")

Theo (Theodore)

Shorty

Tiny Tim

Harley

Sammi (Sam/Samuel)

Danny DeVito

Malachi

Oz (Wizard of Oz)

Franko

Stretch

Kibble

Cheeto

Froto

Warwick Davis

Bartleby

Shaquille O'Neal

Zacchaeus

Bao Xishun (Or perhaps Meow Xishun)

Trex

View results

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Brian ("Life of Brian")0%

Theo (Theodore)0%

Shorty0%

Tiny Tim0%

Harley0%

Sammi (Sam/Samuel)0%

Danny DeVito0%

Malachi0%

Oz (Wizard of Oz)0%

Franko0%

Stretch0%

Kibble0%

Cheeto0%

Froto0%

Warwick Davis0%

Bartleby0%

Shaquille O'Neal0%

Zacchaeus0%

Bao Xishun (Or perhaps Meow Xishun)0%

Trex0%

Create a poll like this

And, if you happen to be one of the more local readers, this is a great deal on Living Social for pet photography in Portland, OR. Just use the link to get to the deal. https://www.livingsocial.com/deals/565040?ref=conf-jp&rpi=103155362

Big Head, Little Arms

Anyone seen the movie Meet the Robinsons? Remember this part?





That's what I keep thinking of. You know why? Because I went out and adopted myself a Munchkin.

That's right, the household has grown by one. For those unfamiliar with cat breeds, a Munchkin is basically a dwarfed cat- a full size cat with abnormally short legs. Like, the corgi of the cat world. Now, my little guy isn't a purebred Munchkin. He may be related to one, or he may simply be a random cat with a genetic mutation causing dwarfism. But, his short little legs are pretty darn adorable.

I don't think he has quite as short of legs as a standard show cat would have. But they are shorter than a normal tabby cat should have.  And he has these gorgeous orangey green eyes.

At six months old, he is probably going to still get larger (though his legs are probably not going to grow more). He is cuddly, but happy to play alone, and non demanding. He is playful, but careful with his claws. He isn't afraid of the dogs, though he will tell them to back off if they get a little too enthusiastic (Koira). Pallo is actually afraid of him for the most part. I'm sure they will become good buddies though. Koira is fascinated  and spends a lot of time just laying down, watching this new ball of fur play around and explore.

You know what the real problem with him is? He doesn't have a name! This little guy needs an awesome name to get him to fit in with the crew here. So far, my naming scheme has been Finnish words for dog names, and Bible names for the cats. Martha came with her name, and then my second cat was Lazarus. Laz went to live with some friends of mine, however, because he was needy and desperate for attention all the time. Since my friends have 6+ people living in the house, he gets gobs of attention over there, all the time, and I still get to visit him whenever I want.

I'm not sure if I want to continue the naming themes with this new guy, or just give him an awesome name that suits his funky, friendly, easy going, short legged self. Which is where you guys come in. Will you suggest a name for this new little guy? Be it a long mouthful of a name with a cute nickname to use in the mean time, or just the perfect one syllable name, I would love to hear your suggestions. 

Just to throw a little extra fun and jazz into the naming suggestions, how about a prize? Leave a suggestion for a name, and use the Rafflecopter to enter into a drawing for a fun prize. I'll leave it open until Thursday evening, and then post a survey of my favorite names for everyone to vote on. Rafflecopter will randomly select a winner, who will then be sent a nifty prize (US only). 

a Rafflecopter giveaway