Homemade Cat Food

Thank you to my HS classmate, Jing, for teaching me how to make homemade cat food. I know it's healthier to give cats wet food, but it's expensive. I had to learn how to make it at home so our cats could eat healthier. 

The vet said Brimsley had deficiencies when she had her first blood test. That was when I really pushed to make homemade cat food. We gave her meds and homemade cat food to ready her for spaying. Well, she was really healthy because she immediately got pregnant and produced two more kittens, haha. She's now been spayed, as well as Mando and Grogu. We're now just waiting for the two kittens to weigh a bit more and then we'll bring them back to the vet. 

Anyway, Jing taught me various ways to make cat food. She said she normally uses fish. We tried that once, but found out that buying fish is quite expensive. I also honestly do not know how to debone a fish, so after the first time we have been using chicken and appropriate veggies to make cat food. 

I finally remembered how to film how we made it. This time around we used chicken liver, gizzard, squash and carrots. So far the cats love whatever we make. They also like the broth, so I normally add a lot of water so they also drink soup. It was the broth that saved Meredith when she first came to us. She had dystocia and could barely eat. Miggy gave her soup and soon enough she was back to her sassy self. 

Here's how we made the most recent batch of cat food:

More about how to make it at https://recipesformyson.blogspot.com/2024/03/recipes-for-our-cats-cat-food.html

#BeKind #StaySafe

How We Became Pawrents of 8

We never planned to become pawrents to cats. They just came to us and adopted us. I was thinking about this last week after I watched a video saying that cats are like angels sent to you. We were apprehensive about having cats since none of us had experience. My doctor also forbade me from having pets. 

Looking back we were actually eased in to become pawrents. Grey came and started hanging out in our laundry area. We suspect he's been hanging out there way before we noticed him sleeping there. We had no clue how to take care of cats so we started with giving him a bed, then water, then some food. He was very skittish and would run away whenever we came close. Eventually he became comfortable with us and he started recognizing his name. 

Then came Kaley Boo the calico cat. She'd only visit for snacks. Sometimes she'd come with other calico cats, Sandra and Cheyenne. Cheyenne was the first cat who'd allow some petting. Sandra though is very fierce and would always fight with everyone else to get some food. Among the three calico cats, Kaley is the only one who comes everyday. She knows her name too, but still doesn't allow to be touched. Nose bumps only. 

It was around May-June last year when Grey brought it Brimsley. She was still quite small then and we thought she was male (we obviously don't know much about cats). She would hide in the boxes in the garage. Little did we know she was pregnant. We were just surprised one day when she disappeared. I asked Miggy to look for her and he found her inside a box with a kitten. Whoops! We panicked a bit since we don't have any experience with cats giving birth. We got up to speed by watching YouTube videos on how best to take care of new cat moms. Since Brimsley is a feral cat, she knew what to do. We just had to create a safe space for her and the two kittens, Mando and Grogu. 

We intended to get Brimsley spayed a few weeks after she gave birth. There was a risk if we had her spayed immediately because her bloodwork showed some issues. We had to give her medication before she got spayed. Unfortunately, she got pregnant again and had two more kittens, Eevee and Pikachu. She and Mando got spayed at the same time. We were scared that Mando might become a teenage mom like her mother. In time Eevee and Pikachu will be neutered and spayed too. 

So we thought having 5 full time cats (the Brimsley family) and 2 regular cat visitors (Grey and Kaley) was where it would end. Nope, we were sent one more, Meredith. We think she was abandoned by a neighbor who moved out. The sad thing is Meredith experienced dystocia. She gave birth to a stillborn kitten. Ran across the street with the baby to our garage (we saw it through CCTV footage). Left the baby and disappeared. A day or two later she was back and looked really sick. At that time we thought she had an owner. She could barely eat. Miggy nursed her back to health with cat broth we just made. She survived and has been living with us for about two months now. We just had her spayed since we're afraid she might get pregnant and die. The vet said her uterus had been calcified already. Poor thing. She's so far the sweetest cat in the family and is our full time garage cat resident. 

From one cat to 8 cats in just a year. We see it as a gift since they bring us joy. We accepted the responsibility and that's why we're actively getting them spayed/neutered. Not sure though how we can do that for Grey since he is still very skittish. We'll just make sure Eevee and Pikachu are neutered/spayed at the right time. We've probably hit quota already with 8 cats, haha. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Co-Existing with Feral Cats

The only experience I had with cats was when Kuya had a cat named Valentino. Mom explained to me that he was called Valentino because he had a lot of girlfriends. My memory is fuzzy already about him since I was still in grade school then, but I remember he was white and grey. Kuya gave him up because he did something to his pet birds. 

So since then I was not interested in cats. Mom didn't like them also because they'd ruin her plants. It was in Singapore while visiting a friend when I had a really close encounter with her cat. During the visit her cat suddenly sat on my lap. He allowed me to pet him and he hung out for awhile. I actually enjoyed the experience. 

Grey, Kaley, Brimsley and kids

Months after moving to our new home, we noticed a grey tabby cat frequenting our place. It would sleep in the laundry area. We observed it and thought there would be no harm in providing a makeshift bed. Eventually that progressed to buying some cat food. We called the cat "Grey". Then came Kaley and Brimsley and some irregular visitors, Mang Tux, Cheyenne and Sandra. 

We learned though it's hard to get the trust of feral cats. It took more than 6 months before they stopped running away from us when we'd go out to the garage or garden. The older feral cats, Grey and Kaley, don't want to be touched. Brimsley allows Jay and Miggy to pet her when she's busy eating. We realized catching them to bring them to the vet to get spayed is easier said than done. 

As a family, we defined how we'll co-exist with the feral cats. One advantage of having them around is they help protect the house from rats and other pests. Second is they bring us joy. Our goal is to provide a safe space for them when they need it. We also hope we could bring them to the vet so they can be spayed. 

Feral cats are really different from domesticated cats. They have a mind of their own and follow a different code. There are very few videos on how to care for feral cats. One thing we learned is to co-exist with them with respect. The best you can do is to provide what you can and just let them be. 

#BeKind #StaySafe