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You may recall several weeks ago I wrote a post called Check Up or Check Out talking about why annual wellness checkups are so important for cat health. It’s kinda like that proverbial box of chocolates…you never know what you’re going to get! Well, I dread these, too, like most pet parents, but I finally took Hershey, Gunner, Lili and Aylen for their check ups this week.

Chaz is about 11 years old, and was rescued by his mom, Pam. He is a beautiful, super chill, laid back cat, known to be a picky eater. He’s had a really tough couple of weeks! About two weeks ago Chaz became extremely fussy about his food and didn’t want to eat. After trying just about every trick in the book and worried that he may develop hepatic lipidosis (a potentially fatal condition when cats stop eating)…

There you are…watching TV or relaxing with a good book, enjoying some peace and quiet. Your precious kitty is snuggled up next to you or is sleeping comfortably nearby when all of a sudden…sniff sniff…What is that smell? And where is it coming from? Sniff sniff…an obnoxious gassy odor is now surrounding you…and it’s not coming from you…No! Can’t be!

With so many pet foods on the market today, how do you know which ones are really good? Can you trust this brand or that brand? What are their values, and how do you know if their ingredients are top notch or not?

I read an article this week about pet food recalls that have been in the news in the past several months. Was your pet’s food affected by this? Did you even hear about them? The writer was asking readers why more people were not outraged, and it gave me pause.

Getting old is not for the weak of heart. Things don’t work the same, they don’t feel the same, and life becomes more challenging. Most people are probably used to living with some type of pain on a regular basis. We become so used to taking “stuff” to mask it that the thought of eliminating the cause doesn’t even cross our minds. I would guess this assessment is true for about 80% of the population. Sadly, our pets’ aging is resembling that of humans more and more.

It’s been a rough week for Rocket. If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile you’ll no doubt recall that over the months we’ve been trying to get to the bottom of and treat the cause of Rocket’s chronic nasal congestion. Our most recent efforts included working with a veterinary homeopath out of Denver. We seemed to be having some success…and then we digressed.

Chances are pretty good that your veterinarian’s office mails you a friendly reminder every year that it’s either time for Tiger’s annual check up or annual vaccinations. How nice of them, right? How many of us just toss that nice piece of mail in the trash and forget about it?

My friend, Lisa, asked me recently what to do about her cat Puff’s flaky skin. Puff will be eight years young this year, and she tends to wear the furry pants in this cat family. She’s also long-haired, so Lisa tries to keep her coat shaved to avoid matting. Did I also mention that Puff likes to eat?

This past week I got a text from my aunt. Her cat, Allie, of seventeen and a half years went to the vet because she was losing weight and despite being hungry, she would sniff the food and turn away. To make matters worse she would throw up clear liquid for no apparent reason. Clearly there was some kind of intestinal and digestive issue going on.