Poop. It’s not a subject you probably talk regularly about with your friends. After all, it’s rather embarrassing, and most people would probably rather just keep that information to themselves. Bathroom talk should be kept in the bathroom, right?

My friend Martin’s cat, BBC (short for Big Black Cat), recently visited the vet with tummy trouble, and after blood work was done he was diagnosed as having pancreatitis. It’s actually a pretty common disease in cats.

I got married in my late 20’s and for the next decade or so I was often asked, “Do you have kids?” When I would answer “We have cats” sometimes people would look at me funny. While I can’t speak for parents who have two-legged kids, I can honestly say having four-legged kids has been awesome!

It is said that the greatest teacher in life is experience. Sometimes experiences can be good ones; other times they are tough, gut-wrenching trials that wear us out and break our hearts.  From which do we usually learn more?  If we’re honest, it’s during the darkest, toughest experiences, right?

Cats are great at masquerading illness. It all started two years ago after we returned from a “family” vacation with all our cats. Our female cat, Lili, wet the bed out of the blue, and I thought perhaps she was just “leaking”, which some female cats do as they age. Granted, Lili wasn’t old, and I didn’t connect the dots quickly enough.

Taking your cat to the vet for a wellness checkup may not be part of your annual routine, and I can certainly understand why most pet parents don’t do it. You may recall that last week I took four out of five of our cats to the vet for their annual wellness checkup. I had blood work done on my three oldest to get a glimpse into what’s going on inside their furry little bodies.

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?