What's in This Issue:

• News and Updates- Dr. Adams Joins the team!
• Does your cat have gas or diarrhea? Try this diet!
• Deal Pages?
• Advice Service Changes

Newa and Updates

The is a new member to our team, Dr. Jolene Adams, DVM. Dr. Adams will be writing articles for us and taking questions through the advice service. She might even be coaxed to give phone consultations, but be nice to her! She's still a little nervous about all this.

Dr. Adams has cats, and loves to help pet owners. She's recently finished her Veterinary training and licensing, and is interested in holistic care for pets. She will be joining me in the "Knoxville Natural Pet Supplies Store" concept as the house veterinarian.

Of course, I'll still be here for training and behavior advice, and Dr. Adams will become available sometime near the end of February. I'll send out an announcement when that happens.

If you haven't yet done so and you live in or around Knoxville, TN, please fill out the survey page. Remember, delivery will be key in the market area, so if you are interested in that service, please let us know!

Does your cat have Gastric Upsets?

However, it soon became apparent that none of the others had a problem and Bugs got much worse! The diarrhea was horrible! She was very embarrassed by the process of elimination and then we just kind of stopped making comments so she wouldn't feel so self-conscious.

Meanwhile, I started to try and treat the problem. You know that I want to treat the cause, not just the symptoms by now! So, I began at the beginning. What goes in must come out, and I looked at her diet. I've tried many things, and her staunch refusal to eat any meat or canned food got me to thinking. She insists on her crunchies, but she's not getting the nutrition she needs. Her fur is beginning to look pretty dull. She is not dehydrated, and she is very interested in food (obviously hungry). I've begun patting her tummy lightly when the bloating starts and that seems to stimulate gas release so that the diarrhea doesn't smell quite so bad.

Meanwhile, I'm still looking for food for her. I went to a local store and they recommended California Naturals, and said it had only 5 ingredients. By the time I got it home and put on my glasses, I found about 13 ingredients, but the ones that disturbed me the most were rice and barley. Bugsy likely has a grain allergy, and both rice and barley are grains. Well, she likes the food and she does seem a bit better, but she's not 100%. So, the search continues.

Enter Natural Balance cat foods. I've checked the ingredients, and they truly have only a few and NO grains. So, we are going to try Natural Balance, among others.

I've been told several times about the "raw diets" for pets. However, I'm put off by the storage requirements. I don't have a very large freezer in my 1-bedroom apartment, so I'm a little leery of having that much frozen food delivered at once. Where would my ice cream go?

Meanwhile, Dr. Adams reminded me that cats need Taurine with any specialty diet. So, I searched for that, too. Several suppliers have pulled it from their inventories, but I am a persistent type of person and I found it!

Check out the marketplace/featured items page for the foods and supplement that will get a try and be reviewed this month. I'm still experimenting, and when you get a chance, check the blog for the most up-to-date information and reviews. I post as often as I can. And yes, I will try the raw diet, even if I am a little afraid of it's storage requirements.

Deal Pages?

I've thought about using a password to access the pages, and if need be, that will be the next step. You will get a separate mailing each month with the password or something. I haven't figured it all out, but the deals are only for readers of CatLover Magazine, so if John Q. Public keeps finding the pages, it doesn't seem fair to me. I'll have something figured out by next month. Meanwhile, try the specials at the bottom of this issue. Thanks.

Advice Service Changes

However, in the process I learned a couple of things about PayPal that I didn't know and it's advantages and limitations.

When you subscribe to the newsletter, you are supposed to get an email that gives you a download. That's one of the benefits of subscribing. The download is also available for purchase, and that's where the problem was. So, I've been "tinkering." If you have a problem, please immediately let me know. I will always do what it takes to make it right. You may end up on some strange pages until this process gets finished, however.

When Dr. Adams begins to handle emails and phone calls, she will set her own rates, probably near $35 per incident. A vet consultant I contacted once charges $75 for 30 minutes of phone time. Dr. Jo will be charging a similar fee for phone consultations. Emails to her will certainly be a bargain by comparison. There will be a separate contact form for her. We are designing it now.

This Month's Deals

Freeze Dried Beef Bits are an excellent treat! I'm always recommending freeze dried treats for training, and I usually recommend liver (which should be given sparingly) or salmon. These beef treats can be given as freely as the salmon. This is a new flavor, and it seems to be a hit!

Yarnware Designer Yarns
I crochet and I'm learning to knit. I even teach advanced crochet to people who want to learn special techniques. If you participate in this relaxing hobby and would like to find some interesting yarns, this is the place. The prices are very competitive - your local yarn store needs to pay rent, and these guys don't!

This newsletter is produced for YOU, the reader. Please let me know if you want to see anything in here that hasn't been covered for a while. You can see all the past issues.

You can always write to me about the content in the newsletter.


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