Introducing Little Tyke: A Tribute to Einstein

[Ivan Seeking]

I'm curious, why Friskies instead of Science Diet for a sensitive stomach? I would have thought the other way around would have worked better. Doesn't Friskies have extra dyes and stuff in it that Science Diet doesn't have?

It is the only food that she has been able to tolerate. Any other canned food caused a mouth problem, and as soon as we tried sneaking in some dry Science Diet with her Friskeys, she got diarrhea, and I think she even vomited once.

In fact, for a few days before I took her in again, she seemed to be losing her appetite. We were down to Friskeys shredded beef [not diced ]. It was the only thing that she would eat. But she was eating and her weight is fine, so it was hard to know what was going on.

Of course now she's been eating the kitty equivalent of McDonalds for eight weeks, so it won't be easy to change.

 

[lisab]

It is the only food that she has been able to tolerate. Any other canned food caused a mouth problem, and as soon as we tried sneaking in some dry Science Diet with her Friskeys, she got diarrhea, and I think she even vomited once.

In fact, for a few days before I took her in again, she seemed to be losing her appetite. We were down to Friskeys shredded beef [not diced ]. It was the only thing that she would eat. But she was eating and her weight is fine, so it was hard to know what was going on.

Of course now she's been eating the kitty equivalent of McDonalds for eight weeks, so it won't be easy to change.

I'm so glad she's on the mend! Good thing Tsu and you moved when you did.

I used to give my cat Iams pouches, but she got very sick about the same time so many animals were dying from melamine . So I switched her to Friskies canned beef (diced not sliced, and of course with gravy!) because it was the only one on the shelf that I could identify as made in the US. I've since tried to switch her to other brands but she'll have nothing of it!

 

[Moonbear]

So I switched her to Friskies canned beef (diced not sliced, and of course with gravy!) because it was the only one on the shelf that I could identify as made in the US. I've since tried to switch her to other brands but she'll have nothing of it!

I've been lucky with Ember. She is happy with her Science Diet regular dry food, with a sprinkle of Nutro indoor cat food on top each morning (the Nutro is her breakfast treat...her last cat sitter tried hiding it at the bottom of the bowl under the Science Diet food, and she dug through the Science Diet to get at it ...it seems to help keep hairballs under control, which is an ongoing battle with her, so that's why she gets that one). At dinner time, she gets a quarter of one of those little cans of wet food. She's not fond of the sliced or diced ones, but I can never remember which is which and some of the brands don't make it really clear on their labels...she'd rather have the mushy stuff. That's her daily treat. But with only a few exceptions, she'll at least nibble all of them or lick off the gravy.

I used to just stick with Science Diet for everything, but when they had that melamine problem, it occurred to me that I better mix up her diet a little bit so if there was ever a recall of Science Diet, it wouldn't be too hard to switch her to a backup brand. But, it's also amazing just how many of the brand names are all actually owned by Purina. I pretty much try to mix in every brand of wet food there is, except the PetSmart store brand stuff (it sounds so wonderfully gourmet, sardines and shrimp, etc., but the stuff had shells and fish heads in it, which left me doubtful there could be any consistency in the mix of nutrients from one serving to another, and it smelled bad and looked nasty, and most importantly, Ember turned up her nose and refused to eat it ).

Using the wet food as treats works pretty well. She doesn't even like the regular treats anymore...just bats them around like toys. And I know she is getting a nutritionally balanced diet.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I've been lucky with Ember. She is happy with her Science Diet regular dry food, with a sprinkle of Nutro indoor cat food on top each morning (the Nutro is her breakfast treat...her last cat sitter tried hiding it at the bottom of the bowl under the Science Diet food, and she dug through the Science Diet to get at it ...it seems to help keep hairballs under control, which is an ongoing battle with her, so that's why she gets that one).

We have had very good results using the Science Diet for hairball control.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Little Tyke is in love with her new boyfriend, Jack. We got Jack [already named] a little over two months ago, at age ~ six months. Jack is a calico tabby.

While he gets a little too rough - he is definitely ALL boy - he is a very loving kitty with a great personality. And most important of all, he too is in love with Little Tyke, who has him completely kitty whipped.

They are both fixed now, but there was a little hanky panky before we went to the Vet.

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/543/dsc00145lq5.jpg

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/2616/dsc00127td3.jpg

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/6554/dsc00130qd2.jpg

 

[Math Is Hard]

Little Tyke is in love with her new boyfriend, Jack. We got Jack [already named] a little over two months ago, at age ~ six months. Jack is a calico tabby.

Two months ago? And we're just getting pics now? You've been holding out on us!

Both look like real lovebugs.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Two months ago? And we're just getting pics now? You've been holding out on us!

It took Tsu that long to find the camera again?

 

[Tsu]

No, I just had a hard time getting a picture of them NOT stampeding through the house at breakneck speeds! That's pretty funny, too! First Jack is chasing Tyke into the back of the house, and then a minute later, it's reversed, and Tyke is chasing Jack back outside!

 

[hypatia]

They are adorable. Jake looks like he is going to be a big boy!

 

[Borek]

Both lovely :!)

 

[Moonbear]

No, I just had a hard time getting a picture of them NOT stampeding through the house at breakneck speeds! That's pretty funny, too! First Jack is chasing Tyke into the back of the house, and then a minute later, it's reversed, and Tyke is chasing Jack back outside!

Little Tyke doesn't look very little anymore! She's turning into a gorgeous cat. I've never known, is there a special name to describe that coat color/pattern, with the dark gray tabby back and white belly?

You can just tell from Jack's expression that he's up to no good!

I keep trying to decide if I should get Ember a friend. It would be nice for her to have another cat around to play with when I'm not home, but I'm afraid I'd wind up with a cat she didn't like and wanted nothing to do with, and then I'd just have TWO cats who don't have anyone to play with.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Little Tyke doesn't look very little anymore! She's turning into a gorgeous cat.

She is a very petite and sweet little girl. But she seemed big until we got big bad Jack!

I keep trying to decide if I should get Ember a friend. It would be nice for her to have another cat around to play with when I'm not home, but I'm afraid I'd wind up with a cat she didn't like and wanted nothing to do with, and then I'd just have TWO cats who don't have anyone to play with.

We took Jack with the contingency that we could bring him back if they didnt get along. By day two we had kitten play. By day four they were best buddies. Because of his weight and strength advantage, at times he is a bit too much for Tyke, but when we try to give her a break, she wants to go right back after him.

 

[fileen]

She is a very petite and sweet little girl. But she seemed big until we got big bad Jack!



We took Jack with the contingency that we could bring him back if they didnt get along. By day two we had kitten play. By day four they were best buddies. Because of his weight and strength advantage, at times he is a bit too much for Tyke, but when we try to give her a break, she wants to go right back after him.

I adopted two kittens that some guy was trying to sell off as musky bait. When I brought them home my adult cat tried to eat them. I was distraught. I talked to the vet and she said to keep the kittens away until they are old enough to fight back and then reintroduce. They hated each other for while but no they are inseparable. I think the trick is to have 1 female and the rest males or all males, I find female animals especially dogs and cats tend to fight more with each other, but that's just my observation.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I adopted two kittens that some guy was trying to sell off as musky bait. When I brought them home my adult cat tried to eat them. I was distraught. I talked to the vet and she said to keep the kittens away until they are old enough to fight back and then reintroduce. They hated each other for while but no they are inseparable. I think the trick is to have 1 female and the rest males or all males, I find female animals especially dogs and cats tend to fight more with each other, but that's just my observation.

YES! We only had one female cat [for 19 years] and the rest males, and everyone got along great. But now we have three females, and the two older ones will have nothing to do with each other or anyone else. In fact, they refused to live in the same house, so one now lives in my office [a separate building]. The females seem to retain their territorial instincts even after being spayed.

 

[Evo]

Oh, Jack has markings similar to my cat Dr Foofer.

MB, it's usually easier to introduce a kitten to an older cat than try to put two adults together. I've always had it work out.

The weirdest thing that ever happened was one day when a huge wheezing, mangy black cat ran inside my house when I opened the front door and we couldn't make him leave. We couldn't even catch him, and he growled and hissed at my cats. It took us 3 weeks to get the thing out. He just decided it was his new home.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I wanted to mention the Little Tyke Dance of Death. She is soooooo funny!

If I'm walking around barefoot, which is most of the time, she likes to stand with her right, rear foot, on top of my foot, and dance around with her mouth wide open [mouth open indicates that she means business!]. But she carefully keeps her foot on mine the whole time. Then, attack the foot as if it were the most evil thing in the world! At that point there is no mercy. It is impossible to walk without being attacked.

She never bites hard or digs a claw too deeply, but you would think she intends to rip you to pieces. At the same time, she is so dainty that it qualifies as pure comedy. And I have never had a sweet little girl kitty before. This is a real treat. Jack is great cat as well. His personality is as good as any cat I've had, and he has never bitten or scratched hard enough to draw blood [less once while we were playing, but it wasn't intentional], but he is very strong. He could do some real damage.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The Little Tyke saga continues: Eventually we realized that she would not drink water! She will jump in the bathtub and lick the water off the bottom, but that's about all the water that she was getting. I started noticing that she was looked underdeveloped for her age - a bit on the sickly side. We had assumed that she was getting water from somewhere, but when I noticed that she wasn't looking healthy, I started paying very close attention, and eventually it was clear that she never drank at all.

I remembered seeing milk for cats and dogs - Catsip - at the store. Since Tyke did seem to like regular milk, which is not good for pets, I gave it a try.
http://www.akpharma.com/catsip/default.html

She responded almost immediately! Within a week we could see that she looked healthier. Within a month she could give big bad Jack a run for his money in a wrestling match. Really, the improvement was quite dramatic! I checked with the vet who said that we want to limit her to about a cup a day, but beyond that he saw no problem.

Interestingly, he also said that testing has shown that cats who eat only canned food and get NO addtional water, actually get more water in their diet than cats who eat only dry food and drink water. So that is why Tyke was surviving. But there is no doubt in our minds that the milk made all the difference. She will never be a big cat but she is looking much healthier. She has added a good bit of muscle mass and she has a lot more energy.

The joke now is declare "milk-powered Tyke!" when she is kicking Jack's butt.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

As of this week, Little Tyke finally started drinking water. FINALLY! I have caught her drinking from the water bowl twice in less than twenty-four hours; once just a bit ago. We saw her drinking water the other day but wanted to be sure this was the new norm.

There is little doubt in my mind that the catmilk made a big difference in her health. She was going downhill fast until we started her on the milk. But it is expensive and a real pain the butt. I am soooooo ready to be done with that business.

Btw, she is still my shadow. If I'm home, Tyke is almost always in view or very near. When I go into the bathroom, she sits and waits at the door. If I try to ditch her and run down to my office, she is usually only moments behind me no matter how quiet I try to be. There is no escape!

 

[turbo]

Yay! Good news.

My wife and I have really enjoyed our time with Duke. Pets are family. We have started to make dog-cookies for him (whole-wheat peanut butter, banana-carrot-apple-wheat, liver-garlic-whole wheat...). He has gotten so used to getting healthy, tasty treats that we have to hold back a bit and make sure he eats his Iams Lamb and Rice, too.

 

[Evo]

I am so glad to hear she is gettig better!

Since the death of Dr Foofer, my dog, the Fruit bat has to be hand fed, or he just won't eat, I can leave his dry food down for 2-3 days before i give up and feed him. I switched to canned dog food and he ate it the first two days, but has now stopped. He is so skinny. I know he's depressed by Foofer's death, Foofer raised him, but spoon feeding him his dog food is getting ridiculous. Any ideas?

 

[hypatia]

YEA for Little Tyke! Good job kitty Daddy, and kitty Mommy.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I am so glad to hear she is gettig better!

Note that my last post was over a year ago. She has been happy and healthy all along but would only drink the milk; showed no interest in water except for licking the bathtub, or my legs, after a shower. But at over a $1 a day, $400 a year for catmilk was the real problem.

 

[turbo]

Maybe he'll get his appetite back if you treat him with these, or crumble them into his dry food. Duke loves them, and his doggie-pals Max (sheperd/pitbull mix) and Roadie (long-haired miniature dachshund) both agree.

http://www.dogtreatrecipes.org/liver-treats.html

 

[GeorginaS]

When I changed Bean's diet to wet food exclusively with only a couple of pieces of dry food as a late night treat/snack, she stopped drinking water altogether. And then she stopped eating any dry food at all. She had no interest. She gets all of her moisture from her canned food, and it's been that way for, gosh, 6 or 7 years? Maybe 8? She'll be 10 this November.

And she performs all of her litter box functions just fine; she's perfectly well hydrated. The vet said it's unusual but not unheard of for cats to stop drinking water and get all of their moisture from food.

That doesn't stop me from changing the water in her dish twice a day. Every day. For years. For a cat who won't drink water.

Is it possible, Ivan, that Tyke is deriving something else from the milk that's improving her demeanour?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

When I changed Bean's diet to wet food exclusively with only a couple of pieces of dry food as a late night treat/snack, she stopped drinking water altogether. And then she stopped eating any dry food at all. She had no interest. She gets all of her moisture from her canned food, and it's been that way for, gosh, 6 or 7 years? Maybe 8? She'll be 10 this November.

And she performs all of her litter box functions just fine; she's perfectly well hydrated. The vet said it's unusual but not unheard of for cats to stop drinking water and get all of their moisture from food.

That doesn't stop me from changing the water in her dish twice a day. Every day. For years. For a cat who won't drink water.

Is it possible, Ivan, that Tyke is deriving something else from the milk that's improving her demeanour?

It wasn't just her demeanor. She was starting to look frail and too thin. When we started her on the milk, she started to bulk up almost immediately. I guess it's true: Milk has something for every body.

We always assumed that it could be something in the milk, and not just the liquid, so we will be watching for any signs of trouble. Recall that she was taken from her mother at three weeks of age. Perhaps this all gets back to her traumatic babyhood and being weaned too soon. Now, she supplements her diet with a good bit of mouse, which is allegedly the perfect food for a cat, so perhaps that has helped. Dunno. She had the vets stumped long ago.

You might also remember that as a kitten, she suffered a few strange twitching bouts that were so bad we briefly considered having her put down. But that too finally went away with age. That one had vets stumped as well.

 

[GeorginaS]

Oh yes, I well remember how tiny Little Tyke was when she came to you. I swear you have a picture of her where she's the size of Tsu's thumb. And I do remember that feeding her was a huge challenge that Tsu lived up to day and night saving that wee kitty's life. It's engraved on my heart. :)

I was just pointing out the possibility about the milk because you'd specifically pointed out that she didn't drink water. I have experience with a cat who does that, so that's why I said something.

And yes, mouse and fresh-killed birds are supposed to be the perfect cat foods. :) Did you know that venison meat is the next closest thing to mouse feed cats? That's why a lot of higher-end cat foods and vet foods have venison as the main protein in the food. It's a close relative to mouse. So if you need to bulk her up a bit, and you think that mouse is helping her but you'd like to give her a bit more, foods with venison as the main protein source are great for your kitty.

I know that you and Tsu are both intelligent, competent, loving people. I'm just trying to offer any suggestions I can, because I've lived a number of years with a cat who's been a candidate for vet medical journals twice, now, and is a huge puzzle with never-ending, ongoing health issues. And I love her like nothing else on earth.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh yes, I well remember how tiny Little Tyke was when she came to you. I swear you have a picture of her where she's the size of Tsu's thumb. And I do remember that feeding her was a huge challenge that Tsu lived up to day and night saving that wee kitty's life. It's engraved on my heart. :)

Except that was me feeding and manually pooping Tyke ten times a day. Tsu brought her home and then left for Arizona! That's why Little Tyke sticks to me like glue - I'm mom.

I was just pointing out the possibility about the milk because you'd specifically pointed out that she didn't drink water. I have experience with a cat who does that, so that's why I said something.

I do understand your concern. In fact, earlier [last year] I mentioned that according the vet, cats that eat canned food and drink no water, are better hydrated than cats that eat dry food and drink. It may be that I hit on the right solution - the milk - for entirely the wrong reason.

And yes, mouse and fresh-killed birds are supposed to be the perfect cat foods. :) Did you know that venison meat is the next closest thing to mouse feed cats? That's why a lot of higher-end cat foods and vet foods have venison as the main protein in the food. It's a close relative to mouse. So if you need to bulk her up a bit, and you think that mouse is helping her but you'd like to give her a bit more, foods with venison as the main protein source are great for your kitty.

I know that you and Tsu are both intelligent, competent, loving people. I'm just trying to offer any suggestions I can, because I've lived a number of years with a cat who's been a candidate for vet medical journals twice, now, and is a huge puzzle with never-ending, ongoing health issues. And I love her like nothing else on earth.

And it is appreciated. We can use all of the input we can get.

Venison, hmmmmm, that would explain the night that my other office kitty, Bun, tried to catch a deer! No kidding! I had to wonder what she planned to do if she caught it.

 

[Evo]

You are an excellent cat mother Ivan.

 

[GeorginaS]

Okay so you were bottle-feeding and Tsu got the credit. Sorry for misremembering who was who. It still touched my heart remarkably.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

FINALLY we are getting peace in the house.

Tyke didn't like Jack so she moved to my office almost immediately. This of course absolutely ruined the life of Bun, my other office cat, who doesn't like anyone but me. But Bun hates Zooby, our other house cat, and she hates Jack even more, much more than she hates Little Tyke, so Bun and Tyke agreed to a peace treaty. Likewise, Jack and Zooby didn't like each other, at least Zooby REALLY didn't like Jack [he's too aggressive] but they could tolerate each other better than Tyke or Bun. Jack did actually run her off for a time and we thought we lost her, but after about two weeks she showed up again and learned to live with Jack.

Such drama: We had four cats, none of which like any other! This was a new experience for us. Our animals [dogs and cats] have always gotten along well. Tyke and Jack were always intended to be a pair but it certainly hadn't worked out that way. However, at last, we have kitty play! YAY!

With time [age] things are calming down. And best of all, for the first time in three years I am losing my orange shadow. She has been staying up in the house and playing with Jack a lot lately. Less a few weeks here and there in the nice weather, for most of the last three years, she has been within arm's length or so, all day, every day. If I get up for a coffee refill or to grab something, she's under foot almost instantly. And for all of this time, up until about a month ago, Tsu has hardly even seen her.

Tsu has only had a few weeks of steady Tyke time and already she's crying for mercy!

 

[turbo]

Clingy pets can be... interesting. Duke follows me to the bathroom and lies on the bath-mat while I'm doing what I've got to do. Usually when we're walking outdoors, I have him heel at my left. He carried that behavior over indoor, too, which means I have to watch my footing, especially when I've got my hands full.

Glad to hear that the cat-wars have subsided.

 

[drizzle]

[PLAIN]http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/1995/tyke6wp9.jpg[/QUOTE]

Ohhhhh, so cuteieeee :!)


Come come Tykie, come to drizzie :!)

Updates please, that cute kitten should be a daily PF visitor. :!)

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Ohhhhh, so cuteieeee :!)


Come come Tykie, come to drizzie :!)

Updates please, that cute kitten should be a daily PF visitor. :!)

And she's as sweet as she looks. She is a total lover.

A couple of good pics from earlier in the thread.

[PLAIN]http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/3384/littletyke4wkssmps2.jpg[/QUOTE]

[PLAIN]http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/7651/sleevekitty1lx6.jpg[/QUOTE]

Of course she's all grown up now, but she's still small and exceedingly cute.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Age 3.3 and Little Tyke hasn't lost all of her kitten qualities. We sometimes refer to her as permababy.

She knows when I pull my sleeve down over my hand, she's allowed to rip. Without the sleeve, and when all fired up, she's turned my hand into a bloody mess. Up until about age two she was pretty harmless. She looked like she was being ferocious but she never really dug in. But then, as if someone hit a switch enabling her superpowers, she was dangerous! One day, play was normal and painless, and the next my hand was turned to hamburger in about ten seconds.

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/343/tykeat3.jpg