Hot Stuff?
Yesterday Kali moved the BBs from the kennel to the closet behind the kennel. Oh well. The closet is safe and warm, so as long as all of them are together I’m okay with that. So yesterday evening I put a blanket on the floor under them. Ha! Kali moved them about a foot away OFF the blanket. Fleece is fine for her to sleep on when it’s on Ken and my bed, but not suitable for her babies.
Hmmm… I wonder if it’s too warm for her? I keep the heat in the guest room up around 80 so the kittens won’t get chilled. Kittens are born with a body temp around 95 and without the ability to regulate their body temp so they depend on mom, their litter mates, and their surroundings to stay warm. Over the first couple weeks their body temp gradually increases to a normal of 101. Besides keeping the room extra warm, I use a Snuggle Safe in their bed so they have something warm to cuddle up to if mama isn’t there. With Kali moving the babies so much, predicting where the Snuggle Safe should be has been tough. I also think that is contributing to her moving them — she doesn’t seem to want to be anywhere near the Snuggle Safe. More evidence that she’s getting too warm. Too bad. The kittens need the warmth and Kali will be fine, if a little uncomfortable.
I heard from my friend Carole last night. Carole and her fiance own a handsome black wegie named Java. She’d written awhile back to say Java wasn’t doing well. It was about the time all the news broke about the pet food recalls. Carole didn’t think he’d eaten any of the recalled foods, but his symptoms indicated kidney issues — very suspect considering the timing. Well it turns out he did eat at least one of the foods — one that wasn’t recalled until much later. Java is hanging in there, but it’s been a difficult and expensive ordeal, with no promises that he is over the worst yet. My thoughts and prayers are with Carole, Chet, and Java.
The pet food recalls have been very disturbing. Information was slow coming out. Recalls were made over a period of time, with the list being updated almost daily. How do you know what’s going on without searching all the food sites daily? Well, one site that is very useful is: http://www.itchmo.com/ You can subscribe to an alert service through them and get notices via email. There’s also a fair amount of news, pet care info, and fun stuff on the Itchmo site. Another good factual site is: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html
So now you’re up to date on the recalls… what do you feed your cat? Since I’m running out of time — yes, I need to do some real work :-) — I’ll write more about that later.