new member saying' hi

Hi,

I've already posted about my cats here

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240624/cagney-lacey

and here

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/240591/sudden-fearful-behavior-wont-last-forever-right.

They're really great cats. No real problems to report.

I've failed to train them to stay within the confines of our yard. The last straw was when I had to to rescue them both from a tree protected by makeshift homemade climbing equipment.

Until I can cat-proof the fence, they go out on leashes.

I haven't found a vet I really trust.

Anyway, nice to meet y'all!

Hello and a formal (but warm) welcome to TCS! I hope we see lots of your posts and pictures around the forums, and you have made a good start. I agree about the importance of finding a vet you can trust - too often you find out too late that someone is not in tune with you and your ideas. Do you know any other animal (ideally cat) lovers you can ask? It takes time but it is worth going to see the clinics or surgeries well before you need them, to get an idea of the size of the practice, and the facilities they have. Not all vets have Xray equipment, or ability to do blood or urine analysis. And their policy on house calls or stepped payments needs to be known too. Good luck in the search, it is sop good that you are determined to find the right person before entrusting your cat to them.

Hi Jenny,

Unfortunately, the people I know with cats do not share my ideas about health and nutrition the most important points being:

1) Nobody (human, cat, etc) should be eating a diet of processed foods. Nutritional "science" is not a well developed field and it is far too entrenched in corporate interests.

2) There is NO scientific evidence that regular, lifelong vaccinations is necessary/helpful/not harmful.

I'm a scientist and I don't see medical pros (human and vet) making sure their advice is based on real, vigorous scientific research. Now I understand with complex systems (living things), vigorous scientific experimentation is difficult if not impossible especially when the concept of ethics is considered. This is why first and foremost doctors should "do no harm" - a concept I am afraid has fallen by the wayside.

Right now my cats are on canned cat food (wellness, natural balance, trader joe's, what ever is on sale). I try to avoid anything with fish (trader joe's is the only brand I get with fish)  and "natural and artificial flavors".

I really want to make some (1/3-1/2) proportion of their diet homemade, but I am afraid that I may harm them with some sort of nutritional deficiency/excess. I am not convinced raw is the way to go.

The last time I tried to find a vet was when they needed their first rabies vaccine. I called the nearest

vet with high yelp reviews and a cat-only clinic in the area to ask what brand of rabies vaccine they use. At both places the receptionist had no idea and said the vet would call me to discuss it. Never heard from them. IIRC, the receptionist at the cat-only place said she thought they used  the 3 year vaccine, which I know is adjuvanted. She didn't know what adjuvanted means (I know that doesn't necessarily mean anything, she wasn't the vet after all). I wound up having it done at one of those low cost clinics at a pet store.

Hi and welcome to TCS!    I just looked at Cagney and Lacey's pictures in your other thread. They are so cute!  You made me think; my Aunt and Uncle had a dog years ago named Cagney.  I've never met another cat or dog with that name.  I need to ask my Aunt where the name came from!  I assume the TV show but I could be wrong too.  I like the coordinating names too; hence my username here!

aeevr said:

Hi Jenny,
Unfortunately, the people I know with cats do not share my ideas about health and nutrition the most important points being:
1) Nobody (human, cat, etc) should be eating a diet of processed foods. Nutritional "science" is not a well developed field and it is far too entrenched in corporate interests.
2) There is NO scientific evidence that regular, lifelong vaccinations is necessary/helpful/not harmful.
I'm a scientist and I don't see medical pros (human and vet) making sure their advice is based on real, vigorous scientific research. Now I understand with complex systems (living things), vigorous scientific experimentation is difficult if not impossible especially when the concept of ethics is considered. This is why first and foremost doctors should "do no harm" - a concept I am afraid has fallen by the wayside.

Right now my cats are on canned cat food (wellness, natural balance, trader joe's, what ever is on sale). I try to avoid anything with fish (trader joe's is the only brand I get with fish)  and "natural and artificial flavors".
I really want to make some (1/3-1/2) proportion of their diet homemade, but I am afraid that I may harm them with some sort of nutritional deficiency/excess. I am not convinced raw is the way to go.

The last time I tried to find a vet was when they needed their first rabies vaccine. I called the nearest
vet with high yelp reviews and a cat-only clinic in the area to ask what brand of rabies vaccine they use. At both places the receptionist had no idea and said the vet would call me to discuss it. Never heard from them. IIRC, the receptionist at the cat-only place said she thought they used  the 3 year vaccine, which I know is adjuvanted. She didn't know what adjuvanted means (I know that doesn't necessarily mean anything, she wasn't the vet after all). I wound up having it done at one of those low cost clinics at a pet store.

Click to expand...

All your points prove how much you care about getting the best for your cats. Although I agree that they could be considered controversial, you will find that they are all aspects of cat-care that are regularly debated on these forums, with some very well informed and experienced people offering opinions and evidence. I think you will enjoy yourself here, and I am sure we will all benefit from your input. We all try to respect each other, and avoid getting personal in our comments, but one of the interesting things about TCS is that we see how things are done around the world, taking into account different traditions, economies and technology. We all can learn from each other.

Hi and welcome to TCS!
As Jenny said, I'm sure you will find a lot of information on this board, and we welcome informed input from around the world.
Your two cats are lovely. I laughed at the photo with their paws in the air. Looks like they're playing "copy cat"!

MoochNNoodles said:

Hi and welcome to TCS! 

  I just looked at Cagney and Lacey's pictures in your other thread. They are so cute!  You made me think; my Aunt and Uncle had a dog years ago named Cagney.  I've never met another cat or dog with that name.  I need to ask my Aunt where the name came from!  I assume the TV show but I could be wrong too.  I like the coordinating names too; hence my username here!

Click to expand...

Hi Mooch,

I was not familiar with what it is your cats' names refer to. When I googled Mooch and Noodles, the first links were to your posts on this forum.  
Are the names from a comic strip called 'Mutts'?

Perhaps the dog was named after the actor James Cagney.

Glad you liked seeing my cats.

Hi, I'm sort of still a "newbie" on here too.  I also feed my baby Natural Balance, but have to use the limited ing. because of skin allergies. (although he still "chews" a lot?)

Love your pictures. It does look like they are giving each other a high five in one, & in another it looks like they are giving each other "dap." So funny. They do keep us entertained!

Hi there welcome along to TCS