Chewy.com Review: Blue Buffalo Wilderness Wild Cuts Chicken Cat Food Topper

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015



Hi Everyone!

Happy **late** Christmas or whatever you celebrate! I am so sorry for the neglectfulness of Life with Ragdolls. I've been so busy! Angel got sick, I got a new dog (more about her next Tuesday), holidays happened, I had to rehome Zayd and Baloo (more about this next Thursday), etc. Woah! Now on to this review....

I got my monthly December test product from Chewy.com to review, it is the Blue Buffalo Wilderness Wild Cuts Chicken Cat Food Topper (that was quite a mouth full....that's what she said ;)
The link can be found here. It is on sale now (as of December 30th, 2015 which is the time I wrote it) for $28.60 (originally $46. 36) with free shipping on orders over $49 dollars. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Wild Cuts Chicken Cat Food Topper is a grain free product with limited ingredients, but it went below my standard, it contains potato starch, lots of salt, and guar gum. And, surprisingly none of my cats liked this food topper, I first found out about this product a few months ago while shopping at petsmart, I bought one (there is four flavors, and I think I bought duck or salmon. Can't recall) for Star and she devoured it like she hadn't been fed in weeks, so it was a big shocker to experience her and my other cats' dislike of this food. Angel licked all of the gravy off of the food and then ate a few small pieces of this food, Saphira ate all the gravy off of it and left the chunks (all of my cats prefer pate canned food over chunky food, maybe that's why), Anya sampled a bit of everything but spat out it after she got a taste of it, and Star? who's my best eater of all, well, she wouldn't touch it.


I love how this food does not contain carragreenan (a substance (chemical) extracted from red and purple seaweed that has been known to cause digestive problems in both cats and humans), this is now my new suspicion of Star's allergies since a grain free diet of no corn, soy, or wheat is no longer a problem. Anya gets horrible stomach upset when she eats canned food containing carragreenan, I try to avoid this chemical at all times. Sadly, it is becoming nearly impossible to find a canned cat food not containing carragreenan. I was very excited to learn that this food does not contain carragreenan. Even though Anya barely ate this food, I must admit that she suffered no digestion upset.



Pros:

* Grain free.

* No carragreenan (rare!).

* Very simple ingredients.

* Fast Shipping.

* Friendly customer service.

* My cats generally like Blue Buffalo products.

* My dog loves this food....unfortunately she ate it out of Star's bowl when I wasn't paying attention. Star says: "prepare to die, mutt!" Kidding...sort of.

* Comes in four flavors to choose from; chicken (the one I reviewed), duck, salmon, and beef. All in a 3 0z 24 pack. I've tried every flavor for my cats but beef, I have yet to find beef....must be a new flavor.





Cons:

* Made with potato starch.

* Way too much salt (known to cause urinary problems).

* None of my cats really liked this food.

* Blue Buffalo is now primarily using chicken from China in most of their products, to me this is a concern.

* Expensive. A 24 pack of this flavor is $46.36 But now it is on sale which is nice.



Note: Some flavors are cheaper than others, at least on Chewy.com




Ragdoll Mommy~

Are You Happy with Your Breed Choice?

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015



Hey Everyone,

Awhile back I saw this question on a book cover in the bookstore. It struck my interests for a blog post, let me first say flat out that the question is not "are you happy with your individual pet?", because I am. While I love Star and Saphira beyond measure, they're not purebreds, so I won't included them much in this post.

What breeds are my cats?

Anya is a Ragdoll cat and I've had Ragdolls since 2004, they're my favorite cat breed and are near damn perfect for me. I love their bunny soft, non-matting coats which are easy to care for, sapphire blue eyes, large size, and sweet temperaments. They go limp when you pick them up and they typically love following you from room to room. Ragdolls are the very first cat breed I had experience with and I couldn't be happier. They're fun, sweet, dog-like, playful, and just all around jolly with life.



Angel is a Persian cat and she is my first Persian. I never expected to have a Persian join my life, but hey, shit happens. Persians are quiet, peaceful, cats. They love their people, but are high strung and a bit aloof, but tolerant. I love their brachiocephalic (flat) faces, expressive eyes, and their luxurious coats (although they're a pain to brush).




Would you get the same breeds you own now again? 

The short answer to that is yes and no.

The long answer is I won't be getting a Persian again, I will probably be getting another Ragdoll after Anya passes away, which will (hopefully) be a loooong way away because she's healthy and only 7 years old. Angel is old and her health is slightly declining, she'll be 13 years old on 2-22-2016, I hope I'll have a few more years with her, she's such a nice cat, she set the standard too high for other Persians, which is why I probably won't be getting another one.

Anya.

Angel.

Ragdoll Mommy~

Angel's Health Scare\Vet Appointment

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015



Hey Everyone!

I've been so busy lately. No time to post! I can't believe its already December. Where did this year go?


Angel had a serious health scare last week where she was no eating, drinking lots of water, and urinating on the floor. I wasn't able to get her to a vet immediately because of work, but a few days later I got her in. My vet is only 15 or so minutes away from our house and we use Banfield, I saw the same vet that put Nico to sleep and cared for him in his last days of life, she is an amazing vet, very kind and compassionate, also knowledgeable about animals in general. Angel saw her too, and I don't think Angel would of made it without her, I was afraid Angel was on death's door. Not eating, moving, and trouble breathing, on top of that, she's a older cat (12 years old). I wasn't sure that she was going to make it. I suspected either a urinary track infection, kidney failure (Persians can be prone to it), or diabetes.

Angel received a internal organ screen of her kidneys, a blood cell count, an exam, and a shot of clavamox twice a day with a syringe every 12 hours, some recovery canned food, and some high calorie paste to eat ( I was trying to get Angel to loose some weight, she was nearing 13lbs and Persians are a small breed weighing 7 - 10lbs, Angel stopped eating on her own and dropped to 8lbs). She was so severely dehydrated that her vet could not preform a UA (urinalysis), so they weren't able to find out what went wrong with her, her blood sugar was also really low. Her kidneys were in a okay state for a senior cat on dry food (working on switching her to canned food) but they were strained from not processing any fluids out of the body.



Angel is back to normal except for 2 accidents on the floor, so we're seeing the vet again soon, she also needs her annual rabies vaccine too.

This was taken when she was ill with some nasal discharge (that's such a gross word) too.

Ignore the facial expression...she was purring. ;) She is a lot better now. And, I am so glad. I love this girl!

"That girl of mine is a nut..."

Ragdoll Mommy~

Help for Anya Needed Now

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015




Hi Everyone,

Happy **belated** Thanksgiving!



I am cornered into helplessness as to what to feed Anya. She has no known health problems, she is 7 years old, and a Ragdoll. For a reminder, Ragdolls and Maine Coons and other large breeds need a high protein diet (at least 37 - 44% animal protein) in their diets. Ragdolls are famous for developing heart problems, which leads to death, taurine is absolutely needed for all cats to keep up with heart and eye sight (without proper taurine, cats develop heart problems and blindness), Ragdolls need at least 15% of their diets to be taurine.

Anya has very bad stomach problems, she is vomiting at least once a day, and she's constipated....
She is currently on Taste of the Wild River Canyon kibble (grain free) mixed with Instinct Protein (grain free) kibble, every other day she is fed Friskies canned food. Yes, I know that Friskies isn't the best food, but their canned food lines are decent. Low carb and medium protein range.
I have fed her the highest quality brands to the medium range, to grocery brands and poor crappy brands. Blue Buffalo Freedom, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Taste of the Wild, Instinct Protein, Friskies, Purina Pro Plan, Purina Focus, Purina Cat Chow Complete, Meow Mix, Sheba, The Good Life Recipe, Earthbourn, Whole Earth Farms, Orijen, Fromm, Tiki Cat, Solid Gold, Evolve,  etc! Some of these brands had grains and others do not, Anya has no allergies so I'd be okay with giving her a brand with grains as long as it has no corn or soy, although grain free is preferred. Anya is not picky so canned or kibble is fine. I am not worried about cost. After we finish their bag of Taste of the Wild, I will be switching to Go! Fit + Cat and see how she does on that. In the mean time, if you know of a good brand please throw it at me!



Ragdoll Mommy~

Review Day: Chewy.com's Instinct Raw Freeze-Dried Rabbit Meal or Mixer for Cats

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015


Hi Everyone,

This will be a very quick review since it is being rushed due to huge amounts of work needing to be done so here goes nothing.


This is a freeze dried raw food or treat for cats. I picked the rabbit formula but they also have chicken and lamb too. You can find it here. It comes in a 3 oz bag for $7.19. I don't mind paying for quality, but when only 2 of your cats will eat it is a different story. I will probably be buying this again since Anya and Saphira love it so much. It's a good product, I just wish Star and Angel would eat it, which is quite weird since Star is typically my best eater.

Anya says "give me more b!tch". ;)

Pros:

* Anya and Saphira loved it.

* Comes in a resealable bag.

* Easy to break up.

* No corn, soy, rice, etc.

* Grain free.

* No by-products.

* Great customer service as always.



Cons:

* Too many ingredients...it should just be 'rabbit' and that concerns me.

* Anya and Saphira were the only ones who liked it.

* Slow shipping (this was by accident though).

* Expensive.

* Smells weird.



Ragdoll Mommy~

An Angel Update

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015


Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the blog neglectfulness...I hope to schedule out some new posts for this week, its just that I have been so busy the past few weeks to even continue blogging!


Angel is doing great. I have gotten most of her mats out, she is really a beautiful animal under all that mess. She loves to be brushed and has already adapted to our household and my other pets. Her ears have been cleaned and I clipped her claws. 3 claws were so over grown that they had curled themselves into her paw pads. Ouch! Her mats were skin tight and very painful, I have gotten all of the little to medium sized mats out, but I'll need a professional groomer to get her large back mats out. That will be done soon. In the mean time, Angel loves my other cats and likes to sleep right by my side, also she is very clingy, I am not sure if that is due to her blindness or the fact that I am really her only way around. Her personality is beginning to shine through all that neglect.


Now with an amazing transformation.....

Before:

After:

Ragdoll Mommy~

7 Things I Learned From Living With 'Big' Cats

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015

• 1: You'll Need a Litter Box the Size of a Kid's Sand Box:

There's no denying that your big ass 20+ pound cat will need a olympic-sized litter box. And, they're expensive. Don't even try the kitten sized litter boxes with them...even as kittens they're the size of a 4 month old regular cat.

• 2 : People Are Scared Of Them...

Yep, you read that right. They either think they're a dog or a horse, either way it's not a normal 'cat'.

• 3 : Everyone (Bonus Points If It's Your Vet) Commits On How 'Obese' Your Cat Is, When In Reality It's Just A Big Ass Cat That Weighs 14 - 35lbs And Is At least 3 Feet Long ;)

Nico was my largest and heaviest Ragdoll I ever had, everyone (including his vet) was always urging me to put him on a diet, because he's so 'fat'. Not true at all! Nico was 3 feet long from nose to tail tip and weighted 14lbs. 

• 4 : Their Legs Are About As Long As Your Arms

Okay, that maybe a bit of a over exaggeration, but seriously, I am 5'9 and Nico's arms were at least a foot long. I kid you not. 

• 5 : You'll Need a Medium Sized DOG Crate to Trassport Them in

No joke. They don't make cat carriers that big. Like for real.

• 6 : You'll Go Through Food and Litter Like There's No Tomorrow

Like a large breed dog, large breed cats need more food. They can go through 20lbs of litter a week between 1 of them. Yikes...

• 7 : And, Lastly They're Way Better Than Regular Sized Cats Times Four (Literally haha)

Ragdolls for life. 

They're funny to watch.

They're 'go with the flow' kinda thing.

Their eyes are captivating...

They're pretty to look at.

They roll over on commend.

They sit still for photo shoots.

They like going for walks in the park like a dog.

Ragdoll Mommy~

How Much Is That Kitty In The Window? : How Much Did YOU Pay For Your Purebred Cat or Dog?

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015



Although I hate this question with a fiery passion, I must admit that I was a bit curious to see what other people paid for their purebred cat or dog. Here is the run down for my Ragdolls....



My Ragdoll Purchase Prices Per Cat:

• Nico and Anya purchased at 3.11 years old in 2012 costed me $450 for them together.
• Renato purchased at 13 weeks? in 2014 costed me $750.
• Zayd purchased in 2015 at 3 months old costed me $1,500. 
• Baloo given to me in 2015 at 4.4 years old was for free. **original price was $150**
• Tadpole given to me in 2004 was for free.

Total cost is a whopping $2,700 dollars. 

" I maybe cute, but I'm still expensive" ;-)

Anya is worth every cent in the world!

So that begs the question, how much did you pay for your purebred cat or dog?

Ragdoll Mommy~

Love is Blind....But so is My Cat

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015



Angel is a 12 year old Chinchilla Silver Persian cat that I rescued from a man that neglected her so severely to the point that she cannot even walk correctly. She is 100% blind in her right eye and 90% blind in her left eye (she only sees shadows in her left eye, but not enough to distinguish objects). She is thought to have ear infections in both of her ears and maybe a upper respiratory infection, she is severely matted, very dirty, and reeks of cigarettes. She was born in a kitty mill with over 200 cats and kittens crammed into tiny cages, Angel was so sick as a kitten that both of her eyes developed eye infections and were left untreated until she went blind in both eyes. Angel was declawed by her 'breeder' and when Angel (formerly named Ugly) failed to have kittens due to her poor health, the breeder threw her out in the streets to fend for herself. Blind, declawed, and helpless. Animal control found her and brought her to a shelter where a man and his wife adopted her and brought her home, they kept her for over 12 years until the wife was killed in a car accident with the man's two kids. Dispute all this, the best thing her owner thought to do was to put his dead wife's 12 year old cat to sleep! I rescued Angel just in time as she was due to be euthanized within 48 hours.




Warning: while I did not take close up pictures of Angel's 'worst' things, these photos are still awful and very stomach turning. This is actually after I partially started to groom her...she was infinitely worse before I groomed her. Viewer beware....

I love those beautiful, sightless, green eyes. Angel will never see her rescuer. Breaks my heart how cruel people can be.

Her paws are so matted and filled with urine stains to the point that she will not allow me to touch her paws. Her back paw claws are over grown and growing into her paw pads.

Angel is overweight and very matted. She cannot roll over much. 

The 'yellowing' around the base of her tail is urine stained.

Angel's mats are so bad that they dangle from her stomach to the floor.

The massive bald-looking patch on her back is actually a severe mat.

Dispute all the hell she's lived through, I swear this is the sweetest female cat I've ever met.

Angel's bottom is covered in old, dried feces and urine stains. Angel's severe matting prevents her from being able to properly groom herself. 

The sprawled out fur on her hind leg is 19 individual mats. I removed 7 of them. They were so tight to her skin that it took 4 hours for me to remove them by gentle brushing. 

Angel will be professionally groomed this week or next week to remove those horrible mats, urine stains, etc. She will be seen by our vet asap.






Ragdoll Mommy~

Wordless Wednesday: Anya, You Chameleon! Stop Changing Colors!

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015

September 2015.

October 2015. Anya says: "Bitch, I'm the Queen, I'll change whatever color I want" ;-)

FYI, this is a perfect example of why you should never change your Ragdoll's diet. Seriously. 

PS: the real reason why Anya changed from light to dark is because I put her on a lower quality diet temporarily. She is back on what she normally eats and will get a lot lighter soon.

PS 2nd: I've had Baloo for a month now!


Ragdoll Mommy~

Happy 9 YEARS with Star & Saphira!

I cannot believe that we have had our two beautiful girls for 9 years now. Woah...it seems just yesterday they were little kittens sleeping on chairs and chasing shadows in the dark. I have been through so much with these two, I cannot even imagine what my life would be like without them.

Ragdoll Mommy~

Keep Zayd in Our Thoughts

Zayd is having surgery today (neuter) please keep him in your thoughts as he heals.

Ragdoll Mommy~

Wordless Wednesday: Don't Mind Me....

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015

"Don't mind me...I'm just doing my job...you know, eating your food. Wait..is that a cat snake???! "

Ragdoll Mommy~

Meet Baloo

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015



Yes...now I have five cats....


Baloo is a CFA registered Blue Bicolor Ragdoll cat born May 26, 2011. He is a special needs Ragdoll cat in the case that he has very bad cases of urinary problems and litter box avoidance, so he is being kept on a prescription diet for life. It helps prevent urinary problems for Baloo. Baloo has  had his front paws declawed, because of this he is avoiding the litter box, we have trained him to use puppy training pads for now.

Baloo's name comes from The Jungle Book, Big Baloo to be exact. I just love his name as it totally fits his personality! Very loving and outgoing guy.

Baloo is by no means a 'replacement' for Nico...they may look a lot alike, but Baloo will never be Nico or vice versa. 

Baloo has a very funny personality that shines through him everyday. :-)

Baloo.

Baloo laying on a (clean) puppy training pad.

Note: Because of the addition of Baloo, I will be rehoming Zayd. Please no rude comments...he will NOT be put in a shelter and he will be neutered before I give him away. I will miss him dearly, but please think of the equality of Zayd vs Baloo -- Zayd is an adorable kitten that is sweet and playful, he uses the litter box just fine and he adjusts to a household wonderfully...Baloo on the other hand, is on prescription food which is very expensive, he has litter box avoidance, uses puppy training pads, sometimes he pees on things, he's an adult, etc. Which one sounds more appealing to you? Huh? I'll wait....




Ragdoll Mommy~

Nico and Renato Monday

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015

Anya and Nico.

Renato and Sugar (not Renato's mom).

Ragdoll Mommy~

Wordless Wednesday: Lounge Time

All Photo and Text Copyright Life with Ragdolls 2013~2015

January 2014. Anya was so dark back then!

Ragdoll Mommy~