My foster kittens!! *pic heavy*

[wags]

so cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am sad for you with smokey Joe. When I was younger we had a dog that did this. Just got old and walked away. we never found him (not that you wont find your kitty (just sayin') but anyway, that was a sad time and I am hopefully that maybe he will come back. You never know he just could!, maybe went out for a mouse! I am keeping a good thought here!

[MollyWoppy]

Oh, I'm so sorry about Smokey Joe. Sounds like you had him most of your life too. Sad. Poor boy. :(
Your kittens are gorgeous, just adorable. Bet your house is a box of birds with all the young animals you're taking care of. You know, the world would be a lot better place if there were more people like you around...
Is Liam giving you much grief now he's banned from going outside?

[SerenityFL]

Alright. I felt I needed to share.
First of all, I am very allergic to cats. Very, very allergic. Second, I did't think I was a cat person. Now I am, kinda. Third, my outdoor cat Liam is now an indoor cat. My other cat, Smokey Joe disapeared about a week ago. He was only 15, I'm very sad. I feel if he would have been on a better diet, or eating raw, longer he would have made it. Oh ya, and being an indoor cat. So Liam is now indoors strictly. There are coyotes everywhere. I don't want to lose Liam. So, now I have 6 cats inside and 5 dogs inside. :) I'm definitely a furmommy.

I know this is a dog food forum but I love cats. I like them more than dogs. Yes, I said it. It doesn't mean I don't love dogs, I do love dogs. I just love cats more.

And CavePaws, you win. Six cats and five dogs...holy carp. Totally trumps my 7 cats and 2 hoodlums. Now, tell me, how the hell are you going to afford feeding them all raw? It gets pricey with that many. Even though most of them are cats.

[CavePaws]

Well, Liam is really picky and doesn't eat raw. He eats Orijen, so between giving the kittens Orijen and raw they've been good. The rescue also gave us some Spots Stew kibble and I mixed that with their Orijen. Since the kittens don't eat completely raw they aren't costing me much. Basically I give each kitten half a chicken back to work on or a good sized chunk of whatever the dogs are getting that night. They also always have their bowls full of kibble. I just don't know exactly how much raw they need, and they probably need a lot, so I'm making up for the calories they may need extra in kibble. The donation of some kibble from the rescue was nice. :) It was about 2.5 lbs of food, but since they eat so much it didn't last long. Since I'm getting more I might start getting them Acana to mix in instead. I think Acana is cheaper? Not sure. But Liam is my baby and since he won't eat any raw at all I want him on Orijen. He's so picky. :|

And Penny, YES! He is giving me some madddd grief. It's just when he gets bored that he's really naughty. He'll tackle my feet, bite my hand, claw my hair, lay on my chest. It mostly happens at night time when he really wants to be outside hunting mice. I feel bad. Like I should get him some mice and let them go in my garage. :p That way it's at least semi-fair for the mice. >_>" Liam just has to be given what he wants when he wants it. And there are occasions where nothing will shut him up and he just meows at the window and door. :| I never wanted him to be an outdoor cat. My mother was the one who threw him outside.

I miss SmokeStacks. :/ Ya, we got him when I was really young. I just feel like his life was cut short for reasons I wish I would have controlled better.

Any tips on feeding Liam raw? I really want him on raw but he just doesn't like it. Smokey loved pretty much everything. :( he was such an easy switch.

edit: And as far as feeding. I don't weigh their food and go on body shape - the dogs. Their meals are between 1-2 lbs on average, Pucks about 10 oz. I would venture to say I spend about $5 a day on raw food...So, 7-8 lbs of food between the 5 dogs and 5 cats. I'd probably be feeding way more raw food if everyone ate completely raw. I bet the kittens would eat SO MUCH. They stuff themselves and I've heard you're supposed to give them as much as they want to eat multiple times a day. I pay for 2 of the larger dogs to eat, my boyfriend pays for his medium sized dogs, and my mother pays for a medium sized and small size. I don't spend too much on food. But I do buy the cat kibble because if I didn't they would be eating some nasty grocery store brand - as my mom does not give a hoot what the animals eat. >:|