Tough weekend

On the way home last night, I drove past a bitch with two puppies! I stopped, turned around and tried my best to catch all three dogs. Two puppies nursing off their mother - right in the road? No way, I could drive past that!

I managed to catch one puppy, but the other ran off at top speed - fortunately another car stopped and they caught the other puppy. Mommy yelped and ran off ... home, I hope, because the others asked the people who were walking past and were told that's where the dogs live. And we gave both puppies to them. I'm not satisfied that the dogs are safe, now - but there really wasn't anything else we could do.

I stopped to get milk - but nobody was home.

At home, mini is doing well, she still has ten stitches. I was finally able to count them. Shame, poor girl! Ziva had only one stitch and Lady Jane only had four - or was it five? This little one is having the hardest time of it, though. And my mips are still hissing at her. I've put a stop to the swatting, though.

I got caught up in some research again. It started quite innocently, when I tried to compare prices of cat food - and I found several sites offering the food I get and quite attractive prices. The catch? Yeah, there is a catch. Sort of. Those reduced prices only apply on recurring orders. So, then I started to look into quality again ... Sigh.

Round and round we go, same as a few months ago: weighing quality against affordability. And, also again, making wet foods for them myself, is undeniably the best option. What it comes down to is, that cats are obligate carnivores, so the only ingredient they actually use in any food is the meat. BUT there are certain supplements cats absolutely must get from their food, most importantly: Taurine! So, you can't simply give them raw meat and expect it to work out. Also, I just learned that just giving them the odd raw meat meal can totally mess up their system, as well!

And yet, this morning they brought in flippin' birds again! Ziva caught them, Lady stole them, Mewthos took them. One by one. Two or three - I can't be sure, because I simply shut the door on them and walked away! Since I can't raise baby birds, rescue was out of the question ... so I turned my back. I'm not happy about it, but they were baby birds, they stood no chance without special care. Which I can't give, I just don't have the knowledge, or the means.

So, clearly, the occasional raw meat is no problem. So, what shall I do?

How about I start by simply reducing my monthly cat food cost? After all, that's how all this got started! And keeping it simple, by changing nothing, except buying at the cheaper rates I'll get by scheduling recurring orders. And then, next time I buy meat for myself, I buy larger portions - for my mippies! At the moment, I'm sharing minimally - giving them just enough to enjoy the taste, but not really feeding them. After all, it's MY food! But, as it turns out, my food is cheaper per kg than cat food! Yes, you read that correctly: cat food - the best of which is mostly meat - is twice as expensive as the meat it's supposed to be made of! So, in time, I'll work out what they like best so that I can treat them with actual meat, rather than processed ... uhm ... meat derivatives.

The whole point being that I change over gradually, rather than overnight - and not starting with an expense, but with a cost reduction. I have a bad habit of starting with good intention, getting all the requirements and then finding it doesn't work the way I thought and then I sit with money spent and no result. It's time to break that habit, he he.

I am, however, planning on seeing whether I can get that juice thing going for myself! But that's planned for tomorrow. Today was kind of a waste. First, the bread I had baked overnight wouldn't come out of the mold - I ended up breaking a large chunk off it to get it out! Then my mippies went birding. And then, just to add insult to injury, I discovered that Mewthos has been spraying ... everywhere! The worst place I've found - so far - has been on my sleeper couch! Really! Funny thing though, it doesn't smell anywhere near as bad as Romeo's efforts - only when I started cleaning the couch did I detect an odor. But he even sprayed the wall by the window next to my pillow! I've washed my laundry and had to hang it inside, as it has been overcast all day - didn't want to risk rain. So, it isn't quite dry. I've also washed the blankie from the cat carrier - as well as my feather duvet's cover! And guess what? Yeah, that's right: the feather duvet needs washing as well, as it's been piddled on! So, it's not been a fun day for me. And just to top it, I've discovered some not-very-nice manipulation going on in my online game - which seriously ticked me off! I'd say, these guys are so obsessed with getting the most out of the game features, that they don't grasp the difference when they do the same to my efforts. And, as much as I hate drama in the game, I just had to say something. It must stop. If it doesn't I'll use other measures.

Anyway, tomorrow should be a better day. Well, for one thing, I'll eat. I only had some chunks of bread with lard today - I wasn't up for much else. For tomorrow, I've taken the goulash out, I'll cook that. It's currently cold enough to enjoy.