I hate to make generalizations, I really do, but the truth of the matter is: Brooklyn is full of crunchy hippy types. Take our new vet, for example. See, Miles took a bit of a tumble shortly after we moved in when he jumped from the kitchen counter to the floor and didn't have a stack of clutter to break his fall like he always did in the old place. Being the hefty boy he is, that three foot jump was a bit jarring on his joints and he immediately started limping as soon as he made landing. I did what any modern cat mom would do, and turned to my friend Yelp for advice. She recommended a nearby vet who came with glowing reviews and I made an appointment for the next afternoon when Drew would be home to help me lug all 22 pounds of Miles to the clinic.
The next day, the vet and her assistants took one look at Miles and acted like the world would end if I didn't get him on health food diet immediately. For the next half hour, it was all "wet food this" and "raw food that" and "You're basically feeding him the equivalent of McDonalds cheeseburgers for every meal and if you can't even figure out how to take care of a cat, how in the world do you think you're ever going to raise a real live human baby one day, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" One of the vet techs even suggested I cook all the cats' meals myself. "It's really not that hard," she explained, "You just make one big batch of it once a week and dish it out for them in small servings three to six times a day." And I was like, okay, sure, I'll get on that just as soon as I rinse out my moon cup and finish baking my homemade granola bars.
But, they scared me what with all this talk about feline diabetes and liver failure and groups of Brooklyn animals lovers coming to my home and staging interventions with photos of sick cats on placards and drum circles in my living room, so I bought some damn canned food for a little peace of mind. I bought six different brands of canned food, actually, after I sold all my belongings on Craigslist and got approved for a loan from my bank. And for the last 10 days, we've been experimenting with what brand the cats like best.
So far, they've liked everything they've tried, but there's just been this one little problem. Every single brand of canned food gives my cats the runs. Like, bad. And you know what happens when your cats' litter box fills up with diarrhea every time you turn around? Pretty soon, your apartment is covered in little shitty paw prints everywhere you look. Can't find SiSi? Just follow the shit stains from the litter box to your bed. Oh, look! Skid marks on your brand new bedding! A pile of poo on your new $700 chair. This morning I was late for yoga when I discovered shit streaks all over the bedroom windowsill I had to clean up before I could leave. Oh, but you better believe I made it to yoga. You know what happens when you live in Brooklyn and you don't go to yoga? You aren't allowed to vote. They turn you away at the food co-op. The vintage stores won't let you try on their clothes.
At least the vets will still talk to you as long as you spend half your salary on canned chicken livers and tuna with gravy. Our vet called the other day with test results for Miles. She didn't know what was causing his limp, which luckily got better after we saw her last, but she had the results of his blood and urine tests. How did the big guy fare after being fed a diet of 90% "McDonalds equivalent" his whole life?
"He's in perfect health!" the vet exclaimed. "Not a thing wrong with him!"
I have two cases of farter starters left. Anyone want to guess what my first contribution will be to the store of free curbside goods?
Good for you! Sorry about all the abuse you endured at the Vet...
Posted by: Lori | July 13, 2010 at 02:31 PM
Poor Miles. Poor Wendy. But you had me laughing out loud!
Posted by: Allie | July 13, 2010 at 03:14 PM
This was hilarious Wendy, although I completely empathize. People always make comparisons between Portland, OR (my home on and off for 20 years) and Brooklyn for this exact reason. Don't get me wrong, I love both locations but sometimes the elitist hippies can get on your nerves!
Posted by: Kathleen Scanlon | July 13, 2010 at 03:49 PM
Wendy, my vet said exactly the same thing to me last month when I took my 2 in for their shots. He gave me the whole 'Would you feed your child Mcdonalds everyday?' speech and went on and on about the health benefits of wet food (specifically the brand sold by the vets)
But after buying every wet food under the sun for them, my 2 will still lick the sauce out of the bowl and leave the actual meat part every single time. Plus, you know it's summer and that stuff stinks, so while they're both in good health, we're sticking to our fast-food-like Friskies too!
Posted by: Vicki | July 14, 2010 at 05:19 AM
Actually, a good quality dry food (like Purina) is good for their dental health - wet food doesn't do anything to help cats with that and they aren't as apt to use chew toys like a dog would. It's not as expensive as wet food and it still has what your cat needs. Vets are full of crap when they say that dry food (in general) is like feeling your cat McDonalds - although some brands of dry food are better than others and if you do a little initial research you'll find what's best for Miles.
I get a little annoyed with the high and mighty crunchy granola people around where I live. I try my best to eat healthy, recycle and carpool when I can, but when you only make $30,000 a year it gets too expensive *real* quick. If they spent that enegery pressuring the "organic" companies to lower their prices so everyone can afford good, healthy, food, then maybe more people would do it. Hope Miles is feeling better!
Posted by: Apartmentkitchen.wordpress.com | July 14, 2010 at 05:56 AM
Vicki, yes it's so stinky!
At any rate, both cats are healthy after a diet of 90% dry food, so I don't see why I have to suddenly switch to 100% wet food. I'll do maybe 50-50, but if that diarrhea continues, we're done.
Posted by: citywendy | July 14, 2010 at 06:13 AM
Adore your blog. I love Brooklyn, but know what you mean. Im getting ready to move to Williamsburg and feel like I need to buy an entirely new wardrobe to live there without being labeled a fraud :-) On the up side, will be glad for my bike to get a bit more use.
P.S. My Brooklyn living, cat having, granola making friends think this post is awesome and completely true.
Posted by: Katherine | July 14, 2010 at 06:40 AM
We went through all of that when we took our cats to our new vet in Cobble Hill. The only good news I have for you is that the Trader Joe's brand of cat food is on the list of recommended brands from our vet and it's about 1/8 the cost of the other holistic, organic, hippie stuff they recommend. Plus the cats love it. So if you can get yourself to Trader Joe's I highly recommend picking up a dry bag or a few cans.
Oh and PS...I had never heard of a moon cup until now...wow...
Posted by: Nikki | July 14, 2010 at 09:49 AM
Nikki, Thanks for the reminder -- Trader Joe's is a mile walk from our place and I meant to put their cat food on my shopping list for my next trip.
Posted by: citywendy | July 14, 2010 at 10:23 AM
When our family cat was diagnosed with diabetes, and did get really physically ill, we went through this as well. Insulin is expensive, it's the same they give to humans, so pricey. I did buy some really good wet food from the pet store, and Perky loved it. But I also found that just buying ground beef, turkey, or shrimp from the grocery store did the trick as well, and she LOVED it -fed to her in smaller portions (and brought to room temp). I mean, think about it, cats in nature eat rodents and birds. If you look at the dry ingredients - a lot of them use rice fillers. WTF? Would your cat eat a bowl of rice if placed before her?
Whole Foods also sells frozen cat food that is essentially ground frozen meat.
Posted by: Ms. Dj Jones | July 14, 2010 at 10:38 AM
Oh my could I relate to this!
Somehow when my vet was out of town two years ago, the fill-in vet scared the living pants off me regarding the dry food. And so I switched. My life has been off ever since!
No diarrhea but my once perfectly mellow cat now lives a schedule that is completely food driven. She wakes up every morning at 5 demanding food (I shut her in the bathroom until 7 when I get up) and goes crazy the minute I walk into my building when I return home at night. (I can hear her howling when I get my mail, when I still have two more doors to go through.)
She refuses to go back to the dry food--I've tried. Why oh why I ever messed with her diet is beyond me.
We're cat moms--we know them best. Sigh.
Posted by: ChicagoJen | July 14, 2010 at 11:58 AM
Most cats will have upset stomachs/gas/diarrhea when you switch their foods. It goes away when you stick with one food for a while. Also, the rule of thumb is to gradually introduce the new food by mixing it in with the old, increasing the ratio of new:old until you are at 100% new.
This all might seem like a pain, but not as much a pain as being home every 12 hours, on the dot, for the rest of your life, to administer insulin shots to a diabetic animal. Trust me.
Posted by: Marge | July 14, 2010 at 02:04 PM
Yeah, I'm all for giving the cat a more well-balanced diet, but I'm not going to 100% wet food. Look what happened to ChicagoJen! I need to be able to go away for a weekend and leave a couple bowls of food out and not worry about them.
Posted by: citywendy | July 14, 2010 at 02:50 PM
I have two cats and growing up I had a dog and a cat they were always fed dry food...occasionally they'd get wet food but our Vet said it's better for their teeth, digestion and weight management. Since my childhood dog and cat lived to be 17 and 20 respectively I fee my current two cats mainly Iams dry food. They are in great health and enjoy the soft food or some tuna as treats.
Posted by: Kim | July 15, 2010 at 05:49 AM
I have two cats and growing up I had a dog and a cat they were always fed dry food...occasionally they'd get wet food but our Vet said it's better for their teeth, digestion and weight management. Since my childhood dog and cat lived to be 17 and 20 respectively I feed my current two cats mainly Iams dry food. They are in great health and enjoy the soft food or some tuna as treats.
Posted by: Kim | July 15, 2010 at 05:49 AM
My 22 pound cat, Hoku, looks like she could be Miles's sister. (I'm in Chicago so who knows?) I went through similar frustration regarding what I should feed her and have settled on EVO dry food. It is 50% protein and has no grains. It comes in regular and weight management and is available at higher end pet stores (evopet.com). Although feeding her only 1/2 cup a day for 2 years has not resulted in any weight loss she is in perfect health. My previous cat, another tabby, ate only dry food and lived to be 20 and died only because of a spinal injury from jummping down but had otherwise been in perfect health. Don't worry, you're a great cat mom and your cats are lucky to have you!
Posted by: Carole | July 15, 2010 at 08:45 AM
Carole, maybe they ARE siblings! Wouldn't that be funny?
I know Evo - it was one of the canned brands we tried. Maybe when the cats' current bag of dry food is out, I'll switch them to the Evo dry stuff. That'll be their dinner and I'll keep doing wet food for their morning meal. But, God help me, that stuff stinks in the summer.
Posted by: citywendy | July 15, 2010 at 11:40 AM
Definitely look at switching to a dry food that doesn't use grain or rice as a filler. My kitties get B.G. (Before Grain), and it's reasonably priced. But there are lots of good brands out there! My kitties get a little wet food with their evening feeding (1/4 can or less each), but I've found when it's really really hot out they tend to puke it back up (lovely visual, huh?)
Posted by: abby | July 16, 2010 at 08:40 AM
Check out THIS coincidence. You're in a fancy feast commercial! I saw this on TV today and your blog happened to be talking cat food.
http://fancyfeast.com/appetizers/
(Click on the purple dot that says "Watch the Video".)
For the record, I use the Diva Cup (variant on the Moon Cup) and it is frankly amazing. I'm definitely not a hippie, but dealing with feminine stuff only once every 12 hours is nothing to scoff at. Plus it's not nearly as gross as one would think.
Posted by: Alison L. | July 16, 2010 at 12:19 PM
Wow, that really does look like me in that commercial!
Posted by: citywendy | July 16, 2010 at 01:38 PM
Hmm...that's crazy that they were talking to you about making your own cat food! I'm glad you didn't fall for that.
However, I do think 22 lbs of cat is a little too much - doesn't matter if his bloodwork showed that he is in "perfect health". A 22 lb cat WILL get diabetes. The end. So, I'd say definitely consider some sort of a diet to get him to lose the weight.
Good luck to you and Miles!
Posted by: KP | July 19, 2010 at 06:39 AM