воскресенье, 31 августа 2014 г.

Review Of Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Cat Food Variety Pack, 3-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24)




After I Buy Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Cat Food Variety Pack, 3-Ounce Cans (Pack of 24)

I have to admit that I barely gave Fancy Feast a second glance until those

wonderful commercials where the man proposes by presenting her with a white kitten

with the tag that said "Marry Us". I still melt on that one!



So, we started buying some Fancy Feast just to support a company who did such a

thoughtful, wonderful commercial! {Really - do we need any more commercials with cats

dancing around imaginary poultry?!)



Our cats are gravy freaks, so I thought this would be a really good fit for them.

First off, there are THREE flavors in the box - chicken feast, beef feast and turkey feast.



Neither cat cared for the beef much - they lick the gravy off of it, and leave the food

to turn to hard dry bits in their dishes. They like the chicken and turkey okay, but still

not their favorite wet food.



Here is my problem with this product:

Fancy Feast already costs quite a bit per ounce, but we buy it from time to time both to spoil

our kitties and to show our monetary support of the company solely from that commercial. (Yep,

they found my soft spot!) We normally feed our cats wet once a day and dry any time else they are

hungry. Be prepared to have hungry kitties with this food, because they have replaced some of the actual

solid food with a volume of water/gravy to fill the can. We've found that they are actually not getting

nearly as much food as they used to, because of the decreased volume of solid food. So, both kitties end up

rubbing on the box the cans are in, asking for more long before we'd expect it. They just aren't getting full.



The gravy is always a hit, but you can make ANY brand of wet food into a 'gravy feast' most of the time.

Just run hot water over the can before opening to loosen up the food, scoop a spoonful or two into their dishes,

then add a little bit of hot water to the can after you spoon out the food, and stir up all the bits from the edges

of the can to make a little more gravy. This works with packets too - scoop the food, add a little very hot water,

stir or shake them, then pour over the food. (There is actually a lot of potential gravy in our pets' food!)



All in all, it was my first and last time to buy the Gravy Lover's Fancy Feast.

There is not enough actual food in the cans, too much water content, and we ended up going through

the food much faster. The other brands of Fancy Feast don't seem to create this problem, so it's just

the decreased amount of actual solid food in this version of cans.



If you have a cat that loves only gravy, or is a VERY light eater, these might be just right.

For us, it just won't work.



One note on Fancy Feast in general - it's mostly promotion, but the cats do like it, so we still buy it.

You have to watch the TEXTURES carefully when buying it - the flavors don't vary all that much, but

they offer paté, sliced, bits, etc. If your cat is picky about texture, you do need to read carefully to

see what you are getting.

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Review Of Purrfect Thermal Cat Mat Leapord Prints (Gray Leopard)




After I Buy Purrfect Thermal Cat Mat Leapord Prints (Gray Leopard)

I bought these about 7 years ago for a multi-pet household and I'm still using all four of them. With no fewer than six cats using them, they've been through the ringer - aka the washing machine more times than I can count. And out of the four that I have, only one has finally developed a small wear spot (that means it's lasted longer than most of my t-shirts). Unlike many mats, whatever material is inside of them does NOT bunch up after washing. They generally come out in the same condition they went in to the machine.



I usually place them on the floor in front of the heat vents and all of the cats will squeeze together onto them - even some that normally do not get along. No matter where I put one, there's sure to be a cat on it making it the perfect diversionary tactic for work spaces. I put one off to the side of my computer so they can sleep close but not be on my keyboard.



I would absolutely recommend these to any cat owner.

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пятница, 29 августа 2014 г.

Review Of Carefresh Natural Premium Soft Pet Bedding, 60- Liter




After I Buy Carefresh Natural Premium Soft Pet Bedding, 60- Liter

I got a sample of Carefresh Colors from the petstore when I bought the Hamster cage kit and loved it. I've owned guinea pigs, rats and hamsters before but had never used Carefresh Colors. I was impressed with its softness and its ability to absorb fluids and odors.



It was time for me to buy some more bedding and I thought Carefresh was pretty much the same as Carefresh Colors, except that Carefresh was less colorful. Out of the bag, I was a little disappointed, because the bedding was not as soft and fluffy as Carefresh Colors. It has more the texture of something I might expect if maybe I wet a bunch of newspaper, wadded it up, let it dry and then shredded what was left. It's rough and dry.



My hamsters don't seem to mind the change. They shred the Carefresh to make it fluffier for the little corner they like to burrow in. It's just as absorbent as the Carefresh Colors and controls odors just as well. The cage smells nice and fresh. Although it's not as pretty as Carefresh Colors, there is an advantage to it being a drab grey, the feces don't show.



If softness and bright color is important to you and your small pet, get Carefresh Colors. If hiding the feces is more important, regular Carefresh is best. If you are looking for absorbance and odor control, they both work equally well.



_____________



UPDATE: I did not like the first batch of Carefresh, which I based this review on. However, my second batch of Carefresh from a different is a lot nicer. It's softer and lighter in color.



Although I still prefer the softness of the Colors, regular Carefresh does have advantages. The hamsters like to clean their cage of poop. When they see it, they throw it outside the cage. With the Colors, there's poop everywhere. They don't seem to see poop as well with the regular Carefresh, so I don't get so much poop all over outside the cage.

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четверг, 28 августа 2014 г.

Review Of Zuke's Mini Naturals Dog Treats Roasted Chicken Recipe, 16-Ounce




After I Buy Zuke's Mini Naturals Dog Treats Roasted Chicken Recipe, 16-Ounce

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INTRO AND GENERAL INFO

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My wife and I purchased these treats one day when we had run out of our normal treats. They are small, our dogs love them, and are much better quality than many commonly available store brands. Still, I had some questions about the ingredients, so I sent an email over to the Zuke's customer service address, and got a very nice response, pasted below.



You may be asking already, "if your dogs love them and they're good quality, why four stars?". Because in our household, "good" quality and "best" quality are two very different things, and in the (sometimes) murky world of meat grading the difference can actually mean health or illness and even life or death. I'm not trying to be dramatic, but after seeing the DOZENS of recalls on pet food and treats over the past few years, my wife and I decided (with the help of a top Amazon reviewer, Chandler) to get informed about meat quality.



This is what led me to my email to Zuke's.



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Q&A WITH A ZUKE'S CS REP

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Hello!!



Thank you so much for writing us here at Zuke's, and thank you for the great questions! Here are the answers:



1) Your treats are made in the USA, but are the ingredients ever sourced overseas?



We are still made in the United States, with all of our meat, fruits and veggies sourced from the USA (with the exception of the Wild Rabbit and Venison, which comes from New Zealand). Our Salmon is Pacific Wild Caught when available, and USA farmed (Pacific Coast) when Wild Caught is not an option. Our ingredients are grown, processed and packaged all in the USA. I would like to assure you that we here at Zuke's would never put anything harmful in our products. Our pets are our family, and we treat them as such!



2) You have done a great job at NOT being part of recent recalls - do you have a recall history?



Our company has been in business since 1995 and has never had a recall, because of the methods we use to test. We test our products throughout manufacturing, and then one final test before packaging. The product is then packaged, and sits in the warehouse until the test results return from the lab confirming their safety. Only after the final thumbs up does our product get shipped. I would like to assure you that we here at Zuke's take our treats very seriously.



3) Could you tell me a little bit more about your meat content? I know it's not human-grade, but what specific inspections are made by the FDA for the meat content?



All meats come from USDA regulated and inspected facilities... The meat is handled the same way meats for human consumption are handled. It is shipped in frozen blocks to our manufacturer and is kept frozen until our product is produced......NZ Rabbit and venison are inspected at the port of entry.



Thank you again for writing us here at Zuke's, and please feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have!



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SO WHY NOT FIVE STARS?

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Listen, I was very satisfied with Zuke's customer service, and their responses lead me to believe that they are absolutely above-standard when it comes to dog treats. That said, knowing what I know about the "standards" of non human-grade meats (and the animals they come from) that are used in dog treats (regardless of the manner in which they are handled) I simply cannot rate this at the full five stars. I feel much more comfortable feeding these to my pups than other common brands, but with recent news of super-premium brands with no recall history having to recall products (which they only do after significant numbers of illness and death are reported), I really think that human-grade dog treats are just so much safer.



I'm not going to plug other brands here, but if you are looking for recommendations please don't hesitate to contact me - my email is on my profile (click on my name to get there).



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OVERALL

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If you have been feeding your dog "regular" treats with all sort of animal by-products, Zuke's is certainly a step up. I don't want to discourage ANYONE from buying better-quality treats than they are currently purchasing. That said, if you want the absolute best treats for your pup don't have the time or resources to make your own, I highly suggest researching companies that use human-grade meat. Keep in mind "handled in the same way as meat for human consumption" and "human-grade" are two entirely different things.



Recommended, but with some reservation.

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Review Of Bayer Advantage II, Large Cat, Over 9-Pound, 6-Month




After I Buy Bayer Advantage II, Large Cat, Over 9-Pound, 6-Month

I have several cats -indoors and out- and all of them ended up with fleas this year. In the past Frontline has worked just fine, but not this year. It seems like this year has been a horrible year for fleas, either because the fleas are simply worse or older flea preventatives and treatments aren't as effective. After talking with other pet owners I decided to try Advantage.



Two of my cats are very allergic to flea bites and were looking and feeling pretty bad until I used Advantage. Within a day of treating all of the cats, there were fewer live fleas on the cats and most of the remaining fleas were dying. I have to note that none of my cats had any allergic reaction from the treatment. A couple of them scratched and licked as fleas came up to the surface, but I kept combing the dying fleas out and the scratching/licking stopped fairly quickly. It's been a week, and the two who are allergic to flea bites are looking better, and none of the cats are licking and scratching.



Of course, I treated the carpets and furniture and pet bedding and sweep the floors regularly, so combined with the Advantage treatments, the flea infestation is now under control. Let's hope it stays that way!



An added bonus for me was that each tube of Advantage opened quietly and application was easy. The flea drops also didn't have a strong smell, unlike some other treatments I've used. That helped out a lot - no tracking down the cats or coaxing them from underneath furniture.



(I used both Advantage II for cats under 9 pounds and over 9 pounds. This review is the same for both doses.)

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воскресенье, 17 августа 2014 г.

Review Of 900-Count Earth Rated® Lavender-Scented Dog Waste Bags, 60 Refill Rolls




After I Buy 900-Count Earth Rated® Lavender-Scented Dog Waste Bags, 60 Refill Rolls

For years I had been using the ubiquitous Bags On Board poop bags feeling good about myself for using "biodegradable" bags. Turns out that theirs are only biodegradable in the sense that eventually the earth will melt down and nothing will exist anymore but, you know, semantics. After doing some more research, I came across the Canadian Earth Rated brand. Perfection. They even have a cardboard core. If you care at all about your ecological footprint/your dogs pawprint, then I highly recommend these. I immediately ordered them up along with their fantastic holder, which, ingeniously has a hook built onto it allow you to clip used bags onto it for the rest of the walk. Little feature, but very very smart. I don't miss those blue bags one bit.



Yes this is certainly a first world concern but if you have a dog, and if he/she poops AND if you clean said poop up with bags, you should make them these. And while you're ordering them, you might as well get them in bulk unless you have some sort of fancy dog who eventually phases out defecating altogether.



Canada - you are officially forgiven for Bryan Adams!

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воскресенье, 3 августа 2014 г.

Review Of Dog Waste Poop Bags- DawgPound Bags Pet Waste Bags with Interior Core and Free Bone Dispenser (260-Count w/Free Bone Dispenser)

Review Of Dog Waste Poop Bags- DawgPound Bags Pet Waste Bags with Interior Core and Free Bone Dispenser (800-Count w/Free Bone Dispenser)




After I Buy Dog Waste Poop Bags- DawgPound Bags Pet Waste Bags with Interior Core and Free Bone Dispenser (800-Count w/Free Bone Dispenser)

I got these last night and put them to use the same day! If you order the 800 bags, then the picture is not deceiving at all! This is a lot of rolls and a lot of bags.



The case:



I like this case more than my previous one, as the bone has kind of a screw top. My old case was kind of plastic and rubber and the top just popped on and had to be duct taped to be effective in holding bags in. The case that comes with this is way more effective because of the screw top feature and is way cute, as it is shaped like a bone. It also has a clip, so I can connect it to the leash or a bag.



The bags:



Poop bags are normally expensive for what they are designed to do. I don't like spending lots of money on them, so I normally would buy the really cheap ones. Because I always got cheap ones, I am used to very thin plastic. These bags ROCK because, not only are these bags cheaper than the ones I had been buying, they also seem a bit sturdier! They do seem a bit thin compared to the cushy, expensive bags you can get at a pet store, but I've never had an issue with one of these thinner bags tearing, and that's all I care about. They hold poop; I don't need anything fancy. They are definitely big enough to pick up the poop without fear of touching it, and they tie nice, too.



The only thing I would change is that I would love some color choice, but that doesn't warrant a star deduction. Definitely will be buying these again!

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