Ruger’s Satin Balls Reloaded

Posted by rockcat on June 17, 2009

So after increasing the amount I feed Ruger to more than what I feed Ember (~70#) and Tana (~22#) COMBINED he still can’t keep weight on. I’m giving up, and going back to the Satin Balls I tried last year. Hey at least they worked and I could take my dog places without worrying about someone reporting me for animal cruelty.

For a recap, Ruger is a 4 1/2 year old German Shepard from Czech / police bloodlines. He was neutered at about 1 year of age and has always been skinny. A few years ago I switched him to a raw food diet, which didn’t help him gain weight, but did end the loose stool and his nasty, oily skin. Worming him brought no changes, I can’t afford to pay for massive blood tests right now. Two things have put weight on Ruger in his life: first was free-feeding a high-performance or puppy food commercial diet, and second was feeding Satin Balls (or Fat Balls) in addition to his regular (raw) food.

These are the recipes I started with, from Holistic Dog. A google search yields more results. I skipped the cereal and the molasses because of the sugar content.

Just a note, some pages say that satin balls can be a complete diet – I doubt this is true and would consider it a supplement unless shown otherwise. I do recommend a raw diet for dogs and cats. I switched my cat to raw at the age of fifteen, and it made a huge difference in her mobility and strength. She is still going at nineteen!

The recipe:

• 1 dozen eggs
• 10# cheap hamburger (I used 27%)
• 4 oz Knox Gelatin
• 2# oatmeal (not quick oats, about 6-7 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups Canola oil
• pinch of salt
• 8 oz Cream Cheese
• 1/2 small jar Peanut Butter (its fat and I have too much in the cupboards)

Mix everything – use a large bowl. I always end up using my hands. Divide it into freezer bags – some people roll it into torpedos for easy feeding. I put 1 1/2 pounds per bag. Yield was between fourteen and fifteen pounds.

Last time I fed a pound a day, this time I’m going to start with 3/4 pounds a day, and hopefully drop to 1/2 pound to maintain after he gains weight.

Nutritional Data: Just for Fun

I went to Calorie Count at About.com to get nutritional data for a one pound serving. (View the recipe here.)

• Calories: 1,059
• Fat: 534 calories / 59.4g (91% DV for a human)
• Saturated Fat: 16.8g
• Total Carbs: 29g
• Dietary Fiber: 4.6g
• Protein: 99.8g
• Iron: 63% (for a human, not a dog of course)
• Also has Vitamin A and Calcium

It has 132% for a human’s DV of cholesteral and ranks nutrition grade “B”.

I put in what Ruger gets in an “average” week and it comes out to about 1800 calories a day, 76g fat (20g saturated) and 259g protein. There was quite a bit of Vitamin’s A and C, calcium and iron. So about 33% of the calories are from fat in his normal raw diet, versus 50% for the Satin Balls. Interesting.

Hopefully it works.

Damn it, damn it, damn it

Posted by rockcat on December 29, 2008

This is a tough post to write.

This is a picture of our cat, Tigg, about a year ago. She had the most beautiful markings and a nice personality. Friendly, but still independent.

We got her in November, 2005, from a neighbor boy who was selling cookie dough and trying to re-home a kitten. She was intended as an outdoor mouser.

I put her down on the couch next to my boys, ages 4 and 2. She didn’t growl or run away, she snuggled up to them. And purred. And thus became an indoor cat.

Kevin didn’t notice her until the next morning, even after walking right past her after work.

The mouse problem ended the moment Tigg was old enough to catch them.

Last summer, she figured out how to get outside. This didn’t really bother anyone, as she knew to be home by dinner.

Her favorite sleeping spot was the top bunk in the boys’ room.

I would have told anyone she was our healthiest animal. Young, a good diet all her life (unlike the stray we adopted last summer), strong.

I fed the cats Christmas morning – they always come when they hear the food whistle, unless they are outside or stuck in another room.

When I called them for some ham scraps about midday, Tigg was absent (I assumed she was outside).

About 8pm, I found her in the boys’ room, on the floor. Looking sick.

We didn’t know what was wrong. She was having a hard time breathing, it looked like she was trying to throw up. Kevin couldn’t find anything that was choking her though.

She died on Kevin’s lap, about five minutes after I found her. On Christmas day.

We assume she ingested some kind of poison. We will probably never know for sure.

I still can’t believe she is gone. I except her to show up at the door any minute. She was so young, soft, beautiful and healthy.

Goodbye baby. I won’t forget you. I’m sorry, I wish I could have done something.

You were a very good kitty. Snuggle up to Mom and Max for me.

I hate goodbyes.

Nucking Futs

Posted by rockcat on November 1, 2008

Let me explain, no there is to much. Let me sum up.

– The Princess Bride

We have a new kitty. We agreed to take the female stray that was hanging around at work if they could get the spay/neuter task force to fix her. She was going to be an outdoor cat, until she journeyed 2.5 miles back to work, including going over the bridge! So we moved her into my office. Unlike the other cats, she is super friendly, I was getting mauled every time I tried to work. So we have 2.5 house cats now (the boys’ cat goes in and out). This spring we will let Stella (guess what movie the kids watched before they named her) go in and out as well. After she knows where home is and comes to my patented food whistle. Pictures someday soon.

I have some wooly bunnies. I was able to get a breeding pair of Angora rabbits. A one year old purebred German Angora buck and a six month old 85% French/15% German Angora doe. The French Angoras are supposed to be the easiest to care for, due to the percentage of guard hairs. The German Angoras are excellent producers. I think this will be a good mix, and if I enjoy them I am going to try to find a purebred German Angora doe. I am looking forward to spinning (or perhaps selling) their fiber. The buck is a sweety too. I will try to get pictures soon.

Under two weeks until my Black Belt test. I promised Kevin I wouldn’t panic, but just typing that made me apprehensive. *Deep breath.*

I joined NaNoWriMo, with a goal to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. So now you know where I got the title of this post. That breaks down to 1,667 words a day. I set my goal at 2,000 just to be safe – 1 chapter a day. I have the chapter titles outlined, and I am doing a phase outline for the next chapter the night before (did that make sense?). I did chapter one today, 2,105 words. In case you are wondering, its a story about a cat (with human qualities) being drawn into a magical world and fighting an oppressive overlord. It has elements of my favorite books (The Chronicles of Narnia, The Space Trilogy, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) and the MMORPGs I have played (Asheron’s Call, World of Warcraft). I have no intention of being held down by reality. It should be fun. If you want to see how I’m doing – and either cheer or give me a kick in the pants (or accuse me of being crazy), go here.

Solving the Puzzle

Posted by rockcat on October 19, 2008

I caught Tana while she was loose outside.

If that statement doesn’t amaze you, nothing will (or you don’t know my dog).

Oh, and Tana is a brittany, a small pointer (aka a bird dog). Remember that, its important.

It started on one fine Thursday, the kids were all suffering from I-have-to-open-the-door-but-I-can’t-shut-it-itis, Tana had gotten out at least three times already. She was in the house when I decided to let the chickens scratch around in the garden. About 30 minutes later she got out, and I didn’t think about the chickens (only buying her a remote collar). Then the neighbor kid shows up, “You’re chickens are lost, one is in the pen but the others are gone.” I assumed he meant they were in the garden (the rooster got left in the coop because he is dumb).

Houston, We Have a Problem

I look out the window and see red (chicken) and white (my dog) OUTSIDE my yard. So I go running out, get to the fence (yelling at the dog). As I stepped over the fence Tana had stopped, so I reached down and grabbed her. I’ve caught her when she ran past, but never had she stopped. So I put her in the pen and went looking for chickens. She is a bird dog, and has a soft mouth, I was hoping she hadn’t damaged my hens.

The black hen (Dominiker) was in the coop …. which is odd because she doesn’t fly. I am suspicious about HOW she got into the coop and my two red hens had both flown out of my garden and yard, but it isn’t relevant. I have Taekwondo very soon, and I’m out looking for my animals – which I detest.

There aren’t many red feathers, and no signs of blood, so I was hopeful. It occured to me the chicken had probably stopped running, which is why Tana wasn’t still chasing it. I finally found one of the red hens hiding near where I stepped over the fence. While carrying her back along the path, I noticed a few more red feathers. The second red hen is the one that can fly out of the coop, but I think she can also find the coop, so I look outside the fence. I called the chickens (yelling “here, chick, chick, chick”, feeling like an idiot). The rooster answered, and his noise brought the second red hen out of hiding. I caught her with difficulty, put all the chickens back in the coop and made it to Taekwondo on time.

I must confess, the main motivator for finding both chickens was the thought of telling Jonathan they were gone – he really likes them – especially the red hens.

Puzzle Solved

Later I think I figured out WHY I caught Tana. She was pointing at the hen, who was cowering about a two feet from where I stepped over the fence. Weird.

Happily Ever After

Anyway, the chickens were fine, the dog was put into the kennel (or on leash) until the kids learn to shut the door, or I get a remote collar and teach her “come” means get over here now or else.