LOL - that picture sure brought a smile to my lips - a rare occurance these past few days.  I've never had any experience with microchips but have not heard any adverse reports from those who've had it done. 

How's the little one today?  He must be out of surgery by now - Cato was really really whoozy hours after the procedure as I recall and was very very clingy.

[Kaffe's Twice Weekly Liver Fix]

Kaffe's Twice Weekly Liver Fix

200grams           Chicken Liver, cooked (organic if at all possible)
100 grams           Brown rice, boiled, cooked weight*
50 grams             Boiled yam, cooked weight
50 grams            Grated raw carrot
5 lrg                Cooked Egg whites
½ teaspoon heaped      Eggshell powder or 900mg elemental calcium
1000-1500mg          Taurine
20 drops      Milkthisle and Dandelion (Animal Apawthecary)
1-2 tabs                   B-50 Complex
2000mg                Salmon Oil
200IU                  Vit E (natural vitamin E - d-alpha)
                           Water for processing

*if you'd rather have a grainless recipe, substitute this ingredient with boiled yam or boiled potato

Method:

1.  Cook liver in 1 cup or so water, allow to simmer gently for 15mins.  Save the broth and use some of it when processing everything in the blender - adds more flavor to the mix.
2.  Separate egg whites from egg yolk and cook the eggwhites in 1/2 cup water, low heat, stirring constantly until the mix is all white.
3.  Over-cook the brown rice by boiling in enough water (you''ll need to replenish a few times) for about an hour. 
4.  Boil and mash the yam; grate the carrot and leave that raw
5.  Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.


Calories: 588
Protein: 70.19g
Fat: 12.05g
Carb: 45.32g
Fiber: 5.25g
Ash:  4.3g
Total:  137.11g  x 1000  =  137110mg
Phosphorus:  775.21mg  /  137110mg  x 100%  = 0.565%
Protein:  70.19  /  137.11  x 100 = 51.19%
Fat:  12.05 / 137.11  x 100 = 8.7%
Carb:  45.32  / 137.11  x 100 =  33.05%

NOTE:  Do not feed this recipe more than twice a week.

[Kaffe's Pork and Legumes]

Kaffe's Pork and Legumes
(the low phosphorus and high fiber in this recipe is actually good for an early CRF kitty)

300 g   Lean ground pork, cooked (you can use ground turkey, chicken or
                beef – the pork version is Kaffe’s favorite and is lower in phosphorus
                than any of the other "meats")
100 g         Red Kidney beans, cooked weight
100 g         Green peas, cooked weight
1/2 tsp     Eggshell powder (heaped) or 900mg elemental calcium
1/8 tsp     Iodized salt, dulse or kelp
1 cap         B-50 Vitamin B-Complex (or equivalent)
Vit A&D supplement (8,000-10,000IU Vit A, 200-400IU Vit D)
Vit E 100IU supplement (mixed tocopherols or d-alpha tocopherol)
1000-2000mg  Salmon Oil

Cal:Phos Ratio -  1.5 : 1

1.   Cook ground pork lightly either in pot or pan... strain out extra oil.
2.   Soak kidney beans overnight then boil them in enough water until tender.  When done, add frozen green peas to the beans and allow to cook together for another 5 mins.
3.   Blend meat and legumes together in a food processor or blender – use a little water to process well

4.   Add all supplements and mix well.


Calories: 1027
Protein:  86.9g
Fat:  57.7g
Carb:  36.7g
Fiber:  5.5g
Ash: 5.5g
Total:  192.3 x 1000 = 192,300mg
Phosphorus:  704mg  / 192,300  x 100%  = 0.36609%
Protein:  86.9  /  192.3  x 100%  = 45.1898%

Thanks for the heads up, Perseus! 

[Kaffe's Broiled Pork Loin]

Kaffe's all-time favorite foodie-food-food:

Kaffe's Broiled Pork Loin

300 grams   Pork loin lean cut

75 grams   Mixed veggies (cooked Broccoli, grated raw carrot)

25 grams   Cooked chicken liver

2 tsp      Gerber’s Organic Carrots baby food

1 tsp      Gerber’s Organic Apples

3 tsp      Beech Nut  Butternut Squash

2 tsp      Beech Nut Apples and Blueberries

1 tsp      Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

½ tsp      Powdered eggshell 

1/8 tsp      Kelp powder or Dulse

1 Cup      Spring water or enough for processing.

2000mg                   Fish Oil or Salmon Oil

1500mg                   Taurine

400IU      Vit. E

1 capsule                   B-50 Vitamin B Complex



1.  Meats:  Wrap pork and liver in tinfoil and bake or broil in oven until cooked through.  Cut into small pieces.
2.  Veggies:  Steam or boil broccoli but do not over cook.  Grate the carrot but leave raw.
3.  In a bowl, mix all vitamins and supplements and egg powder together with some water.
4.  Pour EVERYTHING into a food processor and whirl.

[Kaffe's Cream of Chicken Soup]

Kaffe's Cream of Chicken Soup
(for the debilated or recuperating kitty)

My Kaffe loved to eat and it broke my heart when he no longer could becuase of the cancer in his tummy.  This recipe was the last I made especially for him, when he could no longer comfortably swallow anything that was not almost liquid in consistency.  This recipe is rich in calories and protein and allows for syringe feeding. 

500 grams        Chicken breast, meat only
1 Cup                Chicken broth
1/2 -2/3 Cup     KMR Kitten Milk Replacer by PetAg
7.5 oz               (or 3 2.5 oz jars) Beechnut Butternut Squash Baby food
1/2 tsp               Eggshell, finely ground to powder, or 900mg calcium citrate or   
                          carbonate (NOT optional)
500- 1000mg     Taurine  (NOT optional - you may use only 500mg if giving a multivit,
                          1000mg if not)      
8 - 10 tabs         Nu-Cat Senior  (Multi-vitamin and mineral tablets), finely
                          crushed  (optional if not feeding for more than 1-2 weeks - also, you
                          may use any appropriate kitty multi-vit-min of your choice)
 

Method:
1.  In a pot, cook the chicken breast in enough water to cover the meaty parts.  Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 45 mins to an hour to make chicken broth and to tenderize the breast.  When done, allow to cool before removing all the skin and finely shreding the chicken breast meat in prepation for the blender.  The meat has to be finely shreded in order for the mixture to become creamy in the blender.
2.  The water in the pot is the chicken broth.  Set aside at least 1 cup to mix in the blender.
3.  In a bowl mix together the crushed multi-vitamins, eggshell powder, taurine, babyfood squash and KMR milk replacer.
4.  Pour and blend all ingedients in a blender or food processor.  To get the right creamy consistency, you will have to do this in at least 3 lots; then using a large mixing bowl, combine and mix all the lots together.

Finished product should look and smell just like cream of chicken soup for humans!

                 

Thank you dear friends... It warms my heart to think thatso many of you grew very fond of my darling Kaffe...   He would like to be remembered as he was in his prime:

I have not visited this forum for a while and only noticed this thread today.
My 9 yr old neutered male cat has a mild case of feline hyperesthesia (twitching, rolling skin, obsessive licking, "seeing things" on the ground usually).  I say "mild" becuase the episodes are infrequent and when they do happen, the symptoms are not too distressing to see. The latest episode was only a few weeks ago.  I truly beleive that it was triggered by stress from a series of "events":  (1) the transition from commercial pet food to raw food (but still mixed with commercial wet food); (2) making him wait for his food to ensure that he is hungry enough to eat all of it; (3) the appearance of a racoon in the backyard (he chased said racoon); (4) he stepped on some kind of thorny weed; (5) a sore inflamed tooth (I aggressively treated this malady and happy to say, tooth and gums are almost normal). 
Anyway, a freind of mine whose ragdoll cat suffers from a pretty bad case of hyperesthesia has been helped successfully with alternative medicine: acupuncture, chiropracty, diet and supplements.  Since my cat's condition is only mild, I don't think he needs acupuncture or spine manipulation.  Instead, I followed this regimen and it has helped tremedously: 
1.  Fish oil (500mg - 1000mg per day):  Fish oil (or Salmon oil) is rich in
Omega 3 (it also has Omega 6) and it is a powerful natural anti-inflammatory.  Apart from making the pet's coat wondrously lustrious and soft, it seems to have a "cushioning" effect on the skin so that it is not so sensitive to touch.
2.  Periodic brief massaging along the cat's spinal column when cat is at rest.  My cat absolutely enjoys this and it is relaxing both to me and my cat.
3.  A good diet.  I feed raw (75%) and some good quality commercial wet food.  I top the raw food with Solid Gold tuna or mix in some Felidae Platinum.   
4.  Exercise.
5.  Avoiding situations that I know will stress the cat.

Today, a month after my cat's last episode, I am happy to report that there is no more ear twitching, tail swishing, obsessive licking, "seeing things," (the rolling skin still happens but very mild the cat seems unaware of it).  It gladdens my heart to see him once again racing accross the backyard and climbing up trees and making a general pest of himself!

I hope this helps somebody.
 

Mel_t

Thanks!  Yes, I am using a tad of commercial wet cat food as "bribe" to get my older cat eating the raw.  Its funny how HE is the one proving to be difficult, since he is the one I knwo who'd eat practically anything I offer him.  The younger one was the kibble addict and I fully expected trouble from him.  But NO - he is eating his raw chicken-hearts-liver-gizzard mix just fine.  It happened quite by accident.  I bought Felidae Platinum dry kibble for them some weeks ago.  The kibble addict was not too pleased with it.  So, at feeding time, I present him with two bowls: 1 with Felidae kibble and the other with raw food.  He'd eat a little kibble then move to the second bowl and eat ALL the raw.
The older cat will sometimes eat his raw if I pretend it is a treat and offer it from my hand.  But by itself in a bowl?  He'll only eat it if it is mixed with commercial wet food. 
And yes... I am slowly decreasing the amount of commercial as I am "fine-tuning" my raw food preparation skills. 

But  tell you... the changes I see already in both cats!  More energy (especially the young one); better appetites; soft, shiny coats; lithe movements; bright alert eyes. 

But thank you for the reassurance about 9-Lives - eckkk - nasty stuff. 

i have been transitioning my two cats to raw since April.  The kibble addict now eats raw by itself - sometimes.  The older cat wants some commercial cat food mixed in with the raw.  I have used a variety of unrecalled canned cat food (Natura, Evangers, Merrick, Felidae, Solid Gold).  I ran out of these high-end stuff yesterday and had to use an old can fo 9-lives Flaked Tuna (best by 11/08), which I used to give to a neighbor's cat who liked only this food.  I mixed a little bit of this with the raw and my cat ate it up with gusto.  My question is, should I expect trouble?  Is there anyone here that has fed or is feeding some 9-Lives to their kitty?  I guess I want to find out before I give my cat anymore. 
So far, my cat is behaving like his normal active self. 

Just brought home a bag of Steve's Real Food - frozen raw chicken and salmon for cats.  They are formed into nuggets for convenient feeding I suppose.  Anyway, I offered some to my cats, pretending they were treats.  Silly kitties fell for it and ate several nuggets from my hand. 

I am a definite newbie as far as raw feeding goes and I am still somewhat nervous about the whole business.  Well, me cats have been eating some raw every day for 3 weeks now (commerical and home-prepared) and so far, nothing terrible has happened.  Cats' coats are fantastically soft and shiny!

My cat has a mild case of feline hyperthesia or "rolling skin" malady.  I have read someplace that L-Carnitine may help the condition.  L-Carnitine is sometimes added to cat indoor or weight management food formulas.  I fund a coupe of dry cat foods that have L-Carnitine (Castor and Pollux Indoor Ultramix and Felidae Platinum), but have yet to find a WET food with the ingredient.  I know Iams Weght Control can has it but I do not like nor approve of Iams. Please, anyone?  My cat NEEDS you!

I just fed my cats the very first Felidae canned they have ever had.  After the intial sniff-sniff suspicion, both lapped up their bowls.  The older cat (9 yrs old) wanted more.  The can I gave is the senior formula "Platinum," really meant for my senior slightly over-weight kitty.   The consistency and color is very similar to the paste Organic Turkey and Squash of Evangers.  Well, Evangers makes the canned formulas of Felidae.  So far, of the one 13 oz can I have opened, I find nothing to complain about.  The "Use By" date is 2012, so it seems to have been newly manufactured. 

Evangers could have been an outstanding hit in my home but for that tiny little detail in some of their cans: Menadione!  I would still feed it to my two boys, but only on occassion for that very reason.  Except for menadione, I really thing this is kosher food.

Ah, notice how Evangers' cans look like Felidae's cans?  Notice too how the consistency of Evangers' paste cat food is exacty like the consistency of Felidae paste cat foods?      Oh, oh.!  I remember now - Felidae is canned by Evangers!

I have been giving my two kitty-boys Katz-N-Flocken mixed with other wet and dry foods for more than a month now.  Both cats seem to like it and have experienced no adverse reactions.  My kibble-addict cat has heaps of energy, glossy, soft coat, bright eyes, etc and he is the one who eats most of the Katz-N-Flocken.