Ligiea:

Watson:

Herne(my worst holdout!):

And finally, Mr. Stubbs:

I don't use them with my cats, but I do use Wysong's Archetypal 1 with my ferrets. If I can't be there to feed them their raw portion, like at the vet's fot the day, or even if they've pigged down their entire portion of raw, then i give the Wysong's freeze dried in their cage. They love it!

Thank you, thank you! I'd like to thank the Nobel Academy...oops! Sorry. Wrong forum

SUCCESS!!! All of the cats ate straight canned tonight! Even Herne. And even better news- hubby has quit sneaking them free feed! Wish me luck everyone- looks like we may get to the raw sooner than I thought!
I think it probably helped that I'm training to be a mentor on another raw feeding forum for ferrets, and I've been reading out loud to him about what goes into the kibbles

Thanks, I'll pass both of them along!

A woman on another forum has found a beagle, approx. 8ys old, in Rockwell Texas, near DFW. If you know of someone who lives there, or was passing through there, and is missing their dog, please respond to this post. She's had no luck finding the owner as of yet. Description is as follow:
 
More info on the old beagle:

He appears to be pure-bred, and he is not neutered so he may have been a stud boy at one point. He has a BEAUTIFUL coloration; he's a tricolor beagle. He is indeed on the older side, we estimate maybe 8 years old. But his age does not hinder him, he gets along just fine, and appears healthy, active, and curious. He's still a bit scared, but I don't blame the guy. We've gotten several tail wags out of him though, when we start cooing at him and petting him (adorable). He DOES NOT spray; since he is on the older side, we believe that he isn't even able to attempt it any more. But regardless, no spraying or other nasty marking techniques.

He comes when called, is NOT destructive in the slightest. He is EXCELLENT with dogs and cats; he is currently being fostered in a home with MANY dogs and cats, and he doesn't seem to care. He can go to a home as an only-dog or with other animals. He just cares about his humans.

He is gentle, and I would feel perfectly comfortable placing him with a family with children- he does not mind his tail being messed with, his paws, his ears, and his mouth. Sure he doesn't volunteer for such things but we had no issues when we were examining him.

He is not food aggressive, either towards other animals (dogs OR cats!) nor is he food aggressive towards people.

He does not bolt out of open doors- again, he likes to be with his humans. I walked him, off leash, over 4 blocks. He stays with you the whole time.

He enjoys following you around the house to see what you are doing, but he will certainly get out of your way if you need to get by. He is observant and intelligent, and will do his best to read you and understand what you need of him.

He doesn't have fleas, or ear mites. He is housebroken, possibly crate broken. VERY leash broken, he's a perfect walking dog. He can go at a fast clip, though I imagine he isn't a good dog for people who use bikes to exercise their dogs- he probably couldn't keep up with you riding. But a speed-walker wouldn't be a problem for him.

He is very calm on car rides. He does not mind being picked up and carried.

He CAN NOT go up stairs, please keep this in mind.

He isn't a loud dog, not a yapper at all. He doesn't even turn into a yapper; he's currently living with 2 real yappy dogs, but he doesn't join in when they start going. Thank goodness.

As you can see, he is a gentle, well-behaved soul. He just needs some humans to love on him. Please, please consider taking him, we need to find him a home.

Please PM me for any questions, info, or interest in taking the old fellow. We will foster him until probably next weekend hoping to find his owner- if not, at that point he'll be adopted out; but I want to start looking now.

I can meet you nearly anywhere in the DFW area, would be willing to consider longer distances to get him to his new home.

Thanks . It really helps to have someone to talk to about it! We'll get there yet!

Just a quick update! Watson, Ligiea, and Stubbs are all consistently eating the canned(Stubbs is even eating in the bathroom with the others ). Best of all- Herne is now accepting a bit of canned in with his kibbles! Just about 1/2 tsp. as of yet, but he's on his way! I had to step back a bit with him. A full tsp. turned him right off it, but I'm thinking if I only try to increase it every 4-5 days, instead of every 2, it'll work!
Once Herne is completely on the canned, we start the switch to raw!

Oh, I believe it(the mind game)! For right now, I'll try the salmon oil, because he won't touch the kibble with the wet right now (mamma, my peas are touching my potatoes ). If that doesn't work, I'll try the two plate method. And thanks for the idea. Gods know I can use all the tricks I can get!!!

Yeah, I have. He nibbled at the canned once or twice, but now, he actually runs and hides when the tins are opened for the others! I really have no idea why. I haven't tried to force a change, or anything else. The most I've done with him is to put a tiny bit in with his kibble.
The reason I suggested the moistened kibble is that it worked wonders for switching the ferrets over gradually. There were no problems at all with bacterial infections, diarrhea, upset tummies, or anything else. With cats also being obligate carnivores, the food shouldn't be in their tummies long enough for any problems to brew.

I was wondering about that! And by the way- the Avoderm is already a no-go . Had what seems to be a very bright idea this morning, just wanted to run it by everyone here for opinions.
 As I mentioned, Herne is my hold-out. Could it work by scent association? By this I mean, I put a drop or two of salmon oil on his kibbles. Just enough to change the scent a little bit. In a couple days, increase the amount of salmon oil by another couple drops, and so on, while at the same time, dribbling a wee bit of water on the kibbles, and slowly increasing that to slightly change the texture.
After a couple or three weeks of this, then add a very small amount of raw, barely enough to be noticible. Then slowly increase this. The hope is that he would associate the smell of the salmon oil with food, and have that include the raw, and simply skipping the canned step entirely for him. Any thoughts? Believe me, they are appreciated !

Mr. Stubbs is fully on canned now. Herne refuses to touch it now. Again, good and bad. When Herne hears the cans being opened, he actually runs and hides!I really don't know what I'm going to do with him.I gave him the kibble/can mix, and he went 24 hours without anything! I'm actually afraid he would starve himself if I entirely removed the kibbles. Ideas on a partucularly stubborn beast?
Oh, and the only canned Stubbs will eat is Iams skipjack tuna, or Sheba, or Fancy Feast. But not the pates. Only the chunks

Well, some gains, some losses. Ligiea and Watson are totally on canned with a few bits of raw mixed in. Those are obviously the gains. Herne lost all interest in the NV, Sheba, etc. He is now getting kibble with a bit of canned mixed in. Stubbs waffles back and forth, so I've started giving him the kibbles, with a bit of canned as well. With time, I hope to wean these two over entirely.
Frustrating! Just when I think I have a hit, next time they refuse to touch it! I really think they like playing with my mind !

Oh gods, neither can I! I'm going to try Bonkers suggestion tomorrow. Couldn't do it today, one of the ferrets had a minor reaction to his vaccine, so we had to rush him back in to the vets. He's fine now, by the way.
 I'll let you know how it goes!

We have a hit in the wet food for all four! You won't believe what kind! Sheba, of all things! I know it's junk, but I'm thinking it's something to start with. Should I stick with this and wean to better canned first, or start slipping in raw bits in a week or so? The idea is to get them onto RMB in the end.