Purrchance To Dream

Our iDaddy took this picture of Bella with some new Temptations flavors.  She loves any flavor of Temptations, while Spooker, Daphne, and Chloe prefer the seafood and fish flavors.  What are your favorite flavors?

Since Spooker has recovered from almost leaving us over the holidays, she has an appetite again.  I am so thankful for this.  I try to give her a bit of extra food that the other Purries don't get every night, and each time I go into the bedroom, she gets up off her heated bed (which is next to my pillow) and she begs for a treat.  I give her a Temptation each time, and then she goes down the steps from the bed to her water bowl and drinks.  Since this act involves some exercise for her, and hydration, I can't feel too bad about the extra treats.  I'm guessing about four to five extra treats per day, in addition to what she gets at our regular treats time.
I've tried more healthy treats for her than Temptations, but she won't eat them.  Chloe loved the treats-trial phase, because inevitably she was the one getting the spurned-by-Spooker treats.  I know that Temptations are probably like human candy, but for a cat her age, does it really matter how many she gets?
A cat age calculator I found online compares a cat her age to a 92 year old human.  If I live to be 92, I better damn well be able to eat as many Reese's peanut butter cups I want every day!  So I don't really worry too much about giving her what she wants.  I mean, every day with her is a gift, so why not treat her like she wants, right?

Today we received FREE Temptations MixUps in the mail!  NTM was contacted recently by a marketing firm, asking us if we'd like to try the newest Temptations flavors.  Well, of course they had lots of eager participants in us Purries!  After Bella posed with the bags of Surfer's Delight and Backyard Cookout, we got to try the beefy flavors of Backyard Cookout.  We loved them!  Spooker even came into the kitchen (she usually waits to be served her Temptations on her perch on the couch) so she could get first dibs!Tomorrow night is Surfer's Delight!  Jack is already humming "Let's go surfin' now!"
You can find Temptations on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TemptationsEyad took these pictures (as you can tell by his logo in the corners) and he's submitted the top one of Bella to Temptations to be considered for their Temptations Tuesday Cat on Facebook.Thanks to http://www.webershandwick.com/ for sending us the treats and Thanks to Temptations for just being so darn delicious and addictive!~ The Purries

Friends,
I have NO idea how Little Isis can turn her nose up at Temptations, but she does.  Not The Mama says I should be glad, since that means there's more for ME - even if we have Hoover, er I mean Pete, in the house, sucking them down faster than Spooker can yak up a hairball, but I digress...
Anyway, after Not The Mama's shopping trip yesterday, MY Temptations canister is FULL and Little Isis also has a stash of  Party Mix.
I tried a few of the Party Mix, and frankly I don't see what all the "party" is about - show me the Temptations!
Meow for now,
Chloe

Hello friends, Chloe here. Today's Photo Hunter's theme is candy. Well, being a kitty I don't eat candy. But Not The Mama says my equivalent is Temptations! And lookie - we got some in the mail!


Here is a little poem I wrote about the Kitty Candy known as Temptations.
By me, Chloe.

Hello!
I'm very late in posting this THANKS, but I tried really hard to get a picture of the NEW Natural Temptations. I can't find a pic anywhere online, not even at Whiskas dot com! And of course, I stupidly deleted the pics I took of Chloe attacking the package when they arrived.... D'oh!
Anyway, The Lady from Grr, Midnight, and Cocoa sent us a care package of the New All-Natural Temptations. To say that Chloe loves them would be the UNDERSTATEMENT of the year!
Spooker and Jazper love them, too, but Chloe is insane for them!
Each piece is slightly larger than the original Temptations, so Daphne finds herself chewing them more and taking her time with them, whereas Chloe hoovers them up and I worry that she's going to choke!
Little Isis could care less about the new ones, unless they have Ranch Dressing on them! But I think she would eat dust bunnies if they had Ranch Dressing on them!
On behalf of Chloe and the gang, I would like to THANK Grr, Midnight, Cocoa, Rascal, Riley, and of course The Lady for sending us the Natural Temptations. Our grocery store's pet food aisle just got re-set, and they're not part of the new assortment, and I can't find them online either. If anyone else knows of a source, let me know, okay?
(Frankly, I think The Formerly Blonde Girl should start a shopping website and make some money off cat bloggers until Whiskas wises up and markets these babies nationwide!)
luv,
Not The Mama

UPDATE: Our friend Chance found the Natural Temptations on the PetCo website. (And they're on sale!) They must've just added them in the past few days, because they weren't on there last week! Thanks, Chance!

Hello Bloggie Buddies, Jazper here.
With a word of Thanks to the nice people at Whiskas: Thanks!
We got our FREE goodie box of Purrfectly Fish™ in the mail today!
Just in time for breakfast!
And we have a couple words of advice for the human-beans out there who are gonna get this free sample in the mail: if you haven't opened a packet of Whiskas' Purrfectly Fish™ before, look at the directions on the back of the packet on the top:

#1 makes sense: shake the goodies down under the "tear line"
#2 DO NOT TEAR open the package like their directions say. After shaking the goods down, grab a pair of scissors or kitchen shears and use the "tear line" as a guideline to CUT open the packet. Trust us on this one. You want the delightfully smelly fish juices to go into your bowl, not splattered all over your bean. My bean tried to be very careful tearing lots of times, but ALWAYS there was splatter. Trust your buddy Jaz on this one: beans should use scissors to open Purrfectly Fish. Oh, and Not The Mama says "Wipe off your scissor blades afterwards"
See, Purrfectly Fish is so purrfect because it has lots of fish juice. And we've decided fish juice is better in my bowl, and then in my tummy, then all over Not The Mama's work shirt. Or counter. Or cash register.
#3 Enjoy!

I really enjoy the flavors of Purrfectly Fish™ and Not The Mama enjoys that they are pure fish, with no grains or glutens in most of their flavors. Purrfectly Fish Tuna is the best overall, by the way, in my humble opinion.
So, Thanks again to the nice people at Whiskas. In the freebie pouch, there was a "purrem" (poem) inside that said:

Our Summer Secret Paws Pal was Tiger from Pumpkin's World, who lives in Honolulu!
Thanks SO much to Tiger!
And also to Quincy for giving us some fev-vers!

Daphne immediately ran off with the blue mousie pictured above, so I got to taste some of the Tuna Flakes. Spooker just sniffed at 'em, but I hoovered 'em up!!!!
Then, this morning we got to try the Turkey TEMPTATIONS! I LOOOOOVE them!
We'd only had Salmon flavor before, but gotta tell ya --- I say "YUM" for Turkey!
Not The Mama said he set aside the fev-vers for later, but we got to play with all the rattle mousies at once!!! And OH - I love the catnip bubbles!

Thanks Tiger, we ♥ you!!!
luv,
Chloe (and Daphne, too!)

And guess what!?! It worked!
This morning, we were SO excited!
Spooker even jumped up on the bed and touched nosies with Chloe, in between Temptations!
Chloe started putting the bitey on Not The Mama's hands again, and I purred really loud.

Ahhhh.... Temptations, all I ever wanted, Temptations all I ever needed....

Oh, and Not The Mama tried to give our leftover Organix Treats (that we won't touch) by Castor & Pollux to the chickens, but not even they would eat 'em. And chickens eat bugs!!!
Sorry, Castor & Pollux, you just can't hold a candle to kitty crack Temptations.

Luv,
Daphne
♥

A note from Not The Mama: I purchased more Temptations after much dilemma, research, and internal debate. I'm keeping my mind open, and my research on-going. For now, I have decided to trust Whiskas.
.

From Not The Mama:
After spending over an hour reading labels in PetCo the other day, I purchased some
Organic cat treats made by Castor & Pollux.
These Organix treats say "no corn, no wheat, no by-products"
To say they didn't go over well would be an understatement.
While Chloe inhaled the first one, thinking it was a Temptations, Daphne just licked
hers and sniffed it.
Spooker gave me a "Are you EFFING kidding me with this shit?"
withering look.
Chloe quickly caught on. Whereas before, she would put the bitey on my fingers
if I didn't get a Temptations out of the bag quickly enough, with these "treats"
she just sniffed. She ate two before losing interest.
This morning, not even Chloe would eat one of them.
I guess it's like trying to substitute M&M's with Organic Carob Bits.
Just not the freaking same.
What's a Temptations loving household to do?
Temptations are made by Effem in Canada for Mars, which produces Whiskas in the US.
Confused?
I went to the Whiskas website first:

Posted at www.Whiskas.com:

Dear Cat Lovers,

At WHISKAS®, everything we do is about making cats happy. That's why we take special care to make WHISKAS® Brand Food For Cats with quality ingredients in a safe environment. WHISKAS® Food For Cats is 100% safe and not a part of the national recall.

If you're unsure about what to feed your feline friend at the moment, we'd like to invite you to try WHISKAS® products and rest easy that it's 100% safe for your cat. We'd also like to offer you a free sample of WHISKAS® PURRFECTLY™ Fish food for cats. It's made with only real, line caught fish packed in natural juices (which should make both you, and your cat, very happy). Because like you, cats play a special role in our lives.

Purr on.

...................

The most current thing I could find from Effem was a press release

from March 31st:

FDA reassures pet owners

TORONTO, March 31 /CNW/ - Effem Inc. Canada brands, including PEDIGREE(R)
and CESAR(R) food for dogs, and WHISKAS(R), SHEBA(R) and TEMPTATIONS(R) food
for cats, are safe for pets to enjoy.
None of our brands were involved in the recall or subsequent Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) investigation. According to the FDA, pet owners
should feel confident feeding unrecalled products to their pets.
Menu Foods does not make any of Effem Inc. Canada's dry or wet pet food
brands and there is no melamine in Effem Inc. Canada's wet or dry brands.
As pet lovers, the safety and nutritional quality of our pet food is our
top priority. Effem Inc. is deeply saddened by this unfortunate situation.

For further information: CONTACT: Rena Crumplen, Effem Inc. Canada,
(416) 319-8323, rena.crumplen@effem.com
..............................................

So, I am torn. Do I buy more Temptations?
Clearly the Castor & Pollux treats were a bust.
If you are a current or former fan of Temptations, I'd like to hear from you.
Are you still getting Temptations? If not, what, if any,
viable alternatives are there?
Your input is appreciated.
~ Not The Mama


..................

Our friends at Artsy-Catsy have news about a Postcard Blitz for May 3rd.
If you've been agonizing what is safe to feed your pets, please participate in this Postcard Blitz.
Addresses listed at Artsy-Catsy.
.

Spooker has been with me since she was a just-weaned kitten, over a decade. She's always just eaten kibble, she has never had an interest in any stinky goodness. She's always turned her nose up at kitty treats offered to her: Pounce, Feline Greenies, none of them appealed to her. She never has had an interest in people food, either - with the exception of licking out my bowl of vanilla ice cream. No other flavor of ice cream, just vanilla.

Then she picked it up in her front teeth and plucked it gently from my fingertips and set it down between her feet to lick it some more.
Her eyes widened, and she inhaled it.
And she came back for more.
Demandingly.
She meowed for MORE!
After a few, I had to put the bag away, for she has a twitchy tummy and I didn't want her to hurl. Instead, she followed me around the house crying for MORE Temptations!
She saw where I stashed the bag, and spent the next half-hour pawing at the nightstand drawer.

But that was not the end of her transformation.
No, the little crunchy bites of kitty crack seem to have had an actual transforming-effect upon her.
For Christmas, I had purchased a heated cat bed for Spooker. She used it for a couple of days, until Daphne discovered its heated goodness. Then Daphne kicked poor Spooker out, and the old girl wouldn't go back near it. And she seemed to have conceded her role as 'alpha' kitty to Daphne, the younger, stronger, more fearless feline in the house.
However, once she had some Temptations in her, Spooker has re-claimed her heated cat bed!
She's growly and hissy and aggressive about it! If Daphne or Chloe is in the bed, and Spooker comes near, she chases them OUT.
And she's started chasing Daphne -- I'm not sure if you'd call it "playing" or not. Daphne has assumed submissive "I'm on my back chirruping" poses that she NEVER did before! And Spooker stands over her, fangs bared, letting her know that THE BITCH IS BACK.

To me, she had been kind of stand-offish and aloof since Daphne and Chloe joined our household. Now, she is back to an affectionate self that I haven't seen in years. Her legendary strong head-butt is back with force, and she demands attention, as you can see in the recent pic below. She seems more active, attentive, and assertive.
Is all this just a coincidence, or is there some magic in those little crunchy bites of kitty crack?
I don't know, but Spooker and Chloe want MORE!

1. T is for the Tiny bites of crunchy goodness.
2. E is for the way I love to Eat 'em up!
3. M is for Me Me Me! They're all Mine! Mine I tell you!
4. P stands for Paws Off, Daphne!
5. Try and eat just one? Not me!
6. Any more where that came from, Not The Mama?
7. T -- another T? How about an H? As in Hand over that little rattly bag an no one gets hurt...
8. I is for I saw them first, Spooker, go back to sleep.
9. Oh no, I don't have a problem. Really. One more, please? Please!
10. No really, I don't have a problem...
11. So sorry, they're ALL
12. For
13. ME!

Tune in next week, when we hear Chloe say,

"My name is Chloe and I'm a -

-- hey, get your own Temptations!"

Yes, by next week our little Chloe

may be in a 12-step program....

or make that a 13-step program!

♥

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking for the linky box?

It's over @ Not The Mama's sham-rockin' blog this week!