A Purrfect Thanksgiving Dinner for #TeamAllie

It's just days away from Thanksgiving, and Allie's totally into the holiday this year.

She's put in her order for Thanksgiving Day Dinner... quite literally, as you can see!
But then she heard Merrick had Turducken in their Purrfect Bistro line.

Since we've never bothered to serve this delectable dish at any of our Thanksgiving dinners prior to today, well...she insisted on taste-testing this as well.

Faraday: So Allie, uh...can I try it too?

Allie: Honestly, Faraday. Do you think just anycat can select the best foods to offer our guests? This calls for a sophisticated palate. Anycat that still plays "pull my paw" is automatically disqualified.

Faraday: *grumbles* But Mommy says it's polite to share.

Allie: Tell you what, Brat. I'll share this dish with you.

Faraday: Uhm, Allie. Cats don't eat cranberry sauce. Even if it is homemade.

Allie: Well, she garnished it with catnip. Then said something about it "adding color" to the photos, so deal with it.

Faraday: Catnip?!? Why didn't you say so??? **faceplant**

Allie: While Mother's busy hiding the pumpkin pie from a certain Tonkinese Terror, baking her fresh challah and 'from-scratch' stuffing, I'll be digging into some delish entrees from Merrick! Won't you join me?

This season we're very thankful that Allie is well on her way to her ideal weight, with her pounds lost in a slow and safe manner while eating a food she loves.

We three kitties are also very thankful to have a warm and loving home, and we wish the same for the many homeless pets across the world who are not so fortunate this holiday.

May they soon enjoy warmth and safety all their own.

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FTC Disclosure: 

Our Extreme Feline Makeover series is sponsored by Merrick Pet Care, and we have received both food and a small fee to compensate us for each post. This covers the time it takes to take photos and write our progress reports.
Every sponsored post on A Tonk's Tail will always reflect our honest and unbiased opinions. Merrick Pet Care is not responsible for the content of this article, and Purrfect Bistro flavors are not specifically formulated for weight management.
This effort is part of an overall health and wellness regime for Allie. 

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 You have until 11:59 PM, Dec 2nd to enter. 

#TeamAllie is Svelte & (almost) 7!

That's right, Allie's birthday is this Saturday, Oct 25, (it's her 7th!) and she's all excited about celebrating her big day with a figure she hasn't seen in years.

Allie's taken her Extreme Feline Makeover to heart, eating healthy portions of quality food like Purrfect Bistro grain free canned foods.

(She prefers the paté flavors, personally. Actually Maxwell & Faraday do, too. Which she finds a bit disturbing, as Faraday keeps trying to help himself to her dinner!)

Allie: Quick, Mother. Distract the Brat so I can eat in peace!

She's also a firm believer in the idea that a healthy lifestyle needs to include regular exercise.

Check out the laps she's doing around the monkey grass along the front sidewalk.
Leap...turn...leap...repeat!

When we asked Allie what she wanted for her birthday this Saturday, she asked if we'd host a Kansas City style barbecue on the deck, with a commentathon open all weekend.

So please come back and visit us then!

And in lieu of gifts, she wanted to donate some Merrick Purrfect Bistro cat food to the cats over at Great Plains SPCA in Independence. They're slowly finding their forever homes, but as of a few days ago, their numbers still topped 450 and rising.

We think that's an awfully generous thing for her to do. 

Uh, well most of us do, at any rate.

Help us raise funds for Great Plains SPCA - and tweak Faraday's nose a bit more - this Saturday at Allie's Birthday Bash!

***

FTC Disclosure: 

Our Extreme Feline Makeover series is sponsored by Merrick Pet Care, and we have received both food and a small fee to compensate us for each post. This covers the time it takes to take photos and write our progress reports.
Every sponsored post on A Tonk's Tail will always reflect our honest and unbiased opinions. Merrick Pet Care is not responsible for the content of this article, and Purrfect Bistro flavors are not specifically formulated for weight management.
This effort is part of an overall health and wellness regime for Allie. 

Extreme Makeover Check-In!

You may have heard that Allie is on a diet. She's determined to shed the pounds, and she's doing it in a healthy way.

(Wait. Okay, truth in advertising here: we're determined she'll shed the pounds. Allie kinda thinks free-feeding 24/7 would totally rock, but that's not going to happen.)

Allie's diet regimen includes delicius grain-free entrees from Purrfect Bistro.

She's under the supervision of her veterinarian who has given us a daily calorie intake goal, and she's eating a quality wet, grain-free food: Merrick Purrfect Bistro. In fact, Allie's entire new health-kick is being sponsored by Merrick, and we are very appreciative.
 
Monthly Weigh-in Time

So how is Allie's weight-loss progressing?

Welll-l-l-l...

We've learned a lot in the past 4 weeks.

First, that Allie has her human brother wrapped around her paw, which means we suspect she got generous portions while we were in Texas!

Next, there are two different metabolism types to consider when a cat loses weight.

First, the cats who require maintenance calories. This is based on frame size - and what it takes to maintain an ideal weight for that frame. In Allie's case, 267 calories a day.

I thought that was a LOT -  in fact, I'm sure Allie's been eating less than this. But our vet wanted to begin here to get a baseline.

The result? As of July 1, Allie had gained 6/10 of a pound. Oops.

I did mention two metabolism types. The other: cats whose metabolisms are a bit slower. The ones our vet called (*delicate cough*) obese prone.

Yes, Allie's in that second group. So we switched her to 216 calories a day and may adjust downward, depending on how she does. Our vet ideally would like to see half a pound lost per week.

Hey, we're on track! Since we've been back from Texas, our girl has shed that 6/10 pound she's gained. Go #TeamAllie !!

...foreshadowing...? Allie looks a bit worried.

But wait! 
There's more!

With the inauguration of this new diet, we've taken pains to make sure Allie's meal time isn't crashed by a certain crazypants kitty. Faraday being, well, Faraday - you can understand our concern.

So when a few new flavors of Purrfect Bistro arrived on Saturday for Allie to try, I gave a bit to Faraday as a "stay out of the way" offering.

The Turkey Pate was a huge hit with both of them.
What I did not expect was what happened next:

Maxwell: Dood, whatcha eating?
Faraday: It's WET food, Maxie, so you won't LIKE it. Go 'way.

Is that a shocked look on Faraday's face?

Maxwell:  *nudge*shove*

Wait, maybe we should have said "disgusted."

Maxwell: *munch*nom*

This. Is. EPIC.

(Well,  okay, and a bit funny. Seriously? What a face, Maxie.)

Faraday: That's MY food, Maxie. Back OFF.

Faraday: That's IT. I'm going IN!

Maxwell: Wait....

I have been battling Maxwell's addiction to kibble for two years now. This was completely unexpected. And I'm almost giddy at the thought that FINALLY Max will eat wet food!!!

Allie:  "Should I hire a Brinks truck to guard my stash?"

Uh, yeah, Allie, you might.

______________

FTC Disclosure: Our Extreme Feline Makeover series is sponsored by Merrick Pet Care, and we have received both food and a small fee to compensate us for each post. This covers the time it takes to take photos and write our progress reports. Every sponsored post on A Tonk's Tail will always reflect our honest and unbiased opinions. Merrick Pet Care is not responsible for the content of this article, and Grammy’s Pot Pie is not specifically formulated for weight management. This effort is part of an overall health and wellness regime for Allie. And a totally surprising and unexpected bonus for us: for Maxwell's health and wellness too! SCORE!

An Extreme (feline) Makeover

Allie needs to lose weight.

We've known it for a few years, and have tried implementing a few changes to help her slim down. None of them have been wildly successful:

• We've completely cut out treats of all kind. 
• We've taken her off kibble. 
• We've upped the exercise (although not nearly enough).

I mentioned this to friend and fellow blogger, Glogirly, several months ago, and she shared with me that Katie was in much the same situation a few years back. Then she shared how they had managed to get Katie down to her current svelte weight - she switched Katie's diet.

I was all ears.

Our Glam Girl needs to stay healthy - and that means a healthy weight.

The food Katie ate while she dropped the pounds was Merrick Purrfect Bistro. Specifically Grammy's Pot Pie grain-free canned recipe. I like grain-free, it's all we feed at our house. And I also like canned, as I personally think canned food is much better for a cat, long-term, than dry kibble.

Glogirly explained that her veterinarian had done a bit of research into the higher-quality pet foods and really liked what she saw with the Merrick Pet Care products.

So Katie began a months-long journey to becoming a thinner feline.

Then last month at BlogPaws, Glogirly took me over to the Merrick booth to hook us up. If it worked for Katie, it'll work for Allie, she thought. And she's right.

So today, we're announcing a six-month partnership with Merrick Pet Care. A partnership to help our Glam Girl shed the pounds. We'll be posting monthly reports, complete with weigh-ins, so you can see how our feline fashionista is progressing. #TeamAllie is the first ever Extreme Makeover, Feline Edition!

Why six months, you might ask? It has to do with proper feline weight loss. Katie took the weight off the right way: slowly. Very, very slowly.  You see, cats' systems are so efficient that a drastic calorie reduction can be dangerous - even deadly.

We'll be using this six month journey to discuss the importance of feeding a quality, healthy diet. And we'll also highlight the many reasons pet obesity can cost you far more in vet bills than you'll ever spend by buying the right kind of pet food.

I admit, before we joined up, I "test drove" Merrick's Grammy's Pot Pie with Allie. Cats are notoriously finicky, and I wanted to ensure that our girl wouldn't turn her little pink nose up at it.

No worries there! She looooves it. A lot. And to think she's going to get three squares of the stuff a day. She'll be in kitty heaven!

Allie's ready to show her "before" photo - and while we have been guilty of using camera angles and cropping to show her in a more "slender" light these past few years -  no more!

Oh my. No daylight showing between her waistline and the grass? Well, maybe a teensy bit...

And now for the big reveal. We hope Allie will forgive us for our tell-all below, but it's for a good cause:



We're excited about our weight-loss journey. I absolutely believe that having a healthy pet depends on feeding good quality food and maintaining a proper, healthy weight. Allie's game face is on. Won't you join us?

Go #TeamAllie!

______________

FTC Disclosure: Our Extreme Feline Makeover series is sponsored by Merrick Pet Care, and we have received both food and a small fee to compensate us for each post. This covers the time it takes to take photos and write our progress reports. Every sponsored post on A Tonk's Tail will always reflect our honest and unbiased opinions. Merrick Pet Care is not responsible for the content of this article, and Grammy’s Pot Pie is not specifically formulated for weight management. This effort is part of an overall health and wellness regime for Allie.

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Goats' Milk Soap Giveaway! 
  
Happy Goats' Soap is giving away THREE bars of their artisanal soap - your design choice!

Giveaway open through June 20, to U.S. residents.


CLICK HERE TO ENTER

We'd be honored if you'd consider us. 
You can nominate daily thru June 30.

You'll need our URL:

www.atonkstail.com

Thank you!