Sweet Stubborn Meezer Boy #MyCatMyMuse #ad

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyCatMyMuse #CollectiveBias  
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How many times have you heard me lamenting about Maxwell's refusal to eat wet cat food? I even threatened to ship him to his Aunt Connie for an Intervention, he was that stubborn.

I've been keeping quiet about it (because I wanted to make sure it was really happening) but something huge happened back in August. Who knows how long it had been going on, but that's when we noticed.

Maxwell was stealing Faraday's dinner. His wet food dinner.

"Guilty as charged, Momma."

 O...M...G... Happy dance time!

Right now, I'm all about keeping him interested in wet food - the good, grain free, no plant protein kind. So when I saw there was a campaign on Purina's new Muse® Natural Cat Food, I wanted to see what it was all about.

I ran over to PetSmart - that's the only place you can find Muse - to take a look.
Here's what I found:

• Muse is a wet food. Period. (love!) 
• There are 5 different types of recipes: Chowder, in Broth, with Toppers, in Gravy and Paté. 

Our kids love Paté, so that was a given. But I wanted to try another style, too, and when I saw that two of them had Bonito Toppers, I thought Faraday might like them.

And to be honest, I owe the little guy. Who knows how long Maxie's been stealing his dinner? No wonder the poor thing was acting starved!

I picked up several cans of chicken, turkey and salmon.
Here's what I found on the label:

• Only seven ingredients (excluding vitamins & supplements)  - and the first 5 are meat protein, real fish and poultry. 
• Grain free, and no pea protein, which I really love. 
• No artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, and 100% complete and balanced for adult cats.

I'm pretty pleased with what I saw on their labels. But will Maxie eat it???

Purina states that "Natural has never been so delicious. Put Muse to the test with our clean plate guarantee."

Well, if you insist....

"M-m-m-m. Delish!"

Not that we'd ever accuse our little princess of pigging out... but she does love her food. And this definitely appealed to her taste buds.

A lot.

Um, Allie? That's not terribly ladylike.   ...Allie?

Someone else was really interested, too.

Max: "Uh, Allie? Can I have a taste?" 
Allie: "Get your OWN, this is MINE."

Poor Maxie. And once he got his own plate? Well, somekitty decided he'd had enough of his big brother stealing his food. And decided turnaround was fair play.

Faraday: "M-m-m. Move it, Maxie. Incoming!"

1 photo = 1,000 dirty words. Calm down, Maxie, I'll get Faraday his own. And refill yours.

Um, Maxie? I know you're a bit miffed, but be careful.
Your face might freeze that way.

That was taken a week ago. They're all still happily chowing down - as long as I run interference to make sure everyone gets their fair share.

Purina states that "With Muse you don’t have to choose between natural nutrition and food that tastes great. Your cat can have both when you choose Muse." I would agree. I like the ingredients, and they obviously love the flavor.  As the mom of one very fickle and stubborn kitty, I also know how tastes can change overnight. Given that that there are two dozen varieties, I like that this gives me options.

The Mystery of the Missing Food

That was the paté. What about the Toppers?
Their initial response not surprising, as under the topper it was shredded food in gravy and none of our three have ever been fans of the shreds.

But when I came back an hour later...clean plate.
Any guesses as to who might have eaten it?

There's a nice Buy 3 Purina Muse Natural Cat Food, Get 3 Free coupon here, if you want to try it out for yourself. So if you're looking for a good wet food to add to your pantry, I'd love to hear what you (and your cats) think of it!

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Great White Housepanther Takes over the Veldt #sponsored

We are being compensated for our review of Natural Balance® Wild Pursuit™ Cat Food, but A Tonk's Tail only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Our promise: you will always receive our honest opinion about any product we review.
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Announcer: Welcome to the Tonk edition of "Animals Gone Wild" ... today on Nat Geo WILD! 

Maxwell: sotto voce Uh, Allie? Are we trapped in Faraday's daydream again?
Allie: groan-n-n-n...

Male Voiceover: *whispers*
Today we get a rare look at the Great White Housepanther in his native habitat.

Allie: Native my left paw. He snuck out of the house again!

Voiceover: The Housepanther prowls, sleeky navigating through tree and brush...

Playfully sunning himself on the African veldt.

Suddenly, he turns.

He spots the Nat Geo crew!

(cue sound of screeching record track....)

Allie: ENOUGH ALREADY! Listen, Brat. There is no veldt here, and you're no panther. Got it?

Faraday: YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!

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And so it goes at our house, with Faraday the Wild Man. If he's not nosing into everything, dreaming up wild flights of fancy or swinging from the rafters, he's probably getting on Allie's very last nerve.

In other words, what we call routine. Seriously, this cat has one wild imagination, and enough energy to act it out!

So what do you do with a kitty that has loads of mischief, yet bags of charisma and charm? Share him with the world, so everyone can enjoy the same laugh we do.

Do you have a Character (yep, that’s with a capital C) in your home? We bumped into the Natural Balance crew at BlogPaws in Nashville last month and they were on the hunt for a few Faradays out there - you know, those four-legged characters that make us giggle and smile. The ones we couldn't live without.

And they want you to share your characters with them, on their fun new site: Natural Characters.com. Faraday's joined in the fun. How about you?

Of course, all our feline family members are characters in one way or another. I believe that's due, in part, to a healthy and species-appropriate diet. Faraday has been eating grain free wet Natural Balance® food his entire life. Also, I do love their new Wild Pursuit canned foods because I really like that the first 5 ingredients are meat protein.

Got a Character hanging out at your house? Share their special brand of crazy over at the Natural Characters site, then check out all the others who have shared.

I especially love the expression on Casper's face. Okay, I might be a bit biased because he's a deaf cat like our Maxie, but OMG, that expression!

If you do have a Character lounging around - or playing! - Natural Balance® would love to know about them! So please share that you’ve posted and use #NaturalCharacters when you do. They, as well as I, can’t wait to see your special Character!

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A Wild Pursuit for a Wild Mancat #feedthepursuit

We are being compensated for our review of Natural Balance® Wild Pursuit™ Cat Food, but A Tonk's Tail only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Our promise: you will always receive our honest opinion about any product we review. 

If there ever was a kitty who walked on the wild side…it would have to be Faraday.

Whether he’s tearing through the house, taking mad leaps of athletic prowess or endlessly tormenting Allie, anyone who knows him knows he’s one wild man!

Faraday, unleashing his inner beastie.

So when Natural Balance asked us if we knew a cat who might be interested in reviewing their new Wild Pursuit line of cat food, some kitty quickly raised his paw. (yeah, we know, big surprise there #amiright?)

As a daily eater of Natural Balance’s Platefulls wet foods, Faraday was all for it. Especially when he heard this food “satisfies your pet’s ancestral cravings.”

Faraday would like to remind you about his Great Uncle Mortimer. Remember last April's interview?

As the human with Veto Power in the house and, I might point out, the one with the opposable thumbs, I wanted to look at the ingredients list first. There are 5 different Natural Balance Wild Pursuit flavor profiles: two fish, two fowl, and one with beef, buffalo and venison.

For investigative purposes, I grabbed the Chicken, Turkey and Quail formula. The top 6 ingredients were home runs for me: Chicken, Chicken broth, Chicken liver, Brewer’s yeast, Turkey, Quail. Hello! Can you say Obligate Carnivore?

Natural Balance describes their Wild Pursuit offering as “a high protein formula with a balanced blend of three premium protein sources...closely resembling the diet they would have eaten in the wild”. Having grown up in the Texas countryside where both barn cats and quail were plentiful, I can totally corroborate the quail part. In the cat world, quail is “Good Eats!”

To be honest, though, I may have been most excited about its texture: all 5 cans are paté. Is your home like ours? I cannot get any cat to touch wet food if it’s not in paté form. (Okay, with the exception of Natural Balance’s Platefulls pouches, which are about the size of a moist treat. Any other format – e.g. shredded, diced, chunks – is utterly rejected by all three.)

Faraday: "Blah, blah, blah. Enough talk. Bring on the noms, Mommy!

Okay, moment of truth: did it pass the taste test?

The Great White Hunter spies his prey!

Nommy!

Seriously Nomilicious! 'Scuse me while I dig in....

I’d say that was the look of one satisfied customer.

You can buy Natural Balance Wild Pursuit for both dogs and cats (and hey, there are even treats for you pups out there!) online at retailers such as Pet360.com and Chewy.com, or at your local Petco now and PetSmart starting in August.
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For more information on Natural Balance Wild Pursuit Pet Food click this link here.

Review: Rachael Ray Nutrish Zero Grain for Cats #sponsored

Maxwell: A package arrived the other day and Momma said it was for me.

And I didn't have to give up any teeth to get it, either! (I like that in a package.)

Faraday: Whatcha got there, Maxie?

Allie: Yes, Max, what's that delectable smell in here?

Maxwell: Uh, Allie, it's mine. See?

Maxwell: But if you're nice, I might just share the cool fish toy that came with it.

Maxwell: You wouldn't mind, Mister Fish, would you?
BlueFishie: *gulp* Uhh...

Allie: oh Mister BlueFish, you and I are going to have a lovely time together.
BlueFishie: *faint*

Maxwell: Allie, wha'd you do to him? He looks a little peaked.

Allie: Maybe you should give him CPR, Maxie. You know, just in case. I'll just watch your new cat food for you while you're gone.

Faraday: What, all by yourself? I don't THINK so! *KA-POW!!*
(meanwhile, back at the ranch...)

Maxwell: *nom*nom*nom*....

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All kidding aside, we agreed to test out this new grain free food from Rachael Ray's Nutrish line because somekitty still has a bit of a hangup with wet food (yes, Maxie, I'm looking at you).

Cats can be notoriously finicky, so I’m a big believer in mixing things up in the taste department. It’s my hope that this way, I’ll avoid coming home from work to untouched bowls and accusing stares that say, “you expect me to eat this drivel?” (Said ‘drivel’ being what has been the preferred food of choice for months on end!)

So when I heard that Rachael Ray’s Nutrish line of pet foods was looking for bloggers to help spread the word about their new cat food offering – and the cat food was grain free – I raised my hand. 

Here’s what I like about it:

• It’s grain free with no glutens, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. 
• The top three ingredients are a meat protein (in this case, fish). 
• It doesn’t have meat or poultry by-product meal (code for really bad stuff, and you can read more about it here). 

Here’s what I’m less crazy about
(hey, I promised an honest review here!) :

• Dried peas is the 5th ingredient but the other two veggies are far down the line, which is better... but still.
• I’d prefer a poultry to fish, as I personally like to limit my cats’ fish intake, but I’m sure that’s coming.

Total Pro Bono plug here: no one paid me to say this, and the Nutrish folks don’t know I’ve been snooping, but Rachael Ray is coming out with a pretty darn awesome wet cat food, too.

I tried to buy it locally, but it’s not out in stores yet (though you can buy it online at places like Chewy.com).

Seriously, the ingredients list is a thing of beauty: Chicken, Water, and Vegetable Oil – and then you get into things like Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Iron Proteinate, and vitamins.

Can you say Obligate Carnivore? I can’t wait for it to arrive in my local grocery store or Target. I’ll totally try this out.

Member of the Clean Plate Club

Bottom line: Maxwell loved the food. And I now have another flavor in my arsenal, should his finicky side raise its head. And I hope they release other, more poultry based dry flavors soon.

Another thing I like about the Nutrish brand is that Rachael’s personal proceeds go toward helping shelter pets. To date, that has translated to more than $9 million for rescue animals. Well done, Rachael, and thank you.

Maxwell: Uh momma? I think we have a problem here. EMPTY.

If you want to find out when new cat flavors are released, or want to ask the folks at Nutrish when you can expect to find their wet cat food locally, you can follow them on Twitter or Facebook. And if you have a cat like Maxie who prefers dry, you can try Rachael Ray Nutrish Zero Grain Whitefish & Potato for $3 off with this coupon.


We are being compensated for our review of Rachael Ray Nutrish Zero Grain Cat Food, but A Tonk's Tail only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Rachael Ray Nutrish is not responsible for the content of this article.

#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!

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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.