If only they could talk

Last night I woke up with a shock when something very cold touched by nose. My head had slipped between the pillows, so my nose was the only part of me above bedding. Tinkerbell, one of my boyfriend's cats, was lying on my pillow with her nose touching mine. As I brought my hand up to stroke her she started purring enthusiastically, then turned her back on me when I returned my hand into the warmth of the bed.

Tinkerbell has somewhat of a reputation for being a difficult cat. The vets use big gloves to handle her, finding it amusing how feral she is with them. She's one of three cats. She spent her life growing up with two cats who were brother and sister, not from the same litter as herself. The two siblings always snuggled together. Tinkerbell was not allowed to join them. She was the loner.

When I joined the family I started talking to her with cat language. She responded immediately. My other half hadn't been aware of some of the nuances of what cat body language means. As such, no one had really 'talked' to Tinkerbell her entire life.

Last night she was trying to get close to me. Frequently, when my head is actually on the pillow, she will rest a paw on me, or even curl herself around my head. As she turned her back on me last night I realised that all she wants is someone to curl up with. This 'outdoor', 'feral' cat, just wants to be loved. I realised that she'd felt alone for ten years.

And my heart melted.

Iams

Ok, I know this is neither M.E. or benefit related, but I just wanted to share this with people!

I've always fed my cat Iams. It was what my vet recommended, and I never questioned it. I switched from standard Iams to their hairball formula, because my cat struggles with hair balls. Horrible big ones. It fixed the problem.

When I moved here, my cat started eating what my boyfriends cats eat. This I shall not name. I noticed after a month or so that the quality of her coat was deteriorating. I wasn't sure why at first. My boyfriend suggested that it was because she was spending more time outside. He viewed her as being an indoor cat, but she really wasn't. Before we started moving around she went out daily, spending hours outside, she didn't go far, but she did go outside; she still isn't spending that much time outside here yet.

I suddenly wondered whether it might be her diet. So I suggested that we feed all four of them purely Iams for a while and see if it makes a change. With four cats it's too difficult to feed one one thing, and the others something else. So that's what we have done.

Her coat is back to the beautiful shiny luxury I know and love to stroke. Not only that though, but his three cats are enjoying beautiful shiny coats now too. I had noticed that their fur was different to hers, and now I understand why.

If it's giving them such beautiful coats, if we're noticing how much better they look, what's it doing on the inside? I wonder if they're all feeling healthier. My cat was certainly running around like a crazy thing yesterday. Three of them were curled up with me in bed, purring, this morning.

So, I'd like to say thank you to Iams. And let everyone know that I rate them highly. Now on to my next project; seeing if adding glucosamine to their diet helps one of the little ladies walk more comfortably!