After careful consideration, from time to time I write a product reviews. If you see it here, it's because, at LEAST I think it's worth you knowing about even if I have an issue with it and, at BEST, I think it's amazing and we should all have one, two or more of whatever it is I'm reviewing. I get NO reimbursement for writing these reviews, though to write a review I am supplied with the item, as I was in this case. This review is MY OPINION, ONLY. The result you experience using this product may differ.

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If you've read my Blog for any length of time you know I'm passionate about providing my cat's with the best nutrition possible. For me the answer is to feed a raw diet I make at home using a single source protein and a few essential vitamins and minerals mixed in and that's about it. I realize that this choice is not for everyone, even if I feel it's the most appropriate for our obligate carnivore kitties.

Nature's Variety® Instinct line has come out with two new products that anyone can feed, regardless of what they currently feed their cat. Both are freeze dried raw products using the following single source protein per package: Lamb, Beef, Venison (with the exception of the Chicken which adds turkey and turkey liver). The ingredients include blueberries, salmon oil, pumpkin seeds and ground flaxseeds—all recognizable ingredients that you'd be able to buy in your local grocery store and eat yourself. There is no sign of chemicals, preservatives or cheaping out using low quality vegetable protein sources. I had no concerns test driving these products on my own cats and if you have a fear of handling raw food, don't worry. There's no chance of spreading a foodborne illness since the product is freeze-dried.

Instinct® Raw Boost Bites™ are freeze-dried raw treats and come in 4 oz packages at a suggested retail price of $9.99. They're medallion shaped and roughly the size of a half dollar, but much thicker. I think they're a bit large for a cat to eat as is so I broke them up into smaller pieces before I gave them to my 8 cats.

I gave the Bites to my cats and I also gave some to the shelter cats at Animals in Distress. The cats at AID are fed a mix of grain-free kibble and canned food. Some of the cats gobbled up the Bites while others simply sniffed at it. The ones who did enjoy the Bites wanted MORE. For a cat under 20 lbs in weight, you'd only want to give them ONE Bite a day or otherwise you have to adjust their daily intake of food so your cat doesn't get chubby. The Bites are soft enough that they crumble, but don't break apart into small pieces easily. I cut mine up into small slices and fed that way and it worked fine.

Does freeze-drying negate the raw quality of the product? What is Freeze-Dried Food?

“Freeze-dried food is fresh or cooked food item that has been frozen – then had the water removed. The result is a light-weight, fresh appearing and tasting preserved food that can be rehydrated with a minimum amount of water…

The process involves freezing a fresh food (fruit, dairy, vegetable, cooked meat or fish) in a special “freeze drying chamber,” then removing the water by quickly changing the chamber’s pressure and temperature. This causes the water in the food to change from a solid to a gas without ever changing back into a liquid. This “quick change” process preserves the cell structure of the food without compromising vitamins, nutrients, color or aroma.”

Source: Oregon Freeze Dry via PackitGourmet

©2012 Nature's Variety

Instinct® Raw Daily Boost™ is similar to the freeze-dried raw treats, only this is in a powdered form. It comes in 11 oz canisters at a suggested retail price of: Chicken ($25.99), Beef ($25.99), Lamb ($27.99) and Venison ($27.99).The idea behind this is to use the as a way to supplement or “Boost” the quality of the food your cat is eating. If you feed kibble or canned, you can sprinkle it on the food, increasing palatability as well as enhance the overall nutrition they're getting. Is this a band-aid for feeding a lower quality of food? I hope not, but with the economy the way it is, if you have to feed lower quality food, perhaps there would be some benefit-as if you were giving your cat a daily vitamin?

Just sprinkle a tablespoon onto the cat's food twice a day. The container has 60 servings in it so it will last awhile if you don't have many cats.

©2012 Nature's Variety

What I used the Raw Daily Boost for was as a flavor enhancer. There are times when my cats just aren't in the mood for raw turkey or chicken, what have you, and I find that sprinkling a bit of bonito flakes or dehydrated chicken gets them going. The problem for me is that one of my cats can't have fish and the dehydrated chicken is very expensive. Although the Daily Boost is roughly $26.00 to $27.00, retail, the price per serving is significantly less than the dehydrated chicken treats I was using from another company.

©2012 Robin A.F. Olson. Boost Powder shown before we wipe out the container completely.

The nicest surprise was seeing how much my cats liked the powder. It was very well tolerated and I do believe it helped get them to eat their food.

I gave my friend, Irene, a few tablespoons to give to her cat, Oscar. Oscar is 20 years old and is VERY finicky these days. Irene didn't think anything would get Oscar to eat, but low and behold, with the Boost, sprinkled onto his food, Oscar ate well for the first time in a long time.

©2012 Robin A.F. Olson. The Boost Bites are a bit large for a cat to eat. This package is NOT shown full.

What's great about this is the potential to get older, ailing cats to eat and usually by the time they're in that condition cat guardians will feed them ANYTHING they want. In this case, if you chose to try the Daily Boost, you're not harming the cat by giving it cheap, smelly food full of appetite enhancing chemicals-you're actually doing your cat some good.

©2012 Robin A.F. Olson. Foster Kitten Jakey grabbing a Boost Bite, but it's a little bit too big for him to manage without me breaking it up.

Is this product a cure-all, a Holy Grail food? No. No food is, but it's a good choice if you want to give your cat a healthy treat or if you have finicky eaters or simply want to give your cat some additional supplementation. I like seeing products like this hit the market. It gives me hope that the trend is aiming towards better quality, fewer ingredients and more wholesome options for our cats.

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If you'd like to WIN a combo of (one 4 oz package) Instinct Raw Boost Bites & (one 11 oz container) of Instinct Raw Daily Boost (protein type to be chosen at random) simply leave a comment on why your cat needs a Boost, below. FOUR NAMES will be selected at random to WIN! You can only leave ONE comment for one chance to win per person. Voting ends FEBRUARY 2, 2012 at 2:22 PM EST and is open to residents of the USA, only (sorry guys!). Rules, quantities and whatever else I forgot are subject to change without notice.

Life behind bars for any shelter cat is usually flat out, miserable. The poor creatures just sit there and wait around, bored, angry, frustrated. Some cats are VERY lucky, their shelter has mandatory enrichment programs for their cats. Studies show that cats who are active in a cage are much more likely to be adopted than cats who sit there glumly passing time.

Enrichment for cats can also help de-stress the animal, keeping it healthy longer. This is a very important thing to keep in mind. If less cats get sick, fewer of them are euthanized. It doesn't take much to make their lives better, but with budgets cut, donations dwindling, how can any shelter afford the "luxury" of enrichment for the cats when they can't afford food or litter?

I'm NOT interested in promoting products on my Blog unless I LOVE them, feel the company is ethical and that me telling you about it would benefit you and your cats or cats in need of help. Today I'm going to talk about such a product. It's called a “Stretch and Scratch.”

I first became aware of these miniature cat scratchers at the Cat Writers' Conference a few weeks ago. In my swag bag was a tiny scratcher. At first I couldn't fathom it's use. It's too tiny for any of my adult cats, but then I noticed that the scratcher has twist ties threaded through the back. YES! To HANG them on the inside of a cage!

Everything made sense. I could use these during times when I have to separate kittens from their mama by caging them and I could use them in the cages when I bring my foster cats to adoption events! They're nice and sturdy and within a second of unpacking the scratcher at home, Blitzen was using it!

©2010 Robin A.F. Olson. Blitzen diggin' the scratcher.

But what about the kitties at all those shelters who can't afford much of anything? I thought about my friends at Henry County Care & Control in McDonough, Georgia. I thought about all those cats, just sitting in cages hoping for a miracle that all too often does not come.

©2010 Henry County Care & Control. LOVE the scratcher! Adopt me!

I contacted Joan, Owner and Creator, Designer of Scratch and Stretch and ordered a case of scratchers to be shipped to Henry County as a surprise. I wasn't going to tell you about it. I didn't want to make a big “to do” about what a nice person I am and all that mularky, but this morning I got two thank you emails, one from Gerri Yoder, the Director of HCCAC and one from our friend, Betsy, who helps get the word out on the cats in need at HCCAC. They BOTH sent me photos of their cats using the scratchers and I realized that sharing these photos might inspire you to buy some, too.

©2010 Henry County Care & Control. I LOVE MY SCRATCHER! Oh and Adopt me!

Apparently, they're a BIG HIT with the kitties.

©2010 Henry County Care & Control. Adopt us or rescue us!

I know it doesn't help them get OUT of HCCAC, but, at least it provides the cats with some joy and a way to de-stress. I think it helps the staff, too, seeing the cats playing and having fun.

©2010 Henry County Care & Control. Mmmmeow..scratching fun!

What I'd like YOU to do is to consider buying some scratchers for YOUR LOCAL SHELTER. Joan tells me that they can still ship to arrive BEFORE CHRISTMAS! You don't have to spend oodles of money. Maybe you can ask a few friends to come together and pitch in a few dollars so you can send a 1/2 case or a case! Joan also coordinates a team of folks who make cat beds for shelters, called Kennel Comforters and she does it purely out of love and a desire to help cats in shelters. They are always in need of donations of FABRIC so if you have some fabric to share, just contact her here.

Prices are: $45 for 1/2 case of 25 scratchers and $75 for 1 case of 50 scratchers. Shipping is extra, but I'm told that Joan cuts the shipping way down so you really get a bargain with the shipping-they actually pay some of it. Joan is not out to be a millionaire, she just wants shelter cats to be happy and this is part of her way to make that happen.

I would also like to know about any of you buying scratchers for shelters. All folks who make a purchase will be listed here on a big THANK YOU roster in January! Please be sure to let me know which shelter you bought scratchers for when you write to tell me about you being a GREAT person. Hee hee! Just email me at: info AT coveredincathair.com

Don't forget. THE CATS SHOWN HERE (other than my cat, Blitzen!) ARE AVAILABLE FOR RESCUE OR ADOPTION. CONTACT BETSY MERCHANT FOR MORE INFORMATION mystiblu@bellsouth.net

So you can't get your cat into the cat carrier when it's time to go to the Vet, but maybe if you leave your cat carrier out with the door open, the cats will come up with another use for what was once their fear locker.

Petunia, below and Blitzen obove, for once are in close proximity without any conflict.

Introducing, the Stackable Cat Hotel!

Reminds me of those Capsule hotels in Japan, sans the TVs and clean linens.

Anyone who visits this web site regularly knows there aren't enough cat photos. There just aren't. Thankfully, Davander Mobile just released the latest version of CatPaint for lucky iPhone and iPod Touch owners. For 99 cents it's great for creating absolutely absurd images using your own photos as a background. Then you simply add their pre-loaded cat images to any "catless" image or add more cats to an existing photo; if you feel badly that you only have 2 cats and want to seem more like a hoarder (like me with 8 cats).

I swiped a few examples off the Cat Paint Gallery so you can see the work of true “artistes.“ It's very simple to pick up on how to create your own Catserpiece, and during the creation, the cat art meows every time you place one! Great for taunting real cats while you do your art.

As seen on Cat Paint's Gallery Page! Nice job, whoever you are!

Of course if Taylor Swift can enjoy this, well, that just says it all. What it says, I do not know, but heck there's a CAT in the photo. WIN!

I just did my own Cat Painting. It might not have been Mewseeum quality and of course I would pre-fur an option to add my own cats. Maybe that will happen in a future version, but for now, I feel satisfied that my boring photo of the Tappen Zee Bridge has been transformed into a moving tribute to something. Maybe. Maybe not a tribute, but not a bad effort. Okay. Just look at the photo I made and like me so I can feel good about myself! I don't have Taylor Swift's legs...or anything else that she's got, for that matter.

©2010 Robin AF Olson. “The Bridge to Tabbybithia”

So go. Create art. Or bug someone with an iPhone to share this app with you. Just don't bug me. I'm busy creating another catsterpiece.

Google has come up with a nifty little video generator called Search Stories that allow you to create a quick video out of google searches. I made one in a few minutes. Let's see what you guys come up with! You can post the links to me via email and I will post them here (I have to give the vids a once-over and they need extra admin permissions for the videos to work).

Here's the one I created:

We love our pals at Best Friends and we loved (but are still hungover from it) watching the Olympics! Put the two together and you get great coffee?

Wait! Even to my warped mind that does not add up.

Shannon Bahrke is a 2010 Bronze Medal and 2002 Silver Medal Winning Skiier who happens to love coffee and love giving back to support animals in need. Here's more from her web site:

Silver Bean Coffee Co was founded by 2002 Olympic Silver Medalist Shannon Bahrke. She started skiing at the age of 3 and has been a member of the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team for the past 10 years. During this time, Shannon was also a member of two Olympic Teams and represented the United States in the Salt Lake City and Torino Winter Games. Whether she is competing in a World Cup competition in Italy, taking a high speed groomer on an early morning in Japan, or skiing endless powder all day long in Tahoe, Shannon feels most at home when she is on her skis. Because her sport enables her to travel all over the globe, Shannon has been lucky enough to sample a wide assortment of coffee in many exotic locations! Shannon’s tireless energy drives her to be the best in the competitive skiing world, while also enabling her to realize her dreams in the coffee business as well.

Now, the ever generous Shannon and her family are donating a portion of the proceeds from their Fair Trade Oragnic Coffee Blends to Best Friends! I bought one and it came today! Here's my fat hand along with the overstuffed bag of Best Friends Blend!

Normally, I don't plug products, but I thought this was a nice way to get a caffeine buzz and help kitties, doggies and other homeless animals while I was at it. Oops. I don't drink coffee! Oh well.

Anyone wanna come over for a cup of coffee?

I'm very pleased and excited to announce that you can now follow my crazy exploits on Covered in Cat Hair on your iPhone or iPod Touch (2nd Gen)!

Sure, you can use Safari on your iPhone to read CiCH when you're away from home, but using this Ap makes reading the latest posts MUCH easier. The text is nice and big and the photos are crystal clear. No need to zoom in on those photos of kittens pooping or puddles of vomit! They're already nice and big, too! And if you'd like, you can even “Tweet” or email your favorite posts!

AND it's FREE!

You can't beat that with a stick!

Read more about the CiCH Ap HERE then press the “View in iTunes” button and you will be re-directed to iTunes to download the Ap. If you enjoy using the Ap, I'd be really grateful if you'd give it a nice rating.

Special thanks to Sam, of Resonetrics, for helping me get my Ap off the ground.

Want to read Sam's blog about Technology for Marketers?

Check out Sam's iPhone Ap, Tech4Mktrs too!

Cupid has no idea how lucky she is to be alive. Not only did she escape a High Kill Shelter when she had less than 24hrs before she was separated from her offspring and very likely to be put down, but she survived a thousand mile transport, and being nursed on to the point of almost killing her. Cupid got sick, too and has managed to recover enough to be spayed. She relapsed a bit, but nothing serious. She's gained a few POUNDS in just over a month. This lady has won the lottery a million times over.

The time has come to start finding Cupid the perfect home. I've already had to say, “No” to an adopter. It's just not a good fit. Cupid is not going to be an outdoor cat. She's been through too much and her coat is finally sleek and beautiful. To allow her to run around, risk getting parasites, fleas, injured, you know the drill...well I just can't do it. Sure, we do adopt out to folks who let their cats outdoors, but we also have special circumstances and this is one. Cupid will have the best life I can give her and the best home I can find. I would rather say no again and again, until it really feels “right” to me. I don't care how long it takes.

I have lots of time, now. I won't be fostering any more cats until “Kitten Season” kicks in in our town in May.

Cupid is the last mama-cat I can save from Georgia. We will no longer be doing any transports other than with our new partner New Hope, a group affiliated with Animal Care & Control in NYC. It was not my decision to end doing transports and I understand why we have to pull back, but I hope to find a way to help the cats of Georgia. They are in such dire need, we all need to band together and find a solution for the overpopulation problem and the over-euthanasia problems there.

I am forced to close my doors, but I will never close my heart.

Cupid and her kittens made it. All the others I was lucky enough to get here before her were lucky, too. They were also the prettiest, sweetest cats I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with-all 32 of them.

I feel badly turning my back on the ones in Georgia that need help the most, but I look at it as only temporary, until I can find another way to help. If any of you are interested in helping cats in Georgia, let me know. Maybe we can team up and do something amazing!

When you get woken up in the middle of the night by your boyfriend screaming; BISON!!!!, you know you're in for a weird day. Add to that having to pry your eyelids back open again at 6:15 AM and things are really off to the races.

I had to get not one, two, three, four cats to the Vet by 8:15 AM. I had to bring ALL SEVEN foster cats to the Vet! I created a list of what was needed to be done to which cat so I wouldn't forget. It ranged from: “needs a booster shot, right?” to “Not sure what is going on. Cat is not getting better and now has a weird area of hair loss on the tail.”

Cupid and Prancer were also due to be spayed IF the Vet agreed that they were healthy enough to go through the stress of the surgery. It's hard to know how they'll do and even if they do well, they may relapse either from being around the other kittens who are still sick, or from stress. Either way, it's a risk I have to take. Now if I could just stop feeling guilty for putting them through this. Check out Cupid and Prancer (below). Tell me you don't feel guilty looking at them!

The Bison Yeller (Sam) helped me load up the car and he drove us over to the Vet. We got there a bit early and they were able to see us right away. We started with Cupid and Prancer. They got the “all clear” to be spayed. Great!

Next up was Blitzen, Donner and Dancer. Blizten is struggling to get well. He is on different antibiotics for the next 30 DAYS!!!!!!!. At least they took him off just about all the other meds and there's only one eye ointment and that's IT. The other two kittens are still sick, but the Vet felt that we should give it some time to resolve. How much time? “WEEKS OR MONTHS” (!!!!!!!!!!!!) She replied. Oh brother. They'll be adults before I can get them well!

Lastly, there was Comet and Rudolph.

Comet looks good. Got a clean bill of health...sort of. Her eyes are clear and no more sneezing. Her sore nose looks good, too. She gained weight and her coat is sleek and shiny. Except for one thing...

Rudy. Rudy is the one thing. Rudy has a bald patch on his tail. Jennifer called me about it over the weekend. She mentioned that Rudy and Comet had accidently been locked up with one of her resident cats and that Rudy had hid inside her husband's recliner. I thought that perhaps Rudy's tail had been stuck and that's how the fur came off. of course it wouldn't be anything else, right? What causes funky alopecia? It didn't occur to me since Rudy had been in 2 week quarantine in GA AND he'd been in CT for 4 weeks now, so he couldn't have broken with anything like...like...

RINGWORM!!!!!

No. That couldn't be it! Not after ALL THIS TIME?!! How could Rudy get ringworm?? We looked at the area with the Woods Lamp. It glowed, of course. “Should we do the test? Results take two weeks.” I said not to bother. We'll just treat it, but WHERE, HOW did he get it?

Here's a hint:

Doing cat rescue, apparently, is not for the faint of heart. The things I've learned in the past year, and learned the hard way, never stop to amaze me. The Vet felt that Comet MAY be a carrier for ringworm and passed it to Rudy. She may not show any signs of it or might break with it in another week. Wait and see. Also, she COULD give it to other cats after she gets adopted, or she might not. Is there no way to tell if she can do this? Apparently not.

I'm not going to have a nervous breakdown. I did that over Christmas break!!! As one of my client's says daily; “It IS what it IS.” Whatever that means, he's right. What can I do?

I called Jennifer. That was a tough call to make. I felt (feel) so badly about this because ringworm is airborne so of course all her cats and her husband have been exposed to it. By the way, all MY cats and my boyfriend have been exposed to it, too. Not to make it any less bad, but Jennifer is their caretaker. Without her, I will be in a big jam. Rudy's treatment lasts 45 DAYS.

Not only that, but Rudy STILL has bronchitis. The Vet is concerned he has Feline Leukemia or FIV+. We ran 2 combo tests and both were negative. She said you can't trust the results because Rudy is too young. We are not out of the woods with this boy. Hopefully by MARCH!!! he will be all better, BIGGER, healthy and happy.

I gathered up a new bag full of medications. One had to be ordered. The Vet bill for all these visits and medications is at $1250.00. I'm going to have to put out my paper cup and ask for spare change to help us pay the bill, but right now I need to count my blessings that Jennifer was willing to take Rudy and Comet back and that I've got two kitties that MAY be able to be adopted in another week or so.

Baby steps, right? Baby steps.

Okay, so I didn't do a write up about the Feline Forum yet, but in lieu of proper review, here's a tidbit to tide you over from a brochure I picked up at the Conference:

I'd like you all to check out Alliance for Contraception in Dogs & Cats. Their mission is to find a non-surgical solution to humanely control cat and dog populations around the world. Imagine, a simple shot, given to a puppy in a third world country where Vets are in short supply and funds to pay for neutering are nil. Imagine a way to control feral cat colonies in a way that's safe and less stressful for all concerned, also, the money saved by not having to pay for surgeries could be used for educational programs or to put towards emergency medical costs.

Instead of imagining all of this, there is already a product being used in male dogs under 10 months old called, EsterilSol™/Neutersol® (who comes up with these names!). I hate to tell you that this, but the drug is delivered via a shot directly into each testicle. Over time, the testicle withers away. Boohoo. Bye bye teste! (Sorry to my male reader/s!) I kind of wish I had this shot for a few of my ex-boyfriends! Also, I'd like to see them try to do this to a cat! Yeah. I knew I shoulda got those Kevlar lined, elbow length gloves I saw at the Feline Forum! (it's not FDA approved for cats just yet, by the way)

Thanks to Dr. Michelson, who is SUPER RICH and is a great advocate for finding a solution to the troubling problem of pet overpopulation, he's put up $75 MILLION BUCKS in grants and prizes to the first "entity to provide a single dose sterilant for male and female cats and dogs." If you're a super genius, visit Michelson Prize & Grants in Reproductive Biology for more info.

Maybe you're not an uber genius, but you want your shelter or rescue organization to support the efforts of ACC&D. They're looking for folks to join their worthy cause. You can find out how you can help by visiting HERE.

Imagine...no more need for KILL SHELTERS, followed by no more OVERCROWDED shelters...followed by?? What do you think will happen to the pet population if there one day IS single dose sterilization product for cats and dogs? No more shelters at all??