AskDowntown: Cats always a Bridesmaid. Never a Bride.
Ed Fuentes
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — AskDowntown is a weekly Friday feature where we pass your questions on to the Downtown crowd. Got a question? Send it to ask@blogdowntown.com.
In the dog-eat-dog world of Downtown, there’s little left over for cat lovers. Everyone talks about the preponderance of canines in Downtown's residential emergence, but the kitten sect is left with token resources at The Lofty Dog and Pussy & Pooch; and none at SkyBark. Dog parks are in demand, and dog walks are the new trend.
It doesn't seem right that the feline is left out in the alley. In empathy to those loft dwellers with cats as pets, where can locals find stores or vets who cater to the beloved furball?
Nanorich on January 04, 2008, at 07:24PM – #1
My vet, Jessica Rankin Gibson, is a housecall only cat vet who lives in South Pasadena, but who has ventured downtown to give simple examinations to cats.
She is currently on Maternity leave (twin boys) but she says she will be returning to her practice soon.
I see she has taken down her webpage, but you can contact her at caringforcats@webtv.net
Her rates are reasonable, if you live in a building with other cats,she can arrange to see a bunch at one time.
Just give her good directions, and take care of her parking for her.
When she is back, she is a great resource for cat owners.
Ed Fuentes on January 04, 2008, at 07:33PM – #2
Having a Downtown Cat Day for a vet visit at a loft could be an interesting thing to arrange.
meekorouse on January 05, 2008, at 02:48AM – #3
Would love for a downtown vet but what about special cat food? not to be whiny but Lofty Dog doesn't carry "Science Diet Indoor Formula" so we go elsewhere usually WeHO for it or pick it up where we can find the best deal.
Where are all the cat people?? =)
Thank you!
skidrowdude on January 05, 2008, at 08:47AM – #4
For cat (or dog) supplies I LOVE petco.com - their stuff arrives amazingly fast (2-3 days with standard shipping) and they have a great website that is very user-friendly. They always have specials too (free shipping on over $50 is common).
Living downtown, you would not believe the amount of items I order via the internet so I don't have to carry them up elevators, etc.
Best of luck,
Eric
Michael#1 on January 05, 2008, at 09:28AM – #5
No offense meekarouse but you should thank them for not carrying Science Diet products. Have you ever read the label? Hi, death food. One year ago I learned about raw food diets for cats and I'll never feed our Mau's anything but. Read these articles and you'll come over the the raw food side. http://www.catinfo.org/
http://www.omaspride.com/ We get raw frozen human quality chicken and organ meat delivered to us every month by a local supplier.
http://www.platinumperformance.net/animal/feline/whyplatinum/ We supplement the raw meat and organs with this to replicate the nutrients that wild cats would get from catching mice.
It's not cheap and it's a lot more work than pouring some dry in a bowl and going to work but the health benefits are worth it. Our cats are amazing, slim, glossy, soft and have muscles like you wouldn't believe.
Just my .02
Michael#1 on January 05, 2008, at 09:34AM – #6
One last thing. If anyone is interested my supplier could do a once a month downtown delivery for everyone!
meekorouse on January 05, 2008, at 10:27AM – #7
^I've seen places in Anaheim that have the raw food. I'm under veterinary instruction on what to feed the cats, and it's been working. Also I'm not ready to be feeding my cats anything raw.. one of my cats is still mostly feral (despite adopting him at 3wks old and hand raising him). I really don't want to encourage his wild Tiger nature too much you know? (you ever wake up with a cat putting his paw on your jugular like he's checking your pulse before the kill?? he's cute like that. LOL) No, no just want to find the cat food without having to order it or rent a car.
michael#1 on January 05, 2008, at 10:34AM – #8
Ok, but do read the link to Dr. Piersons articles.
Joe Cornish on January 05, 2008, at 07:41PM – #9
Meekououse, try Nancy Jean's Pet Project for your cat food. Nancy-Jean Carlson Pet Project, Home/Office Pet Supply Delivery Service to the Downtown LA Area, 213-595-4225. Nancy Jean is a great person (she's my neighbor!) and she'll order your food for you and deliver it personally.
Tell her Joe and Ruby sent you and ask for the Joe and Ruby discount. You may get no discount, but she'll think it's really funny.
Joe
Nancy-Jean Carlson on January 05, 2008, at 08:00PM – #10
Hi! Nancy-Jean here from Pet Project. My company provides home/office pet supply delivery service to those who work/live in Downtown Los Angeles. I carry a variety of dog and cat foods and would be most eager to serve your pet food needs. I have been in business for a year and have a great love of animals and am dedicated to providing only healthy foods and treats for your pets. I can be reached on 213-595-4225.
By the way, I have a 20-year old kitty who was suffering from failing kidneys, which is a common illness in elderly kittys. Our vet prescribed Science Diet Modified food for her. I fed her this for a couple years and she always had the same test results. One day, I ran out of it I didn't have time to drive out to our vet to get more (since you can only get it from a certified vet! Totally ridiculous if you ask me!) I started giving my kitty Wellness pouches. She just went in for her 6 month check up and blood work and the vet is amazed that she is actually doing better! The toxin levels in her blood have dropped to almost normal! This is nearly unheard of for a 20-year old kitty! Not that I'm prescribing anything or telling you not to listen to your vet, but sometimes it helps to do a bit of research and ask around.
Nancy-Jean Carlson on January 05, 2008, at 08:07PM – #11
By the way, I carry a raw diet for dogs and cats that is dehydrated. Unfortunately, my kitty won't touch it but some of my customers swear by it! My dog loves it. If you're interested, give me a call.
Pet Project 213-595-4225
Oh, and yes, mention Joe and Ruby and you will get a discount!! You crack me up Joe!!! :o)
urban memo on January 06, 2008, at 05:27PM – #12
I'm a cat person!
Here are my posts labeled "cats" to prove it:
http://urbanmemo.blogspot.com/search/label/cats
meekorouse on January 06, 2008, at 08:05PM – #13
^ smile I know you are! 3 is cool.. 'Memo Cats are cool =)
re: food & vets:
I'm not keen to give the cats raw food, the indoor formula seems to be working well (it's when we run out that's an issue!) I'm glad there is an option to have it delivered right to our door if need be. Petco etc charges a surcharge to have it shipped and for the extra 5bucks I can get it myself & have a smoothie to spare. =)
So. Pasadena is a long way to come for in-house vet care. Does she use the MTA 'cause that would be even better? Still, that has to be better than dealing with a crying cat that freaks out as soon as they figure out where you are taking them. I know some of our building neighbors have cats (but mostly dogs) It would be a good thing for folks to know there are vets out there that cater to cats & their owners. I haven't heard of vets doing house calls in ages. If they knew they had plenty of vet business in downtown, I wonder if there would be more cat people/cat vet options.
Man this was a long one.. =)
Juichi on January 07, 2008, at 05:52PM – #14
My b/f and I have 2 cats. Usually we go down to Centinela Pet Feed for food. It's a little out of the way, but they have a great selection. We get the monthly newsletter and they often give out coupons for the food. They have a lot of different food, including a lot more of the healthier choices. I wish they would put a store in Downtown.
To the person who has the delivery service..If you make a website it might help your business. It doesn't have to be fancy, but just list what food you can get and your contact information.
We buy healthy food for out cats. We received Science Diet from our vet when we got our cats, but after we finished the bags we discontinued using it because it wasn't that good for them. My b/f tried the raw frozen food, but the cats didn't know what to do with it. Cooking them food is a bit too much. I barely cook for myself, nonetheless cats. I feel they would get a better variety eating from a can.
Janene Zakrajsek on January 18, 2008, at 08:14PM – #15
Hi everyone, it's Janene from Pussy & Pooch weighing in on the cat food options... for those interested, we do carry the full lines of both Primal and Nature's Variety raw food diets for cats and dogs. If you haven't checked us out yet, we have 3 full-size freezers full of raw meat and bones and advocate feeding raw diets because it is one of the healthiest ways to feed your animals... as nature intended.
I myself, just lost a kitty to kidney disease, which by no coincidence was brought on by feeding a primarily dry food diet throughout his life. Prior to the store opening, as I was planning/researching, I became very educated on the various nutritional options that often fly in the face of traditional veterinary advice. Holistic is the way to go! 99.9% of all the brands we carry at Pussy & Pooch are human-grade, premium organic varieties.
We also have quite a bit of cat products that are very unique and not found in other local stores. Stop by to check it our or just say 'hi". The 'pussy' in Pussy & Pooch isn't just part of the name for the fun of it... in particular it's because cats do general get the short end of boutiques and it's my goal to change it up. We've had several adventurous cats visit us in-store already...including the coolest Hairless Cat you've ever seen~