Cat Food

INSIDE A JAPANESE 7-11 -- What, no Big Gulps? No chili dogs? No nachos with cheese?Some people just don't know how to live.Sushi, tempura shrimp, seaweed wraps -- they're all in the prepared-food section. So are teriyaki burgers, ready to be zapped in the microwave.As with all 7-11s, though, the main action is at the counter.Doughnuts aren't available, but you can choose from steamed pastries stuffed with meat, mushrooms, even pumpkin.Then there is the steamed fish known as Oden, waiting to be selected from a dish of boiling water that also includes vegetables, eggs, even squid.

MOSCOW -- All would seem right with Russia to anyone who parachuted into the World Food Moscow trade exhibition, which opened here yesterday with rows and rows of gleaming and succulent displays of edibles from around the world that no one will buy.Spilling through four large halls in a country that imported half its food last year, a show designed to bring buyers and sellers together looked for all the world like business as usual. Except for one thing -- there was no business.At the moment, there is virtually no imported food coming into Russia.

The cat's meowJoin the Black-Eyed Susan Cat Club as it sponsors its All-Breed Championship and Household Pet Cat Show this weekend in Annapolis. Fancy felines, including the Maine Coon cat and the Manx, will be on display, along with their more common cousins. The cats will be divided into four categories and rated by eight licensed judges. After working their way from the American Shorthair to the Cornish Rex, visitors can buy gifts for their cats and themselves from various vendors. Kittens also will be for sale.

A cat rescue act has been playing in East Baltimore for four years now, easing little of the urban feline overload but lightening the hearts of a few humans and -- the rescuers hope -- the lives of the cats.The two salvagers are unlikely partners: a retired Highlandtown steel worker who turned his old red station wagon into a welcome wagon for strays and an assistant attorney general from Columbia who litigates cases for the Maryland Port Administration.Edward Young, 76, feeds wild cats and captures young ones from their dreary habitats on Clinton Street in industrial Canton.

THE STORY conjured up images of David and Goliath, only the slingshot was a bit frayed: A mom-and-pop pet store in Carroll County was locked in a price war over cat food with a Wal-Mart down the road.Personal Pets had priced the tabby treats at 69 cents a can. The shopkeeper was alarmed when he noticed that Wal-Mart was selling the stuff for just 53 cents, after a customer he recognized as a Wal-Mart employee was spotted browsing in his store. He countered, marking down the cat food to 49 cents, but lamented to a reporter that he couldn't withstand such crossfire for long.

A man armed with a 4-inch screwdriver robbed a High's store in the 700 block of Church St., Brooklyn Park, of an undetermined amount of cash Friday, county police said yesterday.Police said the man walked into the store about 8:30 a.m. and picked up a can of cat food. When he pulled a dollar from his pocket to pay, he also pulled out the screwdriver from his jacket and demanded money from the cashier.The man took the cash and fled, leaving the cat food. The suspect is described as a white male, about 25, with thin, shoulder-length brown hair, a mole near his mouth, and a thin mustache.

MOSCOW -- As food prices rise toward world levels, Russians are embracing a concept that only a few years ago produced derisive laughter as the worst manifestation of capitalist decadence:They're buying cat food.The changing economics -- and a deep affection for animals -- have been adroitly exploited by Western pet food companies, which have begun advertising on television and on billboards.Traditionally, dogs and cats, regarded as members of the family, have eaten kasha (buckwheat porridge)

Tiffany eats eight cans of chicken cat food a day and loves romping with a Welsh corgi named Pepper.But the 9-month-old orange striped cat is not just a playful tabby with a big appetite. She is a 300-pound Siberian tiger and one of the star attractions at the NEWARCC Petting Farm in Davidsonville.The cub, raised by Steve and Debbie Collison since she was only 5 weeks old, has outgrown their house and now her small fenced yard.NEWARCC, the National Endangered Wild Animal Research and Conservation Center, is holding a fund-raiser Sunday for a new home for Tiffany.

A 36-year-old Edgewood man was acquitted of attempted murder and other related charges late Thursday after a Circuit Court jury deliberated about eight hours.Kevin Rondell Glenn of the 400 block of Meadowood Drive had maintained he acted in self-defense after being taunted with racial slurs and threatened by a group of whites armed with large sticks. Mr. Glenn is of Hispanic and black ancestry.Mr. Glenn had been held at the county Detention Center since June 17 because he was unable to post a $100,000 bond.

Pieces of column too short to use . . .Clip this item, keep it with your coupons . . . Tell kids that something is not good for them and they demand more. But argue that something is not good for the environment and you might get some respect. You can argue, for instance, that Kool Aid KoolBursts are nutritionally empty, but that argument won't get you as far as this one: KoolBursts have been condemned as an overpriced, over-packaged product that adds unnecessarily to the trash stream and is, therefore, prime for boycott by earth-sensitive kids.

Columbia Art Center sponsoring 'Doghouse' Columbia Art Center, 6100 Foreland Garth, Long Reach Village Center, will continue to sponsor its Doghouse of Joy through Tuesday, in conjunction with Columbia Association's 2008 "Season of Giving." Items that can be dropped off include: laundry detergent and bleach, paper towels, tall kitchen drawstring bags, disinfectant floor cleaner, antibacterial dishwashing liquid, canned dog and cat food, cat litter, bathroom rugs, cloth towels and meat-flavored baby food.

Police reports in Baltimore city and county: Northern Baltimore Robberies Two Morgan State University students, a man, 20, and a woman, 19, were walking in the 1100 block of E. Belvedere Ave. about 9:15 p.m. Sunday when they were stopped by two men who asked the male student for the time. When the students continued on their way, one of the men pulled out a handgun. The robbers stole the man's watch and car keys. They then robbed the woman of her purse containing a cell phone, a digital camera and other property.

A Las Vegas food import company, two Chinese businesses and the companies' top executives were indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury for their parts in a tainted pet food scandal last year that sickened or killed thousands of dogs and cats, the Justice Department said. The announcement by John F. Wood, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, marks the first time a domestic company has faced criminal charges because melamine - a chemical found in plastics that can cause kidney failure in animals - was added to shipments of wheat gluten, a binding agent used in pet foods.

Most people prefer cat-sitting over dog-sitting because cats are low-maintenance pets. Many of them do not even wish to be petted or acknowledged; they seem more like walking home-decorator accent pieces. Try a calico one for your cozy country motif, whereas a jet-black one nicely complements the streamlined modern decor. A couple of years ago, I accepted the job of watching my neighbor's cat while the family was on vacation. My neighbor, Wehttam Renrel, who shall remain anonymous thanks to the clever backward spelling of his name, has often wondered when I would tell this story in my column.

Washington -- An industrial chemical linked to the deaths of 16 pets and recall of more than 100 pet foods in the United States has been found in a third ingredient shipped from China, federal health officials said yesterday. Tests conducted by a South African pet food company, Royal Canin, found melamine in a shipment of corn gluten from China. The discovery deepens American investigators' suspicion that Chinese manufacturers purposely laced pet food ingredients with melamine to raise the value of their shipments, federal health officials said.

When Brenda Christ's 7-month-old Himalayan kitten started vomiting, lost his appetite and barely moved for two days, the Hanover, Pa., resident knew right away what to do. First, she rushed little Winslow to the vet, who diagnosed an acute case of kidney failure. Next, she found out from the vet that the likely culprit was half a can of Iams Flakes with Tuna cat food - the sixth can the cat consumed from a batch of 24 that cost $8 at a local megastore. Finally, she called Iams to notify them of her problem and sent them the unused cans of food in an envelope they mailed her. Then she waited ... and waited ... and waited some more.

Students at Hannah More School are holding a benefit drive to help the Humane Society of Baltimore County. Students are asking for meat formulas of baby food, blankets, towels, small rugs, canned dog and cat food, large rawhide bones, cat litter, animal toys, cleaning supplies and medical gloves. The Humane Society would also welcome food scales measuring up to 4 pounds. Donations will benefit dogs, cats and other pets housed at the Humane Society of Baltimore County and other local nonprofit animal shelters.

Contaminated dog food kills 23 animals, sickens 18 more WASHINGTON -- Contaminated dog food that was sold in 23 states - including Maryland - killed nearly two dozen dogs and sickened 18 more, the Food and Drug Administration said yesterday. The deaths and illnesses sparked an FDA investigation into the pet food made by the Diamond Pet Food Co. at its Gaston, S.C., manufacturing plant. The FDA said that 23 animal deaths have been linked to the pet food. The company, based in Meta, Mo., issued a recall of 19 varieties of dog and cat food Dec. 21 because some of the pet food made at the Gaston facility was discovered to contain aflatoxin.

Nitwit is a good-natured calico cat who likes to sleep on the top bunk bed in her owner's spare bedroom. She jumps from the floor to the dresser to the bed. That's pretty impressive when you consider that 8-year-old Nitwit weighs in at a hefty 18 pounds, which is a little beyond pleasingly plump and edging toward obese. "She's an eating machine," says her owner, Renate Reed of Annapolis. Nitwit's weight doubled in the six months after she was neutered, to the shock of both Reed and her veterinarian.

My cat Elvis was king, or maybe she was queen, of our household. She had a great sense of cat humor and a playful personality, and she offered endless unconditional love. She knocked things over, sneaked out of the house, ate our food before we sat down and batted things under the furniture. A few years ago, Elvis bought the farm. Our other old-timer cat, Angel, died the next week. After four years, we still mourn the loss of our pets. Our kids asked when the cats would come back. We told them there was no returning from cat heaven.