Cat Food

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)

The Columbia Association invites you and your dog to Dog Day Afternoon at Hopewell Park this Saturday, April 27, for a day of music, raffles, demonstrations and seminars, and the chance to meet local business owners who focus on the health, happiness and well-being of pets. While you're making the rounds, your dog can make new friends! Plenty of doggy fun has been planned, including contests, off-leash play and treats -- lots of treats. Events include an Ask the Trainer session, biscuit eating and tail-wagging contests, a dog fashion show, and a best-kisser competition.

To care about the color of cat food -- to really fuss over, say, a roast-beefy red -- you must loathe hues of rust and old gravy. You must adore the way that an Italian grape skin extract can hold its purple with such might during the heat of pasteurization that it won't brown out (this is tricky, though). No matter where you turn, the world must explode at you in tangerines and peacock blues and glorious color, the way it does for Gabriel J. Lauro, food scientist. Lauro is the unpaid director of the Natural Color Resource Center at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

You think you're all set for Passover -- but maybe you forgot about your pet? You do not have to remove your cat or dog's food and dish bowl as you begin prepping for Passover this week if you switch to Evanger's kosher dog and cat food . Established in 1935, Evanger's Dog and Cat Food Company is endorsed by the Chicago Rabbinical Council and offers highly-inspected kosher certified products. By not mixing meat with dairy products and offering chometz-free (grain free) food, Evanger's allows your dog or cat to eat with the family during Passover.

A dab of ice cream on a hot summer day isn't going to hurt your pet much, but a steady diet of it isn't a good idea.My dogs love ordinary ice cubes as a summer treat, but they're even more fond of the "petsicles" I make every summer. They're easy to make: Just pour beef or chicken broth into ice-cube trays and freeze. I use salt-free broth with as little fat as possible.Cats are usually harder to please, but they may enjoy the same treats if made from clam or fish broth.No matter what goes into the treat, make sure the pets eat them outside, since the melting broth can make a real mess.

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.

You think you're all set for Passover -- but maybe you forgot about your pet? You do not have to remove your cat or dog's food and dish bowl as you begin prepping for Passover this week if you switch to Evanger's kosher dog and cat food . Established in 1935, Evanger's Dog and Cat Food Company is endorsed by the Chicago Rabbinical Council and offers highly-inspected kosher certified products. By not mixing meat with dairy products and offering chometz-free (grain free) food, Evanger's allows your dog or cat to eat with the family during Passover.

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.

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.

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.

A woman who grew up rescuing lost critters has launched an effort to help pets and their owners survive financial crises together. Lynn Molnar is operating Thankful Paws, a food bank for pets, out of her White Marsh home. "The idea is to keep people and their pets together even in the most trying situations," she said. "Often in hard times, the pet is the cut that people have to make. " The seeds for the nonprofit organization sprung from the parade of stray cats, dogs and other assorted critters that found shelter in Molnar's childhood home, and from her mother, who nurtured a "spirit for animals" in her daughter.

While many garden clubs work to shed the dusty image of white-gloved flower-arrangers for a more modern one of community service, the members of the Glen Arm Garden Club are busy helping others, well, arrange flowers. On this morning in December, members of the club are making their regular visit to Morningside House assisted living in Parkville, where they help a dozen or so residents create flower arrangements for the dining room and another one each can take to her own room. "It is nice for them to come," said Arsala Ewing, in her holiday-inspired teddy bear sweat shirt.

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.

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.

The Columbia Association invites you and your dog to Dog Day Afternoon at Hopewell Park this Saturday, April 27, for a day of music, raffles, demonstrations and seminars, and the chance to meet local business owners who focus on the health, happiness and well-being of pets. While you're making the rounds, your dog can make new friends! Plenty of doggy fun has been planned, including contests, off-leash play and treats -- lots of treats. Events include an Ask the Trainer session, biscuit eating and tail-wagging contests, a dog fashion show, and a best-kisser competition.

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.