For a laugh (and for Easter): Peep surgery
By Gina Spadafori
April 7, 2007
We need a laugh! Thanks to vetcetera for providing the link to one: The surgical separation of conjoined marshmallow peeps.
But … I guess I need to get out more (OK, I know I do!). When did peeps start coming in purple? Aren’t they supposed to be yellow? Is this some weird and crazy peep mutation?
Peeps come in many colors, Gina. Yellow, pink, blue, purple…Where have you been lo these many years? :)
Good to know the vet community’s on top of this common but underreported issue.
Thanks for the laugh!!
Comment by Laura — April 7, 2007 @ 10:10 pm
Purple Peeps were born in 1995
http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/index.php
Comment by Nancy — April 7, 2007 @ 10:23 pm
PEEPS IN PURPLE
Perhaps a biochemist was bored?
Comment by Lynn — April 7, 2007 @ 10:39 pm
OMG I needed that laugh. Thank you!
Comment by Andrea — April 7, 2007 @ 11:03 pm
LOL thanks.
Comment by Kim — April 7, 2007 @ 11:21 pm
LOL
Comment by Pamela J. Betz-Baron — April 7, 2007 @ 11:23 pm
Keep it away from monkey, my neighbor brough over silk easter flowers to thank them on keeping them posted and now its a big hit, we don’t have a no cat zone anywhere.
Nothing is sacred in or “cat-house”.
Comment by MonkeyKitty — April 7, 2007 @ 11:33 pm
Interesting article on 2007 pet industry trends:
http://www.smallbiztrends.com/.....-2007.html
Here’s a few of the mentioned points:
7. Increased competition from larger players.
Larger companies are beginning to recognize the economic potential of the pet industry. Target and Walmart are both expanding their pet selection and using pets in their advertising. Petco and PetsMart continue to grow rapidly, increasing their total number of stores by over 160 stores in 2005, which is projected to continue in the coming years according to their annual reports. These companies are moving into the full service arena if they aren’t there already, to encourage customer loyalty.
8. Large companies buying smaller players or interacting with small businesses behind the scenes, via monetary investment and/or marketing alliances.
Not only are the more obvious pet-related giants, such as Purina, Hills, and Iams (for example, Iams owns an 8.9% interest in Veterinary Pet Insurance) engaged in this activity, but also other more surprising companies such as paper product giant Kimberly Clark, which is very interested in expanding its revenue stream into the supermarket pet aisle.
9. Increased online sophistication from new pet-related businesses in ecommerce, design, and usability.
Traditionally, small business sites have been set up by pet lovers with little thought on design, target audience, and content. Newer players, such as Urbanhound and WagginTails noted last year, and Pawspot, a pet sitting community new this year, are beginning to be more sophisticated in design and ecommerce, reaching their target audience via web-site usability, SEO, paid search, and word of mouth.
10. More meaningful pet-related blogs.
Blogs, written by both corporate players and evangelists, will become more prevalent, more widely read, and will have a significant influence on driving traffic and sales to smaller niche players. New blogs in 2006 include Scratchings and Sniffings, sponsored by Purina, and the Embrace Pet Community blog, part of the broader Embrace Pet Community sponsored by Embrace Pet Insurance.
Comment by Lorraine Takahashi — April 8, 2007 @ 6:15 am
Do Peeps contain wheat gluten? What binds all that sugar in the shape of a “peep”? (Just kidding, I hope!)
Another good overview, reprinted on The Crusader:
Pets, Food Safety, China, the FDA, and Your Health
http://healthtruthrevealed.com.....ge=article
Comment by Maureen — April 8, 2007 @ 6:53 am
Now THAT was funny. I will have to try that on some peeps in a little bit. But I think I’ll skip the other experiments on that web site!!
Apologies if I missed a discussion on this previously, but I haven’t seen this link posted: http://tinyurl.com/2dz6fu
It is the table of contents for a 360 page pet food industry report from 2002. Unfortunately, the hard copy is $2,250. Too bad. I think that this would be fascinating reading:
Competitive Profile: Doane Pet Care Enterprises
* Leader In Private Label
* Brief History
* Doane Sales And Scope
* Strength Based On Wal-Mart Partnership
* Other Private-Label And Co-Manufacturing Accounts
* Doane Pet Food Segments
* Branded Products
* Overview: Windy Hill
That might answer the questions about whose dry food is manufactured at Doane.
I did notice something I have questions about:
Labeling And Regulations
Guidelines
* Four Product Nomenclature Rules
* The “95%” Rule
* The “25%/Dinner” Rule
* The “3%/With” Rule
* The “Flavor” Rule
Do we know what these rules are? I’m guessing that they mean that 25% of a product must be made of something before it’s able to be called “dinner” and that 3% of the product must be a certain ingredient before they can say it is “with.” I’m not sure about the 95% or “Flavor” rules, though.
Comment by CatLady — April 8, 2007 @ 7:46 am
TO: CATLADY….For GREAT petfood label info. & explanation, go to http://www.fda.gov and go to “Info for Consumers” then to “Interpreting Pet Food Labels”. I did all the math equations on all the pet food I have in the house and was really surprised. The good thing about this site is that it explains how to simply figure the CARBS % which , as I’m sure you know, in a high number is VERY BAD FOR CATS. I’m working on finding out what the IDEAL CARB count is. I can’t seem to find it anywhere. Anyway, good luck. By the way, what are you feeding your cats and do they really like it? I’m still having a heck of a time getting any of mine to be excited about this new “good” nutrition.
Comment by laura S — April 8, 2007 @ 8:18 am
You left a link to one ”issue”; have a scan down the list of other editions from the packaged foods study bunch:
http://www.packagedfacts.com/p.....ices-c124/
Even without paying the thousands to ‘subscribe’, just from reading the abstracts one thing is obvious:
There’s a lot of ways we got manipulated into trusting people with our pets well being that simply do not deserve that trust.
Bill
ps - any idea where/how we might see these reports?
Comment by Bill Hemmings — April 8, 2007 @ 8:27 am
FDA Article from USA Today:
The FDA doesn’t have the resources and only inspects high risk foods - evidently Wheat Gluten and what our pets eat just don’t matter so much:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/.....usat_N.htm
Comment by Linda — April 8, 2007 @ 8:34 am
Laura S: Thanks for the link. I had been to the site before but had obviously not given it enough of a thorough reading.
I’m in the process of transitioning my cats from their previous diets (Science Diet Indoor Adult for the younger one and Hills r/d for my tubby guys) to Natural Balance dry. I bought a sample size of that and started feeding it as a “treat” instead of the previous treats, which I threw away after the recall because they contained wheat gluten. They think it’s great because it’s being presented at the time and in the way that treats were being given. Now I’m gradually starting to mix it in to their previous diets. The fat guy and gal like it much better than the r/d, and are starting to eat around the r/d pellets.
I’m having a lot less luck with wet foods. So far, the younger cat, who previously was eating Pro Plan canned in the evenings, has rejected 5 flavors of Merrick, 3 flavors of Natural Balance, 2 flavors of Blue Buffalo, and Solid Gold. So he’s going to be eating dry for a while until I can find another brand I feel is worth trying. Not ideal, but at least I feel like he’ll be eating quality stuff.
Comment by CatLady — April 8, 2007 @ 8:59 am
I seem to recall Peeps being just yellow and pink when I was growing up. I like purple, so didn’t mind that addition. I was accepting of blue. But this year they came out with green Peeps! Green! Now that’s just wrong.
;)
My favorite Peep activity is Peep jousting:
1. Take two Peeps and two toothpicks. Poke a toothpick into each Peep so that it looks like it’s holding the toothpick under its wing.
2. Set Peeps in the microwave, facing each other, a couple of inches apart. (You’ll probably want to put them on top of a paper towel for easier clean-up.)
3. Start up the microwave, and watch to see which Peep stabs the other first!
Comment by Liz — April 8, 2007 @ 9:20 am
TO: CATLADY….
Thanks for sharing, I’ve been feeling so alone, like I’m going crazy trying to find something they all like. I’ve read quite a bit these last 2 wks. and to day I’m headed out to get a new dry from WELLNESS called “CORE” and also try some of their wet food. It’s gotten some good reviews. (Go to onlynaturalpet.com & click on “Wellness”, etc.)
Thanks…
Comment by laura S — April 8, 2007 @ 10:05 am
To: Laura S.
Core dry food by Wellness sounds better, as it is grain free. My cat didn’t like Wellness dry before all this started, but does like Innova/EVO, which is also grain free. He liked Wellness chicken formula canned food a lot, but I’m too nervous to feed him their canned food as it is made by Menu Foods. The company assures that they have quality control but…
I supplement his Innova/EVO dry food with a separate small dish of cooked, freshly ground beef, with its own juices. He doesn’t like chicken or fresh fish very much. I feed him 2 fresh portions of dry & cooked beef 2x a day.
Surprisingly, since these changes a few weeks ago, he’s lost a little weight — and he needed to — and he’s happy. Not begging for food but apparently healthy. His fur is softer, too. I’m still nervous about commercial food and wish to study some more about home cooking and nutrition and switch my 2 dogs and cat to complete home cooked within a few days. (Dogs on Wellness dry for now + cooked ground beef; no more Wellness canned, though they liked it.)
One of my dogs had a stubborn ear margin dermititis that wouldn’t respond to prescription ointment for the past couple of months. This diet has cleared it up for her in a short time.
They all love meal time even more than before — they await the cooking of the freshly ground beef patiently but without taking their eyes off the stove — and it’s a nice time for all 4 of us.
Comment by Maureen — April 8, 2007 @ 10:50 am
I wanted to note somewhere (so I guess it’ll be here) that if you have a pet that you take in for lab work, make sure they not only do blood tests for BUN/creatinine but also have them do a urinalysis. Our vet said she has seen a couple of cases and neither of them had elevated BUN/creatinine but did have urinalysis that showed poor concentration and high proteins in the urine, they had both eatn recalled food.
Also, if a cat has elevated thyroid readings, that can sometimes mask kidney disease so that is also where a urinalysis can be more helpful.
Comment by Sandi K — April 8, 2007 @ 11:15 am
Another great peep feature is in Sunday’s (Easter) edition of The Washington Post (http:\washingtonpost.com - free registration required.) Called “Peeps Show”, it’s now #2 on the most-emailed articles list on the paper’s site. Be sure to look at the photo gallery accompanying the article.
Comment by Ticocats — April 8, 2007 @ 4:31 pm