# Hello from California



## Benson-Siberian (Sep 7, 2010)

My name is Tara (28yrs old from North County San Diego) and my future kitten baby will be named Benson. He is a purebred Siberian Forest Cat and will be born this month in Los Angeles! He comes from champion lines, but will be a very loved pet. I won't get to take him home with me until end of December, so that gives me a lot of time to prepare. 

His breeder mom feeds all the kittens on a raw diet immediately after they are weened so he will have no dry or wet commercial food. I think it's very healthy but I'm extremely concerned about what to do once I take him home because I work full time and am gone 10 hours a day, 4 or 5 days a week.

I'm hoping I can get some good guidance since I've also never had a kitten or cat before.

Tara


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Welcome, Tara!


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## Benson-Siberian (Sep 7, 2010)

Thanks Marie, nice to see another San Diegan here


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Sorry, no advice regarding the feeding and hours you'll be away working. Generally, cats/kittens are very adaptive to their environments. If you can spend quality-time w/ Benson during the hours you aren't working, he will still appreciate it very much and could be a very loving kitty.

_...is he named Benson after Robert Guillaume?_


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## 0PH3L14 (Aug 24, 2010)

Welcome along Tara, you'll love this place. It has a great community with some lovely people!

I can't wait to hear more about Benson when he finally arrives! All the best!


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## Keeping August (Aug 31, 2010)

Welcome Tara... Another Southern Californian here, I'm up in the Inland Empire.

No advice on the diet and your schedule... Our six month old Persian kitten came from a breeder who also did the all natural raw diet, but in our case, it was not ideal. I was able to wean him off of raw and on to canned, but he flat out refuses dry food. He will go on hunger strike. It's a bit of a pain, especially when I need to make plans around feeding him his meals.


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## Benson-Siberian (Sep 7, 2010)

Wow, thanks for the warm welcomes everyone!

the breeder just emailed me today with a bit more info about his food and once I get 5 posts here, I'll try to post my topics in the correct areas. 

I guess he's on mostly all raw but he gets some Fancy Feast canned food and organic half & half or goats milk. I know the breeder is a distributor for Oma's Pride Raw food (which actually looks like really good quality) but I'm surprised about her choice of wet food. I'm trying real hard not to be judgmental since, you know, I've never even owned a cat before. Nevertheless, I hope my kitten will let me change out the Fancy Feast for Innova Evo canned and Blue Buffalo Wilderness canned. It seems like the consensus on here is that those brands are best.

The organic half&half and goats milk really threw me for a loop, and I wasn't expecting that. I thought cats shouldn't eat dairy. I'm so confused now.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Wow, those *are* strange combinations!


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## Benson-Siberian (Sep 7, 2010)

Heidi n Q said:


> Sorry, no advice regarding the feeding and hours you'll be away working. Generally, cats/kittens are very adaptive to their environments. If you can spend quality-time w/ Benson during the hours you aren't working, he will still appreciate it very much and could be a very loving kitty.
> 
> _...is he named Benson after Robert Guillaume?_


Oh, I definitely will spend tons of time with him when I'm not working...that's my whole reason for getting the little guy. I have pretty much no life and hate coming home to an empty place! 

The name Benson just popped in my head over the weekend, and I have no idea what made me think of it, but it seemed like a pretty good name to me. I've actually never seen that show, have you?


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## Benson-Siberian (Sep 7, 2010)

marie73 said:


> Wow, those *are* strange combinations!


ok, glad I'm not the only one that thinks that!


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## Keeping August (Aug 31, 2010)

Benson-Siberian said:


> I guess he's on mostly all raw but he gets some Fancy Feast canned food and organic half & half or goats milk. I know the breeder is a distributor for Oma's Pride Raw food (which actually looks like really good quality) but I'm surprised about her choice of wet food. I'm trying real hard not to be judgmental since, you know, I've never even owned a cat before. Nevertheless, I hope my kitten will let me change out the Fancy Feast for Innova Evo canned and Blue Buffalo Wilderness canned. It seems like the consensus on here is that those brands are best.


 
I worked for Blue Buffalo for a year and a half as a product specialist. 

Began my work in St. George, Utah and was transfered when we moved back to So Cal, and I worked both I.E. and O.C. territories. Over the course of my work period, I had about 20 different locations... I loved my job, they paid me well and treated me well, and I believed in the product I sold. Wish I was still with them.

You cannot go wrong with Blue. Or EVO, for that matter. 
Wellness is another brand I would stand behind, as is Taste Of The Wild.

Now, this may sound odd coming from a former Blue rep, but some of the CANNED Fancy Feast product really isn't all that bad! There are certain flavors that are better than others, but I assure you, there ARE decent Fancy Feast products out there. As a rep, I made it my business to read up on the brands I was selling against, and I was pleasantly surprised when I flipped over a few of their cans. Just for kicks, if you have some free time to go over their product, nose around a little. 

Just stay away from corn, wheat, soy, and by-products and you're good to go! :smile:


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## Keeping August (Aug 31, 2010)

Also, may I ask who you are getting your Siberian from?

I have a breeder friend in my area who partnered up with another breeder and they raise Siberians small scale. Two Comrade is the name.


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## shanti (Sep 7, 2010)

Welcome to the forum Tara!


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## Benson-Siberian (Sep 7, 2010)

Keeping August said:


> Also, may I ask who you are getting your Siberian from?
> 
> I have a breeder friend in my area who partnered up with another breeder and they raise Siberians small scale. Two Comrade is the name.


I looked at the Two Comrade site but didn't go with them. In all honesty, I didnt want to wait until the kitten was 16 weeks before I would be allowed to take him home. They have beautiful cats though. That's great that you have a friend that knows so much about raising kittens. 

I'm not sure I want to say this breeder's name since I've already undermined her taste of food combining (ie: adding goats milk and Half&half) and canned food brand...but I will say that this person is one of the nicest to reply to my numerous emails. Most of the breeders I've contacted (all over US) are really rude.


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## Keeping August (Aug 31, 2010)

Benson-Siberian said:


> I'm not sure I want to say this breeder's name since I've already undermined her taste of food combining (ie: adding goats milk and Half&half) and canned food brand...but I will say that this person is one of the nicest to reply to my numerous emails. Most of the breeders I've contacted (all over US) are really rude.


I understand. 

I noticed you are from Cardiff. I breed and show pedigreed rabbits, and we have a yearly show down in that area in the summer. Very pretty.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Benson-Siberian said:


> I've actually never seen that show, have you?


 Yup, 1979-1986. It was one of my favorites when I was a kid. I like the name Benson, too.


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## nicbeast (Sep 10, 2010)

Welcome! Congrats and your future family member!


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