Anything for Your Pet?

The Kroger family of stores offers a little bit of everything needed for daily pet care for dogs, cats, and some small animals. From pet nutrition to treats, toys, and grooming, you can find all the basics in the Pet Care Aisle at your local store.

My Magazine Sharing offered a mission to sample some of the items available. The mission asks that you post a photo of your pet with an included caption card. While the card is cute, it won’t work for four animals! I had to make do with a composite.

Our Furbabies

 

There were both dog and cat free sample/coupon boxes available. We received the cat care sample box. Meow Mix Simple Servings, Purina Friskies Party Mix Gravy-licious cat treats, a coupon for a bag of Purina One True Instinct Cat Chow, and a handful of coupons for each of these items to pass along to other pet owners in hopes that they would give the products a try.

The cats immediately wanted to investigate the box – behind my back. They enjoyed all the goodies immensely, the box, the stuffing paper, and are insisting we go get more, especially of the treats!

Likewise, you are asked to post a photo (or two or more) of you pet enjoying the sample. I did another composite of the cats chowing down on the Meow Mix Simple Serving freebie. They very much enjoyed the food, and the serving size seemed to be perfect for each of them.

 

Check out your local Kroger family store and try out some of the items we sampled. I hope your furbabies are as delighted as ours have been.

– Ann Cathey

Holiday Quickies

Take a little bit of stress off your holiday preparations by being ready to take care of your family before and after the big day. These hints might help, or spark your own ideas on making things a little easier in the host’s home.

Pet Preparation
The holidays are not only stressful for you, they can also stress out your pets. Set up safe zones for your animals where visitors are not allowed. This gives Fluffy or Rover a place to go when the family gets too loud or boisterous. Make sure their feeding stations are ready for them and don’t allow their schedules to be interrupted if it can be helped. Your companion animals rely on you for their maintenance and holidays are no exception. Be prepared for accidents caused by all the excitement, be it spilled water or an accidental piddle puddle.

The Night Before
With all the cleaning, decorating, and food preparation that’s going on, take a beak from it all on the night before your gathering. Have a pizza night, or Chinese takeout. You don’t have to cook anything extra – let someone else take are of that! You don’t have to worry about plating, and cleanup is quick and easy.

The Morning After
The day after Thanksgiving or Christmas is a time for hot coffee or cocoa, relaxing a bit, and finding inventive ways to use up those leftovers. A breakfast suggestion is a sort of pizza. Use a flatbread like naan or even a flour tortilla as the base. Top it with shredded turkey or ham, cheese, sliced mushrooms, even a fried or scrambled egg. Bake just long enough to heat everything up and melt the cheese. for a rustic touch, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley or scallions. If you want to get truly decadent, add a dollop of sour cream.

 

I hope these tips help you enjoy your holidays with a little less stress and more laughter and gaiety.

–Ann Cathey