Max on ... New Year's Resolutions... How You Doin'?

So, how you doin' on those New Year's Resolutions?

Usually by the middle  or end of January, those who are gonna slip on their resolutions are ready to throw in the towel. That's how it works for the beans as far as I can tell...

Now, in the dog and the cat world, it's a little different.  Our beans make resolutions for us that we can't keep.  I mean, we are animals after all.  Here's an example.

You know about the Great Food Experiment of 2011, don't you?  Well in case you don't... here's a recap...

When Bugsy and Knuckles first came to live with HH, they were just little guys. HH was feeding them  kitten food a couple times a day, and all was going well. But, soon enough they seemed to be awfully interested in their food.

Bugsy and Knuckles on Gotcha Day... Tiny, right?

Now, in the old days, I was known for my interest in food too, and HH wanted to make sure that the boys didn't start to obsess about it too. So, someone told her that it was better to not draw attention to their eating habits and to just put a few days worth of food in a gravity feeder. The theory was that the boys would regulate themselves.

Well.. it didn't work. Oh, Knuckles did well enough.., but Bugsy loved to knock the thing around and eat and eat and eat....


Long story short.  HH had to resume portion control feedings with them.  So, Bugsy's New Year's resolution is to lose weight and to stay at his optimum weight.

To that end, HH is feeding them in two dishes, so Knuckles will have his own portion. Otherwise, Bugsy would eat it all and Knuckles is so polite, he would let him.

As it is, Knuckles always does save some food for Bugsy.... It's a brother thing?  Am I right?  As a result, Bugsy gets bigger and Knuckles gets smaller.

So... HH heard about this cat door (it's called Sure Flap)  the other day and she's thinking of getting one.  It seems that it operates by microchip.  In other words, the bean programs it to recognize the chip of each specific pet.  So, essentially you could use it in the door that goes to the outside to keep the varmints out of the house as it'll only open when approached by a pet with the right chip in it.

Demonstration cat going through the Sure Flap door

Or...  here's the idea with Bugsy and Knuckles, for WEIGHT CONTROL... HH could use it on an inside door (say maybe the door between the office and the bathroom) and program it only for Knuckles' chip.   At feeding time, she'd put Knuckles' food in the bathroom and close the door.

Bugsy (hee, hee, hee) wouldn't be able to get to it, cause his chip wouldn't open the door..What a brilliant concept!!!

Pretty cool huh?  We're thinking of giving it a try?  Now, Bugsy doesn't think it's such a great idea, but the rest of us do.... We'll let  you know if we try it out...

If you want to read more about it, you can go here ... Sure Flap.  They have all the details.

Anyway... that's how we've done on our resolutions... How about you?

Have a great day...
                         love, Max