A Book Review

I have never done a book review, because, well, I'm a cat and I cannot read.  However, I do like picture books, especially with pictures of birds.  I look out the back window all day and watch the birds at the bird feeder, so I guess LL thought that I needed more bird education, that must be why she asked Chewy to send us a book for our February Chewy Influencer promotion. 

 I present: The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2nd Edition by David Allen Sibley

 

 

 This is a full size book, measuring in at 9.5x6x1...inches.  It is beautifully illustrated, we loved the paintings of all of the birds.  It's great how the author did multiple paintings for each type of bird to show the many wing positions that you might see when they are flying and also how the feathers look at different life phases. The descriptions of each breed of bird are very descriptive and easy to understand.  He includes a map at the bottom of the page that shows where the birds live, however it would be nice if the birds were categorized based on regions so it might be easier to find one if you were wanting to know what kind of bird you had in your yard. However, the birds are listed by their groups, such as Eagles, Grouse, Owls, Warblers, even Wading Birds, etc. So, if you have an idea of what type of bird it is, you can find that group in the index and locate them that way. 

We are very impressed with this book, and we have seen many bird books. This one is very nice, the quality is excellent with heavy paper and secure bindings, lovely pictures and we liked the descriptions. He does a great job of sounding out and writing words for the bird songs and calls, about the Common Loon, Sibley writes, "Voice: Low, melancholy yodeling or wailing cries"  This is very accurate LL says, she grew up on a lake in Maine where they had many melancholy loons. 

If you are in the market for a bird book, The Sibley Guide to Bird second Edition is Buckwheat approved and recommended.

Here is a page on Red Shouldered Hawks.

Did you know that we were sent this full size, amazing book at no charge, for just being a Chewy Influencer and sharing our opinions in return, how great of a program is that?  Pretty great I say.

Wheat Poof collecter wipes

For our November trial from Chewy.com there weren't any foods that LL thought that I would like so she opted for something different. For some reason, LL thought that getting more cat wipes would be something that I might enjoy since I don't like baths.  I say, "again", because she has tried another kind on me before and it went about the same as it did this time.

We recieved these Furminator Shed Control Cloths for a test run.  I am a prolific shedder, in fact there is a name for what I let fall off.  Wheat Poofs!  LL often has to go around with the sweepy broom to collect the Wheat Poofs and then she releases them back out into the wild when she goes to shake the dust mop outside. My soft white fur falls out all over the floor, the couch, the clothes, the rugs, the everything in the house.  I guess it was a noble thought that if she wiped me with these cloths that some of the fur would be collected on the cloth versus the other stuff in the house.

The cloths themselves are like thick, wet fabric softener sheets.  They are really thick feeling.  They smell nice, at least for people they do.  For cats, they smell like bad stink.

 Here she is, wiping me.  It didn't last long before I got up and ran away.  I'm not cooperative for brushing, wiping, grooming by people in much of any way. 

 Why do humans think that they need to clean the cat? The cat can clean himself quite efficiently, in fact betterly.  Now I have to wash all of that wet smellyness off of myself.

The Wheat Poof collector wipes were a nice thought, but I am easily annoyed by such things and wouldn't let LL wipe me for very long.  I suppose if someone with a cooperative kitty purchased them, they would likely work very well.  Not so for this guy.

I received this item free of charge from Chewy.com in exchange for my honest review.

Halo Cat Food - Holistic Chicken

This looks yummy, will you open it for me?

In this episode of Buckwheat reviews things as a Chewy Influencer, I am sampling cat food.
I am a fan of eating food, like anyone obviously.  I am usually the typical finicky feline, as I have mentioned in the past.  However, LL is always trying to get me to experiment with new foods.  

In September a new kind of food was an option for sampling, so she decided to get it for me, just to see.  

I present!  Halo Grain Free Holistic Chicken & Chicken Liver Recipe

Here is how it is described on the Chewy.com page:

Key Benefits

• Sustainably-raised, cage-free chicken is the very first ingredient in this protein-rich diet that also includes chicken liver and dried egg product.
• Wholesome, non-GMO sweet potatoes, blueberries, carrots and cranberries provide essential antioxidants, fiber and vitamins.
• Made in the USA with no meat-meals, hormones or antibiotics, as well as no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
• Proprietary DreamCoat supplement provides essential fatty acids and nutrients for healthy skin and a lustrous coat.
• Highly palatable and highly digestible formula means maximum nutritional benefit and less litter box clean-up.

I can tell you this, it is everything described and then some.

It is very delicious!!  Like, really really, very delicious!  

I wasn't aware that the chickens were cage free though, that does explain alot about my recent boughts of crazy cat antics.  Running around like a chicken with my head cut off as they say, even though that sounds really bad, I'll keep my head on, don't panic.

LL, was most excited to see what proof was in the poop, as she is obviously obsessed with my poops what with putting them in plastic bags every day.  The proof is that, well, there is more of it with this food (even though that isn't really what the description said, was it). We have deduced that Halo believes in the kitty making many poops, to make the humans happy so they can collect more of it.  We'll be considerate, and not post a picture of them, that would be TMI.

I already have a pretty dreamy rabbit like fur, so the Dream Coat formula can only make me more and more softer.  I earned the title of Feline Nimbus today, since they say that petting me is like petting a cloud, it must be working.

LL! I am ready to make the proof!

I highly recommend this food!  Do you hear that LL? I want more of this when this bag runs out.

Disclaimer:  I received this item free of charge from Chewy.com in exchange for my honest review

That's a Catamazing Puzzle Box Toy!

For our April freebie to review from Chewy.com we opted to not get a food item, since they haven't had a very good track record with me.  This time we asked Natalie for the toy they were offering and lucky for us, we were able to get one before they were all gone. 

Normally I like toys that I can chase, like that evil red dot, my buzzy bug and mousie toys. This toy is a puzzle.  "A puzzle???"  Now you may be thinking, that a puzzle doesn't sound like very much fun because it takes some brain power.  Yes, I had to put my thinker to use for this one.  But it was for a good cause, because when I figured it out, I got my favorite treats.

Alright, I'll show you what it is.

Well, here is the package. I had to show you that because it is CatAmazing.

LL is lucky that she didn't tell me to put it together myself, we woulda had a problem then.

So here is the puzzle box all folded into it's proper form.  You see I'm more interested in the Chewy box to start. Then she finally added a few treats in there.

The object of the game is for the kitty to get the treat out of the box, there are little walls with holes inside the main box that I had to push the treat though, like a maze.

My favorite treats are a kind that are round, so they roll all around inside the CatAmazing puzzle box. I'm not sure if that makes the game easier or more difficult. 

Gah!  This is so frustrating! You think you have it going out the side and then something blocks it or it gets away.  

I was able to figure it out pretty quickly, without too much stress on the brain waves.  It's rather fun having to work for treats sometimes. I'm happy that she doesn't make me do this for my bed time treats. 

I thank Chewy.com as always, for sending me new products to try, in return for my honest reviews. 

This is Buckwheat, a Chewy Influencer saying, Happy Spring Efurryone!

Hmm, I wonder what I could do to convince the humans that we need to keep this box too...

These treats did not treat me well

I think my Lap Lady is finally realizing that getting the free treat samples from Chewy.com for our reviews is not the best of ideas.  I am a kitty with a sensitive tummy and a very particular palate.  In essence, the epitome of the finicky feline is right here.

So in this episode as my recurring role as a Chewy Influencer review writer, I will be telling you briefly about my experience with Iams Proactive Health, Hairball Care chicken flavor cat treats.

I profess to be a connoiseur of boxes and this one looks like a winner! 

For starters, this package is quite tasty. I am a professional bag licker, you can trust this judgement.

[Long snnnniiiiiiiiiiifffff] Aaah, yes they smell delicious.

*LL," Here Buckwheat, try these new Iams treats that we recieved from Chewy.com.  I see it says to feed 10 nuggets per day to prevent hairballs.  Too bad you are only allowed to have 3 by my rules"

The Wheat, "3? Who came up with this rule anyway? I don't like it"

LL," 3 is the most that you can handle. Plus I want you to stay 12 pounds, not more.  Those treats are 2 calories each. you don't need 20 calories of treats"

The Wheat, "I know nothing of these things you call calories. Is this a game? Don't you usually want more points to win games?"

LL," Well,not exactly little fella, in this game you want lower numbers, but at any rate, let's get on with this review"

The Wheat, "Oh ok, let's do that"

I was able to try a few more than 3 in order to make a full assessment of these treats, and overall they were very yummy and I kept asking for more, however, there was a problem.  The problem was that LL had to clean up piles of vomito de gato after both times that I ate them.  Sorry Iams, but that is not a good way to gain a fan base.  Granted I have a very senstive tummy, we don't know why that is, but there are certain treats that do that to me, and these were one of those unfortunately. 

On the bright side, our neighbor has a plethora of cats who are able to eat whatever treats they are given, so they are now the recipients of my treats that get the boot.

I do always appreciate getting the free treats in return for my unbiased opinions from my friends at Chewy.com, whether I yak them back up or not.  Treats are very hit or miss with me, and the ones that I like today, I may not like tomorrow.  So, we'll keep trying. #chewyinfluencer

*For those who don't know, LL = Lap Lady.

I received these goodies free of charge from Chewy.com in an exchange for my honest review.

Whicker Licking Good

Last month you may recall that I was not very impressed during my review of my selection from Chewy.com.  I had an idea that it was a fluke.  I knew that the LL wouldn't purposefully get me things that I won't eat. She is still learning what I like and don't like, I have been here just over 4 months after all.  
This month's review selection was spot on, I totally love what I got.  Let me show you what it was. 

Whisker Lickins from the Purina people.  I have had Whisker Lickins before, and I have liked them, but they were the crunchy ones.  These ones are soft and let me say, they are just as yummy as the crunchy ones! So YUMMY! They have fun shapes (the ones they show on the bag), but I inhale them so fast I don't really notice which ones are which. 

I can't really say that they are the most wholesome or healthy, I don't know which kind of animal liver, or what the heck tetra sodium pyrophosphate is. However, they are treats, I bet you and your humans eat plenty of things that aren't always good for them, but in moderation they are ok. I only get 3 at bed time.

Here I am, taking one of these tasteys from the LL's fingers.  I can't fib, sometimes I bite her finger with the food, by accident.

Are you ready for some live action treat enjoyment?  I hope you are, because it's gonna happen right now.

Thank you as always to Chewy.com who sends me these great samples for free, in return for my own opinions, and also to Purina for allowing them to send out my new favorite treats.

Natural Balance review

I think Chewy.com knows that I love wet food.  Almost every month they let me choose a new yummy food to try,  in return for my opinions. 
This month I've been trying out Natural Balance Delectable Delights in O'Fishally Scampi flavor.  Let me just say,  I love this food  so very much!   Delectable doesn't cover the true deliciousness of this stuff.  Mum tries to say that I just love food, which is mostly true,  I do love to eat, have a look at the size of my furchin-it'll show you,  but this food is more wonderful than other food I've tried. 

Thank you Chewy.com, this is the best food I've tried yet! 

SlimCat Food Dispenser Review

Hey everybuddy!  Today I'm putting on my Chewy Influencer hat and giving a review for a food toy that Chewy.com sent me this month. They send me items of my choosing, for free, in return for an honest review.  

As we bounce into Spring time, it is important to keep our energy levels up, but after the long winter some of us may have some extra weight on our bones. I saw a fun picture today that had a caption that said "Finally my winter fat is gone, and now I have spring rolls"  I though that was pretty clever.  My vet has told us that I'm a little on the rolly polly side, which I disagree with, I'm just a big mancat in my opinion.  I have never turned down a meal and I don't plan to start now.  

However, humans tend to have different opinions. They think about weight too much sometimes, don't get me wrong, I understand that it is important to be healthy, but all this talk about weighing too much is just too life consuming.  Alas, I digress, I'm supposed to be reviewing this food gadget that we got.


Let me introduce, The PetSafe SlimCat food dispenser...

You can click to biggify, but most of the words are in other languages anyway.

The concept of the SlimCat, is to make feeding time become exercise time, "Play away the pounds" as they say.  You see, the human puts food in the little green ball, then sets the hole size.  They put it on the floor and the kitty has to roll it around to make the food fall out of the holes.  There are different challenge settings, big holes make it easy, small holes make it more difficult. 

  

When Mum first gave it to me to try she put it on easy, so I wouldn't get frustrated with it. When she watched me figure it out right away, and apologized for forgetting that I'm a feline genius, she reset it to the harder setting.

As you can see on the video, I don't get much exercise with this dispenser.  I reach, tap it, then move slowly to eat what fell out.  Sometimes I'll chase it a little bit if it gets away, but our floors are pretty level so it doesn't roll far. I see the idea, but it really doesn't promote as much activity as they say it will.  It's ok for Mum to use to put out as an after breakfast snack that I can get while the peepul are at work.  I don't care to eat out of it when I'm starving for breakfast, she's tried, but I just walk away from it and keep begging for my morning bowl of food. The instructions say to feed only with the ball, but we kind of deviated from that, oops. 

So, all in all, it's kind of fun, but I don't see it as a way that I want to eat every meal.

As always, thank you to Chewy.com for allowing me to be a monthly #chewyinfluencer. As I noted above, I do not make any compensation, other than the free food and toys that I get to provide reviews on.  If you want to become a Chewy Blogger, send Sydney an email at Svillegas@chewy.com I'm sure she'd love to sign you up.

Chewy Influencer Review

Hey efurrybody, Chewy Influencer William here, with another fun food tasting review. (I know, this is my second one this month, I apologize if you don't enjoy these segments, but we got 2 things in February)

Mum tried really hard to get me to sit still for a spokes cat pose, and managed to get this one, minus my ears.

Chewy.com sent this to me to try out, for free, in return for my honest review.  I have never heard of Tiki Cat brand food, but I'm always willing to taste test things, especially wet food.  This package of 12 cans is all various flavors, almost every can is different, although there were a few repeats.  I really liked some of them, and really disliked others.

   

A delectable selection of Tiki Cat Gourmet Carnivore wet foods.

The ingredients of every flavor are very healthy and real, unlike some wet food I've had, that looks like, well, maybe I should reserve my opinions on that.  

This food has REAL parts, this one here for example, the bonito tuna flavor claimed to have mussels in it, and right there on the top of it all, was a whole mussel straight outta the shell, see below.

See it, right there, that creepy looking yellow thing. I didn't know what it was at first, until Mum exclaimed "wow that's a whole mussel!".  I nearly thought she was talking about my mancat muscles, but quickly realized what the heck she was talking about.  Whatever it was, it was amazing!  I was really disappointed to learn that there was only one can of that kind, that was my favorite one of the pack.

Let me share my ratings of a few other flavors: 

Chicken and Liver = Blech, yuck, not good

Seabass = Super tasty!  Again, only one in the pack

Chicken and Duck = Pretty tasty

Chicken and Turkey = Yep, a good one

Beef and Liver, and all others with liver = Big fat Nope!

Looking back at this picture, Mum found it funny that it turned out to be my favorite and my least favorite.  It was a prophesy in disguise!

So, at the end of this test we have determined that I William, like so many others, people and cats alike, do not like liver, except for my Mum, she is weird and actually likes the stuff.  I really like how this food has more juice and real meat chunks than other food that I have had before.  It looks like they really try to make it look healthy and taste delicious, I'm just picky and don't like all flavors.  

As always, thank you to 

Disclaimer:  I am in the Chewy Influencer blogger outreach program, which means that we get to choose items to test out in return for my honest opinion.  The free item is my only compensation, I do not get paid in other sort of way.  You can be in the program too, just email Sydney at Svillegas@chewy.com and tell her your blog info.  

Chewy Influencer Sunday.

I enjoy crunchy treats, I mean like really. I don't eat chewy ones, I look at them and then walk away. When we saw that the Blogger outreach program from Chewy.com was sampling some crunchy dental treats in February that is exactly what we signed up for.

I introduce: Purina Pro Plan Dental Crunch Cat Snacks in Lobster and Scallop flavor.

My dry food is also by Pro Plan, so this should be pretty good.

Well, they smell good.  Who could deny the delicious scent of lobster and scallop?  Not a cat, and probably not many humans.  Those are two very delicious sea creatures!

Yup they look tasty too, I like round treats, they are fun to chase around on the floor.

So yes, these treats are very good, I give them high rankings for taste, shape, and texture.  I cannot confirm their ability to help a kitty's dental situation.  Mum gives me a few every day, and they do take a little more effort to chew up than one of my regular treats (which are small rectangles with a soft filling center), so that alone I suppose could be beneficial for my toothies.  

I heard that February is pet dental month, usually Mum makes me go to the vet for a teeth cleaning at this time of year. I went last year, but I think she only imposes that torment on me every other year.  So, as far as I know, I'm safe for the time being.

You can watch me in action as I enjoy these tasty treats:

Disclaimer: I am sent these products from Chewy.com in return for my honest review. I do not get anything for it, other than the free product I am showing you here. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't and I'm not scared to tell you if I don't like it.

Chewy is always interested in welcoming talented bloggers to their Blogger Outreach Network. If you are interested to be a Chewy Influencer, email svillegas(@)chewy.com for more information.

Food review time.

Its that time again, I get to be a spokescat for Chewy.com and review a product. Once a month we get an email from Sydney letting us know what the current options are to choose from.  If you have a blog you too can be a member, just send them a message saying you want to be a part of this great blogger outreach program.  The deal is, they send a product and you provide an honest review on your blog.  It's Easy Peasy!


This is the cool little box that was inside the big box, this was new, I hadn't seen this shipper before.
I like the warning at the bottom. MOL!

Let's flip that box over shall we...

Well now, what have we here?  12 fairly large sized cans of Ziwi Peak Daily Cat Cuisine.  Well that sounds fancy, I usually just get cat FOOD, not CUISINE.  

It also says that it's from New Zealand, that sounds exotic, 

I think I need to start talking with an accent now, let's see if I can write with an accent.  Better yet, I learned some New Zealand words just for you:

 Kia Ora eehvryone! (This means Hello everyone) and, Ka pai (this means Good).  Okay, okay, let's stop clowning around, I'm writing this in cat English.  Let's see if this food is ka pai or not. 

Back to talking about the food, it's made with many interesting sounding ingredients, let me show you: 

Venison? I'm not sure if I've ever had venison, I think that's another word for deer. That's like a whole deer put in this can, even it's lungs and tripe!  Wow, that's kind of crazy.  Agar-Agar, what the heck is that? Sounds like a mythical creature name to me.  After a little bit of research, I learned that it is a jelly like stuff that comes from algae, that sounds gross.  This is getting kind of creepy sounding.  

(I'm getting alot of extra education just writing this review, I've learned Kiwi language and now about gross sounding algae goo)

Here it is, this is what it looks like, I can't share the smell with you, which is probably a good thing.  That goo on the top must be the Agar-Agar.  This is what remains after Mum has tried to serve this to me, 3 dinners in a row. Well, let me correct that, she has served it, but I've barely touched it, all 3 times.  The first night, I licked it thinking, "yay, new stinky goodness!" I picked some up in my mouth and then spit it on the floor and walked away. She threw it out after I left it almost entirely untouched.  The 2nd try, she warmed it up, I smelled it, then walked away. She left overnight and the next morning I actually ate it as a lunch portion, since no one gave me any other lunch.  The 3rd try, she put some water in it and made it more saucey, and warmed it up.  I ate about 1/4 of it, then walked away.

Anyone who has ever met me, knows that I don't leave food uneaten. I'm not picky, I'll eat most anything, but this venison food is definitely not a winner in my book.   

Mum is disappointed because she was happy about not having to buy wet food for me for a few weeks.  Now we have 11 cans of food that I dislike.  We are going to see if other kitties that we know might like it better. She actually thought about sharing some with that introoder kitty that walks around out back sometimes, but I don't approve of that.  We know of some feral rescue kitties who would appreciate it as well. Have no fear it will not go to waste just because I don't think it is ka pai.

In any case, thank you Chewy.com for allowing me give this food a try. If you would like to try it yourself in this, or any other flavor, here is their link to shopping: Ziwi Peak Food

Disclaimer:  Chewy.com sends me things for free, in return for my opinions on this blog, I am not paid for these opinions, outside of receiving the free product.  It's a ka pai deal if you ask me!