Health

Stinky & Periwinkle are two cartoon tabby cats. Stinky is a Manx cat and doesn’t have a tail. They are alter egos of Sawyer, who lives in Virginia, and Noelle, who lives in Florida. They began as boyfriend and girlfriend but are now engaged. The tabbies alternate planning adventures, which they post on their blogs (The Cat on My Head and Friends Furever) on Tuesdays. The tabbies travel between locations in a cat play tunnel, which they refer to as a teleportation tunnel. They have shared more than 300 adventures.

Stinky’s Imaginings

As he often does, Stinky is worring that the adventure he has planned for today will be unappealing to Periwinkle, especially as it is another home adventure. Having each planned over 150 adventures, it is getting more difficult to find something exciting to do. There are lots of places Stinky would like to visit that his mom thinks are too dangerous for little tabby cats at this time. He has asked his mom to make invisibility cloaks for both he and Periwinkle, but she says she has no idea how to do that.

Stinky believes that since he and Periwinkle can teleport, they can definitely make themselves invisible, and he plans to investigate the possibility for the future. He imagines all the things he and Periwinkle could do if invisible: pounce unseen on their fursibs and humans, thwart criminals, tour cat treat manufacturing facilities and Stinky’s favorite, climb to the top of the tallest tree he can find!

Periwinkle’s Arrival

When the teleportation tunnel begins to vibrate, Stinky puts his imaginings aside so he can snag Periwinkle as she tumbles from the tunnel with the usual whoosh. Once she is in his paws, they spend several minutes whisker kissing and hugging. When they come up for air, Stinky takes Periwinkle’s paw and leads her to the kitchen, which elicits from Periwinkle the question, “Are we staying at your house again today?”

“We are,” responds Stinky. With his paws crossed behind his back, he says, “But I think you will really like what we are going to do.”

“Well spit it out, and let’s see what I think,” demands Periwinkle.

“We are going to make homemade cat treats.”

“That sounds like the purrfect adventure, especially as you are a lover of treats.”

Stinky hands Periwinkle her chef’s hat and apron and then puts his on.

Cat Treat Recipe & Instructions*

Stinky’s mom has laid out all the ingredients for them and Periwinkle and Stinky pull chairs up to the counter to check them out and get to work.

Ingredients:

1 can (undrained) tuna or salmon (Periwinkle & Stinky are using salmon.)
1 c whole wheat flour
1 egg
2 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Purée the canned salmon in a small food processor.
Mix in the flour and egg and then add the olive oil and mix well to combine all ingredients.
Use a tablespoon to scoop batter and form into balls with paws. (Gloves might be a good idea to help keep fur out of the treats.)
Put balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (You can place these quite close together, as they do not spread while baking.)
Press down on the tops with the tines of a fork.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes. (P&S baked theirs for 14.)
Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

Store cat treats in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. They can be stored in the freezer for up to three months.

This entire process (not including the time to cut up the cooled treats) took one hour.

* This recipe is from Sweet Precision. (That was made with tuna but suggested salmon as an alternative. As Kitties Blue are fond of salmon, Periwinkle & Stinky decided to use it for their treats. The site also suggested catnip could be added to the recipe.)

Some different cat treat recipes can be found at Kitschen Cat and Supakit.

Nutrition Information

This made 33 one-inch treats for an equivalent of 28 calories per treat (salmon = 200 calories, olive oil = 240 calories, egg = 78 calories, whole wheat flour = 408 calories for a total of 926 calories). The treats themselves are roughly the size of a dog biscuit, so Stinky’s mom cut them each into four to six pieces. This made the calorie count for each treat about 4.5 to 7 calories.

Based on an average cat being around 10 pounds, you can decide how many treats you should give your cat using information from Honest Kitchen. They suggest, depending on a cat’s activity level, breed, weight, health, age and any underlying health conditions, that a daily calorie intake for a 9.9 to 11 pound cat to be 240 to 290 calories. Included on the site is a guide to help you calculate your cat’s exact needs based on weight.

Taste Test

“Shall we sample our treats, Periwinkle?”

“Of course, and you must go first as you are the King of Treats.”

“Happy to be the guinea pig,” replies Stinky, which makes Periwinkle giggle as she pictures him as one.

Stinky takes a treat and noms it. “Wow, this is yummy!”

“Please don’t talk with your mouth full,” admonishes Periwinkle. She then tries a treat and begins to purr. “I give these four paws up Stinky. What do you think?”

“Ditto! I think I will have another.”

“Should we have your fursibs taste test?” asks Periwinkle.

“Good idea,” replies Stinky and goes in search of them. He finds Sawyer, Cooper Murphy, Calista Jo and Audrey. The first three gobble up their treat. Audrey turns down her treat.” Audrey did not want the treat, which seriously surprises me, but Sawyer ate it for her,” exclaims Stinky.

“Surprise, surprise,” replies Periwinkle.

“Let’s pack some of these for you to take home. Maybe Reesie will like them,” says Stinky.

“I wouldn’t count on it. But that’s not a problem. I think they are scrumptious,” replies Periwinkle. She then suggests she and Stinky clean up the kitchen so she can visit with his fursibs before she has to head home.

Visiting With Kitties Blue

Periwinkle finds some of the KB crew in the bedroom and spends time talking to them.

She decides not to disturb Raleigh and Kizmet, as they are napping.

Finally, it is time for Periwinkle to head home. After she thanks Stinky’s mom for her help with the project and gives her a big hug, the tabbies head to the teleportation tunnel. They spend several minutes whisker kissing and paw hugging. Then, Periwinkle enters the teleportation tunnel. With a wave and blown kiss, she is gone in a whoosh.

Stinky returns to the kitchen to sample a few more treats.

The End

Periwinkle and Stinky will be participating in the Happy Tuesday blog hop at Comedy Plus. To join them there, click on the badge below.