Some of you may have read my previous post about having to make the decision to put this poor boy to sleep.

Although it was extremely sad, you had a great send off, and many people attended your burial to show their love for you.

You touched many hearts over the last 20 years.

I am hoping his last resting place will look a little more joyful come spring.

Sleep well my sweet boy.  You are sorely missed. xx

Sorry that this is so morbid. Sundays are a time of reflection for me, so I thought this was an appropriate time. I am also realizing that my Sundays aren’t that silent!

Grief over a dying pet is hard to deal with.

I need to apologize in advance for the next few days as I will be probably be a little quiet with blogging.

Very sadly, tonight I will be travelling with my Mom to my Grandparents house, and tomorrow morning we will be taking my oldest cat to be put to sleep.

Smokey came to me when I was 6 years old. In cat years, that makes him 180 years old! I’ll leave you to figure out the human years if you want – it’ll give away my age!

He has lived to a ripe old age, but unfortunately over the last few months his health has dimished considerably and he can no longer control his toilet functions. On top of this, my usual sprightly energetic miaow-miaow can no longer do anything but spend all day in his bed.

I am going to work on writing his eulogy now. I know to some of you that might seem a bit ‘much’, but for me and my family, it will be the perfect send off for an amazing pet who I have spent 76% of my life so far with.

I have a specially made cat coffin and a lovely grave marker. He will rest forever in my Grandparents garden which he loved so much and where I have special memories of him.

Smokey was such a perfect little cat, and only now can you see his true age. I’d like to share my memories, photos and the eulogy, but doing it now would be too hard. Perhaps in a few days….

Sorry that this post is so depressing but I feel like I need somewhere to vent, somewhere to remember him and some time to pray and let out my grief.

Tonight will be my last night with him, I will be saying my goodbyes before the dreaded appointment tomorrow and in my last minutes before sleep I will be praying to Him that he takes my dear Kitty naturally during the night.

Tonight.

Could anyone direct me to, or know of a good animal portrait artist? I’d like to have one done to remember him by.

Thank you for reading.  Perhaps I am not alone in finding the death, or impending death of a pet hard?

When was the last time you went to feed the ducks, and how many times do you remember doing it as a child compared to with your own kids?

My childhood is full of memories of feeding the ducks. Wherever I have lived over the years hasn’t been too far from a local duck pond, river or waterfowl park. It is still something I love to do and is a great excuse to get some fresh air in the lungs of your family. However, it begs the question of what to feed ducks, as we are more aware these days of the not-so health benefits of processed white bread for ourselves AND the ducks.

Sadly, over the past few years, feeding ducks bread has gotten some bad press – bread in general seems to be getting a bad name in diets for all! Still, there isn’t much information out there on what to feed ducks.

Here are the reasons why bread is bad for ducks, and also some great alternatives of what to feed ducks so you can still get out of the house with the kids and appreciate the simpler (and cheaper) forms of family entertainment.

Diseases Feeding ducks bread can increase the spread of diseases in two ways. First, a carbohydrate-rich diet leads to more defecation, and bird feces harbors bacteria responsible for numerous diseases. Second, moldy bread can cause fatal lung infections that can decimate entire duck and waterfowl flocks – how guilty are we all of taking out stale bread to feed the ducks!?

Duckling Malnutrition In an area where ducks are regularly fed bread, ducklings will not receive adequate nutrition for proper growth and development. Furthermore, because ducks will naturally seek out an easy food source such as human handouts, ducklings will not learn to forage for natural foods as easily.

Loss of Natural Behavior The birds will become accustomed to handouts, and will lose their natural fear of humans and may become aggressive in order to get more food. Their loss of fear can also cause other dangers, such as a willingness to cross busy roads in order to reach picnickers and other likely sources of food.

Great Bread Alternatives – yes, you can still feed the ducks!

Wild ducks and waterfowl can live longer, healthier lives by relying on natural food sources such as aquatic plants, seeds, grasses and insects rather than taking handouts from well-meaning humans. If you still want to feed the ducks – and doing so can be a lovely experience – there are many healthier alternatives to offer them instead of bread.

Strange but true, ducks will eat these healthy foods.

What to feed ducks.

Grapes – cut in half

Peas – make sure they are defrosted first!

Oatmeal and Porridge Oats, as long as they are unsweetened and uncooked.

Or of course, you can invest in commercial duck pellets. Have fun!

Click the image for Chapelwood Swan & Duck feed – UK only.

Click the image for Gamebird Showbird Feed – USA only.

I hope this article has helped you with knowledge on what to feed ducks?