Weekend filler material

I've spent most of the last two days trying to get Kitty to eat something. He turns his nose up at the Hill's k/d prescription stuff that the vet gave [sold to] me. I went to the web in search of some other companies who make the Renal care stuff. A company called Royal Canin makes it, as does Eukanuba, neither of which are available in your local pet store. Why, I wonder? PetsMart carries almost the whole line of Royal Canin stuff. Baby Cat, Kitten, Coon Cat, Persian, Siamese, Beauty & Fit, Light, Indoor, Intense Hairball, Light, Mature, Active Mature, Adult Fit, Special, Oral Sensitive, Skin Care and Selective (for fussy cats) . No Renal Care. So, I went back to the vet to see if they had anything different.

The vet assistant told me that her cat won't eat the k/d either, so they gave [gave] me packets of the Eukanuba and Royal Canin. Pray that he'll eat one of these.

So, I asked (knowing the answer) why the Renal Care stuff isn't sold in stores? The assistant gave me the company line: Because, if people see it marketed as a urinary tract diet, they'll buy it; but it isn't meant to be used unless the cat has early-stage Renal failure.

I just nodded, since I really wasn't in the mood to discuss it, but I'm thinking that if the bag said Renal Failure Diet that people won't buy it for their four-year old healthy cat. My guess is that the company has a sweetheart deal with the Veterinary association that certain types of food will only be sold by veterinarians. After all, I can feed weight management food to my cat even if he isn't fat, right? What a scam. Automobile tire companies have similar deals with auto makers, so it doesn't surprise me that marketing types and their associated legal department have come up with a way to prey on animal lovers.

I wouldn't mind if they sold me the first case of cans at the Vet's office, then told me, "You can get this at PetsMart", and I'll bet PetsMart wouldn't mind, either.

Meanwhile...

The guy doing the broadcast of today's Phillies game on Fox started talking about Shane Victorino after he walked in the fifth inning.

"This guy hasn't been caught stealing in like - forever - and that's not an exaggeration." He then went on to tell us all about the last time Shane was caught stealing. So, maybe it was an exaggeration after all? Geez - professional broadcasters are partly responsible for the ruination of the English language over the past 10 years. Do the teach them anything at these fancy broadcasting schools? Or is that what they teach them?

Then, I switch over to ESPN2 for the exciting hour-long broadcast of the Rock-Paper-Scissors Championship [thanks Katie] from Las Vegas. It's the second annual, which lets you in on anything you were wondering about whether people learn through experience.

Anyway, the announcer says that Rock-Paper-Scissors is the "World's Most Popular Hand Sport."

I beg to differ.

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