Just a reminder to those of you who are intimidated by Bob's Chicken Gravy,
or are not sure that it is great stuff..IT IS WONDERFUL, and it has done
wonders for my Fang!  He was always a little runt..never more than 2.3
lbs., and was raised on the original formula Iams.  He always had vitamins
and his Ferretone, but never really filled out.  Now he is solid, (nice,
after being *pred induced* fat), and weighs in at 3.5 lbs.  He feels good
to hold, and he feels good health-wise too!
 
He has been on the gravy ever since he was diagnosed and had surgery for
his insulinoma.  I made it the first time with one half of the Ferretvite
(or Nutrical) that the recipe calls for due to his glucose problems.  I
kept the honey in, since there is only one Tblsp.  for the whole chicken.
Later, I eliminated the honey due to diabetes...but always kept the rest of
the ingredients.  He loves it even without the honey or the ferretvite!  I
still put in the ferrettone.  Since I learned to make it the EASY WAY, it
is a piece of cake:
 
                     EASY METHOD CHICKEN GRAVY:
 
Have a butcher chop up the chicken (with all the parts)...Your local chain
grocery store will do this, so will Wal Mart .  COOK IT IN THE CROCKPOT,
along with the eggshells and the extra fat the recipe calls for, with just
enough water to cover.  Cook it for about five-six hours (you will use all
the broth that is now full of vitamins).  I add the ground up kibble and
the oatmeal the last hour of cooking time.  THEN PUT IT IN THE BLENDER ;
ABOUT TWO CUPS AT A TIME; BROTH INCLUDED.  If you don't have enough broth
do divvy out, you can add a bit of water.
 
PUT IT ON CHOP FIRST (the bone pieces should all be tender from the crock
pot cooking), chop for about one minute, then PUT ON PUREE for about
another minute.  RUN EACH BLENDER BATCH THROUGH A COLANDER INTO A BIG BOWL.
(Do it in the sink) Any bone fragments remaining in the colander can be
taken out at this time.  After all of it has been blended and poured
through the colander, STIR IN THE REST OF THE INGREDIENTS.  THEN POUR
INTO ICE CUBE TRAYS!!  The new little blue ones (by Rubbermaid I think)
are great...they empty easily.  We fill about eight trays..then into the
freezer.  When they are ready, empty them into baggies, and store in the
freezer.  ( Do not let them stay in the trays too long to avoid freezer
burn.) We transfer about six at a time from the baggies into a little
tupperware bowl to thaw in the fridge (do not over thaw at room temp; can
create bad bacteria).
 
Each ice cube is one meal.  Heat cube in the microwave to hot, (on ours,
about ten seconds) but not TOO hot for their tongue (stir with your finger
to check for hot spots) .  Fang has to test it from our finger first to
make sure it is not too hot.  ( Have patience to do this step if needed.)
WE ALSO DO NOT FEED IT TO HIM IN THE SAME DISH WE HEAT IT IN, IN CASE THE
DISH ITSELF GETS HOT AND WILL BURN HIS TONGUE WHILE LICKING UP THE FOOD.
(common sense here).  We feed Fang three to four times a day, with the
morning and late evening meals sometimes consisting of one and a half ice
cubes.
 
Fang won't eat anything else since Iams changed their formula.  We've tried
everything including Totally Ferret, but he won't touch them, the snot.
During the night I leave him two pieces of our dog's Kibbles and Bits
(mixed in with varieties of high quality kibble in hopes that he will TRY a
piece) because K and B is the only thing other than Pounce Cat treats that
he will even consider eating.  <sigh>.  I let him have those so he can make
it through the night, although if he were in NEED, we would get up in the
night to heat up the gravy.  If we leave out the two pieces of K and B,
NONE of the rest gets touched anyway.  <sigh again>.
 
GOOD LUCK, AND HAPPY TUMMIES,
Lizzi and Fang
[Posted in FML issue 3138]