Congratulations to our winner of last week’s “My Halo Story” Twitter contest — @Suzanne! Fellow Halo followers were asked to tell us about their Halo experience for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to our web store. The winner was picked at random and announce Friday, 2/26/10.

@Suzanne’s winning tweet was, “We call Halo frz-dried chicken ‘cookies’. When my cat Montague escaped the way we got him back was to yell ‘cookies’ #MyHaloStory.”

Montague is a 3rd generation Savannah cat, bred from American Shorthair and African Servile. He has giant ears and a triangle shaped face long legs and skinny tail. Suzanne taught him how to shake hands so he sits and shake hands for his reward — Halo freeze dried chicken treats! She says,” when we whisper the word ‘cookie’ he howls and paces till we get the container from the fridge. One cannot go near the fridge without him following and howling.” Then Suzanne’s other three cats come to see if the Savannah cat gets his treat.

On top of that, she mentions a friend who’s cat, Walter, plays the piano for his Halo chicken treats. We’d sure like to see a video of that!

Question: I am a recent customer of Halo dry cat food. I have been attempting to transition my two cats over since early December, I first started them on the Sensitive Stomach formula and they did not take to that at all, I changed them to the Salmon and they were both constipated. I contacted Halo and was told that was a rich brand so I chose to change them to the Chicken formula which they have been on for a few days and appear to be drawn to the taste but I am still unsettled with their liter box habits. Their stools are very soft and the male doesn’t appear to be urinating as much as before. I love everything I have read about this food but am wondering if it is right for them. I hear differing opinions about how long to transition over and at this point we are at the 3 week mark, should we hang in there a bit longer to see if their tummies will settle down so they can be comfortable eating their meals again.

Answer: Sounds like you started the chicken near the end of December. I would recommend the chicken formula only for 3 weeks as some cats require a much longer transition period. Also make sure you are not feeding low quality treats or other things that may have synthetic additives, flavors and colorings. Treats filled with these ingredients can cause digestive disturbance and allergic-type reactions. You can try the Halo Liv-a-Littles or some of our other natural treats that cats love. If after three weeks, your cats are still having tummy troubles, ask your veterinarian about a high quality natural probiotic to get them on their way to feeling better.

Hope that helps.
Dr. Donna Spector

Answers provided to pet owners by Dr. Donna Spector should be considered information and not specific advice. Answers are to be used for general information purposes only and not as a substitute for in-person evaluation or specific professional advice from your veterinarian. Communications on this site are very limited and should never be used in possible cases of emergency. Halo, Purely for Pets will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any information or content contained in a blog or article post.

Short-dated products are on the Halo web site at half price. Of course, these usually sell out extremely quickly, so grab what you can use. Currently available: Daily Greens-100 Tabs, Liv-a-Littles treats, Herbal Healing Salve, and other grooming and supplements items. Take a look, and check back often!

Please remember, while these products are wonderful, they are not the same as what you can buy at the store. You’ll find earlier formulas, old labels, or short-dating. Short-dating means that the product will reach its “Best if Used By” date within 1-2 months of purchase.

For blog readers, newsletter subscribers, Twitter followers and Facebook fans only, we’re happy to offer this month’s store coupons for Halo products!

Remember, these coupons are only valid at stores where Halo is sold.

For Halo store locations, enter your zip/postal code here. Products sell out fast, so please call ahead to make sure your nearest retailer has what you need (if not, they can usually order it for you quickly).

Renowned consumer watchdog Michael Finney, head of ABC’s “7 On Your Side” posted a link to sign up for Halo’s free Holistic Pet Care Newsletter, and get a free bag of all-natural HealthsomeTM treats. Thanks, Michael!

Click over to our News page for the link, or if you haven’t yet, sign up for our newsletter here.